Chapter 99: Let the Games Begin! [Bonus]

Tyler’s linked aura started pulsating outside his body without being connected to a familiar. He was that angry.

"Calm down Tyler." Ash said sternly.

"Fuck that! They’re making a mockery out of Eidolons for their fucking amusement? This is fucking bullshit!" Tyler scoffed.

"They were likely rogue ones brought here by the VanHorn family Tyler. They’re probably the ones running the forest. Use your head and calm down." Levithian said calmly.

"How can I calm down when there’s a fucking mythological crystal heart at the center?! That means a mythological was permanently killed for the fucking amusement of whoever the fuck puts this bullshit on."

"Tyler looks mad." Kass frowned.

"I wish I could hear the conversation going on between them right now." Amanda sighed. "A mythological crystal heart means one had to have been killed... right?"

"Yes..." Sophie trailed off with a tear running down her cheek. "This is terrible."

Nyxara walked up and hugged Tyler. Sophie and the rest followed.

"It’s ok Tyler. We understand you’re upset. Let’s just win." Nyx said while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

The AI figure reappeared.

"Warning. Eidolons and beasts may attempt to kill students. By pressing your hand on the screen to your left, you are agreeing to participate in this tournament knowing this condition."

They all pressed their hands on the screen underneath the name.

"Waiting for all teams to complete..." The AI figuring said while dancing on screen.

"All teams are ready for battle. Your match begins now! Good luck!"

The blue cube disappeared and they found themselves in a new part of the forest they hadn’t seen before.

Tyler didn’t link with anyone.

’Analyze this forest and don’t stop until 100 percent of it is covered. I’ll knock out everyone myself if I have to.’

[Map synced. You are in a new area. Several beasts nearby. Five other teams within a one mile radius.]

"Stick together and watch each other’s backs. If you’re in danger scream quack," Tyler said quietly and calmly, maintaining his composure despite his burning rage.

"Ritsu, Shadow and Rex. Go scan the area as much as you can and eliminate all the beasts you can and report back to me. Recall if you’re in danger." Tyler ordered calmly.

The three familiars appeared and instantly took off in different directions. Tyler knew Rex would attract attention so he summoned him further away.

"Ok, so they will scout the area and we need to establish a base for us. This is a week-long event so we need to stay healthy and rest. We can rotate who sleeps." Tyler explained with a faint smile.

"Sounds good, babe. Remember everyone, if we are in imminent danger we can teleport somewhere safe or to one another. I’d recommend we only travel between ourselves. Nyx can teleport us if we need it!" Sophie whispered enthusiastically.

"We should try to find a resource chest. They had them in one of the challenges last year. Some had potions, others had food. Let’s pace ourselves. Remember they have third year students who are well versed in battle. We are all strong, so do not go into a duel with any fear," Nyx said strenly with a large smile.

"I agree. I’ll have Ash look. We need to fortify a base or something. I wish I would have contracted with Gaia," Tyler frowned.

Ash flew out of Tyler’s chest and jetted off into the night sky. It was cloudy and hard to see but the students could hear beasts and Eidolons rumbling everywhere. It didn’t take long for other teams to find each other and start fighting.

They looked up and saw an enormous digital scoreboard floating in the sky. Fireworks shot into the sky and exploded, causing some of the students to jump and scream.

"Victorian University Team 3 Eliminated."

Tyler saw the scoreboard consistently updating numbers and the rankings.

"Looks like 500 points for eliminating another team. I could just summon Leviathan, have us fly and end this," Tyler sighed.

"You’d kill everyone!" Kass gasped.

"I know, beautiful. I wouldn’t do something so reckless. Also, we need to find out more about this forest but establishing a safe resting area is key. Let’s find an obscure spot and build a fort made from Earth magic." Tyler said kindly. He was still angry, but he wouldn’t be anything but kind to his future wives.

"Good idea baby, I’ll help you." Sophie smiled.

They slowly walked around killing a few lower tier beasts as they moved. They found a cave but it was filled with hellhounds.

"Incinerate!" Tyler yelled while using his staff to send a giant inferno spreading through the tunnel like wild fire.

[Ping! 108 gold hellhounds defeated. 2 platinum hellhounds defeated. This area is now safe to enter.]

"There should be 110 hearts. Let’s make sure we don’t trap ourselves into the cave." Tyler said while Nyx and the others looked around for any other teams.

"Kass and I will stand at the entrance and be on guard. You three go get the hearts and start establishing our shelter." Amanada suggested.

They quickly ran through the dark tunnel while using Tyler’s white flame to light the path. It was a large cave but they began collecting the hearts. Every time they touched one it disappeared.

"They don’t let us keep them?" Tyler asked, surprised.

"Guess not...must count toward our score that’s 550 points."

"Sophie, can you build an escape panel on the roof while I work on making an area for us to sleep on?" Tyler asked kindly.

"Of course!" She said while quickly using her abilities to create several secret doorways to escape.

"Nyx can you teleport outside of the forest?"

"I already tried. It won’t let me leave the area. Let me try inside." Nyx said as she appeared by Kass and Amanda, causing them to jump. Amanda reacted and used a Qi strike, but Nyx parried it and blocked it with one of her requipped forms.

"Sorry!" Amanda gasped.

"You did the right thing. I could have been anyone. Looks like we’re stuck inside the forest without leaving unless we’re in serious situations." Nyx said while grabbing both of their hands and teleporting back to the end of the cave.

"Tyler, try opening a portal to the Land of Summoned monsters," Nyx said angrily. "Sorry my frustration isn’t with any of you!"

It worked but Tyler explained to them it would be foolish to separate themselves and they didn’t know where they would land in the Eidolon realm.

Tyler felt his familiars return, aside from Rex.

"Found a few loot crates. Tyler, use your linked form. I can direct them to you." Ash said cheerfully.

"Sure thing! Vivian and Max, stay here with my soon to be wives please. Charm, disable and knock out anyone else, I give you permission to use your full power." The said to them politely.

Vivian and Max appeared to the delight of his harem. The couple both had wide grins on their faces, like they were excited to help them win this first challenge.

"I’ll be back in no more than 10 minutes. If it’s longer than that, I’ll send someone to let you know what’s going on." Tyler said before flying out of the cave and into the night sky. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Ok babe! We’ll work on the shelter!" Sophie shouted.

"Why don’t we hide the cave with grass and leaves? Block the entrance with a wall and make it look like a mossy cavern?" Nyx suggested.

"Great idea Nyx! Vivian exclaimed. "Max and I will take over the look out duties so Amanda can use her buffs."

Tyler flew to the areas Ash suggested and received a good haul of potions, food capsules and even found one with sleeping bags.

’Ooo this will be nice!’ He thought while quickly returning to their cave, which was harder to notice with all the moss, roots and trees on and around it. He stacked up the food capsules, mana and health potions neatly on a shelf he made of hardened dirt and thanked the ladies.

"How much food are in those weird capsules?" Tyler asked.

"Depends on the color. We have a variety. Some last four hours, while others 8. There are also half day, and it looks like we have 2 full day ones. Nice job Tyler!" Nyx exclaimed while giving him a kiss.

As Tyler was handing out the sleeping bags, Ritsu appeared in his chest.

"Two teams fighting close. We should third party them!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

Tyler smirked, "Ladies, let’s go knock both teams out!"