As everyone shuffled to their seats, they exchanged knowing looks, the air was heavy with tension. Their eyes darted toward one another, seeking confirmation. Over the last few days, all of them had met and had confirmed that they all had the same burning questions, and they wanted answers. As they adjusted themselves in their seats, they all turned their eyes to the door, now only the main four members of their council were left to arrive.

  The door silently swung open, and in came a giant of man. His presence seemed to fill the room before his body fully crossed the threshold. Blue eyes that glimmered like a clear lake. His giant frame was recognizable everywhere he went. He wore a simple buttoned-up shirt, surely purchased from the System and the uniform pants that were worn by the security team along with some very premium looking boots.

  Even if you didn’t know the man, you knew the frame or his fame. Alex, the third vanguard, in charge of defense and otherwise known as “The Wall.”

  Moving to the chair that bore his name, Alex gave everyone a small and courteous nod. Resting his arms on the conference table, he interlocked his fingers and waited patiently for the rest to arrive.

  After a few minutes of hushed whispers and nervous fidgeting, the door opened once more. This time, two people entered together.

  First was a woman who’s eyes radiated a dull golden light, her hair matching their golden intensity. Everywhere she went, people wanted to prostrate themselves before her and worship her, the divine pull she exerted was undeniable. Yet she was adamant that that wasn’t something she desired, in fact, she detested the very idea as it would interfere with her work, which she enjoyed very much.

  The woman’s name was Lydia, the right hand of Stella.

  Stella herself was right beside Lydia. With a nod, Stella and Lydia separated, each going to their respective seats. Stella’s hair had grown, yet she had trimmed it. It was now slightly longer than it had been before, though not by much. It now fell just below her shoulders, and it begun to gain a hint of white on its ends.

  As Stella passed by, those that she came near felt the heat increase ever so slightly. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was definitely noticeable. Her eyes were a burning red, with what seemed to be the edge of a white flame dancing near the edge of her irises.

  Bearing a serious expression and her appearance neat, she wore a buttoned-up shirt and simple jeans with heeled boots. Anyone who didn’t know her would not be able to guess her power, yet everyone in the room knew what her flames were capable of. This was the fifth vanguard, Stella, otherwise known as “The Flame.”

  Without making much of a fuss, she sat down to the right of the central chair, then she turned to Alex, who was beside her.

  “Where’s Anna?” she asked, trying not to sound overly familiar.

  Trying to emulate Stella’s distant tone, Alex answered. “She went out to train since early. She should be here soon.”

  As soon as Alex finished his sentence, the door silently swung open, and only a few people noticed that it did so. Another woman, this one wielding a sword, entered the room. She wore a white shirt, with a small leather vest, black pants and black boots, their quality easily indicating that they had been purchased from the System.

  She had jet black hair that reached all the way to her lower back. Her hair was a shade of black so dark that it neared that of the total absence of color. Her irises were the same. Any who locked eyes with her would find themselves lost in the abyss of her gaze.

  With a slight jerking motion, the sword she was holding in her hand vanished. Even as they watched her move, advancing closer and closer toward her seat, everyone had difficulty grasping her presence. Many of those in the room had already undergone their first evolution, yet, as the woman walked, her steps were silent, and her movements were barely enough to disturb the very air around her.

  This was Anna, trained from when she was young, all of her movements were honed and precise, only heightened by her evolution. She was the second vanguard, otherwise known as “The Blade.” As Anna reached her seat and silently pulled her chair out, the door opened once more.

  Entering was a tall and thin, but muscular young man. He wore a buttoned shirt with his sleeves rolled up so that his muscles were exposed and some jeans that appeared new yet were marred with what appeared to be small burn marks. Lastly, he had heavy and worn work boots on, clashing with the rest of his attire. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, he moved forward, advancing toward his chair and his boots thudding softly with each step.

  Stella noticed his appearance and glared at him, while he made a deliberate effort to avoid her glance. Stella’s eyes followed him anyway, sharp and unyielding. Her gaze darted between the burn marks, the work boots and his sleeves.

  This was Marcus, the fourth and final vanguard that would arrive at this meeting, otherwise known as “The Spark.” He was the one responsible for the very fact that Solace had access to electricity, running water and even vehicles.

