I skip my standard morning nutrition, the combat preparation making food seem pointless, or maybe it's just fucking nerves. As I make my way toward the Arena, tension radiates through the facility corridors, extra security drones hovering at intersections, facility staff checking designations with mechanical efficiency, other independents giving combat-selected assets wide berth like we're already dead.

  The preparation facility adjacent to the arena serves as final staging area before matches. When I arrive, several independents are already utilizing the basic equipment, stretch stations, minimal strength testing apparatus, and rudimentary ability calibration zones. No faction groupings here, just individual assets preparing for performance assessment under the evaluating eyes of potential sponsors.

  A facility staff member in specialized uniform approaches as I enter, tablet in hand. "Independent Asset 7249. Arena Match: 1400 hours. Opponent: Independent Asset 3219, designation Shockwave. Combat Assessment Protocol: Physical Capabilities Priority."

  She hands me a simple combat uniform, black material with minimal protection features and designation number displayed prominently on chest and back. Standard uniform for first arena match, you have to earn any customizations you want to make.

  "Preparation period: 1200-1300 hours. Current time: 1147. Proceed to designated area for combat readiness evaluation."

  I take the uniform and move toward the changing area, passing other selected assets in various stages of preparation. Some practice ability manifestations with focused intensity, others remain perfectly still in apparent meditation, a few engage in aggressive physical exertions that seem designed more for psychological preparation than actual combat advantage.

  The changing area offers minimal privacy, open sections with basic storage for personal items during combat engagement. I strip and pull on the combat uniform, the material unexpectedly responsive against my skin. Not the cheap, mass-produced fabric of independent allocation, but something designed for optimal movement during enhanced combat, an indicator of how the facility values arena performance despite classification limitations.

  As I secure my few possessions in assigned storage, I notice another independent watching me from across the preparation area, a heavily muscled man with unusual ridged patterns across exposed skin that suggest specialized impact resistance enhancement. Must be Shockwave, studying his opponent before engagement.

  I meet his gaze directly, neither challenging nor submissive, simply acknowledging mutual assessment. His eyes narrow slightly in what might be calculation or possibly recognition from my combat performance against the Crystalline Remnant members. After a moment, he turns away, resuming his own preparation routine without further acknowledgment.

  Strategic advantage: he expects primarily telekinetic capability based on my classification records and previous combat display. The enhanced physical attributes activated during sleep meditation remain unknown factors to both opponent and observers, creating potential for unexpected approach vectors during initial engagement.

  A facility announcement echoes through the preparation area: "Arena Match participants to assessment stations for combat readiness evaluation."

  I move toward the designated section where medical staff conduct baseline measurements before approved combat engagement. The process feels more veterinary than medical, checking vitals, recording enhancement signatures, evaluating current performance parameters against established baselines. Assets being prepared for exhibition rather than individuals receiving healthcare.

  "Telekinetic signature stable," reports one technician to another as scanning equipment passes over my skull. "Consistent with established parameters. No advancement indicators present."

  Good. The neural masking concealing my true capabilities beneath fabricated development pathways remains effective even under pre-combat assessment. The telekinetic architecture presenting exactly what facility monitoring expects to see, impressive but limited capabilities with no evidence of continued advancement beyond established patterns.

  "Physical enhancement parameters showing notable optimization since last recorded assessment," observes another technician, studying readouts from body scanning equipment. "Strength and speed metrics significantly elevated compared to baseline measurement."

  "Within expected development variance for independent classification?" queries a supervisor, approaching with tablet in hand.

  The technician checks reference parameters before responding: "Affirmative. Significant improvement but within natural evolution parameters for enhancement type and duration. No anomalous advancement patterns detected."

  Also good. The physical enhancements register as impressive but not suspicious, natural development rather than artificial acceleration that might trigger specialized monitoring. The carefully calibrated balance between revealed capability and concealed advancement maintains perfect deception profile for facility assessment.

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  After combat readiness evaluation concludes, facility staff direct participants to separate preparation chambers for final mental conditioning before arena matches begin. My assigned space contains nothing but a simple bench and what appears to be meditation focal point, a sphere of constantly shifting color patterns designed to facilitate neural alignment before combat engagement.

