Chapter 362:Solid free ground.

Chapter 362: 362:Solid free ground.

He looked toward the distant horizon.

"At this point, I’m going to stop pretending I know what fate is doing."

That was probably healthier.

He stood up.

The academy remained a problem, but unlike the multicolored stone, it was a problem he wasn’t willing to abandon.

He had another option.

Silver continued descending while thinking. He had survived almost six days inside a parasitic colony.

That alone was unusual. He’d survived repeated encounters with beasts above his current rank.

He’d escaped a Rank Six queen twice. He’d discovered a new airborne developmental form of the parasites.

More importantly, he’d successfully transmitted that information before the creatures reached the surface in large numbers.

The observation center had his report. His distress beacon had his identity. Someone would eventually ask questions.

He smiled slowly.

"Maybe being buried alive has benefits."

A recommendation, that was what he needed.

The academy might have strict admissions rules, but powerful institutions always had exceptions when someone important enough requested them.

A high-ranking Association official, a military officer, or someone overseeing the Death Row Valley containment operation.

Even the observation center commander might be able to point Silver toward the right person, and if none of that worked, he had one other advantage.

Space-type Contractors were rare.

He and everyone knew that anyone capable of recognizing what Short-Step, Spatial Sense, Space Slash and Spatial Distortion represented would understand that turning away a spatial Contractor because he arrived late after surviving Death Row Valley would be absurd.

He almost felt sorry for whichever admissions officer had to deal with him.

"If they tell me I’m late, I’m showing them the bandages." He stepped down onto another ledge. "If that doesn’t work, I’ll show them the Death Row Valley report."

He took another step.

"If that doesn’t work, I’m finding somebody with enough rank to sign whatever recommendation they want."

He paused.

"And if that doesn’t work, I’ll start complaining. I’ll scream outside that stupid gate for all I care."

Silver smiled.

Ravenna would probably tell him the final option was his strongest. The thought of her pulled his attention back toward Alpha Three.

He hoped she was preparing, not waiting or trying to return to the valley.

He didn’t want her to refuse to enter the academy because he wasn’t there.

His second message had told her he was almost out. He wished he’d been able to send one more after reaching the surface.

The phone disappearing into the fissure had ruined that, still, the message should have been enough.

Almost out, stay in Alpha Three.

He hoped she understood the second part was more important than the first.

"You’d better enroll."

He carefully crossed another rocky section.

"If I drag myself all the way to Alpha Three and discover you skipped admission because you were waiting for me, we’re going to have an argument."

He knew exactly how that argument would end. Ravenna would stare at him and he would lose before the argument even started.

He continued descending. The sun eventually touched the horizon and the entire valley changed.

Orange light spread across the higher cliffs while the lower sections darkened rapidly.

Silver switched on a replacement light from storage once visibility became poor enough to make footing dangerous.

The car was close now that he could actually distinguish its shape. It would take thirty minutes, maybe forty.

His legs were beginning to feel heavy again. The accelerated recovery hadn’t removed days of exhaustion.

He slowed down a little to give them room to breathe.

There was no reason to ruin everything now since the final portion of the descent was gentler.

The steep mountain wall gradually transitioned into broken hills covered by low vegetation and stone.

Silver reached flatter ground shortly after the last sunlight disappeared.

He stopped, both feet resting on reasonably level earth. He looked back up at the mountain towering above him.

"I’m never doing this again."

He immediately reconsidered since the blue mineral deposit was up there.

He sighed.

"Fine. Maybe once."

But next time he was bringing a team, a very strong team.

Preferably several people capable of killing Rank Six beasts, and Ravenna was staying somewhere safe no matter how much she complained.

He began walking toward the car.

The distance that had looked insignificant from the mountain turned out to be annoyingly long on foot.

His body had apparently decided that reaching flat ground meant it was allowed to remember how tired it was.

By the time Silver reached the vehicle, he wanted nothing more than food, medicine and several uninterrupted hours of sleep.

He approached cautiously anyway, old habits. Spatial Sense checked the immediate surroundings, nothing dangerous.

He circled the car, no obvious damage. Then he stopped near the windshield, something rested there.

He stared his eyes narrowing slightly.

Keys.

He slowly reached out and picked them up. For several seconds, he said nothing, then he laughed.

"Antony." Silver leaned against the hood. "You good looking bastard."

Silver stared at the keys.

If Antony hadn’t asked for a car before they left the observation center because he was sick of them, he didn’t know how everything would have panned out.

The thought was horrible enough to make him laugh again. He could have waited for a passing team, assuming teams were still allowed through this section.

He could have walked toward the observation center. He could have used the beacon and hoped someone came. None of those options sounded appealing.

Silver unlocked the car.

The interior smelled stale but he didn’t care. He sat in the driver’s seat, closed the door, then simply remained there in the quiet.

The seat beneath him felt unbelievably comfortable. He placed both hands on the steering wheel. For several seconds, he didn’t start the engine and just sat.

Aftet almost six days, he’d made it out. Everything was now all behind him.

He closed his eyes. His body immediately tried to fall asleep but he opened them again.

"No."

He wasn’t sleeping here. He opened the system storage.

Food first.

Silver took out an Emergency Field Meal. He didn’t care what it tasted like anymore. He ate everything, then another portion.

Water followed.

After that, he checked his injuries and took the appropriate recovery medicine rather than blindly consuming everything available.

The system confirmed compatibility.

[Recovery Medicine administered.]

[Current physical condition suitable for continued low-intensity activity.]

[Recommendation: Extended rest within the next twelve hours.]

He nodded.

"I’ll give you a bed." He leaned back. "Eventually."

The system didn’t argue. ℯ

Silver started the engine and the vehicle came alive.

He smiled.

"Beautiful."

The dashboard illuminated. He found that the fuel was sufficient, so he went ahead and checked the route.

The observation center.

That was the destination since he needed to move. If he reached civilization and rested too long, tomorrow’s academy admission would disappear completely.

Silver shifted into gear and the car rolled forward. His Emergency Survival Beacon remained active.

That would probably cause problems at the first checkpoint which was what he wanted. Problems meant someone important might talk to him.

He needed exactly that.

He drove away from Death Row Valley.

The mountain slowly disappeared behind him. For the first time in a while, Silver was travelling because he wanted to go somewhere rather than because something was trying to kill him.

He thought about the academy again. There had to be a way, he had survived too much to be stopped by an admissions deadline.

He tightened his hands around the steering wheel.

"Just get me to Alpha Three."