Dawn didn't exist underground, but sleep and wake cycles marked the passage of time as effectively as the absent sun.
And of course, the "digital" time in the book too... Elio didn't understand why the god called it that in his general notes, or what it meant, but having it in the book was very useful for measuring time.
The tunnel, illuminated by the soft glow of cores and builders' summons, was already buzzing with morning activity.
Zara remained apart from Elio, her tense posture revealing her disagreement with the plan.
She had argued fervently to participate in the daily challenge, but Taron had been inflexible: they needed her strength outside, ready to defend the tunnel if something went wrong.
"If the Artromus detects something..." Taron had argued, "you're the only one besides Elio with enough power to at least buy time."
The reasoning was solid, but Elio could see the conflict in Zara's eyes. The loss of Micah was too recent, the wound too fresh. Leaving her out of the challenge meant more time for her mind to wander toward thoughts of revenge.
"Stay calm," he had whispered earlier, when others couldn't hear. "I need you here, focused. If something were to go wrong I..."
"Fine... But don't do anything stupid," she had responded, her voice mixing concern and warning. "I couldn't bear more... It was already too much losing..." The sentence remained incomplete, Micah's name still too painful to be pronounced.
♢♢♢♢
Elio observed the crystal that held the daily challenge, his mind divided between the power he felt flowing through his veins and the weight of responsibilities on his shoulders.
The builders worked at a distance, their coordinated movements evidencing Micah's legacy in every meter of tunnel they expanded. The thought caused a stab of pain that Elio had to suppress.
There was no time for more mourning, not when the Artromus watched from above, not when the barrier could fail at any moment.
"Ready?" he asked his team as they approached the crystal.
Lila, Kriz, Brok, and Mei formed a semicircle in front of the crystal. Their faces showed different degrees of anticipation; for some, it would be their third time facing this challenge.
Experience had given them confidence, perhaps too much to some...
"Are you sure you don't want our help?" Kriz bounced on his heels, his usual mischievous smile dancing on his lips. "I mean, I missed level 8 and 9 Elio... You went through those levels so fast we couldn't even throw you a party! At least let me support the almighty level 10 in action!"
Elio couldn't help a small smile at his friend's incorrigible humor.
"This time I need to do it alone," Elio announced, his voice adopting that tone of authority he had been developing since assuming leadership. "I need to face the Locus alone."
The declaration was met with expressions of surprise and concern.
"Alone?" Lila stepped forward, her worry evident. "But even with five people, the level 10 Locus is still..."
"I need to understand exactly where I stand," Elio interrupted. "I need to know how far I am from being able to face the Artromus. And for that..." his eyes lost themselves in the distance for a moment, "I need to test some things."
Mei, always the most perceptive of the group, studied Elio's face intensely. "You've changed," she observed quietly. "Level 10... it's different, isn't it?"
Elio nodded slowly. "There's something beyond the numbers," he admitted. "Something I don't fully understand yet. And I need to discover what it is before..."
Magic Defense: 10
Speed: 10
In theory, their statistics were similar: base speed of 10, increasing to 20 and attack from 15 to 25 in frenzied state.
But something was different.
He could distinguish each plate of its armor, every subtle movement of its muscles.
In theory, for Elio the only problem, the only real threat that the monster posed lay in its brute strength.
When the monster fully awakened...
'It moves... slower?' he ventured, squinting his eyes.
But he quickly realized that wasn't it.
The Locus moved exactly the same as always, but his enhanced perception transformed each movement into something almost predictable. Where before he saw a blur of speed, now he could distinguish patterns, trajectories, intentions.
The Locus charged forward, its 10-point speed unfolding in what should have been a formidable attack.
For Elio, it was like watching it run in slow motion.
With a fluid movement, he channeled his control over iron.
The stake began to form right in the monster's trajectory, his calculations so precise that to his observers it seemed like a single instantaneous movement.
Elio: 98 mana
The stake pierced the Locus right in the center.
"By the walls!" exclaimed Kriz. "How...?"
Trapping the Locus in their attacks hadn't been an easy task on previous occasions. Now Elio could simply trap the monster in a prison and eliminate it after 16 more hits.
It would just be a matter of managing the recovery of charged mana and...
But Elio was already moving.
His body catapulted forward, neon, helium, and wind powering his speed until reaching 40 points.
Elio: 94 mana
The others lost sight of him for a moment.
The world became a blur while his spear, reinforced with the iron and carbon alloy he had discovered in his last trial, described a lethal arc toward the Locus's neck.