—Ssshhk!
Dozens of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear units hissed as they released bursts of steam.
Through the towering trees, dozens of trainees soared through the air.
"I got this! I can do it!"
Connie hyped himself up.
The test this time was to complete a forest course in the shortest time possible.
It was a real battle after all the training sessions they had gone through.
He had always managed to stay within the top five, so this time, he had to aim for at least fifth place.
No—why not push for fourth or even third?
Honestly, he had beaten Reiner and Annie before, hadn't he?
If luck was on his side again, he could win this time too.
"Hup—!"
With excitement fueling him, Connie increased the gas output of his gear.
His speed surged.
As trees rushed toward him like incoming obstacles, he swiftly dodged and weaved, gradually closing the gap between himself and the ones ahead.
"Damn it, when did that bald idiot get this close?"
Jean Kirschtein, who had gained an early lead, noticed Connie quickly approaching.
He had pushed himself hard at the start, using extra gas to get ahead, yet somehow, Connie was already catching up.
Was it because he had let his guard down after overtaking Eren earlier?
Gritting his teeth, Jean resolved to widen the gap again.
"Like hell I'm letting you catch up!"
Jean's gear roared as it expelled another powerful burst of gas.
His speed increased even more.
The trees ahead rushed toward him like charging carriages.
In that split second, he had to determine which trees to avoid and which ones to anchor onto.
It required immense reflexes and concentration.
Jean's eyes burned red as he pushed his ODM gear to the limit.
—Ssshhk!
Connie did the same, utilizing every bit of his body's momentum to accelerate even further.
His goal was at least fifth place—
He wasn't just up against Jean, who barely scraped into the top ten.
"…Hey, Jean. I'm going ahead."
"H-Hey! When the hell did you—?!"
Connie shot past Jean, leaving him stunned.
Jean wasn't bad, but ODM gear wasn't just about cranking up the gas output.
It required natural athletic ability.
It was about pinpointing the perfect anchor points with razor-sharp reflexes.
Using every ounce of momentum from the tips of his toes to the top of his head to accelerate.
And maintaining stability midair with core strength.
All of these elements had to come together in perfect harmony.
"There they are…"
Before he knew it, he had left Jean far behind.
Two figures came into view.
Reiner and Annie.
They were practically neck and neck.
Meaning—they were evenly matched.
Annie, small but lightning-fast.
Reiner, capitalizing on his sheer weight for insane acceleration during descents.
"If I slow down even a little, I'll lose sight of them!"
Determined, Connie pushed his body even harder.
Meanwhile, unaware of Connie closing in, Annie and Reiner were locked in their own race.
"Annie! This time, I'm gonna win!"
Reiner shot past her with a confident shout.
"…Hmph."
But she caught up instantly.
Then, Reiner used gravity to his advantage, accelerating past her again.
It was a battle of Annie's consistent speed versus Reiner's bursts of momentum.
Each time Reiner gained speed by diving, Annie would close the gap once his momentum faded.
The intense back-and-forth continued—
Until the balance started shifting.
—CRACK!
Reiner's anchor slammed into a tree with crushing force.
He flung his body forward, pulling against the tree as if to drag it toward him, using the recoil to propel himself ahead.
With his massive weight combined with the acceleration, he shot past Annie once more.
"Haha!!"
Reiner let out a triumphant laugh.
Until just a few training sessions ago, he had always lagged half a step behind Annie.
Maintaining acceleration required insane focus and instinct, and there were times when that instinct wavered.
But today—
Today, he finally felt it.
The perfect synchronization of gravity and momentum.
The bizarre sensation of energy surging from his toes to his head—he was finally grasping it.
Now, he was confident he could stay one step ahead of Annie.
No—maybe he could even reach them.
The ones who had always seemed impossibly far ahead.
For the first time, he felt like he could catch up.
"Ahaha! Sam! Mikasa! Just you wait!"
A rush of endorphins exploded inside him, and Reiner laughed in exhilaration.
How many times in his life had he felt this kind of thrill?
Right now, it felt like he could catch up to anyone.
—Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind cut past his side.
…What just happened?
Reiner's eyes darted around in confusion.
—Whoosh!
Again, the wind sliced past him.
And then—he saw them.
Two blurry figures ahead of him.
"…Those two…"
Mikasa and Sam.
It had only been seconds since they passed him—
And yet, they were already so far ahead that their forms were fading into the distance.
For the first time, Reiner felt it.
The wall that separated them.
They had never shown this speed in training before.
Were they fired up today?
It was clear they were going all out.
"…Monsters."
He had thought he had broken past a barrier—
But only now was he truly seeing it.