The cadets, who were all exhausted and sore, groaned in agony. It was clear that most of them forgot about the second part of today's training.
Lance grinned as gestured for Group E to follow him. "Let's go, we gotta join the other groups."
The cadets slowly fell in line behind Lance, their movements sluggish and formation unorganized.
Of course, some cadets were just different animals entirely, they seemed to be unaffected, in fact, they were smiling, among them was Sang-Hee, who walked with a pep in her step.
Marcus on the other hand, walked with his hands in his pockets and his mind focused on what could be coming next.
He wondered what the virtual labs would contain, or even where it was for that matter.
Marcus created a mental map of the complex in his mind. In the center of it all was the main building, which was similar to that of a 7 story building. To the right of the main building were six dormitories, three for boys and three for girls.
To the left of the main building was the training center, which he was currently inside. In front of both the main building and the training center was the eatery, which was about an equal distance from both buildings.
There were a couple of smaller buildings scattered throughout the complex, but Marcus never had the chance to enter any of them, he also knew that none of those smaller buildings could hold three hundred cadets.
This means that the virtual lab has to be in the main building.
As Marcus pondered these thoughts, group E reached the lobby of the training center, where groups A through D were waiting.
Lance ordered for the group to mingle with the other cadets, while he joined his fellow lieutenants.
As group E merged with the other cadets, Marcus immediately began to look around for Felix.
Looking through the group of cadets Marcus had noticed that most of them had looked just as worn out as his group did. Cadets were grabbing at their knees bent over gasping for arms, others crossing their arms and looking upward to hide their tears and trembling arms.
The was also a collective of groaning and complaining that took place as faint whispering among the cadets.
"Man, that 30-minute plank session almost killed me." One cadet whispered to another.
"Planks?" Another asked rhetorically, "Dude the 50-kilogram bench press is what almost fucked me up had to do almost sixty just to pass."
"And we gotta do this shit tomorrow!" Another cadet hissed in frustration.
As Marcus continued to look over the cadets he eventually spotted Felix leaning on a wall near the entrance. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed, he seemed to be breathing slowly, taking long and deep breaths.
Marcus unknowingly smiled as he walked over toward him, he placed a hand on Felix's shoulder to alert Felix of his presence and to greet him.
Felix's eyes opened instantly, and with a sharp breath, he quickly stepped back from Marcus's hand.
Felix placed a hand on his shoulder and whimpered. "Bro that hurts." He said softly as he rubbed his shoulder.
Marcus chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Sorry Felix, I didn't realize you were that sore."
Felix feigned a pout, "You certainly look fine."
Marcus sighed as he placed a hand over his chest and gently rubbed it. "Yeah, I guess you can say I'm built differently in a sense."
Felix chuckled as he straightened himself up. "That's good to hear, you keep that up and I won't have to worry about you passing."
Marcus shook his head. "There's still the psychological aspect of the test, my muscles can't get me out of that." He said playfully.
Felix nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Lieutenant Reiva mentioned something about virtual labs. Do you know anything about that?"
Before Marcus could open his mouth to respond, Lieutenant Revia clapped her hands together as she made her way in front of the cadets.
"Listen up!" She shouted, there are two things we need to take care of before we move to the virtual labs. First, there are thirteen of you who have been disqualified during training, if you are among the thirteen, step forward."
A few cadets shifted uncomfortably, their eyes casting downward towards the floor as they slowly pushed themselves forward through the crowd of cadets.
They stood before Lieutenant Revia with slumped shoulders and lowered heads.
Marcus sighed as he unfolded his arms. He tried not to care about their situation, but he couldn't help himself.
Lieutenant Revia looked down at the cadets with a stern gaze. "Make your way to Dr. Smith." She said coldly as she gestured toward a man leaning against the wall of the right hallway.
He had long black hair and wore a pair of glasses. He was dressed in a long doctor's coat with two nurses dressed in white scrubs.
As the cadets slowly shifted toward Dr. Smith, Lieutenant Revia turned her attention back toward the remaining cadets. "As for the second matter, we'll be heading towards the central building."
She then uncrossed her arms as she gestured for the cadets to follow her.
The cadets, though tired, began to follow behind her.
As they stepped outside, Lieutenant Revia began what they may encounter in the virtual lab. "The virtual Lab is exactly what it sounds like. You be placed inside of a fabricated simulation, where you'll be tested in several ways, now you might be thinking what the simulation might be."
Lieutenant Revia looked back at the ground of the cadets with a devious grin. "You might be thinking it's a cheap VR device with clunky controls and bad graphics, but I assure you, it's much, much more advanced than that."
