NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32 - Ambush in the Jungle
Nick jolted awake as the blindfold was yanked from his eyes. Disoriented, he blinked rapidly, struggling to process the sudden change. Dense fog surrounded him, limiting visibility to barely ten meters in any direction. Damp, cold air filled his lungs—mountain air, judging by the thin quality and the earthy scent of lichen and stone. Beside him, Maggie and Jordan were experiencing similar awakenings, their expressions shifting from confusion to alertness in seconds.
The last thing Nick remembered was boarding the compound's helicopter for what Marcus had called their "final evaluation"—then nothing until this moment. The air parted briefly, revealing craggy mountain peaks in the distance. The Cerros Orientales, if he had to guess.
His system interface materialized without prompting:
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM – OBJECTIVE】🜂
[Protect Resonant Core [Status: Stable]
[Duration: 48 Hours]
[Fail Condition: Core fractured | Allies: 3 | Opponents: Unknown | Assistance: None]
Marcus stepped forward, a head-sized emerald gem cradled in his arms. Its surface caught what little light penetrated the haze, refracting it into beautiful patterns. As he extended it toward Nick, the gem pulsed once, a faint ripple of energy that Nick's heart circuit detected instantly.
"This is a Resonant Core," Marcus explained, his voice devoid of the warmth that had occasionally surfaced during their training. "It's attuned to detect mana disruptions within a twenty-meter radius. Your objective is simple—protect it for the next forty-eight hours."
Nick accepted the gem, surprised by its weight and the subtle vibration against his hands. Through his circuit, he sensed it wasn't merely a gem but alive somehow, but he couldn't understand it.
"The Core is sensitive to combat energy," Marcus continued. "Even a glancing blow from concentrated mana will damage it. If its integrity falls below seventy percent it will be destroyed and you will fail."
The implications settled over the team like the mountain's fog. This wasn't just another training exercise—this was their qualification for Academy admission.
"Parameters?" Jordan asked, his training immediately driving him to seek mission boundaries.
"None," Marcus replied. "The mountains are your arena. You'll be hunted. You'll be cold. You'll be tired. And if this gem takes even a scratch—you will fail." His eyes met each of theirs in turn. "You have five minutes to collect your gear and depart. After that, you're active targets."
With that, he turned and walked into the fog, disappearing within seconds.
Three backpacks lay nearby, each containing basic survival gear: water filtration tablets, ration bars, a thermal blanket, mana-reactive compass, and basic first aid supplies. Notably absent were any offensive weapons or communication devices.
"We need to move," Jordan stated, already shouldering his pack. "Elevation gives us a surveillance advantage but makes us visible targets."
"Ridge defense is unsustainable for forty-eight hours," Maggie countered, her newly awakened cognitive circuit pulsing with increased activity around her temples. "We need to establish mobile perimeters with fallback positions."
Nick studied the gem in his palm, focusing his heart circuit on its subtle resonance. The Core's energy signature matched nothing he'd encountered before—complex, ancient, with a mana frequency that suggested technology far beyond their current understanding.
"The gem itself is the key," he said finally. "It's not just an objective—it's a tool. Its resonance can be tuned to our defensive posture."
Jordan nodded sharply. "Your call, team lead. Direction?"
The simple acknowledgment of leadership caught Nick off guard. During training, they'd operated more as equals, sharing tactical decisions. But here, in the field, clear command structure became necessary—and they'd naturally turned to him.
"North," Nick decided after a moment's consideration. "Following the ridgeline initially for reconnaissance, then dropping to the tree line for cover. Jordan on point, Maggie center with me, scanning patterns every three minutes."
As they moved out, Nick felt Arlize's combat instincts rising—the positioning strategy was pure Aurilian military maneuvering, efficient and effective. But this time, instead of fighting the integration, he accepted the knowledge while filtering it through his own judgment. Not Arlize's approach, not Nick's inexperience, but a synthesis of both.
The first six hours passed with unexpected ease. They established a rhythm—moving for forty minutes, securing position for twenty, then moving again. Maggie mapped their surroundings impressively, identifying potential ambush points and establishing an evolving tactical grid. Jordan constructed a mobile shielding framework that enveloped all three of them without hindering their movements. The golden light of his manifestation circuit flowed from his dominant hand like liquid armor.
