Mid-morning sun filtered through the thin clouds as cadets filed into the outer ridges of Training Sector 3 — a rocky, semi-wild perimeter used for practical tracking and terrain adaptation lessons.
Today's objective: follow a marked trail, identify signs of low-level beast activity, and avoid simulated traps set by instructors.
Kael walked near the back of his group, quiet as usual.
Feyla glanced over her shoulder. "You okay?"
He nodded. "Just thinking."
She didn't press.
Instructor Arvan stood at the trailhead, his synthetic jaw glinting in the light.
"You'll break into pairs," he said. "You've got forty-five minutes. Your maps are disabled. This test is about instinct. Eyes up. Heads down."
Kael was partnered with Tarrus again — the same muscle-built cadet from sparring.
The grunt sighed loudly. "Great. Me and the Blank."
Kael ignored him.
As they set off into the brush, Kael kept his eyes moving.
Signs appeared in subtle patterns: trampled soil, displaced rocks, dried-out claw tracks.
He stopped beside a tree, touching a faint gouge near its base.
"Beast scraped this," he muttered.
Tarrus scoffed. "That's a wind tear. You don't even know what you're looking at."
Kael didn't argue.
He moved forward. Then froze.
Just past the next ridge, a camouflaged metal disc sat half-buried under leaves — one of the instructor's mock traps.
He pointed. "Trap plate. Pressure-triggered."
Tarrus blinked. "…You saw that?"
Kael stepped around it. "Don't step left."
[New Challenge Detected: Outwit a Challenger]
Objective: Outsmart a peer in real-time field test
Reward: Bonus XP
Kael felt the flicker of the system kick in — a soft hum in the back of his skull.
Tarrus continued blundering forward until Kael grabbed his arm and yanked him back just as his boot was about to press another hidden trigger.
Click.
A net fired upward and tangled around a branch, missing them by inches.
Tarrus stumbled back, eyes wide. "You— You saw that, too?"
Kael shrugged. "You should stay behind me."
They completed the course in under 30 minutes — first to return.
Instructor Arvan raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
Just handed them two water flasks and nodded once.
Later, back in the dorm hallway, Kael leaned against the wall near his room, catching his breath.
The HUD blinked alive again.
[Challenge Complete]
Outwit a Challenger – SUCCESS
EXP Gained: 100
Level 1 Reached
120 EXP until Level 2
"Not bad," Nathan said.
"Tracking, deduction, restraint — all good inputs. You just earned your first level."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You're running me like a game now?"
"Not a game. A system. Humans need thresholds to chase. So I gave you some."
"Complete quests. Beat challenges. Learn. Evolve. You gain experience."
"You level up. And I help you sharpen everything."
Kael stared at his hand, then back at the data.
Level 1.
That meant he was just getting started.