The weeks after the mountain incident blurred into a grind of sweat, bruises, and small victories. Markus, Noboru, and Amber threw themselves into training at the facility, treating every session like it might save their lives next time. Some days it was just the three of them. Other days Domanic or Sarah joined in, but the core trio stuck close, pushing each other through the long hours between regular college lectures and hero course drills.
One afternoon they worked in the indoor combat hall, a massive space with reinforced walls and adjustable terrain panels. Markus stood firm in the center, sweat dripping down his bandaged torso as he raised walls of ice in quick succession. "Again, Noboru. Don't hold back."
Noboru blurred forward, a streak of red and white motion, slamming fists into the ice barriers. Cracks spiderwebbed across the surfaces before they shattered. Amber watched from the side, focusing hard. She tried to thread, to make one of Markus's walls weaken faster. A section did crumble a little quicker than expected. "I got it that time," she said, breathing hard.
"Good," Markus called, voice steady. "Keep that focus. We're not leaving anyone behind next fight."
Another evening, they moved to the outdoor fields as the sun dropped low. Noboru raced laps with Amber on his back, building her balance while she practiced small probability nudges on the wind resistance around them. Markus jogged alongside, firing ice spears ahead as targets. "Faster, Amber. Make the air help him instead of fighting him."
"I'm trying," she puffed, but she laughed when a sudden tailwind boosted them. Progress.
In the Forest Scale one weekend, the trio pushed through dense trees and rough terrain. Domanic joined for part of it, turning his body to sand to flow over obstacles while Markus created ice bridges over streams. Noboru carried Amber across tricky gaps at high speed, then set her down to practice threading on falling branches, making them land in ways that blocked mock enemy paths. "You're getting it," Noboru said, wiping sweat from his brow. "That one nearly took my head off on purpose."
Amber smiled tiredly. "Almost felt natural."
Sarah sparred with them a few times in the simulated urban block. She launched fireballs while Markus countered with ice shields, steam hissing between them. Noboru darted through the chaos, tagging targets. Amber stayed back at first, then stepped in, nudging a loose piece of rubble to trip Sarah during a charge. Sarah stumbled, laughed, and gave her a thumbs-up. "Not bad girl."
Night sessions in the dorm training rooms were quieter. Just Markus and Noboru trading blows while Amber practiced on dummies. Markus would freeze the floor in patches, Noboru would slip and recover at speed, and Amber would try to shift the odds so a punch landed cleaner. They talked between sets.
"You're stronger than you think," Markus told her one night, voice low. "We all started somewhere."
Amber didn't say much those nights, but she showed up every time.
The days stacked up like that, college classes in the mornings, facility work in the afternoons and evenings. Bruises faded, confidence grew in small steps. Amber's threads started landing more often. Markus's ice felt sharper after the dragon fight. Noboru's speed stayed reliable even when tired. They ate together, studied together, complained about normal college assignments together. The mountain felt farther away, but the memory kept them sharp.
***
Tournament morning arrived clear and bright. Noboru lay in his dorm bed, staring at the ceiling, muscles still sore from yesterday's final prep. Across the small room, Markus climbed out of his bed, rubbing his eyes with a bandaged hand. He stretched, winced a little at the pull in his ribs, then headed to the bathroom. Water ran. A moment later he came back out, face damp, and tossed a towel straight at Noboru's head.
"Get up dude. Big day. Can't sleep through the start."
Noboru groaned, sat up, and rubbed his face. "Yeah, yeah. I'm moving." He washed up quickly, changed into more comfortable clothes, dark pants, a loose shirt, sturdy boots and grabbed his bag. Markus was already waiting by the door, his own bag slung over one shoulder.
They stepped outside into the cool morning air and started jogging laps around the main field. Their feet hit the grass in steady rhythm. Breath puffed white in the early chill.
"Feel ready?" Markus asked between strides.
"As I'll ever be," Noboru replied. "You?"
Markus nodded. "We trained hard. That's all we can do."
After a few laps they headed into one of the large indoor training fields. Domanic was already there, stretching his arms. Sand trickled from his fingertips as he warmed up.
"Morning," Domanic said.
Noboru moved to one end of the field. He spun on his heel and speed-blitzed forward. Markus dodged sideways, swinging his arm. A diagonal pillar of ice erupted from the ground. Noboru hopped over it, but Domanic swung a heavy sand mallet arm and slammed it into him, sending him skidding back across the floor.
Noboru brushed sand off his shirt and grinned spitting sand. "Nice."
