Time passed slowly, their Focus ticking up point by point.

Cass? Salos’s voice flickered at the edge of Cass’s awareness.

Salos? Cass called back.

Oh, you are still alive. Good.

Couldn’t you feel me? Cass asked.

Cass got a distinctly disgruntled pulse from him. For all we know, we can sense one another’s dead bodies, too.

I suppose, Cass said. She thought that was unlikely. She was pretty sure if something happened to him she’d know, and if something happened to her, something catastrophic would happen to him. How are Alyx and Marco?

Hmp, he snorted. Not going to check how I am first?

I can tell you’re just fine, she said. Are the other two okay?

They’re fine. They’re fine. Honestly, no concern over me in the slightest.

Cass snorted. What floor are you on?

The fourth.

You are just above us then.

“Us”? Salos asked. Who is “us”?

Ah, I met someone down here. Cass said. On my way down, I guess.

Noooooo, Salos groaned. You did not befriend the thing that latched onto you?

Maybe… Cass said.

He groaned again.

Hey, I’m only alive because of her.

He groaned louder. Please sit still until we get to you? Please?

“I think I’m about ready to try this next trial,” Pellen said, unknowingly interrupting Cass’s conversation.

Cass checked her stores.

Stamina: 126/126

Focus: 263/387

Health: 68/113

“Already?” Cass asked.

Pellen nodded. She must have a lot less Focus than Cass if it was already full again. Then again, she hadn’t had to expend any in the last encounter. That had been all Cass.

Cass? Salos called. Cass?

I’m still here, Cass assured him. I’ll finish up this last thing and then we’ll sit still as we can waiting for you. Promise.

After? Last thing? What thing? Cass?

“Alright,” Cass said, standing up with a stretch. “I think I’m ready.”

Waiting a little longer would have been better, but they didn’t have infinite time. They only had until their groups caught up with them or the Wolves found them, whichever came first. If Pellen was ready and Cass was mostly ready, that would have to be enough.

Cass left their fire burning, and they stepped back into the central circle.

“Are we ready?” Cass asked. Was there anything else they could prepare to improve their chances? She did not know what enemies the trial would throw at them or even where they would come from. Would they come through the door? Spawn spontaneously around the room? Phase through solid stone?

What defenses would be a valuable investment of her Focus and what would be hazards to her maneuverability?

Given that gophers seemed to phase through solid stone, Cass didn’t think setting up stone barriers would help.

Pellen paused. “Wait. I have an idea.”

She rummaged around in her pockets until she found some chalk. She pulled Cass into the center of the existing circle, then began furiously scribbling over the stone floor. Swooping runes formed a gap-less circle in minutes.

“What is that?” Cass asked. The trial’s sound-blocking circle was probably about four yards across in diameter, with the treasure chest offset from the center just enough so that whoever opened it would be in the exact center. Pellen’s chalk circle was smaller, centered on the pre-existing circle, and just big enough to also encircle the chest.

“An Inscription Circle,” Pellen said. She was still on her hands and knees, now inching her way around the perimeter, her eyes meticulously checking every sigil before scooting forward another inch.

“And that is?” It looked like a magic circle, but that didn’t answer Cass’s question.

“It’s King of the Hill,” Pellen said distractedly. “So we need to hold this spot. This is a barrier. It should keep nasty things out. We should be able to survive the time limit with it. Probably.”

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“Probably?”

“Probably,” Pellen repeated, still focused on checking every sigil. “In laboratory settings, I can keep a perfect circle running for an hour.”

“But?” Cass could feel the qualifiers coming.

“But that’s with an expert with a skill for Barrier Circles drawing the circle and nothing trying to break it.”

“Ah. I take it that the quality of the circle affects how long you can keep it up?”

Pellen nodded. “And its general effectiveness. And a host of other things.”

“Then how long do your barriers usually last?” Cass asked.

“Twenty minutes.”

“That’s quite the difference.”

“It’s pretty standard for the difference between a specialist and a general practitioner.” Pellen stopped at one rune, smudging it out with the hem of her sleeve before redrawing it. It looked the same to Cass, but Pellen nodded to herself before moving on to the next one.

“And how much is the ‘definitely stuff trying to break it’ part of this equation going to alter that time?”

“A lot.”

“Oh.”

Pellen glanced up at Cass. “Yeah…”

“Then you don’t think you can last the entire ten minutes?”

Pellen shook her head. “No. Definitely not. Not a chance. Not against anything we couldn’t kill easily enough, anyway.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Cass asked. She doubted Pellen was putting all this effort into the circle for no reason.

“I see two options,” Pellen said as she scratched out another rune and redrawing it. “One: I activate this immediately and you take out the enemies from safety inside. Two: I hold this in reserve and we activate it at the end to wait out the last couple of minutes.”

“Can I—” Cass cut herself off, shaking her head. “Even if I could shoot through it from our side, my Wind Blades can’t cross the trial’s boundary circle.” That created a very narrow kill band between Pellen’s barrier and the sound/air barrier around the trove.

“Do you have any other spells?” Pellen asked.

“Not ranged,” Cass said. Maybe one of these days she’d figure out how to use Elemental Manipulation to throw fire or stone projectiles. In any case, she didn’t have that skill right now. “What are the chances we can take down the existing circle?”

Pellen shook her head. “I think doing so might invalidate the trial and destroy the trove.”

