Chapter 152: Trial by Combat
As the voice finished ringing, the mists receded completely, vanishing back into the nothingness they came from. The cavern was left empty again, stone the shape of an upturned bowl.
Without power, ones impact on life is insignificant. All is for naught. The last words of the mysterious voice still rang in Jacks mind. He mulled them over and over, considering them.
Without power Thats actually similar to my Dao of Power, isnt it? he pondered, analyzing the trials structure. He had passed the Will, Mental, and Physical trials, proving he had no glaring weakness. Now, he had to prove he had power, too. It made sense.
Whats the purpose of all this? he wondered again. This Ancient spaceif it really was onewas so out of the ordinary. The voice mentioned a divine gift The statue of an Old One Could I be fighting for the direct blessing of a God?
The thought sent shivers down his spine, excitement that rattled his bones and opened his pores. No way, he concluded. It wouldnt be this easyright?
A blue light in the center of the cavern interrupted his thoughts. A creature now stood there, facing him. It was humanoid, except with green skin, sharp ears, and beady eyes. Similar to a goblin, but with a few key differences: this creature was the same size as him, and its gaze was lacking the telltale malevolence of goblins. In its place was neutrality, an absence of feeling, like this creature was more machine than person.
The urge to scan it was overwhelming, coupled with his own curiosity, but he held it at bay. Perhaps hed know later what this thing was.
Most importantly, he didnt know its level. It stood there, clad in leather armor and holding a curved sword, scanning him up and down. Jack assumed his battle stance, raising both fists in front of his face and turning to show it a three-quarters profile. This creature was the combat trial. It couldnt be weak.
It charged him without warning. Its bare feet kicked against the ground, its curved sword drawing a wicked arc as it aimed for his midsection.
It wasnt particularly fast.
Jack could see its movements clearly. Read them, even. Still watching out for any surprises, he smoothly stepped aside, letting the blade sail over his shoulder, and smashed out a straight punch into the creatures face, catching it in a textbook counter.
With a flash of purple, its head exploded.
Its body flopped to the ground, dropping the sword. As Jack watched warily, the body and dropped sword then dispersed into motes of blue light.
Huh, he said. That was easy.
More light shone in the center of the cavern. This time, two creatures appeared, each identical to the previous one except for their weapon. One held a shortbow, and the other a short rod with a bejeweled top.
Jack blanched, then leaped aside. A bolt whistled through the air where he used to stand, impaling itself on the stone behind him with a swish, then an icicle shot at him from the outstretched rod, materializing out of nowhere.
Jack ducked under it, already dashing for the two creatures in a zig-zagging pattern. More projectiles flew at him. Crossbow bolts screamed past at the speed of bullets, while icicles rushed past his exposed skin.
Mid-run, Jack shot out two Meteor Punches, both aimed at the crossbow creature. One of them met a bolt mid-flight and exploded, hiding Jack from their eyes. The second shot past the projectiles, arcing through the air like a purple, fist-shaped meteor, faint starlight trailing behind it, to crash into the creatures sternum.
It flew back, the crossbow thrown aside as the explosion took half its chest away. The creature disintegrated before it even landed.
The icicle one looked at its dying partner and displayed no emotion. It kept shooting at the explosion caused by the previous Meteor Punch, but when it cleared, Jack was no longer there. A fist met its neck from behind and destroyed it.
Jack was left alone again, panting slightly. These creatures werent too strongthey were low E-Grades. Maybe level 60? He could take them easily. However, he suspected the trial wasnt over yet.
More light flashed in the center of the cavern. Jack was already there, since hed approached to kill the ice wizard, so he simply watched the light manifest around him. When it settled into four more of those creatures, he instantly shot out two punches, decimating them. A flail wielder and an unarmed creature disintegrated, leaving only two. One swung twin daggers at Jack; the other tried to aim a longbow at his chest.
Jack sidestepped so that the dagger wielder was between him and the longbow. He dodged one dagger, slapped away the wrist holding the other, and closed in on the creature to plant a fierce uppercut in its gut. He didnt use Meteor Punch this time; it wasnt necessary, and if this turned into a battle of attrition, better to conserve his power.
His fist still carried his Dao, along with almost three hundred points of Strength. It dug into the creatures gut like a mallet, lifting it off its feet and sending it flying over its comrade, blue blood leaking from its lips, both daggers dropping.
The longbow wielder was revealed as the dagger creature flew away. An arrow flew at Jack, its speed such that he couldnt dodge in time. However, he had already moved aside before the attack came, causing the arrow to miss. He stepped in and threw two punches. The creature dodged the first, but the second caved its face in, and it collapsed in a heap.
Jack frowned. Well, this is getting
The light came faster this time, and more blinding than ever. Eight opponents now surrounded him, wielding all sorts of weapons. Jack twisted and attacked wildly. The good thing about being surrounded was that he didnt need to aim. Three creatures fell before they could gather their bearings, but the other five pounced on him.
Fire covered him in a cone, a mace and longsword aimed for his chest and legs, while a great tower shield rose before him, blocking his line of sight.
Jack could no longer hold back.
Before coming to Trial Planet, this attack would have been overwhelming. However, he had progressed tremendously since then. He had leveled up a lot, gotten new skills and Daos.
