Chapter 178: Graduation Ceremony (2)


    "The Goal of the Graduation Ceremony is for the Cadets to experience life in the Wilds, in preparation for their future missions." The yellow face, spanning 40 metres in size spoke, "Therefore, the Ceremony will span 24 hours with all Cadets participating in a single mission; their goal is to arrive at the finishing point."


    "As opposed to the Tier 2 strength of the November Batch, there is thrice the number of Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts present, all upying their respective habitats. There are also about 2,500 Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts, consisting of about 12 different species."


    "The goals are artificial looking tforms in the otherwise natural environment we have created, so, it would be easy to spot. The Cadets will be split into teams of five, assigned randomly, with the final team having 6 members. A total of one hour has been given to get ustomed to the teammates. Also, only the most basic resources of weapons, armours, and energy resources have been allocated."


    "Unless a Cadet is on the verge of death, he/she will not be pulled out. There are no rewards for sess and no punishments for failure. The only objective is thepletion of the assigned mission." The yellow face continued speaking a few more rules, mostly for the Cadets in the Graduation ceremony to follow.


    As for the spectators, they were only asked to witness everything and try to glean insights for their future well-being. The ground staff flew overhead, each stopping at separated spots, situated 10 metres above the sea of clouds. They spread throughout the area of the ground, each holding a name pad.


    On it were numbers, assigned from 1 to 891. To their right were columns, split into six respectively, battle insight, judgement, leadership, strength, camaraderie, nning, and execution. There was a number 10 above each of the six columns, signifying the maximum range of the score assignable.


    This implied the Cadets were awarded scores for the maximum of 60 depending on their overall performance. Each ground staff gazed at the watch strapped on their hands, gazing intently at the time, watching the second-hand move past consistently.


    6:00 AM, the clouds parted way, dispersing into steam that spread upwards, soon mixing up into the atmosphere. The ground was revealed, now housing an ecosystem of its own.


    Rakh Veera stood at the edge of the circr tform, watching it enter theyer of clouds, nketing his vision for a couple of seconds before it appeared beneath theyer. Sounds of shock and exim went off one after another, with some Cadets beginning to cry in fear.


    ''They have drastically changed the terrain once again.'' Even Rakh Veera felt a sense of apprehension, spotting a column of water forming a river in the air, flowing steadily from one end to the other, making a loop before returning to its source, arge pond situated on one end.


    "Don''t lose yourposure," Rakh Veera shouted, instilling some calm into the flustered students. His prestige and authority, not to mention his battle aplishments in recent times made everyone unconsciously ce his words on a pedestal, carrying significant weight.


    "Memorise theyout before the tform touches the ground. We have a minute at most, make use of every second." His voice carried reason, quickly spurring everyone into action. There were still many who were fearful, their legs trembling while they stammered, unable to voice out their thoughts. But, they tried their best to ovee their nervousness and fear.


    As the tform descended, Rakh Veera noticed a thin stream separate from the column of water flowing in the air. Swimming within it was arge fish-like creature, spanning a length greater than 2 metres.


    It noticed and swam towards them, approaching through the air, all the while apanied by a thin stream of water covering its body, forming a trail that connected with the main column of water.


    A Cadet lifted a sword, his hands trembling as he gazed at the fish swim towards him, gulping in fear at its bloodthirsty eyes. He trembled, his nervousness oveing his rational, prompting him to raise his sword and charge at the iing creature.


    "Idiot!" A nearby Cadet grabbed hold of him, sending a p his way. "Look at it carefully. Think before you act or you will end up in its stomach."


    Only then did the Cadete to his senses, watching his feet hovering just a centimetre from the edge of the tform. In the meantime, the fish had swum towards him, approaching a metre from him. As the Cadet took a step back in fear, he heard a dull thud as the fish mmed its face on the psychic energy barrier, one that shed around the tform they stood on.


