Chapter 45: Chapter 44 -insufferable winner The youths had ten minutes to recover from the tests when the groups were rotated again.
Dust still hung faintly in the air as the stones were placed back into their spots before the low platform, and Teclos stepped forward first for his group.
The five round boulders sat in front of him, ascending in size. Their surfaces were smooth and round.
He lifted the smallest boulder easily and placed it atop the platform fairly quickly.
The second also followed without a struggle.
By the third boulder, he needed a bit more push from his legs and back, but it too was placed atop the platform.
At the fourth, he strained himself visibly. Veins rose along his forearms and biceps, his jaw tightening as he shifted his grip twice before finally hoisting it chest-high and lifting it up.
The stone landed on the platform with a heavy thud, and Teclos took a deep breath.
His confidence waned with the fifth and last stone.
While he was approaching it, he tried to focus once more.
Cupping it from below, his fingers dug beneath its edge. With a last exhale, Teclos braced himself and lifted—
Getting it a few centimeters off the ground, then it rolled off his arms.
The next attempt.
His feet slid a bit closer, exhaling sharply, and he tried again. The boulder rose barely above his knees before it rolled off his arms again.
’Phew....damn, those things are heavy.’
Four out of five.
A respectable result.
Loric stepped forward next, cracking his neck as if already savoring the moment. He powered through the first three without even breaking a sweat. The fourth slowed him down a bit, but not for long.
When he reached the fifth stone, he did not hesitate. With a guttural growl, he dragged it upward, with trembling thighs and shaking shoulders.
For a second, it looked as if he would lose it—
But he persevered and pushed it just high enough so that it rolled onto the platform.
After a hissing exhale and some deep breaths, Loric turned toward Ralph and Teclos with a smug grin, brushing dirt from his palms.
"All five," he muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"That showoff actually managed to do it..."
Ralph said, stepping forward after him.
The first two were easy, but by the third he lost steam, with his breathing already getting ragged.
The fourth stone barely left the ground, and his arms shook violently. He tried to push more but couldn’t, releasing the stone back with a thud.
A deep frown plastered his face, frustration written all over it.
Only three.
The second strength discipline began immediately after they finished.
A natural boulder lay on a round track, promising to be a challenge. It was uncut and unpolished, the stone awkward to lift and hold onto.
Teclos bent, locked his arms around it, and lifted. The weight crushed into his chest, forcing his breathing to be shallow and quick. He gritted his teeth and began walking.
Each step was excruciating torture—he made it past ten, fifteen, twenty meters.
When he was about fifteen meters behind Gillard’s record, his legs began to shake. He fought for one more step—
But then dropped it.
As he did, he staggered and fell on his back, his chest heaving heavily and sweating profusely.
Next up was Loric.
Smug from the previous discipline, he confidently stepped up.
But just two meters behind Gillard’s record, he collapsed forward, letting it fall with a heavy thud.
He had beaten almost everyone, and yet his expression was like he had just eaten shit.
"Dammit! Two meters... just two more goddamn meters!" he spat under his breath.
Ralph’s attempt was unremarkable. Average among the boys. Neither shameful nor impressive.
The final test awaited: the rectangular chiseled block of hard stone.
Teclos approached it; by now his arms felt like sponges, soft and mushy. Squatting low, his arms wrapping around the edges, he got ready. With a sharp exhale, he tried to lift it, muscles screaming in protest as the stone rose slowly.
For a single triumphant second, it almost stood upright, and he just had to push it a bit more.
Then his strength vanished.
He fell backward onto the dirt, the block slamming down beside him as he lay staring at the sky, heaving profusely, sweat pouring as if rain had broken over him.
Again, Loric stepped in, full of confidence.
As he set himself into position, hands under the stone and knees bent, he exploded off the ground with a decisive lift. Similar to Gillard, the stone stood upright and then toppled over with a resounding crash.
Ralph was the last of the three.