Chapter 207: The City B Qualifier Gets Intense.

Elsewhere in the Ashen Crown Hunting Grounds...

The seven academies had entered the hunting grounds less than twenty minutes ago. Already, the wilderness was beginning to change. Monsters were awakening, teams were scattering, and alliances were already beginning to form.

But while Ironvale Academy had encountered its first major obstacle, the other academies were following completely different strategies.

***

Erovile Academy...

Wilson Vance walked through the forest alone. He hadn’t brought anyone with him. That wasn’t because he didn’t trust his teammates. It was because he had already given them their orders.

"Don’t look for the objectives."

The other Erovile students had stared at him when he’d said it.

"Then what are we doing?"

"Mapping."

Wilson had pointed toward the enormous wilderness.

"We don’t know the rules yet."

He had been right. The organizers had deliberately hidden the objectives. That meant charging blindly through the forest was pointless.

Wilson walked calmly beneath the trees, his hands inside his pockets. His eyes occasionally flickered with blue light. Every few seconds, faint lines appeared across his vision, showing distances, terrain, monster concentrations, and other academy movements.

He was building a map, not of the hunting grounds, but of the competition. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Found you."

Far in the distance, several students were moving through the forest. Wilson recognized their uniforms: Ironvale.

He continued walking. Then his expression changed. Another group was approaching them.

"Interesting." Wilson turned away. He had no intention of interfering, not yet. The first thing he wanted was information, and information was something Erovile Academy valued more than almost anything else.

***

Silverlake Academy...

Silverlake had chosen the opposite approach. They moved quickly.

The team consisted of eight participants, and rather than forming a defensive formation, they traveled in a narrow line through the forest.

Their leader, Cassian Roe, was an A-Rank awakened with the ability Vector Control. Every movement he made was calculated, every step was precise, and every turn had a purpose.

"Stop."

The entire group halted as Cassian raised his hand. A small metallic sphere floated above his palm. It suddenly projected a map.

One of his teammates blinked.

"Already?"

Cassian nodded.

"Three monster groups ahead."

"How strong?"

"Mostly C and B."

A girl beside him smiled.

"Easy."

Cassian shook his head.

"We aren’t fighting."

The girl frowned.

"Why?"

"Because they’re distractions." He pointed toward the map. "Look at their positions."

The students gathered around him. The monsters weren’t randomly distributed. They were clustered around several areas.

Cassian’s eyes narrowed.

"The organizers placed them deliberately."

One student whispered, "So the monsters are guarding something."

"Exactly."

Cassian dismissed the map.

"We don’t know what the objective is yet." He looked ahead. "So we aren’t going to waste our strength killing monsters."

The team moved again. Silverlake Academy continued deeper into the forest quietly and efficiently. Without realizing that another academy was following them.

***

Saint Meridian Academy...

Saint Meridian had established a temporary camp. It had been barely fifteen minutes, yet they already had a small medical station, a protective barrier, a water purification system, and enough supplies to survive for several hours.

Their leader, Elena Marrow, looked over the setup.

"Good."

One of her teammates smiled.

"We’re done?"

"Almost."

She pointed toward the surrounding forest.

"Deploy the sensors."

Several small devices disappeared between the trees. Saint Meridian wasn’t known for overwhelming combat power. They were known for something far more troublesome: Survival.

Their students specialized in healing, barriers, reinforcement, detection, and support abilities. They were the academy everyone underestimated, until the battlefield became a war of attrition.

Elena looked at the enormous observation drone hovering above them.

"Let’s see who gets tired first."

***

Gravemont Academy...

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A monster crashed through the forest. A second later, another one followed. Then a third.

Gravemont Academy wasn’t interested in subtlety. Eight students were moving through the wilderness like a walking disaster. Their leader, Brutus Kane, carried an enormous double-headed axe.

He looked at the remains of the monsters behind them.

"Next."

One of his teammates pointed ahead.

"There’s another group."

Brutus grinned.

"Monsters?"

"No."

"Academy?"

"Yes."

His grin became even wider.

"How many?"

"Can’t tell."

Brutus lifted his axe.

"Then we’ll find out."

A quieter student immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Captain."

"What?"

"We don’t even know the objectives yet."

Brutus stared at him. Then slowly lowered his axe.

"Right."

The student sighed.

"We need information first."

Brutus nodded.

"Fine." He pointed ahead. "We’ll get information."

"How?"

Brutus smiled. "By asking."

The student stared at him.

"And if they don’t want to answer?"

Brutus’s smile widened.

"Then we ask harder."

***

Ravencrest Academy...

Unlike Gravemont, Ravencrest had barely made a sound. The academy’s participants moved through the forest almost invisibly.

Their leader, Noctis Vale, stopped beneath a tree. He looked upward. An observation drone hovered above them.

Noctis stared at it and smiled.

"Found it."

One of his teammates looked confused.

"What?"

"The blind spot."

He pointed toward the drone. The camera was facing them, but it wasn’t recording them. Something had interfered with its signal.

Noctis looked toward the forest.

"The organizers believe they can see everything."

His eyes narrowed.

"They can’t."

One of the students smiled.

"Should we exploit it?"

"No." Noctis turned away. "Not yet."

Ravencrest continued forward.

And for the first time since entering the hunting grounds, one of the academy teams disappeared completely from the tournament’s surveillance network.

***

Back at Ironvale, the forest had gone silent. Selene stood before the approaching figures.

Kael cracked his knuckles, Gideon’s chains hovered around his arms, and behind them, the injured Ironhide Ravager slowly pulled itself upright.

Then the figures emerged. They were three students. Their uniforms were dark crimson.

Kael frowned.

"Who are they?"

Gideon recognized them first.

"Gravemont."

Selene smiled.

"Perfect."

The Gravemont students stopped several meters away. Their leader looked past Ironvale, his eyes landing on the wounded Ironhide Ravager, then on Selene, then on Kael.

He laughed.

"So you three beat that thing?"

Selene casually rested her sword against her shoulder.

"Mostly."

The Gravemont leader grinned.

"Good." He raised his massive axe. "Then you’re worth fighting."

Kael’s eyes brightened.

"Finally, someone reasonable."

Gideon stared at him.

"That’s not what reasonable means."

The Gravemont leader stepped forward.

"Name’s Brutus Kane."

Selene smiled.

"Selene Arkwright."

The two stared at each other. Neither moved. Then...

BOOM!

Brutus vanished as Selene’s sword flashed.

CLANG!

The axe and sword collided, and the shockwave tore leaves from the surrounding trees. Kael immediately charged toward the other two Gravemont students. Gideon’s chains erupted from the ground, and behind them, the Ironhide Ravager opened its eyes.

Its crystalline horn began glowing. Gideon suddenly looked back.

"Wait."

Selene and Brutus separated, while Kael froze. The monster’s metallic armor began expanding. The Ironhide Ravager had absorbed the metal scattered across the battlefield, its body becoming larger.

Brutus stared.

"You didn’t kill it?"

Selene slowly smiled.

"No."

The monster roared.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

The surrounding trees shook. Brutus tightened his grip on his axe, Selene raised her sword, and Kael laughed.

Gideon sighed.

"Of course."

The observation drones immediately focused on the battlefield: two academies, one A-Rank monster, and no intention of backing down.

Meanwhile, far away in the Ashen Crown Hunting Grounds, the other academies continued moving toward their own unknown objectives.

None of them realized it yet, but the City B Qualifiers were already beginning to converge, and when they did, the real competition would begin.