Padva hastened her steps, her boots hitting the metal ground as they walked down the aisle that led to a lift at its end. Neither of them said anything to each other once they got inside, alone together in the cube structure, their mechbeasts whirring in the silence.

The lift stopped on the training floor seconds after. After Padva, Jethro walked out, hesitating to take a good look at the new surroundings. It was his first time on the training floor and he wasn't exactly certain of what to expect, but he was still unsettled with this world and its technology.

The air was saturated with synthetics and disinfectant. The metal gray walls stretched too long for Jethro's eyes to follow, but along the edges of the ceiling were neon strips of red and yellow. They seemed alive, likely in sync with the building's central AI system.

There were doors. Atop each of them were tags of the student years who were allowed to use that particular room's facilities. Padva gestured to the one for Year One students and headed towards it. Jethro followed.

Stepping inside was like entering the pulsating heart of a war machine. Padva didn't seem moved by it, but Jethro was clearly stunned. He'd never been in a training facility before. In both lives. This one was even more impressive.

The sheer scale was staggering. Jethro could see multiple levels through transparent energy fields, each catering to different specializations. There was an energy in the air, one that was controlled, like the high-pitched whine of fields, the deep bass thump of impact drones, the sizzle of energy projectors, and the constant, low roar of simulated environments.

The levels all served different purposes for training, whether mechbeast or tamer.

Level 1 focused on physical conditioning. On that level, there were rows of adaptive weight machines protected by kinetic-dampening fields, allowing tamers to push their limits without catastrophic injury.

Beside them, obstacle courses shifted and morphed in real-time. Jethro saw walls sprouting climbing grips, floors liquefying into viscous pools, gravity fields fluctuating unpredictably. Mechbeasts trained alongside partners on specialized equipment: treadmills that simulated desert sand or arctic tundra, sparring rings shielded by crackling stun-fields, and resonance chambers where aetheric pulses tested beast-tamer synchronization.

He wondered why this wasn't the first place he came to as soon as he joined this damn school.

On Level 2, he saw students battling with holograms. The level was for combat simulation. Not only were there holograms, but there were holographic arenas around them. Too real, almost like the Battle Field Sphere Chief Otis owned.

Some recreated dense urban jungles for close-quarters skirmishes, others vast deserts for long-range engagements, and a few simulated the chaotic, unstable environments of low-level Rifts. Places like the Outer Mire and the Blight Hollows.

Apart from the holographic darcbeasts, glowing combat drones– ranging from swift, mosquito-like harassers to hulking, shielded bruisers –engaged tamers and beasts, their attacks calibrated to sting but not maim. Damage counters flashed in the air, tracking hits and efficiency.

Jethro watched a student— Skarion —perfectly dispatch three holograms with a one-handed spin kick before stomping down an approaching one. Padva pulled him to Level 3 which was why they were here anyway. This level was for Specialized Skill Development.

He watched her scan her paycard over a panel before they were allowed in. Now he realized why he never even thought of coming here in the first place. It wasn't free. At least, not this Level.

On the walls that surrounded this level, there were pods, separated and enclosed pods. Each of them was a self-contained training environment which meant they created habitats different mechbeasts lived in. One pod simulated a blizzard, another a magma flow, another a pitch-black cavern system.

Central to the floor were open-plan stations for precision work. Reflex Arenas projected intricate patterns of light or energy bolts for evasion training. Retrieval Simulators conjured hovering targets or fragile data-crystals amidst fields of moving obstacles, like sharp spinning blades, falling debris and shifting force fields. Control Consoles allowed tamers to adjust difficulty, environmental hazards, and even the simulated "value" of the target, adding psychological pressure.

Jethro stared at it all. "Holy Shit."

Padva looked at her, her bob whipping against her face. "What?"

He grinned, overwhelmed by the power and brilliance of the technology available here for one to get stronger. "This place is awesome."

Padva appeared confused. "You've never been up here before?"

Jethro looked at her, still overwhelmed. "Not everyone's as rich as you, princess. I live on the outskirts, remember?"

"Oh," she looked away awkwardly. Now it was her turn to change the conversation, so she moved her gaze, scanning the available Reflex Arenas. "Since your lizard— Scorch —is still a Hatchling, I think efficiency is key. Basic evasion and retrieval protocol should suffice to give him the push he needs to get to Juvenile."

"Reflex training," Jethro mirrored her words. "Basic mission handling… key light exercises for mechbeasts in the Hatchling Phase" He looked at her. "You're right. Let's do it."

