Chapter 17: Elsewhere
Raine Talis stowed her spear as the final guardian of the Platinum Rank Trial fell, fading back into the ground. It had taken quite some time for her and Leese to chip through the incredible bulk of the hulking stone golem, all while avoiding the stone spikes and flechettes that erupted from the walls of the rocky chamber. The finale for Leese’s trial had been easier, as they had simply been able to cut through the swarm of amphibians that had been created to challenge them.
Not that the Ascension Trial was nearly as difficult as it was meant to be, not with the advantages Cato had bestowed on them. At every rank they were far more powerful than they were meant to be, and with the combat algorithms he had gifted them every fight was made transparent. Even the most confused combination of flying stone and unstable terrain had been easily navigable, and the two of them had only taken a few glancing hits.
Without those advantages, it was obvious why people didn’t tend to take the trial more than once. Being cut back to the vulnerable early ranks was an insane risk for most, especially for those who had spent decades or longer at Platinum in order to reach the Bismuth Trial. For her and Leese, the trial was actually easier than their normal delving.
Leese had ranked up first, so now it was her turn. Raine walked to the pedestal that had risen from the ground where the guardian had fallen as Leese fidgeted behind her, plucking the trial token from where it hovered just above the slab of stone. The disc of multicolored, crystalline material glittered in her hand, almost vibrating with essence, and the portal back to the trial ground opened in front of them.
She held onto the disc, following an impatient Leese through the portal to the dais where they had both used their Platinum Estate Tokens to start the trial almost a week ago. Raine slotted the disc into the dais, and the stone platform rumbled, rising from the ground to reveal a staircase leading down. Now knowing what to expect, she headed inside without hesitation, with Leese just behind her. There were no enemies, merely a vast and cavernous hall, at the end of which was a rippling pool of fiery liquid.
For Leese, it had been a frigid blue, some sort of liquid ice, a material wrought out of pure essence that matched their chosen Skills. This was the reason why only one person could ascend at a time; not only was the pool only enough for one person, but almost no party was served by multiples of the same affinity type. She could feel the heat radiating from it as she approached, but it wasn’t scorching like lava or fire. It was something soothing, resonating with her own Skills.
“It’s pretty intense,” Leese warned, hovering at the edge of the pool and restlessly pacing the border. “At least, it was for me. I can’t imagine fire is much different than cold.”
“Probably not,” Raine agreed, taking a breath. “Right, here I go.” She strode down the broad steps into the pool, feeling the fire-aspected essence wash through her. They had learned there was no point in undressing, and the essence wasn’t entirely physical anyway. It flowed straight through armor and clothing and even her body, the liquid trembling and beginning to swirl around her.
Her essence senses were almost blinded as the fire poured into her, suffusing blood and bone and scale, every nerve feeling like it was aflame and yet, it wasn’t quite pain. It was something else, a profound shift throughout her entire body. Then time suddenly slowed, the vortex frozen about her, waiting as the System asked one simple question: what Skill embodied her transcendence?