The doors of the simulation chamber slid open with a deep metallic sigh.Cold air rushed in, carrying the scent of engine oil and damp steel.Elias stepped out first, his burns hidden beneath his sleeves, his breathing steady and contained.
Behind him came Aria Valestride.Her uniform was torn at the shoulder, her hair slightly loosened, her face pale but composed.The injury she had sustained would put most cadets in the infirmary for a week.
She walked as if nothing had happened.
Jarek stumbled last, supported by the wall, sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Ancestors… I'm alive… I'm actually alive…"
He laughed weakly, the sound cracking under lingering terror.
The corridor beyond the chamber was quiet.Too quiet.
Normally, instructors lined up outside to take notes, evaluate, or drag away failures.Today the hallway was empty.
Except for one man.
Captain Bram Solen.
He stood in the center of the corridor, arms folded, mechanical gauntlets steaming faintly.The lights overhead cast sharp shadows across his face.
He didn't look impressed.He didn't look proud.
He looked… uneasy.
"Step forward," he ordered.
Jarek immediately straightened his back, trying to look less injured.
Aria approached with calm, controlled steps.
Elias walked last.
Bram studied them for several long, suffocating seconds.His gaze lingered on Aria's wounds.Then on Jarek's trembling arms.Then on Elias—whose injuries were conspicuously minimal.
Bram's jaw tightened.
"What happened in there was not part of the assigned evaluation."
Aria spoke first, her voice cold, clean, and precise.
"We encountered a Tier C Faultline Guardian in Phase Two and a Tier B Termination Unit in Phase Three."
Bram stiffened.
"That's impossible. Those units aren't loaded into any D-rank scenario."
Jarek jumped in, voice shaking.
"Sir, it tried to kill us! And—and Ward—he…"
Elias's eyes sharpened.
Jarek stopped mid-sentence, swallowing whatever he had been about to say.
Bram stepped closer to Elias.
"Ward."
Elias held his gaze, calm and unflinching.
"You show minor burns. No major trauma."Bram's voice grew quieter."Explain that."
Aria looked at Elias.Eyes narrowed.Attentive.
Silent.
Jarek watched too, torn between awe and dread.
Elias answered without hesitation.
"The Cleanser targeted me first. It focused its attacks on me for most of the fight."
"Why?" Bram demanded.
Elias didn't blink.
"It assessed me as the smallest threat. I presume it wanted to eliminate me first to demoralize the group."
Silence.
A lie delivered with perfect neutrality.
Aria's eyes flickered—she recognized the lie.She didn't expose him.
Bram wasn't convinced.He leaned in slightly.
"…The Cleanser nearly decapitated you with its opening strike. How did you dodge it?"
Elias met his stare evenly.
"The floor shook. I reacted."
Another lie.Aria knew that too.
Bram studied him for a long moment.Then exhaled.
"Fine. Whatever happened in there, you three survived. Barely."
He stepped back.
"But understand this—someone tampered with that simulation."
Aria's eyes sharpened.Jarek paled.
Elias already knew.
Bram lowered his voice.
"And if they tampered with it once… they might do it again."
He motioned for them to follow.
"Report to the evaluation hall for your performance results."
Jarek let out a breath he'd been holding.
"Thank the—"
"Quiet," Aria said sharply.
They walked.
Jarek limped.Aria held her shoulder with faint tension.Elias moved in cold silence, mind sharp, senses heightened.
As they passed through the corridor, instructors turned their heads.Some whispered.Some frowned.Others stared openly.
Not at Aria.
Not at Jarek.
At Elias Ward.
Rumors spread fast in the Cadet Regime.
A quiet boy who survived a Tier B monster.With almost no injuries.Without a flashy class.
Impossible.Suspicious.Interesting.
A target.
Aria walked beside Elias.
After a long stretch of silence, she finally spoke—barely above a whisper.
"You lied to the Captain."
Elias didn't respond.
"You also lied to Jarek."
Still no response.
Her eyes slid toward him, unreadable.
"How many lies do you carry, Ward?"
He stopped walking.
So tat Aria.
Jarek kept moving a few steps before realizing they had paused.He turned around, blinking in confusion.
"Guys…?"
Aria stared directly at Elias.
"You're hiding your capabilities."
Her voice wasn't accusing.It wasn't angry.It was… observant.
"You move too cleanly. Too precisely. You learn too quickly. And you don't react like someone who discovered strength recently."
She stepped closer.
Her eyes locked onto his—cold, sharp, but steady.
"What are you really?"
Elias didn't answer.
Aria didn't expect him to.
Instead, she turned away.
"You don't have to tell me."
She walked forward.
"But I'll find out."
Jarek scratched his head nervously.
"She scares me…"
They continued toward the evaluation hall.
But something shifted in the air.
A prickle on Elias's neck.A cold presence watching from far beyond the corridor.
He stopped walking slowly, head tilting just slightly to the side.
Aria felt it too.She stiffened.
"Ward," she whispered."Do you sense that?"
He did.
From the shadows between two steel pillars, a pair of golden eyes blinked once—slowly—watching them with predatory interest.
Then vanished.
Jarek shuddered visibly.
"Did anyone else see—"
"No," Elias said quietly."Keep walking."
Aria didn't look convinced.
But she walked.
And as Elias followed them, the System flickered faintly in his vision.
Unknown entity detectedObservation in progressHostility: Undefined
A true enemy had taken notice.
The first of many.