After breakfast, Rayden made his way to the arena to prepare for the capture the flag event.
In this event, each clan will send 7 teams, with 5 members on each team. Each team will compete against one team from each clan. The first team to achieve 3 captures wins.
The winners will face other winners, while the losers will compete against one another.
Each capture will earn the clan 5 points, and each game won will earn 10 clan points—totaling 25 clan points per game.
Once all teams have played, a final battle royale will take place between the clans. In the distance, a large mock battleground has been constructed for the final event.
For the battle royal, each team has a base that contains only one flag. If that flag is captured and successfully brought back to another clan's base, the losing team is eliminated. The battle continues until only one clan remains.
That clan will be declared the winner of the event, and the points that the teams have collectively earned before the final will then be doubled.
I stopped in my tracks as I thought about how many clan points we could earn.
We could earn 700 points if we capture every flag and win every game for all of our clan's teams. That number could rise to 1400 if we win the final as well.
I blew a whistle at the thought, but I knew it would be unrealistic; there would be some wins and some losses along the way.
Eventually, I met up with my team after snapping out of my daydream. In addition to myself, there are three boys and one girl on my team. I've seen each of them throughout the clan, on the training fields, and at various festivals.
Let me introduce them: Ahsley is our marksman/support; Robert and Jacob serve as our defenders; and Dave and I play as the attackers.
I spotted George off to the side with his own team as well.
"How's it going, guys?" I asked as I walked up.
Dave replied, "Not bad."
Robert chimed in, "Can't complain."
Jacob said, "Doing good."
Ahsley added, "I'm well."
We chatted while waiting for all the teams to arrive. I saw Lexi arrive with her team, which consisted of her, another girl, and three boys.
I went to talk with her, engaging in small talk about how her morning had been and what she wanted to eat for lunch.
As we were talking, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the event.
Varn walked up to explain the rules. After a few minutes of discussion to ensure each team understood, the game officially started.
"Good luck, Rayden," Lexi said.
"And good luck to you as well, Lexi," Rayden replied.
Rayden walked back to his team, and together they moved to their designated arena. To speed up the games, five matches would be run simultaneously, allowing spectators to watch and switch between each one.
Looking at the layout, our first match took place in a simulated building complex. Other simulated environments included a forest, a swamp, and a cave. Each team would compete in one of the simulated environments at least once.
Our first match was against a team from Clan Vhar'kar. They put up a strong fight, but we won with a final score of 3 to 2. They had some unusual gadgets that made it difficult to predict their next moves.
During the match, I got hit by a gel that stuck my hands together until I could break them apart. What was most frustrating was that they kept firing that gel at us, which slowed us down.
Our next match was against Clan Drav'korr's team. They played well, but a few mistakes and miscommunications on their part led to their loss, with a score of 3 to 1. The match took place in the cave.
I was surprised by their performance because the opposing team had some physically strong players who were tough to handle in one-on-one combat. We had to separate them and pick them off one by one until we managed to grab the flag.
That was made easy with the simulated environment being the caves.
Our team has already earned 50 points from those two matches, and overall, we are performing well. The only clan currently doing better is Tov'ra.
Most of their teams are winning, while our clan is just a few wins behind them, and Clan Serdran is trailing behind us. Drav'korr and Vhar'kar are not performing poorly, but it's evident that they have lost more matches than they have won.
As Rayden contemplated the current situation, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Lexi looking at him with an amused smirk.
"Lost in thought, huh? I hope you're having some nice daydreams," Lexi said with a smile.
"Just thinking about all the points I'm earning with my team. From what I see, it's more than you," he snapped back at her.
"You won one more game than us; big whoop!" A small pout appeared on her face.
Her team had won against Drav'korr but lost to Vhar'kar.
"I just checked the board, and it looks like we will face each other again in the 4th match," Lexi said, her eyes burning with determination as she sought revenge for yesterday's defeat.
"Ill fight you anytime anywhere." Rayden said as his team was then called for their third match against.
This match was against a team from Tov'ra. "I'll have to personally capture a flag if I want to fulfill the bonus objective of my mission," I thought as my team completed our final checks before being released.
The environment for this match was the swamps. We needed to be careful where we stepped, or we would find ourselves submerged underwater.
Each team had a small makeshift base, with their three flags hidden but still visible inside.
Ashley was assigned to provide overwatch from the base tower, while Dave and I planned to split and flank from opposite sides. Robert and Jacob would defend from nearby cover.
When the alarm sounded, Dave and I dashed off. I had a gauntlet that emitted an energy shield and a stun blaster. My helmet was on, with comms connected to the rest of the team.
