Chapter 64: First Departure
After meeting with Yuki, there wasn’t much to do.
Following the guidance of the academy speakers, Klaus made his way into the underground levels along with the other aspirants. It was the academy’s underground bunkers.
The center was crowded with aspirants, all clad in various gear. Naturally, each of them wore the standard cybernetic advanced combat suit. Though it couldn’t compare to the mystic Echoes, the suit still provided a high level of resilience. Not to mention, the latest models were equipped with nanobots, granting them an automatic self-repair function so long as the damage wasn’t too severe.
A quick glance was enough to confirm that only a handful of aspirants were equipped with such high-performance suits. In fact, they could be counted on one hand.
This was simply the difference in status and influence.
The atmosphere here is quite tense. It seems everyone is nervous.
The spacious room was filled with aspirants, yet not a single voice could be heard. All of them were subdued with unusually solemn expressions. There was no usual laughter or boisterous conversations — only silence and uneasy contemplation. Unlike like them, the Vestiges remained calm. However, even they kept to themselves.
At this point, they already understood the assignment. This was the moment they had been rigorously training for, yet now that the time had come, they couldn’t help but feel anxious.
It was like preparing for an exam, only to step into the examination hall, receive the question sheet, and feel yourself tense involuntarily. Except, in this case, failure didn’t mean a bad grade. It meant a gruesome death.
...Perhaps the latter would have been the better alternative.
Shifting his gaze, Klaus took in the abundance of high-tech devices and security personnel stationed around the area. It wasn’t difficult to understand why. At the far front, a massive circular structure stood, clearly constructed from advanced materials.