He put his hand on the door, and it swung open easily, leading to a smaller library. It was more cramped than the main library, and the scent of dust choked the air. One index tome was against the far wall. I guess the trial doesn't expect sharing the index here to be a problem. Aaron and Therus were already there, flipping through pages of old dusty tomes.
He didn’t want to disturb them, especially while they were coexisting so peacefully, so he went over to the index. A few interesting texts showed up after searching for rituals.
- Basic Ritual Structures
- Spirits, ether, and qi
- Advanced bindings and wardings
He got all three books, sat down, and started reading. Basic Ritual Structures contained the ritual parts that he had been working with in the trial. Really? I get this after the death trial where I have to figure out what half of these even meant? Then again, I could have done a combat trial and avoided the challenge. But if I did that, would I even see that particular trial room?
He brushed against the ritual pieces in his mind and knew he could still channel qi into them. Seth had received no other rewards from the trial, but he wasn’t unhappy. Nothing he had seen hinted that rituals could be formed from thought alone, let alone taught how to do it. Granted, it was expensive to do in terms of qi. The shield he loved would drain his personal qi in less than ten seconds. Thankfully, he was decent at binding spirits, so he had a short-term solution. As for a long-term solution, he needed to fix his... cultivation problem. The seven hungry thieves in his body were long overdue for an eviction.
The next morning, Seth was eating in the cafeteria when a shadow passed over him. And just hung there. Why is Therus not saying anything?
"May I sit?" The voice was definitely not Therus. Looking up, he saw Aaron, standing with his own food. Seth gestured for Aaron to sit, and they ate in silence for a while.
"It truly is unfortunate we are on opposite ends of this conflict," said Aaron.
"Pretty nice words for a… what did you call us... ruffians?"
"Which you are. Neither of you would recognize class if it jumped up and bit you in the face. Still, I guess the term may come across as insulting. If so, I apologize."
How is that supposed to be anything but insulting? Or did he intend it only as an insult toward Therus?
"Anyway, as Andirs had suggested," Aaron continued, "I want to put our differences behind us. Until we are free of this place, of course."
"Which I appreciate, but why are you coming over here now?"
“I was hoping to... collaborate with you, Andirs, and Bo on clearing a trial,” Aaron said.
"What's the logic there?"
"Primarily, I do not wish to try another of these trials by myself for the time being. The last couple have been... too close for comfort."
He understood where Aaron was coming from. He had just gotten out of a trial that had nearly roasted him alive. However, memories of how close the five-person trial had been still weighed heavily on his mind.
"I have nothing against it personally. Is Therus on board?"
"I haven't spoken with him yet."
"Why not? Didn't you bury the hatchet, at least for the trial?"
"You don't know anything about noble houses, do you?"
"No."
"Well, I will not bore you with details, but asking outright in this situation is... difficult."
"Difficult? How so?"
"How to explain... ah, you believe murder is wrong, correct?"
"Of course."
"Why?" Aaron took a sip of his drink while looking Seth in the eye.
That was a good question. He... just did. The reason wasn't all that clear. Thinking more didn’t help clear up the problem.
"I don't know."
"Similar problem."
"Are you saying that talking with an enemy noble is as difficult as murder?"
"Moreso, actually. Murder isn't terribly frowned upon, at least where I'm from. Your supposed aversion to it is strange to me, considering your... well, let's not speak of that here.."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Seth just stared at Aaron for a minute. Then, he sighed.
"I'll let Therus know. When were you planning on leaving?"
"We're short on time, so I was hoping soon."
"I need two days. My latest trial left me a bit low on resources."
"Understood. Two days. Or at least, what passes for days in here. One can never be sure when relying on the captors' clocks."
He had a point, but if the difference was that great, Seth suspected someone would have noticed. Still, better safe than sorry.
Without another word, Aaron stood and left. After finishing his own meal, Seth quickly peeked into the library. Therus wasn't there, so he went to his room's entrance and mentally requested entry. After about five seconds, the door opened, and he stepped through the portal.
Therus was lying on his bed, reading a thick green book. How did Therus manage to sneak a book into his room? Therus looked up and smiled, shut his book, and put it on the shelf.
"Hi, Seth. It's been a while. What brings you over today?"
"Aaron wants to work with us and Bo to clear another trial. You in?"
"I don't have any issues with it. Are we leaving soon?"
"Two days. I need to get some more resources."
"That's unfortunate, but makes sense, given your... problem. Have you made any progress with that?"
"Not yet, but I have an idea."
"Care to share?"
