CHAPTER FOURTEEN - SLOW BURN
899 Words
A safe passage appeared.
He rescued the second dummy moments before the building collapsed.
The crowd applauded.
Professor Kael smiled faintly.
"Excellent strategy."
Owen looked relieved.
Then Kael continued.
"You completed the mission in eight minutes."
Owen nodded.
"Asher finished in four."
The smile disappeared.
"There are times when thinking longer costs lives."
Owen lowered his head.
He understood.
Intelligence alone wasn't enough.
Sometimes...
Action mattered more than perfection.
*WYATT*
Finally...
"Wyatt."
The atmosphere changed.
Even the instructors straightened.
Wyatt walked into the building with his sword resting across one shoulder.
The whistle sounded.
He disappeared into the smoke.
Inside...
Everything became a blur.
He sliced through blocked doorways.
Destroyed obstacles.
Leaped over collapsing floors.
Within minutes he found the first dummy.
He threw it over his shoulder and kept moving.
Then he found the second.
Mission complete.
As he approached the exit—
A loud c***k echoed above him.
A support pillar began falling toward the entrance.
Instead of shielding the dummies...
Wyatt jumped clear.
The pillar crashed between him and the exit.
The first dummy slipped from his shoulder and was crushed beneath the debris.
The alarm blared.
MISSION FAILED.
Wyatt stared at the rubble.
"I completed the objective."
Professor Kael stepped forward.
"No."
"You completed the assignment."
"But you abandoned the person you were sworn to protect."
Wyatt's jaw tightened.
"If I'd stayed..."
"I would've been trapped."
Professor Kael nodded.
"Perhaps."
"But leaders accept that risk."
The arena fell silent.
Wyatt looked toward Omar.
Omar met his gaze.
No words were spoken.
Yet everyone felt the challenge between them.
Professor Kael addressed the class.
"Today wasn't about abilities."
"It was about character."
"Some of you fought to win."
"Some of you fought to protect."
He looked directly at Wyatt and Omar.
"And the difference between those two mindsets..."
"...will one day decide the fate of kingdoms."
Most of the students had returned to their dormitories after the rescue simulation, eager to boast about their performances or complain about Professor Kael's impossible standards.
The training grounds had finally fallen quiet.
Olivia wandered through the academy gardens, replaying the day's events in her mind.
I failed...
Professor Kael's words still echoed in her ears.
"You didn't lose because your fire was weak. You lost because you panicked."
She sighed.
"I really need to get stronger."
As she rounded a stone pathway leading toward the old courtyard, she noticed someone sitting alone beneath a towering oak tree.
Books were scattered around him.
His glasses rested beside an open notebook filled with strange equations and tiny sketches of telekinetic symbols.
Owen.
He wasn't reading.
He simply stared into the distance, lost in thought.
Olivia hesitated before walking over.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Owen looked up, startled.
"Oh..."
"I didn't hear you."
She smiled.
"I noticed."
He quietly gathered a few books to make room for her.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It was... peaceful.
Finally, Olivia broke it.
"You did well today."
Owen blinked.
"...What?"
"The rescue simulation."
He gave a short, awkward laugh.
"I finished eighth."
"You finished."
"But everyone else—"
"I'm not talking about your position."
He looked at her, confused.
"You stopped the roof from collapsing."
"You cleared an entire path without hurting the dummy."
"You even calculated how long the building would stay standing."
She smiled softly.
"I thought that was amazing."
Owen adjusted his glasses, clearly unsure how to respond.
"No one's ever called my performance amazing."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"They usually say I think too much."
Olivia laughed quietly.
"Maybe you do."
He looked down.
"...Probably."
"But that's not a bad thing."
He frowned.
"It isn't?"
She shook her head.
"You see things other people don't."
"You noticed dangers no one else noticed."
"You were trying to save people..."
"...not impress anyone."
Owen remained silent.
Her words lingered in his mind.
For years, he'd been mocked for being slow, strange, and overly analytical.
Yet somehow...
She had seen something completely different.
"You know..." Olivia continued, looking up at the swaying branches above them, "when everyone laughed after your fight with Darius..."
"I kept wondering why."
Owen's expression dimmed.
"They laughed because I lost."
"No."
She turned to face him.
"They laughed because they only saw you lose."
"I saw someone who refused to give up."
His eyes widened.
No one had ever described him that way before.
A gentle breeze stirred the leaves around them.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Olivia felt something!
- Writer
