"Still higher than you... no one is beating this..." Aria pointed at Kai who was two steps behind her.
"I will!" Reed yelled from the bottom of the steps.
Minutes later...
"I... *huff huff*... give up..."
Reed tapped out at 45 while muttering a stream of curses as he stumbled back down.
However, Kairo stunned everyone.
In his turn with his assigned batch, he climbed silently until he reached the 65th step, then finally dropped to a crouch, panting.
The onlookers gasped. The instructors raised their brows. Apparently, Kairo often trained here during personal routines, but no one knew he'd pushed himself that far before. He left the stairs without saying a word.
When it was Victor's turn, there was a sense of tension in the air. Whispers rose from the other students, so still bitter about the rumors surrounding him, others curious about how far he could go considering that he was seen as pretty strong amongst the warriors.
Victor ignored them. His focus was on the climb. Clad in his regulation uniform and sweatband wrapped tightly around his head, he clutched his sword and began the ascent.
One step. Two swings. Another step. Two swings.
He repeated the pattern, maintaining rhythm and breathing evenly. The pressure was faint at first, barely noticeable. But by the 20th step, a dull weight pressed on his shoulders.
At the 30th step, Victor's body was glistening with sweat. He took the 31st step. Swing. Swing. 32nd. Swing. Swing. He was just reaching the 35th step when a foot slamd into his chest.
One of the warriors ahead of him had turned and kicked him without warning. The blow caught Victor completely off guard. He tumbled down the stairs in a painful roll as his sword flew from his grip and clattered to the foot of the mountain.
Gasps echoed from below. Victor coughed as his ribs throbbed.
He looked up toward the instructor on duty and shouted, "Did you see that? He kicked off!"
The instructor narrowed his eyes. "I saw no such thing. This is warrior training. Handle your setbacks."
Victor's gritted his teeth in annoyance and proceeded to pick up his sword, brushed the dirt from his uniform, and began his ascent again.
One step. Two swings. Ten steps. The weight increased. Twenty steps. Sweat dripped. Thirty steps. Grit teeth.
By the ti he hit step 33, he could see two other students subtly moving toward him from either side.
'They think I won't see it coming again?'
This ti, Victor was ready.
As the two warriors reached for him, intending to trip or grab him, Victor's skin suddenly turned extra whitish as he activated his Void Emperor Bloodline.
A burst of invisible spatial energy spread out from him like ripples in water.
His hand shot out and gripped both of their legs. With the gravity nullified by his active bloodline, Victor spun—twisting in place—and hurled both students up and over.
They soared in the air, past step 60. Cheers rose briefly—until the two bodies hit the stairway and the pressure of that elevation crushed down on them like a mountain.
Both students scread as they slamd face-first into the stone steps with blood spurting from their noses and mouths.
The onlookers below gasped.
"They made it to 60!"
"Wait... sothing's wrong. Look at their faces!"
The instructor moved upon noticing the pool of blood that had ford.
He vanish in a blur and appeared beside the two injured students. He crouched and touched their foreheads, before standing with a frown. "They're unconscious. Get them to recovery."
anwhile, Victor continued his ascent, ignoring the injured students till he reached the 40th step.
He wasn't finished. Step after step, he climbed, the gravity pushing harder with every ten.
By the ti he reached the 60th step, he was shaking.
Every swing of his blade now felt like it weighed 200 pounds more. The bones in his wrists groaned.
He clenched his teeth.
61.
62.
63.
Finally, his legs buckled at 64.
Victor dropped to one knee while breathing hard.
"I see..." he muttered. "Now I get why Kairo cos here..."
Down below, whispers spread like wildfire.
"He threw them! Did you see that?"
"He's way stronger than I thought."
"Isn't that the guy that kissed a girl without permission?"
"Who cares? Did you see what he did?!"
Victor eventually descended while wondering how far he'd go if he left his Void Emperor Bloodline activated.
He retrieved his sword and returned to the gathering area, ignoring the stares.
"You handled yourself well," one of the instructors muttered as he passed.
Victor didn't reply. He simply nodded and walked on.
As he reached the shade of a nearby tree, he pulled a water bottle from his satchel and poured it over his head.
He wasn't letting bygones be bygones anymore. He would show no rcy to anyone that ca for him.
...
...
(( The Next Day ))
The sharp morning chill hung in the air like fog as Victor moved with the others through the early routine drills.
Camp 11's training grounds were filled with activity and lots of movent.
He was barely shaking off the stiffness in his joints when Instructor Vex Rhane's voice bood across the field.
"Listen up, first years!"
Every pair of eyes turned toward the scarred, muscular figure of their instructor with his arms crossed.
"Tomorrow marks exactly one month since you all arrived at the Academy," Vex Rhane continued. "As such, your rankings will be released in two days."
A wave of confusion passed over the students. Even Victor furrowed his brows. "Rankings?"
Instructor Vex Rhane narrowed his eyes. "Everything you've done over the past month—every routine, practical, punch, every dodge, every failed attempt, every success, every mont of hesitation—has been recorded. Based on your total performance, a ranking list will be published for all first-year students. This ranking will be updated every month. Rankings determine access. Access to better weapons, better resources, exclusive lectures, better food and combat opportunities."
Murmurs ran through the crowd. So students looked excited. Others looked anxious.
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