Nick remained focused on the Resonant Core, gradually attuning his circuit to its frequency. By midday, he'd discovered he could extend his emotional perception through the gem, effectively doubling his range for detecting approaching threats.
They made camp at a defensible position beneath a rocky overhang, concealed by thick clusters of trees and dense foliage. As Jordan established the perimeter, Maggie settled cross-legged at the center of their makeshift camp, her eyes closed in concentration.
"Something's wrong," she said suddenly, the fractal patterns around her temples intensifying. "Mana disturbance approaching from the southwest. Fast."
Nick extended his perception through the Core. "I don't sense anything—"
"Down!" Jordan shouted, throwing up a shield that flickered into existence just in time to intercept a barrage of mana projectiles. The impacts flared against the golden barrier, each strike precise enough to have been lethal had they hit their unprotected targets.
Nick clutched the Core against his chest protectively as a figure materialized from the mist with supernatural speed. Val's characteristic attack pattern was unmistakable—fluid, relentless, targeting the weak points in their formation with unerring accuracy.
"Coordinates shifting!" Maggie called out, her eyes tracking Val's movements with enhanced cognitive processing. "Six meters east, adjusting three north—now!"
Nick reacted a fraction too slowly. He shifted his position as instructed, but not quickly enough to maintain the optimal defensive triangle. Val exploited the gap instantly, slipping between Jordan's shield segments with a maneuver that bent space itself, leaving a blurred afterimage.
Her strike targeted the Core directly. Jordan intercepted at the last possible moment, throwing himself between Val and Nick. The shield held, but the proximity of the attack triggered a reaction from the Core—its color shifting from emerald to amber, vibrating with increased intensity against Nick's palm.
Val withdrew as quickly as she'd appeared, vanishing without a word.
That was close.
"That was almost a breach," Maggie snapped, frustration and fear evident in her voice. "The Core's integrity fluctuated by at least fifteen percent. We need a tighter sync, Nick."
Nick nodded, acknowledging the criticism without defensiveness. He'd hesitated—caught between Arlize's combat reflexes urging one response and his own instincts suggesting another. The split-second delay had nearly cost them everything.
"My fault," he admitted, nodding at Maggie. "I'm sorry I almost cost us our admission. I will be vigilant. It won't happen again." He studied the Core, which was slowly returning to its original emerald hue. "But I think I understand something about how this gem works now. I was monitoring it when Val attacked and I believe it's not just detecting external threats, it's measuring our resonance output as a team."
Jordan frowned, flexing his hand where his circuit glowed beneath his skin. "So if our coordination falters—"
"The Core becomes more vulnerable," Nick confirmed. "Which means our defense isn't just physical—it's about maintaining perfect synchronization."
As daylight faded, the mountain air grew bitingly cold. They established shifts for half-sleep cycles—twenty minutes of rest for each person while the other two maintained vigilance. The system prevented deep sleep but allowed their bodies to recover enough to function. By nightfall, they'd survived two more probing attacks—minor tests of their perimeter that they handled with improving coordination.
Then, as full darkness descended, everything changed.
Nick was halfway through his rest cycle when a biting chill seized him. His breath crystallized instantly, the temperature plunging unnaturally fast, sending shivers radiating through his bones. Instinctively, he snapped upright, the Core pulsing frantically in his grip.
"Perimeter breach," Jordan's voice came tense and hollow, distorted by an unseen force.
Darkness writhed between the trees, folding into itself, coalescing into a familiar yet twisted form. Maria stepped from the shadows, her outline flickering erratically as if reality itself struggled to contain her. Her eyes radiated an unsettling azure glow, trailing wisps of mana that distorted the air.
"Mental attack incoming!" Nick shouted, urgency spiking through his circuits, but the words were already echoing uselessly into an illusion's maw.
Reality fractured around them, replaced instantly by visions carved from their deepest traumas. Nick staggered, suddenly thrust into his childhood home. Warm sunlight streamed mockingly through familiar kitchen windows; the air filled with the haunting sound of his mother's laughter. He turned sharply, heart pounding. His father stood before him, a ghostly figure suffused with accusatory sorrow.
