10 minutes later...
"The last ten teams in the Queue, please head to the runway."
After hearing the announcement, Felix stretched his arms behind his back as he stood up.
He picked a medium-sized camping bag that was placed next to his feet and said, "Let's go."
The rest picked up their bags as well and followed after him. As the announcer mentioned, only them and 9 other teams were left in the entire airport. Despite so, they were glad that the delay was merely 10 minutes instead of 15 minutes.
After a while...
"Follow me, I will be taking you to your ride."
The moment the teams stepped outside of the terminal, a staff member who was wearing an orange jacket, informed them while walking towards ten planes.
Soon, they reached them, and the staff member sent a team by a team to their designated plane.
After Felix's team turn came up, the staff member gestured for them to follow him.
"Put your camping bags next to the plane. We will put them all inside a package box and send it down near your drop location."
As he said, the instant they reached their plane, they saw a medium-sized chest that was attached to a closed parachute.
Felix went beside it and placed his backpack. Then, he climbed inside the blue colored aircraft.
"Oh? Hello." Felix greeted politely after noticing that the pilot and another man were already inside.
Since the plane wasn't really that big, Felix clutched his tail, which was lying dormant outside of his skydiving outfit, and stepped inside.
"Welcome aboard." The pilot said, smiling politely.
"Good morning, Sir. Felix." The man, who was wearing a red skydiving outfit and goggles on his forehead, extended his hand at Felix respectfully.
Felix shook his hand and asked, "Are you going with us?"
"Yes, I will be here to make sure that you guys don't miss your jump."
"Glad to have you."
After saying so, Felix went to the back of the aircraft, leaving space for the rest to come inside.
He sat on a foldable seat and put the seatbelt on. A few moments later everyone was inside.
Even the package box was placed in the middle of the aircraft, carrying their ten camping backpacks.
After seeing that everyone was ready, the pilot didn't waste time as they were already behind by ten minutes.
Thus, he swiftly drove the aircraft to the runway and took off after reaching the required speed.
During mid-flight, Felix could see other planes flying horizontally with them.
They were keeping a wide distance from each other, making Felix notice only three planes even with his enhanced vision.
"We will be reaching your drop spot in ten minutes." The Pilot announced, "You will have a window of two minutes to jump, if you missed it, you will land outside of the competition zone and you will be disqualified."
"Alright." Felix looked at the instructor with them and notified him, "We will be jumping in the first minute."
The instructor nodded his head in understanding and reminded them, "Double check on your AAD."
Upon hearing so, everyone swiftly checked yet again if their Automatic Activation Device was turned on.
They already checked three times and it wouldn't hurt to check right before jumping.
After all, AAD was the last emergency solution in case shit hit the fan during mid-dive.
The device was installed in rigs to deploy their reserve parachute in the event that they couldn't deploy either their main or reserve parachute.
For example, if for some reason they found themselves unconscious in freefall. The AAD monitors their descent rate and altitude, and if they were still falling at freefall speeds by a certain height, it would use an electrical charge to cut the loop that held their reserve parachute in.
Thus, saving them from certain death.
"All good?"
"Yes!"
"Now, who's going to be tandem skydiving?" The instructor offered, "I will help you get strapped."
Felix straight away went to the deadpan Olivia and removed her seatbelt. "Stand up, the instructor will strap you with my rig soon."
Olivia did as she was told while chewing on her lips. She knew that it wasn't time to throw a tantrum as it was already too late.
Felix put Olivia in front of him and left the instructor to strap them together.
After pulling the straps twice and feeling their steadiness, Felix nodded in satisfaction.
He wasn't worried about his weight causing troubles as they were told that the rigs were purchased from the UVR, and the parachutes inside them were capable of handling up to 400 KG in weight!
The materials they were made of were leagues apart from the ones made here on earth. But, just to make sure, Felix did a quick search on the brand of the rig in the network and found out that truly the details match the information given to them.
Thus, after doing a simple check-up, he moved out of the way, dragging Olivia with him like he was strapped to a baby.
Adam and Lexie moved forward and got strapped as well.
8 minutes later...
"Alright, put your goggles on and get ready." The instructor said while opening up the aircraft's gate.
Whoosh! Ruttle!
The moment it was opened, the noise from the plane's engine started resounding loudly within the aircraft.
After seeing the clouds and the sun up close, Olivia's heart started beating out of her chest as fear started creeping up on her.
Sensing that she was quivering, Felix decided to comfort her by whispering in her ears, "I have a wings potion, so don't worry, everyone can end up dead but us."
Although his words were too insensitive for others, she did feel comforted by the idea of having a certain 4th emergency measure.
Thus, she sighed in relief and put on her goggles. "I am ready!"
Alas, if Olivia wasn't feeling out of it due to her exhaustion, she would have realized that Felix might have the wings potion, but the spatial card feature was disabled like the rest!