She then chuckled as she turned her attention forward.
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he gave Felix a side-eye.
Felix had a similar reaction.
"I call bullshit." Felix whispered to Marcus, "I have the Tamagachi rift, and the only thing more immersive than that is dreams."
Marcus nodded in agreement.
Marcus had seen the latest VR tech from Japan, and though it wasn't completely immersive it was pretty close.
So the idea that the organization had something better was intriguing and frightening.
When they reached the main building, Lieutenant Revia took the cadets up several flights of stairs, until eventually they reached the sixth floor, which was marked only with a steel sliding door and some sort of reader.
Lieutenant Revia lifted the sleeve off her jacket and placed her wrist underneath the reader. A bright blue light flashed from the reader.
There was a small moment of silence as the reader processed the information.
The steel doors then slid open revealing a massive two-story room filled with several rows of sleek high-tech pods, surrounded by thick power cables and dozens upon dozens of scientists and engineers checking several pods.
"Welcome to the virtual labs cadets." Lieutenant Reiva said as she entered the room. "Don't just gawk you idiots, go on and enter a pod." She said as she grabbed the shoulder of the nearest cadet and pushed him towards a pod that was being inspected by a scientist.
The cadet hesitated before slowly approaching the sleek white pod. His expression was of curiosity and anxiety. As he reached the pod he turned his attention towards the scientist. "How, how do I get in?" The cadet stammered.
The scientist smiled, "it's quite simple really." He said as he gestured towards the screen next to the pod, "There are two buttons you need to know about, the button to open the pod."
The scientist gestured towards a slider that had two options on it, open and close.
"And the button for emergency shutdown." The scientist then gestured towards a large red button that resided at the bottom of the screen. "Hopefully you'll only have to deal with the first button." The scientist then swiped the slider from close to open.
The pod slowly cracked open with hiss, revealing a small sterile interior that included a seat and several needles that were filled with a translucent blue liquid. The centerpiece was a strange headpiece that looked similar to a VR Helmet, but more advanced.
The cadet's eyes widened as he took a step back from the pod. His eyes darted around the pod with eyes of anxiety and confusion.
The scientist that stood behind the cadet chuckled, he then gently pushed the boy towards the pod. "It's fine kiddo, unless you're scared of needles that is."
The cadet turned to look at the scientist with a nervous expression. He then gulped audibly as he slowly approached the pod once more.
He hesitantly sat inside the chamber and slowly leaned back.
The scientist then smiled as he gave the boy a thumbs up, "See, it's not so bad right?"
The cadet slowly nodded as he studied the interior of the pod. "It's cool, I guess." He said with a slight tremble in his voice.
Lieutenant Revia then nodded as she turned to look back at the other cadets. "Alright, now you've had a demonstration, now find a pod and get in." She as she stepped off to the side.
Marcus had watched the process intensely. His mind raced with curiosity about what he might experience inside the pod. Felix had a similar expression.
"Come on bro." Felix said excitedly as he rushed forward, "This shit is gonna be awesome."
Marcus grinned as he jogged after Felix, "I thought you were sore?" He asked with a grin as Felix stopped before a pod.
"Pain is temporary," Felix said with a wide grin as he opened his pod, "but an experience like this will last forever."
Marcus chuckled as he opened his respective pod.
He climbed inside and sat in the inner seat.
It began to slowly conform to his body, which made a rush of excitement rush through his body.
Felix followed suit and similarly entered his pod.
As they settled into their pods, a scientist approached them with a concerned expression. "You two seem rather excited about this, you do realize this is a test, right?" She asked curiously.
"Of course, I know this is a test." Felix replied, "But it's like giving someone a sports car for their driving exam!"
The scientist grinned at Felix's response, "I see, well are you two ready?" She asked as she approached Felix's pod and placed a hand on its control screen.
Both boys nodded in unison.
The scientist nodded as she slid the switch to close the pod.
As it slowly began to close, the scientists then made their way towards Marcus's control screen.
As she placed her head on the control pad she looked over to Marcus and gave him a wink, "Careful, it'll be chilly where you're going."
Marcus' expression grew perplexed, but before he could form a question to ask the scientist what she meant, his pod slowly began to close and the headpiece began its descent upon Marcus's head.
The two needles on either side of Marcus's neck began to stab into his neck with practiced precision.
The pain was sharp and uncomfortable, but it only lasted for a second before he quickly blacked out.
Simulation start-up Initiated
"Papa!" A faint voice of a young girl rang through Marcus's ears, "Papa wake up!"