Chapter 45 Phantom of the Raptor 01

As Aria entered the VR simulation, she felt an unexpected chill run down her spine as she faced off against the Raptor 01. Even though it was just VR, the memory of her last encounter with that monster flashed in her mind - when it had torn through her and Ewan’s squads. In the real world, Raptor 01 was relentless, unpredictable, and nearly unstoppable. And here she was, in a Combelt MK3 no less, trying to go toe-to-toe with the thing that had taken everyone from her.

The fight began, and Raptor 01 lunged at her. Aria dodged and returned fire. But something was off. She braced for the fast pace she remembered, yet Raptor 01’s movements were slow, almost predictable. Her mech was able to keep up easily, even outmaneuvering it at times. A strange sense of disappointment crept into her mind.

“What is this? Some kind of joke?” she muttered to herself.

 This version of Raptor 01 moved in basic attack patterns, its speed and power dialed down far from what she knew it could do. In reality, she and Elias had barely survived its onslaught in the advanced Combelt MK4, but here, it felt almost like a practice target.

Aria pushed her mech harder, challenging Raptor 01 to keep up, testing every trick she could remember. Yet it moved with a disappointing predictability. A wide swing, an exaggerated lunge - Raptor 01 was strong, but it felt like it was bullet sponge, nowhere near the fierce, cunning mutant she remembered.

With every passing minute, the sense of danger diminished, replaced by frustration. Aria quickly dismantled its patterns, dodging its attacks with ease. After a few hours of exchanging blows, she finally saw the VR simulation’s Raptor 01 fall to her attacks. She sat there in her mech, feeling none of the satisfaction she’d expected.

“That’s it? What a joke! Not even close to the real thing.” 

She had braced herself to face her worst nightmare, but this watered-down version felt almost insulting. 

Done with her lackluster fight, she pulled herself out of the simulation and checked on Sierra and Jacob’s progress. They were deep into their simulation, tackling the same nightmare scenario West had given them the other day. 

Aria glanced up at the scoreboard, surprised to see their score ticking upward fast. They were doing far better than she’d expected, racking up points as they moved through the waves of enemies. 

Sierra and Jacob emerged from the VR pods, breathless and excited but visibly frustrated. They had come so close to finishing the mission, racking up an impressive score of 206,000 points before being overwhelmed in the final moments. Sierra shook her head, brushing back damp hair and frowning.

“We were right there,” she said, looking at Jacob, “I thought we had it. The score’s great, but we still couldn’t finish.”

“Yeah, I think we lost momentum right when those mutants started closing in. They overrun the ammo drop and we got swarmed fast. That last part is hard.”

“You two did better than I thought you would. That’s a huge improvement - over 200,000 points. But you both got swarmed. The other thing you missed was timing. With this number of mutants, you want to stagger your shots to hit more in each blast radius. Don’t just fire as soon as they appear; keep them grouped as much as possible to make the most of each burst shot.”

As she gave them tips, the door to the training room swung open, and a girl from their academic class - a tall, slender figure with her dark hair pulled back into a neat ponytail - walked in, intending to get in some VR practice of her own. She was about to settle into an empty pod when she noticed Sierra and Jacob’s score on the leaderboard. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Yesterday, they had barely managed to stay afloat, scraping by with scores far below what West expected. But now, in just a few hours of practice, the two of them alone had hit more than half the benchmark score that West demanded for the entire squad.

“What...?” she whispered to herself, her face shocked and suspicious.

 "How did they manage to pull that off?"

Instead of approaching them and asking directly, the girl quietly slipped over to the main terminal. She pulled up all the training footage from their session, transferring the recordings to her tablet with a quick swipe.

She slipped her tablet back into her bag, casting one last suspicious look at Sierra and Jacob. With their high score and visible confidence, something had changed. Whatever it was, she intended to find out.

As the girl exited the training room, Sierra turned to Aria.

 “Alright, let’s go over those timing strategies again. I think we’re ready to push for an even higher score next time.”

Aria smirked, clapping her hands together.

 “Good. Let’s aim for 300,000 then. I’ll show you both a few more tricks for handling these close-quarters ambushes - shoot and knife. Shoot groups that are closing in, and knife the singular stragglers in your way. And trust me, with the way you two are progressing, that goal’s not as far off as you think.”

They trained until late, pushing themselves until Sierra and Jacob were exhausted. When the clock struck evening, the two of them finally left the VR room to rush to their night jobs. Sierra was drenched in sweat but radiating pride and excitement - they’d managed to hit their 300,000-point goal, something she’d thought impossible only a few days earlier. Jacob, though equally wiped out, wore a happy grin.

 Aria felt none of their fatigue. Her mutated body barely required food or sleep, and a quick sip of water was all she needed. Satisfied with her training she called it a day and went home.

The next morning, as the class gathered, everyone found West already seated at his desk, tapping a pen with a slightly irritated expression, clearly waiting for the last few students. Once everyone settled down, he leaned forward, eager to cut straight to the point.

“All right, listen up! Today’s class has some changes! First of all, I’ve got news from the science division! They’ve just released the first batch of Tank Mech Pilot Tactical Suits!”

“These suits are next-gen,” West continued, “designed to significantly increase pilot survivability. They’re equipped with an AI core that provides tactical assistance, automatic stabilizers, life support, night vision, and more cool stuff! With these on, you’ll be faster, stronger, and smarter in the field.”

“Now! Today’s training will be real-time combat against Combelt MK1's, which will simulate an Aegis mutant attack. This is no VR drill; you’ll be in full suits against a live mech in the new training wing. So get ready! It will be fun... for me to watch, that is! HAHAH!”

He glanced around the room until his gaze settled on Aria.

 “Everyone will be training today all day long! Except for you, Hale! Since you decided to skip out on the previous class,” West said, crossing his arms, “we couldn’t get the right measurements for your tactical suit, so it wasn’t ready in time for today’s exercise. You’re being reassigned to the science division to get fitted... PERSONALLY! I want you there today, no delays, no excuses! Is that CLEAR, Hale!”

"CRYSTAL, sir!" 

“All right, Hale - you’re off to the science division. The rest of you, follow me to the training grounds,” West commanded, standing and gesturing for the students to line up. 

The room buzzed with excitement as everyone got up to follow him out, each of them anticipating what their new suits would be like.

Sierra gave Aria a quick smile as she passed by, eyes sparkling with excitement, and whispered, “Good luck with the fitting. You’d better hurry back; we need you in these drills.”

Aria returned the smile with a wink.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in one piece... I hope... fitted and ready to go.”