Chapter 236: Stage One - The Crossing

The light disappeared.

For a moment, Silas couldn’t see anything, and couldn’t hear anything either. There was only the sensation of falling... somewhere.

Then his feet struck solid ground.

Silas immediately lowered his stance, and his hand moved toward his weapon. Nothing attacked him. He waited.

Then slowly, raised his head. The first thing he noticed was the sky. It was gray- a dead gray.

A thick layer of clouds covered the entire sky, with occasional flashes of distant lightning illuminating the horizon.

The second thing he noticed was the landscape- ruins.

Buildings stood broken across the horizon. Roads had been split apart. Old vehicles lay abandoned beneath layers of dirt and vegetation. Trees had grown through buildings. Concrete walls had collapsed. The remains of an enormous city stretched farther than he could see.

Silas looked around.

"Chloe?"

"I’m here."

He turned. Chloe stood several meters away. Alpha was already beside her. Alicia appeared next. Then Damien, Neil, Rihanna, Emma, and Godfrey.

One after another, the members of the main team materialized across the ruined street. Everyone was present. He immediately looked around again.

"Where are the substitutes?"

Nobody answered. Silas frowned. None of them appeared.

"Separate deployment?" Damien’s expression hardened.

"Looks like it," Neil said.

Silas looked at his identification device.

A small holographic message appeared.

[TEAM MEMBERS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO DESIGNATED LOCATIONS]

"So we’re not starting together."

Chloe looked around. "Apparently not."

Damien’s eyes narrowed. "That’s intentional."

Neil nodded.

"If they wanted all fifteen of us together, they would’ve placed us together."

Silas looked toward the ruins.

"Then where are the others?"

Alicia examined her device.

"There’s no location data."

Godfrey frowned.

"Can we contact them?"

Alicia tried.

[COMMUNICATION ERROR]

[SIGNAL UNAVAILABLE]

She tried again, and it gave the same result.

"Interesting." Silas slowly smiled.

Just then, a loud metallic sound suddenly echoed through the ruins, causing everyone to immediately turn. A massive tower in the distance had activated.

Its upper section began glowing. Then a beam of light shot into the sky, and a holographic projection appeared above the city.

[NORTHERN REGION]

[STAGE ONE - THE CROSSING]

The words were visible from almost anywhere in the surrounding area. Then another message appeared.

[OBJECTIVE]

[REACH THE CONVERGENCE ZONE]

[TIME LIMIT: 72 HOURS]

Silas stared upward.

"Three days."

The hologram changed.

[ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS]

1. PARTICIPANTS MUST REACH THE CONVERGENCE ZONE BEFORE THE TIME LIMIT EXPIRES.

2. PARTICIPANTS MAY ENGAGE OTHER ACADEMIES.

3. PARTICIPANTS MAY FORM TEMPORARY ALLIANCES.

4. PARTICIPANTS MAY NOT LEAVE THE DESIGNATED REGIONAL BATTLEFIELD.

5. ACADEMIES THAT FAIL TO REACH THE CONVERGENCE ZONE WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE REGIONAL SELECTION.

Everyone became quiet. Emma looked at the display.

"So that’s Stage One."

"Simple enough," Godfrey said.

Neil shook his head.

"No."

Everyone looked at him.

"What’s wrong?" Rihanna asked.

Neil pointed toward the final line.

"Look at the wording." Silas glanced back at the hologram, while Neil continued. "It doesn’t say we’re competing individually."

Damien’s expression changed.

"He’s right."

Chloe understood immediately.

"The objective is academy-based."

"Exactly."

Neil looked toward everyone.

"So even if one person reaches the Convergence Zone..."

He shook his head.

"It doesn’t matter if the rest of the academy doesn’t."

Silas’s smile disappeared. That changed everything. A new message appeared.

[CONVERGENCE ZONE LOCATION]

[DATA LOCKED]

"What?!"

The location remained hidden.

Damien stepped forward.

"So we’re supposed to reach a place without knowing where it is?"

[CONVERGENCE ZONE LOCATION]

[LOCKED]

[LOCATION WILL BE REVEALED AFTER STAGE PROGRESSION CONDITIONS ARE MET.]

Alicia frowned.

"Stage progression conditions?"

Neil stared at the screen.

"That’s important."

The hologram displayed one final sentence.

[STAGE ONE INFORMATION: COMPLETE]

Then it disappeared, and the ruins became silent again. Silas looked around, and saw nothing. No obvious enemy. No obvious path. No obvious destination. Just a massive abandoned city.

He crouched and touched the cracked road.

"Well..." He stood. "We have a problem."

