The three members Alan sent ahead arrived at the central part of the rift via Won's Shadow Express.
They initially thought the wall of tangled vines was obstructing their only route to the rift's core, but after a dozen or so rounds of chopping and slashing, Mateo and Patch found out some things.
One, the inner part of the wall was weaker than the external surface.
Second, the rift's core was not beyond the wall of tangled vines.
Through a small crack spotted by Patch, Won managed to slip in and confirmed that there wasn't any trace of the rift core's signature.
"This is the central part of the rift, where else can the core be?" Sapphi asked rhetorically after listening to their findings.
"We still think the core is here."
"But the main issue is that it's most likely embedded inside those tangled vines."
Mateo presumed and Patch supported him.
Rather than sounding troubled, both of them looked excited, which made Sapphi grow concerned that whatever they were planning to do with the wall of vines would negatively impact the rest of their plan.
"The vines are proven to be more persistent than we expected."
At Sapphi's remark, Alan observed the five-storey wall made of tightly knotted vines.
'The vines don't look like they're thinning but it also doesn't look to have regenerative ability either. Maybe, rapid growth?'
After a short contemplation, Alan shifted his gaze from the wall of vines to his team and said, "The plan doesn't change."
The Awakeners of Team O listened to their leader with seriousness.
"Patch, you must've already found where the core is hidden, so Mateo just has to keep poking at it until the core shows itself."
"And when we find the core, then what? We best know that none of us has enough firepower to destroy the core while also fending off the vines."
Mateo brought up a crucial point with his arms crossed.
"About that," Sapphi took this opportunity to inform the team of the revised plan. "Our leader already pulled Team A2 into his plan."
Mateo, with a look of realisation, suddenly guffawed. He gave Alan a thumbs up before dragging the clueless Patch away with renewed excitement.
Alan then gave his instructions to Khali and Won.
"You two, act as you see fit. Sapphi and I will stay here and deal with the strays."
It was a simple instruction without further details, unlike what he told Mateo and Alan. But it was all that was needed for the two combat-oriented Awakeners who were now familiar with each other's fighting styles.
Khali and Won simply nodded and headed towards the same direction as Mateo and Patch were.
The team meeting arbitrarily ended like that.
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3 days 10 hours 28 minutes 50 seconds… left to close the rift.
Khali and Won took on the role of deflecting the vines' increasingly ferocious attack from reaching Mateo and Patch who were focused on melting through the plant-made wall.
"These vines are really persistent," Mateo grumbled as he alternated between chopping and melting the tightly knotted vines at the spot Patch pinpointed where the core was most likely deeply embedded.
Amidst all the chaos, the vines were too distracted to notice Alan and Sapphi's presence on top of a nearby branch. Maybe it did notice but assumed the two Awakeners weren't priority targets because they were only standing still.
Back on the ground, Patch looked through his fingers as if he was looking through a monocular lens while his other hand was holding his nose because the foul smell of disintegrated vines was just too strong.
"A bit more… okay stop!"
At Patch's nasally call, Mateo stopped pouring the melting liquid.
From his view, the older Awakener could now make out a bit of the exposed core embedded inside the wall. He swiftly used his hatchet to clear away the scraps of vines for the next part of their plan.
"Phase 2!" Mateo shouted.
Won suddenly whistled whilst in the middle of deflecting another attack.
That was the signal.
Sapphi who had been waiting for the signal, instantly closed her eyes and activated her skill while Alan stood in a protective position with a short sword.
Sensing something was happening, the vines' sped up their attacks.
Team O went into full-on defensive mode.
Not five minutes had passed since Won gave the signal but it was a long five minutes when something suddenly flew in from the sky, heading straight towards where Mateo currently stood.
With no time to be warned, that 'something' brushed past Mateo's ear and precisely pierced through the melted hole the size of a golf hole.
Thwap! Thwap!
Two arrows consecutively hit at the exact same spot.
Everyone waited tensely.
For the message from the World's system for confirmation.
