Chapter 67
Tier Four
The Tier Four construct arrived from the desert environment. It started with a deep rumble, the entire chamber trembling.
And then the creature made an incredibly dramatic entrance.
It burst out of the ground with such force that it sent a shower of sand raining down for over a hundred metres in every direction. At first, it appeared as little more than a vague outline in the now-hazy air, but it was a fucking enormous outline.
Then the air cleared.
The only word that came to mind was worm, but it felt like such a monumental disservice to describe it as such. Sure, it had the cylindrical body of a worm and moved like one – wriggling and coiling as it took in its surroundings, the lower part of its body still buried deep in the ground – but it was so much more.
The segment of its body above the surface was at least a hundred metres long. I’m sure there’s a scientific term for the outer layer of its body, but I didn’t have a clue what it was. To call it skin seemed entirely inappropriate. Chitin? A shell? Whatever it was, it looked rock solid, like natural armour. It was a purple so dark it was almost black, its surface glinting menacingly in the chamber’s light.
After several seconds of erratic movement, it seemed to settle, as if it had oriented itself to its surroundings. I took a step towards it, my hands drifting to the hilts of my swords, and its ‘head’ whipped down to face me. It was like staring into a vast, dark tunnel, except the entrance was lined with a ring of vicious-looking teeth, each one probably as long as my body.
It didn’t have any eyes that I could see, so I assumed it was tracking me through vibrations or something similar. That would explain why it had suddenly become aware of me when I took that step.
I spent a moment considering what to do next. After all, it wasn’t as if I could cut a creature that size in half or give it a nuggy. Hell, I bet if I sank a sword into it hilt-deep, its response would be, “Is it in yet?” and I wasn’t sure I had the self-esteem to recover from that.
It didn’t give me the chance to come up with a masterplan, instead choosing to take the initiative. It dove towards me with speed that was remarkable considering its size, and I pushed off the ground hard to avoid it. I shot into the air, but the creature must have been able to sense the movement, as it corrected course almost immediately, its head whipping back to follow me.
It crashed into me with enough force to send me hurtling into the ceiling.
Although the rats’ bodies had not been anywhere near hardy enough to damage the stone, the same was apparently not true for mine. I slammed into it in an explosion of stone and dust, then started falling.
The creature appeared to possess a degree of intelligence and patience, because rather than pursuing me, it seemed to realise that gravity was on its side and that it didn’t need to bother. It waited below, the tooth-lined, gaping hole that was its mouth wide open, making little adjustments to ensure it’d be in the right spot to swallow me whole.
The Trial Zone really was a fucked-up place.
Alas, I had no intention of being swallowed by a giant armoured worm. I might not have had any control over my descent, but I figured there was something I could do to change that.
Avatar’s Judgment appeared in my hand.
I gave the warhammer a fond pat on the head, then glanced down at the fast-approaching creature, attempting to calculate the best angle of attack.
Realising that was well beyond my abilities, I decided to fall back on a tactic that had worked perfectly so many times before: trust in agility to do the heavy lifting. I swung Avatar’s Judgment through the air in a sweeping arc, mentally triggering the ability.
“MEGA HOT AIR ATTACK!”
*
“Did he just say… mega hot air attack?” asked Auroria.
Rel sighed.
“Yes.”
*
A torrent of superheated air rushed out to meet the creature. The ability was so powerful that it not only stopped my descent, but sent me rocketing back upwards with so much force I was seriously considering suing the manufacturer for whiplash. If it wasn’t for my beastly levels of durability, I was pretty sure the sudden and violent change in direction would have snapped my neck like a breadstick.
The creature got the worst end of the deal, though. I can’t imagine it’s pleasant to be slapped in the face by wind so powerful it makes a hurricane look like a little bitch, while at the same time carrying enough heat to turn iron into a puddle of molten slag.
It emitted a high-pitched, warbling scream, the purple shell blistering and cracking as it surrendered to the overwhelming heat. It spasmed wildly, its enormous body thrashing about with enough force to level a small town.
I guessed it hadn’t been expecting to meet such fiery resistance. Its head dipped back towards the ground and then shot forward, the entire chamber trembling once more as the creature burrowed into the safety of the earth.
It kept going, and going – its body never seeming to end.
And then, finally, after what must have been several hundred metres of dark purple shell, its tail-end tore free of the ground before following the rest and plunging back into the earth.
I crashed back to the ground, managing a somewhat dignified landing thanks to my agility.
Returning Avatar’s Judgment to my inventory, I rose to my feet, frowning. Why hadn’t I received the system update notifying me that I’d unlocked Tier Four quests? After all, when the rats had run away, they’d been considered defeated.
The response to my question came not in the form of a system update, but through rumbling and trembling.
“Oh shit–” I began, but the rest of my words were stolen by the deafening sound of the ground exploding beneath my feet.
I saw sand. Then enormous teeth. Then only darkness.
The fucker had succeeded in swallowing me after all.
