The health potion had sealed the Vorthal’s claw marks.
But the muscles underneath still burned like fire.
He forced himself to keep moving ignoring the way his ribs protested each breath.
They couldn’t afford to stop now.
The forest around them had grown eerily quiet.
Twisted trees with gnarled branches loomed overhead. Their leaves rustling in some unseen breeze.
Patches of unnatural mist curled between the trunks. Making the path ahead unclear.
Every now and then. A distant screech echoed through the trees.
Some monster they couldn’t see, but definitely didn’t want to meet.
Sylvie stumbled along beside him. Her blue hair plastered to her sweaty forehead.
The wand in her hands trembled slightly. But her eyes remained sharp, constantly scanning their surroundings.
Up ahead, Orion moved like a tank through the undergrowth. His massive warhammer resting on one broad shoulder.
His breathing came in heavy grunts. But he never slowed down.
Bringing up the rear. Isolde and Roland kept their weapons ready.
Isolde’s montante blade hummed faintly with residual mana. The afterglow of their last clash.
While Roland kept an arrow nocked. His head constantly turning to watch their backs.
The fight with the Vorthal had drained them all.
Not just physically. But mentally too.
That thing had been terrifying in ways none of them expected.
But the exam wasn’t over yet.
Kyle tapped his mana band. Making the holographic map flicker to life above his wrist.
They got the map notification on their mana band when they defeated the Vorthal.
It showed their destination clearly now.
The Central Hill, rising from the middle of a massive valley.
Between them and safety stretched a series of stone pillars, some as wide as tables, others no thicker than his arm.
And beneath them? Nothing but empty darkness.
It was the same valley they had seen when their team entered the rift.
He swallowed hard. A fall here wouldn’t kill them. This was just a simulation after all.
But it would mean instant failure. Their bodies would dissolve into light particles just like that ice mage from Kaelith’s team had earlier.
No room for mistakes.
The trees suddenly ended, revealing a sheer drop that made Kyle’s stomach lurch.
He skidded to a stop. Sending pebbles tumbling over the edge.
The others halted beside him. Their breathing loud in the sudden silence.
Before them stretched the valley. A gaping wound in the earth so deep the bottom disappeared into shadows.
The air here felt different colder, heavier, with a weird metallic taste that clung to the back of Kyle’s throat.
And there, maybe half a kilometer away.
The Central Hill rose from the mist like some ancient fortress.
The only way to reach it? Those damn pillars.
Kyle studied them carefully.
Some looked stable enough with flat tops you could stand on comfortably.
Others were narrow and worn smooth. Their surfaces gleaming with moisture.
A few had such wide gaps between them that making the jump would be risky even for someone at full strength.
Next to him. Sylvie made a small choking sound.
Her grip on her wand turned white-knuckled.
"I-I can’t," she whispered.
Kyle turned to see the confident Mage from earlier had vanished.
In her place stood a pale trembling girl whose wide eyes were locked on the endless drop below them.
’She’s terrified of heights’ Kyle realized.
Orion cracked his neck loudly. "Don’t got much choice, Blue. Cross or fail."
Isolde wiped blood from her split lip. Her golden eyes calculating the distance between pillars.
"I’ll lead. My footwork’s better than yours."
Roland adjusted his grip on his bow. "I will cover our backs. If anything tries to jump us mid-crossing..."
Kyle nodded. "Fast and careful. No mistakes."
Then he turned back to Sylvie.
She hadn’t moved. Her chest rising and falling too quickly.
Without thinking. Kyle stepped close and slid an arm around her waist.
His fingers pressed into the fabric of her uniform. Feeling the rapid flutter of her breathing beneath.
Her head snapped up eyes wide with surprise.
"Trust me" he said simply.
For one heart-stopping moment. There was nothing beneath them but empty air.
Wind screamed past Kyle’s ears. Drowning out Sylvie’s gasp.
He tightened his hold, pulling her tight against his side as gravity grabbed at them.
Their boots hit the first pillar hard enough to make Kyle’s teeth rattle.
His knees bent automatically to absorb the impact.
Sylvie’s weight pressing against him. The stone beneath them felt damp and uneven, but solid.
Sylvie shuddered violently. Her fingers digging into Kyle’s sleeve hard enough to hurt.
"Don’t look down" he muttered.
But she already had. Her gaze locked on the endless drop below them and suddenly she swayed dangerously.
"Eyes on me!" Kyle barked.
She obeyed instantly. Her pupils dilated with fear.
Ahead, Isolde moved like a dancer across the pillars.
She leapt lightly to the next one, landing in a perfect crouch her montante balanced effortlessly across her shoulders.
Orion followed with surprising grace for his size. Though his landing made the entire pillar shake.
Roland came last. Hesitating only a second before making the jump.
His bow now slung across his back for balance.
Kyle took a deep breath.
Sylvie didn’t answer but her grip on him tightened.
They were halfway across when everything went wrong.
Kyle felt it before he saw it.
That strange prickle of mana in the air. The subtle shift in pressure that meant magic was being used nearby.
His head snapped up just in time to see the glint of an arrow streaking toward them.
He yanked Sylvie sideways as the wind-enhanced arrow sliced through where her head had been just a second before.
Orion twisted at the last possible instant. The arrow grazing his chest and drawing a thin line of blood.
But Isolde and Roland weren’t so lucky.
Two more arrows found their marks with sickening...
Isolde’s golden eyes went wide with shock as an arrow punched through her shoulder.
Roland gasped as one buried itself in his chest. His hand flying up automatically to clutch at the shaft.
Then gravity took them.
They toppled backward in almost perfect sync.
Arms flailing uselessly as they plunged into the darkness below.
Their bodies dissolved into glowing particles before they even hit the bottom, scattering like fireflies in the abyss.
Gone. Just like that.
Kyle’s blood turned to ice in his veins.
Then he turned his head.
Perched on a pillar slightly to their left, farther away.
Lyra Silverwind lowered her bow. Her emerald green ponytail whipping in the wind.
Behind her on another pillar stood Reo Dustbane. His usual cocky grin replaced by a tight-lipped grimace.
And beside him looking bored as ever. Serena Blackthorne leaned on her glaive.
Lyra smirked. "Sorry about that. No hard feelings, right?"
Kyle’s hand twitched toward Zalrielle’s hilt.
But the situation was bad.
They were in the worst possible position.
Sylvie still trembled beside him. Her wand held in shaking hands.
Orion bled from his chest wound.
And Isolde and Roland were already eliminated.
"Fuck" Kyle muttered under his breath.