Within the hall, Saeko looked at the agitated Seki with a raised brow. "What's wrong with him? I've never seen him like this."

"Heh, relief, I guess," said Taiga with a chuckle. "Su-chan's awakening is the first proof that everything they've worked on or sacrificed in the past decade is actually worth it." Shaking his head, he added with a wry smile. "Can't say I don't understand him. It feels good to know Henri and the others did not die for nothing—Ow!" Taiga yelped and looked at Saeko, who had angrily pinched his arm.

"Even without Suzuki, they did not die for nothing," she angrily protested. "You lived. That alone gives their lives meaning. Don't ever say that again."

"Ooh, who knew our Prince's eyes could look so beautiful when teary," teased Taiga as he patted her golden mane.

"Who's crying!?" Saeko snorted, slapped his hand away and returned to looking at the screen.

"Apologies, Your Highness." Taiga's laughter turned into a sublime smile as he observed Seki, who was wiping tears from his eyes. Under his breath, he whispered, "Congrats, Seki-tan. Looks like you'll get your guardians after all." He then shouted, "Oi, Seki-tan! Celebrate, but don't forget our bet!"

"Bet?" Seki paused and turned to Taiga, a thousand and one thoughts flying through his mind. Somewhat indecisive, he glanced at James, who only shrugged. "Fine. I'll reveal everything after the medical check-ups. Is that alright?"

Taiga playfully tapped his chin, then nodded. "Yeah, that should work. Fits my schedule."

Seki rolled his eyes in response.

At that moment, Yukino, Genaco's head physiotherapist and psychologist, walked into the room wearing a bright smile and holding a large pad that displayed the trainees' biometrics. Looking at Seki, she said, "I thought you'd like to know. Mato-kun's vitals spiked during his awakening, especially his brain activity." Glancing at Taiga and Saeko, she said, "It seems our assumption that the brain plays the largest role in awakening is correct."

Seki nodded. "That's good. We can use this as a baseline and improve the model going forward. For now, I want Mato under careful surveillance. This awakening must have stressed him out. Make sure there are no adverse effects. Ban him from the game if you have to."

Taiga snorted. "Good luck with that."

"I'll do my best," stated Yukino with a warm smile. "I don't think a ban will be necessary."

"Mm." Seki nodded and turned his attention to the screen. "Get ready. They should be exiting soon."

****

A heavy silence hung over the flooded compound as the trainees stared at Cassia's fallen head in disbelief. Could it be? Did that menace just die like that? So silently?

A loud crash brought everyone's attention to Suzuki, who suddenly stumbled, grasping onto his glaive to prevent himself from falling on his face. The young man removed his helmet and clutched his head, grimacing from the intense stabbing pain. It felt like thousands of needles were swimming in his skull, continuously piercing and stinging his brain and scalp.

Even someone as well-versed in self-torture as Suzuki had never felt pain like this. Only his immensely stubborn pride prevented him from wailing in pain. Still, after a particularly painful strike, he lost his grip and toppled over.

Plop. Before Suzuki hit the ground, Natsu and a one-legged Kimuri appeared on both sides and held him up.

"Whoa there, hero. You don't get to pass out before your victory lap." Kimuri lightly joked as he wrapped Suzuki's right hand around his neck.

At Suzuki's left, Natsu looked at Kimuri's leg. "Are you okay? I can carry him."

"What, this?" Kimuri shook his head. "Don't worry. The thrusters can keep me upright."

"Hm... Okay." Natsu adjusted Suzuki's hand around her neck and, alongside Kimuri, helped the semi-conscious Suzuki to walk up to the others, who finally erupted in loud cheers as the reality of their victory finally set in.

Several trainees ran up to Suzuki, asking thousands of questions like 'Was he alright?', 'What the hell was that final attack?', 'How did he break Cassia's shield' and many more. The excited trainees' enthusiasm was only quelled by Ayumi stepping between them and Suzuki.

"Everyone, give him some room," Ayumi ordered, causing the trainees to reluctantly retreat a few meters. Even though some wanted to ask more questions, Ayumi had earned the group's respect through her calm instructions during Cassia's rampage. Without her orders, they might have collapsed earlier and suffered casualties.

Ayumi checked Suzuki's pale complexion and rapidly beating heart. Frowning, she said, "I think this isn't just in-game. It's reflecting his state in reality." Softly tapping Suzuki's cheeks, she called. "Hey, log out. You've done enough. You need immediate medical attention."

"No." Suzuki weakly shook his head. He painfully protested between deep groans, "Must. Extract. First. Complete. Mission. Then log out."

Ayumi glared at her old friend with exasperation in her eyes. She knew that nothing would change Suzuki's mind now. The crazy bastard took his roles too seriously. Fine, at least they did not need to run anymore. Sighing, she contacted the evacuation team. "Evac! Come to point XX. No need for a retreat evacuation. The LZ is secure." Afterwards, she connected to Akiyo, the leader of the Satellite infiltration squad. "Akiyo, the mission is complete. You can begin evacuating. Good Job!"