Felix couldn't hide the potion on his body as they were searched thoroughly before entering the airport!
Hence, there was no way for him to use the potion!
He was simply trying to comfort her as it wouldn't be fun to bully her midair when she was scared shitless from the dive.
"In 30 seconds, you will jump one by one. After you, we will send the package." The instructor informed them, "When you land, lift your heads in the air and track the package as it is going to land in close proximity to you guys."
Upon seeing them nod their heads, he moved away from the door, giving them enough space to stand on. Soon, the 30 seconds passed by, making everyone feel pretty nervous but mostly excited.
"I am going first! WHOHO!!" Thrilled, Walton did a peace sign with his hands as he jumped from the plane.
He didn't even hesitate as he already skydived many times before. For a rich junior like him, adrenaline-inducing hobbies like those were his favorite.
Unlike Olivia or Noah, the rest had experienced skydiving when the world was still undiscovered by the Alexander Kingdom.
Thus, they didn't show any signs of fear as they jumped after Walton.
Soon, Felix's and Olivia's turn arrived.
"You ready?" Felix asked while standing on the edge of the door, still holding his tail.
Whoosh!
"Wai...AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Before Olivia could finish, Felix laughed out loud as he belly jumped outside of the plane.
While Felix was enjoying the wind caressing his face, Olivia had her eyes closed shut as she tightened her grip on straps.
'Felix, you prick. I hate you!'
Hearing Olivia curse at him using the Queen's voice, Felix switched his focus on her instead of enjoying the freefall.
After all, he didn't bribe others just to let go of this one time opportunity.
'Say cheese.' Felix sent a message as he took a selfie with his bracelet.
Yet, he wasn't satisfied by just one as he soon started kneading Olivia's oval face into making funny faces while taking a picture after another.
By the time Felix finished filling up an album, Olivia was on the verge of breaking down into tears by his bullying.
Like it wasn't hard enough that she was skydiving for the first time, now she was even forced into taking selfies, which god knows how she would end up looking in them.
'Stop it already, my cheeks are aching.' Olivia whined.
She wanted to massage her reddened cheeks but she was too terrified to let go of the straps.
Thus, she could only voice her displeasure, hoping for Felix to have mercy on her.
Thankfully, Felix stopped at once after noticing that he reached the right altitude to open the parachute. The altimeter device attached to his wrist made it easier.
'Open your eyes, you will be the one who steers the parachute.' Felix informed her while having his finger placed on the ripcord.
He could already see that everyone had dispatched their parachute successfully and were gliding in direction of the wind, so they would land in almost the same area as their package.
'I can't.' Olivia shook her head vehemently while tightening her grip even further on the straps.
Whoosh!
Felix didn't respond as he pulled the ripcord at once, forcing the container to open up and release the main canopy inside!
The moment the folded canopy was out, it started flattering with the wind for a second or two before it was inflated fully.
Felix and Olivia got tugged by the straps, forcing them to change postures from falling on their belly to be in a standing posture.
Just as he was taught yesterday, Felix lifted his head to check if the parachute and the lines were alright.
After he didn't notice any problems, he gripped the two toggles and started steering the parachute in his teammates' direction.
"Give me your hands Olivia." Felix spoke out loud since the wind wasn't going to cause them any more troubles with their slow speed.
Feeling that they were gliding safely, Olivia didn't feel that nervous anymore as she toughened up and opened her eyes.
Immediately after doing so, she was left amazed by the breathtaking scenery of the black forest under the morning sunlight.
The greenery of trees, the peacefulness of the lakes and rivers, and lastly her teammates gliding in the air while shouting out loud in enjoyment, having the best time of their lives.
Everything hit differently.
Olivia stopped hesitating at once and placed her hands above Felix's hands.
However, Felix removed his hands and let her be the one clutching the toggles.
He then placed his hands above hers and started instructing her, "To turn left or right, simply pull the corespondent control with your hand."
He showed her by pulling the left control, making them steer away from their teammates. He then told her, "Alright, you carry on from here on."
"I will try!"
Focused, Olivia pulled the right control and steered back into their original path. After seeing how easy it was, her eyes brightened in delight as she kept chasing her teammates from behind.
If they went left, she goes left, they went right, she goes right.
She was too engrossed in steering; she didn't notice that Felix had already removed his hands above hers and started taking selfies with her again.
Alas, fun times always had a time limit as they were getting closer and closer to the trees. Felix wasn't going to leave Olivia to carry on such a difficult task of landing.
Thus, he took control over the parachute and narrowed his eyes in focus, looking for a smoother landing spot.
Unfortunately, no matter where he looked, there were only trees and trees blocking his sight.
In the end, he just sighed and warned Olivia, "Brace for impact."
Whoosh! Cluck cluck!..
