"Huff huff," ragged breaths filled the dark forest, sweat drenched all over his back, his feet were sore, his bones aching and he could feel the throbbing pain on his hands increase, it was almost one hour into the race, some of the cadets would trip and fall, but no one helped them up, it was every man for himself out here.
"I-I can make it... I'm stro-stronger than I think I am.. I won't falter, I.. Won't stop... I won't succumb to weakness!" Adrian kept on chanting while his arms swayed with vigor as he pushed himself forward, carefully moving through the pathways between the trees.
At the forefront, Dave was just a few meters ahead of Adrian, he glanced at the cadets ahead of him, most of them weren't even having a hard time like the ones behind, some of them didn't show signs of exhaustion, 'Monsters.' Dave couldn't help but think of them that way.
***
1 hour later...
Adrian finally arrived before the mountain, his legs trembling with exhaustion, he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air as he tried to catch his breath. His training suit clung to his body, soaked through with sweat.
He looked around, other cadets also stopped to take a rest, while some of them started climbing the mountain. Adrian stood up, looking at the daunting peak before him, he nervously swallowed hard.
The mountain was at least, 400 kilometers in height, "no shit..." Adrian exclaimed, he took a deep breath and grabbed ahold of a small stub on the mountain, he dragged his body upwards, supporting his weight by putting his feet on a foothold.
He slowly repeated the process, the more he moved upwards, the farther the foothold were away from each other, sometimes he had to move sideways to find a foothold.
A few minutes later...
"AARRRHHH..." Adrian heard a scream coming from above, he jerked his head upwards to see a cadets tumbling through the air. The falling cadet crashed into another, sending both of them plumerting down the mountain.
The two cadets hurtled towards the one closest to him. The cadet, realizing her fate, made a desperate lunge to the side, bumping into Adrian as she desperately tried to avoid the impact.
The sudden collision sent Adrian stumbling, his hands scrambling for a grip as his feet slipped out from under him.
"Shit!!!" Adrian's heart was racing as he teetered on the edge, his fingers scrambling for a hold. He spotted a handhold a few feet away and knew he had to act fast, with a surge of adrenaline, he pushed off the mountain face with his leg, propelling himself towards the handhold.
Time seemed to slow down as he stretched out his arms, his fingers straining to reach the hold. His fingertips scraped against the rough rock, peeling away skin and tearing off nails. Adrian gritted his teeth, the pain and fear fueling his determination to grab hold.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his fingers closed around the handhold, his grip tightening as he arrested his fall. He hung there, panting, his body trembling with relief and exhaustion.
He should be feeling reliefed, but the pain that came with it stung, the tip of his fingers felt like they were burning, he was using all his willpower not to let go, his teeth's sank into his lips, trying to hold back his painful scream, small droplets of blood began to form at the side of his lips.
'It hurts so bad...' Adrian rest his head on the mountainface, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried to suppress the excruciating pain.
The cadets that were plummeting down the mountain almost reached the floor, their figures disappeared as they appeared on the floor a few seconds later, unhurt.
In the distance, instructor Hazy retracted her outstretched hands, her playful gaze settling on the cadets that almost shit their pants due to the fall, "Hah, it's always exciting.." her playful tone rang through the air.
***
30 minutes later...
Adrian slowly scaled the mountain, his gaze wavered as he felt his consciousness wanning, he was almost to the top, he kept on climbing, cadets would tumble down the mountain sometimes, but luckily for him, none of them came his way.
After a few minutes of arduous climbing, Adrian pulled himself onto a path on the mountain, and just a few meters ahead, a beam of light could be seen, but it wasn't entirely visible, it seems like he had to walk up a slope.
"Hahh, I don't think I can move, don't give up on me.. I need to get going.." Adrian turned around, trying to get back to his feet when a stinging pain came from his hands, causing him to fall back on the floor.
Adrian just lay there, staring at the dark sky, a small smile tugged at the side of his lips, he could hear other cadets passing him by, '... Tear down your limits..' Adrian had a fleeting thought as his consciousness wavered.
The next instant, his eyes snapped open, a slightly red hue sparked around his pupils, it kept on flickering like a candle facing the harsh winds, "ARRRHH!" a short roar escaped Adrian's lips, his muscles tensed up as he stood up, veins appeared around his hands and legs, a large grin splattered across his face, "I won't succumb to weakness!!!!" Adrian exclaimed with vigor.
The cadets climbing up the path looked at Adrian, a slight chill ran down their spine as they stared at his crazed expression, making sure to keep their distance.
Adrian took a step forward, a wave of pain assaulted him, forcing him to stop and take a rest, but he didn't, he pushed himself to the limit, taking another step, he welcomed the wave of pain, the grin on his face never faltering, step after step, Adrian climbed up the slope, with each step, came a new wave of agonizing pain.
A long excruciating moment later, Adrian finally reached the beam of light, a large spherical pattern on the floor, from which the beam was emanating, Adrian stepped on the beam, his body relaxed as a soothing feeling came over him, and his body slowly vanished.
Back at the starting point, many students could be seen emerging from a beam similar to the one on the mountain, most of the cadets already left the place, since they reached the beam within two hours, they've successfully finished the morning drill.
Meanwhile, Dave stared at the beam with a focused gaze, as if trying to look through it, he checked the time on his watch, 7:58 AM.
The next instance, the light coming from the beam lit up a little, a figure of a boy slowly emerging from it, Adrian stepped out of the beam, his body swayed as he tried to maintain balance, "Heup, there you go!" Dave swiftly put Adrian's arm around his neck, supporting him up.
Dave escorted him to his dorm, he wanted to take Adrian to the sickbay to get his injuries checked, but Adrian refused, "Don't worry, I saw some ointment in my bathroom, they'll surely help," Adrian said in a low voice.
High in the sky, a figure could be seen, he looked like he was floating, but looking closely, a small blue light was present under his feet, clad in a sleek black suit that fluttered in the gentle wind, his black hair and beards having a slight purple glow to them, black swirling lazy eyes stared at Adrian's departing figure, "Strange.."