The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the rugged training grounds.
Ari, Isla, and Lancelot stood in front of Valeria once again. Their breathing came out uneven. Dirt clung to their arms and legs, and their bodies still looked heavy from the climb.
Valeria faced them with her arms crossed. Her eyes moved across the three of them one by one. "Well done on completing the first phase of training," she said.
Ari straightened slightly at her words. Isla wiped sweat from the side of her face while Lancelot let out a slow breath through his nose.
Valeria continued, her tone calm and steady. "I'd say you're finally ready for the next part."
We didn't even get a second to rest… Ari thought. This training is brutal.
"For the next phase," Valeria continued, her gaze steady, "you'll travel along one of our designated training routes to a checkpoint."
She turned slightly and pointed toward the dense stretch of terrain beyond the cliffs. "Under normal conditions, reaching the checkpoint and returning to the colony would take roughly a day or two."
Isla let out a slow breath. Some of the tension left her shoulders. "That… honestly doesn't sound too bad," she said quietly.
Lancelot glanced at her for a second but stayed silent. Valeria closed her eyes. "Except," she said, "you won't be running the route normally."
Isla blinked. "What do you mean…?"
Valeria opened her eyes again. "You'll be pushing boulders the entire way."
Silence hit immediately. Ari stared at her. Lancelot's expression tightened.
"Wait," Lancelot said, narrowing his eyes. "You want us to push those things all the way there and back?"
"Yes. It's as simple as that," Valeria said. One of her antennae flicked lightly. "This training is meant to prepare you for situations where you'll need to carry heavy loads while fighting off enemies. At the same time, it'll improve your overall strength."
She motioned toward her side. Several massive boulders rested along the dirt path nearby. Their rough surfaces caught the orange light of the setting sun. Even the smallest one looked difficult to move.
Isla stared at them in silence. "You can't be serious…" she muttered.
"You'll each be assigned one based on your current strength," Valeria continued, her tone calm and precise. "Isla, you'll take the smallest. Lancelot, yours will be medium-sized."
Her eyes shifted toward Ari. "Ari, you'll push the heaviest one."
Ari's mouth opened slightly. His gaze moved toward the largest boulder. The thing was enormous. Its shadow stretched across the dirt beside it.
She seriously thinks I can move that thing…?
A small crease formed between his brows. No… she gave me the hardest one on purpose.
"How much time do we have to complete this?" Lancelot asked.
Valeria folded her arms. "That depends entirely on you," she said. "But understand this, if you're gone too long, I'll continue training with whoever makes it back first."
Her gaze sharpened slightly. "And don't even think about cheating your way through this. I'll be monitoring your progress closely."
Isla let out a low groan. Her shoulders dropped immediately.
"The objective is simple," Valeria continued. "Reach the checkpoint and return to the colony while pushing your assigned boulders."
A dry breeze moved across the training grounds. Dust shifted around their feet. "You'll be alone for most of the journey. Don't expect assistance from anyone."
Her voice stayed calm, but every word landed heavily. "This test will last several days. You'll need to fend for yourselves at night. Find food. Stay alert for threats. Manage your exhaustion properly."
The mention of nighttime made Isla stiffen slightly. Her fingers curled into fists near her sides. "…Several days and n...nights?" she muttered under her breath.
Ari stayed quiet for a moment. Then he gave a small nod, lips pressing into a thin line. "Alright," he said. "Let's do this."
Lancelot cracked his knuckles and stepped behind his assigned boulder. His armored feet dug into the dirt as he planted himself firmly.
Don't have to tell me twice, he thought. His muscles tightened.
Isla hesitated, her hands brushing the rough surface of her stone, before finally following suit.
"Begin." Valeria said.
The moment Ari pressed against his boulder, his entire body tensed. His feet dug into the dirt. Muscles tightened along his arms and shoulders as he forced his weight forward.
For a second, the boulder refused to move. Then a deep grinding sound rumbled through the trail. The massive stone slowly rolled ahead.
Ari let out a controlled breath and kept pushing. This thing's way heavier than I expected…
Loose dirt shifted beneath his feet as he leaned harder into the stone. But Valeria wouldn't give me something I can't handle… probably.