Rayden made his way to the edge of a murky pool of swamp water, the air thick with humidity and the scent of damp earth. Crouching down and slowly crawling around the dense vegetation that surrounded him created a natural barrier that obscured his movements but also made navigation challenging.
From the bushes in front, he noticed his opponents emerging from the shadows—two members of Clan Tov'ra, their scorched armor covered in mud and dirt to blend in with the swamp.
At first, the two did not notice Rayden, but they soon stopped where they found his old footprints in the mud.
"Shit," he thought, realizing that the two would discover him. Rayden messaged his team, informing them that he had two enemies in sight and instructed Dave to make his way to the enemy base while he distracted and dealt with them.
"Come out and surrender!" one of the Tov'ra members called out. From the sound of his voice, he seemed to be around eight years old, while the other, who looked larger, appeared to be about ten.
The two boys raised their shields and drew their blasters as they followed the trail. They soon arrived at the area where Rayden lay in wait.
The surroundings were thick with weeds and brush. Without realizing it, the younger boy stepped close to Rayden's helmet, giving him the perfect opportunity to take one of them down. As Rayden remained hidden, the young Tov'ra member took a few more steps away, his back turned to him.
Taking advantage of the situation, Rayden raised his blaster and fired a stun round, incapacitating the younger one.
The older individual quickly ducked and used the surrounding foliage to approach Rayden and tackle him.
They quickly moved away from the downed boy as Rayden ran and fired his weapon, using the force to sense when and where his opponent's shots were aimed.
This game of cat and mouse lasted about ten minutes. During this time, he learned over the comms that Robert and Jacob had eliminated another opponent. Meanwhile, Ashley had spotted and sniped an enemy who had flanked from behind the base and grabbed a flag.
However, since they could not bring that flag back to their base, they received no points for the capture.
Dave was near the enemy base and not too far from Rayden, so he decided to b-line his way to Dave so they could team up and tackle the boy chasing him and the last one, most likely in the enemy base.
While Rayden made a plan with Dave, he continued to dodge and weave.
Viewing this from their screens, the clan leaders were impressed.
Ravik remarked, "Impressive reaction."
Veyra joked, "Did you give birth to a monkey, Elyse?"
Elyse replied, "Very funny, but no. My boy has skills and gifts."
While they were chatting, something on the screen caught their attention, pulling them back to the battle.
From a tree, Dave jumped down onto the boy who was chasing Rayden, kicking the blaster from his hand and stunning him in the process.
"Thanks!" Rayden exclaimed.
"No problem," Dave responded.
With all but one opponent taken down, Rayden and Dave rushed toward the enemy base, each grabbing a flag.
The final enemy guarded the last one. He was taken down in no time, and we made our way back to base to hang the captured flags.
When the final flag was hung, the alarm blared, signaling that the match was over.
We celebrated as a team and shook hands with the opposing team as well. Our last match before the battle royal will be against Lexi's team in the simulated forest.
"Looks like it will be a while before our match," I said, glancing at the screen where Lexi and her team were currently battling on the building complex map.
One of her flags had been taken, but her team had managed to capture two flags for themselves. Two members of the Tov'ra were guarding the last flag.
Rayden watched as Lexi elegantly fought her way past the two guards, grabbed the flag, and made her escape. Her teammates acted as guards, allowing her to get away and score, winning her match.
From above, a proud smile formed on Veyra's face. Watching her daughter grow and become more skilled in combat brought her joy as a Mandoian mother.
After her match, Lexi found Rayden sitting and relaxing with his eyes closed.
"Good game! You did great. I caught the final moments of it," Rayden praised her.
A warm feeling filled Lexi's heart upon hearing his compliments.
"But I beat my opponents faster than you did," Rayden teased, noticing the flutters in her heart in response to his praise.
Lexi ground her teeth, feeling annoyance wash over her, overshadowing the warm feelings she had just moments before.
"You just have to ruin the mood, don't you, Ray?"
"Oh, I'm Ray now?" Rayden replied, noticing that she had shortened his name.
Lexi realized she messed up by saying that, thinking he didn't like being called that.
"It's fine if you want to call me Ray, Lexi," he reassured her, noticing that she was panicking a little. It made them feel closer when she called him Ray.
"Come sit down; let's watch the other fights while we wait for ours," Rayden said as he patted the seat next to him and closed his eyes to rest a little more.
Feeling slightly embarrassed yet happy, Lexi sat down and began to enjoy the silence as they both watched the other teams compete.
Their parents, of course, noticed the budding friendship and possible romance between the two. None of them objected since both have similar status, skill, brains, and other aspects. With them being close, it's in the bag that Clan Serdran will pledge loyalty to Clan Knight.