Meanwhile, Varn stood nearby, allowing mother and son their moment. He and the other clan leaders took charge, counting heads to ensure that no one was missing from their group. Once the final count was in, they confirmed that every child had returned safely, alleviating any concerns.
Each clan leader then guided their respective kids onto the ships, each kid's face glowing with excitement and relief as they made the journey back to the clan grounds.
Once they arrived at the clan grounds, all the kids eagerly took hot showers, washing off the sweat and grime from their arduous day. Afterward, they gathered for a hearty meal, the rich aromas of roasted meats and fresh vegetables filling the air, and everyone relished the well-deserved time to relax.
The children excitedly gathered around their parents after the event. Joy in their eyes as they eagerly recounted every detail of their day out in the forest.
With beaming smiles, they showcased their achievements, sharing stories of how they overcame challenges and supported one another.
Their parents listened attentively, showering them with praise for their hard work and accomplishments, making the kids feel proud and appreciated for their efforts.
After showering and feeling rejuvenated, Rayden returned home and found himself sitting in the cozy living room with Varn, Elyse, and Torin. A question that had been bothering him for some time surfaced, and he couldn't hold it back any longer.
"Where was the bridge that was shown on the map?" Rayden asked, his brow furrowed with confusion as he glanced between the adults.
Varn chuckled, a playful glint in his eye as he watched Rayden's bewildered expression. "There never was a bridge to begin with," he replied, enjoying the moment.
"What? Then why was it on the map?" Rayden pressed, feeling a mix of curiosity and disbelief.
"It was a misdirection," Torin interjected, his voice steady as he leaned back in his chair, sipping on a mug of strong alcohol. "We wanted to force you to take that route and encounter the obstacle."
"The ravine?" Rayden's eyes widened as understanding dawned on him, piecing together the strategy.
Varn nodded, pleased to see Rayden grasping the concept. "Exactly. Each group had an obstacle they needed to overcome to reach extraction. Yours was the ravine gap. Others faced their own challenges—some dealt with treacherous swamps, while others had to cross a wide, rushing river or scale down steep cliffs."
Elyse chimed in, setting down a steaming plate of food in front of Rayden. "It was all part of the preparation. We wanted to see if you kids could come up with a solution in case things didn't go as planned. It's about problem-solving and teamwork." Just the enticing aroma of the food made Rayden's stomach growl.
Distracting him for a moment before agreeing with their thought process, he said, "I understand," before digging into his dinner. Although they had prepared nice meals from fruits and wild game, nothing can beat a home-cooked meal.
======
The following morning, after resting well in his familiar, comfortable bed, Rayden woke up and got himself ready.
He would have to wait until the adult section of the survival challenge ended before the winner of the entire competition was announced. For now, he could relax for the next three days.
They did announce who the top performers were in the survival challenge, with both Rayden and George ranking in the top ten. Lexi also made the list, along with the Tov'ra commander from the CTF event. Interestingly, two participants were from Drav'korr, three from Vhar'kar, and the final spot went to a competitor from Serdran.
Over the course of these three days, Rayden spent time with Lexi, George, and others as they walked, played, and even trained a little throughout the clan grounds.
Rayden showed Lexi the farms, mines, and obstacle courses where he would test his skills. Their parents allowed them to enjoy themselves while they dealt with the competition and reports of activity from House Kryze.
From the news they received, it seemed that the Duke had woken up on the second day after Varn and Elyse left. He sent a secret message expressing his gratitude and offering a favor in return.
Reports came in a few hours later that House Kryze and all allied or subordinate clans were amassing their warriors. It appeared the Duke and Duchess were done playing around with the traditionalists and Death Watch.
They weren't going to decline that favor, as it could become useful in the future. While training, Rayden, Lexi, and the others overheard whispers about the attack on the Duke and how the civil war seemed to be starting.
Based on his meta knowledge, Rayden estimated that this civil war would last at least until 40 BBY, which was about a year and a half to two years from now. The Duke would be killed, and Satine would take over as Duchess of Mandalore.
But that was a bridge they would cross when the time came; for now, he needed to train and prepare.
During this time, Rayden also took a look at the rewards from completed missions.
—
[No obstacle is going to stop you.]
[Objective: Cross the ravine and make it to extraction on time.]
[Reward: Blueprint for rocket boots.] (Completed)
Looking at the blueprint, it looks like these rocket boots use solid fuel to help prevent them from catching fire easily. It never hurts to have a backup in case his jetpack fails. It could even determine life or death.
Moving on to the missions he got before the competition.
=======
[Melee Mastery: Blade of Honor]
Objective: Place in the top 5 in the youth bracket of the 1-on-1 melee event.
Reward: 600 credits and a custom-forged Beskar dagger. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Secure first place (+500 credits) (Fail)
—
[Team Battle: United Stand]
Objective: Lead or contribute to Clan Knight's youth team, placing in the top 3 in the team battle event.
Reward: 700 credits and a teamwork trophy. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Secure at least two eliminations during the battle. (+200 credits) (Completed)
—
[Marksmanship Contest: Deadeye's Precision]
Objective: Score in the top 5 in the youth bracket of the marksmanship contest.
Reward: 500 credits and a precision scope upgrade for a blaster. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Outscore Lexi Serdran in total points. (+150 credits) (Completed)
—
[Tactical War Game: Flag of Victory]
Objective: Help Clan Knight's youth team capture the opposing clan's flag and place in the top 3 in the tactical war game.
