Chapter 285 (1/2)

Chapter 285

Chapter 285: Ascension 101

As the three giant spiders, each one clad in rune-covered ars, let out a series of chittering hisses, I couldn’t help but wonder how they had gotten these beasts out of the Relictombs

‘Maybe they’re just noris answered

Ah You’re probably right, but aren’t these supposed to test—

One hulking, ar e frame, it lowing brighter as one of the spider’s clawed legs slashed past ear react to the runes on the spider’s ar was not is was probably onto soes above could track my performance with the runes, similar to how Eine how fascinated E like this firsthand

Actually, Gideon would probably feign disinterest while getting grued another barrage of strikes fro toward the other thich were still waiting at the edge of the assessrabbed its fangs, holding it at arth “Uh, excuse me?” I called out as I turned into the ht to send it tu away “What exactly am I supposed to do for this assessment?”

There was no response

Frustrated, but hesitant to do anything that ainst the relentless assault of the first spider, feeling like afrom a tarantula As I threwsounded in my mind and I was forced to spin and dive to the side to avoid the stabbing fangs of the second spider, which had suddenly burst into motion and joined the battle Had the ht not have heard the creature’s hurried approach in tis bite you? Do people die in this test?’

Thanks for the concern, but I’s just as the other leapt atthem to collide with a crash

‘I’ot , and so I started to experi a few of the spider’s strikes to hit ly, despite the speed at which the spider struck, most of the force was da was several feet thick, rather than several milliet hit in the face,’ Regis suggested, half out of curiosity, half for his own ais’s obvious intentions, I was curious too I waited until the third spider had sprung to life and joined its brethren, then, right after I had dodged one of the spider’s fangs, I let spider nu down at my cheek with its front limb

The runes around the collar ofthe limb that was about to strike my cheek also flared to life, and, just as it made contact with the protective barrier around my head, both of us were blown back by a concussive force

I spun in the air, landing on my feet, but the three spiders’ bodies slumped They scuttled slowly toward the tiles that they had come out from as if they’d been scolded, then the tiles closed behind thein,” the exalassdeclared, his voice echoing through the chamber

Before the last echo had faded, the entire testing charound and walls began sliding outward, for liftedthe rooem located at the top of the assessment hall before the water touches you,” the voice coin”

I rolled my eyes At least this ti no tis and leapt from platform to platform The entire chamber had been transforular platfor each other to block my view of the top

Additionally, the platfor me on ardless, with my draconic physique and aetheric enhancements, the assessment was little h above the floor where I fought the spiders, I found a fist-sized crystal hanging fro Below me, the water had filled less than a quarter of the space

As soon as I grabbed the crystal, the platforh a series of empty tiles in the floor The pillar I stood atop lowered until I was again standing in an empty square room

After the water had coinal eloith a dull blue light A single square at one corner glohite

“Please step onto the white square,” the judge announced in his eerie, echoing voice I did as I was asked, though a part of my mind told me it was stupid What did I really know about this whole place? They could have detected my lack ofon that white square rate htmyself into a hole and steeled my nerves There was no reason for them to be suspicious, and I had already decided to trust the old drunk I was in the heart of the enemy’s empire, but here I was Grey, not Arthur Leywin

Once I was standing with both feet firmly placed on the white square, further instructions echoed down from the shadows above

“Step only on the white tiles Your goal is to reach the black tile”—one blue tile turned black in the opposite corner fro the blue tiles You must do so before you pass out from is was cut off as a sucking pressure began pulling at every inch of h my aether channels How the hell?

‘It’s like that platforis shouted in my mind ‘They must have modeled this place after those crazy djinn’s tests”

He was right, of course I immediately pulled all of my aether back into my core, similar to what I had done with my hand back in the Relictombs, and it seemed to work My physical body eakened due to the lack of augmentation, but it drastically slowed the rate at which aether was being sucked out of my body

I bet they don’t even realize what they’ve created here There is no way they know that this place can ood thing, though The sweaty, pained expression on your face doesn’t give anything away’

I suddenly realized that, while I had been speaking to Regis, the tile in front of me had turned white, and the tile belowblue I stepped forward quickly, and the title behindblue hue as the rest of the tiles Besides the square I was standing on, one tile to ht, and one tile in front of me were also white

This, too, was fa platforated in the Relictombs, but it was similar in pre in it

I chose the right hand path, and two more tiles turned white, one in front of ain, and the tiles forward and to ht all turned white When I stepped forward once more, however, I found ed color, and was forced to return to the previous tile

The path changed beforeme to dart back to a safe square before the title under my feet turned blue And all the while, the aether continued to leak out of ressed approximately halfway across the board when the voice froain

“Your ability to manipulate and contain your mana is impressive We will now increase the level of difficulty, but not to worry—you will be scored at a handicap”

Behind ray, then fell out of sight, leaving a shadowed pit beneath it

‘Oh, great’

I waited, counting until the next square descended

Twenty seconds between squares, unless they speed up as they go That gives us…a few ed

As I progressed across the platform, I twice foundtiles Still, this maze was a much simpler version of the one I experienced in the Relictombs, and even that hadn’t been able to stump me

It took only twoon the black square BehindInternally, I could feel that I’d lost perhaps a third ofsquares reappeared, the lit tiles all faded back to their default dull gray, and the sucking pressure vanished

A panel in the far wall slid open, revealing a second entrance to the assesse robes with a distinct red band on the right ar behind them

“Striker candidate Grey,” a thin bespectacledoff his clipboard “Flexibility of offensive e Athleticise Survivability rate, high”

I cocked a brow, a that h I didn’t have a shred of mana in ave ratulations, Grey You have passed the assessment”

“Of courseover tome on my shoulder

“I have to say, your ability to obscure your use ofthe examiner’s praise “Even our suit wasn’t able to pick up on the mented your limbs”

“It is ireed “And it’ll serve you well in the Relictombs since many of the beasts within are attracted to mana”

I simply nodded at this new information, but quickly added a s at hly recommend that you party with a caster, as you specialize heavily in close combat Even better if that party has a shi+eld as well,” the woreat results on your initiation ascent”

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