Ziraili did not leave Eldrian without an answer. Just after he asked for a weapon, she delivered. Right in the middle of the room.
It was a normal spear, without any gems or fancy additions. It likely was made of something other than normal iron and wood, else it would be useless against Eldrian's foe. But it was a spear of wood and metal. Kinds are unknown.
And it was right there, for the taking. Only... there was one big something in the way. Granted, the basilisk wasn't directly in Eldrian's path. But if you drew a line from it to Eldrian, to the spear. It would make a rather narrow triangle.
Facing the basilisk head-on had been tough, especially with Ziraili allowing it to use magic and preventing all his standard crutches. Eldrian just knew that letting the basilisk attack from the side or back would spell his end.
It wouldn't be the first time he died here, and he knew Ziraili made sure that the fights were safe. It was why, while he was making progress using his auras, his bloodline was still the same as ever. He never felt that impending sense of doom that allowed him to access it.
Yet, the fact that there was no real danger didn't mean Eldrian wanted to lose. Ziraili made these challenges for him with regard to all his growth. Losing meant he was underperforming, not that the task was too hard.
This lit a fire inside Eldrian. He racked his brain for a plan while keeping his distance from the serpent. Luckily, it seemed wary after Eldrian's escape and lackluster counterattack.
While the damage was minimal, that Eldrian could hurt it had made the serpent more wary.
'What if...' Eldrian thought, seeing no way to reach the spear without engaging in combat barehanded and under-armed. 'What if I simply created a weapon?'
This was such a simple idea that it would seem stupid to ignore. After all, magic allowed one to make massive fireballs, send blades of wind at your enemy, and even form stairs (which Eldrian had done) out of ice.
Forming a single weapon shouldn't be that hard. Whether it would be good enough to serve its purpose, that was another question to ask.
Still, this left Eldrian with an option. He knew how to make use of mana to create weapons. He would channel the element he wanted and guide the mana into the image in his head. Just like any other spell.
Using his auras were similar. Yet, he had never before had the control required for something so intricate. Normally, he relied on simple—go boom, or go freeze—images.
The difficulty of channeling an aura was far higher than channeling mana, and it had taken Eldrian a while to learn the latter. Requiring the crutch of a Magic Crystal to draw out his mana to let him learn—the painful way—what mana felt like.
Many players, were still stuck on Tier 4 because they couldn't master the step of sensing and channeling their mana.
Auras were vastly more difficult to control. But in the past few weeks, Eldrian had more or less mastered Channeling them.
His idea was simple, take it one step further. Instead of channeling it only within his body, channeled the aura into the image of a blade. Create a spell fueled one hundred percent by his aura, Tranquility, most likely, since it was easier to control.
With his mind set, Eldrian began. He kept the image in his head simple. A spear. No, one couldn't even call it that. It was just a long piece of thin ice. Just thick enough to fit inside his hand.
That simplicity helped greatly as Eldrian experienced the differences in controlling mana and lifeforce.
Not letting it run wild was his top priority, and Tranquility was the calm one. He couldn't imagine what a disaster it would have been if he tried to use Wrath. It was not easy, to say the least. But Tranquility had been the right call.
It did not rage out of Eldrian's control. Though he felt himself slipping into its corruption. But that was fine as long as he ended the fight before it could take over his thought process.
Readying his icicle spear, Eldrian charged. The time it had taken to actually form his weapon was not even a second, but he could already feel his mind slipping.
As he charged, the spear froze the surrounding air. A mist formed around the two, wielder and spear. Causing crystallized snow of water (the first to form) then, carbon dioxide, and slowly all the other elements followed.
The only reason Eldrian wasn't freezing was because he was channeling Wrath. In fact, his hands were aflame as he charged. Had he not done this, the cold would long since have immobilized him.
Seeing the crazed elf, hands aflame while his surroundings froze, charging it. The basilisk was struck with fear and awe. The former won out.
It knew not what was coming, only that it looked dangerous.
It turned and fled.
This was the worse thing it could have done. Eldrian was already fighting to keep control. The basilisk running, whether out of fear or to buy time, had been the right call. If it could avoid Eldrian, he would soon either freeze or burn. Either way, it would win.
In a last-ditch effort before all was lost, Eldrian conjured a new image in his head. The sight of the spear flying, piercing into, and exploding as it did. And with that, he threw his spear.
Despite the flames Eldrian had channeled into his hands, he could feel his skin tear as he threw it. Throwing the spear off course.
Time seemed to slow as it soared through the air. Sensing its death nearing, the basilisk made to dodge, but Eldrian was ready for that.
Ignoring the pain his body was in, he sent a crude blast of flames to stop its retreat. Preventing it from going the way it wanted.
The fire deterred it enough to allow the spear to land. Though it was closer to a miss than a hit.
Despite its massive frame, the basilisk was surprisingly nimble. Even with Eldrian preventing it from dodging, it had nearly recovered. Still, the spear had made contact. And that was enough.
Eldrian's image had been clear. As soon as the spear made contact, it exploded. Freezing everything in the surroundings.
This being his first time, Eldrian had misjudged how much to throw into the explosion bit. As soon as this step happened, he was drained of energy. To channel the spear, and keep it in existence as it flew, Eldrian had opened the doors completely.
And his aura took that as an invitation to freeze everything.
The drain as all his energy went into that attack left Eldrian unable to move. He watched helplessly as the frozen shockwave approached.
It was about to swallow him, when a barrier appeared. Saving Eldrian, and only him. He watched on in wonder from inside as everything froze. The entire inside of the core turned into a frozen hellscape.
"I'm surprised. I thought it would take a few more months before we cover weapon creation." Ziraili spoke, having appeared next to Eldrian while his attention had wandered on his surroundings.
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