Bit by bit, one drop of blood after the other, he climbed. After what felt like forever, he reached the top.
Zane stood atop the mountain with pride and conviction. His legs trembled with exhaustion and his school uniform was worn out and tattered but he refused to rest just yet.
'The world should know, that man is king,' he thought proudly with a satisfied smile.
'A few days left huh?,' he thought, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
'Didn't think I'll be able to make it with time to spare.' He finally sat down with one arm resting on his knee.
That was when he finally noticed a crowd had gathered. Some were cheering, others stared with wide eyes.
"Hey! He actually made it! Is this what they call a miracle? Looks like I won the bet!" one guy shouted as others grumbled and began exchanging strange-looking glowing stone coins.
"Damn it, he could barely walk the other time, how was I supposed to know he would be able to climb up? Now my money is gone." One trainee said with teary eyes.
"For a weakling, he sure is resilient."
Standing away from the crowd were a few others who never joined the gambling. They had a strange presence around them, always watching and never making any moves.
He began to take in their details.
Standing by a big stone was a man with mechanical limbs and eyes that looked like a mini screen. To the left was a woman with pointed ears and a strip of red cloth tied to her face.
'They must be the runner-ups, how troublesome. Better to steer clear for now.'
Just as he was taking in his surroundings, a voice called.
"Congratulations, looks like you made it before the deadline. Follow me." Onilia said, waving him over like they were best friends.
He watched as most of the trainees made way for her.
'She must be really strong if even these monsters are steering clear. I should be on guard too, you'll never know what might happen.'
Zane followed her as she led him away from the group.
"Hey, why do you think Onilia is being so nice to the loser? Do you think she likes him?" One trainee asked his friend as he stared at the pair leave.
"As if, she is way out of his league. I'm as equally puzzled as to why. Anyway, he's either incredibly lucky, or just that cursed to be associated with someone from Nanaly, especially her."
Their gazes never left the pair as they disappeared into the distance.
A few trainees followed the pair. The girl with pointed ears watched, contemplating whether to join in or stay neutral.
Zane looked around as they left.
'Never thought there would be so much space on the summit. It looks like a mini city. I can't even see the other edge.'
After walking for almost half an hour, they reached a building.
It was stunning—sleek walls with glowing lines and a view of the mountain that could steal one's breath.
"This is the lodging I picked for you. Sorry, It's not that great. It was difficult to choose since a lot of the other trainees were all rushing up here."
'Wait... I get to live here? Not that great, she said, this looks like a mansion that could sell in the millions.'
Just as he was soaking in the moment, another voice cut through the air.
"I've got a problem, Onilia," said Drex, one of the high ranking trainees who followed the pair. He stood with his arms crossed, and a few others gathered behind him, watching closely.
Onilia didn't even look at him. "What is it you want, better make it quick?"
"I don't care that you picked a great lodging for yourself—you were the first to arrive, that's fair. But why choose a place for him too?" Drex said, pointing at Zane.
"What does it matter if I did? What are you going to do about it. The Master said the earliest gets to choose, he didn't say how many."
"Then what about the rest of us? We're bunking in twos or threes, and he gets a whole building alone? Need I remind you, he was the last to arrive. How's that fair?"
The others murmured in agreement.
"He's right," A voice spoke as the figure approached. It belonged to the girl with pointed ears. Her skin was a deep shade of purple, smooth and flawless. She had crimson hair with streaks of black, which fell down to her shoulders in waves. A matching strip of crimson cloth was wrapped around her face, just below her eyes.
"I'm not complaining about how many lodgings you claimed to yourself, but to whom you're giving them to. The last gets a room while the one who arrived two hundredth doesn't? How do you expect the others to react to this, Onilia?" Nenis added.
"Fine. Take it then." She grabbed Zane by the wrist. "Come with me."
'Of all people… Nenis?'
She didn't want anything to do with that woman. Not because she feared her, but because she didn't want to make unnecessary enemies.
'Since when did she care about fairness?'
