Chapter 702: Meeting Friends

Outside the gate, Halvern turned to the news crews and gestured toward the district’s edge.

"Begin packing up. Move your people out to the secondary perimeter. This is no longer a location I can guarantee as safe."

The journalists had already powered down their equipment when the readings spiked in recent times, and now they began gathering their gear, walking out of the plaza.

Halvern watched them go, then turned to the second Surpasser beside him and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"It’s a waste. A true waste." He rubbed his temple in frustration. "Talents like these don’t come along often. That young man, Moon, especially. I’ve watched his tournament footage a dozen times. Fighters like him appear once in a generation, and the kingdom needed him for another fifty years at least...And he’s going to die in there. The worst part about it all was the fact that there was nothing anyone could have done differently to change the outcome."

The second Surpasser nodded grimly. "The extrapolations don’t leave room for hope. A Surpasser against Evolvers isn’t a fight. Although his friend’s reaction make me very skeptical..."

Before Halvern could respond, the gate changed.

Halvern’s head snapped toward it. The gate’s pressure changing in a way both Surpassers recognized instantly. He planted his feet and raised an arm to shield himself, bracing for another shockwave.

His feet stayed planted as the gate’s surface rippled gently, and figures began to emerge from the light.

Halvern stared, and for a moment his mind refused to process what his eyes were showing him.

One by one, the team came out calmly despite their exhaustion.

The second Surpasser’s mouth had fallen open in a comical way.

The Glassy Group’s envoy, who had seen a great deal in his long career, stood with a massive smile on his face. Unlike the other two Surpassers, he knew that Moon was going to come out of this gate alive and well.

The last of the departing journalists, felt movement and turned back. His eyes widened before his hands scrambled for the camera.

"Hurry up! Start recording immediately, the team has cleared the impossible gate! The seven Evolvers of our great nation had done the impossible!"

Halvern stood frozen, speechless.

At the center of the emerging team walked Moon, exhausted but without any visible wound on his body.

The moment he appeared, two figures stood up from their seats near the command tent and moved forward.

Selene and Yara walked up to him calmly.

"Finally." Yara planted her hands on her hips. "You have any idea how long we’ve been standing around waiting for you? They closed every food place in the entire district."

"Dinner’s on you," Selene added, crossing her arms, though the happy look in her eyes betrayed her tone. "For making us wait this long."

Moon looked at the two of them, and despite the exhaustion, a smile spread across his face, reaching all the way to his ears.

"Deal, we can go anywhere you want."

Selene raised an eyebrow, "You must’ve struck it rich inside that gate."

Moon chuckled, "Something like that...haha."

Behind him, Nina watched the exchange.

She saw the way the two girls had approached him calmly never doubting for a second that he’d walk out.

Seeing the way Moon smiled at Selene, a mysterious knot formed in her chest. ’Why am I feeling like this... he is just a teammate.’

Just how close are they? I never saw him smiling like this at anyone else...

Realizing that she was being very intrusive in her thoughts, Nina coughed, forcing herself to look away, irritated at the pettiness of her own reaction even as she couldn’t quite shake it.

...It doesn’t matter. It’s none of my business.

But her eyes drifted back to Selene anyway, and the tightness in her chest refused to fully ease.

Halvern finally approached them. "Congratulations. I won’t pretend I understand how you did it. Frankly, every reading we had said this was impossible. But you’re standing here, so I’ll take the impossible over the alternative any day.

That said, working for the Association, I do have to ask. The gate produced power readings we’ve never recorded for its classification. There’s a great deal we need to understand. Would you be willing to accompany me to the main branch now, so we can debrief on everything that happened inside?"

Moon shook his head. "I’m sorry, I’m exhausted. We all are." He gestured to Nina and the rest of the team, and they nodded their agreement. "What happened in there took everything out of every one of us. Why don’t I come by early tomorrow instead? I’ll walk you through the whole thing then, properly."

Halvern studied him and the others for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Not a problem at all, I understand you completely. You’ve all earned your rest, take the time you need and we’ll see you tomorrow."

He wasn’t concerned that Moon would vanish with the information or the loot overnight. And if he did, well, that would stop being Halvern’s problem and become one for the higher-ups. Moon’s public profile was far too large for him to simply disappear.

Halvern felt a small pang of disappointment, though. His curiosity was burning. He wanted, more than almost anything, to hear exactly how a team of seven Evolvers survived that gate, but that story would remain a mystery until the next day at least.

Moon turned to Nina.

"Do you want to join us for dinner? Like we said earlier, after the gate."

Nina glanced at Selene, then at Yara, then back at Moon.

That means third-wheeling. Or worse, fourth-wheeling. The thought left a sour feeling in her throat. I wanted it to be just the two of us...

She kept her face composed before shaking her head, "No, thank you for inviting me. I’m really tired. You go enjoy your time with your friends. We can do it another time, when it’s not the end of a day like this."

Moon looked at her for a moment, something faintly unreadable in his expression, then nodded.

"Alright. Another time."

His Arctic Fire-Prowler padded up beside him, steam curling off its charcoal hide, with the two Arctic Grizzlers lumbering behind it. He’d chosen to bring them out of the gate rather than leave them behind. They were rare, unique beasts, and they’d serve well on the floating island alongside the rest of his growing collection.

Halvern’s eyes settled on the three beasts trailing Moon, and he raised a hand.

"Give me a minute. Let me draw up a quick transport permit for those pets. Save you the hassle of running them through the standard testing and registration process. With my authorization on it, you can move them freely without anyone questioning it."

"That would be great," Moon said. "Thank you."

Halvern nodded and moved off to handle the paperwork quickly. Within a minute, Halvern returned with the necessary paperwork and gave it to Moon.

"With these, you should be fine."

Moon nodded his thanks, and left with the others.

The journalists tried to stop him, but a quick rejection by Moon alongside one stare from the commander was enough to keep them back. Still, that didn’t stop them from speaking about it.

The news spread far and wide, like a wild fire in a jungle.