Alex groaned as consciousness returned to his body. His cheek was pressed up against cold stone. It hadn’t been all that long since he’d passed out judging by the strong ache that was still lingering in his nose. And, judging by that very sa ache, Alex suspected he might have fallen on his face a second ti.
At least there wasn’t what seed to be an entire world of pressure trying to grind him into the ground. He reached for his magic but found nothing but distant mory. His power still was nowhere to be found.
And that ans…
Alex forced his eyes open. There was a small pool of dried blood on the gray rock right before him. He could feel that sa blood dried against his cheek. He was still in the Forsaken Grounds. With a grunt, he pushed himself upright.
Blade stood in the center of the room, watching Alex warily with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The two of them locked eyes for a mont. Then Alex scrubbed the blood from his face with the back of his wrist.
“Sup.” Alex’s voice ca out nasally. The sound made it seem like his nose might have been broken. It definitely felt like it.
“You are an insufferable little idiot. Has anyone ever told you that?” Blade asked. “Never in my existence has soone not only failed to wait for instructions but then, after learning exactly what this room does, proceeded to attempt to fling themselves farther than they have any right to withstand while I had temporarily restrained the trial — to protect them, mind you.”
“Thank you,” Alex said. He touched his nose gingerly, then winced. It was definitely ssed up. Even though he’d taken far worse injuries since the start of the Apocalypse, this one hurt. He hadn’t realized quite how far having a magically enforced body really went in improving not just his physical durability, but his ntal as well. “Ow. That hurts.”
“Good!” Blade snapped. “It should! The only reason you weren’t crushed into paste is because I dragged you back to the start of the room. The level of pressure that far in would have splattered your little mortal body like a dropped egg. Do you have a death wish?”
“You said you were a teacher,” Alex said. “The job of a teacher is to instruct a student. I figured you’d make sure I wouldn’t get myself killed too easily. Wouldn’t be much of a teacher if you did.”
“You bet your life on that?”
“I was right, wasn’t I?” Alex poked at his nose again, then winced. Then he rose to his feet, brushing the dust on his pants off. “Thank you for the save, by the way. Don’t let anyone say I don’t appreciate it. So, what do I get for making it — how many steps was it?”
“Ten,” Blade said through clenched teeth. His gaze bore into Alex for nearly a second before he said anything else. “You really aren’t an Outworlder.”
“What gave it away?”
“Any Outworlder with access to this tower would have been smart enough to know risking their life for such a small advantage would be completely worthless in the face of all the progress they’d be able to gain by simply using the building normally.”
“But I did get an advantage, yes? I call that a calculated risk.”
Blade let out a choked cough that sounded suspiciously like a covered laugh. He then pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a slow sigh. “Yes. You did get an advantage. I’m certain you’ll put it to good use and not get yourself killed before you get a chance to apply it. I will not save you every ti you push yourself too far.”
Alex tilted his head to the side. “Why?”
Blade blinked. “Why? What do you an, why? Do I look like a babysitter to you?”
“I’m pretty sure you told you were a teacher. Isn’t that basically the sa thing?”
Blade’s eye twitched. Then his lips thinned.
“Yes. Unfortunately. Yes. It is.”
“So…”
“My job does not an I am obligated to save you,” Blade said. He tapped a foot on the ground. “And you are not doing much to endear yourself to . As far as I’m concerned, you’re welco to keep bashing your head against the room like an idiot. You’ll either succeed or get yourself killed in short order. Works fine for .”
Unlawfully taken from , this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Great,” Alex said. “Sounds like we’re at an agreent. So all I have to do is walk over to the door and not get squished by the pressure in the process?”
Blade couldn’t stop a laugh from slipping free.
“At least you’re direct. That much I can appreciate. Yes. That is functionally all you have to do. But your chances of actually accomplishing that are painfully low with your current approach. Body tempering is not a process that you can brute force your way through. Not as a human.”
“Am I overly optimistic in hoping that you’re about to give a reward that will help with that?”
Blade’s lips curled up in a cold grin. He extended a hand, palm up, and a shimr of pale blue light coiled out above it. A small glass vial full of pale gray liquid dropped down into it.
“You are. On the contrary. I’m going to give you sothing that makes it considerably harder.”
“Harder?” Alex asked.
“That’s right.” Blade strode over to Alex and held the small vial out. The System made no move to identify it. As far as Alex could tell, the System refused to work here at all. “This is a Tempering Agent.”
“Let guess. I drink this and it… sohow attracts more pressure to ?”
