I cast out the mana web again to see if there were any strong mana spots that might give me something to help. There were a number of spots, but the web was disrupted as soon as I started sensing. That is what the third head does, isn’t it? It senses mana and attacks mana. I turn on Mana Sight, and the middle head glows. I try to Eclipse it to let out the web again, but the spell dissolves. That didn’t happen when I Eclipsed or Flashed the other heads. It had a skill like my Mana Disruption. That probably means it can disrupt all my spells and illusions.

I create a copy of myself that runs in front of the beast, and one head spits acid at it, but the middle head destroys the image. What else can it destroy? Spells are disrupted, but can it disrupt skills that use mana like my Light Speed?

I keep Mana Sight on as I summon Shadowbane back to me and bounce off walls to avoid claws and teeth.

I Eclipse one head, Flash the other, and throw darts at the eyes of the middle one to Dash in. It all goes according to plan except for the dart throwing. I start swearing again as I realise that the darts come from my Create Dart Skill and are Mana constructs, and the middle head just turns them into smoke. I hit it with Cutting Light, trying to blind it, but that spell also weakens so much as it gets closer that it does nothing. I barely Dodge away from its teeth as it snaps at me. I am not quite fast enough, and my spatial backpack is ripped off my body. I hope it is not ruined, but I don’t have time to check. I am partially pulled by it and need Light Speed to escape.

I am chewing through the Mana and Stamina, but I am mostly concerned about the Mana. I have more of both than I ever had in my life, but it is still not enough. More Skills use more Mana and Stamina.

I pull out my throwing knives. I have barely used these in the Trial, but they are not mana constructs. I only have five left from my original set of eight.

It took me a bit to get back into position, and the cursed tail got me again, in the arm this time. I had the right potion this time. I would be dead without Storage as well.

Eclipse, Flash, double Precision Throw of two knives and Light Speed, Shadow Phase. I Thrust Lightreaver into the eye of the middle head with Shadow Phase and left it there as I cancelled the skill. I then brought Shadowbane down on its nose with a Holy Strike.

The dagger went into the hilt, but it did not kill the head.

My brain was squeezed as the other head Howled, and I slowed down because it was hard to think. I triggered Shadow Phase, and that saved me as claws raked down my back and a glob of acid poison hit me full-on.

This is unsustainable. I went high up the side of the vault with Climb as I tried to get some space to take more potions.

My Mana sight latched on to something that might help. They were broken. Everything was smashed and broken, even more so since we started this fight. I will need time to fix it; for that, it is even more important to blind or kill the middle head.

I dodged a glob of acid spit by jumping to another broken second-story locker on the. I then pushed off that and let my acrobatics and Cat Reflexes guide me down. I swung my sword, and it hit the tail coming at me in a partial Parry, but I was in the air, so I changed direction and landed awkwardly with a head coming in for a bite. Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes saved me again. And I struck this head with a weak Slash.

It is only using Skills that allow me to damage this ugly brute, just striking it with my sword doesin’t do much. I need Skilled Strikes. Purifying Dance helps, and I am familiar with it enough to adjust it on the fly for this beast. That is the advantage of creating my own technique. It might still be low-levelled, but all the dance moves are uniquely mine.

I am using a different knife as Lightreaver is stuck in the eye, and I would rather leave it there for now. I have a lot of various weapons, and many have bonuses against Infernal Beasts. This knife stays solid when I Shadow Phase, although I have no problem holding onto it as I am only partially incorporeal.

I work my way around to keep Ugly confused, and I have started using short snippets of other illusions of me, but I am conserving mana, and that central head does something when it disrupts an illusion. It sucks out Mana. That doesn’t happen if I end the illusion first. Ugly has hidden dance moves, but I am learning them. Now, I need to stay alive to use that knowledge.

The tail is a problem, and I am drinking health potions to prevent Minor Regeneration from being overwhelmed. I finally saw an opportunity and I created a decoy Copy Image and Light Speed onto the back of Ugly. I Shadow Phase and slam Shadowbane down hard at the point where the tail meets the body, then let go and Light Speed away, and Ugly goes wild.

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I am caught in the violent movement and smashed against the side of the vault. I feel my ribs break, and my head smashes against the wall. The leather helmet softens the impact but does not negate it. I think the only reason I am still alive is I was still in Shadow Phase, but my mind is all fuzzy. Maybe it is a concussion or something, and my automatic response is to grab a health potion. That cleared my head while Minor Regeneration worked on my bones. This isn’t going well, and I am going to die.

