The rules had been made crystal clear to everyone, and the students were practically buzzing with excitement, eager to step into the portal. Their teachers stood close by, offering last-minute advice and reminders. Some instructors reassured them, saying it would feel similar to the training they'd already been through, challenging but familiar.
Others warned that this might be slightly different from the portal expeditions they were used to. The structure, the pacing, even the energy of the dimensions could shift depending on how the trials were constructed. And then, there were teachers who focused on only one thing, safety.
"Don't take unnecessary risks," they said. "Keep your wits about you."
Still, no one seemed overly concerned, not for students of this caliber. These were the elite, the best each academy had to offer. And besides, the competition wasn't about surviving the hardest dimension. It was about speed. About who could clear their challenge faster.
