Chapter 432 - Howl Nr.2
“So what should we expect from this trial thing?” Kat’s voice echoed as their party moved through the stone passage, murals of wolves and ancient figures lining the walls on either side. “I heard the last one turned into a mess.”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a mess,” Allyssa said, glancing at a mural of a wolf mid-leap, its features startlingly lifelike. “We all made it out in one piece in the end.”
“Barely,” Shin added.
Allyssa winced and shot him a look. “Oh. Right. Sorry. I forgot you got injured…”
“It’s fine. I did not have any particular expectations of you.”
The sharp ring of metal sounded as Allyssa smacked his arm with the flat of her hand.
Kat watched them with a faint smile before turning her attention to Scarlett. “So?”
“The second trial should not differ greatly from what we originally faced,” Scarlett said, her gaze shifting to Fynn at the front. She raised her voice slightly. “Unless the ancestors intend to add new complications.”
Fynn glanced back over his shoulder and shook his head. “I’m not letting them out this time. They’re angry, but they can’t act.”
“And you are confident of that?”
“Yes.”
“What about after you have completed the second trial?” Scarlett pressed. “Forcing the third trial should strengthen their influence, alongside the onset of your final awakening. Will you still be able to suppress them then?”
Fynn slowed. A faint frown crossed his face before he looked ahead again. “Maybe. But if not, you can handle them.”
Scarlett regarded him in silence.
He wasn’t wrong there, at least. Compared to the last time they completed his trial, they were all considerably stronger. What awaited them would be dangerous, sure — but she doubted his ancestors were the real threat this time.
“Hey, as long as I don’t black out and wake up to Shin bleeding his innards onto the floor and my paunch making a break for daylight, I’ll be happy,” Rosa said.
Allyssa snorted. “Paunch? Is that even a word?”
“Obviously it is. I just used it.”
“I meant, like, a real word.”
“She means her stomach.” Shin sighed. “Though that isn’t how the word would traditionally be used.”
“Tradition this and tradition that.” Rosa shrugged. “Tradition doesn’t know squat about language. Try asking tradition why flammable and inflammable pass without comment, but habitable doesn’t survive an in.”
“Not sure that’s tradition so much as convention.”
“Bah.” Rosa waved a hand. “That’s tradition in a nicer coat.”
Shin was quiet for a moment, then let out a thoughtful hum. “I suppose you’re not wrong.”
“Am I ever?”
“Quite often, I would say,” Scarlett said.
Rosa sent her a wounded look, which quickly melted into a crooked grin.
The casual chatter continued as they moved on, though it gradually softened as the air grew heavier. A cold breeze slid past their feet, teasing faint, howl-like sounds from the murals themselves.
Slate and Nol’viz seemed particularly intrigued by the phenomenon, lagging a little behind the others as they studied the walls in silence. Carnwedain followed close behind them, equally wordless, save for the heavy thud of his steps and the way his broad frame nearly brushed the ceiling with every stride, his helmet only just clearing the stone.
They went on for a short while longer before reaching an oval cavern. During the first trial, this had been the point where the path split in two. It had also been where Fynn’s ancestors interfered and forcibly separated their group. This time, however, there was only a single passage at the far end of the chamber, with a still, glassy pool of water occupying its centre.
The others glanced around the cavern, though their eyes inevitably returned to the water with clear caution.
“Who wants to bet that whatever we have to face will come crawling out of that?” Kat asked, tightening her bracers while steadying her claymore against the floor with one hand.
“I’ll wager it’ll come up from there and have enough teeth to out-teeth all of us,” Rosa said, a bit too cheerfully.
“No, you can’t—” Kat started, then stopped. She considered for a second. “Fine. I’ll take it.”
“Great.” Rosa grinned, and the two women clasped hands.
Scarlett chose to pretend she wasn’t responsible for recruiting either of them as she folded her arms and simply waited for Fynn. He took a few moments to study the pool, listening to the moaning wind that had only grown stronger within the cavern, before finally stepping forward.
Allyssa leaned closer to Rosa and Kat. “Can I join and bet that Fynn will be able to handle whatever teethy thing it is entirely by himself?”
“You shouldn’t gamble,” Shin muttered beside her.
“Quiet, you. I’m an adult. I can do what I want, and what I want is to make some money from these irresponsible adults.”
He gave her a flat look before seeming to give up and refocus on Fynn.
To Scarlett’s left, Nol’viz studied them with open curiosity, the three irises of her mask shifting between the group before settling on Slate. Her voice emerged in hushed whispers. “Are they intentionally distracting themselves?”
