Cold Endurance Contest Totk Novels & Stories

Typical. “Keep up!” I snarl, snapping my head back for a second. “I will not lose because of you lazy brats!” “We’re trying!” Gwen pants, almost tripping over her own foot. “Try harder. Or drop out now and save me the embarrassment.” River and Luan, running like wolves through the shadows, say nothing. Good. They understand. This is no time for complaints. It’s the first leg of the tournament, fifty kilometers through Fenrath’s wilds—dense forests, twisting gorges, mountains that split the sky. It’s meant to crush the weak. And I refuse to be crushed.

"You should have stayed on TikTok, heir." Karl roared and threw him off with pure leg strength. He was bleeding from his lip. I felt every hit through the bond — a dull echo in my chest. My silver eyes started flickering without me wanting them to. "Theo, don't," my dad whispered next to me, holding my arm. "If you pulse now you'll knock out both of them. Karl will lose the challenge by default." Kade shifted his hand fully — huge black claws — and raked them across Karl's back, same place the challenger had yesterday. Karl shouted, went to one knee.

They look like art come to life, too perfect to be real. And with them, the champion. He's enormous—eight feet tall, built like a mountain, covered in intricate armor that seems made of living ice. His eyes glow silver, and power radiates from him in visible waves. "This is Frost, Champion of Winter," Titania announces. "He has fought for three thousand years. He has never been defeated." Connor steps forward. Compared to the champion, he looks tiny, mortal, fragile. "The rules are simple," Titania continues. "Fight until one of you cannot continue. No outside interference, no weapons beyond what you carry, no mercy."

Hopefully, it would go on until either the tournament was done or whoever was the last one standing. The challenge was like the ones Cade chose for warriors. It was whoever could outrun the other. I knew Saka could go days without stopping. We had tracked together before. We didn't run the whole time, but I was sure he could have. I watched Cade's lips as he spoke. "This test is endurance. The contestants will run in human form until they no longer can or until the tournament is over. There will be no stopping for food or bathroom breaks."

In front of every goddess warrior was a table, and on each table were three cups filled with wine. After the elf elder announced the start of the drinking contest, I picked up one of the cups. “My alcohol tolerance isn’t very good. Is it okay if I drink one and you drink two?” “You don’t need to drink.” Loki pressed down on the cup. “This is thousand-year mead. It’s extremely strong—you definitely won’t be able to handle it. I’ll drink them.” With that, he took the cup and drained it in one gulp. “Are you underestimating me? Do you think I’d get drunk from such a tiny cup?” After he finished another cup, I snatched the last one before he could stop me and tilted my head back to drink it.

Drago had a death grip on her arm, trying to calm her, but who could be calm at a time like this? The golden beast lumbered toward them, then stopped directly in front of Drago, letting out a low growl, steam puffing from it’s huge nostrils. When Drago growled in return, Madchen jumped, trying to free herself from Drago’s grip, but he wasn’t letting her go.

The competition regarding the Boundless Ranking was set to go on for a period of ten epochs. This ancient battlefield was chosen as the venue since the Boundless Tablet was found in this area. Truthfully, a normal competition involving battles between cultivators would usually end fairly quickly. The duration of the competition was prolonged so that participants could venture out across the battlefield and perhaps come across treasures or opportunities of great fortune. “Where are we right now? Also, how long will it take for us to reach the location that we are looking for?” Although James had memorized the map provided by Zeno, he still had no clue about his exact location at the moment.

Cold. Smoke billowed in the air from the torches that lit the area. The stars lit the sky overhead, but in order for the thousands of people assembled to see her father, the king, the flames were necessary. Plenty of guards held the torches as well. Off in the distance at The Point, the place where the sacrifice would be secured and await his or her fate, more torches dotted the landscape. It was a little over a mile’s trek from where she stood to the place where the unfortunate soul who was about to find out their short life was over would be tied up to away the dragon’s talons, but she could see the lights as clearly as she could see the ones on the perimeter of the dais.

It immediately burst into flames, sticking to the far wall like napalm. The lava thinned out and began streaking downwards. The two trolls plummeted, but were now able to move enough to push off the wall behind them and leap across to the ledge. They slammed down beside us, a little burnt around the edges, but none the worse for wear. That’s trolls for you. “Thank you, Dragonrider,” said Keezy. “Yes, my thanks, Dragonrider,” agreed Raviva. “It appears the contest will have to be called a tie. Honours even.”

Could use them to take out the competition when the Mainland Gate opens. The tournament resumed as normal. Ren stared at the quest completion, and the new one that popped up. "Heh, I will be damned," Ren grumbled. "Jackson, Elder Kung focus on the Sleeping Elder. What do you notice that is so odd about him?" Elder Kung peered and found nothing at first, but then Jackson checked the short breath of the man. Elder Kung shook with fury. "They are poisoned, directly at one's longevity. Elder Kung, I have an assignment for you..."