- Oliver -

  "It's my turn," Oliver decred with determination. The boy waved quickly before heading toward the corridors of the sed floor, his footsteps eg softly as he advanced.

  ‘Arena 23,’ he repeated mentally, fog on the objective as he searched for the corretrance. Holographic signs floated along the walls, but the immensity of the base could be disorienting. Fortunately, some soldiers were strategically positioned along the way. One of them, notig that the boy was seeking the arerance, promptly pointed in the right dire.

  "Thank you," Oliver murmured, quiing his pace.

  Upon reag the petitors' entrance, a soldier with a firm posture intercepted him. He verified Oliver's identity through his gau.

  "Alright, Oliver Nameless. You may enter," the soldier firmed, giving a brief nod. “Your position is indicated on yau. Remember, you o be in front of your pilr."

  Oliver nodded, feeling adrenaline c through his body. He took a deep breath before passing through the door with a soft pic hiss.

  As he ehe arena, he was enveloped by an explosion of intense lights that almost momentarily blinded him. His eyes adjusted to the dazzling brightness for a few seds. Dozens of cameras floated around, capturing every angle and transmitting live to spectators throughout the empire.

  The floor beh his feet olished metal, refleg the lights above. A thin yer of sand covered the surface, adding uability to the terrain that could either hinder or be used to his advantage. Ahead of him, a vast expanse of one hundred meters separated the pilr where he stood from the area where the opposing robots would emerge.

  ‘Just follow the pn,’ Oliver thought, seeking to calm his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the rhythmic pulse of his heart synize with the energy flowing through his gauhe devi his wrist glowed softly.

  ‘The first wave has twenty training robots; The sed wave has thirty more training robots, and at the end, they send artillery robots. The third has mini mechas, and the final has real mechas.’ Oliver was recalling the order of the advances.

  With a quick gesture, he adjusted the transmission on his gauo tuo the entator's el for Arena 23. The animated voice of the narrator echoed in his ears.

  "We haven't started the exam yet, but we already see the first recruits entering the field. Yes, it was surprising how the first group ended, but let's see if we get to see the more advanced waves this time."

  With his vision now fully adapted to the brightness, Oliver looked around, notig the other petitors positioned in front of their respective pilrs, each focused and prepared for the immi exam.

  Oliver fixed his gaze on the massive gate ahead of him, the exact pce where the robots would emerge. His determined and attentive eyes missed ail. He rested on one khout diverting his attention; the boy adjusted his posture to obtain the best possible shooting position.

  "Almost all petitors are on the field. Meanwhile, let's talk about those who have a high ce of being the champion of this group. I'd pce my bets on two boys: Cole Thorne and Max Cruz," the entator expihusiastically.

  ‘Hey! I'm the one who's going to take first pce,’ thought Oliver, feeling challenged.

  "Cole and Max both e from on Houses. However, they had great performances in the First Battalion. Cole has a pretty gross but powerful boon—he trol is, his favorite being a giaipede. Oher hand, Max gigantify himself, beiremely strong when he enrges his arms and legs," the entator expined.

  ‘Alright. Which of them will try to fuck up with the others?’ Oliver thought, already preparing against strategies to destabilize oppos.

  | All pyers are on the field.

  The walls around the arena began to move, and massive gates slid upward, revealing the darkness beyond. The sound of activating meisms filled the air, and robotic silhouettes emerged from the shadows. The enemy robots advanced in formation, their red eyes glowing like embers, emitting a threatening hum.

  The tdoeared in his field of vision, projected by the gau:

  | 3... 2... 1...

  An arm sounded, marking the start of the test. Initially, the robots adva a slow and coordinated pace. Still, just like in previous tests, as soon as they passed the fifty-meter mark, they accelerated into a ferocious charge, making the ground shake uhe weight of the maes.

  Oliver acted quickly. With a single move, he activated his Ranger on. The Energy Pistol materialized in his haing a bluish glow that trasted with the yellow lights of the arena. He khat on would be crucial at that moment.

  He sidered using the [Observation] ability, but it would be difficult to focus on a siarget with so many oppos ahead. Oliver then decided to trate his energy on quid precise shots, aiming to eliminate as many robots as possible before they got too close.

  In the lower er of his vision, the achievement he was trag fshed stantly, reminding him of the goal he had set:

  | ■■■■■| Destroy 100 bat robots [02/100]

  Some robots were now at a critical distance. Oliver adjusted his posture, took a deep breath, and tio fire. Each shot emitted an energy beam that cut through the air with lethal precision. The closest robot fell as it was hit at the exact point that would cause an overload in its system. Then, a sed and third robots met the same fate.

  Some robots stopped running and raised their ons, firiallic projectiles in his dire. Those enemies had no iion of reag the pilr but wao make him lose focus ahe others pass.

  Oliver kept moving stantly, dodging with calcuted spins and jumps, aying in the same pore than a sed. With each dodge, he took the moment to hit the robots.

  "Cole has started using his is! They're ing out from inside his armor and clothes. Look at the size of that tipede—it's a monster! It's destroying each of the robots as if they were made of paper. Oher side of the map, Max is already over five meters tall, using his gigantic feet to crush the robots," the entator announced.

  But Oliver didn't let himself get distracted. He maintained absolute focus on his battle. A group of robots tried to fnk him from the left. Anticipating the movement, he slid to the opposite side, firing at the vulnerable points of the maes. Explosions of sparks aal fragments illumihe arena around him.

  The ter on his gau updated:

  | ■■■■■| Destroy 100 bat robots [15/100]

  ‘This round is quite easy. But it firmed my suspis; even with the sed wave, it's impossible to reach 100,’ Oliver thought, watg the numbers ge iime.

  With only five robots equipped with le ons remaining, Oliver trated his energy to ensure a precise shot at each. He hit the ter of each robot's head with surgical precisioivating them instantly.

  | ■■■■■| Destroy 100 bat robots [20/100]

  Finally, the first wave was over for him. However, the other recruits in the adjat areas were still battling the robots. Seizing the opportunity, Oliver ran toward one of the side walls of his zone. With an agile leap, he climbed the metallic wall, positioning himself at the top without crossing the limits of his zone.

  From his new elevated vantage point, he began to aim at the robots in the neighb areas. Ag as a sniper, he elimihe oppos' robots, stealing their kills.

  ‘It will help me both to plete the achievement and increase my points,’ he had phis even before entering the arena. This way, he could decrease his petitors' points and increase his own without attag them.

  "What is this?! There's a recruit on top of one of the walls. Is he shooting at the other recruits? Impossible; he would have been disqualified," the entator said incredulously. "No! He's shooting at the robots iher areas!"

  Oliver's shots were silent, barely audible amid the arena's chaos. Only the metallic sound of the maes beiroyed indicated his a. The other petitors' expressions of surprise were evident as their robots fell without expnation.

  Quickly, the first wave was nearing its end. The ter on his gau tio rise:

  | ■■■■■| Destroy 100 bat robots [35/100]

  "Who is this recruit?" It ossible to hear the entator asking his assistants for more information.

  Backstage, the entator's assistants were scrambling to gather data about Oliver. Meanwhile, he maintained his strategic position, eliminating robots and accumuting points.

  "Finally, all areas have fihe first wave!"

  The siren sounded, announg the start of the sed.

  "Alright. We have his name now. Oliver Nameless."

  GCLopes