Hermera
The 18th of Thargelion
The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals
You have completed the Trial of Stars.
The notification hung in Lyssa’s vision as she stepped through the doors. It revealed little, other than to let them know they were on the right track, as far as the dungeon was concerned. It was a strange color, a purple she hadn’t seen before, but there were no answers waiting and more pressing concerns. She dismissed the notification and kept moving forward.
The other side of the large, locked door was not as exciting as the celestial chart. Twelve statues of black stone stood in a circle, facing inward. Five male, seven female; each unarmed and disrobed. Each no less than three meters tall, though the largest was closer to four.
Lyssa stepped closer to one, a woman, while her party spread out among the room. With a raised hand, she gently brushed the arm of the statue, feeling the smooth stone beneath. Grimmolt was similarly inspecting one of the others.
“This stone,” the dwarf said slowly. “I don’t know it.”
Lyssa took a closer look. There was no coarseness to the stone at all. It flowed in a single, unbroken piece throughout the entire statue. It pulled at her memory and she recognized where she’d seen it before. It was remarkably similar to the plinth sealing the Tridory in the Necropolis of Pygmaia.
“Some sort of black marble?” Elpida asked.
“Hardly,” Grimmolt scoffed. “You think I wouldn’t know marble? No, this is something I’ve never seen before. Who do you think these statues are?”
Vik reached up and tapped the hip of one of the taller males.
“No idea,” he said. “Do you think these are actual size? Descendants of the Gigantes, maybe? Or the Gigantes themselves?”
Gigator walked up to one and stretched himself out, standing as straight as he could.
“They are not so tall.”
“If you say so,” Elpida said. “They seem plenty huge to me. What do you reckon we’re supposed to do in here?”
Lyssa turned away from the statues and looked around the room. There was another set of closed doors set into the far end, opposite the side they’d come through. In front of the doors were twelve bowls on raised daises, set into a semi-circle, and a final bowl placed on the floor in the center. Getting closer, she found that each was empty, save the one in the middle. Inside were black beads that looked to be made of the same stone as the statues. Lyssa picked one of the stones up and inspected it, trying to see anything special about it.
Place a Waking Stone in a Sacrificial Bowl to begin the Trial of Strength.
“Everyone, stop.”
To her mild surprise, everyone stopped.
“Has anyone ever heard of a Trial of Strength?”
No one spoke.
“It seems to get through, we’ll need to undergo it.” Lyssa looked at the bowl once more. “There are twelve beads of dark stone, twelve bowls, and twelve statues. I think the path forward is obvious, but I don’t know what following it will bring.”
Iosif summoned a spear from his inventory.
“We’re ready, Archousa. I want some redemption after those weird fish.”
Lyssa nodded her appreciation and looked to the others, waiting for their responses. Each drew their weapons. Lyssa rubbed her fingers across the stone one more time, then dropped it into the bowl on the left side of the door.
You have one hour to complete the Trial of Strength.
Time remaining: 59:58
The doors behind them slammed shut.
The statue Gigator had measured himself against began to glow. It was one of the taller men with long hair. The statue seemed to take a breath, shifted slightly in place, then raised one of its arms. Gigator dove out of the way as the statue brought its fist down, cracking the stone floor.
A moment later, an arrow skittered off the statue’s head. Lyssa cursed and drew her bow back again, this time channeling a Drill Shot. The statue barely noticed, changing targets to Elpida, who was now closest to it. Elpida let out a war cry and brought her warhammer to bear against the statue’s ankle. The clash of metal on stone echoed off the walls and floor, but the statue showed little sign of damage. Instead, its backhand sent Elpida spinning off to the side, a chunk of her armor crumpled inward. Lyssa’s Drill Shot scratched at its back but found no purchase against the strange stone. Iosif and Eleftherios nodded to one another, then ran forward, shouting obscenities.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Hey! Over here, you malakas boulder!”
“Look who’s cranky after a nap, you pebble-balled bastard!”
Whether it was their goading or their proximity, they got the statue’s attention. It swiped downward at them but was too slow. Both men dodged out of the way, but kept close enough to keep its attention as they hurled abuse and profanities that would have made even Arche blush.
Gigator tackled the statue from the side. The statue easily weighed hundreds of kilograms but the sauros had a brain behind his brawn. He’d waited until the statue had extended itself for one of its strikes, then aimed for the head. The statue toppled to the ground, the impact threatening to take them all off their feet.
Gigator immediately rolled away, not wanting to get caught in the statue’s questing hands. Elpida took his place, slamming her warhammer down onto the statue’s face while Vik darted forward, Starlight held aloft as he attacked the statue’s torso. The magic blade pierced the stone but did not slide very far inside. Seeing that attacks to the trunk of the statue were getting nowhere, Vik redirected his attention toward the statue’s right hand, which was trying to grab Elpida. She swung her hammer horizontally, but only succeeded in pushing herself out of the way as it reached for her. Starlight left a small hole through its oversized wrist, then three more holes before the hand moved out of reach.
