Virtual Test

[In this situation, you may only take down one of the two enemy groups. Which group will give you more points?]

[A: Striders]

[B: Wraiths]

Oren knew the answer immediately. If there were five striders, defeating them would grant 25 points, while the two wraiths would only give 20 points. Oren selected the correct answer, [Striders], expecting some sort of feedback. However, there was no such response from the system, neither negative nor positive. All that happened was that the reality shifted to a different scenario, and the system asked another question. This cycle went on for about an hour, with Oren answering questions about positioning, maximum point gain, optimal attack pathing, and so on.

Oren answered what he thought to be the last question. After he'd given his answer, the system began to scroll text.

[Thank you. Please take off your—]

The text began to glitch, and the message suddenly disappeared. The scenario around Oren began to change once again. This time, he was in a cave, a very real cave. His viewpoint was forcefully stuck to stare at the darker depths of of the cave. There was utter silence, and Oren felt an heavy dread come over him. Then, another question appeared before him.

[Do you know what you did?]

[Yes]

[No]

Before Oren could answer, the question disappeared and another took its place.

[Do you know who we are?]

[Yes]

[No]

This time, Oren was given time to select an answer. Oren had no clue what was going on. It couldn't be a part of the test could it? But he knew that this was far too ominous to be. What the hell happened? Oren had the urge to simply take the VR helmet off, but his curiosity got the better of him. He selected [No].

[You will. You WILL. YOU WILL]

Then, Oren's ears filled with static as the image of the cave's entrance began to blur. Faintly, he could make out arms within the darkness. Hands were grabbing and pulling at the air, reaching out to him. No, reaching out for him. The system sent a message again.

[youwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpayyouwillpay]

Then, just as quickly as the message came, it disappeared, giving way to a blank screen with a rotating logo. The logo was an upside down city, with a sword striking down through the middle of it. The words "All Will Remember" curve at the bottom of the icon.

Before Oren could take off the helmet, he found that someone was doing it for him. What he found was a very concerned group of staff members, and an empty gym. How long had he been in the VR. It hadn't felt like a long time, but maybe the odd event at the end had distorted his perception. One of the staff members looked at him carefully in the eyes, seemingly making sure that everything was fine. 

Another one came up to him, looking back and forth between her tablet and Oren.

"Mr. Astor, I am very sorry that you experienced that. It seems there was a security breach within our system. Do not worry, your evaluation has still been recorded, and everything is fine."

Oren sighed in relief. He didn't think that it was anything supernatural, but it was good to be certain.

"However, seeing as this is a security breach of the highest order, we ask that you refrain from telling anyone about the things you have seen."

Though Oren didn't exactly understand why what had happened needed to be kept secret, he simply obliged and left the gym. Still, a shiver ran down his spine, and he knew deep down that the logo, whoever they are, were important.

The words ran through his mind. "All Will Remember", "You Will Pay". Somehow, he felt, that those word would turn out to be very true. 

Oren exited the gym to find Elia waiting for him. 

"You alright, Oren? You look a little shaken up."

"Yeah. I'm fine. I think the VR just made me a little sick. Anyway, thanks for waiting for me." 

"No worries. Jules and Loran were here too, but you took way too long, so they went ahead to get food. I wasn't hungry so…I stayed and waited for you." Oren didn't know if it was his brain playing tricks on him, but he could've sword that he saw her blush, even just for a second. 

He smiled and said, "Thank you." And the two made their way to the cafeteria.

~

Sage Sampson and Penny Hathaway sat comfortably on a loveseat in Coach Ecker's office. Hathaway was staring mindlessly at the ceiling, and Sage was relaxing, solving and unsolving a puzzle cube. Feeling the awkwardness of the room, Hathaway spoke up.

"Hey Arnie, what do you think David needs us for?" She asked.

Sage sighed and looked at her, slightly annoyed. "Penny, my name is Sage. Please call me Sage." 

"Isn't Sage just your title though? As the Green Spectrum Diver?" 

"Well yeah, but it's still a name, and I chose it. It's much cooler than 'Arnie Quill'."

"But your parents gave you that name. You're just gonna forget about it?"

"If they wanted me to keep it, they would've chosen something cooler." 

Hathaway rolled her eyes as far as she could. "You know, sometimes I forget you're a teenager, and then you say dumb things like that and it becomes very clear." 

"At least I'm not old like you and Coach Ecker."

Hathaway scoffed. "Don't let David hear you saying that. And anyway, weren't you stuttering and acting all sheepish when you introduced yourself to that crowd?"

"Sh-shut up!" Sage replied, voice cracking as if on cue. 

Coach Ecker then walked into the room. He had a visible vein on his forehead and frown on his face. 

"Everything alright, David?" Hathaway asked.

"Stupid things. There was a cyber-security breach, meaning that we have to get all the tech checked. Thankfully, none of the Darcies are affected so we can move along with the final evaluation. Oh, and some asshole from Arlo Corporation is coming to watch over a sponsored trainee, so we have to accommodate him too." The venom in his voice was palpable.

"Which trainee?" Sage asked.

"Oren Astor." 

"Isn't he one of the ones we were supposed to look out for?"

"Yup. And he's also one of the reason's I asked to see both of you. See, the evaluations are coming in and it seems like our friend Oren Astor here is living up to his reputation, but so is Carter Lovecraft."

Coach Ecker pressed a button on his desk, which displayed a hologram of the preliminary rankings. He selected the top five ranks.

[1- Carter Lovecraft - 285 pts]

[2- Oren Astor - 223 pts]

[3- Jung-Ah Park - 220 pts]

[4- Elia Whitehall - 210 pts]

[5- Kyrie Jackson - 207 pts]

Hathaway whistled, and Sage looked on in awe. 

"Carter Lovecraft has that many points? That's ridiculous." Sage exclaimed.

"According to the reports, he did damn near perfectly on every single evaluation. He's strong, agile, and has great game knowledge."

"Why is the gap between Carter and Oren so large?" asked Hathaway.

"Because, despite Oren being of similar strength to Carter with higher agility, the man has no idea how to fight with his hands. Carter knocked the poor kid out in less than two minutes. The video is actually very entertaining, I'll show you later." 

"But how is he with his weapon?" Sage was taking his own notes now, jotting down things to look out for.

"We don't know yet. Considering a company as large as Arlo Corporation is sponsoring him, I'd have to imagine he's pretty amazing with whatever he fights with."

"You know, that's funny. If Carter is so good, why didn't he get a sponsor?" 

Hathaway's question was a good one, but Coach Ecker didn't have an answer, so he simply shrugged it off. 

"Look. Tomorrow is possibly the most important evaluation. It is the true test of whether someone is going to be able to handle Qualifying Class, let alone Second class. If they can't use a Darcy, they can't succeed."