The new place Luke found himself in had an earthen feel. Pillars were constructed in a grand circle around him. A singular statue of a human was in front. Beyond the pillars was a sheer drop with no ending in sight. At least the air was clean of any odor. The ceiling above him was vaulted. White marble was the makeup of both the top and the floor. He gulped for a moment. No falling, that’s for sure.
Sooty landed on his head and pecked at his forehead. It was her way of saying hello.
“Glad you made it, Sooty. I was worried they wouldn’t take you with me for a second.” Luke let Sooty do as she wished.
Runes of the same language in the cave floated in the air between the pillars. One sprung from its confines and landed on the stone human statue. Life came to its eyes as the rune pulsed with a spiritual legacy.
The area shook, and the human directly stepped off. Its stone eyes hung on Luke.
“Another Reaver has made it here. How long has it been?” A gravelly and slow voice came from the statue.
Luke recognized the human. It was a stone version of the hooded figure. The hood covered most of its face, even as a living statue. But the stature was a perfect replica. He Infused Sooty and himself, ready to strike.
“You focused on Infusion. You’ll need it.” The statue was emotionless in its words.
Luke scoffed. Of course he would; which Reaver wouldn’t?
Able to read his thoughts through his expression, the stone human answered his unasked question. It offered a cryptic response. “You’d be surprised.”
Xera, ever the interrupter, piped up with characteristic zeal. "Oh, it's you again. You're the one who shoved me back into that chest! Come on, let me out. I've had enough of this dungeon—kidnapping is illegal, you know!" Her voice blended resentment and a peculiar cheerfulness that seemed to underlie her spirit.
The stone human, however, remained unfazed by Xera's outburst, opting not to acknowledge her protest. Luke, seizing the quiet moment after Xera's interruption, addressed the enigmatic figure. "You’re the hooded figure from the artwork. But who are you really?" Luke asked since the figure was sentient.
“Like any progenitor of a class, we end up creating a trial for the future generations. I am a representation of the first Reaver. You need not worry; I’m not even a fraction as powerful, nor do I have most of her abilities. The trial would be impossible otherwise.”
The statue was surprisingly patient. Being made of stone would do that.
“Fledgling, you’ll have to show me you have a chance against the final trial guardian my creator placed here. Do that, and I’ll let you pass. Fail, and you’ll join the pile of discarded Reaver bodies. Thrown down to the eternal darkness below surrounding this platform.”
The sudden switch back to hostility had Luke halt his questions. Tensing his body, strength was readied in his feet. Sooty even started to circle above.
“Come, Reaver.” A stone scythe appeared in its hands, lashing out toward Luke.
As the interface flooded with alerts, Luke dismissed them with a swipe of his hand, placing razor-sharp focus on the immediate threat before him.
"Mind yourself, lad. Numbers aren't everything. This foe's got a trick or two up its sleeve," Wayfinder cautioned with a note of urgency, sensing the gravity of their situation.
Luke observed the statue, a sense of recognition dawning on him as he watched energy surge from its palms, wrapping around its weapon in a dance of empowerment. Infusion—it was a technique he knew all too well. Through intuition, Luke could tell it was the same rank as his, yet like it had been optimized, something was different.
Taking both swords, he parried the scythe only to be blasted back. Skidding a few feet, Luke stopped himself—Sooty dove in, only to be forced back by the long reach of the scythe. A globe of essence floated protectively around the statue.
A sheen enveloped the stone human. About to cast Essence Bond, Luke stopped himself. Over Reaver’s Link, Sooty told him not to use the ability. Glancing at her, he nodded and stopped.
“Your companion is good at noticing what you don’t. A good trait to have, but it only covers the weakness in your perception to a point.” With a scythe rapidly waving outward, a slice of essence came Luke’s way. He was unprepared for a ranged ability and was caught off guard.
Sooty let out an Iron Feather, cutting the effectiveness of the ambush in half.
Unfitting of something made of stone, it’s practically teleported in front of Luke. This time, he dodged, the scythe strike cutting firmly into the marble floor. Blood began rushing all over Luke’s body. Whispering Edge managed to graze the statue, its stony hide resisting severe damage.
"Focus your blows, lad. It's got armor like a fortress. You won't be bringing it down with a mere handful of swings. It'll be a war of attrition. Use your speed and the crow to wear it down," Wayfinder advised, his role as Luke's strategic guide clear in his tone.
