67 Abyssal Elf (1/2)

Rainer's journey through the dead misty forest continued. The destruction of the larger golem seemed to have led the others down the same path, as he faced no more opposition. Arriving back at the starting area, he found a new source to antagonize him; where does he go now?

He stared for a moment at the skill that helped him slay the giant golem, granted by [Arcane Speaker], hoping to find another use for it in a moment of tiredness. Or perhaps just a minor distraction and a reminder of a success.

[Arcane Empowerment: Uses the power of the Arcane and influences any form of Magic. Spells can be altered with but a word.]

A part of him wondered if he could influence whatever magic or otherwise created this mist, but a few Arcane charged yells telling it to go away only left him slightly blushing and out of breath.

He had chosen [Mage of Tongues] as his first class to level, hoping to learn more of the [Devil's Soul Language] from Amer. For his second he chose [Arcane Speaker], after much deliberation. He had been hesitant to level any classes that might be a waste of time in a period where he may need to take the Trial at any moment.

[Arcane Speaker] simply had too high of a possibility for crossover. But after describing it to Amer as well as his previous [Arcanist] class, much to the Devil's annoyance for some reason, the Devil had convinced him otherwise. That the [Arcanist] was far too powerful and unique, to have an issue with such a thing.

And he was right, at least in this case.

The [Mage of Tongues] granted him the attribute [Language Transmission] and [Arcane Speaker] gave him [Arcane Cohesion]. The latter improving his ability to merge [Will of the Arcane], his Arcane Magical Language, with any Magic, making his actions versus the giant far more successful. The former improving the general power, range, and control of all words influenced by Magic.

He turned back around towards the three paths he started with and picked to go right this time. Nary a word or thought came out of the now tired Rainer.

Once the adrenaline and thrill of battle had left him, all that remained was a never-ending adventure through a monotonous mist.

”Flight…” he suddenly mumbled to himself. He had been using [Eldritch Flight] since he found his legs too sore for anything else. He just barely avoided pulling out his hair over such an obvious solution before soaring into the sky.

The mist rushed past him and after a few minutes of flight he saw an end to the mist.

The same ground he jumped off from.

It was only from a quick reaction that he avoided slamming head first into the ground. He slammed heavily onto his back as he turned to avoid a head-on collision. A quick application of [Arcane Invigoration] removed any real damage, though the encounter would be hard to forget.

And so, he took another path again. Constantly changing which way he headed using [Arcane Sight] to try and see things that stood out, paths that looked different, to see…anything other than the same dead trees and mist. The site of his large battle long since disappeared.

Finally, back at the start once more and no closer to an answer he peered over the edge of the island. There was only emptiness in the distance, and a realm of mist behind him, the edge of the island extending with a slight curve sideways beyond his vision.

He slowly floated from the island and headed beneath it, before with a sudden shift of gravity he found himself crashing into the other side of the island.

Or perhaps, given the view, the same place he started in.

Even more than when he faced that huge golem he wished this place had even a trace of Miasma so that he could have the satisfaction of freezing it whole and hitting it till it cracked into nothingness.

Maybe it's good there's no Miasma…

He looked out towards the emptiness once more and had nothing else to do, began flying off into it. [Void Detection] and any other form of detection only returned nothing. A moment later, as if passing through a thin invisible sheet, he appeared elsewhere.

Only the prospect of danger kept him from screaming. Was the solution so simple? It wouldn't even require flying to reach here, even a normal human taking a leap of faith would be enough. Rejecting the prospect of the choices offered for one less conventional. And how was it even a solution? Where was the hint? Was it something related to the powers of the Void that a human like him couldn't fathom?

Was there some kind of mantra of the Void where if you can't find the answer where you are; just jump to another world?

No longer was there a dead and misty island but instead one filled with light. The colors only rivaled by the Fae realm.

And instead of three paths, there was only one. Above him, a radiant blue sky with no obvious source of light expanded overhead. He did his best not to let the scenery distract him as he made his way forward. Flying straight up proved a poor choice in the last place so he would leave that route of exploration for later.

He glanced back for a second, before deciding at least trying the same exact thing might prove informative if nothing else.

And following a short leap, he was bounced back onto the island. The invisible film of before not so transparent anymore as it shimmered around the island. The only consolation prize was him thinking that perhaps he had to kill the giant [Golem].

Rainer tensed as a small creature jumped in front of him. Long ears and white fur left it reminiscent of a rabbit of Earth, were it not for it's beaver-like tail ending with a spike. The creature's beady eyes regarded Rainer for only a moment before it jumped across the path and back into the forest.

Numerous thoughts went through Rainer's still paranoid mind. Was the bunny a test, were he on edge and attacked would the whole forest turn against him? Was it a misdirect, to try and calm him down?

But the shaking of the ground and the hoofbeats of many, left those thoughts to drift away for now. Seeing the charging beasts that covered the wide-open path end to end, Rainer thought his previous reservations on flight to be a lot less convincing.

