—honour of a lifetime! Before Samuel could finish speaking, a wooden rod hit him from the left in the rib, stopping his words mid-sentence.

Samuel’s pupils dilated as he hurriedly borrowed the force from the blow to dodge another wooden rod to his right. However, just as he stabilised on his two feet, through a lot more than just the corner of his eye, he saw a massive wooden log on a one-way trajectory to hit him from the front.

Although the log moved at a speed much slower than the wooden rods from earlier in comparison, it was too close and too large for dodging. From the distance, Samuel estimated the diameter of the log to be around his own height.

While gritting his teeth, he couldn’t help stare at the log in shock. Just where did they get these giant pieces of wood?! And this is just the start. Damn it!

Crossing his arms, Samuel braced for impact.

A massive force hit him from the front, instantly raising his speed to that of an eagle racing through the sky, albeit both backwards and sorely lacking in control. Cutting an arc through the air, the boy’s upward momentum ultimately lost to the whims of gravity as he crashed back onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust with his descent.

The winds blowing away the clouds of dust carried the boy’s groans as he got back onto his feet. Although the fall looked miserable, it didn’t injure Samuel badly. Other than suffering a terrible physical shock and whatever pain his landing caused him, other injuries were minor; when the wooden log hit Samuel, not much happened besides the log flinging him away violently.

Taking a deep breath to calm his spinning head, he stared deeply at his target—the yellow flag looking conspicuous within the lush green.

I have to dodge that log somehow. Otherwise, if I’m hit, I’m done for. This time, I got caught off-guard because I didn’t pay much attention to traps before and ended up getting entangled within them, leaving me with no time to dodge.

Patting his clothes, Samuel got up. Giving the path ahead a quick check, Samuel charged forwards.

*Thud!*

Once again, not long after the boy entered, an immense force made his body sail through the air in a fashion similar to a boat losing control under the coaxing of the turbulent tempests, hitting the ground in an arc before uncontrollably rolling out over a distance.

After having stopped, Samuel took a few minutes to sober out from his dizzy senses before standing back up. As his gaze swept around him, his hand involuntarily reached his forehead. The boy closed his eyes. A frown surfaced on his face.

This time, I was prepared for those rods. But then there were sticks on the ground as well. One. Just one of those was enough to make me stumble. After that, I became a chicken ready to be slaughtered.

With an expression like that of meeting a lifelong enemy out of the blue, Samuel appraised the forest level headedly. However, although his gaze remained stationed on the forest, no movements abounded. Neither were the traps visible, nor were there any sounds to discern their location in advance.

Gritting his teeth, Samuel charged in once more.

*Thud!*

“Again!”

*Thud!*

“Again!”

*Thud!*'

“Again! Actually, no. Not again.” Feeling like a cloth on being scrubbed back and forth on a washboard, Samuel stopped.

“What happened?” An aged voice sounded out.

“What else?” Samuel sighed. Looking up at the sky in lament, he replied, “I tried multiple times, and I figured out that this forest keeps changing. How am I going to get the flag at this rate? How long would it take? Not like I can keep doing this for a lifetime.”

The aged voice agreed. “That’s also not wrong.”

Samuel’s eyelids half closed. “I know that as well. If I was someone who is easily wrong, I wouldn’t be here. Instead, I probably would be receiving a so-called generous gift for my ill-mannered etiquette back at home from my mom right about—wait! What’re you doing here?”

Samuel snapped his head to the side to see Yuan Mo chuckle. “I am your teacher. If you’re working hard here, I naturally have to supervise.”

Feeling warm inside, a cheeky smile broke out on Samuel’s face. “Teacher, think about it. Season of scorch is just around the corner. Although it still has a few days before officially starting, it’s already getting pretty hot. Look, both of us are sweating. Why don’t you tell me the secret behind this and I’ll quickly finish this. Then we’ll both go and have some tea indoors.”

Finishing his words, Samuel gazed towards Yuan Mo. Immediately, his expression turned conflicted. Left stiffed between a smile and tears, he saw Yuan Mo reclining on a recliner, his somewhat skinny yet muscular upper body decorated with a garland of flowers as he sunbathed in style; his right hand holding a coconut shell with a long straw reaching from within it to his mouth, the flow of a liquid occasionally perceivable through the straw.

Raising his head, Yuan Mo nodded. “You’re right. But you need to work hard. You can’t sunbathe like an old man like me, someone who reached the end of his path long ago, with nowhere further to go. In any case, when you get the time, you should try this icy coconut tea. It’s quite delicious, if I say so myself.”

Near the end, a prideful tone filled Yuan Mo’s voice. He sounded like a child showcasing his new toy.

Samuel rolled his eyes. “I don’t drink tea.”

Raising his brows, Yuan Mo retorted, “You can always try. Without trying, how would you know if you like it or not? Don’t make excuses.”

“I’m going to try again. Enjoy your tea.” Samuel hurriedly spoke before rushing off once more.

A few moments later, a shadow whizzed through the air.

*Thud!*

As the boy smashed into the ground, yet another dust cloud rose. While laying down, Samuel’s dazed eyes caught sight of the mountain’s peak reaching beyond the clouds. With his gaze focusing at the peak, a chill ran down his spine.

I am only stuck at the base and there’s already so many traps. Not to say it’s filled with traps till its very peak. And it’s so huge.

Samuel blinked before getting up. Shaking his head, he said, “I’m done for today. You can relax here if you want. I’m going to leave. Thanks for coming to watch over me.”

“Leaving already?” Yuan Mo asked.

“Mhmm.” Samuel nodded.

“I expected much better from you.” Yuan Mo shook his head before continuing to suck at the straw for drinking tea.

“Hmm?” Samuel’s ears perked up.

“Being older than her, I thought you’d beat Little Mei at this little game. What a pity. I’ll lose my bet with little Zhu on this.” A deep helplessness filled Yuan Mo’s voice as he shook his head before closing his eyes.

“Wait!” Samuel exclaimed. “Do you mean that little girl cleared this?”

Yuan Mo opened his eyes lazily before nodding. “She did. Then she asked for her flag further away, and she cleared it soon after as well. It was well over half an aevis ago now, I think. She hasn’t tried this one again, but I’m sure she can reach past this forest and start climbing the mountain.”

“Just how much was she holding back?” Samuel couldn’t help but ask.

Yuan Mo chuckled. “A trade secret. What more, as long as she has chains of binding on her, she will hold back no matter if she wants to or not.”

Samuel gulped.

His gaze landed back at the forest, a hesitant look in his eyes. Mulling over deeply, he shook his head to dismiss his thoughts. Gazing deeply at the yellow flag, a resolute look filled the boy’s eyes.