I fell through the creature’s body, bouncing off the walls of its gullet. Each collision coated me in a thick, slimy substance. It sizzled faintly where it made contact with my skin, no doubt trying to break me down into something easier to digest. Fortunately, I felt no pain. My durability seemed more than up to the task of keeping me in one piece.
It was too dark to see the slime, but for some reason I was absolutely certain it was green.
Right.
I drew my swords and activated the set bonus ability, Frostfire. Icy blue flames flared to life along the length of the blades and illuminated the creature’s insides.
It was not a pleasant place to be.
The walls of its throat were lined with muscles that moved in slow, rippling contractions, presumably to keep food moving through its system. It was entirely unnecessary this time, though – what with me not even being big enough to touch the sides.
And then I started swinging.
There was nothing skilled about it this time. I just hacked and slashed the shit out of the creature’s insides whenever I came close enough to make contact.
On their own, the blows might not have been enough to do any serious damage, but the damage-over-time effect of Biting Flame certainly was.
It very quickly reached five stacks, and I could tell it was working based on the fact the creature began to thrash wildly.
How did I know this?
I started getting slammed from one side of its body to the other like a ragdoll.
I didn’t relent. I kept hacking and slashing as the creature’s struggles weakened, until they finally stopped altogether. Its body crashed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud and then fell still.
It took me several minutes to carve an exit, and it’s fair to say that when I emerged into the light of the chamber, every inch of my body and clothing was covered in a thick coating of… steaming yellow slime.
Delightful.
The self-cleaning function on my peasant garb was already working tirelessly, the slimy substance evaporating rapidly.
Unfortunately, my skin didn’t have the luxury of a self-cleaning function, so I was forced to resort to withdrawing flasks of water from my inventory and attempting to wash the disgusting shit out of my hair.
Fourth wave defeated.
You are now eligible to access Tier Four quests.
Fifth wave spawns in one minute.
*
“This is the part I’ve been looking forward to,” said Auroria excitedly. “So far, only three Trialists have managed to defeat the fourth construct. The fifth? None have even come close.”
She changed the display in the corner once more, chuckling under her breath as she studied the newly presented information.
“Lokta’Inif holds the current record for the best attempt,” she said. “She managed to survive for seventeen seconds before the construct obliterated her arcane form. Your friend, though? He is clearly far stronger than Lokta’Inif was when she made the attempt several weeks ago. This could be very interesting indeed. And, if he wins, there’s the added excitement of seeing what reward he’ll receive for defeating all five waves.”
“There’s a reward?” asked Allaria. “I’ve never heard that mentioned before.”
Auroria shrugged. “It’s never seemed worth mentioning, as no one in this Trial Division has come close to managing it.”
“What sort of rewards have people received in the past?” said Kaelis, his eyes not leaving the screen.
Pete and his flask of water were currently waging war against the slime. They were losing. It was not at all a close-fought thing. Exposure to the air seemed to be making the slime harden, and Pete was swearing profusely as he tried to wash it off.
“It depends on a few factors,” said Auroria. “The earlier it is in the Trial, the better the reward. As we’re only in month seven, the rewards should be very valuable. Generally, they are custom items suited to the user’s combat style and stat points. If Peter manages it today, though, his reward will be even better than that.”
“What? Why?” asked Kaelis.
“Well, the first person in a Trial Division to clear all five waves receives a bonus reward. In the past, they have always been given an Ability Stone that teaches one of the abilities used by the Tier Five construct they face off against.”
“And you didn’t think it was worth mentioning this when we were deciding who should go first?” said Rel, glaring at Auroria as if she were the Grinch and had just stolen his Christmas. “Now Pete is going to get the special reward, and I’ll be stuck with a pathetic item!”
“I can assure you that the item you receive for completing it in month seven will be anything but pathetic!” snapped Auroria. “Besides, you’re only in third place for total stat gains. What makes you think you have any chance?”
“What sort of abilities might the constructs have?” asked Voklum. It seemed his question was as much to distract Auroria and Rel – who looked like they were seconds away from coming to blows – as it was about his own curiosity.
“Well,” said Auroria, glaring at Rel for a moment longer before turning to face Voklum, “it’s hard to say. Unlike the first four waves, which generally reuse the same small pool of constructs, those that spawn at Tier Five are unique.” She turned back to the screen and cycled through the displays. “Hmm… where is it? Ah, yes. Here we are. I have a record of some of the abilities past Trialists have received for being the first to clear all five waves.”
Ability Stone – Teleport
Teleport
Instantly transport yourself to any location within your line of sight.
Each use consumes one charge.
Charges: 5/5
One charge is restored every hour.
Ability Stone – Shapeshifter
Shapeshifter
Assume the form of any being you have encountered.
This ability replicates physical appearance only. Mana, aura, and other identifying signatures are not
mimicked.
Cooldown: 6 hours
“Those are incredible!” said Kaelis.
“They are,” agreed Rel. He glared at Auroria. “I hate you.”