Once they reached the fields again they split and headed back to their respective groups. Arriving back at the fields Kevin, Emmett, and Ian found that they were the first back. The only other person there was Charlie who brought his own lunch.
"Oh, you three are back huh? Well, you still have a few more minutes before lunch is over, so do whatever you want for now." He returned to drinking his beer and eating his sub afterward
Not having anything to do, the three tried to find something to do while they waited for the rest of the crew to get back. Kevin went over to Charlie and started chatting with him. Emmett wanted to practice using his power of earth while Ian decided to meditate in order to try and gain control of his power.
Slowly over the next couple of minutes, more people started to arrive. It looked like everyone had made it back but they were missing Darren. Most people wouldn't want to be late because those that are late would lose points in the contest based on how many minutes they're late by.
Lunchtime had come to an end and everyone continued to work where they left off. After a while, Darren finally showed up without a care in the world.
"Darren, you're late. You know what happens when you're late."
"Ya ya I know what happens, but it doesn't matter, I'm so far ahead of everyone else, plus we're ahead of schedule anyway." Looking smug he walked over to his position.
Charlie didn't want to push the subject any further. Walking back to his post, he picked up his scythe, put on his hat, and went back to work.
Now that everyone was finally back the contest could properly continue. After lunch, the workers had four hours before the shift was over. All the workers were giving it all trying their best to at least not come in last. most didn't have to worry about being last, but they also knew that no one could beat Darren. Since everyone knew this then most people took this time to practice using their elements.
After three hours of nonstop work, most of the participants started to tire out and slow down. Only four contestants and bossman Charlie were still going strong. Three of these four workers were the three who were fighting to not come in last, Ian was one of them, and the fourth participant who hadn't given up was Darren.
Charlie, though not in the contest, has done this job for years and is used to working hard and for long hours. He easily swung his scythe through a large area cutting down a large amount of grain. After cutting the crops he'd spin around quickly to pick up all the grain and perfectly throw it into a pile behind him. His movements were so swift and uninterrupted that it looked like he was dancing.
Darren hasn't worked with Charlie for that long, but due to him being stronger than everyone else and naturally gifted that he could keep going for a while longer. Using all three of his elements, he'd cut the crops with blades of water, launch the grains with small pillars of rocks, and slowly float them into a pile by using wind. Though not many people liked him no one could argue with his results
Ian and the other two workers, though still far behind, kept going. Ian had no problem continuing since he didn't use any of his energy while working. Ian looked at the other two workers with him and saw that they started to use their energy to give themselves a slight boost. For the longest time, they were in a stalemate, not one was ahead of the other.
Ian was starting to fall behind and it looked like he was going to be last. With less than fifteen minutes left before the shift ended everyone was starting to get ready to leave. At this point, Ian and the other two workers were the only ones still working.
Charlie turned to look at the last three who were still working and was about to call out to them but chose to sit back and watch the show. Kevin joined him in viewing the final contestants.
"So, who do you think is going to win out of these three?" Kevin grabbed a beer from Charlie's cooler to watch with.
"HEY! Who said you could grab one? Give me that back." Charlie took the drink back before continuing, "I don't know why you said these three since Ian can't use his power to catch up."
"I disagree, Ian still has a chance at winning this if he did use his power." Kevin took a sip from another drink that he managed to sneak away from Charlie.
"HEY! When did you..."
Kevin stopped Charlie halfway through his sentence while taking another sip. "Just watch and see what happens"
The two who were neck and neck ahead of Ian were starting to slow down. They didn't have much energy to spend so they saved their power till the end of the contest.
Almost all of the tools have been packed up and everyone was now just watching the last few who were still going. Charlie was counting down the last minutes left while focusing on the two who were fighting to see who is better. Kevin, on the other hand, was paying attention to Ian instead. Emmett was on the sidelines waiting to see who of the other two was going to win.
Ian started to feel desperate now that he was falling behind. He tried speeding up to catch up but it wasn't enough. There was no way for him to catch up at this point. Ian really didn't want to pay for Darren's after-work meal.
"So I take it that Ian is going to pay for me. Well, I can't say that I'm surprised since he can't even use his energy. Is he even a copper? I've never heard of a copper who couldn't use a bit of their power."
Everyone hearing this got annoyed with how arrogant Darren sounded. Emmett sent a glare at Darren after hearing what he said.
"If that's what you think then why don't we make a bet? If Ian wins then you have to pay for his meal, and if one of the other two wins then I'll pay for your meals for a week of work."
"You have a deal Kev. I can't wait to have you pay for all of my meals." Darren pumped up his chest while giving a smirk to Kevin.
Ian was falling further behind from the other as he tried to use his natural strength to speed up but to no avail. He still had plenty of energy to last him for many more hours. Ian turned to look at everyone else who was just watching him try to speed up but fail to.
Charlie checked the time once more and saw there was only one minute left for the contest. He turned to all the other side watchers to tell them this info which excited Darren even more.
Ian, hearing this as well, panicked, and so he decided to waste no more time. He released his energy to hopefully not come in last place
Ian felt a surge of power begin to flow into him. Starting from his core a very sharp, hot, and yet cool energy filled every part of his body. His veins started popping out as his muscles began to grow slightly bigger too. Holding onto his scythe, he stepped forward, swung his arms back, and slashed towards the crops.
A large arch of crops went flying into the air within a moment. The pressure from the swing was strong enough to cut a large area of crops. Ian stepped forward once more ready to slash again. Still holding on to the scythe swung one more time.
Ian felt his energy drain quickly from his body, but he knew he had enough for another swing. He gritted his teeth to brace for his next swing. He almost lost his grip on the first slash from how strong the force was.
The second swing came down from a higher point and with more force. Ian didn't manage to cut any crops with the swing, but with how powerful the second swing was a burst of pressured air flew forward and sliced a larger area of the field.
Everyone who was watching felt the power that came from the two swings but that wasn't the thing that shocked them the most. What left most of them with their mouths open was how large the affected area was—even the other two who were still going stopped to see what had happened.
Ian couldn't hold on to the scythe anymore, so he let it go flying into the distance behind him. He dropped to the floor sweating and breathing heavily, he was too exhausted to continue.
The other two workers didn't know that they still had a few more seconds to keep going due to them being surprised by what they witnessed. Emmett and Kevin ran over to Ian to help him get up.
Meanwhile, Charlie stood up and called time, signifying the end. Charlie went to the field to begin counting the rest of the crops that haven't been piled up.