He tightened his jaw. Clear your mind and keep moving.
Lancelot gritted his teeth as he shoved against his own boulder. The rock dragged heavily across the ground, leaving a rough trail behind it. His movements slowed almost immediately, but he kept the pace steady.
Come on… this is nothing compared to what Ari got.
His eyes flicked briefly toward the larger boulder farther ahead on the trail. The captain sees him as stronger than me…
A faint smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth despite the strain in his arms. Yeah… I'm not letting that slide.
Isla pressed both hands against her boulder. Nothing happened. She pushed harder. Her legs shook almost instantly.
A quiet whimper slipped out of her throat before the stone finally lurched forward. The sudden movement nearly threw her off balance. "Oh...!"
She caught herself quickly and continued pushing, breathing unevenly as the boulder rolled along the dirt path.
Valeria stood silently and watched the three recruits continue across the rugged terrain. Their figures gradually grew smaller as they disappeared beyond the ridge.
The evening wind brushed lightly against her exoskeleton. "…Now then," she murmured.
She turned and began walking back toward the colony. "It's about time I attended that meeting."
Not far from the training grounds, Princess Emilia sat near the colony's side entrance surrounded by patches of flowers.
The evening wind moved gently through her hair. A few loose strands brushed against her face as her antennae quivered softly.
In the distance, tiny figures slowly pushed massive boulders across the rugged terrain. Her eyes lingered on them quietly.
The fading sunlight reflected faintly against the folded wings resting neatly along her back. Emilia lowered her gaze toward her hands resting in her lap.
Her fingers trembled slightly. A cool breeze passed through the entrance tunnel behind her. Winter's getting close… huh?
The recruits pushed forward at a miserable pace. The constant grinding of stone against earth echoed along the trail without stopping.
Hours passed. The sky gradually darkened above them.
By the tenth hour, Isla's strength finally gave out. Her boulder slowed before coming to a complete stop with a rough scrape against the dirt.
She took one shaky step forward then collapsed to her knees. "I can't… I can't do this…" she cried.
Her arms shook violently as she tried to hold herself upright. Her breathing came out uneven and broken. Ari stopped pushing immediately and looked back.
A short distance away, Lancelot's chest rose heavily with each breath as he forced himself to stop pushing his own boulder. He wiped sweat from his chin and turned toward her.
"Keep moving," he said. "You just gotta push through it. We don't have a choice."
"I won't!" Isla shouted back. Her voice cracked hard enough to echo through the trail.
She grabbed at her hair with both hands, trembling. "I'm not strong like you two!"
Fresh tears rolled down her dirt-stained cheeks. "I was a worker ant my whole life! I never got soldier training when I was younger!"
Her shoulders shook as she lowered her head. "I was never meant for this…"
"Come on, Isla. We have to keep moving," Lancelot said between heavy breaths. "It's already dark, and we're exhausted out here."
Isla's head snapped upward immediately. "You say that, Lance, but you didn't stop for me," she shot back. "You stopped because you needed a break, and now you're using me as an excuse."
Lancelot froze for a second. A faint red tint spread across his cheeks as his eyes widened. "W-What? That's not true," he said quickly, his voice stumbling over itself.
"Fine then," he muttered. "Stay out here and see if I care."
The stone rumbled forward again under the force of his push. Ari stayed silent for a moment beside his own boulder. "Complaining won't make it lighter," he said.
Isla immediately shot him a glare. But Ari didn't look at her.
His eyes stayed fixed ahead while he pushed against the massive stone inch by inch. The muscles in his arms tightened as dirt shifted beneath his feet.
"Every second you spend crying," he continued, "is another second you could've spent moving forward and you're already falling behind."
"We have to finish this for the colony," Ari said quietly. "So remember why you came here in the first place."
Isla bit her lip and lowered her gaze toward the ground. For a while, nobody spoke again.
By nightfall the next day, they were still moving. The forest had grown darker and colder around them. Faint moonlight slipped through the branches overhead, barely lighting the uneven terrain ahead.
Ari led the group from the front. His pace had slowed considerably since the start of the journey, but he continued pushing the massive boulder forward one step at a time.
