Felix’s life quickly fell into a steady rhythm. After lunch with the girls, he’d scour the library or observe the mana inside him to try and learn more about life and mind mana. Sometimes he’d sit in the garden observing the flow of life mana there and comparing it to the flow inside him.

  While he felt like he was making steady progress, it was still too slow. Watching the girls fight, he knew just how far behind he was. If that’s what it took to get into the elite program, then there was no way he was going to make it going at his current pace.

  So after a week of enjoying his routine, he decided that it was time to enter the Ways again.

  As soon as he stepped through the gate, he found himself back in the overgrown jungle. Though much to his relief, it looked like quitting, instead of dying, meant he didn’t have to start all over again. If he had to cross the slicers’ territory every time he challenged the gate, his nerves might not have made it.

  Unfortunately, the jungle only got more overgrown the deeper he went. Every caravan he crossed was a slog that sapped him of his energy. Not only was his body drained, but his mind as well. He’d learned from his first encounter with the slicers that letting your guard down was never a good idea.

  He stayed constantly vigilant, looking out for any sign of danger. Even with his slow pace, the distance he covered was immense. He spent so long fighting his way through the jungle that he started to wonder if it’d be a good idea to try and take a nap before he continued. Maybe there wouldn’t be any more obstacles in his way until he reached the mountain?

  Of course, there was no way it could be that easy. After a while, Felix started noticing a faint rumble joining the normal sounds of insects hissing, leaves rustling, and birds chirping that he’d grown so accustomed to. The more he progressed, the louder the sound became. He pushed ahead for hours more, trying to get close enough to see what was causing the noise.

  It was only when his body gave out and he had to stop for a break that his mind finally placed the sound. Water, maybe a river, or a waterfall, but the sound was unmistakably water. He’d gotten so thirsty over his long journey that he nearly jumped up and rushed ahead. He might have done so if his body could still move.

  The journey had taken every iota of his energy. Before he knew it, he collapsed into a dreamless sleep.

  When Felix awoke hours later, he didn’t feel rested. His mouth was dry, his lips cracked, and his skin covered in cuts, bruises, bites, and blisters. Looking down, he noticed several little blue snails crawling over him. Wherever they passed, painful red lesions were left in their wake. Felix quickly jumped up, slapping the nasty creatures away.

  It didn’t lessen the pain where they’d already crossed. Felix quickly grabbed some nearby leaves, trying to wipe away the slime trails that still burned even after the snails were off him. It didn’t help. Even lightly touching the trails made him scream out in agony.

  With no other option, he decided to press on towards the river. If it was close enough, he could wash off the slime trails before his wounds got any worse.

  While the river sounded like it was nearby, Felix hiked for several more hours without catching a glimpse of it. Eventually, he had to find a branch he could use as a makeshift walking stick.

  His legs had reached their limit. Every time he lifted his leg, it felt like he was dragging a boulder. Every time he put his weight on them, they shook under the strain. If not for the assistance of his walking stick, there was no way he’d have made it to the river.

  The closer he got, the more he realised that the body of water ahead of him had to be massive. Even without seeing it, the sound was absolutely deafening. When he finally laid eyes on it, he was still shocked. The ‘river’ might as well have been an ocean. He could barely make out what he thought might be the other bank.

  With such a massive river, Felix would have thought it would be calm, but it was anything but. Massive waves nearly twice his height tore downstream at unbelievable speeds. Where the occasional jagged stone broke the surface, the waves crashed against it with bone-shattering force.

  Still, his burning skin demanded relief, and he quickly made his way to the river’s edge. The banks weren’t made of mud but rather sharp, unforgiving stones that tried to pierce the sky. Still, he clambered over the jagged shore as fast as he could. Much to his relief, the icy water washed away the remaining snail gel, soothing his burnt skin.

  Only after thoroughly washing off the residue and drinking his fill did Felix finally take in his surroundings.

  That’s when it struck him. He looked up and saw the mountain with the finish line on the other side of the river. He looked back down at the monstrous, gushing river in disbelief.

  “It… wants me to cross that?”

  Feeling like he was about to throw up, Felix left the gate.

  As soon as he landed on the familiar cobblestone path, most of his fatigue washed away. He could still feel the mental drain, and he still wanted to crawl into bed and sleep, but the effect was noticeably reduced. While he was still hungry, he no longer felt as if he were starving.

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  Still, none of that made him feel better about the next challenge he’d have to face. Not wanting to spend any more time than necessary in the cursed place, Felix quickly left the Ways.

  Glancing at the stagnant moon, he felt like dawn was close enough for him to head to the gym.

  Felix felt like crying. He’d just spent what felt like days pushing his body to the limit, and now he’d have to do it again. He was struck by the overwhelming urge to just give up.

  ‘If this is what it takes just to get started, what’s the rest of my path going to be like? I know everyone keeps saying my path is harder at the start, but that just means everyone faces something like this eventually.’

