As the clock struck 4:00 AM, the sharp sound of footsteps echoed across the training grounds.
Without a word, every recruit's eyes snapped open in perfect synchronization, they already knew who it was.
Corporal Samuel.
He stood at the front, facing them, his figure as commanding as ever.
"Good morning"
He said, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade through the air.
His gaze swept across each of them, noting the focused expressions, the slight tension in their posture.
"I can see you're all excited"
He continued, his tone both casual and knowing.
"Because there's only one month left"
A subtle shift rippled through the group.
A few faces broke into small, almost imperceptible smiles, eyes bright with the anticipation of what was to co.
In a month, they would ascend to the next military rank.
No more endless drills.
No more unrelenting physical tests.
Just progress.
A smooth transition to the next military rank, with no life threatening risks involved.
Only gains, recognition, and the promise of sothing greater.
Who wouldn't be happy?
"Today, we'll be having a combat drill"
Corporal Samuel continued, his voice steady but carrying the weight of authority.
"Though, it will be of a different kind"
He paused for a mont, letting the words settle in the air, before his gaze swept over the group, locking onto each recruit's face in turn.
"The goal is simple"
He said, his tone as sharp and clear as ever.
With a slow, deliberate motion, he turned to point at a towering mountain in the distance, its jagged peaks cutting sharply into the morning sky.
"You only need to get to the peak"
A brief murmur stirred among the recruits, but Corporal Samuel raised a hand, silencing them with a single motion.
"However"
He continued, eyes narrowing with intent,
"There's more to it. When you reach the peak, you'll be healed. But then, you'll descend and reclimb it again. The second ti, though, you're expected to get there with fewer injuries than the first. You'll repeat this sequence, over and over, until next week"
At his words, the group's attention snapped to the mountain, their gazes hardening.
A single word echoed in their minds, loud and clear: Injury.
That one word carried a heavy implication, an unspoken truth.
It ant there was sothing out there capable of hurting them.
Demons.
The thought flickered like a shadow in each of their minds, a silent, collective guess that passed from one recruit to the next, unspoken but universally understood.
But then another word surfaced.
Battle.
It struck them all at once, the aning crystallizing in the air like a punch to the gut.
This was different.
This wasn't just another drill.
It wasn't another exercise in endurance or skill.
This ti, they would fight.
Their thoughts raced in sync, the pulse of their realization quickening as the weight of the words settled in.
They hadn't truly fought anything since their initial military trials.
Since then, the drills had been about honing their bodies, increasing survival chances.
But today… today would be different.
They would face sothing real.
Sothing that could hurt.
"You will be allowed to use your mana this ti"
Corporal Samuel's voice rang out, steady and authoritative.
"But you will be restricted to the D
rank, just like the entrance test. You can use anything at your disposal to get to the top"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the military vests on their bodies shifted in an instant, responding to his command as if recognizing his voice.
Anthony felt the familiar restriction settle over him, his physique constricting back to D
rank strength.
His mana, once flowing freely, was sealed to match that sa limitation.
The weight of the restriction was imdiate, familiar, but still unsettling.
"You are to use the weapons you trained with months ago"
Corporal Samuel continued, his voice unwavering.
"You may use your mana however you wish, but you are not allowed to enhance your body with it. You are also forbidden from using your aura or any other forms of energy to enhance your body"
The words hung in the air, heavy and ominous. There was no escape.
No shortcuts.
"You will only stop climbing when you drop dead from exhaustion if you don't reach the peak"
He added, the finality of the statent sending a chill through the group.
"Those who make it to the top will be given thirty minutes of rest before they must climb again"
A silence fell over the recruits.
The gravity of the situation was undeniable.
Corporal Samuel's gaze swept over them, his eyes sharp, assessing.
"Stay sharp"
He concluded, his tone a sharp edge.
"Start climbing imdiately the ti strikes 7:00 AM"
With that, he turned and vanished, leaving them with nothing but the looming mountain ahead.
One by one, the recruits stepped forward, hands reaching for the weapons they had trained with.
Each of them selected their tool of choice, feeling the familiar weight in their hands.
As the group organized themselves, Anthony moved without hesitation.
His hand grasped the double edged axe, the tal gleaming under the morning light.
Its heft was comforting in his grip.
A voice suddenly broke through the quiet hum of anticipation.
"Erhh... how are we going to know when it's ti? None of us brought a watch"
At the question, a silence descended.
The recruits froze, uncertainty washing over their faces as they exchanged uneasy glances.
Before anyone could begin brainstorming solutions, Anthony's calm, unflinching voice cut through the mont.
