We cleared the Lizards. The boss was as easy as I thought. I didn’t even break out any of my light spells. We then went around to the first spot. I thought Fire Lizards was a good idea. I did not consult with the wise professor next to me. She looked as clueless as I was. I got out my Burning Knife from the Burning Lake, disrupted the mana and tried to insert Fire Mana. That was not easy. That was very hard. There was no fire in this Trial, and it does not seem compatible. I rested and did extra at each point as I was not sure it worked. Maybe I should have switched to something else, but I guess I am stubborn. Plus, I had no clue what I was doing.
When I completed the last one, the ground shook, and we received a notice.
Minor Permanent Trial has Changed
Recommended Levels 1 through 20
Keeper will be replaced or confirmed in 6 hours.
A new floor will be open to all challengers after the keeper has been confirmed.
Exits have been sealed until changes are complete.
I looked at Myantha, “Ok, that was not expected. What do you know about Keepers?”
“They are the ones that run the Trials under the eye of a Trial Spirit.”
“So they are the bastards that were out to kill me?”
“Careful, they can hear you,” Myantha said.
“Well, this one seems to be up for a job review.”
“This is not good,” Myantha said. “A trial change was the reason the Academy moved from Bellrise.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. I was attempting to add resources, not a whole new floor.”
“The main problem with Bellrise was it developed a boss that wandered between floors. I went in a few times with other academy experts, but we couldn’t figure out why. It is unusual.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here.”
“If we are between Keepers, who is sending the messages?” I asked.
“You should take my course,” Myantha said. “Trial Spirits keep the Trial Keepers in line and make sure the Trials are fair.”
“It says the exits are sealed. We are stuck here for six hours.” I noted.
Then, of course, the Quest came up. The Trial Spirits are out to get me as well.
Quest.
Clear the new floor to assess its strength.
Reward: New Trial Clear Rewards, +4000XP, Trial Keeper Confirmed.
Failure: Trial Keeper Replacement. Trial turns Dark.
“I am guessing the Trial Turning Dark is bad?” I said.
“The worst. We suspect that might be what happened at Bellrise, and it was only partially stopped. But look at the rewards! Clearing a new trial gives amazing rewards. Ability stones, Skill points, Soul bound equipment. This is an amazing opportunity.”
“Spoken like a woman after my own heart.”
She gave me a dirty look.
“You are the expert here. What do you think we need,” I asked.
“Depends what we are dealing with. What did you do?”
“I tried to inject Steel, which is Iron and Carbon, Shadows and Fire, into the Trial.”
“Then those are the things we will be dealing with. I am no good with shadows. Iron can always crack against steel,” she said, indicating her sword. “Fire. I am not great with Fire. I am not great with water. I am better with air, but my wind spells will enrage the fire. I need Air Manipulation to suck the air out of the fire. But I don’t have it.”
“I might know a guy.”
“What?”
“I might know a guy with Air Manipulation he couldn’t learn.”
She just stared at me.
“How much?” she asked eventually.
“Same as Storage?”
“I can’t afford it. The Storage cost cleaned me out. It is not worth as much as that, anyway. Storage is worth way more.”
“You are right. Let’s do half the cost of storage, and you can owe me.”
“Do you trust me that much? This is only our second meeting. You won’t be getting them back once I learn them,” She said.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Call it intuition. Plus, I can keep stealing things from you till it is paid off. I am an excellent thief. We need something to control Fire. Light and Shadow are my thing, but I am shit with everything else. As you say, we can beat iron into submission.”
I tossed her the two ability stones. She looked at me for a second, and then the stones disappeared. Then, the air around us started to fluctuate. Then, it thinned significantly and came back.
“I am going to need to level it to get the most from it,” She said.
“I think we will have plenty of opportunity over the next six hours.”
She removed a slim backpack, and the items disappeared from her storage. The backpack, which blended with her armour, was actually enchanted, but it was less than my backpack.
“Thank you,” she said as she put the backpack back on. “You will get your coin. So you are a Light and Shadow Mage. You haven't displayed any skills yet.”
“It is how I am seeing, but I haven’t needed to. I suspect that is about to change. So you are an Elven Swordmaster?”
“Nothing so limited. It is an Advanced Class called Blade Whisperer. It merges Assassin and Swordsman, plus some other requirements need to be met.”
“Let me guess,” I said, “When you merged the two, did you take a mage class?”
She nodded. “With Air Manipulation, I will work toward turning it into an Aeromancer Class. It will work well with Blade Whisperer, and it is where my strengths lie. What about you?”