"Roger," Akiyo's tired voice came through. "Took you guys longer than expected. See you soon."

Shortly after, a large VTOL hummed as it slowly landed before the tired group. The cargo doors opened, revealing a grinning Taki and the rest of the demolition squad. "Did someone request an evac!?" The young man chuckled as he and the rest of the team leapt from the VTOL and landed amongst the tired trainees.

Despite their victory, Cassia had left many trainees with severe injuries, so many could not walk independently. Taki and the others helped those who could not walk onto the aircraft, securely strapping them to their seats.

After a few minutes and a headcount to confirm, the VTOL rose and swiftly departed toward the eastern skies.

***

Elsewhere, Jade cracked her stiff neck as she stepped out of the communications tower. She already received confirmation from Ayumi of Suzuki's condition, so she was no longer worried. Instead, she stared in wonder at the dozens of crumpled Shivs that littered the compound, each with deep cuts resembling the claws of a ferocious beast.

Shaking her head, Jade looked at the little Gladiator seated on the building's roof, her feet cutely dangling off the side. Well, she seemed cute, but the splotches of dark blue across her green suit evoked a dreadful feeling under the pale moonlight.

As a VTOL landed in the compound, Jade looked at Akiyo. "Thanks. We couldn't have completed this job without your help. I can't fight for shit."

Akiyo's helmet turned transparent, revealing the little lady's tight smile. "Couldn't have done it without you either. If you wanna thank me, then buy me some sweets later."

"Sweets? I'll buy you a bucketful, no worries."

Akiyo's lips spread into a toothy grin. She nodded and walked into the open VTOL with the waiting Nagasaki siblings. Behind her, Jade took one last look at the numerous dead shivs. She shivered at the thought of the carnage and quickly ran up into the VTOL to catch up with the others.

As the VTOL closed, the trainees strapped themselves to their chairs, each replaying the mission as the crafts flew into the horizon. A few minutes later, when the crafts passed a certain point, they finally received confirmation of their mission's success in a somewhat abnormal fashion.

***

Aboard the other VTOL, Suzuki, whose pain had begun to subside, blinked in confusion when his surroundings suddenly turned white. Before he could question what was happening, a table and two chairs appeared. Without any prompt, he instinctively sat on the chair nearest to him. Then he watched as a chocolate-skinned buff man wearing a tank top and combat jeans materialized before him.

The strange man placed a tablet on the table and slid it over to Suzuki. "You can call me The Examiner." His voice was deep and gruff, like the guttural grunts of ferocious lions. "At the end of every mission, I'll score your performance, tell you where you need to improve, and give out your rewards."

"Okay." Suzuki, whose head was still throbbing, was not in the mood for small talk. He picked up the tablet but found it was switched off.

"Before I give your evaluation, I need to ask you a few questions."

Suzuki dropped the pad and fixed the man with a stern glare. "Ask away."

"First question. Self-evaluate. How do you think you did? Grade yourself on an F-S scale."

"A," answered Suzuki without hesitation. "We completed the mission and did not lose a soldier. That is a successful mission in my books."

The Examiner's lips curled, his gaze nasty and smouldering with sarcasm. "Oh? That high, huh? Why not an S? You make it sound like you were perfect."

"Even though it was part of my plan, I lost two expensive Gladiators. I don't know about in a game world, but I imagine that kind of technology isn't cannon fodder in reality."

"Yes, it's rare equipment. Every loss is significant." The Examiner suddenly grinned as he added, "Still if you offered to exchange two Gladiators for an ace pilot's life, I would bite your hand off. That cannot count as a demerit. Can you think of anything else?"

Suzuki frowned. From the Examiner's intense gaze, he could tell the man expected an answer. There was something Suzuki did that the Examiner disapproved of. Suzuki replayed the mission several times, and his eyes dimmed when he recalled something. "Oh. Blowing up the elevator. I did not inform the strategist ahead of time. That would not fly in a real operation."

"Bingo!" The Examiner pointed at Suzuki, brows furrowed in disapproval. "Why did you do that on your own? Why didn't you tell your leader?"

Suzuki sighed. "They're not excuses, but there are two reasons. First, the plan came to me just an hour before we started the mission. I did not think it was appropriate to throw a whole new plan at Yumi, especially since, at the time, I was under the impression it would not affect the mission itself. Secondly, I had no guarantee it would work. Many things could have gone wrong. The aliens could have discovered the bomb; it did not go off; the blast radius was not what I expected... In hindsight, I should have informed Yumi. That was a grave error on my part, I agree."

"Mm-hm. Before we get into the punishment for that decision, what was your reason for attempting to blow up the space station?"

