The speed at which I was propelled skyward was dizzying.
The resistance from the air whooshing past me felt almost painful, constantly battering against my skin as if the very wind were trying to peel me apart.
My heart pounded in my chest so hard it hurt. The sound of it drowned out the roar in my ears.
I forced my body to stay rigid, fighting against the overwhelming force of acceleration.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins and heightened my senses.
I felt it all.
The icy sting of the rushing win.
The metallic taste of blood on my tongue.
The weightlessness of defying gravity.
But above all, I felt terrified.
In front of me, the mountain’s jagged cliffs kept growing closer at an astonishing speed.
And as I flew past an outcropping, I realized I was about to crash into a craggy stone wall just ahead.
So, I did the only thing I could think of.
I summoned my Flame Lash and twisted my body in mid-air, whipping the lash forward and slamming it into the stone wall ahead to kill my accelerating momentum.
It didn’t stop me completely. I still crashed into the rock shoulder-first.
Blinding pain tore through my body, but mercifully, I was slowed down enough to not get hurt as much as I could have.
I slid down the slanting mountain wall, scraping against jagged rocks that ripped my clothes and scratched my skin.
My breath hitched with every bump as I tried clawing at the mountain with one hand to find some kind of purchase.
But I didn’t.
The descent felt endless as I kept rolling down while trying to control my fall.
Finally, the incline evened out, and my fall slowed as I came to an ungraceful stop on a narrow ledge, sprawled on my back, gasping for air.
My vision swam as I blinked up at the vast gray sky above.
After a few long seconds, I rolled to my side with a groan and coughed violently.
My shoulder throbbed, each beat of my heart sending waves of pain flaring through my chest.
But I was alive.
That was something.
“…Never doing anything like this again.”
Yeah, that was stupid.
It was a miracle I didn’t break all the bones in my body.
But I had no other choice. There wasn’t enough time for me to climb the mountain the normal way, so I had to improvise.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sit up.
The Flame Lash had dissipated, leaving only a faint heat in my palm and the blackened trail it had scorched into the stone above me.
I glanced down and saw most of the Cadets still fighting in the thin clearing, while some of them had started to run toward the mountain.
As much as I wanted to, I had no time to rest.
I pushed myself to my feet and took out another pill from my pocket.
It was an alchemical drug used to boost stamina and dull pain — highly expensive if bought legally and also very short in supply, so I was grateful I had Ivan to help me get it so easily.
The pill was small, bitter, and immediately effective.
As soon as I swallowed it, a comfortable warmth spread through my body, soothing the worst of the aches and numbing the searing pain in my shoulder.
My breath steadied, and I felt myself calm down.
I flexed my fingers to test the strength in my injured arm. It hurt, but I forced it to move.
Then, turning back to the cliff face, I scanned for my next move.
The ledge I was on was too narrow to walk any further.
My only option was up — a nearly vertical climb that made my stomach churn from just looking at it.
“Fuck me,” I groaned, but I knew I wouldn’t get anywhere by complaining.
So, I started doing what I could.
I grabbed a broken shard of rock jutting out from the wall and began climbing the rocky hill.
If I remembered correctly, the cave in which the Essence Stone was supposed to be was near the peak of the mountain.
With no other choice, I kept climbing.
•••
It didn’t take long for me to reach the cave’s entrance.
It was a large, jagged hole carved into the rock face, partially hidden by an overhang.
I couldn’t see inside clearly — it was too dark — but I was certain this was the place.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the cave.
And the moment I entered, an orb of white light flared up, chasing away the shadows and illuminating the cavern’s rough stone walls.
The light was so bright I had to squint until my vision adjusted to the sudden glow.
Opening my eyes again, I saw the bright orb hovering a few meters ahead, floating softly above the shoulder of a beautiful black-haired girl.
Her golden eyes locked onto me as soon as I stepped into view, and a faint smirk tugged at her lips.
“Hello, brother.”
Of course, I recognized her immediately.
She was my sister, Thalia Kaizer Theosbane.
And she didn’t look great. Her combat jacket was torn in places, marred with burn marks, and a thin cut on her forehead looked like it had only recently stopped bleeding.
Actually, scratch that.
Compared to me, she looked fine.
I was covered in black and blue bruises from head to toe, limping slightly, blood smeared across my chin, and one of my arms was in a world of pain.
Thalia raised an eyebrow, clearly noticing my sorry state. “What happened to you?”
I shrugged and walked further inside, my eyes scanning the spacious cave for any structural weaknesses I could use to my advantage.
“Ran into some of your childhood friends,” I said, keeping my tone as casual as possible. “Willem’s grown so tall. Did you see him?”
For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something — anger, maybe — in her eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
Her expression smoothed over, calm and unreadable when she asked, “Did they do this to you?”
“Ah, most of it,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. “They’re strong. Especially Alice. She figured out my strategy in under a minute. Her mind’s as sharp as her blade.”
“Did you lose?” Thalia’s voice was sharp and direct, cutting through the air like a knife.
I frowned at the question, obviously confused.
Was she worrying about me?
No, that would be absurd.
“I didn’t technically lose. Why?” I questioned.
She shrugged, her tone indifferent. “Just wondering if you’ve managed to bring even more dishonor to the family name.”
Ah, there it was.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said, letting out a dry laugh that echoed off the cavern walls. “Worry about your royal friends instead. I’ll pay them back for what they did to me today. I’ll pay them back tenfold.”
Thalia blinked, momentarily surprised by my declaration like she hadn’t expected that from me. But before she could respond, I gestured toward her with a nod of my chin.
“Anyway,” I began, “enough about me. Let’s talk about you. How’d you get here so fast? Most of the teams are still fumbling around at the base of the mountain, and here you are, sitting pretty like you’ve been waiting for me.”
“I left my team the moment we entered the dome,” she replied in an easy tone. “I asked our scout to come with me. He guided me through the forest, and I managed to get here in less than twenty minutes.”
She said it like it was nothing, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I was impressed.
It was more or less the same strategy I had suggested to Michael — sending Lily and Kang ahead while the rest of us stayed back to take down seven Spirit Beasts.
But that plan would’ve only worked for us.
Because we had Alexia, Michael, and me in the same Squad, only we had the luxury to split our forces.
Any other team didn’t have that same advantage. No other Squad could have slayed seven Spirit Beasts by dividing their power.
That meant only one thing.
Thalia had given up on the test altogether to get here as quickly as possible.
“And why did you do it?” I asked, my voice low with curiosity.
What could she possibly have gained by letting her team fail?
What was the point of sacrificing her chances of winning the test just to get here earlier than the rest?
“So I could meet you here, of course,” she said, raising a hand and showing me a faintly glowing crystal between her fingers.
The Essence Stone.
“If I crush this, no one wins,” Thalia said matter-of-factly.
She was right.
The Cadets had to complete two objectives if they wanted to win the test — slay seven Spirit Beasts and crush the Essence Stone that was supposed to be hidden in this cave.
But if Thalia — whose team was likely already out of the test without her help — crushed the Essence Stone, no one would win.
However, the very fact that she hadn’t done it already meant she had no intention of doing so.
Thalia placed the Essence Stone on the ground and hovered her foot over it for a moment.
But instead of crushing it under her boot, she stepped over it, walking toward me.
She stopped a few paces away and flashed me the warmest smile I had ever seen on her face.
“If you want the Essence Stone,” she said, her voice light, “you’ll have to cross me.”