Chapter 336: Shadow Trials[19)

A low rustle rippled through the rows.

?"You have been assigned to four mixed teams, combining Assassins and Talented," Whizen continued, tapping a control stone on his podium.

?The holographic map above shifted, dividing the Bastion into four colored sectors and flashing the roster assignments across the display.

TEAM ROSTER LEADER ASSIGNMENTS

[TEAM ALPHA: LUCIAN ASH, KAELEN SOREL]

[TEAM BETA: SAMANTHA DRAKE, CASSIUS WULFRIC]

[TEAM GAMMA: XANDER GRAY]

[TEAM DELTA: WARREN FROST, EDMUND BREWER]

Lucian’s expression remained entirely flat, though his eyes instantly registered the composition of Team Alpha.

Kaelen Sorel was assigned to his unit—a volatile pairing of two fiercely proud heirs from competing factions.

?Across the room, Samantha noticed her placement on Team Beta alongside Cassius, whose massive frame was already shifting as he crossed his arms, staring darkly at the map.

?Xander Gray stood near the middle of Team Gamma, his hands tucked into his pockets, his mouth curved into a faint, unreadable smile.

He wasn’t paired with Lucian, nor was he paired with Samantha. He was surrounded by four mid-tier assassins and a quiet Talented—a roster that looked, on paper, distinctly unremarkable.

Warren and Edmund found themselves anchored together on Team Delta, flanked by two junior Talented and two assassins.

Edmund’s jaw tightened slightly as he looked at the Citadel at the heart of the map. He had just spent Trial Three being hunted as the Phantom Target; now he was expected to share command in an urban maze.

?"Your task," Headmaster Whizen’s voice cut through their internal assessments, "is to recover three Covenant Relics hidden within the Bastion and transport them to their designated extraction points before the ninety-minute timer expires."

?Whizen raised three fingers, ticking them off one by one.

[Relic One: The Cipher. ]

[Stored within the secured data facilities in Sector Four. Recovery requires interpreting incomplete intelligence and navigating electronic security where misinformation has been deliberately planted.]

?[Relic Two: The Keystone.]

[ Held inside the heavily defended central transit hub in Sector Seven. Access is restricted by automated barriers, reinforced checkpoints, and defensive systems that respond destructively to brute force.]

?[Relic Three: The Crown.]

[ Located inside the Citadel at the Bastion’s core. Its exact location within the Citadel cannot be decrypted until information from the Cipher and the Keystone has been successfully processed and verified.]

Whizen leaned back, his robes rustling softly.

?"Cooperation is permitted. Negotiation is permitted. Deception is permitted within the rules of engagement. The use of lethal force against fellow contestants is strictly prohibited. Your individual performance will be evaluated across multiple points alongside your team’s collective results."

He paused slightly.

Trial Four contributes a maximum of two hundred points to your cumulative score."

Whizen straightened slightly, his voice dropping an octave, carrying the full gravity of the academy’s expectations.

?"Cooperation is straightforward when every participant shares a singular horizon. The real test begins when competent minds agree on the destination, but fiercely contest the method, the cost, or who bears the burden of the sacrifice."

"Remember that the system measures not just survival, but the integrity of your choices when strained."

?The silver-and-black emblem above the archway seemed to pulse in time with the quiet hum of the terminals, casting long, stark shadows across the amphitheater floor as the final countdown to the trial drew closer.

?Headmaster Whizen pressed a final button on his console.

?[TRIAL FOUR: COMMENCING IN 00:05 ... 00:04 ... 00:03 ...]

?"The Bastion is open," Whizen said quietly. "Begin."

The heavy hydraulic blast doors of the amphitheater slid open with a deep hiss, exposing the sunlit, steel-and-glass canyons of the Bastion training zone.

?Within seconds, twenty-four contestants scattered into the urban grid.

?In the western commercial sector, Team Alpha moved with clinical, ruthless efficiency.

?Lucian Ash took immediate operational command, his stride long and unhurried as he led his six-member unit past a row of shattered storefronts.

Behind him, Kaelen Sorel walked with stiff shoulders, his hand resting defensively near the hilt of his rapier.

Four other operatives—two junior assassins and two Talented—flanked their flanks, maintaining a tight, professional perimeter.

"We won’t waste time clearing residential tenements," Lucian instructed without turning his head, his dark eyes scanning the elevated pedestrian skybridges above them. "The Cipher facility in Sector Four is our primary objective."

"Kaelen, take the southern alley and verify the perimeter. If automated defense drones are active, disable them without drawing any attention."

?Kaelen’s jaw tightened. He was an heir of House Sorel; taking direct operational orders from an Ash family scion chafed against every instinct he possessed.

But the leaderboard didn’t care about family pride, and Kaelen was currently sitting outside the top tier.

?"I don’t need instructions on how to clear an alley, Ash," Kaelen snapped quietly, veering off toward the narrow brick corridor to their left.

"Just don’t trigger a perimeter alarm that alerts Team Gamma," Lucian replied flatly, his pace never breaking.

"We have an eighty-point lead to protect. Let’s keep it that way."

?Half a mile away, in the southern residential block, Team Beta moved with entirely different energy.

?Samantha Drake walked near the front of her unit, her spear secured in its leather harness across her back.

Beside her strode Cassius, his broad shoulders clearing the narrow doorways with room to spare.

"Sector Seven’s transit hub is straight ahead through the rail tunnel," Cassius muttered, cracking his knuckles. "If the Keystone is locked behind automated barriers, I can simply punch through them."

?Samantha stopped beside a rusted street kiosk, her dark eyes studying a partially damaged tactical map bolted to the wall.

?"No, that’llattract a lot of unnecessary attention," Samantha said evenly, pointing toward a small warning glyph stamped in red near the map’s corner.

"The system description specifically stated that the Keystone’s holding area responds destructively to brute force. You’ll seal the vault and cost our team twenty points."

?Cassius scowled, his thick dreadlocks shifting as he looked down at her. "So what? We stand here and read maps until the ninety-minute timer runs out?"

?"We split our approach," Samantha said pragmatically.

"You and two of the others will take the maintenance lift to draw the automated defense drones away."

"I’ll take the service catwalk and access the terminal through the air ducts.

?Cassius grunted, crossing his heavy arms. "Fine.