Part 1
The wake-up alarm wasn't gentle.
A sharp tone blared through Dorm Building 1 at exactly 0555.
David jolted upright.
Across the room, Castiel groaned into his pillow.
"I hate punctuality," he muttered.
"You were awake," David said, already swinging his legs off the bed.
"I was emotionally awake. That's different."
They dressed quickly in academy combat training gear—light composite plating across the chest and forearms, reinforced boots, compression underlayer.
By 0600 sharp, Home Room 1 stood assembled on Training Field C.
The morning air was cold enough to sting.
Commander Vance stood at the center of the field, hands clasped behind her back.
No clipboard.
No tablet.
Just watching.
"Late arrivals will run perimeter until collapse," she said evenly.
No one moved.
"Good."
The field around them was enormous—multi-terrain sections segmented by force barriers. Sand pit to the left. Forest simulation to the right. Concrete urban sector beyond that.
"Today is not about your levels," Vance continued. "It is about how you fail."
A few cadets stiffened at that.
"You will engage Tier-One constructs in rotating squads of three. You will rotate environments every fifteen minutes."
She let that settle.
"You are not here to look impressive."
Her eyes swept across the group.
"You are here to survive contact."
She began assigning squads.
"Vale. Wyn. Nightvale."
Nyra looked at David.
"Well," she said quietly, "that's convenient."
Castiel stretched his shoulders. "Try not to get us killed, D."
"Encouraging."
They stepped onto the sand sector.
The barrier sealed behind them.
Three constructs rose from beneath the ground—smaller than the Blue-tier evaluation model, but faster. Lean, almost canine in structure, with plated backs and narrow skulls.
"Move," Nyra said immediately.
The first construct lunged at her.
She pivoted cleanly, striking the joint seam at its shoulder with precise force. It staggered but did not fall.
David intercepted the second one before it could flank her. He redirected its bite, but the third came low from his blind side.
Castiel stepped in, catching it mid-lunge and driving it sideways with controlled force.
"Left!" Castiel called.
David adjusted instantly.
Nyra dropped to a knee, sweeping sand into the first construct's optical ridge. It stumbled long enough for her to drive her elbow into its seam again.
The plating cracked.
The construct destabilized.
One down.
The second adapted.
It stopped attacking directly and began circling.
David felt his breathing spike.
This wasn't evaluation.
This was pressure.
system:
Enemy Type — Tier-One Combat Construct
Combat Level — 1.5
The circling construct feinted toward Nyra and then shifted direction mid-motion toward David.
He barely caught it.
Pain exploded along his forearm as its plated jaw clipped him.
He shoved it off.
Castiel stepped in again, striking its hind joint.
Nyra finished it with a clean downward blow.
Two down.
The third had learned.
It lunged low and fast, targeting Nyra's planted leg.
David moved without thinking.
He stepped inside its trajectory, absorbing the hit across his shoulder instead of letting it take her knee.
The impact sent him to the sand.
"David!" Nyra snapped.
Castiel drove into the construct hard enough to flip it partially onto its side.
Nyra didn't hesitate.
She crushed the exposed seam.
The barrier dropped.
The constructs dissolved.
David rolled onto his back, sand in his mouth, shoulder throbbing.
Nyra crouched beside him.
"You good?"
"Define good."
Castiel looked down at him.
"You just body-checked a construct."
"I tripped," David muttered.
"You did not."
Across the field, Commander Vance was watching.
Not the heirs in the urban sector.
Not the Level 3s dominating cleanly.
Them.
She made a small notation on the tablet now in her hand.
"Rotation," she called.
As they moved toward the forest simulation, Nyra glanced at David.
"You didn't have to take that hit."
"Yes, I did."
Castiel looked between them.
"That's going to get old fast," he said.
"What is?" David asked.
"You trying to be the shield."
David didn't answer.
Inside his mind—
system:
Damage Registered — Minor
Endurance Increased +1%
I am:
You chose correctly.
David flexed his sore shoulder as they entered the forest sector.
Training had only just begun.
And he was already tired.