Lyra sat cross-legged at the edge of their camp, surrounded by the team's weapons and gear. The morning sun filtered through the canopy of Floor 3's dense forest, casting dappled light across her workspace. She had risen before the others, wanting to complete her modifications before they began the day's expedition.

  The pile of components she'd collected during yesterday's exploration y organized by type: crystalline fragments with unusual conductivity, fibrous pnt material stronger than any synthetic thread, and several small mechanical parts salvaged from a broken piece of equipment they'd found embedded in a fallen tree.

  Her fingers moved with practiced precision as she integrated these scavenged elements into the team's equipment. Alexander's combat sword now featured a grip wrapped in the fibrous material, providing better traction and impact absorption. The bde had been edge-treated with a crystalline compound that increased sharpness while reducing maintenance needs. His tactical knife and backup weapons received simir enhancements.

  For Elijah, she had modified his medical kit, reinforcing the carrying case and reorganizing the interior for faster access. His gathering tools now featured improved cutting edges and more ergonomic grips.

  "What are you doing?"

  Lyra looked up to see Valeria standing over her, arms crossed and expression suspicious. The scout had a habit of moving silently—something Lyra had grudgingly come to admire, even if it was frequently used to catch her off guard.

  "Improving our gear," Lyra replied simply, returning her attention to Marcus Tullian's bow. She was carefully attaching a small tensioning mechanism that would increase draw strength without making it harder to pull.

  "Those don't look like standard modifications," Valeria observed, crouching down to examine Alexander's sword. "Where did you learn to do this?"

  Lyra continued working without looking up. "You pick things up when you have to survive with limited resources."

  "This isn't survival tinkering," Valeria insisted, picking up Elijah's modified gathering tools. "This is advanced material integration. The kind that requires specialized training."

  The rest of the team had begun to stir now. Alexander approached, his attention immediately drawn to his equipment id out on Lyra's workspace.

  "What's all this?" he asked, picking up his sword and testing its weight.

  "Improvements," Lyra said, finishing the final adjustment on Marcus's bow. "Try it out."

  Alexander gave the sword an experimental swing, then executed a rapid series of combat forms. His eyebrows rose in surprise. "The bance is perfect. And the grip..." He ran his fingers along the wrapped handle. "What did you do to it?"

  "Found some local pnt fibers with unusual tensile properties. They absorb impact shock while providing better friction." Lyra stood, wiping her hands on her pants. "Should reduce hand fatigue during extended combat."

  Elijah had joined them and was examining his modified medical kit with interest. "This organization makes much more sense for emergency access," he commented, noting how she had arranged the supplies by function rather than size.

  Marcus Tullian strung his bow and drew it experimentally. His eyes widened as he felt the difference. "This pulls easier but hits harder," he said, sounding impressed despite himself. "How?"

  "Mechanical advantage," Lyra expined, pointing to the small device she'd integrated into the bow's limbs. "It redistributes the force curve. You'll get about twenty percent more power with the same draw effort."

  Valeria's suspicion had only grown as she watched the others test their improved equipment. "You still haven't answered my question," she said. "Where did you learn these techniques?"

  The team fell silent, all eyes turning to Lyra. She'd kept details about her past vague since joining them, sharing only what was necessary for their immediate survival.

  Lyra sighed, setting down the tool she'd been cleaning. "I had a mentor in Sector 17. Tel. She salvaged and repaired technology for the community."

  "Unaligned sectors don't have access to advanced technical education," Valeria pointed out.

  "Tel wasn't always Unaligned," Lyra replied, a defensive edge in her voice. "She worked in corporate manufacturing before... before circumstances changed. She taught me everything she knew."

  "And what exactly did she know?" Valeria pressed.

  Alexander intervened before Lyra could respond. "The results speak for themselves," he said, testing the edge of his bde. "These modifications will significantly improve our combat effectiveness."

  "Which is what matters," Elijah added, giving Lyra a small smile of support.

  Riva, who had been quietly observing the exchange, finally spoke up. "These are impressive adaptations, especially with such limited resources." As the team's technician, her assessment carried weight. "Some of these integration techniques aren't even standard in corporate training programs."

