Chapter 18: Burns and Breaks

A few deep breaths bring down my adrenalin levels enough for my hands to stop shaking. Phew. That certainly got my heart rate up. And even better, it got me the skill I needed (No more falling! Yay!) so that I can try the ossicle course again (Probably more falling. Boo!) 

I climb the stone ladder on the starting block for what is hopefully the last time and ready myself for what I'm about to do. 

A slow breath out... I got this. My feet begin to rocket me forward. Step, step step, step. Faster and faster as I leap from column to column. It was even easier than before. My newfound focus and skill certainly helped in that regard. And the extra agility points I had gotten from my falling adventures didn't hurt either. 

There's the turn that tripped me up before. Ugh. It is a miracle that I didn't see this before. If I had looked away from the next column for just a fraction of a second I would have spied it. Whoever put this here was cleaver. The change in direction gets harder and harder to see as you get closer to it (unless you want to look away from the pillars you are about to step on). If you were focused just on the next column or two you never would have noticed until it was to late.

Once you do know however it is just as easy to jump to as all of the previous platforms. Maybe even easier because the gap is a foot or two shorter. Regardless, I keep jumping on and on. 

Step, step, step, step, step...

I'm beginning to think that I'll be able to complete this course after all...

...Really? No change? No surprise? Huh. The virtual gods must be changing shifts or on a break or something. Murphy's law never failed to disrupt me before.

Step, step, step, step, step and leap!

My feet thud down and I take a few steps to slow down. I did it. I did it! I finished the first part, finally landing on a platform the same size as the starting one (which is a nice change from the one foot by one foot columns I had been jumping on towards the end) with a sign on it with "Stage 1/5" on it. 

With a grin splitting my face I tap the blinking exclamation mark on the side of my vision and bring up my rewards.

For completing the first of five portions in the Training hall's agility course you receive 1 point to agility.

One point?! I ran on tiny columns for thirty plus minutes and suffered a nasty fall for one measly point?! Are you joking?!

My left hand forms a first while my right goes to my knife. I close my eyes and briefly clench my hands until the knuckles turn white before letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding with a huff. There. Anger worked out. Most of it anyway. 

I'll do the next portion, but if I don't gain more this time, then I'm better off training my agility out in the plains and mountains. 

Now, what does part two of this course offer me? 

I glance up to assess the next ossicles and wow is there a steep learning curve here. One second you're just happily running on columns and the next you have to cross logs which are laid out horizontally (and are spinning because why not), swing on ropes, do monkey bar looking things and climb a climbing wall. Oh and did I forget to mention the swinging blades and blasts of fire that you have to dodge. Yep. And that's just what I can see. The climbing wall blocks my view of anything that may be beyond it. I am all for learning quickly, but stage one to stage two seems like too big of a jump.

Alright, alright, I can do this. I just have to psych myself up and do it. It's simple. Just sprint across the log as soon as the swinging axe has just crossed it to give myself enough time to get across. Simple. As long as I remember to put my feet slightly to the left to counteract the spinning I'll be fine. Once I'm at the end I'll jump off and grab the rope. Simple. Once I have a strong grip on it (or sightly before if I need it) I'll activate time slow and figure out how to proceed from their. Yep it's going to be totally simple. 

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Once again my hands start shaking from all the adrenalin coursing through my bloodstream. If I wait too long to do it then I won't so...here...we...go! My legs start moving, gaining speed with each pump. Accelerating my body faster and faster. My foot comes down on the spinning log just as the axe rushes across it. Perfect. I feel myself about to slip as the rotation of the log pushes my leg to the right and off it, but my other boot is already touching the log and taking my weight. So much for not activating time slow until I grabbed the rope.

It only takes two more steps to get across the log which is good because my steps grow increasing unstable the longer I'm on it. The swinging blade proved to be less of an issue than I thought it would be. It takes a full two seconds to complete it's deadly path. More than enough time for me to slip by.

As my feet finally leave the log hopefully for good, my wings stay tucked to my back. This course was designed for people under level five and, unless they wanted to make it completely impossible for the trainees to complete, it won't require any flight. Huh. For most people, having wings must seem like a liability instead of a benefit. Man am I glad I'm not most people.

My outstretched hands finally grasp the hanging rope and I clamp down with all the strength I can to stop myself from slipping off. Now wait until I'm at the peak of my swing and... release! Arching my back to get my legs under me I finally land on a platform which appears to be a safe place on the course where I can plan what to do next. Or not, apparently. Why do I ever say anything is safe? The platform is now sinking, ensuring that the longer I wait the more difficult it will be to jump to the monkey bars above.

