The barren landscape of the elemental plane trembled under the relentless march of Lassim and his growing legion of first-year students. They continued to pick up students along the way, many converging from the distance as they saw the massive storm that marked his location. The parade of slaughter was a swath of destruction through the endless ranks of the abyssal legion.
Body parts of chaos goblins, troll limbs, and bloody hides of the many demonic creatures were strewn about. The ooze was horrid, but thankfully being slightly suppressed by Mari’s control over the rain above.
This slog continued as they closed the 10 kilometer gap with the group that Lustria and Sirium were part of. The pair of necklaces felt each other’s thoughts and emotions are they neared. At first they felt the concern for each other’s safety, but magically through the connection, they could share their feelings of safety in the current moment.
It alleviated a lot of the worry they held, so they continued to march forward to meet with bolstered confidence.
After a solid 2 more hours, Lassim’s forces finally broke through to a clearing. There, amidst the chaos, stood Lustria, Sirium, and their beleaguered band, locked in combat with a surrounding tide of abyssal creatures.
The moment the pair’s eyes met, a surge of relief and joy cut through the tension. Lassim and Lustria got lost in the moment in each other’s eyes. Their necklaces somehow enhancing a weird sense of care and passionate feedback that eventually reached a peak. They both, with beet red faces, turned away slightly as they couldn’t continue staring.
"I—I’m glad you’re alright." Lassim uttered softly.
"Me—Me too. You’re... really incredible now," Lustria breathed out. Her eyes were wide as she took in the sight of the elemental spirit Mari swirling around him and the bird that came to land in front of her for a better look.
Oddly, the two spirits were both silent as they admired Lustria in person for the first time. They were kindly giving the two some space, yet Zaphy’s was starting to hop back and forth on her legs with excitement. It seemed she was ready to burst out and nearly tackle the girl much shorter than her soon.
Sirium approached the two heart-eyed pair and clapped Lassim on the shoulder from behind, getting his attention, a grin spreading across his face. "Man, you’ve become a monster! Look at this storm! Look at your spirits!"
"Ah, well, it kind of just happened in the moment. Marinelle, the Royal Queen Koi to my left, and Zaphyrella, the big ol’ bird, definitely saved me. I was about to be eaten by an Iktomi when they decided to hatch. I’m a Spirit Growth stage warrior now." Lassim gestured to his spirits before slightly posing to seem more cool.
Sirium chuckled and added, "Yeah, and a record breaker too. What a relief that you’re on our side. I can’t imagine what the Dragal would think if they heard about you, haha."
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As the groups merged, some catching up with their friends they found. They exchanged quick stories and all focused on catching their breaths. Lassim activated the water blender again through Mari, giving her a chance to rest as he did his best to control it.
His control over it was much less than her skill, but he planned to work on that in some future training sessions when he returned back to the academy.
Remembering the trial, he flipped his wrist up as he examined his flickering jade bracelet. He, along with the others that noticed his hand motion, glanced at the display revealing the trial rankings.
His name was at the top, not just leading but towering over the second place by thousands and thousands of points.
/////
Total Participants: 654
---Second Trial Ranking---
1. Lassim Vanthar - 232,425 pts
2. Rygar Wildheart - 74,344 pts
3. Sirium Giffard - 72,100 pts
4. Lustria Alisone - 72,099 pts
5. Camie Morcan - 70,845 pts
6. Tex Gravewood - 67,365 pts
7. Marcie Springwater - 64,851 pts
...
----------------------
Time Remaining: 6:27:32
/////
"By the elements... Lassim, you’re not just leading; you’re crushing it! Is this the difference between Spirit Incubation and Spirit Growth? I mean, I’ve been watching you go at it for the last several hours, but seeing it quantified is just crazy. I’m jealous man... How could you leave us in the dust like that?" Rygar lamented, his eyes reflecting a mixture of shock and respect.
Lassim offered a modest smile, feeling a sense of pride yet humble, "It seems so. But it’s mainly thanks to Zaphy and Mari," he gestured to his elemental companions, one who bobbed in the air and the other sending flickering lightning outwards with a loud chirp as they acknowledged the group.
