Ten minutes later, a man entered the room. He looked about fifty years old. Muscular tall body, military haircut, clean-shaven face, and eagle-like gaze. His entire appearance exuded the aura of a tough warrior who had been through many battles.
"Everyone stand up!"
Everyone in the room, except for Margaret, stood up sharply.
The man, ignoring the following looks, walked forward and stood in front of the holographic screens.
"My name is Darius Vorn. From this moment on, I will be responsible for your further briefing and combat training."
Finishing his self-presentation, he glanced at the audience.
"You may sit." Everyone obeyed his order without question.
"Today I will give you a rough idea of who pilots are, what they do, how long it takes, and how the final stage before becoming a pilot goes." He made a brief pause, during which he displayed a holographic image of the logo of the military forces of the seventeenth citadel.
"Your instructor will also be someone you are already familiar with, Margaret. At least, I hope you are familiar with her." He glanced at Margaret, who barely rolled her eyes in response.
"Let's not waste time. First, I want to ask you, does anyone know who the Nexus pilots are?"
For a moment, there was silence during which the cadets exchanged surprised looks.
"According to common opinion, a pilot is a key combat unit in the battle with Nephilim. The pilot's task is to protect the citadel and all its citizens, and in some cases, stationary cities," broke the silence Ryuji.
"The answer is correct, but incomplete. In addition to protection, pilots carry out reconnaissance, scientific-reconnaissance, reconnaissance-punitive missions, and in some cases, accompany important persons when they leave the citadel.
Over the next month, you will undergo training to become a pilot. It will include receiving advanced theoretical knowledge about Nephilim, practical classes, and training in piloting the Nexus using augmented reality devices, and practice piloting training Nexuses. At the end of the monthly course, you will be divided into several teams. One will stay here, and the rest will go to the nearest citadels. Any questions?
"Yes!" quickly raised her hand Alexa. "How will the combat training be conducted?"
"As soon as you learn to pilot the Nexus, combat training will begin. At this stage, each of you will be immersed in a simulation, where a battle with Nephilim will take place, for a certain period. Please note that each training battle will be unique. Any other questions?"
Silence followed...
"If there are no questions, we will now go to the training hall, where your trial Nexus piloting lesson will take place today."
"What?!"
"On the first day?"
"Wow!"
Exclamations of surprise spread through the audience; Darius raised his hand, calming the group with a gesture.
"Don't worry. It will only be a trial lesson, it won't affect anything. Please follow me." Finishing his speech, he headed to the exit.
***
The doors opened, revealing a long hall. Along its walls were many capsules. They were gray and had a slightly elongated, rounded shape.
"Although this is a trial session, give it your all," Darius began his monologue. "Each of you can choose the capsule you find necessary. To enter, you need to apply the previously received identification number. Once the capsule opens, you will take your seats, and we will begin."
Cassian, along with the other cadets, began choosing a capsule. However, after quickly examining them all, he realized that this was unnecessary, as they were almost identical.
Based on his useless discovery, he chose the nearest capsule. Receiving the data from Cassian's number, the sensor emitted a quiet beep, after which the capsule's protective shell disappeared.
Inside it was quite spacious. The shell reappeared, and several interfaces flashed in front of his eyes. The previously large adaptive chair adjusted to Cassian's body, tightly securing him.
"The connection will start in ten seconds," Darius's voice sounded. "Remain calm during the simulation."
The countdown began:
Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four... Three... Two... One...
The countdown reached zero, and Cassian's consciousness plunged into darkness.
***
A large darkened room without any windows. Workstations were everywhere, and each workstation had a separate holographic screen. Many people, dressed in identical white uniforms, scurried around the room, while others sat at their places and carefully monitored what was happening on the screens. Instead of the far wall, there was a huge screen showing the cadets' status in real-time.
"Miss Margaret, the cadets' indicators are stable, can we move on to the second stage of immersion?" asked one of the workers.
"Which of the students had the easiest time immersing into the simulation?"
"The easiest was a cadet named Eliana Frost. It took her only two seconds. Following her are Ryuji Takeshi, Lirian Ortiz, Sora Natsuki, Alexa Phoenix, and Cassian Tenebris. These cadets immersed the fastest."
"Good, you can move on to the second stage." Hearing the command, the people in the room began to bustle even more.
Meanwhile, Cassian, or rather his consciousness, floated serenely in the impenetrable void.
I wonder if they are using some unique model? This is somewhat different from the usual immersion.
While he was floating, the most diverse thoughts came to his mind. For example, now he was recalling his experience of immersion in the civilian version of augmented reality, although it is quite obvious that the military version has serious differences.
Suddenly, interrupting his chain of meaningless thoughts, Cassian's consciousness was pulled out of the serene dark space, like an otaku child being kicked out by his father to see daylight.
He found himself standing by a wall. His whole body seemed to have turned to stone. Cassian couldn't move a finger, he couldn't even open his eyes!
"Kha... What the hell?" Cassian's head was ringing as if he had been hit on the head with a bat.
"Cadet Cassian," a voice sounded in his head, "you are now in conditions where your synchronization with the Nexus is zero. When we artificially increase your synchronization level, your main tasks will be to adapt to merging with the Nexus, the sensations arising from this, and attempting to move. Do you understand?"
"No, but we'll act according to the situation," he slightly smiled.
"Let's begin," the voice sounded. "Prepare, the synchronization level will be increased to one percent at the end of the countdown."
Three...
Two...
One...
When Cassian finally opened his eyes, he saw a vast space in front of him — dark and gloomy, with high ceilings and metal walls resembling the insides of a massive ship or base. Meanwhile, he himself was attached to a huge station, and his body looked like a pale, smaller, and much more primitive version of the Nexus, which had fought the Nephilim just yesterday.
With immense effort, his muscles finally moved. Every movement echoed with sharp pain, and his whole body felt like it was filled with lead.
"Hey there... Whoever you are, isn't this supposed to be this painful?" Cassian almost shouted.
"Do not worry, the simulation is stable. Light pain is just part of the unique conditions of the simulation combined with a low synchronization percentage," the voice answered monotonously.
"And shouldn't there be unique conditions in a trial session!?" his voice was filled with clear indignation.
"Shouldn't there be?" the voice said, surprising Cassian with a caustic remark. "Cadet, proceed with the assigned task."
Still indignant in his soul, Cassian staggered forward. Each meter, more precisely, each dozen meters, was given with great difficulty. After a few minutes of clumsy walking, the pain finally began to subside.
"Cadet successfully completed the assigned task. Proceeding to increase synchronization level to two percent."
"What?" He managed to blurt out only one word before a sharp pain pierced his head.