Chapter 111: The Second Trial (2)

Rainer’s body tensed as he activated [Arcane Awakening] to its maximum. A Rune flared across his chest as his entire existence surged with speed.

He cycled through every detection skill he knew and used as strong of an [Arcane Sight] as he could manage.

A tense pregnant second passed before Rainer let out a deep sigh. As far as his every ability could tell, he was alone.

Now taking in his surroundings, he found himself in a clearing with dead trees and a thick mist. Spinning around, his eyes met with a far different sight.

No different than his Trial last time it seemed, he was on a detached piece of land, floating endlessly in some sort of empty space. He walked close to the edge of the island, and peered over, into the dark abyss below.

“Are they always going to be like this?” Rainer wondered at the similarity to his [Archon] trial. Before his thoughts shifted to the scenery of this particular island, that at the very least, was larger than the range of [Void Detection].

“Does someone or something know of my fear of being lost in a forest?”

He had mentioned it to Kara, back in the labyrinth level of the Wyvern filled dungeon. She, of course, being not only a Wolfkin but a Demon, couldn’t comprehend how one got lost in a forest.

He turned back around to the clearing. The ground beneath him was a darker variety of dirt. Due to his recent paranoia involving the system, or whatever power ran the Trial, knowing one of his worse childhood experiences, he started thinking about a related problem he hadn’t considered till now.

His knowledge of how items were granted. His mind was sent into a panic. Would he somehow be punished? Would the system rip not only the memories away but of all the time he spent knowing that the items were granted by choice?

He calmed himself down, realizing that thinking on this subject was pointless. He could only move forward and try to think of a way around it, hoping the Trial’s memory removal was automated and it would only take those 5 minutes creating the item and looking at the prerequisites to 2nd Tier classes away. It certainly hadn’t cared about the memories of him writing within [Sleep Learning].

And with a deep breath, he found a far more expected problem. No Miasma.

He had discussed his upcoming Trial with Amer, given that the man had already passed 3 of them, and they both agreed it was highly likely there would be no Miasma in the second part. The personalization meant the Trial would be helping him by creating an environment suitable for his species.

Glancing at the three available paths, Rainer spent some time trying to see if there was a hint of which he should take. He still used [Soul Detection] and [Void Detection] for his safety, considering that there may be a timed element involved. The last thing he needed was to find himself suddenly surrounded.

As he was now, Rainer was in no rush.

At least, until a hand grabbed him from beneath the ground.

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With a flare of [Arcane Awakening: Might], Rainer ripped himself away from the grasping figure. He Void-walked several dozen feet away, his size shrinking back to normal once he got an understanding of the situation. With far more frugal use of his resources, he overcompensated the lack of Miasma.

As he watched from afar, a humanoid figure rose beneath the dirt. [Arcane Sight] showed a single source of power, lacking any Soul, any life. In the faceless figure’s right shoulder lay an Orb of Mana.

A Golem? A Magical Construct?

Rainer wondered as he unleashed an [Arcane Bolt] at the figure, only to watch the [Arcane Bolt] not affect it in the slightest. The Arcane Magic only splashed off, with a portion of the energy adding to the growing core of Mana.

[Golem]

An annoying simple [Appraisal] later and Rainer was still left just as clueless. A hilt appeared in his hand as [Arcane Awakening: Surge] flared in speed. He rushed in front of the figure, his own Arcane magic joined by the hum of the [Arcane Blade].

He slashed the blade at the core of Mana, yet it was deflected against the surface. Only barely did Rainer dodge a swinging fist thrown his way.

Rainer gripped the hilt with both hands as he poured Arcane Power into it. Surge changed to Might, as his height and power soared. [Arcane Awakening] reached its maximum as Rainer leaped forward, striking down on the figure once more.

The blade of violet cleaved into the shoulder, and yet it did not finish off the Mana core. Rainer had no choice but to retreat as another blow was sent his way.

The golem paid no mind to the damage, nor did it pause to think over its options. It merely charged at Rainer the moment he jumped away, earthen fingers reaching out to grasp and maim. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Rainer was about to Void-walk away, when instead he simply pivoted and ran, letting his [Arcane Awakening: Might] fade.

It was a hard change for him. The Miasma filled Abyssal plane had gotten him used to having an all but infinite source of Mana. Now no longer in that position and all but assured this would not be the only battle he fought, he opted for a more mundane retreat.

The golem seemed only slightly faster and stronger than what was possible for a human. Combined with its magic resistance it would certainly be a strong threat to any Mage. But Rainer was not any mage, nor was this a test designed for any slinger of spells.

It was a test for a Void user. Not a Mage. And so Rainer spun around, no longer fleeing.

A tether of Arcane reached out from Rainer’s hand as [Arcane Weaving] formed it into a chain. It wrapped around the figure, as the [Archon] poured enough power into it to resist the golem. The golem seemed to absorb the chain’s power, yet the weave tightly wrapped with arcane resisted the absorption.

He leapt past it, just dodging under a swing of its hand, as the weave gripped tighter around the golem.

A few circles and lengths of chain later and Rainer had wrapped the figure up in its entirety. [Arcane Awakening: Might] flared as his newly 6 foot 2 void-changed height soared to a greater point under the effect of Might. He grabbed around the figure and violet chains and focused on the Mana source within.

Several moments passed as Rainer carefully used a small [Void Call], using as little Void Will as possible, and removed the Golem’s source.

His hands nearly collided with another as the [Golem] crumbled to the dirt it once was.

Rainer glared at the loose dirt for a moment, wondering if it would reform the moment he turned away. But seeing his concerns unanswered, he returned to the task of which path to follow. Middle, left or right.

