Marcus didn't have time to dwell on seeing Caleb. The city moved faster than he could. No rest, no pause just trials stacked on trials, each more complex than the last.
The next assignment was announced with a single chime that vibrated through the corridors. Screens lit up along the walls, mapping a massive arena unlike anything he'd seen: multiple levels, shifting floors, holographic obstacles, simulated fire and smoke, and hidden platforms that disappeared and reappeared at random.
TRIAL: SIMULATED WAR
OBJECTIVE: SURVIVAL & ADAPTATION
TIME LIMIT: INDEFINITE
Marcus stepped in, heart pounding, surveying the environment. The floor beneath him shifted as he moved, subtle panels rising to trip him, others dropping to create gaps. Smoke flared from vents, holographic enemies advanced in calculated waves. This was more than combat it was chaos designed as strategy, training him while analyzing every instinct.
A voice, neutral and mechanical, echoed through the arena:
"Adapt. Survive. Learn."
Marcus nodded silently. No one heard him. No one cared. He scanned the space, moving cautiously, noting every pattern. The holograms attacked with precision, sometimes in tandem, sometimes individually. Each strike was designed to force a choice: fight, dodge, or risk a trap. Hesitate too long, and the system punished him. Move too fast, and he made errors.
Hours or maybe minutes; time was meaningless passed. Sweat burned his eyes, muscles screamed, and the cuts from previous matches stung with each movement. Marcus realized that even the environment itself was learning him: the smoke seemed to anticipate where he would step next, the holographic enemies adjusted instinctively.
He ducked, rolled, and struck a platform to trigger a trap in a different section. A holo-enemy fell through the gap, disappearing. Another attacked from above. Marcus twisted midair, landing hard, skidding across the floor, breaking his fall with sheer will.
Every move, every reaction, every calculated risk was recorded, evaluated, and stored. The city didn't just observe it cataloged, predicted, and adapted in real time.
At one point, Marcus caught sight of a shadow moving through the upper platforms. Not a hologram. A human observer. Someone watching him, analyzing not his fighting, but his decisions, his hesitation, his courage under pressure.
He realized then: this trial wasn't about skill. It was about control.
Finally, after what felt like eternity, the arena lights shifted. The voice returned:
TRIAL COMPLETE
SURVIVAL: ACHIEVED
ADAPTATION: EXCEEDS STANDARD
RECOMMENDATION: OBSERVE FOR FURTHER INTEGRATION
Marcus collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, every muscle screaming. His mind raced. The system had tested him, prodded him, pushed him to the edge. And still, he had survived.
As he crawled out of the arena, the hallway screens flickered with his performance metrics: reaction time, adaptation index, decision accuracy, and stress tolerance. Each number glowing bright, each telling the city exactly what Marcus was capable of and what it could exploit.
A message appeared on his collar as he left:
SUBJECT: MARCUS COLE
CATEGORY: UNPREDICTABLE
NEXT TRIAL: IMMINENT
Marcus ran his hand over the mark etched into his collar. Iron City had learned a lot about him today.
But he had learned just as much about it.
And he planned to use every lesson to find Caleb and survive the city that never stopped watching.