Being placed in front of Felix, Olivia kept getting smacked first by the branches and leaves after they collided with a tree.
However, she didn't wince in pain as her skydiving suit was more of a protection suit than just an outfit. Plus, with her defenses being at origin purity, she wouldn't be hurt even without it.
The experience itself was annoying, mostly when both were stuck in the tree after their parachute got entangled with its branches.
"You good?" Felix asked while glancing underneath him.
"Yes." Olivia nodded her head before asking, "How are we getting down, though?"
"Like this."
Felix smiled playfully as he detached both of them from the parachute, making Olivia scream reflexively as she fell from on top of the tree.
Thankfully, Felix had no intentions of letting her take the brunt of this, too, as he turned over, making his back face the ground first and Olivia faces the sky.
Thud! Argh!
The moment Felix's back hit the ground, Olivia was the one who groaned at the feeling of discomfort of falling. Felix didn't feel even an itch.
"Wasn't that fun?" Felix asked with an honest look.
Alas, the only response he got was Olivia holding her puffed out cheeks, trying her best to stop herself from vomiting her breakfast!
The sight scared Felix shitless as she was lying right on top of him! And if she was going to vomit, she would reflexively turn around and do it on him!
Horrified by the idea of it, Felix swiftly removed the straps and rolled away from Olivia, who looked like she was going to vomit at any moment.
However, he waited and waited, yet Olivia just kept looking at him with her cheeks puffed out akin to a blowfish.
They kept staring at each other for a few seconds before Olivia exploded into laughter while pointing her finger at him.
By now, Felix knew that she was faking it to prank him as well!
Nevertheless, Felix just chuckled in amusement as he stood on his feet.
'Captain, where are we grouping?' Soon, Walton's message stopped the two from fooling around and paying attention to their current state.
'Gather on Johnson. Then, we will head together to the package's landing spot.' Felix said while looking at the package gliding hundreds of meters above him, heading east.
Understanding what he wanted, Johnson lifted his head and started spewing a stream of fog from his mouth into the sky!
Most of it spread around him but still, it had done its purpose by displaying his position for the rest of the team.
Since they were too close to each other, it wasn't hard to notice the fog source.
Shortly after...
The entire team was grouped again inside a fog cloud that was breaking down into particles, exposing them in the open.
"Let's get our stuff."
Not wasting time with needless chatter, Felix ordered while starting to sprint with a moderate speed. He didn't want to leave them behind.
All of them chased after him while glancing from time to time at the package approaching the ground.
Since they skydived in the heart of the competition zone, they didn't worry about meeting up with other teams so soon.
After all, those transported by vehicles would mostly be left at the edges of the forest, while those in helicopters would toggle slightly inside.
This led to having the teams be spread far from each other in the forest.
"We are being streamed live already?" Walton grinned at the sight of two silver drones, one coming from the left and the back.
Both of them flew high above in the sky, appearing just like birds for those without a good vision.
However, even those without vision wouldn't be able to notice them as the drones had gone invisible!
Yet, Felix and the rest didn't show any signs of surprise as everything about the competition was fed to them by the instructor after the gathering.
They were told that each team was going to be streamed-live 24/7 by two invisible drones.
Obviously, the ESG Orignazation wasn't wasting time or resources by not purchasing some low-end blueprints from the UVR.
Those blueprints might be old-dated and cheap, but they were still a hundred times more advanced than the earthling's counterparts.
For example, those drones were designed to 99% resemble birds by flying with wings instead of rotor blades. The battery they had was able to last up to three months without charging it again.
The resolution was at a minimum of 26k and could be adjusted to a lower resolution for the earthling's outdated Tv screens. Though, for those with AP bracelets would have no problems with it.
Not to mention the ability to be invisible, making it impossible for the forest teams to use them for their own advantage. Like being able to spot a team hundreds of meters away just by seeing the drones above them.
Although the ESG Organization implemented those drones to monitor the competition first and foremost, they still decided to program them into streaming the live feed in each country and internet streaming platforms.
They did so to avoid the broadcasting companies from flooding the competition zone with their own drones.
However, since there was no commentary, most TV channels and streamers decided to take advantage of such a freebie and start doing their own commentary on the streams!
This led to having streaming platforms like Twitch to be flooding with wannabe MCs, who had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
That being said, there were some streams belonging to former national tournament participants, who had enough knowledge and speaking skills to entertain the viewers and give them proper explanations.
Currently, a stream cohosted by Micheal, the vice-captain of the Walton team, and Janna, the Hilton team's vice-captain, was at the lead when it comes to the number of concurrent viewers!
Their views tally had already surpassed 20 million concurrent viewers while the competition had just begun!
This number might seem small as this was the stream for world competition, but one shouldn't forget the time difference between the US and Germany, which was 6 hours!
