I descended the Academy's basement stairs at midnight, my footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. The storeroom door gleamed with its new lock of my own design, crafted through Assembly. Each member of our group now carried an identical key.

Mine clicked smoothly in the mechanism. Inside, I found Patter's tall frame looming in the dim light. She was dressed in leather armor, ready for battle. But I hadn't expected to see Copelan there, his serious expression illuminated by the room's single lamp.

I thought you were with the second group, I sent through Mind Speech.

"I am." Copelan straightened his uniform. "Just wanted to see you off properly."

I nodded and crossed to the corner where my combat chassis waited under a heavy tarp. The cloth rustled as I pulled it aside, revealing the mechanical frame beneath.

"Need any help?" Copelan asked, stepping closer to examine the intricate machinery.

No, but thank you. I quickly shed my Academy jacket and blouse, the fabric falling away to expose the mechanical components of my current body. With practiced movements, I began transferring myself to the combat chassis.

"What about your defensive frame?" Copelan's tactical mind was already at work. "The one Barkatus damaged?"

Scrap now. I clicked the final latches on the hatch shut, sealing myself inside the combat frame. The damage was too severe to repair. It'll make things harder down there since I designed that chassis specifically for Hellzone combat.

"That's what we're here for." Patter rolled her shoulders, ready for action. "To watch your back."

Thank you, I sent, genuinely touched by her support.

"What about building another defensive chassis?" Copelan's question made me pause. "One like the six-legged model?"

I want to, I sent through Mind Speech. But materials are the issue. Used most of my steel supply on the last one. My mechanical fingers flexed. And I'm out of alchemical base coating. I can't go into town to get more. It's too risky with Lyman's people watching.

"What exactly do you need?" Copelan pulled a small notebook from his jacket. "Make a list."

That's kind of you, but it would be too expensive-

"My family's rich." He cut me off with a wave. "Not just noble-rich. Really rich." His pen scratched against paper. "I can have everything shipped here under my name. No one would question it."

I stared at him, taken aback by the offer. That's... extremely generous.

"It's repayment." He didn't look up from his writing. "Your combat training has improved my swordplay significantly. Father should be pleased about that, at least." His voice carried a bitter edge. "So. Materials. What do you need?"

The gesture touched something deep within me. Here was someone willing to help without ulterior motives, despite knowing what I was. Thank you, Copelan.

"Don't mention it." He shrugged, still focused on his notebook. "Just list what you require."

I rattled off the list of materials, watching Copelan's pen dance across the paper. Pure iron, high-carbon steel, copper ingots, the purer the better. Tin as well. My mechanical fingers tapped against my chassis in thought. And leather, the thick kind used for armor.

"What grade of steel?" Copelan didn't look up from his writing.

Grade four or higher, I sent through Mind Speech. And I'll need at least three vials of alchemical base coating.

"Just three?" His eyebrow raised.

I don't want to impose-

"Make it ten." The pen scratched steadily. "Might as well stock up properly."

The generosity overwhelmed me. Without thinking, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in a grateful embrace. The mechanical limbs of my combat chassis clanked against his back.

"Ow!" Copelan winced. "Your frame is crushing me."

I immediately released him. I'm so sorry! I forgot I was in the combat chassis.

He rubbed his shoulder but laughed, the sound echoing off the storeroom walls. "It's fine. Just warn me next time you plan to hug me with that thing."

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"If you two are done," Patter called from near the hidden entrance, "we should get moving. The night's not getting any younger."

The creak of the storeroom door announced Loland and Sven's arrival. They stepped into the lamplight, both ready for combat. Sven's leather armor creaked as he tested his enchanted daggers with quick practice strikes. Loland had donned what appeared to be custom-fitted plate armor, sized perfectly for his kobold frame. A slender rapier hung at his hip.

"Well, don't you look adorable," Patter said, grinning down at Loland's tiny armor.

Loland's copper scales flushed darker. "Oh, do be quiet." He adjusted his breastplate with dignified movements. "This is traditional kobold battle dress."

Is everyone prepared? I sent through Mind Speech, stepping toward the sealed crack in the wall. The iron barrier I'd crafted gleamed dully in the low light.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Sven replied, spinning one dagger between his fingers.

"Just get on with it," Loland huffed, still bristling from Patter's comment.

Patter simply nodded, gripping her spear with both hands.

"Good luck," Copelan called from behind us. "Try not to die down there."

I reached out with Assembly, feeling the structure of the iron barrier I'd created. The metal responded to my will, panels shifting and flowing as I broke down the seal. Within moments, the barrier parted completely, revealing the jagged fissure beyond.

Our small group gathered at the entrance. The familiar musty air wafted up from below, carrying hints of fungus and decay. One by one, we began our descent into darkness.

