Chương 50: Chapter 44 - The trials (part 1)

I woke up with a champagne headache, and Astarielle draped over my chest. Ah, right, I forgot to unsummon her. I rectified the error, making her vanish in a burst of crimson flame. All right, mana check. I regenerated seventy million mana while I slept, but I spent four million mana with Astarielle last night, so I had seventy and a half million mana. Not great. I took a shower, dressed, and picked up Sarah's sword. It spent the night lying on the night table disapprovingly.

After I draped the Cloak of the Wanderer over my shoulders, I headed for the elevator. On the way, I pulled on my power. Yushi. A puff of icy mist swirled near my shoulder. Yushi materialized, floating, translucent, school uniform pristine, fan already spread across the lower half of her face.

"Ku ku ku… Damian-sama summons me first thing in the morning. How romantic."

"Scout the city. I need to know how to get to the next floor. There's a space elevator. Find out the process." She tilted her head.

"So businesslike. Not even a good morning for poor Yushi?"

"Chop chop." With a giggle, she drifted into a wall. I took the elevator down and headed toward the space elevator. That looked like the natural place to climb the tower up. On the way, I enjoyed the city's atmosphere. A bit too clean, but still, enjoyably futuristic. Yushi returned in about fifteen minutes. She materialized upside-down in front of me, fan spread, translucent form catching the ambient light.

"The space elevator is indeed the place of trials. The entrance terminal runs a climbing qualification trial every morning. They close registration in an an hour, and it's forty minutes of walk if you do not linger." She floated closer, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

"And I heard the locals making bets on what today's first trial stage will be. It changes daily, supposedly." I smiled.

"That doesn't matter at all."

"Ku ku ku..." Yushi blushed a bit behind the fan. She was faking it, but I appreciated the effort. With her maintenance cost of five thousand mana per hour, I didn't need to unsummon her.

"Stay close and invisible. I might need you." She giggled, fading from sight. The cold lingered. The space elevator's base dominated the city center the way a cathedral dominates a medieval town. It rose from a wide circular plaza, a structure of dark metal and glass that climbed past the tallest buildings and kept going until it thinned into a thread against the pseudo-space sky above. The terminal at its base was functional.

Double doors, a registration hall, and a waiting area that smelled like sweat and old hope. A holographic board above the entrance showed yesterday's results. Party names, sizes, stages reached, outcomes. Twenty-one attempts. Zero passes. I walked to the registration kiosk. A clerk sat behind reinforced glass, dark uniform, expression of someone who'd explained the same thing ten thousand times.

"Solo registration for today's trial, please," I said. He looked at me.

"Party minimum is three."

"I know. I'm looking for a group that needs a member." He pointed over his shoulder at the waiting area.

"Talk to them. Registration closes in twenty minutes. If you find a party, return with it." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I turned and scanned the room. About forty people sat or stood around the waiting area. Some in full gear, stretching, running last-minute checks on weapons and equipment. Others were leaning against walls, eyes closed, conserving energy. A few looked like they'd been doing this for weeks.

Near the far wall, two men sat on a bench, speaking in low, tense voices. The first was tall, lean, carrying himself with a stillness that wasn't relaxation but discipline. He wore layered armor plates over a dark tunic, traditional cut, functional rather than decorative. A katana rested across his lap, the scabbard worn from use. His hair was tied back, his face composed, and his posture suggested a man who could go from sitting to cutting in about a quarter of a second. Late twenties.

The second was harder to read. Compact, wiry, dressed in dark fitted clothing that looked designed for moving quickly and being seen slowly. Short blades hung from a harness across his back, positioned for a fast draw. A hood hung at his collar. On his shoulder sat a small creature, four-legged, covered in short fur that shimmered between grey and pale blue. It had large, dark eyes, pointed ears, and a tail curled around the man's neck. Mid-twenties, sharp-featured, watching the room with peripheral attention.

