The giant mushroom twisted and turned violently, as its surface writhed grotesquely under the heat of a weak blue flame. The remnants of the flame that the Flambearer believer had been using since they joined the fight was now a mere flicker.

  The flame, while inextinguishable, was only a mere replica of the true flame and would eventually be spent. So, with a final grand attack, the believer let the flame engulf the giant mushroom, knowing full well that it wouldn’t be enough. While the flame wouldn’t and couldn’t be extinguished, it clung strongly to the mushroom’s surface, radiating intense heat that was incapable of consuming it completely.

  Taking advantage of the mushroom’s plight, everyone sprang into action, each doing what they did best. ′

  Harkus, the axe wielding minotaur, swung his axe with all his might, cleaving the earth in two. The earth was torn open, making the giant root legs become trapped and restrained, if only momentarily.

  Wu Ling’s breath was nothing but sharp gasps, her vision blurring as she pushed her concept to its absolute limit. Mercer moved about the giant mushroom, completely unaffected by the blue flames. The flames acted as if he wasn’t there and refused to spread or harm him. Free of the flame’s threat, he took advantage of the situation and unleashed devastating attacks on the giant mushroom.

  The remaining lateral mushroom began to shrivel, and pieces began to fall, slower than the other as Mercer no longer had as much poison to inject and whatever remained was also considerably weaker.

  The slow acting poison wasn’t all bad, however. Due to the prolonged exposure, the roots that were used as limbs began to wither and die as they were far less resistant to the poison.

  In its instinctual panic, the central mushroom searched for limb replacement but continually failed to find any. All the surrounding trees and roots had already been set ablaze. With whatever strength and connection it still had within in its limbs, it began to tear the lateral mushroom apart, just like it had done with the other.

  “Move!!” Harkus shouted as he rushed behind the giant mushroom that seemed about to collapse. “Aggh!” With a loud grunt that was accompanied by some blood, he swung his axe upward, dragging it along the earth.

  The ground shook beneath those that were near. A rumbling that compared to that which was felt when the giant mushroom first broke out of the ground began to take over the immediate area.

  Harkus, with gritted teeth and muscles that screamed in pain, brought his axe back, his swing uninterrupted, He once more swung upwards, the trembling increasing further as he completed the motion. And with a final swing, pools of blood forming underneath his skin, the trembling earth reached its limit, finally answering his call. From the ground three giant spikes of hardened earth erupted and brutally pierced the slowly falling giant mushroom. The mushroom hung in the air; prey presented before the hunters.

  The mushroom was bombarded by a storm of attacks, completely incapable of moving or responding to them. The flame, while weak, softened its exterior, making it far easier for the barrage of attacks to have an effect.

  Arrows of all sizes, some the size of spears, flew through the air, piercing its softened exterior. The particular sounds of guns firing could be heard. A cacophony of indistinguishable attacks flooded the area.

  If the mushroom could scream, it would, its cries would have echoed across the chaotic battlefield. But it couldn’t, so it didn’t. Instead, its attempts at violent thrashing and the jerking spasms of its body were the only proof of its struggle.

  Even as the attacks rained down, the mushroom clung stubbornly to life. No matter how long or how intense the barrage of attacks was, the mushroom refused to let the last embers of its life become extinguished. Suddenly, out of nowhere, almost like a falling star, a figure came crashing down. A figure that plunged its sword, delivering the final blow that seemed to be so distant.

  ----------

  Mana rushed through pathways that had already been created beforehand. Eric had never noticed them before. They were thin and malformed, barely more noticeable than the energy nodes he had so much trouble finding. They resembled small water streams more than they did channels, as if they had just broken through the ground.

  Having just become aware of them, Eric was ecstatic, but it didn’t last long, vanishing almost as quickly as it arrived. The loud clang of metal hitting metal rang out, shattering the moment. That wasn’t all, the noise was accompanied by the familiar sizzle of lightning that followed his opponent’s every strike.

