At first Luna could not understand what was happening. Her experience in the mud pits was far from stellar. While her physical capabilities were only average, she had, after all, grown up in Kolar so they were average only by Kolari standards.
While she could not run through the mud like Nero, it should have been no problem for her to pass through the course even if she did slowly. The problem came from her late synchronisation. It had been mere months since she synchronised, and her percentage fusion with her innate card was very low.
While in compensation for her incredibly late synchronisation, she seemed to have been gifted with an incredible innate ability, it did not change the fact that she was currently very weak.
When she stepped into the mud, and it began to absorb her aether, she was affected far more than others. The reason her whole body was covered in mud, rather than her legs, was because as her internal aether levels dropped below 70% she became extremely dizzy and fell into the mud.
She had barely managed to keep herself conscious and pushed herself upright, but her speed had slowed down drastically after that and she had to struggle to stay awake. She was not a weakling. She was not inferior. After living her entire life deprived of an innate ability while everyone else got to use their abilities and grow stronger, she had maintained her self worth out of sheer, nearly delusional self belief - belief that one day she would be great!
When she was on the verge of blacking out, it was that same grit she had nurtured throughout her life that allowed her to hold on. It was for that very reason that when she was lifted out of the mud, she did not remain disoriented and recovered quick enough to realise something was wrong.
Her brain was too slow to put together what Nero was intending to do, and out of an instinct of self protection, she screamed - loudly. But that changed nothing. She was still on someone’s shoulder, too weak to fight herself to freedom.
Just as her mind was descending into panic, a firm yet calm voice broke through the chaos in her tired mind.
"Take deep breaths and try to recover - we’re not through the pits yet."
"I... what?" she uttered, unable to articulate the mix of emotions coursing through her brain, but there was no need. That same voice, filled with poise and a soothing tranquility, came once again to silence those tumultuous emotions.
"Just focus on recovery - it’ll take a few minutes to reach the wall. I’ll need your help then."
Anyone who knew Luna knew that she was not easily tamed. She was defiant by nature, and headstrong, or else under the countless teasing voices telling her she’ll never awaken an innate ability would have gotten to her long ago. For some reason, though, she did not fight back. Instead, she closed her eyes and began to take deep breaths.
Most of those observing, though, only shook their heads.
"What does he think he’s doing? Does he think he can forcibly make his battalion win?" one senior cadet scoffed. "There’s a reason why the army works in groups. One man, no matter how strong, cannot change the tide of events. Even Sages have to rely on others."
"He’s just showing off..."
"We have a wannabe prodigy here..."
"I wonder how many rounds he can do before he collapses in the mud..."
Of course, amidst the dissenting voices, there were also some who were impressed or thought positively of Nero’s efforts.
"It seems like you got a lively one in your battalion this year," a cadet said, walking up to Michelle. "First his speech and now this... I don’t know if he can force his battalion to win, but at least it’ll be an interesting show."
Michelle only nodded, more focused on observing the overall scene.
Too caught up in watching the show, neither the cadets nor the professors noticed that one other person had appeared to watch the show. Dr. Iris smirked as she watched Nero run through the cursed mud like it was nothing. How could Nero be the person she had her eye on if he did things the normal way?
Everyone thought that he was just putting on a show. Considering how long it took to go back and forth, he would at most be able to do two or three more rounds before the race was over. How many cadets could he rescue in that time?
Iris, on the other hand, did not doubt for a moment that Nero would win. The only thing to observe, then, was how he attained that victory.
"Have you recovered?" the calm voice questioned, waking Luna from her meditative state.
"I’m much better," she answered, unwilling to reveal that her condition was still abysmal. Her pride would not let her.
"Okay then step on my hands, I’ll throw you up. Wait for me at the top," the voice spoke again as the cadet placed her down from his shoulder, allowing her to finally see who had been helping her.
Naturally, she recognised Nero instantly, though she did not know his name. She was dazed for a second, the sight of deep blue eyes mesmerising her, but she snapped back to reality when she saw him intertwine the fingers of both his hands, creating a foothold for her to step onto.
"Don’t jump - I’ll send you to the top. You just stand on the wall and wait for me," Nero ordered, and with a faint nod Luna did as she was told before even realising it.
She stepped onto his hand, not minding the mud she trekked, and lifted herself up. Luna looked upwards to see how far the top of the wall was when, without warning, Nero flung her vertically in the air.
Luna was startled, but was even more amazed when she realised that she had risen just high enough in that air that, with a single step forward, she planted her foot atop the wall. He had thrown her perfectly, not too high, and not too low.
