28 - Gates [5]

The vehicle was incredible.

It looked like something taken out of the 19th Century in Earth’s timeline.

Its metal work spoke volumes of the experienced craftsmanship of Velham and his team.

Deep bronze, a colour that caught the eyes. Simple, yet exuded class in its own right.

This vehicle was like a vintage car with a carriage attached to its back. Instead of standing, circular tyres, it had flat, thick metallic plates in its place that ran on runes.

The runic symbols carved on these bronze plates were more than enough to give off that information.

Just like the plates, the vehicle’s entire body was marked with runic symbols whose functions we were yet to find out.

While we were still there, a designated personnel from the academy arrived, and this person’s duty was to drive us to our location.

One after the other, we hopped into the vehicle, taking our seats in the comfy brown couches inside the carriage.

Professor Kenivale had some final words with the members of Velham’s team, exchanging pleasantries and bidding them farewell as he walked over to the carriage and entered.

—Knock! —Knock!

The driver understood that this was his cue to start the trip.

Placing his hands on the steering wheel of the car compartment where he solely sat, he injected a little of his Essence into the vehicle.

Almost immediately, it ignited with a transient brilliance of Essence before settling on the three pairs of bronze plates that served as the vehicle’s wheels.

It was a beautiful sight to witness.

The first test drive of this brand new model of vehicle.

Velham had allowed this since Professor Kenivale had managed to convince him that this was an opportunity to test out the vehicle before going public.

If it didn’t fail us, then there was a high chance that it was as durable as they wanted it to be.

The rune marks around the bronze plates lit up and the circular symbols started spinning vigorously, emitting a mix of purple and blue light.

The light flowed around the plates with the bulk of it condensing underneath to form a transparent ball of light on which the vehicle moved.

It wasn’t perfect yet but the project was definitely on the right path to success.

The driver pumped a little more of his Essence and in the blink of an eye, we sped off, escorted out by the round of applause from Velham’s team who were also witnessing the test drive for the first time.

Velham, who stood at a distance with his back leaned against the wall, watched as the vehicle moved.

He was neither impressed nor disappointed.

He watched impassively as his creation ignited and worked but all he could see was loopholes.

He took out a small book from his back pocket and a pen.

"Long ignition time. Consumes a little more Essence than planned. Need for external Essence for ignition..."

He jotted down what he believed were lapses to be corrected and then tucked the book away into his back pocket.

Casting another look at the vehicle that was now far off, Velham expressed a slight smile.

’Kenny... you are a genius.’

****

While we were inside the carriage, Professor Kenivale summoned a structural design from the rune markings on his wrist.

"Our location is Carin City. An hour drive from the academy, thanks to this new vehicle," he said, turning briefly to glance at the driver.

"Carin City..." Jeremy repeated.

With a nod of confirmation, the vampire continued. "Yes. And your task is to clear a Level 0 Gate that has been reported there."

We looked at each other, relieved that it was a Level 0 Gate.

Anything else would have been harder to deal with. Or so we thought.

Professor Kenivale kept mum, allowing us the respite and relief session from the details he had divulged so far.

As if to shatter the hope he let us build up, and force us to refocus, the professor dropped a vital piece of the instruction needed.

"You have to clear the Gate before it matures," he said.

A wave of realization swept through the carriage.

"Yes. You might be happy that it is a Level 0 Gate but you already know that it’s Gates like this that have the potential to become something else. We don’t know what level of Gate it would mature to if not cleared."

"Then why take us there," Cecilia cut in.

She wasn’t happy but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Professor Kenivale looked at her with keen eyes. "Because there were no other level 1s under the academy’s control and my dear Student President, you lots are still too weak for a level 2."

Ouch! That hurt.

An invisible hammer landed on our heads as he fact-checked us.

He wanted each and every one of us to get off our high horses and face the reality of us.

And to that, he succeeded flawlessly.

"Livingston..." he turned to Bran Livingston, "you are the main defensive unit of the team. Their shield. Got that."

Bran nodded his head and returned to his gauntlets which he was already putting on.

"Remington and DeLorentis..."

"Yes, sir," we chorused.

"You are the main attack unit. Also, I permit you two and Bran to support each other." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He turned to the remaining four members. "Allison and Kenway. Your main duty is to protect Rivers and Arclight. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" Cecilia and Jasper replied, the latter in a much lower tone of voice.

"They are the least at short range fighting but your best at long ranged techniques. Especially Arclight, who is important for your medical needs."

Professor Kenivale then deactivated the structural hologram and leaned back on his side of the couch, crossing his arms over his chest.

"While these instructions are important, they are not rigid. Do not feel the need to strictly follow it when there are obvious reasons to adjust. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

Professor Kenivale gave us a nod of approval. "Get your things ready. We will be arriving in no time."

Looking at him, I could have sworn that there was a shift in the vampire’s persona.

His crimson eyes had darkened and a subtle smile tugged at his lips.

Something felt different about him right now.