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?” A smirk forming on his face. Did I trap him?

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

Behind him, Ryder and Vale were fuming. Why the hell did Knight just let Axel pass so easily?

“What hell is he doing?!”

“Shit, this idiot must think Axel got trapped by him!” Seeing Knight so relaxed about it made Ryder 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.

Kieran, who had been watching from the stands, chuckled to himself and rubbed his face. Funny! 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, dark horse’s comeback!”

“The rumors were true. Axel really did help out the Enforcement Bureau.” Compared to the other privileged students, Axel felt more relatable to them.

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

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, Axel, the champion!” Kieran’s voice rang out. “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 hell did you pull that off?”

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

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

An hour later, Kieran handed out the rewards and made an official announcement that no drugs would be allowed. Then, he dismissed the group.

The mention of pills had everyone eyeing Knight.

At this point, Knight looked like a lost soul, standing there. Ryder and Vale, on the other hand, looked like they might explode. The Force-Recovery Pills—those could’ve gone for at least 500,000—and now? Gone.

“You….” Ryder threw up his hands in frustration. The money was wasted, but there was no way he could ask Knight to return it, not without completely ruining the cohesion of their little team.

“He must have taken the pills,” Knight said, his voice full of conviction. Vale nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think so too. Otherwise, it would be impossible.”

Ryder sighed heavily. “Does it matter whether he took the pills or not? The Force-Recovery Pills were gone. And honestly, even if he did, he kept it way more low-key than you did.”

Meanwhile, Cassia, Storm, and Drayke were all surrounding Axel with smiles plastered on their faces.

“Axel, from now on, you’re my big bro. You took the medicine without anyone noticing!” Drayke clapped Axel on the back.

“I didn’t take the pills.”

“Come on, don’t play dumb.” Drayke grinned. “Don’t worry, we won’t rat you out.”

Cassia put her hands on her hips. “Give me the pill and I won’t report you. Play dirty.”

“Didn’t take anything,” Axel said, rolling his eyes.

“Look at this guy—get acting skills too! No way. you make a killing today, and now you should treat us to dinner!” Drayke was practically glued to Axel, not letting him escape.

“I’m with Drayke,” Storm said in his usual deadpan voice.

Axel wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Treat them to dinner? His pockets were emptier than his face.

At that moment, footsteps echoed, and Kieran walked up to the group, a smile on his face. “Axel, come here for a second. You guys, go on and get some rest. We’re back at it tomorrow.”

Axel’s heart skipped a beat. Did he figure out I used the awakening skill? His mind raced, thinking of excuses and how to explain himself later.

Kieran and Axel made their way to a lounge near the playground. As they walked, Kieran kept glancing at Axel. The kid had a maturity to him that was way beyond his years.

"Relax, I’m not here to steal your stuff. Sit down."

Axel gave off a clear "don’t get too close" vibe. Kieran could tell this was just a defense mechanism, something Axel had built up over time. "If I’m not mistaken, your Force has improved a little more since yesterday. Am I right?"

Axel nodded. Aside from the small piece of red crystal he’d gotten last night, he’d used up everything else.

"What a monster," Kieran murmured under his breath.

"That Force-Recovery Pill?" Kieran continued. "I suggest you wait a few days before taking it."

Axel gave him a puzzled look.

"Don’t think of awakening as something that’s easy to handle. Your Force is increasing so fast because your body can actually handle it. Think of it like this: inside you, there’s a small pond."

"The Force is like the water in that pond. If you use raw stones to replenish it, the pond keeps filling up."

"When the pond’s not full, you can keep adding water, no problem. But what do you think happens when the pond’s almost full, and you keep pouring in more water?"

Axel answered softly. "It will overflow."

"Exactly." Kieran nodded. "Most of the Force will just spill over and be wasted. A small part, though, will slowly expand the pond, make it bigger."

"You should’ve noticed that the efficiency of absorbing raw stones has slowed down recently. That’s because your original pool, as we call it, is almost full."

"Original pool?" Axel repeated. He’d never heard that term before. And he hadn’t really felt a dramatic slowdown, either.

Kieran saw Axel nod and assumed he understood. He gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.

"To expand the original pool, you need to push your body’s limits and use your original Force to nourish it. That’s why I had you run so much."

"So I suggest you take the pill after a few days of special training."

Axel raised an eyebrow, concerned. "A few days? Will that be enough?"

"Not quite enough, so I recommend you take the medicine after the awakening test day. But it could affect your final results, so that’s your call."

Axel was a bit surprised.

Kieran, noticing Axel’s look of surprise, shrugged. "Axel, don’t look at me like that. The world’s not full of bad guys."

"Otherwise, do you think this wall could stop those mutant beasts outside? It’s the human heroes and the army that keep it all together, you know."

"One more thing I need to remind you about—though the chance is small—I still think it’s worth saying."

Axel’s attention sharpened.

"Don’t get into any fights before the test day. If you get hurt, especially seriously, it’ll mess with your results. Even a little blood loss can have a huge impact on your performance. Your Force levels will dip for a while, and it’ll take time to recover."

That was the last thing Axel wanted to hear. It threw a wrench into his plans.

The green crystals were almost used up. Axel had been hoping to use his few remaining savings to treat himself to something nice, and continue to feed Annabelle with his own blood.