Examiner Graham stood before all the prospective apprentices and announced loudly:
"Listen carefully! From the path through these thorn bushes, you will reach the Stonefist Outpost's 'Cliff of Trials.' The first section is a thorn-covered area, followed by a rugged rock wall, and finally, a sheer precipice. Only those who successfully reach the summit before noon can officially become apprentices of the Stonefist Outpost. If you fail to reach the clifftop within the stipulated time, though you cannot become an official apprentice, you may still be accepted as a probationary apprentice by special exception if you demonstrate outstanding performance during the process."
Elara Stonefield naturally didn't understand what "probationary apprentice" truly meant; she only knew she had to keep moving forward, keep climbing upward. She glanced ahead. Before her was a slope that didn't look excessively steep, dotted with some tough thorn bushes and low shrubs. It didn't seem as difficult to climb as she had imagined.
Elara glanced at the other children beside her; she was unwilling to lose to her peers. Among the other children, the atmosphere had suddenly become tense, a mixture of eagerness and unease.
Examiner Graham looked at the newly risen sun in the eastern sky and said in a clear voice:"It's about time. Prepare to set off! Don't be afraid; your senior apprentices will be behind you to look out for you and ensure your safety. They won't let you encounter any real danger."
Elara looked back at the stern-faced young sentinels behind her. So, these individuals were called "senior apprentices," likely disciples who had previously passed the trials and joined the Outpost. She thought to herself, if she could successfully join, would she be able to wear the same impressive uniform as them?
While she was lost in these thoughts, Elara noticed that most of the other children had already rushed into the thorn-covered area ahead with a whoosh. Seeing this, she dared not delay any longer and quickly started running to keep up.
This thorn-covered area must have been quite extensive. As soon as the thirty-odd children charged in, they immediately scattered, each seeking their own path forward. Not far behind Elara, a tall, slender senior apprentice with a cold face followed closely. This person maintained a stern expression, silently trailing her. Elara was somewhat intimidated by his icy gaze and didn't dare to speak to him. She just kept her head down, slightly bent over, and laboriously moved forward step by step along the uneven slope.
At first, this thorn-covered area didn't seem too difficult to traverse, but after walking for a long time, it gradually became strenuous. Her legs felt increasingly heavy, as if filled with lead. Slowly, Elara had to extend a hand, frequently grabbing onto the tough thorn vines or low tree branches by the path to leverage herself and conserve some energy.
After persisting like this for a considerable time, Elara was thoroughly exhausted, her breathing becoming heavy and ragged. She had no choice but to find a slightly flat small mound, sit down, and gasp for air.
Taking advantage of the break to catch her breath, Elara glanced back at the slender senior apprentice. Although the ground beneath was now quite steep and difficult, this senior apprentice still stood there as motionless as a statue. His dark uniform was not even stained with a speck of dust, and his posture was as upright as the mountain pines. He stood not far below Elara, quietly watching her.
Elara met the senior apprentice's indifferent gaze and felt another wave of inexplicable nervousness, quickly turning her head back. She heard a series of rapid gasps not far ahead, knowing it was the children who had climbed faster than her also taking a rest. Elara paused a little longer, regained some strength, and then, not daring to delay further, hastily got up and continued on her way.
The slope became even steeper, and Elara felt her strength dwindling. To avoid accidentally slipping and falling during the climb, Elara had to bend over, practically using her hands and feet to ascend. Fortunately, her coarse cloth clothes were quite sturdy; otherwise, her elbows and knees would have likely been torn by the rough ground long ago.
Finally, she was about to exit this dense thorn-covered area. However, Elara only felt this last short stretch becoming increasingly difficult. Rocks on the ground grew more numerous, exposing uneven stone surfaces, while conversely, the thorn bushes and low trees she could use for leverage became scarcer.
Elara could no longer rely on grabbing plant branches to advance. This final stretch, it could almost be said, she covered inch by agonizing inch.
Once out of the thorn bushes' cover, Elara felt the view before her suddenly open up. Directly ahead, an immense rock wall loomed, extending almost vertically upward. On the rock face, a few small figures were already clinging like geckos, slowly and laboriously climbing upward. Behind each of them, a senior apprentice in the same uniform followed, closely monitoring their movements. Seeing this, Elara hesitated no longer and hurried towards the rock wall ahead.
The surface of this giant rock was composed of layers upon layers of sedimentary rock, which appeared very fragile after years of weathering and erosion. In some places, the rock might crumble and break with just a light touch. Of course, there were also many razor-sharp, hard rock fragments on the wall formed by weathering. After climbing for less than half an hour, Elara's hands were already covered in cuts and scrapes. The clothing at her elbows and knees had long been torn by sharp rocks, revealing multiple lacerations on the flesh beneath. Although most of these wounds were small, tiny rock fragments and grit seeping into them intensified the burning pain.
