None. Sol couldn’t think of any real solution to her predicament. Capture another youth for interrogation? Her body was already performing in a diminished state. She felt little confidence in retaining a youth then also having enough strength to press on after.
The earlier fight alone nearly had her gasping for air despite how effortless her actions seemed. After recovering some stamina, Sol took to her legs and continued scaling the mountain while sifting through plans.
Should she wait too long, only the stronger contestants would remain. Should she act too soon, there’s a chance she would miss whatever Elder Zhao is using to track trophies. Sol’s spiritual awareness was spread to the limit she could sustain.
She decided her best course of action was to locate two contestants and observe their fight to completion. If she was lucky, she could discover what she missed. Unfortunately, Sol was destined to be disappointed. Those children strong enough to claim a victory had long since fled to the mountain peak.
Those left behind remained tokenless. Even after discovering a few children facing each other, Sol noticed quickly that both the victor and loser were jaded after each fight. Even worse, she realized the children who discovered her appeared as if they were looking at prey.
After the third child, Sol came up with a plan. She revealed herself to a child who won an earlier fight. Though tired, the boy retained enough stamina to continue eagerly looking for opponents. Catching sight of a girl covered in dust, the boy dashed into the distance after her.
Sol utilized the terrain and her superior spiritual awareness to lure the boy to a location relatively isolated. As soon as she reached the plateau of choice, she stumbled and rolled across the ground while gasping for air.
The boy trailing her saw her trip and rushed to take action. His figure broke the edge of the plateau and his legs accelerated his body towards Sol. Taken by surprise, Sol released a yelp and moved to dodge the boy’s tackle.
Sol rolled across the ground until she found the grip to restore her stance. Breathing heavily, she kept careful eyes on the boy approaching her. The boy’s eyes ran across Sol’s body taking in the various bruises and cuts. He cautiously approached Sol with eyes locked on his prey.
Magic leaked from his system as it flooded his body and his legs kicked off at the last moment to accelerate. Sol barely managed to dodge the boy’s initial grapple. His waist twisted and his legs turned in such a practiced manner that Sol found herself caught not 8 moves later.
Her mistake was slipping on a rock and losing her stable stance. The boy managed to grab her clothing and knock her to the ground. A moment later, Sol felt weight crushing her from behind. Face down, Sol’s labored breathing was the only sound the two could hear.
“Fine…. Fine… You got me… Take it and go…” Sol managed to squeeze out the words while also relaxing her body. Amused at the girl’s attempt to act strong, the boy acquiesced and then patted down Sol’s shoulder.
To her amazement, Sol saw a circular silver token drop from her shoulder pocket. She had searched herself earlier for any item that could possibly represent a token, yet found nothing. Seeing the item appear so easily left a bitter taste in her mouth.
The boy took a hold of the item and stood up while keeping pressure on Sol’s back. “Stay down for 5 minutes. Then you can start moving…Ah!” Sol interrupted the boy with a powerful sweep of her legs. Magic flooded her system, and without mercy, she disabled the boy mid-sentence.
Unwilling to waste more energy, she used the boy’s fall to slam his head into the ground further; reaping his consciousness in the next moment. Sol pried the silver token from his hand and glanced over it. It was simple, to say the least. Only a few characters etched ‘Zhao’ on its cover. Otherwise, it appeared like a normal round token.
Her gaze drifted to the unconscious boy and she moved to flip his body over. She patted his torso, arms, legs, and waist to no avail. She could only assume the boy lost it earlier to a competitor. Sol sighed in exasperation as she realized how futile this test was for her.
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If she couldn’t discover her own token, that could only mean Elder Zhao hid it from her, or it requires a third party to locate and extract it. Neither scenario eased her worries. There was another scenario that she was actively avoiding thoughts about.
Her legs kicked off to carry her body up the mountain once more with the lingering 3rd scenario subconsciously frustrating her. ‘What if Elder Zhao made these tokens inert for me? Could it be that I’m unable to extract them even if I were to defeat an opponent?’ The thought sent shivers down her spine.
