Webnovel's Extra: Reincarnated With a Copy Ability-Chapter 165: Beyond the Walls
The academy gates opened before sunrise.
Lucas had never seen them open this early.
Usually the outer walls of the Triangle stayed sealed except for supply convoys and official transports. Students trained inside the complex for months without ever setting foot beyond the perimeter. The walls weren’t just security. They were structure. Everything inside them followed a controlled pattern.
Today that pattern had cracked open.
Lucas stood in a loose line of students near the courtyard path, adjusting the straps on his field pack while the morning air bit at his hands. The sky was still pale, caught somewhere between night and dawn, and the courtyard lights hadn’t turned off yet.
"You’d think they’d wait until after breakfast for something like this," he muttered.
Raisel stood beside him with his tablet tucked under one arm.
"They announced the start time."
"That doesn’t mean I have to like it."
Arden checked the edge of the courtyard where instructors were finishing their preparations.
"They’re moving quickly," she said.
Lucas followed her gaze.
Several staff members stood near the gate controls, speaking quietly while projection tablets hovered above the control console. A large map glowed faintly in the air, outlining the terrain beyond the academy.
Lucas leaned closer.
"You see that?"
Raisel nodded.
"Looks like forest terrain."
Lucas squinted.
"And elevation changes."
Dreyden stood a few steps ahead of them, watching the gate mechanisms with the same calm focus he usually reserved for training drills.
Lucas walked up beside him.
"You ever been outside the Triangle before?"
"No."
Lucas blinked.
"Really?"
"No."
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck.
"Huh."
For some reason he had assumed Dreyden had already studied the terrain or memorized the surrounding region the way he did with everything else.
"Guess we’re all learning today," Lucas said.
The teams were announced a few minutes later.
Names appeared on the courtyard display in four-person groups. Students moved around quickly once the assignments loaded, scanning the lists and locating their teammates.
Lucas leaned closer to the projection screen.
"Alright... where are we?"
He found his name halfway down the second column.
"Okay."
He traced the line beside it.
"Lucas, Raisel, Arden..."
He paused.
"...and Dreyden."
Lucas looked over his shoulder.
"Well that’s convenient."
Raisel glanced at the same line on the display.
"They kept us together."
Arden nodded once.
"That was intentional."
Lucas shrugged.
"Works for me."
Dreyden didn’t react.
Lucas clapped his hands once.
"Alright. Same formation roles as before?"
Raisel nodded.
"That’s the most efficient option."
Arden slung her pack over one shoulder.
"Agreed."
Lucas stretched his arms.
"Good. Let’s try not to embarrass ourselves outside the walls."
The gates opened with a low mechanical rumble.
Lucas had seen the outer wall dozens of times from inside the courtyard, but watching it part from this side felt different. The massive steel panels slid apart slowly, revealing a stretch of open terrain beyond the academy grounds.
For a moment no one moved.
Then the first teams stepped forward.
Lucas followed with the others, crossing the threshold just as the sun finally pushed above the horizon.
The air outside felt colder.
Cleaner too.
The academy grounds had always smelled faintly of ozone and stone dust from constant training activity. Out here the air carried the scent of damp earth and trees.
Lucas took a slow breath.
"Well," he said quietly, "that’s new."
Ahead of them the terrain sloped downward into a wide forested valley. Narrow paths cut through the trees where academy maintenance crews had cleared routes for field exercises.
Projection markers glowed faintly at several points along the path.
Raisel studied the terrain.
"They’ve mapped the objective zones."
Lucas followed his gaze.
"Looks like three points."
Arden checked her tablet.
"Two intermediate markers and one final objective."
Lucas nodded.
"Okay."
He turned toward the others.
"Same approach as the arena rotations. Stay flexible."
Dreyden looked toward the tree line.
"This environment adds variables."
Lucas grinned.
"Yeah. That’s the fun part."
The forest path narrowed as they moved deeper into the valley.
Tall trees blocked most of the sunlight, leaving the ground covered in cool shadows. The trail wound between rocks and roots, forcing the group to adjust their spacing more carefully than they would on the smooth arena floor.
Lucas stepped over a fallen branch and glanced back.
"Alright, this is already harder than the arena."
Raisel smirked slightly.
"Terrain changes timing."
Lucas pointed ahead.
"And footing."
Arden crouched briefly near a projection marker embedded in the ground.
"First hazard zone starts here."
Lucas nodded.
"Good to know."
He stepped into the clearing and rolled his shoulders.
"Let’s see what they built for us."
The hazard system activated the moment they crossed the marker.
Projection arcs burst from the ground around them, forming curved lines of pale energy that swept toward the group from different angles.
Lucas reacted immediately.
"Left side!"
Raisel shifted to intercept the arc while Arden collapsed the formation slightly to redirect the pressure.
Dreyden moved a half step backward, guiding the projection wave across the formation’s center line.
The arc shattered against a nearby rock.
Lucas exhaled.
"Okay."
The second wave came faster.
This time the projections twisted between the trees, forcing the team to adjust their spacing mid-movement.
Lucas ducked under a low branch and redirected the pressure outward.
"Now!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Arden collapsed the formation.
The projection burst into fragments of fading light.
Silence returned to the clearing.
Lucas laughed softly.
"Alright. That was actually fun."
Raisel scanned the surrounding trees.
"Don’t relax yet."
Lucas nodded.
"Fair."
Dreyden studied the ground where the projection markers had faded.
"The system adjusted to the terrain."
Lucas tilted his head.
"You mean the arcs followed the trees?"
"Yes."
Lucas whistled quietly.
"That’s clever."
They continued along the path toward the next marker.
The forest grew denser as they moved deeper into the valley. The trail curved around rocky outcrops and shallow ravines, forcing them to slow their pace slightly.
Lucas noticed something interesting.
The exercise felt different out here.
In the arena, every movement happened under observation. Rows of students watched from the seats while instructors stood along the barrier rails.
Out here the only witnesses were the trees.
Lucas glanced around.
"You realize something?"
Arden looked at him.
"What?"
Lucas gestured toward the forest.
"No audience."
Raisel nodded.
"That changes behavior."
Lucas shrugged.
"I kind of like it."
Dreyden didn’t comment.
They reached the second marker a few minutes later.
The projection system triggered again as soon as they crossed the boundary.
This time the hazard arcs didn’t rise from the ground.
They dropped from above.
Lucas barely had time to react.
"Down!"
The team scattered just enough to redirect the falling projections between them.
Energy cracked against the rocks behind them.
Lucas felt the pressure ripple across the clearing.
"Okay," he said, breathing a little harder now. "That one was sneaky."
Raisel wiped a leaf from his sleeve.
"The environment makes the system harder to predict."
Lucas grinned.
"Which means the last objective is probably worse."
Dreyden looked toward the deeper forest ahead.
"Yes."
Lucas adjusted his pack.
"Well."
He started walking again.
"Let’s find out."
The path curved downward into thicker trees, the final marker glowing faintly somewhere beyond the next ridge.
Behind them the academy walls stood distant and silent, barely visible through the early morning haze.
For the first time since arriving at the Triangle, the students were operating beyond its controlled arena.
And out here, mistakes wouldn’t feel nearly as forgiving.