Deciding to go with the same logic he used before, Rainer chose left, and to stay on the left path if there were any more choices.

Left being a choice people picked less often than right, and staying on his left completely was a way of completing mazes slowly but surely. This may have been a mist covered forest, but he hoped to eventually visit every part of it in this manner if need be. He wouldn’t mind a few moments longer to get his remaining [Voidwalker] skill, [Void Grasp] to level 10.

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As Rainer gripped his arms around yet another chained [Golem], he decided a different route.

[Mana Drain] activated as Rainer did his best to place his hands around the core of the Golem, blocked only by the dirt that formed around the golem and the arcane chains that held it still.

The resistance was high. That and the distance from the actual source made it a test of wills. And given that a [Golem] lack a conscious will apart from a strong resistance to Magic, Rainer won eventually.

Rainer did stumble this time as the dirt he gripped fell to the ground. But several [Golem]s now appearing around him at once from the dead forest, sent him running.

He bothered no longer dealing with any [Golem] and instead fled as best he could, using [Void-walking] only when he truly had to, along with applications of [Eldritch Flight]. While still far more efficient than his [Arcane-Wind’s Ascent], he soon learned that the Miasma that had been in the air, and that he added to his [Sleep Learning] space for various tests, played a huge role in its efficiency.

With the [Golem]s chasing him long behind him, Rainer soon reached a massive clearing.

As he readied himself to flee from an ever-larger horde of [Golem]s he instead saw a far more startling sight.

The ground shook beneath him, knocking him off his feet. The earth and dirt rose as if a volcanic eruption sought to escape from below.

And a golem of a size far surpassing most modern buildings of his own world, rose from beneath.

With its speed betraying its massive size, and Rainer’s shock playing a role, he only barely managed to Void-walk away from a slamming fist.

Even [Void-walking] close to a hundred feet away he had only a moment to dodge a foot of the [Golem] who moved far too fast for its size.

He flew with all the speed he could muster, as the [Golem] easily caught up, destroying much of its allies in the carnage of a simple run. Only Rainer hovering above the ground kept him from being violently displaced as the very island shook from the giant’s wrath.

A single glance of [Arcane Sight] showed him hundreds of Mana cores hidden across its ten-story tall body. And with another Void-walk, Rainer’s Trial finally took on a dangerous edge as his Mana dipped ever lower from staying out of the giant’s grasp. He would need a solution to this giant sooner or later. And being hours into the center of the island, he only hoped he could reach an edge soon enough.

His thoughts of panic turned to a solution. A spell long tucked away for its obscure purpose.

[Arcane-Lightning Channeling]

It was a limited spell he made shortly after meeting George, a 2nd Tier Lightning Mage of the Skyborne Guild.

The spell required its caster to be still. To use no other spell as he channeled it and drained Mana from his target. But even more so, the cost of it was likely to outpace any Mana it drained. At least, during Rainer’s personal tests. He had no idea how it would work on the Giant being that held hundreds of moderately size cores of Mana

Yet Rainer saw little else in his arsenal to defeat the giant after his head. It was either hundreds of uses of [Void Call], something he most certainly could not do, or chance it with this spell.

Rainer ventured running away with [Void-walking] until he once more had to dodge a smaller golem growing from the ground. The only thing running away would result in is facing the huge golem alongside numerous smaller ones.

Nearly out of breath, Rainer stopped short and flared [Arcane Awakening] to its maximum. He spared the nearby smaller golem only a glance as a [Void Call] ripped away its source of energy, eliciting a minor headache at his depleted Void Will.

Arcane-Lightning crackled between his outstretched hands. He landed and his feet dug into the ground as magic flurried around him, the power of the lightning striking the ground, not fully contained in his hands.

The giant came in range; it’s speed as impressive as before. And with all the energy he could manipulate, Rainer struck out against the monstrosity of rock and dirt.

The violet lightning struck without preamble and nearly sent Rainer backward as the Mana from the Golem slammed into him, far too much of it to easily dissipate. The golem was shocked still, the Arcane-Lightning affecting the very nature of its construction.

Rainer grit his teeth as he tried to expel the excess Mana from him while pouring everything else in the channel of Arcane-Lightning now between him and his target. He felt his own Mana pool trying to explode.

In between every pulse, Rainer whispered under his breath. A whisper that resounded throughout the entire island of mist, costing him a sizable portion of his Mana that was filled soon after easily enough.

“Drain.”

Rainer felt a small additional energy come along with the Mana, before it rolled off him, otherwise unnoticed. He refocused on his task, and whenever the giant looked to be regaining his movement, he repeated it.

“Drain.”

The [Will of the Arcane] responded to his command. His newly bought skill of [Arcane Empowerment] bending the spell to his will.

The air around him grew heavy, the small rocks and dirt around him charged with power slowly lifted and floated in the air.

Minutes passed as the massive amount of Mana within the giant left. Rainer’s fingertips survived only through the constant healing of [Arcane Invigoration]. Which had the side-effect of allowing his nerves to go numb only for the pain to suddenly jolt.

With a final pulse of Arcane-Lightning, and a surge of magic that expanded outwards, there was nothing left to drain.

And with the very last source of energy gone, the [Golem] was no more. A mountain of earth and dirt collapsed onto itself. A wave of force exploded outwards, prompting Rainer to Void-walk as far as he could.

And yet the moment he reappeared the wave of dirt slammed the breathless Rainer off his feet.

It took moments before the landslide of earth stilled.

No different than the very golems he just fought, a hand shot out from underneath dirt, a gasping breath following soon after.