Caleb could feel the raw power beneath him. He could see it too, the mana so blindingly bright that it shone through the cracks of the floor with the light of a thousand suns, bathing everything in a purple glow that shifted like water.

And through it all Eriana cackled. Caleb could only listen to her horrible grating laugh through the sounds of crumbling rock and stare at the floor, frozen in disbelief.

He’d made a terrible, terrible mistake.

He’d come here, chosen to leave Kana and Ryan behind, chosen to kill hundreds of cultists just to stop this, just because he’d felt guilty, just because some stupid floating message in the sky had told him to.

He’d done all this just because he’d seen the faces of the others, of Reinhard, Roeca, Cut, of all the chosen he’d convinced to follow them and he’d felt guilty. He’d done everything to stop it, covered himself in blood he’d never ever, be able to wash away,

And it’d happened anyway.

The cavern shook more violently more as he stared at the floor, Eriana’s laugh echoing in the background.

Anya had to have messed with her mind, he thought. She’s not… this isn’t… this can’t be happening.

The cavern shook harder, more and more crystals crumbling from the ceiling as the flat face of the mural began to grow brightly, the initial red of the rubies shifting into a much darker blue. The darkness which had existed all around him, began to press against his body now, crushing it more than stone that rested a top his back.

He coughed hard, then stretched out his bloodstained hand, reaching desperately for nothing in particular as he struggled against the stone that trapped him.

“No” he muttered, clawing at the floor. “You fucking… you can’t. Please… no! NO!”

He let loose a feral shout, trying so desperately to deny the reality of the situation.

But he couldn’t.

Then the calamity beneath him roared, sound reverberating through the physical and magical realm distorting everything. Pure power given form.

It shook Caleb to his core, loud enough to obliterate all his thoughts, to cause pain in a way he couldn’t even describe. And as the roar faded into a low rumble, he felt his fear grow uncontrollably, watching as the light from its magic shifted faster now.

This monster was the greatest he’d ever faced, and he couldn’t run away. He was going to die.

Then the ground shuddered violently, and he was falling. The air rushed up and around him as the monster’s glow brightened beneath, the floor that’d been shielding the majority of it gone. Caleb cried out, his screams taken by the wind as he fell through the air, sprays of rock blasting him from all directions.

Then he hit water. The sudden smack was painful, a sharp stinging pain that radiated outwards from his stomach and side. It consumed him as he rolled around in the lukewarm liquid, trying – and failing – to distance himself from the burning of the pain.

Then the rocks crashed down into the water like rain, throwing up the surface in large splashes before shooting down towards him. The rocks peppered him, cutting into his skin and tearing through flesh. He screamed, precious bubbles of air escaping his mouth as he shielded his head with trembling hands.

But the rocks didn’t slow, the onslaught growing as the monster roared again. He needed to get away.

Down! Go down!

Even in his current condition, he twisted through the water, pulling himself down as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. As he pulled himself downwards, away from the falling rock, the water grew warmer, stinging his cuts.

He felt the beginnings of a hard cough rise into his throat, and fought to stifle it, before quickly descending into a small fit, half covering his mouth as precious bubbles of air escaped his lips.

Suddenly he felt the water pull on him, the current shifting violently. The light of monster grew again, expanding as it raced upwards. He clamped his eyes shut, but even with them closed he could still sense the monster’s magical power. It was too bright for him to perceive anything else, it’s star far outshining everything, even his own.

His other senses were starting to become overwhelmed too, his ears ringing, his entire body warm, the sweetness of mana pressing against his tongue, and the weight it placed on his body incredible. He couldn’t think. It felt like he was burning up his mind, his existence simply overwhelmed.

[Trait Mana Awareness has developed]

[You have awoken Mana Sense]

The light instantly faded. He could feel the monster now, sense it in a way that didn’t correlate to his old senses anymore. It still weighed on his mind, his brain barely able to comprehend the sheer gravity of it, but at least he could think again.

He opened his eyes and looked around, into darkness. It took his eyes a second to adjust but they did, taking in his surroundings. Everything was still now. The rocks floating around through the water slower now. Too slow.

He tried to swim and realised everything felt heavy, his limbs almost impossible to move. Fear slithered up from his gut and into his heart, and he felt his trembling hands fight uselessly against this added weight. He so desperately wanted to scream, but even that was impossible.

