Chapter 606: 608. Taking Chances

“It’s not that far,” Dallion said. “I’ll there—”

He’s still watching, Gleam interrupted. I can’t tell where exactly, but he’s there.

That was a rather big problem. Dallion’s brief encounter with the creature had shown him how powerless he was even at his current level. The distance wasn’t much, but more than enough for the shardfly to swoop down and this time slice Dallion in two.

“I’ll try talking to him,” Dallion said, though even he doubted that would have an effect.

The creature was exceedingly bloodthirsty. Dallion knew Gleam well enough to tell how much she enjoyed fighting. Compared to the wild shardfly, she was like a clawless kitten, especially here. The species was quite territorial, and this one had made the entire canyon its domain. Given that Havoc hadn’t mentioned it, that must have been a recent development. If Dallion was to guess, the poison plague might have caused the creature to leave its usual location and fly here. Whatever the case, it had no intention of letting its prey escape twice.

That won’t help, Gleam said. You sprint to the other side. I’ll fight him.

I can help, Ruby said from Dallion’s shoulder.

Stay put, kid, Gleam said. You won’t last a second. You’ll be safe with Dal.

“Will you be alright?” Dallion asked.

Surprisingly, his familiar didn’t answer. In the past, she would always remind him that the item he had made her guardian of was indestructible. This time, this wasn’t the case. Initially, Dallion thought it was a momentary omission on her part, but when he thought about it further, he found a different possibility: in this world, even invincibility didn’t last forever. One thing spectral shardflies excelled at was casting illusions. Thanks to their skill and powder, they could change the appearance of objects to the point that the object would become something else entirely as far as reality itself was concerned. If the skill was developed further, it could transform an indestructible sword to one which was very much destructible. Gleam knew that better than anyone. The fact that she was offering to gain Dallion time despite that suggested that she was willing to sacrifice herself for him to succeed.

“Gleam…” Dallion began.

Before he could finish, the whip blade floated up from its scabbard.

I’ll be fine, she said. Thanks to his music skill, Dallion could tell she was lying. Besides, beats being banished in a brush. I just need to distract him for a few seconds. Once you’re safe, he’ll lose interest and go to stalk some other prey, possibly the dragon. I’ll join you when that happens.

“Once I’m done, I’ll come back and repair you.” That was the least Dallion could do, although he hoped that it wasn’t going to come to that. If this shardfly was anything like Gleam, he’d lose interest, as she said. “Don’t take any large risks.” He split into instances.

Haven’t you gotten to know me by now? Gleam asked, then flew the whip blade into the open.

Gritting his teeth, Dallion dashed forward. A hundred instances sprinted beyond his limits, passing a mile in a matter of seconds. Sadly, that wasn’t enough. One second later, a hurricane of slashes hit the ground, destroying three quarters of the instances. Only those at the very front were left unharmed. As tempting as it was to think that Dallion had beaten the odds, he quickly came to the realization that the shardfly was toying with him, prolonging its enjoyment.

Immediately, Dallion burst into a new set of instances, spreading sideways. A crescent strike followed, destroying all of them except the ones at the very end. Wasting no time, Dallion split again. It was a game of fun—the creature was going to keep him alive till the point Dallion almost got to safety, at which point it was going to crush all of his instances. Many creatures of the wilderness behaved this way. Gleam knew it as well, and that’s when she was going to interfere. There was, of course, one catch: if Dallion didn’t prove amusing enough, he was going to be killed way before that moment.

Get ready, Lux.

The dartblade discreetly adjusted onto the back of Dallion’s backpack.

Half of the distance was covered. This was the point of no return. From here on, it would be more dangerous to turn back than to keep running forward. And this was precisely the moment he made his move.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

Reality changed as the familiar outline of his island emerged around him. In the real-world, Dallion was a second from sprinting forward. That moment was going to last for an eternity here, though.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ariel—Dallion’s echo—said.

“I just need two levels,” Dallion replied. “Or one and an achievement.”

“I’m talking about Gleam. She’s not strong enough to fight that.”

Dallion didn’t reply, but he didn’t have to. As long as his familiar was the whip blade’s guardian, her fate was linked to the object. Should the object be destroyed, so would she.

“Lux,” Dallion said.

The firebird emerged, surrounding Dalloin with its flames, then flew off.

“Which one, boss?” the familiar asked.

There were eleven remaining doors. Many of them Dallion had tried. Thinking back, he didn’t find himself improved to the point that he could take them on.

“Something new,” he said. “You decide.”

The firebird propelled him forward to the other side of the island. The door he had chosen was an actual metal trapdoor in the ground in a cliffy area. Waves smashed on gray stones, filling the air with the spay of seawater. Dallion didn’t particularly like water trials. His fear of water was long gone, but water reduced the effectiveness of Lux.

“You decided to sneak some strength in?” Gleam appeared, materializing on Dallion’s shoulder in her shardfly form.

“He’s playing it tight. This’ll confuse him enough to make him slip.”

“It could work.” She fluttered off. “Don’t make it awkward. I haven’t survived centuries in the wilderness for nothing.”

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That much was true, and yet she was still caught by a hunter.

