CHAPTER 177: TEAM INVITATION

Arriving at the assembly location, Nash was greeted by sacred monoliths in a grand room filled with solemnity.

Inside, instead of the expected hundred seeded talents, he saw about three hundred people mingling and talking around.

Just as he was about to look for Camilla, he heard her voice calling out from behind.

"You’re here!" Camilla leapt onto his back, wrapping him in a hug.

Familiar with his disguise as Noir, she wasn’t puzzled by his altered appearance.

"Don’t be too ostentatious," Nash muttered, pinching her cheeks.

"Oh, I just missed you!"

Because of the cosmic competition, they hadn’t seen each other for over a month.

"I know, I missed you too." Helping Camilla off his back, he asked what was going on.

The seeded talents were supposed to be only a hundred, so why were there hundreds now?

"The others are seeded talents who failed the Domain-Level Cosmic Competition over the past hundred years,"

"I see, that explains it."

Even if they failed, they remained valuable assets.

Having already experienced the Domain-Level Cosmic Competition once, they had better chances if they tried again.

After all, there wasn’t a limit on how many times one could enter the Cosmic Competition, as long as they didn’t exceed the age restriction.

Looking at the older seeded talents, Nash felt immense pressure.

Most of them were Rank 3 Void Generals, with two even reaching Rank 4 Void Venerate!

With such strength, how had they not passed the cosmic-level competition?

As for the seeded talents in his own batch, most were only Rank 1 Void Warriors, with five reaching Rank 2 Void Commander.

"This place is truly a dragon’s den..." Nash sighed.

These talents weren’t rejects who barely advanced; they pursued the limit of 1000% saturation, fortification, and condensation!

Even with the [Overlimit Module System] and his grandmaster-level combat ability, Nash wasn’t sure he could even contend with a Void Commander.

This didn’t even account for the fact that some of them possessed genetic abilities!

"Boss, is that you?" William suddenly appeared from the side, followed by a few others.

"It’s me."

"Wow, boss, it’s really you! As expected, you managed to join the Seeded Talent Program!"

"Who’s this, William? Care to introduce us?"

"This is my friend, my combat master, Noir," William introduced proudly.

"Well, since you’re William’s friend, we’ll be your friends too. I’m Tori."

"I’m Kairo. Pleased to meet you."

"I’m Laura~ We welcome you to our team~"

"Team? What team?" Noticing their unusual friendliness, Nash couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

"You don’t know? In the Domain-Level Cosmic Competition, we’ll all be sent to the Dark Plane. You can go alone or with a team, everything is allowed."

"That’s right. In the next Cosmic Competition, it’s not about fighting and killing but survival."

"Furthermore, there’s no longer a winner or loser, only those who stay alive."

As they explained how the Domain-Level Cosmic Competition worked, Nash nodded in understanding.

Unlike the Sector-Level Competition, where only the top 1,000 in each battle zone passed, all survivors in the Domain-Level Competition could advance.

The problem was the danger. Instead of the regulated part of the Dark Plane, they would be thrown into an unregulated zone.

No teleportation stations, safe zones, shelters, designated danger zones, or danger ratings—nothing!

The place was untouched by any civilization, teeming with unpredictable dangers.

If they were unlucky, they might spawn in a nest of Tier 9 dark beasts.

With no rules and full of peril, survival meant relying on each other for warmth and protection.

"How about it, boss? Want to join our team?" William asked hopefully.

Initially, he wanted to follow wherever Nash went, but his family instructed him to join these three.

Coming from the same top family, they had no trouble trusting each other’s backs.

"Let me think about it..." Nash didn’t immediately accept.

He needed to gather more information before deciding on such a crucial matter.

Furthermore, Camilla was already tugging at his clothes from the side.

"You don’t need to join them."

"Do you have a team too?"

"Yes. Remember, I’m from the Nova Military Academy. We’re directly supported by the government. Unlike them, our team is composed of top elites, including—"

Before Camilla could finish, a woman, one of the Void Venerates in the room, approached them.

"Camilla, who’s this gentleman? Is he the one you wanted to recommend?"

"Captain Natasha! That’s right, this is Noir, my most important person." Camilla hugged his arm, introducing him to the woman.

Knowing Nash wanted to keep his identity secret, Camilla played along, not wanting to spoil his cover.

"Oh? Not bad, you look strong." Natasha nodded, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Sensing Nash’s solid foundation and calm composure under her gaze, Natasha didn’t reject him from the team.

"What about it, boy? Want to join us?"

"This—"

Even in a virtual world, Nash felt overwhelming pressure.

"Captain!" Camilla erupted, seeing Natasha pressuring Nash.

"Oh? You’d fight me for this boy?"

"Captain, don’t force me..." Feeling the same pressure, Camilla’s blood seemed to stagnate.

Yet the glint in her eyes showed she would immediately fight Natasha if she pushed further.

"Boy, are you going to keep hiding behind a woman? Why don’t you answer me?" Ignoring Camilla, Natasha increased her pressure.

At this moment, Nash was already in the runic space.

Unaffected by the pressure, he quickly mobilized the runic detection while thinking of a way out of his predicament.

[Natasha: Rank 4 Void Venerate

Combat Power: 4.5 billion]

"Hiss~ So that’s why!"

Nash’s combat power was only in the thousands. Facing the pressure of billions, it was no wonder he couldn’t even open his mouth.

It wasn’t fear, but his body automatically shutting down, giving up in the face of such a monster.

Eyeing Natasha, who seemed intent on embarrassing him, Nash activated the [Control Module System] for manual control.

As if shutting down his body’s instincts, he manually commanded himself to step forward.

Intrigued, Natasha waited to hear what Nash would say.