Otherwise, they had to be ready for unexpected variables like the vines suddenly showing regenerative ability or thorns growing on the vines. Or worse, both.
The wall of vines started to stumble.
Khali and the others retreated in haste before they could be crushed.
At a safe distance, the Awakeners watched until the vines completely collapsed to the ground, causing a small earthquake throughout the rift.
Then, the awaited message appeared.
[The core is destroyed]
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Calculating how long it will take to close the rift… …
Rift will be permanently closed in the remaining 48 hours
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To all Awakeners, please evacuate before then.
Alan and Sapphi regrouped with the others on the ground as soon as the announcement was made.
"Can we leave now?" Patch asked while out of breath with his hands on his knees. "I'm in desperate need of a shower with clean water."
"You're not the only one."
Sapphi shared his feelings. Then, she abruptly touched her temple with her head slightly lowered - an action she habitually does whenever she receives a telepathic message.
"Team A2 is sending some of their people over," Sapphi relayed the telepathic message she just received.
Alan simply nodded and said to the team, "Take some rest but don't let your guard down."
Patch didn't have the energy to stand back up so he crawled to a flatter, cleaner area and lay down on his back. Won crouched down to accompany him in silence.
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Team O made their way to the rift portal after Awakeners from Team A2 arrived at their location and took over the surrounding inspection.
A full moon on a clear starry sky welcomed their return after a month-long expedition along with an unmatched tension in the cold desert evening. Fully-armed Awakeners remained vigilant in monitoring who came out of the rift because there had been cases of Awakeners coming out of the rift after being inflicted with abnormal status and started attacking the first person they saw.
Perhaps he was too exhausted to realise or that he just didn't care, Patch raised both arms in the air in a celebratory manner.
"Finally! My shower!"
"Welcome back. Is it just your team, Alan?"
An executive of the guild approached Team O.
While the other Awakeners were fully armed from head to toe, only the executive dressed lightly in protective gear. The pair of gauntlets wrapped around his hands was the only thing worth noting.
"We came back first," Alan responded succinctly.
"You're one member short," the executive pointed out without a hint of concern.
"Just Mateo doing his usual stuff."
Although a member of the guild acting freely inside a rift wasn't unusual since their big boss was like that too, the executive still needed to ask because this was Mateo they were talking about.
"It's not explosive, is it?"
"If I have to say… clingy."
Sapphi shook her head on the side at their team leader's unhelpful response so she took the liberty to add, "Assistant Team Leader Nolan will make sure the previous incident doesn't happen this time."
"If Nolan is supervising him then that's reassuring. I'll have the collection team be informed," said the executive. "Alan, your team can get their condition checked first."
Taking the hint, Sapphi grabbed Khali's arm and said, "We'll be at the medical tent, leader."
They walked away without looking back, leaving Alan alone with the executive.
'They escaped.'
Alan easily saw through his team's thoughts.
"Team Leader Alan, let's hear your report at the command post."
When Alan was called by his official title, he had no choice and obediently followed the executive to give a brief report of their mission. By the time he was let go, Spencer coincidentally happened to also be coming out of the rift while dragging a heavy object over his shoulder.
Well, heavy was an understatement.
"Hey, Alan!"
Spencer dropped the tail end of the giant alligator on the sand with a broad, satisfied smile and said, "I heard it was your team that found the core."
"It was a collaborative effort with another team," Alan corrected him.
Spencer wasn't particularly interested in the 'who' and directly asked the part he was most interested in, "What amusing thing did your team do this time?"
Alan furrowed his brows.
He wasn't in the mood to entertain the Awakener in front of him after he had just left the command post. Right when he was thinking of what to do, he found a solution in the corner of his eye.
"Spencer, shouldn't you take care of that first?"
There were already people from the collection team waiting for Spencer to give his okay before they could approach the corpse of the giant alligator. In that short moment of distraction, Alan activated his skill and leapt away before Spencer had the chance to drag him into the troublesome mess.