The moment the test began, Gun's team moved like they had rehearsed it a hundred times.
They hadn't.
But that was the point.
They were supposed to look like they had.
Their island was small compared to the others, but it had enough broken stone, scattered trees, and rocky elevation to let them build something believable. Enough to make other teams think they understood what kind of team Gun's was.
Gun took the lead role immediately.
Not because he was leader in name.
Because he wanted everyone watching to think he was.
He carried himself like a strength-based fighter with no interest in subtlety. Big steps. Open posture. Blade visible. Direct movements. He gathered materials in broad daylight and let people see him doing it, making sure his actions looked like someone who believed power was the only answer.
Luna moved around them like a proper support. Not hiding, not overexposed either. Helping where she could. Healing little scrapes from climbing rocks, keeping watch, carrying materials from one place to another when needed. She looked useful in every direction without locking herself into a single role.
Jack, meanwhile, was the one struggling the most.
Not because he was bad.
Because he had to look like he wasn't doing too much.
He was supposed to seem like an information-based leader.
Which meant he had to scout, observe, and notice things without looking like he was scouting, observing, and noticing things.
It was harder than it sounded.
Gun watched him for a while and finally said, "You look weird."
Jack turned with a tired look. "I am aware."
Gun tossed him a piece of stone he had just pried loose from the island cliff. "Try looking less like you're trying."
Jack caught it and sighed. "That is not helpful."
"It is if you manage it."
Luna covered a laugh with her hand.
Gun smirked slightly, then went back to stacking materials.
By the end of the first day, their island was starting to look like a real base.
Not huge.
Not finished.
But enough.
A low stone wall. A crude shelter. Some supplies stored in the center. A few placed objects that made the whole thing look like a team had committed to holding ground there.
And while they worked, Jack kept moving around the island, gathering information on the terrain, the routes, the sight lines, and any possible ambush points.
He also had another assignment.
Team D.
Gun had told him to keep an eye on them from the beginning, and that task had not gotten any easier.
When Jack returned later that day, he looked visibly more serious.
Gun noticed instantly. "You got something."
Jack nodded once. "Team D is still acting strange."
Gun stopped moving.
"Go on."
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "They're still spread out. Still not close to each other. Still moving almost like they're from different teams."
Gun folded his arms.
Jack continued, "But they're not getting in each other's way. That's the part that's bothering me."
Luna looked up from where she had been sorting supplies. "What do you mean?"
"I mean they move like strangers," Jack said, "but they keep arriving where the others need them. It's like they know exactly where to be without having to talk."
Gun's expression sharpened.
"That again."
Jack nodded.
"I'm starting to think the commander class might have a communication ability."
Gun tapped a finger against his arm.
"Possible."
He stared out across the island for a moment.
If commanders could coordinate teams without visible communication, that would explain a lot.
Not enough.
But enough to note.
Gun gave a short nod. "Keep that in mind."
Jack leaned against the wall of the base. "There's also Team E."
Gun looked over at him. "The ones who watched instead of moving."
Jack nodded. "Yeah. I went looking. They're still active, but they haven't made any major plays."
Gun exhaled slowly.
"Good. Check them too."
Jack made to leave.
Then Gun suddenly said, "Wait."
Jack paused.
Gun's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Stay sharp."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
Gun looked away, voice lower now. "I felt someone watching us earlier."
Luna glanced up immediately.
Jack straightened. "Watching us how?"
"Not just another climber looking around," Gun said. "Someone studying us."
He looked toward the dark horizon beyond their island.
"That's why I sent you off so fast."
Jack went quiet for a second, then nodded.
"Got it."
He left again into the fading light.
Gun watched him go, then stood alone by the edge of the base for a moment, his thoughts turning over like gears.
If someone was watching them, that meant their mirroring strategy was already working.
Or someone had noticed something they should not have.
Either way, Gun liked it less than he wanted to admit.
Night fell over the test islands.
The sky darkened until the floating landmasses looked like fragments of a broken world drifting over a void.
Gun sat near the center of the base, checking the supplies and pretending to relax. Luna was nearby, resting after a long day. The island had settled into a tense silence.
