Chapter- Running Like There Is No Tomorrow (Part 1)
The moment his fingers clicked together, the ground around them shook violently. It was as if an earthquake had just hit them out of nowhere.
"Woah!!"
"Fuck!!"
Many fell to the ground as they couldn't maintain their balance. Only a handful was able to stand still but with some difficulty. The only people that didn't even show any struggle with keeping their balance were Rin, Elise, and the protagonist, Phillipe. The earthquake was strong but they had great balance and a very flexible body that can resist such powers.
Donnie looked at them silently before closing his eyes and walking to the side. What appeared behind him made everyone gasp in surprise. A very long bridge was erected right on the edge of the cliff that extended deeper into the surface of the hole as if it was some kind to cross the hole from.
The bridge was made out of strong wood but no one in their right mind would even think about crossing it. The hole was already intimidating enough when they were this far away from it. Even a mere glance at it sends shivers down their spines.
'How did he…?' Rin titled his head in confusion. He wanted to know what exactly happened for a bridge that size to appear out of thin air. Was it his ability? But, that thought alone made him even warier from Donnie.
Everyone gulped down a mouthful of saliva after what they heard. They already knew that the test to enroll in the academy was brutally hard. Most of them heard the rumors that it was so hard that only 1% of the candidates are able to pass it successfully. The others will only fail and end up ruining their potential future.
So, it was understandable for them to be anxious as the truth was dawning on them more and more as time passes.
"Every year, the test changes according to the higher-up's decision. They can vary in difficulty depending on the individual but the only constant is that they are as fair as they could be. You all will have equal opportunities no matter what. Bear that in mind so that none of you will have the right to complain after the test ends." His voice sounded even colder than before as it reverberated in their ears.
No one dared to speak under his sharp gaze. Even though they knew what the test will most likely be but no one dared to ask at all.
"See that bridge. It leads to the heart of the Gate Of Licaria. That's where the teleportation portal that sends you to the academy is. The test is simple, I will be running ahead of all of you and all you have to do is follow me. But, be really careful, if you don't want to fail, don't fall behind the group. You must stay close to me at all times. You can use your abilities or use mana, it's not important."
"What will happen if we fall behind?" Phillipe lifted his hand and asked. His voice was still timid but was also full of determination.
"You won't die. But, you will see things that you won't like. I don't recommend even trying to see for yourself what could happen in that case. Any other questions?"
"How long is the distance will be?"
Donnie looked at Phillipe silently before turning around and started walking to the bridge silently. When he reached there, he said coldly.
"The distance is wherever I stop."
For some reason, no one liked that sentence. Wherever he stops? How long will it be then? It can be 100 miles or 1 million miles, they will never know until they reach the end.
"One last thing before we start: When I reach the end, you all have 1 single hour after that to reach the end. If the time ends, then my subordinates will go out to fetch you."
The pressure kept building up the more Donnie spoke. He was creating such a huge burden on their minds. A strange bridge, unknown distance, and even great consequences for failure. He concocted a perfect test for their soul and body.
But, even with all of that, they all quickly lined up around Donnie. Everyone wanted to be as close to him as possible just to not lose track.
"Are you all ready?"
Without waiting for a response, he started jogging on the bridge. A second later, everyone followed suit and started running after him at a slow pace.
In a moment, everyone was on the bridge, running toward the unknown. However, behind all of these people, Rin and Elise still didn't start.
"They are all truly naive," Rin murmured.
"We should also leave now," Elise said and started running.
"Mmm, go ahead, I will follow suit in a second."
After nodding her head, Elise barked off, leaving Rin alone. When he was completely alone, Rin looked up at the sky, his eyes instinctively squinted for some reason. But, a moment later, he sighed and scratched his head, and muttered.
"I'm really hallucinating now."
*Swish*
After that, he vanished from his place, leaving a small cloud of dust behind that eventually disappeared too.
Reaching Elise, he reduced his pace and started jogging at her speed. Almost 20 meters away from them, they could see the group running.
"Should we just stay behind?" He asked.
"The chaos will start soon so we have to create some distance before it's too late."
"Sigh, I hope that everything goes according to plan."
The group kept running at a very average speed. Their worries soon dissipated when they hit the 30-minute mark of continuous running since everything seemed good and dandy.
However, at exactly 30 minutes, something changed. Donnie's speed started increasing slowly. At first, no one said anything but when they felt the distance between them and Donnie increasing, they started to question what was going on.
But, they had no time to idle around so they could only increase the pace to close the distance again before Donnie vanishes out of their sights.
At some point, everyone was running at almost full speed. But, even then, no one complained since they thought if they increased their speed, the distance will be shortened and they will finish quickly. But, the harsh truth still didn't dawn on them.
Rin and Elise also increased their speed but they were still merely jogging compared to the others. Looking to his left, Rin broke a sweat when he stared at the Gate Of Licaria. There was this weird thing he felt that he didn't quite understand.
His mere glance turned into a long gaze that caught Elise's attention.
"What's wrong?"
"Huh?"
"... Nothing."
'Why am I feeling like this? I could swear… someone or something was calling for me.' He thought deeply.
Soon, the one-hour mark was crossed and everyone was starting to question what was happening.
"Are we… going to run for more than an hour?"
"I'm starting to feel tired."
"Hopefully we don't need to run for longer."
Donnie was already aware of their thoughts and could only shake his head at how naive they were. But, he was about to crush their hopes.
At exactly one hour, he increased his pace again. He could hear gasps of shock when they saw him getting farther and farther away. Unconsciously, everyone started to run at full speed and even started to use mana to enhance their body.
Those who already started using mana did have a boost of energy but they were soon about to regret that decision. They not only have no idea how long the journey is but when their mana pool will be emptied, it was basically over for them.
"Some are already falling behind," Rin commented when he saw some tired bunch, most of them were overweight and not quite athletic.
On the other hand, Rin and Elise were still not tired at all. In fact, they still didn't start running at their full speed so everything was good and dandy. Their stamina was far better than the other people around them after all.
Another hour passed in a flash. No one felt the passing of time as they were busy regulating their breathing and trying to preserve their energy as much as possible. Despair was starting to creep on them slowly but surely. It was already 2 hours yet there was no sight of an end to this marathon. In fact, Donnie kept increasing his speed endlessly as if he was taunting their hopes and crushing them casually.
There was even a bunch of them that were now behind Elise and Rin. Both of them could hear their rugged breathing and loud groans.
'The trip is still long. I pity these people, truly.' Rin thought in his head.
It was merely the beginning, the real test didn't even start.
At the 3 hours and 30-minute mark, something started changing.
"Am I imagining stuff or is the bridge getting…. narrower?" Someone asked with a fearful look.
(A//N: Yes, it is a reference from HunterXHunter. It's one of my top 3 so I wanted to inspire something from it but it will be different with my personal touch after all.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading. Any support you give me is always appreciated no matter how small it was. Let's all keep it up :)
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com