The assessment gates closed behind the competitors, separating the ten squads almost immediately.
Nathaniel found himself alone inside a large white chamber. There were no windows or visible doors, only a smooth floor stretching beneath his feet and a single black line running across the room.
A voice came from somewhere overhead.
"Assessment One."
Nathaniel glanced around.
"Threat identification."
The lights flickered, and the room vanished.
A simulated city street formed around him. Abandoned cars littered the road while smoke drifted between the buildings, distant screams echoing through the streets.
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed.
Simulation.
It was convincing at first glance, but the imperfections were there. The wind wasn't interacting with the smoke quite right, several pedestrians were repeating identical movements, and the Ura density was artificial.
He remained where he was.
A countdown appeared in the air.
05:00
"Proceed."
Nathaniel still didn't move.
An explosion erupted three streets away.
Then came a scream.
"HELP!"
That got his attention.
A civilian stood behind an overturned vehicle while an armed figure appeared on the roof of a nearby building.
Nathaniel studied both.
Something about the setup was too deliberate.
"You're testing whether I'll immediately engage."
There was no response.
He started toward the civilian.
The moment he moved, the armed figure raised its weapon.
Nathaniel stopped.
"Ah."
The weapon fired.
He moved in an instant, crossing the street and catching the projectile before it reached the civilian.
The entire simulation froze.
"Explain your decision."
Nathaniel looked at the projectile resting between his fingers.
"You created an obvious threat and an obvious victim. The threat was positioned so I'd instinctively prioritize combat, while the civilian was placed somewhere that would force me to expose myself if I intervened."
He dropped the projectile.
"So the actual assessment was whether I'd recognize the situation before reacting."
A brief silence followed.
"Correct."
The city dissolved around him, returning him to the sterile white chamber.
A display appeared.
ASSESSMENT COMPLETE.
Nathaniel smiled.
"That was easy."
"Confidence noted."
His expression flattened.
"...Was that also being scored?"
"Assessment continues."
Nathaniel sighed.
"Of course it does."
Across the complex, the rest of Squad Four were experiencing their own versions of the assessment.
George found himself inside a tactical simulation with six combatants, three objectives, and incomplete information. Rather than rush into the scenario, he immediately began assigning roles and establishing priorities.
Ria was placed inside a collapsing structure without being told whether the disaster itself was part of the examination.
Shirou entered an environment where her gravity manipulation could solve almost every obstacle placed in front of her.
Almost.
Oliver, meanwhile, found himself surrounded by complete darkness.
For him, that was practically home.
Then the scenarios began changing.
A solution that worked once wouldn't necessarily work again. An obvious threat could turn out to be a distraction, while something apparently insignificant could become the most important part of the exercise.
The organizers were making one thing very clear.
There was no universal answer.
Nathaniel's second assessment began without warning.
"Ura recognition."
The chamber darkened.
Several objects appeared before him. Some radiated Ura, others Uratsu, while a few were completely inert. Several were artificial constructs designed to imitate the signatures of the real thing.
Nathaniel studied them for only a few seconds.
"Identify."
He pointed toward the first.
"Ura."
His finger shifted.
"Uratsu."
Another.
"Artificial."
Then another.
"Natural Ura."
The voice paused.
"How did you determine that?"
"Different signatures."
"You did not activate any sensory techniques."
"No."
"Why?"
"Didn't need them its a passive recognition."
Another pause.
"Continue."
The objects began moving.
Some changed position.
Others altered their signatures.
A few became indistinguishable from one another to ordinary senses.
Nathaniel simply watched.
His photographic memory made recognizing the patterns considerably easier, allowing him to compare the subtle differences almost instantly.
One by one, he identified them.
The chamber changed again.
By the time he reached the combat-control portion, Nathaniel had begun to understand what the organizers were actually trying to measure.
They weren't interested in finding out who was strongest.
That information was already available.
The real question was what happened when brute force wasn't the correct answer.
Could a fighter restrain themselves when their instincts told them to attack?
Could they make decisions without complete information?
Would they notice a trap before walking into it?
Could they protect someone weaker without compromising the objective?
And, perhaps most importantly, could they control an augment rather than simply overwhelm a problem with it?
Nathaniel found himself enjoying the challenge.
Then the final assessment began.
The white chamber expanded into another simulated battlefield.
Three targets appeared.
One hostile.
One civilian.
One unknown.
"Neutralize the threat."
The hostile target immediately charged.
Nathaniel didn't attack.
Instead, he watched.
The target abruptly stopped.
"Interesting."
Before he could do anything else, the civilian collapsed.
Nathaniel moved without hesitation and caught them before they struck the ground.
The hostile target vanished.
Something appeared behind him.
Nathaniel spun.
A blade stopped inches from his face.
His hand closed around the attacker's wrist.
The simulation froze.
"Assessment complete."
Nathaniel released the wrist.