The gathered first-years mostly held back their shock and exclamations for fear of annoying their only safety net in the trial, Lassim. They all knew that a majority of them would have long since been forced to teleport out with worse rankings if he hadn’t been kind enough to let them ride his coat tails or even go out of his way to bring them to safety near him.
They saw him as a kind and older brother figure, but many of the girls definitely began admiring his newfound looks and attractive features. His evolution had his height soar and his physique grow flawless.
Yet, he was oblivious to all of the girl’s admiration as he was too distracted by a specific girl’s gaze in particular that made him feel self conscious. That one girl kept sneaking glances at his new body and the emotions and sensations he was receiving through the necklace just made his heart thump nonstop.
It was affecting his ability to control the water whirlpool significantly, but he did his best to give the others safety.
With a moment of rest, Sirium took the chance as the ever developing strategist merchant to take stock of the current situation. It appeared that their newly formed group had a majority of the total participants left in the trial; 621 students. It seems there was another 33 students out there somewhere in the elemental plan trying to survive.
Sirrium turned back towards Lassim and started explaining, "Hey, so it looks like—"
Yet, his words were abruptly cut off. A chilling sense of dread washed over the group.
A small figure jumped out from within the mass of demons. It was an odd looking imp with some extra sets of eyes, all staring with an insane bloodlust that froze the entire group of students in terror. They all could feel it.
They hallucinated that they were suddenly standing knee deep in a pool of blood as they looked up towards the rising creature, their primal instincts telling them to get far away. Yet, they couldn’t move with their limbs locked in place by fear.
As the imp ascended high above the mass of combatants, almost floating, its body started a grotesque metamorphosis.
The skin stretched taut. It grew bloated with pulsing veins bulged beneath its surface. Then, a sickening rip, its flesh tore and expanded. The body grew like a cancer into a grotesque sphere bristling with newly formed eyes that tore open, blinking oozing that putrid fluid as it gained focus in each of the red eyes.
The central eye, previously in the forehead of the imp’s body, swelled monstrously. It consumed the majority of its form. Becoming a massive orb, its mouth split open underneath the giant main eyeball with a gaping maw of jagged teeth. It drooled with a neon venom as the rest of the body’s limbs disappeared into masses of tentacles.
Each was tipped with a smaller malevolent eyes that writhed and twisted in the air.
As the beholder loomed overhead, its massive central eye glowed ominously before focusing a beam of dark black and red tinged energy that crackled with the screams of something the students could only describe as tortured souls.
The beam, thick and terrifying, struck towards a first-year student with precision. The power of the beam was definitely mid-grade in the Spirit Growth realm and instantly triggered the defensive mechanisms of the elemental plane’s arrays. Every student’s bracelets flashed a dark red as a silent golden barrier appeared around every student’s figure.
Yet it wasn’t enough. The beam began cutting through the jade bracelet’s magical shields like paper. The protective barrier around the student shattered, leaving the students exposed to the raw fury of the beholder’s attack.
The eye beam tore through flesh and bone with brutal efficiency. Their scream pierced the air as the student was hit, their body slightly disintegrating as the fail-safe in the bracelet activated on it’s own. It teleported their disfigured body away before they possibly died, but the other students weren’t sure if someone could even survive that kind of attack.
Blood was spattered and evaporated in an instant under the beam’s hellish heat. The gruesome scene of destruction filled everyone with fear.
Before their disbelieving eyes, the creature’s form expanded again and started to gather mana. It’s eye swelling and contorting for an even bigger attack this time. Its body pulsated with dark, corrupt power, and its many eyes flickered open, each glowing with malevolent intelligence.
"This... This is bad," Sirium muttered.
The beholder’s central eye suddenly fixed upon Lassim. Without warning, it unleashed a barrage of beams from its myriad eyes, tearing through the air towards him and the assembled students nearby.
"ACTIVATE YOUR BRACELETS! GET OUT OF HERE FAST!!!" Lassim shouted, his voice cutting through the fear as he raised his halberd.
Then, he gathered and his mana to activate the only thing he thought might be just strong enough to defend everyone just long enough to be teleported away to safety.
Suddenly, the storm cloud above began to freeze solid and release only thick chunks of ice and snow. The roar of a mythical beast rang out... One that merchants and travelers of the northern seas would definitely recognize.
"[GRAND AEGIS]!"