326 Chapter 326: Which City District?

"Divine Divination Academy, Aurora City District!"

The only reason why I actually heard that, out of all the other school announcements, was because Ding Ke Po and his teammates reacted to it in their usual boisterous fashion. The moment they heard which city district they were assigned to, they began chatting animatedly and discussing possibilities for the qualifiers.

"Jing Tian Academy, Aurora City District!"

"Oh, we're assigned to Aurora City District?" I asked, scarcely believing myself. At least it wasn't Tallarab City District – while the city was a lovely place, and the people were great, I sucked at desert warfare. I dislike sand – I avoided the beach as much as possible – and I hated the heat. That said, I wasn't very fond of the cold too, but I was at least used to it.

"Heh." Ding Ke Po looked over in our direction and grinned. "Fate has put us together! Don't worry, our Divine Divination Academy will take good care of you!"

"You ought to take care of yourselves first," Craig Carlson responded derisively. "Before worrying about others."

The middle-aged guy continued to announce the assignments for the other academy teams, and I drifted off again. Finally, at long last, he finished announcing the very last academy and the city district they were assigned to, and smiled.

"That's it for the assignments. We'll send you the specific details of the assignments and the content of the qualifiers later. Needless to say, it will be heavily team-based. So ensure that you all work together! All participants, be reminded that you are to gather at the Stuart train station before 6am tomorrow morning. We will have trains taking you to your respective city districts from there."

"Huh? That's it?" Kureha Franklin murmured, puzzled.

"What about the rules of the qualifiers?" Lilith Porter asked, looking worried. Lady, did you not just hear the guy literally say that he will send us the specific details for the content of the qualifiers later? She reminded me of those guys complaining in the forums without actually reading through the posts of other people (but expecting other people to read theirs and hypocritically attacking them for not reading their posts).

Castian turned completely pale as he went rigid atop his seat. He clenched his fists tightly, looking extremely worried.

He realized that if the organizers weren't going to announce the rules for the qualifiers, then it would be difficult for him and his allies to plan. They weren't even sure what format the qualifiers would take, or how they were going to compete – it was entirely possible that the lower-ranked teams wouldn't be able to ally or band together to gang up on the higher-ranked teams, depending on the circumstances or rules of the tournament.

"Of course!" Ding Ke Po was crowing for some reason. "There is no reason for the tournament organizers to give us the rules right away! They planned to surprise us from the start, to keep us on our feet, and to test our adaptability!"

"He's right, you know." Harrison Reed did a pose that would make Morgan Freeman proud. "This isn't the first time that teams from various academies decided to form coalitions and band together in order to gang up on other teams. However, that obviously is unethical and should be considered against the rules and spirit of the tournament. So they're going to keep their cards close to their chests for now, and minimize the schemings and conspiracies. The tournament organizers want to see our strength, adaptability, skill and determination, not schemes and insidious plots. After all, backstabbing each other isn't going to lead to a healthy environment for mages who are supposed to work together and fight alongside each other in the future."

"Exacta!" Ding Ke Po was now imitating an Arrancar. "As expected of the Captain!"

We all stared at him, and he suddenly realized how embarrassing his antics were. Clearing his throat, he withdrew quietly back to his seat.

"Wouldn't that put us lower-ranked teams at a disadvantage, though?" Dong Fang Yue Chu asked, concerned.

"Are you buying that ranking bullshit?" I asked, annoyed. "Rankings are not absolute. They don't determine the outcome of the match. And if our opponents prove to be stronger and more powerful than us, then they deserve to win. They deserve to be ranked higher than us. What, should they handicap themselves to give the rest of us a chance? How is that fair for them?"

"I think what Richard is trying to say is that these teams worked hard and sacrificed a lot to achieve the rank that they currently possess, and if you want to attain similar achievements, you should work hard and become stronger instead of plotting behind other people's backs and allying with other people to unfairly gang up on them."

Theodore Hammond managed to surmise my statements in a more tactful and less offensive manner.

"Yeah, that's what I meant to say. I guess. Sorry."

In any case, that was all we could do for now. There was no point thinking too much about this. Whatever happen would happen, and no amount of worrying would change that. All we could do right now was wait for the details.

"Well…that's that. I guess we should get going then."

Harrison's words were marked with the furor of students rising from their seats and making their way to the exit. I caught sight of Lilith and a few other friends from other schools, and exchanged nods with them.

"Whoa! Why do you know Lilith Porter and Charles Lacroix?!" Ding Ke Po demanded when he saw me greet them from afar.

Pushing my glasses, I smiled and strode off, but not without a parting remark.

"That's none of your business."

*

The next day, we arrived at the train station as stipulated by the tournament organizers. Even though it was six in the morning, the station was already packed full with students, with over five thousand students trying to gather into it. There were so many that we spilled out into the square outside the station, and not everyone could make it to the platform.

We weren't supposed to. There were already tournament staff in the area, overseeing the movements and transport of the students.

"Did everyone receive the stuff that the TOs sent out last night?" Harrison asked everyone as we gathered on the square.

"Yup!"

Right around 9pm last night, each of us received an email, which contained attachments in the form of a file. A tournament packet containing all the details of the tournament qualifiers, including vital information.

One of those vital pieces of information was being projected into the air right now when Harrison opened it with his smartpone to display a holographic display.

"This is a map of Aurora City and the terrain surrounding it. And just like the training camp we had under Instructor Feng Hai, there are certain objectives, which are marked out by locations on the map."

He then swept his gaze across everyone.

"I'm assuming that none of us have been to Aurora City before?"

All of us exchanged glances, but no one said anything. Taking our silence as affirmation, Harrison continued with a smile.

