Chapter 320: Shadow Trials[3]

"We’re close," Edmund muttered softly to Warren.

"It’s only the first trial," Warren said quietly, his voice steady, despite the adrenaline still humming through his veins.

"For now, we hold our ground."

?Samantha walked over, the wet sand giving way beneath her boots. She unbuckled the leather strap at her chest and slung her heavy spear back across her shoulders.

Her gaze met Kaelen Sorel’s across the crescent of the bay.

The noble heir was staring furiously at the glowing leaderboards, his eyes locked on his sixth-place slot.

His knuckles were white against his side, his jaw clenched so tight the muscle twitched beneath his skin.

He turned and walked off with his entourage without a word.

?"Not a bad start." Cassius said, clapping Samantha on the shoulder. "Second place, overall."

Cassius shook his head.

"Damn Sammie, what have they been feeding you..."

?"Second is just the first person who lost to Warren," Samantha replied, in a cool tone, though a faint, competitive edge gleamed in her green eyes as she looked at the leaderboards.

"And we still have three trials left."

The atmosphere inside the subterranean preparation bays beneath the grand amphitheater shifted rapidly, the ambient hum of conversation cutting off as the announcement for the transition to the second trial rang out.

The initial excitement and the high-adrenaline buzz that had lingered after the Shattered Path—dissolved into a heavier, suffocating quiet.

Stretched muscles and bruises were suddenly forgotten as candidates turned their eyes toward the ceiling.

?High above the arena floor, the shimmering holographic displays flickered and updated the jagged terrain map of the previous trial dissolving into a sprawling, multi-tiered schematic of a dense, subterranean environment.

Jagged cavern networks, submerged rivers, and pitch-black trenches pulsed in the dim light.

?Headmaster Whizen’s voice resonated through the spatial arrays, rich and omnipresent, cutting through the low murmur of the gathered crowds in the tiers above.

"The Shattered Path measured individual speed and adaptability," the Headmaster declared, his tone calm yet heavy with implicit warning.

"The second instead tests your environmental mastery, resource control, and pressure response under absolute isolation. Welcome to Trial Two: The Eclipse Abyss."

"And there it is, ladies and gentlemen!"Jax Sterling’s boisterous voice thundered through the arena’s broadcast arrays, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Headmaster Whizen drops the veil on Trial Two, and what a absolute nightmare shift we’ve got on our hands! If the Shattered Path was a sprint through a butcher shop, the Eclipse Abyss is a blind dive straight into the deep end of the meat grinder!"

"A far more calculated test, Jax," Nadia Varas chimed in with smooth tone.

"Speed bought you priority in the first round, but the Abyss forces a brutal strategic gamble."

"A fragmented terrain with zero mutual line-of-sight between drop points. High yield means deep exposure, and deep exposure means running out of oxygen, time, and tactical options."

Down in the bay, the temperature seemed to plummet by several degrees. The cavernous schematic above them expanded, zooming in on isolated entry shafts that offered zero visibility and no room for error.

Below, the students were reassessing their gear. The initial euphoria of the sprint had worn off, replaced by the grim realization that the Festival was changing gears.

"Trial one tested how fast you could jump when the floor gave out under your boots," Xander said, resting his elbows on the weapons rack as he inspected his twin concealed daggers.

The usual casual arrogance in his voice was tempered by a sharp, calculating focus.

"The real test begins here. "

He paused, then let out a quiet sigh.

"May the best man win."

With that he turned and walked off.

*****

Samantha adjusted her grip on the shaft of her dark spear. The weapon rested against her shoulder with an familiar, organic weight. Its dark, lusterless mineral surface absorbed the ambient luminescence of the room.

Around her, one hundred qualified contestants stood in isolated launch alcoves, surrounded by shimmering blue containment fields.

Of the initial three hundred contestants, only one hundred remained.

?Above the central floor, a massive, three-dimensional holographic schematic materialized, casting a soft cerulean glow over the competitors.

[TRIAL TWO: THE ECLIPSE ABYSS]

[MISSION:TACTICAL INFILTRATION AND EXTRACTION]

[UPPER TIER] — IRON SEALS (10 PTS)

[MIDDLE TIER] — SILVER SEALS (20PTS)

[LOWER TIER]— CRIMSON SEALS (30PTS)

[ABYSSAL TIER]—OBSIDIAN SEALS (75 PTS)

[DEEPEST NODE]— ABYSSAL PRIME (150 PTS)

A flat, mechanical chime rang through the bay, followed by the synthesized voice of the trial system overseer.

