As much as he would have loved to layer twenty or more barriers over the wall, he’d noticed something as he’d cast. There was interference, one that had grown the more Warhavens he’d piled up in the same spot. It was slight at first, but by the last he could feel it pressing back against his shaping — threatening to not just destabilise the most recent spell, but all of the others too.
He could squeeze a bit more, but he wasn’t going to risk more than another two — not after spending so long stuck on this obstacle.
Taking a final look at his arch nemesis, Kaius slipped inwards and split his mana into multiple threads. With care and patience, he wove rune after rune — slowly increasing his pace thanks to his growing familiarity with using the technique on the same spell so frequently.
…
*Ding! Tonal Weaving has reached Level 172 > 175*
*Ding! Resonance Amplification has reached Level 179 > 180*
*Ding! Latent Glyph of Vyrthane has reached Level 96 > 97*
Another level — pushing his manipulation skills in a new direction was proving fruitful, even if it did feel like stabbing an ice pick into his brain. Only three more levels until he had his next spell.
Stolen story; please report.
Kaius pushed himself to his feet, staring up at the wall as he took a slow breath. It loomed, still and menacing.
The pressure of the moment brought a grin to his face. Gods, he was actually having fun! Sure, it was dangerous, but it was a reactive sort of danger. He had time — time to approach each challenge with the planning it deserved, time to work on his skills, and time to take a pace that worked for him. It was surprisingly pleasant, even if he did get his chest gored now and then.
Checking the straps of his armour, Kaius eyed the thin handholds that dotted the climb up. He debated if it was worth it to take such a route again. It would be slower, and he’d be closer to the danger, but on the other hand the wall had attacked him far less aggressively than when he’d attempted to circumvent the whole obstacle.
On the other hand…shunt was quick, and he’d layered the wall with an awful lot of Warhavens. Even if it broke through quicker, would it be quick enough? There was no guarantee the far side of the wall would be free of roots, hence why he’d taken the time to shape his spells to cover both.
Surely the challenge would end once he touched the ground? He’d barely need a second to do that — one Shunt up, one across at a downwards angle, and then one straight down. It’d be a rough landing, but…
Rotten roots, to the hells with it. He was going to use Shunt. Worst case, he had enough inscribed to retreat back to this side of the wall if it failed — the roots had stopped when he’d done that last time.
With his mind set, Kaius crouched low. Coiling strength built in his thighs, a spring wound to breaking.
Letting loose a hoarse yell, he drove his heels into the ground with everything he had. Enhanced beyond reason, he rocketed upwards — accelerating all the faster as he detonated an explosion of force right beneath his feet.
Wind howled, racing past his face as he flew straight for the ceiling.
The wall went mad. It boiled like water, writhed like a pit of swarming vipers as what must have been a hundred stabbing spike tried to burst free of its surface. His barrier held them in place — keeping them bound.
But only just.
The first Warhaven shattered like glass before a ballista bolt, vanishing in a burst of released mana.
Kaius keeps racing up.
A second barrier broke, his jaw slammed shut — brow furrowed in focus.
He reached the top of the wall.
Another barrier burst into dust. It had been a moment. Half a moment. Short enough that his stomach clenched with worry that he wouldn’t make it.
Kaius reached the peak of his ascent — he fired himself down at an angle, towards the wall. The far side was boiling too, just as furious at his attempt to cheat the trial. Roots flailed against each other, an organic groan of tortured wood filling the hall.
Another barrier broke — there were only two left.
With his Shunt’s chained together, Kaius was moving fast enough he could feel the air pushing back against him — clawing him back as he rushed past.
Mana burst through the air, filling his vision. Only one barrier left.
A final bang rang in his ears as he cast a Shunt right over his head, launching him straight down. Kaius bent his knees — it was a race, and win or lose, he was getting hurt.
The roots heaved, spearing in unison. His final shield shattered.
Kaius hit the ground.
A sickening crunch rebounded through his body as his legs shattered, splintering like kindling as he slammed into solid stone. His body was close behind, ribs groaning as they flexed inwards, driving every scrap of breath from his lungs.
His helmet rang like a bell, hitting last.
Kaius’s mouth flapped, desperately trying to draw in breath. Moving quickly, he ignored the bones that splayed out from his ruptured shins, and the blood that pooled on the ground. They were already healing, crackling as they ground against each other while his health forced them back into position.
Slamming a fist into his chest, he took a gulping breath and forced himself to his feet — ready to move as he checked on the wall behind him.
It was as still as the dead. Thank the fucking gods
….
Crunching his way through an apple, Kaius looked at the next obstacle with a pensive expression on his face.
The piece of fruit was a rare treat, both for getting over a particularly difficult wall and for the fact his struggles would likely only get worse from here on out. He didn’t have many of them left in his storage ring, after all.
Only a dozen or so steps ahead of him, a gargantuan pit had replaced the floating pathway that the course was built on. It was, perhaps, better to describe it as a chasm. Easily five hundred longstrides from end to end, its depths confounded Truesight. A sheer drop for a league that quickly faded into an impenetrable dark.
There was a path across — in a sense, at least. Floating platforms of polished granite, as smooth and slick as ice. Circular islands of stability, they sat in place, uncaring of the yawning space beneath them.
Wide enough he could comfortably stand on one, they were scattered far enough that he would just comfortably be able to leap from stone to stone from standing — five longstrides, give or take a longstride or two in variation. He’d need a little care and focus, but he could do it.
Easily.
That made him suspicious. No way would it be easy — not with how everything else had gone. Plus, the stones were floating; he could think of a dozen different nasty surprises that could be hidden on the obstacle.
Maybe they were frictionless, or would only hold his weight for a moment. Hells, some of them could be fake! The Crucible had already proven it could lock him out of the use of his skills — he couldn’t just assume that Truesight would pick up on such a deception.
He sighed — it wouldn’t be anywhere near as much of a problem if the chasm weren’t so long. An unpleasant surprise: he’d seen the far end of the obstacle when he’d done his best to peak around the climbing wall from the start of the course, but most of its length had been hidden from him.
Caution, as always, was the play. There was no doubt that the trial had something positively diabolical in store.
Taking a last bite of his snack, Kaius grumbled before he tossed the core of his apple at the closest platform. Regardless if Truesight was impacted or not, his senses were still sharp. He might be able to hear when the core hit the bottom of the chasm, and hopefully get some sort of sense for how deep it was.
The core sailed through the air, landing on the closest platform with a wet thud as it slid towards the edge.