I took a deep breath and steadied myself. The strong wind was relentless, pushing against me with every step I took. I had to rely on my balance and quick reflexes to navigate the falling tiles.
“Stay focused, Isolde,” I whispered to myself. I took a tentative step forward, feeling the tile shift under my weight. The wind howled, trying to push me off balance. I quickly adjusted my footing and jumped to the next tile, feeling it wobble beneath me.
Each step was a gamble. Some tiles held firm, while others gave way almost immediately. I had to anticipate the fall and react in an instant. My heart pounded in my chest, the adrenaline making my senses sharper.
However, I wasn’t moving fast enough. The end of the second platform was still a fair bit away, and because of the wind, I couldn’t move forward anymore. I was basically stuck in place.
I had no other choice. I stopped moving for a short while and grabbed onto the tile I was currently standing on. I analyzed my surroundings—the strength of the wind, how it felt when it went against my body.
I slowly stood up and tried taking a step forward. I wanted to see the consequences it had on my running, and it was evident. My leg wasn’t moving forward fast enough.
Yes, I know. It’s obvious, but when you’re standing on a platform like this, it’s not as easy to figure out. And that was the only problem. I needed to figure out how to move my legs faster even with the wind trying to stop me.
I thought of the chronometer but dismissed that thought. The only thing that mattered was finishing this hellish parkour.
I spent a few seconds, and nothing was coming to my mind. But then, as I was about to try and power through it like an imbecile, I got an idea. A shield. I needed to form a shield to protect myself from the wind.
“Mother Nature, come forth!” I shouted.
***
It had been a few moments since Isolde had been stuck on the same platform. She seemed to have realized there was no point in running mindlessly. Her observation skills were good. Not a single student had stopped to think things through, only caring about the time ticking.
“Not bad,” I murmured while noting some things in my notepad.
Over the day, I had gotten a lot of data on each of my students, and with this last test, I would be able to create a curriculum for each of them with everything they need. Well, except for one person. The golden-haired girl, Ariel Valandor.
As far as I could tell, her usage of mana was perfect. The only thing she needed to work on was her physical abilities. However, working only on one’s body for years wouldn’t be fun. I needed to find something interesting for her to work on, but I had no idea what… Ah. Whatever, let’s focus on Isolde for a second.
I focused once more on the Elven Princess, who seemed to have realized something as she slowly stood up with a smirk on her face. “Come on.” I smiled too. “Show me what you understood.”
She called out something, but I couldn’t hear her from where I was standing. But it didn’t take me long to understand that she had just called Mother Nature, the elf’s power.
A Goddess who could be called upon.
That was the power the elves possessed, and it was extremely powerful. I had seen it used on the battlefield a couple of times, and every time it was majestic…her presence was literally godlike.
A beautiful giant green figure appeared in front of Isolde as she continued to mutter a few words to Mother Nature, who after a few seconds, nodded and disappeared.
I could barely see it from where I stood, but some sort of bubble made out of green energy was around Isolde. It seemed to be protecting her from the wind, which was a good idea… However, it wasn’t what I had been looking for. The point of this parkour wasn’t to use our mana or the different powers granted to us. It was to test their abilities to move and utilize their entire body. But well, doing this was clearly better than just giving up.
“Not bad, I guess.”
After making a protective shield around her, passing through the second platform was child’s play as she simply ran forward and reacted every time a platform would fall with a lot of ease.
However, it was now time for her to reach the third platform, and since she hadn’t grasped the concept from the second platform…well, she had no chance.
The third platform was different from the rest of them. It had this plain look to it. However, it’s not what was on it that was dangerous. It was the things coming at you.
-Creak!-
Her shield broke as an invisible projectile struck it, piercing her leg and making her fall onto the ground. It seemed her run would stop here.
“Well, I expected as much. Seems like she’ll be the second in the class.”
I disappeared from where I had been watching and reappeared on the third platform, rescuing her from another projectile.
She was crying. Probably from the pain of having one of her legs literally pierced by an invisible projectile…well, that’s what I thought.
After all, it was a normal reaction that anyone could have after going through such a trial. Sure, the training I was putting them through couldn’t be comparable to the one I went through with my teacher. But things are different, it’s not a question of life and death ever since the war ended.
I caressed her hair a little and smiled at her. “Don’t worry. You did very well. Your injury also isn’t big; it shouldn’t take long for you to get back into shape.”
She just frowned and whispered something. However, I couldn’t quite hear.
“What’d you say?”
“Y-You’re fucking crazy…”
I laughed. “Well, I know that much already.”
