The next day
Just like instructor Horvey had explained to his students, the next event dubbed the Veilstorm Descent will subject the students to a systemic reconditioning.
This time, however, there was no briefing of students as the time for the event to begin was communicated to them the day prior. All participating students knew what to do and expect.
If anything, the Convergence Maze event has more than enough hints of what could happen. The bonds of friendship that broke that day were gradually recovering. To prevent such a thing from happening again, most students agreed to do the event solo.
As said, most students…
After mentally preparing themselves for the event, the students moved to their combat systems to have themselves reconditioned and dive into the VR world.
....
Alex wore his usual black suit with his staff magnetically attached to the back. His gaze moved around the surroundings taking in everything.
Dark clouds hovered above him and the occasional roar of thunder and lightning made the environment all the grimmer.
The whistling blow of the wind ruffled his hair from time to time.
Atop the mountain he stood, his expression took on a grim look as he observed the chaos happening in the distance.
He knew why he was here but he didn't expect to be separated from his friends, especially Julia.
'Knowing her, she might do something reckless like trying to search for me instead of surviving. Ross should be fine, though.'
It was the only consolation he could give himself at that moment.
'Alright, let's review what we were told.
'The planet we're on is called Terravon; a planet rich in mineral ores, each with unique properties. But the planet is already taken over by void creatures, plagued by cosmic mana waves and hidden veiled spaces.
'Our goal is to retrieve as many minerals and herbs we can get, avoid the void creatures if possible and be on the lookout for cosmic mana waves and veiled spaces.'
The last two parts sent cold shivers down his spine. The void creatures he could deal with as they were of the same class as he was. Even with his low mana level, so far as he wasn't surrounded, he could escape when things got dicey.
After all, his speed and strength were above what the creatures could keep up with. His problem or the problem every student dreaded were the veiled spaces and cosmic mana waves.
Veiled spaces were difficult to detect, especially when your level was low. They were difficult, not impossible. Yet their dangers lay in the energy those spaces carried.
They were deadly to all humans and other living organisms. The cosmic mana waves instead, would occasionally ripple through space and pass by. Their ability to displace people and matter to other regions and even into veiled spaces was what made them so dangerous.
And that was not the end of the terror they brought. The cosmic mana waves were simply too fast and could abruptly pop out anywhere. The chances of evading them were very low.
Alex swallowed the rising lump in his throat, not daring to think about what might happen to his friends.
'This is bad…'
He had wasted enough time already. Looking at his watch, he only had six hours to gather as many magical resources as he could find.
"Five hours and fifty minutes remaining."
He took a deep breath, retrieved his weapon and swiftly descended the mountain. The sensors built into their suits would prompt them whenever they got close to a mineral or magical plant deposits.
As Alex moved down the slopped, the rumbling clap of thunder mixed in with a surging spatial storm he knew was a cosmic mana wave crackled with increasing intensity.
His gaze moved in that direction, observing intently. He had no plans of venturing into that area. The place could be crawling with who knows how many void creatures.
The topography in that region had vast stretches of mountains that spread as far as the eyes could see, and the lush forest that could be rich in rare magical plants made that region a hotspot. But it was a death zone.
'No one should be crazy enough to venture there, right?'
He took his eyes off that direction and focused ahead, spotting a cluster of caves along in the valley below.
Small patches of weeds and wild grass grew along the sides of the rough terrain. Alex came to a stop near one of the cave entrances and proceeded to move around instead of entering.
Aside from the void creatures, there were also magical beasts on the planet. These beasts were naturally the descendants of wild animals that awakened their bloodlines after being infused with mana for many generations. Just like humans awakened skills.
But unlike humans, the beasts were hostile, bloodthirsty and very territorial. They embodied the philosophy of survival of the fittest.
Ding.
Alex suddenly received a prompt while looking around and a small display popped before him with a small map indicating the detection of a resource with a blinking dot.
"Forty metres ahead and to my right."
With measured steps, Alex moved slowly, gradually approaching the location. His guard was up the entire time as he could barely hear anything due to the never-ending rumbling of thunder.
He arrived before a huge cave entrance with furrowed brows. This entrance in particular was excessively larger than the others he could see.
'This could be the territory of some beast or even a pack of them.'
He didn't fear the magical beasts as even with his physical strength alone, he could kill them. The issue was the kind of ability they had. And when the beasts were a pack, they could even have a collective area of effect skill, producing a much stronger effect than their individual skills.
'Turning away from a challenge for such a reason will make a mockery of my commitment to grow strong. There's no room for hesitation.'
His staff hummed as it took on its spear form before Alex proceeded to enter the cave; his guard raised to the limit.
Inside the cave was a direct path that led straight down into the darkness, and the walls of the cave looked to be cleanly cut out by something. It didn't resemble the work of a beast.
'This could be the work of nature.'
He slowly descended into the darkness and shortly arrived at a small cliff. His eyes widened at the sight before him as the cool breeze blew past his face.
'Well, I'll be damned.'
Before Alex was what appeared to be a cavern with an entire ecosystem. He spotted plants and minerals glimmer on the walls, a small river flowing along its current, glowing crystals on the ceiling and small creatures flying around within.
The cavern was expansive and had multiple paths leading deeper into it. He could not tell how deep and far the cavern went or where it exited, but he knew he hit the jackpot.
'This place might hold everything I need to gather,'
This was just the entrance and while the minerals he could see were few, he had a feeling there was more to find the deeper he went.
'At the same time, it could host a variety of magical beasts.'
Alex did not rush in, knowing full well that a place like this could be fraught with dangers. There could even be void creatures in its depths.
He reminded himself to move with caution as there could also be veiled spaces here.
'Slow and sturdy…'
Jumping off the cliff, he descended the short height and landed with a thud before moving to the riverbank 20 metres away from him.
Reaching the small river that had a width of 76 metres from his estimates, he looked at the gentle current and then at his reflection, his eyes trying to pierce into the depths of the river.
Suddenly, Alex reacted with wide eyes as he brought his spear forward to block a large tendril that zoomed at him with incredible speed.
He succeeded, but that was only one of many tendrils.
"Oh shit!"
Multiple kelp-like tendrils shot at him faster than the first one as they wrapped around his weapon and body tightly before swiftly plunging him into the river.