The Unchained Queen Beast method pulsed as Sol cycled it and pressed up the mountain. Though minutely, she could feel the mental model recovering. She sensed changes in it once again, however she no longer scrutinized it as rigorously as before. By now, Sol accepted the changes to be a normal state of affairs for the model.
Utilizing the recovered capability, Sol pressed on without many breaks. She maintained her spiritual awareness, yet was unable to detect any competitors. Sol felt as if something were wrong, however she couldn’t dismiss the potential any leading competitors might have.
Thinking as much, Sol failed to realize her progress was stymied long ago. From Mount Plausa, Elder Zhao kept his focus on Sol. Unlike his composed exterior. Elder Zhao was livid within. ‘This girl is truly a diamond in the rough. That Drant fool can’t see treasure if it slapped him in the face.’
Thoughts about his actions and the Drant family head filled the Elder’s mind and only stoked his rage further. Oh how he wished he could turn back time. The reward for bringing in such a talented seedling would have easily eclipsed what he was bribed with.
Elder Zhao looked to the sky as if to question fate’s fickleness. By the time his gaze returned to Sol’s distant figure, his hands were already mid gesture with magic seeping from them. Unaware of the magic filling her vicinity, Sol continued to press forward as much as she could.
From the outside looking in, Sol’s movements were slowed to a crawl. The wind whipping across her clothing from her run barely registered from Elder Zhao’s perspective. He was under contract and had to fulfill his role.
Such things didn’t prevent Elder Zhao from considering the future at least. In the back of his mind, the Elder was already considering how he could convince another Elder to pick the seedling up. Though he was actively tarnishing her efforts, it didn’t mean those efforts were lost on him.
The only real question was if Sol would even look at the Guild after what he did to her. Such thoughts unintentionally forced a sigh from the Elder. Beside him, 5 children were gasping for air. They managed to reach the peak with plenty of time to spare.
Sol's breaths came in ragged gasps as she forced herself up the ever-steeper slopes of Plausa Mountain. The silver token felt heavy in her pocket, a reminder of her recent victory and the unfairness of her situation. Her spiritual awareness, though extended to its limits, detected no other competitors nearby. The eerie quiet of the mountain was unsettling, as if the world itself conspired to wear her down.
High above, Elder Zhao’s magic subtly distorted the space around Sol. He watched her struggle with a mix of frustration and reluctant admiration. "Such potential wasted on this trial," he muttered, shaking his head.
Sol felt the air around her grow heavier, the ground seeming to pull her feet down with every step. Her body, already exhausted, screamed in protest. She could feel her progress slowing, yet she pushed on with sheer determination. Every step extracted magic from her system and her damaged mental model was exhibiting signs of fracture.
Her mind raced through possible strategies to overcome this unseen obstacle. She considered turning back, but the thought of failing and wasting the opportunity her adoptive parents provided her kept her will strong.
She found a momentary reprieve in a small, shaded cave. Collapsing to the ground, she tried to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. The mental model of The Unchained Queen Beast pulsed weakly within her, the fractures in her control over magic a constant reminder of her limits.
She knew she couldn't afford to push too hard and risk breaking entirely. Sol’s consciousness faded in and out as the stress of the climb and the damage to her model accumulated. Every breath brought with it the lingering magic from the air.
Closing her eyes, Sol withdrew her spiritual awareness and turned it inward. She already understood the odds of passing the trial were non-existent. Rather, she chose to push forward as a matter of principle. Her breathing eased as she examined the state of The Unchained Queen Beast model.
It felt as if the model were resonating with her heart with how it restructured itself. Though slow, Sol could identify new growth where the model was previously fracturing at. She caught her breath and gradually entered a trance while observing her model recovering.
Outside the cave, multiple youngsters turned their heads at the same time, towards the same direction. High above on the mountain, Elder Zhao’s eyes turned serious. The magic laden air shuddered as if responding to a will. Within her cave, Sol’s trance consumed her and in that state, The Unchained Queen Beast model pulsed.