Chapter 127: The Race

Right after the shocking assembly, Master Ortiz brought him to check out the place where the Gauntlet would be held. 

The place was situated on the south side of Vanyar City. It was one of the forest hills that stretched into the horizon. Moreover, it was located near the impassable mountains in that direction.

The two spent quite some time walking before they arrived at a clearing on that hill. This place could be said to be the back of the Evernight Woods.

"This is where the Gauntlet will start, Tristan, and it will end at the other side of the hill." said Master Ortiz as he looked at his unofficial disciple.

Meanwhile, Tristan was attracted to the words that the old master had just said.

"Start? End? Is the Gauntlet going to be some kind of race, Master?"

At his inquiry, Master Ortiz unexpectedly nodded his head. "Yes, I guess it can be said to be a race."

The old master began explaining the purpose of this so-called Gauntlet. Apparently, it was first created for the elves' initiation to the elite elven group. Gradually, it turned into a way to upgrade one's class from lower to the middle class.

However, after thousands of years where the number of elves slowly dwindled, the Gauntlet didn't have as many participants as its former years anymore. In fact, the last Gauntlet was held 5 years ago. 

Other than initiation, the Gauntlet also was sometimes held as a way to solve disputes between the elves.

Tristan nodded his head as this kind of behaviour was the same with humans as well. Thus, nothing new for him to see so far.

What he was most concerned about was the challenge itself. After all, it couldn't possibly be a normal race. There was no way the queen and Master Ortiz said that he wouldn't win if it was indeed the case.

Unsurprisingly, it was exactly as he predicted when Tristan asked Master Ortiz about this matter.

"Yes, Tristan. The participants are required to be blindfolded while their hands will be tied behind their back."

"I see.. That's the reason needed,"

"Yes, exactly. With the bounded hand, it also prohibited the participants from using any magic, therefore its purely depend on skill and Katra"

After saying that, Master Ortiz started to walk Tristan through the Gauntlet's tracks. Tristan immediately took this seriously as this could possibly be his advantage on the incoming Gauntlet.

The first course was steep woods. 3 miles worth of hiking through a very dense forest with countless trees and shrubs acting as obstacles.

This course should aim at the participants' stamina and their capability to avoid the obstacles through the assistance of Katra. 

Tristan was sure he would still feel the difficulty even if he did this the normal way - without the blindfold. He didn't even dare to imagine traversing this blindfolded with his current accomplishment in Katra.

After the duo of master and disciple crossed through the first course, they were welcomed by the second course which arguably adapted the same theme as the first one. Right before their eyes was a very steep cliff that spanned dozens of meters upwards, with tens of protruding parts where one could easily fall if they grabbed the wrong spot.

Tristan could see there were dozens of wood poles stuck in certain places on the cliff, which certainly acted as the method the participants used to pass this course. With their hand tightened at the back, this second course definitely required both Katra and skill.

The third course was a ravine. It was a hundred meters long, with a depth that Tristan couldn't even see the bottom of it with his enhanced sense. There were three steel chains that dangled from where the two were to where the other side of the land was, connecting the two terrains separated by the ravine.

With a single look, Tristan automatically knew what the participants had to do in this course.

"I see.. Passing on the chains while blindfolded...Yeah.. not exactly my cup of tea.' Tristan inwardly thought.

The fourth course was the last one. But strangely, Tristan only saw another clearing that was exactly the same as the starting point. He looked around and still didn't see anything worthy of a course. Hence, he turned to Master Ortiz.

"There is… nothing here, Master. Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is there really nothing here? "

Master Ortiz didn't affirm Tristan's words, instead he pointed his finger to the distance.

"You see there, Tristan. In front of us. That white tree, that is the finish line."

Tristan looked over and spotted a row of white trees that were strangely positioned with a huge opening in the middle of them.

"I assume there will be something prepared in this clearing, Master. Am I right?" said Tristan as he turned to Master Ortiz.

"You are correct."

The old master explained that the last course was a surprise that none of the participants knew of. Sometimes, there were just traps buried on the ground. Other times, it was a line up of am archery firing squad, and the most recent Gauntlet had a group of elven soldiers guarding the last course fully armed with the blades.

"Don't forget the fact that other participants will surely find a way to try to stop you from winning."

Tristan nodded at the tip Master Ortiz gave as he knew that was exactly what would a race do to its competitors. Most of the time it's easier to tackle the other competitors than get ahead. 

This was the Gauntlet that Tristan had to win in five days. It was.. quite surprising for sure.

Even though the elf body that he had made him unafraid of these courses, Tristan wasn't really sure if he would win either as brute strength wasn't exactly the main focus here.

It was apparent that mastery in Katra would help him tremendously. Alas, Tristan was still stuck on the measly first stage.

After knowing what he would have to face, coupled with enough 'motivation' by the queen, Tristan decided to return to Warrior Hall, following Master Ortiz to the familiar pond with a renewed vigor in cultivating Katra.

The moment they stepped to the pagoda, Tristan bowed to Master Ortiz.

"I apologize for my behavior last time, Master. Please liberate some of your patience for me as you guide me in the path of Katra."

Master Ortiz only nodded his head at Tristan's words.

***

At the moment, Tristan was completely focused as he tried his hardest on his Katra. Alas, one whole day had passed, leaving the former with nearly no progress at all. He truly didn't get how he was supposed to 'connect' with the whole pond. 

Seeing the fruitless result of Tristan, Master Ortiz allowed him to continue his training through the night. But again, he still received no progress when the sun already rose on the horizon.

Tristan could also see the old master was troubled by this.

At this moment, a figure came to the pagoda where they were. It was Elder Anmar, the queen's adviser. Master Ortiz swiftly approached the man as Tristan could see the two talked for quite some time. Afterwards, the old master came to him.

"Tristan, I believe you should follow Elder Anmar here. He has a different way to help you cross the bottleneck you face."

Upon hearing so, Tristan's face lit up like a light bulb. He honestly couldn't stand another day of sitting in front of the pond. Therefore, he was quite excited about this.

"Really?!"

Tristan quickly bowed to the old master, and swiftly followed Elder Anmar who was already in the distance. They exited the Warrior Hall and entered the streets, heading towards the south part of the city.

Several minutes later, Elder Anmar stopped in front of a building. The wooden sign that was placed on the side surprised Tristan.

The Elven Blacksmith.