Trial of Steel

Chapter 27: Trial of Steel

The red visor of the drone homed in on Caden's location.

TARGET ACQUIRED.

A metallic voice echoed as its rotary cannons whirred back to operation.

Caden didn't wait. The moment the drone began firing, he sprinted headlong, dodging by seconds the storm of bullets shredding the debris behind him. He felt the heat of the rounds graze his skin, but continued to run, dodging between debris.

Mira slapped her palms against the ground. The air around her shuddered as gravity warped in an instant. The drone staggered as its weight tripled, its metal legs creaking under the new force.

"Go!" she screamed.

Darius needed no encouragement. He charged forward, his muscles taut as his hardened hide absorbed the errant shots that struck his shoulder. With a roar, he leapt onto the machine, gripping its metal plates and smashing his fist into its body with such violence that it dented.

But the drone was no pushover.

Its servos whirred as it realigned to the altered weight distribution. A hidden thruster on its backside flared, shooting it back in a hurry headfirst into an incoming wall, slamming Darius into it with a ghastly creak.

"Darius!" Ava bellowed.

She ran in a blur, her steps rapid and accurate. With one motion, she swept up a discarded metal beam lying on the ground and launched it like a spear. The make-shift weapon struck the drone's leg, sending it stumbling for a moment.

But a moment was all Caden needed.

Radiation coursed through his veins. He kicked off the ground, racing towards the machine. Halfway through the air, he spun, all the absorbed energy channeled into his fist. His entire arm glowed, air rippling around him because of the heat.

"Let's see how tough you really are!"

Caden's fist crashed into metal

BOOM!

The impact left a shockwave spread out across the battlefield, a blinding burst of power and energy. The drone recoiled, sparks flying off its ripped plating.

It was not defeated.

The drone jerked away from Caden's punch, its red visor flashing as if rebooting. Sparks erupted from the crumpled plating, but it didn't stop. Rather, it compensated, its servos screaming as it regained balance.

Then, a voice pierced the battlefield, mechanical.

"ADAPTING."

Suddenly, the broken arm of the drone contorted, changing its shape. The rotary cannons retreated, giving way to a pair of slick, plasma-coated blades that buzzed with energy.

Caden's grin faltered. "Well, that's not playing fair."

The drone picked up speed, faster than it had before. In a split second, it was upon him, blade cutting towards his chest.

Caden nearly spun around in time. The plasma edge seared across his uniform, blistering his side as he jumped back. The flame burned, but he didn't notice, eyes locked on the machine.

"This thing's adapting," Mira complained, her grip creaking. "It's not a combat dummy or something."

Ava's eyes flashed over the battlefield. "We can't keep battering at it head-on. It's learning our habits."

Darius cleared blood from his lips and continued ahead. "Then we stop allowing it to learn."

The drone attacked once more, but they were ready.

Mira smashed gravity beneath it, bending it to the ground. Ava ran in, using her speed to produce a quick smash into its vulnerable servos. Darius topped it off with a blow of thunder, demolishing one of its blade arms.

The drone twitched but instead of retreating, its remaining arm shifted again.

"ADAPTING."

This time, a new weapon formed.

A glowing plasma cannon.

Mira's breath hitched. "Oh, hell—"

The cannon charged—

Caden moved.

Faster than thought, he threw himself forward, energy surging through him.

If this thing could adapt—

Then he'd just have to destroy it faster than it could learn. He instantly unsheathef his Katana and striked

Radiant Strike: Full power. A green beam slash was released and at the same time the drone released its attack

The battlefield erupted in a blinding crash of energy.

Caden's Radiant Strike shot forward in a brilliant arc of green light, its raw energy screaming through the air. At the same time, the drone's plasma cannon launched off a blinding bolt of molten destruction, the air itself distorting from the sheer heat.

The two blows met.

A blazing explosion engulfed the battlefield. A shockwave rent the ground covered in rubble, sending rocks, mangled metal, and broken buildings flying. The power was enough to shake the ground, forcing Mira, Ava, and Darius to seek shelter.

In the chaos, Caden's eyes were locked on the drone, his mind dissecting the destruction even before the smoke had started to clear.

Had he destroyed it?

No.

The moment the dust began settling, the red visor flared out of the haze. Still in action.

The body of the drone bearing the signs of their combat the armor plating cracked, and the right half of its torso being nearly shattered with the force of Caden's strike. And stayed there. The broken plating shifted, folding over on itself like it were alive. Its core vibrated as it scanned the field, its computer cycling through sets of thousands of calculations.

Caden clenched his fists. "This thing just won't quit. I find it odd that it's a drone"

And then the machine spoke again.

"ADAPTING."

Its final plasma blade retracted replaced by something much, much worse.

The injured areas along its body changed, developing into a series of spike-like protrusions that began to crackle with energy. A colossal energy field flared to life, wrapping around the drone's form like a living shield.

Darius took a step forward. "That's new."

Mira narrowed her gaze. "A personal energy shield. but self-sustaining."

Ava's hands fluttered as she processed the new danger. "It's concealing its vulnerabilities as it battles. If this keeps going, it'll be unstoppable."

Caden released a drawn-out breath. "Then we finish this now."