Alpha looked at him. "What?"

Silas pointed toward the city.

"We don’t know where we’re going."

Chloe sighed.

"That’s definitely a problem."

Silas smiled.

"But..." He looked toward the horizon. "We know we’re supposed to get somewhere."

"That doesn’t help." Damien didn’t waste the opportunity to get at him.

"It helps me."

"How?"

Silas turned around.

"Because if they don’t want us to know where the Convergence Zone is..." His eyes narrowed. "...then we’re probably supposed to find something first."

Neil’s eyes widened slightly.

"Clues."

Silas nodded.

"Exactly."

***

Somewhere Else...

A few kilometers away... A figure materialized between two ruined buildings.

Peter Green immediately looked around.

"Where is everyone?" ℴℴ𝘮

His identification device activated.

[VALECREST ACADEMY]

[STAGE ONE - THE CROSSING]

[OBJECTIVE: REACH THE CONVERGENCE ZONE]

Peter frowned.

"Great."

Another student appeared nearby. Salmoa Freda. She immediately looked around, then noticed Peter.

"You too?"

Peter nodded.

"Looks like it."

One by one, more Valecrest substitutes appeared throughout different parts of the ruined city. They weren’t even particularly close, but they all received the same information, and they all realized the same thing.

Valecrest had been deliberately scattered, and the tournament didn’t care about mains or substitutes.

***

Back with the main team...

Silas suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" Chloe asked.

Silas looked down at his identification device.

"There."

A tiny symbol had appeared.

[REGIONAL MAP FRAGMENT DETECTED]

Alicia immediately moved closer.

"What?"

Silas turned the holographic display toward her, and a tiny map appeared. Only a small portion of the battlefield was visible.

Damien’s eyes narrowed. "That’s not a complete map."

"No." Neil looked at it. "But it’s something."

Silas enlarged the display. There were three symbols. One represented their current location, and another was a strange tower. The third was hidden behind a question mark.

Alicia pointed.

"That tower."

Silas looked toward the horizon- the enormous structure that had broadcast the Stage One announcement was still visible.

"The tower."

Damien nodded.

"That’s probably our first clue."

Godfrey looked around.

"And the third symbol?"

Silas smiled.

"That’s probably what we’re looking for."

Chloe crossed her arms.

"Or it’s a trap."

Silas looked at her.

"Probably."

"And you’re still going?"

"Definitely."

Chloe sighed.

"Of course."

The group began moving.

"Wait."

Everyone turned to Silas. He looked at the ruined streets.

"We shouldn’t all move together."

Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"If we’re being watched, fifteen people, or nine people in our case, moving together makes us an obvious target."

Neil nodded.

"And if other academies have already figured out the same clue... They’ll come here too."

Silas looked toward the surrounding buildings.

"Exactly." He pointed toward several locations. "We move in smaller groups."

Damien considered it.

"How?"

Silas thought for a moment.

"Alicia and Alpha."

The two nodded.

"Godfrey with Neil." They moved together.

"Damien, Rihanna, and Emma."

Damien nodded.

"Chloe stays with me."

Silas looked at the others.

"We’ll investigate the tower from different directions."

Damien immediately said, "And the substitutes?"

Silas looked at his device.

"We find them." Everyone became serious. "They’re still part of Valecrest."

He looked toward the ruined city.

"We don’t leave anyone behind."

Chloe smiled slightly.

"Now you’re thinking like a leader."

Silas shrugged.

"I just don’t want Elena yelling at me."

Everyone laughed, even Damien. For a moment, the tension disappeared.

Then...

BOOOOOOM!

Another explosion echoed through the ruined city. Everyone immediately stopped. A plume of black smoke rose several streets away.

Damien’s expression sharpened.

"Someone’s already fighting."

Silas looked toward the smoke, and his smile returned.

"Looks like we’re not the first ones here."

***

Far away...

Another academy had already reached the tower. They stood beneath its massive entrance. A group of students looked up at the glowing structure.

One of them smiled.

"So this is the first clue."

Another student stepped forward.

"Let’s go inside."

The moment they crossed the entrance, the tower’s doors slammed shut.

[STAGE ONE EVENT TRIGGERED]

[COMPETING ACADEMY DETECTED]

[REGIONAL BATTLEFIELD EVENT - ACTIVATED]

The tower began shaking.

Deep beneath the ruined city, something awakened, and throughout the Blackridge Borderlands, every participating academy received the same message.

[WARNING!]

[AN UNKNOWN EVENT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED.]

[ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE CAUTION.]

Silas looked at the notification, and his expression slowly changed.

"Well..." He tightened his grip. "Now I’m interested."