Year 2050

  Month 3

  The Arena: DAY 28

  Yesterday was exhausting, and the schedule is completely different today except for Internal regulation and philosophical.

  Internal Regulation Training yesterday was... different to say the least.

  They had me meditating for hours, focusing on my breath while electrodes monitored my brain activity. It felt awkward and pointless at first. I was just… just sitting there, counting breaths.

  But then they introduced that pain stimuli. Some small shocks, those temperature extremes. Took me awhile, not to mention a whole lot of grief and effort, before I finally figured out the goal wasn’t to ignore the pain, but to acknowledge it and then... regulate it.

  ….

  Though I guess that's one way to get a better control of one’s body. If I keep this up then I guess by the end, I could theoretically slow my heart rate at will.

  Kinda like if I was to access some code inside me. One that I never knew existed in my own body.

  Huh I wonder what else I could do with it?

  To top it off, I got lost trying to find my way here twice. I’m memorizing the map more but the way they keep blocking off routes is ridiculous. It’s not like I have been down here before. Today is a completely new chamber, looking at the map it’s also many times bigger than the one I’m used to.

  Ah I think this is it here.

  Dante placed his palm against the scanner beside the unmarked section of wall. A soft beep sounded as the light traced his hand. The wall slid open, revealing the chamber he was thinking of a moment ago.

  So this is the new room.

  I’ve gotten used to the Arena being conducted in the same three rooms, then again all of them are white so it’s hard to tell the difference.

  He stepped inside.

  This room on the other hand.

  Yeah. I can see the difference at first glance.

  Wow honestly, the only word I can think of right now.

  This is very impressive.

  The ceiling stretched upward at least thirty feet, the soft lights coating it. What caught his attention was the elaborate obstacle course constructed throughout the space—platforms at various heights, narrow ledges, angled walls, hanging bars, and gaps of differing distances.

  The bottom of the chamber was filled with a thick layer of cushioning foam, presumably to prevent serious injury from falls. Some sections had water beneath them instead, dark and still.

  Is this what I think it is? The daily obstacles were just testing the basics. They’re taking it to another level now I guess.

  Though I’m not surprised at all.

  A voice echoed through the chamber, startling him from his thoughts.

  “Parkour Assessment Stage One.”

  The voice is different today, male, with a slight accent I can’t seem to place. Though usually, I can barely tell anyway since it’s muffled up.

  “Your objective is to reach the platform at the top. Your performance will be timed and evaluated for efficiency, technique, and adaptability.”

  A holographic clock materialized in the air, hovering translucent and ready.

  Dante surveyed the area, his mind focused as he planned his route. The first section seemed straightforward—a series of platforms ascending in a spiral pattern. Metal platforms of varying sizes emerged from the wall, spiraling upward.

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  Some were solid squares while others were just thin bars.

  The middle section would involve larger jumps.

  I won’t be able to reach those with normal jumps. Some of those will involve precision, even a wall run here or there for that extra distance.

  0

  Beep!

  1

  The time had begun.

  Dante launched himself at the first set of platforms, adapting the movements he’d been using to navigate the daily obstacles of the Arena. He leaped to the first platform, landing solidly with bent knees to absorb the impact. From there, he quickly pushed off to the next, twisting his body in mid-air to match the spiral’s direction. His feet touched down on the third platform just long enough to propel himself toward the fourth.

  That was just a warm-up. It was too easy otherwise.

  This is where it’s about to get harder.

  The middle section loomed ahead.

  Unlike the first platforms, this one will be a challenge.

  Nearly a month ago, when I came to the Arena, I doubt I would have been able to do it, but…

  I am not who I was then.

  Well I guess that’s what climbing and jumping every day just to eat does they mark your daily routine.

  This.

  However is not a daily routine.

  The jumps are longer, the height for the climbs was all different.

  This, in its entirety, is just different.

  A focused and expert test of my parkour skills.

  Skills that I have had limited time to develop.

  Before him stretched a series of widely-spaced platforms with a much larger gaps between them than before.

  To the right, a smooth wall curved alongside the path. On the wall there were also hanging bars that suspended at varying heights that would require precise timing and grip strength.

  Ok…

  Here I go.

  He took a deep breath and kicked off the platform, sprinting toward the curved wall with measured steps.

  His foot planted near the base, and he surged upward at an angle and began his wall run. His body leaned into the motion, kicking off lightly against the surface as he ascended waiting for the right moment to push off.

  His hand caught the first bar.

  He felt the impact in his shoulder, but he held on. The bar swayed slightly beneath his grip. He swung forward, then back and flew to the next bar.

  Second bar, another swing, he took all the training of the Arena and focused.

  Then he was in air once more and caught the next bar, he was swinging once more before he left go, joining the aerial ride.

  Dante missed his landing and crashed onto the platform, his body and skidded. He Desperately tried to stop himself by stabilizing himself with a hand on the surface.

  He succeeded.

  That hurt.

  The moment he caught his breath, a warning light blinked at his feet.

  Beneath him, the platform let out a mechanical growl.

  Oh, you got to be kidding me!

  Without further hesitation, Dante launched again just as the platform sank away behind him.

  The next few jumps came quickly. The gaps were shorter than before, but each one sank away after a moment or two. He grunted and breathed heavier as he continued, feeling his legs beginning to tire at the very end.

  Ahead loomed another wall. No platforms this time. Just hanging bars again. This time, two of them, and then a wall with small gripping points, jutting edges designed for climbing.

  He dashed forward. Another wall run.

  The bar swung in his grasp.

  Fatigue now weighing on his muscles.

  Come on I think I see the top, just a little more…

  He let go and caught the next bar his left hand almost slipping away as his right tightened as firmly as he could. Dante took time stabilizing himself.

  The wall was next.

  He flew toward it, arms extended.

  His fingers caught the edge of one of the grips as momentum carried him forward. For a brief moment, he hung suspended by his tired grip, but then his finger strength failed and he felt himself slip from the hold.

  No, no no no.

  Hold on, damn it!

  Slip!

  He felt weightless as he fell his only companion his own thoughts. And the only word repeating among them.

  FUCK!

  Then gravity finished its claim on him.

  He hit the foam below hard, back-first, air rushing out of his lungs. The ceiling spun above him as the platform reset far overhead.

  The holographic timer froze above him.

  7:32

  ATTEMPT FAILED.

  Dante stared at it, breathing heavily as he lay in the foam padding.

  Ok everything hurts, I just need a minute.

  Dante laid there his eyes closed for a moment.

  1

  2

  3

  The seconds passed and quickly turned into a minute.

  Then Dante heard a beep.

  Huh?

  Opening his eyes, he sees the hologram start its clock once more

  1

  Well, break over. Time to go again.

  Dante got up, took a deep breath, and ran.