They claimed Station 7, a circular platform marked by glowing blue boundary lines. A control panel hummed to life as Padva synced her Beastlinker, connecting it to the panel. Jethro did the same.

"What do you want to do first?" she asked. "Scorch's reflexes don't seem that bad."

"Thank you," Jethro replied. "But let's start with it anyway. That way I can check for any possible issues he might have."

"Okay." She input the commands.

The chamber softly responded to her, activating with a mechanical whirr. Jethro snatched Scorch out of his shirt and carefully placed the lizard inside the chamber.

The whirring became louder as the chamber reacted to Scorch's presence.

Ding!

Jethro's beastlinker sang.

[Reflex training has begun for mechbeast]

[Mechbeast: Red Lizard]

[Beast Rank: Grey Rank]

[Phase: Hatchling]

[Level: 8]

With a ding, the first sequence began.

Jethro raised his chin just when silver orbs dropped from the ceiling grid. They rocketed through the air on unpredictable arcs, slicing and singing like F1 cars.

Jethro noticed Scorch look away from him, like it was realizing by itself that this was training.

"Come on, Scorch," he spoke to the mechbeast. "Just imagine the orbs are big tasty Speed Bugs. You'll catch them all in no time."

The Red Lizard tilted its head at the orbs, and then its eyes sparked with readiness, its jaw tightened, then— snap! —the red chrome-lined tongue lashed out like a whip.

The tongue, jointed like a segmented cable, coiled around an orb mid-flight and yanked it back as fluidly as natural muscle. A whir echoed in its throat as the captured sphere is crunched within hidden processing jaws, then swallowed.

Jethro raised his brows. "At least I don't have to worry about his lunch."

Padva glanced at him.

He smiled.

The speed of the orbs increased. Now three orbs were shooting at differing velocities, ricocheting off mirrored angles.

Scorch began to shift its weight on its clawed feet, steel digits scraping sparks across the floor as it adjusted.

Spat!

Tongue flashed out again and caught another. Went through its jaws, was crunched and then swallowed.

Scorch's tongue flickered over and over in rapid bursts, catching one, missing at rare times but recovering instantly without visible hesitation. Every caught orb lit a tally rune on the chamber wall, cold digits counting precision.

Then, abruptly, the chamber changed tone. Sirens gave a rising whine, and the walls split open again.

Jethro narrowed his eyes. "What's happening?" he asked Padva.

"It's going to the next stage of reflex training," she said.

Jethro pursed his lips, feeling like a novice in matters concerning this complex training facility.

The next training sequence wasn't about food spheres but razor-edged projectiles, angular drones snapping from hidden ports.

Jethro watched as they streaked across the chamber's length like lines of liquid tungsten. Scorch's red eyes followed them, as much as it could, keeping track of their positions. It hissed, tail coiling, then slammed sideways into a vaulting leap.

The room tilted beneath. Since it was on gimbal mechanics, it was shifting its axis to unbalance the trainee. Scorch would have to keep his balance on his own.

A drone spiraled directly toward its face, and reflex overrode its conscious thought. Scorch's tongue slashed out, and rather than catching, it whipped the projectile off-course with a metallic crack.

Jethro grinned proudly. "Nice, Scorch! Nice!"

One by one, the drones intensified, some swooping low blades across its legs, others flashing strobe bursts meant to disorient.

But the mechlizard grew sharper with each attempt, its movements less animal, more precise. He even used his tail as counterbalance, claws scratching calculated grooves into the tilting floor, tongue lashing in perfect measured intervals.

And when the final drone shot forward, Scorch leaped over it, letting it crash onto the rock in the terrain.

"Yes!" Jethro pumped the air.

Padva's panther tilted its head at him.

At last, the chamber dimmed and the reflex training came to an end.

Ding!

Jethro looked at his beastlinker.

[Reflex training complete]

[Level growth (8 → 9)]

[Phase: Hatching Phase]

Inside the chamber, only the sound of Scorch's raspy cyber-organic breathing filled the silence as it waited for Jethro to see his score. On the wall, the tally glowed: a near-perfect sequence.

The training AI's voice spoke from hidden speakers:

"Reflex calibration: 94%. Margin of error: decreasing. Subject adapting at optimal rate. Terminate cycle. Prepare for escalation."

Scorch lowered its head, vents steaming in rhythmic sighs. His muscles twitched along armored sides as it jumped around the chamber, almost like anticipation.

Padva smiled faintly. "Look at that," she said. "It wants the next challenge."

Jethro watched Scorch, happy to see his lizard being serious about leveling up. He turned to Padva, eyes locking before he shrugged. "Then let's give it to him."

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