A day later, after all of us were fully rested, we made our way to the end of the labyrinth. In an unexpected twist that made a lot of sense in hindsight, it turned out that the safe room had been placed in the center of the maze. Our trip out was thus just as long as our trip in, and now that we knew the proper route, the entire region would only take us four days to cut through if we needed to again.
That being said, none of us were eager to do so any time soon. When we turned the final corner and saw the light in the distance, I could feel as a wave of relief passed through the others. Not willing to wait, Cal ran ahead, turning invisible after a few steps.
While I wasn’t nearly as eager, I was curious to know what lay ahead. With my Perception, I could clearly see far into the distance, but there wasn’t much to see. Where the darkness vanished, there was a thin strip of rocky, brown earth, which then fell away shortly thereafter into a sharp cliff.
The only exception was an island, maybe about twice or three times larger than our safe room, which was miraculously floating in the air a good hundred meters out from the cliffside. Dense vegetation covered its surface, while its underside was just one massive clump of bare dirt.
One floating island and a cliff. I’d have to see what lay at the base of the cliff to be sure, but I had a strong guess as to what mana type we’d be seeing here.
Verin was quick to echo my thoughts. “Some manner of air region, then? Possibly a composite mana type, but I find myself leaning more towards air.”
Barring there being some sort of anti-gravity mana, I was guessing the same.
Those thoughts were only strengthened as we eventually reached the cliffside closest to the island, spotting strange distortions in the air between the two land masses.
Before I could think too hard on what they were, Cal reappeared floating in the air a good fifty meters out.
“Hey! Guys! It’s a wind bridge. Try the wind bridge!” To emphasize her point, the warrior jumped up and down a few times, some invisible barrier arresting her fall each time.
Mostly, invisible, at least. In a few spots, the air wavered and roiled as if in a chaotic heat haze. More obviously, however, was the mana. The entire bridge had a faint glow to it, making me far less hesitant to trust in Cal’s words. I stepped off the cliff, feeling firm resistance under me even as I began walking into the air.
Verin was… less thrilled with this development. With her mana sight no longer active — and more so, lacking a skill like my Featherfoot to save her from any falls — she lingered at the edge before finally steeling herself. Soon, however, all three of us were suspended in the air together.
From my new vantage point, I could see what lay below us. Rather than spotting anything useful, however, all I could see was a layer of clouds. They lay far, far below us, suggesting that any falls would be extremely long and equally unpleasant. For obvious reasons, I didn’t plan to let the others out of my sight this time.
“Quickly checked out a bit of the island while you two were being slow! No visible enemies, no visible traps. Feels very peaceful, actually. Which, you’d think would be good, but it’s making me a little nervous.”
A sentiment I shared. Obvious enemies would at least make it clear what we were up against. I strongly doubted we’d get through an entire region with no fighting or dangers, though.
When at last we reached the island, though, I found that Cal was exactly right. The entire island was strangely serene, sporting of all sorts of different plant life and filled with a perpetual gentle breeze. Adding to the puzzle, there was a neat cobblestone path leading us forward, a clear sign that this place wasn’t nearly as wild as the other regions had been. Without any other leads, the three of us followed the path laid out for us.
“I will confess, regardless of what manner of trial awaits us, I sense that I will greatly prefer this region to the last.” In much higher spirits than she’d been in the labyrinth, Verin walked about with her hands behind her back, taking in the greenery as if she were on a guided garden tour.
Reaching the center of the island, the pathway split in two, and we opted to take the left pathway. It went directly to the edge of the island, leading us to a sheer dropoff. While there was no wind bridge here to allow us to continue, we did at last find something of interest.
A pedestal. Cut from a pleasant, light green gemstone and engraved with delicate detail-work, it rose up to chest-level. A circle had been carved out of its center, giving the intense suggestion that something needed to be placed within it. Unsure how to proceed, I was happy to have God’s Eye come to the rescue.
