It had been nearly three hours since the trial began, but for Alexandre, these last fifteen minutes had felt like an eternity. Every new acceleration by Jack Blade had transford an already harsh ordeal into relentless torture, rcilessly designed to break the last candidates still competing. The gap between their instructor and the group widened visibly, forcing the swimrs to dig deeper into their physical and ntal reserves, desperately battling their own exhausted bodies.
Alexandre felt every muscle fiber stretched to its extre limits, pushed far beyond what he had previously known. Of course, he didn't experience pain like the other students, giving him a considerable advantage; he could literally push his body to total destruction without any real concern. But for the other swimrs, who lacked his exceptional abilities, the test had beco unbearable. Each stroke was a monuntal effort, each breath painfully snatched from the icy air seed to scorch their lungs.
The freezing ocean exerted constant, rciless pressure on their exhausted bodies, each wave striking their skin with the icy brutality of thousands of tiny needles. Yet Alexandre continued to advance relentlessly, like an unstoppable machine, driven by an iron will.
Beside him, Marlon struggled increasingly, his face deeply etched with hours of unbearable suffering and relentless exhaustion. His pale, tense features betrayed an internal struggle: every second seed a fierce battle against the visceral urge to surrender, to finally yield to the pain tearing through his body. Yet, despite it all, Marlon resisted, propelled by sothing stronger than his own suffering: an unyielding determination to reach the end of this infernal trial.
Above them, drones flew chanically over the icy expanse of ocean, announcing, in an emotionless voice, the numbers of eliminated candidates one after another. With each announcent, the group's morale sank further, reinforcing the grim atmosphere that hung heavily over them. Already, about thirty students had been pulled from the water by rescue teams, their faces marked by bitter disappointnt and extre exhaustion.
As each minute passed, Marlon's signs of weakness grew increasingly evident. Alexandre watched anxiously as his friend gradually slowed, losing speed and coordination, his movents becoming clumsy and ineffective. Each stroke now seed an impossible fight against gravity itself, and Alexandre feared Marlon wouldn't hold out much longer before being caught and eliminated by the rescue teams.
Then, as if the trial weren't already cruel enough, a new difficulty arose suddenly: at this considerable distance from the shore, the climate beca even more hostile. A wave of polar cold swept abruptly over the group, bringing not only another drop in temperature but also the unexpected appearance of small drifting icebergs carried slowly by the waves. The students were forced to alter their trajectory, adopting exhausting, nonlinear swimming patterns to avoid these dangerous frozen obstacles.
Marlon, who had long since passed his physical limits, now seed on the verge of total collapse. His arms cramped violently, his movents beca irregular and jerky, and his breathing transford into a desperate series of labored gasps.
Alexandre reacted instantly, moving swiftly toward him, shouting encouragent through the freezing wind to restore his friend's determination:
— "Marlon! Hang on! Only ten minutes left until the end of the third hour! Points are awarded for each completed hour! If you hold out now, you'll definitely enter the top hundred!"
Marlon didn't reply, but he gritted his teeth with fierce determination. Veins bulged visibly on his temples and neck, revealing the superhuman intensity of his internal struggle. At Alexandre's encouraging words, his gaze regained a faint spark of renewed energy, driving him onward despite the agonizing pain tearing through every muscle.
Around them, several other students had already succumbed to despair, desperately calling out for rescue teams, unable to overco this crisis even more intense than before. Alexandre realized that this test wasn't rely physical or ntal—it was a true survival challenge designed specifically to crush the weakest wills.
Suddenly, Jack Blade finally stopped atop a large iceberg roughly one kiloter ahead. Every student imdiately understood what this ant: at last, the finish line! Yet, to reach this icy refuge, they still had to traverse this seemingly endless distance through now nearly deadly waters.
Alexandre and Marlon fought relentlessly, pushing their bodies to their absolute limits to cross these last ters. But just as they reached a re hundred ters from their goal, Alexandre watched in horror as Marlon's head suddenly disappeared beneath the icy waves.
Without the slightest hesitation, Alexandre imdiately dove after him, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He firmly grabbed his comrade and quickly pulled him back to the surface. Marlon, utterly exhausted, struggled to remain conscious. Acting instinctively, Alexandre wrapped Marlon's arms around his neck and swam with fierce determination toward the iceberg.
Every ter forward beca a brutal struggle against death. The icy water pressed around them like an iron vise, trying relentlessly to drag them into the dark depths below. But Alexandre, driven by unshakable determination, didn't slow down for even an instant. Finally, after a superhuman effort, both n reached the towering ice mass.
Shivering violently and completely drained, Alexandre and Marlon struggled painfully out of the water onto the iceberg, their bodies dripping, frozen yet victorious. Standing a few steps ahead, Jack Blade awaited them silently, arms crossed. His severe, impassive expression revealed no emotion whatsoever.
Alexandre slowly raised his head, fiercely locking eyes with his instructor, fully comprehending at last that this rciless test was far from being the last. Jack Blade, seeming to read Alexandre's thoughts, added with an almost cruel smile hidden behind his mask.
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