CHAPTER 109: SPLIT UP

"Thank you, prime minister!" the announcer said as Vorthane retreated back to his seat.

"Now let me give you the final details. Through the teleportation platform near the fountain area, five teams will move to the mana stone dungeon at a time. So as to not have any dissatisfaction, at the time of registration, each team should have gotten a token with a number. According to the number in the token, the teams will move serially to the teleportation platform." Said the announcer.

The captains of the teams started pulling out their tokens and took a look at the numbers.

"What’s ours?" Ruby asked.

"It’s 63." Luke said.

"We’ll have to wait a long time then." Shane said.

"There’s no advantage for the first team anyway. If you’ve listened carefully, the location of the portal to the pocket realm was not disclosed. We’ll have to find it inside the dungeon ourself." Noah said as the three of them nodded in realization.

"Also, the token will act as your pass to move inside the realm. You’ll have to show it to the enforcers at the entrance of the mana stone dungeon."

"Now, let the tournament begin!!!" the announcer roared in excitement.

"Team number 1 to 5, please come forward!" One enforcer at the teleportation platform called out loud.

Five teams from the crowd separated out and moved to the platform. When they got up on the platform, the runic circle below them glowed as a pillar of light erupted, and in an instant, they vanished from the spot.

"Team number 6 to 10!" the enforcer called out as another five team moved out.

One by one the teams teleported out and the plaza started getting less crowded.

"Team number 51 to 55!"

When the enforce called out, both Adriana and Raven’s team moved out.

"Best of luck guys, we’re going first." Jane said to Luke and the others when they passed them.

Luke smiled and looked at Adriana, but she scoffed and turned her head away, ignoring him outright.

"You did something again didn’t you?" Ruby asked Luke skeptically.

Luke just shrugged his shoulders and didn’t say anything, acting innocent. Raven looked menacingly at Luke, and if looks could kill, he would have killed Luke a thousand times already.

Luke just chuckled and shook his head, laughing at his childishness.

The two of their teams got up on the platform and after the pillar of light erupted, they vanished from the spot.

After one more round of teleportation, it was finally Luke and his team’s turn.

"Team number 61 to 65!"

The four of them immediately moved out and stood on the platform along with four other teams. The runic circle below them glowed and the pillar of light erupted as the surrounding vanished. The next moment, when the pillar of light died down, the surrounding scenery changed.

They were standing on a similar platform, but they were now in a wide clearing of a forest. At a distance from them was a cave where two soldiers and two enforcers stood at the entrance. They understood that this was the mana stone dungeon.

They walked down from the platform and moved towards the dungeon entrance.

"Token please." One of the enforcers asked, looking at Luke’s team.

Luke handed the token out to him. He then kept the token with himself and passed each of them one piece of rectangular yellow paper, where some intricate runes and patterns were drawn with red ink.

"This is the teleportation talisman. Please keep it close to you all the time, and try not to lose it, or else you’ll have to find the way out yourself." The enforcer warned them as he handed the talismans out.

Luke and the others nodded and then moved inside the dungeon, with the other three teams behind, taking their talismans from the enforcer.

The dungeon inside was not that bright, the only source of light was the flambeau on the walls.

"Did you bring what I asked for Noah?" Luke asked.

"Yes." Noah then pulled out two compass and passed one to Luke.

Both of them started infusing their mana and prana inside the compass. After a few minutes the needles of the compass started glowing. They then stopped and Luke passed his compass to Noah while Noah did the same.

"What did the two of you do just now?" Shane asked, confused.

"This is a tracker compass. We each have registered our mana signatures inside it, and now even if we are far apart from each other, it will point in the direction of the one with the mana signature." Luke said.

"It even has a button, which will alert the other one if the first one is in danger and needs his help." Noah said.

"That’s okay. But why would you need one?" Ruby asked.

"Because after entering the portal, we are going to split into two teams. Noah, you and Shane in one, and I’ll move alone."

"What!? But why?" Shane cried out in surprise.

"Because I asked him to." Noah said.

Both Shane and Ruby looked at him questioningly.

"It’s because Luke has left us way behind in power, he has grown a lot stronger, while we’re still stuck and depend on him too much, which has slowed down our growth. This is an opportunity for us to see where we stand without him and to level up our strength." Noah said in a serious tone.

"That’s why I asked Noah to bring these compasses. So that if you face a situation far dangerous for you three to handle alone, I’ll be able to come for help fast."

"But how did you two know about the tournament theme before? It could have been a team battle or anything. How were you so sure that we’ll be going inside a pocket realm?" Ruby asked in confusion.

Luke and Noah looked at each other and smiled. "Because I heard the enforcers speak about it when I went to register. They didn’t know I have such a sharp hearing." Luke said proudly.

"Will we really be alright without Luke though?" Shane asked hesitatingly, unsure about this plan.

"We have to. That’s the whole idea of splitting up. All the other participants are similar in level, the beasts are also not above nightmare class. If we don’t even have the confidence to survive such a condition, then we better not dream of becoming S class in the future." said Noah, as all went silent, their faces serious.

"You’re right. we’ll be alright. It’s time we grow out of our shells too. Let’s prove that we are not weak and become worthy of the dream of reaching S class." Ruby said with determination as their faces brightened up.

"You’re a healer sister. You’ll be staying in the back, protected all the time anyway." Shane said, worry and tension apparent on his face.

"This...how dare you say that!" Ruby started hitting Shane.

"Sister...ouch! You’ve changed. You’ve even started hitting me now. I want my old sister back." Shane jumped around, teasing his sister as he kept evading her hits.

"What!? I’ve changed? It’s you who’s changed. Your mouth was not this foul earlier."

Luke and Noah laughed seeing the brother sister pair fight among themselves. It showed how much love and care they had for each other.

"I’ll try to find the route to the portal in the meantime." Luke said as his fingers curled into a specific pattern and two amber runic circles appeared on his eyes as he activated the eyes of revelation.