Once Leo realized that he wasn’t as weak as he had assumed, his breathing began to stabilize, and his heart rate gradually eased.
It was strange—how a psychological shift could have such a tangible effect on his body, as the difference between forcing himself to endure through sheer willpower and knowing, deep in his bones, that he could endure was staggering.
His muscles were still burning. His lungs still strained for air. His legs still felt the weight of the vest pressing down on them with every step.
But suddenly, it felt… manageable.
The despair that had been creeping in—the idea that he was barely hanging on while Su Yang ran circles around him—was gone.
Because now, he knew.
He was fast.
He was strong.
He was built for this.
And that made all the difference.
As he pushed forward, his strides evened out, and his pace became smoother.
Meanwhile, Su Yang, who had been casually observing Leo’s struggle from the corner of his eye, narrowed his gaze slightly.
The shift was subtle—but he noticed it instantly.
Leo had gone from running on the edge of collapse to finding his rhythm.
Su Yang had never seen anything like that happen before, so he was baffled to see Leo find a second wind so late into the run.
It was fascinating to watch.
"Well, well," Su Yang muttered under his breath, lips curving upward. "So you do have some iron in you, Skyshard…"
Rather than feeling threatened, Su Yang felt excited.
He had been waiting for Leo to stop enduring and start owning it.
Now?
It was time to see how far he could push him.
"Hey, Skyshard," Su Yang called out, his tone light, teasing.
"You’re looking a little too comfortable back there. What do you say we pick up the pace?" He said, as without waiting for a reply, Su Yang accelerated.
********
Leo, caught slightly off guard by Su Yang’s sudden burst of speed, instinctively matched him.
His legs burned, his breath came harder—but his pride refused to let Su Yang leave him behind.
They shot past Mu Shen, who let out an exaggerated groan.
"Of course you two psychos would do this," he grumbled. "Just kill me already and get it over with…"
But neither Leo nor Su Yang paid him any mind.
The other students, still struggling through their laps, could only watch as the two front-runners began pulling away from the pack.
"Look at them go…"
"They were already ahead of the rest of us, and now they’re treating this like a damn race?"
"Monarch-level talents really are built different, huh?"
Marvin, observing from the sidelines, let out a quiet chuckle.
’Good…’
He had expected Su Yang to do well.
But Leo’s performance surprised him.
According to the data slate that he had, it seemed like Leo’s strength and endurance was average at best.
And with him wearing a 40 kg vest instead of 25, Marvin expected him to collapse amongst the first few students who gave out, however, Leo resiliently held on.
Despite hitting his muscle capacity, Leo kept running on pure adrenaline and willpower, as he pulled ahead of the pack alongside Su Yang, and managed to lap them all around Lap40.
By now, around 50% of the class had already given out.
On their very first day, they did not have the mettle to keep running at near top speeds for over 25 kilometers, especially with a weighted vest on.
However, despite hitting his limits long ago, Leo kept running non-stop, never falling a step behind Su Yang, until they hit lap number 50.
********
As they hit Lap 50, Su Yang finally felt the strain of running for 30 kilometers catch up to him, as his breathing became more ragged and his decision to run faster and break his initial rhythm came back to bite him in the ass.
"Say… what…. Sky…shard, are… you? Fe—feeling it yet?" He said, his voice coming out in rasps, as he looked across towards Leo who kept running with a simple smile on his face.
"Oh, come… on now….. say something!" Su Yang urged, as he forcefully took a step ahead of Leo and glanced at his face.
However, what he saw made him stumble in fear, as he lost his balance and hit the ground below with a sickening slide and THUD.
The impact sent shockwaves through Su Yang’s body, but he barely felt it. His mind was still reeling from what he had just witnessed.
His chest heaved as he scrambled up onto his elbows, eyes locked onto Leo, who continued running as if nothing had happened.
But it wasn’t normal.
It wasn’t human.
"Professor—!" Su Yang’s voice came out hoarse, cracking slightly as he turned to Marvin.
His face was ghastly pale, his breaths coming in short gasps as he struggled to put what he saw into words.
Marvin, who had been observing from the sidelines, raised an eyebrow. "If you’re gonna ask me to let you join the sprint again Yang, you can forget about it. You can finish it, but you’re still running the penalty tomorrow."
"It’s not—" Su Yang gritted his teeth, forcing himself to his feet despite his trembling legs. He pointed at Leo, his golden eyes wide, almost disbelieving.
"It’s not about me…. Look at him!"
Marvin’s gaze flicked toward Leo, and what he saw made his expression darken.
Blood ran down Leo’s nose in thick, crimson trails, staining his chin and dripping onto his vest. More blood had seeped from the corners of his mouth, trailing down his jawline in messy streaks.
But it wasn’t just that.
His face—his expression—was wrong.
A bloody smile curled at his lips, stretching far too easily despite the signs of physical agony his body should have been experiencing.
And then, there were his eyes.
Or rather, the lack of them.
His pupils had completely disappeared, leaving behind nothing but rolled-back, ghostly white eyes that stared into the abyss.
He wasn’t conscious.
That much was obvious.
But somehow, impossibly, he was still running.
A fresh shiver crawled up Su Yang’s spine as he clenched his fists. He had never seen anything like this before.
"Professor," he breathed, his voice lower now, carrying the weight of something close to horror. "He’s not awake, but he’s still running."
Marvin’s frown deepened.
Leo’s form was still perfect, his strides still fluid, his balance unwavering.
But there was no recognition in his movements. No control.
As if his body had simply refused to stop.
Marvin cursed under his breath, his instincts kicking in.
"Skyshard!" he barked.
No response.
Leo’s legs kept moving, his breath ragged but steady, his body acting purely on something beyond awareness.
"SKYSHARD!" Marvin shouted again, louder this time, his voice carrying authority.
But there was no response again.
"Shit," Marvin muttered, as he moved in quickly to stop Leo from harming himself anymore.
This wasn’t him passing out from just exhaustion.
This wasn’t him still running from just determination.
This was something else.
Su Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hands still trembling slightly.
He parted his lips as if to say something, but swallowed it down instantly.
For the first time since stepping foot into Rodova, he felt it.
Something beyond competition.
Something beyond talent.
Something unnatural.
As for the first time in his life, he developed genuine feelings of respect for a colleague.
"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" He said, his eyes wide, as no matter how much he searched within himself, he could not think of a scenario where he would continue running even after he had passed out.
Not even if his life were on the line.