The holographic jungle thinned out, giving way to jagged cliffs and howling winds. The battlefield felt alive, pulsing with danger, as if it resented our presence.
I didn't need the system's difficulty rating to know this would push us past our limits.
Atlas stood beside me, his A-Rank Mecha Rifle braced against his shoulder. "You know, when I signed up for this, I thought we'd be dealing with normal challenges. Not human volcanoes and living hurricanes."
I deployed my drones, the faint hum of their energy cores steadying my nerves. "You wanted excitement. Here it is."
Across from us, the S-Rank duo stood like gods on a stage.
System Notification:
[Combat Initiated]
Opponents:
Ash Grove: S-Rank Fire Mage, Phoenix Bloodline Talent
Circe Gale: S-Rank Psychic Manipulator, Aerokinesis Talent
Difficulty: Extreme
Ash Grove, the Fire Mage with the Phoenix Bloodline, looked every bit the walking inferno. His crimson hair rippled like a blaze caught in the wind, and molten runes glowed along his staff. The ground beneath him cracked and sizzled with every step.
Next to him, Circe Gale exuded an eerie calm. Her silver hair floated as if weightless, her piercing gaze dissecting us. Her psychic field twisted the air into sentient whirlwinds that prowled around her like wolves.
"Two S-Ranks," Atlas muttered, his voice tinged with excitement. "Think we can survive this?"
I kept my eyes on our opponents. "We don't have to win. We just have to make it through alive."
Ash Grove didn't waste time. With a sweep of his staff, a tidal wave of fire roared to life, rushing toward us like a hungry beast.
"Move!" I shouted, diving to the side as the inferno consumed the space we'd just occupied.
Atlas rolled into position, his rifle already humming with energy. He fired a Shockwave Round, the glowing bullet exploding mid-air to create a concussive force that momentarily parted the flames.
"Not bad," I muttered, deploying my drones. They zipped through the chaos, their pulses targeting Ash Grove's fiery constructs, trying to destabilize them.
Circe raised a hand, and a whirlwind spiraled out, shredding the drones with precision. The air itself seemed to obey her will, compressing and hurling toward me with deadly force.
System Notification:
[Warning: Gale Force Pressure Detected. Damage Potential: Severe.]
I activated my mecha suit's thrusters, narrowly avoiding the crushing winds. Behind me, Atlas had already repositioned, scaling a jagged cliff to get a clearer shot.
"Keep her busy for three seconds," Atlas said over the comms, his voice calm despite the chaos.
"Three seconds is a long time," I retorted, deploying an Electrostatic Barrier to deflect another psychic blast.
"Then improvise."
I sent my remaining drones into a coordinated assault, swarming Circe from every angle. Her telekinetic waves shattered them, but the constant barrage forced her focus to splinter.
"Gotcha," Atlas murmured. The barrel of his rifle glowed as he charged a Piercing Void Round. With a sharp exhale, he fired.
The bullet streaked through the air, a sonic boom announcing its arrival. It struck Circe's psychic barrier with pinpoint accuracy, shattering it and sending her staggering.
System Notification:
[Critical Hit! Circe Gale's Psychic Barrier Broken.]
Ash Grove stepped in, flames coiling around him like a living shield. The fiery phoenix erupted from his staff, screeching as it dove toward Atlas.
Atlas leaped from the cliff, the phoenix's flames igniting the ridge behind him. He landed smoothly, rolling into a crouch as he fired a volley of explosive rounds to cover his retreat.
I surged forward, plasma blades igniting on my gauntlets from my Mecha suit. Every move was calculated, every strike aimed to disrupt Ash Grove's rhythm.
He countered with a molten whip, its blistering speed forcing me to block with my gauntlets. Even through the reinforced metal, the heat was almost unbearable.
"That all you've got, C-Rank? Looks like your sleek armor suit is just that" Ash Grove sneered.
I smirked. "Not even close."
System Notification:
[Skill Activated: EMP Burst]
A shockwave of electromagnetic energy erupted from my suit, short-circuiting Ash Grove's fiery constructs. The phoenix flickered and vanished, the molten whip dissipating.
"Atlas, now!" I shouted.
Atlas fired a Stasis Round, the bullet exploding into a temporal field that slowed Ash Grove's movements.
System Notification:
[Ash Grove Temporarily Slowed: 5 Seconds.]
Before we could capitalize, Circe roared back into the fight. She thrust her hands forward, creating a massive cyclone that engulfed us. The strong winds barely tore at my suit, alarms blaring as its integrity dropped slightly.
"We're sitting ducks like this!" Atlas shouted, struggling to steady his aim.
I gritted my teeth, recalling my drones. They regrouped around me, overcharging their power cores in a synchronized effort.
"You want wind? Let's see how you like this."
[System Notification]
[Skill Activated: Overcharged Drones - Cyclone Disruptor Mode]
The drones emitted a powerful electromagnetic pulse, destabilizing the cyclone and forcing Circe to retreat. Blood dripped from her nose, the strain of her psychic manipulation evident.
Ash Grove recovered, his flames roaring back to life. He and Circe stood together, their combined auras creating a storm of fire and wind that threatened to consume the entire battlefield.
"We're out of time," I said. "Atlas, we end this now."
Atlas nodded, his rifle charging for one final shot. "Make it count."
I launched myself into the fray, dodging flames and psychic blasts with impossible precision. Every move was designed to create an opening for Atlas.
"Take the shot!" I yelled.
The rifle roared, the bullet piercing the chaos. It struck Ash Grove's staff, shattering it in an explosion of molten light. The force knocked both opponents unconscious, their auras dissipating before disintegrating.
[System Notification]
[Combat Complete: Ash Grove & Circe Gale Defeated.]
[Two tags retrieved]
The battlefield was still smoldering, the echoes of their victory rolling off the cliffs like the dying embers of a campfire.
My HUD was flashing a stream of damage reports—my Mecha Suit had taken a beating although not serious, but we were alive. For now.
As the dust settled, Atlas clapped me on the shoulder. "Well, that was fun."
I smirked, exhaustion weighing on me. "Let's never do it again."
Atlas adjusted his Mecha Rifle, the barrel still hot from the final shot. He glanced at me, that smug grin plastered across his face. "I'll have to start charging for these heroics."
"Yeah, well," I muttered, brushing ash off my gauntlets, "your aim saved us from becoming crispy critters. Consider your tab covered—for now."
I deactivated my mecha suit. The holographic terrain began to dissolve, the cliffs crumbling into pixelated dust as GAIA's system reset the Jungle simulation.
A chill swept through me as the system voice chimed in, filling the surroundings with a mechanical hum.
"Congratulations to the remaining rookies. Here's an upgrade to improve your navigation."
I barely had time to process the words before a new interface popped up on my HUD. It displayed an intricate map, now enhanced with glowing pathways, routes, and markers highlighting key locations.
Atlas groaned, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Great. 'Improve our navigation'—as if that's not code for 'make you easier to track and kill.'"
He wasn't wrong. The added clarity was a double-edged sword. Sure, it could help us move smarter, but it also meant every other rookie out there was armed with the same advantage—and the seniors?
They'd already had the upper hand.
Apparently, with the 'upgrade' we were now sitting ducks, wide open for other rookies and, worse, seniors to tail and hunt us down.
"Shit! What sick upgrade is this?" Atlas suddenly cursed under his breath. "This is literally broadcasting our position to the seniors!"
Both our HUDs displaying a similar map. Sure enough. Markings for all the remaining rookies blinked into view, but the bad news was glaring—none of the seniors were marked.