Chương 70

Rel's Newest Minion I emerged from the portal and found myself back in the Expedition Centre. Returning to my own body was a bizarre feeling. Not because it felt any different from the arcane projection, but because one moment I felt like I'd been run over by a train, and the next, I was back in perfect health.

"I've missed you, buddy," I said, patting myself on the shoulder. My emotional reunion with my body was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. I glanced up to find Rel, Auroria, Allaria, Voklum, and Kaelis all staring at me expectantly.

"Well?" said Rel.

"Well, what?"

"The rewards, dumbass," he replied.

"What did you get?"

"Wait – weren't you watching the assessment?" I asked, gesturing towards the massive screen that took up most of the wall.

"We saw your battles against the constructs, Master," said Kaelis.

"But the feed cut off shortly after you defeated Justice Man." I considered Kaelis' words for a few moments, then fought back a smile. It meant they had not witnessed the birth of Pete the Flying Titan…

"There were two rewards," I said.

"The first was for defeating all five waves. I think it's fair to say it's pretty incredible…" I shared the item description for Bracers of the Titan.

"The caster's size increases dramatically?" said Allaria.

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"Put it this way. If you stood me next to Lokta'Inif – before I killed her, obviously – and I used the item, she'd be the one looking up at me." Allaria slowly shook her head.

"I suppose dramatically is a fairly accurate description, then."

"And a 50% increase to strength and durability?" said Voklum.

"That's absurdly powerful."

"It is! I can't wait to accept a Tier Five quest and test it out on an absolute beast of an enemy," I said. My excitement was suddenly dashed when I reread the item's description. I sighed.

"Ah, shit – I forgot. It's a seven-day cooldown, and I just used it in the chamber."

"You don't need to worry about that," said Auroria.

"Using items within the Arcane Projection Chamber does not affect their cooldowns in the real world." Let's fucking go. It was just a shame it wasn't possible to gain stats inside the chamber; otherwise, it'd have been incredible for training. I'd have probably burnt through a considerable portion of my wealth bribing Auroria to let me use it over and over again.

"Yes, yes," said Rel impatiently.

"The bracers are undoubtedly excellent items." He strode towards me and poked an insistent claw into my shin.

"But I want to know about the special reward for being the first Trialist to defeat all five waves. What ability did you choose?"

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten about the ability…" I said. I grinned, crossed my arms, then slowly rose into the air.

"You can fly, Master!" said Kaelis.

"That's an incredible reward!" There were murmurs of agreement from Voklum, Allaria, and Auroria, but it was Rel's reaction I was most interested in. Part of me had expected at least a little jealousy now that he was no longer the only member of the group capable of flight. It's fair to say I was both surprised and pleased when he let out an excited whoop.

"It's about time!" he roared.

"Welcome to the club!" With that, his eyes flashed blue and he rose into the air to hover beside me. Then we both started laughing. It was the sort of laughter that fell somewhere between childish giggling and an evil genius unveiling their masterplan. Auroria stared at us for a moment, bemused, then cleared her throat.

"As much as I'm enjoying this," she said, "we still have four more assessments to carry out. Who would like to go next?" Her words cut through the last of Rel's laughter, his eyes suddenly glinting with an intense and slightly disturbing eagerness. He darted through the air and landed in front of the portal.

"I'll be going next," he said.

"Very well," said Auroria, turning to face the screen and making a few adjustments.

"You may enter when–" She didn't get the chance to finish the sentence. Rel had already leapt into the portal.

"So how does this work?" I asked, my eyes shifting between Auroria and the monitor. Rel had just spawned inside the chamber and was currently scurrying up the small hill I'd sat on to wait for the rats.

"Will he fight the same enemies as me?"

"Possibly," said Auroria.

"For the first four waves, the chamber has a small pool of constructs it can draw from. However, even if he encounters the same enemies you did, there's no guarantee they'll appear in the same order." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"So, the giant worm could appear on the first wave?" I said.

"Indeed – although it would obviously be scaled down in terms of size and power to ensure it was suitably difficult for wave one. I once carried out an assessment where the giant rats appeared during the fourth wave. The Trialist was very excited when he saw them, convinced he'd make short work of them."

"And did he?"

"Well, it was definitely a short encounter. Within five seconds, the rats had overpowered him and were feasting on his body. They'd chewed through both his arms and legs before the chamber finally deemed the Trialist's arcane projection 'dead'. I actually had to turn the sound off. His screams were a little disturbing." I shook my head, then turned back to look at the screen. Rel stood atop the hill, staff gripped in both hands as he raised it.

The silver of the wood matched the stars and patterns on his robe and hat, and I had to admit that he looked pretty damn wizardly. * Rel had withdrawn two items from his inventory when he entered the Arcane Projection Chamber. The first was the Amulet of the Draeven Prince. Although the item was utterly hideous, there was no denying its potency. Amulet of the Draeven Prince A powerful magical item imbued with a corrupting essence.