"Aurora City is located in the north, one of the northernmost cities in the Federation. It's just below the North Pole, but it's still extremely cold. There are a few places, particularly the mountains, where the snow does not melt at all, even throughout the year. So make sure you have your winter gear ready. We're in for quite the cold experience."

I rubbed absently at my cheek, smiling subconsciously. Winter was one of the weathers I could deal with. In my previous life, I spent several years in Minnesota, one of the coldest places in North America, while in graduate school. If that didn't prepare me for winter, I didn't know what would. I wasn't going to lie and say I love the snow and winter, but I had gotten used to it. Honestly, standing outside at negative twenty degrees was not an experience I would care to repeat, but by God I was ready to endure it if necessary.

"The most dangerous part isn't the cold, however. It's the monsters. As you know, the northern glacial areas are populated with monsters. High-ranking, low-ranking, they are all equally dangerous. We can't get complacent just because we run into rank F monsters. Remember, this is their home ground, their territory. We can't afford to underestimate them just because they are low-ranked."

Good, at least Harrison wasn't falling to the usual trap of "rank F = fodder." He would do well.

"I heard that Aurora City has certain geomagnetic disturbances that will affect compasses and other navigation devices." Theodore raised a hand. Harrison nodded.

"That is indeed correct. Navigation will be very difficult."

"The monsters, though…" Craig mused to himself. "There are restricted areas that are supposedly the habitats of high-ranking monsters." He jabbed a finger at a specific sector that was colored an ominous blood red. "This place…is the Den of Dragons. It's supposed to be inhabited by a nest of dragons."

Everyone felt a chill, because we all knew how powerful a rank A dragon was. Maybe I could nuke the mountain, but if even one dragon escaped, it would destroy me right when I was out of juice. Damn it. Never mind the dragons, I would be vulnerable to all the other monsters hiding out in the icy wilderness after exhausting myself against the dragons.

Best to let sleeping dragons lie.

"If you are assigned an objective that ends up separating you from the rest of the team, then you should look for railroad tracks. There was a system of railroad tracks built by the Federation to link the different cities of the north together, and they are still in use. Follow the tracks and they will lead you to a city eventually. Don't worry about the mission or the qualifiers – your life is more important. Even if we don't pass the qualifiers, I want to ensure that all of us return home safe and sound, alive and well. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

All of us saluted at Harrison's instructions. The guy would make a great military officer in future, especially given his concern for the welfare of his men. Even Bu Fan said nothing, leaning to the side with his arms crossed, but he regarded Harrison with a respectful expression. The lone wolf recognized a good leader when he saw one. Not that he would openly admit it.

"If a train comes along, we can just hitch a ride on it," Yue Chu remarked with a grin. Everyone nodded.

I glanced around for a moment, and then took a deep breath. Raising my hand, I reinforced the silence spell that Pearl had cast to shroud us. From the point of view of an outsider, it wasn't anything unusual. Most academy teams were currently doing the same thing, using identical or similar spells to conceal their discussions from other schools and teams. It was only natural, of course the myriad academies participating in the tournament had no intention of revealing their strategies to eavesdroppers or spies.

Also, unlike the hotel, we were free of bugs or listening devices that might have been implanted in every hotel room. Not unless the Assassins' spies laid out a mine of a million listening devices across the square (and they definitely had no way of predicting exactly which area in the square we would be standing in), we didn't have to worry about bugs.

"Before we go into the qualifiers, I have something I need to tell you guys." I glanced around cautiously, to ensure that there was no one spying or eavesdropping on us. The walls had eyes and ears, which was why it was impractical to hold this conversation within the hotel or dormitory rooms we were being accommodated in, but out in the vast, open plaza, surrounded by other teams and concealed by spells, there were no walls where spies could hide behind. For now, I didn't see anyone, but if they were professionals, they would obviously not allow me to spot them.

I had to trust the protective spell for now.

"A few days ago, I was contacted by Cecilia Stuart…"

"Cecilia Stuart!? That Cecilia Stuart, the Invincible War Goddess from Crowley's Grand Arcane Academy?!" Yue Chu blurted out.

"Yeah," I said with a nod, trying not to show my irritation at his interruption. "Apparently, she says that the Assassins Guild and the Dark Church will be making their move during the qualifiers. It's the best opportunity for them to create chaos and inflict maximum damage on the Federation, with so many of the younger generation's brightest and best gathered in one place. The Stuart and Franklin Families' intelligence networks are certain that they will try something."

"Not unusual," Harrison agreed thoughtfully. "That does sound like them."

"Well, it gets worse," I admitted. "Apparently Cecilia and Kureha Franklin wish for us to act as bait, to draw these Assassins out of hiding so that we can defeat or capture them before they can do anthing significant."

"We are not her tools," Bu Fan declared coldly. "We have no obligation to do what they ask us to do."

"True, but the Assassins are coming for us anyway, whether we like it or not."

"Why?" Pearl Pang asked, pushing a strand of blue hair away from her pretty face, her brow wrinkling. "Why would they target us?"

"Oh…could it be…because we survived that attack from those Assassins a few months ago? When a bunch of monsters invaded our city?" Craig was sharp.

I nodded.

"That bald Assassin and his disciples? Who attacked us and Teacher Fielding?" Sheila Scarlet turned pale. "Just because we survived their attack?"

"Sounds like those sneaky Assassins, all right," Lily Liam muttered darkly. "They have some sort of twisted Assassin's Pride. I'm not talking about that anime. I mean, their pride was bruised when they failed to assassinate anybody back then, and they will definitely want revenge."

"Well…since you're raising the subject, I assume you have some sort of plan, Richie?" Yue Chu turned to me. I grinned in response. My good friend knew me so well.

"That's correct…" I pushed my glasses up my nose and reached for my smartphone, projecting a holographic screen for them to see. "This is what I have planned for now…in order to counter them."