  With a stiff expression, he sat beside Anna, giving her a small nod and hiding behind her as best he could so that Stella wouldn’t look directly at him. It’s really not my fault, he thought. They needed my help, I really tried to be careful. Fuck! How do I explain this to her?

  When Marcus took his seat, as awkward as he was when he did so, Stella gave a slight nod to Lydia.

  Lydia stood, returned the nod and made her way to the front of the conference table, standing near the opening but not actually crossing it. She cleared her throat, trying her best not to be noticed doing so and began talking.

  “This month’s meeting was brought forward by petition of everyone present,” she began, her voice calm and formal. “As usual, the items to be discussed will be done in the order that they were brought forward.” There was some rustling, people were getting ready to interject. “However,” Lydia said clearly, lifting her finger and calming some of the agitation, “due to the urgency and uniqueness of the situation that is unfolding, we have rearranged them to fit a different standard that is determined by urgency. That being said, first order of business is the upcoming tournament.”

  As soon as Lydia finished speaking, she gave a light bow and returned to her seat which was a small singular desk that was near the wall. As if waiting for Lydia to reach her seat, someone spoke as soon as she did so.

  “Have we determined who has been invited? Or was it a blanket invitation?” the speaker asked.

  Turning to face the speaker, Alex locked eyes with a tanned woman, who was wearing a lab coat. She was the head of the research department. “Thanks for bringing that up, Meera,” he said with a nod, turning to face the head of security, Connor. “Do you have an answer to her question?”

  With a simple nod, Connor exchanged brief glances with everyone, though his expression remained unchanged. “Anybody above level ten,” he answered, adjusting himself on his seat, indicating that that was his entire answer.

  “Including children?” a woman who sat at one of the tables near the wall asked, their chair having the engraving of a house.

  “Anyone above level ten,” Connor repeated.

  “Can an invitation be cancelled?” another asked.

  “No, once accepted only the timer appears and nothing can be done other than to wait. We do however think that it might be possible to simply ignore the summons, but we won’t know until the time comes,” Connor added.

  “Great. So, we're just hoping nothing goes wrong then?” the voice who asked about the children asked again, their tone carrying a hint of annoyance.

  With a slight nod that accepted Connor’s answer Stella answered. “It’s not ideal, but we can at least prepare.” She then turned her attention to Meera. “Any results from investigating the portal that appeared?”

  “Not at the moment,” Meera began, her face suddenly becoming tired after recalling her exhaustive testing. With a heavy sigh, she continued. “We have determined that it’s self-powered and that its harder than any metal known to man. But I don’t know how that helps.”

  “So, it’s indestructible and mysterious. Perfect,” someone added from the sidelines.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “We’ve been trying to get the third vanguard’s help with it,” Meera added, her tone souring slightly. “But Marcus refuses to meet with us—”

  “I’m investigating something else,” Marcus interjected, his voice just as tired as Meera’s. “And because of what happened yesterday, I have even more to do,” he added rubbing his temples as he remembered the dungeon upgrade and the constantly changing magic sybmols.

  Giving Marcus a sharp glare, Stella faced Meera once more. “We’ll figure out the schedule later on. For now, let’s focus on what can and needs to be done.”

  What followed was a short but decisive discussion about what to do with those that wanted to participate. How they should deal with the kids who had been leveled by their parents and had also gotten an invitation. While the discussion went on for quite a while, it did basically boil down to adding security checks and stopping certain people from entering, while keeping an eye out for any possible consequences.

  Noticing that the discussion was essentially over, Lydia stood, looking at some documents before her. “Now we will move on to—”

  “We have to discuss what’s most important!” someone interrupted, followed by a loud thud as a fist slammed onto the table. All eyes turned to the man who spoke: Romeo, a tall black man wearing a simple suit, and an equally simple golden ring on his ring finger. “That damn Littler Light. Where have you-—”

  Stella visibly cringed as she heard the name, though the others mistook it as a wince.

  “How is that the most important?” Meera interjected. “What happened to the dungeon yesterday, what is—”

  “Don’t interrupt me!” Romeo shouted, glaring to his side. “Our leaders might be secretly training people! That should be our focus!”

  “So what?” the person beside him said in a disinterested tone. “We get stronger people to defend us, we all win.” This was Clara, her chair carried the symbol of weaponry.

