Alexander woke before dawn, already mentally reviewing what Captain Verna had told them about today's training. The Forest Watch Outpost would be teaching them specialized hunting techniques—skills they desperately needed to meet their weekly quota more efficiently.

  He gnced across their camp to where Elijah was already stirring, always quick to sense when Alexander was awake. Nearby, Lyra had curled up in her sleeping roll, tools and small gadgets arranged in a perfect semicircle around her—a habit Alexander had noticed over the past weeks. She always kept her equipment within arm's reach, even in sleep.

  "You think we'll actually learn something useful today?" Elijah asked quietly, sitting up and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

  Alexander nodded. "Captain Verna strikes me as the real deal. Not like those training simutions Father's instructors used to run."

  "God, those were awful," Elijah chuckled. "Remember Lieutenant Harding? 'Fatal error, Voss! Recalibrate approach vector!'" he mimicked in a comically deep voice.

  Alexander smiled despite himself. "Wake the others. I want everyone ready to move in fifteen."

  The Forest Watch training grounds sat on a ft riverbank where the water ran slow and clear. Captain Verna was already waiting when they arrived, arms crossed over her scarred armor, her weathered face betraying little emotion. Six other outpost members stood at attention behind her, including Scout Nessa—a nimble teenager with specialized climbing gear—and Artificer Jorin, the one-eyed man whose mechanical arm repcements had fascinated Lyra since their arrival.

  "Right on time," Verna noted with approval. "Before we begin, show me what you already know. Combat formation, standard approach."

  Alexander immediately positioned the team, pcing Riva and himself at the front, Valeria on the right fnk, Elijah center rear for medical support, and Lyra left fnk for technical coverage.

  Captain Verna walked slowly around them, examining their positioning with a critical eye.

  "Standard corporate training," she muttered, stopping in front of Alexander. "Solid foundation, but useless in river terrain. Today you learn to fight where solid ground is a luxury."

  She gestured to the river behind her. "Water changes everything. Movement, visibility, sound, weapon effectiveness—all different. And the quota doesn't care if you're wet or dry."

  Alexander saw Lyra shift uncomfortably at the mention of quotas. She still struggled with that aspect of the Game more than the rest of them.

  "We'll begin with river positioning," Verna continued. "Forget your standard formations. In the water, vertical space matters as much as horizontal."

  For the next hour, they practiced moving as a unit through varying water depths. Alexander adapted quickly, applying the principles to his military training. What surprised him was how rapidly Lyra took to the water techniques, moving with unexpected confidence despite coming from the water-scarce Sector 17 she'd described.

  "Not bad," he murmured when they paused for breath, water dripping from their clothes.

  Lyra shrugged. "We had to learn water conservation and management skills. Understanding how it moves was essential."

  By mid-morning, Captain Verna separated them into specialized roles.

  "Voss," she addressed Alexander, "you'll coordinate from the right bank. Your visibility and ability to direct is your strength." She turned to Elijah. "You'll manage medical response from the center, where you can reach anyone quickly."

  She eyed Lyra appraisingly. "You have tech skills. Work with Artificer Jorin to modify your equipment for water operations."

  Alexander watched as Lyra's typically guarded expression opened with interest when introduced to Jorin's workshop. The one-eyed artificer had an impressive array of tools, many of which Lyra immediately recognized.

  "Is this a modified pulse resonator?" she asked, picking up a strange-looking device.

  Jorin's eyebrows shot up. "How does an Unaligned recognize an A-css resonator?"

  "Salvage," Lyra answered too quickly, her guard returning. "You see all sorts of things in disposal sites."

  Alexander made a mental note of the exchange. Lyra's technical knowledge continued to exceed what made sense for her background.

  By midday, they'd developed a functioning river combat system. Alexander coordinated from vantage points, using hand signals Scout Nessa had taught him. Elijah had created waterproof medical kits that could be deployed while swimming, complete with floating components. And Lyra had worked with Jorin to modify their equipment—waterproofing ammunition, creating floating gear caches, and even adapting Riva's bow to work effectively when wet.

  "Time to put it into practice," Captain Verna announced. "There's a tributary about half a mile north with a grazing spot. River predators gather there. Perfect for quota practice."

