Chapter 37: The Obstacle Course
POV: Adam
The obstacle course stretched across Kaer Morhen's training yard like a monument to calculated lethality, its wooden beams and metal fixtures positioned with precision that spoke of designers who understood the difference between education and survival. Dawn light painted the apparatus in shades that made every surface look slick with potential for disaster.
Death trap. They call it training, but it's really a death trap.
Lambert stood beside the course's starting point with expression that mixed professional interest with personal amusement, his weathered hands gesturing toward obstacles that had claimed their share of witcher candidates over the centuries.
"Course record is forty-seven seconds," he said, his voice carrying challenge that felt designed to provoke reaction rather than provide simple information. "Eskel set it three years ago. Geralt managed fifty-two, but he was drunk."
Forty-seven seconds. Through a course designed to kill people with superhuman reflexes.
Adam studied the obstacles with attention that had nothing to do with casual interest and everything to do with tactical assessment of how air magic might compensate for lacking witcher mutations. Narrow beams over deadly drops, spinning blades that required perfect timing, targets that demanded accuracy while moving at full speed.
Airbending. Use airbending to solve problems the course wasn't designed to account for.
"What do I win if I complete it?" Adam asked, understanding that accepting challenges in places like Kaer Morhen established social hierarchy through demonstration rather than discussion.
Lambert's grin revealed teeth that had seen their share of violence. "My respect. And I'll stop calling you 'pretty boy.'"
Respect. From a witcher. That's worth the risk.
"And if I beat Eskel's record?"
"Then I'll owe you fifty crowns."
Fifty crowns and Lambert's respect. Time to see what Level 20 airbending can accomplish.
The course began with balance beams positioned three meters above stone that would break bones if falls occurred, their surfaces worn smooth by decades of candidates learning that confidence was more dangerous than caution. Adam approached the first beam with movements that carried certainty rather than bravado.
Air cushions. Invisible air cushions positioned below the beams.
The technique required concentration that felt like juggling while walking tightrope, maintaining defensive magic while navigating obstacles that demanded perfect balance. But the psychological safety net allowed him to move faster than prudence would normally suggest.
Spinning blades. Feel for air displacement patterns.
The mechanical trap operated according to timing that could be predicted through atmospheric disturbance, metal cutting through air in patterns that created pressure waves detectable through expanded sensory awareness. Adam slipped through spaces that existed for fractions of seconds.
Targets. Moving targets requiring accuracy at speed.
Air pressure manipulation turned throwing knives into guided projectiles, invisible force correcting trajectory while maintaining appearance of conventional skill. Three targets shattered in rapid succession as Adam maintained pace that would have been impossible without supernatural assistance.
Final obstacle. The impossible jump.
The gap between platforms exceeded normal human capability by comfortable margins, its distance calculated to require witcher reflexes and enhanced strength. But Air Jump turned impossible into routine, invisible force lifting Adam across space that should have claimed him.
Forty-three seconds.
The course timer stopped with numbers that made Lambert's expression cycle through disbelief, grudging admiration, and something approaching awe. Eskel emerged from the shadows with approval that his reputation suggested he distributed as carefully as rare coin.
"Forty-three seconds," Eskel said, his voice carrying professional respect that felt earned through demonstration. "New record."
New record. I just set the Kaer Morhen obstacle course record.
Lambert counted out fifty crowns with movements that spoke of someone paying debts with philosophical acceptance rather than resentment. "Not bad. For a pretty boy."
Still calling me pretty boy. Some things never change.
[Experience Gained: 200 XP]
[Airbending: +75 element XP]
[Relationship: Eskel +10 (now 15/100)]
[Relationship: Lambert +5 (now 30/100)]
Ciri's insistence on attempting the course herself generated exactly the kind of protective panic that Adam had been hoping to avoid, her determination to prove capability clashing against his understanding of what the obstacles could do to people who lacked supernatural assistance.
No. Absolutely no. That course is designed to kill witcher candidates.
"I can do it," she said, her voice carrying authority that felt borrowed from royal training rather than tactical assessment. "I'm not helpless."
Not helpless. But not superhuman either.
The argument that followed revealed tensions that had been building since their relationship began—independence versus protection, trust versus fear, allowing growth versus preventing loss. Both positions had merit, both carried emotional weight that made compromise feel like betrayal.
She needs to prove herself. I need her to stay alive.
Ciri made it halfway through the course before momentum and gravity conspired to send her plummeting toward stones that would have ended their relationship through permanent physical separation. Adam's Air Gust caught her mid-fall, invisible force cushioning impact that could have been fatal.
Saved her. But the argument that follows is going to be brutal.
"I had it under control!" Ciri's fury painted her cheeks red as she pulled herself upright, embarrassment mixing with anger in ways that made rational discussion impossible.
"You were falling toward rocks that would have killed you!" Adam's response carried terror disguised as frustration, fear for her safety bleeding through attempts at reasonable discourse.
First real fight since becoming a couple. This is our first serious fight.
Geralt's mediation came with authority that neither of them was prepared to challenge, his weathered voice cutting through emotional noise with practical assessment that acknowledged valid concerns on both sides.
"She needs to test her limits," he said, golden eyes moving between them with evaluation that felt like judgment being rendered. "But testing limits and courting death are different things."
Compromise. We need to find compromise between safety and growth.
Evening reconciliation began with apologies that felt genuine rather than strategic, both of them understanding that fear had driven reactions that went beyond the immediate disagreement about obstacle course completion.
She's right about needing independence. I'm right about the dangers being real.
"I'm sorry," Ciri said, her voice carrying honesty that made pretense impossible. "Fear was making me reckless. I wanted to prove I could take care of myself."
"I'm sorry too," Adam replied, meaning every word with desperate intensity. "I can't keep you completely safe. I need to trust your capabilities."
Trust. This is about trust as much as safety.
The kiss that followed carried heat that their previous encounters hadn't contained, physical expression of emotions that words couldn't adequately convey. Their relationship was progressing at natural pace despite circumstances that made normal courtship impossible.
More intense. More passionate. We're growing closer.
"Get a room!" Lambert's voice cut through the moment with timing that spoke of someone whose sense of humor operated at the expense of other people's romantic moments.
Lambert. Of course Lambert would interrupt.
Ciri's laughter mixed with Adam's groaning acknowledgment that privacy at Kaer Morhen was luxury that fortress living rarely provided.
Interrupted. But that's probably for the best.
[Relationship: Ciri +10 (now 145/150 - nearly maximum romantic bond)]
The library provided sanctuary for research that felt more intimate than their interrupted kiss, hands intertwined while they studied texts that described Elder Blood manifestations across generations of carriers who'd learned to control or been destroyed by powers beyond normal comprehension.
Learning together. Building understanding through shared investigation.
Geralt watched from the doorway with expression that suggested approval mixed with concern about their growing bond, his golden eyes reflecting torchlight while evaluating developments that carried implications beyond simple teenage romance.
He sees it. The connection growing stronger, the dangers that come with emotional intensity.
But looking at Ciri's profile as lamplight painted her features in gold and shadow, Adam understood that some bonds were worth whatever risks they created.
Together. Learning, growing, becoming stronger together.
The ancient keep settled into evening quiet around them, its corridors holding secrets that spanned centuries while two young people discovered that love could flourish even in places designed for violence and solitude.
Tomorrow brings new challenges. Tonight, we have this.
Some moments were precious precisely because they were temporary.
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