Chapter 328: Shadow Trials[11]

?[LEADERBOARD UPDATE: LUCIAN TAKES 1ST PLACE (345 PTS)]

?Lucian stowed the data chip, his expression remaining completely impassive.

He looked up toward the glass observation deck high above the transit station roof.

?Cedric Ash was standing near the glass, looking down at his son. Cedric didn’t smile, but he gave a single, slow nod.

?Lucian turned his gaze away, slipping the analytical lenses back into his pocket. "One down."

?Meanwhile, in Sector 7-D...

?Cassius Wulfric was currently standing in the middle of a narrow residential street, staring angrily at an empty phone booth.

?His terminal displayed a fifty-point deduction notice.

?[PENALTY: INCORRECT TARGET ENGAGEMENT (-50 PTS)]

[REASON: TARGET WAS A DECOY SYNTHETIC (CIVILIAN MODEL)]

[CURRENT SCORE: 105 PTS]

Are you kidding me?!" Cassius growled, slamming his fist against the metal frame of the booth.

The metal crumpled like paper, triggering a yellow warning icon on his terminal for minor infrastructure damage.

?[WARNING: INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE (-5 PTS)]

?"Dammit!" Cassius yelled, pulling his hand back.

?Ten feet away, Kaelen Sorel stood watching him.

Kaelen let out a cold, sharp laugh.

?"Nice strategy, Wulfric," Kaelen mocked, stepping onto the sidewalk.

"If you smash enough phone booths, eventually one of them might give you points."

?Cassius rounded on Kaelen, his massive frame tensing, his Class A-2 Biological Talent surging beneath his skin as his muscles swelled with power.

"Say that again, Sorel."

?"I said you’re a mindless brute who doesn’t belong in the top ranks," Kaelen spat, his hand resting on the hilt of his rapier.

?"Guys, save it," a smooth, relaxed voice called out from above.

?Xander Gray was dangling upside down from a streetlight, hanging by his knees, holding a bag of synthetic roasted nuts he had picked up from a street cart.

?"Kaelen, buddy, you shouldn’t talk so big," Xander said, popping a nut into his mouth.

"Your terminal packet says you’ve been chasing ’The Shadow Archivist’ for twenty minutes, right?"

?Kaelen’s eyes flicked up to Xander, his expression darkening. "How do you know my packet?"

?"Because I sold the false lead to the system a few minutes ago." Xander grinned, dropping down from the streetlight and landing lightly on his feet between Cassius and Kaelen.

"That archivist you’re looking for in the library? Total fake. Created it myself using the sector’s public terminal hack. You’re heading right into a fifty-point penalty trap."

?Kaelen drew his rapier halfway out of its sheath, his face flushing red. "You little bastard—"

?"Hey, don’t shoot the messenger," Xander held up his hands innocently. "I’m just offering a trade. I have the real coordinate for an intel node in Sector 7-C. I’ll give it to whichever one of you gives me their tracking token."

?Cassius looked at Xander, then at Kaelen, his eyes narrowing.

Despite his hot temper, Cassius wasn’t stupid. He caught the subtle way Xander’s fingers twitched near his belt.

?"You’re lying to both of us," Cassius said flatly.

?Xander’s smile widened slightly. "Am I? Or am I telling you the truth so you think I’m lying?"

?Before the argument could escalate, a deep, resonant bell chimed through the sky of Sector Seven, followed by a bright crimson flash across every holographic billboard in the district.

SPECIAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: CENTRAL TWIST

A HIDDEN FOURTH OBJECTIVE HAS BEEN ENGAGED!

ONE CONTESTANT AMONG YOU HAS SECRETLY BEEN DESIGNATED AS:

[THE PHANTOM TARGET]

VALUE: 150 POINTS (UPON CORRECT IDENTIFICATION AND SECURE)

PENALTY FOR INCORRECT ENGAGEMENT: -100 POINTS

CLUES WILL BE BROADCAST EVERY TEN MINUTES.

The street went dead silent.

?Xander stopped twirling his stylus. Kaelen’s hand froze on his sword hilt. Cassius slowly backed away two paces, his eyes darting between Xander and Kaelen.

?"One of us... is a target?" Kaelen whispered, his posture instantly shifting into a defensive stance.

