The afternoon breeze greeted them as the secret PILAR elevator door opened, returning Team C from the underground headquarters to the real world. In the SMKN 2 Maykarta library, the scent of old wooden shelves and dusty books filled the air, a stark contrast to the metallic and technological smell of the arena they had just left. Sunlight slipped through the large windows, reflecting off bookshelves and wooden desks covered in student scribbles.
Dhoost and Dzoavha stepped out, their school uniforms slightly wrinkled after the match that had drained their energy and minds. Agent Rusdi, in his batik uniform with rolled-up sleeves, walked ahead, holding a notebook as part of his disguise.
"Dhoost, Dzoavha, I'll accompany you back to your respective classes now. Later, I'll help explain to your teachers," said Mr. Rusdi, his voice calm but authoritative, like a teacher used to handling troublesome students.
He glanced at Dhoost,who was walking slowly with a blank stare. "Dhoost, are you okay?"
Dhoost just nodded weakly, his eyes fixed on the floor. His mind was still stuck on the arena, the mist, the shuriken, and the gaze of Team D's marksman that had caused his blunder. Rusdi let out a small sigh, then escorted Dhoost to his classroom on the second floor.
In the classroom, the atmosphere was noisy with the sounds of kids chatting about homework, games, and the latest drama. Mrs. Yuni, the math teacher, was writing formulas on the whiteboard when Mr. Rusdi entered with Dhoost.
"Sorry, Ma'am, I called Dhoost to the teacher's room earlier to discuss a project," said Mr. Rusdi with a convincing smile, hiding the fact that Dhoost had just been fighting in the PILAR headquarters.
Mrs. Yuni nodded, then told Dhoost to enter.
Dhoost walked to the frontmost desk, his seat always near the board. He dropped into his chair, his bag lying carelessly. His gaze was empty, staring at the formulas without truly seeing them.
Rafa, the student next to him, turned.
"Dhoost, how do you calculate this formula?"
But Dhoost just remained silent, his eyes unmoving, making Rafa shrug and return to his book, giving up on asking.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rusdi escorted Dzoavha to his classroom on the same floor. Dzoavha walked while thinking about the chaotic drone data caused by the swarm bots.
"Sir, we still get another chance, right? For the tournament?" he asked softly, full of curiosity.
Mr. Rusdi smiled, adjusting the glasses that were part of his disguise.
"Relax. PILAR is still giving you chances to compete until the end. For now, focus on your lessons first," he said, patting Dzoavha's shoulder.
---
After school, the school parking lot was bustling with the roar of motorcycles and the shouts of kids rushing home. The afternoon sun shone on the asphalt, reflecting glare onto the rows of helmets. Dhoost walked towards his motorcycle, still with an empty face, holding his bike key without enthusiasm. Suddenly, Dzoavha appeared.
"Hey Dhoost! Watch where you're walking, this is a parking lot, watch out for cars!" he said, shaking Dhoost's shoulders, trying to cheer him up.
Dhoost turned slowly, his eyes finally meeting Dzoavha's.
"Sorry, Dap... I made our team lose," he murmured, his voice soft, full of regret.
He looked down,but Dzoavha shook his head vigorously, his glasses almost falling off.
"Bro, no one is blaming you! None of us were right earlier. Radhif got trapped, my drone got hacked, Ryn was confused about what to shoot, Nadhyfa panicked. We lacked coordination, not just you!"
Dzoavha looked at Dhoost sincerely, his hand still on his friend's shoulder.
Dhoost sighed, then blushed.
"I... I should have been able to claim Team D's base, Dap. I was so close. But..."
He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"I got distracted by their Marksman. She... is so pretty, damn it."
Dhoost covered his face, half-laughing, half-embarrassed.
Dzoavha's eyes widened, then he chuckled.
"Huh? So you failed because you had a crush? Dhoost... Dhoost."
He patted Dhoost's shoulder, still laughing. Dhoost initially glared, but finally smiled along, then let out a small laugh, the weight in his chest evaporating slightly.
"Don't laugh," said Dhoost, pretending to be annoyed but his lips were smiling.
