AA. 182

Team Forge has scored 1 point and needs 4 more to make it through the next checkpoint.

Nil was glad to receive notifications via the Schema instead of hearing the announcer's commentary. It was challenging to pay attention to them during combat. He either missed them, or they proved intrusive. Meanwhile, the notification lingered in his periphery until he called it forth.

Thank you, super multiversal magical AI. 

“What the hell happened to waiting?” Zora asked directly into Nil's ear. She sounded furious. 

“Nil went in first, and it didn't feel like too much of a big deal. We were going to ping you, but it was over before we knew it. Seriously, if they're all like this at the beginning stages, four people are unnecessary.”

“There should be another big energy signature in your path,” Nil said. He scanned their surroundings, scanning for the powerful, pulsing signatures. Two still remained nearby, and he felt something even bigger in the distance. “Check it out. Let us know if you need backup.”

“I'm up for it,” Shawn told them. Nil could see him and Zora levitating in the distance. It looked like they were standing on nothing but air. Wind buffeted their clothes but didn’t affect their communication.  “Let me be on defense. You bombard. If it's too much, we can just turtle up until Nil gets here. Getting to the checkpoint first has its bonuses.”

“Fine.” Zora sighed. “Don't engage in anything new until we're done.””

Selia hadn’t exaggerated. The fight against the scuttler’s hive ended within a couple of minutes of Nil’s initial attack. The Chaos Lightning Sphere’s random strikes had little trouble finding the more giant specimens, killing or maiming them. Several also fell while charging into Nil’s new Shiver Shield. The technique combined Balance and Order to enhance the absorption to new levels. 

Once the Chaos Lightning Sphere’s energy ran out, Selia slipped into the fight. Not all scuttlers attacked at melee range. Some spat noxious green and purple fluids. The former sizzled and dissolved the stony ground, while the latter made it ripple and grow, developing wavy spikes or uniform bubbles that would set off anyone with trypophobia. A few also shot spells at Nil, but he didn’t dare find out what they did. Ambient temperatures fluctuated, acrid stung nostrils and lungs, and the hair on his arms stood on end.

Then, the ranged scuttlers started falling one at a time. Swift, precise strikes eliminated them, whittling down the numbers. When the hive realized there was a second attacker, it was too late. Nil used the moment of confusion to dissolve his barrier. He created lightning-wrapped chaos weapons and ripped through all that approached him. 

The powerful arcane signature pulsated under the hive. Nil worried more scuttlers would emerge from the source, but no more appeared. After taking out the creatures they saw, the couple descended through the hive and found a pulsating mass of purple. It looked like an amalgamation of flesh and fungus. Nil ripped it apart with an Expend Blast.

A luminous pool remained. It didn’t feel dense enough to count as a Well of Power, but it was a natural Qi source. The Void energies melted away, and bioluminescent flora blossomed around the underground body of water. The notification had appeared a handful of seconds later. Not long after the conversation with Zora, another followed.

Team Forge has scored 1 point and needs 3 more to make it through the next checkpoint.

“You weren’t kidding,” Shawn said through the badge. His tone carried no signs of exhaustion or winding. Apparently, his mastery with the sword and barriers had pushed his combat potential to new incredible levels. “That was easy.”

“It shouldn’t be.” Zora sounded halfway between amused and exasperated. “You lot just make it look that way because of how insanely powerful you lot are. It's like working with an Iron Realm team with the power of Silver Realmers. Maybe I should suck up to Layla and do more Nexus jobs so she gets me insane training similar to whatever you received.”

“What would you like to do, boss?” Nil asked. He and Selia were already halfway to a more powerful energy signature in the same direction as their beacon. More of similar or greater intensity lay spread around the twisted landscape. “Continue as we are, investigate the remaining energy signatures, and troll for more tokens. Or go back to the original plan.”

“Maybe we should just adapt to the local threat level,” Selia contributed, pausing to take out a Cursed One with a luminous jellyfish attached to its head. She phased through its chest, leaving chains connected to its flesh. Selia tangled and tripped the creature while it screeched and struggled against the Sunmetal before piercing the heart. The team received no points for her efforts. “Things are easy around here. Let's speed through so we can get to the gates first and monopolize on our speed.”

“I agree,” Zora said. The way her voice quivered suggested that she and Shawn had taken to the air again and were on the move. “I don’t want to jinx us or speak too soon, but we might actually have a chance at the top three. Watching your matches and training with you isn’t the same as the live field performance. Let's set a rule, though. I’d prefer it if we don’t assault two spots at the same time. That way, if another team finds and ambushes us, or we bite off more than we can chew, getting help won’t be too much of an issue. Is everyone okay with that?”

“Sounds good to me,” Nil commented. He focused his sensory ability, trying to track movements around their destination.

“No problems here,” Selia added. Nil threw her one again to make up for the time lost on the Cursed One. The terrain had started to smooth out, meaning he could spend more time sliding across the landscape, sometimes on the ground and other times on walls, maintaining a high but manageable speed. 

Shawn didn’t say anything, but since Zora locked in the plan and they continued on their way, Nil assumed he was all for it. As they continued, he directed Selia on what creatures to target and which to ignore. There was always a chance of more powerful energy signatures winning them a point. They also hoped to avoid the more unmanageable and time-consuming threats. The Void anomalies concerned him the most.