?Xander slowly lowered his hands, his playful demeanor vanishing entirely, replaced by razor-sharp focus.

The rules of the room had just become lethal.

?"A hundred and fifty points," Xander said softly, his dark eyes scanning the empty windows of the buildings around them. "And a hundred-point penalty if you guess wrong..."

Four blocks away, in a glass-walled library arcade, Samantha stood motionless beneath an overhang, reading the holographic announcement floating in the air.

?Her terminal vibrated in her palm, displaying a single, cryptic text line:

?[PHANTOM TARGET CLUE 1: "THE TARGET BEARS AN ANCIENT LEGACY UNTOUCHED BY MODERN FORGES."]

?Samantha looked down at the dark, lusterless stone shaft of the Tenebris spear resting against her arm.

?Her heart gave a single, heavy thud.

Paranoia spread through Sector Seven like an invisible fog.

?With one hundred and fifty points attached to the Phantom Target—and a catastrophic one-hundred-point penalty for an incorrect engagement—the nature of the competition fundamentally shifted.

Contestants who had been actively hunting synthetic targets in the streets suddenly began viewing every peer with deep suspicion.

?In the central garden courtyard of Sector 7-C, Edmund Brewer stood beside a frozen marble fountain.

?His terminal rested on the stone ledge, displaying the first clue alongside his own packet details.

?[PHANTOM TARGET CLUE 1: "THE TARGET BEARS AN ANCIENT LEGACY UNTOUCHED BY MODERN FORGES."]

Edmund reached down, his fingers tracing the rim of the fountain. A thin layer of frost spread over the wet stone, locking the tiny trickles of water into delicate, spiky crystalline patterns.

?"An ancient legacy..." Edmund muttered to himself.

?His mind immediately went to Samantha’s spear. The weapon had no forge marks, no modern runic sockets, and no synthetic housing.

It was ancient by every definition of the word.

"?Is it that obvious?" Edmund thought, his brow furrowing.

" Headmaster Whizen said this trial tests judgment under uncertainty. If the clue points directly to Samantha, is she really the target... or is the system baiting us into taking a hundred-point penalty to eliminate her from first place?"

?"Analyzing much, Brewer?"

Edmund turned his head slowly.

?Julian Vance was standing on the elevated pedestrian walkway thirty feet away, leaning casually against the chrome railing.

He had left the spectator balcony and entered one of the designated non-interfering observer zones inside the trial sector.

?Beside Julian stood Marco Dark, the formidable Head of House Dark.

Marco was an imposing man in his late forties, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, his dark hair streaked with silver at the temples.

His presence commanded absolute silence from the nearby security staff.

?Edmund kept his posture composed, though his fingers subtly tightened near his waist. "Vance. I didn’t realize observers were permitted inside the trial perimeter."

"Only in designated zones, my boy," Julian said smoothly, stepping down the stairs toward the garden court. His pale eyes held a strange, luminous clarity.

"Your control has improved significantly since the last time we met. Very clean. Very precise."

?Julian stopped at the base of the stairs, ten feet from Edmund. Marco Dark remained above on the landing, watching the interaction with quiet, detached interest.

?"Thank you," Edmund said stiffly.

?Julian glanced at the frozen fountain, then back at Edmund’s face.

"It reminds me of something, what was it, hmmm, ah, I remember..."

His lips curled into a dark smile.

"How is Clara doing, Lucian?"

Lucian stared at him, impassively.

"Your sister Clara was quite vocal about House Brewer’s legacy before her...unfortunate circumstances. A real pity too.

Edmund’s jaw set like iron.

"My sister’s actions are her own. I am competing in the Shadow Trials for my own standing."

"Naturally," Julian smiled, backing away slightly and placing his hands behind his back.

"Do not let little old me distract you. The Phantom Target is still out there. And I believe Samantha is currently heading toward Sector 7-A."

?Julian turned and walked back up the stairs toward Marco Dark.

Edmund stood frozen in place for several seconds, his chest rising and falling in tight breaths. His heart was hammering against his ribs.

Bastard!

Edmund took a deep, steadying breath, forcing the cold air into his lungs until his pulse stabilized.

He turned away from the walkway and pulled out his terminal. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by Julian Vance right now. He had a trial to win.