Chương 87: Chapter 163 - Speedrunning the Loop, Solem 2-3

In the morning, Mirian went wyvern hunting. On previous trips, she'd brought her myrvite detector up to identify their locations, and found several nests. She had to be picky, though. The lesser wyverns had shorter wings and thinner bones. She needed greater wyverns. According to Professor Viridian, the lesser and greater variants were the same species, but the greater wyverns somehow used the mana of their prey to reinforce and build their scales up until they were much tougher.

While Winterblossom preyed on the nearby shrubs and generally menaced anything he noticed that had the temerity to stay green during winter's approach, Mirian started moving through her route. She flew up the nearby cliff and found a nest. The greater wyverns would be out hunting. If she flew after them, they'd see a comparable sized flying predator-looking thing, and avoid her. But as soon as their young started crying out for help, they quickly returned. Two enhanced force blade spells cut off their heads.

Sorry little ones, she thought at the young wyverns. You'll see them again, though. Then it was to the next nest. A large adult male wyvern nested in a crack in the cliffside, and it liked to sleep in. Then it was off to the other side of the valley where a third greater wyvern nested. Her campsite was on the way, so she dropped off the three corpses she was manipulating with mass lift object.

Once at the nest, she hid behind a pine tree that was downwind of it and waited an hour for it to return from hunting, then ambushed it. Back at camp, she carefully cut off the wings, then folded them up and wrapped a canvas over them, then bound them to Winterblossom's saddlebags. She could always fix the breaks with mend bone later. Then, it was back to galloping.

As they wove up the foothills of the Littenord, Mirian gave Winterblossom his second mana elixir, and started levitating them both up the steepest portions of the trail. As they ascended the steep trails of the pass, Mirian downed her first mana elixir. One, she thought. They made it to the heights of the pass a few hours after noon. The sun was threateningly low in the sky. Mirian cast her nested perforated force spheres.

She'd tried it without Winterblossom, and while it saved mana, it cost speed; the extra weight was useful for tumbling down the mountain. Repeated practice with force spells had reduced the friction of the outer sphere, and changes to the perforations, reduced the drag. Winterblossom went through his usual overdramatic hysterics and Mirian enjoyed the thrill of it as they careened down the mountain. That was when she heard the rumbling. She looked behind her, at first not seeing anything.

Then, they rolled through a clearing, and she could make out the white cloud moving down the slope behind them. Avalanche. Shit, the sphere's impacts must have triggered it near the top. They were still bouncing down the mountain, but it was only the second day and there was already an unplanned problem. Let's assume we're traveling at the same speed, only I'll stop first when I get to the bottom. It might peter out as it hits the woods but… She looked back again. That's a big cloud.

And a lot of snow on the mountain. She did some quick calculations based on the estimated distance. We'll have… two minutes to get out of the way? Then she looked back again. Actually, I think it's gaining. She revised her calculations. It's going to hit us near the bottom. Mirian wasn't sure if the avalanche impacting them would push them along or just bury them, and with her allies already in motion, an early end to the cycle would risk her true goals being exposed.

She needed to be alive to counter any of Troytin's moves, if he made them. There was too much she needed to do to properly disrupt his moves, which meant her plans were vulnerable this cycle. The rumbling grew louder as they smashed into the stream gully, shearing off a pile of nearby icicles. A hard hit as they ricocheted off a cliffside jostled her. They were in the treeline now. When she looked back, she could see the white cloud approaching, streaming down the mountain like a malevolent fog.

Winterblossom made an undignified grunting noise.

"There there," Mirian said.

"We're going to be fine. It's just going to take more mana than I budgeted for." And good timing. The rumble grew overwhelming and Mirian looked back one more time. She got a glimpse of the cascade of snow gaining quickly, and launched them into the air with her levitation wand. Levitating from a standstill was one thing. Levitating while tumbling down a mountain slope inside a primordial forest was another. Mirian found herself tumbling through the air, utterly disoriented as branches crashed into her.