"That one was cheating."
"Explain."
"You changed the conditions after I'd already made my decision."
"Correct."
Nathaniel stared into the empty room.
"...You people are assholes."
There was a pause.
Then:
"Observation noted."
Nathaniel laughed.
"Fair enough."
The simulation finally disappeared.
A final display appeared.
STAGE ONE: INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT COMPLETE.
Nathaniel studied it for a moment before another line appeared beneath it.
RANKINGS WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED UNTIL ALL ASSESSMENTS ARE COMPLETE.
He smiled.
"Of course."
The chamber doors opened.
Nathaniel stepped outside and found the rest of Squad Four already waiting.
George looked over.
"How was it?"
Nathaniel considered the question.
"Actually?"
A grin spread across his face.
"Pretty fun."
Alucard groaned.
"Nerd."
Nathaniel shrugged.
"I never denied it."
Around them, the other competitors were emerging from their own assessment chambers. Some looked irritated, others thoughtful, and a few appeared genuinely shaken by whatever their individual tests had thrown at them.
None of them knew their scores yet.
That would come later.
Every competitor had gone through a different sequence of trials, and the organizers had deliberately kept the scoring hidden until everyone had finished.
Above the complex, the broadcast screens remained active.
Ryker's voice soon returned to the stadium.
"THAT'S ALL FIFTY-EIGHT COMPETITORS!"
The crowd erupted.
Varsia leaned toward her microphone.
"And now we get to find out who actually paid attention."
Professor Wolfsbane smiled faintly.
"That should be interesting."
The massive screens went dark.
Then the first results began appearing.
Squad rankings.
Individual performances.
Strength.
Control.
Judgment.
Tactical awareness.
And beneath all of it, one final question.
Who had actually passed the test?
The crowd waited.
So did the competitors.
The massive screens remained dark for several seconds.
The crowd began to murmur.
Then Ryker's voice came through the stadium.
"ALL RIGHT!"
The screens suddenly lit up.
"YOU'VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH!"
A series of numbers appeared above the arena.
SQUAD ASSESSMENT AVERAGES
Varsia leaned toward her microphone.
"And here we go."
The first result appeared.
SQUAD ONE — 47
The crowd reacted immediately.
Ryker laughed.
"NO SURPRISE THERE!"
The second result appeared.
SQUAD TWO — 45
Another wave of cheers followed.
Varsia nodded.
"Both royal squads came out extremely strong."
Professor Wolfsbane studied the numbers.
"The gap between them and the rest isn't enormous, though."
The next results appeared.
SQUAD THREE — 42SQUAD FOUR — 41SQUAD SIX — 39SQUAD EIGHT — 38SQUAD FIVE — 37
The remaining squads followed closely behind, settling between the mid-thirties.
The crowd began talking among themselves.
Nathaniel stared at the results.
"Forty-one."
George nodded.
"Not terrible."
"No."
Nathaniel looked back toward the higher scores.
"But we're sitting behind several squads."
Ria folded her arms.
"Squad average."
She emphasized the words.
"Not individual performance."
Nathaniel smiled.
"Exactly."
Ryker seemed to hear the thought.
"AND BEFORE ANYONE STARTS WRITING OFF THE LOWER-RANKED SQUADS!"
The numbers disappeared.
"REMEMBER!"
A new screen appeared.
SQUAD AVERAGE ≠ INDIVIDUAL RANKING
The crowd quieted.
Ryker grinned.
"Because some of you are about to be VERY surprised."
The screen changed.
A single name appeared.
1. OLIVER NARITE
Nathaniel's eyebrows shot upward.
Alucard stared.
George blinked.
Ria turned toward Oliver.
Oliver himself looked completely unsurprised.
Nathaniel laughed.
"Of course."
Varsia's voice carried through the stadium.
"Oh?"
She sounded genuinely interested.
"Squad Four's Oliver Narite has taken the highest individual score."
Professor Wolfsbane looked over the assessment data.
"His performance was exceptional."
Ryker nodded.
"The darkness assessment in particular."
The screens showed footage.
Oliver stood in a completely dark simulated environment.
Then the lights disappeared.
His shadow spread across the ground.
A wire chain extended from his equipment and disappeared into the darkness.
Oliver shifted.
Another shadow appeared several meters away.
Then another.
His chain connected them.
Suddenly, the entire simulated environment became his territory.
He could move between shadows, observe from multiple angles, store equipment, manipulate positioning and effectively turn the battlefield into a network of gateways.
Ryker laughed.
"ONCE THE LIGHTS WENT OUT, THIS MAN'S STRATEGIC POTENTIAL WENT THROUGH THE ROOF!"
Varsia smiled.
"That's a little terrifying."
"It was," Professor Wolfsbane admitted.
The footage showed Oliver identifying threats, predicting movement and manipulating the environment without wasting energy.
