"Now that I think about it, where's the Prince?" One of them looked behind, realizing that he hadn't noticed the Prince for a long time.
"That's right. Shouldn't he be in the lead? He's the son of King Arthur after all. How could he be so weak?"
"Hahaha, he must've fallen behind. Who says that a dragon father will certainly give birth to a dragon son? Now I understand why His Majesty kept his son hidden. He must've been ashamed!"
The youngsters who were in the lead kept running, proud of themselves. To further boost their ego, they compared themselves to Uther, repeatedly mocking the young boy that they had only heard about.
It wasn't just them as many others were wondering about Uther's whereabouts as none had seen Uther ever since they started running.
None of them knew that while they were running fiercely, Uther was simply lying on the grass at the starting point, appreciating the scenery around him.
He wasn't the only one there either. There were two more youngsters who were still at the starting point. One of them was Allen.
Instead of running, Allen remained in his place. He wasn't resting like Uther. Instead, he was practicing his sword skills, taking this time to train himself.
As for the last person, it was none other than Raven. Raven wasn't near Uther and Allen. Instead, he was sitting right next to the tree over which the old man was lying.
Raven's back rested against the tree as he sat beneath the tree.
"How peculiar... Do you three have no interest in the test? Did you come this far, only for sightseeing? It's the first time I've seen someone so eager to fail," The old man stated, his voice carrying a hint of confusion.
"If you have no interest in the test, why don't you return to the train and have it take you back?"
Unfortunately for him, none answered him. Let alone answering him, none even glanced at him.
Uther only occasionally paid attention to Raven who was sitting under the tree. He had heard about Allen so he wasn't surprised that the boy hadn't joined the test. But it came as a surprise to him that there was a commoner in this test who had also stayed behind.
He didn't know if it was because the boy was clever or if he just stayed behind after noticing that they had stayed behind. If it was the latter, it made more sense. However, if it was the former, he believed it was worth paying attention to this boy.
As the days passed and the other youngsters continued their relentless run, Raven remained rooted to his spot.
The old man, intrigued by Raven's silence and composure, approached him. "Young man, why do you choose to stay behind? Are you not interested in proving your worth?"
Raven kept his eyes closed, not responding.
"I know you can hear me. You don't have to pretend to be asleep," the old man said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "How about it? If you can even walk for one day without getting tired, I'll take it as you pass this test."
As the old man received only silence in response, his smile widened. "How interesting... You haven't stayed behind because of them. Instead, you have your own reasons. Did you also notice it?"
Raven finally responded, nodding. There was no surprise in the fact that all three who had stayed behind had managed to see through this test.
"I suppose it's time to end the test in that case." The old man stood up, landing lightly on the ground.
He clapped his hand. The youngsters who were still running, felt their surroundings change. The beautiful scenery around them changed. The grass disappeared, turning into barren land. But as they looked closer, they saw sprouts of green pushing through the dry, cracked earth.
Mountaintops peeked through the distant horizon, revealing a mountainous region. In this entire place, there was only one tree. And it was the tree on which the old man was lying.
Seeing the tree before them, the youngsters were stunned. They looked around, finding the train next to them. Uther, Raven, and Allen were also there.
"How are we back here? What's happening?!"
"Did we pass the test?"
"We ran for so long, yet we're back? I was in the lead before we were brought back. Does that mean I came first in this test?"
Many youngsters directed their questions to the old man, all of them filled with a lot of confusion.
"You are wrong on three things." The old man smirked. "Firstly, you haven't passed. Instead, all of you have failed. Only three people have passed."
"What? How can we fail? And they didn't even take part in the test? How can they pass? Are you cheating?" One of the noble children asked, not controlling his mouth.
He couldn't believe that he had failed despite putting in so much effort, while three who didn't put in any effort passed.
"I'll tell my father everything! You'll definitely be hearing from him!" Another noble child exclaimed. "How can you cheat so openly? Just because we're not the blood of His Majesty, you want to take our rights from us?"
The old man waved his hand lazily. At that moment, all who were speaking had their mouths forced shut. None were able to open their mouths.
"Much better." The old man smiled kindly. "So where was I? Yeah, the second thing you were wrong about. It's not that you were pulled back. Instead, you had always been here. You haven't moved an inch, only running in the same spot."
The crowd fell into a puzzled silence, their anger momentarily forgotten. The old man's words lingered in the air. The youngsters looked at each other's faces. They started to question their own perceptions.
"And lastly, you had failed the test the moment you started running," the old man continued.