Crystalline Cavern: The Brigaders

Chapter 6

Tyler

      Whoever thought that Andy could be the awkward type as well as the strong, silent type he claims to be? I could sense a bit of flirting between those two as I made my way out. I don't even wanna know why at this point. I didn't wanna tell Rose why I've been distracted lately though. I mean, if I told her, she'd probably hit me on the head with her bow.

      I've realized that a lot has changed since we all first met. Has it already been five years? Ever since we all got into the advanced division neither of us has had time to reflect on the past or do things we used to do, like going out to eat as a group more often. I still remember the silly arguments Kai and Andy used to have about who was the strongest, and Jane's sentimental episodes. Oh, and that time when Eliza first started developing her power set, and every time she sneezed, she would teleport from one side of the school to the other! And Nicole would just yell at everybody all the time, even at the TI's! But then again, she still does that nowadays, but it's nice to know she'll never change.

      It all began when we were first starting in the academy. We were put together in the same class and all of us were ten years old when a Neon Warrior comes of age to start their basic training. I was more introverted at the time so I was pretty shy when I was little. I remember that the TI had asked us to demonstrate teamwork and social skills between other warriors so we could get used to the idea of being a part of a team for TNT if we ever qualified in the future. Of course, I ended up with the people that currently make up the Brigaders today. Except for Andy, he arrived later throughout the semester and ended up in our group because we had the fewest people. It was weird though. No one knew where he came from, he was just always so serious and I think that Kai had a weird feeling about him because those two did not get along at first at all.

      When we first met, we were pretty young and we were all getting around the idea of summoning our own weapons. The weapons that we get are chosen by the hands of the Goddess de Hue Tur. I still remember what are weapons were like when we first began: Kai had a steel sword with a wooden handle. It didn't even have its functions or shift activators. The same goes for Nicole, who had a wooden bow and aluminum-iron arrows. Andy had a regular old mace, no chain or anything. Eliza had a wooden staff without any shift activators or anything. She had trouble syncing with her weapon because I remember that she used to hate her weapon. She kept saying that it made her look weak and that she wanted a weapon similar to her brother's, a pair of shears with a long chain that he could control with his mind. Of course, it has definitely gotten a lot more impressive throughout the years considering he's a level 10 and is working on missions on the surface. Eliza eventually learned how to strengthen and accept her weapon with practice and her aura, but that wasn't until later on. I, on the other hand, had a regular iron ax with a wooden handle. It was light too so I didn't have much leverage or overall damage on something but I do remember that it was easier to throw. Although, I wouldn't change it back to how it was before. Now for Jane, she had her little iron katana with her wooden handle. Mostly everyone that had handheld weapons had wooden handles. She was a bit clumsy about it at first and occasionally fell because she was always frustrated with her stances. Now she's known as the ninja of the Brigaders.

      Jane was the cutest and shyest one of all. She still is. That's why I've been so distracted lately. I just can't seem to stop admiring and thinking about her beauty and strength. She's everything I want to be and everything I could have. I've been a close friend of hers for so long and seeing how Eliza confessed to Kai like that made me realize that she's a special person in my life. I'm just too afraid to say anything because I don't wanna ruin our friendship by distracting her from her goals, like TNT.

      When we all first started, we had to be in the same groups until we reached level 4, where we moved on to the intermediate division of the academy. When we first became a team, there were many conflicts between us, like how Kai and Andy kept arguing who could be the better warrior and Nicole's screeching demands for them to shut up, not to mention that she and Eliza would constantly pull pranks and bully each other. Then there was Jane, who just sat alone teary-eyed every once in a while and was often being held by Eliza. Eliza had always protected Jane like a sister. Then there was me, who just tried to smooth everything out and often broke up the arguments Kai and Andy would have on a daily basis. It gave me a chance to become closer to them and get to know them better as individuals before the three of us started hanging more out as good friends. The years passed and our team got a lot stronger, and then, we eventually started leveling up together.

      Leveling up happens when a warrior has reached a certain point in their training, allowing them to gain special abilities and opportunities. There is no time span in which a warrior can level up, anyone can take the leveling up course when they feel like they're ready or when a TI recommends it. We just need to train. A lot. We train for a couple of reasons, actually. Our main reason is to test who's strong enough to become level 10 and go help defend the humans on the surface.

     When we reached level 5, we develop our power sets, unique abilities for each warrior that was also given to us by the Goddess of Hue Tur. Then we can make them stronger. There's also the ability to upgrade a weapon to something that your aura can handle and control. Only a TI can have the power to upgrade weapons, which is done through a test and order based on the preference of the warrior. All of this is to be incorporated into our training and prepare us for the very thing that is most important to us to this very day, TNT.

      The Neon Tournament, the biggest competition in all of Crystalline Cavern. These games are designed to test each warrior's skills and teamwork while representing your domain, or school. But there's one thing that makes training all worthwhile, and that's being picked to level up to level 10. When that happens, a warrior is granted access to the surface, to walk among the humans and help protect the world above. Strange, seeing as how the humans were afraid of us in the past, but I don't know much detail on that, only level 10 warriors do. Only a handful of humans are chosen to be aware of our existence, and any information compromising our location is punishable by death.

      When we started in the intermediate division, they began to give us these assignments called Academy Missions, and we loved it so much, that we eventually started calling them brigades for fun. It was about protecting territories and learning about stealth and some more team-building skills. We had to infiltrate other schools and do some other shit I don't quite remember but that's basically how the Brigaders got their name.

      Everyone believes that the Brigaders will be the group of warriors that will ascend to the surface from NWA. I helped in bringing this team together but I feel like I'm going to be left behind. The years passed and most of us started to focus more on our training which leads to lots of daily hours of grinding in the Training Facility. At first, I honestly didn't care much about TNT until we were chosen by NWA to compete as a team. After our first TNT and going head-on against the NightWalkers, I felt like I needed to get stronger, even after all of the teasing by everyone about how weak I looked compared to the others during the second TNT. I vowed to become stronger and get chosen to be a level 10.

      Each school chooses a group of eight to ascend, and that only the warriors that excel the most will go. There are a total of 12 schools in Crystalline Cavern. A total of ninety-six level 10 warriors. Our world is pretty big, as big as the humans' continent of Africa, so we are many warriors, and it takes a lot of us each year to go and protect. The fact that we've been able to hide for this many centuries is just insane.

      I've always loved reflecting on the birth of our friendship. It makes me appreciate this team a little more every time I do. Now, I need to prepare myself for training tomorrow. I want to keep this vow for as long as I can.
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Last chapter seemed a bit short so here's another one to make up for it.

-M