They were a party of two, and the monsters in the woods that they fought the other day would be too much. Then there was the threat of PKers. The trail Guy and Averyl were on seemed to be the safest one. The two scampered down a hill together partway into the journey. Averyl’s giggles were music to his ears. Despite their situation, she found a way to amuse herself.
They came to a stop at the entrance to a cave, its darkened opening protected by a web made of astral energy, preventing the two from entering. A screen appeared when Guy touched the cave.
Companion Trials - Alfheimr: Rank C Trials Dungeon
Requirements to enter: Party of two, comprising of one Paladin or Nox Knight, and a single traveling companion with high affection for them.
He took a step back from the screen.
“That’s odd for a dungeon to have those requirements,” Guy said.
Averyl glanced at the screen, then up at him. “Affectionate partner? Who is that?”
Curiosity compelled Guy to register them as participants to enter the dungeon.
It accepted them and the web faded.
“It’s what you are to me,” Guy said to her.
Averyl blushed. “Then we have met the requirements to enter?”
“Seems so.” Guy looked at the surrounding area. “And I don’t see any other way forward. And if I’m not mistaken, the Sirocco should be on the other side of this cave.”
“Very well.” Averyl spun around with her eyes shut, and lips curved into a gentle smile. “Let us proceed then, Paladin!”
Chapter Forty-Five
A web of astral lines reappeared behind Guy and Averyl, locking them in the dungeon they crossed into. An access denied message flashed in big red letters when Guy approached the web to the dungeon’s entrance. They couldn’t change their mind and leave—no turning back now. Guy proceeded into the dungeon’s dark corridors. An intricate pattern of bricks lined the floors, walls, and ceiling, and Guy was certain that appeared when the AI controlling the reality corruption created the dungeon.
A message floated before Guy and the fae princess at his side. It wouldn’t go away until the two read and tap the confirmation button.
Welcome to the Companion Trials!
Please note, while participating in the trials, your recovery abilities, and items will have reduced effectiveness. There are three trials in three chambers that you and your companion must complete, each with specific objectives.
You will have to rely on physical contact to recover HP, MP, or AP. By touching your partner, you will start the transference buff and transfer HP, MP, or AP to them. There are three levels of transference, each level can be achieved with a stronger touch.
Guy tapped the close button on the floating screen. Whatever that means . . .
Averyl did the same and gave him a confident nod. The two opened a large metal door and entered the first chamber. The doors slammed shut behind with a loud thud. It didn’t surprise Guy to see that the door locked from the other side.
Part of the trial, I guess. Lock us inside a chamber until we figure out how to unlock the door.
They came to stand in the first chamber. It was a square-shaped room with four unlit lanterns in each corner, a shut metal door at the far end, the door they walked through behind, and a pit of flames burning in the center, casting flickering red-orange glow of light on the walls.
An instruction screen appeared.
The flames will open the path.
The screen faded when the two read it. Guy stood in front of the firepit, narrowing his eyes at it, and stroked his chin—
He winced when he felt the growth of his 5 o’clock shadow. Guy hadn’t shaved since his arrival on the planet.
“The fire here must be the key,” Guy said.
The two moved to the metal door at the far end of the chamber and pulled on its handle. It wouldn’t budge. Guy pushed instead and got the same result; the dungeon kept the door locked.
Averyl folded her arms across her Temple Dress as she eyed the locked door. “And I suppose this is the path ahead.”
“Yep.” Guy returned to the firepit as it shined its flaring light on him. “So, the key to opening this door is in the fire, then? . . . Hmm.”
The duo examined the fire in the middle of the chamber from all angles. Guy saw nothing that resembled a key inside the blaze. It was just a burning pit of fire lit by no one inside a locked chamber of the Companion Trials.
He sighed. “So, uh, fire,” Guy said to the flames and tried his best not to feel silly about it. “Make that door open, ‘n’ stuff.”
Nothing happened.
“There must be something else we are missing,” Averyl said.
“If this were a videogame, I’d be searching for a guide on the net at this point,” Guy said.
Averyl tilted her head to give Guy an odd look. “The . . . net? What is that?”
“Star-dweller tech,” Guy laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”
Averyl walked off to search the chamber for more clues. Guy circled the pit of flames to double-check that they missed nothing—
“Guy.”
“Sup?”
Averyl stood in front of one of the four unlit lanterns at the chamber’s four corners and pointed at it. “Perhaps lighting these will make it open?”
Realistically, that wouldn’t make sense, Guy thought while he looked at each of the lanterns. But game rules are the boss here, and, come to think of it, I played a few games when I was younger with a gimmick like that. Damn it, I wished I had read that rule book more. “Probably,” he finally spoke. “Let’s look for a stick or something. We can use the firepit to light it on fire and use it to light the lanterns.”
Searching for a stick turned out to be a waste of time, however. Guy and Averyl were in an empty square-shaped chamber. There was nothing in it other than the unlit lanterns and the firepit. There wasn’t even dust or debris on the brick floor. It was as if the corruption had someone come in to sweep and mop the floor before they entered.
Once again, Guy and Averyl stood in front of the firepit, confused about what to do next.
