Examination (1)

"What is the time limit to complete the examination?". a person asked

" I will come for inspection tomorrow morning after sunrise. You have to achieve the flag before that time. Also, don't try to use foul means to get your hands on it. I will get to know if anyone does that and that person has to face extreme consequences."

Those rich people planning to buy it from the poor people froze there. Though they did not know what serious consequences they would have to face but getting in the bad books of the sect elder of the azure ice sect was definitely not good for them.

"Also every mountain top has only one flag which to ensure no teamwork. Don't try to use external sources as I will keep an eye on your competition."

The people present were silent as if he would be offended if they uttered a single word.

"Now follow me to the foot of the mountain. "

The participants followed him followed by a mob of thousands of people. The path was ordinary, through the fields to the mountains.

As they approached the nearest mountain, the man said " I hope all instructions are clear to you. You all can choose your mountain and start climbing. Some advice from me:Try to not choose the same mountain. Because there is only one flag on top of each mountain. You all start I will go and watch from afar."

The man started heading towards the city. Many participants jumped into action and started climbing. Those who start late would have to walk far to choose the next one.

But many including Henry stood there. The sect every year took different tests. This was to ensure that no one took special training and the tests were fair for all people. Was the test just to check the physical fitness? Not necessarily so. Something was amiss.

Some people were going to the next mountains. Henry could not figure anything out. So he decided to go to the next ones. No difference could be seen, he moved to the next one. Still no difference. After walking for a while, noticed something was different.

There were extremely few people who walked this much distance, the number could be counted on fingers, most of them started climbing as soon as possible because they thought that they should not waste time, it was already fortunate that they could bring the flag in the given time, they did not have much time to explore.

Henry examined carefully, after careful observation, he could see that the mountains were a little smaller than the previous ones. Also, he could now sense a little chill. The temperature had dropped. After a few minutes of walking he could feel and see a complete difference, not only could he feel like it was a lot colder here but he could see the mountains covered in snow on the top but also there were traces of snow on the ground.

The height of mountains had reduced much by now, still, it was thousands of feet high. Also, if he would travel any further than this, the cold would become increasingly unbearable.

The man had only said to climb the mountain, he did not mention anything about the cold weather ahead.

Henry proceeded to climb the mountain.

The height could be estimated to be about one thousand five hundred feet.

A bracelet of snow-topped the sky-spearing mountain. On the base of the mountain, there were thin wooden trees and small shrubs. The soil was partly covered with grass. Slopes on the base were gentle which suddenly became steep in the middle latitudes. Mist cuddled with the snow on the top of the mountain. Scarce shrubs could be detected at middle altitudes.

He started climbing the mountains. It was as easy as walking for a few minutes but then the slope steepened, making it difficult to climb just by walking. He used his hand to grab some stone on top and pulled himself higher. Of course, check its firmness of it before holding on to it. Though he grabbed on shrubs as it was general knowledge that they were more reliable than loose stones. The roots of trees or plants firmly hold onto the soil. It was similar to this for a few hours. Until shrubs became scarce. Also, it was dusk. The light decreased significantly. Therefore, he had to reduce the speed of his climbing. Every further step had to be taken carefully.

The test not only required physical fitness but determination and presence of mind as well. One small step and he would fall crashing down.

Taking one step at a time he was ascending carefully. Luckily, tonight there was a full moon, so he could faintly see the surrounding area.

After a few hours of climbing, he saw that the slope above was extremely steep. He could not proceed. He had a hard time breathing. Sweat covered all his body. His inner mind was screaming for rest. But he had not even reached the top of the mountain, not to mention that he had to come down with the flag as well. He looked at the sides. To the right of him, the slope of the mountain was a little bit less steep.

He clung to the cliff with his hands and started going sideways. The whole weight of his body was supported by one hand at a time. Every second felt like a minute. His fingers had gone numb from the extreme tension. The pain was both due to tiredness as well as due to the heavy weight supported by his hands. The pain was increasing every second. One mishap and he would fall to the ground. It was very likely that he would be severely injured if he fell now and also he could die.

Endurance was the only option. He gritted his teeth and continued to move on.

Upon reaching the location with a gentle slope, he stood on his legs and watched his palms. His palms had become red and were covered with dirt. But that didn't matter now, he still had to climb some more distance to get the flag. He looked above. The snow-covered peak reflected the faint light of the moon. It seemed like it had its own luminescence. There were no trees or shrubs. So he could easily spot the flag which was only about a hundred feet away.