"So high...!"

Aries gazed in astonishment at the building before her.

Initially, she had envisioned Victor's 'base' as a series of dark, subterranean bunkers. However, this 'base' was... magnificent!

"This is the main building, with 14 floors, and there are three auxiliary buildings as well."

Victor suppressed a chuckle at Aries' bewildered expression.

"This is the base you were talking about...? But... how is it not destroyed?"

"There's a barrier surrounding the base, so it's protected from destruction, and the beasts can't cross it."

"Ah..."

'Even with all the modernity, there are times when you have to resort to ancient magic...', Aries mused internally.

Victor led Aries toward the main gate.

"Good day, sir."

The guard nodded in response to Victor's greeting, his eyes then shifting to Aries.

"Who's this?"

"A friend of mine, Aries."

"Please step over here."

Aries stood where the guard indicated.

"Please give me your hand."

Aries extended her hand, perplexed and curious about what the guard was doing.

"He's just checking to see if you have any beast poison in your blood."

Victor explained, noticing Aries' puzzled look.

After a moment, the testing device displayed a green message: [NO POISON]

The guard then tested Victor, and the device showed a similar message.

"No poison detected. You may proceed."

"Thank you."

The guard nodded. Victor and Aries passed through the gate. They had only taken a few steps when...

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot startled Aries. She turned to see a man's corpse at the guard's feet.

"Next."

"Take it away."

The guard commanded, and another guard nearby came and dragged the body away.

"He must have been infected with poison."

Victor remarked, also glancing back. Aries gave a slight nod and continued following him. Every few steps, they heard another gunshot.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Aries frowned, rubbing her temples in discomfort.

"Are you bothered by the gunshots?"

Victor asked, looking at Aries with concern.

"No, it's nothing."

Aries replied with a faint smile, shaking her head.

They entered the main lobby on the first floor.

Inside, Aries observed several people walking through the corridors, some stopping to talk and exchange information. They were all wearing similar uniforms. Aries assumed they were staff members, perhaps agents or operatives, judging by their attire.

Victor approached a door labeled [Medical Bay] and opened it.

"Hey Cliff."

"You're back, Vik? And who's this?"

Aries followed Victor inside. A man named Cliff, wearing a white coat, was sitting at a desk covered in paperwork. He stood up and approached them.

"I was injured, and she helped stop the bleeding."

"Is that so?"

Cliff scrutinized Aries from head to toe.

"What's your name?"

"Aries, nice to meet you."

"Yeah."

Cliff nodded with a smile, then turned to Victor.

"Sit down, let me take a look at your arm."

"Alright."

Victor sat down, and Cliff began to carefully unwrap the bandage on his arm.

"The bleeding seems to have stopped. I'll clean it up and re-bandage it for you."

"Thanks."

Cliff nodded, then looked up at Aries, who was standing nearby.

"There's a spare set of clothes on the table. Feel free to change into them."

"Oh... thank you."

"The changing room is right next to the medicine cabinet."

"Okay."

Aries picked up the clothes from the table and went into the changing room. She removed her torn shirt and her pants, and put on the new outfit.

A white t-shirt and a pair of athletic pants. They seemed to fit her well enough. Aries emerged to find Victor's arm neatly bandaged.

"Comfortable?"

"Yeah, where's that guy who was here?"

Aries looked around. The door opened, and Cliff entered, handing her a piece of paper.

"Fill out your information here, and give me your old clothes."

"Oh, thank you, but what's this for?"

"For managing and processing the survivors, you know."

Aries nodded, sitting down at the desk and began filling out the form. Victor curiously moved closer to take a look.

"You have a long name... and wow, you're so young..."

"How old are you?"

"21."

Three years older than her. Aries simply nodded and continued filling out the form:

[Ability System: Darkness.

Ability System Level: 2.

Special Abilities: None.

...]

Victor noticed her Ability System and looked surprised.

"Oh, so we're opposites then."

"Your Ability System is... Shine?"

"Yeah, I haven't fully awakened my level yet, I'm just... on the verge."

Victor scratched his head and smiled. Aries smiled back.

Each Ability System has its own levels, from low to high, representing the awakening of new abilities related to that system.

For example, the Darkness Ability System, from low to high, is Night - Dark - Shadow - Nightmare.

Each Ability System has a maximum of 4-5 levels.

"So what level are you at?"

"Level 2. Cliff is at level 3, right?"

Cliff, who was standing nearby and overheard the conversation, nodded slightly. His red hair fell across his face as his golden eyes glanced at them.

"I'm done."

Aries handed the form to Cliff, who took it and examined it, carefully reading each line.

"You have nice handwriting."

"Oh, thank you..."

Aries smiled, but inwardly felt awkward and embarrassed. 'Why the compliment?', she thought to herself.

"Cliff, can Aries and I head out?"

"Where to?"

"I'm going to give her a tour of the base."

"Alright, just be back by 6 PM."

"Got it."

Victor smiled in gratitude and headed out, Aries nodded her thanks and followed Victor.

As the door closed, Cliff stared at it for a moment, then looked back at the form in his hand, his eyes fixed on Aries' name.

After a pause, Cliff muttered to himself.

"Strange..."