The drone attacked.

Faster than before.

With its new energy shield activated, it paid no heed to the wreckage at its feet, sweeping across the battlefield like a hunting beast. The crackling energy warped the air around it, blowing apart any obstruction in its path.

Caden acted instantly.

He advanced, his katana flashing with renewed energy. When their swords clashed, a resonant shockwave shook the arena. The impact nearly threw Caden to the ground, but he planted his feet and struck back with rapid slashes.

But the shield absorbed it all.

Each blow was disrupted, the energy diffusing before it could reach the machine's actual surface.

"What an interesting toy" Caden growled.

The drone answered back with smoking speed its newly charged strikes sending him into outright defensive mode. Every swing, every thrust, came faster and more precise. The machine had prepared for him.

Then it turned and out of nowhere, spun a focused energy blast point-blank.

Caden barely had time to react. The blast struck him in mid-motion, sending him **straight into a pile of wreckage. The metal groaned beneath his impact as he smashed through it, coughing up blood.

Mira's heart leapt. "Caden!"

"Relax, I just had my organs shakened up a bit, that blow was a bit unexpected" Caden said

Ava's fists curled. "We have to break that shield."

Darius cracked his knuckles, his hardened form shifting again. "Then let's see how much it can take."

Without hesitation, he charged, his footsteps shaking the ground beneath him. He didn't give an inch he barged right into the machine's shield, exerting every last bit of power in a bone-crushing punch at the center. A blue glow surrounded him a big as he almost his fist into the shield

The blow was monstrous. The very air *

boomed from the impact.

The shield rippled cracks danced along its energy field.

Darius ground his teeth. "Come on, you metal bastard break!"

The machine responded instantly, retuning its output, redirecting its power to repair the breach.

Mira saw it. "It's diverting energy to keep the shield going. That means…"

Ava's eyes flashed. "It's open."

Mira didn't hesitate. She stretched out both arms, the air itself shuddering around her as she put everything into distorting gravity itself.

"Collapse."

The ground beneath the drone collapsed, a miniature gravity well erupting right beneath it.

The machine fell, its body folding as the crushing force dragged it down.

For the first time, its red visor wavered in doubt.

Caden, remaining on his knees from the power of the last attack, smiled with bloody teeth.

"That's our chance."

He got up, radiation flooding his system. The energy within him flared, his body burning with power.

Then he vanished.

One moment he was on the ground.

The next—

He was standing in front of the machine.

Before it could even defend itself, he punned his katana straight through the energy shieldforcing the blade through the weak core.

The machine shuddered uncontrollably.

Its reddish visor dimmed.

Then—

BOOM.

A final explosion rocked the field as the machine blew up from the inside out. Flashes danced in every direction, smoke *

streaming up into the air.

When the dust had settled, there was nothing left but the burnt hulks of the core of the machine.

Silence.

Then—

Darius let out a breath. "Well… that was awful."

Mira collapsed to the ground. "I second that."

Ava crossed her arms, surveying the devastation. "At least it's finally destroyed."

Caden shrugged, exhaling as the last sparks of the explosion died out.

"That thing was crazy," he remarked, sheathing his katana.

Ryan's voice cut through the strained silence.

"Not bad.".

Caden turned to see Ryan, Kieran, and Jake at the edge of the battlefield. Ryan stood with his arms crossed, smirk in place, but his red eyes gleamed with approval. Beside him, Kieran was silent as always, his eyes flicking to the wreckage of the drone with fleeting interest. Jake, on the other hand, was impressed and appalled.

"Damn," Jake whistled. "I don't know whether to congratulate you or call you insane. You people went way too hard for a training exercise."

Darius snorted. "We didn't have a choice. That thing wouldn't die."

Ryan moved forward, his eyes scanning the battlefield. "These drones were made to push us to our limits. It's clear the academy isn't just teaching us here, they just want to see our team's limit, after all only both of our teams met with drones near us."

Kieran finally broke his silence, his voice just as cold as ever. "If it takes you that much effort to annihilate a single drone, you're still not good enough."

Caden sneered, taking a step forward. "Incase you don't know I was just playing around with the drone and I'm sure you handled yours with no problem?"

Kieran didn't back down, his eyes locking with his. "I handled mine successfully."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them, competition from their previous fight still simmering in the air.

Ava tossed up her hands. "Enough macho strutting. What's next?"

Ryan hitched a thumb behind him. "Next phase of training. No more drones now. Now we fight each other."

Mira's eyebrow rose. "You mean sparring?"

"Not sparring." Ryan's expression darkened slightly. "We're talking full combat scenarios. Live opponents. No holds barred."

Jake shifted uncomfortably. "They're putting us into combat simulations against other cadets. No AI, no predetermined reactions just live, unpredictable opponents.

Darius cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Now that sounds like fun."

Caden locked eyes with Mira, and she simply sighed. "It's going to be brutal."

Kieran stepped forward, his tone biting. "Only the strongest will rise. You either adapt or fall behind."

Caden grinned, the thrill of battle already burning through his veins.

"Then it's certain that I'll be the last man standing."

With that, they faced their next challenge one that would push not only their strength, but their survival instincts against the best the academy had to offer.