It took a few more minutes for William to muster his energy for the third and final test. He spent it trying to reflect on what he could have done different, but most of the insight’s he could potentially gain from the endeavor were overshadowed by him mentally kicking himself for not checking out the Sword-forms Tome before going into the trial.
“I’m such an idiot.” William thought, shaking his head at his mistake. He rose to his feet and exited the chamber. Moments later, he was beside the third plinth and was staring into the third room. William got a better view of the chamber and could summarize it as a truly shitty one. From what he could interpret of the layout, it appeared to be a deadly obstacle course that looked like something some popular daytime TV shows did, but instead of padded beams and safety mats, there were spikes and cutting implements all over the room. The blue flamed sconces illuminating it gave the room a truly sinister feeling, and he would not have been shocked if some ghoulish creatures haunted it.
“Would those sword-forms even help me on an obstacle course?” William asked aloud, trying to visualize the best way through before starting.
William took a couple of minutes more visualizing his path and he decided on one that seemed right. A three inch wide wooden platform extended out about two feet into the chamber, with a drop below onto a bed of vicious spikes. Not too difficult to balance on with his Dexterity he guessed. There was a jump onto a small, table sized circle of stone balancing on a single thin pillar that he would need to land on without off setting the balance too much. Beyond that was several “monkey” bars with spikes laden across them, with two small handholds on each bar, each bar having them, in different positions meaning it wouldn’t be as simple as keeping the same pattern. He would have to widen and reduce his reach as he swung himself across each one. Lastly was another thin beam leading to the other side of the chamber and what William assumed was the end goal. Two rotating beams of razor sharp blades spun in circles, the first low to the ground, the second higher at roughly chest height. It would be tough, but it was still the least obstructive path amongst the array of platforms and sharp machinations of myriad shapes and sizes that filled the chamber.
William nodded to himself, having made his decision. He would read the Tome after this last test. He was getting worried about being away for so long, and he hoped no one would have went deep into the forest looking for him if he didn’t come back. It was a slim chance he figured, but visualizing something like the fell-kin attacking his party made him go cold. The bandits were still around too, and really, he was still the only one that had engaged them in battle. Even if others were levelling more now, he still worried about their maiden battles against other humans. William also couldn’t really picture how knowing ways to swing swords around would help with hoping over and under stuff as he didn’t anticipate any success in parrying thick spinning beams of sharp metal or the like.
William pressed down on the plinth and the now very familial swords-master appeared once more.
“Congratulations are in order, Disciple. Your last test is before you, and we shall finally see the culmination of your years spent training in our ways.” The figure said coolly.
“Years?!” William thought, shock barely stifled from appearing on his face. He then realized that the figure probably ran on NPC rules of some kind. Maybe it worked by reactionary means where it adjusts based off of how people running the dungeon behaved. It was probably “programmed” to view dungeon runners as the ancient sect’s disciples. William could feel some sympathy with the pore ancient bastards that probably died often in these tests. It didn’t really matter to William, however, this was the last test and then he could be gone from the place, hopefully with more shiny loot.
The swords-master continued, “This final test is focused on balance. Beware, for that word is more than its surface meaning and physical state. Only balance of both mind and body will grant you the opportunity to succeed.”
Without any further ado, William walked to the edge of the room and took a step in, cautiously placing one foot on the thin platform that would start him on the path of life and death. Nothing happened. The platform was firm and stable it appeared. William stepped onto the platform fully and did a quick stretch of his arms. He stopped as he felt a sudden warmth fill his body. It didn’t work its way through his body from any origin point, but rather, it hit him all at once. Half a moment later he was in excruciating pain. He screamed loudly, as the edge of his vision blurred. William began to feel himself leaning towards the left side drop, but was able to catch himself through sheer will when he glimpsed the metal spikes glinting with blue flamed reflections waiting to sink into his flesh. He could barely manage that simple adjustment to his body weight. How the hell was he gonna pass this test?
William decided to try and force himself through the pain just until the pain tolerance to it grew enough for him to complete the test. It was about balance between body and mind according to the figure that had subjected him to the wide array of torment he had endured so far. How could he make that balance happen? What could he do to gain such balance? The questions looped in his mind, both tormenting him, and keeping him conscious. To lose the mental game here was to face certain death.
After what felt like an eternity, William felt some of the pain abate. It was minor, but now he could actually process his periphery unlike before. Something of a small epiphany occurred to William then about balance. He balanced the distraction of his mind with questions he pumped into that same mind. This created two small mental forces conflicting, yet also balancing each other out. He looked down to his feet, and saw they were evenly split on the thin platform as his center was lowered slightly. His legs were the counterpoint to the pull of gravity, allowing his body to move. That was another natural balance of the world. He glanced around the room and saw that the beams with blades attached all had counterweights that seemed to stop the beams from sliding out of whatever spinning implement they were attached to. Even the stone circle that he would be moving onto next demonstrated perfect balance a large surface on a tiny point, in perfect harmony.
