Inside Simulation Arena-C.
The gate closed with a loud sound.CLANG.
A large screen on the wall lit up.
TEAM COORDINATION TEST
DURATION: 30 MINUTES
MYCELITE WAVES: 5 WAVES
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE UNTIL TIME RUNS OUT
TEST BEGINS IN… 10… 9… 8…
Rin looked at her team. They were all standing apart, not in formation as usual.
Jian was in front,but not in a vanguard position. He just stood with his machete in hand, his gaze empty.
Shun was behind,hugging his tablet like a shield. His face was pale.
Mei was on the right,knife in hand. But her gaze was wary, not just of the arena, but of the team.
Akira was on the left,far from Rin. His rod was raised, but his hands trembled.
And Rin stood in the center,feeling emptiness.
This won't work.
If we can't cooperate, we'll die here.
3… 2… 1…
TEST BEGINS.
Small doors in the walls opened, and from them emerged dozens of small Mycelites. They were like spiders with fungal bodies, moving quickly.
WAVE ONE.
"FORMATION!"Rin shouted.
But no one moved.
Jian advanced alone,his machete raised, slashing at the Mycelites coming from the front. But his movements were rough, uncoordinated.
SLASH!SLASH!
Two Mycelites fell,but five more came from the side.
Shun ran to the back,hiding behind an obstacle with his tablet. He wasn't giving any information.
Akira moved left,his rod striking Mycelites coming from the side. But he wasn't coordinating with Jian. One Mycelite slipped past his attack and jumped towards Shun.
"SHUN!WATCH OUT!" Akira yelled.
Shun screamed,but Mei was already there. Her knife slashed the Mycelite quickly.
SLASH!
The Mycelite fell,but Mei looked at Shun sharply. "Don't just hide. Give info!"
Shun nodded quickly,his hands trembling as he opened his tablet. "T-they're coming from… from three directions. Front, left, right."
"THAT'S OBVIOUS!"Jian shouted in frustration. "TELL US SOMETHING USEFUL!"
Shun fell silent.His face grew paler.
And Rin stood in the center,watching this chaos with a hollow feeling.
This isn't a team anymore.
This is a group of people who don't trust each other.
Mycelites kept coming. More, faster.
Jian began to be overwhelmed.Too many coming from the front.
"JIAN!FALL BACK!" Rin shouted.
But Jian didn't hear,or didn't want to hear.
One of the Mycelites jumped onto his back.Its claws struck Jian's shoulder.
"ARGH!"
Jian fell to his knees.His machete dropped.
Akira saw it.He hesitated for a moment, then finally ran to help Jian. His rod struck the Mycelite on Jian's back.
ZZZTTT!
The Mycelite fell.
But Jian was already wounded.Blood flowed from his shoulder.
"Damn!"Jian tried to get up, but his legs were unsteady.
WAVE TWO BEGINS.
This time larger Mycelites appeared.Fungal Hounds, like the one Rin faced in the first selection.
Five at once.
"DAMN!"Jian tried to stand, but his body was unstable.
Mei ran quickly.Her knife moved, slashing one Hound coming from the right.
SLASH!
The Hound was injured,but didn't fall. It counterattacked Mei with sharp claws.
Mei dodged,but not fast enough. The claw grazed her arm. Blood flowed.
Mei bit her lip,suppressing the pain, but kept fighting.
Akira tried to hold on,but his rod was running out of charge. The blue light at its tip flickered weakly.
"My charge is almost gone!"Akira yelled.
"SWITCH TO CROSSBOW!"Rin shouted.
Akira threw down his rod,grabbing the small crossbow on his back. But his hands trembled. He fired one arrow, missed.
"DAMN!"
Shun screamed from behind the obstacle."I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! THERE ARE TOO MANY!"
And Rin…
Stood in the center,feeling the vibration again.
The low frequency from all the Mycelites in the arena.
She could feel their intent,their attack directions, their movement patterns.
But she couldn't do anything alone.
We need cooperation.
Or we'll all die.
Rin made a decision.
She shouted with all her might.Her voice cut through the chaos.
"EVERYONE LISTEN TO ME!NOW!"
Everyone looked at her,even in the midst of battle.
"JIAN!FALL BACK TO THE CENTER! YOU'RE WOUNDED. DON'T FIGHT AT THE FRONT ANYMORE!"
Jian looked at Rin with an angry gaze,but he knew she was right. He retreated to the center, his machete raised defensively.
"AKIRA!YOU GUARD THE LEFT! FOCUS ON THE CLOSEST HOUND!"
Akira hesitated for a moment,then nodded. He moved left, his crossbow raised.
"MEI!YOU GUARD THE RIGHT! DON'T ATTACK TOO AGGRESSIVELY. HOLD YOUR POSITION!"
Mei nodded.Her movements were more controlled now.
"SHUN!GIVE US THEIR MOVEMENT PATTERN DATA! WHICH ONE IS MOST DANGEROUS!"
Shun opened his tablet.His voice trembled, but he spoke. "T-they're coming from 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock. The one at 2 o'clock is faster. That's the most dangerous!"
"AKIRA!FOCUS ON 2 O'CLOCK!" Rin yelled.
Akira immediately prepared.His crossbow aimed at 2 o'clock.
A Hound came.Akira fired.
THWIP!
This time it hit.
The Hound fell.The arrow stuck in its neck.
"GOOD!"Rin shouted. "MEI! 10 O'CLOCK!"
Mei was already there.Her knife moved quickly, slashing the Hound's leg, then stabbing its chest.