  Eric had hit a wall. Whatever realization he had had reached its limit and he made no further advancement. Realizing that his opponent was slowly and steadily losing interest, Eric knew that he had little time. He didn’t have the ideal environment to practice and find the most effective manner in which to increase the mana that travelled through his channels, so instead, he just pushed it haphazardly.

  Eric knew that it was a bad idea, terrible even, but there was nothing he could do. His body demanded more and having hit a wall in terms of technique, he had to do whatever he could to increase his chances of survival.

  Pushing the mana forward without care, the response was immediate. Eric felt… faster… stronger… and somehow… more dexterous. It wasn’t the effect of stats, nor was it the effect of skills, no, it was completely different. It’s like the mana is making everything easier. It’s responding to my whims, specifically those that have to do with the sword.

  Another tug of the System lost in the intensity of battle.

  Once more the loud clang of metal on metal was heard as Eric braced for the inevitable recoil that would force him to readjust his position and strike from a different angle. But this time, it never came. His sword remained steady, in the exact position from which he struck, his sword midair and leaving him open for a strike. Quickly readjusting his position, he moved to block an incoming strike.

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  As he blocked, he once more prepared for the recoil. From the little knowledge he had gleaned from his recent enlightenment, he knew that his form was rough and what followed was the inevitable loosening of his grip. He had gotten used to redirecting blows, but that wasn’t what was needed here, redirecting required preparation, if only a little, it still required it.

  However, on this occasion he wasn’t redirecting anything, he was taking the blow head on. His grip on his sword should have loosened, his stance, amateur as it was, should have been shaken, yet there he stood, firm and unshaken. Instead of suffering everything he knew should’ve happened, he instead absorbed the blow.

  The mana… it’s enhancing everything related to my sword handling, Eric thought with whatever clarity he still had access to. It allows my muscles to twist beyond their normal limit, it strengthens them to the point where I can ignore the shaking and the recoil. With a grin solidly cemented on his face, Eric began to ramp up his own attacks. Let’s test the limits! his mind screamed at him.

  Unleashing a flurry of attacks that even surprised his opponent, Krellon, so much that he was forcibly freed from his fascinated trance, Eric advanced through pure mana manipulation, strengthening his sword arts. A normal swing became a devastating calamity against his opponent who in no way expected such a response.

  A bit flustered, Krellon was being driven back. It appeared that in his own musings, he momentarily forgot all the training that prepared him for situations such as this. But he wasn’t alone, he came with his own group of friends, willing to help him when he faltered.

  Barely dodging an incoming punch, Eric jumped back only to have to jump once more as a spear came falling from above, a person attached to its shaft. The ground audibly cracked as a small crater appeared where Eric had just been, and he could tell that this wasn’t a favorable situation in any way, shape or form.

  Realizing that his situation was far more hopeless than it had been mere moments ago, Eric did something stupid. His thoughts raced, scrambling for a way out. Then his eyes glanced at his sword, and he immediately shifted his senses to the faint channels of mana flowing through his arms, down to his hand, and that faintly connected with the sword.

  Could I do that… somewhere else?

  The idea formed before he could fully think it through. It was reckless, incredibly stupid, but he was running out of options. With no time to think it through, he focused on his legs, following the flow he’d barely managed to notice in his arms. Slowly, he began to gather mana, forming a thin stream, as thin as he could, and began to push it downward. He did it so that he could run away, sure that he was incapable of actually taking on his opponents.

  Jumping, dodging and blocking became all the actions he could perform when he was being assaulted from all angles. Still, deep within him, the channels were being roughly formed. As the flow reached his calf, as if guided by something else, the rough mana stream was yanked downward, through paths that he hadn’t even considered. And that wasn’t all. The path he had already created, but hadn’t actually connected with anything, began to move on its own, also guided by something else, escaping his perception.

  Before he could question it any further, he felt it, the channel was finished, and he had succeeded.