Nero was about to grab the rope to pull himself up when a voice suddenly called out to him!
"Wait! Wait, don’t go!"
Nero turned around and saw that there was a cadet, trudging through the mud, that had nearly reached the wall as well.
"Can you help me out as well?" he asked hopefully. Although he could do it himself, this would definitely be faster.
"Are you an Initiate?" Nero asked directly.
The cadet didn’t know what that had to do with anything, but he nodded.
"Alright, then wait for me at the top of the wall - don’t go ahead," Nero said before repeating his actions, creating a foothold for the cadet to step onto. In the exact same way, he hurled the cadet up to the peak of the wall, allowing him to reach the top.
Seeing that no one else was around, Nero grabbed the rope and began to climb. Meanwhile, all those observing found themselves commenting on him once more.
"What the hell? I thought he would climb with the girl on his back! How can he throw people wearing weights up that high?"
"Someone check, he has to be using some kind of innate card..."
"No, the professors aren’t moving so it must be his own strength..."
"Is he some kind of monster in disguise? He just tossed them like they weighed nothing..."
It did not take long for Nero to reach the top, and found both the cadets he tossed standing on the wall, using its cross section as a foothold.
Instead of focusing on them, Nero took a look at the situation. Many had already crossed the wall, but some were still behind it. The situation, at a glance, was leaning towards Demeter battalion who had the most cadets in the middle portion of the course. Beating them would not be easy.
"How good is your landing?" Nero asked, looking at the Initiate he threw up.
"What?" he asked, confused by the question.
Nero pointed outward to the course ahead.
"If I throw you forward, how likely are you to land without injuring yourself?" he clarified.
The clarification was just as bewildering as the initial question, but the cadet did not dwell on that.
"I’ll be okay. How do you want to do this?"
Nero nodded, and looked towards the girl who was still breathing hard.
"You-"
"My name is Luna - Luna Dane," she cut Nero off, a challenging tone in her voice. Nero did not dwell on where the challenge came from, or why.
"Luna, take a few steps to the side, and you grab my hand."
The cadet nodded as Luna stepped to the side, giving them some space.
"The name is Bella," the male cadet said, not elaborating on the oddly feminine name.
Nero clasped Bella’s arm right below the hand, but didn’t do anything. Instead, he looked out at the struggling cadets.
"Enlil!" Nero roared, his voice booming across the course. "Help each other out! Remember, we win as a battalion, and we lose as a battalion."
Then, in front of countless dumbfounded gazes, he began to spin in place, causing Bella to fly out, held in place only by his grip. After spinning a few times to gather momentum, Nero aimed towards the end of the course and threw Bella with an upwards arch, giving the flying cadet some time to orient himself before landing.
Of course, Nero could not throw Bella too far. In fact, he barely reached the first shortwall before landing in the mud and rolling forward - almost crashing directly into it. But even that short distance had saved dire minutes - not to mention it accomplished a much more important objective! From confusion to zeal, from exhaustion to exhilaration, all the observing Enlil battalion cadets were refreshed at the sight of their crazy partner. More importantly, they realised that no one had stopped them from working together!
"Help each other move forward!" Nero roared. "I’ll come back for those who lag behind! Remember, we have to win this together! Enlil!
Across the mud pits, the exhausted Enlil cadets found it in themselves to chant, once more refueling their drive!
" Enlil! Enlil! Enlil! "
Nero nodded and looked towards Luna, but the girl took a step back out of fear.
"I... I can’t do that," she stammered, referring to the landing.
Nero chuckled.
"Don’t worry, you’re with me. I’ll take you to the finish line myself."
He stepped towards her to help her down, but Luna found herself asking another question before even she herself realised it.
"Why are you doing so much? It’s just dinner."
For some reason, Luna regretted it the moment she asked the question. She felt embarrassed, and ashamed. What kind of a stupid question was that? Obviously everyone would do their best to win a competition. Before she could take back her question though, she noticed that the smile on Nero’s face dropped, and instead a very serious expression replaced it.
"To our seniors, this is a game," he said in a calm, but low voice. "To our professors, it is a test. But to me... this is war, and in war there is only victory, or death."
Luna, of course, did not know that Nero was not just referring to this course, but to the very opportunity to attend KMA. He had enemies, and his family had enemies that would not shy away from trying to kill them. He needed to make the most of this opportunity to prevent that, and possibly even gain some advantages against them.
She was simply struck by the intensity in his voice, and the raging fire that seemed to burn in his eyes. In that moment, she felt something stir in her chest, but before she could consider what it was, Nero stepped forward to take her hand.
"Come on, I’ll help you get down."