“I was a Thief and Illusionist. Due to a really bad but lucrative experience, Illusionist became Spectral Slayer.”
She gasped.
“What?” I asked.
“The Slayer classes are Al’rashian classes with a long and bloody history.”
“I figured that out when I read a History of Al’rashia. There was also a hint in the name. I am still a Thief.”
“Neither of those Classes can explain what you did here. Do you have some sort of Trial ability or something?”
“I didn’t know there was such a thing.”
“I have only read about them, and that was vague.” She said.
“No, as a reward, I received a third class slot. I picked the Seeker Class.”
“I haven’t heard of that class.”
“No, and it is not in any of the books I have read. It is all about searching for things and knowledge. It is a good fit. Working out the secret for this Trial has given me its first level.”
“Oh, you and I are going to be working together a lot,” she said with hunger in her eyes.
“Yes. I figured you were looking for something, and something Al’rashian.”
“Shall we check out what awaits us on the next floor?” she said, diverting away from what she was searching for.
“Let me assign my attributes, and I have some Skill Points I could spend if there was something we needed.”
“You have Skill Points?”
“The bad experience was very lucrative.” I boosted Agility and Dexterity to keep up with her. I then stored the Haladie and got out Shadowbane.
“What is that?” Myantha asked.
“My usual sword, knife combo. They have bonuses for Light and Shadow skills.”
“Those are powerful paired weapons.”
“Stick with me, lady. I might show you a bad time, but we will become rich and powerful.”
She snorted a laugh. I might be breaking through the facade.
We dropped down to the next floor, which had a safe room and a tunnel like the other floors. Myantha examined the carvings on the wall, but they didn’t mean much to her.
I decided to hold my skill points for now. “I’ll lead, as my Trap detection is probably higher than yours,” I said. “I am guessing if this Spirit thing is assessing the strength of the monsters and floor, that it will be more challenging than before.”
“That is a reasonable assumption. It will see what it takes to kill us.”
“Typical trial then.”
The tunnel was short, and an open cavern appeared. Spectral Vision (See-thru) told me it was empty. I didn’t believe it. Heat gave me nothing. Manasight lit everything up. It lit the monsters up, but I could not see the walls and floor. Spectral Vision was a separate skill in my perception, and my intelligence allowed me to have See-thru running at the same time as Manasight. It would take a bit to get used to, but my high intelligence should be good for something. I should have been practising this.
They were a shadow creature. They were definitely incorporeal, or partly incorporeal and made of shadow mana. The near one approached, and I was suddenly leaking mana.
“Are you seeing this?” I asked Myantha.
“Partially. A shadow-type creature?”
“Yes, and it seems to suck your mana dry. Let's see if two can play that game.”
I had a skill I had not used much yet: Mana Syphon. I activated it on the creature. You suck from me, and I suck from you. Its skill was a much higher level than mine, but it reduced the drain. The creature had a high concentration of mana in my Mana Sight, and it continuously changed shape. The volume was about the size of a sheep with a fluffy fleece.
Suddenly, the creature was struck and severely wounded.
“Holy Strike seems to work partially,” Myantha said.
“You have Holy Strike, awesome. Let me try a few things. This should be my area of expertise. You might want to cover your eyes.”
I could feel the creatures through Shadow Manipulation, but they resisted it, so I activated a strong Flash, and the whole cavern lit up. Flash is usually a blinding, distracting skill, but not against these creatures. Against them, it is a powerful area attack.
The nearest two were killed, and the ones further out were wounded. The ones further out are now mad and swarming toward us. “Major incoming,” I warn Myantha, using Light Manipulation to light up Lightreaver and Shadowbane.
I slip into the Purifying Dance. It needs adjusting as there is nothing for them to hit, but they cut through the shadow creatures. Burning Light and Cutting Light are both surprisingly effective. Shadow Creatures being weak to light skills should not surprise me.
Myantha is moving beside me, using Holy Strike and another skill I don’t know. I target the far ones when I can with Mana Syphon. It makes a difference.
When I think they are all in range, I say, “Flash in 3…2…1…” Flash.
A couple needs finishing off, but this chamber is done.
I look around with Manasight.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything to harvest,” I said.
“I suspect these are not Trial monsters but actual creatures from another realm,” Myantha was examining the small piles of dust left behind.
I get out a broom and start sweeping it up.
“Really?” queries Myantha.
“Do you want some? It could be interesting to experiment with. Like dissecting corpses.”
She wanted.