Charlie

Charlie and Themis continued the platform training for four more days. At the end of the second day, Themis fell asleep moments after knocking Charlie off his platform. Zephyr and Geby came to collect him. Charlie wanted to keep training on his own, but Vetica showed up and insisted he take a nap. He refused to leave the training room, so the two of them slept on the ground in the space between the bench and the protective wall of the dugout, as Orb called it.

Themis returned four hours later, and they resumed training. Vetica reluctantly left and returned to whatever it was Canano had roped her and Merlin into helping with. Since that short, four-hour break, they’d kept training relentlessly. It was now the end of the fourth day. Both of them were exhausted. Themis came back from a quick bathroom break and climbed back atop his platform.

“Ready?” he asked Charlie.

Charlie nodded. He’d been thinking lately about the difference in experience between Themis and himself. Charlie was still too slow. His attacks were powerful but lacked something. Even when Charlie blocked Themis’ attacks, the chunks and remnants of rock Themis had sent toward him remained on the ground around him. Charlie’s attacks usually turned to dust after Themis intercepted them.

But he had noticed an improvement lately. He was responding quicker, instinctually almost. It just hadn’t been enough to win yet. Charlie hadn’t been able to declare victory even a single time. He didn’t allow himself to become frustrated or angry. It was just like Themis said. He had to put in the work now, so he could protect the people he cared about when the time came. This was part of that.

“Let’s begin,” Themis said.

“Okay.” Charlie watched carefully, waiting for the researcher to make his first move. At that moment, when he was waiting for the attack to come, Charlie made a decision. He decided he wouldn’t react at all. He would watch.

Themis flared to life. His palm pressed toward Charlie, and he whispered a command. “Shift.” Snakes made of rock surged forward. It was something Charlie had tried and failed to replicate himself. They were made from earth, and yet, they were fluid beyond anything Charlie had ever thought possible. They shot toward him, spiraling around one another as they charged. Themis eyed him, waiting for Charlie to throw up a defensive wall or counterattack, but Charlie’s response never came. At the last moment, he watched Themis make another movement with his hand.

There it was.

The snakes smashed into him and sent him flying off the platform. He fell and sank into the mud below, groaning in disgust. His onesie was now a dark brown, plastered by layers and layers of accumulated mud. It was really uncomfortable. He hoped there wasn’t some kind of limit on the self-cleaning ability his onesie apparently had. Orb had already rude-fully stated that brown just wasn’t Charlie’s color.

Themis gasped. “Charlie? Are you okay?” he cried out. “Why didn’t you use your powers?”

Charlie shook his head and pressed his body up with his hands. He settled into a crawl. “I’m okay! Just moved too slow. Let’s go again.”

Themis frowned. “If you’re moving that slow, then we should stop for today. I could’ve hurt you if I used a more powerful attack. It would be dangerous to keep going.”

Charlie created a pillar to elevate him back to the platform. “I’m okay! One more time. Alright?” he said.

“Okay, let me know when you’re ready.” Themis sighed.

Themis had only used three of his powers in front of Charlie. Charlie didn’t have the slightest idea what the other four dungeon core’s functions were. But something had been bothering him. The shift function, that originated from the orange dungeon core in Themis’ shoulder, allowed him to control the dungeon. The seal function, a function of the black core along his bicep, apparently allowed him to control doors and seal off parts of the dungeon. It was strange. Shouldn’t Themis be able to seal off parts of the dungeon with shift? What was the difference? He only had seven dungeon cores, which meant he only had seven functions to assign. Why would he waste two of them on something so similar?

Charlie had a theory, and he wanted to test it. It was the reason why he needed to know if Themis was using both functions. In that moment when the snakes struck him, he’d seen Themis do it. He’d activated another ability, probably Seal, even though his attack was already inches away from striking Charlie. If Charlie was right, he’d come a step closer to bridging the gap. No, if Charlie was right, he would bridge the gap. He’d been working on a plan, slowly but surely, trying to find ways through the researchers’ defenses. Each loss offered him insight. Every time he fell and splashed into the mud below, he reflected further.