This meant it might be in the early morning for Felix and the rest, but the stream was in the middle of the night for the US citizen.
The majority of interested viewers didn't want to ruin their sleep schedule to watch the competition's start as they knew that it would last for 7 days.
In this marathon, they were bound to miss some good moments by their team.
This applied to the rest of the teams and their countrymen supporters.
"The team has secured their camping gear without hiccups. A good start, I would say." Janna offered a charming smile to Micheal before asking, "Is there any teams near them?"
Micheal was sitting right next to her while having tens of mini-holograms linked together akin to a honeycomb.
Every screen was showing a different team and the position they were placed at in the forest.
In this way, Micheal noticed that the nearest teams were still at least three kilometers away from them.
"So far, they are in the clear." Micheal gave out his own opinion, "I doubt any fights will break out today as no one would seek to provoke others and waste their limited elemental energy for needless fights." He coughed, "I think that the smartest move to do currently is to locate a good camping spot and secure it at all cost."
"I guess captain Felix shares the same views as you."
Janna nodded her head in agreement as the stream showed Felix, giving off instructions for Walton, Kenny, and johnson to check for a good camping spot up north.
That's where one of the many lakes was located.
At least skydiving wasn't that bad as it gave Felix and his team a good overview of the premise they were landing on.
However, since they were actually the last ones to be sent down, some of the first skydivers must have already scouted the lake or even placed down their camps and created a territory that belonged to them.
Thus, Felix sent those three all at once, as they had the best abilities for survival.
If shit hit the fan, they could always retreat to safety.
After a while...
Those three came back with good news, entailing that they found an empty area a hundred meters away from the lake.
As for other teams? They didn't see anyone on their way there.
To do a double-check, Felix turned on his infrared vision to the limit for a second before turning it off. In that second, he saw only non-humanoid wildlife, like birds, deers, boars, and such.
"Alright, let's place our camp there." Felix jumped down from a branch he was sitting on and reminded them, "Keep your eyes open for flags. They might be placed in your plain sight, and you wouldn't even notice it."
They nodded their heads and wore their camping backpacks. Then, they started marching in a well-paced manner, not too slow and not too fast.
Just enough to reach their destination while still having the ability to survey the trees, rocks, and even the dirt.
Alas, even with Felix's enhanced vision added to the mix, they didn't see any flag in their journey.
They didn't know if they were just hidden too deeply or this area didn't have one.
Whatever it was, finding flags without trackers was the same as finding a needle in a haystack.
Making the task almost impossible was probably intended by the ESG Organization to force the teams to meet and fight for the trackers.
They created the problem and also the solution for it.
15 minutes later...
Felix and the rest had reached the open area that was just a field of ferns, wildflowers, and other herbaceous plants on the forest floor.
The area was big enough for the team to set up their tents in a circular shape around its center.
With the fir trees surrounding them, the camp would be getting some protection.
"This will do it for now." Felix removed his backpack and unstrapped his black tent. He then went near the center and plucked those herbaceous plants to clear up his spot.
He threw them to the side as they weren't edible.
After doing so, he started setting up his tent alone while glancing from time to time at Olivia and the others doing the same.
This time no one brought a bigger tent, as they learned their lesson from their practice.
It was better to take only a one-person tent as it would be less exposed to damages if they got attacked.
Besides, in this competition, they expected to move a lot due to searching for flags or escaping from other teams.
This meant they would have a temporary camp once in a while. It was much faster to set up a single-person tent than the rest.
After a while, ten different colored tents could be seen placed down around a star-shaped campfire that wasn't turned on.
The woods were just prepared and left there.
They didn't want to start a fire when they weren't planning on cooking, or the visibility wasn't hindered.
After all, the last thing they wanted was to give away their hiding spot for no reason.
Inside the black tent, Felix was changing his clothes. He took off the skydiving suit and wore his team's uniform. He then folded the skydiving suit and placed it in his backpack for emergencies.
Next, he opened the tent's zipper and went to sit next to the boys, who were gathering around the campfire.
Just like him, all of them had changed into their team's outfit. Since the girls were nowhere to be seen, it was expected that they were still changing.
"What's today's plan?" Johnson looked at Felix as he asked, "Are we going to carry out the same plan we made yesterday?"
"Yes, no need to change." Felix agreed with a head nod.
"I guess we need to be moving then." Kenny dusted his ass as he stood up. "Let's go, Walton."
"If you get lost, just notify me, and I will start a fire to give you our position." Felix said.
Upon hearing so, they gave him a swift thump up before beginning to sprint in the direction where they came from.
Their target? The Parachutes!
That's right, their mission wasn't to scout for camps or such but to bring as many parachutes as they could!
After all, the cloth was a well-needed material in the wilderness, and it could be used on many occasions. Plus, they would have nothing to lose by having it within their set of limited items.
