Chapter 77 – Excellence Camp – Outcast V

Veiled Forest - Middle Section, 26th of Brightforge, year 315 UC

"How much farther to the inner section?"

Christopher asked, approaching with a cup of herbal tea in hand. His stoic expression showed signs of fatigue, dark circles visible beneath his eyes.

Bryan consulted the map.

"We should reach it by midday if we maintain a steady pace."

He replied, tracing the route with his finger.

"The terrain gets rougher from here, and the monsters more dangerous."

Christopher nodded, taking a sip of his tea.

"Alexander's not looking good."

He said quietly, glancing back at the camp where Alexander sat hunched by the morning fire, his movements sluggish as he packed his gear.

"He was restless all through my watch—talking in his sleep, twitching."

Bryan followed Christopher's gaze, noting the pallor of Alexander's skin and the tremor in his hands as he attempted to fold a blanket.

"Did he say anything coherent?"

Bryan asked.

Christopher shook his head.

"Nothing I could make out. Just fragments."

Bryan considered the information. Alexander's condition was deteriorating, that much was clear. But turning back wasn't an option—not with the trial barely half complete and points still to be earned.

He was likely going through withdrawal, a bit troubling, but they could deal with it if he posed a problem. If Alexander became too much of a hassle, there was also the option to crush his crystal.

Although now that he was thinking about it, the others would have a problem with that. They'd rather take care of him if it came to it.

"We'll keep an eye on him."

Bryan decided.

"If he gets worse, we'll reassess."

Sabrina emerged from the shelter, stretching her arms above her head with a yawn.

"Please tell me we have food."

She called, making her way toward the fire.

"I'm starving."

"There's still some stew from last night."

Farrah replied, stirring the pot she'd placed over the rekindled flames.

"And I found some fruit this morning while you were all still asleep."

"How early did you wake up?"

Sabrina asked as she grabbed a green apple on the leaf next to Farrah.

"Eh, about thirty minutes before you? I wasn't really keeping track."

Farrah replied.

"I don't see how you do it."

Sabrina said.

Farrah smiled lightly.

"Well… someone did deplete their ether reserves so I had that going for me."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Better yet, do remind me if I ever try that again. I still feel a bit exhausted from yesterday."

Sabrina said as she bit into the apple.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to deal with those wolves. You got off lightly."

Alexander commented from the side where he finished packing.

"A girl's got to have her beauty sleep, you know… something you could use more of."

Sabrina grinned.

Alexander clicked his tongue.

"Aren't you getting tired of talking about my looks? I don't even look bad, you can't come up with some new material?"

Farrah laughed as she distributed the remaining stew into bowls.

"Both of you need to save your energy for the day ahead. We still have ground to cover."

Bryan observed the interaction. It was good to see that Alexander was not too weak. Even better, as the mood was changing slightly.

Sabrina might be loud, but she brought a smile to the team when she was around. The sight was a little unusual for him, especially working in a squad like this.

Bryan was used to talking only about the mission, all other chatter was pointless to the Inquisition.

As they ate, a distant howl echoed through the forest.

'Wolves.'

Bryan thought as he took a quick glance around the camp.

Alexander's spoon trembled slightly as he brought it to his mouth. A thin sheen of sweat had formed on his forehead despite the cool morning air. His eyes darted nervously toward the sound.

"You okay?"

Sabrina asked.

"Fine."

Alexander muttered.

"Just tired."

Farrah caught Bryan's eye across the fire.

She must be worried, but if Alexander was having a problem, Bryan assumed he would say something. So, until then, he wouldn't pay him much attention.

"Sounds like more wolves, we should hurry up and finish eating then get moving. Unless you guys want another round with them."

Bryan said.

"Yes, please!"

Sabrina shouted.

"You're only saying that because you did nothing last night."

Alexander said.

"I thought we just went over this?"

Sabrina asked as she furrowed her brow slightly.

"We did, but some of us actually worked hard last night."

"Fine! No wolves for now, but later."

"If there is a later."

Christopher commented.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Sabrina asked.

Christopher shrugged.

"I mean, we're heading deeper into the forest, aren't we? So it's unlikely we would encounter them again."

"I mean, yeah… but they hunt in packs, so there is a chance they would go after something stronger than them. They do it all the time."

Sabrina argued.

Christopher nodded at Sabrina's point about wolf behavior. As the team finished their breakfast, the howls grew slightly louder, suggesting the pack was moving in their general direction.

