Chapter 476:Captured.

Chapter 476: 476:Captured.

A young woman stood at the top of the stairs, holding a short staff surrounded by faint purple energy.

She smiled.

"We expected you," she said.

Silver sighed.

"Of course you did,"he flatly said.

She raised her staff and the corridor perceptually twisted and distances became unreliable; the staircase seemed longer than it should’ve been.

Silver’s Spatial Sense struggled to maintain accurate measurements.

He narrowed his eyes.

An ability designed to interfere with perception. Unfortunately for her, Silver possessed more than one way to understand space.

He activated Mind Fortress.

[Mind Fortress Lv2 Activated.]

The distortion weakened, then he activated Insight.

[Insight Lv2 Activated.]

The energy field became clearer.

It wasn’t changing the actual structure of the corridor, it was manipulating how his senses interpreted distance.

He smiled.

"Nice trick."

The girl frowned.

He raised his handgun.

She moved out of the way and a barrier appeared before her.

Silver fired.

The training round struck the barrier.

No elimination.

He activated Short-Step but the moment he attempted to move, the distorted perception interfered with his destination.

He immediately cancelled the technique and stumbled slightly.

The girl smiled.

"Spatial movement isn’t so easy when you can’t trust your senses, is it?"

Silver looked at her, then laughed softly.

"You’re right."

He holstered his handgun, drew his sword and stepped forward.

The girl’s eyes widened.

Silver smiled.

"Then I’ll walk."

Outside, Ravenna was beginning to lose patience with Gareth. Not because he was stronger than her, although his physical strength was considerable,but because he was extremely difficult to eliminate.

Every time she struck his protective barrier, Impact Reinforcement absorbed part of the force. Every time Caleb attempted to overwhelm him, Gareth redirected the impact through his weapon and forced him backward.

Worse, he wasn’t fighting alone.

Several Class Six students had begun reinforcing the position, creating a defensive formation around the central entrance.

She stepped backward, her breathing had become heavier.

She looked toward Caleb.

"How much longer can you keep this up?" She asked.

He grinned.

"Long enough."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the best one I’ve got."

She sighed, then looked toward the surrounding streets.

Silver had disappeared into the command structure which was good since it meant she didn’t need to defeat Gareth but keep him occupied.

Ravenna smiled.

"All right."

She raised her sword and flames spread across the pavement.

Gareth laughed.

"More fire?"

She smiled sweetly.

"Much more."

Blazing Guard

A defensive layer of concentrated heat surrounded her body, then she activated Burning Arc.

Burning Arc

A broad wave of fire swept across the street. Gareth raised his weapo, impact Reinforcement surging as he struck the ground.

The shockwave split the flames but Ravenna had expected that.

She activated Fire Step, moved through the opening and struck his protective barrier from the side.

Yellow light flashed.

Gareth staggered.

Caleb immediately followed, his hammer striking Gareth’s weapon.

The large student grunted.

She smiled.

"Getting tired?" She said.

He laughed.

"A little."

"Good."

She attacked again.

Inside the command structure, Silver finally reached the upper corridor.

The perception Contractor had been eliminated after a brief but surprisingly difficult exchange. Her ability had made Short-Step unreliable, forcing him to rely on ordinary movement and swordsmanship.

Fortunately, Advanced Swordsmanship had proven extremely useful. He’d closed the distance, redirected her staff, and struck her protective barrier before she could rebuild the distortion field.

Now only two opponents remained near the terminal.

He approached cautiously, then stopped. His Spatial Sense detected something unusual.

The terminal room contained three signatures not two. One had been concealed behind a reinforced wall.

He smiled faintly.

"Another ambush."

He raised his handgun, then activated Spatial Distortion.

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Activated.]

A narrow barrier formed in front of him.

He stepped through the doorway and three training rounds immediately struck the barrier.

Silver gritted his teeth as they hot the barrier; the impact was manageable.

He raised his handgun.

[Phantom Draw Lv4 Activated.]

Two shots.

One opponent was eliminated, the second retreated behind a desk and the third activated a defensive ability that spread across the floor.

He felt his boots becoming heavier.

