by Aaron Oster
That didn’t mean he had to like it. If anything, this odd landscape made him feel even more uneasy than the last part of the Trial. There, at least, there had been a pattern, as well as a wide-open view. Here, his vision was obscured by the tall swaying grasses. Not only that, but his Spirit Sense felt oddly muffled, as if someone had pulled a heavy veil over his metaphorical eyes.
Aika simply walked along, humming softly to herself, and seemed perfectly content with where they were, regardless of any danger. And, strangely enough, Roy felt comforted by that. Aika was not only stronger than him, but she also had far keener senses than he did. If she was not worried, then he should relax as well. If there was any danger, she’d be able to give them ample warning. Roy couldn’t have known how wrong he was, and when the attack came, it caught them both by surprise.
The creature that exploded from one of the nearby pools of water had a mostly canine shape, appearing more like a bulky hound than a wolf. Its face was almost flat, its eyes were twin pricks of red, and its overall size was quite alarming. The oddest part of the creature was that it was made entirely of water.
It was surrounded in a sheen of blue Essence, though its body was murky, containing sediment, floating pieces of grass stalks, and any other debris that happened to be littering the water. The creature was larger than even the largest hounds Roy had seen – with the exception of the three-headed skeleton hound they’d faced a few months back – being nearly six feet at the shoulder and looking to weigh some eight-hundred pounds.
It was fast, streaking across the thirty or so yards in mere moments and forcing Aika to act faster than he could follow. There was a streak of white, and the hound was riddled with a dozen glowing white lances. Unfortunately, this didn’t slow the creature, and it continued on its course, headed straight for Roy. His Armorer technique sprang up around him just as the creature slammed into him. The force of the impact was immense, sending a line of fracturing cracks from Roy’s center of mass, even as he was flung through the air.
Geon, of course, chose that moment to begin talking again.
“You know, if you weren’t so easily surprised, this wouldn’t keep happening.”
Roy didn’t have the time to snap back before he hit the ground, water splashing up around him and soaking into his robes. Despite his Armorer technique not entirely failing, it seemed to do little in the way of keeping him from getting wet. Thankfully, aside from being a bit winded, Roy was unhurt, though the massive drain on his Essence to keep his technique intact told him how much force was behind that simple charge.
It seemed that the hound wasn’t yet finished with him, and it was on top of him once more even as he climbed to his feet, cracks in his technique filling in. Roy didn’t waste an instant this time, using his Shockwave and darting to one side. The hound ran past him, letting out a silent roar, the gleaming red spots where its eyes were narrowing as it whirled around.
Aika slammed into it then, driving a powerful kick into its side, but just as with her attack, her body went straight through the hound without leaving so much as a scratch. The hound continued to ignore her, going straight for Roy with single-minded determination. Roy, seeing that he had little choice, struck back, forming a Void Sphere and hurling it at the charging creature.
He had little hope of it succeeding, especially because Aika’s attacks were failing, but to both of their surprises, it actually did work. The Void Sphere slammed into the charging creature, expanding for an instant and ripping a chunk out of its head. Even so, the creature didn’t slow, its face filling in using part of its body mass.
Roy dashed to one side using his Shockwave and hurled another attack, the Void Sphere tearing a chunk from one its hind legs this time. Once more, the creature recovered by using some of its mass to fill in the injury, but this time, Roy noticed the price the hound had to pay. The Void Sphere simply removed whatever it touched from existence. It worked by projecting thousands of tiny blades, shredding whatever was caught in its area of effect to pieces.
The creature wasn’t immune to the attack, as the blades would all but destroy the water’s molecular structure, obliterating it as easily as something solid. The creature could fill in the injury, but it came at the price of sacrificing mass. The creature, fully enraged now, pounced upon him, flashing across the distance in a blur of blue light.
It slammed into him once more, its teeth ripping at his Armorer technique and sending wide cracks flaring across the multifaceted surface. His hand snapped up, ejecting another Void Sphere into its stomach even as the technique failed. Roy had used the opportunity provided to use the second stage of the technique, and this Void Sphere expanded well over three feet, effectively ripping the hound in two.
For just a few moments, both halves lay writhing on the ground, and Roy wondered if they would reconnect or if two small hounds would form and continue the attack. But thankfully, the creature stopped struggling, and its body simply fell apart, spreading across the ground like the inanimate water it was.
“What the hell was that?” Aika demanded, squelching over to him.
She’d been unable to do a single thing to help, as none of her attacks were suited to pure destruction like Roy’s were.
“Why did the creature only come after you?”
“Beats me,” Roy replied with a shrug.
The creature had come after him, and only him, completely ignoring Aika as though she hadn’t even existed. The fact that she was completely unable to damage it sent a small thrill of fear up his spine. Neither of them wanted to voice their fears out loud, but Aika wasn’t one to shy away from the truth.
“Is it just me, or do you feel that you’re going to be the only one tested here?” Aika asked solemnly.
“I hope not,” Roy replied. “But there’s really only one way to test that theory.”
