As the hour of rest neared its end. Van and Luna were approached by one of the students that was watching them for a while. A young student with a robust and lean figure sauntered her way toward them. She had long ginger-like hair and vibrant green smokey eyes.

It seemed she only had interest in Van, not seeming to be fully aware of Luna sitting right next to him. Upon standing just a few feet from him, she checked him out, though it seemed more unintentional than rude. As if she simply couldn’t help herself when gazing at Van’s unique handsomeness.

“Do… Do you mind if I sit with you?” She asked in a tender and smooth voice that was easy on the ears.

Van shared a look with Luna, but It seemed his wife didn’t care, so he nodded in acceptance.

“My name is Nephi, Nephi Aisling.” The student said introducing herself and sitting down across from Van. Her gaze stared deeply into Van’s face as if seeing a male for the first time. It was clear to anyone that she was very enamored with him. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were running for some time, even when I passed you and the gravity got heavier you continued. May I ask how far you’ve gone, or what your score was?”

Van gave a quick side-eyed glance towards Luna, who now seemed to be showing some interest in the student in front of them, wondering where this was going. He turned his gaze back, giving Nephi a quick once over.

She was a pretty woman, filled out in some areas and lean in others. Not as big breasts as Luna, but they certainly stuck out with how well-proportioned her body was and how her uniform hugged her every curve. She was tall, but not taller than him, with long slender legs with the stockings hugging them nicely, and a short skirt. It was a bit unnerving though, with how taken she was with him, and he wondered what her game was if anything. Or perhaps was she simply charmed by his good looks?

“I’m not going to give you my score… But I can tell you me and my wife made seven and a half laps before dropping out.” Van answered. “And you? How many laps did you complete before dropping out?” He asked in return.

“Huh?” She blinked, and only now seemed to have taken notice of Luna. She blushed a little in embarrassment upon realizing she did something so rude as to speak to another woman's male while she was right there and without permission. “Oh uh… I think I got sixth place. Did a little more than eight and a half laps…” Her face was a little red as she answered Van and gave Luna an apologetic side look as she did so.

“Oh wow, that’s really impressive!” Van said.

Nephi blushed. “Oh, um… Thanks I- I’m-” Her mouth was left stuck open as she didn’t know how to respond. She had turned to Luna as she was answering Van, and it sounded like she was about to apologize to her, the words ‘i’m sorry’ almost spoken out loud before stopping herself. She then shut her mouth with a click, realizing that saying it out loud and out of the blue would just make the situation perhaps a bit more awkward than it already was.

“Th-thanks…” She mumbled again, turning her head away, only for her desires to get the better of her and to gaze upon Van’s face with heated eyes. “You are- Like- Really strong! I can tell that right away from looking at you. And the fact that you, a male, can run a whole seven and a half laps just proves it! And I’m… Really… Impressed…” Her voice slowly died out near the end as she became embarrassed once more.

“Oh-kay?” Van said, unsure of how to answer. It was very clear to anyone that this woman wanted to jump his bones. “Thanks, I guess, you're very impressive too.” Giving her a kind smile in return. To which made her face redder than before.

But then she seemed to resolve herself for something and spoke up. “Umm… I was wondering… Uh… The next test is an obstacle course. Do you… Want to run it together? I-I MEAN With all of your friends too…” Quickly trying to save herself from sounding like she was asking Van out too openly.

“Damn… This girl is in heat!” Van thought inwardly. “Did all her running turn her on? I’ve heard cases like that before where a lot of working out can get you horny.” He pondered, then shared a look with his wife, who only gave an amused look back. She then gave him a silent suggestion, nudging him to accept.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Van responded, taking Luna’s silent suggestion.

Nephi looked relieved and happy all at once.

Luna smiled and walked over to Nephi and sat down next to her. A mischievous smirk on her lips as she leaned in close.

Nephi felt a little weirded out by the sudden familiarity but felt like she couldn’t refuse considering who she was. Then as Luna leaned into her, she began to… Hear things.

Van watched as Luna began whispering things into Nephi’s ears that made her eyes go wide, her mouth drop, and her face a deeper shade of red every second. He had no idea what Luna was telling the poor girl, but it was clear that whatever it was, was making Nephi very sexually frustrated…

He wouldn’t put it past his wife to spout all the dirty deeds they did together just to rile Nephi up as revenge for ignoring her. Promising wonderful things just out of reach and putting her foot down on who had supreme access to it all…

If he had to be honest. He didn’t mind. It had been a while since he last got laid. He was beginning to feel the sexual build-up that needed release. More and more he felt his incubi bloodline take effect and change his body and mind to be more willing to embrace and accept women of all stripes and backgrounds. And the worst part of it was… He liked it…

A soft ringing of a bell was heard throughout the stadium and the screens changed back to an image of instructor Tin telling everyone to get back on the track and prepare themselves for the next test.