Now he was ready. “Alright, we can begin,” Charlie said.

Themis nodded and signaled the start of the round.

In another fluid motion, Themis sent the same attack forward. Twin serpents arced through the air, hoping to repeat their success from the previous round.

Charlie formed a wall in front of him, the sides of it curved on either side of him, to ensure the serpents couldn’t simply slither around it. It wasn’t the first time Charlie had taken a more defensive approach, but it was the first time he tried to integrate something new. He wasn’t sure exactly what the Seal function was. But he had a theory.

“Seal,” he whispered, focusing on the defensive barrier. It wasn’t an ability for him, but he said it aloud as he made the alterations himself. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “Please work,” he thought. The serpents attempted to go straight through the wall. In previous rounds, Themis had been able to penetrate or destroy Charlie’s defenses every time. This round was no different.

The rock wall smashed to pieces and crumbled around the platform. But the serpents themselves were torn apart as well. Charlie’s eyes widened, and he crawled to peer over the front of his platform. He stared at a sizeable chunk of rock that was clear from the wall he had made.

It hadn’t turned to dust. He smiled. This changed everything. His theory was correct. He looked up at the researcher, but if the man was surprised, he didn’t show it. Themis took a deep breath and held both hands out this time. “Shift!” he yelled. An enormous serpent formed. A great stone snake large enough to swallow Charlie whole.

Charlie tilted his head. “That’s not good.” No, he had to focus. He took a breath and raised his own hand.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

A large hand and arm formed on the ground behind him and slowly rose to its full height when he had finished making preparations. It was a smaller version of the technique he’d used in Sange’s dungeon. He knew how to beat Themis now, but could he pull it off?

The hand wasn’t nearly as fluid as the snake would be. Charlie’s focus had to be wholly on his offense. If the stone serpent reached Charlie before his attack reached Themis, his plan would fail. The researcher was smart enough that he would realize what Charlie was trying to do. He only had one opportunity to make this work.

Themis smiled. “Interesting. It’s a bizarre game of rock, paper, scissors. Let’s see who wins, serpent or fist.”

Each of them signaled their attack at once.

“Shift!” Themis threw his hand forward.

“Dungeon Manipulation!” Charlie screamed with his mind.

The stone fingers tightened and cut through the air between them.

The serpent opened its jaw wide, revealing sharpened stone teeth as it slithered forward.

For a moment, Charlie hoped the fist would smash right through. But the serpent coiled around the fist at the last second and kept moving toward Charlie.

It was moving faster than his attack was.

“Now,” Charlie thought, a moment before the snake reached him.

The pointer finger of the stone fist curled in tighter and then grated forward against the thumb. The tip of the finger broke off and shot toward Themis. Before it hit him, it turned to dust.

Themis shook his head. Charlie had caught him off guard. The dust filled the air around Themis, forcing the researcher to cover his eyes.

The remaining fingers of the stone hand burst open, and the material hidden within scattered forward.

Charlie slapped the ground with his hands just as the serpent smashed into him. “Please work!” he said to himself as the serpent knocked his body into the air. It was a race against gravity.

Momentum versus gravity.

The thing about losing in the platform game was that you got a lot of experience with mud. It’s consistency, its texture, how hard it can be to free yourself of it. Charlie had spent a lot of time in the mud lately. The image of Merlin smacking Orb down with a ball of a mud had been just the memory he’d needed. That, combined with his memories of fighting Brel in Sange, had given him his idea.

Charlie’s stone fist had been filled with the stuff. He’d allowed the finger to dissipate so it would turn to ash and blind Themis ahead of the actual attack. The mud smacked into Themis at high speed and sent the white-haired man rocketing off his platform.

The researcher thudded against the ground mere seconds before Charlie did. He couldn't see it, but he felt it through his connection to the dungeon.