Guy grunted. “Well, shit.”
Averyl took a step closer to the flames and gave it a childlike gaze. “Maybe there is a special screen we must interact with?” And like a curious child, Averyl reached out to touch the fire, hoping to activate a screen—
She yelped and pulled back.
The fires had burned Averyl’s hand, reduced her HP a bit, then spread to cover her arm.
“Averyl!”
She opened her eyes wide and looked at her burning arm. Pure panic tightened her wings. “Oh, no!”
“Over here! Let see if I can put it out—”
“Wait.” Averyl peered at the unlit lantern. “I shall be fine, for now . . .”
Averyl darted to the first lantern, stuck her burning arm into it, and brought light to it.
She impressed Guy. “Nice, light the others.”
Considering her arm was on fire, she handled herself well. Then Guy remembered game rules were in play. Averyl was simply losing HP slowly. However, the rate at which her HP fell increased as the flames spread across her body. By the time Averyl finished lighting the remaining lanterns, the door had unlocked and opened.
Obtained: 1000 Experience Points
It also granted the two experience points for completing the first trial. The flames reached Averyl’s torso, further increasing the rate her HP fell.
“Okay, let’s get those flames out!” Guy said, running to her.
“One moment,” Averyl said. “Let us see how bad the restrictions are.”
Averyl grabbed her Flame Priestess’s Scepter, brought a glow of light to it, and cast Starlight Recovery on herself. The spell recovered 20 HP. She was at 213 HP and losing 25 per second. Averyl recast Starlight Recovery, got the same results, and then cast Heal Up to cleanse the fires. It didn’t work. The flames delivering the burning debuff remained. In fact, it looked like they had
spread to Averyl’s legs and wings now.
Averyl’s spells gave no significant improvement. The rate the flames consumed her HP outpaced her healing powers. Averyl continued to cast until her MP ran dry, but it only kept her alive. HP and MP potions yielded similar results. The warning the dungeon gave them was spot on; it nerfed conventional means of recovering HP.
“I’d say the restrictions are pretty bad,” Guy said.
A screen flashed just then.
Trust in your partner if you wish to finish the trial.
It was a reminder of the rules for the two. It was as if the dungeon was sentient and knew they were struggling with the basics.
Averyl looked away from the notification. “Guy, only your touch will restore my HP and MP,” she said, her voice stricken with agony. Averyl’s HP was down to 119 and was low enough to feel the scorching pain of fire.
Guy nodded to her; it was up to him now. He held his hand out to Averyl. “May I?”
“Of course . . . if this is the only way.”
Guy placed his left hand on her right shoulder that was blazing with flames. He felt the fires that were burning her singe his hand. The touch triggered a notification to appear.
Level one transference in progress.
His HP and MP transferred to Averyl, restoring hers.
The flames burning Averyl dimmed in intensity, and her HP rose at the expense of his. In seconds, Averyl’s HP rose to 518. She sighed soothingly as the pain faded. Her charred flesh returned to its usual pale look, and the Temple Dress showed no signs of fire damage either. Averyl was free from the flames, her HP, and MP fully restored.
Guy let go of Averyl, grimacing that his hand was on fire. Now he was the one who needed healing, and fast. Guy’s HP fell from 598 to 553, then 503.
The flames were eating his HP at a rate of 45 per second, and he had to transfer 474 of his own HP just to heal Averyl—
She lay her left palm on his chest and restored his HP while forcing the flames burning his hand to subside at the expense of her HP. Guy held Averyl’s arm to give some of his HP to her. Something else happened.
As the two held each other, they both received HP, MP, and AP. And lost none in the process.
Averyl gasped and gazed at him, her face flushed. Guy’s face did the same as he stared at her. The two pulled their hands away from each other and looked at the door that had unlocked.
“We must stay close then,” Averyl said.
The newly opened door led them into a chamber with a long corridor. At the end of it was a shut metal door, likely locked with a lever beside it. Of course, the door the two passed through slammed shut on its own and locked from the outside. Once again, the duo was trapped in a chamber.
The objective for the second chamber flashed into existence.
Use the might of earth to keep the room from eating you.
Guy flicked away the screen, grimacing. “Okay . . .”
They walked through the narrow and long corridor toward its end, then stopped when a glittering stone rendered on the floor. Averyl kneeled to the glowing stone. As she examined it, a screen appeared.
Are you willing to accept the might of earth?
Yes/No
Averyl twisted her lips, her face lost in thought. “Hmm, well.”
She picked up the rock, stood, then hit the accept option. It sparkled out of sight and gave Averyl a buff.
Guy examined it.
Might of Earth
The might of earth elemental magic is hardening your body like a rock.
He glanced at Averyl with his arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
“Uh, why?” he asked. “That firepit almost killed you back there. What if this does something worse?”
“I shall be fine,” Averyl said. “My magic defense is higher than yours after all.”
“How do you figure?”
“The flames took more of your HP than it did mine,” she said. “And to think you were never fully engulfed like I was.”
Guy brought up his Status screen, found and pointed at his magic defense stat.
“My magic defense is 25,” Guy said.
She viewed her Status screen and eyed her magic defense. “Mine is 45.”
