- Oliver -

  His game only ended when he heard the AI speaking. "Level 15 pleted."

  Oliver finally stopped moving. The enviro around him was saturated with a fine mist due to the agility training. His heart ounding, but his breathing remained trolled, a testament to his interaining.

  As he exited the room, Oliver was met by a barrage of screams and murmurs from the recruits gathered outside.

  "Level 15! Impossible, someone broke the record," excimed one of them, disbelief etched on his face.

  "Damn it! I lost my bet," mented another, shaking his head in frustration.

  Katherine awaited him he entrance, with a serene smile as the gazes of the other recruits grew increasingly skeptical. To those watg, it seemed as if he predicted the shots before they were even fired, dodging with an almost superhuman skill.

  Oliver appeared to evade each bullet or ricochet before it evehe gun.

  "Well done," praised Katherine as he approached. She had opted not to take the test; seeing the speed with which Oliver moved, she knew she might match him but wondered if she could surpass him.

  What had been a few dozen people had now transformed into a crowd of hundreds, with more tinuing to arrive, drawn by the news of the new record.

  "I'm ," procimed a recruit, stepping forward decisively.

  "I'll try iher room," said another, hurrying so as not to be left behind.

  The race to surpass Level 15 had begun. However, her Oliver nor Katherine were ied anymore. The boy had used it merely to calm himself, and Katherine found it an iing pastime.

  Oliver seized the opportunity when they were disputing who would be o blend into the crowd. With a discreet gesture, he approached Katherine and took her hand, leading her away from the crowd and avoiding being followed.

  "Let's go up a bit," he whispered, indig the stairs that led to the fourth floor.

  They climbed quickly, leaving behind the noisy third floor. On the fourth floor, silence reigned. It was the area designated for evaluation rooms, which were empty and inaccessible at that moment. The soft lights created an almost serene enviro, trasting with the bustle of the levels below.

  "I think we lost them," ented Oliver, gng back.

  "Seems like it," replied Katherine, smiling. "Eventful night, isn't it?"

  She let out a little ugh, and he couldn't help but join in.

  They strolled along the empty corridor, allowing themselves a moment of tranquility. The rge windows offered a panoramic view of the desert that stretched beyond the base. Distant mountains punctuated the horizon, their silhouettes outlined against the starry sky.

  Oliver paused for a moment, admiring the starry sky. Gng at his gau, he realized it was already te at night. Time had passed without them notig.

  "Sorry, our walk ended up taking your whole evening," Oliver said, turning to Katherih a slightly embarrassed smile.

  She looked at him, her eyes refleg the sparkle of the stars.

  "Don't worry, it was quite pleasant," she replied, turning her gaze back to the panoramic view. "I usually don't have much freedom to walk around like this, window-shop, or even make friends. It's always a game of who pulls the rug from under whom. Having these lighter moments is something rare for me."

  Oliver could see the genuine happiness she was feeling on her face. There was a softness in her expression, a temporary relief from the responsibilities she usually carried. He felt a pang of empathy, uanding a bit more about her world.

  The two tinued walking; the sileween them was fortable, filled only by the soft sound of their footsteps eg along the corridor. They found aaircase and began to desd, the lights adjusting automatically as they moved. They slowly returo the sed floor, where the dormitories were located.

  Katheriifled a discreet yawn, c her mouth with her hand.

  "Looks like sleep is ing," observed Oliver with a smile.

  "I think so," she admitted. "It was a long day."

  "I'm still going to take a look at the information I received on the gau," he ented.

  As they both reached their beds in the dormitory, Katherine wished, "See you tomorrow. Good luck to us."

  --

  --

  Oliver woke abruptly to the shrill sound of the siren announg the start of the day at Base 45. The dormitory's soft lights began to intensify gradually. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the increasing brightness, he raised his arm and sulted his holographic gau. It recisely seven o'clock sharp.

  | Exams will begin in one hour

  The boy sighed, dragging himself out of bed. He had stayed up te the previous night, immersed in data about the types of robots he would fad analyzing every detail of the bat arena. The information pulsed in his mind, mingling with the nervoushat was now beginning to ma.

  Between yawns, Oliver got up. The metallic floors of the lodging reflected the artificial light, and the distant murmur of other recruits preparing echoed through the corridors. Quickly, he dohe Academy uniform—the attire automatically adjusted to his body, adapting to his movements.

  He met up with Katherine and Isabe in the corridor. Isabe seemed a bit sleepy; she had arrived ter after meeting with Astrid. The three of them made their way to the first floor, where the main cafeteria was situated.

  Upon arriving, they were greeted by an effervest enviro. The first floor acked, a sea of recruits from different ies and academies, all immersed in their own worlds. Advertising holograms floated above, dispying ads for military equipment and motivational messages from the NEA.

  The various shops offered an abundance of gastronomic options, from exotic dishes from distant po traditioh meals. However, Oliver opted for something simple: eggs, fresh bread, and juice.

  As they sat at one of the tables he panoramidow, they could observe the freient around them. On each recruit's face, the same expression of apprehension and expectation. Many had their eyes fixed on their gaus, fingers sliding quickly over the holographiterfaces, reviewing information about the exam, bat strategies, or oppo statistics.

  "It seems everyone is trying to find some st-minute advantage," Katherine ented, a nearby group that was animatedly discussing.

  "There's not much more to do besides being prepared," Oliver replied. "We've already analyzed all the avaible data."

  Isabe took a sip of her coffee and sighed.

  "Even so, the waiting is the worst part."

  For Oliver, breakfast passed in the blink of ahe mix of ay and adrenaline made time seem distorted. As quickly as they had desded to the first floor, they were already returning to the dormitories.

  Ba the room, Isabe and Oliver paced bad forth, the restlessness evident in their movements. The metallic walls reflected their silhouettes, and the silence was broken only by the subtle hum of the life support systems.

  Oher hand, Katherine was stretched out on the bed, appearing calm in trast to her friends' tension. With a smooth gesture, she adjusted her gau and began calg probabilities.

  "You know it will take at least four days just for this first event," she said, her eyes fixed oa floating above her wrist. "The ce of us being called in the first round is one in two hundred ay-seven."

  She hoped the information would help calm them, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Oliver and Isabe exged worried gnces.

  Suddenly, a sound notification interrupted the silence.

  | Exams will begin.

  The message captured everyone's attention, including Katherine, who had just suggested they rex. They held their breath, anxiously awaiting a sed alert indig their calling. Seds passed, but no other notification appeared on their gaus.

  Instead, a girl lyihe door stood up abruptly, her eyes wide as she checked her device.

  "I've been called!" the girl excimed before hurriedly leaving the corridor.

  Oliver exhaled, feeling a mix of relief and frustration.

  "The first groups have been called," he said, more to himself than to the others.

  "Maybe it's better this way; at least we watch the others' petition before ours," Isabe said, turning on the hologram of her gau and searg for the NEA el.

  "Maybe." Oliver also sat on his bed and turned on the el.

  He switched from el to el to see how each of the thirty-six tests was arranged. Ea had sixty pilrs in a circur formation, each with a recruit in front of it.

  A small metal wall separated each recruit's area; however, it wasn't high enough to prevent someone from crossing into another arena.

  Several recruits were already positioned in the arena. Some were stretg, and others were doing light exercises. Oliver was flipping through the els until someone caught his attention.

  One of the boys in arena fifteen—he was short and skinny. A deep scar ran across his face from oo the other. He reparing to use a long whip in the petition.

  "Damian?"

  GCLopes