Whispers spread through the hall after Supervisor Dain Corvel announced the group trial.
He let the noise last for a few moments before speaking again.
"The first examination requires teams of four or five members," he said. "You will form those teams yourselves."
That changed the mood in the hall at once.
People who had only looked nervous before now turned in every direction. Some stood up right away. Others began speaking to the nearest people without thinking.
Dain continued in the same calm voice.
"You have ten minutes. Any applicant who fails to join a complete team before the limit ends will be removed from the first examination."
A timer appeared above the stage.
10:00
It started counting down.
Ren clicked his tongue. "They really don't waste time."
Liora was already scanning the hall. "That's the point."
"For them, maybe."
"For us too," she said. "People show their real nature faster when they're rushed."
Arin remained seated and watched the room.
Some applicants were already calling out for members. Some tried to pull in the nearest faces. A few groups formed in seconds, but even from a distance they looked unstable.
Ren leaned toward Arin. "We're staying together, right?"
Ren pointed lightly between the three of them. "We've already talked more than most people in this hall. That's enough for me."
Liora gave a small nod. "Agreed."
Arin did not see a reason to object.
"Yes," he said.
Ren let out a breath. "Good. One problem solved."
"We still need two more," Liora said.
Arin looked across the room again.
He wanted people who would either think or listen.
Preferably both.
A boy approached from the left.
He looked around thirteen, with short black hair and sharp eyes. He stopped in front of them and asked directly, "You three forming a team?"
"Yes," Liora answered.
The boy gave a short nod. "Taren Mirk."
Ren introduced himself first, then Liora, then Arin.
Taren glanced over the three of them once. "What kind of plan?"
Ren blinked. "Straight to business."
"We only have ten minutes," Taren said.
That was true.
Liora answered first. "No fixed plan yet. We don't know the terrain."
Taren said, "Doesn't matter. We need points fast. If we move too slowly, other teams will take the easy ones first."
Ren looked at Arin. "He sounds cheerful."
Taren ignored him. "You still need one more?"
Liora nodded. "If you're joining."
Taren looked around the hall once, then back at them. "I'll join."
"That was fast," Ren said.
"You're calmer than most people here," Taren replied. "That's already enough."
Ren grinned. "I knew I looked trustworthy."
"No," Taren said. "You look less annoying than the others."
Ren paused. "I'll still take it."
Now they needed one more.
The timer kept falling.
08:14
This time Arin stood.
He looked across the hall more carefully. He ignored the loudest groups first. Then the ones already too messy. Then the ones pretending to look strong.
Near the far side of the hall, he noticed a girl standing beside a half-formed group. She looked around twelve. Her ash-brown hair was tied loosely behind her head. She was not speaking much.
She was mostly watching.
Arin noticed one more thing.
She was not rushing.
Then the group near her pulled in another member and filled their team. The girl stepped away without saying anything.
Arin walked over.
"Do you have a team?" he asked.
She looked at him quietly. "Not yet."
"We need one more."
Her eyes shifted past him for a moment toward Ren, Liora, and Taren.
Then she looked back at him.
"Do they shout a lot?"
Arin said, "One of them does."
That made her almost smile.
"Only one?"
"Usually."
She gave a small nod. "Mila Sern."
"Arin Solis."
She walked back with him without asking anything more.
Ren looked relieved when he saw them. "Good. I was starting to think we'd have to drag in somebody loud."
Mila stopped beside the group. "If that was the standard, you already did."
Ren put a hand over his chest. "That was unfair."
Liora looked at Mila and gave a small nod. "It was also accurate."
Ren sighed. "This team is becoming dangerous already."
Taren looked at the timer.
06:27
"We should confirm now," he said.
No one disagreed.
The five of them moved toward the confirmation pillars at the side of the hall. A few teams were already there. When their turn came, they stood before the pillar and let the system scan their temporary tags.
A soft tone sounded.
"Team formation confirmed. Five members. Team number: Thirteen."
A display opened above the pillar.
Team 13
Arin Solis
Ren Talvik
Liora Venn
Taren Mirk
Mila Sern
Ren looked up at it. "Team Thirteen."
Liora glanced at him. "It's just a number."
"It's an unlucky number."
"That sounds like your own problem."
Taren said, "Then don't make it unlucky."
Mila added, "Simple solution."
Ren looked between them. "I joined the wrong people."
Arin looked at the team list for one more second.
It was done.
Their team had formed.
Not far away, some applicants were still scrambling. A few looked like they had already run out of options. Others were trying to pull incomplete teams together at the last moment.
Then the timer reached zero.
A clear tone spread through the hall.
Dain's voice followed at once.
"Time."
The remaining noise died quickly.
Those who had failed to form full teams went still. Some looked angry. Some looked pale. Some just looked blank.
"The first examination is now closed to all incomplete teams," Dain said. "Those applicants will leave the hall immediately."
Staff moved in at once and guided them away.
The rest remained where they were.
The room felt much heavier now.
Dain raised the device in his hand again.
"The rules will now be repeated in full. Listen carefully."
The display behind him changed.
"Each team begins with one hundred points. In five-member teams, each member carries a value of twenty points. In four-member teams, each member carries a value of twenty-five."