Despoina moved forward next, bringing a slender battle axe to bear. The haft glowed with a shimmering, teal light and the blade was coated in a layer of ice. She brought it down onto the statue’s injured wrist. The thick stone threatened to turn away her blade but she managed to pin the hand to the ground for a few precious moments, the icy enchantment coated the stone in a layer of hoar frost. The statue pushed itself upward and swiped a hand at Despoina, who barely spun out of the way in time. Grimmolt came around the other side, his own hammer in full swing with his one good arm. It connected with the statue’s hand and blasted it away. The statue shuddered and took a step to the side, looking as though it might fall, then it rallied itself and focused on Grimmolt.
Lyssa shot at the statue’s glowing eyes, but her arrows had no effect, only serving to ricochet. She cursed and inventoried her bow, thinking through her options. She had swords but not magical ones, which seemed the only surefire way to hurt the statue. The only magical weapons in their group were Vik’s Starlight and Despoina’s magical axe.
Iosif and Eleftherios regained the statue’s attention, but its movements were quicker now and it was using its feet in conjunction with its hands. Eleftherios took a round kick to his upper torso that shattered his spear and sent him flying. Gigator latched himself to the statue’s back, trying to beat its head in with its own severed hand. Despoina and Vik took the opportunity to attack its legs while Iosif and Elpida focused the entirety of their efforts on keeping its attention and dodging its attacks.
The statue fell forward and twisted in a roll, forcing Gigator to disentangle himself before he was squashed. Vik and Despoina had damaged its legs, but not enough to truly unbalance it. Lyssa cursed. Against a creature like this, she was nearly useless without a magical weapon. Still, she watched its movements carefully as her mind raced to find some solution.
As she watched, two areas on the statue flashed a familiar golden light. Its neck and a small spot over its chest. Her anatomy skill highlighted the statue’s weaknesses.
“Aim for its throat and heart, they’re vulnerable!”
The statue opened its mouth and its throat glowed with a threatening white light. Lyssa’s arm hairs stood on end but there was nothing she could do. Light burst forward, out of the statue’s mouth in a line that seared the ground. Elpida shoved Iosif out of the way, catching the brunt of it on her shield before she fell out of the path. Her shield glowed; a melted mess reduced to dripping slag. Elpida herself let out a low moan and didn’t stand. Vik withdrew from the melee and grabbed her collar, dragging her away from the fight.
Lyssa found herself in motion before she had consciously made the decision to act. Seeing Elpida hurt had pushed her past the point of planning. She rushed toward Vik who, seeing her coming, held Starlight out to her. She took the sword and turned the full force of her fury against the statue. It was readying itself for another light blast, the rest of her party taking evasive maneuvers. Lyssa slid in from the side, below its notice, stabbing through its ankle with as much force as she could muster. Its foot was already damaged, thanks to Despoina’s efforts, and with a quick triple thrust, Lyssa severed it.
The statue stumbled, its light attack striking the ceiling as it lost its balance and tumbled to the ground. Lyssa was on top of it in an instant. The tip of Starlight snaked downward into the statue’s throat three times before it was able to swipe at her. She dodged the strike, rolling over the back of its hand, and brought Starlight down to bear against its chest, directly in the center of where her skill told her it was vulnerable. When she withdrew the sword, magma bubbled up out of the hole. As she watched, magma flowed from the wounds in its throat as well.
Rather than wait for the statue to recover, she pressed her attack, delivering two more strikes to its throat and one more to the chest before a body spasm threw her free. She rolled across the ground, snarling. The statue tried to push itself to its feet but failed as more molten stone poured from its wounds. Its movements grew sluggish, then stopped altogether. The light in its eyes dimmed into blackness.
A notification provided final proof.
You have slain a Level 75 Construct of Hyperion.
You gain 8,250 experience.
Lyssa saw a few flashes of light as the others received notifications with their experience shares as well. Iosif, Despoina, and Elpida had all leveled. Lyssa rushed to the fallen woman. Vik was supporting her, keeping her in a sitting position as she took a few deep breaths. As Lyssa drew near, she could see Elpida’s pink skin showing across her left arm and side where the light attack had destroyed her armor.
“Lucky that,” Elpida muttered, clearly out of breath. “That was going to ruin my whole day.”
Lyssa let out a heavy breath, her body feeling suddenly weary. Starlight dropped from her fingers, only for Vik to catch it before it hit the ground.
“Careful,” he muttered. “I won’t let you use my things if you don’t respect them.”
“Are you all right?” Lyssa asked.
Elpida nodded.
“Got me pretty good with that light attack, but I’m all set now.”
Lyssa nodded, not quite able to tear her eyes away. After several long moments, she was able to turn her attention to the rest of her group.
“Is anyone injured?” she asked.
“I’ve seen better days,” Eleftherios said.
The older man clutched his side but he was standing. His breastplate had dented inward from the strength of the statue’s kick and he was clearly favoring that side.
“Broken ribs?” Lyssa asked.
“Three, but I’ll manage. I won’t be running about like I was a minute ago, though. Not before I get a level, myself.”
“You’ll have the opportunity,” Lyssa said, checking the timer in her notifications. “We have fifty-one minutes to kill the other eleven.”
“What are we waiting for, then?” Gigator said. “We know how to kill them now. Let’s begin.”
Lyssa nodded and moved to place a stone in the next bowl.