The Dawn of the New World

Ceni was already speaking in almost a hushed whisper but Henrik still took a quick look around to make sure no one was eavesdropping when she brought up teleportation. He snapped his fingers and a flimsy light golden barrier with various elegant designs erupted around them.

"Please keep your voice down! And...yes. I have already tried it," he cautiously reached out into his inner shirt pocket and pulled out a small stone token that was broken in two. This was his identity token.

Every single student that was participating in the examination regardless of their affiliation to the three powers was given an identity token.

Other than a way to keep track of the examinees and as an observational device, perhaps the most important function of the token was to forcefully teleport out any student back to the ship assuming, of course, that they managed to break it in time.

That was the main reason so many of the participants had such a nonchalant attitude when it came to facing many of the dangers here because as long as they were careful enough to break it in time, no matter the situation they would be teleported out in the blink of an eye back to safety.

Meaning there was no real danger to their lives, so long as they didn't go out picking fights with other participants on purpose since they were the only ones that even knew about the tokens and could possibly find ways to kill the other party instantly, not even giving them the opportunity to use the token.

With bated breath, Ceni extended her trembling hand and picked up the two pieces with a thumping heartbeat. Since she was looking down Henrik couldn't see her expression but if he could, he would be terrified at this moment.

Instead of being scared for her life or feeling alone after finding out no one would be coming for them, she was grinning from ear to ear.

Her eyes were burning with a pale red light, even going as far as reverting some of the other facial features back, especially the eight sharp fangs that were protruding out of her jaw.

Henrik watched as she wordlessly stared at the token for a good half a minute. Thinking she was scared into silence he tried to reassure her.

"It's not as bad as it seems, we just have to be a little more careful from now on. To be honest it should have been this way to begin with since in the real world there usually isn't an option like this to fall back to. You don't have..."

He continued talking for a couple of minutes while Ceni's head hung low. It was only when he called out to her again that she woke up from the daze. Her features swiftly reverted back and she turned into her old, very human self again.

She finally looked up and handed the pieces back to Henrik.

"Hmm? Sorry, I was thinking about something else. What were you saying?"

"O-Oh, no, nothing important...I guess."

He was more than a little dishearted to see she had completely missed his heartwarming speech about friendship, the joys of working together and having each other's back, and all that other good stuff.

Ceni thought for a second before asking the most important question.

"What's the plan? Do the others know?"

"I....No. I haven't told them anything yet. I'm sure Lord Dai Zhi and all the other protectors are also aware of this but so far none of the participants have been made aware. It's probably because they don't want to cause panic without finding out why it is happening in the first place."

Ceni's brow furrowed upon hearing his reasoning.

"So you're going to keep lying to them? They have a right to know."

Henrik was surprised by her empathetic words so he told her the whole truth.

"I will tell them everything but we need to come with a plan first. And I need to talk to Hao Xuan beforehand since he probably knows a lot more about what's going on than any of us. Cousin might even have told him something important. And until then, we will continue doing what we came here to do."

"Which is?"

"To create amicable relations with the locals. I know we have much worse things to worry about but I'd still like to focus on this until there is a solid solution. You should come with us tomorrow, we will be going to one of the largest settlements nearby," Henrik finished by pointing towards a certain direction.

Ceni glanced where he had pointed and her mood instantly changed for the better.

"Alright, tell me when you leave then," she threw out the words and skipped her way over towards the other wooden cabin while unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile, leaving Henrik more than a little surprised at her willing attitude.

***

On the surface, a figure sat on the edge of a rocky creek, looking down at a large body of water in the not-so-far-off distance.