Slate gave a single nod. “In part, yes. They appear to downplay serious situations through humour. I have observed that many humans do this. Rosalina Hale is a repeat offender, however.”
“I see.”
The two girls fell silent again.
Scarlett’s eyes stayed on them for a heartbeat longer before returning to Fynn. Contrary to what Allyssa—or any of the others—might have expected, he didn’t look as though he were preparing for a fight. Instead, he reached up and pulled his shirt over his head.
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Allyssa squeaked, her voice pitching sharply as his scarred, chiselled back was laid bare. “W-What are you doing?”
He spared her a brief glance as he came to the pool’s edge. “It’s a cleansing ritual.”
With that, he stepped forward and slipped beneath the water.
Several long seconds of tense silence followed as the rest of them watched the unmoving surface. Finally, the water stirred, and Fynn resurfaced, hair clinging to his face as he dragged his hands back through it, pushing the wet strands away before looking up at them.
“Don’t tell me we have to do that as well,” Allyssa said, her gaze darting from Fynn to Shin, then flicking to Carnwedain looming behind them.
Shin gave her a sideways look. “I thought you said you were an adult? Something like this shouldn’t scare you.”
“Oi, shut it. No woman wants to strip down with you lot watching.”
“I don’t really mind.” Kat grinned as she dropped a hand onto Allyssa’s head, ruffling her hair. “Still, it’s cute that you’re clinging to your modesty. That’s not something Shielders get to keep for too long. Your old man taught me that.”
Allyssa stared at her in horror, then swung round to Scarlett, eyes wide as though hoping for a saviour.
Scarlett didn’t say anything.
Allyssa’s hopeful expression gradually wilted.
Scarlett turned her focus forward again.
“Fynn, are you finished?” she asked.
“I am,” he replied, hauling himself back up. Scarlett was just about to dry him with her magic when he suddenly shook himself like a dog, spraying water everywhere, and she was left staring at him with her hand half-raised.
After a moment, she let her hand fall as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on. “Only I needed to cleanse myself,” he said, glancing towards Allyssa. “You’re fine as you are.”
Allyssa blinked, then her face brightened visibly.
Shin and Kat both let out quiet laughs.
Her expression snapped back into a glare as she rounded on them.
Scarlett moved on, falling into step beside Fynn as they headed towards the far end of the chamber. “Are you prepared, then?”
“I am.”
An unmarked stone door blocked the passage ahead. The pressure emanating from behind it marked it clearly as the boss room.
The floor beneath them trembled faintly. Scarlett glanced back as Carnwedain strode up, resting his sword on the ground. The others were a few steps behind.
Scarlett looked up at Carnwedain, then at the sheer length of his sword. “Your blade will not be required for this trial,” she said before turning to Fynn. “Am I correct in assuming you wish to attempt the first stage alone?”
Fynn glanced at her, seeming to hesitate only briefly. “If you’ll allow it.”
“I see no reason not to.”
They didn’t actually have to do this too fast.
A low, disapproving rumble rolled out.
Scarlett paused. She and Fynn both turned.
Carnwedain peered down at her. “The bargain,” he said slowly. “This runs against it.”
Scarlett frowned. It took her a moment to follow his reasoning. Once she did, she let out a short, restrained breath. “The bargain states, among other things, that you will assist us in these trials, yes. But that does not mean you must intervene where it is unnecessary.”
He studied her in silence, then shifted his gaze to Fynn. The youth met it without backing down.
Finally, Carnwedain dipped his head.
Scarlett took that as his agreement.
The bargain she had made with him covered several conditions, and while she was glad Carnwedain was easier to reason with than someone like Nol’viz, there could well be minor points of contention like this. She hoped it wouldn’t happen too often.
She looked over the others as they joined, briefly checking that all of them were ready in case something went wrong. Finally, she turned back to Fynn and gave a small nod.
He placed his palm against the stone door. The ring on his finger lit with a muted green glow. A deep, grinding noise reverberated through the chamber, vibrating through the soles of their boots. The door shuddered, then slowly parted as a powerful gust of wind roared past them, tugging at hair and loose fabric.
Beyond was a large chamber. Another pool filled its centre, this one much shallower, with a stone pedestal rising from the water to support a large orb glowing a steady blue. Braziers along the walls flared to life one after another, casting wavering light across the space.
It closely mirrored the first trial’s boss room.
They entered together, but Scarlett and the others stopped near the edge of the chamber as Fynn continued forward alone. Water splashed around his feet as he stepped into the pool and reached for the orb. The moment he touched it, his ring’s glow shifted to match, the green fading into blue.