In the darkness, he could barely make out the smaller dips and rises along the path. His feet tapped cautiously against the ground before every step.
Behind him, Lancelot kept his own boulder moving with short, steady shoves. Farther back, Isla struggled to keep up.
Exposed roots brushed against her sides whenever she stumbled too close to the edge of the trail. Her hands trembled constantly from the strain of pushing the stone for so long.
Distant screeches echoed somewhere deeper within the forest. Isla immediately stiffened. Her antennae quivered nervously as her eyes darted into the darkness between the trees.
"…What if the termites attack again?" she whispered. Her voice sounded small against the empty forest.
"They won't," Lancelot said.
"You don't know that," Isla replied quickly.
Lancelot stayed quiet for a second. Then he pushed his boulder forward another step before speaking again. "Listen… if they do show up, we'll deal with it."
You're not alone out here.
Ari leaned both hands against the boulder, his chest rising sharply. A few minutes passed. Then he pushed himself away from the stone.
"…Not done yet," he muttered. He planted both hands against the rough surface once more and forced the boulder forward.
The return trip felt worse. Ari's foot slid hard enough to throw off his balance before he caught himself against the stone.
Hours blurred together. Day turned into night. Night turned into morning again. By the fourth day, Ari's movements had slowed to a painful crawl.
I can't feel my arms....
One step. Then another. The colony entrance finally came into view through the haze in his vision.
Ari tried to take another step forward but his leg gave out underneath him. The boulder rolled to a stop behind him as his knees slammed into the dirt.
For a second, he remained there on all fours, breathing hard enough that his chest hurt. Then his body tilted sideways and hit the ground completely.
Dust shifted around him. Heavy footsteps approached slowly. A shadow stretched across the dirt in front of his face.
"Not bad," Valeria said. She looked down at Ari's exhausted form for a moment before continuing. "You completed the training in far less time than expected. Most recruits take a full week."
Ari didn't respond. His chest rose slowly against the dirt while he stared ahead without moving.
Valeria turned away. "You can rest until the others return." Her footsteps gradually faded into the colony.
By the end of the fifth day, Lancelot finally appeared along the trail. His boulder dragged unevenly behind him. Every push looked slower than the last.
The colony entrance blurred in and out of focus. His legs suddenly weakened beneath him. The ground tilted sideways. For a split second, his body started falling forward.
Father… Lancelot's eyes widened faintly.
A memory surfaced through the haze. A larger figure stood beside him. "Don't worry about me, Lance."
The figure turned slightly toward him. "My time might be up because of this injury … but you still have what it takes to protect this place."
A hand rested against his shoulder. "So don't give up."
Lancelot's eyes snapped open. His foot slammed back against the ground before he could collapse completely. A rough breath tore from his chest.
I'm not passing out here…
His fingers tightened against the stone. This is my fault for avoiding this path for so long…
His jaw clenched. This is my fault for hiding within the colony walls as a warden all this time…I kept avoiding this path because I couldn't bear the thought of ending up like him.
With a strained grunt, he forced the boulder forward again. One more push. Then another.
The colony entrance finally drew near. The moment he crossed the final stretch, his legs completely gave out.
His body tipped forward but before he hit the ground, a hand grabbed his shoulder and caught him. "…Looks like you made it, Lance," Ari said.
A faint smirk crossed Lancelot face even with his eyes closed. "Yeah…" he muttered.
Isla returned last. Her steps dragged unevenly across the dirt as she pushed the boulder inch by inch toward the colony entrance.
The moment the stone finally stopped moving, her knees buckled underneath her. She collapsed face-first into the ground. Her entire body trembled violently from exhaustion.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she pressed her forehead against the dirt. "It's finally over…" she whimpered.
Her voice cracked weakly between breaths. "I can't believe you guys left me alone out there in the dark…I was so scared" she squealed.
Valeria approached, her footsteps steady against the dirt. She stopped in front of them and crossed her arms.
"You've all proven yourselves over the past few days," she said. "From this point forward, we'll continue with the next stage of your training."
Isla's head immediately snapped upward. "No," she said weakly. "Please… no more…"