  I ignore the focal device, preferring my own preparation methods to facility-designed conditioning protocols. Instead, I use the twenty remaining minutes for final physical optimization, reviewing combat strategy against Shockwave's known capabilities, mentally rehearsing approach vectors during his vulnerability window, and establishing precise parameters for telekinetic utilization that remain within plateaued development profile.

  The facility announcement system activates again: "Arena Match One commencing in five minutes. Participants to staging positions."

  Not my match yet, likely two or three engagements before my scheduled combat based on posted sequence. The waiting creates its own psychological pressure, a calculated aspect of arena protocol designed to assess stress response patterns as much as direct combat capabilities.

  I extend my awareness through physical enhancement architecture, verifying optimal readiness state throughout muscular and nervous systems. The overnight optimization work has created peak performance potential—enhanced speed ready for exploitation of Shockwave's vulnerability window, strength prepared for effective engagement once inside range, accelerated recovery mechanisms standing by for potential concussive impact response.

  Through the preparation chamber walls, I detect energy discharge and impact sounds from the first arena match, abilities being demonstrated for potential sponsors in controlled assessment environment. The combat itself matters less than the capability display, performance metrics being recorded and analyzed for classification determination rather than simple victory designation.

  Another announcement: "Arena Match Two commencing in five minutes. Participants to staging positions."

  Time passes with mechanical predictability, facility announcements marking combat progression while I maintain optimal physical readiness through controlled breathing and minimal movement conservation. Not meditation exactly, but focused preparation that preserves energy while maintaining peak response potential.

  Finally, the expected notification: "Arena Match Three commencing in five minutes. Independent Asset 7249 and Independent Asset 3219 to staging positions."

  I rise from the bench, body humming with readiness as I move toward the designated staging area. A short corridor leads to arena entrance, a reinforced doorway that will open only when combat commencement is officially announced. Through small observation panels, I catch glimpses of the arena configuration, standard oval combat zone approximately fifty meters in diameter, minimal environmental features, observation platforms positioned around periphery at elevated height for optimal visibility.

  On these platforms, facility administrators and potential sponsors watch with calculated interest, not entertainment exactly, but investment assessment as they evaluate assets for potential acquisition. Some take notes on tablets, others confer in small groups, a few maintain complete stillness as they focus entirely on combat performance metrics rather than subjective impression.

  In a separated section, other independents observe from designated viewing area, some studying techniques for their own upcoming matches, others assessing potential threats within Block D hierarchy, a few perhaps genuinely interested in combat outcome beyond strategic calculation.

  I detect Desta's presence in the Null observation section, physically present as legitimate spectator under psychological support narrative but maintaining minimal system interface connection as agreed following security warning. Her analytical assessment of opponent capabilities will proceed through standard observation rather than enhanced technokinetic information gathering, reducing detection risk while still providing valuable post-combat analysis.

  The staging area door opposite mine reveals Shockwave in final preparation position, rolling shoulders and neck in characteristic loosening pattern while subtle energy ripples across his skin surface. The ridged patterns I noticed earlier appear to function as impact distribution architecture, specialized enhancement designed to channel concussive force through optimal dissipation pathways.

  "Arena Match Three participants confirmed in position," announces the facility system. "Combat Assessment Protocol: Physical Capabilities Priority. Match concludes upon submission, incapacitation, or administrative intervention, or death."

  The standard protocol announcement continues with technical parameters and assessment metrics, but my focus narrows to combat preparation, enhanced awareness mapping approach vectors, physical systems primed for immediate activation, mental state calibrated for optimal response patterns without excessive emotional engagement.

  "Combat commences in three... two... one..."

  The staging area doors slide open simultaneously, revealing the arena in full perspective as we both enter from opposite sides. The combat oval appears larger from ground level than observation perspective suggested, polished surface providing optimal traction without environmental hazards, illumination calibrated for perfect visibility throughout engagement zone.

  Shockwave immediately moves to center position, establishing dominant ground while beginning energy gathering phase for initial concussive discharge. His stance widens, arms extending slightly as visible ripples of force begin accumulating around his hands, the 3.42 second vulnerability window Desta identified through system records already counting down.

  I launch into motion, enhanced speed activating with explosive acceleration as I execute the approach strategy against his primary vulnerability.

  The match has begun.