  Even amidst his celebration, a question began to nag at him. Why does everything seem so… simple? he asked himself, noticing that indeed, everything was simple, at least everything related to his body. Everything was coming to him extremely easily. I’m sure that if I tried to form these channels back at Solace, or even at the Frontier, I would have had much more trouble. Is it the floor? The tower? Trial of the Body… As he pondered the name of the floor he was on, he felt a dull strike on his upper arm, sending him flying a couple meters.

  Feeling that he was running out of time, he began to pour all his mana into his newly formed mana channels, overwhelming them. He could feel the loose mana that formed the stream become strained and overflow, slowly leaking everywhere and even causing small tears on his insides.

  Yet, that was irrelevant, he needed to escape, and he needed to do it now. Glancing at the gate on the cliff, Eric made one last push of mana into his already overwhelmed channels and made an incredible leap, however as much as it was incredible, it was equally unsteady.

  While the leap was incredible, he barely made it a couple meters off the ground. His hope of reaching the gate in a single leap had vanished and instead, he barely managed to jump over the group in front of him.

  Noticing that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the cliff as easily as he wanted, he instead shifted his attention to the gathering in front of him. Most of the cultivators had shifted their attention and were attacking the giant mushroom relentlessly. If I can get in there, I could probably survive due to the confusion, Eric thought as he narrowed his eyes.

  Running toward the giant mushroom at full speed, Eric could hear heavy footsteps behind him. Urgency pushed him to inject more mana into the channel, and as if control had been taken from him, his speed increased without showing signs of stopping. He could feel his legs being torn apart from the inside out, yet something fought against the destruction, keeping him whole and running forward. He was sure that it was the assimilation and let his worries vanish.

  Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to just enter the gathered crowd before him, Eric decided to take a leap. Instead of what he did only a moment before, this time he pooled the mana in his legs, and only when he actually jumped did he release it all in one go. It was a great leap, closer to what he imagined himself doing the first time around, greater even, but he had miscalculated. Eric had aimed to land within the dense crowd in the ground and get lost within it, but his aim was off.

  Before he realized it, he was directly over the giant mushroom, now falling at incredible speed. Quickly noticing that he had no other option, he fixed his position as best he could, falling sword first.

  Halting all the mana he was pushing into his legs and instead redirecting it to his arms, he could feel them also being overwhelmed. And with a falling plunge, Eric stabbed his sword into the mushroom. With the momentum with which he was falling, he dug deep into the giant mushroom.

  Almost as immediately as Eric plunged his sword, thick clouds of green powder began to rise into the air, dissipating into the sky. Eric glanced around. The forest looked unchanged at first, but something was different, it wasn’t as ominous. However, that wasn’t the biggest shock. The foliage covered figures began to collapse, leaving behind nothing but bone, dust and greenery. Whatever had kept them alive had completely vanished from this world.

  Quest complete!

  Quest complete!

  Quest complete!

  With a great all-encompassing burst, the light from the gate shot out, engulfing all those that still remained.

  ----------

  Within the government building of Solace, ten chairs surrounded a round circular table with a small opening near the entrance door. Near the center of the table were five chairs, each marked with a name, with the one nearest to the center appearing to be completely new, as if it had never been used before.

  On either side of these central seats were three more chairs, each marked with a distinct symbol. One chair had an image of a small stack of gold coins. Next to it, the chair bore the image of a hammer, a needle and some beakers, an odd mismatch of tools. Another chair showed an assortment of weapons, swords, spears and some elemental effects, symbolizing magic. One was a simple shield, with no adornment. Beside it, an equally simple image of nothing but a house. And finally, one was that of an open book.

  On each of the lateral walls were three more tables, each one surrounded by three chairs that bore one of the symbols.

  Slowly, the door silently opened, its hinges new and missing any hint of imperfection or damage. It was cared for by only the best that Solace had to offer. Figures began to shuffle inside, each and every one going toward their assigned seats.