Chapter 102: Artificial Jungle
The National Stadium wasn’t even a building. It was a giant crater. The architects had carved a massive hole right into the middle of the Capital, lining it with seats that climbed thirty stories high. A hundred thousand people packed the stands, and their cheering bounced off the stone walls like thunder.
And above the stadium, floating projection screens broadcast the event to millions more across the kingdom.
Holden stood at the center of the arena floor with his team. Around them, ninety-nine other teams packed the space, a sea of different uniforms and colored auras. The air buzzed with tension and excitement.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" a voice boomed from nowhere and everywhere. The announcer’s voice was magically amplified to ear-splitting volume. "WELCOME TO THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH NATIONAL ACADEMY WARS!"
The crowd screamed.
"I’M YOUR HOST, MARCUS FELT, AND BOY DO WE HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU TODAY! ONE HUNDRED TEAMS! FIVE HUNDRED OF THE KINGDOM’S FINEST YOUNG WARRIORS! ONLY THIRTY WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND! LET’S MEET THE CONTENDERS!"
Holden stopped listening and looked up.
High in the stadium, above the competitor floor, a row of luxury boxes overlooked everything. Glass walls, silk curtains, golden railings.
In the center box sat the Royal Family.
King Aldric. Cold eyes, sharp jaw, a crown that caught the light. Beside him, Queen Regana, her expression carefully blank.
And in a magical wheelchair at the front of the box, wrapped in fine silk robes that covered his motionless legs, sat Prince Oscar.
His face was pale. His arms rested on the armrests, but his fingers didn’t move. The paralysis Holden had given him was permanent. Oscar’s neck was the only part of his body that still worked, and he used it now to glare down at the arena floor with pure hatred.
Holden found him in the crowd easily.
He raised his hand and gave a cheerful little wave.
Oscar’s face twisted. Even from this distance, Holden could see the veins bulging in the prince’s neck.
Lyra glanced at Holden. "You’re going to make him angrier."
"That’s the idea."
"FOUR TEAMS FROM THE ROYAL WAR COLLEGE! THREE FROM IRONCLAD ACADEMY! TWO FROM SHADOW VEIL INSTITUTE!" the announcer continued. "AND MAKING THEIR NATIONAL DEBUT, THE DARK HORSE SENSATION FROM THE BORDERLANDS... VANGUARD ACADEMY, TEAM SOUP!"
A mix of cheers and boos rippled through the crowd. The Royal Family’s influence was obvious. Half the audience loved an underdog. The other half hated Holden for what he did to their prince.
"NOW THEN!" The announcer’s voice dropped to a dramatic rumble. "LET’S TALK ABOUT ROUND ONE!"
The stadium floor shuddered.
Right beneath their feet, massive stone panels started shifting and sliding apart, opening up a dark pit that dropped deep into the ground. An eerie green light glowed from below, mixed with the humming sound of heavy machinery and buzzing energy
"ROUND ONE IS THE UNDER-JUNGLE SURVIVAL RACE!" the announcer screamed. "BENEATH THIS STADIUM LIES A MASSIVE ARTIFICIAL BIOME! MECHANICAL BEASTS! TRAPPED PATHS! DEADLY TERRAIN! EACH TEAM MUST NAVIGATE THE JUNGLE, RECOVER ONE OF THIRTY GLOWING CORES, AND REACH THE EXIT ZONE!"
A holographic map appeared above the pit, showing a maze of green corridors and open clearings.
"FIRST THIRTY TEAMS TO EXIT ADVANCE! EVERYONE ELSE GOES HOME! COMPETITORS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"
Teams moved toward the edge of the pit. Platforms lowered them down into the green-lit darkness below.
Holden tapped the small earpiece in his left ear.
"You read me?" he asked quietly.
Maeve’s voice came through crystal clear. "Loud and clear. I’m in the observation deck. I’ve got the arena blueprints."
"How did you get arena blueprints?"
"I hacked the tournament network twenty minutes ago. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered."
Holden smiled.
Team Soup descended into the Under-Jungle.