Immediately the [Archon] hovered above the charging group who split into the forest soon after. Some cat-like monster with the bodies of bovines were all Rainer could discern as they quickly entered the forest.

Seeing no other immediate threat, he floated inwards and glanced over the tall and multi-colored trees of this new island. The lack of an obvious threat put him further on edge. At least he knew to be wary of something when it was an island covered in dead trees and a fog.

The Trial's beginning was already an enormous difference from his [Arcanist] one. Rather than creating enemies immune to the Void, like his [Arcanist] trial had made Arcane Worms immune to magic, the [Voidwalker] Trial created enemies that could only be easily defeated by the Void.

He couldn't help but be wary of the second part, when his Void Will was nowhere near replenished, it's regeneration a tenth of his Mana.

A short few minutes of flying and dodging some strange, but ultimately harmless, looking birds Rainer nearly fell from the air as he felt a stutter in his magic. Recalling George's stories, and Furtak's own information on the Forbidden North, he had a good idea as to what that feeling was.

An application of [Arcane Invigoration] proved that he already had a resistance to whatever was happening to weaken his magic. Likely relating to his [Curse Resistance], if Rainer had to take a guess.

With a large clearing filled with various flowers coming up in his view, Rainer decided to investigate, all the more cautious due to the last fight in such a clearing.

Yet the moment he came close enough to discern the details of the place he nearly lost his breath. Standing in the center, now fully clear to him, was a creature of beauty he'd never seen. Fae would pale in comparison, and his original ideas of a Unicorn being just an ordinary, but powerful, monster were abandoned.

As he stood frozen in the air, meeting the silver eyes of the white horned horse, some part of him fully understood that magic made him feel this way. That the elegance of the monster was not something he needed to respect, but he couldn't help himself.

Was this the creature he was destined to slay? He surely valued Gunthar and his father over such a thing, no matter the pleasant feelings. But it's very presence altered Rainer's thoughts as if not even to consider hurting it.

Whether it was Rainer's own anger against attempts of mental manipulation or the knowledge that this was a Trial, he managed to shake off the compulsion and use [Appraisal].

And yet The Unicorn answered with a snort and glare at the floating figure that dared to appraise it, Rainer gained absolutely nothing from his attempt.

The Unicorn pulsed with magical power and stared at the [Archon] as if daring him to try again. Rainer, left in a stunned silence, could only watch as the white beast trotted off into the forest. Staring at the retreating figure, he even felt a minor compulsion that it was now safe to attack. That he should claim the beast's hide for himself.

But having already thrown off the far more powerful Magic of before, it was easily ignored. And the small figure that caused this second feeling retreated into the forest, unseen.

A part of him still thought to give chase. An opportunity presented to attain a Unicorn heart within a Trial without any actual guilt of truly slaying such a creature, assuming his thoughts on Trials being fake worlds were true.

But returning to make sure his companions were safe took precedence. Dying from an ill ventured idea to slay a Unicorn in the middle of a Trial was not on his to-do list. And its undoubtedly powerful Magic, eclipsing Rainer's own by measures unknown, made him scoff at such an idea. The [Arch-Lich]'s luck at encountering a dying one was truly that, pure luck.

He stood in the clearing as if waiting for some massive foe to appear once more. Several minutes passing with nothing happening only served to put him on edge further. An edge sharpened by a rustling in the forest and figure moving forward. And from every direction soon other creatures joined the single figure.

Rainer found the [Archon] part of the Trial well enough. The black-haired [Archon] standing across from him denoting that aspect. The same smirk that foretold death just as last time. Added on were dozens of large cats covered in skins of shadows, a fully discernable figure marred by the cloak of magic. Rainer had only a moment to notice the difference in his body and brightness of his eyes before the situation became dangerous.

And so, he vanished.

Rainer sped through the forest, not even looking back. Void-walk after Void-walk with physicals leaps in between. Amer had told him of his previous Trials mixing for his second and third one. Rainer's only hope was that this part stayed away.

Nonetheless, he was prepared. While he counted fully on Jor pulling him out of the fire, he had another plan. Advance beyond his clone. Under the assumption the mimic version of him could be beaten at all there was only a single option; gain enough strength to outpace an unlimited Mana version of oneself.

The only caveat here being Rainer's hope that unlimited meant recharging rather than an ability to cast an all-encompassing [Absolute Frost]. At that point, he had no chance from the start. [Magic Detection] and [Void Detection] was constantly used, as he felt the clone behind him mimicking his [Void-walking].

There was only a single thing that could grant him a large enough advantage over a clone Rainer. Leveling [Void Grasp] to 10.

Rainer suddenly halted his retreat, before unleashing not only his armed Arcane bolts but an [Arcane Combustion] near where he assumed his clone was walking in.

He reached out with [Void Grasp] as his clone attempted to dodge, only to be rebuffed by a surge of Mana.

