The first target appeared quicker than I expected—a tag nestled in the branches of a massive tree.
Below it, the glacial pond shimmered like glass. The scene looked peaceful, almost serene.
But that's exactly how they set you up, right?
Lull you into a false sense of security.
The moment we made our move, I knew we'd be met with resistance.
Too easy.
Atlas caught it, too. "Trap?"
"Obvious as hell," I muttered.
And then the air dropped ten degrees.
A thin mist curled over the water, and in the span of a breath, the entire pond froze solid—crystal-clear ice spreading outward in jagged veins.
"Shit."
My HUD flickered slightly, a flicker of a warning from the system: Hostile presence detected.
The drone feeds started showing heat signatures—faint but unmistakable.
And there, perched by the edge of the icy water, was Liam Keel. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
Condebreaker automatically provide profile data of him.
Liam Keel. A-Rank.
Codename: Frostbite.
Class: Cryomancer
"Frostbite," I muttered under my breath.
Our first senior and it had to be him. This guy was known for his ice-based abilities.
Cryomancer, they called it. He wasn't a slouch by any means, but the way he was standing—smirk plastered across his face—told me he wasn't taking us seriously.
"Well, well. This is nice. Rookies." His voice was like ice cracking underfoot. "You look lost. Need help?"
Atlas tensed beside me, his grip tightening around his rifle. "We're good."
Frostbite exhaled, and the mist thickened, curling around his form like a living thing. "That's a shame. Would've been easier for you if you ran."
His fingers twitched, and instantly, a long ice spike formed in his hand, glistening in the pale light filtering through the jungle canopy.
He held it up lazily, almost like he was toying with us.
"You sure you want to try that?"
Atlas shot back, raising his rifle and keeping his eyes locked on Frostbite.
His tone was sharp, not giving an inch.
"I wouldn't do it any other way. Suck it," Frostbite drawled, and in an instant, he slammed his palm against the ground. The entire glacial pond froze over with an unnatural speed, the ice spreading outward like a deadly web.
I cursed under my breath. It was going to be that kind of fight.
"Got a plan?" Atlas asked, not taking his eyes off Frostbite.
"Work smarter, not harder," I replied, setting my jaw.
My HUD flickered, activating the drones in defense mode. A pulse of electricity surged through the air, and the drones responded by releasing an Electrostatic Pulse that crackled across the ice.
The ice shuddered under the impact, fracturing and splintering as the electric charge coursed through it.
Frostbite's smirk faltered, but he didn't back down.
Instead, his hands moved with precision, weaving a new layer of frost over the cracks, sealing them shut. He was trying to buy time, trying to bait us into making a move.
"He's faster than I expected," I muttered, rerouting my drones. They buzzed in formation, ready to strike.
"And stronger," Atlas added.
Frostbite flexed his fingers. The air around us crystallized, freezing moisture into tiny shards that hung like razors.
"I hate smug bastards," I muttered.
And then I dropped a pulse charge.
The electrostatic wave exploded outward, sending a jolt of energy through the ice. The frozen ground fractured, spiderweb cracks racing toward Frostbite's feet.
For the first time, his smirk faltered.
Atlas took the shot. A direct hit.
Frostbite staggered as his ice shield shattered, his body flickering with static distortions. A split second later, he grinned through the pain.
"Cute."
And just like that, he slammed his hand to the ground.
Ice erupted in a wave, a wall of jagged spikes forcing Atlas to dive. A second later, a spear of ice shot toward me. I barely twisted out of the way before it grazed my arm, a biting chill spreading through my veins.
I clenched my jaw. Status effect. Partial freeze.
Frostbite flicked his fingers, sending another spear flying.
Atlas adjusted his aim.
The sound of his laser rifle cracking the silence was the only warning we had before the glowing beam shot out, straight for Frostbite's frost shield.
The moment the beam struck, the ice around Frostbite splintered, and he stumbled backward, momentarily stunned.
This was our opening.
"Take the shot!" I yelled at Atlas, just as one of the cracks in the ice expanded enough for an opening.
Atlas didn't miss a beat. He toggled his Mecha Rifle—a beam of light slicing through the ice, aimed directly at Frostbite's core.
The impact sent him crashing backward, his form glitching.
Atlas exhaled. "That was too close."
I flexed my frozen fingers as the HUD lit up with a new alert.
[System Notification: Target Frostbite Defeated. Tag Secured.]
The tag was ours.
As Frostbite dissolved into shimmering particles, I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding.
The win felt good, but the thrill of it didn't last. We still had more ground to cover, and this was just the beginning.
Frostbite's resistance had been harder than I'd expected, and there were still plenty more seniors roaming these digital jungles.
I tapped into my comms. "That was too close. How's the energy looking?"
Atlas didn't answer immediately, scanning the area. "Energy's good. But we're not done yet."
My drones flitted around, gathering up the scattered data and tagging the area. Frostbite's resistance earlier had taken a chunk of our time, and the terrain was shifting again.
The Jungle system was tweaking things on the fly, changing the environment to increase the difficulty, like it always did.
The jungle was alive—alive with danger.
Hostile presence detected—reinforcements incoming. Stage two of the simulation will commence in 10 minutes.
I glanced up from the system display. "Guess the easy part's over."
"Not like we expected this to be easy," Atlas replied, checking his rifle once more.
"We've got three and a half hours left. Let's make the next one count."
And then, as if to punctuate the challenge, the ground trembled beneath us.
Not from the typical simulated quakes, but something... heavier. Something more deliberate. The sound of shifting rocks echoed through the trees, and that's when I saw it.
Another senior.