Team Lance arrived at the designated room near the cafeteria to receive the next mission.
They had no idea who else was in contention to enter the EIC as this data was kept strictly confidential. Even the mission would be given to them alone in order to test the team's capabilities.
The twins both smiled broadly as they saw Lance. Not used to such nice attention, he blushed which made Darius laugh and poke his shoulder.
The room was a small lobby with one big chair facing 5 small ones. The team sat down in the small chairs, waiting for the briefing to begin.
After a few seconds, a familiar man entered the room and sat down in the chair facing them. It was Donovan, the in-charge of the IE Initiate Training Program dressed in the same army fatigues.
"Congratulations on being selected to contend for an entry into the Elite Initiate Corp. Let me tell you, as an initiate with dreams of glory, that is the best place you can be. If you get selected, anything you ask for will be given to you regardless of the cost.
It is time for your next mission. As contenders, you should know that the superiors expect you to be able to display strength exceeding your cultivation level. "
He raised up the holo-watch that Attok had used before and said, "Initiate EIC Mission-2 Briefing. Authorization: Alpha Zeta Epsilon."
The familiar IE logo first displayed in the hologram before devolving into the face of a woman. "Personnel authorized. Beginning briefing."
The hologram changed into the map of a country. Lance identified that it was Egypt.
"In the first mission, you retrieved Nicola Tesla's files which gave you an indication about a possible power source that can be used for such a large station. In the dossier, there are certain hints that point towards the pyramids saying that the technology was implemented there successfully and certain key components of the technology can be extracted, provided you get there first.
A certain race of outsiders have also received this information and have set out to destroy the components.
Your mission is to reach the pyramids first, understand the technology and extract the components.
Initiates are advised that this is a physical mission. Captured outsiders will be hypnotized to target and annihilate you. At any point of time, real death is possible. Please proceed with caution and focus on the objective."
The briefing ended as the hologram went back into the watch.
"The briefing said it all, but let me give you some additional tips. Lance, I am talking especially to you. You are a new initiate who satisfied the condition to have a certain amount of interest in matters like these. Do you know the secret behind the pyramids?", asked Donovan, eying Lance.
Lance thought for a bit before answering.
"I have read many theories but I do not actually know which is the truth.", he answered.
Nodding, Donovan said, "Good. That is the attitude you must have. Although the truth might be in one of the conspiracies you read about, it is best to proceed with caution without being blinded by prior knowledge. Try to forget everything you saw or heard of back on earth and focus on the details that you will receive."
Lance nodded. He had intended to do this anyway, as it was best to be safe than sorry. With his prior knowledge, he might lead the team to a faster victory or might lead them to their demise. There was no way he was willing to bet on such odds.
"As the briefing said, my only advice to you is this: Your mission is not to kill the outsiders. Although you will encounter them, it is more to expose you to them beforehand in order to prepare you to fight them in the future. Kill them if you can, or run from them and finish the mission as fast as possible. Value your team's safety over all else. Good luck. Teleportation will be initialized in 5 minutes."
Standing up, Donovan nodded to them and left the room in what looked almost like a soldier's march.
As soon as Donovan left, Lance heard a voice in his head:
"Lance, this is your master. I have received information that spies have extracted intel that a wisher is among the contenders for the EIC this year. They might be sending additional interferences to all the missions. Be careful out there. Good luck, my disciple."
The voice faded, leaving Lance alarmed. His master had warned him about how important it was to keep the information about wishers secret. How had it leaked?
There was no time to answer the question now.
The mission, which was very perilous already, had evolved into a whole other danger level.