Axel's vision blurred as his remaining Force was drained in an instant, and for a moment, it felt like he was going to collapse.

  If it weren’t for the Force, no one would be able to push themselves through so many laps—Axel included.

  But in this moment, even though his Force had been emptied out, he felt an unexpected surge of energy. The exhaustion faded, his legs felt lighter, and his body was reinvigorated.

  Kieran checked his watch again, his brow furrowed. Five minutes left. He hadn't expected these students to be so damn strategic about getting the Force-Recovery Pills.

  Ryder and Vale had already started to ease up on the pace. They weren’t going to crack the top five, but the plan was still on track.

  Cassia and Theo, on the other hand, weren’t backing down. The two of them clenched their teeth, eyes narrowed. There was no way they were going to be beaten like this.

  Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

  “Axel’s charging up!”

  “Shit, he must’ve used the raw stones. This is crazy!”

  From their vantage point, the students could clearly see Axel closing the gap. Everyone leaned forward, shocked.

  “Wait… this kid’s still got some in the tank?” Kieran muttered under his breath. He hadn’t been paying attention to Axel at first. Based on his observations, Axel had managed to hang around the top five because of his decent physical conditioning, but the gap in Force was hard to overcome.

  But now? This was… unexpected.

  “Damn, this whole thing’s getting interesting.”

  Two minutes later, Axel had blown past both Cassia and Theo, leaving them behind, their figures becoming smaller and smaller in the distance.

  “What the hell?”

  Before Knight had overtaken them, Theo and Cassia could at least understand why—Knight’s Force was practically on par with theirs. But Axel? This was a whole other story.

  Vale and Ryder’s faces changed too. They were near their limits. Others weren’t even able to catch their breath anymore.

  Where the hell did Axel find the strength?

  “Shit, that’s my guy!”

  Drayke yelled from the corridor, slapping his chest as if he’d run the whole race himself. His face was flushed with excitement.

  Axel, for the first time, realized just how powerful his awakening skill was. Even though he felt like he was nearing his limit, he knew deep down that he could keep running—his body was still primed to go, thanks to his fitness and his awakening.

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  Knight was running at his own pace, taking it easy since he had a good lead on Cassia. But when he turned a corner, his eyes widened in shock. A figure was closing in on him with impressive speed.

  “What the hell?” Knight’s body tensed. He was already starting to feel the strain, but seeing someone approaching from behind made his nerves spike.

  He was about to pick up his speed to keep his lead, but then something clicked in his mind.

  “Wait a minute… wasn’t this guy last in the class?” Knight thought, a smirk forming on his face. Did I trap him?

  When Knight had been up in the front group, he’d barely noticed Axel. After all, Axel had been at the back of the pack, so naturally, Knight assumed Axel had been left behind by the rest of the class.

  Knight didn’t think anyone else had taken drugs ahead of time, and he was certain Axel didn’t have a chance—even if Axel had used some.

  So Knight sneered and let Axel pass, no longer worried.

  “Tsk. You’re just some dumbass I left behind.”

  Knight was already thinking about how much money he’d pocket after winning the championship. With the Force-Increasing Pills Ryder had given him, after deducting the costs, they’d split the remaining money between them.

  But behind him, Ryder and Vale were fuming. They were both shocked and pissed off by what they were seeing.

  It wasn’t much—just half a Force-Increasing Pill—but the boost it provided was more than enough to keep Knight in the lead. Even with Axel pushing himself, Knight should’ve had enough energy to maintain his distance. Why the hell did Knight just let Axel pass so easily?

  “What the hell is he doing?!” Vale was stunned.

  “Shit, this idiot must think Axel got trapped by him!” Ryder could barely hold back his anger. Seeing Knight so relaxed about it made him want to punch him right there. Instead, he held back his rage and yelled, “Knight, you better fucking chase him! He wasn’t trapped by you!”

  That shout left Ryder gasping for air, his lungs burning.

  “What?!” Knight's mind went blank. He wasn’t trapped?

  Kieran, who had been watching from the stands, chuckled to himself and rubbed his face. Sure, if Knight had taken the pills to secure first place, he would get it, otherwise it would ruin his reputation as an instructor. But now? The situation had shifted, and it was actually looking even better.

  “Shit!” Knight pushed himself harder, but Axel wasn’t slacking off. The gap between the two was closing, but even with all his effort, Knight still needed at least another ten minutes to catch up.

  Axel was gaining ground, and the crowd watching was going wild.

  “Damn, this is the dark horse’s comeback!”

  “I guess the rumors were true. Axel really did help out the Enforcement Bureau.”

  The students weren’t concerned about Force levels or anything like that. They just wanted to see a real underdog story. Compared to the other privileged students, Axel felt more relatable to them.

  “Time’s up!” Kieran called out, signaling the end of the race.

  At the start, it had all been about the Force-Recovery and Force-Increasing Pills, but now, most people had given up hope. They didn’t want to come in last, so they pushed themselves to avoid humiliation.

  Exhausted bodies lay sprawled on the ground, clothes drenched in sweat, not a single person moved.

  Axel, hands on his knees, gasped for air. He looked behind him at Knight, who was slumped in despair, barely over a hundred meters away.

  “Ahem, I declare Axel the champion of this competition!” Kieran’s voice rang out. “He’ll be awarded the Force-Recovery Pills. In second to fifth place: Knight, Theo, Cassia, and Storm.”

  After announcing the results, Kieran hopped down from the stands and walked over to Axel.

  Looking at the pale, exhausted figure before him, Kieran couldn’t help but touch his chin thoughtfully. “I’m really curious… how the hell did you pull that off?”

  Some things can be accomplished with willpower, but there’s always a limit.

  People love to talk about spirit or resilience, admiring those who push through tough situations using sheer will. But the truth is, if you don’t have the ability to back it up, it’s not going to work.

  Kieran understood this better than anyone, which is why he was so intrigued by Axel.

  When Axel heard Kieran’s comment, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He’d used the awakening skill, but it seemed like Kieran hadn’t noticed.