They went again. Noboru darted in, landing quick hits on Markus's ice guard. Markus countered with a low sweep of frost. Domanic flowed around them, tendrils whipping out. Blows exchanged in a steady rhythm, ice cracking, sand shifting, speed blurring. They rotated targets, calling short instructions.
"Left side open!"
"on your left!!"
"Again, harder!"
They kept at it for twenty minutes, breathing heavy, until the main doors swung open. Sarah walked in, flipped a fireball up into the air where it exploded in a bright pop that caught everyone's attention.
"Hey! Come outside before Killerblade slaps the everlasting shit out of you for being late," she called. "And Noboru, someone's here for you."
The group gathered their things and jogged out to the secondary field. Students were already assembling in loose groups. Amber stood near the front, looking nervous but steady. She gave them a small wave as they joined her.
Killerblade stood in the middle of the field holding a mic, her dual swords visible at her hips. Her voice carried across the crowd. "Listen up. For the next four days you'll be put through challenges. The last one will be a full bracket. Show us what you've got or go home."
She tossed the mic high into the air. A large looming figure dropped from the sky, catching it cleanly before landing beside her with a heavy thud. The Monarch. East Kingdoms number one hero, tall and imposing in his signature black armour and torn cape, the man who had brought Noboru to the facility weeks ago before leaving on a mission.
Noboru straightened. "He's back."
The Monarch's voice boomed through the mic. "The first challenge is the free-for-all." A large beam of light shot into the sky, forming a glowing clock that started counting down from two minutes. "Take out at least two other students to pass."
For the first ten seconds the field stayed strangely quiet. Students shifted on their feet, glancing around at each other with uncertain expressions. No one wanted to throw the first punch in front of the pros. Then the tension snapped. A girl with enhanced strength charged forward and drove her fist into a nearby boy's side, sending him tumbling. That single act lit the fuse.
The whole area exploded into chaos. Students attacked each other in scattered bursts. Fire powers lit up sections of the field as blasts flew through the air. One student created vines from the ground to trip two others before getting tackled by a third. Punches landed with solid thuds. A guy with metal skin barrelled through a small group like a wrecking ball, knocking several down before someone froze his legs in place. Shouts and grunts filled the air as bodies collided and powers clashed.
Noboru blurred left and right, still a little fazed by the sudden start. He tagged a student with a quick shoulder check that sent them rolling, then kept moving. Markus slammed his foot down hard. Ice shot out in four directions and thick walls rose quickly, separating the students into four rough sectors. The barriers created instant smaller battlegrounds and bought some breathing room. From one of the walls, sharp ice spikes shot out and knocked two students down cold, their bodies hitting the grass with heavy thumps.
Noboru blitzed forward, grabbed a guy's arm in a flash, and spin-slammed him into one of the ice walls. The impact shattered part of the barrier into glittering shards. Before he could celebrate, someone jumped him from behind and pinned him to the ground. Noboru felt the strange shifting surface under him and grinned. Sand tentacles erupted around them, throwing the attacker high into the air. Domanic reformed nearby with a quick nod, already turning to face another threat.
The fights raged across every sector. In one area a student with wind powers whipped up gusts to launch opponents into the air while another countered by creating sticky webs that pulled them back down. A cluster of support-type students tried to stay defensive, using shields and barriers, but aggressive fighters broke through fast. One girl launched herself with propulsion bursts, slamming into backs and knocking people flat before spinning to face the next. Across the field, raw strength users traded heavy blows that shook the ground.
Markus held his sector steady. He reinforced his ice walls as attackers tested them, then countered with precise spikes and slides that sent students slipping and crashing. Domanic flowed between the barriers like living sand, wrapping tendrils around limbs and yanking fighters off balance. Noboru kept up his blitzes, hitting fast and moving on before anyone could pin him down for long. The trio worked instinctively, covering each other's backs whenever someone tried to gang up.
Sarah was a whirlwind in her own right. She punched one student across the jaw with a flaming fist, launched upward on a jet of fire, and came down hard on another, creating a small crater of scorched grass, glancing up from the small crater she just created she smirked and shot back up into the air. Other students traded powers in messy exchanges, light blasts flashing, earth movers ripping up chunks of the field, electricity crackling in short bursts. A few tried to hide near the edges, but the clock kept ticking and the pressure forced everyone into the action.
