When the three of them fell into slumber, Sequencee opened his eyes and crept out of the carriage.

‘It’s a different breeze. Kinda nice here.’

The evening breeze here was cooler, it had the scent of the woody forest.

He looked towards the other caravans, the lamps dangling at the front of each coach swayed. He then turned to the edge of the dark and made his way closer to the ravine. He held the support of the fence and gazed down.

A region blacker than the black of night, the cold air pouring from it crept on his skin.

“It’s been a while since I went in..”

“What are you doing out here?”

Sequencee had already sensed her presence.

“Couldn’t sleep. So I thought to walk around a bit,” he said to the beastkin guard.

“Don’t stray too far. It’ll be hard on my master if someone gets lost.”

“My bad.”

He saw how the campfire was still burning. He left the ravine’s edge and returned to the camp.

The guard– Yelen narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

‘He’s unusual. He’s not dangerous though his scent.. I can’t pinpoint what’s off about him.’

“I’ll be training for a bit.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

Yelen came back and sat down on the log beside the campfire.

Sequencee hardened a portion of the ground, killing the grass with it.

He began his routine. Pushups, situps and basic footwork.

He discarded squats as it would be quite awkward doing something like that when there’s another person around.

‘She’ll be suspicious if I do this every day.. I don’t want to slack on my streak though.’

823, 824, 825, 826..

‘Maybe I’ll just use the excuse that I slept during the day.’

996, 997, 998, 999, 1000, 1001…

Sequence got up after his 1,050th pushup.

He gripped his sore arm.

Before he came to the orphanage, he could do at most 200 pushups. But after the incident that left him with nothing, he forced himself to increase the number of reps.

Day by day, until he stopped at 1,000 six months after he arrived at the home. He had been keeping this number till now.

‘My mom would kill me if she knew about this.’

“You’re inhuman.”

“Hm?”

“It’s a compliment. Your strength is something you should be proud of.”

“Thanks.”

It isn’t unusual for humans to be able to do consecutive reps like this even without the help of magic. That was just how this world worked.

“I’m bored. Do you know how to fight?” Yelen tossed firewood into the flames and got up.

She got into a brawling stance.

“Do you fight with your fists?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt if I use my sword.”

“Then how about this?”

Sequencee conjured a sword made of earth.

“This’ll break the moment it hits me.”

Sequencee demonstrated by smashing the sword into his arm– just to see it crumble into particles of light the moment it made contact.

‘This guy is not your normal kid.’

Her eyes sharpened.

“Magic and anti-magic. Since I’m the one who created the magic, I also have the authority to destroy it.”

Sequencee created a sword and tossed it towards Yelen.

He conjured a spear for himself and took a stance.

Both of them had their weapons directed at each other, the chilly winds of the night blew carrying with it the scent of danger. Flames flickered, casting shadows on their face–

She disappeared.

ChkiNG!!

Sequencee raised the spear by reflex.

Yelen used the reverse momentum of the parry to direct an attack towards his lower right flank.

Sequence retracted the grip of his spear to defend– it was a feint.

A kick was sent towards his unguarded left flank.

Sequencee was thrown to the floor.

‘Damn it. I’m still weak.’

“You may have the foundations, but it doesn’t seem like you have a lot of experience in the practical department. Unless you can utilize what you practice, it’s all going to waste.”

Sequencee gritted his teeth and got up.

“Stop trying to connect the flow and just use your instincts. Your movements are too stiff.”

‘We hadn’t even connected 5 strikes and she already has some critique for me huh? Good to know this night guard isn’t some rookie.’

Sequencee got up and secretly healed the bruise.

‘I need to practice.’

As someone who hadn’t the chance to practice much in terms of actual combat during his stay at the orphanage, the best he could do was repeat the basic maneuvers over and over again.

No matter how much one trains in the fundamentals, unless he or she utilizes in a real situational setting, all the effort would lead to waste.

Sequencee made a stance with his spear one more.

“I’ll make sure to hit you using the sword this time,” Yelen said.

They clashed once more.

===

Leticia opened her eyes to learn that Sequencee was nowhere to be found inside the caravan.

She was about to call Ro and Lilian when she heard the sounds of clashing objects outside. It was faint, but her sharp ear noticed it.

She pulled up the shaders and peeked. She clenched her fist.

“Compared to him I’m..”

Even now, Sequencee was preparing himself for the appraisal.

‘I’ll watch a little longer.’

===

“Ugh.. this is so bland..”

“This tastes so good!”

“I have mixed feelings.”

It was the same bread from yesterday except that it had turned rock hard after left over a few nights.

“What other food do we have,” Ro asked, forcing the ‘rock’ down his throat.

“Let’s see.. some jerky, dried fruits, dates and licorice,” Lilian said.

“What happened to the buttered bread?” Ro swore he bought those three days ago.

“We finished them yesterday,” Sequencee said, dipping the bread in some warm stew before bringing it to his mouth.

“I knew I should’ve asked you to heat up the soup just now..” Lilian sighed.

“Too bad.”

“Uwe..”

It was day 5 of the trip. They were close to reaching Equestria’s capital city. If one looked closely, one would be able to see the elevated castle in the far distance, like a small spire in the horizon.

“Leticia,” Sequencee who had finished his share of bread called out.

“Hm?”

“Do you need some of this?” Sequencee shook the soup bowl.

“A-Ah.. thank you for the offer, it’s alright.”

“What’s up with the difference in treatment?” Lilian huffed.

“Hey, those two are probably you know..” Ro followed up.

Seqeuncee didn’t say anything. They were probably right about that.

Someone who he had been accompanying for the past two years, it would be a lie to say that Sequencee didn’t care for her.

And right now, he could tell that Leticia didn’t look so spirited. The long boring ride must’ve taken a toll on her. Even Lilian and Ro were acting somewhat out their usual character.

For five days now, their butts have been stuck to the seats of this caravan; for five days now they haven't had a proper rest.

“I’m going out to take a walk,” Leticia folded the brown paper bag and tossed it into a larger paper bag.

“I’m going too then.” Ro stretched his hands in the limited space of the caravan.

“Count me in.” Lilian, who still had about half her bread left, folded it away.

In the end, the four of them got out of the caravan and walked beside it as it clocked forwards.

“Ugh.. the sun,” Lilian complained.

“Better than just sitting inside,” Ro mumbled.

“Leticia, is anything the matter?” Sequencee asked.

“Hm? No. Nothing. I’m fine,” she replied simply.

“You don’t look fine to me. It’s the trip, isn’t it?”

“Part of it..”

“Part? So what’s the other part?”

They paced along the caravan for a couple of seconds before she broke her silence.

“I’m worried.”

“About the appraisal– I can understand your sentiments somewhat,” Sequencee nodded.

Leticia lowered her gaze.

“Worried? Don’t be, we’re just going to try our luck right?” Lilian interjected.

“They’re taking the test seriously, Lilian. Unlike you–” Ro snickered.

“Hey!”

“Sequencee, if both of us don’t make it, we’ll we head to Eluive Kingdom after this?” Leticia asked.

He remembered how Nearl tried to coax him by saying that the school would hold joint academy workouts once every year. And so he still had that sliver of a chance to be acquainted with the hero there.

“I suppose so.”

If worse comes to worst, this would be their backup plan. For now at least..

‘I can’t miss this chance.’