"Gahh!" The noises of feet stomping on the ground filled the room, as well as a deafening crash.

Binck watched as Cloud picked himself off the floor next to the treadmill, having just been thrown off. The monk had put the speed up way too high, and the result was him rubbing his head while laying on the ground.

Walking up to him, Binck erupted in a fit of laughter, his face scrunching up as he giggled at Cloud's annoyed expression. "Bit slow, aren't you?"

The rest of the room filled with quiet, barely concealed snickers. Everyone had been pushing themselves hard for a few hours, running through a seemingly endless gauntlet of tests. Well, everyone except Binck, who purposefully slacked off. He managed to get better scores than Eris and Cloud, but they were still mediocre compared to what he could really achieve.

Stamina? He'd allowed himself to slow down after a small while of full sprinting. He knew he couldn't outlast everyone there, but better safe than sorry.

Jumping? He'd forced himself to jump from a standing position, barely gaining any height.

Lifting weights? Well, actually, Binck was totally lacking in the upper body department. Still, he felt the need to hold himself back, just a bit.

So, while everyone else was completely worn out by the intense physical tests, Binck was still the same happy-go-lucky person he always was, literally skipping circles around the rest of Team Z as they gathered up into a group.

It was getting late, though. Binck had eaten a few snacks on the coach during his deep conversation with Tomato (about the REAL best Gacha game. Not that Binck liked those, he just wanted to try to find some common ground with her), but even after all of this training, the clock on the wall read 10:30 PM. Way later than I expected, but I guess we did get here quite late...

Once they were allowed to leave the testing, and had all gotten changed into much more comfortable, soft pyjamas, all eleven of them followed the sign to the cafeteria. Binck walked happily out in front as he took in everything with wide eyes.

"Red Latch is like a maze..." He murmured, glancing at a wall map as he went past. "Five buildings, so many floors... so many rooms... and they still manage to make every last room cramped as hell."

"Yep!" A sudden voice came from behind as Binck got slugged on the shoulder. Echo grinned as he trotted up, walking next to him. "It'll be fun to explore sometime!"

"Definitely."

Echo reeked with the scent of the industrial-grade soap from the showers. As much as Binck enjoyed concealing his actual power in order to be able to fit in here, the benefits of the bottom rung were certainly scarce. The smell of that soap, for instance, was anything but pleasant - but at least it beat the smell of sweat.

Once they got into the cafeteria, joking with each other as they got to a serving hatch, Binck pressed his shoulder to a scanner on the wall as instructed. He was supplied with rice, miso soup, and a tray of yakitori skewers.

Sure, it wasn't exactly gourmet, but it was better than what he had seen some of the others receive. He was reminded of this once he made his way to the Team Z table, witnessing Eris' natto and Cloud's pickled radish. Always being reminded to be grateful.

Each team had their own assigned seating section, a large table with the letter Z engraved on Binck's table. Each team seemed to have had the same idea as theirs, the other tables filled with other strikers, the noise of cutlery on bowls and talking filling the air.

"Yakitori?" Tomato sat down next to Binck, her red hair held back by a headband. Everyone else on Team Z sat on the same table, holding conversations with each other, but they were still strangers. Well, Tomato was also a stranger, but at least she seemed fun to Binck.

Tomato pushed a plate of stir-fried vegetables and meat closer to Binck. "I'll trade you some of this for a few skewers."

Binck's mouth dropped open, and he used his chopsticks to shift the vegetables around. "Whoa... really?" His eyes flickered up to Tomato, then back down to the food. Tomato smirked proudly.