They then walked to their respective motorcycles.
"You need to move on, bro. There are other matches," said Dzoavha, putting on his helmet.
Dhoost nodded, a bit of spirit in his eyes. They started their motorcycles, then sped out of the parking lot, merging with the evening bustle of Maykarta.
---
That night, in his room, Dhoost lay on his bed, earphones in his ears playing calming lo-fi music. The neon lamp light illuminated his room, filled with posters of K-Pop girl groups and soccer players on the walls. His mind drifted to the earlier match and their next opponents.
"Which team are we facing tomorrow?" he murmured to himself, his eyes shifting to the PILAR watch lying on the bedside table.
He picked up the watch. With a touch, the screen lit up, displaying app icons. There was a map symbol, a key, a calendar, and others. Dhoost tapped the calendar icon, and the PILAR Tournament schedule appeared. He read carefully; there was a one-day gap between matches, and his team would face Team A on Thursday at 11:00, then Team B on Saturday at 09:00.
"Thursday... so there are still two more days," he murmured, trying to calculate the time to prepare himself.
He exited the calendar and tapped the trophy icon. The screen switched to the tournament's current standings. Team A was leading with +1 point, followed by Team D also with +1 point. Team C was in third place with -1 point, and Team B was in last place with -1 point.
"Well... at least there's someone worse than our team," Dhoost muttered, smiling slightly, but his eyes were still heavy.
He swiped the screen, finding the team profile page. Without thinking, his finger searched for Team D. The names of Team D's members appeared. Kazuha, Minji, Jackson, Hanni, and Katarina. He tapped Kim Minji's profile, and a photo of the Marksman appeared. Her hair was tied back, a small smile, and eyes that made Dhoost's heart race again. Below the photo were Minji's profile details. Country of origin: South Korea, with equipment: Tracking Energy Bow, and individual points: 8 points (rank 3). Dhoost stared at the screen for a long time, his mind returning to the moment in the arena.
"I really messed up because of her."
He exited Minji's profile, then swiped to the Individual Ranking page. His name was in 11th place out of 20 participants. He frowned, seeing his friends in lower positions: Radhif (17), Dzoavha (18), Ryn (19), Nadhyfa (20).
"What is this? Points for what?" he muttered, confused.
He tried to find an explanation, but there was no clear information in the app. Finally, he switched to Team A's profile, their opponent on Thursday, wanting to know who they would face. The screen displayed names and roles, but before he could read further, his eyes grew heavy, and the music in his earphones pulled him into a daydream.
"So much text... I'll read it tomorrow," he murmured, deactivating the watch with a touch.
He removed his earphones, placed them carelessly on the table, then pulled up the blanket and fell asleep, his mind still filled with shadows of Minji and the afternoon's defeat.
---
Meanwhile, in the PILAR Trainee Mess, the night atmosphere was quiet. The modern building with metal walls and blue neon lights gave a futuristic impression, but the girls' room felt warm with the scent of a lavender diffuser Hanni had set up.
Katarina and Hanni were already fast asleep in their respective beds, softly snoring after a tiring day. But Minji was still sitting on the edge of her bed.
Kazuha, who was also still awake, watched from the next bed. With her nano-cloak folded neatly on the desk, she looked more relaxed, her hair flowing.
"Minji, what's wrong? Still thinking about the match earlier?" she asked in Korean, her voice soft but full of concern.
They always spoke in Korean when confiding in each other at night,even though Kazuha was Japanese. A habit that made them sure no one was eavesdropping in the multicultural Trainee Mess.
Minji sighed, turning to Kazuha.
"I... feel guilty, Zuha. We won, but I feel sorry for that Shadow from Team C. He fought alone, you know? Their Support too, she looked so frustrated, even though it seemed like she wasn't doing anything." Her voice was soft, her eyes downcast, thinking about Dhoost's blank stare in the hall earlier.
Kazuha smiled slightly, shaking her head.
"Minji, don't feel guilty. This is a tournament, everyone has to fight to win. Besides, there's an individual ranking in PILAR, right? They have a chance to come back. You just need to compete according to strategy."
