The guard drew something on each of Paskha's and Arine's palms. Paskha felt a painless heat spread throughout his palm, and a tree was adorned not long after. Paskha and Arina both looked at their palms with question marks.
"You may start climbing the stairs to this mountain as soon as this tree produces flowers," explained the guard. "You must reach the top of the mountain before the last flower falls. Otherwise, this tree will bring both of you back to this place, which means you are not eligible to take the qualification test."
Paskha glanced to the side where the stairs leading to the mountain were located. And he traced the stairs until looking up to make his back cold sweat. Now he understood how difficult it was to climb up the mountain. These stairs… there are thousands of them, at least!