Sky Obelisk
Insert a charged arial gem to continue in this direction.
Equally helpful and unhelpful at once. “Has anyone seen a charged arial gem?” On receiving negatives all around, we were forced to continue our search. Much to our chagrin, the second path only revealed an identical, empty obelisk.
“Okay, team! First one to find it wins bonus points. Go!” Without bothering to tell us what we could use “bonus points” for, Cal shot off. The hunt for the arial gem was on.
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An hour later, I was at my wit’s end. The island wasn’t huge. My Perception was high. I had Detect Secret. I was using Arcane Vision. By any stretch of the imagination, I should have found whatever an “aerial gem” was by now. That was doubly true with the three of us all searching for it.
The pathways were the obvious starting place if the dungeon wanted to make it easy for us, and I’d spent a good five minutes where the three paths met just examining every centimeter of the cobblestones below me. Eventually admitting that the search would be a bit trickier, I began a methodical snake-pattern walk to cover every part of the island.
Tremor Sight checked for any hidden burrows beneath me. Vitality Sight scanned the vegetation to look for any irregularities. Gust Sight checked for strange air patterns. Even so, I found nothing. Feeling a bit bad about defacing the carefully cultivated plant life, I cut up tracts of grass and uprooted a few bushes, too.
Right as I was beginning to suspect the gem wasn’t on the island at all, a triumphant cheer sounded out. Following its source, I soon discovered a figure perched on a branch, high up in a tree.
Only, it took a while for my brain to verify what my eyes were seeing, as it was not who I’d have expected. With a few leaves stuck in her white hair and some scuff marks on her clothes from where the branches had scraped at her, Verin patiently awaited our arrivals. When both of us were there to witness her victory, she gazed down with a poorly restrained air of smugness.
“As it is an ‘aerial gem,’ I posited that it may have been placed somewhere elevated. Lady Calilah, I will accept these ‘bonus points’ of yours. Catch.” Verin grabbed at something out of view before tossing it down. Her aim was atrocious, and the throw went wide, deflating some of her superiority. With my Dexterity, it was a simple task to catch it anyway. As if intent to spend the rest of whatever coolness she’d just earned, Verin then whispered under her breath: “Now how do I get down from here…”
Rolling my eyes, I examined the object she’d thrown, finding it to be exactly as I’d expected. Made from the same green gemstone of the obelisks, it was a plain disk, with God’s Eye confirming it was what we were after. Sort of.
Uncharged Aerial Gem
“How do we charge it…” I mumbled.
From there, everything happened all at once.
Reactive Armor has activated!
You have taken 30 damage from an unknown attack.
Only activating my Danger Sense at the last moment, a great force rammed into my back, pushing me forward. “Something’s attacking!” was thankfully all I needed to say as I spun about, Cal instantly vanishing even as Verin’s glacier started to surround her, high up in her tree.
The next attack, I managed to spot. A thin crescent of mana rushed towards me, and, after sending the gem into storage, I channeled earth mana into my armor to solidify my defense. The spell splashed across me, leaving the earthen layer with a deep furrow, but barely managing to harm me otherwise.
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You have taken 5 damage from Wind Blade.
Tracing the trajectory of the attack back, I spotted a cyclone of mana, almost entirely invisible to my regular sight outside of the wind it was kicking up around it. My mana sight was thankfully a different matter entirely, allowing me to see a tightly constrained vortex of air mana, complete with two dot-like eyes staring out at me. Eager to know what I was up against, I hit the mass of mana with God’s Eye.
Greater Air Elemental, Level 24: 800/800hp
An elemental? Not my ideal enemy, but the level and the health looked manageable. I started charging towards it, intent on intercepting all of its attacks in case one veered off towards Verin. Before I made it even two steps, however, I spotted two smaller blades of wind coming in hot, one on each side. A quick glance revealed two new enemies, half the size of the first, with their mana lazily circling about.
