After Udin and Siti left, the main stage floor slowly began to tremble. The center of the stage split open, revealing a bridge of light stretching toward a new arena dimension.
"Without further delay, let's move on to STAGE 3!" Nelson shouted, his voice echoing with excitement through the roaring crowd.
The four remaining pairs stepped onto the bridge of light. As soon as they reached the end, the sight before them made everyone fall silent.
A vast empty space stretched endlessly. In the middle of that void floated thousands of blocks of various sizes arranged randomly. There were stone blocks, nearly invisible transparent glass blocks, metal blocks moving up and down, and bright green blocks that bounced like slime.
All of them formed a massive parkour course leading to a glowing gate in the distance. Beneath the blocks, there was nothing but a dark abyss with no visible bottom.
Nelson was already above the arena, hovering on a small floating platform surrounded by holographic screens.
"Welcome to the Sky Course! In Stage 3, your agility, balance, and physical teamwork will be tested to the absolute limit!" Nelson spread his arms wide.
A giant holographic screen behind him displayed three large red X marks.
"But of course, this wouldn't be the Hunter Association without strict rules! Listen carefully!"
Nelson's tone turned sharper.
"First: The use of Skills, Magic, Energy, or any unique abilities is strictly forbidden! You may only rely on your pure physical strength and agility! Any form of magic will be immediately neutralized by the arena!"
"Second: Destroying the arena is prohibited! These blocks are your footing. You are not allowed to break them to sabotage other participants!"
"Third: No cheating! The use of tools from your inventory such as grappling hooks, artificial wings, or teleportation devices is forbidden!"
Nelson pointed at the participants with a challenging smile.
"If the system detects any violation of these rules, you will be immediately disqualified! Understood?!"
Silence fell for a moment after Nelson finished explaining.
A faint wind drifted through the empty space, brushing past the floating blocks. Some of the metal blocks creaked softly as they moved rhythmically.
Below them, the endless black abyss yawned like a giant mouth ready to swallow anyone who slipped.
Nelson slowly lowered his hand.
"Now…"
His smile widened.
"The starting line is right in front of you. The glowing gate at the end is the finish line! The first pair to reach it will earn the highest points!"
He snapped his fingers.
Four small platforms slid forward and stopped right at the edge of the course, one in front of each pair.
"Participants, get ready!"
"THREE... TWO... ONE... START!!!"
Teng! The sound of a massive bell echoed, signaling the opening of the Sky Course.
All four pairs dashed forward.
The first obstacle appeared before them: Lava Parkour. Small stone blocks floated randomly above a sea of boiling lava.
With all skills and magic disabled, the heat felt intensely real.
Steve and Pulchra leaped from one block to another without hesitation.
Surprisingly, Pulchra, who was usually graceful, turned out to be incredibly agile. Her light body bounced perfectly from one step to another, keeping up with Steve, whose gamer instincts were blazing.
"Hahaha! Left, Senior! Long jump after this!" Steve shouted excitedly.
"I-I see, Junior! Don't go too fast!" Pulchra replied with a smile.
On the other side, Togil could have cleared all the blocks in seconds with his monstrous physique. Instead, he deliberately paused every three steps, glancing back while extending his large hand.
"Take my hand. Slowly. These blocks are a bit slippery," he said flatly, yet protectively.
Envy, her face already flushed, grabbed his hand while jumping carefully. "I-it's not like I can't do it myself!" she muttered, embarrassed, gripping him tightly.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted at the starting line. Gampler placed her hands on her hips, staring at the distance between the blocks.
"Ugh! Didn't the organizers think about body proportions?! My legs are too short for this!" she complained, pouting. Then she spread her arms toward Shiro. "Shiro!... Carry me~"
Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose. Without a word, he crouched down, letting Gampler climb onto his back, then began jumping swiftly across the lava as if stepping over puddles.
Gusdur and Jaid moved calmly. Jaid moved silently like a ninja, while Gusdur jumped casually with half-closed eyes, as if he had already memorized the block patterns.
They continued jumping while keeping an eye on each other.
