The Glorious Evolution

Levi adjusted his grip on the circular shield... it wasn’t designed for this. It wasn’t made for what he had in mind. But in that moment, with a steep slope ahead and time slipping through his fingers, it was his only shot at stealing back the lead.

He crouched near the edge, tightening his core, calculating the angle through echolocation pings bouncing off the terrain... The slope was long. Steep. Crude. Grass and dirt patches made it rough, but not rough enough to slow him down if he committed to it.

Behind him, candidates were still pushing their way up with vests weighing down their backs. Below, others took careful, measured steps, praying not to trip.

Further down, the lake shimmered in the sun... A calm surface masking the chaos of bodies cutting through it in a frantic race to the finish.

Levi dropped the shield flat on the ground, placed his staff tightly across his back, and lay down on his stomach... arms gripping the edges, legs tucked in like a missile preparing for descent.

”You only live once...” He muttered under his breath, embracing the Yolo spirit.

Then he shoved off.

Whoooosh!!

The wind screamed past his ears as the shield picked up speed. Vibrations rattled through the metal, singing across his bones, but Levi’s grip stayed firm.

Grass tore beneath him, dirt exploded to his sides, and the world narrowed into one deafening tunnel of wind and friction.

”WHAT THE HELL?!”

”Is that... Is he RIDING a shield?!”

”Someone stop him before he kills himself!”

The audience couldn’t believe it. Neither could the candidates, who watched Levi blaze past them like a bullet fired from a cannon!

One second, he was a speck above... the next, he was gone, screaming down the hill with zero hesitation.

Some of them flinched as he zipped by.

”SH*T! He nearly clipped my leg!”

”Is he insane?! He’s going too fast!!”

Levi didn’t hear any of it...His world was sound and momentum. He used the howling wind and vibrations under the shield to keep track of terrain changes...every bump, shift, and tilt painted in his mind like a 3D map.

He leaned left, dodging a jagged rock.

He pulled slightly right, sliding past a crouched girl clutching her knee.

He even bypassed Rayan, leaving him to stare at his back speechlessly. He always believed himself to be a daredevil who had no problem with any sort of stunt... But, as he gazed at Levi nearing the lake, he realized that a new Daredevil was in town!

Then...

The slope ended.

The lake arrived.

Instead of slowing, Levi let go of all caution.

He launched off the slope’s end, shield and body airborne for a split second... and slammed into the lake’s surface with a massive splash!!

But the shield didn’t stop!

Levi made sure to keep his head lowered to avoid disrupting the shield’s aerodynamics. As long as he remained one with it and his body straight as an arrow, his calculations promised the shield wouldn’t sink.

As expected...

It skimmed across the water like a flat stone, skipping once... twice... then gliding smoothly as if the lake had frozen just for him!

The force of his entry sent waves rippling in every direction, soaking nearby swimmers, who looked up in awe and panic.

”Levi?! What the f*c...Namaste...”

”Wow...He’s riding the water?! You can do that?”

Even Jojo and Melissa, who were already halfway across, paused mid-stroke to look over their shoulders at him.

Levi kept his body tight, every inch of him clinging to the shield as it sliced through the lake. The friction was real... the drag intense... but his momentum didn’t let up.

He adjusted his weight once more... slightly forward... just enough...

The shield hit the final patch of shallow water and launched him one last time...straight toward the finish line!

THUMP!!

Levi rolled off the shield and landed in a crouched position across the edge of the finish line. He was gasping, drenched, but with a faint, almost smug smile etched on his face.

The holographic board flickered above him a second later.

Levi Larson – Performance Recap:

First Stage:Time: 15 secondsGrade: SS

Second Stage:Time: 2 minutesGrade: SS

Third Stage:Time: 17 minutesGrade: S

Fourth Stage:Time: 20 secondsGrade: SSS

Final Score: SS+Final Rank:

1st Place.Silence.

The crowd didn’t cheer... not yet.

They were too stunned.

Too confused.

Too damn speechless at what they just witnessed.

A second later...Cheers erupted!

”He actually did it...” Jamal nearly dropped his holographic screen. ”Dear lord, I knew he was good, but not... this good.”

Sergio blinked twice before letting out a wide, wicked grin, ”Someone go collect every single hater’s address...I got time.”

Shia’s arms were crossed, but a quiet smile touched her lips. The kind that didn’t need celebration, just satisfaction. ”Told you... He’s not just good. He’s Levi.”

Even Blee’der popped in his weapon form out of Shia’s jacket and clicked excitedly. ”Did you see how he used the shield to slide on water?! Hehe, I always knew he had it in him!”

In the audience... chaos erupted.

Cheers. Screams. Shocked gasps. A wave of noise crashed through most gatherings in the streets, cafes, and restaurants.

”We just witnessed history!”

”He beat Nurah and Demetris with close to three minutes head start!”

People weren’t just stunned, they were unmoored...The very foundation of what they believed about talent, about power, about who deserved to win, was just flipped upside down by a boy they had mocked online hours ago.

And then... the nightcrawlers reacted.

Not one of them spoke right away.

Some narrowed their eyes. Some simply stared at Levi’s, rewinding the footage in their minds. The monsters of the Heliodor region, those who prided themselves on sensing potential from the first heartbeat... had missed something big.

One of them chuckled lowly. ”That shield slide... who taught him that?”

Another muttered, ”It wasn’t a trick. He read the terrain perfectly and committed with everything. You have seen how he moved, evaded bumps and such...It’s like he has a radar installed in him...That was real battle instinct.”

A dark furred nightcrawler with glowing green eyes narrowed her gaze. ”His body is decent...His light affinity is questionable. But his application... his control... It’s terrifying.”

Meanwhile, Instructor Seraphis stared at the result, then glanced at the slope, the lake... then Levi, who was casually squeezing water out of his jacket while walking in the direction of Demetris and Nurah.

”Someone actually did it... What kind of candidate have you sent me...” Seraphis muttered, Lord Idriss’ face surfacing in his mind.