Chapter 82: The Records Were All True
Chapter 85: Indecision Was a Decision
The third scenario placed Glitch inside a damaged service station with an evacuation route still available. Several cameras remained functional, enough to show a threat moving through the area, but its route kept changing and entire sections of the map were blank.
Jin had two choices. Leave now with incomplete information, or spend part of the closing evacuation window studying the camera feeds.
He chose to wait.
The enemy’s movements were inconsistent, but Jin compared each pass anyway, searching for a repeated path or some dependable sign before it changed direction. After sixty seconds, he had a route that should work.
He did not trust it yet.
So he watched longer, hoping the next feed would confirm the pattern.
Nothing did.
When Jin finally gave the command, much of the evacuation window was already gone. The route remained possible, but Glitch now had to pass through a damaged section that could have been avoided if they had moved earlier.
The simulated lizard reached the objective with one leg injured.
It happened in the exact area the first route would have bypassed. A concealed floor panel gave way beneath Glitch, catching one hind leg and holding him in place while the roaming beast rushed closer. Jin managed to pull him free, but the enemy reached striking distance first and tore across the trapped limb.
Glitch limped through the exit.
Nine seconds remained.
[Scenario Complete]
[Primary Objective: Achieved]
[Available Beast: Injured]
[Decision Delay: Excessive]
[Evaluation: Adequate]
Jin kept his eyes on that last word.
With another attempt, he could clear the scenario without damage. The enemy’s behaviour made sense now. Once he knew its movement, the correct route looked painfully simple.
No retry option appeared.
His hand paused over the controls, then withdrew. The assessment had already recorded the result. Meridian was not testing what he could accomplish after buying information with a failed run.
It was judging the choice he made while the answer was still unclear.
Kade brought all three results onto the same display.
"Your survival judgment, use of terrain, and resource management are excellent. Better than what I usually see from someone at this level. You know how to handle a weaker beast against a stronger one, and you don’t waste time chasing victories that serve no purpose."
Then he selected the third scenario.
"But here, you started losing points as soon as you decided to wait for certainty."
"I wanted to verify the pattern."
"You might never get one." Kade tapped the recorded decision point. "You had a workable route at sixty seconds. You dismissed it because you wanted evidence that it was the best route."
"It wasn’t safe."
"It was the safest option you had at that moment. Waiting made it less safe." Kade spoke without raising his voice. "You cannot throw away the first attempt and come back once you know the answer. Beyond the walls, the beast that learns the pattern may die before it gets another chance to use that knowledge."
Kade could not have known how closely the criticism landed.
The Engine had trained Jin to treat failure as information. Glitch could die to an unknown attack, return, and face it again with the lesson preserved. Jin had grown used to testing danger until he understood it before risking the real Glitch.
Without knowing the reason, Kade had found the habit exactly.
"Not choosing is still a choice," he continued. "A plan that comes after the opportunity is gone is not caution. It is no plan at all. Sometimes you move with the safest answer available before you know whether it is correct."
"What happens if I’m wrong?"
"You adjust while the situation can still be recovered." Kade pointed to the delayed route. "You treated uncertainty like something that had to disappear before you acted. It won’t. Uncertainty is part of every battlefield."
On the display, the injured Glitch continued to stand beside the completed objective.
"Yeah," Jin said. "I get it."
And he did.
Changing the habit would be the difficult part.
[Assessment Component Complete: Tactical Analysis]
[Survival Judgment: Excellent]
[Terrain Utilization: Excellent]
[Resource Management: Excellent]
[Adaptation Under Uncertainty: Adequate]
[Overall Result: Pass — High]
"This will improve your placement," Kade said. "It will not determine it. Good tactical judgment cannot substitute for what your beast can actually do in the field."
His attention shifted toward the medical mat.
Glitch had slept through the entire assessment.
Jin crouched beside him and used Appraisal without speaking.
[Combat Level: 3-Star]
[Physical Condition: Stable]
[Synchronization Recovery: In Progress]
[Estimated Recovery Remaining: Approximately 16 Hours]
The medical restriction was still in effect.
When Jin placed a hand on Glitch’s back, the lizard moved slightly but did not wake. His breaths remained slow and steady. Beneath the scales, the new density of his 3-Star body no longer carried the same feverish heat.
Recovery was going well.
That did not mean it could be hurried.
"Take him back to the dorm," Kade said. "Make sure he eats and stays hydrated. Bring him in for medical clearance only after the full recovery period. Not before."
"Understood."
"Day one still counts. You gained tactical points, but you missed a full day of physical testing."
Jin nodded.
A few extra hours were not worth risking Glitch.
The full twenty-four-hour recovery period would not end until late that evening, so medical clearance had to wait until then. If the scan showed no problems, Day Two’s field component would begin the next morning.
Jin had nearly reached the door when another notice appeared.
[Assessment Day Two]
[Component: Command, Mobility, and Controlled Combat Response]
[Registered Beast Participation Required]
[Medical Clearance Required Before Entry]
[Permitted Skills Must Be Declared]
He read the last line again.
Meridian already knew about Harden. It also knew Glitch had reached 3-Star and showed unusually strong command response.
Acid Breath, Corrosion Resistance, and Lesser Regeneration were still unknown.
Corrosion Resistance would be easy enough to conceal unless the test used corrosive damage. Acid Breath presented a larger problem. A Grey Rock Lizard suddenly producing a ranged corrosive attack immediately after another unexplained breakthrough would create questions Jin had no safe way to answer.
Lesser Regeneration carried a different risk.
He did not have to activate the skill himself. If Glitch received an obvious wound during the assessment, the healing might reveal it without permission.
But limiting Glitch to Harden meant entering the physical assessment while hiding a large part of the strength they had spent weeks gaining.
Jin still had no solution.
Glitch remained asleep when Jin lifted him from the mat. He was heavier now, his frame packed with the denser growth earned through the entire dungeon.
Jin carried him into Meridian’s quiet early-morning halls.
Inside the Engine, Glitch could die as many times as necessary while they searched for the perfect answer.
Meridian would allow only one attempt, then judge whatever was left alive.
Tomorrow, Jin needed to prove that Glitch deserved a place in the Regular Combat Program without using Acid Breath, and without allowing an injury to reveal Lesser Regeneration.
[A/N: Thanks for reading! We’ve made it this far, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re enjoying the story, please leave a review. Your feedback genuinely helps and keeps me motivated to keep writing!]