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Balance was everywhere, and William started to see many things in a new light. Birds flapped wings to balance in the air, boats had space for air to keep them balanced on the seas. The seasons rotated yearly from hot to cold, another balanced aspect of the world. William’s mini-epiphany allowed him to distract even further from the pain and once it had reduced down slightly further, William committed to the leap to the next part of the course.
William leaped with determination, intending to plant his feet on either side of the point under the stone circle to prevent his immediate descent to death. That high dexterity came in very handy then as he landed flawlessly. His joy, however, was suddenly eclipsed by a new wave of pain, hitting him like a truck. The assault made him flinched causing the platform beneath him to wobble slightly. He had to be unmoveable or he would die. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, taking sharp and deep inhales of air, trying to stem the pain. It was harrowing him to his soul, yet he stood firm. Unyielding. Moments later, he had acclimated to the new pain enough to function and he readied himself for the spiked “monkey” bars.
William could only hope that no new pain flooded him while he was traversing them, otherwise William doubted that he would be long for the world if it happened. He pushed off of the platform and winced as he heard it tumble down and clang against the metal spikes below. William managed to grasp the first bar successfully. He saw then that the next bar’s hand holds were merely two inches apart in the center of the bar. The current handholds he clasped were about two feet apart, and William knew that swinging to the next bar would require lightning quick reactions to not grasp the spiked parts. At least there wasn’t any added pain presently.
William made his traversal and by some luck mixed with his agility, he managed to catch himself on the handholds, wincing slightly as he had felt his left arm nick the edge of spikes slightly. It was minor, but still elicited a physical reaction. He held firm however, and readied himself for the next bar, which had the same handholds as the first. William held off to examine the last bars, and was able to spot that it was wide, short, wide, short, all the way through. He smiled slightly, now having a mental rhythm of some form to use.
William continued his traversal and only caught his hands two more times fortunately, and with a final shift in momentum, he landed on the final platform. He had landed at the very edge of it so that the spinning beams didn’t reach him, but he still felt the air that the beams swished aside blow at his shins. William watched the pattern of both beams and was able to spot a two second interval where he could hop over the first one and dash under the second before reaching the end. William readied himself and soon enough, spotted the opening he wanted.
William kicked off, and cleared the first beam, when he was struck by a new onslaught of pain, causing him to stagger and slow. William had briefly blacked out from the pain in mid leap, and came around to the sight of a spiked beam two inches from his face. He squatted down in agony still, but was not fast enough to come off unscathed as he felt two of the razor tips score straight cuts across the top of his head. Two lines of pain followed immediately, accompanied by the feeling of his warm and sticky blood. William had no time for it however, and with a final leap, cleared the last gap of the trial. William landed successfully, but then crumpled down from the pain. It seemed that he had built up adrenaline levels throughout the assaults of pain, and it had just worn off.
William pulled himself into a seated position and pulled out some cloth from his pack to tie around his head, intent on stopping the bleeding. The end result was a tight band of fabric, wrapping under his jaw and over his head, tied off in a bow knot at the side. The only knot he really knew, unfortunately, so he was unsure of its efficacy in this scenario. Beggars couldn’t be choosers however.
William eventually got back to his feet after recuperating from the pain, focusing on his enlightenment regarding balance as a distraction. As he stepped further into the end of the chamber, the swords-master appeared once more.
“Well done, Disciple. You have shown your knowledge and mastery of balance and have completed the final trial. You are now granted the title of: Journeyman of the Arcane Sword. Wear it with honor, and continue beyond this place, ever pursuing true master of our ideals.” The figure said, now with some pride in the tone.
The emotion on their face was still neutral, unfortunately. William didn’t get a chance to say anything further as the apparition disappeared for what William felt was the final time. It seemed anticlimactic to say the least. A new title was awesome, but he still hoped for more of a speech or some more praise at least. He shrugged slightly after the thought and was about to check his title, but stopped himself as he would rather wait until he was fully finished in the dungeon as he anticipated another title for being the first to clear the dungeon. He decided to focus on the reward prompt instead:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Trial}
{Goal}
Complete the 3 final trials of the Arcane Sword [[Completed]]
{Rewards}
A double pick of Dungeon Treasure Selection
{Bonus Rewards}
A double pick of Dungeon Treasure Selection
[Notice – Rewards are replacements for EXP]
{End}
William’s mouth fell in shock at the prompt as he also spotted four pedestals appear before him, the same as all previous trials. He re-read the prompt to make sure that he read it right and grinned wide. Two double picks made four total picks, meaning all the rewards in front of him were his. William rushed over and from just looking at the display, felt that every pain he suffered in the dungeon had truly been worth it.