“Well shit.”
Guy closed his screen.
“Whatever curse the rock is going to give,” Averyl said as she shut off her screen. “I think I will endure it better than you.” A grin graced her porcelain face and pink lips. “No offense, of course.”
“None taken,” Guy said. “I’m better suited to resisting physical damage more than magical.”
Guy and Averyl continued toward the exit, their footsteps echoing throughout the narrow corridor. He kept his eyes peeled for trickery. Some kind of special gimmick the chamber was going to throw at them. The warning did say something about the room would eat them unless they used the might of earth, which Averyl now had. The thing was, Guy saw or heard nothing out of the norm. He expected a curveball to be thrown at them as they approached the door at the end.
Guy angled his gaze to Averyl as they walked. “Is that earth energy doing anything?”
“It is not,” she said and brought her hands to her face, examining her palms and wrists. “Hmm, how very odd—”
The walls to the left and right groaned and rumbled, forcing the two to stop and look at them. The walls were closing in on them, slowly.
“Oh, that’s what they mean by the room eating us,” Guy said drily.
“These walls . . .” Averyl gasped as she looked at them closer. “They will crush us.”
Guy stared at the corridor’s end, the door with a lever beside it. He pointed to it. “Unless we reach the end of the hall and get the fuck out of here.”
They ran for the exit as the walls to their left and right moved to squish them. Eventually, they had to run in a single file. The walls pushed in so close there wasn’t enough space to run side by side.
The exit and leaver were still far out of range. Guy’s heart started racing.
“We’re not going to make it,” he said.
Averyl stopped suddenly. Guy spun to see what was up and saw that she had spread her arms apart to place her hands on the walls. It looked like she was trying to hold the walls back to prevent them from crushing the two. It looked like it was working, too. The crushing walls didn’t budge. Averyl’s skin had turned gray and solid, like she was a fae princess made of stone.
Guy approached Averyl, studying her up and down, her face full of stress. “Hey, you, okay?”
“I just discovered . . . the power of this . . . earth magic,” Averyl struggled to say. “It has hardened my skin . . .”
“That’s it then,” Guy said. “I guess one of us has to hold the walls while the other makes it to the entrance.”
“That lever ahead,” Averyl said. “Perhaps that . . . will stop the . . . walls?”
“That’d be my guess.” Guy moved to the exit and lever. “Hold on, I’ll run for it—”
Averyl let out an agonizing scream.
Guy returned to Averyl, noting that her arms trembled from the stress of holding back two crushing walls.
“Are you sure you are going to be alright, Averyl?”
It took her a few seconds to reply. “I don’t have . . . the power needed to keep pushing . . .”
Her HP was draining because of the stress her arms were taking.
“Guy . . .” She looked into his eyes. “One of us must reach . . . the switch. I think that . . . is the challenge.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but.” Guy held Averyl’s arm, which felt like solid rock, and transferred his HP to her. “Let me top you up before I go.”
Guy restored her HP at the expense of his own. He let go and backed away. Averyl lost HP again, her arms shaking from the imposing walls pushing in.
She gritted her teeth at him. “Go!”
Guy shook his head. “You’re not going to last long enough for me to get there.”
He touched her hand
, the one she used to pick up the magical stone, and a screen appeared.
Take your companion’s power?
Yes/No
Guy selected yes without a second thought and took Averyl’s Might of Earth buff. Her skin returned to normal as Guy’s flesh hardened like a rock. Averyl lost the power to hold the walls and fell to her knees. Guy took her place, put the palms of his hands on the left and right crushing walls, then pushed to keep them from closing in.
“You go,” Guy said to her. “I got this.”
Averyl got to her feet, brushed her Temple Dress clean, and peered at Guy.
“My strength is higher than yours,” Guy added. “This isn’t so tough with the buff.” Averyl nodded and strode to the exit switch awaiting her hands. “Wait.”
Guy needed one last thing from her.
He gestured to his right hand. “Hold my hand for a few seconds.”
She peered at his right hand pressed against the wall, squinting her eyes. “But your HP is not low.”
“Yeah, but my AP isn’t full.”
Averyl embraced his right hand with hers and began a level 1 transfer of HP, MP, and AP. She let go when Guy’s AP reached 100, stepped back, and stared at his face for three seconds, her cheeks slightly red. Then the princess dashed ahead to the door as Guy remained standing and holding the walls.
Like Averyl, Guy lost HP, but a lot less, and his arms didn’t shake because of his higher strength. And now that I have full AP . . .
Guy used Fortification, granting him increased physical resistance, reducing the damage he took. Averyl had more than enough time to make it to the end.
And she did.
The first thing Averyl did was pull on the leaver. A click sounded. Then the walls moved back to their original place, freeing Guy from the burden of having to hold them. The door unlocked and opened.
Obtained: 1000 Experience Points.
Completion of the chamber stripped Guy of the Might of Earth buff. Averyl had stood before Guy again, placed her hand on the biceps of his arm, and transferred some of her HP to him. The thing was, he didn’t need the top-up.
They entered the third chamber to the sound of the heavy doors behind slamming shut and locking. The objective appeared ahead next.
Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2) Page 35