"We should move soon."

Bryan said, standing and surveying their surroundings.

"Pack up the remaining supplies."

With camp broken down and gear distributed, they set out toward the inner section of the forest.

The forest grew denser as they progressed, the trees larger, their massive roots creating natural obstacles.

After about an hour of hiking, the landscape began to change subtly. The ground beneath their feet transitioned from soft earth to a harder surface—not quite stone, but more compacted, with occasional patches of what appeared to be paving stones peeking through the moss and fallen leaves.

"Are we still in the middle section?"

Farrah asked.

Bryan consulted his map, comparing it to their surroundings.

"Yes, but close to the boundary."

He replied.

"The inner section should begin just beyond that ridge."

He pointed ahead, where the land rose gently before dropping away again. The ridge was subtle, barely qualifying as a hill, but it marked a clear division in the forest's character.

As they crested the ridge, a clearing came into view below them—a perfect circle of open ground perhaps a hundred feet in diameter.

Thirteen large stone cubes were arranged in a pattern across the clearing, each positioned on a circular pad embedded in the ground. The cubes, roughly four feet on each side, appeared to be made of the same material as the paving stones they'd observed earlier. What made them truly remarkable, however, were the blue crystals embedded in their surfaces—glowing faintly in the dappled sunlight that reached the forest floor.

"What is this place?"

Sabrina asked.

Bryan shook his head, studying the arrangement with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not sure."

He admitted.

They descended into the clearing. As they drew closer, the details of the cubes became clearer. Each cube had between one and three crystals embedded in its surface, the crystals positioned to point outward in specific directions. One cube near the center glowed more brightly than the others.

"It's a puzzle."

Farrah said suddenly.

Alexander approached the nearest cube, his trembling less pronounced as curiosity temporarily overcame his withdrawal symptoms.

"Do you think this is part of the trial? Alan didn't mention anything about puzzles."

"That doesn't mean it isn't."

Bryan replied, circling the formation.

"The instructors wouldn't reveal everything. Tests within tests – that's how they operate."

Farrah knelt beside one of the stone platforms.

"These markings suggest the cubes can be moved. See how the grooves form channels?"

"And then what?"

Sabrina asked, poking at a crystal with a stick.

"Something valuable appears? Academic credits rain from the sky?"

"Or something tries to kill us."

Christopher added flatly.

Bryan considered this possibility. Christopher wasn't wrong – ancient ruins often contained both treasures and guardians. It would be tactically sound to prepare for both outcomes.

Sabrina grinned.

"Maybe it'll be something I can actually fight this time."

"Look at how they're arranged—each crystal points toward something, but they're not aligned properly."

Bryan studied the cubes more carefully, seeing what Farrah had noticed. The crystals did indeed seem to be directional, each one facing outward as if meant to connect with something else.

"You think we're supposed to solve it?"

Christopher asked, circling one of the cubes.

"It would explain why it's here. This could be part of the trial."

Farrah replied.

Alexander, who had been silent throughout their journey, suddenly spoke up.

"The one in the center, it's the power source."

He said.

All eyes turned to him.

Alexander pointed to the glowing cube.

"It's active, while the others are dormant. I think... I think we need to arrange them so the energy flows from one to another."

Bryan looked at the site again, working out how to solve the puzzle. He could already spot placements for some of the cubes, as to what direction they needed to be facing.

While that would be fast, he did not need to do everything himself. In fact, it was better for someone else to solve this.

"Alright then, let's get to work. Sabrina, Christopher—see if the cubes can be moved. Farrah, Alexander—help me figure out the correct pattern."

They set to work, examining the cubes and the pads they rested on. Sabrina discovered that while heavy, the cubes could indeed be shifted from their pads with sufficient effort. Christopher found that the pads themselves seemed to lock the cubes in place once positioned, preventing movement.

"So we need to figure out where each cube goes."

Farrah summarized, kneeling to examine the crystal configuration on one of the cubes.

"Based on how many crystals it has and which directions they point."

"Yup. The energy needs to flow from the source through each cube, like a circuit."

Alexander added.

"How long do you think this will take?"

Bryan asked.

Alexander tapped his chin with his index finger.

"A few hours give or take. You think it's worth it?"

Bryan wasn't sure on that part. A puzzle in the middle of the forest? That was beyond normal, and clearly this was part of the trial. Whether that was a good thing or not had yet to be seen.

