In the end, the ultimate test would still be of their abilities.

Zoe Pierce rested her cheek on her hand. She thought of the Betas who could link with Mechas, and then she thought of herself.

Her biggest secret, the one she could never reveal. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Even now, she couldn’t tell how much longer it would be before she could pilot a Mecha without hiding anything.

The meal passed amidst idle chatter and lighthearted banter.

In the evening, the sky had yet to grow completely dark.

The moment Nathan Lockwood spoke, he drew the attention of everyone except Chase Shaw. "Chase, walk Zoe back."

Chase Shaw’s gaze swept over their faces before he nodded. "Alright."

Erin Xavier stared at Nathan Lockwood in confusion, while Miles Sherman frowned deeply. Zoe Pierce looked at Nathan in astonishment.

Zoe Pierce had thought Nathan Lockwood would be the one to walk her back this time.

’But his time wasn’t up yet...’

’Is it because of what he said he was going to tell Chase?’

For a moment, Zoe Pierce’s thoughts were in a turmoil.

But with Chase Shaw already at her side, she hesitated for a beat before striding forward to follow him.

Nathan Lockwood watched Chase Shaw and Zoe Pierce leave. As he turned to walk away, Erin Xavier grabbed his arm. "Nathan, what are you doing?"

’Why? It was supposed to be Nathan’s time.’

’But he gave it to Chase.’

’Is Chase next? But even if he knew who was next, he would never just give his own time away like this.’

Nathan Lockwood pulled Erin Xavier’s hand off his arm. "It’s just walking her back."

In broad daylight, it’s not like they could do anything anyway.

They could only exchange a few more words, that’s all.

"It’s what I wanted."

His words cut off everything Erin Xavier wanted to say.

He walked toward the dorms at an unhurried pace. Erin Xavier was still frozen in place, but Miles Sherman followed him. "Nathan, what on earth are you thinking?"

Miles Sherman could still guess at Nathan’s previous plans, but now, even he couldn’t figure out what was on Nathan Lockwood’s mind.

"About the relationship between us," Nathan Lockwood said.

The relationship between the five of them.

But an answer like that couldn’t even brush off Erin Xavier, let alone Miles Sherman.

"Miles, I hope you’re not the one standing in the way at the end," Nathan Lockwood said, leaving him with that cryptic remark before walking away.

He left the two of them completely bewildered.

’Standing in the way?’

Even Erin Xavier, who considered herself the person who understood Nathan Lockwood best, couldn’t make sense of that statement now.

*

A similar conversation was also happening between Zoe Pierce and Chase Shaw.

"Chase, what did Nathan Lockwood say to you?" Once they were out of sight of Miles and the others, Zoe Pierce looked up at the towering Chase Shaw and couldn’t help but ask.

"He just told me to walk you back after the meal, that’s all." Chase Shaw looked down at Zoe Pierce, easily seeing through her. "You wanted him to walk you back, didn’t you?"

Chase Shaw walked slowly. Despite his tall stature, he stayed a step behind Zoe Pierce.

His question made Zoe Pierce fall silent.

He tried to muster a smile but couldn’t, because he once again felt how much Zoe Pierce cared about Nathan Lockwood.

They had kissed, they had embraced, but now he felt so distant from Zoe Pierce again.

A knot of frustration tightened in his chest.

After a long moment, he took the initiative and held out his hand before Zoe Pierce. "The instructor who did the soothing wasn’t very good. I’ll have to trouble you to soothe me again in a bit."

Their path back to the dorms was abruptly diverted.

There were no secrets on Praxium. The spot they chose wasn’t exactly hidden, but it wasn’t a bustling, high-traffic area either.

Still, a few stray gazes fell upon them. But upon seeing what looked like a soothing ritual, they all looked away.

Her fingers rested lightly on the back of his hand as Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power smoothed out the chaos in Chase Shaw’s spirit sea.

"Nathan Lockwood told me... ten more days," Chase Shaw said.

"That’s it. He didn’t say anything else."

Even though he wasn’t very willing to speak, Chase Shaw told her anyway.

Once the turmoil in his spirit sea was pacified, Zoe Pierce withdrew her hand and grunted in acknowledgment. "Got it."

Just as they reached the dorms, Chase Shaw added one more thing: "Wait for me, Zoe Pierce."

’Don’t fall in love with Nathan Lockwood so quickly.’

’Leave a little time and space for all of us.’

*

Zoe Pierce didn’t have much time to dwell on things. After just two days, they learned what the new training would be.

A gauntlet.

Their opponents would include, but not be limited to, the S-Class teams from the First Military Academy, and even the top-tier teams from other military academies.

It would be five against six. For the first three days, they couldn’t use spiritual power; only in the subsequent matches would it be allowed.

Even Erin Xavier chuckled. "They really came up with some new tricks."

The point system was completely stacked against them. If even one of them was eliminated, the opposing team would get 5 points. Conversely, if they eliminated an opponent, they would only get 2 points per person.

And it was a gauntlet. The points would be tallied and cleared at the end of each day. But if their team lost for the day, they would face six hours of extra training.

It was a battle of attrition.

The arena was huge. It was originally a platform for Mecha battles, but now it had been converted into a stage for their hand-to-hand combat.

Even though the students from other academies knew they’d have to fight an Omega, their expressions twisted one after another when they actually saw Zoe Pierce appear, her hair tied back.

The First Military Academy had been cunning, not telling anyone else that Zoe Pierce had even defeated Linda Lynch. That news was only circulated internally, which was why the Alphas from other academies felt a sense of guilt looking at Zoe.

Among them were a few who already had a favorable impression of Zoe Pierce. One couldn’t help but say to his buddy on the team, "I’m leaving Zoe Pierce to you. I really don’t want to lay a hand on her."

The Alpha who heard him rolled his eyes. "I don’t want to, either."

Everyone wanted to see themselves as a gentleman; who could bear to do it?

"Eliminating Zoe Pierce is worth five points. What, you think you can score points off Miles Sherman and his crew?" their captain retorted, glancing at them. "We’re the third team up. We’re definitely not going to have an easy time in the first few rounds."

"When it’s necessary, five points are five points."

Since it was a gauntlet, in theory, if one of Miles Sherman’s team was eliminated, they could re-enter the fight after three other teams had their turn.

Therefore, Zoe Pierce became the go-to person for farming points.

In the face of victory, some people could harden their hearts.

But there were stubborn ones too: "I don’t care. I’m not laying a hand on an Omega. I won’t stop you if you do, but don’t involve me. I’d rather ’commit suicide’."

Nearly all the teams that came this time were the elite of the Federation. Director Quinn knew with one look that this event wasn’t just being pushed by the First Military Academy; there had to be higher-ups pulling the strings from behind.

Otherwise, there’s no way everyone would be so cooperative.

This also indirectly showed how much importance the higher-ups placed on this "friendly" competition.

Zoe Pierce was the first to step into the arena, with Miles Sherman and the others following behind her. Besides those from the First Military Academy and the Federal Military Academy, no one in attendance knew that Zoe was also wearing weighted bands.

He watched as the supervising instructors from the other academies focused all their attention on Miles Sherman and his team.

Those in the know shared a cryptic smile.