Suzuki sighed. "The mission setting. It's an invasion from an alien force, right? I don't exactly understand why the aliens can't just fly their equipment down. But, from the description, the orbital elevator is a vital part of their logistics. Initially, I wanted to blow up the elevator to cripple their logistics, but Akari-san told us that they could easily repair that type of damage. I'm guessing it uses a modular design to make repairs easier." Shaking his head, Suzuki returned to the topic. "Anyway, I figured blowing up the space station itself will be the next best thing. If the bomb could take out a chunk of the station, the vacuum of space would take care of the rest. Again, at the time, I did not think it would have much bearing on assassinating Cassia. But, in the world context, it made sense to cripple the aliens as much as possible."

The Examiner nodded. "Sound decision. It explains why you did not think to inform your leader. But, should I tell you what would have happened if you succeeded?" Ignoring Suzuki's response, the Examiner summoned a hologram of a massive X-shaped space station over the table with a wave of his hand. "The alien's space station is in the thermosphere, not entirely out of Terra's atmosphere." The Examiner snapped his fingers, and the space station exploded from its centre, sending large and small debris flying in all directions. "It's not like Terra's forces haven't thought of blowing up the space station. But when you do, you send millions of projectiles flying across the thermosphere. If you're lucky, the larger ones get pulled towards the earth, causing them to burn up on entry. But there are also millions of smaller fragments in orbit now hurtling at thousands of meters per second."

"Do you know what else is in orbit around the earth's thermosphere?" The Examiner paused and glared at Suzuki, eyes burning with rage. "Every single satellite we own! Sure, over the years, we have connected most of the world with underwater cables, allowing us to reliably rely on the radio if needed. However, that is nowhere near the convenience of having satellites. Not only do they allow for instant worldwide communications, but they're also perfect for reconnaissance. How do you expect to get intel if you blow up all the satellites just to take out one measly space station?" The Examiner groaned as he rubbed his face. "Look, I don't expect you to know everything, but that's why you inform your leaders. From that girl's profile, she would have received the training necessary to know why your plan was a bad idea."

Suzuki nodded and replied in an even tone. "Yes. It was a failure in judgment due to my unfamiliarity with team missions. I accept any punishment and will do better next time."

The Examiner's narrowed. Suzuki's eyes and demeanour had remained even from the beginning of the debrief until the end. "I can't tell if it's confidence, arrogance, or apathy. Whichever it is, I can't justify harping on this further since you've acknowledged your faults." He flicked his fingers, causing the hologram to disappear. "Let's switch gears. In the last moments, you unleashed an attack that surpassed human limitations. What can you tell me about that?"

Suzuki frowned. "Wouldn't you know more about that than me?"

"True." The Examiner nodded. "But, you are the second fully-human successful awakening. We do not have a lot of data surrounding the awakening phenomenon, so I do not want to cloud your report with biases."

"What do you mean by awakening?"

"Answer the question first. Then I'll explain. What exactly did you feel in those moments?"

Suzuki's brows furrowed even more profoundly. But, though he did not like the Examiner's arrogant attitude, he knew he should not needlessly antagonize the person in charge of his scores. So, he closed his eyes and recalled his state leading up to beheading Cassia. Wincing instinctively from the remembered pain, he said, "Back then, it was weird. When I saw Kimuri was about to die, I felt like I had to cut down Cassia no matter what. I desperately willed every cell in my body to be one second faster—one kilogram stronger. Then, it felt like a large door broke open in my brain. Thousands of various knowledge covering many subjects poured in at once."

"Thousands, you say?"

"Yeah, thousands. Though some were clearer and sharper than others."

"What did you eventually decide on?"

"I'm unsure, but I just wanted to cut Cassia's head off. So, I think I settled on 'Cut'."

The Examiner's eyes narrowed. "That is a strange choice. But I suppose it does match your straightforward personality. You awakened another concept, didn't you?"

"Yes," confirmed Suzuki. "Maybe because we share the same body, Kashi went through the awakening at the same time I did. Unlike me, who just wanted to cut Cassia's head off, Kashi wanted to reach whoever was in trouble, no matter where they were. Maybe cause he's been playing with spatial elements in-game for so long, he gravitated toward spatial displacement." Suzuki's eyes narrowed as he added, "I don't think I can activate it on command without more training, but it felt like I could shift objects through space." He paused and added, "Also, for a while, I could feel every cell in my body. It was like I could accelerate or slow down my blood and even stop my heart with a thought. It was similar to the first time I tried to wrestle control of a Gladiator from its AI. Only, this time I could just about handle the stream of information even though it left me in a lot of pain."

The Examiner smiled. "It's similar to the previous subject's account. Your account corroborates our theory that extreme stress in combat is necessary for awakening. Only, I don't think it'll be easy to get others to roleplay to the extent you do. Without belief in impending death, it'll be hard for the average person to break their shackles."

"I've answered your question. Now, answer mine," demanded Suzuki. "What is awakening?"

Exposing a toothy grin, the Examiner revealed, "Congratulations. You are Terra's first Expert Pilot."

'