Reward: 650 credits and a tactical HUD upgrade for your helmet. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Personally capture the flag of Clan Tov'ra. (+200 credits) (Completed)
—
[Beskar Smithing Contest: Forged in Fire]
Objective: Create a high-quality Beskar armor piece in the youth bracket that ranks in the top 5 for speed and craftsmanship.
Reward: 550 credits and a set of Beskar smithing tools. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Earn praise from Drenar Drav'korr for your craftsmanship. (+150 credits) (Completed)
—
[Cultural Showcase: Taste of Knight]
Objective: Contribute to Clan Knight's food showcase, earning a top 3 ranking in the cultural food competition.
Reward: 400 credits and a rare spice collection. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Include a unique ingredient inspired by Clan Vhar'kar's experimental flair. (+100 credits) (Completed)
—
[Foot Race: Swift Strides]
Objective: Finish in the top 10 in the youth bracket of the foot race.
Reward: 450 credits and a pair of cushioned boots that fit snugly. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Finish ahead under 2 minutes. (+150 credits) (Fail)
—
[Speeder Bike Race: Blazing Trails]
Objective: Place in the top 5 in the youth bracket of the speeder bike race.
Reward: 600 credits and a speeder bike performance upgrade blueprint. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Lap at least 3 other contestants. (+200 credits) (Fail)
—
[Youth Division: Rising Star]
Objective: Place in the top 10 in the youth bracket of the competition.
Reward: 700 credits and a nice cape (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Place first in the youth division. (Adaptive Camouflage blueprint) (Completed)
—
[Clan Pride: Team Effort]
Objective: Contribute to Clan Knight earning at least 100 total points across all events.
Reward: 600 credits and a Clan Knight insignia upgrade for your armor. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: Personally earn at least 20 points for Clan Knight. (+300 credits) (Completed)
—
[Survival Challenge: Iron Resolve]
Objective: Survive and place in the top 10 in the youth bracket of the survival challenge.
Reward: 550 credits and a survival kit blueprint. (Completed)
Bonus Objective: For each member of Clan Knight you help in completing the challenge. (+75 credits) (Completed) (28x7= 2,025 credits)
[Total Credits earned = 9,425]
======
Rayden was stunned as he looked at all the missions he had completed. He knew there were many, but he had mostly ignored his system since it had a few functions. He would check his stats occasionally to see if he was making any progress in his skills.
He never knew when a mission would pop up, so he adopted a "wait and see" approach with that feature. Additionally, the shop feature had been unavailable to him before because he had no money. Still, now, thanks to the rewards from the system, he finally had a sizable amount for the first time.
In the shop, he could either buy blueprints at ten times the base price or purchase the item itself at the base price. This was beneficial because it saved him from waiting. For example, if he decided to buy a Venator in the future, the system would deliver it, rather than having to buy it from Kuat Drive Yards or building it himself.
While it was a handy feature, it wouldn't be particularly useful until he started accumulating a lot of credits. With a buyer's mentality, Rayden opened the shop for the first time to explore his options. He was presented with a long list of weapons, armor, ships, and droids to choose from. However, he froze in shock when he saw one particular item.
[Star Forge]
[Ancient Rakatan forge that uses the Force and a star to automatically produce weapons, armor, starfighters, ships, and droids.]
[Cost: 15 trillion credits]
"Wow, that's a lot of money," Rayden thought, his mind racing at the sight of the Star Forge for sale in the shop. That price was to buy it outright; the blueprint would cost an astronomical sum.
Shaking his head, he continued browsing. One item that caught his interest was a coordinate chip.
[Location Chip]
[Stores the location of an item hidden by Raven.]
[Cost: 10 million credits]
If he was correct, that chip held the coordinates to where Raven had hidden the helmet of Mandalore. With it, he could claim the seat of Mandalore. If he added the Darksaber to his arsenal, he could rally all the clans together once again.
While daydreaming about becoming Mandalore, Rayden continued scrolling through the shop and ultimately decided to buy a holocommunicator.
[Imagecaster]
[Produced by SoroSuub Corporation, a holocommunicator.]
[Cost: 150 credits]
This was the communicator widely used during Episode I and the Clone Wars. Rayden remembered seeing it in the hands of Qui-Gon, Padmé, and battle droids.
After purchasing it, he noticed two new features. The first was an inventory, able to hold small items like food, water, a blaster, or, in this case, the newly bought communicator. Rayden was pleasantly surprised to discover that the feature unlocked after buying his first item.
The second feature was a sell button. If he could sell items to the shop, would he receive credits?
When he placed the communicator in the sell section, he saw that he could sell the item, but not for the amount he had paid. The shop would only give him 100 credits, resulting in a 33% loss. He wondered if that percentage was fixed or if it depended on the item's value. He would have to test this in the future.
After canceling the sell, he decided to try a knife he had on his hip. The system offered him 50 credits for the knife. An even more interesting find was a small message near the sell button:
[If you sell the knife, you receive a 1% discount on buying a knife from the shop for the next 24 hours. This offer only applies to items sold to the shop, not originally purchased from it.]
The shop was a gift that kept on giving. A massive grin formed on Rayden's face as he laughed and imagined the possibilities.