Equipping the amulet grants the following bonuses: + 5 intelligence + 4 durability + Grants the effect: Corruption of the Draeven Corruption of the Draeven Successful attacks or spells corrupt the target, causing them to suffer damage over time. The corruption seeps through flesh and bone, withering the body from within. The effect grows stronger with each application. Effect can stack up to five times.

The stats alone made it a powerful item, but the effect Corruption of the Draeven sounded incredible, and he'd been looking forward to an opportunity to test it out. Fortunately, there was nothing in the item's description to suggest it needed to remain visible in order to function. Rel quickly tucked it beneath his robes. The second item he withdrew was his staff. As he gazed upon his creation, he couldn't help but marvel at his own genius. As Pete would say: ' Damn, I'm good.'

Not only did the Aetherbark – the silvery wood it had been crafted from – allow huge amounts of power to be channelled through it, but it also perfectly matched the stars and patterns decorating his robes and wizard hat. After all, a true archmagus understood the importance of looking the part. In Rel's opinion, if your arrival didn't inspire awe, fear, or at the very least nervous sweating, you were doing something wrong. Magus' Staff of Elemental Mastery A masterwork crafted by Squire Rel.

The intricately inscribed rune formations allow the wielder to channel their power through the staff, amplifying and shaping it into devastating elemental spells. Equipping the staff grants the following bonuses: + 10 intelligence +50% Elemental Spell Damage For the first spell he intended to cast, it was the substantial boost to intelligence provided by both items that interested him most. He raised his staff and channelled Cast Spell: Summon Undead Minion.

The power of the skeletal knights scaled with his intelligence, so an increase of fifteen points would make a significant difference. A black tear in reality opened before him, rapidly expanding until it stood nine feet tall and six feet wide. Commander Osian emerged first, his Blackflame Plate polished to an impressive gleam, and was closely followed by seven other equally imposing skeletal knights.

Due to the limited space at the top of the hill, they formed a circle around Rel before dropping to one knee, heads bowed respectfully.

"We have answered the call, Lord Rel," said Commander Osian.

"What need do you have of us?"

"Rise, my loyal knights," said Rel.

"The challenge we face today may be our most difficult yet – perhaps even more difficult than our battle against Lokta'Inif and her minions." He began to pace back and forth, occasionally rapping his staff against the ground for dramatic emphasis.

"We are currently in a magical dimension, about to begin an assessment that will see us face five waves of increasingly powerful foes. I suspect the first three will provide little challenge, but beyond that, it is likely we will encounter opponents capable of testing us like never before." Commander Osian nodded, then turned to survey the vast chamber.

"Very well, my lord. It is an honour to fight at your side once more." The other skeletal knights echoed their agreement. Any further conversation was cut short by a sudden rumbling that seemed to shake the ground of the entire chamber. Rel turned as a hulking figure emerged from the volcanic environment. Its broad body was formed of dark, dense rock, with lava flowing along the deep fissures that ran across its surface. It was the magma golem that Pete had encountered in the third wave. Interesting….

it appeared that the order of the constructs was not fixed. Rel was just about to order his skeletal knights to intercept and destroy the golem when a thought occurred to him: he had learned several new spells that he still needed to test, and he had the perfect one in mind. A magma golem versus an earth elemental sounded immensely entertaining… Cast Spell: Summon Earth Elemental Summons a hulking elemental of stone. The elemental possesses extremely high durability, but deals minimal damage.

It has a taunt ability that forcibly draws the attention of nearby enemies. This effect may be resisted by enemies with sufficiently high intelligence. Taunt Cooldown: 30 minutes Rel raised his staff once more, and an orb of swirling brown energy flared into existence. At first, it was no larger than a marble, but as he poured more power into the spell, it rapidly expanded until it was roughly the size of Pete's head. Sensing that it had reached the limit of its power, he unleashed it.

The orb raced through the air and crashed into the ground at the foot of the hill. The earth exploded outwards in all directions. Before any of it reached the ground, the debris froze in midair as though suspended in time. There was a moment of utter silence – even the magma golem stumbling to a halt as it witnessed the magic being unleashed – and then the dirt and stone were drawn inwards into a swirling vortex. The elemental began to take form.

* My jaw sagged a little as I watched the dirt and rock fuse together like some sort of arcane Lego set. Now, when I heard the phrase 'earth elemental', my experience of video games kicked in, and what instantly came to mind was an enormous, somewhat-humanoid creature made of rock. The creature that Rel summoned was exactly that. It was at least twelve feet tall, its arms and legs so thick they made the Troll King look like a dainty little bitch by comparison.

Veins of pulsing brown energy ran through its body, as though thick mud flowed beneath the stone rather than blood. Its face was flat, with a jagged fissure for a mouth and two small, glinting emeralds for eyes. However, none of the earth elementals I'd seen in video games had worn clothing. Or more specifically in this case, a top hat and monocle.

"Ahh, splendid," rumbled the elemental, its deep voice sounding like an earthquake had possessed a nineteenth-century English aristocrat.

"You must be my new master. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The creature bowed deeply, then straightened and adjusted its monocle with a rocky hand the size of my torso.

"My name is Sir Rockington III." Sir… Rockington… the Third?