“One, two. Snake in my shoe.”

An explosion shook the clearing and Jack had one hand on his chest trying to calm his hammering heart. Crouching low behind a boulder, Jack prepared to make his move. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he waited. He was like a coiled spring ready to burst into action at any moment.

“Three, four. Here we go.”

Jack exploded forward, running full tilt towards the lake. Bullets rained around him as the two giant machines clawed at each other. He was ten feet away from the lake when a missile came careening towards him.

“Scheiße!”

The light from the explosion seared into Jack’s retinas before the full force of the bomb slammed into his chest, sending him flying like a ragdoll. He crashed back to earth amidst a cloud of dust and debris. Barely conscious, he groaned as he heard the familiar sound of gunfire. His heart leapt to his throat.

“Gottverdammte.” He rolled behind a large rock as bullets rattled around him.

Shaking his head Jack tried to reorient himself. Everything around him swayed and he was seeing things in double. His mana churned around inside him like a bucking bronco and Jack had to forcibly reign in his aura. Crawling forward, he snuck a peek from behind his cover as his vision adjusted itself.

The air was still ladened with dust and Jack had to wait for his view to get clear. Through the smoke cloud, he could see the shadows of the Exo and the mech battling for supremacy. Exo’s had an advantage in terms of raw power when compared to a Mech, but this innate rule was challenged by the smaller machine as it crashed headlong into the larger titan.

There was a gust of wind blowing the smoke away and Jack finally witnessed the two giant machine’s clash of brute strength. Despite its small size, the scarlet Mech was holding its own and it looked like even the slightest shift in momentum would change the battle in the Mech’s favor.

Boom!

In a shower of broken wood and splinters, a new black Mech raced out of the forest and began engaging the red Exo. It was built like a speedster and its movements were so fast that it left after images in its wake. There were two mechs fighting the Exo now, and the clash was getting increasingly more brutal.

Jack recognized the two Mechs. They were the same ones he had seen at the start of the exam. The elite armored guards that were responsible for the candidate’s security.

Each Mech had its distinct fighting style. The scarlet Mech tore at the larger Mech with a mad ferocity, and the embossed bear head on its chest plate seemed to be roaring in rage. Meanwhile, the black one dodged nimbly out of the metal giant’s attacks and kept nipping at its heels.

The battle had shifted to a brutal melee as both sides tried to close in the gap to quickly take out their opponent. Each move sent shockwaves rippling through the earth. The Mechs tried to get past the Exo’s guard, but their attempts were thwarted every time. The red Exo despite being outnumbered, skillfully kept the two of them at bay.

Tearing his eyes away from the battle Jack took a deep breath. He had to push forward. The next few moments will decide his fate and his team’s future. There was no turning back now.

“One, Two…” he spoke through clenched teeth. Laying on his stomach, he army crawled towards the lake. He had to use the lul in the battle to make a clean getaway. The longer he stayed here the more likely that he would end up as collateral damage.

The ten feet to the plunge pool seemed like a mile. Crawling through the dirt, Jack felt each strike the giant machines sent into the earth. The constant booms came at him in waves, and the clash was getting louder by the second.

The noise of metal screeching and tearing was punctuated by the sounds of trees being ripped out of the ground. Jack looked back to see the Red Exo wielding a fully grown tree as a staff as he bashed the Mech team into submission.

Sensing the change in pace the Mechs began firing again. The stray bullets came flying towards Jack and he had to duck behind another large rock.

“Why... Does this shit... Keep... Happening?!”

Ignoring the gunfire Jack risked crawling the final four feet towards his destination. Bullets sprayed past his head and struck the waters of the lake. Steam hissed where the metal slugs touched water and Jack traced the line of fire moving towards the center of the lake until it finally struck the thin film oil floating above it.

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There was a blinding flash of light and the whole lake was set on fire. Jack watched dumbfounded as the flames were reflected in his large, silver eyes. His route to the Exo was completely blocked.

“Well… f*ck.”

Taking refuge behind a boulder, Jack watched the raging inferno in front of him. He could feel the heat of the flames wash over him as it fed on the floating, mana rich fuel. The fire rose higher and higher, completely blocking his view of the Exo in the middle of the lake. He slammed his fist against the boulder in frustration as he watched the conflagration. The fuel was highly flammable and it made an impenetrable wall between him and his quarry.

Spitting a glob of blood out of his mouth, Jack fished out his phone and checked the clock. He grinded his teeth in frustration. The exam will end in ten minutes. Tanner was missing and Soja was stuck in the middle of a sea of fire. Jack had his head in his hands as he wracked his brain. All paths seemed to lead to a dead end and it looked like they weren’t going to get out of this without a crazy gamble.

