The Spider Cavern was also larger. Rock protrusions blocked a clear view, but it was classed as a single cavern. I systematically set out to clear this section by section. The webs were weak to fire, but the spiders weren’t more than normal. I sparingly used Burning Strike to clear when webs started restricting my movement. I started to pick off the spider with my throwing darts.

My Helping Hand didn’t have a strong throw but used Precision Throw to target eyes and joints. I was discovering that just as I could Manipulate Light and Shadow, I could also Manipulate Death. I was weaker with Death, but it was also fundamentally different to Light and Shadow. Lightreaver and Shadowbane were attuned to light and shadow, but I could use manipulate light on other weapons with more effort and concentration.

I could also use Death on weapons with effort and concentration. It took a little bit of effort and very brief concentration to imbue Death on the throwing Darts as I made them. The Death would start rotting the flesh of the spiders. I need to keep using my skills in different ways to learn more about what they do and level them, of course.

For the Matriarch, I was planning to try my new Wards. I Provoked her and slid three round shields into three different areas of her domain. She summoned her spider swarms, and as the small spiders moved over the shields, the wards flared with fire. It was enough to kill the small spiders, but only the ones that moved over the shields. The wards would keep firing as long as the crystal held fire mana.

I was taking some damage from the Matriarch and her swarm, and I switched Lightreaver out for the Burning knife in the ring. I wasn’t in real danger as long as I was careful. Nights Embrace slowed the small ones down even without Umbral cold.

I was testing the wards and led the Matriarch over one. I was also testing the Rejuvenation Aura and the healing and Stamina bonuses. Not having Minor Regeneration kicking in for the small stuff or fixing the small stuff faster was definitely a benefit. I was dragging the fight out to see how the mana levels worked.

I was sticking to my Haladie and the Burning Knife and my knife technique against a larger opponent, and I could still make efficiencies.

My Helping Hand was good at peppering the small spiders with Death-imbued darts.

I was really annoyed when the Matriarch got a lucky kick that sent me flying with a broken rib. I know it was my fault for playing with her, but I was not going to get many chances to test things like this. After that, I got serious and finished the fight by lopping limbs with Cutting Light. All in all, it was over an hour of fighting. The Matriarch loot was more sticky web.

I had a short rest, and Minor Regeneration was at work on my rib, so I started searching the chamber for crystals. I even brought a ladder to get the ones in the ceiling. It took a while, but I had time while I healed, and it levelled my Mining skill.

I was pleased with the wards I created. Although they were the most basic wards, they worked well and consistently. When they were triggered by something on them, they produced a burst of flame. You couldn’t get more basic. They were almost a trap. It was progress. There were still charges in the crystals, although the Matriarch had damaged one, and it was not working any more.

Eventually, I dropped to the Lizard floor. There are more Fire and Shadow creatures here than floors above. I again moved systematically, clearing chambers and tunnels. The lizards sometimes ambushed from the tunnel roofs. Clear monsters, Harvest, and mine gems.

I used my images to trigger ambushed early and generally worked methodically.

I always considered the Lizard boss easier to solo as it didn’t summon swarms. The lizard had a lot of regeneration; this is where I planned to refine my knife technique and hopefully finalise it.

This fight lasted about an hour and a half and, from one perspective, could have been considered cruel to the monster. However, the monster was a construction of the Trial, so it could not be considered alive.

As I sat afterwards, I collected another sticky Lizard Tongue whip. This one had multiple prongs. I did decide the techniques were ready. It came from the Steel Serpent Technique I picked up with the Haladie in the Trial, so I reflected that in the name. The Serpents Blade Dance was added to my techniques. I was happy with it.

The fourth floor was different. There were chambers of incorporeal shadow and fire creatures, and you were attacked by small, extremely hard Crystal Iron creatures that were straight-up tough to kill. You really needed blunt weapons for this. I equipped Shadowbane for the incorporeal creatures and a mace for the hard little buggers. I dropped to the final floor.

As before, the fire creatures were the hardest for me to deal with. Night's Embrace combined with Umbral Cold certainly helped, but it was not definitive. I burned. I healed and Rejuvenated, but I still burned. I tried to isolate them in small groups, and that worked sometimes. Peppering them with Death Imbued Darts also helped, but I still burned. I stored the mace and got out Lightreaver as the pair was the best I had, but I still burned. Shadow Phase limited the damage, but still, I burned.