"Incoming!" Sven's shout echoed through the tunnel. Three Cave Stalkers burst from a side passage, their feline bodies rippling with insectoid muscle.

My estoc flashed out in perfect sync with Patter's spear thrust. The coordinated strikes caught the lead creature mid-leap, forcing it back. The Cave Stalker's chitin crackled under our combined assault.

Behind us, Sven's enchanted daggers carved glowing arcs through the air as he and Loland dispatched the two Stalkers we'd already wounded. The kobold's rapier found gaps between armored plates with surgical precision.

Form up! I commanded through Mind Speech. Triangle defense.

My companions moved without hesitation, falling into the formation we'd practiced above. My combat chassis pivoted smoothly, four arms spreading wide to cover the group's flanks. Patter's spear darted past my guard, skewering one Stalker through its thorax. Sven rolled beneath another's slash, his daggers opening its belly in a spray of ichor.

Loland surprised me with his adaptability. Though we'd never trained together, he slipped seamlessly into our combat rhythm. His rapier found vulnerable joints and eyes with deadly accuracy, proving far more lethal than his small stature suggested.

The fight ended quickly. Six Cave Stalker corpses littered the fungus-lit tunnel floor. My friends sagged against the walls, breathing heavily. We'd been fighting our way through the tunnels for two hours, and the exhaustion showed clearly on their faces.

You've all performed remarkably well, I sent. Especially for your first time in a Hellzone.

Patter grinned through her fatigue, slapping Loland's armored back. "And you, little lord! Never trained with us before but fought like you'd been doing it for years."

Loland's copper scales gleamed as he straightened his spine. "But of course." He adjusted his custom breastplate with precise movements. "As the son of a village chief, excellence in combat is only natural."

"This was great!" Sven beamed, wiping ichor from his daggers. "I haven't gained this much experience since my first year training."

Patter nodded, rolling her shoulders. "I can feel it too. A few more fights and I might just level up."

"Bah!" Loland's tail lashed in frustration. "To think I've wasted three years at this Academy when I could have been down here gaining real power." His copper scales caught the blue glow of the fungi as he paced.

I reached out with one mechanical arm and patted his armored back. You'll make up for lost time now.

"Indeed." He straightened his custom breastplate again. "Though it's a shame I can't come down every night to train."

Don't even think about coming down here alone, I warned through Mind Speech. The monsters get stronger the deeper we go.

Loland's reptilian features arranged themselves into an expression of wounded dignity. "I assure you, I am no imbecile. I understand the dangers."

"We should head back," Patter suggested, checking her spear for damage. "I'm exhausted."

We made our way up through the tunnels, my combat chassis taking point while the others followed close behind. I gathered choice parts from the Cave Stalker corpses as we walked as Eyarna had specifically requested materials for her enchanting experiments.

Back in the storeroom, I examined the iron blockade I'd created to seal the entrance. With precise applications of Assembly, I reshaped the metal, transforming it into an intricately hinged gate.

This way you won't need me to let you in every night, I explained, demonstrating the hidden catch mechanism. The gate will open for any of our group.

"Good idea," Sven said, gesturing to the gate. He and the others slipped away into the darkness, their footsteps fading as they headed back to their dormitory rooms.

I disengaged from the combat chassis, moving my body back into the taller humanoid frame. The familiar sensation of transferring between bodies tingled through what remained of my organic flesh. Metal fingers flexed as I adjusted to the more delicate movements of this form.

I began the meticulous process of checking over my combat frame's joints and connections. The upper right hand needed minor adjustments after today's wear. Just as I tightened a loose finger mechanism, a voice resonated through my mind.

Grow strong.

The words echoed with impossible depth, carrying weight beyond mere sound. My head snapped up, my mental eyes scanning the shadows of the storage room. Nothing moved in the dim light of the single lamp in the room.

I extended my senses further, using Analyze on every corner and crevice. The ability revealed only dust motes and the occasional spider. Yet the presence lingered, heavy and ancient, like the pressure before a storm.

This was the second time I'd heard this voice. The first had been right before entering the Academy Hellzone. Each time it felt both foreign and strangely familiar, like a half-remembered dream.

Was I imagining it? The stress of maintaining multiple identities at the Academy, the constant threat of discovery, the nightly battles; perhaps my mind was creating phantoms from exhaustion.

But no. I didn't get exhausted. And the voice carried too much authority, too much purpose to be a mere delusion. Someone or something was watching me, urging me toward greater power. But why? What purpose could they have for me?

I finished checking over my combat frame and stood, straightening out the Academy uniform. The voice's command lingered in my thoughts as I shut the storage room door behind me. "Grow strong." Simple words that raised complex questions. Questions I had no answers for.

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