Second Course Struggle

One contestant after the other got called onto the stage. From my small group of friends, Dawn went first. None of the contestants returned to the rooms, that was probably to prevent any sort of cheating. My turn arrived a few contestants later. This time it was a Furian who escorted me to the stage. I could see those who finished already, but there was no way to know who did how well. Of course Dawn was there too, but she looked out of sorts for some reason. 'Did something happen?', I asked myself. That black and gold Lizard was there as well, moreover he was staring at me. 'Stare until your eyes pop out. It's not like you can affect the course with your stare, hehe', "...Three… Two…", the announcer began the countdown, which made me snap out of my own thoughts. "...GO!", he exclaimed while I rushed forward.

The first obstacle was a deep pit with a rope crossing. I grabbed the rope and swung my body left and right, passing through it without any issues. The next obstacle was an empty field. That was where Elemental Obstacles were placed. I examined the field, but didn't see any Runes whatsoever. 'I'm not sure how they placed those Formations, and what sort of effect they will have', I thought and moved through the field slowly. "Shing!", suddenly something lit up under my feet and a blast of wind pushed me to the side. "Ungh", I grunted and fell to the ground. Before I could even pick myself up, another Formation got activated. I quickly rolled to the side, while the ground became soft and collapsed inwards. 'This place is riddled with Formations', I thought and quickly picked myself up.

I decided that speed was the best solution. Even if something activated, I could at least make it past. I ran towards the other side of the field, and the Formations activated left and right. It was going well, until something rooted me in place. "Ungh.. I can't move…", I said to myself. Something was slowing me down, it must've been a Formation but I couldn't see anything. I tried stepping away from that area, but then another blast of wind battered my body. I was lucky though, because the wind pushed me closer to the end. As soon as my body slammed the ground, I gritted my teeth and rolled. "Swoosh!", another Formation activated behind me, but this time it had properties of a Fire Element. I somehow evaded that and made it to the end of the field.

'... That was hard…', I thought. It really was dangerous, my whole body hurt from being slammed to the ground a few times. The next trap was also something new. A pool of sand seemingly ordinary. The moment I stepped onto the sand, my foot started to get dragged in. "Ungh!", I exclaimed while dragging my foot out. There were no ropes or anything I could use to cross it. 'Jumping will get me to a halfway point at most, there is the other half still left. There must be a way', I thought. Thinking about it was much smarter, than losing even more time. A while later, an idea came to my mind, 'What if I roll?'. My legs had to support the weight of my whole body when I walked. Rolling would spread the weight, which in turn wouldn't make me sink as much.

I laid down on the ground, and rolled as quickly as I could. My theory turned out to be correct, but I didn't try to cross it like that. I rolled back, almost getting stuck in the process. I needed speed, much more speed. 'Combining the jump and the roll, I should be able to make it… In theory at least. All or nothing I guess', I thought and ran towards the pit. "HAP!", I exclaimed while jumping as far as I could. Just as I was about to hit the sand, I used my leg to kick it and reposition my body to that of a roll. "Ta Ta Ta Ta...", I rolled for a while, but didn't make it to the other side and started to sink. With no other choice, I used my hands to drag myself forward bit by bit. A while of straining and struggling later, I made it to the other side.

"Haah… Hah…", heavy breaths escaped my mouth. I was already tired, and there were two more obstacles awaiting me. The first obstacle was a balancing log suspended over a pit. 'They really like to make obstacles involving pits', I thought. This time though, the pit was at least five metres deep. Just as I was about to step onto the log, I checked it first. 'This thing is so sensitive, a slight push and it moves… as if the log weighted nothing', I thought after the examination. I grabbed the ropes and stepped onto the log, but the swinging was too severe. 'No way I can make this thing on my feet. No other choice, I have to slide while sitting', I thought.

This lost me some time, but at least allowed me to get past it safely. The last obstacle was a series of small wooden walls. It looked easy from where I stood, but when my perspective changed, I realised why it only looked easy. Once I climbed the wall, I saw what was on the other side. 'Of course it's a pit… What else could it be?', I thought. In other words, I had to jump across the remaining three walls. Moreover, these walls varied in height. The first one was about two metres tall, but the second one was shorter. The third was taller and the last one the tallest. The tops of these walls were not that wide either. 'One mistake, and I'm inside a pit… From such a height, this might end really badly...', I thought.

My hands were sweating like crazy, while the tiredness from previous obstacles didn't help. 'I knew mom said not to push myself, but I don't want to give up... I want to win!', I thought and jumped forwards. "Pak! Ugh!", I landed atop the next wall, but not with the use of my legs. I used my body to cling onto the walls one after the other. It was painful slamming against them but with a last jump, I made it past the obstacle and past the finishing line. "I did it… Hehe, I did it…", I said to myself quietly and collapsed onto the ground. My whole body hurt, and I barely had any strength to move about.

A Shade appeared next to me and picked me up. "You did very well, let me take you to the waiting area", she said and carried me towards the other contestants. I don't know what happened next, my consciousness was already drifting away. When I woke up, I saw a familiar person's face. "Dawn?", I asked. "We gave you some medicine, so you should be fine… You did well, you are very determined", she replied. "What about the contest?", I asked and slowly picked myself up. "The second course is almost done. Your friend Tara, she didn't finish… I'm sorry", Dawn replied. I was a bit sad she didn't make it, and disappointed that I couldn't see her perform. "No, it's not your fault. She took part and gave it her best, that is what counts", I said while shaking my head.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I knew you were a nice person", I added. Dawn just smiled, and handed me something. "What's this?", I asked. "It's from your mom. They left this here for you", she replied. 'Mom is probably angry that I didn't quit…', I thought and opened the box. To my surprise, there was food inside. 'There is this note as well…', I thought and read it. 'Anna, remember what you promised me. Pushing yourself like this was not part of our deal… But mommy is proud of you', was written on it. A smile bloomed on my face, "Hey Dawn, let's eat together!", I said and shared the food with her. She wasn't as shy as before, but ate some with me.

The remaining contestants had a try each, and the second course was officially finished. I managed to pass this time too, and of course Dawn qualified as well. There were seven contestants who gave up or didn't finish the course, Tara was one of them. Dawn told me that she got stuck in the sand pit, and had to be rescued. Others failed either on Formations or in the sand pit as well. They still removed five slowest contestants, which meant twelve people got eliminated in the second round. There were only nineteen contestants who would attempt the third and final course. The winner with the best overall time would receive the pet prize.