"Well, we can bind spirits, right? I was thinking of finding a way to bind these tumors in a similar way. Sure, there are some gaps in the logic..." Seth looked down, unable to keep looking Therus in the eyes.
"I'll keep my eyes out for something." Therus pushed his face up into a smile.
"Thanks. I know I'm reaching, but—"
"Why not healing?"
"I already got some healing magic, and the results were... less than promising. My tu—constitution just absorbs that and grows stronger."
"That's... troublesome. We'll figure something out, though." This time, it was Therus who couldn't meet Seth's eyes. Let's change the subject.
"You find anything interesting?"
"No, just trying to figure out how these rituals work. They’re fascinating in theory, but..." Therus' brow creased and his hand went to his chin.
"You need help?"
"I think you need to help yourself first," Therus said.
Seth thought for a moment, then sighed and nodded. He wanted to help his friend, but his problems were more pressing. If he didn't figure something out here, he would die.
"Besides, it's not a big loss," continued Therus. "After we leave here, I don't think I'll be using any of these binding techniques."
"Why?"
"Where do you think the spirits will come from?"
Seth's brow creased as he pondered the question. It was a good point. Once they left, Seth wouldn't be able to bind spirits so readily. Come to think of it, where did these spirits come... from...? Okay, don't like the implications of that. We can unpack this later. Everything is OK.
"Good point. However, there are more uses for these rituals than binding spirits. Can I demonstrate?"
He nodded, and Seth went to an open area of the training area in the room. Using just his qi, he summoned the barrier. It took only a couple of seconds. The accomplishment made him smile a bit, while Therus' eyes went wide.
Therus pulled out his staff and smashed it into the barrier. The staff bounced off, but it instantly drained his qi reserves, causing the barrier to fail.
"That would be a serious pain if you had more qi. That's why you're getting more resources?"
"Mostly."
"Well, I won't keep you. Maybe I need to look at this a little more closely. Can you show me how that shield is constructed? Come to mention it, how can you just make the ritual appear?"
Another question Seth didn't have an answer to. The trial hadn't exactly given him a lot of time to study the pedestals.
"Learned during the process of undergoing the last trial. There were pedestals that helped with the process, but I don't know how they worked. Sorry if that isn't helpful."
"Keep your secrets, then," said Therus with a playful smile. "I have some new tricks of my own, courtesy of the trial."
"Want to show me now?"
"Nope. You'll have to find out in two days."
"Well, if you decide to show me early, let me know. Otherwise, see you in two days."
Seth returned to his own room to rest a bit before getting to work. The next two days would be busy.
Two days of studying and resource gathering flew by, and now Seth was standing at the entrance to the trial. Aaron, Therus, and Bo were already there.
"Is everybody ready?" Aaron asked. Everyone else nodded, and they headed out into the maze.
They passed by several trial rooms. Most were for different group sizes. The ones for their group weren't the difficulty they were looking for. They hoped to find a nice difficulty seven, though Seth didn't like their odds.
Two hours passed, and they finally found their difficulty seven trial. Golden crossed blades were at the center of the sign. He hadn't seen this symbol before. If a fist didn't already mean combat, that's what I'd peg this as. Maybe it's a different kind of combat trial?
"Good thing we didn't bring Jalon. This looks like it would be right up his alley." Xiaobo said, then chuckled to himself. If that was a joke, I'm missing the punchline. I really need to socialize more.
"Why didn't we bring him, anyway?" asked Seth.
"Does anyone have any objections to this trial?" Aaron shouted his question, as if he were trying to drown out Seth's. He decided not to ask again.
Therus and Xiaobo nodded along with Seth. Let's get this over with so we can learn what the crossed blades mean. If there are any setbacks, we have time to recover. He looked around the group once more. Determined gazes looked back. Seth put his hand on the door, and it slid soundlessly aside. He stepped forward.
They entered an empty stone room large enough to comfortably hold an entire suburban neighborhood. Everyone looked around, searching for clues about their next objective.
"Hey, what do you—" Xiaobo began saying before Seth found himself on the other side of the room. He was facing the wall, which now had glowing green script flowing across it at eye level.
"Fight for supremacy. Be the last one standing to complete this trial."
Seth spun around, activating his shield just in time to deflect an ice shard rocketing toward him. Xiaobo was already charging his way. Therus and Aaron were squaring off for their own fight. At least it seems like we're not ganging up on people.
He charged and launched his own ice shard, only dropping the shield long enough to let the shard through. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite skilled enough to fire the shard through the shield. Xiaobo flung himself to the right, then charged forward, a smile on his face. Seth found himself smiling as well, despite the danger. He had made serious gains over the last couple of weeks, and he was more than happy to test them out.