Grand Game 139: New Challenges (Patreon)

Ignoring the Game message, I leaned heavily against the wall beside my defeated foe and took stock of the damage to myself.

Warning! Your health is at 40% and will not recover without healing.

“Wow,” I murmured softly. I was more hurt than expected, especially considering I felt nothing, no sense of unease nor damage from my torso or neck.

But then, a construct doesn’t feel pain, does it?

Gingerly, I ran metal fingers over the wounds the zombie had inflicted and felt jagged edges and crumpled metal. I closed my eyes. Time to find out how well this healing works.

Drawing from the well of psi in my mind, I sent it probing downward into my body. The energy rippled through me, identifying and analyzing the flaws in my form.

Then one by one, I began to rectify them.

Bent iron reshaped into smooth sheets, torn edges reconnected with their opposite ends, and missing pieces regrew entirely.

You have restored 10% of your lost health with chi heal. Your health is now at 50%.

Far too soon, the process stopped.

I grunted in disappointment. Lesser chi healing, it seemed, worked only as well as a healing potion of the same tier.

Shutting close metal eyelids, I recast the spell five more times until my metal body was fully mended, then spent a few moments more meditating.

Your psi is now at 100%.

Finally, I recast reaction buff and heaved myself off the wall. With body and mind restored and buff cast, it was time to face the next challenger. Marching forward, I strode to the white spot and stepped onto it.

~~~

Ready yourself, scion. The second battle will commence shortly. Preparing Arena…

My concentration was so focused on the spot where I expected my next foe to appear that I paid scant attention to the Game alert. The resulting changes in the terrain, however, were unmissable.

The floor had begun to bubble.

What the-?

My neck creaked left and right. The once hard-packed granite rock of the arena was melting, transforming into thick sucking mud.

My feet sunk, first an inch, then a foot deeper, until finally, I was knee-deep in sludge. I groaned unhappily. My metal body was clunky enough already. Moving in the muck would be nearly impossible.

Glancing downwards, I tried lifting my foot.

A level 80 shadow hunter has backstabbed you!

My head jerked upwards, and I swung around—or I tried to. With my movement restricted by the mud, I barely managed a half-turn.

It was enough, though, to glimpse my attacker.

At eye level with me was a creature hovering aloft on wings spanning eight feet. It was shaped less like a bird and more like a glider, with a triangular-shaped body that expanded outwards from its elongated snout. The shadow hunter’s hide was black and dull, toughened and aged like shoe leather, making it difficult to spot in the darkness.

Its eyes were the most disconcerting bit.

They shone red in the dark, bright and malevolent. Meeting my gaze, the shadow hunter hissed, revealing a sibilant tongue and snout filled with rows of sharp teeth.

I pulled free my left foot, intent on swinging all the way around to face my foe. But before I could complete the maneuver, the shadow hunter spun about and glided silently out of reach.

Two yards away, the creature vanished from my sight. It’s gone into hiding, I thought and opened my mindsight. But it, too, was empty.

Huh? How could that be?

Stealth only concealed one physically—not magically. The creature couldn’t have traveled out of mindsight range either, not in the scant seconds it had taken me to activate the ability.

That left only one possibility.

Its mind is shielded. That makes sense, given where I am. I should—

A shadow hunter has backstabbed you!

My thoughts broke off as the creature hit me once more. It had circled the room to strike at me from behind again. I clenched my fists in annoyance and turned around to face it.

This time, though, the creature did not bother to taunt me and vanished into the darkness before I caught more than a glimpse of its rear.

The shadow hunter was going to strike at my unprotected back again. I just knew it. But I knew just as well too, that there was nothing I could do to stop it. Clenching my jaw in frustration, I waited.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the anticipated attack arrived as the shadow creature’s sharp beak clamped down on my iron shoulder.

A shadow hunter has backstabbed you!

I didn’t bother turning about again, confident now of my foe’s tactics. Strike and retreat. That’s how it intended on taking me down. The question was, what did I do about it?

I’d kept my mindsight open during the last attack, and it had confirmed what I had feared. Even when the creature was within a yard of me, it had been invisible to my mindsight—conclusive proof that the shadow hunter’s mind was shielded.

Charm won’t work against it. Will astral blade and stunning slap?

I dearly hope so. Turning my attention inwards, I examined the damage the shadow hunter had inflicted already.

Your health is at 90% and will not recover without healing.

Thankfully, the creature had barely scratched me. For all the suddenness and inevitability of the shadow hunter’s strikes, each one had done little damage. That means I have time, and if I want to live, I better make good use of it.

Wading through the mud, I cast chi heal as I headed towards the closest wall.

~~~

Every step was a battle.

The mud sucked at my feet, only reluctantly letting go each time and eagerly reclaiming them with every step. But slowly and surely, I inched towards the wall.

The shadow hunter flew lazy circles about me the entire time, swooping down and attacking unopposed. I ignored it, staying focused on my twin goals of reaching the wall and recasting chi heal.

Eventually, I reached my destination and planted my back against the cold granite. Now that it can’t backstab me, I thought grimly, let’s see how it fares.

I checked my health. Even with the constant healing, it had dropped below half. It will be enough, I told myself. Banishing further doubt, I set myself to wait.

You have detected a hidden entity. A shadow hunter is no longer hidden!

About a yard away, my foe emerged on my right flank, its dark form a blur as it streaked out of the shadows and towards me. I raised my hands to intercept the creature.

I missed.

The shadow hunter nipped at my face, then angled away, deftly avoiding my reaching hands to vanish in the darkness again.

Refusing to be daunted, I reset my stance, adjusting the placement of my hands to where I expected the next assault to come from. Then I waited.