  Romeo whipped his head toward them. “So what? So what?!!” His disbelief was almost tangible as he leaned toward Clara. “Listen here you little—”

  “All of you be quite!” another shouted, putting an end to the small fight before it even began. The speaker’s chair bore the symbol of a house. It was Reginald, sitting back with a smug smile. “I believe we have an even greater issue here,” he added, his voice dripping with venom as he lazily gestured toward the center of the table. “That seat, it’s been empty for too long.” He pointed at the vacant seat in the middle of the table. “Isn’t it high time we either get rid of it or perhaps… fill it up?”

  “Let us be honest,” he continued. “What has he really done for Solace other than help pick a name? He was here for far less than most of us here,” he said, gesturing broadly at everyone in the room. “I never met the man, your friend, but is he really so great that saving a seat for him like you are currently doing is worth it?”

  Reginald carefully observed the four vanguards before him, searching for any reaction. He loved it when they got angry, showing everyone just how unfit the four were to rule this place. If I can’t find the hub crystal, then I just have to take this place away from you another way. His smile twisted further, his own attempt at feigned kindness.

  “No offence, but we really need to remove that which serves no purpose and elevate what has proven useful to us.” He paused for a moment, letting the tension build. “I propose that we hold an election. With the help of the System, a completely fair process is guaranteed.” He paused once more, looking directly at Stella. “We just need for the hub owner to agree,” he finished, a fake smile taking over.

  Stella let out a sigh of exhaustion, feeling her problems only grow further. She and the others had noticed that as their population increased, that weird effect of community and belonging that had initially been so prevalent, became weaker and left people completely unaffected.

  Reginald was one of the unaffected people. He was a man who claimed to be from Britain, but none of the city survivors actually knew him. He tended to wear simple “dad clothes” to feel more “connected” to the people, or so he said.

  Luckily for Stella, Reginald lacked a lot of information, an incredible amount in fact. For starters, the hub crystal which had been relocated to a safe location, had no way of being taken over. So, his idea that I’m the hub owner is completely wrong, Stella thought.

  The four friends had come to know that other hubs had an option to be taken over once they were touched by anyone other than the owner, yet theirs didn’t. And now, the four friends had confirmation that their friend was alive, so they were unaffected by Reginald’s comments that were clearly targeted at them.

  The room erupted in murmurs as people began arguing about Reginald’s suggestion. The minority, those who had actually met or at least seen Eric, and still had a faint trace of that odd unity, clashed with the majority, who barely knew him or had arrived after he vanished.

  Quickly, the rowdiness became too much. With an incredibly loud clap of hands, Alex silenced the room that had suddenly gotten rowdy at Reginald’s comments. The sound snapped everyone’s attention back to him, silencing the chaos instantly.

  “Stella,” Alex said, turning to her and giving her a nod.

  “Thanks,” she replied, her face becoming serious as she addressed the entire room. “We have answers to all your questions.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “And yes, they’re all connected.”

  Romeo scoffed loudly, leaning forward in his chair. “How can they all—”

  He stopped mid-sentence, his mouth snapping shut as he suddenly felt something sharp poke at his neck. Turning to the side, he noticed Anna’s glare locked onto him, it was so piercing that he thought he was imagining the sensation on his neck.

  “You might have to excuse me,” Reginald said, some genuine doubt in his voice. “But I fail to see how any of this could possibly be related. Or how it could solve what I have proposed.”

  “You wouldn’t be able to, which is why we’re giving the answers and not you,” Marcus said, his voice firm. “Now shut it.”

  Stella, not wanting the tension to escalate further, turned to face Reginald. “To answer your question, the seat isn’t empty, Eric simply isn’t here at the moment.” Her voice suddenly dropped, the air around her somehow becoming heavier. "Bring the topic up again, and believe me when I say this,” she paused for a moment, letting the tension build, “not even I know what will happen to you. And if you’re really unlucky… what Eric himself will do.”

  Reginald’s slimy smile faltered for the first time, though he tried to maintain his composure. “You can’t just—”

  “That wasn’t a threat,” Stella interrupted. “It was a warning.” Stella composed herself. “To tell you the truth, even we’ll be in trouble when he returns.”

  With a quick glance she noticed that her friends, plus Lydia, and Connor visibly winced at the reminder. There were still prisoners that they didn’t know how to deal with, and they had even ignored what Eric had told Connor.

