[ Competitors disqualified! Weapon destroyed! ]
After the disqualification of the eight, Victor finally released Elyra, who quickly stepped back and brushed herself off with burning cheeks.
She glared at him. "I had it under control."
Victor grinned and began to turn away. "You're welcome."
She scowled. "Wait. Why did you do that?"
He stopped and tilted his head slightly while still facing away. "Why wouldn't I?"
"You could've let me get disqualified," she said while narrowing her eyes. "I'm an S-rank. That would've made things easier for you."
Victor turned halfway and smiled. "Maybe. But I'd rather fight fairly than win by cheap tricks. Besides, I'm not afraid of a challenge."
His words were simple, but they struck something deep in Elyra.
He walked away without waiting for a reply, leaving her staring after him.
The intensity in her gaze slowly shifted to something more complex. A quiet storm of feelings stirred within her... confusion, admiration and something else she couldn't name.
Victor advanced quickly through the course, navigating obstacles and taking down magical beasts with efficient strikes that never pushed the cane past its limit.
His control over power was honed by experience and tempered by battles in Ascendant Realms.
Finally, he arrived at the endpoint where a familiar voice greeted him.
"About time," Reed said with a wide grin. "I was beginning to think you tripped over your own ego."
Victor chuckled. "Funny, I thought you would've broken your cane already with how clumsy you are."
Reed laughed and clapped Victor on the shoulder. "Glad you made it, man."
Moments later, Elyra arrived. She stood silently near them with her arms folded and mana clinging to her greenish skin.
Reed leaned closer to Victor. "She's making the air thick. How are you even standing next to her like it's nothing?"
Victor blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's like... standing next to a live generator."
Victor tilted slightly unable to comprehend what Reed meant due to being a qi user.
More competitors trickled in over the next several minutes. Every arrival brought cheers or murmurs from the crowd. Out of the initial 120 Warrior-class students, only around eighty five remained now.
As the final horn sounded, the instructors announced the end of the second phase.
"Congratulations to those who remain," the announcer's voice echoed across the arena. "You have proven your control, endurance, and adaptability. But the real test has only just begun. Prepare yourselves. Phase Three will commence shortly."
Victor adjusted his stance with a focused as he prepared for the details of the next phase.
Instructor Elric stood before the remaining warrior-class competitors with his arms folded behind his back.
The wind rustled through the arena, stirring cloaks and hair, but Elric remained unmoved like a sculpture carved out of war itself.
Behind him, the ground of the arena began to terraform.
Rocks shot out of different positions across the ground as a trail wound upward into a steep incline.
Soon a Valley was created... It had a rough and scorching terrain veiled with molten steam.
At its highest point, barely visible through the shifting smoke, a rope stretched across, connecting it to another cliff roughly seventy feet away.
Beneath that rope... burned a raging flaming river, glowing with hellish heat.
The warriors stood in silence with their attention locked onto the instructor as he began to speak.
> "Being a warrior is not merely about how deep your blade can pierce," he voiced with a resonant tone, "or how many skulls you can crush with brute strength."
He took a slow step forward.
> "A true warrior possesses more than raw power. They possess restraint, poise, and the ability to stay upright... even when the world itself tries to tilt them into chaos."
He snapped his fingers, and assistants walked out with trays.
On each tray rested odd footwear.
They were long bamboo stilts, roughly two feet tall, shaped into narrow, pointed cylinders that narrowed to barely wider than a finger at the base.
A single step in these looked like a gamble against gravity.
Murmurs spread across the group.
Victor eyed them with raised brows. "You want us to walk in those?"
Instructor Elric nodded as the footwear was handed to each competitor.
> "These will test your balance and mental steadiness. You will need both if you wish to cross the burning void and reach the legacy altar's next gate."
"Void?" Reed muttered under his breath. "Can we not call it a void? That sounds... very final."
As each student strapped on the bizarre footwear, they quickly realized it wasn't a joke. The moment Victor rose to full height, the world titled violently. His knees buckled slightly as he fought to stay upright.
"I feel like a drunk giraffe," he grunted.
A boy nearby faceplanted before even taking a step.
Victor flailed once, caught his balance, then looked over at Reed who was standing perfectly still.
"Okay… why the hell are you not struggling like the rest of us?" Victor narrowed his eyes.
Reed puffed his chest proudly. "Ballet."
Victor blinked. "…What?"
"I did ballet classes as a kid. Five years." Reed gave a gentle pirouette on the spot. "Center of gravity, posture control, toe strength. All in the thighs, baby."
Victor gawked. "I did not need to know that."
"But now you do." Reed grinned. "And your life is richer for it."
Victor muttered, "My life is traumatized."
A booming voice echoed over the valley.
> [PHASE THREE INITIATED]
> — Objective: Reach the summit. Cross the rope.
— Danger: Falling results in immediate disqualification.
— Support Item: None.
— Combat Class: Swords permitted.
— Warning: Airborne magical beasts approaching from ranks 3 to 7.
— Failing to cross in the next 1 Hour: automatic failure.
Victor adjusted his footing. "No pressure."
"Yup," Reed nodded while beginning his ascent. "Just balance, height, fire, and flying monsters. An average Tuesday."
Moving uphill on two-foot bamboo stilts was something Victor believed only nightmares and circus clowns should endure.
As he moved forward, he struggled with every step.
He had nearly fallen a bunch of times but always made use of small wind bursts to stabilize himself.
"This is way tougher than I expected..."
Author's Note: Guys I need your support in the "WSA Book Of The Year's" Page. We're Currently Ranked 104th. We need to go higher. Your support will be highly appreciated.