The attack was not long in coming.

You have detected a hidden entity.

The shadow hunter flew at me from the left, the same direction my hands were poised this time around.

The creature dove.

My hands rose.

Already I knew I would be too slow to stop the incoming attack. Still, I hoped to lay at least a finger on my foe before it could escape.

The shadow hunter ducked past my left hand and hammered its beak into my neck. Then it beat its huge wings to escape my upward-reaching hands.

It proved to be a mistake.

Its right wing clipped my slow-moving right hand. It was the moment of contact I’d been hoping for. Instantly, I released the psi I’d been holding ready and cast stunning slap.

A shadow hunter has failed a physical resistance check! You have stunned your target for 1 second.

Yes!

A heartbeat later, I reined in my jubilation. It was too early for celebrations. The shadow hunter plummeted, its limbs locked motionless. My head creaked downwards following its fall, while simultaneously, I dropped my right hand, trying to keep it in contact with the beast.

But the creature fell faster than I could follow.

A foot from the ground, the stasis imprisoning the shadow hunter unraveled, and in a sudden flurry of motion, the creature flapped its wings to climb aloft again.

But momentum was against it.

Before the hunter’s wings could gain traction, they hit the sludge at my feet where the mud—being no kinder to my foe than it had been to me—promptly held the creature prisoner.

Now I can celebrate, I thought, grinning at my foe’s squawk of protest. Bending down, I reached toward the frantically struggling beast with outstretched hands.

The shadow hunter hissed in dismay. But the tables had turned and, stuck in the mud, the creature was no more able to evade me than I had been able to stop its earlier attacks.

My hands wrapped around the hunter and pushed it deeper into the muck. The creature’s struggles grew more panicked. I hung on, not yielding an inch.

Its death, I was certain, would not be long in coming.

~~~

You have killed a level 80 shadow hunter.

Congratulations, scion, you have defeated the second challenger. Step onto the starting circle to commence the next battle.

With the shadow hunter’s death, the mud vanished.

Straightening from my bent-over posture, I found myself standing on hard, firm rock again. I stamped my foot on the ground approvingly. Much better.

Before returning to the start position, I took the time to heal myself, regain my lost psi, and renew my reaction buff.

How many more of these battles will I have to fight? I wondered as I advanced back to the center of the chamber. As many as necessary, I answered myself and stepped onto the white dot.

Ready yourself, scion. The final battle will commence shortly. Preparing Arena…

Final battle, I thought, feeling suddenly more enthused about the upcoming fight. Setting my stance, I waited.

Once more, the arena transformed around me. This time, the floor to my left and right retracted lower, leaving me standing on an elevated platform—a rock bridge?—that ran the length of the room and was just over a yard wide.

My foe hadn’t appeared yet.

Not wanting to be caught by surprise again, I didn’t take my eyes off the red dot where the final challenger was sure to manifest.

The seconds ticked by.

And still, I waited with no opponent in sight. C’mon, I growled impatiently.

An ominous hissing filled the room. It was coming from the pits on either side of me. What now? Wrenching my gaze away from the red dot, I glanced over the bridge.

The pits were filling with a red liquid that bubbled and spat angrily. It was magma. Falling will definitely not be a good idea.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a shape coalesce on the bridge, and I returned my attention to it, hands raised in guard position. What will it be this time?

An iron golem appeared.

I lowered my arms a fraction. Why do I need another body? I wondered. Then the golem shifted, and I realized that this one was already occupied. It’s my final challenger.

The golem strode towards me. Deciding not to wait for its arrival, I launched a preemptive attack, casting charm.

You have failed to charm your target. A level 90 iron golem possesses no mind to subdue.

I took the spell’s failure in my stride and backstepped. Summoning an astral blade to hand, I flung it forward with the flick of a wrist.

You have failed to injure your target. An iron golem possesses no nerves or sensory organs.

That’s two for two against me.

Would stunning slap work? I wondered. Given the failure of my first two spells, probably not. My foe drew closer. The good news was that it was slower than me. The bad news was that both its fists were glowing.

What spell is that? Steel fists? More than likely, I decided.

I suspected that if it came to a battle of blows, I would come off worse. Best make sure it doesn’t come to that then.

I retreated faster, only stopping when my back hit the stone wall behind me. Glancing over the edge of the bridge, I saw the pits were half full with magma and still filling. I turned back to my foe. More than ten yards separated us now.

This should do.

Crouching down low, I extended my arms, palms up and fingers pointing to the roof. The iron golem ignored my strange pose and continued its relentless march forward.

I smiled in satisfaction and, drawing the shadows about me, faded into the darkness.

You are hidden. A hostile entity has failed to detect you!

Despite my disappearance, the iron golem did not stop its advance, but I hadn’t expected it to.

Timing my moment, I cast shadow blink.

A heartbeat later, I reappeared behind my foe, crouched and concealed. I’d executed my intended maneuver perfectly and caught the golem mid-stride.

Not hesitating, I shoved my arms forward, angling them a touch to the left. My flattened palms made contact with my foe’s rear and pushed hard.

The iron golem, with one leg raised, was surprised by the unexpected shove and stumbled sideways. Its arms windmilled in slow motion as it tried to catch its balance.

I didn’t afford it the opportunity.

Lurching forward, I drove my shoulder into the golem’s hips. It was enough. The construct toppled backward and, with a mighty splash, fell into the magma.

I rose slowly back to my feet, eyes never leaving my foe as its metal body melted away in the superheated liquid.

You have killed a level 90 iron golem.

Congratulations, scion, you have defeated the final challenger. Make your way to the exit.

I’d won, and the third test was over.

Only one more to go.