Robert's consciousness returned like a slow sunrise. First, there was the repeated sound of the knock on his door. A distant clanging of the bell was a tone of metal on metal. Then, there was a smell. He felt and smelt everything. Robert opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold floor made of rough stone, carved out of rocks. He pushed himself up, his body very heavy to be lifted. He was in a large, round room. One metal door in the room, covered in rust and strange symbols, was the only exit he could see. “You’re awake,” a rough voice said, echoing through his eardrums. “It took you so long.” Robert turned his head around. A man was sitting against the far wall. He was big, with the thick shoulders and twisted hands of a labourer. He looked to be in his thirties, his face boring and tired. “Where am I?” Robert’s voice was dry mutter. “What is this? Is this some kind of prank or what?” His mind raced, thinking of Mark, and of the other students. Had they drugged him? Did anyon

Robert was awake. He looked at his hands. They were tough now, not pale like before. [Basic Healing Active: Minor Injuries Repaired.] The pain was gone. Days had turned into weeks under the same stressful work—waking to the gong, the grey soup, swinging the pickaxe. But Robert was now different. His thin arms had new muscles. The work was still hard, but he no longer collapsed. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked. [Skill: Intermediate Calculation Unlocked.] It was more than that. While Robert was still at his own duty, he collapsed on the floor, and a ray of light disturbed his head, seeming to sharpen his brain even more. Struggling to be composed, Robert's body changed. The soft student's hands became hard and twisted, his thin arms growing a new array of muscle. The work was still hard, but it did not stress him. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked. "I should look around them..." he whispered, his eyes still shut as he tried

Afterwards, in the brightness of the day, Robert and Garret kept a close watch on Leo. He was working slowly with the pickaxe. His hands bled quickly. But he did not complain. He worked in silence, his face overshadowed by a feeling of a painful and necessary determination. Robert respected that. When the time for the blind spot came, Robert nodded to Leo. The three of them moved toward the water barrel by the big pump. They stood in the unseen corner. "For two minutes, no one watches us here," Robert explained quietly. Leo looked around, his face pained with sheer amazement. "How did you find this?" "I watched," Robert said. "They follow a pattern. Their movement is predictable." Leo's eyes, sharp behind his glasses, crossed through the cavern. "Like a clockwork," he whispered. "A routine." "Yes," Robert said, surprised. Leo understood quickly. "We are collecting rocks," Garret said, showing Leo the crack in the wall. "We hide them here." "Why?" Leo asked. "We don

The large metal gate groaned open. The line of Wardens stood at attention. A new figure walked into the cavern. He was not a Warden. He was a man, tall and thin, dressed in a sleek, grey uniform. He had no helmet. His face was sharp and cold. His eyes scanned the room like he owned everything in it. He was followed by two taller Wardens with gold markings on their black armour. The man stopped in the centre of the cavern. The only sound was the hum of the machines. "Workers," the man said. His voice was smooth and loud, without a machine to help it. It filled the whole space. "I am Supervisor Kael." No one moved. No one breathed. "It has come to my attention that there has been... unusual activity," Kael said. He started to walk slowly between the workstations. His shiny black boots clicked on the stone. "A loss of efficiency. Small amounts of crystonium are going missing." Robert's blood turned to ice. He kept his face blank. He did not look at Garret or Leo. Kael sto

They moved fast. Robert's heart was louder than a drum in his ears, even louder than the alarms. Garret reached the wall first. He pulled the metal lever from its hiding place. He jammed it into the cracks between the jumbled stones. He pulled with all his strength. His muscles bulged. "Come on!" Leo whispered, his voice tight with panic. With a grinding sound, one large stone shifted. Then another. A dark, narrow hole opened up in the wall. It was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Cold, damp air flowed out from it. "You go first, Leo!" Robert said, looking back toward the chaos. The Wardens were still focused on the water. But it wouldn't last. Leo didn't hesitate. He rushed deep down into the hole and disappeared into the darkness. "Go!" Garret said to Robert. Robert shook his head. "And you go next. I'm right behind you." Garret nodded. He dropped the lever and squeezed his big body shape into the opening of the hole. It was a tight fit, but he made it throug