Meanwhile, the rest of the boys didn't remain in the camp but went hunting for their lunch, leaving only Felix behind with the girls.
However, the girls didn't just sit still like dolls but actually searched together for wild plants to enrich their food.
Although Felix didn't accompany them, he used his infrared vision once in a while to scout 500 meters around him for anything peculiar.
He didn't worry about having his infrared vision getting found out, as the red shimmer's intensity was lowered to barely noticeable due to his golden-pupil.
'Asna, you up?' Felix said eagerly, 'It's time for my daily enhancement.'
Every time he wakes up, he looks forward the most to starting his day with his affinity getting enhanced due to the euphoric feeling he receives.
Alas, his excitement was soon diminished after remembering that he was almost about to reach a 100% sand affinity rating.
He was currently sitting at 76% and needed only 24%, which meant he would stop taking them in eight days.
'Give me a minute.' Asna said in delight, 'I am kicking the old snake's ass in chess.'
'Oh?' Intrigued, Felix asked, 'You guys switched to chess?'
'How can I play Royalty with this cheating bastard?' Asna boasted, 'In chess, there is no dice or bullshit, just pure skill, and intelligence. He clearly lacks compared to m...'
Checkmate little Asna.'
The moment Felix heard the Jörmungandr say so, silence abruptly descended in his mind, forcing the boastful Asna to shush down.
"Good game." The Jörmungandr lifted a small notebook placed on the table they were playing on and opened it up. It was showing a long string of victories and losses.
He flipped to a middle page and wrote today's date down to the second, and next to it, he wrote ]Chess's game, Jörmungandr's win[
"With this, I am currently on my 2nd 10 win streak." He smiled in satisfaction as he showed the cursed notebook to the stunned Asna, who still couldn't fathom how she lost.
Although it was just a checkmate, she could see clearly that her king had only one move to make, and it was useless.
"Again? Or you wanna play a different game?" The Jörmungandr asked while placing down the notebook.
"Again! You just got lucky in the last match."
Asna eyes' were a bit bloodshot as she started to set up her pieces on the board.
She tried her best to hold her anger this time instead of exploding with curses and insults like always.
Felix didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the way she conflicts her own words to her advantage.
She just said that chess required only skill and intelligence when she was in the lead, but after she lost, it was due to luck now.
Alas, he didn't find it surprising anymore, as Asna's personality was really more shameless than his.
'How about my daily enhancement?' Felix asked.
'F*ck off! Unless I win a match, I am not standing from this table." Asna snapped at Felix and closed the connection between them to focus on the match.
'I guess I am going to be stuck in 76% forever.' Felix sighed in dejection.
Thankfully, the connection was closed. Otherwise, Felix could forget about receiving his enhancement for the day.
....
Four hours later...
The entire team was gathered around the campfire, waiting for lunch to be cooked. It was grilled dear meat from the hunt with some vegetables at the side.
Kenny and Walton were back in one piece two hours ago, bringing with them four parachutes.
They were folded messily and placed next to tents. To avoid having them taken by the wind at night, they put a couple of rocks on them.
"So we are just going to chill today?" Lena asked calmly.
"Well, it's just a waste of energy to try and locate flags without the tracker." Adam said, "It's better to play it slow today and hope that an airdrop land near us."
This was the plan originally made yesterday in their hotel with George.
On the first day, they secure a camp and prepare enough food and water for at least two or three days.
Then, they just lay low until 24 hours passed by and the first ten airdrops get sent down in the competition zone.
If an airdrop landed near their camp, they would attempt to secure it at all cost.
However, if it was miles and miles away, they could only give up on it and wait for another airdrop.
Unsurprisingly, this plan wasn't unique to just them, as most of the teams took this approach.
It might be the smartest thing to do, but it couldn't get any more boring watching them doing nothing for the viewers.
After the MCs explained why so, some of the viewers decided to sleep now to wake up when the excitement is on the verge of starting.
...
The next morning, 08:00 AM...
Vrrrrrr! Vrrrr!
The booming sound of the planes' engines resounded in the entire forest. Felix and the rest put down the spoon from their mouths and raised their heads, looking at three planes high up in the sky.
Those were actually the ones in their field of view as the rest were way further than them.
"Finish up quick." Felix said while gulping down the hot vegetable soup in two mouthfuls. He then placed down the bowl and focused on the nearest upcoming plane.
Luckily, it was approaching them while still holding into the package.
They hoped that it could release it somewhat close to them but not right on top of them.
After all, the last thing they wanted was for their newly erected camp to turn into a warzone for the package.
Alas, the plane was getting closer and closer, yet the airdrop was still not in sight.
Everyone stopped eating at once and just kept staring in nervousness at the plane that was right above their heads.
Just as they thought that luck was going to f*ck them up, the plane went past them and carried on its journey.