“Alright, the next test will soon be underway. Head to the starting line. The next test will be an obstacle course. Be prepared, for you may be severely hurt on this one. Only take it if you think you can handle the challenge, there is no shame in dropping out early if it is too much for you.”

Van and everyone else began to walk towards the starting line as Tin’s voices began to explain a few more things. “The level of the obstacle course will increase every time half of the contestants still remaining reach a checkpoint. So whether you like it or not, even if you have not passed your first checkpoint, the course may change to level two as you're still running. But it should also be kept in mind, that also goes for those running ahead, if enough runners behind you drop out, the level may increase to reflect the new number of contestants on the obstacle course.”

“The test will begin in ten minutes. That is all.” Tin’s voice faded away.

As Van, Luna, and their new friend Nephi arrived near the starting line. They meet up with Seral and the others. He was surprised to see, but probably shouldn’t have been, Kira there with her cousin and everyone else.

“Hey Van.” Kira waved at them. “Surprised to see you here. Are you here to cheer your wife on? How far did she make it?”

“Me and Luna almost made it to the eighth lap, but we dropped out halfway there,” Van said.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Kira’s jaw dropped. “Wait… You also ran!? And almost eight! That’s…” She couldn’t bring herself to say that he beat her score. Though Merody had no such qualms, and teased her cousin about it, much to Kira's annoyance. They then got into a poking match and started poking each other relentlessly.

“Wait, who’s that?” Kira asked, fending off a few of Merody’s finger jabs and taking notice of the new stranger who seemed to be introducing herself to Seral, Samira, Anna and the others.

“Oh, that’s Nephi, Nephi Aisling. She came over and I guess she and Luna decided to become friends or something.” Van said a little evasively, looking backwards to how Luna and her seemed to be acting all buddy-buddy.

Kira’s jaw dropped again. “You mean THE Nephi Aisling!?”

Van blinked. “I… Guess? Is she someone important?” He asked, wondering why if she was they hadn't had her join in with their dorm.

“She’s a scholarship student. One of the few houseless vampires to join bloodhaven academy without a last name.” Kira explained, stopping her poking match with Merody. “But since that would be unprecedented, the academy did a bloodline check to see if she was part of a house or not in the past, defunct or fallen. What they found was that her bloodline traced back all the way to Nephira Aisling. As in, THE NEPHIRA AISLING!” getting a little excited, but making sure not to be so loud as to be overheard by Nephi.

She then leaned forward and began to explain. “Nephira Aisling was one of the very few known lovers of Alcraz himself! So the fact that she traces her bloodline all the way to Nephira is a big deal! Some people though, don’t like it, while others judge her for simply having such a connection, while most others think she somehow faked her way through the bloodline test since no one ever heard of her till now. It was a huge thing that was gossiped about for at least a month or two when it first came out.”

Van was surprised by this revelation and turned his head back towards Nephi and Luna. When he turned back, he was about to ask another question when Tin’s voice once more was heard overhead.

“Two minutes left! Get on the line or behind someone who is. We start whether or not you’re ready!” Then a countdown timer was put on display.

Van was a little annoyed, but walked over to the rest of the group and joined everyone else alongside Kira and Merody. They created a little ball around him and Seral almost instinctively. Once the timer hit zero, a horn was blared and they set off.

Van blinked as the track in front of them began to shift and change right before their eyes. Nephi explained to him what was happening since he looked confused.

“The obstacle course is illusion based.” She explained as she jogged beside him and the track turned from one of a straight paved road into a mountainous and hilly one. “It will change as we continue. It wouldn’t be much of a test if we just had to do a redo of the previous test plus maybe jumping through a hoop or two. The course will become more difficult to traverse as we continue, and as the level of difficulty goes up, so too will the number of obstacles pop up to bar our path. Anything from pitfalls, rockslides, sudden illusionary wolves chasing you, boulders falling down, to falling trees blocking your way, and a bunch more. So be prepared for anything because-”

She blinked and quickly grabbed him and moved him out of the way as a student came tumbling towards them. It seemed she was tripped by another student up ahead, who looked back with a glare before running further ahead.

“Because your fellow students are also an obstacle you have to overcome… The previous rules don’t apply here…”

Van gave a quick look back towards the poor student that fell. Though that didn’t seem to put a stop to her ambition, as she got right back up and began to follow behind them with a slight limp.

