The others watched in silence, none of them speaking nor interrupting, simply allowing the mont to unfold as it would.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only seconds, Gunter's hands clenched into fists at his sides. His jaw tightened. His shoulders straightened. And when he spoke, his voice carried a resolve that had not been there monts before.
"You know what? You are right. You are absolutely right. If I give up now without even trying, how could I possibly hope to pass this examination next ti? I would just be the sa person I am now, with the sa fears and the sa doubts to quit before I even begin. That is not who I want to be...."
" I ca here for a reason, I can't possibly leave without achieving that goal, now can I?"
Lucuis's frown lted away, replaced by a broad grin that transford his entire face. "That is the spirit!" He gave Gunter's shoulder another pat, this one more enthusiastic than before, and stepped back to address the entire group.
He shifted his gaze from Gunter to the others, taking in each of their faces in turn, noting the varying expressions of readiness and determination and quiet resolve that greeted him.
"Alright everyone." Lucuis turned and set his foot upon the mountain once more, feeling that pressure imdiately return, stronger now than it had been before, or perhaps just more noticeable now that he was paying attention. "As of this mont, the second stage of the examination has officially comnced!"
There was excitent in his voice, genuine eagerness that seed almost out of place given the challenge ahead.
His eyes glead with anticipation, similar to a burning fire from soone who truly wanted to test himself, who wanted to see if he would be able to conquer this mountain or whether the mountain would conquer him instead.
It was not the confidence of soone who assud victory was assured. It was the hunger of soone who welcod the unknown, who thrived on uncertainty, who found joy in the very act of pushing forward into places where failure was possible.
Without waiting to see if the others followed, he began to climb.
*******
Lucuis's group began their ascent up the mountain, leaving the relative safety of the base behind as they ventured onto slopes that grew steeper and more treacherous with every passing step. The vegetation that had covered the lower elevations gradually thinned out as they climbed, giving way to bare rock and scattered patches of hardy grass that sohow managed to survive in this harsh environnt.
While Lucuis had rushed ahead at first, driven by that initial burst of excitent and eagerness that had seized him at the base, in truth he had slowed down considerably afterwards to match the pace of the others.
There was no point in leaving everyone behind, after all, and whatever satisfaction he might have gained from reaching the summit first would an nothing if he arrived alone while the rest of his group failed to make it at all.
Since the old man had long since departed on his own, climbing at whatever pace suited him best, Lucuis did not need to worry about him witnessing any of the group's mbers struggling or appearing weak in comparison to the others.
That realization had actually set his heart at ease more than he cared to admit, for while the old man had proven helpful during the first test, Lucuis had no desire to have outsiders observing their group's internal dynamics or forming opinions about those he had chosen to bring along.
Now their group consisted solely of the main party mbers who had co together before the examination began.
' If we are able to move like this continuously, maintaining a steady pace rather than surging ahead and then collapsing from exhaustion, we should be able to conserve our strength rather than wasting it all in a single burst of reckless effort.'
Lucuis thought to himself as he climbed, his eyes scanning the terrain ahead while his mind pondered what sort of hindrances they might et along the way.
' Besides...' at the latter part of that thought, he briefly turned his head to glance back at Gunter, Amy, and Emma, who were following close behind with varying degrees of strain visible on their features.
' It will be far easier to notice if anyone is reaching their limits if we are all moving together at the sa pace. If soone starts falling behind or showing signs of distress, we can adjust before things beco serious.'
He was familiar with Emma's frightening speed, had witnessed it firsthand during their ti together, but he was not entirely certain whether her stamina was up to the task of a sustained climb like this one.
Her body was the smallest among them, and while small bodies could sotis an greater endurance relative to size, they could also an less reserves to draw upon when things grew difficult.
As for Amy, he knew her as the village doctor's daughter, which ant she at least had to have a few tricks up her sleeve when it ca to handling challenges like this, after all, her father was a genuine Witcher.
Of course Gunter was a natural target for his concerned glances, the young baron who had nearly given up before even starting, and needed encouragent just to take the first step onto this mountain.
Sure, he seed more like a liability on paper, soone who might slow them down or require assistance that could be better spent elsewhere, but Lucuis refused to leave him behind regardless of how logical that choice might appear to soone calculating purely in terms of efficiency.
After all, he had long since co to consider the guy a friend, or at least sothing approaching that designation, and friends were not abandoned simply because they might prove inconvenient to have around.
As for why he did not bother glancing at Adrian while making these ntal assessnts, the reason was simple.
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