Until Jaid suddenly lost his footing due to overconfidence and fell into the lava. As soon as he touched it, his body was instantly transported back to the starting point.
After passing the lava, they reached the most annoying obstacle.
On the left side, there was a safe straight bridge reserved for female participants. On the right side, there was nothing but a bottomless abyss. For the men, the path was completely empty.
"In this obstacle, the stepping blocks can only be seen by female participants!" Nelson's voice echoed. "The men must jump blindly with guidance from their partners!"
Steve swallowed hard as he stared at the void. "Okay… Senior, my life is in your hands!"
Pulchra, walking on the safe bridge, panicked. "E-eh?! O-okay! Steve, jump straight one meter forward… NOW!"
Hap! Steve jumped and landed perfectly on what seemed like empty air, which turned out to be an invisible block.
On another path, Envy's voice roared like a battlefield commander.
"Togil! Slightly to the right! Jump farther! Two steps forward! Not left, that's the abyss!"
Togil, the assassin who bowed to no one, followed every single instruction without hesitation, placing complete trust in her.
The most pitiful one was Shiro. Gampler kept messing with him, causing him to return to the checkpoint repeatedly.
"Grandpa Shiro! Forward! Right! Left! Wait, right again!"
"Gampler. Be serious," Shiro said flatly, though his movements remained precise.
"Hehe… okay okay…" she replied mischievously.
Block after block, they advanced until they reached the final section. They all looked up and saw a platform above them, unsure how to get there.
Except Steve.
He immediately noticed the slime block below. Without hesitation, he grabbed Pulchra's hand and jumped down.
Togil and Shiro followed instantly.
BOING! BOING!
The third obstacle required momentum. The sticky yet bouncy green slime blocks were the only way to cross the massive gap.
Steve and Pulchra soared high into the air, laughing like children in a playground. Togil held Envy firmly by the waist as they bounced, ensuring she landed safely.
Upon landing, they faced dozens of giant roots hanging from above. Like Tarzan, they had to swing across the cliff.
"Can you handle this yourself, Gampler?" Shiro asked.
"I can!" she replied.
They kept swinging, with Steve and Pulchra in the lead, followed by Togil and Envy, while Shiro trailed behind. Gusdur and Jaid were still stuck at the previous obstacle.
At the end of the cliff, there was a glowing chest. Steve quickly opened it and found a pair of glider wings and fireworks.
In the distance, dozens of glowing rings floated in the air, forming a flight path to the finish line.
"Use this, Senior!" Steve equipped the wings for both of them.
Behind them, Togil and Envy also grabbed their Elytra. Seeing the finish line so close, Togil's competitive spirit ignited.
"Envy, hold on tight!"
"W-what are you—KYAAA!"
Togil pulled her into his arms. Instead of gliding normally, he grabbed five fireworks at once.
WUSSHHH! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
He spammed the fireworks, launching them like a rocket through the rings at incredible speed, leaving colorful explosions behind.
"TOGIL! THIS IS TOO FAST!" Envy screamed, hiding her face in his chest, blushing intensely.
"I use this all the time for long-distance travel," Togil said, his voice nearly drowned by the wind.
They soared through forests and towering cliffs.
"There it is… the finish line."
Togil suddenly flew higher into the sky, confusing Steve behind him.
Then, using continuous fireworks, he dove down at full speed, blasting past Steve.
WHOOSH!!!
A powerful gust split the air.
BAM!
Togil and Envy crashed through the finish gate first, their landing slightly cracking the ground.
A few seconds later, Steve and Pulchra landed in second place, followed by Shiro and Gampler, with Gusdur and Jaid last.
"AND THE WINNERS OF STAGE 3 ARE… TOGIL AND ENVY!!!" Nelson shouted as the crowd erupted.
Togil gently set Envy down, slightly out of breath but grinning.
"We won," he said softly.
Envy turned away, her face red, lightly hitting his chest. "Y-you almost gave me a heart attack… but… thank you for trying to make me happy."
She hugged him as fireworks exploded in the sky above them.