For 30 advance/early chapters : p atreon.com/AutumnXd
Morning. All second-stage competitors assembled in the Capital Association's main plaza, organized by branch.
Luke noted that the Ashenvale team's surviving members looked noticeably more alert than yesterday. Harrison's warning about increased danger had clearly landed.
The atmosphere across all thirteen delegations was different from the first stage. Yesterday had been straightforward arena combat with clear rules and visible opponents. Today, they were entering a Dimensional Plane where visibility was measured in feet and every other competitor was a potential threat.
"I trust you've all reviewed the briefing." Edmund Hargrove stood at the front, his voice carrying the casual authority of someone who could reshape the landscape with a wave of his hand. "I won't repeat what you already know."
He raised one arm. Behind him, a massive portal tore open in the air, its surface swirling with pale, fog-like energy. A chill seeped through the opening, carrying the faint taste of something ancient and damp.
Staff members moved efficiently through the assembled competitors, distributing two cards to each person.
"The first card is your Magic Card Voucher," Edmund explained. "Its purpose should be self-evident. The second is a Teleportation Card. Once you enter the Mist Relic, its transport function activates. You may use it at your discretion to exit the Relic if you judge the danger to be beyond what you can handle."
His tone shifted.
"Understand this clearly: the Teleportation Card is single-use, and its coordinates are locked to your current position. Using it means leaving the Mist Relic permanently. You forfeit the competition the moment it activates."
He paused, letting the weight of the next words build.
"How and when you use it is entirely your judgment call. The competition is not designed to kill you. But the Mist Relic is a real Dimensional Plane with real dangers. If you misjudge your own abilities and fail to teleport out in time…" He left the sentence hanging. The implication was clear enough.
If you die in there because you were too proud to retreat, that's your problem.
The Youth Training Competition wasn't a death match. The Association valued its new blood. But coddling them wasn't the point either. Knowing when to fight and when to withdraw was a fundamental skill for any Card Master. Those who couldn't make that distinction didn't belong in the profession.
Elise Hargrove stepped forward first. As the tournament's consensus strongest, nobody questioned her taking the lead. She walked through the portal without hesitation, and the swirling fog swallowed her silhouette.
The rest followed. One by one, then in clusters. Lily. Serena. The Ashenvale team. The Moonvale representatives. Card Masters from all twelve satellite cities and the Capital filtered through the portal in a steady stream.
Luke entered with the flow, Mana's card warm against his chest.
The moment the last competitor crossed the threshold, Edmund waved his hand again. Dozens of light screens materialized in the air above the plaza, each one showing a different competitor's real-time feed. Every branch president, every vice president, every official in attendance had a front-row seat to the entire second stage.
-----
The Mist Relic materialized around Luke in shades of grey and white.
Fog. Everywhere. Dense, clinging, and alive in a way that natural mist wasn't. It pressed against his skin like wet cloth, reducing visibility to maybe twenty feet in any direction. Beyond that: nothing. Just formless white.
He extended his spiritual sense and immediately felt the pushback. The mist carried a special energy that ground against his perception like sandpaper, eroding his sensing range down to a fraction of its normal reach. Sustained use would drain his spiritual reserves faster than usual, and prolonged contact risked backlash.
The competitors who'd entered ahead of him and alongside him were gone. The randomization had scattered everyone across the Relic. He couldn't see, hear, or sense a single other person.
"Fully separated." Luke assessed the situation quickly. "Or we're all nearby but the mist blocks everything. Either way, the effect is the same."
He summoned Mana. She appeared at his side, green eyes immediately narrowing as she took in the environment.
"Visibility is terrible, Master. But my sensing range is better than yours in here." Card Spirit perception exceeded Card Master perception by default, and Mana's Spellcaster racial bonus amplified it further. Even in this mist, she could detect incoming threats before Luke could.
"Good. You're my eyes." Luke picked a direction at random. Without landmarks or sensing, any choice was as good as any other. "Let's move."
They walked into the fog together, and the Mist Relic closed around them like a mouth.