Above him, light gathered.
At first it was shapeless, but it quickly condensed as limbs took form and a body followed. Within seconds, a wolf made entirely of that same blue light hovered above the pool, almost identical to the first trial’s boss.
Except larger.
It loomed over Fynn, head lowered, eyes fixed on him.
Then it howled.
The sound tore through the chamber. Wind exploded outward, whipping across the water and rattling stone. The pool churned violently as the pressure rolled through the room and slammed into Scarlett.
Fynn moved instantly, almost like a blur.
The space he’d occupied vanished beneath snapping jaws as the wolf struck downward, but Fynn had already shifted aside. The air screamed as the wind intensified, spiralling faster as he growled with it. Lightning crackled from the burnished bronze coils around Fynn’s wrist as he seized one of the wolf’s legs and wrenched hard.
A sharp crack rang out as the guardian was overturned and hurled overhead. It slammed into the pool with tremendous force, water and stone erupting outward as the floor beneath fractured. The cave shook from the impact.
Scarlett’s brows rose slightly.
She had been expecting Fynn to be close to the boss in strength. Maybe a little stronger. Enough that he could handle it alone in theory, and that Scarlett’s and the others’ interference would have been overkill. And yet, she had apparently misjudged things. It seemed even a level 70 boss might not stand much of a chance.
The wolf thrashed violently, struggling to pull free of Fynn’s grip as lightning danced across its luminous body. Watching it struggle, Scarlett found her thoughts drifting back into that familiar territory. She had mostly stopped trying to directly translate strength into levels and the like. It had never mapped cleanly to a real world made of flesh, momentum, and actual, proper tactics. Still, it was hard to shut that part of her brain off entirely.
If she had to make a rough guess, Fynn was probably sitting somewhere around level 73 to 75 in raw power. That should have been enough to comfortably outscale a level 70 boss like this, but someone like Carnwedain would still be a step above him.
Another heavy impact shook the chamber as the wolf was hurled into the cave wall. Cracks spiderwebbed through the stone as its body flickered, already starting to fade.
Fynn leapt after it.
The boss let out a furious howl, wind surging to aid it as it scrambled to the side. Fynn landed with a heavy thud, but the wind carried him forward, keeping his momentum as he gave chase. He leapt again, barely missing as the wolf jumped — except this time, instead of landing on stone, its paws found purchase on empty air.
It kept running.
The boss sprinted higher and higher, circling near the ceiling at growing speed, keeping just out of reach.
Fynn jumped after it once more, but that high up, it had just enough time to dodge. He missed again and again. Each time, the wolf twisted aside, wind screaming as it dodged, continuing its wide arc around the chamber while it howled. At the same time, pressure began to build in front of its mouth, the air visibly compressing as it charged an attack that even Scarlett could feel wasn’t simple.
Water splashed as Fynn landed back in the pool. He straightened and turned slowly on the spot, eyes never leaving the wolf as he tracked its movement. The wolf’s howl deepened, its power spiralling tighter and tighter.
For a moment, Scarlett wondered if Fynn might actually be in trouble.
Then she noticed that the water around his feet was entirely still, untouched by the storm rampaging through the rest of the chamber.
A single ripple passed through it, moving outward from Fynn. His hair stirred as faint threads of ethereal green light bled into the air around him, mixing with the blue glow emanating from the boss.
The winds tearing through the cave were suddenly threaded with whispers. Dozens of them, riding the gales, overlapping and indistinct, impossible to separate.
Fynn closed his eyes, taking a breath.
And then he stepped forward onto nothing.
“Oh?” Scarlett found herself saying. “That is slightly earlier than expected.”
Like the boss, Fynn’s feet found purchase on the air itself. Now there was nothing holding him down. He leaned forward and broke into a sprint.
What followed didn’t last long.
Once he could reach it again, the outcome was inevitable. The guardian’s half-formed attack was cut short, its body rapidly destabilising as Fynn tore into it.
Barely a minute passed. Scarlett and the others watched as the last fragments of the boss scattered and flowed into Fynn. He landed on the stone, immediately sitting down, eyes glowing as he slipped into a trance.
“…Does this count as me winning the bet?” Allyssa asked.
[Quest completed: Cleared The Howling Gale’s Haunt (2/3)]
{Skill points awarded: 20}
Scarlett glanced at the quest completion window, dismissed it, and crossed the chamber.
One trial down. One left. And that was the one she was actually interested in.