CHAPTER 179: A RANK MISSION (2)

Caspian hesitated a moment, then answered:

"I chose the Secret Gate."

"Really?" Vera raised an eyebrow.

Caspian nodded. "I wrote that I’d divide the team into two. One would stall the seal guards while the other decodes the magic. I explained that... trust in teammates’ roles was more important than taking the fastest or safest route. Because if you don’t trust them, no route works."

Vera didn’t speak at first.

Then he gave a dry laugh.

"As expected."

"What?"

"You trusted your team," Vera said, eyes low. "That’s the part where I got it wrong."

Caspian tilted his head, curious.

Vera looked forward. Not at Caspian. Just... ahead.

"I wanted to fix that in me. The part that can’t trust anyone."

"There must be a reason for that," Caspian said.

Vera smiled faintly.

"There is. That’s why I wanted to duel today. Not to test you, but to... remind myself that someone can stand beside me without hurting me."

A beat of silence.

Then Vera exhaled, steadying himself.

"I also wanted to tell you something."

"Go on."

"During the internal matches," Vera said, "I betrayed my team in one of them."

Caspian turned to him.

"I didn’t sabotage them or anything dramatic... I just... didn’t support them when I could’ve."

"Why?"

Vera gave a small, broken laugh.

"Because I couldn’t trust you. I couldn’t trust that we’d win. And instead of backing my team, I held back — thinking I could turn the match if it went wrong."

"But we won that one," Caspian remembered.

"Yeah." Vera looked down at his hands. "Because of you. I was the weak link. Not because I lacked strength — but because I lacked trust."

Caspian was quiet for a moment.

Then calmly said:

"I know."

Vera blinked.

"I figured it out later," Caspian added. "But I never held it against you."

Vera’s throat tightened slightly.

"Don’t take it personally," Caspian continued. "It’s in human nature — to doubt, to protect ourselves first. If you’ve made it this far... there must be something in your past that taught you not to trust. You don’t need to explain it."

"But if you want to change, then this mission — it’s the place to do it."

Vera stared at Caspian.

"You’re strange, you know that?"

"You’re not the first to say that," Caspian smiled.

They both laughed.

....

Caspian stood at the front of the briefing hall — a large stone chamber usually used for inter-academy conferences, now dimly lit and sealed for classified briefings. Twenty-four eyes were on him.

His fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table. The silence stretched — not hostile, but heavy. Expectations clung to the air like smoke.

This isn’t a fight.It’s words. Just words.But why does this feel harder than swinging a sword?

He exhaled quietly.

"Let me explain the mission."

"Our deployment is set for the today night. It’s classified as an (A-)Rank Operation — not a training mission. This is real. And it’s not just about survival."

He turned toward the massive magical screen that hovered behind him. It displayed a slowly rotating 3D model of the target: The Bastion, an ancient ruin half-swallowed by a red forest, situated on the edge of the Forgotten Ravines near corrupted continent.

The fortress pulsed with dark red light.

"This is our target."

He turned back.

"The Primary Objective is to take back Forgotten Ravines from beasts for that we have to destroy something called the Heart of the Bastion. It’s an ancient magical core that fuels not just the defenses of the fortress, but also corruptive energy that suppresses certain bloodline abilities — and strengthens the enemy."

"To put it simply: if we don’t destroy it, you won’t be at full strength. And neither will I."

There was a quiet stir in the group. Caspian saw fianna cross her arms, Seraphina furrow her brows, and Oliver lean forward slightly.

"We’ll be planting magical charges around the Heart. We have a demolition specialist — Selene — from Class A assisting us. Listen to her when the time comes."

He flicked his eyes toward the second diagram.

"Secondary Objective: The Bastion has arcane defenses. Magical traps. A surveillance network. Alarms that call Beasts reinforcements directly. These need to be disabled."

"We’ll need a three-person squad to infiltrate the rune grid room and power cores near the northern towers. They’ll have around 15 minutes after entry to disable it. After that, the system resets — and we’ll be buried in countermeasures."

The room had grown quieter now. Everyone was focused.

Even Darian wasn’t making snide remarks.

"Third," Caspian continued, "is tactical intelligence. Maps. Records. Names. beast troop movements. We’re stealing them. If this operation succeeds, it won’t just save us — it will prepare the continent for what’s coming."

He paused, letting that land.

Then flicked to the last objective.

"Tertiary Objective: An extraction route. There’s a hidden underground tunnel system. We need to find it and make sure it’s clear before we blow the place sky high."

"We’re not getting out through the front. Once the Heart goes, the whole Bastion might collapse. The tunnel’s our lifeline."

He finally looked up at all of them.

For a second, his voice wavered — just slightly.

"I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers. Some of you have more combat experience than me. Some of you are smarter tacticians. But I promise two things: I’ll listen. And I’ll fight harder than anyone to get all of us out alive."

He stopped.

"there’s one final thing you need to understand."

The screen behind Caspian shifted—zooming in toward the Bastion’s core. Symbols glowed around it, forming a five-pointed pattern.

"According to recovered records and old-world schematics," the professor continued, "there’s a containment gate system installed around the Bastion’s heart."

Gates?

"These are Arc-Seals — spatial magic tied directly to the heart’s core. The moment anyone steps beyond the main defense ring, these seals activate."

A second screen lit up: five gates, forming a pentagon-shaped perimeter around the heart of the fortress.

"If you enter through one of these, you cannot leave until the heart is destroyed."

That line landed like thunder in the room.

Vera’s fingers curled into a fist. Naomi muttered something under her breath. Even Darian’s expression twitched for a second.

Caspian swallowed, keeping his voice calm.

"So we can’t just go in, grab something, and run out."

Caspian stepped back, letting the room settle.

Inside, Bloodmoon’s voice echoed.

"Not bad, kid. You almost sounded like someone who believes in himself."

"I’m trying," Caspian thought back.

"Then try harder. Because they’re going to need you."