?"Trial Two: The Eclipse Abyss," the announcement echoed, crisp and unfeeling.

[Objective: Infiltrate designated sectors, bypass automated containment systems, establish node verification, and extract with claimed seals.]

[Time limit: Sixty minutes. Scoring is determined by verified objective yield and extraction integrity. Time serves as a tiebreaker only.]

?The system paused, allowing the spatial breakdown of the hierarchy to sink in.

?[Classification parameters are as follows] the voice continued.

[Upper Tier contains Iron Objectives, worth ten points.]

[ Middle Tier contains Silver Objectives, worth twenty points. ]

[Lower Tier houses Crimson Objectives, worth forty points.]

[ The Deep Abyssal Tiers contain Obsidian Objectives, worth seventy-five points.]

The holographic schematic flickered, zooming down through layers of dense subterranean rock to highlight a singular, burning crimson node at the absolute base of the structure.

?[A singular Abyssal Prime Seal resides within the core vault. Value: One hundred and fifty points. ]

[Be advised: Node control requires sustained physical link for a minimum of ten seconds during automated system verification.]

[Unnecessary destruction of trial architecture will result in point deductions.]

"Extraction points close precisely at the sixty-minute mark. Begin countdown."

Look at those point values, Nadia!" Jax shouted over the rising swell of the stadium crowd.

"One hundred and fifty points sitting at the absolute bottom! That’s a massive payout, but it’s pure suicide if you get pinned down by the defense grids! Do you think anyone’s reckless enough to plummet straight for Abyssal Prime?"

"The real danger isn’t just the defense systems, Jax—it’s the geography," Nadia replied.

"If you go for the Abyssal Prime, you are betting your entire tournament standing on a single, ten-second vulnerability window while the rest of the field scrambles for safer points above you."

?Samantha’s gaze remained fixed on the lowest tier.

In a different alcove, Lucian adjusted the black leather vambraces on his forearms.

Further down the line, Xander Gray crouched on the balls of his feet, a razor-thin shadow blade spinning idly between his fingers.

Edmund Brewer breathed out a mist of pale frost. His hands were loose, cold vapor coiling around his fingers

Across from them stood Cassius Wulfric, his broad shoulders squared, eyes fixed on the Crimson tier. His posture practically radiated brute certainty.

?Ten... nine... eight...

Three... two... one...

?"Trial commence."

And they’re down!" Jax roared as the stadium monitors flashed bright crimson.

"One hundred drop chutes opening simultaneously! Look at that initial drop speed!"

?The blue containment fields dissolved instantly.

?The floor beneath the alcoves gave way to pneumatic drop-chutes. Contestants plummeted into the dark.

?Wind roared past Samantha’s ears as she plunged through three hundred feet of vertical drop.

Most contestants flared their movement abilities early, arresting their descent to land on the iron-grated walkways of the Upper tier.

Samantha saw bright flashes of light above as several competitors immediately engaged the light-armored sentinels guarding the 10-point Iron vaults.

Look at that divide, Nadia!" Jax hollered into the mic, leaning over the a console as glowing biosensors lit up the stadium board.

"Two-thirds of the roster didn’t even make it past the front gates of the Festival! Two hundred candidates knocked out before we even touched the Abyss."

"And it’s only going to get worse, Jax," Nadia added smoothly."Two hundred dropouts prove just how unforgiving this curriculum has become. The Shattered Path culled the unprepared, the Abyss is designed to break the survivors."

"You can’t blame them!" Jax chimed in.

"After watching two hundred of the very best get chewed up and spat out, taking a safe ten points on the iron walkways sounds like a vacation!"

?"Predictable conservative plays from the mid-pack candidates," Nadia observed, her eyes narrowing on a single, plunging trajectory. "They’re securing guaranteed yields. But we have a few who aren’t interested in playing it safe."

Samantha didn’t even slow down.

Wind whipped her hair wild across her face as the Upper and Middle tiers blurred past in a streak of gray stone and iron gridwork.

Sinking straight into the darkness, she drove the leaf-shaped tip of her spear into the stone wall of the vertical shaft.

She swung her body neatly through an open grate, landing with a silent roll on the damp stone of the lower abyssal tier.