Meh, who was I kidding? Those were the local weebs, a samurai and a ninja wannabe. That suited me perfectly. And I could add a Japanese schoolgirl ghost to the party to take the vibe to the next level. I walked over.

"You two look like you need a third." The swordsman looked up. His gaze went to the sword at my hip, the cloak, my face, assessing me.

"Who are you?"

"A climber looking to go up. I heard you need three to register."

"We had three," the other one said. His voice was quiet, controlled.

"Maro dislocated his shoulder two days ago. He can't attempt the trial for a week."

"So, you need a replacement." They exchanged a look. The swordsman spoke first.

"I'm Ren. This is Kael." He motioned at the creature on Kael's shoulder.

"And that's Venn." I looked at the creature. Venn looked back at me with those too-intelligent eyes. Its ears rotated toward me like satellite dishes.

"Nice pet."

"Not a pet," Kael said.

"He's a pathfinder. He scouts." I almost smiled.

"I'm Damian, a summoner-type mage." With a chilling breeze, Yushi appeared, hands clasped behind her back, leaning forward.

"And I am Yushi. One of Damian-sama's summons." Ren snorted.

"All right. You win. Welcome to the team." We headed to the registration. The clerk wrote us down, collected the fee, five silver coins from me, and credits from my teammates. They both spared me a glance as I paid with coins, but neither commented.

"So," I said when we were returning to the waiting area.

"Do we prepare some tactics?" Ren shrugged.

"No use until we know the trial."

"No point before the floor boss," Kael added.

"Where we are unlikely to get." Yushi's ku ku ku echoed through my ears. Yes, they shut me down. I noticed. In a bit, displays on the walls started showing numbers. We had number fourteen. When our turn came, we headed to the door. Our testing chamber sat underneath the elevator shaft, accessed through a set of heavy doors that sealed behind us with the sound of a bank vault. The room was enormous, circular, with walls of dark metal etched with patterns that pulsed faintly with mana.

The floor was scorched in places, gouged in others. Previous attempts had left their marks. Three other groups waited, each in their own section of the chamber. No one talked. Though everyone looked at us. Only for a few seconds, though. A disembodied voice echoed through the chamber.

"Qualification trial commencing. Stage one has been selected." A pedestal rose from the floor at the center of each section, one for each team. On it sat an orb. Black glass, veined with silver, about the size of a man's head. It hummed faintly, and mana bled off it in visible waves. Ren closed his eyes.

"Damn."

"Ah shit." Kael's jaw tightened.

"Of course it's this one. We're done for. Might as well pack it and go home." Across the chamber, one of the other groups audibly groaned. A woman at the nearest party threw her hands up and walked toward the exit.

"The first trial is the mana infusion test," the voice announced.

"Channel mana into the resonance orb until it reaches full saturation. Any party member may contribute. The orb requires a minimum threshold of concentrated mana to activate. You have five minutes." Ren looked at the orb like it owed him money.

"This is the sixth time I'm about to be eliminated by this bullshit. This trial is a scam."

"It's supposed to be random," Kael said, shaking his head.

"But we've gotten this one two times out of every three attempts. It's totally rigged. We're never making it out of this floor." I've really met a positive bunch. With a smirk, I walked to the orb, placing my hand over it.

"Ah, great," Kael said behind me.

"The newbie thinks he'll show off." I pushed mana into the orb. I didn't ration it. Just sent in a fast current. The orb lit up, glowed, and exploded. The explosion echoed through the room, shattering a part of the pedestal. My shields flickered, slightly strained. Ren's jaw dropped. Kael froze in its spot, together with its pet. Everyone else stared at me. The whole room fell silent. I turned, heading back to my team.

"You've got to be kidding me…" someone said from a side. The disembodied voice echoed through the room.

"Team fourteen has cleared the first trial. Please return to the waiting area." Ren's mouth still gaped open. Venn had buried himself against Kael's neck, ears flat.

"Holy fucking shit," Kael said as I got close.

"What floor are you from, again?"