The pillars might not look reassuring but it was either them or he looks for another alternative while the sky rats gain on him. He knew what the challenge wanted from him as soon as he saw this risky set up so he jumped across the edge of the cliff. He sailed forward and his right foot landed on the pillar. The pillar gave way as soon as his foot stepped on it and he began to fall.
“You have got to be kidding me.” He thought as he was falling.
The fall took some time and it seems the challenge will not reset back to the safe zone until he dies, which will be a very long time. The system was probably waiting for him to do something that will get him out of his fate of falling to his death.
He crossed his arms against his chest and screamed. “I’ve got nothing. You hear me, nothing.”
The sky rats had arrived and were patrolling the sky. They were more than a hundred of them now. They screamed back at him.
“They’re probably taunting me.” He thought to himself.
There’s nothing he can do right now to avoid the fate of plunging to his death. The only good thing is that the third choke point just started so the safe zone is too far behind.
Honestly, he felt cheated. He knew the obstacle course was out to get him but the challenges were just savage. He doubted that those rickety pillars could even hold a cockroach.
They were also spaced far away from each other so he would have to lengthen his stride to move from one to the other. The setup is such that he would either fall down or move on. But the pillars were geared like rat traps. The experience taught him what to do though.
Within the Director’s Alcove.
Shaston watched Soverick conquer the second choke point in three runs. At first, she and her will clone watched him run from the blood wasps before encountering the rock projectiles. She was hoping for him to be stumped by the strict requirements to pass through the midst of the rock people.
“Impressive but pointless.” She commented as Soverick scaled the rocks thrown at him.
“This is where the constant repetition will start before they cry and crack under pressure. We should be able to get a lot of very humiliating videos from this.” The Will clone added cheerfully.
Soverick started the second run and he chose to bring down the blood wasps first.
“Quick on the uptake but still lacking in execution.” She said when Soverick failed.
The will clone grinned. “I got him in his underwear. I have the feeling that this will be just the start to more humiliating things.”
Then he started the third run and killed all the blood wasps. They watched him stroll through the choke point with his uniform tied around his waist.
Shaston watched his carefree attitude before commenting. “Enjoy your peace for now but it isn’t over. The Sky rats will put you in your place.”
Her will clone remained silent.
Then the first sky rat appeared. Shaston’s eyes lit up with expectation. “Anytime now.”
This is the usual breaking point. Other challengers that reached this stage usually achieve it after repeated failures. They will try a lot of strategies which will end in failure. Only when they realize that the blood wasps must go before any progress can be made do they find a way to tackle them.
But it isn’t easy to eliminate the blood wasps. There is a high requirement for precision in throwing. The challengers will have to be constantly on the move while trying to hit a fast-moving target.
They don’t usually employ the stamina reduction plan because they don’t have excess stamina to spare. The longer they drag out eliminating the blood wasps, the slower the challengers get because they too are running out of stamina and their aim becomes poorer. They have to kill all the blood wasps or their effort will go to waste. A single blood wasp will spoil the remaining run.
But they will succeed at the end of the day after tens of runs and days of effort. Then they will encounter the first sky rat. Some of them will choose to run for it, a very poor decision. The sky rats will catch up to them either through the air or on the ground because their speed will be inhibited by the stony ground. Most of those that attempt to kill the sky rat will mess it up. Then the sky rat will call for help and it will become a whole new level of difficulty.
For the lucky or the exceptional few that succeed in killing it, the crash sound it will make will render their effort useless. It is only after that failure will they realize that the sky rats must not make noise. Then they will start again, first with the blood wasps and then the sky rats. One single mistake will make them start over.
It is not rare that some of the challengers break down and cry. The determination that they cultivated in their first choke point will be pushed to the point of cracking. Determination is more effective against external threats and disappointment. But the fear of failure, an internal threat that aims to undermine confidence, is something that determination needs to be able to conquer too.
Shaston and the will clone watched the stone that soverick threw lodge itself in the skull of the first sky rat.
“Not bad. I expected as much. Too bad that you will be stumped soon.” She was about to go on when her mouth froze. Soverick caught the bird and saved the day.
“Dammit.” Shaston fumed.
The Will clone was also disappointed. “I was hoping to see that look of despair on his face.”
Shaston consoled her. “Don’t worry. We’ll get our just rewards. It’s just a matter of time. All we need is a single mistake.”
“Yes, you’re right. It’s not as if he will pass through the entire choke point in this run.”
It turned out that Shaston wasn’t right. They watched him neutralize every threat with calm and ease. He accounted for wind movement and always struck true. Even the tricky situations when two sky rats attacked him at the same time. People usually have a dominant arm that they prefer to use for most situations. They were hoping Soverick would have such a quirk, it will make him seem more normal instead of the readily adaptable person he seems.
They were silent for a while before Shaston could speak. “I think the traits of Soverick responsible for his outstanding performance, is his ability to learn from mistakes, make adjustments and anticipate outcomes. Of which the most important is the ability to make adjustments. He makes learning seem easy.”
It is very difficult for people to change and learning isn’t easy. Experience is indeed the best teacher but experience sometimes fails because the person cannot identify what he has done wrong or what went wrong.
If learning to throw stones accurately is used as an example. It will be noticed that some people just can’t aim right. There’s either a problem with their judgment of distance and depth, hand motions, posture, or muscle exertion. Sometimes, people just can’t see what they are doing wrong and will continue to make the same mistake again and again. That is why people watch others and learn from them. It is also why people need teachers to point out their mistakes.
Identifying a mistake is the first step. Rectifying it is the second, and it is more difficult to achieve because of habits. Habits are ingrained behavior patterns. Mistakes will become very difficult to change if a habit stands in the way of making adjustments. The other obstacle is comfort zones. Mental and physical comfort zones will inhibit the very attempts to change. Comfort zones will make it difficult to summon the courage and will to change.
Even when habits and comfort zones have been overcome. Most times, people learn through try and error, after repeated failures and enlightenment. Learning just isn’t easy. But Soverick made it look easy. The challengers that trained in the other regimen first will have learned the necessary skills to pass the obstacle course, such as throwing and body precision, but it is another thing to use both skills in tandem and under pressure. They’ve learned to dodge, block, and parry, but performing them under constant stress and harassment isn’t easy.
The Will clone nodded sagely at Shaston’s words. Then she said, “You meant to say he is too smart and you will probably fail in tricking him to accept your legacy.”
Shaston nodded in agreement. “You’re totally right.”
Soverick turned out to be way smarter than an average child and he is less than two years. How smart will he be in a thousand years? Shaston doesn’t know, but she knows it will be very difficult to dupe Soverick into taking her legacy.