The desperation to move forward at all costs seemed to have triggered that magical feeling within Will's mind once again. A cooling feeling emerged from the center of his brain and somehow percolated all over his body, relaxing and healing it while also fortifying his resistance to the pressure. A moment earlier he was wobbling to the point of collapse at the third step, but he suddenly took two more steps, once again entering a precarious position.
His odd maneuvers were so out of place, not to mention he was only one of the three in the spotlight during this test, that it attracted everyone's confused gazes. While the other two were calmly taking measured steps, adapting to the increased pressure before moving forward - Will was limping around like a dead dog about to collapse at any moment. Everyone could see that his body was completely filled with sweat, his eyes were closed and his expressions seemed to suggest some kind of life and death struggle on his path. Even the Family Leader was unable to understand what Will was doing.
Will pushed and pushed forward. This time he wasn't just doing it for the test but to continue feeling that bizarre calming feeling. He did not know what he was experiencing, but from its amazing effects he was psychologically feeling, he had the inkling that this was a chance for him. He dived towards the increasing pressure with a desperation of meeting a mortal enemy. Just when the pressure increased beyond Will's breaking point, that cooling feeling would emerge again from his mind and help him persevere.
With this peculiar manner, Will actually managed to catch up with both Oliver and Estrella, shocking the both of them. Will seemed to be perspiring heavily and completely dazed and there were even hints of blood coming out from his pores, a clear sign of overexertion. The Family Leader's eyes flashed at the surprising result. He was running permutations within his mind to explain the bizarre behavior this boy was exerting. Even pure determination could not constantly create miracles of this kind.
The three leading participants were now two steps away from the doll. The pressure at this point was enormous. So enormous that both Estrella and Oliver were looking desperate right now. While Estrella was stronger earlier on, Oliver was able to maintain a better position because of his higher physical stats and thus could endure more. However, Oliver kept passing gazes at the dead dog appearance of Will who was panting madly with his eyes closed, a single hand stretched forward trying to grab the doll.
As the person being groomed to become the next leader, Oliver wasn't just someone who cultivated all day. Building a network and creating a camaraderie with other members of the family who would be his supporting pillars was also a skill he had to learn growing up. As such, even if he didn't deeply interact with all the youths of his age group, he knew all of them fairly well. Will was a rather separated kid, as an orphan who seemed to connect more with people outside the family than those within. However, Oliver had never taken Will to be someone with such a desperate mentality. He wasn't threatened by Will's sudden achievement in this test, rather he took this as a lesson not to judge a book by its cover. Even an average person can rise and become a diamond if they had the tenacity to follow through. He decided to be less dismissive of the juniors in his generation in the future.
If the Family Leader heard Oliver's line of thinking, he would be pleased. He had randomly rebuked his son for being too arrogant earlier, but if he heard this he would be satisfied that the next generation of the Avery family was in good hands.
Will was just two steps away from the doll which continued to dazzle like a bright sun. While he desperately tried to push forward, the miraculous feeling finally disappeared. Without that cooling rejuvenation continuing to reinforce Will's strength, he realized that he couldn't continue any further. He tried and tried relying purely on his desperation to go ahead. His mind kept yelling that he only needed to take two steps more, however, he had truly reached his limit. The pressure got so overbearing that his body collapsed, falling face forward onto the floor. His fingers just a step away from the doll. Seeing that Will had finally completely collapsed, the presiding Elder jumped in and brought Will out of the area of effect of the pressure.
Will was unconscious. The Elder had already prepared for this scenario as Will was carried over to the medical room to join the others who had collapsed and couldn't take the pressure anymore. Meanwhile, both Oliver and Estrella managed to reach the doll, but their conditions were fairly exhausted as well. The test was soon called to a close since most others had already given up at that point. There was a five hour rest period before the final test in the trial.
While the performance of the two chosen was expected, the most unexpected performances ended up attracting the most gossip from the audience. The First was the giant who had performed exceptionally well in the first test had collapsed at the first sign of mental pressure that severely disappointed all the observers. The second was the brutal self harm the young man Will went through for the sake of glory. Everyone had noted that his physical strength wasn't the best and neither was his base mental strength. However, he relied purely on will power to subsist and rush towards the doll before collapsing before the final step. Suddenly, Will had become the third in the group of students this year. His physical stats were quite average, but his fortitude was worth commending.
The Family Leader was also appreciative of Will's performance. "This lad Will has some mettle. Let us consider providing him with more resources in the future." He ordered the Elders.