The fields shut down gradually once the game was over, lowering Ning toward the floor of the chamber with the same slow, gentle descent that every eliminated player had experienced before him.
By the time his feet touched the padding, half of the class had already gathered around him.
They clapped him on the shoulders and back, talking over one another about the rope, the run along the wall, and the moment Lorna had found herself tied up in the middle of the chamber, and for a few minutes, Ning could barely hear anything else.
Eventually, Lorna managed to restore enough order for the points to be tallied.
The game's scoring had been tracked through their helmets the entire time, and once the results were finalized, the totals appeared on every display in the room.
The instructors had earned their points for every student they eliminated, while the students earned theirs for those who had survived the longest.
Ning's total sat at the very top of the list.
80 Points.