  Lyra tensed at this observation, but Riva continued, "It's remarkable what necessity can teach when formal education isn't avaible."

  Valeria wasn't satisfied, but Alexander redirected the team's attention with practiced ease. "We should prepare for today's expedition. These improvements give us an advantage we didn't have yesterday."

  As the team dispersed to gather their equipment, Lyra caught Valeria's lingering gaze. The scout's eyes had narrowed to calcuting slits, her suspicion now firmly cemented. Lyra held her stare for a moment before turning away to pack up her tools.

  Later, as they moved through the forest, the benefits of Lyra's modifications became increasingly apparent. Alexander's enhanced sword cut through the dense undergrowth blocking their path with minimal effort. When they encountered a small group of hostile forest predators, Marcus's improved bow took down two before they could even approach, while Alexander's bde easily penetrated their thick hide.

  "Your modifications just saved us a difficult fight," Alexander acknowledged as they regrouped after the encounter.

  Lyra nodded, noting how each piece of equipment performed exactly as she'd predicted. The calcutions, the material properties, the integration techniques—all had come naturally to her, knowledge flowing through her fingers with an intuitive precision that sometimes surprised even herself.

  Tel had often remarked on it. "You have the touch of creation," she'd said. "As if you've done this before, in another life."

  By midday, even Marcus Tullian, usually stoic and reserved, had commented on the improved performance of his weapons. "Whatever you did to this bow, it's working," he said during a brief rest. "Could you make simir modifications to my backup?"

  "I'd need more components, but yes," Lyra replied, mentally cataloging what she would require.

  Only Valeria remained overtly suspicious, keeping a careful distance as if Lyra's technical knowledge might somehow be contagious. When Alexander assigned the evening's watch rotations, Valeria requested to be paired with Riva rather than Lyra, breaking their usual pattern.

  As darkness fell and the team settled around their campfire, Lyra sat slightly apart, making final adjustments to Riva's scanning equipment. She could feel Valeria's eyes on her from across the camp, watching her every move.

  Elijah approached, carrying two portions of the evening meal. He sat beside her, offering one of the containers.

  "Thank you for the medical kit modifications," he said quietly. "They're exactly what I would have designed if I had the technical knowledge."

  Lyra accepted the food with a nod. "Just practical improvements."

  "It's more than that," Elijah observed. "You understand how we work—how each of us thinks and moves. The modifications are personalized, not just functional."

  She hadn't considered that aspect. Her focus had been purely technical—optimizing each piece of equipment for maximum effectiveness based on observed usage patterns. The fact that this transted to personalization was an unexpected side effect.

  "Valeria's suspicion is growing," Elijah continued, his voice low enough that only Lyra could hear.

  "I noticed," Lyra replied dryly.

  "Your knowledge... it exceeds what would be expected from your background." It wasn't a question, but his tone invited expnation.

  Lyra stared into the fire for a long moment. "Tel always said I had a gift for understanding how things work. How they could work better." She shrugged. "Maybe I do. Or maybe I just paid better attention than most."

  Elijah seemed to accept this non-answer, at least for now. They ate in companionable silence, watching the fmes dance.

  Across the campfire, Valeria leaned close to Alexander, speaking in hushed tones. Though Lyra couldn't hear their words, the scout's gestures and frequent gnces in her direction made the subject of their conversation clear.

  Lyra knew her technical knowledge raised questions she couldn't fully answer—not without revealing secrets she barely understood herself. The intuitive understanding of systems, the ability to optimize beyond conventional parameters, the knowledge that seemed to flow from somewhere deeper than conscious learning—these were mysteries even to her.

  What she did know was that her modifications had made the team more effective. And in the Game, effectiveness meant survival. For now, that would have to be enough to justify her pce among them.

  As she finished her meal and returned to her workstation, Lyra caught Alexander watching her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher—assessment mixed with something else. Curiosity, perhaps. Or growing respect.

  She turned her attention back to her tools, already pnning tomorrow's improvements. Let Valeria suspect what she would. The results would speak for themselves.