The air became white from the fine snow kicked up. There was a rush of cold air, and at first she thought it was above her, but then realized it was from the avalanche below. She used it to orient herself, and realized her concentration had slipped, and she'd lost control of the force sphere spell. Which meant— Mirian saw Winterblossom plummeting towards the churning snow, along with most of her gear and the wyvern wings.

Without thinking, she assumed a dervish form, then used a blast of raw force magic to keep the beast aloft while she used telekinesis to flip through Luspire's spellbook to lift person. Winterblossom let out a panicked screech as the raw spell that had juggled him back up above the roaring slide ended and he started falling again, all six legs flailing. Mirian could hardly see him in the white cloud. She lashed out with her spell, just catching him as the avalanche continued to roar beneath them.

She yanked him up, then flew over, remounting and recasting the layered force spheres as the ground below her finally settled. She'd just lost a lot of mana for no good purpose, but at least she'd prevented total disaster. It's too early to slip up. Mirian let the force sphere fall back to the ground, and finished her roll to the valley.

She came up on Frostland's Gate two hours late. The avalanche had scared away the glaciavore she'd been planning to kill and sell. Worse, it was now night, and the artisan's shop was already closed. The wings would have to stay in her rented room, stinking the place up, and her project would be behind schedule. She stabled Winterblossom, stashed her things, then headed out to hunt. The glaciavore was lost to her, but she knew the locations of plenty of other myrvites.

She'd just have to sacrifice a few hours of sleep.

In the early morning, Mirian woke well before sunrise, scarfed down another massive breakfast, then headed out to Beatrice's house. She used manipulate glass to open one of Beatrice's windows and telekinesis to open the latch on the shutters. She stole a bag of Labyrinth supplies, leaving an apologetic note in its place: Dear Beatrice, Hi, it's Mirian. I stole your Labyrinth supplies to help save the world (complicated). Lily is doing well in her classes and misses you.

The spellward fails on the evening of the 19th as myrvites swarm the town, but if you set up barricades funneling them, they'll just run by. I'll stop by to chat some other time loop, but can't do that this time, sorry! Love, Mirian PS - Yes, really PPS - This part of the message exists to make sure you don't try to follow me into the Labyrinth like you did that one time. Please leave the elevator lowered or my timetable gets screwed up. PPPS - Remember that time a baduka boar chased you and Lily around as kids?

Yes, really. Take care! The note had done the trick in a practice run, so she was hoping that particular bit wasn't subject to variation from small events. There were too many minuscule changes to properly account for and thoroughly test. She mended the window up so her friend's house wouldn't get too cold. She stopped by her room, got the wyvern wings and bones, then headed over to the artisans.

Normally, she ordered her device in the evening, but since they didn't start work until morning, she hoped there'd be no delays.

"Hi," she said, calling them each by name.

"You don't know me, but I know you. We've been working on a project together, one that will revolutionize travel to and from Frostland's Gate. Here's the blueprints," she said, setting down the rolled up paper.

"Here's the payment," she said, setting down a bag of gold.

"Plus full rights to the design. And, I'll deliver letters to your families in Palendurio and Cairnmouth, so have those ready tomorrow." She listed their names and locations in each city.

"And the materials are just outside." The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You're a student," one of the artisans said.

"Was. I'm about to head down to the Labyrinth. I'll bring you a device from the Vault to tinker with. Deal?" To some degree, this was rehearsed. She'd tried several different entrances, then hid and watched their progress on the crafting project, then debriefed with the artisans afterward about what was the most effective. Easing them in didn't work. Projecting overwhelming confidence did. Telling them about the time loop just led to too many questions. She let them fill in the blanks.

The other thing that helped was the design.

"Hey, take a look at this," the second artisan said.

"This is… how'd you learn our notations?"

"They're my concept, your designs. I'll be back in the evening. It must be done by then." She gave them a mock salute and a smile.

"See you in a few." And then she left, leaving them with the gold and blueprints. Just outside, they'd find the wyvern wings and bones. They'd argue for a bit, then they'd look at the design one more time and get excited. They were, after all, artisans, and they'd gotten into the trade for a reason. They were looking for an excuse to make something beautiful, and they would. Mirian headed to the Labyrinth entrance. She was early by a few minutes. She waited two blocks down.