His brain was already putting together the right order of each cube, and he was about eighty percent sure he could move each one in the correct position in thirty minutes.

Given how Alexander was more awake during this puzzle, it seemed the best option was to let him and Farrah solve it.

"It's worth a shot. Sabrina, Christopher, secure us some food, and I haven't heard any howls in a while. We want to make sure those wolves aren't following us."

Bryan stated.

"Got it."

Christopher said as he motioned for Sabrina to follow him.

"You two continue to solve this, I'll keep lookout to make sure nothing interrupts you."

Bryan told them as he turned to walk away.

"You don't want to help?"

Farrah asked him.

"It's better if we split things up and everyone focuses on something instead of tossing all our attention on one project. If I need to help, then I'll help."

Bryan headed to a large boulder, the perfect spot to overlook the entire area.

Hours passed, the sun climbing to its zenith and then beginning its descent. Christopher and Sabrina returned periodically with reports of the surrounding area. The puzzle, however, remained unsolved.

As the afternoon wore on, the puzzle gradually took shape under Farrah and Alexander's guidance. Cubes were shifted, rotated, rearranged in a methodical exploration of possibilities.

"I think we've got it."

Alexander called finally, his voice carrying across the clearing.

Bryan descended from his vantage point, joining the others as they gathered around the nearly completed puzzle. Twelve of the thirteen cubes had been arranged in what appeared to be a complex geometric pattern, each crystal aligned to point directly at another.

"Are we sure this is right?"

Sabrina asked.

"We've been at this for hours."

"The math works out."

Alexander said with confidence.

Christopher and Sabrina moved to position the final cube. As it settled onto its pad with a solid thunk, the entire arrangement seemed to shudder slightly.

For a moment, nothing happened.

A beam of ethereal blue light shot from one of its embedded crystals, striking the crystal on an adjacent cube. That crystal illuminated, channeling the energy to the next cube in the sequence.

One by one, the crystals activated, the blue energy flowing through the circuit they had created.

When the final crystal received the energy, completing the circuit, a pulse of light rippled through the entire structure. The ground at the center of the arrangement began to shift, earth and stone reconfiguring to reveal a hidden compartment.

"Holy shit, it worked."

Sabrina said, taking a step closer to see what had been revealed.

Inside the compartment lay a collection of crystalline cores—at least twenty of them.

"Jackpot."

Christopher smiled.

Bryan approached, examining the cores without touching them. They appeared to be monster cores of varying ranks—mostly D and C, but with a few B-rank among them.

"This is amazing, we should celebrate!"

Alexander exclaimed.

"Not here we aren't. We need to reach the inner section before nightfall."

Bryan was glad that the puzzle had been solved and that they were rewarded for the work. These cores would go a long way into placing them ahead of the pack, but they could not stop here.

"Come on, Bryan."

Sabrina protested.

"We just spent hours solving this thing. We deserve a little break to enjoy our success."

"This clearing is too exposed, and the activation of the puzzle might attract attention."

Bryan replied.

Farrah studied his face.

"You think we're being watched?"

"No, if that were the case, we'd already be in combat. We're behind the schedule I planned out. If we want to make it to the center and collect more cores, then we need to get a move on."

Bryan told her.

"Dude, we've got twenty right here. Don't you think this makes up for that?"

Christopher asked.

Bryan shrugged.

"It's a good number, but if we were actively hunting, then we might have been able to do better in the same amount of time."

"You ask me, I think we're in first place with this. We don't want anyone to get the dregs running out of ether while going on a massacre. So, a little break is more than welcome."

Sabrina said as she crossed her arms, eyeing him.

"We already have one person with it, so you're right that we don't need another—"

"Hey!"

Sabrina shouted, interrupting him, but Bryan ignored her protest and continued.

"But you're lowering our combat potential a bit too much, don't you think? I can handle a few dozen beasts on my own, no problem. No one here wants to finish this only to find out we are in third or fourth place, do you? Then you'll all have regrets thinking maybe if we just spent one more hour hunting, things could have turned out differently."

Sabrina lowered her arms and sighed.

"So, no party?"

Bryan wanted to wring her neck. What was with her and this need for a celebration? They could do that once they came in first place.

He caught the others looking at him.

"Later."

That was the most he was going to give her.

"Fine, but I'm holding you to that celebration."

She said, pointing a finger at Bryan.

"No backing out once we reach the inner section."

Bryan nodded, relieved that they weren't going to argue further.

"Let's move out."