Chapter 609: Attack-Music Fusion

Chapter 609: Attack-Music Fusion

The sprint on knives path was chosen. With one strike of his harpsisword, Dallion broke the thick layer of stones, revealing a long corridor. Instantly, light crystals lit up on either side, illuminating the darkness.

Thanks, harp, Dallion whispered.

It was almost just now that he found how exceptional the weapon was. In the past, he had used aspects of it, focusing on the aspects of attack and music, but rarely had he combined them, and certainly not like this. Now, it was clear why the nymph guardian was so disappointed in him, choosing for focus on other, flashier weapons in his arsenal. For the moment, he was only able to use the harpsiswords properties in the realms, but with enough practice and dedication, he could learn now to slice through stone in real life as well. The sad part was that had he focused on this, he could have mastered it months ago, if not sooner; and all the time Harp had been forced to watch and be ignored.

Gleam, keep an eye out, Dallion said. Nox, you too. If there are any cracklings near, I want to know.

The corridor continued forward into infinity. There didnt seem to be any turns or bends. On several occasions, Dallion looked back with one of his instances, just to make sure the entrance hadnt vanished. It was all still there, reminding him how close to the start he was.

It might be a good idea to check the walls and floor for other hidden signs, dear boy, Nil suggested.

Nil, Im not that stupid, Dallion replied. He had been using his layer of vision ever since hed stepped through the archway. So far, the only thing hed seen was complete smoothness, as if the trial was telling him not to waste his time on this any further. That only made Dallion all the more vigilant.

Minutes passed. There didnt seem to be any changes. Nox could still feel the general presence of cracklings, although they werent getting any closer. After half an hour, Dallion stopped. The entrance was still visible, but just barely.

This isnt right, Dallion thought.

The trial had to have started, which meant he was focusing on the wrong question. Continuing on, he slid the harpsisword along the right wall. It was solid, just as Gleam had assured him it would be.

Sprint on knives, Dallion said to himself. What if that wasnt a difficulty, but an explanation? There were no knives, which meant

Splitting into three instances, Dallion dashed forward with one of them, running as fast as he could. He was just about to use his athletic skills to run along one of the walls when the corridor changed. It wasnt a subtle change, but one that only occurred in the instance which was sprinting. Apparently, it was related to sprinting, which suggested

TERMINAL WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 100%

The sprinting instance vanished, leaving the other two intact. Immediately, Dallion stopped, splitting into half a dozen more instances. Nothing changed. Clearly, it was the sprinting that brought on the knives. Come to think of it, the trial was remarkably close to Dallions real life situation. If so, the Moons had a twisted sense of humor.

Half of his instances dashed forward. Each time one would reach the appropriate speed, a red rectangle would emerge, displaying their death. As hard as Dallion tried, he still couldnt see the lethal blow. He tried looking on either side, up, down, even stack multiple instances together in the hopes of locating the threat. Nothing seemed to work. To make things even more annoying, whenever he resorted to using Lux or the armadil shield, things got back to nothing happening at all. Clearly, it wasnt the speed alone that was the factor, but the process of running.

I guess a line attack will be out of the question, Dallion said, stopping to catch his breath after a while. Sprinting hundreds of times, even for an awakened of his level, was exhausting.

I wouldnt recommend it, dear boy, Nil said.

Great. And just when I thought I had gotten past the mind-twisting trials. He looked at the entrance. Is it too late to choose another path?

You can do anything you wish. It wont guarantee success.

It had to do with knives, or the effect of knives. That was a solid assumption, though there wasnt any evidence whatsoever to confirm it.

Nox, any changes?

Theres here, Nox said.

I see that, Dallion said as his remaining instances faded away, leaving one left.

Didnt expect to see me again? An echo of Dallion asked. There was something different this time, though. The echo was half enveloped in crackling matter.

Youre a chainling now?

Chainling, overseer, does it matter? The echo shrugged. Good effort getting here. I thought it would take you a few times.

I cant afford a few times. But you know that.

As usual. Wasnt a good decision to take half of the Stars offer.

I didnt.

The echo smirked.

The both of us know better than that. Not that Im judging, but you should have either taken the offer or refused, not gone halfway. Now no one can really trust you.

Beats joining him outright.

If you thought that, we wouldnt be having this conversation. Youre worried that youll end up joining the Star, just like that rogue mage.

I thought all the remaining trials were skill trials.

Why not both? Besides, didnt Nil explain that trials changed? The fear has been growing for some time. And not only this one, there are a few more up ahead. Good luck going through those. The echo shook its head. That would be a treat.

Ill handle them.

Dal, in your current state, its not certain youll be able to handle me. The corridor you went through, did you think that was an accident? I was doing it.

There would have been a rectangle.

Why? You think I was attacking you? Think again. All you did was go through my defense. Ive been doing nothing but defending myself. No attack, no red rectangle. But that poses an interesting question. If you had all that trouble reaching me, how difficult would things become if I start attacking?

Dallion clenched his left fist. While it was the echo saying it, Dallion was thinking the exact same thing. The trial was an exaggeration of his fears, and one of his current fears was facing himself after joining the Stars side. That was only part of it, though. The bigger question was whether he had made the right choice: should he have rejected the Stars offer? As much as the Moons had promised, they had also said they wouldnt interfere anymore, and seeing the freedom the Star cultists had throughout the world, they didnt.

Youre free to decide what to do, the echo said. But just think about it for a moment. The blondes can merge with the void without losing themselves. That means that any human should be able to, especially anotherworlder.

The Star will never allow that. There was doubt in Dallions voice.

The Stars petty, but he treats those that help him well. Otherwise, hed never get any more volunteers. Remember, people are only willing to betray someone as long as they trust the side theyre switching to. So, which side do you trust?