After five minutes of enduring the essence of another competitor, Wayne finally reached the top. He was the last to make it up there, and everyone else was miles ahead of him. Wayne saw a colossal trail, with inclines and declines. It was the running section. This section spanned 10 miles, stretching through dense forests, swampy lands, and rough terrains of crossroads. Wayne sprung through the trail, trying to catch up with all the other people, but they were too fast, using their essence to speed up.
Wayne had once used his essence to increase his physical stats, but it was a fluke. He could only use it while under pressure. Wayne ran through sharp bushes and muddy dirt, tearing his pants and shirt. Wayne was losing stamina; without essence, his body was weak compared to all the others. He needed to find a way to catch up to the others.
Wayne examined the forest, trying to find shortcuts. But the forest was too big for him to comprehend. Wayne also had an awful feeling that hidden in the leaves and bushes, monsters were lurking. Wayne pulled out his sword, quietly walking his way towards the others. Suddenly, he heard screams in the distance, and birds flocking away from the area. Something had happened. Wayne rushed toward the area, trying to figure out what happened. The screams kept getting louder and louder, and suddenly, he saw a huge monster, towering over all the competitors.
It was holding a large club, slashing all of the people. It was muscular, and Wayne had never seen anything like this before.
"Let's see what the rookies can do."
The monster roared louder than ever. It started attacking everyone in its sight, but Wayne smirked.
"Time to put myself on the leaderboard."
Wayne sprung towards the air and slashed the monster in the back. But it seems that the monster didn't even acknowledge it. The monster turned around, and Wayne saw its huge head, with one eye and horns coming out of its head. Wayne had read about this before, he just couldn't remember the name.
Other humans started attacking the monster with their magic, but it was too weak to leave a scratch on it.
Wayne had remembered the name...
A Cyclops.
The Cyclops turned around, staring at Wayne with one eye. Wayne read about how to kill one... you aim for the eye. The only way to get up there was either to climb the trees, or he had to use one's magic to fly up.
Wayne gripped his sword tight and ran to the trees. Everyone else looked at Wayne as the last hope to defeat this humongous monster, but they were confused by his running to the trees.
"What is he doing? Why doesn't he just use his essence."
Wayne started climbing the trees, but the bark was too rough and sharp, and he kept losing his grip. The Cyclops riled his arm up, getting ready to slam Wayne. He didn't have enough grip on the trees, and the Cyclops's hand was right before Wayne. Suddenly, Wayne felt a sharp pain near his heart. His heart skipped a beat, and suddenly, he blinked his eyes, and he was on top of the tree branch.
Everyone's eyes opened wide, "What just happened?"
Wayne panicked, as he randomly teleported above the tree. Was this perhaps, one of his magical powers?
But disregarding the fact, this was Wayne's chance to stab the Cyclops in the eye. Wayne grabbed his sword, holding it tightly, and he took a leap of faith. He aimed his sword at the eye. Right before he stabbed the eye, he heard a snap nearby.
"Too slow."
The Cyclops suddenly disintegrated, turning his skin into piles of ashes. Wayne's sword stabbed the ground, almost killing Wayne. He looked around him, and he saw the same figure he saw at the peak of the mountain from the previous section. The guy who sped his way through it. The mysterious guy walked forward, acting like nothing happened. He passed Wayne, silently smirking at him.
"You should have gone for the heart. Faster kill."
The guy followed the trail, with his hands in his pockets. Everyone stared at him, while he was walking calmly and collectively.
Then a guy, with medium blue glistening hair, approached Wayne.
"Hey, that was pretty cool, how you zipped on top of the tree. It seems you're not wearing your uniform." His voice was soft and high-pitched.
"Oh yeah, I was late to the test, so I just wore this."
"Ahh, it happens. Anyway, you look pretty strong and want to join the team we formed. We are all working together to pass the sections."
Wayne took a moment to process what he said. A team? During a test? But Wayne needed guidance on how this magical stuff worked, so he had to accept the offer.
"Oh sure, that would be great. Thank You."
"Sweet. You can call me Kael Vireon. You?"
"Wayne."
Kael helped Wayne up, and the group continued to move forward in the forest, hoping that was the last monster they saw.
Hours passed, and the group was still jogging through the forest. Kael led the group, with the others following him. Wayne was in the best keeping a lookout behind them. Many group members begged for a break, but Kael kept running, not stopping. His stamina was off the charts. It felt like he could run for as long as he wanted to.
Wayne suddenly stopped. Kael noticed, "Hey Wayne, let's keep going, we have no time to waste!"
But Wayne sensed something lurking. The trees got closer and closer to them, and Wayne felt drops of rain touching him.
"Wait, I sense something." Wayne unsheathed his sword, predicting a battle was coming. Everyone else was confused, they couldn't hear or see anything nearby.
"Mournwind..."
Wayne and the others felt a breeze passing by them at incredible speeds, knocking them over. Wayne glances up, seeing Kael, standing still in the distance. Kael's body was glowing blue. He didn't say a word, just there, with closed eyes.
Suddenly, Kael snapped back, and used his hands to create a huge gust of wind, blowing all the others back. Swiftly from the bushes, a spear came flying, crashing into a tree, just avoiding the others.
A voice came from the darkness of the bushes,
"Impressive, you were able to detect me."
An eerie presence came from the bushes, and then they saw a man, walk out of the bushes. He was walking towards Kael. He smiled, warning Kael that this man had a dangerous intent. Kael quickly used his essence to use the air around to push away the man. But the air didn't affect him. His clothes flowed with the wind. He was wearing an all-black fit, with a blazer and linen pants. He was wearing a black top hat, which fell off with the wind, but he managed to catch it.
Kael tried to gain distance by using the wind to blow himself back, but the man just kept walking towards him.
"You know if you keep running away, you're not gonna reach the last section by time."
"Well then, I guess I just have to fight you."
The man smiled, a he suddenly zapped right in front of Kael.
"Impressive right?"
The man grabbed Kael and threw him in the opposite direction, towards the group. Wayne had a bad feeling about this guy, he was scared this guy was too strong.
Kael quickly got back up and used his magic to create an air bubble around the man, making him trapped inside.
"Interesting, this boy's essence can manipulate the air around him and allow him to control it."
Kael ran towards his group, including Wayne.
"Guys, we need to get out of here and get to the next section quickly!"
Everyone followed his command, getting back up and following Kael, but Wayne thought differently. He started to walk towards the trapped man.
"Wayne, it's this way!" Kael tried to yell at Wayne, warning him he was going the wrong way.
"No Kael, this is my chance to show the judges my true power. I'm going to try fighting this guy. Go on without me."
Wayne's eyes lit up, excited and nervous at the same time. He got warnings in his head from The Path, telling him not to fight this man. The Path noticed that this guy was out of Wayne's level and was too powerful. But Wayne was feeling the same way as he did when he fought Thorne. He realized that killing someone you thought was stronger than you...
Pleasures you and makes you excited.