Stepping into the trial, he was actually given a few reasons to feel optimistic. There was in fact solid ground for him to walk on, though it seemed more like a construct of mana than stone or earth beneath his feet, and his enchantments were holding. More than that, he was actually too cold from them and lowered their output until he was comfortable, knowing that in all likelihood he’d need to change them again soon enough. Even if it wasn’t too bad so far, it was still hot, it just wasn’t starting at a temperature that would cook him alive.

From there, he took a quick look around, trying to figure out where he needed to go when a sight stopped him in his tracks.

“Greed, either I’m dreaming of the trials messing with me ‘cause I already see a light.”

It was nothing but a twinkle in the distance and he was already sure it would take as many hours of suffering to reach as any other part of the trial they’d been through yet, but he was sure it was there, clear as day.

One of his bigger concerns had been how he’d be able to find the thing if the trial was going to be flooded in flame, with light in all directions to mess him up, but so long as it wasn’t a bit of fire already started, it might have been their first bit of good news so early into a section so far.

“Well then don’t turn your nose up at a bit of mercy and get moving!” Greed yelled at him, getting him moving with all of his speed.

The armour was weighing him down, but his strength and stamina were both high, raised all the more thanks to the crab pressed into his chest, and combined with the time enchantment on the armour flooding him with its effects he was all but flying across the land, making distance at a speed he could never normally hope to achieve. With every step he got farther as the world moved in slow motion, and he couldn’t help but harbour a hope that he’d make it there before things got truly bad, his only concern being adjusting the water enchantment to keep things cool as the heat rose.

That hope lasted right until a pillar of fire exploded from the ground only seconds later.

He hadn’t been expecting it. He couldn’t have expected it. He’d been looking out into the distance, thinking he’d see the first sign of whatever was being thrown at him much farther away to give him at least a hint, but it had appeared right under his feet, briefly engulfing him in flames as it did.

It was large enough that it took him seconds to get out, but by the end he felt himself sweating despite the various enchantments from him. He wished it was from worry or fear, but enough warmth had gotten through to leave him in that state as he went on, swearing to himself as he did.

This is on me. We kept seeing signs at least a little bit away, I thought I could depend on it. Never expected to be thrown into the middle of a freaking inferno! Damn it, if those things only get hotter too then I’m in trouble.

As he tried to think of how he might be able to avoid such things in the future, there was one thing he didn’t account for, his current speed and horrid luck. With the time enchantment on top of the previous buffs, he was moving much faster, meaning he’d gotten farther into the trial. The reason he hadn’t seen any yet was because that was the first one. The fact that he had ended up in the center of it when it went off had all come down to poor chance, while the fact that he’d lived was thanks to the work he’d put in to prepare for it.

Ben, having no idea of any of that, rushed on as he went, doing his best to be vigilant but seeing no warning that would give away the coming flame. All he could do to try to be safe was to lower the temperature further, going beyond what he was comfortable with to try and protect against anything that might catch them unaware.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He watched more pillars shoot up around him, each one seeming to be larger than the last and erupting without warning, but thankfully missing him as they did. They were beginning to come faster though, with more appearing at once so he tried to push himself harder, forcing more speed out of his legs with every step he went, only to find he couldn’t. The first few sections had been making him grow accustomed to giving every drop of sweat and blood he could when he pushed his body and when he started running for this one he was already forcing his body to its absolute limits.

It hurt to breathe and everything ached, but Greed was constantly healing him, repairing every torn muscle fibre, stimulating the breakdown and removal of any acids and other byproducts of exercise as he pushed himself so he didn’t have to stop. Until they got through the exit, his body was nothing more than a machine designed to move.

A small part of him cursed himself for never doing anything to train his agility stat as something new caught his eye as he went towards their final destination. A single ball of fire hung in the air and began to move, seemingly randomly at first, but as the seconds rolled by it became obvious it was going in his direction.

For the time it wasn’t a major worry, but he knew that as with any other part of the trial, it would grow into one. He was currently faster than it, leaving it in the dust as he pushed himself, but he didn’t know how much longer that would be before its own speed grew, and as he found more and more popping into existence around him it only became a bigger concern with each passing second.

It was as he was trying to figure out how to deal with them that he was caught in another pillar of flame, this one bigger than any other as one of his minds reacted immediately, lowering the water enchantment as far as it could go as he made his way out of it, his eyes almost closed to protect them from the blinding light of the inferno.

Where the first time took seconds, the second took minutes, making him question if there was going to be any getting out of it at all. If perhaps the entire trial had burst into flames as he began to feel the cooling effect lose out to the growing heat.

It was only as he felt the air begin to burn his lungs that he got through it, with his final destination in sight.

By this point the trial as a whole had gotten so hot that his various enchantments couldn’t keep him from sweating in his armour while his back began to burn, telling him all he needed to know about how far he was from the chasing balls of fire, but the ending was almost within reach. At least it had been briefly.

He’d been able to make out the exit with certainty, not as a light off in the distance but now as a glowing hole in space for him to pass through, maybe ten more minutes away before it was consumed by a pillar of flame bigger than any other.

Fuck! Is it still in there? Do I need to find it while it’s in there or would the exit be moved? If it’s been moved I'm not finding it at this point so I need to trust that if I go in I’ll get it. No other option.

“Greed, I don’t care how you destroy my body to do it, I need more speed!” He yelled out, feeling the skin on his back blister as the following balls of fire forced their way past the barrier he had set up to touch the metal of the armour itself.

For his part, Greed didn’t question him, instead flooding him with life mana as the spell was activated, giving Ben the speed he wanted as he made it to the edge of the pillar of fire and threw himself into it

Hotter than any yet, it served as a distraction for Ben from the severe pain his legs were in from the spell as the muscle tore itself apart to move him faster. All he could do was go straight, knowing that as long as his course was correct he’d make it through.

With the size of the flame pillar bigger than any other he’d seen he spent many painful minutes doing nothing but running, barely able to breathe as the fire consumed all of the air around them, but pushing through his lightheadedness until suddenly it was gone. They were on the other side after finishing that section of the trial and he quickly stripped off the armour before he paid the price for Greed’s spell and let himself lay down on the ground.

“...I still wouldn’t say no to pain resistance,” He muttered, hoping the system would feel generous enough to eventually take him up on that suggestion.