  Alexander noticed Lyra's jaw tighten at those words. Since joining them, she'd been remarkably efficient at meeting her quota with traps rather than direct combat—a strategy he'd found both practical and somewhat admirable.

  "Remember," he said quietly as they prepared to move out, "we need the quota, but we don't need to be wasteful. Clean kills, useful resources."

  Lyra gave him a surprised look, then nodded slightly.

  The tributary hunt proved remarkably successful. Using their new water-based tactics, they coordinated a perfect ambush on a pack of Timber Wolves that had come to drink. Alexander directed from a concealed position on the bank, while Riva used her bow from upstream. Valeria and Elijah approached from downstream, with Lyra providing technical support by deploying a small sonic device that confused the predators' acute hearing.

  Six wolves fell in under two minutes—enough for almost half their weekly quota.

  "Twelve elimination credits," Alexander calcuted as they collected resources from the creatures. "Efficient use of environment and coordinated approach. Captain Verna's techniques work."

  "The sound confuser was brilliant," Elijah said to Lyra as he carefully harvested useful materials from the wolves. "How did you put that together so quickly?"

  "Just reversed the signal pattern on one of Jorin's resonators," she replied, but Alexander could tell she was pleased by the praise. "It's temporary though—they'd adapt quickly if we used it repeatedly."

  Back at the outpost that evening, Captain Verna nodded with approval as Alexander reported their hunt success.

  "You learn quickly," she acknowledged. "But river hunting isn't just about techniques—it's about sustainability."

  She gestured toward the map of the region pinned to the wall of the command hut. "Hunting grounds need to recover. Overhunt one area, and soon you'll find nothing there. Rotate your locations, understand migration patterns, and your quota becomes manageable rather than desperate."

  Alexander studied the map, recognizing the strategic value of her advice. It wasn't just about combat—it was about resource management.

  "The Game wants us competing for limited resources," Verna continued, her voice lower now. "Don't py by those rules. Be smarter. Pn further ahead than they expect you to."

  Alexander caught something in her tone—a subtle rebellion against the Game system itself. He filed that away for future reference.

  Later, as they prepared for sleep in their assigned quarters, Alexander gathered the team to review what they'd learned.

  "We implement Captain Verna's rotation strategy starting tomorrow," he instructed. "Elijah, can you track migration patterns for the main predator species?"

  Elijah nodded. "The whispers..." he hesitated, still cautious about discussing his strange perceptions. "I mean, I've been noticing patterns in animal movements. I can map likely concentrations."

  "Good. Lyra, those equipment modifications made a significant difference today. Can you continue working with Jorin tomorrow to upgrade our gear?"

  "Already discussed it with him," she replied. "He's willing to trade some technical knowledge for help with a project he's working on."

  Alexander noticed how she'd managed to create a value exchange rather than simply receiving help—another survival skill from her Unaligned background that proved useful again and again.

  "We're adapting well," he concluded, surveying his team. "Better than expected."

  "Better than your father expected, you mean," Valeria commented with a raised eyebrow.

  Alexander met her gaze steadily. "Better than anyone expected. Including me."

  As the others prepared for sleep, he took a moment to update their inventory in his interface:

  Team Inventory:- Wolf pelts (6) - High quality, water-resistant- Wolf teeth (24) - Crafting materials- Wolf meat (12 kg) - Preserved using salt from outpost- Modified waterproof ammunition containers (4)- Floating medical kit (Elijah)- Sonic disruption device (Lyra)- River current maps (Forest Watch issue)- Waterproofed bow strings (2)Progress, he thought. Real progress. For the first time since entering the Game, Alexander felt they were developing their own approach rather than simply following corporate training doctrine. Captain Verna had shown them there were different ways to meet the Game's demands—ways that didn't require becoming what his father had designed him to be.

  As he drifted toward sleep, Alexander realized something had shifted inside him. The team was no longer just a strategic asset—it was becoming something he genuinely valued on its own terms. Even Lyra, the Unaligned addition his father had ordered him to discard, had become essential in ways he couldn't have anticipated.

  Tomorrow they would continue learning, adapting, evolving. And perhaps, in time, even succeeding on their own terms rather than those the Game—or his father—had set for them.