An hour became two.
Time stopped being something I could measure and turned into something I had to endure.
My legs started burning first. Then my lungs. Slowly, every muscle in my body joined in. The pace I had started with was long gone. What I was doing now would barely count as jogging; it was more of a desperate struggle, something akin to a spirited trudge.
'As long as I don't stop moving' That was all I muttered to myself.
Seeing as Aluis hadn't said anything, moving was the only rule that mattered.
But the test still wasn't over. Not yet.
As if mocking our desperate struggle, the walls rose faster now, large slabs slid across the lane like moving barricades, spikes came up taller, sharper, and more deliberate. Everything was designed to push one's senses and judgement to the limit.
A thought crept into my mind.
'When would this be over?'
I risked a glance sideways and saw about eighty candidates still moving with control. They were sweating. They were breathing hard. Some had blood on their hands or at their ankles. But they were not falling apart the way I was.
"Am I the only one struggling?" I cursed under my breath. I could feel my vision starting to blur at the edges. But then a small warmth spread under my ribs. Call it stubbornness, or even luck, but pushing myself to the limit had finally earned me something more.
[Endurance has increased slightly]
[Stamina has increased slightly]
I laughed once, short and ugly. It came out as a cough.
The track shifted again. I exhaled and kept moving.
The air tasted cold and bitter. Aluis still stood in the centre like he had been carved there, black uniform untouched by effort, mask hiding his eyes, presence pressing down on everyone present.
He had not spoken in a long time.
That silence was its own weapon. A pressure one couldn't deny.
But seeing as he had no intentions of moving, I stopped paying him any attention.
'I can't lose focus here,' I took in a sharp breath and forced myself to continue.
Time slowed to a crawl. All I could do was count my steps, manically pushing through the pain and the burn.
Eventually, I stopped caring about those around me.
'Who cares how many are left?' I grunted to myself, 'As long as I keep going'
That was all I had to do. Just keep going.
I took another breath.
In. Out.
In. Out.
Then it happened.
Aluis snapped his fingers.
The sound was small, almost casual. Then the track stopped moving.
Walls sank cleanly back into the ground. Spikes retracted as if they had never existed. The rubble smoothed out, tiles knitting themselves back into a perfect, boring loop.
I stumbled into my next step and jerked back; the sudden stop felt wrong. As if the ground was being pulled back beneath my feet.
A jolt of pain ran through me.
My legs gave up.
I dropped to my knees so fast I barely caught myself with one hand. My breath came in ragged pulls. My stomach twisted. My vision pulsed.
Around me, other candidates collapsed. Some fell onto their backs and stared at the sky. Some sat down immediately, heads bowed, hands shaking.
Aluis walked slowly along the inner edge of the track, looking at us with a satisfied gaze. Not cruel.
"The first test is over," Aluis spoke, and his voice settled into the candidates effortlessly.
He raised his wrist.
The band on it glowed.
"Those with glowing bands have passed," Aluis continued. "The rest will leave the premises."
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, one by one, bands lit up across the field.
A girl near the front gasped when her wrist flashed. A boy beside her swore softly. A cluster of candidates exchanged stunned looks and then started to smile despite themselves.
I stared at my own wrist in anticipation.
My chest tightened.
Then, a faint pulse.
The band warmed against my skin and lit up.
I let out a long breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.
Relief hit me like a weight leaving my shoulders.
Aluis turned to the candidates whose wrists stayed dark.
"For those who did not pass. You will be teleported back to your departing origin," Aluis gestured towards the distance. "Gather around the magic circles carved outside the premises."
The defeated candidates hesitated.
Some looked angry. Some looked hollow. Others had already broken down; the gruelling test had already eroded their spirits.
A boy with a bleeding foot pushed forward, limping, face twisted with frustration.
"This is unfair," he snapped. His voice quivered. "I would've lasted if I hadn't gotten injured. I deserve to pass. This....this is irresponsible."
The air stiffened.
"That is unfortunate. But in the end, you were not selected," Aluis replied calmly with a shake of his head.
"That's not an answer," the boy spat. "You didn't judge me properly. You didn't even watch properly. You just stood there. This is a joke."
The boy's words echoed, tinged with frustration. I could instinctively feel the words dripping with desperation.
My eyes slowly drifted towards Aluis, yet one glance and I could tell that he felt neither pity nor sorrow for the boy's cries.
Aluis snorted.
It was the smallest sound, the lightest gesture. But it carried the weight of a thousand words.
He raised one hand and pushed forward, slow, casual, like he was moving air.
The ground responded.
Earth burst up in front of the limping candidate, dozens of sharp spikes erupting in an instant and stopping inches from his face. Close enough that the stone grazed his cheek. A thin line of blood appeared.
