From Weakest to Building a System That Made the World a Game

Chapter 4: Close to the Zone

After the evening meal in the cafeteria, the recruits were told to sort out their accommodations. Each one went where their Merit allowed. Some paid extra for quiet quarters with clean sheets and working vents, others pooled their points to upgrade together.

Daniel didn't have that choice. Ten points got him a bunk in the standard barracks, and that was the end of it.

The barracks were cramped and noisy. Ten bunks were assigned to a room with walls so thin that every cough, ruffle, and whispered conversation carried through. Recruits were restless in their beds, some too nervous to sleep, others replaying the day in hushed voices until fatigue finally dragged them under.

When the chatter dulled to snores, Daniel was still awake, thinking of his own situation. 

It wasn't the first time he'd gotten by with less. Back before his Awakening, when his parents were gone and the city ration lines were his only guarantee of food, he learned that survival wasn't about strength alone. It also entailed noticing what others missed and making the best of any circumstance.

Information.

In a city where strength dictated everything, it was the only weapon he had. And it was enough.

Now the academy wanted to measure him with the same standard as everyone else: raw power. But lying there in the dark, Daniel knew what he'd always known — power alone didn't decide who lived.

Sleep eventually came in short stretches, broken by the snoring of his bunkmate and the creak of recruit bunks. By dawn, his body had rested, but his mind hadn't.

When morning came, it was like the air itself was heavier. He ate a tasteless breakfast in silence, ignoring the chatter around him, then packed his gear and followed the steady current of bodies toward the transport hub.

Cargo Bay C had transformed. Armored transports filled the hangar in neat rows, some idling with ramps lowered, others ready with their engines rumbling. Rows of recruits waited to be loaded, squad after squad called forward by stern officers.

Squad nine gathered near their assigned carrier.

Owen couldn't keep still, pacing in tight circles, tension rolling off his broad frame. The heavy plates strapped across his chest clinked softly, built for someone who expected to be the hammer in every fight.

Kade leaned casually against the side of the transport, rifle slung loose across his shoulder with a smirk fixed in place. He didn't bother hiding the way his finger tapped the trigger guard, like he was daring anyone looking for a fight.

Sera sat on a crate, methodically unpacking and repacking her medic's kit — gauze, injectors, vials. She checked each item twice, her focus absolute, as if calming a sea of nerves.

Tomas hugged his drone case like a lifeline, his eyes darting nervously around the area. His gear was lighter, but the faint hum from the sealed case promised a different kind of firepower.

As for Maya, she kept to the side. Light recon armor hugged her frame, a compact carbine strapped across her chest and a small scanning module clipped to her hip. She didn't fidget or lose focus; she looked at ease. Her gaze moved from squad to carrier to doors. Clearly, she was the observant one.

Hart arrived last, helmet tucked under one arm. The squad's tension eased slightly, drawn into the gravity of her presence. "Load up. Double-check your gear. No stragglers."

The squad filed into the carrier, the benches rattling under their weight. The doors shut with a clang, and the engines kicked in as the carrier jolted into motion.

At first, no one spoke, the silence sharpened by the weight of what waited ahead.

Owen broke it with a grin that didn't fit the moment. "Finally. A real fight. Let's see what the Zone's got."

"Try not to die before you land a blow." Kade muttered, smirk tugging at his mouth. "You'll be more useful as bait with all that muscle."

Owen shot him a glare, fists tightening.

"Save it," Hart snapped from the front. Her tone alone was enough to kill the exchange. "Keep that energy for what's waiting on the other side."

Daniel stayed silent, eyes tracking each of them, memorizing tells — Owen's impatience, Kade's arrogance, Sera's steady composure, Tomas's fragile nerves. Even the controlled rhythm of Maya's breathing.

To him every detail was a puzzle piece.

The transport slowed, its rumble fading to a low idle. Through the slits in the armored door, Daniel glimpsed it — the edge of Red Hollow.

The Wild Zone wasn't just ruins. It was a wound in the world.

Buildings leaned as if crushed, steel beams warped out of shape, and roads were cracked wide open where Aether storms had ripped through. The air itself wavered with a faint distortion, bending light just enough to make everything feel wrong.

A checkpoint loomed at the boundary. Watchtowers lined the perimeter, heavy cannons fixed outward, their power cores glowing faintly. Soldiers in reinforced armor stood guard, their stares cold and watchful. They weren't here to rescue recruits if things went wrong. They were here to make sure nothing came out.

The carrier hissed open.

As Daniel stepped onto the platform, the change was immediate. An invisible pressure settled across his shoulders. The air was heavier here, a sign the Zone was close.

Hart led them toward a perimeter outpost — a squat base braced with barrier pylons. Inside, she gave the final rundown of their mission, her voice clipped and exact. When she was finished, her gaze swept across them, measuring their survival chances.

"Last chance to back out," she said flatly. "Once you cross that line, there's no turning back. No rescues, no second chances. You finish the mission… or you don't come out at all."

No one moved.

"Good," Hart continued. "Then remember what I told you. No heroics, follow instructions and survive. That's all that matters."

She stepped aside as the gates rumbled open, the barrier field parting with a ripple that bent the air. A wave of damp, sour air rushed out, heavy with the stench of rot and damp, broken masonry.

"Squad Nine," the gate officer barked. "You're up."

One by one, they filed forward. Daniel crossed last.

The instant he stepped through, the pressure doubled — the world itself seemed heavier. The air clung to his skin, laced with residual energy from Aether storms that crawled along his arms like invisible sparks.

The Wild Zone was alive.