[CRACK–BOOOOM!!]
The sound of a powerful shot tore through the forest. Several trees now had fist-sized holes punched clean through their trunks in a perfectly straight line.
At the start of that line sat an unmanned black sniper rifle with sharp red line, mounted on the ground.
Nearby, William clutched his shoulder, writhing in pain. The recoil was so brutal it rattled his mind, leaving him nauseous.
His thoughts screamed:
'What the hell?! This recoil is insane! How am I even supposed to use this gun?'
He had found a quiet place to test the rifle, but now he regretted ever listening to the dwarf's advice. He couldn't even fire the weapon properly.
Then, far off in the distance, an explosion echoed, followed by a shout.
Jack had arrived, and the thought sent another wave of anxiety crashing over William.
'Should I just run away?' he wondered.
Sitting on the ground, head in his hands, his mood sank lower and lower.
'Who am I kidding? Where else could I even go? The deeper I head into the forest, the more monsters there will be.'
More explosions rumbled through the forest.
'Maybe I should just face Jack head-on… Let him knock me out quickly and be done with it.'
After cycling through a handful of reckless ideas, William finally forced himself to act. He grabbed the rifle and started running toward the sound of the blasts.
High on a tree branch, Jack scanned the forest. After knocking out the mage, he was already hunting his next target.
'I could go for William, but that's too easy. Vex is hiding somewhere… I'll have to drag her out.'
"Fine by me," Jack muttered with a smirk. A burning red aura erupted from his body.
He dropped from the branch and slammed into the ground. The aura spread, bleeding into the dirt, trees, and rocks around him.
Deep underground, Vex felt the wave pass over her, a cold shiver running through her body. She shot out of hiding, trying to flee—too late. Something closed in on her at incredible speed.
"I'm dead," she whispered just before a fist smashed into her face, sending her crashing through trees.
Jack stepped forward. "Get up. I know you're not finished. Come at me with everything you've got, and I'll make this quick."
For a moment, silence. Then, from the rubble, two daggers flew toward Jack's eyes.
He swatted them away with a casual swing of his fist.
But Vex didn't follow up. No movement came from the debris.
Then one of the swatted daggers twitched. Its blade turned toward Jack's neck and shot forward.
Jack reached for it, but the weapon vanished mid-air like it had never existed.
In the next blink, it reappeared—this time inches from his throat. Jack sidestepped, letting the blade whistle past.
But in the path of his dodge, Vex appeared, dagger in hand, thrusting for his eye.
Jack caught the weapon with one hand and swung the other for her chin.
She vanished, dissolving into thin air before the blow landed.
The entire exchange lasted less than a second.
Jack stayed still, waiting for her next strike.
In the next moment, Vex reappeared right in front of him. No trickery this time. She charged straight on, her dagger glowing a deep grey.
She thrust hard, aiming for his face. Jack caught her wrist to stop it.
But her form split in two—one ducking toward his left side, the other lunging at his right.
"Heh." Jack grinned. With a sudden burst of speed, he was instantly in front of both copies. His fists slammed into their stomachs, hurling them back.
Vex merged again, rolling across the ground unconscious.
"Stop pretending," Jack warned. "Next time, I won't hold back."
At that, Vex leapt up again, daggers in hand, glaring at him.
Their standoff broke when a supersonic bullet tore past Jack's head. He hadn't even moved. William had missed.
"Finally brave enough to shoot?" Jack muttered, glancing toward the source.
Meanwhile, William was on the ground, clutching his shoulder in pain from the recoil.
Jack sighed. "Now, where were we?"
He turned back to Vex—only to see her fleeing.
Jack prepared to chase, but then a storm of mana rained from the sky. The mage's spells were back, dozens of red projectiles screaming down.
[BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!]
When the dust cleared, the area around Jack was a ten-yard crater of ash.
"Hahahaha!"
Jack stood at its center, laughing.
He bent his knees and leapt. The ground shattered from the force, leaving an even larger crater than the mage's spell barrage.
Blitzing through the forest, he appeared beside Vex, knocked her flat with a single punch, and grabbed her unconscious body.
Then he found William. One punch. Down.
The mage next. Same treatment.
He tied all three to a tree, dangling by ropes, and walked away.
"Next time, come up with a better plan to beat me. Hahaha!"
With that, he left.
***
Time passed.
William woke with a hazy mind, dangling in the air. He struggled to remember how he got there.
A sting of heat broke through his fog. He looked down. A campfire burned beneath his feet.
"What the hell is this?!"
He thrashed, swinging side to side to escape the flames.