He’d won.

The serpent crumbled into pebble sized rocks all around him. He laid back and felt the brown, soft earth around him. For once, he didn’t mind the mud. This wasn’t the mud of defeat. He giggled. This was victory mud!

Themis groaned. Charlie leaned his head forward to see Themis lying in a similar position. “You did it. I didn’t expect that strategy, but you did it.”

Charlie let his head fall back again. “You used a seal to lock your attacks into place, right? To give them a permanent form. So even if you let the connection go, they still keep their shape.”

Themis laughed. “You caught on. That’s correct. After seeing your wall hold out against the serpents, I assumed you were going to try to beat me with force, but you used strategy. No, you learned something new, and then showed me you had learned it. Your plan for victory depended on me thinking you would use the technique you learned moments ago. But you didn’t rely on it, you went a different route entirely. Incredible Charlie.”

Charlie rolled over and crawled toward the platform. “Are we going to go again?” he asked.

Themis sat up as well. “No. You may not realize it, but you’ve come a long way in a short period. You were holding your own longer and longer against me with both an offense and defense that was weaker than my own. Now that you’ve figured out how to maintain the rock’s form after severing a connection to it, I don’t think I’d stand a chance against you. Not only that, but you’ve also proven yourself capable of using your environment to strategize. You have accomplished months’ worth of development in only a few days. Neural plasticity is the boon of youth. Between that, and your determination, we have accomplished what we had time for. Since your mobility is limited, I wanted to ensure we honed your main power. Especially since it excels at both offense and defense. But we need to move forward now and work on other things.”

Charlie tilted his head. “Move forward?”

“Congratulations on your victory, Charlie,” Zephyr said, floating into the room behind him. Parent followed Zephyr. Two sets of metallic floating rings.

“Thank you, hi Parent!” Charlie said.

“Hello Charlie. I’ve been doing some training of my own as well. Together, we can now take the next steps to fortifying your strength.”

Charlie looked back at Themis. The researcher was smiling. “What next steps?” Charlie asked them.

Notice

Ability update is available.

Acclimation of the Scaler race is complete. Temporary hibernation has ended.

A Dungeon Core you’ve collected is now eligible for integration.

Brandt

The tunnel was darker than it would be in a normal dungeon. His men moved methodically, affixing torches to the wall as they went. He’d made the decision to establish a supply line, so the knights that moved further in had access to resources and support. So far, their descent had been one obstacle after another. Beasts exploded from walls, traps littered the place, and Talmot said the target was miles beneath the surface.

“It’s like a vertical maze. We’ll be in here forever,” Redrick spat.

“Well, if you had let the rest of us help you capture the target, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Dalys said. She sat on the ground, leaning against the wall with her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes closed.

Redrick turned on her, but Brandt held up a hand. He turned to Talmot. “Are they directly below us?” he asked.

“We—well,” Talmot stammered. “…it’s hard to place their exact location, but they are below us. Somewhere. My pow—powers are still recovering from when I hit my limit. It may be a little while before I can pick their trail up and maintain it. They are in the dungeon, though, I know that.”

Brandt nodded. “We don’t have time for this, but we can’t afford not to keep pressing onward either. Redrick, I’m sending half of our forces with you and Talmot. Move deeper into the dungeon. Make as much noise as possible. Kill everything you encounter. Don’t let any beasts’ escape. Put them all to the sword.”

Redrick barked laughter. “Aha! So, you want ole Redrick to kick down some doors and create a diversion, aye, I can do that.”

Dalys peeked up at Brandt. “What about the rest of us?” she asked.

“As I said, we don’t have time for this. We’re going to try something else,” Brandt said.

Dalys raised an eyebrow. “What? You got a shortcut or something?” she asked.

Brandt looked over his shoulder at one of the knights amidst his army. The knight held a large metallic box with several locks on it in his hands.

“No, we’re going to create one.”