Trials [1]

The first aspirant was a huge guy with a mountain of muscle named Goran. He stomped forward as the Tier-4 spirit emerged from the darkness. It was a "Vex-Hound." It moved with a sound like grinding glass.

Goran roared, and his skin took on the dark shade of granite. He didn't dodge the Hound's initial pounce - he met it head-on. His fists were like small boulders hammering against the spirit's form. The impact made a deafening sound, like a crack of stone on crystal. He was a brawler, a Tier-4 mid Fortifier. Each blow chipped away at the spirit, but the Hound's claws scraped deep marks in his stony skin. It was a continuous grueling stalemate until a judge - General Torvin - gave a small nod. "Enough. Pass." Goran called out, chest heaving.

Next was Lorana, a woman with fiery red hair. Her power was all offense - Tier-4 mid. As the Vex-Hound lunged, she stood firm. She pointed a finger, and a whip of concentrated flame came out, wrapping around the spirit's leg. With a strong yell, she yanked it, spinning the creature off its feet and slamming it into the arena wall. Continuously. Dust started to form. Baroness Shadowgrave tilted her head slightly. "Precise control. Pass."

A lanky boy named Finn came on next - Tier-4 upper, moving like a shadow. He used Umbral Weaving - same ability Baroness Shadowgrave possessed, only weaker. He become a blur of afterimages. The Vex-Hound lashed out, but its claws passed through empty shadows. Finn reappeared behind it, striking with daggers made from solidified darkness before vanishing again. It was a beautiful, frustrating dance for the spirit. The Silent Brother, for the first time, tilted his head in slight interest. Finn passed.

Then came a girl named Lin - Tier-3 lesser. She placed a hand on the arena floor. Vines, thick as ropes and hard as iron, erupted from the earth, entangling the Vex-Hound. They constricted, creaking under the strain, holding the furious spirit fast. Lady Ironwood offered a rare, thin smile. "Adept growth. Pass." This was her very own student.

The displays were terrifyingly outstanding. These weren't Lowtown rookies; these were probably the best of the best, each a master of a fundamental force. Riku felt his confidence, which was paper-thin to begin with, crumbling to dust. What was his "Architect's Design" next to this? A parlor trick.

The aspirants ahead of him continued to shine. More Tier-3s appearing. One manipulated water from the air to form icy spikes. Another created sonic blasts that disoriented the spirit.

Most of the performances were a simple display of either power or control. Each met with approving nods from the respective judge who specialized in that domain or got their interest piqued.

Finally, the clerk called out, "Riku. Of the Eastern Grove."

A few snickers came from a few aspirants who were from Lowtown or the Eastern Grove. Word of the "toy maker" had gotten around.

Riku walked to the center of the arena. The packed earth felt unsteady beneath his feet. The Vex-Hound, freshly respawned or recalled from whatever containment they used, paced in front of him. The eyes of the six most powerful people in the land felt heavier than any VR headset he'd worn.

General Torvin looked bored. Lady Ironwood was examining her nails. This was a formality though. It was actually normal. They were just waiting to see the failure they expected from a designer-type.

'You're a designer,' he told himself. 'This is just a QA test. And the product is you.' He tried calming himself, though the anxiety and fear were on a whole other level.

The Vex-Hound lunged. Instinct screamed at Riku to run. But running was what they expected.

He didn't try to block, nor did he try to attack.

He focused on the fear building up inside of him. "Alright, Riku, do something. Now, now, now, it's getting close, idiot!" He whispered, pushing out the mana.

He was expecting to create an orb he could use to maybe distract it for as long as he could, or give it a toy soldier, to play with maybe?

Instead, he created a wall. Or, more accurately, the illusion of a wall. A shimmering, semi-transparent barrier of light, exactly like an indestructible object from a video game, materialized directly in the Hound's path.

It was a simple trick. A single, flat plane.

The Vex-Hound, mind set to lunge at its target, didn't question whatever the hell that was. It slammed into the illusion. There was no physical impact, but the spirit's own momentum and expectation caused it to recoil in confusion. It shook its head, chittering in frustration.

A murmur went through the aspirants. The judges, who had been dismissive, now looked up. Lord Valerius, the Fortification expert, leaned forward slightly. An illusion that could stop a charge? That was his domain, but in a different context.

The Hound circled, then lunged again, this time from the side. Riku waved, another "wall" coming into existence. The spirit lunged again, thrown off once more.

But illusions don't stop attacks forever. The Hound swiped a claw through the wall. The claw passed through the light harmlessly. The illusion flickered. The spirit realized it had been tricked. Its chittering became a screech of rage.

Now it knew the walls weren't real. It charged straight through the next one Riku threw up.

Panic flared. This was it. He was out of ideas.

The Hound was almost on him. Was there no other thing he could think of?

His game designer mind, analytical even in terror, provided the solution. If the enemy learns, change the rules.

As the Vex-Hound leaped for his throat, he created a perfect, shimmering copy of himself standing two feet to the left.

It was a last-second decoy. A cheap trick.

The Hound, mid-air, committed to the target it saw. Its claws ripped through the illusion, which popped like a soap bubble.

But in that split second, the real Riku had already dropped and rolled to the right, the Hound's momentum carrying it harmlessly past him.

He came up panting, heart trying to beat its way out of his chest. The Vex-Hound skidded to a halt, turning, its confusion now getting the better of ot. It looked from the spot where the decoy had been to the real Riku, unable to comprehend what just happened.

The arena was silent.

Then, a slow, deliberate clapping started. It came from the dais.

Master Kaelen was smiling, his hands meeting in a soft, appreciative rhythm. "Fascinating," he said, his voice cutting through the silence. "No brute force. No elemental mastery. Pure misdirection. A tactical application of a... seemingly minimal ability."

General Torvin grunted, but it wasn't entirely dismissive. "Cheap trick."

"Effective, though," Baroness Shadowgrave murmured, her gaze fixed on Riku. "Umbral Weaving relies on misdirection. This is... a purer form of it."

Lord Valerius spoke, his voice like grinding stones. "He did not meet force with force. He redirected it. An unorthodox approach to fortification." He gave a single, slow nod.

It wasn't a unanimous victory. Lady Ironwood and The Silent Brother remained impassive. But it was enough.

Master Kaelen looked at Riku with a smile that didn't reach the eyes. He didn't need anyone telling him they were fake. "You used your enemy's strength against it. You adapted. The Ascendancy values results. Pass."

Relief washed over Riku so powerfully his knees almost buckled. He’d done it. He’d turned a glow-in-the-dark toy into a tactical tool.

But as he walked out of the arena on shaky legs, he caught Master Kaelen's eye. The man's smile was still there, still looking oddly out of place.

What mattered was the fact that he passed the first test. But he had a feeling something was fishy.