“To keep going,” Aika said. “For both our sakes, I really hope that isn’t the case.”
Roy knew that Aika didn’t mean it to be insulting, and he didn’t take it as such. He knew that she was stronger than him, but more than that, she hated to feel useless in a fight. And if Roy was the only one who was able to damage the creatures, she’d be able to do little more than watch from the sidelines and perhaps offer encouragement. Roy agreed with Aika. For both their sakes, he really hoped that wasn’t going to be the case.
32
“I’m really starting to hate this Trial,” Aika said as Roy drove a glowing fist into a watery hound and blasted it to pieces.
“Yeah?” Roy grunted as he spun in place, using his Movement technique to cover the ten feet between him and his other attacker and blowing it apart as well. “How do you think I feel?”
Aika’s expression softened somewhat, and she had the good graces to apologize.
“I’m sorry, Roy. It just really bothers me to have to sit on the sidelines and not be able to help at all. It’s extremely frustrating!”
They had been going at it for several hours now, with Aika being unable to do anything at all to help. The creatures had been coming more frequently as well, completely ignoring her and coming after Roy as though he’d killed their mother, and they were out for revenge. Nothing Aika did made any difference, and the one time she’d tried to assist by getting him out of the way, the Trial had punished him by sending twice as many creatures in the next wave.
Since then, Aika hadn’t helped, seeing as she’d only made it worse, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.
Roy blew out a long breath, wincing as he felt the muscle he’d torn in his upper thigh twinge uncomfortably. He’d overextended on an attack and lost his footing. The power of the blow had been so strong that he’d ended up injuring himself. Geon had had quite a bit to say on that, mostly how the creatures didn’t even have to do any work, and how Roy should just be given a knife and told to run with it.
“I feel like these creatures are getting harder to beat,” Roy said, looking around at the ever-increasing watery landscape.
> “I think so as well,” Aika said, sloshing up to him.
The water, which had once been contained to pools, was now calf-deep, making the fighting all the more difficult. It was nearing nighttime, though, and Roy still couldn’t see an end to this Trial. If there was still no end in sight within the next hour, they’d be forced to stop and try to make camp.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Tired and hungry,” Roy admitted.
Though he’d managed to recover some Power Essence from his fight and his Core was pretty much full, his stomach was not. He was very hungry, having finished all the fruit from his last island. Aika, much to her embarrassment, hadn’t brought anything long either, having thought that she’d be able to find food once they were on land. Water was in short supply as well, as Roy didn’t trust the murky water they’d been wading through.
“You should really take a break,” Aika said.
“Where?” Roy asked, gesturing around to the swampy area. “The only dry sections are the stalks of grass, and we can’t exactly…” Roy trailed off at that as he thought about what he was saying.
“Can’t exactly what?” Aika asked as Roy reached out and grasped one of the grass stalks.
It was dry and hollow, crackling under his thumb and forefinger as he squeezed. He looked around then, noting the thousands upon thousands of stalks, and a plan began to come together in his mind.
“I think I might have an idea…” Roy began as he rolled the plan over in his mind.
“Does it involve me carrying you?” Aika asked. “Because I honestly wouldn’t mind.”
Roy balked at that plan, quickly shaking his head. Though Aika seemed earnest enough, the idea of allowing her to carry him felt degrading, not just for him, but for her as well. Not to mention that it was horribly embarrassing to even think about.
“No, nothing like that,” he said. “I think I might be able to make some sort of raft out of these,” he continued, gesturing around them. “They’re all hollow, which means they’ll be buoyant. If you can gather enough of them, I can fashion something to keep us out of the water for the night.”
Aika’s lips parted in a small O shape, then spread out into a wide grin.
“I’m so happy that we’re back together!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a squeeze. “I’d have never even thought of doing something like that! Okay, how much do you need?”
“I’m not sure,” Roy replied, fighting down the flush of pleasure her praise evoked. “We’d need enough to support both our weights and to make it wide enough for us both to be able to lie down. I guess you should start with an armful,” Roy said, holding both of his arms out in a circle to show what he meant. “And make sure to cut them as close to the base as possible.”
Aika nodded a couple of times, then spun and dashed off to begin gathering the tall grass. Judging by how things were going, Roy suspected they’d have at least another week of trudging through this swamp. If they could make a raft now, they’d at least have somewhere to rest at night, out of the water. There was still the issue of rations, and while they could go for a while without food, they’d die without water.
Luckily, Roy had an idea for that, and though the water wouldn’t exactly taste great, they’d still be able to safely drink it. He leaned heavily on his good leg and felt the throbbing pain coming from the torn muscle. Something like this would hinder him greatly, but if he could just manage to relax for a bit and get off it for a few hours, he could focus his Essence into the area to reduce the swelling.
The creatures didn’t attack unless he himself was moving, and a new pack was never within a hundred yards of the last. He’d fended off some thirty of the creatures already and had a feeling that they would only grow more difficult to defeat as time went on. There was a loud sound of sloshing water, and Aika skidded to a halt just a few feet away, a massive bundle of the hollow grass stalks clutched in her arms.