Air Elemental, Level 16: 200/200hp
Seemingly intent on halting my advance, harsh winds suddenly slammed into me, first in one direction, then abruptly in another. Instinctively, I used Heavy Step and Vine Boots to brace myself, though the rapidly shifting directions made it hard to get my bearings. My senses cried out as every noise on the island was drowned out by the chaotic whirring of the gale force winds.
Forced into a squint from the unremitting pressure against my face, at first, I thought I was seeing things. With Arcane Vision’s assistance, though, I grew more certain of what I was seeing: little globs of mana floating on the wind. Initially, I thought they were part of some spell, but after trying to identify one on a whim, I was surprised to find something entirely different.
Lesser Air Elemental, Level 8: 50/50hp
There were dozens of them, each moving so fast I had no hope at catching them without abusing my Spatial Step.
Speaking of which, I wasn’t sure what else I could use in this situation. A quick glance into the tree revealed an unharmed Verin, her protective ice now more than thick enough to handle a few wind blades. As I watched, the branches she was on snapped under the weight, and one startled noble crashed to the ground below. Thankfully, the fall wasn’t enough to crack her glacier, and she was mostly upright. Trusting that she could handle herself, I dismissed my other Mana Feet variants to use Spatial Step.
It was, unfortunately, a horrible mistake.
The very moment I was no longer rooted to the ground, a gust of wind swept me off my feet. I tried to right myself, but just as I was about to hit the ground, another burst of wind slammed into me from a different direction.
Over and over, I was hit with a solid barrage of air, some even shooting up from below me to keep me from ever touching the ground. In short order, I ended up hovering over a meter off the ground, rapidly spinning about. I struggled to free myself with a few Jet Steps, but each time, the elementals adjusted their efforts accordingly.
Impairment Resistance has reached level 7!
What the hell can I even do here? I needed to escape now to make sure that Cal and Verin were safe. Even as I spun about, dozens of wind blades cut into me, and while I knew I could take that level of punishment, I wasn’t sure about the others.
Ranged attacks, maybe? Would arrows even work in wind this bad? As I spun about, I tried to keep track of the greater elemental. I’m going to need to-
In one clean motion, the elemental was bisected. Wreathed in a horrifying amount of mana, a sword sheered through the wind, its wielder appearing out of nowhere to deliver the blow.
Not instantly defeated, the elemental responded with a pulse of air strong enough to rip up all the earth in a ring around it. It didn’t matter. Cal was already gone again. After just enough time for her to charge another attack, she retaliated, her second swing ending the elemental once and for all.
Scary. Watching the display, I sincerely hoped I never got on Cal’s bad side. Never mind that, though. She’s probably low on mana after pulling that stunt off twice. She was presumably using it to resist the winds as well, which meant I needed to free myself before she ran out. The little ones seem to be responsible for the wind. I just need a plan to deal with them.
Putting Cal’s stunt out of my mind, I tried to lock in on a single lesser elemental. Even spinning, though, I found it strangely easier than expected.
Have they slowed down a bit? Even as I watched, the tiny blob of mana slowed to a complete stop before falling to the ground. When it landed, something cracked, and tiny shards spilled out onto the ground before getting picked up by the wind. It took me a second to identify what the substance was.
Ice. Even if Verin didn’t know the lesser elementals existed, her Glacial Zone was constantly slowing and freezing everything in range.
One by one, the rest of the tiny blobs fell from the sky, littering the earth with their frosty shells. No longer stirring up the winds, they were powerless to confine me any longer, and I hit the ground with a vengeance.
I prepared myself to tear through the three standard elementals, only to belatedly realize… I didn’t need to?
One of the three had already vanished, evidently defeated. The second was pitifully sluggish as flecks of frost continued to form within its body before falling to the ground. Hoping to at least handle the third, I readied my spatial mana. Mid-step, however, Cal appeared behind it, ending the elemental in a single blow.
With a sigh, I went for the rapidly freezing elemental instead. One teleport and a single overcharged strike was all it took. Realizing that the lesser elementals were frozen but not yet dead, I then acted as a glorified janitor, mopping up their icy forms.
