Once I have eaten and rested I move on to the last section only to find that the difficulty has increased again. There are a lot more blades now, and not all of them make the click before they activate. Luckily, my sacred power is full so I can heal myself when I fail to avoid one of the blades.
However, my progress slows down to a crawl because I am constantly dodging blades. After a few hours of slow progress I run into a new problem, the boulders start coming two at a time. I find this out when I jump over one only to land right in front of the second.
However, this also allows me to speed up my progress, by jumping from boulder to boulder. The blades are all set at heights to be able to injure a human, meaning they are all below the tops of the boulders. By jumping and then bouncing from the first boulder to the second I can move forward safely.
It soon becomes faster for me to just wait for the sets of boulders instead of trying to dodge the blades. After a few hours of playing leapfrog with the boulders I finally reach the top of the tower. Unfortunately, there is no monkey for me to vent my frustrations on, all I get is the normal flash.
As soon as the flash passes I turn to check on Ekard and Lizzy as usual. Ekard is currently exploring the ruins while Lizzy keeps and eye on him. I figure it should have been at least a few hours this time so I go start making food.
Ekard notices as soon as I move and immediately gives up on exploring to run over to me. By the time I reach the fire he is already right there and rubbing up against me. So I pick him up and pet him while I start cooking some food one handed.
Ekard says "Mama! Okay?"
"Yes, little one, I am fine. Just a bit tired."
Ekard says "Nap!"
"Haha! Yes, after the food it will be nap time."
Ekard says "Yay! Nap with mama!"
Lizzy 'Was the last test especially hard?'
Since she seems curious I describe the test to Lizzy as I am cooking the food. Because we communicate silently I can tell her how bad it was without upsetting Ekard. I don't want to worry him, and I am not sure just how much he comprehends.
Lizzy 'Haha! I wish I could have seen you jumping over boulders like that!'
'Yes, I'm sure you would have found it very entertaining!'
Once the food is ready Ekard sits himself in my lap to eat and then after the food we all curl up together for a nap. When I wake up I am feeling much better and am ready to challenge the next test. However, Ekard is still asleep and has wrapped himself around me so that I can't move without waking him.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He is far too cute while sleeping for me to wake him, so I just lay there until he wakes up. Only after he has woken up and I have played with him for a while do I head back to the temple doors. Then I press my hand onto the weird stone and let the flash take me to the ninth test.
When the flash passes I find myself in a plain stone corridor, with a wall about ten feet ahead of me. This is the first time the test has put me inside so I am a little confused. The message floating in the air is no help since it says "Reach the goal!".
Since there is a wall directly behind me I can only go forward towards the other wall. As I do, glowing objects begin to appear before the wall, they look like oversized lego blocks. At first I am confused as to the purpose of the objects, but then I see an image on the wall.
Once I figure out that it is a puzzle and I need to use the objects to make the image it is fairly easy. It only takes me a minute to put the objects together in the right pattern. Once I do the wall rises into the ceiling and I see another wall ten feet ahead.
When I approach the next wall the same thing happens, only the image is a little more complex. Still, it barely takes me more than a minute to complete it and open the wall. Yet another wall appears before me with a slightly more complicated puzzle.
This continues for the next several hours, with each consecutive puzzle getting a little harder. By the fiftieth puzzle it is taking me almost an hour to correctly assemble the pieces. Not only are they smaller and more complex, but they are also color coded.
On top of that the images I am trying to duplicate have become a lot more complex. None of that really bothers me, in fact I am having quite a bit of fun solving them. What puzzles me is every test before this was combat or endurance related, it seems weird to have an intelligence test at this point.
Not that I am complaining, after all the last test was a real pain, whereas this one is fun. It just makes me wonder what the last test is going to be like. Oh well, I will find out soon enough, for now I just focus on putting together the puzzles.
Although, to be honest for me it feels more like playing with legos when I was a kid. Even as the puzzles get more complicated, it is still fun to me, a nice change from the last test. I end up losing track of time, I am just having fun and not paying attention.
In the end I even lose track of how many puzzles I have solved, all that matters is the one in front of me. Each time I solve a puzzle I rush to the next one, not because I want out of the test, but because I want to play. When the wall opens and instead of another wall I see the goal, I am disappointed.
While the later puzzles all took a considerable amount of time, none of them were hard for me. In fact the more complex they became the more fun I had solving them. Now that they are all done I am disappointed because I wanted more puzzles.
Regardless of my feelings, I am here for a reason, so I walk over and step onto the goal. When the flash passes I instantly press my hand down again, I want to get this over with. Even before the flash passes I can feel an unbearable heat beating down on me.
When I open my eyes all I see is red, the red is lava and it stretches as far as I can see. I am currently hovering in the air above an ocean of lava with the preparation symbol flashing above me. When it ends I know I am going to fall, and I am not entirely sure that I can survive the lava.
While I have a decent fire resist, it is not immunity so I will definitely take damage. What's worse is I don't have any items to help, the only fire resist item I made I gave to Isabella. My cloak and tabard protect against heat somewhat but not fire.
Before I can think of anything, the preparation period ends and the symbol disappears. As soon as it does and I feel gravity take effect I spread my wings and try to fly. Once again flight is restricted, but I am able to glide which buys me at least a few more seconds.