"Whenever I move, it ans it's already ti"
The words hung in the air, their weight more significant than they seed.
All eyes turned to Anthony, the recruit who had not spoken a single word in eleven months.
He had earned the nickna 'The White-Haired Lonely Genius' after effortlessly completing every drill and training exercise on the first try, an enigma wrapped in silence and unmatched skill.
Soone, driven by curiosity, dared to ask.
"How can you tell the ti?"
Anthony, however, didn't offer an answer.
He rely closed his eyes, his posture still as a statue.
The question lingered, but his focus was now inward, as if the world around him had ceased to exist.
Whether they believed him or not was of no concern to him.
The hours passed swiftly, and the sun climbed higher, casting its relentless light across the training grounds.
The stillness of the mont was broken by a soft notification.
[Ding]
[Host. The ti is 7:00 AM]
At the system's chi, Anthony's eyes snapped open, his gaze imdiately locking onto the peak of the mountain.
Without hesitation, he rose from his lotus position, the air around him seeming to shift as he stood.
His body, fluid and focused, radiated utter calmness.
Then, in a blur of motion, Anthony surged forward.
His form was almost too fast to track, a streak of white moving seamlessly through the terrain.
The double edged axe in his hand glead with purpose, but it was his movents that commanded the most attention.
His feet barely made a sound as they touched the ground, his steps calculated, silent, as if the very earth beneath him yielded to his will.
He was a force of nature, moving with precision and a quiet intensity that left no room for doubt.
Suddenly, the wind split with a sharp whistle, and a flurry of pointed objects, arrows, shot through the air, aid with deadly precision.
Anthony's reaction was instinctive.
In a single, fluid motion, his hand shot up, the double edged axe rising with the speed of a predator striking.
His movents were a blur.
The axe swung in a perfect arc, deflecting each arrow with an almost unnatural grace.
The sound of tal eting steel echoed briefly with each successful deflection, yet Anthony never faltered.
One final arrow ca, its trajectory unwavering, aid straight for his chest.
Without breaking stride, Anthony reached out, his fingers closing around the shaft.
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he turned, and the arrow flew back toward the point from which it had co.
The tree it struck exploded with a deafening boom, wood splintering and bark disintegrating in the wake of the impact.
But strangely, the forest fell silent in the aftermath.
No screams. No bodies.
Only the resounding echo of the blast.
The archer, whoever they were, had already moved, vanishing into the shadows before the arrow even found its target.
But Anthony didn't bother searching for the source.
He wasn't here to fight.
He wasn't here to engage in distractions.
His goal was singular: the peak.
Nothing more.
'How many are there?'
He wondered briefly, but the thought was fleeting.
But the assailant was far from satisfied.
Without warning, a hundred figures dropped from the sky, scattering in all directions, their movents too fast to track.
They descended like a storm, their arrows gleaming with deadly intent.
Anthony's eyes flicked upward, calculating the barrage.
This ti, he didn't bother with deflecting.
There was no need to waste ti.
His focus sharpened, and in an instant, the air around him seed to hum.
Mana swirled beneath his control, responding to his command.
The wind, the very breath of the earth, answered his call.
A do of wind erupted around him, an impenetrable barrier forged from the very air itself.
The arrows t the do with a chorus of sharp, tallic tings, each one deflected effortlessly.
It was as though they had collided with a wall of steel, but instead of slowing Anthony's forward montum, the barrier simply pushed them aside.
Anthony's pace never faltered.
Not even a single step slowed.
His body moved with a fluid, unbroken rhythm, his focus locked entirely on the peak ahead.
But the attacker seed unfazed.
This ti, a second volley of arrows rained down from above, faster than before, their deadly tips gleaming with an added malice.
Each arrow was coiled with the energy of the wind elent, its deadly intent amplified.
With a deafening boom, the volley slamd into Anthony's wind do.
The collision sent shockwaves through the air, and a small detonation erupted at the point of impact.
Dust and debris exploded outward, scattering across the landscape.
The force of the explosion parted the earth beneath, sending cracks snaking through the ground.
As the dust billowed and the winds howled, a silhouette erged, untouched, standing in the center of the chaos.
Anthony remained calm, his stance unshaken, despite the destruction around him.
He had initially ignored the attacker, simply focused on his goal, the peak.
'It's not like there's a ti limit to get to the peak of the mountain'
Anthony thought, the calmness of his mind cutting through the storm of distractions.
But now, the attack had escalated, and he knew that it was no longer just about reaching the summit.
With a silent exhale, Anthony's gaze shifted upward, the serene composure of his face remained unshaken.
The ti had co to deal with his assailant.
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