Your party has slain Greater Air Elemental, Air Elemental x3, Lesser Air Elemental x26. Based on your contribution, you have earned 300xp.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the others had earned significantly more.
With the threat vanquished, Cal appeared by my side as Verin canceled her Advancing Glacier, calmly walking out from the ice. Preempting any battle recaps or insightful commentary, Cal offered her own elevated stance on the matter.
“Fuck yeah! Did you see me split that big one in half? Honestly, took me longer to even spot it than it did to kill it, but I got there eventually! I will accept your fervent adulations!”
Verin pursed her lips at Cal’s outburst, seeming to be notably less impressed with her own performance. “Lady Calilah, surely we have greater concerns than who contributed the most to the fight.”
Realizing that Verin might have not even been aware of her own part in the battle, I expended some energy to explain how her Glacial Zone had essentially wiped out the bulk of the enemies. Without having spotted them herself, her battle notifications must have not informed her.
My words seemed to ever-so-slightly drag the corner of her lips upwards, and she performed a curtsy in response. “Truly? Then it would appear that I dealt with the most foes out of any of us. How curious. Lady Calilah, I believe you were saying something?”
I tuned out the resulting bickering, instead pulling out the aerial gem from my storage. Is this what triggered the fighting? The timing was too perfect for anything else to make sense. But why-
As if intent to explain itself, the gem chose that moment to light up. The wind began to pick up once more as a torrent of mana surged towards me from every direction. Initially fearing another attack, I channeled extra mana into my armor, only slowly realizing it wasn’t necessary. The gem greedily sucked up every bit of air mana from the surroundings, essentially eating the energy left behind by the defeated elementals. When at last the process ended, the gem glowed with a gentle inner light, and I examined the gem once more.
Charged Aerial Gem
“Huh.” Cal snatched the glorified battery from my hands, spinning it about. “Guess that explains that, then, doesn’t it?” Before any of us could get a word in edgewise, she started running off. “Dibs on putting it into the obelisk!”
With a muttered curse, Verin began after her. Not wanting to spoil Cal’s fun, I followed from behind, reining in my Dexterity to not overtake her.
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CLICK. The green disk snapped into place with a satisfying snugness. Lacking any better basis for our choice, we went with the left obelisk because that’s where Cal had ran off to. Now all that was left was to see what would happen.
Which, unfortunately, appeared to be nothing.
True, the obelisk lit up. The glow of mana was nice to look at, I supposed. After almost a minute of nothing else happening, though, I was losing hope. Maybe there’s a second gem for the other-
A great rumbling tore me from my thoughts, every bone in my body vibrating as the entire dungeon seemed to shake at once. Staggering from whatever colossal forces were in play, Verin gripped onto my arm, until, just as abruptly as the rumbling began, it stopped.
We waited in tension to see if it would start up again. Instead, the sight of something far grander greeted us.
A speck of green. Then another. The tips of trees began to poke through the clouds only a stone’s throw away. Trunks and branches soon followed, until a veritable forest had sprouted straight from the expanse of white before us. The land beneath them took only a few seconds more, and we watched as the clouds parted to reveal a new island, quickly ascending into the sky.
Too stunned to say a word, we watched as it rose and rose until the entire island was even higher than we were. With a sense of weight and finality, it ground to a halt, hanging there.
The obelisk chose that moment to flash with a burst of mana, shooting out the rest of its charge towards the island. Where the mana touched the air, it lingered and spread out. As if to invite us in, a new sky bridge soon formed, linking one island to the other.
For a time, we simply stood there, openly gaping at the sheer scale of the magic we’d witnessed. When the awe began to wear off, it was Verin who first found her tongue.
“Lady Tess. Lady Calilah. Perhaps this is a bit preemptive,” she began. “I believe, however, that I will be calling ‘dibs’ on inserting the next one.”