    "This barrier will shield us until the moment the Ceremony begins. We still have more than 10 minutes for that to happen. Once the tform touches the ground, we can then think and prepare a route to charge through." The other Cadet said, ncing at the approaching Rakh Veera as he nodded.


    Rakh Veera nodded in response and returned to his previous spot. He noticed the tform descending past numerous rock pirs, each spanning almost 80 metres in height, with their bodies shaped like rugged cones.


    The rock pirs were haphazardly ced,cking zero sense of unity. There were winding paths that connected some rock pirs. The area on the ground was narrow, with only some rare few paths spanning a width greater than 2 metres.


    Most of the time, the rock pirs blocked many pathways, the gap sometimes spanning less than three centimetres, only allowing one to peek the other side.


    Rakh Veera thought about theyout of the military academy and his directional cement on the descending circr tform, getting a sense of the direction. The Esper Block was situated in the north while the Rhachis Block was in the south. The White Building was in the east while the Head Office Building was in the west.


    Rakh Veera noticed traces of spider webs in the south and south-east, allowing him to instantly figure out the dominant Frenzy Beasts in the habitat. He shouted towards the rest, pointing at the direction he observed the webs in, "Avoid going through our south and south-east. They are the habitat for the Floating Spiders."


    Without any opposition, everyone nodded. Rakh Veera then pointed above them, at the column of water flowing in the air, "Also, if you encounter any River Whales, refrain from killing them. Only injure them to the extent they would retreat. They are the ones maintaining the water column, without them, all that water would fall on us and create a flood, also flushing all the Frenzy Beasts to one ce."


    Beyond that, Rakh Veera didn''t spot anything else worthy of pointing out, turning silent. There was barely any illumination, with the source originating from the tform they stood above. The rest was as dark as the night, unable to be determined of whaty within. He could only make out some things through his Tier 1 Skill.


    He then noticed a sh of yellow form before them. The sh of yellow soon shaped itself into the figure of Madam M, looking at them for a couple of seconds.


    The marble figure pointed towards the east, "The goal is a cluster of floating inds situated at the end in this direction." The figure then pointed towards the west, "There is a simr arrangement of the floating inds in the west. Each floating ind is only wide enough to facilitate a single team."


    "Also, the total number of floating inds is the same as the total number of teams, 178, split between the east and west. n well and upy the inds. Moreover, the Ceremony only ends upon the time limit of 24 hours. So, even if you end up upying a floating ind, you would have to defend the ce against your foes until the time limit."


    At the mention of the word ''foes'', Rakh Veera''s brows scrunched up, his expression turned foul as he thought, ''She mentioned the term foes and not Frenzy Beasts, dammit. Before anyone gets a bad idea, I should put a stop to their train of thought.''


    "That''s all I have to say. The moment this tform disappears and the clouds above dissipate is when your Ceremony begins." The yellow figure crumbled, dissipating from the spot with a sh of yellow.


    "Everyone," Rakh Veera shouted, "The team that first arrives at either end will try to transmit the number of floating inds in the region. This will help us coordinate and prevent any wastage of time."


    "Also," He turned around, his focus turning sharp, "Your character and your mettle is tested here. So, put on your best behaviour to get better opportunities at the organisations you will be drafted to."


    "Victory for us!" An Area Controller among the crowd shouted, transmitting his voice through his psychic energy, inciting everyone to echo his words. Their shout raised their morale, amplifying their spirits.


    Some Frenzy Beasts who had spotted them began to crawl forward, with many retreating to notify their brethren, preparing for retaliation.


    At this moment, the clouds above parted way, allowing the morning sunlight to illuminate the region, making everyone gasp in rm. Among the stone pirs situated slightly farther away, a horde of Frenzy Beasts climber over, swarming towards their location post haste.


    "Spread out!" Rakh Veera bellowed, motioning for his teammates to follow behind him. All the other Tier 2 Cadets charged out at the front, intending to forge a path for the rest to follow.