Free Web NovelChapter 51: A Growing Revolt
After exchanging a few words with his teammates, a growing sense of unease settled over Silas.
Before this change, he learned that the first-year students had organised themselves into four factions based on various influences.
Leopard led one of them. With the support of his family, he had managed to recruit several teams, enough to fill three shuttles. Even so, his faction was not the largest. That distinction belonged to the petite girl, Rachel.
Using both her family’s influence and considerable wealth, she had attracted more teams than anyone else. She had personally paid for three additional shuttles, and together with the one provided by the academy, her faction travelled in four.
The remaining two factions were smaller and appeared weaker on the surface, yet his teammates repeatedly warned him about the danger posed by the red-haired young man leading one of them.
Silas paid little attention to any of it. As far as he was concerned, if his team performed well enough, nothing could stand in their way. Besides, he had another problem he was preoccupied with: the Shadowheart.
He did not know why, but something within the Shadowheart had begun to stir once more. Restlessness gnawed at him, accompanied by flashes of irrational anger, difficulty in following the conversation, and he recognised the symptoms immediately.
At some point, he couldn’t take it anymore. So he decided it was time to stop talking and start meditating, to teach that entity a lesson.
Without delay, he excused himself and retreated into meditation. First, however, he needed to calm his heart.
’It’s a shame I didn’t bring my bathtub.’
The thought almost made him laugh.
As the unease continued to grow, Silas found himself wondering what meditation inside the Time Mind World would feel like under such circumstances.
For several hours, he remained seated in meditation.
It was the first time since he had begun practising that he could not maintain a trance for longer than an hour. Every time he immersed himself in that tranquil inner world, something would suddenly stir deep within him and force him back to reality.
The experience was strange, but it revealed one undeniable truth: the closer they drew to their destination, the worse it became. By then, even Silas could no longer dismiss the coincidence.
’You’ve been behaving yourself all this time. Why are you suddenly acting hostile? Do you miss the fresh air that much?’
Silas tried to think of what caused the Shadowheart to act so hostile all of a sudden. He thought about the mission, he thought about the different tough opponents lying in wait, he considered the high stakes accompanying this mission and its impact on their near future. But nothing made sense, nothing was quite severe enough to explain any of this.
He thought meditating might solve the problem, but eventually he realised otherwise. By the time they approached the outpost, he could barely maintain a meditation session for fifteen minutes.
That told him that whatever was waiting for them at their destination, it must have something to do with his Shadowheart revolt. On top of that, meditating on this interrupted cycle made it impossible for him to reap many benefits from it.
Even so, he persisted. Each time he was forced from his trance, he steadied himself with slow breaths before immediately trying again.
When the shuttle finally landed with a muffled thud, Silas found that he could no longer meditate at all. The moment the doors opened and everyone stepped outside, a violent sensation washed over him.
It felt as though he had walked directly into the heart of an active volcano. The air itself seemed scorching against his skin. Standing in front of the open shuttle doors made his body instinctively shiver. And he didn’t feel any better after exiting the shuttle.
His condition did not escape the notice of the others.
As the shuttle rose into the air and settled atop the outpost according to Cher’s instructions, the team inspected the place that would serve as their home for the next ten days.
Compared to the rune structure they had defended during the admission test, this outpost was on an entirely different scale. The cylindrical structure stretched several hundred meters across and rose nearly fifty meters above the ground. It resembled a small fortress, especially with the numerous arrow launchers mounted across two defensive levels.
"This is it."
Cher manipulated her wristwatch, causing a large projection to appear before them.
"This is our outpost. The structure is hollow, and several rune stones inside power its defences. It’s called the Rune Heart, and it operates on Mana Crystals..."
Silas had no idea where she had obtained such detailed information, but he never bothered asking.
The outpost possessed two primary defensive systems. The first was a protective shield capable of repelling monsters, while the second consisted of the many arrow launchers installed along its outer shell.