  Felix noticed that it’d been a long time since he asked himself why so many people were happy just living a normal life, keeping the day-to-day operations of the alliance running.

  ‘To think I used to think they’re the weird ones.’

  He smiled to himself as he idly kicked a pebble up the path as he went.

  At some point, he’d come to understand. Being a Traveller wasn’t a normal type of hardship. It wasn’t a momentary struggle. If he really went down this path, then this would be the rest of his life. Fighting for every inch of progress, every time he conquered an obstacle, he’d be rewarded with a larger one.

  But then, Agrona had said it weeks ago. As long as he kept struggling, he was already a Traveller.

  ‘To think it’s only been weeks, it feels like a lifetime.’

  Somehow, even with everything he’d had to deal with, the fact that she thought of him as a Traveller still brought a smile to his face. Crossing a massive river to become a Traveller sounded impossible. Going to train after what he’d been through just to become a Traveller seemed impossible.

  But if he was already a Traveller? Well, that’s the type of thing Travellers do, isn’t it? Didn’t he always want to be a Traveller to do exactly the type of things he was doing now?

  Perhaps if he’d spoken his thoughts out loud, someone might have heard, someone might have been there to point out just how little sense they made. But Felix didn’t speak them out loud, and to his own mind, his thoughts made perfect sense.

  In his heart, Felix had already decided he was a Traveller, and that decision gave him the strength to keep going.

  Perhaps if Felix had been less exhausted, he’d have felt the subtle shift in his path that came from that change in his mindset. Yet again, what difference would noticing have made?

  If not for his sleep spell, Felix probably wouldn’t have made it back to the Ways the next day. Instructor Grendel did not think his tough time on the Ways was grounds for reducing the difficulty of his training. In fact, he took great joy in pointing out that if Felix were in better shape, he wouldn’t have had nearly as much trouble trekking through the dense jungle.

  When he made it back to the dorms for what used to be his breakfast but now served as dinner, Agrona had to stop him from slumping into his plate when he fell asleep mid-conversation.

  Still, the spell did its magic, and when he woke up around lunch time, he felt like a new Felix. Better, in fact. Instructor Grendel’s training may be harsh, but it certainly worked. With every muscle pushed to failure every day, only to recover the next, he was making as much progress in a week as others would in a month.

  Though the instructor and Agrona had made a point of warning him not to get cocky. What he was doing was remarkable for a magi, but martial artists could do the same, and while he’d hit his natural limit, they would keep going.

  Felix shook his head. It wasn’t the time to get hung up on his shortcomings. He was doing what he could with what he had. Whether that would be enough to cross the raging river was another matter. Felix took a deep breath.

  He’d asked around and found out that while your state inside the challenges doesn’t follow you outside the Ways, once you step back in, you’ll be in the same condition you were when you left.

  To Felix, that meant that stepping through the gate was about to be a very unpleasant experience.

  “As long as I keep going, I’m already a Traveller.”

  As soon as he stepped through, he was hit with a rush of sensations. Aching muscles from the long track through the jungle. A stomach screaming out in hunger. Blistering lesions all over his exposed skin. Even his thoughts became less clear as his mind was saddled with exhaustion from his harrowing journey.

  Trying to gather his thoughts amid the crashing river, Felix tried to come to terms with the sudden change in his condition.

  It wasn’t easy, but after a time, he barely managed to pull himself together. His condition wouldn’t improve from standing around. He needed to make the most of every moment, and that meant finding a way over the river.

  Carefully climbing up on one of the taller jagged stones on the shore, Felix surveyed his surroundings. Swimming across the river was out of the question. Jumping also wouldn’t work. The few stones that jotted out of the rushing tide weren’t nearly enough for him to cross using them.

  The shore as far as he could see looked no different in either direction. Having ruled out the obvious, Felix settled in. He’d learned the value of patient observation while trying to cross the territory of the slicers.

  He kept a close eye on the river’s flow, trying to see any dead spots in the current. The ways weren’t kind enough to use the same solution twice, however, and Felix quickly had to rule it out as an option.

  Having exhausted everything, he counted his options. He could try following the river to see if there were any changes further up or downstream, but given his current condition, he didn’t think he’d get very far.

  He could explore the nearby forest to see if there’s anything that would be of use, though he couldn’t imagine what he’d find that would allow him to cross the rapids. Surely he’d have spotted something on his way here if there was an obvious answer.

  With all his options sounding equally bad, he decided to wait. He’d observe the river for a day and see if anything changed. If he still hadn’t learned anything useful, he’d try making his way upstream. For now, he’d try to recover what energy he could on an empty stomach and prepare himself mentally for the journey.

  If luck was on his side, he’d learn something of use while he observed, and for once, luck actually was on Felix’s side.

  A few hours into his vigil, Felix caught sight of a little boat speeding downstream.

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