Prepared for a prolonged struggle, Luke positioned his dual swords, ready to unleash a flurry of targeted strikes. Only for them to become easily blocked. Sooty struck with her Reaver Beak at the minor cut. The floating orb neutralized her attack completely. Undaunted, Sooty followed with a swift Talon Strike. When she used the ability, the usual sparkle around her talons became a noticeable shade of silver blue. Her Talon tore out a chuck of stone. Sensing the scythe, Sooty flew out of its range.
“Your choice of companion and that compass is undoubtedly why you’ve made it this far. Nothing else would explain it. Where exactly did you get a numbered artifact?” The Guardian mused.
Luke had no idea what the statue was asking him, so he didn’t respond. The two continued to exchange blows, but this statue’s defense against him was iron-tight. The swirling orb reappeared after some time.
A steady voice informed Luke. “You’ll have to pierce through an armor harder than my own to leave this tomb, Reaver.”
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That gleam around the stone human meant casting on it wouldn’t go well for Luke. A passive he’d almost forgotten about proced.
[Your target has been silenced for one second]
The orb dissipated, but the gleam did not.
“Sooty, now!” He had his companion take advantage of the windfall.
She let out her Essence Screech and the gleam disappeared, but not before the screech was reflected.
Leaving alone the feeling of his organs shifting and the taste of iron in his mouth, Luke took the next step. Slashing down Xera, she met the stone scythe blow for blow. Sending essence to shift her into a wand, the scythe came forward, but Luke had long been ready. The wand was right in front of the exposed stone.
“Essence Lance.” The swirling lance fired from Xera in her wand form and caused a cascade of cracks all along the stone human. Not missing her chance, Sooty landed a Reaver Beak at the same spot. The stone human took significant damage.
Luke had failed to ready a proper defense, a lash of essence cut toward him, and a red line appeared across his chest. Forgetting the meaning of defense, he pierced Whispering Edge at the cracks the stone human had.
“Correct choice.” There was a hint of approval to be heard from the trial boss.
“Hey, back to a sword for me! You don’t have enough spells for the wand to be fun yet.” Xera said. Switching her back, Luke didn’t relent on the trial boss. Sooty used Shadow Wing as well. A new Iron Feather floated around Luke.
A specter of the boss emerged, countering the help of the shadow. The two were evenly matched. Sooty, too eager to land a Reaver Beak, took a glancing strike to her wing. Infusion re-powered Sooty and Whispering Edge despite Xera’s protests.
Attempting to use the active abilities of his equipment, a freezing aura exploded from the trial boss. No matter how many attempts, nothing would come out. The space around wouldn’t budge. The same applied to Wayfinder’s ability as well.
The battle fell into a rhythmic back and forth. The stone statue regenerated slowly. Only the coordinated strikes of the combined efforts of Sooty and Luke would wear it down. The shadow and specter canceled each other.
Then, after additionally wearing the boss down, Luke noticed his cuts would no longer sink into the stone human, only bouncing off. The gleam would reappear every five seconds, with every ten having the floating ball of essence come as well.
“This is about as far as you can muster then. You’re on the borderline.” Its voice started to echo around, bouncing off the pillars.
A condition was lain before Luke. “Survive without your Essence Feedback, and you’ll pass.” The boss raised its hand, and an unknown Essence ability burst forth.
A cage of essence enveloped Sooty, pinning her to the ceiling. Before she became enclosed, she let an Iron Feather fly to revolve around Luke. Sooty had become trapped.
“Sooty!” Luke panicked, then noticed the cage was more rooting her in place rather than hurting her.
“Even if we are a class with a companion, a Reaver must be able to stand on his own two feet. The weak among us will be culled without knowing it otherwise. I’d rather let them die here.” A whisper came beside Luke. The stone guardian had appeared next to him again.
Meeting its words, a scythe rapidly tried to impale Luke. The Iron Feather slowed it down enough for him to duck. The Iron Feather had saved him from his lapse in judgment. Making the motion to cast Essence Fissure, Luke was kicked in the stomach.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, casting so close to an enemy, at least if you are that sluggish. My gleam works on the fissure, too, you know.”
Essence Bond and Essence Fissure are useless against this guy then? Luke adapted.