No one whispered this time.
Everyone was listening properly.
"Points may be gained by hunting designated beasts, collecting marked herbs and valuables, and eliminating members of opposing teams. If one of your members is eliminated, that member's point value will be deducted from your team and transferred to the team responsible."
The hall had gone fully silent now.
"The trial duration is three hours. To pass, your team must reach a minimum score of two hundred and fifty points. In addition, at least one team member must reach the final gate before the trial ends. If all members of a team are eliminated, the team fails immediately."
The display shifted once more.
"Inside the trial, your terminal will show your team score, remaining time, the direction of the final gate, and proximity indicators for beasts, herbs, and approved resources. It will also mark teammates within a limited range and allow short-range communication."
Ren let out a slow breath. "No map."
"Of course not," Liora said.
Taren crossed his arms. "That means most people will head straight."
Mila said, "Or think they're smarter than they are."
Arin said nothing.
No map meant uncertainty.
And uncertainty always pushed most people toward the most obvious decision.
Dain lowered his hand slightly.
"All teams will now proceed to the chamber level."
The side walls opened, revealing passageways marked with team numbers. A pale blue line lit up beneath Team 13's feet, showing their route.
They moved with the others.
The corridor sloped downward. The walls were smooth and pale, broken only by doors marked with team numbers. Staff stood at intervals, silent and watchful.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Then Ren said, "Anyone want to say something encouraging before we enter the murder forest?"
"It's a simulation," Liora said.
Ren looked at her. "You keep saying that like it improves things."
Taren said, "Simple plan. Move fast. Take points early. Don't get trapped."
Mila spoke quietly. "That sounds like what every team is thinking."
Taren looked at her. "And?"
"And that's the problem."
Arin listened while they walked.
Ren made things lighter without trying too hard. Liora noticed more than she showed. Taren was impatient, but direct. Mila was quiet, but not empty.
Not perfect.
But workable.
Their chamber door opened when Team 13 came within range.
The room inside was circular, with five reclining seats arranged around a low central platform. Thin metallic lines ran through the floor and walls. The air smelled faintly sterile.
Ren stopped at the entrance. "This looks expensive."
Taren walked toward the nearest seat. "It's an academy chamber."
"That doesn't make it less expensive."
A soft voice filled the room.
"Team 13 confirmed. Please take your seats."
Arin sat down and opened the terminal above the armrest.
The screen was blank.
No forest map. No terrain layout. Only an empty planning field and inactive status slots.
Taren looked at his own screen and frowned. "Still annoying."
"It's deliberate," Liora said.
Ren sat down with a sigh. "So we're entering blind."
Mila had already lowered herself into her seat and was quietly studying the display.
Arin opened the planning field.
A plain surface appeared on the terminal.
Ren noticed first. "You're making your own map?"
"Not a map," Arin said.
He marked one point.
"Start."
Then another.
"End."
Taren looked over. "That tells us nothing."
"Not yet."
Arin drew a straight line between the two marks.
Then he added a wider curved route off to one side.
Ren frowned. "The forest isn't shaped like that."
"I know," Arin said. "This isn't the forest."
Liora looked more closely at the screen. "You're marking movement."
Arin gave a small nod.
"The terminal only shows direction," he said. "No map means most teams will trust the direct route first."
Taren said, "Which makes sense."
"Yes," Arin replied. "That's why it's dangerous."
For the first time, Taren said nothing back.
Mila kept watching the rough sketch. "The fastest route becomes the most crowded."
Ren leaned a little closer. "So the obvious path is the trap."
Arin said, "For the early rush, yes."
Liora looked at the curved line. "And this?"
"A wider path," Arin said. "Less obvious. Fewer teams at the start."
Taren frowned. "And less points too."
"Maybe," Arin said. "Maybe not."
Before Taren could say more, the chamber voice sounded again.
"Final synchronization in progress. Immersion will begin shortly."
Soft light moved across the edges of the seats.
The room dimmed.
Ren looked up once. "I suddenly don't trust calm voices anymore."
No one answered.
Arin looked at the rough sketch one last time.
He had no terrain details. No real map. Only a start point, an endpoint, and the certainty that most people would rush too quickly.
He closed the planning field.
The chamber lights dimmed further.
"Immersion in ten seconds," the voice said.
A direction marker appeared on the blank screen.
Then the chamber vanished.
Cold air brushed against his face.
He was standing in a forest.
Cool damp air filled his lungs. The smell of leaves, wet earth, and old bark was so real that for a moment it did not feel like a simulation at all. Tall trees rose around them, their branches spreading high overhead. Thick roots pushed through the ground. Bushes crowded the lower spaces between the trunks. Pale light slipped through the leaves in broken patches.
One by one, the others fully appeared beside him.
Ren turned slowly in place. "That feels way too real."
Liora crouched and touched the ground once. "It does."
Taren had already raised his wrist terminal.
Mila looked ahead into the trees without speaking.
Arin lowered his gaze to his own display.
Time remaining.
Team score.
Direction of the final gate.
Then, at the edge of the screen, the first faint indicator pulsed.
The trial had begun.