The timer dropped lower. With thirty seconds left, the pace grew frantic. Students who hadn't scored knockouts yet scrambled desperately. Some teamed up temporarily only to turn on each other when targets got scarce. Markus spotted two students still standing near one of his ice walls and slammed his foot down again. Ice raced forward and locked their legs solidly in place. They struggled but couldn't break free in time.
Noboru blurred over to Amber. He picked her up without breaking stride and carried her straight toward the trapped pair. Domanic's sand tendrils shot out and wrapped around their arms, holding them steady and exposed. Noboru set Amber down right in front of them, then guided her arms and body at super speed, moving each limb and muscule, helping her land two clean, solid punches. Both students dropped unconscious to the grass.
The clock hit zero and exploded in a giant golden light that washed over the entire field. The free-for-all ended in a wave of groans, heavy breathing, and scattered cheers from those who had managed their two knockouts.
Killerblade stepped forward with the mic again. The Monarch stood beside her, arms crossed, scanning the tired students. Medics moved in to check on the worst hits while the rest of the group caught their breath.
"Alright, listen up," Killerblade announced, her voice sharp. She began reading from a list on a tablet. "The following students failed to secure two knockouts. You're out of this challenge." She rattled off name after name, dozens of them. The list went on for a long minute. About two-thirds of the entire hero course takers stood there stunned or disappointed as their names were called. Most were support students who had focused on utility powers rather than direct combat, but a handful of combat types had also frozen under the pressure or gotten overwhelmed early. Groans and quiet curses rippled through the crowd as the failed students stepped to the side.
"Better luck next term," Killerblade added bluntly. "A break is issued until the next test. Get some food, rest, and patch yourselves up. We start again in three hours. Don't be late."
The remaining students began dispersing toward the main facility building. Noboru, Markus, Amber, Domanic, and Sarah stuck together as they walked inside. They found a quiet lounge area with couches and vending machines. Everyone dropped into seats, rubbing sore spots and drinking water.
Noboru leaned back, stretching his legs. "That was intense right from the jump. Where's Jamie? I didn't see him out there at all."
Domanic took a long drink before answering. "Jamie decided to switch over to the support sector after the mountain thing. Said the combat side wasn't clicking for him anymore. Because of the changeover timing, he can't participate in this term's tournament. He's focusing on tech and analysis stuff now. Smart move for him, I think."
Markus nodded slowly. "Makes sense. He helped a lot with sound support in training, but the pressure out there was different. Glad he's finding his fit."
Amber sat quietly, flexing her hand from the punches. "I almost didn't make it either. Thanks again for setting those two up for me."
"You punched them clean," Noboru said with a grin. "That's what counts. We're all still in."
Sarah laughed from her spot on the couch. "Yeah, and we've got three more days of whatever they throw at us. I think I can feel my flames growing."
The group rested for the full break. They grabbed food from the cafeteria, simple sandwiches and energy bars, and talked through what worked and what didn't in the free-for-all. Markus sketched rough diagrams on a napkin, showing how his ice sectors could be used better next time. Noboru demonstrated a quick speed footwork pattern in the open space between couches. Amber practiced small threads on a water bottle, making it tip over on command a few times. Domanic shifted small patches of his arm into sand and back, testing for any strain from the fight.
Conversations drifted between the challenge and normal college life. Exams were coming up in regular classes too, so they had to balance both. Stories from the East Kingdoms helped pass the time, Noboru described group training sessions back home that sometimes turned into all-out brawls similar to the free-for-all. Markus shared how he first learned to control his ice without freezing everything around him. Amber opened up a bit more about orphanage days and how Markus had always been the one watching her back.
The three hours passed quicker than expected. Soon Killerblade's voice echoed through the facility speakers, calling everyone back to the secondary field for the next test. The remaining students gathered again, numbers noticeably thinner after the cuts. The Monarch and Killerblade waited in the center, ready to explain the rules for whatever challenge came next.
The tournament had only just begun, but they felt the weight of every training session behind them. They stood together, ready for the next round. The facility grounds stretched out around them, the Forest Scale visible in the distance, as the long day continued under the watchful eyes of the pros.
As they waited for instructions, small groups formed and conversations buzzed. Some students bragged about their knockouts while others quietly worried about the coming days. Markus kept his voice low to the team. "We stay coordinated. No one gets left behind."
Noboru nodded. "Just like training."
Amber took a steady breath. "Just like training."
The break had given them a chance to recover, but the real pressure was building. With two-thirds of the course already cut from this challenge alone, the path forward felt narrower and steeper. Still, the group stuck close, drawing strength from the weeks of hard work they had put in together. Whatever came next, they would face it side by side.