I roll and move, using Light Manipulation and leaving a copy lying there for a little bit. That middle head worries me.

Then, I gain a little bit of hope as the tail is hanging limp.

Two of six eyes had been blinded, and the tail was broken. That is progress, even though I have been so close to death more times than I can count.

I have to blind or preferably kill the middle head. For all I know, it has ways of sensing that use mana and not eyes.

Wait, wait, wait! I am an idiot, and fucking concussion is no bloody excuse. You are not the only ugly thing here that can Disrupt Mana. How do I use this?

I started with using Mana Manipulation, directing Mana Disruption at the head, and then I remembered I have a skill I have never used called MacroMana Manipulation, it is specifically for use in larger areas.

Oh yeah! You don’t like that Ugly? Superpowered Mana Disruption! Boosted with Mana Strength!

Oh shit, my brain is being squeezed.

I lose control of the mana, and fire darts at the howling head to stop it. I got some in the roof of its mouth, which shut it up.

I can’t keep this up. It is too much. There are too many of them.

I called both Lightreaver and Shadowbane back to me. This settles me. They are mine. We are soul mates. They feel comfortable in my grip, and they feel right. It's time to reset and finish this one way or another.

I drink a Mana Potion, and then I start not conserving Mana. I start firing off Eclipse, Flash, and Copies of me, and I move at Light Speed. Mana starts dropping like a stone. I Climb a wall and Light Speed in a leap. Charge and Shadow Phase.

Shadowbane sinks deep into the central head’s eye with a Thrust, and Lightreaver slams up under its jaw with Holy Strike, but I don’t wait to see the result.

I Dash to the side as I create more and more copies of myself and other things I have ready. I wrap light around myself and cast Self-Clean to remove any smell. Mana is dropping as I confuse Ugly with a continual stream of images away from where I am.

I am trying to do this while I concentrate on what is before me. Before me are the ruined vault doors. They are smashed and lying on the floor, but when I was on the upper wall with Mana Sight, I saw the broken wards on the door, and I recognised them. They were bigger and more complicated than the small safe I opened, but I recognised the part that was broken and thought I could reproduce enough to fix the ward.

While distracting the two working heads, I started to Weave Ward and put the broken bits back together. This was hard enough for my first time using the skill and manipulating the mana without having to keep the images going as well.

Suddenly, I stopped everything, grabbed another mana potion, and drank it down. I am sure drinking all these potions in quick succession is not good for me, but that is another problem for later if I survive.

Ugly turns his two heads to find me. I noticed that the third head is not dead, but it is not working right either. I might have caused some brain damage there.

I walk backwards out the gaping door of the vault, watching Ugly the whole time. One head howls, and the other spits poison at me. I dodge the poison, mostly. It is not just mana I am out of.

Then Ugly come charging at me. I just watch it come. I have no stamina. I have no Mana despite the potion I just took. I take another Mana Potion. I am feeding all my Mana into the newly working ward, trying to speed its power up.

Then Ugly crosses the broken doors lying on the ground, and the ward triggers. At least I got that bit right. Is there enough power?

The thing with the safes and with the door I opened is that they are not just defensive and alarm wards. They will attempt to kill you if you trigger them.

This one exploded. I was flung backwards and slammed against the far wall. Ugly became pretty, and bits of it flew in all directions. Blood and guts were splattered over the vault walls and out toward me. It was a beautiful sight.

I just stayed where I had been thrown and drank a health potion, and then another mana potion so Minor Regeneration could fix my broken bones.

Quest Complete

Armour Fight (Optional Quest. Part of the Monarch’s Raiment Quest)

Kill the Cerberus guarding the Armour.

Please collect your reward.

I lay there for a bit. I checked my status while I did, and my profession of Wardweaver had risen, along with the skill. There were numerous increases, so I left it for now.

When I could stand, I limped to the remains of Ugly. It was still a beautiful sight, but there was nothing left to harvest. I think the Trial recognised that, and the loot appeared. I was glad I didn’t have to Harvest. I hate that skill. However, I am sure I am missing out on things. The Loot was better than I thought, so maybe the Trial was compensating. Or maybe not. I beat its sub-boss or area boss, so it has to reward me, but I am not fooled for a minute that it would prefer to kill me.

Let's see what you have, and it had better not be useless!