The cold morning air whizzed by Micha's face like ice blades brushing his skin. The Lake continued to increase in size until it was the only thing he could see in front of him.
With less than 50 meters left between him and it, Micha pressed his hand against his chest and twisted it. The Semi-transparent hexagon barrier suddenly materialized in full form and surrounded him completely from all sides. With bated breath and gritted teeth, Micha squinted his eyes and held his right arm in front of his face instinctively.
The best-case scenario was that he would just lose consciousness, the worst case was breaking every single bone in his body and drowning to death if nobody else helped out.
10 meters, 5 meters, 1 meter! He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable impact that would rock him to his core, but it never came. A couple of seconds of waiting later he slowly opened his eyes and found himself floating just above the surface of the water.
His body started moving on its before he could process what was happening and within 5 seconds he was standing on the lakeshore with a blank look.
He looked around and saw everyone else that had jumped before him standing not too far from him, putting on their various armors and weapons. On the far left was a group of three, Dai Zhi and his companions.
Dai Zhi had his hand outstretched which he pulled back and Micha regained the control of his body.
'It's true!!' Micha's eyes widened as he realized it was him who had stopped him just now. And he didn't use some kind of energy but an actual law to do it. But was a Law that he didn't even know about.
He moved to the side and pretended to catch his breath while looking at the lake. One after another the others jumped down and as expected, it was Dai Zhi that helped them. There were a few people that used different abilities to make it to the shore themselves but most of them needed him to intervene.
Once everyone was down and ready, Dai Zhi gathered them up and snapped his fingers. A red barrier was created around them.
"A small party of 20 outsiders is going to pass through here in a few minutes. We will follow them back to their base and attack them there once we know for sure the hostages are safe. Any questions?" he finished with a stern voice.
Dai Zhi looked at each person and nodded satisfactorily when no one spoke up. The barrier vanished and all of them got into smaller pre-determined groups.
Micha was left all alone, looking left and right awkwardly. He tried to talk to a few groups, using his charms and wit to try and join one of them but they all gave him the cold shoulder.
Out here, life and death would be decided in a matter of seconds. If they didn't have someone trustworthy to watch their backs then they would always be distracted and in turn not be able to utilize their true powers effectively.
Dai Zhi noticed that he was the only one left without a group and gestured for him to come over.
"Did you come with the last batch?" he asked while taking out a few small knives from the inside of his jacket and inserting them into the slits on his sleeves. Three on each side.
"Yes," Micha replied somewhat reservedly.
Even though they were supposed to be equals in the tournament, the difference in their status was too big to ignore. Dai Zhi was a crown prince of a power that was fighting to become an Empire and a Holy Son of the academy Micha was trying to join, while he himself was just one of the many princes from a smaller kingdom.
"Did you see my sister coming over?" Dai Zhi asked while sharpening one of the knives.
"Yes. She was with a few other royal children."
"Hmm," Dai Zhi nodded before looking up to meet Micha's gaze.
"Join me for this excursion, since you don't have anywhere else to go."
Dai Zhi didn't leave much room for negotiation. Even though it was worded as an offer, Micha didn't feel like he could decline. For the first time since he was born he felt inferior to someone in so many ways. Micha was suppressed before he could say or do anything else.
"Y-Yes…"
Their group was made up of Aer, Nel, Dai Zhi, and Micha.
Dima had come with his own group as well from the Temple so he didn't need their help. The groups spread out from one another, keeping a distance of at least 15 meters with one another and entered the forest that was made up of giant mushrooms.
These mushrooms were anywhere from 8 meters to over 40 in height with thick fleshy stems that seemed to have veins on them.
They slowly walked through the mushroom jungle until a rough path blocked them. Sounds of beasts came from the front far right side. A few minutes passed and what looked like a small caravan appeared in their sights.
Each group was standing on top of a giant mushroom, peaking their heads over to look at the incoming creatures.. For many of them, this would be the first time they will be coming into contact with the members of an outer tribe.