The few children at the front were climbing higher and higher, gradually pulling away from those behind. Elara, thinking of her family's and Uncle Hobbes's earnest parting words, could only grit her teeth silently, endure the pain, and continue her arduous climb upward.
Before setting out, Elara's father and Uncle Hobbes had repeatedly reminded her that the Stonefist Outpost's entrance trial would be extremely difficult, and she would absolutely not be selected if she couldn't persevere to the end. However, at this point, Elara no longer cared whether she could join the Stonefist Outpost or not. It was just that the stubborn unwillingness to admit defeat deep within her suddenly flared up. This pent-up feeling in her chest made her determined to catch up with the children ahead, no matter what.
Elara laboriously lifted her head and looked up. Currently, the person climbing at the very front was Roric Stonehand. Roric was, after all, more than a year older than Elara, and judging by his movements, he seemed to have practiced some rudimentary fighting techniques. His physical condition was clearly much stronger than the other children, so it wasn't particularly surprising that he was leading.
Elara glanced back again and saw many figures still struggling upward behind her. Elara took a deep breath, refocused her concentration, and quickened her pace of ascent.
Even using all her strength, Elara still couldn't close the distance with the few children at the front. Her body felt heavier and heavier, and her limbs began to ache. As the sun in the sky gradually climbed to its zenith, Roric Stonehand had already successfully reached the top of the rock wall.
The end of the rock wall connected to an almost completely vertical, steep cliff, estimated to be over thirty yards high. From the top of the cliff, a dozen thick hemp ropes hung down, with fist-sized knots carefully tied along them to aid climbing. Roric Stonehand was currently clinging to one of these ropes, moving slowly but steadily, bit by bit, towards the clifftop.
Elara looked at Roric Stonehand, far ahead, and couldn't help but feel a wave of discouragement. She knew very well that in her current state, it was impossible to catch up with the few at the front, and there probably wasn't much time left.
Just as this thought arose, a sharp, burning pain suddenly shot through the cuts on her elbows and knees. Her limbs instantly felt weak. One hand, gripping a rock, trembled violently, and her entire body involuntarily began to slide downwards. Elara's heart pounded wildly, almost leaping out of her throat. She desperately pressed her entire body tightly against the rough rock wall, not daring to move an inch.
After a short while, her racing heart calmed down a little. She carefully reached out, grabbed a protruding, seemingly sturdy rock horn, pulled it a few times, and felt it was reasonably secure, which only then slightly eased her mind.
Elara subconsciously glanced back. The senior apprentice who had been silent behind her was now crouching, his arms slightly spread, in a protective stance ready to catch her. Seeing her regain her footing, he slowly straightened up, his expression as cold as ever.
A surge of gratitude welled up in Elara's heart. If she had really fallen from here, all her previous hard work would have been for nothing! So, after a short rest to gather some strength, she began to move forward again slowly, arduously climbing towards the thick hemp ropes hanging from the precipice.
Finally, she reached the bottom of one of the unoccupied ropes. By now, the sun was almost directly overhead; less than half an hour remained until noon. Just then, the boy named Roric Stonehand had successfully scaled the clifftop. He was standing at the edge, looking down. Elara, reaching the bottom of the rope, happened to see Roric Stonehand. He raised an arm, extended his little finger, and made a couple of slight gestures towards the struggling crowd below the cliff, then burst into unrestrained, wild laughter before turning away from the edge.
Seeing this, Elara felt a surge of anger. She thought no more, quickly reached out her already aching hands, gripped the coarse hemp rope tightly, and began to climb.
However, Elara was already exhausted, with almost no strength left in her entire body. Now, she felt she could barely hold onto the protruding knots on the rope.
When she had expended her last ounce of strength and finally managed to pull herself onto the last knot of the rope, sitting down on it, she immediately felt her whole body go limp, as if she couldn't even move a finger. She laboriously turned her head and looked back. On the rock wall behind, some other children, like her, were slumped in exhaustion, gasping for breath, apparently having also used up their last bit of energy.
Elara could only manage a bitter smile in her heart. She had underestimated this entrance trial. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen to the very back. She turned her head again to look at the ever-expressionless senior apprentice not far away. After a moment's hesitation, Elara decided to grit her teeth and persist a little longer, to try and climb a bit higher. Although she knew it was absolutely impossible for her to reach the clifftop before noon, how could she be willing to give up just like that!
Elara flexed her stiff and sore hands, mustered the tiny bit of strength she had just recovered, and began to try to inch her body up along the knots. But at this moment, Elara's hands were completely unresponsive due to extreme fatigue, utterly unable to firmly grip the coarse rope. She fumbled uselessly in place for a moment but still failed to move upwards even a fraction.
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