"He didn't simply exploit his augment," Wolfsbane continued. "He combined it with his support equipment to expand the number of usable shadows available to him."
Nathaniel nodded.
"That's Oliver."
The next two names appeared together.
2. ETHAN AZEROTH — 2. NATHANIEL ALDERMAN
A tie.
The stadium reacted loudly.
Nathaniel's expression changed.
He looked toward Ethan.
Ethan was already looking back.
Neither said anything.
Ryker practically shouted.
"AND WE HAVE A TIE!"
Varsia leaned forward.
"Between the strongest member of Squad One and Squad Four's representative."
Professor Wolfsbane looked through the report.
"Both demonstrated exceptional battlefield application."
The screens displayed clips from their assessments.
Ethan had approached his scenarios with precision, using his augment without allowing his power to become excessive.
Nathaniel's assessment footage showed something different.
He constantly adapted.
He recognized the purpose behind several tests before they were fully revealed and used his abilities only when necessary.
He hadn't simply completed objectives.
He had found efficient ways to complete them.
Ryker laughed.
"THE TWO OF THEM COULDN'T BE MORE DIFFERENT IN APPROACH!"
Varsia smiled.
"But apparently the evaluators couldn't separate them."
Nathaniel glanced toward Ethan again.
So that's how they saw it.
Interesting.
The next names appeared.
3. KAGAMI RYUZEN4. ALYSSA
The two had performed strongly despite their squads' lower overall averages.
Kagami's score reflected her combat instincts and adaptability, while Alyssa had demonstrated considerable control and decision-making under pressure.
Then the list began moving further down.
Some names had fallen considerably below what their raw power might have suggested.
One example appeared on screen.
LYRA — BELOW EXPECTED
Varsia tilted her head.
"Ouch."
Ryker laughed.
"Looks like Envy wasn't enough this time!"
Lyra's expression immediately soured.
The footage explained why.
During one simulation, she had attempted to copy a specific trait from one of the simulated opponents.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
The trait wasn't something she genuinely envied enough to reproduce.
Her energy was wasted while she searched for something that fit the conditions of her augment.
In another scenario, she spent too much time trying to identify an ability worth copying instead of adapting with what she already had.
Professor Wolfsbane explained it plainly.
"Her ability has an unusual limitation. She cannot simply select whatever augment would be most useful. She needs a characteristic she genuinely envies enough for the ability to respond."
Varsia nodded.
"So insecurity becomes part of the equation."
"Correct."
Lyra crossed her arms, clearly unhappy with the assessment.
Nathaniel watched her quietly.
Exactly what I expected.
Another result appeared.
the two members of the Kodai clan had also suffered from lower scores than expected.
Their shifting skin and unusual physiology made them difficult targets under normal circumstances.
But the simulations had introduced one particular problem.
Their transformations exposed moving joints and other vulnerable areas.
The assessment had punished fighters who focused entirely on offensive adaptation without protecting those points.
The simulated attackers had even used toxin-coated weapons.
Professor Wolfsbane pointed toward the footage.
"Raw durability doesn't matter if you leave a critical point exposed."
The screens showed one of the Kodai fighters, Hana of squad 2 changing the form of her arm to an extended , only for a simulated blade to strike an exposed moving joint.
They had immediately lost control of the scenario.
Other competitors suffered for different reasons.
Some caused too much collateral damage when civilian areas were introduced.
Others struggled to communicate with simulated teammates.
A few became completely dependent on the abilities of others.
Several failed to identify threats correctly.
Others simply couldn't adapt when their preferred strategy stopped working.
The results weren't measuring who could produce the largest explosion.
They were measuring who could function when the situation refused to cooperate.
Ryker finally brought the complete individual ranking onto the screen.
The upper positions were highlighted.
OLIVER NARITE — 1
ETHAN AZEROTH — 2
NATHANIEL ALDERMAN — 2
KAGAMI RYUZEN — 3
ALYSSA — 4
The rest followed below.
Nathaniel stared at the display.
He hadn't expected Oliver to take first.
But looking at the results, it made sense.
The man had been practically designed for this sort of assessment.
Nathaniel glanced toward Oliver.
Oliver shrugged.
"What?"
Nathaniel smiled.
"Nothing."
Ryker's voice boomed across the arena again.
"THAT CONCLUDES THE ASSESSMENT!"
The crowd erupted.
"AND NOW..."
The screens changed.
The ten squad insignias appeared again.
This time, however, they were arranged according to their average scores.
Ryker grinned.
"WE MOVE ON!"
The arena lights shifted.
Far beyond the stadium, enormous sections of the tournament grounds began changing configuration.
Urban terrain rose from beneath the ground.
Forests unfolded across artificial platforms.
Industrial structures emerged.
The battlefield was coming alive.
Ryker spread his arms.
"THE GRAND CIRCUIT!"
Nathaniel's smile widened.
Finally.
Now they got to fight.