“Alright. Then I think we’re going with Option 2,” Cass said.

Pellen nodded. “I was afraid that might be the case. Okay. You should know, it requires three seconds to activate, during which I can’t be Chanting anything else. Also, the more spells I use before activating the barrier, the less time the barrier will last.”

“Sure, that makes sense. Anything else I should know?”

“I’m terrified?”

“Noted,” Cass said and stepped up to the chest. She placed her hand on the lid and the system notice appeared again.

Begin Game (King of the Hill)?

[Keep at least one team member inside the ‘Throne Room’ (demarcated zone) for ten minutes or until all challengers have been defeated.

Reward: 1/3rd Experience of Slaying the highest threat Survived during game. Appropriate Treasure manifested from Averenis Deep Stores.]

“I’m starting it,” Cass warned as she willed her assent.

No sooner had she done so than the lights in the room went out. A thick darkness enveloped the room, deeper and darker than a simple absence of light. Cass felt her campfire in the corner sputter out and Beacon of Hearth and Home shut down.

The darkness stopped sharply at the edge of the trove’s circle. It kept out the dark as decidedly as it kept out air or sound.

Cass and Pellen tensed, watching the darkness with a rising fear.

They couldn’t hear anything out there. Couldn’t see. Cass couldn’t feel beyond the confines of the magic circle with Atmospheric Sense.

“Down!” Pellen yelled, shoving Cass aside and beginning a chant.

Cass saw the bolt of lightning half a second later. It shot through the space where they had been standing.

It was followed by another and another, each flying from a different direction. Cass grabbed the first with Elemental Manipulation. The lightning wriggled in her grasp. Cass’s Will squeezed tighter as she yanked it off track, sending it flying wide of them.

Pellen’s chant finished and a dinner plate-sized circle appeared between her and the second bolt. The lightning struck and fizzled out on the floating wall of force.

Pellen started Chanting again.

Cass still couldn’t see what had shot at them, but she couldn’t wait for it to shoot again. She had to go out and kill it before it killed them.

She stepped over the threshold of the trove’s circle. A chill cascaded over her skin as she stepped out into the dark. It was wrong. So innately and deeply wrong. Like trying to breathe water. Like swimming in oil.

Atmospheric Sense said there was nothing wrong with the air, not that Cass, strictly speaking, needed to breathe.

There wasn’t time to dissect the nature of the air. Even outside the circle, Atmospheric Sense wasn’t doing much. Something about the darkness inhibited her ability to make sense of the air flows, too. All she had was the location the lightning bolts had been shot from.

Cass ran blindly through the darkness toward the first of these three positions. She could only feel a foot or two around her.

But Mana Sense was crystal clear, like nothing stood between her and her targets.

She wasn’t surprised to find a Crocodile hanging from the wall. In her Mana Sight, a ball of magic glowed in the center of its forehead, between the eyes and beneath the metal mask.

Crocodile (lvl 21)

It had two gems on its snout. Its beady eyes glared at her as she approached. The gems lit up.

Cass drew a Mana Wind Blade to her staff and stabbed forward with all the force she possessed. She aimed for the core glowing to her Mana Sight, remembering the effect that had had on the Wolf.

The Wind Blade skated along the monster’s metal skull, sparks flying in the dark.

The second gem glowed. Its jaws opened toward Cass. A bolt exploded from its mouth.

Cass ducked left and jabbed her glaive again, this time aiming for the glowing green ectoplasm between its metal skull and plated shoulders.

The Wind Blade sunk through the glowing flesh. Had it been an ordinary animal, its windpipe would have been cut and that would have been the end. But this wasn’t an ordinary animal. This was a necromantic golem of metal and malice, and its entire body glowed an eerie green as it choked on her blade.

An energy was building. And Cass was pretty sure she didn’t want to find out what it was building to.

She pulled her blade out. The crocodile continued its buildup, impossibly bright in the inky blackness around them. The jewels on its snout shone like the sun. It hurt to look at it.

She needed to kill this thing. She needed to kill it now.

She struck it again and again, her staff sliding off the metal and cutting deeply through the flesh. But the thing just kept glowing. Brighter and brighter.

She needed to hit that core. She was certain. Anything less would only enrage the monster.

A bolt of lightning flew at her from across the room. She Dodged at the last second, the bolt disappearing back into the dark. It was a reminder this was hardly the only enemy out here. Just more reasons she needed to kill this now.

The crocodile opened its jaws again, again pointing them at Cass. Time slowed as Alacrity pressed into overdrive. Cass could see the answer. The inside of its mouth was the soft ectoplasmic flesh. The inside of its mouth was a direct path to the vulnerable core.

The inside of its mouth was also where the death beam was about to pour out from.

Was she fast enough? Was she right?

Would Liminal Dodge save her if she wasn’t?

Every microsecond she spent thinking was one more she needed to pull this off lost. If she was going to try this, now was the moment.

She’d barely made the decision and her body sprang forward with all 53 Dexterity aided by her Concept of Wind.

Wind and Dexterity laughed at her doubt. They drove her glaive deep into the mouth of the crocodile. The Mana Wind Blade split flesh, digging deep into the core. Her wrists twisted the staff, rending the core to ribbons.

The crocodile collapsed, falling from the wall into a pile of inert metal.

One down. Two or more to go.