As I made my way to the designated meeting area, my mind was already running through possible strategies.
The composition of my team would dictate my approach to the exercise, and though I had already memorized every cadet's habits, strengths, and weaknesses, I still had to account for the unpredictability of the battlefield itself.
'Though tryharding may not be that necessary.'
The crowd was thick with murmurs and speculation as cadets gathered, scanning the displayed team assignments on their academy portals. My eyes flicked over the holographic list.
Team 6
Astron Natusalune
Asher Veldrin
Caden Holt
A pause.
So he was on my team.
Asher Veldrin—the same person who had stood with Taylor, who had made the choice to seal me inside the mana stone cave during our first mission. He wasn't the ringleader, no. But he was complicit, and that mattered.
The second name, Caden Holt, wasn't someone I had direct experience with. I knew of him, of course—I knew everyone in our class.
