- Oliver -

  Focused on watg the matches, Oliver didn't notice that he was quickly advang in the liil he finally faced the enormous gate of the sed exam.

  The boy took a deep breath before taking his first step. Upon passing through the gate, he found himself in a pletely dark room, except for a proje before him.

  [Whitry do you wish to use?]

  [Outside the Estate][he River][Behind the Big House]

  Oliver spent a few seds reading the options but already knew whitry he would use.

  'Outside the Estate' was the ohat would leave him farthest away but with fewer patrolling robots. He had watched some people try the ‘entry’ he river; however, it pced the person very close to two patrol robots. It was o be very good at stealth or have a boon that helped to use this entry. Its positive aspect was that it dropped him closer to the big house.

  There was still another option, eveer in terms of distahe one behind the big house. However, it was one of the few areas guarded by two bck robots, which was also out of the question for Oliver.

  Other recruits tried these entries. One of them went through the river entry, attempting to elimihe two patrol robots, and tried to run straight to the target house, but he couldn't get past the door.

  Aried entering behind the target house, and although he attempted a more stealthy approach, he didn't seem to have studied the robots' routes enough. Unfortunately, he otted by one of the robots on top of the house, which alerted the others.

  Oliver pressed the option "[Outside the Estate]" on the holographic proje. The image disappeared as soon as his fiouched the luminous interface, and a slight vibration ran through the floor beh his feet. A few seds ter, the immee before him began to rise.

  An intense light flooded the space, almost blinding him. He raised his hand to his face, shielding his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. When he finally mao focus, his mouth dropped open in amazement. Before him stretched a se of gigantic proportions. Previously, Oliver had been impressed by the scale of the arenas, but now he simply couldn't believe the colossal size of the envirohat extended before him. It was a genuine simuted estate, meticulously structed and, incredibly, repaired after each recruit's attempt.

  Shaking his head to dispel the awe and regain focus, Oliver took his first careful look at the arena. Even from outside, he could hear the meical hum of robots moving in the distance. He took a deep breath, feeling the slightly recycled air, and took his first step. He felt the firm ground under his boots as he began to run toward the vulnerable part of the wall.

  Keeping himself semi-crouched, he advanced carefully to avoid drawing the robots' attention oher side. ‘It must be around here,’ he thought, occasionally standing up to check if he had reached the right point of the wall. Finally, he noticed the se without barbed wire. "This is it," he murmured to himself.

  Leaning against the wall, he raised his head just enough to peek at the robots' positions oher side. ‘I'm still ahead of schedule,’ he calcuted, realizing that the patrol robot hadn't yet reached that point due to his quiess in log the right spot.

  Without wasting time, he jumped to the other side. Upon nding, he took the opportunity to cross the open field quickly. Instead of risking passing through the houses, which could harbor lurking robots, he headed straight for the orchard.

  ‘Acc to the map, it should be nearby,’ Oliver thought, his eyes sing the enviro in search of a two-story shed. ‘There!’

  However, upon spotting the structure, he noticed a problem. He wouldn't o ehe shed and risk entering a robot; there were external stairs leading to the roof. But because he had arrived too early, a sentinel robot was still positioned in front of the stairs.

  ‘I o hide,’ Oliver thought, hurrying to position himself behind one of the apple trees, his heart pounding as the robot seemed to analyze the surroundings.

  ‘Get out of there!’ Oliver mentally pleaded, anxious to leave the open field. He looked over his shoulder, cheg if there were other robots nearby, but he detected no lights or sounds indig more sentinels.

  | 01:45

  Oliver raised his eyes to the artificial sky, seeing the tdown advang relentlessly. Every sed recious.

  Finally, the robot began to move away from the shed's entrance, following its programmed patrol route. Without hesitation, Oliver seized the opportunity. He ran toward the staircase with quid silent movements, climbing the metallic steps that creaked slightly under his weight. Upon reag the roof, he y down against the cold surface, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

  From up there, he had a privileged view of the terrain ahead. He could see the Big House in the distance—his final objective—and the routes the robots patrolled.

  The biggest issue Oliver noted was the number of robots between him and his destination. At the end of the orchard, two bat robots stood guard. Upon leaving the orchard area, he would have to skirt the side of the Big House, where four more robots were positiowo patrols and two bat units. All close to each other. If he tried to run directly, he would trigger the alert; if he tried to eliminate any of them, the others could see a.

  However, Oliver had ehe arena aware of these obstacles. Uhe map provided by the he view from up there offered details not presented in the official pns. He could observe not only the buildings but also elements of the sery that could be crucial.

  ‘Is it meant for us to improvise, then?’ Oliver hypothesized when he saw the recs from the past matches.

  he barn, there was a gasoline geor—a rare artifaowadays, but ohat Oliver reized. Avoiding any noise, he activated his Ranger Armor, feeling the liquid metal envelop his body, and drew his Energy Pistol, which materialized in his hand.

  He spent a few seds the robots' routes, waiting for the moment when one of them would approach the barn.

  ‘I'll take advantage of this first attempt to explore what we and ot do,’ Oliver reasoned. ‘There must be a way to elimihese robots without sounding the arm. It 't be that the only solution is to use boons to for entry.’

  As soon as the robot wehe geor, Oliver aimed precisely and fired directly at the gasoline taihe small explosion was enough to rip off the legs of the yellow-marked robot, which fell io the ground.

  Immediately, Oliver y down again on the roof, pressing himself against the cold surface, trying to calm his breathing and ensure he wasn't seen. His heart ounding, adrenaline c through his veins. He expected at any moment to hear the arm echh the arena.

  One sed passed, followed by the sed, third, and fourth. Finally, a minute had epsed, and Oliver began to celebrate internally. His theory was correct: the robots don’t go into alert mode if the i appears to be a failure or act.

  Cautiously rising, he observed the otion in the area of the explosion. Other robots approached to iigate; even those ihe houses came to see what happened. Unfortunately, the bat robots remained firm in their positions, uurbed.

  ‘Si's not an official alert, they 't move,’ Oliver thought, analyzing the situation. ‘But that's something. I look for other ways to ralize them without revealing my position.’ A slight smile formed under his armor's visor, satisfa illuminating his eyes.

  With this new information, he began to pn the step of his strategy. If he could cause other strategic ‘acts,’ perhaps he could open a path to the Big House without raising suspis.

  Without w too much about time, Oliver began to notice every item around him, especially those he robots' routes. unication towers, puddles of water, exposed geors—every detail could make a differehe sario was a chessboard, and he was determio py his pieces masterfully.

  | 02:55

  Decided to test his theories, Oliver aimed at a nearby unication tower and fired. The structure trembled but didn't fall. He tried again, adjusting the angle, but still without success. ging tactics, he directed his focus to the barn. A precise shot set the side of the building on fire. Fmes began to rise, and patrol robots verged on the location, w together to extinguish the fire. However, the process ed precious seds.

  , he fired at the windows of some houses, the sound of shattering gss eg through the enviro. This caused more robots to e out to iigate, diverting their programmed routes.

  | 03:33

  Each a provoked a specific rea from the robots, but as long as the shot wasn't directly at them or his position remained hidden, they didn't interpret it as an act of aggression. Oliver began to map these responses, seeking patterns he could exploit.

  However, time tio advance relentlessly. The maneuvers were having an effect, but not at the necessary speed. It would be one of the points he would o adjust deeply.

  The ter iificial sky marked 05:00. A sharp arm souhroughout the arena, indig the end of the stiputed time.

  His first attempt was over.

  GCLopes