SLASH!STAB!
The Hound fell.
Three Hounds remained,but now they moved more coordinated.
Rin felt the vibration again.Stronger this time.
They're learning.
They know we're starting to cooperate.
So they're cooperating too.
"THEY'RE COORDINATING NOW!"Rin shouted. "WE HAVE TO BE FASTER!"
Three Hounds attacked simultaneously.One from the front, two from the sides.
"JIAN!FRONT!"
Jian swung his machete.Even with his wounded shoulder, he brutally slashed the Hound in front.
SLASH!
The Hound fell.
"AKIRA!MEI! SIDES!"
Akira and Mei moved together.Crossbow and knife attacked the Hounds from two directions.
THWIP!SLASH!
Two Hounds fell.
WAVE TWO COMPLETE.
They were all panting, but still standing.
And for the first time in the last two days.
They were cooperating again.
Not because of trust.
But because they had no other choice.
"Time left?"Rin asked, breathing heavily.
Shun checked his tablet."T-twenty minutes left. Three waves remaining."
Jian sat for a moment,holding his wounded shoulder. "I don't know if I can survive three more waves."
Mei tore part of her uniform,bandaging her wounded arm. "We have to. No choice."
Akira looked at Rin.An unreadable gaze. No longer angry. No longer afraid. But confused.
As if he no longer knew how to see Rin.
Before anyone could speak again.
WAVE THREE BEGINS.
This time different Mycelites came.
Spore Crawlers,creatures like giant centipedes with bodies covered in hard fungi.
Ten at once.
"Oh damn,"Jian muttered. "This will be harder."
Waves three, four, and five proceeded with increasing intensity.
But this time they moved as a team.
Rin gave directions.Jian became the center guard even though wounded. Akira and Mei guarded the flanks. Shun provided data. Even though his voice trembled, the information was accurate.
And slowly,rhythm returned.
Not perfect.There were still mistakes. Still moments where trust almost collapsed again.
But they survived.
Jian almost fell twice,but Akira and Mei saved him.
Mei was almost surrounded,but Jian broke the encirclement with a brutal attack.
Akira ran out of arrows,but he picked up Rin's fallen rod and kept fighting.
And Rin…
Did not use her ability.
Even though the pattern on her arm felt hot.Even though the network's voice kept whispering, "Use us… let us help…"
Rin refused.
Because she knew,if she used it again, this team would truly shatter.
30 minutes passed.
A long siren sounded.
TEST COMPLETE.
All Mycelites in the arena stopped moving,then fell, deactivated.
The large screen lit up.
TEAM 07: PASSED
SURVIVAL TIME: 30 MINUTES 00 SECONDS
STATUS: PASS
They all fell to the ground. Gasping, wounded, but alive.
Silence for a moment.
No one spoke.
Then Jian,who was still lying on the ground, laughed softly. A tired laugh.
"We…did it."
Shun cried in relief,hugging his tablet.
Akira sat with his back against the wall,looking at the arena ceiling.
Mei stood,cleaning her knife. But her gaze towards Rin was softer than before.
And Rin…
Sat alone in the center of the arena,looking at her hand.
The green pattern under the gel was moving faster than before,even though she hadn't used it.
As if something was angry for not being let out.
Rin felt something cold creep into her chest.
One day, I won't be able to refuse anymore.
One day, I will lose control.
And when that happens.
I don't know what will become of me.
Outside the arena, Commissioner Lian looked at the monitor screen with a serious expression.
Instructor Yashida stood beside her.
"Team 07 almost failed at the beginning,"Yashida said. "But they managed to pull themselves together."
Lian nodded slowly."Yes. But not because of trust." She looked at the recording, focusing on Rin sitting alone. "They united because of the fear of death."
"Is that enough?"Yashida asked.
Lian was silent for a long time.
Then she answered in a cold tone.
"For now,yes. But later, fear won't be enough. And when that happens." She looked at Rin on the screen. "We will see if Asakura Rin will become their savior, or their killer."
Meanwhile, inside the arena.
Akira walked slowly towards Rin.
He sat next to Rin.Not too close, but not too far.
They were both silent.
Then Akira spoke in a soft voice.
"Rin…I'm sorry."
Rin didn't look at Akira.She just kept looking at her hand.
"For what?"
"For everything I said earlier,"Akira answered. "And for…" He paused for a moment. "For reporting you."
Rin finally looked at Akira.Her gaze wasn't angry. Just tired.
"You knew I knew?"Rin asked softly.
Akira nodded."I saw the card was missing last night. I knew you took it."
Silence.
"Why did you do it?"Rin asked.
Akira looked at the ground,not daring to look at Rin.
"Because I was afraid,"he answered honestly. "I was afraid you would change. I was afraid you would disappear. And I thought, if I reported it to them, they could help you. But…" He wiped his face. "I was wrong. I just made everything worse."
Rin was silent for a long time.
Then she spoke in a tone softer than Akira expected.
"I can't say I'm not angry.Because I am angry," Rin said. "But I also understand. You didn't know what to do. And you were just trying to survive."
Akira looked at Rin with tearful eyes.
"I don't want to lose you,Rin."
Rin smiled faintly.A sad smile.
"I don't want to lose myself either."
They were both silent,then Akira offered his hand.
"Can we still be friends?"
Rin looked at Akira's hand,then slowly shook it.
"I don't know,"Rin answered honestly. "But we can try."
Akira nodded.
Then the two of them sat there,in a silence that no longer felt heavy.
Just tired.