  And those were only some of the problems that Eric more or less knew about. There were also others that they knew that when he found out about them, he would not like. One of them was Reginald.

  “Getting back on track, that’s your answer. Eric is still alive, and the seat isn’t empty, its merely waiting,” Stella finished with her answer as she adjusted herself on her seat, regaining her composure.

  “But how does that relate to the secret force you’re raising in secret?” Romeo asked, his eyes narrowing as he inched toward the edge of his chair that had a stack of coins as a symbol.

  Stella met his gaze. “Littler Light isn’t a secret force, Romeo. It’s Eric. It’s a nickname that his little sister gave him when she was still a kid.”

  Reginald's eyes flickered with interest, but he said nothing, this was one of those moments in which you only listened and learned.

  “And before you ask about the dungeon,” Stella continued, “that was also Eric. He’s the only one who can upgrade it. And as for Marcus not being able to assist you right now, it’s because he’s investigating what happened with the dungeon yesterday.”

  Marcus nodded, backing her up. “I’m doing some preliminary work before handing it over to Meera and her research department.”

  “Does this have anything to with why its closed and most of it seems to have disappeared?” Clara asked. “My hunters hate that we stopped with normal dungeon operations.”

  “Is that also why our supply of mana crystals was diverted this morning?” an older man asked. This was Thomas, head of the craftsmen, but mostly in charge of making sure that all the different crafts got their supplies.

  “No,” Alex answered. “The reason we closed the dungeon is because we have to map it out again. Some changes were done, and we need to make sure that it’s safe before we allow anyone to enter. Don’t want more lone children sneaking in.”

  “On that note,” Stella interjected. “Thomas, I need you and the crafters to build around the new dungeon entrance. Secure it so that we can more closely monitor who goes in and out.”

  “Understood,” Thomas replied, though he still looked unsettled. “But what about the mana crystal delivery?”

  Stella turned to Lydia, who quickly answered. “They were diverted for both Marcus and Meera. Tomorrow’s shipment should be back to normal. But if you really need them today, we can retrieve some from the supply storage.”

  “No, tomorrow will be fine,” Thomas said, settling back in his seat.

  “Last and not least,” Stella began, “Anna, Alex and I will be participating in the tournament. We not only hope to gain a portal to this “Frontier,” but also get ahead of any possible approaching threat. If we’re lucky we might get a hint about the leviathans and this ‘Krisk.’ And hopefully we also make some connections that might prove useful along the way. We don’t know how long we’ll be away, but in my absence, Lydia will handle most of my affairs. If you have any questions you have until the portal activates to ask.” She turned to Anna, gesturing for her to speak. “Anna?”

  With a deep breath in through her nose, she turned to Clara. “We’re stopping our advance on the city. Make sure to keep your people in line and…” She paused, trying to remember what to say. “Right,” she said snapping her fingers. “Can you have someone handle the teaching for the kids?”

  “What?! Teaching?” Clara asked, some emotion finally on display.

  “Yes. coordinate with the director,” Anna added, pointing at someone behind Reginald, the same woman who had asked about the children. Though Anna’s gaze intentionally failed to meet her. “And I think that’s it for me.”

  “Alex?” Stella asked, turning to him.

  “I’ll keep it short,” Alex began. “There have been sightings of bugs a couple days deeper into the desert. Keep an eye on that. Don’t go looking for them, just keep an eye out. Retreat if necessary. We can always reclaim the mine.”

  “Marcus?” Stella asked, turning to him.

  “You want me to do more?!” he asked, exasperated.

  “I want you to report if there’s anything relevant on your side,” Stella said, her tone kind.

  “Oh! Then no.” Marcus said,

  “In that case, lets define—”

  “No, wait. There is,” Marcus said, having remembered something and cutting Stella off. He turned to Thomas and then to Stella. “I need the foundry, even a basic one. So, we have to discuss that.”

  Like that, the conversation continued as they defined specifics for each thing, came to an agreement about others and even fought about certain things. The meeting ran long. Some thought that the tournament would go on for days, some thought that it would last weeks, and some even thought that months were possible. The reality was that they had to prepare for any of those possibilities to come true.

  Tournament of the Strong: 33:41:02

  Long chapter... but also...

  New tiers on

  Now 50 chapters ahead.