The morning bell rang, and the guards, exhausted from the night shift, stumbled towards the barracks. It was a small village, and they were lax. Mirian started walking toward them.

"Morning!" she said in a chipper voice, and telekinetically lifted the glyphkeys out of their pockets, cutting the key rings as she did with slice metal. As soon as they were around the corner, the street was clear. She opened the portcullis, then the door. The glyphkey slots were on the outside of the structure, so to close it, she had to remove them with force spells. She let them fall into the snow so they were hidden, then activated the elevator. It descended.

Mirian discarded her cloak and started her calisthenics, making sure she was limber. She tightened the straps to her pack, then got into a crouch. As the elevator hit the bottom, she started running. All the training she'd done under Blooming Iron had given her a fitness level beyond what was normally achievable by a person, and by now, her body had been fueled by enough food that the adjustments had moved from her soul to her body.

Under the Dance of the Dusk Waves form, she was even faster, both in reaction time and physical movement. She ran from room to room, knowing exactly which turn to take. She didn't need to look at a map. The labyrinthine horrors didn't know what to do with her. She ran right by them, vaulting over one that was blocking a door. Behind her, they started to swarm, but they couldn't catch her.

Mirian cast a quick perforated nested force spheres when she hit the stairs and rolled right down them, using the momentum to travel down a hall, through a room, and down one more hall before she had to dismiss it and hook right, dodging the swipe of a horror that was waiting in the shadows. There were dozens of labyrinthine horrors chasing her as she hit the shaft leading to the third floor, but she leapt off and used levitation to catch herself.

By the time they were able to scramble down the slope, she'd already opened the door and stepped inside. She didn't look back. Mirian already knew they wouldn't follow. She loosened the straps on her pack and got out the supplies. By now, she knew every puzzle well, and it was simply a matter of quickly and efficiently applying each solution, either with a series of short spells, moving pieces around, applying magichemicals, or hitting the right switches. While she worked, she caught her breath.

The death corridor opened up. She stashed her supplies, including Luspire's spellbook this time, retightened her straps, and took a deep breath, and charged in. She leapt, took two steps, leapt again as the wall slammed shut behind her, then was dancing across the tiles. When the gravity flipped, she twisted, landed in a perfect roll and was back on her feet in a second. She leapt from platform to platform fast enough that she was through the next door before they even began to fall into the spikes.

Mirian took the next rooms at a steady pace, leaving her pack at each exit so she was lighter and could save that little bit of energy as she scrambled up pillars and leapt from platform to platform. When it came time for the golems, she kept the pack on and went faster. Her movements were economical, her routes, all planned. She moved through each room like a dance, and the golems might as well have not been there. She was simply too quick for them to have a chance.

As she went deeper, she let the fires of the Last Breath of the Phoenix strengthen her; the antimagic field didn't stop her from siphoning soul energy from the repositories. When she neared the end, it was back to the Dusk Waves. Forward. Next platform. Here comes the slam. She rolled under the giant golem as it smashed the platform. The spikes came down all around, and she used one to stop her slide, then stepped up on it and leapt to the next platform. She let herself look back once as she reached the door.

Perfect, she thought. The chaser golem was still two platforms behind her. She moved into the ecosystem room and caught her breath. She only had to bring two different energies below their starting point and the door opened. Then, it was a casual jog down the penultimate corridor. Mirian froze the abomination that emerged without turning away from the door. In a moment, it was open. Mirian gingerly took out the cubic container of relicarium, putting it deep in her pack.

She left the extra Labyrinth supplies and fit in two of the relics. She didn't need to bring those, but she'd made a promise. She left the final room at a light jog, continuing until she was back in the Labyrinth proper. Then she put on another burst of speed. Two slithering swarms tried to ambush her, the undulating shadow-creatures squirming out of tiny holes in the ceiling to drop down on her, but Eclipse was in her hand. She hit them both with an arcing slash without even slowing, then made the blade vanish.

The bite of mythril was enough to send them fleeing. The labyrinthine horrors followed her next, growing in number as she moved through the maze until she reached the elevator. She picked up her cloak, levitated straight up the shaft, and then used a divination spell to locate the keys, still hidden in their little snow-piles. Remotely, she levitated them up into their slots. She heard the soldiers by the door swearing as the gate and portcullis opened.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, striding out.

