"My ass isn’t lazy! My ass is efficient! There’s a difference!"

"Your ass is about to be left behind if you don’t move in the next thirty seconds."

Jordan groaned but hauled himself vertical. "Fine. But when I die in there, I want everyone to remember I called this a bad idea."

"You call everything a bad idea," Belle pointed out.

"Because everything is!"

We filed into the locker area to gear up. The tactical suits were standard academy issue at this level—form-fitting black composite material with reinforced plating at vital areas. My suit actually fit now instead of straining across my stomach and pulling tight at the thighs. Another visible marker of how much my body had changed.

I pulled the suit on and sealed the front closure. The material conformed to my new shape perfectly, highlighting the broader shoulders and narrower waist. In the mirror, I looked like someone who belonged here. Someone who could actually survive what was coming.

Three weeks ago, that mirror showed a soft kid playing dress-up.

Now it showed a hunter.

Still a weak hunter by academy standards. Still bottom half of the rankings. But improving fast enough that people noticed. Blair noticed. Charles noticed. Even Dr. Cross noticed, based on that comment about my physical improvement.

The attention was both validating and terrifying.

"Monroe!" Misato’s voice echoed from the main chamber. "Move it!"

I grabbed my spear from the weapons rack and jogged out to join the others.

The simulation bay was impressive as hell. Sixty feet of vertical clearance, projection nodes covering every surface, and enough computing power to render reality so convincingly that your brain forgot it wasn’t real.

Sato sat in the control booth, his tired eyes tracking our movements. "You’re running Scenario Fourteen. Forest biome, wolf pack, environmental hazards enabled. Good luck."

Misato positioned us in formation. "Same as Friday. Naomi point, Belle and Jordan flanks, Monroe center rear. I’m floating support."

"What’s different from Friday?" Belle checked her crossbow, loading a fresh bolt.

"These wolves hunt smarter. They’ll test our formation, probe for weak spots, try to isolate targets." Misato’s expression was grim. "And unlike Crawlers, wolves coordinate without needing an alpha."

"Great," Jordan muttered. "Smart murder dogs. My favorite."

The chamber lights dimmed. Projection nodes hummed to life.

Reality dissolved.

The forest materialized around us with jarring completeness.

Massive trees erupted from nothing, their trunks thick as cars and their branches spreading overhead to create a dense canopy that filtered the simulated sunlight into green-gold fragments. Undergrowth exploded across the ground—ferns, bushes, patches of moss that glowed faintly with bioluminescence. The air shifted from sterile chamber coolness to humid forest warmth, carrying smells of earth and rotting vegetation.

My tactical suit adjusted automatically, the temperature regulation kicking in to compensate.

Jordan spun in a slow circle. "I hate how real this feels."

"That’s the point." Belle’s eyes scanned the treeline. "Detection active. I’ve got... nothing yet. Range is only fifteen meters without the buff."

Naomi hefted her staff. "Formation?"

"Diamond." Misato created two clones that spread out to our flanks. "We move slow. Call everything you see."

We advanced into the forest. The undergrowth crunched beneath our boots, and somewhere in the distance, water ran over rocks. Birds called from the canopy. Insects buzzed past my head.

My Treasure Sense pinged faintly. Something valuable ahead and to the left. Probably a chest or loot cache.

"Contact," Belle said quietly. "Six signatures. Thirty meters, moving parallel to our position."

The wolves were flanking us already. Testing our awareness.

"Hold formation," Misato ordered. "Let them come to us."

Sixty seconds of silence followed. The only sounds were our breathing and the ambient forest noise.

Then the attack came from above.

Three wolves dropped from the branches overhead, massive grey beasts with fangs like daggers. They hit the ground in perfect sync, already mid-leap toward our cluster.

Naomi’s staff swept in a wide arc, blue-white energy crackling along its length. She caught the lead wolf in the ribs and sent it flying backward into a tree trunk with a sickening crunch.

Jordan’s shadows exploded outward, grabbing two more wolves mid-air and slamming them together hard enough that I heard bones crack.

Belle fired three rapid shots, each bolt finding a target. Not kills, but enough to stagger the creatures.

More wolves poured from the undergrowth. Eight. Ten. Twelve.

"Formation’s breaking!" Misato shouted. "Tighten up!"

I raised my spear as a wolf charged directly at me, its yellow eyes locked onto mine with predatory focus. At the last second, I sidestepped and drove the blade down into its spine. The creature collapsed with a yelp, and my tactical suit registered the kill.

Another wolf came from my right. I pivoted and fired a Wave Motion blast point-blank. The golden spiral caught the creature in the chest and sent it tumbling backward in a spray of blood and fur.

My stamina dropped maybe ten percent. The Bronze upgrade was working perfectly.

"Jordan!" Belle’s voice cut through the chaos. "Three more coming from your six!"

Shadows whipped around Jordan like living weapons, forming a barrier that caught all three wolves mid-leap. He held them suspended for five seconds before his concentration broke and they crashed down.

Naomi finished them with a sustained beam that turned the air to scorching heat. The wolves didn’t even have time to scream.

"Count!" Misato barked.

"Nineteen down," Belle reported. "But I’m still detecting movement. At least six more."

The remaining wolves didn’t charge. They circled at the edge of our visual range, yellow eyes glowing in the shadows.

Smart. They’d learned that direct assault got them killed.

"They’re regrouping," I said. "Testing our stamina."

"Good eye." Misato scanned the treeline. "Belle, can you pinpoint them?"

"North. Northwest. East. They’re spreading out. Trying to surround us."

"Monroe." Misato looked at me. "How’s your stamina?"

"Seventy percent. I can go another six shots easy."

Her eyebrow raised slightly. "Six?"

"Bronze rank." I grinned. "Better efficiency."

Something flickered across her expression. Surprise, maybe. Or approval.

"Good. You’re on overwatch. Jordan, keep the shadows extended. Belle, call positions. Naomi, conserve your energy. We don’t know what’s coming."