Ascenders Rift

Chapter 166: Entering the Battle Zone, Worries of the City Head

Leo, Evan, and the others were already standing before the Training Quarter's staff members. Having been informed of Leo's and Evan's intentions, the staff members bowed with a polite gesture as one of them spoke.

"Mister Morison, it's always a pleasure to have you in our service, we shall charge the standard price for each session per unit, how do you wish to partake in this combat event?" The staff member said with a smile.

Leo thought for a bit before he looked at Julie and his party members and smiled as he looked at Evan and spoke, "Sir Evan, as I said before, we can do it individually, or as a team, which do you prefer?"

Evan thought for a bit before looking at Joe and the others as he asked, "So what do you think guys, 1V1 or 5V5?"

Joe hesitated for a bit, before he spoke, "I say we all go as one, after all, fighting one by one is quite boring."

Rick snorted as he spoke, "As if I'd fight in groups, I say we do this individually!"

Joe glared at Rick for a bit before turning away, Emilia looked at Layla and asked, "Sister Layla, I'm thinking of fighting as a group, how about you?"

Layla smiled and spoke in agreement, "Me too, beating one by one would be more troubling and take up a little more time than necessary."

Emilia nodded as if Layla's words were naturally correct; while Breya who was fiddling with a few devices watched from a nearby desk. Evan chuckled at this as he looked at Leo and replied, "Well, there you have it, though one of us didn't mind a 1V1 situation. It appears that most of us are comfortable with doing this as teams."

Rick clicked his teeth, not saying anything, to him, it didn't matter if it were groups or individually. Leo and his friends, however, had dark looks on their faces.

"So arrogant! Do they really think that they can beat us so easily?" Irene said with a look of indignation on her face.

"Hoho... Irene, I say you don't need to overreact like that, it's not like they can easily best us in a 1v1. Now that they've practically asked us to work as one, their defeat is even more likely," Oron said with a positive look.

Irene felt better hearing this, though they hadn't fought as one in a while, no one knew better than them how good they were when they fought together. She smiled and replied, "Of course it will."

Razel shook his head at their words, but he too similarly felt assured, his eyes stared at Rick as he made a faint smile while thinking, 'Since his thinking is more along with my style. I'll take him out personally...'

Julie was unperturbed; she looked at Leo, who looked at her and everyone else before he made a thumbs up and replied to Evan, "Great, we wouldn't mind it any other way. Let us begin!"

After saying this, Leo faced the staff member and nodded after using his wristlet to pay for the session. The staff member then called everyone over one by one and fitted onto them the devices.

Evan looked at the white wristlet with curiosity, he could feel a tinge of spatial energies around it, but he couldn't quite understand its functioning.

'Such a peculiar little thing... I want to get a copy. Maybe someday I can use these things to learn a bit more about space. I feel that I can apply different ideas and methods even without learning and unlocking my class skills,' Evan thought while ruminating its functions.

After equipping the device on everyone, the staff member smiled as she pressed a button on the desk, causing a blue light to appear not only around her finger, but similarly around both Leo's and Evan's party.

Joe and the others were curious about the lights, but before they could even ask questions, the staff member looked at them and spoke, "Now then ladies and gentlemen, you will be sent into the Fifth Battle Zone, the area known as the Magma Fortress. Death in this world is in no way true death, so please do feel free to fight with everything you have against your opponents, the last team member standing will be the true winners. Let the battles commence!" 

Following the staff member's words, Leo's party's eyes flickered as they were each excited about this particular zone. Evan looked at them and shook his head before looked at Joe and the others. He spoke, "Let's go wild..."

"Haha, with pleasure," Joe said enthusiastically, as Layla and the others smiled with certainty.

Leo and the others felt a bit uneasy, but it was already too late, moments after, the lights enveloped everyone as they vanished from this sector of the Training Zone.

****

A distance away from the Training Quarters, within the two twisted towering skyscrapers known as the Hall of Governance. A robust-looking middle-aged man deep in his late fifties sat around a desk; he wore a simple suit that was loose in certain parts as he pinched the temple of the forehead with his fingers, looking a bit exhausted.

Looking at this from a glance, one would notice that his features were somewhat similar to Leo's, but only more full, aged and robust.

Suddenly, this man lifted his head and gazed towards the flickering lights on his wristlet. He sighed before pressing a button and sitting himself up in an upright posture as he spoke, "What is it now, Wilma?"

The female called Wilma spoke as soon as she heard his words, "City Head, I have received reports that your son has entered the Training Quarters with those outsiders."

"Hmm? Is this worth me knowing, Wilma? Isn't this just his typical whimsical style of doing things?" The City Head said with a frown on his face.

"...." Wilma hesitated for a moment before she spoke again, "Normally, it wouldn't, but he was in the attendance of that Wester Miss."

"What?" The City Head said in shock; he spoke once more, "Repeat that one more time?"

Wilma sighed as she spoke, "City Head, it would appear that she had also joined him on his way back from Checkpoint 05, I heard that she was deployed at the same time you sent him away from the town. But I only recently found out that she had forgone her clan's prior instructors of Checkpoint 01 and instead entered Checkpoint 05. It even seemed that she'd had sneakily returned to the city when both Leo and that famed sharpshooter of the Briggs Family. A few moments ago, there was even a slight conflict at the Angel's Abode, and this conflict was between Leo and that prodigy from the Andersons."

When the City Head listened to her words, his tired face grew even more solemn as he slammed the desk and cursed, "Dammit! What's with this child? I told him to stay away from Julie Wester. She's of that darn family which is in direct subordination to the Anderson's. Not only did he see it fit to frolic with her in private when I sent him away, he even brought her back in silence, using these outsiders as a pretext!"

After saying this, the City Head took him his glass from the desk and toss into the wall, the glass shattered, splattering its contents about the area. The City Head then gripped his fists and looked at the mess with a burdensome look, his face seeming as if he would fall apart at any time, he coughed out a tinge of blood.

Cough! After wiping his mouth, he felt a tinge of weakness, as he thought, 'When will he learn? Does he not see the difficulties that I am facing?'

As he thought here, he couldn't help but make a tired expression as he looked on the wall. There, the images of his past comrades were mounted, or... a few of whom he had once called comrades.

As he phased off into his thoughts, Wilma who heard his coughs asked with a hint of worry in her voice, " Sir Chief, are you okay, are you in need of my service?"

The City Head sighed as he wiped the blood from his mouth and spoke, "Wilma, there's no need, I am fine. As for that brat, let him be, I'll simply have to face what I need to face tomorrow during the meeting with those outsiders. I'm guessing that old coot was waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time."

"...." Wilma hearing this hesitated for a bit before she spoke in a softer but firm tone, "Sir Milon, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I will always be there for you."

When the City Head heard a new her form of address, he sighed as he had long since known about her thoughts. He didn't reply, only keeping silent as he stared at the window, as if he could peer from here towards the distant Training Quarters, the room fading into silence as neither spoke for a long time.