Then he spotted the mage and Vex, both sitting calmly by the fire.
"Hey! Can you help me down?"
Without looking up, Vex flicked a dagger. It sliced the rope above him.
William crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
Groaning, he wriggled out of the rope, faced them, and asked, "What happened?"
"We lost. Obviously. Didn't stand a chance." Vex stretched her arms like it was nothing.
"Then what now?"
"We keep throwing ourselves at Captain Jack until somebody manages to land a real hit. That's when the test ends."
She smirked. "Not that it matters. The guy decides when he feels like letting one through."
"That's… not fair."
Vex gave a lazy chuckle. "Fair? Welcome to Unit Zero, rookie."
"So we just keep fighting him until we hit him?" William pressed.
"Nope. When Jack calls off, the test ends. Until then, we get smacked around."
"Is this really how Unit Zero trains?"
"More or less."
"AHHHHH!" The mage suddenly screamed, clutching her head. "I worked so hard on my orbital magic, and he just ate it like nothing!"
William blinked, startled.
"Don't mind her," Vex said with a yawn. "She blows up like that all the time."
"So what now?"
"Rest. Heal. Get beaten. Do it all over again." She counted lazily on her fingers.
"Shouldn't we at least make a plan?" William asked.
"Why bother? Without Viktor, we're screwed either way."
"So you'd rather take a beating than fight back?"
Vex froze for a moment, his words cutting through her indifference. Then she shrugged, turned her back, and lay down.
With nothing else to do, William sat by the fire, healed his wounds, and fell into thought, clutching his rifle.
***
Ten minutes later, Jack's voice echoed through the forest.
"ROUND TWO!"
Vex slipped into the shadows of the trees. The mage stayed in place, tracing a glowing circle on the ground.
"Maybe we should work together this time?" William asked, clutching his rifle.
"Fine," she said without looking up. "Just don't complain if you get caught in my attacks."
"How should I call you?" he pressed.
"Solis," she said, eyes fixed on her spell.
William climbed a tree and set up his sniper.
Moments later, beams of red light shot skyward from Solis's circle, followed by explosions rumbling in the distance.
Seconds later, Jack came crashing down, flames burning around his body. He struck the ground with a shockwave that shattered branches and hurled debris everywhere.
William was flung from his perch and pinned under a boulder before he could even fire.
Vex appeared behind Jack, daggers aimed at his back, but he backhanded her aside, sending her crashing through the trees.
Solis unleashed another chain of blasts, but Jack charged through them, grabbed her face, and slammed her into the dirt.
Round Two ended before William managed to crawl out from under the rubble.
Later, the three sat around the fire, beaten and silent.
"Couldn't we just run and hide?" William asked.
"You could," Vex said flatly. "But when he found you—and he would—Captain Jack would hit even harder."
Round Three
They tried teamwork. Solis bombarded Jack with explosions. Vex darted in close. William fired support shots.
But his aim was sloppy, and his trigger finger too slow.
Jack moved faster, smashing Vex into the ground before knocking Solis unconscious. William barely reloaded before Jack's fist sent him sprawling.
When William woke, Solis was glaring down at him.
"You're dead weight," she said. "Start practicing that rifle, or you'll never survive."
Round Four
William collapsed before the fight even began. The strain of firing the sniper had wrecked his body, and the pain was too much.
Vex and Solis fought alone. Illusions and magic slowed Jack for a moment, but he still put them down with ease.
Afterward, they left William alone, telling him to either join the fight or practice on his own.
Round Five
This time, William focused only on the rifle while the others fought.
Pull. Brace. Fire. Again and again. His shoulder bruised, his arms shook, and every breath burned, but he refused to stop.
Jack laughed between rounds. "You think that toy can hurt me?!"
William ignored him and kept firing.
Rounds Six, Seven, Eight, Nine…
Days passed in the same cycle: fight, lose, recover, fight again.
Solis pushed her magic until blood ran from her nose. Vex filled the forest with illusions. William fired until his arms went numb.
Jack crushed them every time. Sometimes he even let them think they had a chance, only to blitz forward and end it in an instant.
But William improved, bit by bit. Two shots before the recoil dropped him. Then three. His body ached constantly, but he was adapting.
Still, they never won.
Finally, an owl perched above them and spoke in a clear voice.
"Captain Jack, the Marshal has summoned you. Your presence is required."
Jack stood holding Vex by the neck. Solis and William lay unconscious nearby.
"Understood," Jack said, tossing Vex aside. "I'll go."
The owl added, "Also, bring William. Dr. Lenny wants to see him."