They followed the path through the trees until it opened up into the square with the ten gateways. A crowd of competitors was already there, some frantically trying their keys, others already vanishing through the open gates, their triumphant shouts echoing in the air. Noor spotted Keno, Youssef, and Li Kang heading for one of the gates.
"Keno!" he called out, running toward them with Jean and Akira right behind. "You made it!"
Keno turned. His clothes were tattered, and he looked like he had been through a war, but his gaze was as calm as ever. "Noor. You too. Good." He nodded at them. "That part wasn’t easy. It seems you had your own troubles." He glanced at the gate. "We’ll meet at the finish line. Let’s hurry."
They bid a quick farewell and rushed to their own gate. All around them, competitors were scrambling, a mad dash to get through the final obstacle. They passed through their gate and found themselves standing at the top of a steep, treacherous slope of sand and rock.
Jean threw her hands up in exasperation. "How are we supposed to cross this? It’s practically a cliff! You’d better have a good plan, Noor, or I’m throwing you into that lake."
Noor just laughed and started doing warm-up stretches. "We’ll slide down."
"What?" Jean and Akira exclaimed in unison.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Akira added nervously. "That path is incredibly dangerous!"
Noor held out a hand, a faint light beginning to glow around it. "Have you forgotten what I can do? I’ll make us some boards. Trust me, with our skills, we can make it to the finish line, and we’ll beat most of them." He gave a wry smile. "Except for that speedy bastard. I’m sure he got here ages ago. Now, no more talk."
Light solidified in his hands, forming into sleek wooden boards designed to handle rough terrain. He quickly gave them instructions on what to watch out for, adding that he was a skilled slider, though he had no memory of how he’d learned. His companions looked annoyed by the whole idea, but with no time to object, they took their boards. Jean, however, insisted she’d feel safer on a small bike, which Noor quickly crafted for her.
They lined up at the edge. At Noor’s signal, they launched themselves down the slope.
It was a chaotic descent. They swerved around jagged rocks and dodged obstacles. Noor moved with incredible skill, pulling off flashy maneuvers with a grin on his face. Whenever an obstacle appeared in front of Akira, he simply vanished into thin air, reappearing a few feet past it. Jean struggled to control her bike as it bounced and vibrated violently over the rough ground, falling behind them, more concerned with surviving the ride than winning it.
Noor and Akira were neck and neck, trading the lead every few seconds. The wind blasted their faces, and the setting sun cast long, red rays across their path. Adrenaline surged through them. After a while, Akira began to run out of energy and had to stop teleporting, allowing Noor to pull ahead by a small margin.
Amidst the chaos, Noor finally saw it—the finish line. A wave of joy, purer than anything he had ever felt, washed over him. This nightmare is finally going to end. He pushed harder, accelerating into his final descent as the other teams closed in from their own paths. He was getting closer and closer, and as he shot across the line, he let out a triumphant shout.
He collapsed onto the ground, soaked with sweat, his hair plastered to his forehead, gasping for air. Akira and Jean fell nearby, their chests heaving, a look of happy disbelief on their faces.
A voice echoed from an unseen speaker. "Noor, fourth place. Akira, fifth place. Jean, sixth place." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Fourth? Noor was stunned. He was sure he’d beaten everyone except the speedster. Then he heard a familiar, arrogant voice.
"Hello, boy. I see you and your friends made it across. I didn’t expect losers as weak as you to get this far."
Noor looked over his shoulder. Sairi was staring at him with his usual cold gaze. Beside him, Ivanov was smiling and waving. The joy of finishing evaporated, replaced by the bitter sting of irritation. To his other side, he saw the fast boy who had been at the starting line, sitting under a tree and napping. First place, no doubt.
"Which path did you guys take?" Akira asked Sairi.
"The short one, of course," Sairi said with a shrug. "A lot of people went for its keys since it was the easiest path. Unfortunately for them, we eliminated them all and took the keys for ourselves. It was extremely easy. Took us only a few minutes."
A chill ran down their spines. An awful thought bloomed in Noor’s mind. He had to ask. "What are your rankings?"
Ivanov beamed. "Since Sairi helped me so much, I let him have first place. I took second."
Sairi shot him a cold look. "Really? Is that what happened? Don’t go easy on me next time, because I won’t go easy on you."
"Relax, my friend," Ivanov laughed. "I’m just joking."
Noor’s blood ran cold. The fast boy hadn’t taken first place. He was standing before two unleashed beasts who could devour him at any moment. He could see the same fear reflected in the eyes of Jean and Akira.
Keno crossed the line in seventh place, followed by Youssef and Li Kang. They gathered with Noor’s group just as Yassin, Nader, and Ares finished, along with a few other teams they didn’t recognize.
Keno looked at Noor and nodded. "You arrived before me. Surprising. You’re full of surprises, I see."
Noor managed a weak smile. "Well, like you said. Had to use my brain."
"What matters is that you’re here," Keno said, his gaze sweeping over the survivors and the finish line. "And it seems we’re not done with the tests yet."