Chapter 177: Unexpected Challenge. The Rules of Blackridge

The Blackridge Expanse was not beautiful. At least, not in the conventional sense.

From a distance, the region looked like an endless sea of dark green stretching between enormous mountain ranges. Towering trees rose hundreds of feet into the sky, their canopies so dense that sunlight struggled to reach the forest floor.

Jagged cliffs surrounded portions of the region, while several mountains pierced the clouds above, mist constantly crawled between the trees, streams cut through the wilderness like silver veins, and scattered throughout the enormous expanse were ruins.

Some belonged to structures built before the awakening era, while others were things that no human could explain. The government had officially classified Blackridge as a Permanent Awakened Wilderness Zone.

It wasn’t a rift so it couldn’t be closed or destroyed. The mana inside the region had permanently altered the ecosystem. Monsters reproduced there, plants evolved there, and some creatures had lived inside Blackridge for generations.

There were even rumors that several A-Rank monsters had established territories deep within the wilderness. Naturally, the government denied those rumors, mostly.

The Blackridge Expanse was also enormous. A single person could spend weeks inside and never encounter another human. Today, however, it was unusually crowded.

Six transport convoys arrived from different directions. The first was Valecrest Collegiate Grounds. The academy’s vehicles rolled through the temporary military checkpoint before stopping at the designated staging area. Silas stepped out of his Range Rover first, earning a few jealous and envious stares from people who saw him.

He stretched his arms and looked around, completely ignoring them.

"Ah... Nice place."

Alpha climbed out behind him.

"It’s a forest."

"I know."

"Why are you acting impressed?"

"Because it’s a big forest."

Chloe stepped out of the vehicle and looked toward the mountains. Her expression remained calm, but her eyes were narrowed slightly.

"There is a lot of mana here."

Silas nodded.

"I can see it."

The other members of Valecrest soon arrived. Damien stepped out of the academy transport with his hands in his pockets. Alicia followed. Emma, Rihanna, Godfrey, and Neil soon joined them.

They weren’t the only ones arriving.

Across the staging grounds, another convoy came to a stop. The emblem displayed on its side belonged to Ironwood Saints Academy. Students stepped out one after another.

They wore dark green combat uniforms reinforced with awakened-grade armor. Their movements were disciplined, with serious expressions.

Not far away, another group arrived: New Liberty Vanguard Academy. Their uniforms were predominantly white and navy, with the emblem of a shield across their backs.

They were known for producing some of the best defensive and support-oriented awakened in the region.

Then came Aethercrest Academy. Their students carried specialized equipment. Scanning devices, mana detectors, ancient-language translation tablets, and even several strange-looking pieces of magical technology.

Clearly, they had come prepared for exploration.

The fifth academy was Blackstone Academy. Their students looked more like hunters than academy students with enough storage equipment to make it obvious what their specialty was.

Finally, a sixth convoy arrived. Its emblem was a silver tower surrounded by six stars: Argent Heights Academy. The moment the students stepped out, the atmosphere shifted slightly.

They carried themselves differently- confident, proud, almost arrogant, and not entirely without reason. Argent Heights had consistently ranked among the strongest academies in City A. Several of their students immediately began observing the other academies, especially Valecrest.

One of them whispered something and someone laughed. Silas noticed and simply smiled.

"Interesting."

Alpha glanced at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You have that look."

"What look?"

"The look you had before fighting Nelson."

Silas blinked.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You absolutely do."

Chloe sighed.

"Both of you stop."

Before the conversation could continue, a loud mechanical tone echoed across the staging area.

BEEP!

Every student turned. A large holographic display appeared above the central platform, and a middle-aged woman walked onto the stage. She wore a dark military uniform with a silver insignia on her shoulder. She carried herself with the authority of someone accustomed to commanding awakened hunters.

"Good morning."

Her voice carried across the entire staging area.

"I am Director Evelyn Hart. I am the lead organizer for the City A Qualifier of the Inter-Academy Selection Tournament."

The conversations immediately stopped.

"First, congratulations. You have all survived the selection process within your respective academies."

The holographic display behind her changed, and showed six academy logos appeared.

"Today, that ends."

Several students frowned. Director Hart continued.

"For the next seventy-two hours, the Blackridge Expanse will serve as your examination ground."

A timer appeared above her.

[72:00:00]

"Your academy will be assigned an objective."

The six logos disappeared, and six separate objectives appeared.

"You will receive points based on your progress toward that objective."

She raised one finger.

"However, this is not a simple objective-completion exercise."

Silas’s smile widened. There it was, the interesting part. Director Hart continued.

"You are competing against five other academies."

The display changed.

"Your objective is your priority. Your academy’s survival is your responsibility, but there is one important rule."

The holographic display suddenly displayed a single sentence.

[DIRECT ATTACKS AGAINST OTHER PARTICIPANTS ARE NOT PROHIBITED.]

A few students immediately began whispering. Director Hart raised her hand.

"Killing another participant will result in severe penalties."

The whispers stopped.

"Likewise, intentionally sabotaging another academy’s objective will be penalized if the sabotage involves violating tournament regulations."

A student from Blackstone raised his hand.

"Then are we allowed to interfere with another academy?"

Director Hart smiled faintly.

"Of course."

That answer caught everyone’s attention.

"You are not required to fight, but you are not required to help."

She paused.

"If another academy happens to stand between you and your objective..." Her smile disappeared. "...you will have to decide what matters more."

The hologram changed again, and the first academy appeared.