“Close. It weakens your body. Considerably.”
“Wow,” Alex said. He squinted at the bottle. “That seems fucking awful. And don’t get wrong. I’m all for the idea of greater challenge for greater reward. But why the hell would I want to make myself weaker?”
“What stands stronger? A castle built on a pile of sand or one built on foundations?”
“Okay. I see what you’re getting at, but I’ve been upgrading my body. Is it really that—”
“Your Mind Palace?” Blade asked, tilting his head to the side. His voice took on a note that made it clear that this was far from the first ti he’d explained things.“Is that what you refer to as upgraded? Because, if it is, toss the notion. The Mind Palace is not the body. What you have done is strengthened the connection between your body and soul. This does make your body more powerful indirectly, but it can be considered separate from true body tempering, which will target your body directly regardless of the state of your soul.”
“Huh,” Alex said. He took the vial from Blade. “But I’ve been doing cultivation. I had a building called a Cultivation Array. That one definitely made my body stronger.”
“A patch job,” Blade said with no hidden amount of distaste. “That is an… acceptable option. It will render good results after a great deal of ti and repeated use. Your foundations are not as terrible as they could be. But if you want to truly reach for the heavens, then you must be far more than rely adequate. Thus, the reward.”
“Is this basically going to waste all the effort I’ve already gone through?” Alex asked.
Blade shook his head. “Hardly. The pathways you have built will remain. It is always easier to regain lost power than it is to forge new strength. You will progress back to your current stage very easily. And, if you possess the willpower, you will reach far beyond it. The exact extent of that will depend entirely on what you are capable of.”
“I see,” Alex said. “Then this is pretty damn useful, isn’t it? Could I ask what the reward would have been if I’d only managed 5 steps?”
“A weaker version of this,” Blade said. “It would have torn you down less than this will, and this floor’s trial would be considerably easier as a result.”
“And if I’d only taken like one step or sothing?”
“Then I would offer you a potion that did the opposite. Sothing to strengthen your body’s foundations enough to allow you to easily reach the door.”
“You’d have made stronger? Would the buff be temporary or sothing? Just long enough to get out of your hair?”
“Not temporary. Simply… insufficient. Nothing can ever replace earning power for yourself. Soone with an insufficiently prepared body will inevitably find their limits at so point in the future. But that would have not been my concern,” Blade said simply. He nodded to the vial in Alex’s hand. “Of course, you don’t need to take the potion. If you don’t feel you can withstand the trial if it were to be more difficult, then feel free to set that aside. This room will forge you regardless of whether you make it harder or not. Every ti you attempt it, you will still grow stronger.”
“But not as strong as I could have been were I to take this,” Alex said, eyeing the vial.
“Correct,” Blade said.
“Has anyone who actually managed to take more than a few steps ever taken you up on that offer?”
“No.” Blade’s lips curled up into a smile. “Not once.”
Alex popped the stopper off the vial. It hit the ground with a faint ringing clatter. Then he tipped the vial back and poured the gray liquid into his mouth. It tasted… cold. There really wasn’t a better word for it. It was completely flavorless, but he could still trace the liquid as it passed down through his esophagus and descended into his stomach.
Tongues of frost seed to stretch out from his core. They spread through his body to reach out all the way to his fingers. Alex braced himself. But there was no abrupt shift or sudden feeling of weakness. The only thing he felt was cold.
“Is… that it?”
“Yes,” Blade replied. He gestured to the door on the far side of the room. “You may now resu. One attempt. After that, you will need to leave the room and rest before your next attempt. The destruction and rebuilding of your body’s foundations will be too much to bear if you attempt any more today.”
“Thanks for the tips. I have to say, it’s really damn refreshing to have soone actually tell what’s going on and give actual advice,” Alex said. “You aren’t a half bad teacher. I’d apologize for the whole kinda-cheating thing if I regretted it.”
Blade snorted. “I’m going to enjoy watching this. Let’s see what you’re capable of, then. Show how far you can go.”
“I plan on it. Just one thing. Can you do a favor?”
“A favor? You want more? I have already given you more than you deserve.”
“I know, I know. But it’s really not that big of an ask,” Alex said. “Please?”
“What is it?” Blade asked through a sigh. “I’m not helping you through the room or giving you another potion. Any further benefits have to be earned.”
“I don’t need anything like that.” Alex cracked his neck, then bared his teeth in a smile. “All I want you to do is toss out of the room when I pass out, because there’s no way in hell I’m leaving myself enough energy to walk out of here on my own feet.”
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