"Both systems are powered by the rune stones inside," Cher continued. "They consume enormous amounts of Mana Crystals to power up the shield and launch the arrows over monsters. However, the shield isn’t nearly as strong as the one we encountered during the admission test. Plus, the arrow launchers need a few seconds to recharge and form a new Mana Arrow before attacking again."
Silas immediately understood what she meant. Lifting the heavy backpack resting on his shoulder, he said,
"Crystals won’t be a problem. The academy already took care of that."
Only now did he fully understand why the academy had distributed such an enormous quantity of Mana Crystals. Anyone foolish enough to hoard them for personal gain would ultimately fail the mission.
"Crystals have never been a problem for my blazing Cher."
Lara wrapped an arm around Cher’s shoulders as she joked. Darius smiled faintly while Alfred remained focused on the horizon.
"We should inspect the interior immediately," he said, pointing into the distance. "A large group of monsters is approaching."
Everyone followed his gaze. Sure enough, a cloud of dust was rapidly advancing toward the outpost. Without wasting another second, they crossed the shimmering shield and entered.
With every step, Silas felt as though his entire being was being violently shaken. The sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before, yet he endured it and continued forward.
Cher had been right; the interior was completely hollow.
The ground was covered by a thick layer of Mana Crystals, while several oddly shaped rune stones stood scattered throughout the space. Strange symbols glowed upon their surfaces, shining in shades of red and green.
The moment Silas saw them, he nearly forgot his suffering. The stones resembled those he had seen in his dream. There were differences, of course. The stones from his dream had been far larger and covered in more symbols of different colours.
Yet the sea of crystals beneath them had looked remarkably similar.
"I hope the academy gave us enough crystals."
Darius glanced around the vast interior. The sheer quantity required to operate the outpost was staggering. Even Cher looked somewhat uncertain, despite being someone who had never viewed crystals as a concern.
"Are you alright?"
Then Darius’s gaze finally settled on Silas. After studying him for a moment, he asked the question everyone was thinking.
At this point, even a blind man could tell something was wrong. Silas’s face was unnaturally red. Sweat beads rolled down his forehead and neck, while subtle tremors occasionally passed through his body. The look of his eyes looked quite dimmed, quite different, quite weak.
"I think I caught the flu."
His thoughts felt sluggish, as though he were wading through mud. The excuse escaped his mouth before he could think of anything better.
Yet, his teammates frowned.
"Enhancers don’t get sick," Lara said sceptically. "Are you sure you’re fine?"
Before Silas could find another excuse, Cher spoke in a tone that left no room for argument.
"I noticed something was wrong with you during the flight."
She studied him for a moment before making her decision.
"Just rest. Leave the first waves to us."
"But..."
"Everything will be fine." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
She offered him a faint smile. She finally found a chance to repay part of the kindness and support he had shown her so far.
"The early waves won’t be that dangerous. You remember the admission test? It took days before the larger groups started appearing."
Her logic and confidence silenced him, while others nodded in agreement.
"Just sleep or meditate."
Darius pressed a palm against Silas’s cheek before exchanging a worried glance with the others. The heat radiating from him was alarming.
They had only just arrived, yet their leader was already in no condition to battle. Fortunately, they had prepared for situations like this. Many of their formations already placed Silas in the rear, protecting Lara while the others fought.
Even Silas was not surprised by Cher’s decision. He was indeed in need of rest.
So he focused entirely on suppressing the monster within him and sat down among the crystals. To his surprise, sitting on them felt pleasant. Rather than discomfort, a soothing chill spread through his body, as though he were resting beneath a cold waterfall.
The relief was immediate. Even so, he remained vigilant. He knew quite well how severe the consequences would be if the Shadowheart managed to take over.
Closing his eyes, he entered meditation once more. Ten minutes later, he was abruptly forced out of his trance. This time, however, it was not the Shadowheart’s agitation that disturbed him; it was the deafening chorus of howls and roars erupting from outside.
The monsters sounded alarmingly close.
Unable to focus, Silas decided to take a quick look outside. Once he confirmed that his teammates were safe, he could return to meditation with a clear mind.
However, the moment he stepped outside, a shocking scene greeted him.
