Chapter 28: Dangerous Route!
Ethan stared at him in complete disbelief.
...And how exactly was that working out for them?
He casually glanced toward the obstacle course again. And like before almost every student he saw was still currently suffering.
Ethan slowly turned back toward Sir Alex.
...And this was somehow better?
He wisely decided not to ask that question aloud. Instead, he ignored the instructor entirely.
Stepping past the starting line of the obstacle course, Ethan fixed his eyes on the glowing maze waiting before him. He inhaled deeply, slowly releasing the breath in an attempt to steady his racing heart before quietly muttering to himself,
"...Alright."
"Here goes nothing."
Ethan didn’t rush in immediately.
Instead, he stood at the entrance of the first obstacle, forcing himself to stay calm as he carefully observed the students already attempting it.
This stage...
...Was by far the most troublesome one.
It was the Cannon shooting one.
Rows of training cannons stretched along both sides of the corridor, their black muzzles glowing faintly as condensed spiritual energy continuously gathered within them. Every few seconds, brilliant spheres of compressed energy shot across the passage with astonishing speed. Some students were struck head-on and violently blasted backward, rolling across the ground before having to restart from the very beginning, while others barely managed to dodge one projectile only to be caught by the next one a heartbeat later.
Getting hit didn’t simply knock a student backward. The impact either blasted them completely off the course or drained a considerable amount of their stamina and spiritual energy.
Only a handful had actually made it through.
Ethan’s gaze followed one of the students—a red-haired girl who had almost reached the final stretch.
His eyes widened slightly.
A cannon suddenly fired from her blind spot.
Bang!
The condensed spiritual projectile slammed directly into her side.
"AAAAAH!"
The poor girl flew through the air like a human kite before crashing face-first onto the ground several meters away.
"..."
Ethan instinctively flinched.
"...Yeah."
"I’m definitely not letting that happen to me."
Instead of panicking, he forced himself to keep watching.
One student.
Then another.
And another.
The longer he observed, the more the seemingly chaotic barrage began forming a pattern inside his mind.
There were five available lanes leading through the corridor.
The lane furthest to the left was the shortest route. The one furthest to the right was the longest.
Naturally, almost every student instinctively chose the longer lanes. Or at least the one beside it.
The reason quickly became obvious.
Because the longer lanes covered a longer distance to the next obstacle, it had a slightly slower firing rhythm, giving students a little more breathing room to react between each projectile.
Meanwhile...
The shortest lane was an entirely different monster. It’s firing speed was noticeably faster than the others.
Practically no one dared choose it. Everyone assumed it was suicide.
Ethan, however...
Kept staring at it.
His eyes narrowed slightly as numbers began unconsciously forming inside his head.
"...Three seconds."
If his calculations were right... it fired once every three seconds.
No...
Closer to 2.9 seconds. That was why nobody wanted it.
Crossing that lane before the next projectile was released required explosive speed.
Normally...
That would’ve been impossible for Ethan.
But...
His eyes drifted toward the remaining distance. The shortest lane only contained four cannons. Each cannon was positioned roughly thirty meters apart in a perfectly straight line.
If he chose the longest route, he’d have to dodge significantly more attacks.
The shortest route, despite being much faster, required him to survive only four firing zones.
High risk.
High reward.
"...I’m doing it."
His heart began pounding inside his chest. There was only one problem.
Speed.
He needed more of it. Much more to be able to beat the unbeatable 3 seconds run.
Fortunately...
He wasn’t the same Ethan from several days ago.
Should he really do this?
The academy hadn’t forbidden students from reinforcing their bodies with spiritual energy.
In fact...
Considering the nature of the assessment...
It almost seemed expected. He just hoped foolishly that they’d think he was naturally fast and not suspect spiritual energy since they regarded him an F rank guide.
Taking a slow breath, Ethan quietly closed his eyes for the briefest moment.
His consciousness instinctively sank inward.
Deep within him...
His tiny mental sea responded.
Although it still looked pitiful compared to what most high rank Guides probably possessed, the once shallow pool now shimmered with compressed spiritual energy that quietly circulated beneath its calm surface.
Ethan gently reached toward that compressed energy with his consciousness. It answered immediately.
Warmth.
A faint stream of spiritual energy rose from the surface of the mental sea before flowing through invisible spiritual pathways inside his body.
It wasn’t violent. Nor was it overwhelming.
Instead, it felt like warm water spreading through exhausted muscles. The fatigue lingering inside his body gradually eased.
His legs suddenly felt lighter and his breathing became steadier.
Every muscle fiber seemed to tighten with explosive potential.
So this... was spiritual reinforcement.
A small smile unknowingly tugged at Ethan’s lips. He didn’t dare draw too much.
The book had clearly warned against wasting spiritual energy.
Just enough...
Enough to reinforce his lower body. When Ethan finally reopened his eyes, they had become frighteningly calm.
Everything around him suddenly seemed slower.
The instructor standing nearby noticed him stepping toward the shortest lane.
His brows immediately shot upward.
"The shortest lane?"
"Is that idiot trying to kill himself?"
Several nearby students also looked over before immediately laughing.
"An F-Rank?"
"He’s actually choosing the hardest lane?"
"He won’t even make it past the first cannon."
"I’ll give him two seconds."
"No..."
"One."
Even Sir Alex frowned.
Whether he disliked Ethan or not, this decision was simply stupidity.
Ethan however lowered his body into a runner’s stance.
His eyes locked onto the first cannon.
"...Three..."
"...Two..."
"...One..."
Boom!
The instant the first projectile left the cannon...
Ethan exploded forward.
Bang!
His feet exploded off the ground with far greater force than anyone expected.
The instructors relaxed expressions instantly froze.
"...What?"
Ethan’s body shot forward like an arrow.
Thirty meters vanished beneath his feet almost frighteningly quickly.
The first cannon gathered light.
Three...
Two...
One...
Fire!
A brilliant sphere erupted from the cannon.
At almost the exact same instant, Ethan kicked off the ground with everything he had.
The projectile tore through the exact space where his body had been a split second earlier.
He had already passed it.
Gasps immediately spread through the spectators.
"He dodged it?"
"No..."
"He outran the firing window."
Ethan didn’t stop. His reinforced legs continued carrying him forward.
Second cannon.
Another countdown.
Another burst.
Another narrow dodge.
By now, every instructor had unconsciously stopped speaking.
Even Sir Alex’s eyes widened slightly.