The next morning, I head down to the training halls. The halls are outfitted with equipment that’s capable of testing the limits of the human body and more.

I flex, testing the exercise suit.

The exercise suit’s emerald green. It fits perfectly against me. It’s capable of recording my vitals and has several inbuilt functions for injuries. It’s also pretty elastic. When I had first seen it, it was around twice the size of my palm. It stretched from that to fit me.

My Mentor’s behind a transparent wall, calmly watching me.

I’m in a grey room, the door behind me, a table with a few hundred- 356 to be precise, electronic components lying in front of me, and six drones circling me. The drones are matte-black spheres, with two turrets attached to their sides. The constant hum of anti-grav panels fills the air around them.

I flex my hands and spend the next minute memorizing all the details of the electronic components.

When the buzzer sounds, I’m supposed to assemble something that can take down the drones, while avoiding fire and at the same protect the components in front of me. Until then, all I can do is analyze and plan.

And analyze and plan is what I do. I already have an idea of what I’m going to build. It’s risky, but it’s the only thing I can build in the shortest amount of time and requires the least materials.

This is extreme and capable as I am, this is going to be a very hard challenge. Apparently, my Mentor wants to see what I’m capable of.

The buzz would sound in thirteen secon-

The buzz sounds.

I jump, and that’s a mistake in itself because I can’t dodge the canister that hits me from the side.

I’m knocked to the side, and I just barely avoid the next canister. The canisters are just empty shells, because, after all, no one wants dead kids. That’s just messy, both figuratively and literally.

The next moment, I’m back on my feet and am darting towards the table. I tank a hit with my forearm and then bear with the pain as I avoid colliding with one of the drones. I take three components, and fit them together, making a makeshift soldering iron. I fit a battery into it and dodge another canister at the same time.

I take two components, fit them together, and then am hit from behind. I get knocked forward, tipping the table and contents. Another shot’s incoming, which I have to twist hard to dodge. I’m left with a sharp pain in my torso, as one of my implants overheats. I clench my teeth and get to my feet. I dodge another shot, and kick the table away, careful to direct it away from the electric stuff.

I roll forwards and assemble seven more pieces before I’m forced to tank a hit with my chest to prevent the thing from falling. The pain distracts me for a moment, but I complete the device in the next few seconds.

It’s a palm-sized ugly thing, with a thin lever for the trigger. There’s a small reddish brown disk in the opposite direction of the trigger. It can work for three charges, but I can just replace its batteries after that.

I pause, and then add a larger plate after making some calculations. Now it can last for two charges, but with a forty-five percent increase in firepower.

I dodge a canister and dart forwards. A drone swerves in to knock me from the side, but I twist my torso, point the disc end of the device at it, and lightly press the trigger. A distortion of air spreads, followed by the drone… imploding.

What I just did is use anti-grav panels to do the opposite of what they are supposed to do, in a single burst. The result is a small bubble where matter compresses, that would move for about half a meter before fading.

However, there’s a cooldown, and so I tank another hit, fee; one of my ribs crack before I’m able to take down another drone. The drones then increase their rate of fire, making it hell for me as I fix a new battery, and wait for the device to charge. I take another three hits, and each hurt more than the last. In the corner of my eye, I see my Mentor apathetically looking on.

It doesn’t faze me in the least. I continue taking down drones until the device fizzles out. In the end, I decide to simply breach their outer covering, and make a simple E.M.P to take them down in a single burst. It works, but by the end of it, my arm’s broken, and my implants tell me that two of my ribs are broken, with a couple cracked. There’s also some bruising.

I stare at the ceiling, breathing hard. I disable my pain sense. It’s making it hard for me to think.

That was a piss poor performance. Maybe some would be satisfied that they finished the course. But I go through my performance and see mistakes. I notice that my body has not adapted to my new hand, and that caused a thirty percent loss in speed while assembling. I’m surprised I didn’t notice that earlier. Then again, there are only three occasions where I tried building under pressure.

