Chapter 235: The Regional Selection has Begun

The question hung in the room. For a moment, nobody answered. Then Damien stood.

"I am," he said, his eyes glinting with a certain light only Silas noticed, causing him to smirk.

Neil followed. "Ready."

Rihanna smiled.

"Obviously."

Emma nodded, while Godfrey cracked his knuckles.

"Let’s get this over with."

Alicia checked the communication device one final time.

"Ready."

Alpha simply stood.

Chloe looked at Silas. "Do I have to answer?"

Silas grinned.

"Yes."

She sighed.

"Fine. Ready."

One by one, the others stood, and the six substitutes followed.

Fifteen students now stood together. The atmosphere had changed. The Regional Selection was no longer something happening on a television. It was about to become their reality.

Just then, the academy’s central screens suddenly activated. On every television, every monitor, and every holographic display, the same message appeared.

[REGIONAL SELECTION]

[NORTHERN REGION]

[CITY A - VALECREST ACADEMY]

Silas looked up.

"Here we go."

A countdown appeared. Then another message appeared.

[PARTICIPANT VERIFICATION]

[MAIN TEAM: 9]

[SUBSTITUTES: 6]

[TOTAL REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS: 15]

A list appeared beneath it.

[VERIFICATION COMPLETE]

[VALECREST ACADEMY - CONFIRMED]

A strange silence followed.

Silas stared at the screen.

"So they really are tracking everyone."

Damien nodded.

"Obviously."

"No, I mean..." Silas looked toward the substitutes. "They’ve registered all fifteen of us individually."

Elena’s voice came through the academy’s speakers.

"Correct."

Everyone turned. She was speaking from the control room.

"The tournament system will recognize every registered participant. Your positions, condition, and participation status will be monitored throughout the selection."

Silas raised an eyebrow.

"That’s convenient."

Elena’s voice became more serious.

"Don’t mistake monitoring for protection."

The room quieted.

"The tournament committee will monitor you, but they will not necessarily intervene."

That sentence erased whatever comfort the previous announcement had created.

***

Now they had fifteen minutes remaining...

The academy doors opened, and staff members entered carrying the final pieces of equipment. Each student received a small identification device. It looked almost ordinary- a thin metallic band.

Elena appeared on the hall’s main screen.

"Put them on."

Everyone complied. The moment Silas attached his, a small holographic display appeared above his wrist.

[PARTICIPANT IDENTIFICATION]

[Name: Silas]

[Academy: Valecrest]

[Status: Active]

[Team Position: Main]

[Regional Assignment: Northern Region]

"Neat."

"Mine’s different," Chloe said looking at hers. Silas glanced over.

[Status: Active]

[Team Position: Main]

Chloe frowned. "Obviously."

Silas smiled.

"Just checking."

She elbowed him.

Damien studied his own display.

"Something is missing."

Neil looked over.

"What?"

"The location."

He was right. There were no starting coordinates, no map, and no environmental information. Nothing. Only their identity.

Alicia looked at the device.

"So we’re still waiting."

Elena’s voice came through the speakers.

"Yes. Your starting information will be released shortly before the Regional Selection begins."

Silas leaned against the table.

"How shortly?"

Elena paused.

"You’ll know when you need to know."

Silas sighed. "Everyone keeps saying that."

***

The entire academy had become silent. Even the academy’s younger students had been told to remain indoors and watch the broadcast.

Outside, the city continued moving, but inside Valecrest, everyone was waiting. Then the screens changed, and a live broadcast appeared.

[00:09:59]

The announcer’s voice echoed through the academy.

"Citizens of New Liberty..." The screen showed the four regional maps. "The Regional Selection is about to begin."

A roar of excitement could be heard from somewhere outside the broadcast studio.

"Thirty-two cities. Eight cities per region. Countless academies. And thousands of students."

The screen shifted through images of different academies.

"The City Qualifiers tested individual strength."

The images disappeared.

"The Regional Selection will test something different."

The screen went black.

"Survival."

"Strategy."

"Adaptation."

Then the tournament emblem returned.

"Every region has one objective."

The announcer’s voice became solemn.

"Reach the Regional Core."

Silas’s eyes narrowed as the announcer continued.

"But remember... Not everyone who enters the Regional Selection will reach the end."

The screen displayed the countdown again.

[00:08:41]

"At precisely 20:00... The Regional Selection will begin."

Silas looked around the room. Everyone was quiet. He could feel the tension. Even Neil’s usual calmness had sharpened.

Damien was studying everyone around him. Alpha was already mentally reviewing their formation. Alicia checked her equipment. Rihanna and Emma stood together.

Godfrey rolled his shoulders. The substitutes remained close. Nobody knew what would happen next. And that uncertainty was perhaps the most frightening part.

Silas smiled, not because he wasn’t nervous, which he was. Beneath that nervousness, though, was something else- excitement. The same feeling he’d experienced whenever something powerful stood in front of him.

A new battlefield, new opponents, new challenges, and potentially an entirely new level of strength. Chloe noticed his expression.

"You’re enjoying this."

"A little."

"Of course."

Silas looked toward the countdown.

[00:07:12]

"We’ve got seven minutes."

Damien looked at him.

"Seven minutes until what?"

Silas shrugged.

"Whatever they’re going to throw at us."

Soon, the academy received another transmission. This time, Elena didn’t speak immediately. She simply appeared on the main screen, and her expression was unusually serious.

"Everyone..." The fifteen students looked up. "The tournament committee has released your starting information."

The room became completely silent, and a holographic file appeared.

[NORTHERN REGIONAL SELECTION]

[VALECREST COLLEGIATE GROUNDS]

[STARTING LOCATION: THE BLACKRIDGE BORDERLANDS]

That name immediately carried weight. First, it was the Blackridge Expanse, which had produced Echidna. Now this. It was one of the most dangerous regions surrounding City A.

The display continued.

[STAGE ONE: THE CROSSING]

[OBJECTIVE: REACH THE CONVERGENCE ZONE]

[TIME LIMIT: 72 HOURS]

Several students exchanged looks. Three days.

[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: LOCKED]

Damien frowned.

"That’s it?"

Elena nodded.

"For now."

Silas looked at the screen.

"The Crossing..." He smiled. "Sounds fun."

Damien gave him an irritated look.

"This isn’t a game."

"I know." Silas’s smile disappeared. "That’s why it’s fun."

"You’re impossible."

The countdown appeared on every screen in Valecrest, and the academy doors began closing. The tournament broadcast disappeared, while the windows darkened as the academy’s security system activated.

Elena’s final words echoed through the speakers.

"Valecrest Academy... Good luck."

[00:03:00]

[00:02:59]

The fifteen students stood together. Their next step had already been decided.

Silas looked at his teammates.

"Ready?"

This time, everyone answered.

"Ready."

[00:01:00]

The academy fell completely silent.

[00:00:30]

Silas’s eyes narrowed.

[00:00:10]

[00:00:05]

The screens flashed.

[00:00:00]

[REGIONAL SELECTION]

[NORTHERN REGION]

[STAGE ONE - THE CROSSING]

[START!]

For a single instant, nothing happened. Then every registered student’s identification device activated.

[VALECREST COLLEGIATE GROUNDS - DEPLOYMENT INITIATED!]

Silas felt the ground beneath his feet disappear. Chloe reached for him. Damien shouted something. The room erupted into light.

And then...

The Regional Selection had begun.