Then Luna's expression changed.
She stood up slowly.
Gun looked at her. "What is it?"
She turned toward him, eyes sharp.
"I feel something."
Gun stood instantly.
"What kind of something?"
Luna shook her head. "Bad."
Gun's hand went to his sword. "Where?"
Before she could answer, distant movement echoed across the stone.
Boots.
Several pairs.
Gun's gaze lifted toward the entrance of the base.
Then he smiled.
"Of course."
Team A.
Strength-based, loud, confident, and apparently convinced that force solved everything.
Gun already knew what they were after.
The coin.
Or more specifically, the leader coin.
They didn't know who the leader was yet.
But they had a suspicion.
And that suspicion pointed toward Gun.
Luna's eyes narrowed. "They're coming straight here."
Gun turned away from the entrance and spoke calmly. "Good."
Luna blinked. "Good?"
Gun's grin sharpened.
"That means they took the bait."
By the time Team A reached the base, the trap was already waiting.
The Dustbreaker Tank walked in front, confident and heavy-footed, the Ignivar Knight behind him, and the Swiftgale Mage trailing with wind shifting around his hands. They moved like they expected resistance, but not real danger.
That was their mistake.
The moment the Tank stepped into the center of the base, the ground shifted under him.
A hidden wire snapped.
Stone markers slammed down from above and cut off the exit path.
The Mage looked up just in time to see Jack drop from a higher ledge with a blade already in motion.
"Now," Gun said.
He moved from the side of the base in a blur.
The Dustbreaker Tank turned too late.
Gun was already there.
[Avenger's Cut]
The dagger slid in from behind with deadly precision.
The Tank's eyes widened.
A single clean execution.
He dropped immediately.
The Knight froze for half a second, shocked that the strongest-looking member had fallen so fast.
That half-second cost him everything.
Jack's blade flashed.
[Thunder Bolt]
Lightning surged through the air as Jack launched forward with impossible speed. His sword cracked with electrical light as he struck the Mage first, blinding him in the instant before the hit landed. The wind user staggered, vision wrecked by the flash and body stunned by the speed of the assault.
"Can't see, can't cast," Jack muttered.
The Knight tried to charge Gun, but Gun had already closed distance.
The two of them hit the Knight at once.
Gun from the front.
Jack from the side.
The Knight blocked one hit, then got slammed by the other. He tried to create space, but Luna's support magic hit him at the worst possible moment, slowing his recovery just enough for Gun to force the opening wider.
Gun's sword came down hard.
Jack struck again from the blind side.
The Knight collapsed under the pressure.
The fight ended so fast it barely felt real.
One minute Team A had marched into the base as if they were taking it.
The next, they were sprawled across the floor in pieces of defeat.
Gun stood over the fallen Tank and looked down at the body.
"Strength-based team," he said quietly.
He glanced at Jack.
"Easy to read."
Jack wiped lightning from his blade and shrugged. "That trap worked better than I thought."
Luna exhaled slowly, her shoulders finally relaxing.
"That was fast."
Gun looked toward the entrance, where the silence had returned.
"Because they were predictable."
He crouched briefly and checked the fallen leader's coin.
Then he straightened.
"Pack it up. We're done for tonight."
The next morning, Jack went out early to scout Team E.
He returned later with a strange expression.
Gun noticed immediately. "What?"
Jack looked at him and shook his head.
"Team E's gone."
Gun frowned. "Gone?"
Jack nodded. "Wiped. No sign of a fight. No sign of survivors. Just… empty."
Luna stiffened. "By what?"
Jack spread his hands.
"Don't know."
Gun fell quiet.
That was worse than an enemy team.
Much worse.
If Team E had been erased without warning, then something else was moving on the board now.
Gun looked out over the island groups.
Now there were only three teams left.
Team A was broken.
Team E was gone.
That left the real game behind the test floor.
Gun's expression hardened.
"Alright."
Luna turned to him. "What now?"
Gun rested his hand on his sword.
"Now we find out who's hunting who."