Massive artificial trees made of metal and synthetic leaves stretched toward a ceiling painted to look like a sky. The air was warm and humid, pumped in by hidden vents. Mechanical birds chirped from the branches, their eyes glowing with red sensor lights.
The floor was soft earth mixed with real grass. It felt like a real forest, except for the faint hum of machinery beneath everything.
A horn blew.
BWOOOOM!
Teams exploded in every direction. Some charged straight ahead. Others fanned out cautiously. A team from the Ironclad Academy formed a defensive square and started marching.
Holden walked forward at a calm pace.
"Maeve," he said. "Guide us."
"Left at the big fake tree," her voice said immediately. "The right path has proximity mines buried under the dirt. I can see them on the blueprint."
Team Soup turned left without hesitation.
"Forward sixty meters, then right at the mossy rock."
They followed her instructions exactly. While other teams were hitting traps, triggering mechanical beasts, and fighting for their lives, Team Soup strolled through empty corridors and safe paths like they were taking a morning walk.
"Stop," Maeve said sharply.
They stopped.
"Twenty meters ahead, a pack of mechanical wolves is circling a clearing. The glowing core is right in the middle of them."
"How many wolves?" Emric asked.
"Eight. Rank 1, 8-Star each. Individually manageable, but they attack as a pack."
Renna already had an arrow nocked. "I can take four before they close the distance."
"Negative," Maeve said. "There’s a maintenance tunnel on your left, fifteen meters back. It bypasses the clearing entirely and comes out behind the core. The wolves won’t detect you if you move quietly."
Emric raised an eyebrow. "You found a maintenance tunnel in an arena blueprint?"
"I found seven. Move."
They backtracked, found the tunnel hidden behind a cluster of fake bushes, and crawled through.
They emerged behind the core.
The glowing sphere sat on a pedestal, pulsing with soft white light. The mechanical wolves prowled in front of it, completely unaware.
Holden walked up, picked up the core, and tucked it under his arm.
"Got it," he said.
"Wolves are turning," Maeve reported. "Move northeast, straight path to exit. You have a two-minute window."
They ran.
The exit zone was a glowing archway fifty meters ahead. Team Soup sprinted toward it, the sounds of chaos echoing behind them.
Ten meters from the exit, shapes dropped from the trees.
Five figures in dark green uniforms. A rival team. They had been hiding in the branches, waiting to steal a core from whoever passed by.
Their leader, a boy with twin daggers, grinned. "Drop the core and we might let you walk away."
Holden didn’t slow down.
"Emric," he said.
Emric was already moving. His heavy shield came off his back in one smooth motion. He planted himself directly in front of the ambush team and braced.
Bam!
The wiry leader ran face-first into the shield. The boy bounced off and crumpled to the ground, dazed.
"Renna."
Twang! Thwack! Thwack!
Three arrows pinned the remaining ambushers to the trees before they could draw their weapons. One to the sleeve. One to the pants leg. One to the collar, close enough to nick the chin.
None of them were fatal. None of them needed to be.
The ambushers hung there, pinned like insects on a board, too shocked to speak.
Holden walked up to the leader, who was still blinking stars out of his eyes.
"Nice try, guys," Holden said.
He kicked the boy gently in the chest, rolling him into a nearby mud puddle with a wet splat.
"Enjoy the mud."
Team Soup jogged through the exit archway.
The crowd above erupted.
"AND THERE IT IS! Team Soup from Vanguard Academy just crossed in seventh place!"
[Ding!]
[Under-Jungle Survival Race: Completed!]
[Placement: 7th out of 100 Teams]
[Rank Reward: 500 KP]
[Mechanical Wolves Bypassed (Strategic): +500 KP]
[2x KP Booster Applied!]
[Total: +2,000 KP!]
[Current Balance: 41,390 KP]
Holden pulled the earpiece from his ear and looked up at the VIP box.
Prince Oscar’s neck strained against his robes, his teeth grinding so hard a muscle twitched violently in his jaw.
Holden gave him another wave.