A few seconds later, a small dot could be seen dropping from the tail of the plane. It didn't take long for the parachute to inflate, and let everyone in the area notice the airdrop.
"Ah, thank god." Johnson wiped his sweaty forehead and said, "I really thought it was going land in our camp."
Alas, the moment Johnson mentioned this, the wind's speed increased noticeably and started pushing the airdrop in their direction instead of landing near its position!
Everyone's eyes widened in panic at the sight of the airdrop getting closer and closer to their camp. They didn't know what the hell happened for their luck to switch to horrible in a single moment.
But after remembering who spoke last, they all turned to the dumbfounded Johnson and glared at him in irritation.
"Thank you for jinxing it again!"
Johnson didn't dare to retort as he truly started to believe that his mouth was cursed. The last time in the camping mock practice, he also ended up jinxing them.
Thus, he merely scratched the back of his head with an abashed expression.
"How are we going to play this?" The stoic Lena saved him by saying with her eyebrows knitted, "Based on the current distance and speed of the package, it will touch the ground or a tree near us in the next 5 minutes to ten minutes. If we act now, we still have a chance to relocate before everyone collapses on us."
However, Felix had a different take than hers.
"Take only the tents and leave the rest untouched." Felix clapped both of his hands and informed, "We are not going anywhere. We need to reduce the size of teams in the area. Otherwise, no matter where we locate, they will always be near us. And if we managed to get the tracker, they won't stop from hunting us down for it."
Before they could ask how were they supposed to achieve so, Felix cracked his knuckles and said with a hidden glint, "We will use synergy TFD."
Everyone's eyes brighten up as they began to notice the feasibility of the synergy in their current state.
However, soon Nathan shook his head and said, "It won't work. No one is dumb enough to enter by their own will."
Felix chuckled and pointed at Walton, "Then we just have to give them no choice but to enter."
Walton scratched his red-beard in bewilderment, as he had no idea what Felix was trying to imply.
However, the quick-witted ones instantly saw through Felix's intentions, and all of their doubts about the plan succeeding went up to smoke.
Not to waste time, Felix ordered everyone to take care of their tent and for Johnson to split from the team and start puffing fog.
While doing those two tasks, they were discussing the plan and their roles in it telepathically.
Although they had only five minutes tops, it was more than enough to understand their roles.
The preparation camp wasn't utterly useless as everyone was already familiar with each other's abilities just like their own.
...
"It seems like our national team has an ace up their sleeves! However..."
Janna's excited tone soon died down after being shown by Micheal that there were at least 10 teams aiming for the package that was about to land 20 meters north from the US team's camp.
Worst of all, the England team was also rushing swiftly towards the camp. This team wasn't like any other as it was being led personally by the 4th ranker in the Ten Elites list.
William Bently, The Meastro of England!
After a short while...
"The hell? Is that smoke or fog?" A stout man, wearing a white and red uniform with an England flag in its chest, exclaimed in bewilderment as he pointed his finger at a humongous cloud of fog.
He ought to be feel startled as the cloud was encasing at least a 200-meter radius and still spreading like a plague!
They could see that the package fell right into the center of this cloud and disappeared out of sight.
He wasn't the only one surprised by the sudden rise of the fog, as all of the approaching teams had stopped at once and began revisiting their plans after the emergence of this variable.
There was no f*cking way for anyone to step forth into the fog without making sure to scout first.
"Sandra, please tell me the names of the fog elementalists participating in the competition." A slender man with a pretty face and long ash-grey hair voiced his request with a gentle tone.
"On it." A delicate girl with a small mole next to her upper lip, closed her eyes shut while leaning against a tree.
A few moments later, she started murmuring, "There are only three users, one belongs to the Cuban team, another to the Mozambique team, and lastly one in the American team."
She opened her eyes and asked, "Captain William, should I dive deeper and find more information?"
Willian waved his hand and said, "No need, you will be just harming your mind and we still need your mental abilities in the next battle."
Obedient, Sanda deactivated her active ability *Panmensia*, which allows her to enhance her memory for a limited time and gain access to the memories that were stored deep within her mind.
In normal cases, she wouldn't have been able to recall them unless there was a stimulus.
This ability had no relation to the element as she had unlocked it from the Memory Eater Octopus, a water elemental beast known for consuming the memories of its prey.
Since the bloodliners were able to unlock both the elemental abilities gotten from the primogenitors and the evolutionary traits, she lucked out on this ability.
"The American team..Uhmm, this is going to be troublesome."
Thoughtful, William rested his chin on his hand as he recalled the videos of the American team's battles. Especially the finals.
He might not know much about the other two teams as it was impossible to know every bloodliner participating in this competition, but for Felix and his teammates? His memory was still vivid about them.
Thus, he knew if the fog had any relation to the American team, they needed to be at their tiptoes in every step they take.