I have maybe ten seconds before the sinking will make me to low to jump up and that would be cutting it really close. Sigh. No rest for the weary. I take about three seconds to breath and get ready before squatting down and exploding upwards. Grab the bar with both hands... perfect. 

Now to swing across. It would normally be a piece of cake (even my impoverished grade school had a pair of monkey bars), but the periodic blasts of fire along it's length add an extra challenge. Breath in, breath out and let's do this. My time slow, along with the bright orange glow that precedes each fire blast should be enough to get me over to the end. I just have to swing, swing and swing and swing and wait and swing and wait and oh crap. 

I grit my teeth as a blast of fire in front of me prevents my escape and an orange glow behind and where I am warn of danger. Gahhh! The pain of being turned into barbecue is insane, but I somehow manage to hang on by one hand. OW OW OW that burns! And I only had two more rungs to go... Come on Blade, you can still make it. 

With blackened fingers and a clenched jaw I finally get to the end and drop (read collapse) onto the ledge bellow the climbing wall. Luckily the floor stays where it is this time. Sparing a glance at my health I can see it hovering at 4 out of 40. That almost wiped me out. 

I force myself into a sitting position and curl my legs in before activating meditation. I'm glad to see that it works the first time and I let out an involuntary sigh as the pain fades away into the background. It is very clear that neither my class nor my current hit points is suited to taking hits so I will happily stay off the front lines. Glad I have that resolved in my mind. Now, I'm going to have to stay in meditation for a little less than ten minutes (I have a regeneration of four and that is how many points I regenerate per minute) so I may as well put that time to good use. The next obstacle I have to overcome is the climbing wall (which is really just a regular rock wall). That shouldn't be too hard given that I have some experience with climbing. I never took off the poorly made hand-wraps that I made either so I have that covered. Seems like a piece of cake. 

Now there is also the question of whether or not I want to keep trying the course after this, but I think I'll wait until I see what the rewards for completing it's second part are. There is something to be said for doing it all in one go, but at the same time I can always come back and there is a lot more to the training hall than just this. 

Finally, the last thing to mull over is if I decide I don't want to keep doing the course, what should I do next. The training dummies are meh to me because I think the sparring area would give me better gains so unless I have a specific attack to practice I'll skip it. The strength area does seem kind of interesting and I won't say no to being able to hit harder, but it isn't one of my main stats so it's not a huge issue if I miss it. The big group tournament thing in the center is out of the question because I don't have a group and, based on what I saw, that is something of a necessity. Having ruled out those three, it comes down to either the sparing area or the library. A tough choice, but between the two I have to go with the library first. It'll be nice to have a chance to relax and it's my best shot at learning magic. The thought of shooting fireballs out of my hand or bending spoons with my mind still makes me giddy. 

Alright, time to get to it. My health is stable at 40 out of 40 so I’m good to go. There are also a notification on the side of my vision which popped up as soon as my health recovered fully, but I can just deal with that when I finish stage two.

“Now what do we have here” I mutter to myself as I look up at the black, stone wall. It’s very similar to the mountainside which I climbed on my first day. Astonishingly so actually. Same volcanic looking pointy rock, same type of ledges… it even has a big crack running down it’s length. If I had to guess, the person (or AI) that designed this was preparing us for something. Are monsters or treasures found on mountainsides? Maybe? Something to keep in mind anyway.

And with that I leap up to try and start as high as I can and begin my climb. Left hand to that hold there, right foot up a foot or two, now the right hand. This is incredibly simple with my new stats and while I can feel the strain, my endurance will more than bring me to the top. It probably doesn’t hurt that this wall is way shorter than a mountain either. 

Wow. I pull myself past the last overhang and onto the top of the wall. That wasn’t bad at all. And based on the sign directly in front of me with “Stage 2/5” on it. That was all I had to do. There’s even a nice ladder carved into the stone on one side so I can get down; not that I’ll be needing it. With a little hop off the side I’m in free fall. I spread my wings and glide to the side of the agility course (whilst being as discrete as I can) and then settle rather ungracefully onto one of the tracks surrounding the five areas. 

Up to the library I suppose. I settle into a decent pace and jog towards the back of the Hall. 

While I’m doing that let’s check out my gains. 

For completing the second of five portions in the Training hall's agility course you receive 2 points to agility.

For taking on fire and pushing through the pain your health has increased by 1.