Time shrinks after the swarm incident.
The maze's constant shifting keeps the monsters coming. So I have to keep moving.
'I now have 3 Ignis spells in my arsenal, but I shouldn't risk it yet. Vector Lance and Implosion are still my best spells by far. I should only trust what I can repeat.'
Vector Lance and Implosion for offence, to strike. Ember Shield only when necessary.
Each fight I take on in the maze is a calculation, factoring in the exact angle, distance and vulnerable spots of the constructs, while trying to roughly gauge their time-to-collapse.
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 76.4% → 77.2%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 34.1% → 35.0%]
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 77.2% → 78.1%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 35.0% → 36.2%]
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 78.1% → 79.0%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 36.2% → 37.1%]
The gains are steady and small, but at least they stack.
Around the hour-and-a-half mark, the sensation returns. I've felt it before. That edge. The feeling of my Aether core being pulled toward something denser. Something closer to mastery
If I keep going, while doing this...
I'll reach it. Probably not today, not here. But soon.
The thought was intoxicating, in a quiet but dangerous way.
It's strange, I never really thought about strength. But once you realise your own growth is possible, you start wondering what else is. What else can I do? What else can I achieve?
And then it comes to me.
Wind.
Ventus.
"This is the perfect time to test it out. The Codex did say I can raise my ability to perform an affinity if I just keep practising it." I exclaim.
... The system never informed the User of this.
'Ok, maybe not exactly, but you did in essence, right? Increase my comprehension of it, and what better way is there to do that than practising said affinity?'
The system doesn't refute the User's statement.
I lift my hand to try and shape air, remembering how Taron did it. How he made it look effortless.
And...
Nothing.
Of course.
'A little help here, Codex? I'm not asking for a bundle of spells; I know I have to earn the right to use that strength. And I'm not trying to be flashy either. I'm just asking for options, something that can help me kick-start the process.'
[ATTEMPT DETECTED]
[AFFINITY THREAD: VENTUS - LOW]
[RECOMMENDATION: GUIDED FORMATION]
A blue-gold overlay appears; this one was simpler than the shield overlay. A single arrowed loop: pull, twist, release. A small, controlled gust.
One spell.
But something usable.
[SPELL INITIATION: VENTUS - DRAFT TWIST]
[CAST NOW]
I hesitate for half a second. Not entirely sure whether this is the right thing to do.
'This kind of feels like cheating... ah, screw it.'
"Let's do it, Codex. Initiate the spell."
"Ventus: Draft Twist"
I can feel it. I can see it. The air in front of my palm is tightening and spinning, forming a small but twisting gust that curls outward like a ribbon free-flowing through the wind. It's weak. It isn't like Taron's, not yet anyway, but it's real. Real enough to tug at my sleeve as it leaves my palm and disturb the parts of the maze wall that I projected at.
[SPELL EXCECUTED: VENTUS DRAFT TWIST]
[CONTROL: LOW]
[VENTUS COMPREHENSION: 0.0% -> 0.8%]
I stare at the number. " Low control, huh. It's not much, but at least it's a start. And now that I have two affinities, I have more counters and spells I can use. Just thinking of all the different combinations I could use once I get a hang of these two is making me giddy."
I try again. "Ventus: Draft Twist." Again, and again, and again. Each cast steadier than the last, each ribbon flowing through the wind slightly stronger than before. It's like training a muscle that didn't exist yesterday.
[VENTUS COMPREHENSION: 0.8% -> 1.2%]
[VENTUS COMPREHENSION: 1.2% -> 1.5%]
The maze reacts to my experimentation, as if offended, and decides to remind me I'm on a timer.
I hear echoes of heavy steps in the corridor ahead. The Codex confirms this for me.
[FOREIGN AETHER SIGNATURE DETECTED]
[CLASSIFICATION: BESTIAL]
[ENERGY DENSITY: HIGH]
DISTANCE: 14 METRES - APPROACHING]
A thick-limbed beetle-bull hybrid construct steps into my field of view. Its horns are like crystal blades, and its armour plate is layered like glass.
It's built to absorb punishment. To take on brute force.
But is it built to take on me?
I swallow, stepping back. My instinct screams to use my Ignis magic. But I've already decided... the whole point of this exam was to test my spellcasting, and the options I now have.
So.
'If Draft Twist is all I have for Ventus magic, then I'll use Draft Twist with everything I've got!'
The beast charges at me.
