CHAPTER 229: PIONEERING TEAM

A day later, their instructor, Zeke, summoned them to the Gathering Site of Auralis I.

After receiving the instructions, Nash and Camilla quickly headed to the place.

Upon arriving, they only saw that a few seeded talents had arrived.

Just as Nash started looking for a place to wait, Zeke suddenly turned to him.

"Come here," Zeke called.

Hearing the call, Nash obediently approached.

"What is it, Instructor Zeke?" Nash asked in puzzlement.

The others, equally confused, turned their attention to the pair.

"Here’s a copy of all the books from Tier 1 to Tier 5 in the Nova Library," Zeke said bluntly, handing him a storage item.

"The Nova Government agreed?" Nash asked in surprise.

He thought his earlier proposal had been rejected, but it seemed it was approved at the last moment.

"This is a benefit for all seeded talents. For this training session, you must use these books to establish a library."

"Set up a library? What do you mean? Is that even possible?"

While some shelters in the Dark Plane had libraries, they were crude, housing only various techniques and manuals.

But the Tier 4 runic storage was filled to the brim, likely containing over a hundred trillion books!

Storing them all in a library was a monumental task, especially in the dangerous Dark Plane.

Even the Nova Sector dedicated an entire planet to store physical copies of its books. How could a mere shelter accommodate them?

"That’s right. In your next training session, you must build a library capable of housing and protecting all these books."

"If you succeed, we’ll provide another copy for you to take to the Cosmic Competition. If you fail, we’ll confiscate this one."

"Alright..." Nash agreed, hearing the conditions.

Just gazing at the mountain of books in the runic storage filled him with excitement.

In his hands was the entire wealth of knowledge from the Nova Sector!

Though it only covered up to the Tier 5 realm, it was enough to keep him occupied for years.

Even if the mission seemed impossible, Nash was willing to accept it for these books.

Whether he could complete it, however, remained uncertain.

Still, even if he failed, having access to this sea of books for a year and a half would be enough.

As Nash pondered how to complete the mission Zeke had set, the rest of the seeded talent program arrived.

"Everyone’s here," Zeke said, clapping his hands to grab their attention.

"For our next and final training session, you’ll form a pioneering team and defend a shelter on your own."

"Defend a shelter by ourselves? Is this meant to simulate what we’ll face in the Cosmic Competition?" someone asked.

"That’s right, but this isn’t just a simulation, it’s real. Every shelter you’ve seen was built and protected through countless sacrifices," Zeke replied.

"Your task is to get familiar with all aspects of building a shelter, from defense, long-term stability, architecture, resource points, and more."

"What’s the difference between this and the actual Cosmic Competition, Instructor Zeke?"

"The only difference is that you only need to last for a year and a half."

"What does that mean?" another asked, confused.

The veterans, however, who had already experienced a domain-level Cosmic Competition before, understood how much easier this training was compared to the real thing.

The main challenge of protecting a shelter in the Dark Plane was time.

The longer they stayed, the stronger their life aura would grow, attracting more and more dark beasts.

Worse, as if orchestrated by the Dark Plane itself, in the final moments before the shelter could get recognized by the Void Administrator, they would face a beast tide lasting months.

This stage was also where most competitors perished, signifying its difficulty.

With endless enemies charging from the front and no way to retreat, many fell into despair until they could no longer endure.

Having to build and defend a shelter for only half the time meant they only needed to worry about the surrounding dark beasts.

It wouldn’t be easy, but it was far less hellish than the actual Cosmic Competition.

"Alright, no more questions. You’ll understand everything once you enter the site."

Too lazy to answer further, Zeke wrapped his power around everyone, connecting to the Dark Plane.

Feeling an irresistible force, the seeded talents could only watch as they were pulled into the unknown.

Soon, as if sucked into a whirlpool, the world spun, dragging them from reality into a darkness filled with despair.

---

"We’re here. Welcome to the Nova Pioneering Shelter, the main outpost of the Nova Battlefield to the darkness," Zeke said with a smile.

Hearing his welcome, most of the seeded talents couldn’t help but gaze around, their eyes filled with admiration.

They stood in the Nova Pioneering Shelter, the most revered place in all of the Nova Sector!

Unlike the esteemed Nova Government or the revered Nova Army, the Nova Pioneering Shelter was a symbol of hope and prosperity.

Long ago, according to historical records, there was only the Nova Shelter.

But with the rise of the Nova Pioneering Teams, shelters began to spring up like mushrooms after rain.

More shelters brought more wealth, making the Nova Sector increasingly prosperous.

In the millions of years since the Nova Sector’s establishment, the Nova Pioneering Team had managed to create tens of thousands of qualified shelters.

The reason they were in awe was because this could likely be their final destination.

The pioneering team was mainly composed of talents who had passed the sector-level Cosmic Competition but couldn’t advance to the domain level.

Exceeding the age limit for the competition, they settled in the Nova Sector, helping to expand its territory.

Though joining the pioneering team was dangerous, it was also a lucrative job.

This was evident as most top families and organizations rose from the pioneering team, becoming pillars of the Nova Sector.

Standing on the ground where it all began, they felt honored in their hearts.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you to pick a place to build your shelter," Zeke said, his smile softening as he guided them to the Pioneering Hall to select a land to conquer.