"You could have saved us," his father whispered, words like blades twisting deeper. "You failed to see what you truly are."
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Simultaneously, Jordan dropped to one knee, face twisted in agony, immersed in a battlefield carnage where specters of fallen comrades reached out desperately. Among them stood a young woman—his sister—her mouth open in a silent, perpetual scream.
Maggie trembled violently beside him, eyes wide with horror, locked into an illusion of Elias strapped helplessly to a lab table, Callahan Industries scientists looming above him. Her brother's eyes pleaded silently, accusingly.
A torrent of raw emotion slammed into Nick's heart circuit, amplified by the Core's proximity. His vision blurred, overwhelmed by cascading grief, guilt, and panic. The Core flickered amber, shifting ominously toward a deep, dangerous red.
"It's... not... real," Nick ground out, gasping as emotional agony tightened like a vise around his heart. "Maria's attacking our circuits—she's flooding them!"
Jordan's form flickered, muscles spasming as his manifestation circuit fought desperately against the illusion. Maggie remained locked, tears streaming freely down her pale cheeks.
"Maggie! Break free!" Nick shouted desperately, voice barely audible through the thickening emotional storm.
Jordan suddenly lifted his head, eyes clearing slightly, drawing on a reserve of disciplined clarity. His voice cracked through the illusion like a whip, reciting a cold, mechanical rhythm.
"Seven-three-one-four, confirm sequence! Nine-two-six-five, confirm sequence!"
Maggie jolted, head snapping toward Jordan's voice. Her cognitive circuit flared to life, mana patterns blazing along her temples as her analytical mind latched onto the mathematical lifeline.
"Prime sequence—Fibonacci variant," she murmured shakily, mana pulsing visibly around her. She clung desperately to the rhythm. "Eight-nine-seven-three—sequence confirmed!"
Nick seized the thread of logic, focusing through sheer force of will, his heart circuit clawing free from emotional turbulence. "Seven-one-nine-nine! Continue the sequence!"
Their voices intertwined, numbers echoing powerfully into the darkness, steadily dispelling Maria's hold. The illusions rippled violently, mana threads unraveling as their combined resonance disrupted the mental assault.
Maria smiled and the illusion shattered around them like glass shards evaporating into mist. Her form flickered once, twice, then vanished entirely, leaving behind nothing but echoing silence and bitter cold.
The Core thrummed unsteadily, slowly fading from dangerous crimson back to amber, then finally stabilizing to a tentative emerald.
Jordan's chest heaved, sweat beading on his forehead despite the freezing air. Maggie shook violently, hands clenched at her sides, fighting residual tremors.
"That was too close," Maggie whispered hoarsely, voice tight with lingering fear.
Jordan stood slowly, fists clenching and unclenching as he grounded himself in the present. "We need a better countermeasure. Something quicker."
Nick nodded grimly, heart still racing but steadier now, determination returning. "The numeric grounding worked—Maggie, can we build a stronger, faster response?"
"Already planning it," Maggie said, her voice regaining composure even as exhaustion tugged at her words. "A fixed numeric chant—prime-based resonance. Simple enough for immediate recall, complex enough to shatter illusions quickly."
They settled into formation, rebuilding their defenses, recalibrating their circuits. Nick exhaled deeply, letting the raw, visceral memory of the attack strengthen his resolve rather than weaken it. Their trial was far from over—but now, they had another weapon. The night crawled by in exhausting increments, with nothing sustaining them but ration bars, filtered water, and stubborn determination.
By dawn of the second day, fatigue had settled deep into their bones. Nick's integration rate had stabilized at 59.7%, but maintaining their defensive posture demanded constant vigilance that drained them all. Jordan's shield projections remained strong but required increasingly frequent reset cycles. Maggie's cognitive enhancements kept her mind sharp despite the exhaustion, but her physical stamina visibly waned.
Thirty-six hours into the trial, Nick sensed it—a presence approaching that triggered no defensive response from the Core, yet carried an unmistakable weight of power.
