"Moving on, distance testing. Head in that direction."

Sighing in resignation, we moved our gazes to Levi, mentally ready to map out the direction we had to head to. He pointed a single finger to the west, into the denser part of the training forest.

"If you make it out of the forest, round the forest back to our entry point. If you somehow manage to make it to the entry point, I'll count it as a full pass. When you run out of gas, stay where you drop. You need to go as far as you can within 15 minutes. Go to the closest refill station and return here in 5."

We nodded simultaneously and dropped down the tree to refill. Other soldiers waited below with plenty of full gas cannisters. As promised, within 5 minutes, all 6 of us were ready to go. At Levi's signal, we took off one by one, disappearing into the thick forest. I was fifth and stepped up to stand next to my best friend. He gave me a glance.

"Try not to hit a branch on your way out."

I smirked. "I'll see you at our entry point."

This drew a small smile out of him. "Try your best."

At that cue, I leapt off, diving to get the most momentum before shooting out a wire. I swung myself through the trees, triggering my gas only on horizontal or slight uphill directions. I tried to keep my body as streamline as possible, to reduce the air friction encountered. I twisted around large branches, keeping my momentum going. Stopping or hesitating, even for a bit, not only would it slow me down but also rid of my swinging momentum. Distance also wasn't my strongest forte but I usually didn't do so bad in it either. As if to demonstrate, I passed Jack, who was patiently waiting near the outskirts of the forest border. He waved as I shot by and I winked in return. Distance definitely wasn't his strongest forte, compared to the rest of the squad. Spotted nearby ahead was Brian and Linda.

"Show off!" yelled Brian, earning him a mocking glare from me as I flipped past him.

As expected, Sophie was no where to be seen yet. She was the most efficient in the use of her gas, almost to the point of being stingy. Suddenly, the trees cleared and I burst into open air, crossing the border. Taking a second to appreciate the view, I sucked in a deep breath of clean air. Glancing down, I was almost out of the gas. I shot my wires back to the trunks and swung myself along the border of the training forest, using the last remains of my gas to get around a sharp corner. Then, I was basically running on fumes. Sophie jumped, waving from far ahead but unfortunately, I couldn't make it and made a clumsy landing on a tree behind her. Still pleased with my efforts, I made myself comfortable and took a seat on the branch, swinging my legs into the air. It wasn't long before Levi flew past, a smirk as he passed me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Gather at the entry point for the next test: dodging."

I grinned. Now we were talking. Hurriedly, I attached a grappling hook to the wood and abseiled down. A few minutes after, the Special Ops had gathered once again by the northern border of the forest, replacing our gas cannisters once again.

"Path through the forest has been flagged by red scraps of fabric. Keep your eyes for them, as well as the distractions that will fly out at you. No one will strike at you, so keep your blades sheathed. Like the name, you dodge them. Easy enough." Levi crossed his arms at us.

The squadron swapped amused looks with each other at Levi's obvious lack of interest.

"Hazura's up first. The rest of you into the forest and take some place along the track."

I waved as my fellow comrades shot me grins and headed off into the leaves.

"I'll see you on the other side soon, Hazura."

"Sooner than you think, Ackerman." I teased.

He rolled his eyes at my confidence. Dodging was one of my best areas and consistently was so.

"Go."

I took off, shooting into the air, gas exploding from my gear. I soared past the border and was instantly surrounded by greenery. An unexpected whirr of wires triggered my ears and I quickly dropped altitude. Steve shot past my head, his outstretched hand grabbing at air.

"Too bad, Steve." I teasingly called and swiftly continued on my way.

Now closer to the forest floor, I had to constantly glance over my shoulder to make sure a surprise attack wouldn't hit me from above. As I returned my eyes back to the front, a slight ruffle in the leaves caught my attention, just to my left. I instantly changed my direction, swerving away from the intrusion. I needed to make fast time.

"Gotcha."

I gasped and spotted Jack right in my path, arms outstretched for a time-wasting hug. I grunted and heaved my body to the right, twisting just out of his reach. His arms swiped at the air, missing me by inches.

"Damn it!" Brian cursed, popping his head out from the bushes where I had previously dodged. I flipped as I neared a tree, planting my feet onto the bark and using it as a vault to push off back into the right direction.

"Good luck next time fellas!" I grinned, before putting my game face back on.

That left Sophie and Linda left and those two were never easy to get around. They were persistent, I'd give them that. I shook my head clear of any other thoughts and continued my path to Levi. Surprisingly, the last two girls didn't pop out anywhere, raising my suspicions about some low trick. It wasn't until I spotted the stern Captain, relaxed against a tree trunk, that my suspicions were correct. Linda and Sophie waved from the same tree, hovering around the Captain like goggles to Hanji. I gritted my teeth, still flying up towards them.

"I knew something was up."

Sophie grinned and vaulted to me, arms outstretched. "You need to reach the Corporal to officially finish, so why not just sit with the Corporal?"

At this cue, Linda dived from her position, both girls now gunning for me. I shook my head in amusement and began to dodge. We darted between the trees, using the wooden branches to vault and leap off. Sophie aimed from below and Linda came from above, the two trying to sandwich me in-between them. I twisted myself into a spin again, grunting with effort.

"You guys are having too much fun with this." Glancing at my gas cannisters, I figured that I had enough for one more manoeuvre.

"Is it too obvious?" laughed Linda, missing me by inches again.

"Extremely." Reaching the peak of my swing, my fingers flexed and gas erupted from my 3DMG. I rocketed towards the Captain, who was still sitting by the trunk. As I grew closer, my eyes widened.

"Shit, I didn't think this far." I murmured, just before smashing into the Corporal.