807 Day Of The Excursion
The next day arrived in a flash, and it was finally time for the Excursion.
All the students involved gathered in the Main Auditorium—all of them divided into two groups based on the Roster.
The chaperoning staff were also split in two.
On the right side was Group 1, and then on the left was Group 2.
In front of each group was a massive portal. The portals were so large that a hundred students could most likely enter into each of them at once, without much difficulty. They were also specifically designed to scan all the people lined up before them, and then Mass Teleport everyone at the same time.
This was to prevent any lag in the appearance of the students and staff that were to reach their destination. This automated method seemed by far more effective than manual teleportation, so the school always used it.
'This Academy never ceases to impress me…' Rey smiled to himself as he looked at the massive portal before him and the rest of his group members. They were currently waiting for the scan to be complete, so they would all be transported to the Giant War Camp.
Beside him was Adrien, and the two of them stared equally amusedly at the warbling wormhole.
~Looks like it'll happen any second now…~ Lucielle's voice echoing in his head was also making him smile. They would be communicating like this throughout the Excursion, but it wasn't strange to him.
They had been doing this all week.
'How are you so sure?'
~Well, if you pay attention to the distortive wavelengths, as well as the Mana fluctuations, you'll recognize the undulating rifts are stabilizing, and… ah… I'm guessing you already knew that.~
'It's still fun hearing you explain it.' Rey nearly chuckled as he glanced in her direction and noticed her already watching him.
They exchanged winks, before Rey turned to another person who was standing close to her.
'Adonis…'
They had a brief moment of Eye Contact, before finally looking away.
It was better this way.
'I doubt anything much will happen… apart from the tragedy that is the war. According to the protocols, we will mostly be watching from a safe distance, and even the enemies we manage to kill will be handed to us on a silver platter.'
Rey was prepared to endure all of this to keep his cover, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
'Looks like I was worried about safety for nothing too…' Looking around him, he could see capable staff around him.
Instructor Isr'ail and other competent Dragon Commanders were going to act as Group 1's supervisors. Group 2 also had quite a number of powerful Dragons in their camp… like Instructor Kar'eena.
It seemed only the best staff in the Basic Stages were selected for the Excursion.
'I guess that makes sense, considering the place we are headed to.'
It was the Southern Continent—the most dangerous place in the world, even by The Dragon Empire's standards.
'The Flame Dragon Lord and Sea Dragon Lord's Elite Squads were the ones left in charge of that place, and within just a decade, their rankings among the other Squads fell from being among the Top 3 to the bottom category.'
All of this was because of the casualties and constant difficulties they experienced in the Continent as a whole.
As for the previously weakest Squad, belonging to the Forest Dragon Lord, it became the current fourth strongest thanks to being assigned to the Western Continent.
Humans were the easiest to deal with, hence it was easy to be promoted and recognized for their valiant deeds. The opposite was the case for the Flame Dragon Lord's Squad, as well as that of the Sea Dragon Lord.
'Still… they're recognized as highly capable Squads. They've been holding the fort for so long, and they've recently subdued the opposition to the point where it's safe for students to come to the Camp for a Field Trip.'
Rey didn't expect anything remotely eventful to occur in the slightest.
'Just so I wouldn't be caught off-guard, I already spoke to Ater. He said he had a good surprise waiting for me…'
While he had initially expected some sort of chaos, the mere fact that so many students were being teleported to the Camp meant the respective zones had been designated as safe. It was highly doubtful that Ater could pull something as drastic as he initially feared.
'I wanted him to tell me what it was, but he was so insistent that I see it for myself. Well… let's keep expectations low and hope for the best.' His malevolent Familiar had never failed to disappoint, so despite his best efforts to stay aloof about the whole thing, Rey found himself getting slightly excited.
'Welp… only one way to find out.'
~ZZZTTTTTZZZZ!!!~
The portals were finally ready and fully operational, so Rey simply turned to Adrien—the two of them smiling—as they braced for impact.
~VWUUUM!~
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'Ahh…'
Lucielle felt an electrifying sensation the moment the spatial energy swept around her, flooding the space where she—as well as all the other students and staff—stood.
In the blink of an eye, everything around her warped, and she found herself being pulled into something… or somewhere.
She closed her eyes to fully capture that feeling, embracing the warmth and power.
A second later, and she and everyone else arrived at their destination.
'Hmmm…' Lucielle inhaled, expecting the smell of fresh air mixed with the rustic odor of battle.
However, what greeted her was neither.
An overpowering stench of death instantly filled her lungs the moment she breathed in, coupled with thick smoke that felt like putrid incense.
'... What?!' She instantly opened her eyes, right as the yells and shrieks of the students around erupted like a terrible storm.
—And for good reason.
What filled Lucielle's eyes as she captured her surroundings was nothing like the pictures and video recordings she was shown prior to their arrival.
A deserted camp surrounded her and the rest of the students. It was completely destroyed, with nothing but debris and plumes of smoke in sight for miles.
Ah… and something else.
"What the hell…?" Lucielle's eyes widened even further as she saw silhouettes approaching them from all directions.
'These are all Dragon Undead!'
08:09
They had purple glowing eyes, with wings and tails dancing behind them as horns protruded out of their foreheads.
The thick black and purple clouds and smoke that surrounded her and the other students made it difficult to see them properly, but Lucielle knew exactly what they were.
'Undead…?!'
And not just any kind of Undead either.
'These are all Dragon Undead!'
"Keuk!"
"Kiyaaaa!"
"Ack!"
All around Lucielle, students began to fall to the ground—pale to their face, with dark veins appearing all over their skin. Many of them vomited, while others coughed violently. A few even fainted.
This wasn't just a reaction to the screams that seemed to now constantly permeate the air, but due to something else that also consumed the atmosphere.
'Miasma! They're suffering from Miasma Poisoning!'
Lucielle was safe due to the several Spells she had cast on herself, and also due to her Enchanted Items, but just from a single look around—at both the frightened students and shocked staff—she could tell…
'... We're in serious trouble.'
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
And so it begins… hehehehe!