Second Test [The Maze]

When Tess turned, her gaze landed on a familiar figure... the same girl she had seen earlier in the passageway. Jet-black hair framed her slightly pale face, and her dull green eyes held the same lifeless intensity, as though no spark of emotion had ever touched them.

Tess smiled faintly, though the girl's unsettling presence made it a shallow gesture. "Yes, these are all," she said, gesturing to the weapons she had chosen.

The girl said nothing. Her expression was blank, a mask of cold indifference. Without so much as acknowledging Tess, she walked past her and began inspecting the array of weapons on display.

Tess watched as the girl selected a pair of cyber daggers and fastened them to her belt with practiced efficiency. A belt already bristling with grenades hung across her hips. The girl then reached for a sniper rifle... its barrel pulsing faintly with blue energy.. and slung it across her back. Finally, she moved toward a dual-mouthed sci-fi shotgun, her movements slow, almost mechanical.

Tess tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "I think that's too much," she remarked, folding her arms. "If you add that one, you'll be slower than the rest of us."

The girl's hand froze briefly on the shotgun. Then, without turning to face Tess, she replied, her voice calm and devoid of inflection, "Mind your business. I only carry what I need."

Tess frowned but held her tongue. You're the one who looks like they're prepping for war. She shrugged, muttering, "Alright, alright. Do what you want. I was just saying."

The girl didn't respond, her attention already elsewhere.

As more recruits began trickling into the room, each looking battered, Tess decided to retreat to a quiet corner, away from the crowd. She leaned against the metallic wall, her weapons ready, waiting for whatever came next.

But the calm was fleeting.

Without warning, the world shifted.

The ground seemed to ripple like water, the room dissolving into nothingness. Tess's vision blurred, her balance thrown as though gravity itself had betrayed her. When her sight cleared, she found herself in a labyrinth... a towering maze of cold, slate-colored stone.

"Round two," she muttered, gripping the hilt of her cyber blade.

The air was thick with a tangible sense of dread. Shadows danced unnaturally along the maze walls, cast by an unseen light source. Tess caught a glimpse of movement... a monstrous, four-legged creature slithered in the distance, its tentacles writhing as it searched.

Then, a shrill notification cut through the silence.

[RECRUIT_046][DIED]

The message hung in her mind like a funeral bell.

Tess didn't hesitate. She lowered her stance and charged forward, her body low to the ground, the cyber blade still sheathed but ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Her goal was simple: survive and finish the test.

A prompt appeared before her, glowing faintly in the air:

[Eliminate the 4 Maze Crawlers]

[Remaining: (4/4)]

The instructions were clear, but Tess knew better than to assume the test was straightforward. There was always a catch. And this time, the maze seemed alive, its narrow corridors shifting subtly, disorienting her.

As she rounded a corner, a figure lunged at her... a twisted humanoid with decayed flesh and glowing red eyes. Tess ducked instinctively, the creature's claws raking the air where her head had been.

Without hesitation, she unholstered her laser revolver and fired.

Pui! Pui!

The shots were precise, cutting through the zombie-like AI with ease. The creature collapsed, its body dissolving into faint, glowing particles.

Tess exhaled sharply but kept moving. She knew the AI-controlled zombies weren't the primary threat... they were distractions, programmed to grow stronger every five minutes. Wasting time wasn't an option.

Be the first to kill a Maze Crawler, she thought, adrenaline coursing through her veins. That's how I'll stay ahead.

She felt it then.. a ripple in the air, a faint pressure that made the hair on her arms rise. Her steps faltered. From somewhere in the distance, a deafening BOOM shattered the strange quietness.

Tess instinctively covered her ears as the shockwave reverberated through the maze. A screech followed, high-pitched and grating.

The sniper.

Her thoughts immediately went to the expressionless girl. She's already fighting one?

Tess broke into a sprint, weaving through the maze's twisting corridors toward the sound. The walls seemed to stretch endlessly, each turn leading her farther away from her destination. Frustration gnawed at her as her pace quickened.

I'm not fast enough.

She didn't stop to think. Planting her foot against the wall, she propelled herself upward, scaling the smooth stone with an athlete's speed. Her fingers gripped the edge of the wall, and with a final push, she climbed to the top of the maze.

From this vantage point, the labyrinth sprawled out beneath her like a nightmarish puzzle.

Her eyes scanned the distance until she saw her.

The girl stood in the midst of chaos, her lifeless green eyes fixed on the horde of AI-controlled zombies that swarmed her. Dual daggers flashed in her hands, cutting through the creatures with ruthless ease. Each movement was calculated, her strikes precise and unrelenting.

Tess couldn't help but admire her. Despite the overwhelming odds, the girl didn't falter.

A slow smile spread across Tess's face. She's good. But two can play this game.

A plan began to take shape in her mind....