A wild thought entered Jack’s head and his breath hitched in his throat. He looked at the flaming lake and then he turned to the Mechs fighting in the distance. His eyes finally rested on the smart bomb that he had been carrying till now.

“No, no, no. This is stupid. Borderline insane! Completely mental!”

Rocking himself back and forth, he tried to come up with an alternative but there was no other solution in sight. He needed that Exo. Without it there was no way to get out of here alive. On the other hand, if he managed to pull off what he was thinking then there will be no need even to scale the cliff to get to the finish line. This was one wild gamble to win it all.

“Alright! Com’on!” He breathed out trying to psych himself up. Letting out a long breath, he started breathing rapidly, trying to hyperoxygenate his blood. He didn’t know how long he would have to hold his breath.

Channeling his aura into his whip sword, the metal snake uncoiled itself and slithered free. Directing his mana, the blade curled around the smart bomb in his hand. It wrapped around the bomb till it was tied up securely. Shifting the whip to his back, Jack looked like he had grown a tail with a hammer head at the end.

“Okay! Here we go!” Breathing in rapidly, he took a huge gulp of air, before sprinting straight towards the lake. The four feet between him and the lake was covered by him in almost an instant.

The cold waters hit him like a brick wall as he dove headfirst into the lake, and all the sounds of battle got muted. Few bullets whizzed past him and he saw the trails left in their wake as they broke through the water. Diving deeper, Jack swam towards the Exo. His whip sword trailed behind him like a silvery tail which acted like a rudder.

The raging inferno hung above him like a canopy of fire, lighting his path ahead in a bright yellow glow. Swimming with powerful strokes, Jack picked a spot close to the Exo in the lake. Landing on the bottom of the lake, he took out his whip sword from his waistband. The tied up smart bomb appeared in front of him and he rotated the control dial and set the timer. The device gave a low beep and started counting down.

Ten, nine, eight...

Without wasting time, Jack began swinging his whip sword above his head. The whip swung around like a lasso as he built up momentum. This was hard to do underwater and the water resisted his every move, but Jack gritted his teeth as he pushed himself to go faster.

Seven, six, five…

Bubbles came out his mouth and his lungs were burning. At the apex of his rotation when his speed reached its maximum, Jack channeled his mana into the whip and the blade uncoiled itself, setting the bomb free.

The discus shaped bomb was sent flying towards the lake surface and soon disappeared behind the glare of the fire raging above.

Three, two, one…

The world around him exploded and Jack felt a huge wave of concussive force slam into his chest. He crashed into the lake bed, driving out whatever air he had left in his lungs in a stream of bubbles.

Through half closed eyes, Jack watched a huge geyser shoot up from the lake, breaking apart the flaming curtain that hung above his head. The fires were pushed aside and now burned in a circular corona around the epicenter of the blast, forming an eerie facsimile of an eclipse.

Gathering his last bit of strength Jack pushed himself off of the lake bed and made for the surface. His lungs were burning for air and he unconsciously opened his mouth. Water rushed into his lungs and bubbles escaped his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

His bones and joints creaked as he gave a final desperate push. With titanic effort, he broke through the lake surface, gasping for air. His arms flailed about, splashing water everywhere. Jack started coughing violently as air rushed into his lungs and felt blood leaking from his lips.

“Scheiße!”

His arms and legs felt dead and Jack found himself sinking once again. Gasping, he desperately tried to keep afloat but his limbs didn’t obey. The cold water around him felt so heavy. It pulled him under and Jack gurgled his last breath as his head dipped below water.

“Jack!”

A stubby pair of arms grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. Jack gasped for air as his head broke the lake surface. He saw Soja pulling him forward and he subconsciously started pumping his feet to assist. Soja managed to drag him towards the giant feet of the Exo and Jack clung to it for dear life. The metal was slick and slippery but at least he was now anchored to something solid.

Jack groggily looked around until his eyes fell on the concerned boy. “You okay?”

“Me?” Soja exclaimed. “I'm fine. What about you?”

“Just peachy. But enough about that,” Jack replied, shaking his head. There was no time to rest. He still had a job to do.

He looked up at the metal giant that stood towering over them. The Exo was still running. Jack could feel the slight vibrations of the engine core from its metal frame. This beast could still be woken up from its slumber with a single word. Its massive head looked down at Jack, as though it was waiting for him.

“Can you even pilot that thing?” Soja asked in a hushed whisper.

“Don't know.” Jack grinned savagely. “Let's find out.”