Without further ado, everyone started their journey to their accommodations. All the living spaces were single rooms that lined up to follow the pathway the river took.

The first building they saw had the number ’125’ written on it.

The girl, Ru Sern, sulked as she dragged her feet into her living space. It continued in that trend. As they walked downstream, the number of them slowly thinned until only the top ten were left.

General Malcolm looked behind him to ensure none of the other people in their year were out of their room or spying.

After confirming, he nodded at them. "Follow me."

Dale tilted his head slightly as they walked past the underground city and back into Eden.

Just as before, the grassy plane hummed with an energy that soothed their mind and reinvigorated their body with every breath.

General Malcolm stopped walking and turned to them. "This shall be your residence so long as you remain at the top in your year. There are many marvels the Utra nation’s military promises those who shine and this is one of the first you’ll hopefully see."

Dale raised an eyebrow.

’So we’re meant to sleep on the grass?’ He supposed that was better than lying on the bare ground... just barely though.

And it wouldn’t be fair if they got vegetation as bedding instead of normal rooms. If that were the case, then he’d rather just become 11th.

It wasn’t long until they started walking again. Before their eyes, General Malcolm took a single step forward and vanished into thin air.

Dale paused, eyes wide.

’Did he teleport?!’ Surely, the war veteran hadn’t. Even seeing an ability skill with a correlation to spatial movement was rare enough.

There was no way on Earth that the Utra nation had more than one person who worked in the military.

"Come on." Austin tapped Gary and Dale before stepping forward as well. He arrived at the location where General Malcolm had been and vanished.

That simple observation confirmed Dale’s previous thought. It was something else that moved the general, not his ability or skill.

’Well, there’s no reason to wait.’ He also walked forward.

As he moved, he suddenly felt his body break through an invisible veil that covered that part of the underground city.

Walking through the veil felt very similar to moving through a gel... It was thick and very uncomfortable, yet he pushed through.

When he arrived on the other side, his jaw dropped.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. In the sky, a small white sun hung, providing constant illumination with no heat whatsoever.

Even the sky itself was an unnatural shade of green and riddled with gleaming stars in its structure.

The ground was neatly paved and the air itself crackled with a more intense version of the energy Eden produced.

As for the houses, they were in a spiral, increasing in size as they got closer to the center.

Dale could feel the others walking and arriving behind. He turned to them and his eyes trembled from shock.

While the residential areas for them were invisible from Eden, the same didn’t apply to the opposite.

He could still very clearly see the underground city. In fact, the sky itself seemed to break suddenly as it unceremoniously transitioned into the rocky roof of the underground city.

’I knew this wasn’t teleportation. It seems like a sort of separate space... a pocket dimension?’ Amidst the research he had done about some gang members in the slums, he had come across a unique ability possessed by the leaders of one of them.

The ability allowed him to create a separate space so he could hide. It was only for this reason that he had an idea of what it was.

’But this seems to be different, even if it’s negligible.’ For example, the gang leader’s pocket dimension couldn’t be entered from outside.

It also didn’t contain air, a sun, stars and paved roads. So it seemed that there were some pros and cons of the two.

"Welcome to ’Spiral’. This is the true center of Eden. The house at the edge all the way to the center is for the 10th through to the 1st respectively."

Dale smiled and inhaled deeply. For the first time in a long time, he felt truly at ease. In fact, he felt good... a little too much.

His mind tried to raise red flags but it was as though it was incapable of fathoming the idea of anything hurting him.

He raised his hands and said in the most relaxed voice, "Sir. This might sound odd but I feel calm. Far too calm for it to be normal."

Indeed, it was an odd thing to say, at least at first glance.

But one had to remember that they lived in a world where people could bend space to their will, where teenagers could project a forcefield and command the world.

Instead of showing worry, General Malcolm smiled. "I was waiting for someone to mention it. Yes, you and all others should feel calm. There are many boons attached to your houses and this is one of them.

The energy permeating the air will soothe your muscles and increase your deductive capacity. This will undoubtedly help you Awaken or even Ascend. Alas, it isn’t without a price.

Eden actively placates all violent or negative tendencies in those very close to the heart of the grass field."

The war veteran raised a finger and pointed it at the very house at the center. "Below that house is the heart of Eden. It’s protected so nothing can damage it. Enjoy."

General Malcolm turned around and walked out of Spiral.

Dale kissed his teeth. ’What sort of bullshit reasoning is that?’ He didn’t hate the gift that was Eden.

In fact, he doubted anyone could. It was practically a way to speed up Awakening. What annoyed him was what the plant considered a violent tendency.

He didn’t consider his constant being on edge a negative thing. Clearly, the plant didn’t know what was good or bad.

Dale turned as he could see Sarah energetically talking to Austin. "I can’t wait to crash on my bed and pass out! I’m tired."

Trevor nodded, "Same. I’ll treat all of us to a meal with my share of the credits they gave us for our task."

A few of the other recruits in the top ten turned to look at them. Nobody else aside from Dale’s team had gotten a task that paid.

Not that it was favoritism, though. They were the ones who had avoided trying to kill an Ascended beast.

Dale smiled and slid into their midst. "I’m not greedy. Spend about 30 credits on yourselves and I’ll take the rest."

Trevor’s lips curled up into a small smile, "Isn’t that the remaining 70 credits?"

Dake shrugged. It was also technically the change. "Potato. Putato."

Their conversation continued until they separated to check out their rooms.