— Hikari —
[Physique : 866]
[Mana : 990]
[Defense: 865]
[Mind: 932]
[Height: 5.1 meters]
[Weight: 3500 kg]
[Heart of wyvern: 160]
[Telekinesis: 460]
[RazenHeir flame: 255]
"More."
Hikari pushed as hard as she could.
The large wyvern statue was filled with power.
She felt it was close.
But she was just shy of that satisfying click when the tower mechanism triggered.
The intense mana surrounded her.
But holding a steady state only drains her stamina.
She gathers herself for one last push.
If it fails, she'll sleep.
She already slept on it once.
Being this close, a rest would certainly push her over the limit.
Click! The wyvern statue lights up.
The door rumbles.
Hikari let out a heavy sigh of relief.
She lay back onto the stone ground.
Mana on the tiles petered out as the trial ended.
Sweating. Panting.
The salamander armor absorbed her sweat and excess heat.
But she did it.
Thirsty. But she needed a few minutes to cool off.
She swallowed her saliva instead.
Her large pot of water was in the starting room just beyond the last trial room.
She did it, completing the entire ring of trial rooms on the entire floor.
Munch. Munch. Five ration packs left.
She finished all of the cannonball fruit and petals.
Gulp. Gulp.
She drank bowl after bowl from the large pot.
Time to leave it below the stream to collect water.
Time for some sleep.
Sunlight shining through the crack.
An afternoon nap would do just fine.
Hikari closes her eyes.
…
The room was dim, lit only by a sliver of sunlight.
Looks like she didn't sleep too long.
Now that she looks, the direction of the sunlight through the thin crack might tell her the time of day.
It points towards the left.
She hadn't noticed it until now, so she couldn't tell whether it was morning or afternoon.
A light workout to warm her body up again.
Leg raises. Push-ups. Squats. Sit-ups.
Her body felt heavier after days of mana training only.
She probably can't do the full routine as she did back at the estate.
No big deal; she'll train up once she returns.
Flex.
She raises both arms and curls both biceps.
Her fists are right next to her ear.
Bulky. She feels it.
Her salamander skin takes the shape of her body, so she couldn't tell if she bulked.
If she tried to assemble her wyvern skin, it would be clear she had bulked up from spending time in the tower.
But first, hungry.
She didn't even sleep that long, she thinks.
Yet it felt like she'd skipped a few meals.
She'll save the ration pack.
She'll have to stretch the pack down to two a day to last the remaining trials.
She reaches for the golden petals and cannonball fruit.
The sections of petals she'd already harvested were starting to bud.
Though the baby budlings were too small to fill her.
She dug deeper into the vines and found more petals, pulling back foliage to find more.
As for the cannonball fruit, she cleared out half the inner chamber.
Munch. Munch. She ate, looking up at the ceiling.
It was filled with more cannonball fruit, but even she needed to jump to reach them.
She couldn't help but be impressed by the massive structure that made her feel small.
Slimy.
She needs a shower now.
She raised the bowl over her head and splashed water on herself, scrubbing with her palm and nails as it ran down.
Can she use her telekinesis trick to make a whirlpool now?
She tries.
The water swirls around violently at her feet.
But she can't lift her body, so the water splashes everywhere in the room.
She pulls out a dagger.
Channeling her telekinesis into it, she threw the dagger into the vines, embedding it in the stone behind the thick vegetation.
At least her current skill is good enough to defend herself.
Onwards, she assembles her wyvern skin.
The gaps between the pieces had gotten larger.
Her harvest sack felt a little too small as she slung it over her shoulder.
Her sword felt a little lighter.
She took a stance.
Basic drills. Vertical slices. Horizontal sweeps.
Ten reps were enough to warm up.
It really does feel lighter.
But maybe she's just gotten used to its weight.
She slung it onto her back.
Her improvised hoister, made from found climbing equipment, was still in good condition.
She almost forgot something important.
The shards.
She went back into the first trial room to restock.
The shard glowed with power just from her holding it.
The last trial had greatly increased her ability to channel the tower's mana.
She aimed at the wall and charged the shard.
Crack. It blew up in her hand, burning the edge of her salamander armor and charring the wyvern skin at the back of her hand.
"Ivory berries."
She needs to control her power more.
Another shard.
It charged up almost instantly.
Crack. It burst into a small flame explosion as it struck the wall.
"Nice."
That's quite the firepower she now has.
She stuffs several fistfuls of shards into her harvest sack.
If she doesn't charge them, the crystals shouldn't ignite the rest of her supplies.
Time to advance.
She loads her supply pots onto the platform.
It rumbles, pushing her up to the next floor.
She wonders for a moment if the platform will get stuck from the weight.
Click. The platform reaches the next floor.
Strange.
The place was covered in vines.
Grey, Dead vines, markedly different from the tower's natural vegetation.
Skittering sounds.
Pink flowers started blooming.
"Ivory berries."
Hikari drops her harvest sack and draws her sword.
The pink flowers unfurl their petals and charge.
Boom. Boom.
Hikari unleashes a barrage of charged shards, incinerating the vine wall.
She blocks a bolt of aether with the back of her hand.
Skittering sounds.