[VALECREST COLLEGIATE GROUNDS]

[OBJECTIVE: REACH THE CENTRAL BLACKRIDGE OBSERVATORY.]

A massive structure appeared on the screen. It was located almost exactly in the center of Blackridge. The observatory was an ancient facility built before the modern awakening era.

"Valecrest must reach the Central Blackridge Observatory."

Director Hart pointed toward the structure.

"Your objective will only be considered complete when at least three registered members of your academy physically enter the Observatory and activate the designated beacon."

Silas nodded. It was simple enough, except, that the location was in the center of Blackridge. Meaning they would have to travel deep into monster territory.

The display changed.

[IRONWOOD SAINTS ACADEMY]

[OBJECTIVE: CAPTURE THREE DESIGNATED MONSTER TERRITORIES.]

Three locations appeared.

"Three monster territories have been designated. Each territory contains a marked beacon. Ironwood must reach each location, defeat or drive away the designated dominant monster, and activate the corresponding beacon."

The Ironwood students immediately began discussing among themselves. Then came the third.

[NEW LIBERTY VANGUARD ACADEMY]

[OBJECTIVE: PROTECT A SUPPLY CONVOY.]

A convoy appeared on the screen.

"New Liberty Vanguard will be assigned a mobile supply convoy. The convoy must reach three designated checkpoints within seventy-two hours. At least eighty percent of the convoy’s supplies must remain intact."

The Vanguard students immediately looked more serious. Their objective wasn’t simply to move. They had to protect something. That meant they couldn’t freely abandon their route.

The fourth academy appeared.

[AETHERCREST ACADEMY]

[OBJECTIVE: LOCATE THE ANCIENT STRUCTURE.]

A strange stone structure appeared.

"Somewhere inside Blackridge lies an ancient structure. Your objective is to locate it. Once located, you must activate the ancient marker placed within."

The Aethercrest students exchanged excited glances. Their objective clearly suited them. Then came the fifth.

[BLACKSTONE ACADEMY]

[OBJECTIVE: ACCUMULATE MONSTER CORES.]

A counter appeared.

"Blackstone must accumulate five hundred verified monster cores. Only cores obtained from monsters inside the Blackridge Expanse will count."

The Blackstone students grinned. That objective was practically designed for hunters. Finally, the last academy.

[ARGENT HEIGHTS ACADEMY]

[OBJECTIVE: SECURE THE BLACKRIDGE MANA TOWERS.]

Three massive towers appeared across the map.

"Three ancient mana towers are scattered throughout Blackridge. Argent Heights must locate and activate all three." Director Hart paused. "Once activated, each tower must remain under the academy’s control for at least thirty consecutive minutes."

A student from Argent Heights smiled. Thirty minutes. That sounded easy. But Director Hart wasn’t finished.

"Of course..."

The holographic map zoomed out. All six objectives appeared simultaneously, and that was when the students began to notice something. The locations overlapped.

The Central Blackridge Observatory was located dangerously close to one of Ironwood’s monster territories, one of Argent Heights’ mana towers was positioned along the route of the New Liberty Vanguard supply convoy, the ancient structure Aethercrest needed to locate was near one of Blackstone’s major monster-core farming zones, and one of Ironwood’s designated territories sat between Valecrest’s likely approach route and the Observatory.

Silence slowly spread across the staging area. Silas stared at the map, and laughed.

"Oh." Chloe looked at him. "What?"

"I get it." Alpha adjusted his glasses again. "The objectives..."

"Overlap," Chloe finished.

Director Hart nodded.

"Exactly."

The holographic map disappeared.

"None of you are required to fight one another. You can cooperate, you can avoid one another, and you can even assist another academy if you choose."

She folded her hands behind her back.

"But your objectives were deliberately designed to intersect."

The six academy groups became noticeably quieter.

"Valecrest may need to pass through territory controlled by Ironwood, Blackstone may hunt monsters in an area needed by Aethercrest, Argent Heights may need to secure a tower located along Vanguard’s convoy route, and Vanguard may have to pass through territories containing monsters Blackstone intends to hunt."

She smiled.

"This tournament is not a battle royale."

Several students looked relieved.

"It is a competition of decisions."

Her expression hardened.

"You will have to decide when to cooperate, when to compete, when to retreat, and when to fight."

A gust of wind swept across the staging area. The massive forest behind the military checkpoint seemed to stare back at them.

Director Hart raised her hand.

"And there is one final rule."

Every student looked toward her.

"Your objectives will not be revealed again."

The holographic display vanished.

"You have five minutes to memorize them."

Silas blinked.

"That’s it?"

"Five minutes."

"That’s kind of unfair."

Director Hart looked directly at him.

"Life isn’t fair."

Silas grinned.

"Good answer."

A countdown appeared.

[05:00]

The students immediately began studying the map. Silas stared at the Central Blackridge Observatory, looked toward the enormous forest, and his smile slowly widened.

Seventy-two hours, six academies, tens of students, thousands of monsters, objectives that were practically begging them to get in each other’s way, and he already knew where the observatory was.

This wasn’t going to be boring, not even remotely.

Director Hart raised her voice one final time.

"Participants!"

Everyone stood straight.

"The City A Qualifier begins..."

The countdown reached zero.

[00:00]

A massive alarm sounded.

WOOOOOOOOOOOON!

The gates leading into Blackridge opened, and tens of students began moving in. The wilderness swallowed the roads ahead.

Director Hart looked toward the departing academies.

"Begin."

And just like that, the first stage of the Inter-Academy Selection Tournament had begun for City A.