An [Arcane Blade] in hand, his other half appeared directly in front of him, only to vanish once more as Jor lashed out and then quickly returned at Rainer's command.

The two stared at one another through the trees, the beasts of shadows still chasing in the distance.

Seeing no Jor equivalent on his clone upped Rainer's spirits as he used this pause in combat to think on [Void Grasp] as he had been doing since he leveled [Void Seer]. He knew the skill was on the border of reaching level 10 after weeks of [Sleep Learning], It was only a matter of pushing it over.

Seemingly done waiting for his allies, the clone attacked at Rainer once more, repeating his own assault of armed [Arcane Bolt]s and fire.

Rainer, conserving mana, flared [Arcane Awakening] with Surge as well and rushed away. Jor leaped out of his shoulder as he went hunting for the beasts of shadows.

The unlimited Mana of the figure prompted him to use [Void-walking] to keep up with him, as it made the most sense for Rainer to do in his spot. And yet this was exactly what allowed Rainer to repeatedly practice [Void Grasp].

With Jor handling the others, Rainer focused entirely on his clone.

The two figures danced between one another, the clone having the advantage of using [Void-walking] freely even with the attempts to use [Void Grasp] by Rainer. Every clash of [Arcane Blade]s and launch of [Arcane Bolt]s sent Rainer further behind. The tips of his hair burned, the flesh on his face and bare chest repeatedly singed by just barely dodged bolts.

And yet with every use of [Void Grasp], Rainer's focus increased further, even as his alternate self slashed his [Arcane Blade] across his thigh. Only [Arcane Invigoration] kept the blood loss from being fatal. With every clash, and with every attempt to use [Void-walking] to gain an advantage over the real Rainer, [Void Grasp] came closer to advancement.

And in a final moment of inspiration, Rainer understood. And sent a message for Jor to return.

To grasp with the Void wasn't only to defy the abilities of the Omnipresent Void, but to restrict Space and Time itself with its power.

[Void Grasp has reached level 10]

[Experience Gained: XX]

[Void Grasp has reached its maximum level. 5 skill points have been rewarded.]

[Void Grasp has unlocked Void Hold lvl 1/10]

Jor leaped out from behind a tree as planned while Rainer prevented his clone from [Void-walking]. His figure rushed forward when even his full efforts couldn't penetrate the level 10 skill combined with [Void Hold]. The very Void sought to wrap around the clone, as a full on [Arcane Awakening] worked to escape Rainer's hold.

With all of Rainer's remaining [Void Will] he forced his clone to stay in place, ignoring the power of [Arcane Awakening: Might] flowing through the alternate's body. Rainer's ears bled as he used all his conscious effort to keep the figure in place. He had not even a thought to spare to do anything else. To even consider anything else.

Thankfully, Jor understood the situation very well.

With an indignant roar, the clone could do nothing as Jor consumed him. And he vanished too, with the shadow beasts joining him. A fully powered Jor rampaging as the massive Serpent he was.

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[Second and Final Trial complete. Teleportation to Safe Area will commence in: 00:05:00]

Rainer made no notion of stopping his fall as he collapsed on his back and rolled into a ball gripping his head. Only the knowledge that completing the Trial would heal him sustained the [Archon] through the pain.

Even with a comforting surge of healing, Rainer didn't feel that much better.

Jor flew around his downed master before wrapping a circle the around fallen figure. Rainer got a small influx of information soon after that he could only translate as ”who needs a stupid dragon” before Jor retreated into his shoulder just as the countdown fell.

And with a brief bout of teleportation Rainer's Trial ended not with the power of the Arcane, but with the fury of a system-defying Serpent.

[2nd Class Advancement: Voidwalker has been completed.]

[Tallying Achievement Points]

[1st Class Titles, Already Processed: Arcane Scholar, Fae Contractor, Arcane Elementalist, Dungeon Pioneer, Philanderer, Trollsbane, Wielder of Space and Time, Wielder of Fire and Brimstone, Energy Drainer]

[1st Class Titles: Wielder of Water and Tides, Wielder of Terra and Foundation, Wielder of Shadows and Darkness, Wielder of Light, Wielder of Ice and Frost, Wielder of Mind and Illusion, Devilsbane, Manipulator of the Elements, Basic Elementalist, Shaman, Speaker of Power]

[Wielder of Water and Tides: 50]

[Wielder of Terra and Foundation: 50]

[Shaman: 60]

[Wielder of Shadows and Darkness: 60]

[Wielder of Light: 60]

[Wielder of Ice and Frost: 60]

[Wielder of Mind and Illusion: 60]

[Devilsbane: 80]

[Manipulator of the Elements: 99]

[Basic Elementalist: 99]

[Speaker of Power: 99]

[2nd Class Titles Already Processed: Wielder of the Arcane, Immortal Slayer]

[2nd Class Titles: Corruptor, Master of Space and Time, Master of Ice and Frost, Chosen Slayer, Queen Slayer, Devastator]