Ged was stunned. Before Tiffany could continue walking, he reached out to stop her. Boss had already fallen into the quicksand. 'Should I jump in to prove myself?' he thought.

When Kenneth saw this, he said to Sandra, "Where's the rope? Give it to me. We need to save her."

Sandra immediately rummaged through her backpack, breaking into a cold sweat. "Oh no, I can't find it!" she exclaimed, though the rope was right there.

Fortunately, the quicksand had slowed. Even so, Tiffany was still mostly submerged. A girl laughed, "Pfft, have you forgotten what you said? You're making a fool of yourself! You slowed us down, and now we have to save you. You're useless! You don't deserve to be on the team."

Tiffany immediately dug under the quicksand. Ten seconds later, she pulled something out and tossed it aside. The quicksand stopped sinking, and the sand flowed down, like a broken hourglass. The mechanism was destroyed, its function lost. In an instant, Tiffany stood clean and dry, the quicksand seeming like an illusion.

"It's… it's done?" The boys stared in disbelief. Even Kenneth was surprised. The quicksand had blocked their path. To proceed, they'd have to cross it, initially planning to use their backpacks as stepping stones and later retrieve them. It would take longer, but no one would be lost. Unexpectedly, Tiffany had found a simple but effective solution.

Sandra only found the rope when the sand reached Tiffany's waist. Before they could save her, Tiffany was already free. 'What the hell?! Why?' Sandra suspected Tiffany was cheating. How else could she know the mechanism's location?

Tiffany brushed off the sand and walked on, her expression normal. Ged gave her a thumbs-up, shouting, "Amazing!" and eagerly followed.

The trial grounds were vast. The group panted as they traversed the mountains. Only Tiffany remained calm, leading the way. Many struggled to keep up, wanting to rest. Ged, though tired, retorted, "Who's the burden now? Are you ashamed?" No one answered.

Three hundred feet ahead, Tiffany encountered another mechanism: a fence of iron mesh thorns blocking their path. The rules forbade detours; drones and trackers monitored them, and cheating meant disqualification. The only way to open the fence was to hit at least half of two targets with six arrows.

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. It was too easy. Without hesitation, she shot all six arrows, hitting every target.

Seeing Tiffany's prowess, Ged recalled her previous victory over him. They had reconciled, and he saw her shining. "That's brilliant!" he flattered.

The others were dumbfounded. Tiffany's slender figure, drawing her bow, was striking. Many remembered her impressive display at the Nocturne Arena, and were again astonished. Only Kenneth and Sandra were completely surprised, having arrived after the arena concluded and unaware of Tiffany's archery skills.

The fence opened. Tiffany continued, glancing up at the drone. She felt watched. On the other end, Sidney exclaimed, "Did she find out? No way! How could she know we're watching?"

Richard, staring intently at the monitor, smiled gently—a gentleness Sidney had never seen. Sidney chuckled, "Bro, you're in love. Don't deny it!"

Richard simply replied, "Why would I deny it?"

Sidney, enjoying teasing him, switched the drone's view from Tiffany to Kenneth, whose shock was evident. Richard's face darkened. "Do you want to die?" he growled, uncertain if he meant Sidney or Kenneth. Sidney laughed, "Should we blind him? Need help?"

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