Then the spell was broken, everything moving again. Caleb didn’t have time to react, the rock simply smashed into him as the currents of water exploded into action. The monster’s roar echoed through the water, obliterating his thoughts again. The currents grew vicious, twisting, and turning, pulling and pushing. Caleb spiralled around, shielding his head as he prayed a rock wouldn’t be his end.

Then he felt it, it’s presence in his mind growing exponentially nearer. He craned his neck, fighting against the currents of water to get a good look beyond the scatter of rocks below. And he saw it. A glowing figure roaring upwards, leaving everything behind it molten hot. Everything around Caleb started to grow in heat too and he cried out as the pressure shifted around him, his ears popping.

His surroundings slowed again, coming to a stop and he realised it was the monster’s magic, holding everything in place. Then the spell broke and he was thrown up faster than he’d ever moved before.

The fear was worse than any pain he’d ever felt. The speed was so great, he couldn’t even clutch his head with his hands. So, he focused on his power, staring at the glowing star in his chest as he tried to calm himself.

Everything shook around him, the surroundings growing increasingly hotter as he picked up speed and shards of rock tore across his skin, only barely stopped by the flesh.

Then, with a horrible and continuous roar he felt his skin grow cold and realised he could breathe again. His eyes flew open and his heart flew into his mouth as he realised he was flying upwards, with the rest of the debris, high above the mountain. He continued to ascend surrounded by a mess of boiling mana water, and rock, his entire body burning as he sailed upwards into the night sky.

“Shit!” he cried. “Holy shit!”

Steadily, as they neared the clouds, the field of debris and water started to disperse outwards. Caleb, spotting a distant city in the line of mountains filled with glowing nights. And beyond, to the north a huge forest, with barely visible red sands at its edge stretching out into the horizon.

To the south stretched the plains, an endless of dry dirt, with spattering’s of trees, and great flowing rivers that converged and flowed between the mountains. He looked below again, as the wind whipped his hair around, blinking tears out of his eyes as steam and smoke rose from the mountain top. The group fighting by the base of the mountain had scattered, running from the cloud of ash and smoke that rose into the air.

Then the monster emerged, pulling itself from the mountain, no volcano and roared. The roar echoed outwards across the flats as the monster pulled itself completely from the smoking volcano and began descending down the mountainside.

It looked like a cross between an armadillo and a raccoon, a quadrupedal with a strange mix of scales and fur, and a softly shell-like rings between the fur on its back. Except its eyes glowed golden, and it was at least seventy feet long. Everything around it floated, hanging in the air suspended by its magic. Caleb stared at it both awed by its size and its magic presence.

But the then he started to slow, and his awe was replaced by fear, as he began to fall back toward the ground. He cried out loudly as debris pelted him from all sides, their motion – and his – no longer constrained by the power of the monster beneath. As everything twisted and turned wildly, plummeting toward the ground he knew he was going to die.

Falling from this height was an assured death, even for his level of strength. Even if he put the two stat points he’d gained into strength, he’d only have three in strength. He’d only be fifteen times stronger and more durable than the average person. That wasn’t enough to tank falling from above the clouds.

So he screamed, flailing helplessly.

There has to be something! Anything! he thought.

He looked around desperately for some kind of hope. His eyes fell on the runes on his hands and widened. Maybe he could be durable enough. Instantly he invested his stat points into strength, the heavenly and euphoric feeling coursing through him again before instantly fading. His focus returned and he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fact he was plummeting so he could focus on his core.

He couldn’t slow himself down, but he could strengthen himself. By putting as much power as he could into the runes he could expound his strength stat, make himself more impervious than the ground. It would still hurt, maybe even break a few bones. But he wouldn’t die. He steeled himself, clenching his jaw tightly as he focused intently on the markings on his skin.

He felt their connection to him, to his body. How their weight altered his own slightly. They encouraged magics of strength, vitality, durability and immutability in his own soul, not to an outstanding degree, but enough to slow the spread of his cancer.

But most importantly, they had far more to give.

So he focused on them, letting wisps of heat drawn from the star in his chest further ignite their now burgeoning flames. A spray of rocks and water peppered him as he fell into the billowing black smoke, nearing the monster. The runes against his skin began to flicker with life, then glowed, illuminating the smoke with golden orange rays of light.

He cried out, his runes glowing brightly as he closed his eyes.