Especially when they know that Felix could erupt those red pillars under their feet without even seeing him due to the fog.
"What's the plan captain?" The stout man asked, "Should we wait until the fog clears out? I doubt it will last for more than ten minutes."
His meaning was clear, Johnson's energy wouldn't be able to sustain such a large amount of fog released.
If they played it slow, they wouldn't need to think of anything as the fog would disappear by itself in the next five minutes to ten minutes, depending on Johnson's energy tank.
Alas, those thoughts were removed from his mind after hearing thrilled shouts and furious ones being emitted from within the fog!!
"I GOT THE TRACKER SPLIT UP AND RUN!"
"F*ck!! He stabbed me in the thigh and stole the tracker! Chase him down!"
"It's in the hand of the Cuban team's captain!"
"I can't see shit! Someone block him!"
Boom!! BOOOM! Rumble!!...
The moment the noises of explosions were added to the voices of bloodliners fighting, a scene of complete Chaos was painted vaguely in the minds of the bloodliners standing outside of the fog.
Some of them clearly heard the noises like they were just next to them while some only heard far-off echoes. However, all of them shared expressions of agitation of anxiety.
They were planning before on staying outside until the fog clears out just like the Burly man thought, but now?
They weren't so sure anyone.
Especially when it was clear as crystal that some teams had already entered the fog before them and started battling with each other.
If the unique voices hadn't exceeded already ten, they would have assumed that a team was trying to bait them into entering the fog!
However, the voices were so distinct from each other, even a layman would know that it was impossible to fake them.
"STOP HIM!! HE IS TRYING TO DIG A TUNNEL AND ESCAPE!"
Alas, the teams weren't given that much time to consider all options as the moment they heard the term 'tunnel', the captains immediately ordered for their team to rush inside the fog and secure the tracker!
They were hoping before for the holder of the tracker to exit the fog and pin him down without the need to endanger themselves.
But digging a tunnel?
They understood that allowing it to happen was the same as giving up no the tracker!
God knows when the next airdrop would land in this area again.
Boom, boom, Rumble!...
"Captain, should we make a move as well?"
Feverish and stirred by the sounds of the battles, the stout man covered himself in a suit made of clay, making him resemble a brown golem.
"Give me a second Roger."
Focused, Willian extended a finger in Roger's direction while having his eyes closed shut.
Upon seeing so, everyone went as quiet as mouse.
They knew that Willian was using one of his abilities, and as Sound Elementalist, absolute silence was needed on those occasions. Otherwise, his abilities wouldn't reach their full potential.
A couple of seconds later, Willian started chuckling while covering his mouth with the side of his fist.
He looked at the fog that was getting affected by the chaos and mused, "To actually possess an ability that allows the user to change his voice as he pleased, what a lucky individual."
His teammates got shocked at hearing him say so. They didn't think that in the end, a f*cking team was still trying to bait them!
They didn't doubt their captain's insight since they knew that he must have used his passive ability *Sound Recognition* that let him study the sounds that he heard and notice the tiniest differentiation in them.
Therefore, everyone could be fooled but William Bentley!
"Hide yourselves deeply." Willian ordered while climbing a tree, "We will wait until that team exposes themselves and ambush them."
Dutiful, the stout man deactivated his golem morphing ability and hid in a tree just like the rest of his teammates.
Although they knew that the fog was a trap, they had absolutely no intentions of informing the rest of the teams.
In their eyes, the Fog was doing them a favor as well by reducing the number of contestants without lifting even a finger.
They hoped that by the time the chaos inside of it ends, only a team or two get left behind.
At that point, the tracker would be theirs to grasp!
After all, they didn't dare to toggle deep without attempting to clear out their vision. Alas, some of those abilities ended up hitting others who didn't see them coming.
This offset a war inside the fog where every team moved with their backs against each other and hit anyone who wasn't part of them.
In their eyes, it was better to strike first than wait until they get bombarded.
However, the tracker was still their main target, and most of the teams were moving towards the last place where the package was dropped.
Since they couldn't see 'the holder of the tracker' yet, it was much better to secure the package first and start from there.Otherwise, they would be roaming inside the fog without a purpose, and they couldn't afford to when every second an elemental ability get hurled in their direction.
Thankfully, the trees were taking the brunt of most abilities.
Even if some abilities unluckily landed on a team, there was always a shield placed by the buffer.
If the shield didn't manage to handle the power of abilities, a healer was always placed in the middle of the teams' formation.
This made it somewhat tough to kill each other since the healer was always there to get back in shape.
Johnson, who was looking at all of this happening, didn't seem bothered by it.
He just kept moving inside the fog like he owned the place.
'Johnson update?' Felix asked.
'Three teams are on their way to the package while the others are getting held back by constant fights. So far, I only noticed three corpses.' Johnson sent a message to everyone.