"I was working on repairing the elevator's spell engine. Did the morning guards not tell you? Anyways, I'm all done," she said, and telekinetically removed the keys as she walked off.

"Wait, how did you—?" one of the guards called.

"Should we go after her?" the other asked. But they wouldn't. Mirian headed to the artisans.

"Here," she said, setting the first relic from the vault on the table. The artisans stared at her.

"You were only gone for a few hours. Even a short expedition… you went into a Vault… but… how did you…?"

"You've got your letters to your family ready?" They gave each other glances, then awkwardly placed the letters on the table. Mirian took them, gave them a wink, then was out the door. Beatrice was staring at her from across the road, mouth agape.

"It really is you," she finally said.

"Yup. Catch!" she said, and tossed the second artifact at her. Beatrice caught it, then stared at it, mouth opening again.

"Wish we could talk. But I have a train to catch." Beatrice made a what the fuck? face. Mirian's project was around the back of the shop. They'd fused the bones together just like she'd asked, then used reinforcement glyphs to strengthen the wyvern-wings stretched across the frame. Without magic, it would have been impossible to create something like it so quickly, but with magic, it was ready. If the past loops were any indication, it had been finished about ten minutes ago.

She strapped herself into her wyvern-bone glider, then activated her levitation wand. The nature of antigravity was a strange one; while it was efficient at gaining altitude, it was slow to actually move. She could move quite quickly using force spells, but the mana drain would be prohibitive. But there was a solution. The winds that came down from the Endelice Mountains were legendary.

When Mirian had first come up with the idea of a glider, standing on the Littenord pass and watching the wyverns wheel about in the sky, she'd wanted to use a glider to go north too. The prevailing winds, though, blew from north to south—always. Especially a few thousand feet up. There, the winds were even faster. Moving up to Frostland's Gate would have been impossible. Now that she was here, though, she was going to make the trip in a few hours.

All it would take was an extremely light antigravity force to keep the glider at altitude, a gather air spell to help her breathe, and a warmth spell to prevent her from turning into an icicle. The winds would do the rest. Mirian couldn't help but smile as she ascended, leaving Beatrice and Frostland's Gate below. As she gained altitude, the village shrank down until it looked like a bunch of toy buildings. It was surreal to look at the world from so high, and thrilling.

The wind ripped at the glider, and she accelerated. Below, the peaks of the Littenords slowly passed beneath her, while scattered clouds moved above her. Two days from now, another snowstorm would blow down, but for now, the winds were harsh but steady. The glider wings flexed and strained, but they held. Wyvern bone was naturally hardened by magic already, and the reinforcement glyphs would keep the device together just long enough.

She thought about everything that was still ahead of her as she flew, keeping her gaze on the world below. It was beautiful. The white-capped mountains, the endless forests of dark green splashed with colorful bursts of mushroom trees, the turbulent clouds painted across the icy sky— This place, she thought, like the Ominian was beside her in a dream. Beauty worth preserving. She took it all in. The Littenords slowly passed beneath her, then the forest.

As the sun began to set, the horizon caught with a brilliant palette of fiery oranges and vivid pinks, the bottoms of the clouds looking like they'd been dipped in surreal fire. Soon enough, she spotted the fading light glinting off the high spire of Torrian Tower. Below, glorious Torrviol, her second home. She smiled as she made her approach, then sighed. The fun part was nearly over.

She used a burst of force to tilt the glider to wheel it around in a long arc, catching a glimpse of where the sunset was hitting Torrian Tower. As soon as the shadow crept up high enough, she knew the time. That gave her a few minutes to descend and catch the train, which was just now preparing to leave the station. Mirian glanced up at the glider. The wings were now perforated, and she could see the reinforcement glyphs beginning to fail.

The scouring, icy winds were too much for the tightly-stretched wyvern membrane to handle, especially given the glider's hasty construction. The platform below cleared, and the train started to move. Mirian broke out of her circling pattern and started her descent.