She crawled onto Minji's bed,sitting beside her.
"You're too kind-hearted,that's why you overthink things."
Minji nodded slowly, but her face was still gloomy. Kazuha patted her shoulder.
"Come on, sleep. Tomorrow we practice for the next match. You need energy." Minji gave a faint smile, finally deciding to sleep.
The two of them often confided in each other like this before sleeping, sharing stories in Korean that felt like their little secret. Kazuha turned off the light, and the room fell quiet again, only the soft hum of the Mess's ventilation system remained.
---
The next day, the afternoon sun shone on the streets in front of SMAN 4 Maykarta, where Dhoost and Dzoavha stood in front of the school gate. The parking lot was already quiet, with only a few motorcycles and bicycles left. Dhoost, still a bit gloomy but better than yesterday, leaned against his motorcycle. Dzoavha, with his phone in hand, watched an e-sports match while waiting for the others.
"Where are they? Why so long?" complained Dzoavha, his AR glasses blinking faintly.
Soon, Radhif, Ryn, and Nadhyfa emerged from the school building, their bags full of PILAR equipment freshly retrieved from the secret elevator in the storage room. Nadhyfa was still frowning, but her eyes were full of spirit.
"We have to practice more seriously, guys. We can't lose again!" she said, her voice loud.
Radhif nodded, his bag looking full as he stored his shield inside. Ryn, as usual, just grinned casually, though the tip of his rifle was sticking out of his bag.
The five of them got on their motorcycles, heading to the old warehouse on the outskirts of Maykarta, a secret place that served as their unofficial training base. The dusty roads and wild trees around the warehouse made the place seem abandoned, but inside lay hidden PILAR technology. Upon arrival, they were surprised to see someone pacing in front of the warehouse, pushing a bicycle with a familiar uniform.
"Who's that?!" whispered Nadhyfa, panicked.
They parked their motorcycles behind a tree, a bit away from the warehouse, then peeked from the bushes. The person wore a gray uniform with the logo of Maykarta's public bicycle provider. Dhoost frowned.
"A PILAR person? Or just a passerby?"
Dzoavha shook his head, his AR glasses scanning the area but detecting no strange signals.
Radhif reached into his bag,ready to take out his shield.
Nadhyfa began speculating, "Is this the true form of PILAR's enemy? How does he know the location of our base?!"
But Ryn, who had been quiet, observed the bicycle the person was pushing. His eyes narrowed, then he suddenly stood up.
"You guys stay quiet here," he said, stepping out of the bushes towards the person, making his friends panic.
"Hey,Ryn, come back!" Nadhyfa warned, but Ryn was already too far.
The person turned around, a middle-aged man with a bicycle provider hat.
"Mr.Ryn Dandelions, right?" he asked, his voice flat.
Ryn nodded, slightly confused. The man explained,
"Last Monday, you borrowed a public bicycle, right? But it hasn't been returned to its station. We tracked its GPS, found it here." He pointed to the bicycle Ryn had borrowed.
Ryn slapped his forehead, laughing awkwardly.
"Oh, right! Sorry, Sir, forgot this was a borrowed bike." He scratched his head, his face red.
The man sighed. "You're two days late. So... you have no choice but to pay the fine, it's quite expensive."
Ryn nodded, quickly pulling out his phone and scanning a QR code to pay.
"Done, Sir, all settled," he said, still grinning.
From the bushes, Dhoost, Dzoavha, Radhif, and Nadhyfa stared with their mouths agape, unable to hear the conversation due to the distance.
"What is Ryn doing? Leaking data to the enemy?!" whispered Nadhyfa, panicked.
Dzoavha just shook his head, "That seems like just a bicycle issue."
Radhif sighed, "Ryn always has something going on every day."
The man nodded to Ryn, then left with the bicycle. Ryn returned to the bushes, still grinning. His friends looked at him questioningly, but he just shrugged.
"Just a trivial matter. Come on, let's go into the warehouse. Time to practice!"
TO BE CONTINUED…