“Is he stronger than you were?” Dallion asked.

“Maybe.” Gleam gave a vague reply. “I didn’t have many like myself when I got to that level. It was more live and let live. As far as my kind was concerned.”

Dallion nodded, then opened the trapdoor. A dark shaft led directly down. There was no ladder, rope, or anything that help him get down. The trial expected him to start with a leap of faith. Since Dallion had Lux, he gently floated down instead.

You’re in the halls of destiny.

Defeat your hidden fears and shape your future.

A blue rectangle appeared containing the familiar message. Dallion waved it away, then continued floating downwards. After around fifty feet, he split into a dozen instances. From his experience, whenever things remained the same for so long, usually there was a trap in store. In his mind, he could see spikes shooting out from the walls, bringing the trial to an abrupt end. To his surprise, nothing of the sort happened. Another fifty feet further, the floor became visible.

Cracklings, Nox whispered.

That startled Dallion. This was a trial, so anything was possible… and still, there weren’t supposed to be cracklings within him. The creatures only affected objects.

“Gleam, do you sense anything?” he asked.

“Nothing close by. You’re safe.”

Safe… that was the last word on Dallion’s mind.

The shaft ended in a small chamber with four archways. There didn’t seem to be any distinguishing markings between them. Yet, when Dallion took a step towards one to take a closer look, it bricked up. In a way, it was very similar to the trial areas in awakening shrines. The only difference was that Dallion hadn’t done anything to merit this change.

One by one, he went through all the archways. All of them reacted in identical fashion, causing him to end up in a small room without doors or windows. Instinct made Dallion look up. No sooner had he done so that the opening sealed off as well.

Definitely a new trial, Dallion thought. Know anything about this, Nil?

This would be a first for me as well, dear boy, the old echo replied. I’d venture that you need to do something in order to proceed.

The remark seemed obvious, but for once Dallion knew exactly what Nil meant. Taking a deep breath, Dallion combined his layer and music vision. At first, nothing seemed to change, but as he looked around further, he saw a pattern of miniature markings on each of the sealed off archways. The unevenness wasn’t random, but created a series of bumps, which formed letters.

What is the point of this trial? Dallion wondered. It was a fact that every trial had a purpose that would help him in the real world. Was this a trial of test his perception? Considering the other trials at this level, this sounded way too easy.

“No change, no gain,” Dallion read the message of the stone wall in front of him. The one next to it read “two steps forward, one step back.”

Dallion took a step to the side and kept on reading. It was difficult to make out even with all his effort, but the remaining two messages were “one for one” and “sprint on knives.” While there was no way to be certain, it seemed that the paths presented difficulties. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward. Thinking back to the paradox cubes, there was a high chance that Dallion could gain trait boost, item blueprints, or even a skill—if Nil was to be believed. Considering that there was only one skill left, other than magic, Dallion would have all but a complete set.

“Why now?” Dallion asked beneath his breath.

Any other time, he’d welcome such a challenge. Right now, though, he couldn’t afford to lose. If he failed to increase his body, he wouldn’t be able to speed up, making him an easy target for the shardfly in the real world, even with Gleam’s help.

“The trial has started, hasn’t it?” Dallion asked loudly. As if in response, the walls of the chamber gained a faint, shimmering glow.

Four options, one path… Going by basic logic, the “no change, no gain” looked likely to be the easiest difficulty level. Going that direction would ensure Dallion obtained his next level. Would he be allowed to increase a trait, though? Normally, every trial was supposed to guarantee that. Then again, this was the first time he was allowed to choose difficulty. Completing the trial in such fashion would bring him one step closer to the fifth gate, but that wouldn’t be enough.

“One for one” sounded like the obvious choice. It was straightforward and also guaranteed a reward of some sort. Furthermore, from a math perspective, it was identical to the next option. Two steps forward, one step back, seemed like it would provide the same result but at a higher difficulty.

Finally, the “sprint on knives” message suggested that Dallion would achieve his goal much faster, though at the expense of hardship and pain. Could there be another interpretation, though? Maybe that meant that he’d obtain the level quickly, but receive another permanent effect as punishment?

“What do you guys think?” Dallion asked.

Back when he was around level twenty, there would be a chorus of suggestions, each giving him opinionated and often contradictory advice. This time, there was silence.

“That bad, huh?” Dallion forced a laugh.

The daggers, the guardian of the armadil shield, said. Choose the sprint of daggers. Everything else is just prolonging your pain.

“That doesn’t sound much like you, Vihrogon. What happened to being companion gear?”

I know you and I know the trial. If you fail here, you’ll know you’ll have to come up with a different plan to survive in the real world. With any of the rest, you’ll be left with the illusion that you have a chance.

Another high stakes game. Dallion was hoping never to go through anything of the sort again. Last time it had taken a Moon to help him out. Given how much Felygn was upset at him, there was no guarantee he’d intervene again.

“You could be part of the trial,” Dallion said.

I could be, but I also could be right. Your life, your choice. You’re no longer the timid kid you were back when we first met. You’ve made a life for yourself, a life you’re free to lose as you see fit.

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