Metcalf accepted the challenge but first she needed to take a break. The push drill was short, only thirty seconds, and it didn’t require her to move. The extreme effort was there none the less. She was sweating quite a bit. Her armor wasn’t very good at letting heat out so she’ll be sweating for quite a bit longer. She made a mental note to modify it later.
On her way to the water tank, students took notice of the push drill area. It rarely used this time of year. As such, the sudden air stagnation was new for most of the students there. Even those used to the push drill would be surprised this time. The air stopped enough that it was getting hard to breath.
On her way back from the water tank, there were students gathering around the pit to watch the next challenge. Word spread pretty fast as always. It was also hard to watch this drill from the bleachers.
The river stones were quite heavy. Replacing one was a chore for motion skill classes. It would usually take a team of students to remove an old one and bring out a new one. This stone had seen a lot less abuse than most. There was however that new crack down the center.
In years past, it was her trick to break a weakened stone into several pieces then push the pieces in different directions towards her opponent’s zone. Dividing ones attention among separate targets was difficult especially for male students.
There was now a considerable audience at the motion drill pit. She disliked showing off but Lance was much stronger than she expected. She needed a better plan than last time.
Metcalf reached her platform. To her surprise, all of Lance’s criteria were set already. As always, if the stone reached the wall the match was over. But this time, a greater proportion of points were given if the stone reached the wall earlier in the match. She accepted the terms and their second round began.
At the bell, she pushed as hard as she could expect the same effort from Lance. There was none, instead the stone moved quickly into Lance’s zone. The screech was quite loud. It seemed like Lance wasn’t doing anything this time. She knew better than to check the other platform though. She needed to be focused to win as many points as possible. She may even hit his wall.
At three seconds into the match, the crowd was acting strangely. They were all focused at Lance’s platform. Then there was a thud. Right after the thud the stone stopped cold. In an unexpected turn, Lance had jumped down into the pit. He endangered himself to push the stone by hand. There was no rule against that but it never happened, ever.
To her surprise, the stone started moving quickly towards her zone. She was using motion skills to push just even harder than before. The stone refused to respond in the slightest way to her commands. It kept pace with Lance’s walk as though the stone was on wheels. With Lance pushing, the stone reached her wall in just under eight seconds. Still, there was no stress on his face.
A defeat like this could only be devastating. She calmly checked the platform pad for the amount of points she lost. She was upset but strangely calm when she realized the truth. She had lost all but a quarter of her points. She was almost finished at Spear Mint Academy.
Right there and then, she decided to make the best of what time she had left.