But he didn’t hit the ground. Instead, he slowed, caught in the monster’s magic. His eyes widened as he looked to it, the monster staring at him as he glowed brightly. Then a great slash of striking blue cut through the air, blasting the monster back. Caleb fell through the air, at least thirty metres and slammed to the ground.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

The earth shook as he laid against it, dazed, then he sat up, his feet stinging but still intact. He was alive. He looked up and quickly leapt to the side as huge chunks of rock crashed to the mountainside. He breathed heavily for a second, the cold mountain air unaffecting as his runes continued to glow brightly.

He looked around, finding himself in the middle of the mountains, on the opposite side of the peak he’d originally entered. The ground rumbled, and his shock was replaced by fear. The monster was still alive. He needed to run.

But before he could look for a way out, he felt a heat on his back. He blinked in surprise and turned as the heat continued to wash over him.

Fire. Great roaring blue flames cut across the across the beast in slashes of fury as Eriana roared. And not just any flames, but a heat that touched his soul.

It’s the fire from her soul, he thought. She’s using the fire from her soul.

The monster roared back, stomping with enough force to shake the ground violently as its magic tore patches of the mountain high into the sky, then allowed them to fall. Eriana had wanted a fight, but the monster was more than just an opponent.

It was like Master Patricia had said. The monster was a force of nature. But it still didn’t deter the girl, the blindingly blue flames her sword burning even brighter now, hot enough to char her hands, and scorch the mountainside around.

Caleb could only watch in awe as she battled the calamity, unable to look away no matter how desperately his body urged him to run. The fight in front of him, the dance of violence, of earth and fire, was breathtakingly beautiful. A force of nature versus an indomitable opponent.

Caleb couldn’t help but think in some ways, Eriana was exactly who he’d always wanted to be. She was facing the monster. She was hurting it. She might’ve even been winning. A single person against an unimaginably powerful force of nature, powerful enough to literally raise mountains.

I don’t even understand what I’m seeing right now.

Then it was over just as soon as it’d started.

A rock fell, and the monster roared loudly. She girl wreathed in fire cut the rock in two but was to slow to block the blast of air. The monster’s roar knocked Eriana off her feet, sending her flying. Then almost as soon as she’d taken to the air Caleb felt the monster focus all its power above her.

Gravity intensified tenfold and like a bug swatted against a wall, Eriana slammed to the ground. She screamed out in agony, the fire on her sword dying as she desperately tried to pull herself off the ground, straining against her shattered limbs as blood pooled onto the ground. Her ferocity remained, her sword igniting once again despite her condition. But ferocity simply wasn’t enough. Another rock slammed upon her, and she went silent, dead.

The monster roared to the sky, parting the cloud of ash, earth and debris, a celebration of its victory. Caleb simply stared at monster, then realised he was alone with it. The others were all far too far away to reach him, and he couldn’t run away from a beast like this. His hands trembled, but he remained still, frozen. His body was like lead, his limbs weights of fear that held him in place. His heart

Run you idiot. Just try and run.

But what would that accomplish? What would that get him but a pathetic death after everything he’d done? After everything he’d survived in these ridiculous past few days? He’d made it this far already and if the trial had taught him anything it’s that he had to fight to live. Even if everything was telling him not to. Even if he’d lose.

Before he realised it, he was running forwards, runes glowing brightly. His feet felt alien as the raced across the ground, his body strangely distant. It was exactly like before, when he’d raced at the two-headed tiger with Ryan without a single thought inside his head.

Then a great flood of mana filled the area around him. He leapt to the side as the ground was ripped upward, the mountainside tearing into the sky as he narrowly escaped the danger zone.

His eyes widened. With his trait he could see where it would focus its power.

Another wave of mana swept over the ground as the monster roared, slamming a foot against the ground. He dodged again, and the dance continued, the monster using its magic to try and crush him whilst Caleb used his new strength to throw himself around, narrowly avoiding the attacks. Bit by bit, the monster grew more frustrated, before roaring moving forwards to him as it’s attacks.

Caleb fought harder to avoid the rocks, his skin peppered over and over again, as his runes glowed brighter, protecting him, but burning up. The last of their magic had almost been used up, and they unwound, the enchantments effect decreasing.

But he ignored their unravelling, focusing on the monster in front of him as his heart beat out of his chest. The calamity neared, it’s magic growing and growing as it focused the gravity powers in smaller and smaller pockets, obliterating the stone with sharp bursts of power that missed Caleb by only inches.