The stone figure spoke with an authority that betrayed a deep understanding of Luke's Reaver class. “Moreover, the dual-wielding style doesn’t work as well as you think for Reavers. You managed to find Xera. Why haven’t you upgraded her as far as you could already? That other sword of yours may as well be cardboard compared to her.”
"I told you so. See, even he agrees with me." Xera exclaimed, her voice bubbling with vindication.
"Not now, lass, keep your focus," Wayfinder interjected, nudging them back to the present danger.
Luke had noticed his dual-wielding style had issues. Using his full strength in a swing was difficult. He often couldn’t Infuse both of them and Sooty. The reduction in the ability to parry was an issue, and he had no passives to increase the effectiveness of his offhand.
In other words, his class wasn’t designed to be a dual-wielding one in the first place. Just because he could, doesn’t mean he should.
His reluctance to throw away a strategic active ability and passive had been why he tried to use both simultaneously. The one-second silence chance on hit and the active ability, Wraith Wail, were too valuable. On second thought, he could keep Whispering Edge out and only unsheathe it to use its active and benefit from the second passive. He changed styles, going for this approach.
This test is more about giving a crash course as a reward to a Reaver. This is indirect guidance from the very first Reaver. Realization dawned on Luke.
He took the advice. If Luke guessed correctly, ignoring the hints before him would be foolish. Whispering Edge slid back into its sheath. Luke would always be grateful to that sword, but its time as his main weapon had ended.
“Good. Now, survive.” The stone statue slowly nodded. A familiar lance appeared, and the statue melded it into its scythe.
The air frosted, and the ground formed ice crystals. Drawing from his own experience using this move once, Luke shifted both hands to Xera. His eyes were on the shoulder the scythe rested on. Muscles for his legs flexed, ready to spring off in a fraction of a second. He squared his shoulders.
His instincts screamed. Xera yelled out. “Swing me to your right with everything you got.”
Having no time to debate, Luke did precisely that. The scythe had left the hand of the statue and smashed against Xera. The shock blasted him near to a pillar. Before getting his awareness back in focus, he swung his body over. A deep cut appeared on Luke’s right side, blood spilling.
Frost spread around his body. His essence naturally tried to fight it off but was only minorly effective. Luke rolled forward, taking Infusion and applying it to himself and Xera. He didn’t dare to charge the stone guardian. Doing that right now would kill him.
Luke formed an Essence Lance. The stone replica of the first Reaver said not to use the Essence Feedback move. That meant he could still use Essence Lance in other ways. Luke was out of moves otherwise, anyway. The other two were useless in his current situation.
Sooty clicked in worry and tried straining against the cage of essence, binding her.
“To your left! I got out of that chest. I’m not going back in. You better live!” Xera told Luke.
He threw the lance to the left. The statue was already swiping down with his scythe. The force pushed Luke away. With the frost strongly coming from the figure and the sickle, no damage was dealt by his lance.
It had served its purpose. Another swing followed. Xera exerted her will and forced Luke’s arms to move for him. They blocked the scythe. The force was too much. Luke bounced several times like a rag doll, leaving cracks on the pristine marble floor. He avoided the next deadly swipe by springing on the last bounce with his legs.
The frost had slowed him significantly, and his strength was gradually drained. Luke struggled to breathe at all. The statue pierced the scythe through his leg. He was unable to move in time. One hundred damage ripped across his sight.
It wasn’t even a critical strike, yet it hit me this hard. Luke noted internally, building a deadly calm.
Even if his mind was busy dealing with the pain, his arms moved by themselves. Stopping the scythe from beheading him, Xera was pressed against his neck. He was stuck to the floor.
The statue bore down its full strength on him, and Xera began to cut into his neck slightly. At this rate, he wouldn’t defy death long enough to pass. He was pinned down—Infusion powered back into Xera, more desperately this time. The skill fused with her and halted the frosty aura eating him alive.
“Does someone have to explain everything to you? Use your abilities, or you’ll die.” The statue was monotone in its advice.
Luke had his mind race. What could be done? Infusion was used, and Essence Lance was on cooldown. Essence Fissure had no other inventive uses he could come up with. Essence Bond couldn't... wait.
Wait. A soundless lightning cracked in his mind. Luke let out a hearty laugh, bordering on crazy.
“How could I not see it before?”