'As expected, everyone is on their tiptoes, making them take a tight defensive stance.' Adam gave out his own input, 'I think we need to be proactive before johnson's energy runs out.'
Everyone agreed with this notion, as their main plan was to wait until the teams killed each other or at least get forced into retreating due to heavy injuries.
But, it was evident that all of the teams took a defensive stance to the next level, retaliating only when provoked instead of entering a free for all battle.
If they kept waiting, the package would be taken from them, which was left untouched due to time constraints.
Even the tracker was still inside!
Worst of all, Johnson's energy was getting drained rapidly by trying his best to sustain this humongous cloud of fog and also keep releasing more from time to time to recover the lost moisture due to the battles.
'Alright, Johnson, please lead us to the biggest cluster of teams.' Felix ordered as he jumped from the tree, revealing himself and the others to the bloodliners with vision abilities. 'Let's try and get rid of them in under two minutes.'
The moment Felix said so, everyone jumped from the tree and entered a tight battle formation. They put the girls in the center while the rest encircled them.
However, they didn't move as they were waiting for Johnson to arrive.
...
'I am here.' The instant Johnson reached the team, he retook the lead, 'Five teams are in my 9 o'clock. The nearest one is only 50 to 60 meters away from us.'
'Move out!'
Felix could clearly see those five teams moving as slow as a snail while throwing abilities once in a while to check around them.
It was clear that those teams didn't have a bloodliner with a good vision ability for this situation.
If they did, they would have been part of those three teams, which were about to reach the package.
This made Felix know that his team was currently invisible in their eyes!
'Activate your abilities.' Felix ordered as he snapped his finger, creating two bloodish red bombs.
He then swiftly made one absorb the other, making it double its size. He wasn't done yet, as he repeated this process trice under one second, creating a three times bigger bomb than his usual one!
However, instead of throwing it out, he waited for Adam to use his *Molten Rocks* on the nearest team.
This was a basic synergy between them, which they trained in the preparation camp.
'Johnson, help me aim.'
Adam requested while standing still with a rain of molten rocks gathered above his head. Since he was blind, He didn't want to throw his ability to hit the trees instead.
'They are currently standing 10 meters in your 11 o'clock. If you threw your ability in that direction 30% or so will probably be blocked by the two trees next to them.' Johnson informed swiftly.
'Thank you.' Polite as always, Adam showed his appreciation by showing full trust in Johnson's aim. He swiftly faced 11 o'clock and hurled those molten rocks with all of his strength!
Whoosh Whoosh!...
The fog was getting evaporated in the air due to the heat emitted by those molten rocks.
However, before the targeted team could comprehend the approaching tens of bright red rocks, they smashed into their glass-like barriers!
Boom! Boom!...
Alas, their tight formation made it easier to get all of them rained upon without exceptions, even though some of the molten rocks had collided with the trees!
Shatter! Shatter!...
The shields weren't strong enough to tank the destructiveness of Adam's ability as they got busted into tiny fragments instantly!
"We are under attack from 5'oclock!"
The captain of the assaulted team was a brown-skinned tall man with bushy eyebrows. Right now, those eyebrows were knitted in nervousness and alarm.
He didn't expect an attack to arrive so fast and hard, leaving them naked like this without single protection on.
Just as the buffer in their team tried to recreate the shields again, one bloodish red bomb that had a basketball-size came out of nowhere and exploded within their tight formation!
POOOOF!
Immediately after, a cloud of red mist engulfed the entire team, putting them under its effect.
Since no one expected to be hit by poison, they weren't holding their breaths!
Thud! Thud! Thud!...
One by one, they fell to the ground, losing consciousness at once!
Since they would be out for only five seconds, Noah and Nathan stepped in and knocked them clean in the head!
This would leave them unconscious for at least five minutes, making them automatically disqualified by the Queen and marked by her so others wouldn't attack them.
If they did decide to do so, they would be punished by the ESG Organization.
Obviously, the disqualified bloodliners would be punished if they decided to attack someone during their wait for extraction.
Hence, Felix and the rest didn't remain and waste time finishing them off but went for the next team in line, which was the closest to them.
They repeated the same strategy on all of the remaining four teams.
Johnson giving off direction and helping them aim, Adam uses his ability to break off the barriers or shields. Felix followed it with his hypotension bomb, which was enlarged by his *Poison Absorption* Passive to force them unconscious.
Then, Noah, Nathan, and Kenny take it from there.
Team after a team had fallen to this synergy without seeing even the outfits of their assailants!
All of this because they didn't have abilities related to senses, which would have made them notice Felix's team the moment they stepped near them.
This meant, besides having those abilities, there was absolutely no other counter to The Fog of Despair Synergy!
It was a synergy created in the preparation camp solely to put the team in a favorable environment, where their abilities thrive!