Yvie wakes up in a warm bed, covered by a quilted blanket. She sits up and yawns into her hand before looking around. The interior wasn’t much different than the rest of the building, except for the fact that the room was full of beds. Each dressed in dark blue sheets and resting on a metal frame, each bed had a different examinee on it, either resting or chatting with some of the others. Removing the quilt, she noticed she was still wearing the singlet, but also that the burning and stinging sensation on her back had faded. She reached her hands around and felt the missing fabric on her singlet, but no pain whatsoever. Upon stretching her body and even twisting herself around, she felt no discomfort, as though she hadn’t just used up every ounce of her strength. Moreover, any signs of her fatigue were completely gone—like magic.

“Whoa.”

Her thoughts drifted back to the exam and the declaration she made earlier. She buried her face into the pillow, letting out a heavy groan. For someone like Yvie, declaring that and falling short was like a slap in the face. 

“You’re sounding more like a zombie than I was.” A woman spoke.

Turning her head to the side, she saw Grace standing by the bed.

“Heya,” Yvie murmured in a low tone. 

“You sound down. What’s wrong?”

“I kinda put my foot in my own mouth earlier. Tastes bad.”

Grace crossed her arms.

“We are talking figuratively… Right?” 

“I made this big announcement about coming in first only to get outsped by Mister not-so-talkative.” 

“Ah… You came super close but fell just a bit short. Personally, I think you’re fine; you did better than most in the physical portion of the exam. So what’s so bad about that?” 

“If I’m gonna do something, I want to aim to be the best.”

“You’re a higher achiever than I thought, but it’s not like this is over yet. You’ve still got one more chance. The final exam.”

Yvie’s eyes shot open as she had just had several energy drinks.

“That’s right!”

She quickly got out of bed and started throwing punches into the air, smiling. 

“This fight’s not over yet.” 

“Wow,” Grace sighed. “You bounced back pretty quickly.” 

“You can’t keep a good girl down! Just you watch,” she thought. “I’m gonna do the best I can. I’m putting out 110, no, 120%!” 

After slamming her fist into her palm, the doors opened, and in came Palla and Dodge.

“You little guppies did well today. And I hope you’ve enjoyed your rest, because you’re gonna need it.” Dodge says.

“We’ll both be proctoring this exam,” Palla adds. “For this final challenge, you will all engage in the active field. But they won’t be allowed the use of OPS in this mission.”

Yvie whispers to Grace.

“What are OPS again?” 

“It’s short for Oxygen Pressure Suit. They’re the durable suits divers use; Dodge is wearing his.” Grace whispered back.

“Ah, I didn’t realize they had their own name. That makes sense.” Yvie says.

“All of you, follow me.” Palla beckons.

Palla heads through the double doors and leads the participants down the gray halls. She turns a corner and leads them down a long hallway to another pair of dark wooden doors. The doors open to a white room with water ripple patterns gently moving across the walls and floors. At the back of the room, built into the floor, there was a rectangular panel that appeared to be a doorway. Directly to the right upon entering the room was a man sitting at a desk in the dive receptionist room.

Palla faces the participants. 

“Before we go any further, I need to inform you of the agreement. It is as follows: the Dive Corporation is not responsible for ANY injuries you sustain during this exam. We will, however, treat any wounds you may have to the best of our ability. If you believe the treatment is unsatisfactory, then you cannot pursue legal action against us. By continuing with this test, you automatically agree to these terms. If you agree, then you may enter the dive room. If not, then go home.”

“But decide quickly; I’m waiting to down a cold one here,” Dodge states. 

One after another, they began filtering into the dive room. Yvie walked in and looked around the room at some of the items along the wall. A multitude of hanging paintings of the various flora and fauna are to be found locally.

“Oh, this one’s ignition coral! And that one’s a venefish.” Yvie’s eyes glide over them.

“You seem to know them quite well,” Grace said.

“When I decided to become a diver, I studied like crazy to learn more about the ocean. Well, less studying and more diving to test what I knew. I used to get into trouble all the time.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t get arrested.” Grace chuckles.

Palla walks into the center of the room, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Alright, we’ll now begin the final part of your exam.”  Palla begins. “The next task is to survive underwater for 24 hours.”