Gravity manipulation?No... Some kind of localized pressure field.

He frowned as his movement slowed.

The student behind the desk smiled.

"Got you."

He looked down, then smiled.

"Not quite."

Primal Strength activated and his muscles tightened as he stepped forward. The pressure field resisted but he continued irregardless.

The student’s smile faded.

"How..."

Silver raised his handgun and fired.

[Participant Eliminated.]

The pressure field disappeared.

The final opponent attempted to retreat but Silver activated Short-Step, reappeared beside him and struck his protective barrier.

[Participant Eliminated.]

He exhaled, then approached the terminal. A large display showed the competition’s current score. Class Four was still behind by a considerable margin.

Silver placed his hand against the activation panel.

[Central Command Terminal Capture Initiated.]

[Authentication Time: 60 Seconds.]

Silver looked at the words before clicking his tongue. He thought it was an instant exchange.

"Sixty seconds?"

He checked the timer.

There were twenty-three minutes remaining before it ended. The competition was entering its final stage.

He activated his communicator.

"Helena, I’m at the central command terminal. Capture requires sixty seconds."

Her response came immediately.

"Understood. Hold it."

He nodded.

"Working on it."

Then another warning appeared.

[Enemy Reinforcements Approaching.]

He sighed.

"Naturally."

The final twenty minutes became chaos.

Class Six realized Silver had reached the command terminal and immediately began redirecting students toward the central structure.

Gareth attempted to disengage from Ravenna but she refused to let him.

Caleb moved to block the entrance. Helena ordered the remaining defensive groups to hold their positions while sending a small reinforcement team toward Silver.

Mina detected enemy movements through the surrounding streets. Elias began eliminating exposed opponents from his elevated position.

Shirley used Light Refraction to infiltrate a side passage and disable a secondary defensive relay, preventing Class Six from activating another set of reinforced shutters.

Silver remained inside the terminal room. The capture timer continued in an almost crawl for him.

[Authentication: 34 Seconds Remaining.]

Three opponents entered the corridor.

He raised his handgun and fired. One eliminated, the second blocked and the third attacked from the side.

Silver activated Spatial Distortion and redirected the strike. He stepped forward and cut the opponent with his sword.

[Participant Eliminated.]

The second opponent retreated but Silver activated Short-Step and reappeared beside him.

[Participant Eliminated.]

The timer continued.

[Authentication: 19 Seconds Remaining.]

Silver exhaled.

His energy reserves were dropping lowerthan he’d expected. He’d used Spatial Sense almost continuously and most of his spatial powers repeatedly.

His body was enduring the strain but something else was happening; the energy circulating through him had become unusually dense, heavy and compressed.

He frowned.

He recognized the sensation. The same one he’d experienced during training except much stronger. His Rank Two foundation was reaching its limit.

A faint system notification appeared.

[Rank Development Analysis Initiated.]

[Current Rank: Rank 2.]

[Energy Saturation Increasing.]

His eyes sharpened.

Not now.

He couldn’t afford a breakthrough during the competition.

He forced his attention back toward the corridor as another opponent appeared.

Silver raised his handgun and fired.

[Participant Eliminated.]

The timer continued.

[Authentication: 5 Seconds Remaining.]

He exhaled.

Four... Three... Two... One.

[Central Command Terminal Captured.]

[Hidden Objective Completed.]

[Class Four Awarded Bonus Territory Points.]

He smiled as the territory score changed and class Four took the lead, barely,but they were ahead.

He activated his communicator.

"Helena! Terminal secured!"

Her response came immediately.

"Excellent! Hold your position!"

He looked toward the corridor.

"Understood."

At that moment, the building shook, a tremendous impact echoing from below.

Silver frowned.

Gareth.

The large student had finally broken through Ravenna and Caleb’s defensive position and coming.

He looked toward the terminal, then toward the timer.

Twelve minutes remaining.

He smiled grimly.

"Of course."

Gareth entered the command structure like a moving battering ram.

His weapon struck the reinforced doorway, tearing part of the frame away as he forced his way inside. Several Class Six students followed him, while Ravenna and Caleb pursued from behind.