The attack came without system alert. Marcus simply materialized from the mist like a wraith—no tells, no restraint. Unlike previous challenges that had tested specific aspects of their defensive capabilities, Marcus came at them with lethal intent—or at least, a convincing simulation of it.
He moved like nothing Nick had ever seen—faster than Val, more precise than Francisco, with raw power that made the air itself seem to bend around him. And unlike the previous attackers, Marcus targeted Nick directly.
"He's coming for you specifically," Jordan realized, reinforcing his shield around Nick. "We need to—"
Marcus phased through the shield as if it wasn't there, striking at Nick with a palm thrust that would have collapsed his ribcage had it connected. Nick evaded purely on instinct, but the follow-up attack caught him across the shoulder, sending him sprawling backward into the damp ground.
"Protect the Core!" Maggie shouted, her circuit mapping Marcus's movement patterns in real-time. "Three-step sequence, anticipating south-central pivot!"
Jordan adjusted his shield configuration based on Maggie's prediction, successfully blocking Marcus's next attack. Nick scrambled back to his feet, clutching the Core protectively against his chest, its color now pulsing irregularly between amber and green.
This wasn't a test of their individual skills anymore. Marcus was too powerful, too experienced. This was a test of something else—something Nick suddenly understood with perfect clarity.
"Link up!" he called out, extending his circuit's resonance field. "Full synchronization!"
Jordan and Maggie responded instantly, shifting to positions that completed their familiar triangular formation. As they connected their awakened circuits—heart, manifestation, and cognitive—something new emerged. The mana between their circuits amplified, forming an impenetrable force field that radiated outward.
Marcus attacked again, but this time they moved as a single unit. Jordan's shields flowed in patterns directed by Maggie's calculations, reinforced by Nick's emotional stability. They didn't try to overpower Marcus—that would have been impossible. Instead, they focused on perfect coordination, adapting to each attack with increasing harmony.
Nick channeled the team's emotional state—their fear, determination, and unity—into a stabilizing field. The Core responded, its color shifting from amber to green, then unexpectedly to a brilliant white that cut through the fog surrounding them.
After exactly seven minutes of sustained assault, Marcus stepped back, his expression unreadable. Then, he did something none of them expected.
He smiled.
"Sufficient," he said simply, and then turned and walked away, leaving them gasping for breath in his wake.
The remaining hours of the trial passed without further attack. When their system interfaces synchronized to display "47:00:00 elapsed," they gathered their equipment and began the trek back toward the extraction point Marcus had identified on their compasses.
They crossed the compound's outer security perimeter with just thirty-eight minutes remaining on their countdown. The gates parted automatically as sensors recognized their biometric signatures. To their surprise, a small reception committee awaited them—the Zhangs, the training staff, even Val, her usual severity softened by what might have been respect.
None of the three had energy for celebration. Maggie immediately collapsed into a chair, face pale with exhaustion. Jordan sank to his knees, his circuit flickering weakly as his reserves approached depletion. Nick, still clutching the Core, approached Marcus and silently extended his hand, offering the gem with trembling fingers.
Marcus accepted it solemnly, studying the now-brilliant white surface with an approving nod.
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM – EVALUATION COMPLETE】🜂 Result: Pass Core Integrity: 91.3% Team Sync: 84.2% Emotional Stability Index: 67.9% Recommendation: Provisional Approval
The system notification appeared simultaneously for all three of them, confirmation of what they'd already felt—they had passed, but not with the perfection they might have hoped for.
"Rest," Marcus instructed. "Full medical evaluation in thirty minutes, then meal and recovery. Debriefing tomorrow."
None of them argued. The medical team examined them efficiently, treating Jordan's sprained wrist, the laceration along Maggie's calf, and the deep bruising across Nick's shoulder and ribs. The injuries were significant enough to demonstrate the seriousness of the trial, but not severe enough to require more than conventional treatment.
Dinner that evening was a strangely muted affair. Despite their success—or perhaps because of it—a contemplative mood had settled over the team. They ate mechanically, their bodies demanding nourishment while their minds processed the experience they'd just endured.
