The Test

The rest of the week was uneventful, minus the glares aimed towards Adam. The senior officer had all the soldiers do body training for the entire week, which was only preparation for a fitness test today.

"Line up!" [Senior Officer]

Stepping loudly, all the soldiers formed a line.

"Today is the end of your training! You will each go through an obstacle course in which you must finish before the time limit! If you fail to meet this condition, you will no longer be qualified to attend this camp!" [Senior Officer]

The soldiers wished to look at their peers to see their reactions, but each held a face of stone.

"March!" [Senior Officer]

Syncing steps with the other soldiers, they followed the officer to a new location.

("...That's the obstacle course?") [Adam]

He saw what he thought to be impossible. Rocks hovered above, water spewed infinitely, and the ground seemed to be alive.

"You three! Get ready!" [Senior Officer]

Pointing out three random soldiers, they lined up before the obstacle course.

"You are not permitted to use abilities for this." [Senior Officer]

A few soldiers looked surprised.

"Go!" [Senior Officer]

The three soldiers were confused for a moment from how sudden it was. It was only until the senior officer yelled at them to move before they realized what was going on.

"Oh now they're running." [Krino]

The three met the first obstacle, a rocky path that seemed to open and close randomly. The first soldier got lucky and managed to get across unhindered. The second was not so lucky as they kept getting their foot stuck accompanied with tripping a few times. The third only got his foot stuck once.

("I wonder what kind of ability was used to make the course?") [Adam]

The next obstacle was to scale a wall worth thirty feet.There were ropes to assist them in this endeavor, but they had to climb up with a waterfall dropping on them.

("It doesn't look too hard.") [Adam]

The three soldiers got ready. Each climbing at their own pace, they slowly made their way up the wall. Unfortunately, one of them fell due to the pressure and another slipped due to the sheer amount of water.

"Yikes." [Krino]

After a minute had passed, only one made it across while the other two still struggled.

("That guy is just better I guess.") [Adam]

He faced a bunch of floating rocks that wavered back and forth. If the soldier wanted to get across, he would have to time his jumps accordingly.

"You will be given three chances to get across! If not, you're going to have to climb the wall again yourself!" [Senior Officer]

The soldier watched the first platform float by, jumping at just the right moment to land. His first attempt almost ended in slipping upon landing. Luckily, he managed to reposition himself accordingly.

"Oh… He's doing pretty well." [Krino]

Then came the hard part. He needed to jump to the next platform while the platform he was on still moved.

("Just three more to go.") [Anxious Soldier]

He jumped to the next one, almost slipping once again. The residual water from the last obstacle seemed to be making it harder than it should be.

("Two more.") [Anxious Soldier]

He leapt to the next, more confident than the last. The soldier was getting used to it.

("Last one.") [Anxious Soldier]

Staring at the last platform, he froze.

("...That changes things.") [Adam]

The final platform was twice as small as the rest. It also moved slightly faster as well.

"..." [Anxious Soldier]

Taking a deep breath, he jumped.

"Urgh!" [Anxious Soldier]

He let out a grunt as his body hit the platform, clawing at it to hold on. The soldier aimed not to land on it with his feet, but landed with his torso.

"Smart move." [Krino]

The soldier slowly stood up. He was being meticulous so that he wouldn't fall. From there, he just moved onto the finishing platform.

"Thirty seconds left!" [Senior Officer]

Though one had passed, the other two had just finished climbing the wall. They only had thirty seconds to pass or else they would be expelled.

"Screw it!" [Panicked Soldier]

One of them made a break for it. He hastily jumped, somehow making it halfway through sheer adrenaline before falling. The other was being slow and steady, only making it to two platforms before falling.

"Time's up! You two failures! Pack your bags and go home!" [Senior Officer]

The two left with dejected expressions, while the only survivor tried to catch his breath.

"Next three!" [Senior Officer]

He pointed at Adam and two others.

("Oh, it's my turn.") [Adam]

Lining up, he was shoulder to shoulder with two familiar faces.

"Aren't these the guys who blanket partied you?" [Krino]

Adam recalled the two laying on the floor that night, and it seemed that they still didn't like him. They glanced at each other as if they were able to communicate through their minds.

"Looks like they're up to something." [Astos]

("Then I'll show them what's down.") [Adam]

"...I bet that sounded a lot cooler in your head." [Krino]