Chapter 113: TEAM COMPATIBILITY

Chapter 113: 113: TEAM COMPATIBILITY

Finn Hart slowly got up from where he was sitting after being summoned. He stared at Rayder for a while.

"Come up now. You’re close to that Simon guy, right? His Guide or something. So come here and join the fun. It’s a bonus for them after all." Rayder smiled.

Finn had no choice but to slowly make his way toward the arena as well, stopping close to where Simon stood. Everyone watched quietly while June kept his eyes fixed on Rayder.

"Now we’re complete. Let the fun begin." Rayder spread out his hands as he stared up at the host.

June couldn’t help but feel rather uneasy about that random decision. He stared at Finn, who quietly stood beside Simon, before glancing toward Ryan.

The two slowly nodded before turning to face Rayder again.

The host casually introduced the competition and announced the rules before finally proceeding to explain.

"The aim of this contest is simple: to find a winner between the two teams. The winning team will be determined by whoever is the first to get a hold of the Dungeon Core in the third zone."

"So, good luck to the players in this competition!"

Everything was finally set as the competition officially kicked off. The audience sat back and watched as the spectacle began unfolding right before their eyes.

The arena where June and the others stood slowly began changing physically as shimmering purple dust and light started circulating through the area.

Soon, the entire arena instantly morphed into what looked like outer space itself.

They were now standing on a huge blue platform with gleaming purple lights glittering across its surface.

The arena looked as though it was sitting in the middle of nowhere in space, surrounded by nothing but purple stardust and enormous purple rocks floating through the atmosphere. Different shapes of broken planetary structures could be seen drifting around them, occasionally colliding and disappearing into clouds of dust and sparkling stars.

"Is this purple space...?" Ryan asked, adjusting his glasses as they looked around at the strange evolving space surrounding the arena.

"Most likely..." June scoffed as he looked around.

The two teams stood at opposite sides of the arena, separated by a distance. Before them were two enormous gates, both designed in purple and gold.

Purple and golden dust, along with tiny sparks resembling stars, flickered around the gates every few seconds.

"I guess the game starts behind those gates," Ryan said.

"Or maybe now," Simon said as they suddenly saw a huge purple moon appearing before them.

[Welcome to the Cosmic Dungeon Space: An artificial S-rank Dungeon created by the Academy for high-level competitions.]

[The Dungeon arrangement for this competition consists of three zones: The Entrance Zone, The Survival Zone, and The Core Zone.]

[Contestants must survive through the first two zones to reach the third zone, where the Dungeon Core is located.]

[As explained, if a contestant wishes to back out at any stage, they must press the button on their chest themselves. No one else can effectively activate it for them.]

[Note: A candidate pulling out does not affect the remaining members of their team.]

[Whichever contestant grabs the Dungeon Core first will secure victory for their entire team.]

[With that said, you are currently in the First Zone: The Entrance Zone.]

[To successfully make it past, each team must get through the Entrance Gate. The task itself isn’t difficult. The core requirement is team compatibility.]

[So, good luck, contestants.]

The voice and moon disappeared into clouds of purple dust as everyone turned their attention toward the gates.

"Team compatibility..." Ryan folded his arms as he stared at his teammates. "Well, that sounds like an unfair trap now..."

They watched as the Elite 5 casually walked toward their gate without the slightest hesitation.

The moment they stood before it, the gate opened for them almost instantly.

"..."

Rayder smiled as he turned around and stared at June’s team. "See you on the other end... or not?"

"With such a mess of a group, I doubt they’ll even make it through in time. They should just give up." Evelyn smiled as they walked through the gate, which ultimately disappeared into sparkling purple dust behind them.

"Well, they certainly made it look easy." Ryan adjusted his glasses.

"They’ve been a team for ages now. Their team compatibility is certainly perfect," Simon said.

"And we became a team... today." Kael folded his arms. "We should just press our buttons and give up."

"Shut up," Ryan snapped, and he and Kael immediately exchanged cold glares.

June sighed. "We should try first." He turned toward the gate. "Let’s see how it goes."

They walked toward the gate and followed the same pattern as the Elite 5, standing directly before it and staring at it for a while.

A few seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Nothing happened.

All they could potentially hear was the sound of crickets.

"At this point, we’ll never get back home today." Kael folded his arms.

"Probably because you can’t stop running your mouth," Ryan snapped as the two exchanged another cold glare.

June sighed, running a hand over his jaw. "It should at least let us know our compatibility so we’ll know what we’re working with..."

[Team Compatibility: 0%]

"..."

They stood there staring at the words for a while.

"Well, at least that’s clear information for you," Kael said.

"Is it perhaps some hidden hundred percent or something...?" Ryan tilted his head.

"In your dreams. It’s not like we’re some besties from Barney Rainbow Island or something." Kael folded his arms, rolling his eyes.

"..." Ryan cast him a cold glare. "You’re definitely the problem we have here."

---

Minutes went by, and they were still standing there, trying every possible means to get through the gate, but to no avail.

Simon and Nyx began suggesting different solutions to see what would happen. Eventually, they decided to try placing their hands on the gate together.

But the moment their hands touched it, an intense electric shock burst from the gate and sent electricity shooting through their bodies.

The five of them stood there staring at the gate, their hair puffed up wildly and their faces covered in dark marks from the smoke.

"..."

"Does someone perhaps have a comb...?" June blinked as he felt tiny sparks still running through his neck.