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I had ward shields for this to trigger shadows when they were set off, but the shadow only helped the Umbral Cold and did nothing by itself, and the incorporeal creatures did not trigger the wards, only the Iron creatures. I would have to figure out wards that would trigger. These were not successful in this situation.

The Shadow Creatures were easy. The Crystal iron creature in each chamber could largely be ignored or avoided until the other creatures were dealt with. I cursed the person who thought the fire was a good idea for this Trial.

Crystals were more abundant on this floor than on the previous three, and the time I spent looking for them and mining them was time I could heal. I didn’t forget the tunnels, and the Crystal Iron creatures were more frequent in the tunnels.

Then I came to the boss's chamber. I had probably been down here eight hours or so. Dawn can’t be far away.

The boss was similar to the first: four arms and six crystals of each type. The pattern of spawning is well known now. Every minute of the fight, six creatures would come from the boss. First were shadows, then Fire, then Iron. The creatures would attack you and have to be killed, or you would soon be overwhelmed. All the while, you needed to fight the boss with four swords.

The recognised tactic was a heavy defender taunting the boss, and everybody else killed the spawns as soon as they came and piled on the damage to the boss. You could reduce the number of creatures spawning by cutting off limbs from the boss, but that was not easy, and blunt weapons were generally needed.

I could deal with the shadow creatures easily. I could pretty much stay away from the iron creatures, and that left the fire and the boss. Umbral Cold helped, and Night Embrace was good for creating the shadows for it, but the other features of Night's Embrace were useless against the incorporeal creatures. It would slow the iron crystal creatures a bit.

My plan was to kill the shadows quickly, slow the fire with Umbral Cold, pepper them with Death darts, avoid the iron creatures, and stay focused on the boss. Moving was my strength, so I would move. By the fifth minute of the fight, there would be twelve fire creatures after me.

I did plan for this, and that is the advantage of fighting a known Trial. I had several single-use water items I had been saving for this fight. They weren’t cheap, and I wanted to save as many as I could, but I was not going to die just to save some coin.

I entered the chamber with a Charge and crashed the double maces down on one arm with a Crushing Blow. I followed up with a Cutting Light as I danced away from swords coming at me. It didn’t sever the arm, but it was heavily Damaged.

I danced back and Charged forward. I had to defend with one mace, so only one crashed down, and it was off-target a bit. I dropped a Mace and grabbed Shadowbane to counter the swords with Parry and Block, but my best moves were Dodge and Light Speed.

I would Charge in with a Crushing Blow every chance I could; the arm was almost severed when the first shadow creatures came out. I Flashed and sliced them with Burning Light. My armour had stopped or blunted several hits. I had a new appreciation for Myantha’s sword skills.

Five fire creatures were better than six. I kept dancing on the edge: Dash, Dodge, Parry, Charge, Crushing Blow, Dodge, Lightspeed. My armour is going to need some serious repair time after this, and my Medium Armour and Toughened Skin both went up.

The second limb took a lot longer because I did not receive the benefit of the initial Damage I managed. I had five iron rugrats to avoid, but the fire creatures were constantly weakening with Umbral Cold and Death Darts. I threw out the shadow wards as more shadow was always good, and the rugrats could trigger them.

Once the second arm was off, I had an opening into the main body, and I could dance away from the other two swords.

Nine Fire creatures were too many, though, and I triggered the Water Spout and hosed them down.

The central body was tough, being Iron Crystal, but at least there was not continuously growing armour like there used to be.

Then it occurred to me that I had the two Crystal Iron swords in my storage. They would be stronger than my mace and would have the bonus of my maxed-out longsword skill.

I dropped the two weapons I was carrying and equipped them from my weapons locker. Oh, yes. They were large and heavy, but they did much more damage than the mace.

The boss only managed one more fire spawn before it went down. I killed the fire creatures before hunting rugrats. They didn’t die when the boss died.

When it was done, there was a pause while I waited for the trial's clear notice.

What I was not expecting was the following:

Minor Permanent Trial has met conditions for Change.

Condition met: Mine all the crystals on all floors and defeat the final Guardian.

Recommended Levels 1 through 25

Keeper will be replaced or confirmed in 6 hours.

A new floor will be opened for all challengers after the keeper has been confirmed.

Please choose a new floor based on the options provided, or one will be chosen at random. Choice options are open for 5 minutes.

Exits have been sealed until changes are complete.

Six pillars appeared in the boss room, and a special token dropped as loot from the boss.

I am going to be in so much trouble.