Chapter 115 - Catching The Fish

With the fish caught in the bait that Aldrin had carefully thrown, the next part would be how his game could be lured to act.

Furthermore, he had to avoid the Metadome fight. He had spares of Basic Refiner Battlesuits but if his Metadome got destroyed in the process, it would be hard to procure a new one in a matter of hours.

A standard model that had limited modules against a specialized one. Not only is he disadvantaged with his current level but also his Metadome is many times inferior to his opponent. That will not be a challenging fight anymore but a show of an idiot trying to bash his head on a concrete wall.

Although he'd surely be hailed as once in a lifetime talent if his Metadome could come out unscathed battling against it. Obviously, that was impossible.

"What does elder sister think? Is that proof enough?" Aldrin asked soon after he gave away most of the information that was enough to identify him as the whistleblower.

And sure enough, the middle-aged man Carlos suddenly changed his tone. If he was kind of indifferent before. He began talking to Aldrin and even tried to give him useful advice.

Aldrin rode on it and acted normally by thanking the man and responding enthusiastically. He needed to establish a connection to him for their plan.

"I believe you, in the first place. But with this, those who will help restrain him are convinced. Once we reach our destination, go about your duty as their leader first before making an excuse to leave."

"Alright. Thank you for allowing this reckless decision of mine, elder sister. I'll owe you a favor for this."

"Enough with the favor. He's a criminal. Just make sure not to overestimate yourself. A Stage 2 Energy Refiner is entirely different from those two brats from the other cities. You'd do best not to underestimate him."

"I understand."

After that, the private channel between them was cut off and their journey to the designated area to build their Base Camp continued.

Around an hour later, the over fifty Metadomes stopped moving and began unloading what they were carrying on their shoulders.

They finally arrived at their destination.

Aldrin scanned their surroundings and they're definitely situated on top of a rather steep hill. The ground was kind of dry due to the lack of vegetation. However, below the hill, a sea of trees sprawled as far as their eyes could see. The trees weren't that tall and weren't that lush either, however. Some grew fruits of an unknown kind while some just provided shade from the heat. Whether there were Dimensional Creatures living and roaming there, it was indicated by the map provided for them. 

From on top of the hill, everyone could also see at least four cleared paths, one of which, their way back to the Plainsteed Base Camp. The other three were paths created by explorers. At some point, those paths would end and venturing further than that would bring them to unexplored territory.

There were traces of ruined structures that were possibly brought down by sheer overwhelming force just recently. The place was definitely a former campsite. It got destroyed, perhaps from a siege of Dimensional Creatures or those who occupied it to turn it back to being a site for trainees to set up a base camp.

Clearing it would take a while. Nonetheless, with the trainees excited about this part of their training, they immediately moved to clear it even without Aldrin commanding them.

But for efficiency's sake, Aldrin eventually stood in the middle along with his five appointed assistants. They delegated duties to everyone which sped up the clearing and the construction began.

Setting up the foundation of the Base Camp took most of their time. By the time pillars and the initial walls were built, the sky of the Drawyz Domain had already darkened. And became blanketed with a single crescent moon and numerous stars. Whether they're real or not, no one knows. Someone already reached the edge of the Dimension so they're aware that this place wasn't a planet at all but only a suspended land in a seemingly unending Dimensional Space.

"Base Building sounds like the easiest part. We finished securing ourselves inside these walls." Irina commented while they're eating dinner around a bonfire.

Since they still hadn't created the living quarters and other essential structures for the base camp, every trainee would be sleeping in tents they brought with them. And although they have tools and devices that could provide them the necessary heat and light to battle the cold of the night, Aldrin thought of letting everyone get to know each other by creating a big bonfire in the middle.

Even though they spent ten days in the Training Camp in the fortress, most of them were still unfamiliar to each other given that they were separated by groups.

Their Metadomes were all lined up around the wall. They could reach it easily in case they get attacked. There were some of them who volunteered to become a sentry but Janet along with the other Instructors and guest Energy Refiners, who should only be observing them, showed up, telling them that they could relax for the night.

The designated area for them wasn't particularly dangerous but still, the Instructors knew that not everyone would be able to adjust easily in a foreign environment.

"Easiest, you say? I say we're lucky today. Even with the noises we made, none of the Rift Monsters found their way to us." A woman from a different group said.

"Or they're cleaned up by the Instructors that's why no Rift Monsters showed up." Another one entered the conversation.

"That's true as well. They're all strong. Honestly, even with Metadome, I'm not confident to face a horde of them just like that time with the Iron Bulls." And someone expressed what's in his mind.

Just like that, the dinner that started somewhat restrained eventually became a time for them to discuss things that they would probably not be able to in the following days.

"Great job kickstarting the conversation." Aldrin praised Irina for what she did. The girl accepted the praise by feeding him herself.

With his duty as the camp's leader done for the day, Aldrin's mind already drifted off to what's going to happen later.

There's already an excuse prepared for him to leave the camp. However, he knew that Carlos was still deliberating whether or not to make a move against him.

He already missed the chance to kill Aldrin and leave without being suspected after all. He definitely wouldn't be able to do it in this Dimension. Even if he finally found his target, escaping was clearly out of the question when there's only one way out.

Nonetheless, even if he didn't make a move, Janet and Aldrin's plan involved forcing him to do so…

Once the dinner ended and everyone retreated to their own tents to sleep and prepare for tomorrow, Aldrin who could still feel the connection with Dimensional Clones paused their IDLE Point hunting and moved them.

Following that, he slipped out of his tent and went outside the walls where Carlos was already waiting for him. His Metadome is nowhere in sight.

Taking advantage of the middle-aged man's attempt to get close to him after the reveal of his experience in the Southern District, Aldrin asked for pointers from Carlos. He initially declined, of course.

However, Aldrin acted like someone who finally found a master he could learn from and insisted. Perhaps flattered or he had a plan of his own, he eventually folded. That's the reason. why they had this late-night rendezvous.

Aldrin observed Carlos and he noticed that he had an amiable smile on his face as if he's someone who wouldn't lay a hand on someone weaker than him. No one would think that he's kind of prideful and wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone for his goals.

"Did you wait, instructor?"

"I'm not your instructor, kid. I will teach you because I am keen on your future. That's all." The middle-aged man succinctly said.

He's wearing thick clothes and so is Aldrin. The night in the Dimension was chilly cold as if winter was about to arrive. Nonetheless, that's not the only reason why they're wearing it.

It's to make them hard to notice.

In Carlos' knowledge, the other Instructors and guest Energy Refiners were scattered below the hill where the Trainee's Base Camp was located. However, the true situation was far from that. Janet had already informed Aldrin that they could sneak out without any of the Instructors disturbing them.

As this was the night to catch him and squeeze him out of information, almost every Instructor was on it. Furthermore, Aldrin brought a tracker with him that would constantly send his location to Janet and those participating in subduing the man.

"Honestly, I'm flattered to even catch your eye and learn from you. I'd definitely use what I will earn to become the number 1 Trainee. In the future, I will repay this debt of gratitude." Aldrin enthusiastically said. In his mind, however, he's already simulating what could happen in their fight.

He's prepared to lose but that doesn't mean he's not going to try. He's going to translate the experience he accumulated fighting those Ant and Spider Champions.

Obviously, the risk this time was his own life. He could die. It wouldn't be a pseudo-death that would only send his consciousness back to his real body. One wrong move and everything would end for him.

Even so, Aldrin believed that he had to experience something like this or his mindset wouldn't evolve.