Chapter 12: Flag competition

"I think he'll surprise us," commented Neumann, but Wemby remained unconvinced.

The gap between 1st and 3rd stage was massive, not to mention the fact that Atlan gained his LifeSkill only a day ago. It's the difference between a newborn child and a walking, talking toddler.

But Neumann VIII, with his 150 years of wisdom on this Earth, thought it would be a good idea to go ahead with it.

Lizzie thought it would be an interesting sight, but she still asked Atlan if he was okay with it. After all, this competition would decide whether he got higher-class missions or not.

The more high-classed missions Atlan participated in, the faster he'd gain experience, literally and figuratively.

"What do you think? Do you want to join their competition?"

Atlan didn't even think for a second before he agreed. "Yes. I want to see what I'm capable of."

"That's the spirit!" Neumann was overjoyed. Ever since he felt the strength of this new kid, he felt like he was more capable than he seemed. My fist still hurts after that handshake.

Wemby shrugged. "Whatever. Just because you're a beginner doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. I plan on dominating the competition.

But since you're Porter, I'll help you out if you need it. Good luck, man!"

Wemby walked towards the streets where other Saviors were practicing their skills. He started to stretch and warm up his body for the competition. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Each week, we Saviors in the Student Realm have a little competition between us to decide who is more capable.

This isn't just some playtime for us. The results of this competition are sent directly to HeadQuarters, where they can judge if we have what it takes to take on harder missions."

Neumann guided Atlan down the steps, explaining why the Saviors all around them looked serious.

"We've been missing a proper Porter for years, so a lot of other Saviors took it upon themselves to pick up the slack.

Wemby over there has a job of a Scout, but he sometimes moonlights as a Porter when needed since he has the speed to keep up.

That oval-headed guy with a shield and a spear has the job of an infantryman. He hates being a Porter, but we force him to since he's pretty fast."

Neumann introduced Atlan to the rest of the Saviors who he was supposed to be competing against. They all had varying jobs on their LifeSkills, but they were all competent in their speed.

From the symbol on their shoulders, Atlan saw that most of them were in the 2nd stage, with some like Wemby and the oval-headed guy being in the 3rd stage.

In total, there were about 25 Saviors that Atlan was competing against, all much more experienced than him.

"Feeling nervous?" Lizzie asked.

He shook his head. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good!"

Neumann then pointed to the horizon of the City, towards the towering walls in the distance.

"Your goal is that wall. At the start of the competition, you'll see shining red flags pop up around the street. They'll either be at the top of houses or in a hidden and secluded street somewhere.

Your job is to get to those flags before the others get to them first and bring them to the finish line.

The Savior with the most flags at the finish line will win this competition and be given a gracious reward from the HeadQuarters."

Atlan gulped and looked at his competitors. Unlike them, he was a complete stranger in the City. He didn't know the streets by their name like them.

I just have to look for the shining flags. It doesn't matter if I don't know my way around the City.

"Once you're ready, join your competitors in the street."

Atlan walked down the steps and blended himself into the group. He positioned himself at the very back of the pack.

This would be disadvantageous in a race, but Atlan wanted to see his seniors' tactics and try to incorporate them with his own.

They're all facing in different directions? The first thing he noticed was that each Savior positioned themselves to run towards different parts of the City.

The oval-headed guy faced back toward the HeadQuarters, which seemed completely counterproductive.

Some faced slightly away from the wall and aimed toward the houses and buildings along the street.

Atlan was the only one facing directly towards the road up the wall.

Isn't the fastest way towards the flags is by going straight?

Wemby walked back and positioned himself beside Atlan. "A little advice for you, my friend. You better take height first."

"Why?"

But before Wemby could reply, Neumann shouted to the group from above the stairs. "The competitions will start on 3…2…"

Wemby then looked towards Atlan and said, "You need to take advantage of gravity or else you'll lag behind."

"...1! GO!"

Atlan had no chance to ask more questions from Wemby. The competition already started and the rest of the Saviors already accelerated towards their paths.

Out in the distance, Atlan saw a column of glowing red flags that led straight toward the wall.

In the midst of the white roads and black buildings, the bright red waving flags in the middle of the street immediately caught his attention.

He immediately started running towards them.

These flags looked the easiest to capture, yet none of the other Saviors chose to run in a straight line like Atlan. They all chose to jump to the top of the buildings and get the flags up there.

I have no time to contemplate. I just have to get those flags!

After just a few seconds of running in the middle of the street, Atlan finally grasped his first red flag.

Back at the top of the stairs, Lizzie asked Neumann why none of the other competitors copied Atlan's strategy. It seemed like it was the easiest route.

Neumann saw Atlan pick up his first flag and slow down. "He must be noticing by now."

"What is it?"

"Those aren't normal flags. They each weigh about 100 kilos each. Just that one flag will slow all of them down by almost half their original speed."

Atlan observed the flag in his hands and slowed down his pace on purpose. Neumann thought it was because of the weight. On the contrary…

I got the flag just like that? It's this easy? Why aren't they capturing the flags like me?

Atlan barely even felt anything from the flag.