'Onilia backed out the moment that girl with pointed ears showed up. My guess is, she is of equal rank as Onilia or higher. Just how many monsters are there?'
Zane didn't argue. He followed in silence, choosing not to test her mood.
"Uh... where exactly are we going?" he asked after a while. There were only a few days left before the real training began. He would've preferred to stretch or rest, not to get involved in a drama.
"To my lodging," Onilia said flatly. "We're living together from now on."
Zane stopped in his tracks. "Wait—what?!"
*****
Far away from the training zone, in a world that had temporarily stopped bleeding...
Jason landed hard, standing between the advancing Geminis and the Zone gates. His awakened brothers touched down behind him, all ready.
On the city walls, Blake and Ariel stood, watching the scene unfold below.
"Let's do this."
The Geminis charging at them weren't ordinary creatures. Though they were lower in rank compared to elites like the Whisperkin, they were still deadly. These monsters had destroyed towns, crushed tanks, and ripped through heavily armed squads like paper.
Jason stood at the front of the group as his lips curled into a slight grin. He wasn't scared. He was thrilled.
His body pulsed with power. The ground beneath his feet cracked, responding to the pressure rolling off him.
The faint shimmer of energy danced around his frame like heatwaves. Behind him, his two brothers stood with a few awakened soldiers, each one tensed and breathing hard.
The monsters came fast, their roars were so loud they made the soldiers flinch.
Jason didn't move. Not yet. He waited.
Then—like a shot—he dashed forward.
His feet barely touched the ground. He twisted his body, dodging the first beast's lunge, then spun low and slammed his palm into its gut. The impact sent a shockwave through the creature's body.
It flew backward, crashing into its own kind and knocking three of them over.
Another monster came from the side, swinging a massive claw. Jason ducked, grabbed its wrist mid-swing, and with a grunt, flipped it over his shoulder. The beast's body hit the ground, shaking the dirt.
"Focus! Don't let them surround us!" he barked.
From the back, his fourth brother raised a glowing hand. Sparks of energy gathered at his fingertips. He muttered an incantation, and blue streaks of lightning shot forward, crackling through the air.
The bolts slammed into the monsters' sides, lighting them up like fireworks. Some screamed as they burned; others kept charging.
One of the awakened soldiers stepped forward, punching the ground. A burst of sharp stone spikes erupted beneath a charging beasts, piercing their legs and pinning them down. Another soldier clenched his fists and released a shockwave from his body, knocking back a cluster of enemies.
Still, more came.
Jason was everywhere. He dodged, leapt, flipped, and struck. Every move was clean, sharp, and fast—like a master martial artist in a deadly dance. He used the monsters' size against them, twisting under their limbs, leaping off their backs, and striking vital points with brutal precision.
A beast lunged at him from above, but Jason flipped backwards, then landed in a low crouch as the monster slashed viciously where he had just stood with its claws.
Jason rushed forward and unleashed a flurry of punches, each hit leaving cracks on the beast's armor. His final strike shattered its skull with a loud crunch.
His twin brothers kept supporting from the back, summoning bursts of fire and lightning to throw off the monsters' rhythm. At one point, his fourth brother created a wave of icy frost that spread across the ground, freezing several beasts in place.
The soldiers fought hard, too. One wrestled a monster to the ground, locking its arm and slamming its head repeatedly into a rock until it stopped moving.
Another charged with bare hands glowing, punching a beast so hard its jaw snapped clean off.
Blood sprayed. But none of the defenders stepped back.
Jason's body was soaked with sweat and blood—most of it not his own. But he didn't slow down. Every time he exhaled, he felt more alive. Every movement was faster, sharper, stronger.
He leapt onto a beast's back, slammed his knee into its spine, then grabbed its horn and twisted until it broke with a sickening crack. The beast dropped, limp.
Still more came.
But Jason stood tall, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing with fire.
"Come on," he muttered, cracking his neck. "Let's see what else you've got."
Behind him, his brothers and the soldiers regrouped, panting but still standing. The monsters growled and circled—but they hadn't broken the line.
And Jason wasn't planning on letting them.