Ashe Fall’s libraries and fellow students’ stories had taught him how terrifying and unpredictable they could turn out to be. A simple alien glow could transform or mutate DNA within half a second of exposure, turning people into monstrosities. There were tales of mothers carrying children fusing into a perverse amalgamation of their previous selves.

Some reports even spoke of hastened or reversed aging or the development of mysterious powers. Many powerful figures in the Control World wanted parts of the documents redacted or removed altogether. Far too many power-hungry young folks exposed themselves to Void anomalies while journeying across the multiverse in the hopes of coming out stronger on the other side. 

Nil only knew to look out for signs of broken universal laws and alien colors from beyond the known spectrum. In most cases, the brain processed them as shades of red or violet—or so he had read. According to physics, visible light ended on either side of the two colors but the Void disagreed. Given that the Void preceded the multiverse and its laws, Nil didn’t know who had authority on the matter. He just followed one rule: if I can’t recognize or describe it, it's best to avoid it.

Speed helped Nil stay ahead, swiftly ascend, and scan their surroundings for telltale signs. He worried more about Selia than himself. Her detection spells, though potent, weren’t fine-tuned against the Void. Only direct visual scanning seemed to help identify the anomalies, and phase shifting left Selia blind.

Team Forge has scored 1 point and needs 2 more to make it through the next checkpoint.

“I just sniped a giant Cursed One,” Zora said.

“It was warped,” Shawn added. “I think so, at least. The druids always said that very little plant life can intimately coexist with Cursed Energy. Most flora usually evolve to shield against or become dark and twisted. This thing was one of those lizard-turtle Cursed Ones, but the shell was half wooden and had a glowing cherry blossom tree on its back. Careful.”

“Selia and I are almost at our next target,” Nil replied. “Remember to take breaks and cultivate. Everyone needs to be in top form for the gate challenges.”

“We’ve spotted a bit of elevation that’ll do the job. The bird's eye view and the energy in the area look just right for a little recovery.”

The next major power source Nil detected led the couple to a giant cavern. Complex arcane signatures intertwined with Void energies pulsed within. Its magic was unlike anything Nil had sensed before, but the patterns reminded him of a quest from when he was still in the Mortal Realm. It was meant to ward off vampires. But what he detected now felt like the opposite. Cracks filled the stone and air. It seemed the universe itself was fracturing.

Following a swift conversation using hand signs, Selia went in first. Such situations demanded information gathering. All rituals demanded high-powered mages. Stealth and phase shifting made Selia an excellent mage killer. 

“This is an attraction ritual,” Nil said, pressing his hand against the trembling ground. The stones seemed to vibrate, occasionally leaping a few centimeters off the floor and hovering in place. Waves of energy flowed from the world into the caving, flowing through walls, boulders, and almost all other surfaces, moving in a near-perfect circle. “Something is trying to break through.”

Selia didn’t answer. Her tactics demanded perfect silence. The only signal Nil got that it was time to move was when something interrupted the seemingly perfect and endless flow. It seemed to falter, and some of the cracks with nothing but darkness and faint violet beyond fixed themselves. He considered it safe to assume that one of the ritual’s anchors had fallen.

After counting down from ten, Nil sprinted into the cave. He had hoped to preserve his boots for as long as possible, but the energy signatures concerned him, and he manifested his soul weapon in its full form. The second-skin-like encasings around his lower legs didn’t destroy his garments. However, using Expend tended to shred or disintegrate all in contact.

When Nil found the glowing magic circle, three dead bodies already littered the ground around it. They were mostly human. Tentacle mustaches, fish heads, and reptilian features from the neck up gave them an alien appearance. Several others stood around the giant arcane formation carved into the ground. They all appeared locked in a trance. Nil cut them down without hesitation, spilling blood that ranged from the traditional crimson to royal blue and luminous indigo.

Meanwhile, Selia fought an opponent who looked like two people joined as one. It seemed two people had put their backs and heads against each other and fused into a single entity. They attacked her with glowing fists and cudgels, spinning and alternating. Despite the confusing foe, Selia didn’t seem fazed. In fact, it seemed she was toying with her foe.

Even after the last of Nil’s targets fell, the magic didn’t fade from the circle on the ground. In fact, it got stronger. All the cracks receded from the world beyond, concentrating within the magic symbol. Bits of the ground fell away into seemingly nothingness. The same alien shades Nil had worried about leaked through. Tentacle-like appendages slithered out of the openings. Serrated talons tipped them. 

Nil didn’t wait to identify the owner. He created a grapefruit-sized sphere of Chaos energy, wrapped it in electrified Balance, and threw it through the largest gap in the growing fracture. The screeching roar that followed stilled the world but shook Nil from his very core. His joints throbbed, and he felt the urge to claw his own eyes out. Reinforcing psychic fortitude helped fight the urge. The damage to reality rapidly fixed itself when the creature from the unknown quietened. 

It wasn’t over. Energy Instinct’s warning hit Nil so hard that the back of his neck burned. He immediately switched to Absorb and threw up a silver pyramid-shaped barrier. Balance intertwined with Order, and the world stilled. It went cold. 

Energy Instinct has progressed to Bronze 4!

Absorb has progressed to Bronze 9!