“Yeah, he did not like that necklace of yours,” Cy said.
“Stunning observation,” Whiskers said.
“Kaizen’s inside it!” Rukia shouted.
“Rukia,” Jules snapped. “I figure you three knew why we left last night. It’s time to go, and he clearly knows, but I’m surprised he just realized it now and not last night.”
“Well, you pissed him off,” Cy said. “Best be on our toes today.”
Jules scraped the rest of his plate into his mouth, and Cy wondered if Jules’ mouth defied the laws of space and physics like their training grounds. They all got dressed and equipped for what could be their last lesson. The three of them lined up before The Painter, with the two Familiars off to the side as usual.
“You three have come a long way in two short years—"
"I beg your pardon." Whiskers scoffed.
"Dang speciesists," Rukia complained.
"I am certainly proud of you. But it appears that there are matters of even greater import that I must now attend. I hoped to draw this day out at least another year. But here we are: your final examination."
“A final? We’re done already?” Cy asked. “I’m not even close to being an Alter. My highest Skill is only Level 29.”
“Please, you'd be nearing 2nd Rank if you'd Unlock your System already. Think of this as the end of a school year, with more to come. I’m sure Isolda gave you tests each year.” Hasn’t mentioned her in over a year.
“So, what’s this final test already?” Envy asked.
“The goal of today is simply to survive.”
[New Quest Available: Final Examination #1]
[New Reward Available for Final Examination #1: Extended time off from The Painter.]
[Final Examination #1 — Quest Objective ADDED: Survive.]
"So nothing special," Envy complained. “Just like any other day.”
“No.” The Painter removed a palette from his smock. “Today I will use the power of my Vessel. I’ll push you to your limits, all of you, and I will not aid Cyrus.”
Oh shit.
The Alter pulled a paintbrush from the palette, as if removing a sword from a sheath. “I showed you this Vessel before, during your first lesson, though it was a comparatively dull experience. I think with your current Levels and Skill selections, you should at least learn something today.”
Cy steeled his resolve.
? ? Ryoku Shield ? ?
[?7,000 // ?10,000]
He activated a Scroll to form a magical barrier around himself, focused on just the vitals and points of leverage. He felt the others bolster his armor on top of his own power, even from Whiskers.
“Thanks, pussycat.” Cy felt a slight decline in the power surrounding him. Woof. Or should I say, Meow?
The Painter etched markings into the air before them with his paintbrush in black and red ink, but Cy couldn't translate the Sylvan Runes. The paint dripped down from the air onto the ground. It boiled and bubbled on the marble. A jagged and spiked arm emerged from the acid, then another, and a set of legs. Demons.
The Painter summoned more. Each time he finished one, he dipped his paint brush back into the palette to reload it, but Cy didn’t have time to watch the man work. The demons began their assault.
The first sprinted for Jules, the second for Envy. The third and fourth went for Jules, and the fifth and sixth for Envy. Finally, the seventh one came for Cy, and he stopped counting there.
Their black and crimson crystalline hide served as an armor, and they walked on all fours like rabid dogs. Cy sliced clean through the first one easily enough, then the second. He spun his curved sword around in his hand confidently during the brief respite.
“Going to be a group stage fight, so reserve Ryoku—”
Envy hurled a throwing knife to the side of Cy’s head and felled another monster. “We know, Cy. Shut up and focus on what’s around you.”
The onslaught continued at an increased pace. Warmups must be over.
“How about a friendly contest, who can get the most?” Jules asked, though Cy—and surely Envy—knew it was a humble brag.
? Speed ?
[?6,000 // ?10,000]
Cy's Rune coated his sword until the edge turned a bright blue. Two more dogs ran to him. “Three.” Cy swung again. "Four!"
Another wave came; halfway through that, he heard his friends call out their scores.
“Eight!”
“Thirteen!” Already, Jules!?
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Dammit, seven—stop hogging them all!”
As if they'd heard him, three redirected for Cy, all at once. He ducked under the first and swung upward at the second, slicing him in half, but the third's claws slashed his arm. Cy's flesh burned, the open cut foamed immediately, and his hand seized up. Cy's vision blurred and doubled for a moment.
? Blood ?
[?5,500 // ?10,000]
Cy pushed the poison out of his wound, along with some of his own blood. Seems effective enough. He danced through the remaining two. “Ten!”
“Twenty-one.”
“Thirty-five.”
The hell?
He turned around and saw an entire horde of demons on Jules and Envy, who had also suffered a few injuries. Wonder if they can heal those with Regeneration? He was frustrated and jealous of their powers and the attention they received, but certainly not of the pain they were constantly subjected to. Our fights are usually more well-balanced. Not sure why he’s going so hard on them in this test. Have to trust his judgment for now—
Cy side-stepped another dog and cut him from behind, then he ran straight into the chaos. Guts, cracked crystalline hides, foaming blood, and coagulated blood covered the battlefield. After a while, Cy shouted back, “Thirty-six.”
Cy noticed how well composed both of them still were, especially compared to him.
“Way past that,” Jules replied.
“Sixty-eight,” Envy said.
Jules and Cy stopped and turned to watch her slay her next enemy.
“Nice!” the boys yelled together, then resumed their fights.
Oh shit.
The entire horde shifted their gaze to Cy and bull-rushed him at once. Ten advanced together in the front.
“Bring it on.” He sprinted to them and rolled down, slicing off four legs in one sweep. He had seven more down before he felt the first tinge of fatigue. The next three put up a good fight, but when they fell, he was surrounded.
