Once Eli's test was over, it was finally Ava and Lila's turn. The guard waved Ava forward first, his stare settling a moment on the cruel, tapered claws she wore as condolences on her hands.
"Well, well, assassin-y type, are we? Interesting. Your challenge will be to eradicate indicated targets in a fast-moving environment. The targets will mimic moving enemies, some evading, some hiding. The objective is straightforward: knock them all down before the timer zaps out. Think you can handle that?" The guard smirked.
"Handle that?" Ava laughed, flexing her fingers so that her claws gleamed under the harsh lights. "Oh, baby, I was born for this."
Ava settled into her place in a simulated arena — a complicated maze of holographic targets that looked like soldiers. As the countdown started, Ava's breathing slackened, her focus tightening like a predator trailing its quarry.
Three… Two… One… Start!
The first target showed up at the far end of the maze, sprinting like hell to avoid capture. Ava rushed toward it at lightning speed, her claws ripping through the air. The hologram exploded into pixels with a sharp swipe. The system registered her hit and reset the challenge. Targets started popping up at the same time and scurrying through walls and obstacles. Ava jumped from a ledge, slicing through one target in the air before doing a flip and dropping silently behind another.
She sliced through each hologram she saw with unnerving fluidity, her claws cutting through like wheat. She ducked, rolled and climbed as targets fired simulated shots, but none grazed her. In 90 seconds, she wiped out all the targets, her claws spattered with the holographic detritus of her enemies.
The guard stared, stunned. "That's… impossible. You obliterated the whole simulation in record time." He looked down at his tablet, where Ava's score appeared in bright letters on the screen: *100 percent accuracy, completed in 90 seconds. *
Ava waved her claws dismissively. "What can I say? I don't miss. Make it harder next time."
Ava stepped aside and out of the shadows came Lila. Shy, but with a tangible determination in her blue eyes. She was colorblind, but there was no forgetting what she saw as the guard led her through the gun selection section of the store, guns lined up like toys in the children's section at a toy store. Lila rifled through the options, trusting her instincts until her eyes landed on a sniper rifle — a compact, fine-tuned weapon, radiating subtle power.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "A sniper, huh? Brave choice. Your test will be judged on accuracy, power, and timing. You'll be competing against a simulation with other recruits. Hit as many targets possible in the time allowed. Depending on how strong the user is, the sniper's weapon will also scale, so I hope you're ready."
Lila nodded wordlessly, gripping the sniper with steady hands. She entered the designated test zone — a sprawling outdoor simulation with moving targets, flying drones and distant goals.
The recruits lined up next to her, each taking a sniper. But Lila didn't care about the competition; she only had one thing on her mind: her own perfection. She calibrated the scope, fingers sliding along the slick skin of the rifle.
The countdown began.
Three… Two… One… Start!
Did the targets appear — some stationary, while others read the room, darting between obstacles hundreds of meters away? The recruits shot their weapons, and their shots were accurate but nothing special. Lila brought her breath under control, her eyes narrowing to a pinprick. She pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The rifle thundered with a deafening boom. The impact of her shot rocked the gun back in her hands, threatening to toss her off balance, but she kept her eye on the scope. The bullet blasted through the air like a rocket, smashing into the target and blowing it to pieces. The test area was lit by the flash of the impact, and shockwaves ripped through the surrounding area knocking nearby drones from the sky.
The other recruits froze, faces ashen with disbelief. The guard opened his eyes wide as the data appeared on his tablet: *Max power output achieved. *
Lila's sniper had obliterated the testing area's edge — a concrete wall that collapsed in pieces around the force of her shot. Dust and debris whirled through the simulation as Lila loaded her rifle to take another shot.
The guard rushed to break it up. "Stop! STOP! That sniper wasn't meant to be fired at that power level, repeatedly!"
Lila relaxed her aim, her expression cool and steady; the guard's eyes were wide with blind terror. "I didn't know it was weak."
"Th… That was unlike anything I've ever experien—" the guard stammered. You're done for today. You passed. Just—don't shoot again, all right?"
Lila nodded politely and turned back toward her team, the sniper rifle gripped tight, a smile just edging across her lips.
Ava and Lila rejoined Team Alpha as Axel cast a knowing glance. "You two really showed them what we can do."
Ava smirked. "What can I say? I love proving people wrong."
Lila didn't answer, but her posture said it all. Team Alpha stood with one another, brighter than any front, and prepared for the trials ahead.