A short while later, the surviving contestants gathered in the station adjacent to the training area.
The facility was sleek and quiet, with curved benches of pale composite wood and a broad, curved glass wall overlooking Sector Seven's artificial street grid.
Rows of charging stations and medical scanners hummed softly along the back wall.
Cassius sat heavily on a bench, drained an entire hydration pack, then crushed the plastic container in his massive fist.
"My arms still feel like lead," he grumbled. "If the next trial involves wrestling automated haulers, I'm going to throw someone out a window."
Warren, who had arrived shortly after the trial concluded, leaned against the glass wall with a small cup of water.
"Wrestling haulers isn't the academy's style, Cassius. Trial Three was entirely about cognitive bias and restraint. Trial Four... well, Headmaster Whizen hasn't dropped the briefing yet, but it won't be a simple brawl."