“Is this good?” her muffled voice asked from behind the stack.
“Yes,” Roy said, moving up to her. “Just hold the stack like that while I tie it off.”
Roy plucked several stalks as he approached, rubbing them between his palms to rough them up as he twined them together.
“Keep holding it just like that,” he said, not waiting for confirmation before looping the grass-string around the bundle and cinching it tight.
He then squatted, wincing slightly as his muscles twinged in pain. He tied it tightly at the bottom, then pulled a few times to make sure it was tight.
“Alright, you can lower it into the water,” Roy said after he was sure it was secure.
Slowly, Aika lowered the bundle, showing far more care with the grass than Roy would have expected. Gently, the long, round bundle sank into the water, and Aika let it go. Roy pressed down on the bundle several times, making sure it would float, then carefully sat down, making sure his weight was evenly distributed. Seeing as the water was only calf-deep, it sank all the way to the bottom, but Roy could tell that they’d definitely need more, especially if both he and Aika were going to want to sleep on it.
“We need at least four or five more,” Roy said after a few moments. “Do you think you can manage them all on your own?”
“Try and stop me,” Aika said, flashing him a wide grin.
Then, before he could say so much as a word, she was off again, dashing off into the distance to collect a new bundle of grass. Roy thought she seemed a bit too excited to collect grass, but seeing as she’d been unable to do anything all day, she probably felt good to be needed for something.
Though Roy hated to get up, he forced himself back to his feet and began collecting grass, forming them into longer and longer strands so he could cover the entire raft. He was quite pleased that his idea had worked and could only hope that it would hold up for a few days. Aika would be able to pull this along behind her as they walked, so they could rest whenever needed.
Aika returned within just a few minutes with the next bundle, and Roy wrapped it tightly before having her set it down. After she’d run off to collect another, Roy crouched, grimacing as water soaked into his pants, and began twining the longer strands between the bundles and tying them off. Like this, he and Aika constructed a raft some five feet wide and nearly six feet long.
“Think you can pull that along?” Roy asked, though he already knew the answer.
Aika simply grabbed up the trailing rope he’d braided and dragged the heavy raft forward with a single hand.
“Yeah, think I’ll be fine,” Aika replied.
Roy gave her a tired smile, then sat down carefully on the raft. It only sank a couple of inches this time, and he motioned for Aika to come join him.
“It feels so good to be off my feet!” Aika said, leaning back and lying flat on the giant grass mat. “It’s a lot less comfortable than I thought it would be, though.”
“Better than trying to sleep in half a foot of water,” Roy replied, roughing some more grass between his fingers.
“Yeah,” I suppose it is,” she said, staring up at the fading sky. “Do you really think we’ll be stuck here for another whole week?”
“I really hope not,” Roy said as he continued working. “But if the same pattern as last time holds true, I’m afraid we are.”
Aika let out a long, loud sigh and shifted around a bit to get more comfortable.
“What are you working on now?” she asked, propping her head on her palm and resting her elbow on the raft.
“I’m trying to make some kindling to light a fire.”
“But it’s boiling out here,” Aika said, wrinkling her nose. “Why would you want to make a fire, and where would you even put it?”
“I’m sure we can find some flat stones if we dig around in the water for a bit,” Roy replied distractedly. “And as to why we want one, we’ll need to make some charcoal if we want to drink this water safely.”
“Why would charc
oal help with that?” Aika asked.
“No idea,” Roy said with a shrug. “But it’s supposed to help filter out invisible bugs in the water and make it drinkable.”
“Really? That’s so weird,” she said, now toying with a lock of her long black hair.
Roy set the small pile of roughed grass into one of the fruit shells he’d kept, then laid down next to her, folding his arms behind his head and allowing his legs to stretch out. They dangled slightly off the edge but were elevated enough to keep them out of the water.
“You seem worried,” Aika said after a few minutes of silence.
“Aren’t you?” Roy asked. “We have no food, and though we can technically survive, we’ll grow weaker every day we don’t eat.”
“I have confidence in you,” Aika said, lying down next to him.
The raft was pretty spacious, but with the two of them lying down, they were pressed shoulder to shoulder. Roy sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t fall into the water in the middle of the night.
“That’s nice and all, but I don’t know how well-founded that confidence really is.”
“Stop getting down on yourself,” Aika admonished, swatting his arm. “You’re extremely capable and will get us out of this alive. I’m confident of that.”
“What I don’t get is why I’m the only one allowed to do anything,” Roy muttered. “Does this Trial have it out for me?”
“Maybe we can ask Hermit once we get out of here,” Aika suggested.
“If he’ll even listen to us,” Roy said, feeling a small flare of anger towards the man who’d so easily abandoned them.
“Come on, Roy,” Aika said once again, starting to sound exasperated. “You know he only left to save you, right?”
“Yeah,” Roy grudgingly admitted. “But as soon as we’re out of here, we’re leaving the Itachi clan behind us for good. I’ve had it with them and have no interest in sticking around for them to inflict some new form of torture on us.”