Nick found himself dozing at the table, his system interface flashing warnings of dangerous fatigue levels. He somehow made it to his quarters, falling onto his bed still partially clothed, consciousness fading before his head even touched the pillow.
Morning arrived with merciless punctuality, his system chiming at precisely 7:00 AM. Nick's body protested every movement, muscles burning from exertion and injuries that even accelerated healing couldn't immediately repair. Still, he dragged himself to the shower, then to breakfast, where Maggie and Jordan already waited, looking equally battered.
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck," Maggie muttered, wincing as she shifted in her chair. "A truck filled with other, smaller trucks."
"Standard post-evaluation recovery," Jordan replied, though his typical stoicism crumbled under the careful way he cradled his injured wrist. "Field operations always extract a physical cost."
The observation room, when they arrived at 9:00 AM sharp, had been reconfigured into an evaluation space. Marcus, Maria, Francisco, Val, and the Zhangs sat along one side of a long table, with data displays and holographic recreations of key moments from their trial floating above the surface.
"Be seated," Marcus instructed, gesturing to the three chairs positioned opposite them.
What followed was a methodical dissection of their performance—clinical, precise, and occasionally brutally honest. Francisco analyzed their mana efficiency curves, identifying moments where better circulation would have preserved critical energy. Val critiqued their defensive positioning, highlighting vulnerabilities they hadn't even noticed. Maria evaluated their psychological resilience, noting both strengths and concerning weaknesses in their responses to emotional manipulation.
"Nicholas," Marcus said, focusing directly on Nick. "Your performance as team coordinator showed improvement, but critical flaws remain. Your emotional regulation still affects your decision-making speed. In four instances, you hesitated between Arlize's tactical approach and your instinctive response. This split-second delay could be fatal in genuine combat situations."
Nick nodded, accepting the criticism without defending himself. The assessment was accurate—his dual nature continued to create moments of indecision during high-stress scenarios.
"Maggie," Marcus continued. "Your analytical capabilities proved invaluable, but your physical conditioning nearly compromised the mission in the final hours. Additionally, you continue to override intuitive responses with conscious calculation—a habit that introduces unnecessary delays in time-critical situations."
Maggie's expression tightened, but she too nodded in acknowledgment. Her parents exchanged glances, clearly wanting to defend their daughter but respecting the evaluation process.
"Jordan," Marcus concluded. "Your defensive capabilities exceeded expectations, but revealed a critical vulnerability—emotional compromise affecting shield integrity during Maria's illusion attack. The hesitation when confronted with the phantom of your sister created a dangerous gap in your protection grid."
Jordan's face remained impassive, though Nick sensed the sharp spike of emotional response through his own circuit.
"However," Marcus added, his tone softening slightly, "as a team, you demonstrated exceptional potential. Your quaternary resonance during the final confrontation approached Academy third-year levels—remarkable for candidates with less than one month of formal training."
Francisco nodded in agreement. "Your circuit activations have stabilized impressively well. Most practitioners require weeks to achieve the control you've demonstrated in days."
"The question now," Maria said, "is not whether you qualify for Academy admission. That determination has been made." She gestured to the system evaluation still displayed above the table. "The question is whether you're prepared for what comes next."
Marcus leaned forward, his expression uncharacteristically intense. "This wasn't just about the Academy. This was your entrance exam for something else. A mission. One I can't assign lightly."
The three exchanged glances, exhaustion momentarily forgotten as anticipation took its place.
"What mission?" Maggie asked cautiously.
Marcus's gaze shifted to Nick, lingered for a moment, then away. "We'll discuss it tomorrow. For now, rest. You've earned it."
As they filed out of the observation room, Nick couldn't shake the feeling that something fundamental had shifted again—that the real test was yet to come. This time, the stakes wouldn't be measured in personal success or failure, but in something far more consequential.
🜂【ARCΛDIΛN SYSTΞM – PERSONAL STATUS】🜂
[Integration: 59.8% Recovery: In Progress (37.2% complete) Heart Circuit Stabilization: Optimal Standing]
[Academy Candidate (Confirmed) | Note: Further activation protocols unlocked]