I pull myself to my feet. My Mentor’s still staring at me emotionless through the wall. Around the room lay various bits of machinery.

I turn to look at him, breathing hard. He looks straight at me, before turning away and walking out. Two nurse bots enter the room.

Nurse bots are feminine androids, that are built to be reassuring, and… cute. Yes, because apparently, it helps people in times of shock.

The glass wall slides into the floor, and the nurse bots scan me. One of them smiles at me, while the other rushes out of the room, presumably for a stretcher. I can walk, but I doubt the bots would let me, considering the state I’m in.

“What’s your name?” The bot asks.

I close my eyes in bliss. Her voice is like music.

“Daniel. Daniel Zyron.” I said.

She nods.

“Hello, Daniel. My name is Cesa Ander. I will personally be taking care of you until you are completely healed.”

I smile.

“Uh, thanks, I guess.”

“There is no need to thank me, Daniel Zyron. I am just doing what I was designed to do.” She says.

Must be an old model, then. New models don’t speak like that. They are more… natural.

I shake my head.

“Just call me Dan. Also,” I shrug, “Whether you’re doing it because you have to or want to, you still deserve my thanks.”

I kinda like talking with these kind of Androids. Old ones, I mean. They’re… curious? Well, yes, but also… kind, for a lack of a better word. New models can be kind too, but it’s a different type of kind.

Cesa pauses, tilting her head to the side. Then she nods..

“If that is what you think. May I ask how you are not in pain currently? Is it because of your implants?”

I nod.

“It is.”

She frowns.

“Disabling your pain receptors is not a healthy-”

I interrupt her.

“Yes, yes, but I’d rather not feel pain when I’m… like this.”

The other Nurse bot enters, holding a portable stretcher.

My bruises are already gone, thanks to the help of the exercise suit. But the more serious injuries need some medical attention. It would take around half an hour before I’m back in tip-top shape.

Cesa and the other bot carry me to the infirmary, where I see there is no lack of students, despite the short amount of time it takes to treat injuries. She treats me as though I’m delicate as a porcelain doll, making me feel torn between feeling nice about the attention or feeling annoyed she’s treating me like a baby.

I decide to go for the former because positive is always better. Except when it’s not.

Anyways, in no time I am on my feet, all my injuries fixed with the magic of nanotechnology, and with Cesa hovering nearby. She ruffles my hair, and reluctantly sends me off (not without some candy). I think about requesting for her to be my personal nurse bot. The school should allow it, I think, it can go on my scholarship. My Mentor… well, that, I’ll just find out.

Speaking of which, I am again standing in his office, waiting for him to go through some data. When he is done, I stand firmer, partly to hide my nervousness, and partly to show discipline.

“Tell me, what did you do with the tritinate?” He asks.

“Nothing… I’m still in the design phase.” I say.

He nods.

“Take your time with that. I don’t want a rush job.”

I nod.

“I… I did badly in today’s test, didn’t I?” I say.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Barely a few Builders have ever passed that test. If anything, I’d say you did above average.”

“But it was just that… above average. If that was a real battle, ‘above average’ would’ve gotten me killed.”

He looks at me for a moment, pondering, and then smiles.

“True. But I didn’t expect you to ace the test on the first go. That would be impractical.”

“Oh… then what did you expect?”

“Nothing. I didn’t know enough about you to make an accurate prediction.”

I blink.

“That’s…”

“True. I wonder, do you know what you did wrong?”

I go over the details in my head, before nodding.

“Then I have nothing to tell you on that front. On the other hand, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” He says.

Then he moves to his desk, before pulling a silver box out of the drawer. He opens it, revealing a silver bracelet inside. The bracelet has sleek, and elegant curves to it. He places the bracelet on my arm, and I watch, fascinated as it changes shape to fit my hand.

Nanotechnology. Again.

My eyes widen.

“Hello, Daniel. My name is Grace, and I,” She pauses, mulling the words over in her mind.

“Am your A.I.”