Morning came painted in gold and glass. The Capitol never slept; it only shifted colors.
Vince stepped into the training hall and felt eyes on him immediately.
Tributes from every district moved across the floor — sparring, climbing, aiming, pretending not to be terrified. It was a battlefield disguised as a gym.
Katniss stayed close, her gaze sharp and calculating. She looked like someone trying to memorize every possible threat. Vince admired that. Fear didn't rule her — focus did.
The System flickered in the corner of his eye.
Quest Started — "Assess Competitors"
Reward: Strategic Insight +1
He ignored it. He'd stopped caring about the points. They were a reminder that something was always watching.
At the knife station, Vince picked up a blade, feeling its weight settle naturally into his hand. He wasn't an expert, but the body he'd inherited moved like it remembered hard work — mining, lifting, surviving.
"District Twelve's got fight, huh?" drawled a tall boy from District Two. His smirk was all arrogance and polish.
"District Twelve's got hunger," Vince said, and threw the knife. It sank dead-center into the target.
The room went quiet for half a breath. Then noise returned — steel clanging, trainers barking orders — but the tension lingered. Vince caught the faintest flash of approval in Haymitch's reflection from the viewing balcony.
Katniss approached after a while, her bow slung over one shoulder. "You're good," she said.
"Lucky," he replied.
"Luck doesn't stick knives that straight."
He smiled faintly. "Guess I'm learning fast."
She hesitated, then nodded once. "Keep learning."
When she walked away, the System chimed softly.
Social Bond Increased — Katniss Everdeen +3
He exhaled sharply. "Stop turning people into stats."
Observation acknowledged.
He froze. The text had come with an undertone — like it had heard him again.
He rubbed his temple. Maybe I'm losing it.
But no. This was real. Everything was. The blood, the air, the ache in his arms. He wasn't a visitor in a simulation anymore.
He was part of it.