"I've got to stop its momentum," I mutter.
I wait... almost too long, but at the last moment, I thrust my palm sideways.
"Ventus: Draft Twist!"
The gust curls into the beast's path, creating a slight lateral pull. The gust itself isn't strong enough to stop its charge, but it is strong enough to cause slight damage, nudging it and shifting its line.
The beast's horn misses my ribs, only by a few inches, and causes air to snap past my face, my hair flying back.
I pivot, plant my boot, and strike the seam where its armour meets its neck. "Ignis: Vector Lance!" The lance punches in, causing the beast to shudder.
... but it still holds its ground.
It swings its horned head back toward me, but I don't allow it to build another straight charge.
"Ventus: Draft Twist!"
Again. This time, I cast the spell closer to its front legs, curling the air around the joints and slicing them. The beast's footing slips for a fraction, its weight shifting awkwardly.
For me, that's enough.
'I've got him right where I want him.'
I step in, palm pressed to the anchor point, and compress the heat inward, propelling it outward.
"Ignis: Implosion."
The beast resists harder than the wolf did, its foundations pushing back like a spring, causing my hands to tremble under the pressure.
"Crap, the spell is going to rebound at this rate."
For a moment, I doubt my success.
Then the earlier lance puncture becomes a weakness that the beast's matrix can't compensate for.
The implosion snaps tight.
The construct collapses inward with a violent crackle, scattering shards of blue light that dissolve before they touch the floor.
I stagger back, breathing hard.
"It's a shame that Draft Twist couldn't kill it, but at least it gave me enough time to finish it with Implosion."
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[SPELL EXECUTED: VENTUS DRAFT TWIST + IGNIS IMPLOSION]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 83.7% → 84.5%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 39.6% → 40.8%]
[VENTUS COMPREHENSION: 1.5% → 2.1%]
I wipe sweat off my brow, then force myself to move again.
Two hours isn't much, but it's enough.
Enough to learn. Enough to survive, and certainly enough to become dangerous.
At the two-hour mark, I find a corridor that feels different.
The runes are denser. The air is warmer. The walls seem less transparent and more solid, like the maze is compressing toward a terminal node.
Then I see it: a stable crystal door, etched with an inverted labyrinth symbol.
Exit marker.
Probably.
Hopefully
The Codex flickers.
[EXIT: PROBABLE]
[CONDITION: UNKNOWN]
[RISK: MODERATE]
'Isn't moderate risk a bit too high for an exit?'
My thoughts are interrupted as I step closer to the door; it slides to the side without a sound, revealing a wide, circular chamber beyond.
I could feel the heat roll out.
Not from the maze.
But from a single person.
!!
The Codex flashes so hard it almost disrupts my vision.
[FOREIGN AETHER SIGNATURE DETECTED]
[CLASSIFICATION: HUMANOID]
[ENERGY DENSITY: EXTREME]
[DISTANCE: 9 METRES - STATIONARY]
I step into the chamber, and the world feels suddenly precarious.
Broken constructs litter the floor, flickering fragments of light dissolving into nothing. Scorch lines, melted rune patterns, and residue from multiple Aether collapses.
More than a dozen monsters' worth.
And at the center, cloak unmoving, posture perfect, stands...
Cyril Valenhardt.
He isn't panting.
He isn't sweating.
He looks as if the maze has been a mild inconvenience to him.
A small flame rotates above his knuckle, like he's twiddling a coin. It's controlled, motionless and seems more like a personal habit than definitive spellcasting.
Around him, the air is warm and disciplined, like fire in a cold campsite.
And then... his eyes lift and land on me.
Silver meeting coal.
For a heartbeat, neither of us moves.
The tension is immediate and sharp as a drawn blade.
Because Cyril doesn't look surprised to see me.
He looks… interested.
Like he's finally found an annoying variable he's been waiting to measure.
Cyril's gaze drops briefly to the tears in my sleeve, the scorch smudges on my forearm, the faint heat shimmer still clinging to my hands.
Then his eyes return to mine.
And the corner of his mouth shifts.
Was it recognition, or was it a challenge?
I couldn't tell.
I straighten slowly, forcing my ribs to stop screaming long enough to stand tall.
Because whatever this is, this isn't any other normal encounter.
It was the beginning of something. And now, I'm about to find out what that 'something is.'
...
[RISK RECONFIGURATION]
[RISK: VERY HIGH]