CRACK!
The Ryoku shield covering his back shattered as claws ripped into his back. He dropped to a knee.
CRACK!
Another foe smashed the shield protecting his face.
? Air ?
[?4,800 // ?10,000]
A shockwave pushed the dogs back, but another group filed in to replace them. Shield won't last much longer—Oof!
One demon pinned Cy down to the ground. It reached back to cave his head in—
Fire—Lots of fire.
Jules swept his flaming sword around Cy, and the demons that survived backed off. His eyes were aflame, tinted green. Envy rushed over to Cy’s other side, and her eyes also glowed an emerald hue.
? Blood ?
[?4,100 // ?10,000]
Cy rose to his feet and pushed out as much poison as he could. Losing blood, can’t do that too many more times. Cy took out two more while Jules and Envy took out a half-dozen each. “Form up, now,” he shouted, and the trio formed a small triangle with their backs to each other. “I get it now. We’ve been here two years, and he wants to see something before we split up. You two, don’t lose control.”
“Kinda hard while defending a weakling like you,” Envy mocked.
The horde retreated and formed a growing pile, which grew even larger as The Painter summoned more. The monsters ran into each other like a mosh pit until they eventually fused together into one massive figure.
“Its hide is thick. Switch to magic,” Jules said. “Warmup's over. The real test begins here.”
That was the warm up!?
“Keep your cool, Jules,” Envy warned.
? Ice ?
[?2,100 // ?10,000]
“Let me direct the magic.” Cy formed five massive ice swords above his head, a far cry from the rough crystals two years ago in Coralhaven. The trio launched a projectile assault of elemental magic, mostly of ice and fire. Not a single attack pierced through their opponent’s skin. It spat streams of fire at them, which turned the ground into molten rock. Limiting our paths of attack.
Another stream trapped Envy between two molten trails. It leapt onto her and crushed her flat. The smoldering lines converged on her and ignited her corpse.
“Salvos…”
“Focus, Cy!” Jules tackled him from the side. Cy flew away, and Jules intercepted the demon's pounding fist, meant for Cy. Jules landed near Envy. Cy's Ryoku Shield faded to just a thin barrier.
Damn, lost his and Kat's buffs. He kept his eyes on the demon and focused the shield to a much smaller fragment and pushed it away from his body like a ward. It blocked the demon's next strike, and he launched his ice swords at its eyes.
? Ice ?
[?1,100 // ?10,000]
The Painter summoned five more, then ten more, then fifteen, and launched wave after wave to no avail.
? Ice ?
[?1,100 // ?10,000]
Nothing formed. Only ?1,100 to spare? That's barely enough to—
Envy woke up screaming in agony. Jules rushed over to rescue her. The demon abandoned Cy for them. Can’t survive like this. He’s going to kill me, and them. They’ll be tortured through this until they find a way out—
No, until I find a way out, think! I can’t stop this monster, but…
The idea clicked. “Distract it!” Cy ordered. “And back me up. Even if you die, keep it up from the grave.”
His tiny Ryoku Shield expanded outward as Jules and Envy bolstered it. He even felt a surge of power from Whiskers. Cy reshaped it to the point of a spear, something to pierce with all their might at once.
Not enough Ryoku to cast this spell. Gotta use the ace up my sleeve. Let's see how much attention this bastard's been giving me. Beneath Cy's shirt, out of sight, ink evaporated off of his forearm.
? Activate ?
[?1,090 // ?10,000]
? ? Shadow Step ? ?
[Inked Art Consumed.]
Cy sprinted to his target.
? Speed ?
[?0 // ?10,000]
"No!" Jules shouted. "You don't have enough Ryoku, you'll die!"
Cy jumped into the air. He descended on his target and then—
The demon's flames consumed Cy in an inferno. His body dropped to the ground, beside Jules and Envy, without a trace of life. They shrieked and fell to their knees, abandoning all hope. Cy's smoldering body smoked away to ash. Then, all at once, it disappeared.
Cy—the real Cy, not the doppelganger he’d crafted as their distraction—struck his Ryoku-Shield-turned-Spearpoint into The Painter’s wrist. The blow annihilated the Alter’s hand and separated him from his Vessel, and the demon vanished immediately.
With his remaining hand, The Painter grabbed Cy—quicker than Cy could even see—halting him in midair. His grim frown reluctantly broke into a wide smile. “Congratulations, Cyrus. You have passed the test.”
[Final Examination #1 — Quest Objective COMPLETED: Survive.]
[Final Examination #1 — QUEST COMPLETED]
[Final Examination #1 — REWARD GRANTED: Extended time off from The Painter.]
As soon as Cy’s feet touched the ground, he collapsed to his back.
“Thank Salvos I don’t have to fight you, too.”
“No. Not yet at least, eh? But you saw through the assignment.” The Painter reattached his hand. Golden lace stitched it back together from some unheard Script. Must be an Inked Art as well.
“I’m glad I did. I don’t know that I could have survived any longer."
“I had faith, though I did think it would take longer.” Dick. The Painter wiggled his fingers and formed a fist with his fully healed hand. Wow. Faster than Jules or Kat.
“More like you hoped it would take longer. That was a bullshit task, pressing them hard to release.”
The Painter’s grin grew even wider. “Precisely.”
“That’s why you targeted me with the horde.”
“Right again. I didn't see you invoke that last Script. So, could it be…?"
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VOLUME 1 - ENVY let's gooooooooo