But Caleb dodged again and again, with great leaping bounds. Then a glimmer of light caught his eye, moonlight reflected off Eriana’s sword. He leapt towards it as another rain of stone descended on him, a thin layer of dust covering the mountainside now. Quickly, he snagged the blade from off the ground, before leaping away.

As he held it in his hand, the blade began to vibrate, glowing a slight blue. He looked down to it, eyes wide. It’d been changed by whatever Eriana’s skill was, hardened by the fire of her soul. It was broken, but still far more powerful than anything he’d ever held. And he could still draw more from it. He could feel it, deep in his core.

He looked back to the monster again, the beast suddenly feeling a lot smaller. With the blade, he could hurt it. Maybe not beat it, but he could at least give this world a fighting chance. He dodged another burst of gravity as the monster roared, but this time leapt towards it.

The calamity attacked again, enraged by the glowing pest that hopped around it. But Caleb simply hopped towards the monster again. With leap after leap, he neared the monster, nearly on top of it now.

His heart beat hard, his side throbbing dangerously as his feet burned. But his eyes were fixed on the monster.

I can do this. Just need to time it right. Just time it right.

He felt the beast’s mana picked up again, and as it pulled downwards, he leapt upwards as hard as he could. Propelled by his stats, and the power of his skill amplifying the runes that covered his body, he soared through the air, easily clearing thirty feet before landing on the monsters head. He skidded across the surface, scraping his arms against the rough skin before he found purchase.

The monster instantly roared again, tilting its head back to throw Caleb off. But he dug the sword in between scales and held it there as the monster bucked and roared, trying to throw him off.

As it turned, the already broken sword – caught between the scales – snapped like a piece of bark and Caleb was thrown sideways, skittering across the coarse shell again. But he strengthened the runes further, practically burning the magic as he gripped the skin tightly, holding on.

With his heart in his mouth, he held himself close to monster and forced his eyes open. The monster had taken to the sky, using its gravity magic on itself as it shrieked. Caleb grit his teeth desperately as the monster picked up speed, the wind roaring once again in his ears.

He was losing grip, and he couldn’t risk snapping the last piece of the sword in between the scales. But falling would be fatal. Even if he wasn’t in the best position, he had to attack now.

He focused on his core, and with a bright burst of flame that made him dizzy, he strengthened the broken sword. It glowed brightly, a brilliant mix of Eriana’s harsh electric blue, and his golden orange emitting from the broken blade. Then, as hard as he could, he threw it at the monster’s head for a mark left by Eriana’s slashes. The throw was poorly aimed, but powerful, carried by his strength. It cut cleanly through the hide and embedded itself deep into the monster’s neck.

The calamity roared twisting and turning ferociously as it screeched in pain. Then it fell out of the sky.

Caleb held on for dear life as the beast descended towards the mountains below again, crying out in desperation. It struck them with a thunderous boom, shattering the peak as it carried an avalanche of snow, and stone down into the recesses between the mountains. Caleb was thrown from the monster and cried out before crashing to the ground hard.

He skidded across the frozen stone, flying down the mountainside as the monster finally began to slow with help of his own magic. Caleb dug his hands against the ground, and slowed to a stop, the runes glowing more dimly now. His entire body ached, but he could still feel the monster behind him, it’s mana raging.

With a frenzied cry, he forced himself up off the floor quickly, ignoring his injuries. He stared back at the beast as he felt its power radiate outwards, a pure force of nature. But it was hurt, its softer underside damaged badly by the collision of the mountain, and parts of its hide scratched bare.

He'd hurt the beast far more then he’d intended to. In this state, he might be able to run away from the beast. But as the harsh, mountain winds swept across him, only one thought went through his mind.

I can win.

He rushed towards the monster again, but the monster was panicked, and it could sense him coming. In a sudden burst of power the ground around it was torn up and Caleb was thrown backwards in a mess of stone before hitting the floor hard.

He coughed, the pain of his side stabbing into him like a sharp blade. He let out an anguished cry but forced it out of his mind and leapt up, dodging a more focused blast of power and more rocks.

He landed, but stumbled, and fell to one knee as the calamity’s magic began to redirect. He dodged again, and landed hard, instantly falling as blood dripped from his nose and ears, his head ringing. He could barely breath, effort like pulling teeth. The glow of his runes had gone, along with the initial markings. Caleb cursed. Without the runes his body was failing him now of all times, and it was going to get him killed.