“You can get severely hurt here. But technically you can continue so long as you feel you are able. Even if you fall off a cliff, you would find yourself back on the track about a minute later, though severely hurt from the fall, it would be up to you whether or not to continue after that.” Nephi explained. “Though if you're too hurt, you’ll be disqualified anyway…”

Van wasn’t sure how that worked, but he was now watching the path before them more warily. It seemed like any other mountain path, with a narrowish rocky road and the occasional tight turn here or there. That was until one student got too close to the edge and half the path collapsed right under her. Forcing everyone else to squeeze through the choke point, which caused some pushing and shoving, making a few other students fall off.

He knew it was all an illusion, but it was still terrifying to watch a bunch of girls fall off a sheer cliff screaming towards their doom. Nephi though refused to be distracted. From what the instructor said, using aura in the first two tests was forbidden. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t use your full physical power and skill to the limit. So she jumped high and made three large steps on the wall, effectively wall running over the heads of the other students and coming out ahead.

Van noticed that other students were taking the chance to jump the gap made by the previous student that fell and sometimes stuck the landing, leaving the ones still squeezing through the narrow opening behind.

Just then he noticed a rumble and looked up. A wave of rocks were falling down the mountain. If he stuck behind he would get swept up. Not feeling he had much choice, he started running faster and used all his strength to jump the gap like some of the other students did before him. But as he was flying over the sheer drop below, a few students began throwing rocks at him. They almost succeeded in messing up his landing. But he was able to put his feet firmly on the ground and chase after Nephi.

But no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find her anywhere. In fact, he couldn’t find anyone he knew around him. It seemed the obstacle course prevented lending aid or accepting aid from others. Meaning he was all alone now…

As he ran he came to a field of rocky pillars jutting up from far below. Many of the other students before him were jumping from pillar to pillar as quickly as possible.

“Hey, it’s that male!” one of the students exclaimed.

“Oh hells no! I Ain’t going to have my score be below a male’s!” Another exclaimed.

“Kick him off!” A third chimed in.

Van paled and began to jump pillars faster than before. But a group of students were hot on his tail. He ran with all his might until he found a vine-ridden wall in front of him and began to climb it quickly. A gaggle of female students staring up at him, wondering if they would be able to catch up to him on time.

“Damn… nice ass…” One commented looking up. Only to get smacked upside the head.

“Don’t just stare! Get him! I don’t want to have to explain to my mother that I lost to a freakin male!” The one looking like the leader of the group growled.

Soon the female students began to chase Van up the wall with all their might. Determined to throw him off it.

“SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!” Van panicked inwardly as he looked down to the dozen or so girls chasing him. When he got on top of the wall he had to take a second to marvel at the scenery before him and the long path ahead. He looked down and saw a crystal clear lake below, wondering if he had to jump it.

DING!

Van blinked as an announcement spoke up saying that level two was now in effect. Making him and most of the girls chasing him pause. His eyes widened in horror as the obstacle path before him changed a little. The lake below him was now filled with piranhas. The trees now had long whip-like vines that seemed to lash out at anyone that got close to them. And the mountain in the distance that the path led towards was now a semi-active volcano…

“OW! OW! OW! THESE VINES HAVE THORNS NOW!”

Van jumped almost out of his skin because the voice was a lot closer to him than it was before. Realizing he had no time to waste so he took a deep breath and prepared to jump. “As Lyn likes to say… Yolo…” And with that one word to steel his resolve, he jumped.

He landed hard into the water, and the second he did so the piranhas began to swarm him. It took everything he had to smack them off of him and reach shore, but he was a wounded mess by the time he did so. But not wanting to let this be the end, he pushed forward, dodging the whip-like vines of the trees that tried to snag or strike him. He heard a few more splashes behind him, followed by screams, and doubled his pace.

DING! “LEVEL THREE IS NOW ACTIVE.”

“OH YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” Van complained. The mountain ahead was now an active volcano. And the tree’s started to lob exploding fruit. The ground had fissures and spewed hot scalding air, and flaming rocks would periodically fall near him. “If this is level three, then what the hell is level five!?”

Van ran forward with all his might. “Fuck it, I at least want to get to level four! Once I do, I’ll call it a day!” He thought inwardly, begging and praying that a few more students would drop out.

But half an hour later it was still level three, and wolves were now chasing him. “Oh come the fuck on!” He ran with all his might as the wolves hounded him, nipping at his heels as he tried to climb up the now active volcano and avoid the lava flows coming down from it.

DING!

“FUCKING FINALLY!” Van thought, only a third of the way up the mountain. But the wolves now grew horns and their jumping power had increased. It took everything he had to fend them off, his climbing slowing to a crawl. The second he thought he could take a quick breather, was the second he looked up and saw the giant jaws of a large wyvern chomp him up like a small snack…

DING!