Chapter 246: Participant’s Name

With how much they were threatening taking Quinn to military base 1, he doubted that it was truly a last ditch effort on their part. If anything, they seemed quite eager to have something happen to him there.

’But why the ’lessons’ to get me in line?’ Quinn wondered.

"It’s possible that they’re simply practicing their techniques for other projects," the system responded, "My creator did similar things, but with slightly less dubious subjects."

Quinn wanted to ask more what the system meant, but the man in uniform kept speaking.

"You are in a unique position, and under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t do such a thing," the man said, "But if you use this opportunity to escape, you will be marked as a fugitive and spy of Pure. There will be no place where you can hide without our eyes on it."

That made Quinn confused. What did he mean by unique position?

’Was I right that they were going to do something to Erin?’ Quinn theorized, ’Or could it be something else entirely?’

"Still silent?" The man crossed his arms, "Just so you’re aware, you WILL comply with the rules of the tournament. Failure will result in us assigning a punishment we see fit."

The man nodded to the teleportation user, and they disappeared, leaving Quinn to wonder what the words meant.

"It seems like they want you to partake in the tournament," the system commented.

’I know, but why?’ Quinn wondered.

"With all of the bases coming together, they may want to show off their most talented students, and you are certainly a special case."

The idea sickened him, but he knew he would be no show dog for the military.

Quinn sat back down on his bed and tried to meditate again. There was a hope that by cultivating his qi, he could fight back, but before he could, a ventilation near the ceiling opened.

A strange mysterious gas filled the room. Immediately, he stood up, but the mist entered his nostrils, making his eyelids grow heavy. His body swayed, then fell over.

Through his fuzzy vision, Quinn saw a person teleport in wearing some sort of gas mask, then lift his body. Before he could see anymore, his mind fell unconscious.

—

It had been a long day for Logan, as he got distracted by Erin and Layla’s troubles, needing to help them hide evidence. Erin and Layla were waiting in Logan’s room in case they were called in for questioning, but luckily, nothing happened.

They were in the clear.

Yawning, Logan crawled onto his bed and shut his eyes. He was going to be needed for the next day.

Before curfew started, Erin visited the doctor’s office and had her injuries healed. However, this didn’t mean that her blood bank would get filled.

[HP 100/100]

[Blood Bank: 0/100 ML]

With an empty blood bank, Erin knew she was going to need to drink something soon. For the time being, that’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

The next day arrived, and all of the students were packing their belongings for the trip. It was going to be an exciting week spending it at military base 1, with a few even bringing along empty suitcases.

As she was packing her things, Erin allocated her two free stat points into charm.

[Charm: 15]

Her plan was to drink once they were at military base 1 by diverting students away into secluded areas. Since multiple military schools were coming together today, that meant acquiring fresh blood.

There would be no fears of coming across repeats, and it would double as a way to improve Layla’s stats.

’My charm wasn’t the only thing that improved, as my blood swipe leveled up in the fight against Luke,’ Erin thought.

It increased its sheer power, and it likely allowed her to break further through Luke’s armor in that fight.

In the middle of Erin’s thoughts, Layla was very quickly and wordlessly putting her own clothes into a suitcase. The way she did it reminded her of Logan’s robots, but there were a few brief moments of genuine mistakes, reminding Erin that Layla wasn’t machine.

Once she was done, Layla plopped onto the bed, and hung off to the side of it upside down.

"What are you? Some sort of bat?" Cia commented, then sat on her suitcase, getting it to just barely zip close.

Layla stared at Cia with wide unblinking eyes, which slightly creeped her out.

"... Um... You know you can do another facial expression," Cia nervously responded.

Layla kept staring.

Cia stared back, ".... Right so I’m just going to go now."

She took her belongings and hurried out into the hall.

’She’s different. Definitely different now,’ She thought to herself, ’Unless she was pulling a prank for some reason, but that’s not like her. Not in the reports.’

Soon after, Erin and Layla went to their homeroom teacher outside of the school gates. They gathered with Fex, Peter, and Vorden, and awaited further instructions.

On the left side of the entrance gate, the first years were all lined up single file with their homeroom teachers. In front of them was General Nathan, and his Sergeants.

Opposite to them was General Duke and the second years.

Between the two eternal rival Generals was General Mike, the natural mediator of the two adults. Normally, he would be the one to lead the students to military base 1, but due to a special request from the Head General, he would remain for the time being.

’I hope you realize what kind of situation you left those two Generals in by making me stay behind,’ Mike thought, then cleared his throat.

"Alright!" Mike shouted, his voice spreading across the open area, "Your teachers will now be calling out the following students who will be participating in the events. Please come up to the front once your name has been called."

"Everyone else, remember you are to support these people. Cheer at the top of your lungs!" Mike then banged his chest, to the silence of the crowd.

"I said CHEER!" Mike shouted again.

The crowd realized he was being serious, and let out a loud cheerful cry.

The first names to be mentioned were the second years participating in the event, marking a total of 10. With Erin’s eyesight, she could tell they were all level 8s, formidable foes no doubt.

’I wonder how I would do against them,’ Erin wondered, ’What about my friends? How long could someone like Layla last in a fight against a level 8?’

It was hard to say for sure, as it also depended on what kind of ability their opponent would use. The hardening ability was a pretty strong counter after all.

Once they were called up, it was time for the first year students to get named.

When it was Del’s class’s turn, the first to be called up were the crafting event students. A few cheered for them, then next were the ranged students.

"Layla Munrow!"

Layla walked up to the front, a stiff neutral expression on her face. A few made some comments about her low level, some even indicating she was going to be out on her first round, but she heeded them no mind.

As Layla was heading to the front, Erin cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, "Kick their buts!"

That brief moment of encouragement made Layla feel something warm and fuzzy inside.

"And finally, for the fighting tournament..." Mike continued.

Erin expected to hear her name. She was supposed to be the designated fighter for the event. What had taken everyone for a surprise was that it wasn’t Erin who was called, but someone else entirely.

"... Quinn Talen!"