The beast’s magic began to roll over him again, as it pulled itself up from the crater it’d formed in the mountain. He tried to stand but fell back to the ground, the pain of his side dragging him into the dirt and stone.

“Please! Not now! Just work properly!” he cried, slamming his side with a fist. “Stop hurting!”

He felt a flicker of his own energy flood him, and the pain disappeared. For an instant he felt strength return to him, like the past hour had all been a dream. He pulled himself to his feet and dodged the blasts easily, his body fine.

Then as soon as it came, a wave of tiredness hit him, almost enough to knock him out. But the fear kept him awake. He dodged another blast but fell to the floor breathing heavily as his power weakened, the pain returning threefold. Suddenly his eyes widened. He couldn't put into words what had just happened, but on some intrinsic level he knew.

His power worked on himself.

The same way his sword had had extra power, the same way the bracelet and shield had, so too did his body. Even with changes the stat points in strength had made, there was still so much more he could be doing. He could feel it now, sense it.

All that wasted ambient mana within the connective path between the magical and physical. If he could use it, he could be so much stronger. He just had to find the energy to release it, to set the coal aflame.

He dodged another roar from the monster and then with a battle-cry, focused on his centre, the shining star in his chest, and pulled at it.

Flickers of light shot from his core, like bursts of flame. He felt the heat of them, momentarily spread through him and the power that heat brought. He pushed harder, but the further he managed to ignite, the harder it became to continue.

He could feel the effort tearing him apart, breaking something he knew shouldn’t be broken. And it scared him. But greater than the fear, was the desire to make this whole mess mean something. He had no weapons now, only his body, only his fists. But with this power, this golden energy, his fists could be enough.

Just a small bit. I just a tiny bit of this power in my fist

So, with all his will, he forced the flame further, pushing the ignition past his chest, into his arm and further, letting the small trickle of fire of heat, of pure magic flow between realties into his fist. He could feel it tearing him apart, obliterating, tendons, muscle and bone. His body wasn’t ready to contain the energy. But it didn’t have to contain it. For a moment, just one moment, all it had to do was release it.

The monster roared loudly, but this time Caleb stood his ground. The blast shook everything around him, tearing the rock apart, but he dug his feet in and held. The small remnants of heat from the star in his chest reinforced him, made him whole, one in a way that was immutable, unchangeable by the magic of the monster in front of him.

As the roar ended the monster looked to the being in front of it, confused by the continued increase in its power. Its mind was primitive, that of an animal, but even it knew the little creature should be dead.

But Caleb wasn’t. And the monster was unprepared. He roared, leaping forwards through the air and his power grew even further. A narrow pathway through his arm leading all the way to his fist glowed golden, bright enough to make everything else dark.

Then he slammed his fist into the monster’s face, along the line of Eriana’s initial cut. A deafening boom rocked the entire mountains and everyone still alive, even those far away were blasted back by a rush of air.

[You have defeated a grade 3 Moshaic threat]

[You have levelled up]

Sierra and the others picked themselves up, looking off into the distance as the echo of the shockwave faded a mushroom cloud of dirt, stone and debris, lit by remnants of a gaseous mix of golden and blue energy towered high into the sky. She could feel the mana physically, like a weight pressing against her.

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[…]

[Emergency objective complete]

[First Phase of the trial complete]

[Congratulations]

“Holy shit” she mumbled.

[Alert – You are in a grade 3 danger zone. Do not panic. A selected has been sent to deal with threat.]

Sierra stared at the message in confusion.

“My gods” Valyre muttered from behind her. She turned and found all the remaining cultists and the last brigadier looking to the sky, eyes wide. She looked too, and watched as a huge translucent black spherical barrier expanded outwards from above them, dimming the stars as it stretched to the ground, engulfing the huge mushroom cloud, mountains and all.

Then a red portal appeared in the sky above them, many gasping as it began to grow. From the portal a figure emerged, dropping down from the sky. They slammed to the ground, spraying dirt over everyone before standing.

Sierra stared at the girl in front of her. She couldn’t have been older than sixteen, with long red hair and strange futuristic looking black armour, covering in silver runic markings.

[Janky fucking locator. I’m not even in the fucking mountains] the girl said, shaking her head as she drew a scythe off her back. She glanced to Sierra and gave a wave, before turning back to the mountains. She froze and made a face as she stared at the huge mushroom cloud, still filled with gaseous energy.

[What the fuck is that?]