A horde of bark demons poured into the first trial room.
Their blank faces. Their grey bark skin wielded swords made of crystallized aether.
They funnel towards the door.
Hikari focuses a barrage of shards on the trial room door as the bark demons try to squeeze through, incinerating them.
A giant survives the flames.
Crack! Hikari smashes her sword into its side before it can take a stance, crushing its sword arm.
Crack! Crack! She smashes it into pieces with the mass of her sword and stomps it with her feet.
Rumble.
The half-open door sinks into the ground as the vines encumbering it burn away.
A pink flower charges up; Hikari dodges its shot.
Crack. It burst into flames when her flame shards struck it.
The sound of acid sizzling in the wall behind her.
A lucky dodge; acid strong enough to dissolve the tower's stone would have been serious if it hit her directly.
More bark demons emerged from a hole in the wall.
Crack. Hikari hit the opening with shards, burning the reinforcements.
A dozen smaller demons swarmed her.
Crack. Ground explosions.
The bark giants lumbered towards her.
They were only two-thirds of her size.
Crack! She smashed right through its aether sword with a downward swing.
She hopped right at the opening in the wall.
Her feet crushed the smaller bark demons as she landed.
Six charged shards in her hand.
The layer of vines was incinerated.
A thick ivory surface blocks the flames.
Something bigger is behind the wall.
She's going to need more firepower.
"Trial."
The symbol atop the wall.
A standing stick man putting his hands on a wyvern head facing away from him.
One squiggle coming out of the wyvern's mouth.
Hikari pulls away the vines covering the wyvern statue.
She places her palm on the statue's head and channels her mana into it.
The wyvern head's eyes glowed.
A fire gathered in its mouth.
Whoosh! The door rumbled as the vines encumbering it burnt away.
It sinks into the ground.
Skittering sounds.
Eggs in the next room.
Glowing, pulsing with flares of aether.
Whoosh! A barrage of shards incinerates the demons as they emerge from the eggs.
Hikari keeps her hand on the wyvern statue.
Skittering sounds.
The bursting of eggs.
A bark giant emerges from the door.
From the shards, Hikari unleashes a telekinetic blast, knocking the giant to the ground.
Woosh. The wyvern statue unleashes its built-up flames, incinerating the giant and the nest behind it.
Hikari advances into the next room.
Most of the nest has been burnt.
A portion remained, untouched by the flames through the door.
Crack. Hikari swings her sword wildly, destroying the remaining hive with brute force.
She feels the sting of aether as smaller demons cling to her, their little swords piercing her wyvern skin, before she crushes them with her muscles.
"Burn."
She needs to burn away the rest of the demon's hive.
Hikari raises her palm.
She tries to visualize the flow through the wyvern statue.
Mana builds up in her palm; a stream of flames incinerates the bark and vines.
A decent close-range attack.
Packs more punch than her RazenHeir flames.
The range and intensity are not as great as when she builds it up through the wyvern statue.
Time to advance.
She had little time to rest now that she faced a hostile hive.
She took only the time to grab her harvest sack in the starting room.
She lined her pouch with shards and stuffed a fistful of petals into her mouth.
The glowing flowers replenish her mana, which she needs right now.
Another hive in the next room.
Its tendrils were growing out of the door.
She placed her hand on the wyvern statue.
The symbol above the door asks for two squiggles.
She intends to give it three.
Woosh! The door rumbles.
The flames poured into the next room,
Skittering sounds.
More bark demons emerged to replace them.
Hikari draws her sword.
She'll face them with brute strength while her wyvern fire cools.
She kicks the pile of rubble onto the horde of bark demons.
The bark giant staggers.
She charged, beating it down with her sword.
The smaller demons jump, but she swats them aside like flies.
Crunch. She crushes a bark giant's head after knocking it to the ground.
Its body still moved. Crunch. She crushes its body.
A telekinetic blast pushes the horde back, compressing it against the wall.
The next horde forces its way through.
Shards float above Hikari's hand. Glowing with fire.
Woosh! The shards incinerate the compressed mass as they explode into flames.
Hikari cleared the corridor.
Vines obscured the symbol above the door, but it didn't matter.
Hikari stomped the half-open door open and marched into the hive.
Flames gathered in her hand.
Woosh, she incinerated the hive.
Only a third was burnt.
Seems like she couldn't hold as much mana in her hand.
Hatchlings emerged.
She dodged back to funnel them before smashing them with her sword.
Woosh! She burnt another section of the hive.
She slowed down. There's still more to burn; there is no need to rush it.
Woosh! She cleared the room.
There was nothing left.
Wyvern statues were smashed.
She could see the stick-man symbol on top of the door, but there was no longer a trial to clear.
But she noticed something.
Something below the smashed wyvern statue that responded to her presence.
She cleared away the rubble.
A round crystal that fit into her hand.
The same material as the shards, but more refined.
It glowed as it absorbed the mana from her hand.
"Ball."
So this was the heart of the wyvern statues.
A mana cell. Perhaps an orb, since it was shaped like one.
It stores the user's mana, letting them channel it in slowly and release it all at once in a power burst.
"Nice."
She aims it at the door and charges up the orb.