Chapter 248: Welcome To Base 1

After a few hours, Erin’s eyes fluttered opened to blackness. She was one of the first to wake up, but didn’t immediately move or speak. She feared waking up too early might come off as suspicious, so she waited a few minutes.

It didn’t take long for a student to shout out, "What the—! What the hell is on my head?!"

The student was thrashing, unable to see a thing. He kept shouting and crying until a heavy blow struck him on the back of his head.

"Calm down, will you? You’ve just arrived at your destination," a solider said, his voice rough as he ripped off the bag from the student.

"... Oh," The student stared blankly, "It looks like we’re in the same room."

"Remove the bags from your heads and stay put until further instructions," General Nathan stated.

As the students woke, one by one, they started taking off their bags. What they saw was a metallic hanger not unlike the one they fell asleep in which confused them. It seemed like the military drugged them merely for the amusement of disorienting them.

Erin took off her own bag, and scanned for anyone she recognized. Unfortunately, the most familiar face was Luke’s.

’Wait, that’s Layla,’ Erin realized, and crawled over to his body.

Shaking his arm, Erin felt that it was cold. Very cold.

The figure lifted upwards, and removed the bag on his head. Her head.

’Do I think of the body as Layla, or as Luke?’ Erin briefly wondered.

It didn’t really matter. What was more important was the fact that everyone split up. Sometime during the sleep, they got mixed up.

"Are you there, La... Luke," Erin whispered, correcting herself.

"I am," Layla responded.

"We should stick together until we can find the others," Erin whispered.

Layla nodded, and the two kept a reasonable distance from one another.

The sounds of hydraulics hissing was heard, and they all turned around to see the strange container they were in was opening. Bright sunlight from outside briefly blinded them, and at the same time, a metallic platform stretched out at the entrance, hitting the floor.

"Please make your way down the vehicle," Mike commanded as the soldiers led the students out.

[You are now in direct sunlight]

[All stats are reduced by 70%]

Yet again, Erin was stepping out into the sun, and she really wished she had Fex’s ring. Sure, she had an umbrella, but it was packed in her luggage, and carrying it around wasn’t discrete.

That thought was put aside as the sight of military base 1 came into view. It looked like military base 2, but massive, almost twice its size. Surrounding it were intricately built buildings that looked sleek and modern. Some were still under construction, with mechs installing parts and transporting cargo.

What was the most shocking thing, however, was the sky.

It looked slightly off, not quite as naturally blue as the one they were all used to. Upon closer inspection, Erin realized there was a shine in the sky, a glass dome surrounding the entire city, as well as massive walls preventing her from seeing the perimeter.

Turning around, both Layla and Erin could see that the vehicle they came on was a machine that looked like a massive submarine on wheels.

"Did we arrive here through the ocean?" Erin wondered out loud.

"Not entirely," Layla answered, then lowered her voice, "I was awake the entire time. There was a portal in the first part, then long travel times afterwards."

’She’s immune to the sleeping gas?’ Erin thought.

"Lots of undead subclasses are," The system answered, "Very often, they don’t need to breathe, or even have a heartbeat. They are also effectively immortal, so long as they aren’t killed in battle. This you can’t say about vampires. Yes, they have an extended lifespan, but even they age."

It made Erin wonder if Layla had a heart beat. She couldn’t check for herself since Layla’s original body wasn’t right there, so she’d have to leave that question unanswered for a while.

After all of the students were counted, the submarine on wheels retracted its platform, and drove off somewhere else.

The three Generals of military base 2 gathered together with another solider to head to a train stop, and the students following behind. Layla, using Luke’s body, walked closer to them than the others.

They arrived at a train stop, which the students were grateful. A few were still woozy from the sleeping gas, and the base was too vast to walk on foot.

Watching through the windows, they saw the different districts of the city. There were mechs in construction, beast holding containers, combat training grounds, stores, and more. Areas of the city were sectioned off with walls to separate the different districts.

’Breaking Quinn out is looking harder and harder,’ Erin realized. With the city so vast, it was easy to get lost.

She and ’Luke’ were sitting together on the train watching the windows. A few people whispered, their eyes glancing towards them.

"Is he hanging out with Erin?"

"They’re both really powerful people, do you think they’re together for some sort of political marriage?"

"What if they’re dating?"

"I thought Erin wasn’t into dating boys, with how much she kept rejecting them..."

Erin ignored them, her gaze focused on the city center. They passed the main hub, which looked like a miniature version of the base, having a dome with a poppy design at the top.

It was a historical symbol, representing the army after the first war. With how much blood was split on earth, fields of poppy grew all over the biggest battlefields. To them, it was a symbol of surviving the worst.

This place was also the place where the 8 Head Generals, the Supreme Commander, as well as the Big Four leaders met to make decisions for humanity. If something were to happen there while the leaders were in a meeting, it would prove disastrous.

Passing the main building, the train moved into the less busy parts of the city before slowing to a halt. The platform was flanked by several mechs standing at rigid attention. The students disembarked, following Mike and a solider next to him out.

There, they could see where the inter-base tournament would take place. It was a massive arena shaped like a crown, featuring seven distinct points that would serve as the residence for the students during the week. The structure was built from galathrium, stained a calming light blue to match the sleek style of the city.

"Okay, since you guys are from military base 2, please make your way to the second building," one of the nearby soldiers instructed, "Because you’re the first ones here, when you finish unpacking your things in your rooms, you are free to explore the area. The buildings here are like hotels, you are allowed to check in and out whenever you want for now. Outside the top of the arena, there are many shops and markets sanctioned for use."

"Since you guys won’t be participating in the event itself, we wanted to make sure you all feel welcome. Shop around and have fun, see if there is something you want to do and treat your stay like a holiday. Just remember to support your teammates when you can."

With that, the students started following their teachers to the arena, while the Generals left somewhere else.

Inside, the accommodations were surprisingly luxurious, each student had a room to themselves. A delicacy not a lot of students were used to.

Erin and ’Luke’ were situated next to each other, which was convenient in a way. This would allow her to communicate with Layla easily as the contestants were sleeping at a different area.

Once Erin had finished unpacking, she knocked on Luke’s door, and Layla was quick to respond. Since Luke’s body didn’t have any biological needs, she was done faster than Erin.

"Let’s meet up with the others," Erin said, determined, "And when we do, let’s search for where the portal room is, as well as where Quinn is kept."