The candidate froze.
His eyes went wide. His mouth opened. No sound came out.
Then he quivered and dropped to the floor, hands shaking uncontrollably.
Aluis held his hand there for another second, and a horrifying silence gripped the room.
"This is your last warning," he said, voice calm. "If you do not leave now, you will be counted as trespassers. The Academy holds no reservations against defending its property."
He lowered his hand.
The spikes sank back into the tiles like a thought dismissed.
The candidates with dark bands moved.
Fast.
They scrambled toward the outer edge of the field, toward the glowing magic circles, faces pale and tight. The limping man crawled at first, then forced himself up and staggered away, not looking back.
Yet tension did not leave with them.
It stayed in the air like a smell.
Aluis turned back to the ones who remained.
"You have five minutes," he said. "I recommend you rest to prepare for the next test."
Five minutes might be nothing. But to us dogged survivors, it felt like the world.
The people around me dispersed, scuttling towards their own private corners of the field. Many started doing small things, like shaking out arms, stretching calves, pressing fingers into bruised spots. Some drank from flasks that appeared from coat pockets like magic tricks. Others sat perfectly still, eyes closed, conserving what little they had left.
A few began eying each other like they expected a fight to break out.
I stayed on the sidelines, breathing slowly, spear laid beside me, fingers resting on the wrapped shaft. I quickly took on a natural meditation pose, crossing my legs and stretching out my arms to my knees as I drew in large breaths.
It wasn't a random thought. No, rather, I sat in a pose all too familiar to me since the time I'd played Advent.
'Here goes nothing.'
Meditation was a passive skill you could unlock to gain slow regeneration. Though I didn't possess the skill right now, this seemed the perfect time to try and unlock it. I was exhausted, sitting in the exact pose the skill was used in and knew somewhat how it worked.
'Five minutes.' I murmured to myself, trying my best to follow a slow and deliberate breathing rhythm.
By the time five minutes ended, I hadn't unlocked the skill, but I did manage to earn a few strange glances from those around me, which I promptly ignored.
Moments later, Aluis lifted his hand again.
The field changed.
Tiles slid aside and reshaped. Stone rose and formed rows. Desks and chairs emerged from the ground and arranged themselves akin to aclassroom built on a battlefield.
The candidates stared in confusion.
'Wait..A written test? Already?' I raised my brows. "Isn't this too sharp a twist?" I chuckled to myself.
I looked back, and I could almost swear that Aluis had cracked a very faint smile. But the very next second, the air above the field stirred, my gaze flicked upwards, and Aluis took that chance to make himself scarce.
Instead of him, a figure descended from the sky.
He glided down with wings of wind at his back, translucent currents shaping themselves into feathered arcs. He hovered for a moment, black coat fluttering, then touched down lightly in front of the transformed classroom.
He smiled.
"Candidates," he said with a slow clap. "Congratulations on surviving the first phase."
"I am Pasadin," he continued. "Your second examiner."
A murmur rippled through the remaining candidates. But under his stern glare, the voices eventually died down.
Pasadin held a thick stack of papers under one arm.
"As you can guess. The second test is a written examination; the topics covered will test your general knowledge and decision-making," he said.
"A hundred questions will be presented," Pasadin held up one of the question booklets. "You are required to answer any fifty."
He lifted a finger and reiterated with a pause. "Keyword. Any."
"Of course, you may answer more than fifty, and it will earn you bonus points", he added with a smile "However, incorrect answers will deduct points."
Pasadin raised his hand, and the air stilled again. He flicked his wrist and released the papers upward. For a moment, they floated gently, and then they drifted through the air, each sheet guiding itself to a desk, landing perfectly aligned.
"Take your places," Pasadin said. "You will have two hours. The purpose of this test has been made clear. We will start when everyone is seated. "
Candidates moved quickly, chairs scraping, boots tapping against stone. People grabbed pens like they were weapons. Some sat with stiff posture. Some leaned over the paper instantly, eyes scanning.
I found a seat near the side.
My legs were still trembling, but my fingers steadied as I grabbed the pen on the table. I laid my spear carefully beside my chair, cloth still wrapped tight around the head, and looked down at the question paper.
The first page was full of sections and numbers.
'History. Geography. Coalition law. Demon classification. Mana theory. Basic tactics.'
My heartbeat slowly settled into something cold and focused.
Pasadin's voice cut through the last whispers.
"One last thing. If you're caught cheating. You will be instantly disqualified." With a swift gesture, Pasadin rose through the air and observed us from the top.
"Is that clear?" He cleared his throat and eyed our faces for a response.
"Good. Begin."
The second phase started.