The problem with such rapid increases in power was that acclimating took time. He had barely even used his Dao of Power and Brutalizing Aura. The Indomitable Bodys limitations were a mystery. He was becoming stronger fast, but stabilization was a core part of the process, and he hadnt had the time to do that yet. He felt lost, his reflexes biased, his body off beat, his skills underutilized.
On the bright side, real combat was the best practice.
As four attacks flew at himalong with one he couldnt seeJack let the Brutalizing Aura erupt from his body. The upcoming deaths of these creatures spread out of him with finality, irrefutable. They could not resist, plead, or beg. They would die by power overwhelming.
They stumbled. Whether by accident or design, the aura got to them despite their apparent lack of emotions. The mace missed, drawn back at the last second, and the longsword lost its power, easily slapped away. The fire guttered then went out, while the tower shield shook, the creature behind it momentarily losing the will to fight. An attack inside his mind, one that had been in the process of forming, collapsed by itself.
Brutalizing Aura was perfect for large groups of weaker enemies.
The moment his opponents weakened, Jack became a force of nature. His fists tore through their bodies, pulverizing heads and smashing torsos. Their weapons flew away, useless, and they all disintegrated in quick succession. Their lack of pain was unnerving, but their death was timely.
Jack looked around warily. The trial gave him no time to catch his breath. Sixteen opponents flashed into existence around him, each holding a different weapon or not at all, and this time, he really felt fear.
Brutalizing Aura erupted again, stunning them just as they spawned. His fists tore into their ranks with prejudice, exploding in their midst and sending them flying, disorganizing them. His eyes flicked from side to side, taking in everything, but he wasnt omnipotent, and neither was Brutalizing Aura.
When hed gotten half of them, the rest recovered. Weapons and magic flooded him. He did his best. A mace clipped the back of his thigh, making him stumble. A sword grazed his forehead, a mallet met his forearm head-on, fire creeped up his back, and frost glued his feet to the ground.
With a massive bellow, Jack shook his feet free and ghost-stepped away, narrowly dodging another onslaught. He appeared outside the encirclement. The moment he did, intense fear clouded his mind, making him forget what he planned to do next. His Dao roared, grabbing the fear and crushing it. Two empty-handed creatures at the back groaned.
The melee fighters were almost upon him by then, but Jack was awake. With a roar, he punched the air before him in quick succession, sending a dozen punches flying at them.
Meteor Shower!
The creatures exploded like balloons of blood, skin, and flesh, revealing a fire mage and the two Will-oriented attackers. Jack dodged the fire, dove in, and destroyed them.
Amidst heavy panting, he clutched his forearm, where a mallet had struck him hard. It was bruising already, every movement of his fingers painful.
Thirty-two creatures flickered into existence around him. Jack felt a cold spear run through his heart. They would never stop coming. They would keep multiplying until he died.
He had thought himself strong, much stronger than most, almost unmatched at his level. When the trial said it was adjusted based on that, he thought it would be easy. How wrong he was.
Just who is this trial intended for!? was all he managed to think before a small army fell on him. He ghost-stepped away, enveloping them all in Brutalizing Aura, then rained meteors. Bodies exploded, weapons went flying, creatures were tossed to the far walls. Again, not a single cry of pain.
But he couldnt defeat thirty-two opponents like that.
They recovered and came for him. Most had fallen already, tightly-clustered as they spawned, but they remained more than he could handle. He fell back, shooting out more meteors, then was forced to stop and start dodging when the enemy backline fired back. Arrows, magic of all kinds, disorienting mind attacks, even illusory opponents sprung up out of nowhere.
This was an onslaught.
Jack roared, charging at the melee so the backliners couldnt easily get him. He ducked into them and punched out furiously, each fist carrying the power to break a body. He swatted a warhammer, took a shortsword to the back, a spear butt to the ribs.
His fists tore through the assailants, destroying them inside and out. When the bodies around him thinned, he was left panting and injured, bleeding from several cuts. But the trial had no mercy. As the frontliners dispersed into blue motes, they revealed a back row of mages and ranged fighters that immediately showered him with attacks. Jack ghost-stepped again, dodging most of them, but an arrow had embedded itself in his thigh, the bloody tip sticking out on the other side.
He sent out Meteor Punches again, aiming at each of them. Some attacks missed, others were dodged, and a few were shot mid-air and exploded, but some hit home. The backline erupted into gore and violence, and Jack ghost-stepped in their midst, taking care of what his meteors missed. His fists dispersed quick death, stabbing through guts, rupturing chests, caving in ribcages, cracking skulls.
The Will attacks were constantly gnawing at his attention, distracting him. He took care of those creatures first.
When all was said and done, Jack stood alone in a sea of blue motes, like a flock of fireflies. He was panting hard and sported several wounds, the most serious of which was the arrow sticking through his thigh. He grabbed its back and snapped it, then pulled it from the tip and tossed it to the ground. Blood flowed from both sides of the wound, but Jack felt the iron grip his will had on his body, felt the influence he could exert.
He refused to let this wound stand. The blood slowed, gradually coming to a stop, and the skin began to slowly knit itself back together.
He didnt know he could do this.
I survived he thought. There is no way more enemies are coming. Still, this trial was more difficult than I expe
Blue light flashed again.
Jacks eyes widened in terror as sixty-four assailants appeared around him, all staring with cold, murderous eyes. Are you fucking kidding me? This is too much!
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