Arcane Innovator

The journey back to our original spawning location didn't take too long. Knowing that there were no traps or enemies, we sped through the tunnel of darkness under the flickering light of my small flame like there was no tomorrow.

Thus, we soon found ourselves back in the same bare-rock chamber facing the same three ominous choices. 'Well, technically two since we already know where the middle path leads...'

Yet, it was still a fifty-fifty shot, and with the other teams being at large doing only gods knew what, we couldn't afford to make a wrong turn here and waste even more time with another lengthy detour.

Although I was confident in my own strength, I knew that I couldn't let it get into my head. I had already made that mistake once before, and it cost me dearly, so going forward, I had to leave nothing to chance.

Especially now as I was facing off against Tristan and his noble buddies, who were, for some reason, hell-bent on beating me.

It was no secret that the nobles had access to vast reservoirs of knowledge and resources that we commoners could only dream of, so I wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him, no matter how stupid and close-minded he may seem.

Still, that was a future me problem; I now had an important decision to make. Excluding the tunnel we came in, we now had two choices: either go left or right.

So I began carefully examining each tunnel in turn while my companions rested, recuperating from the tunnel's drain after our mad dash. However, just like before, there was nothing that could help me choose. 'What to do, what to do?'

I briefly turned toward my party, but they looked as lost as I was. "Any preferences?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant to cover up my growing frustration.

Gil and Aida just shrugged while Inge looked at me expectantly. The only one trying to be helpful was Edwin, but he, too, seemed to give up after a quick examination.

'Forget that I even asked...' I sighed. With no better idea, I decided after a moment of pondering to send a fireball into each of them to see if I could spot something that could help me choose.

I spoke the now more than familiar words of the short incantation, and as the fireballs streaked down the tunnels, briefly illuminating their eerie surroundings, I narrowed my eyes, trying to spot anything that would stand out.

But sadly, their flickering light revealed nothing but bare rock and dusty floors. The tunnel on the right seemed to stretch on endlessly into darkness, with no distinguishing features visible. The tunnel on the left... was exactly the same, and I couldn't spot any... 'Wait!'

That was it! The right tunnel was dark, but the left was somehow even darker. I remembered that one line from the beacon's riddle mentioning this. "That might be something," I murmured, more to myself than anyone else.

"What did you see?" Gil asked, peering into the darkness.

"Not sure," I replied. "But I think there's something odd about the right path..."

"Then let's check it out!" Gil said enthusiastically, ready to move.

Aida and Edwin followed suit, while Inge stayed back for a moment, looking at me questioningly. I gave her a quick reassuring nod, and then, with a sigh, I stepped inside the ominous entrance.

The darkness surrounded us almost instantly. Soon, even the tunnel's wall disappeared, and we couldn't see anything despite me blasting the small flame at its full power.

Furthermore, it was cold—too cold even. Without the magic flame's warmth, I'd say we would be freezing right now.

'So that's the theme of this challenge.' I nodded thoughtfully. 'It's exactly like that riddle said... We have to somehow find the light, but how?'

We continued to fumble in the dark for some time while trying to figure out a way to overcome this challenge, but before I could come up with something, I froze, interrupted by a sudden thought. 'More importantly, where did the tunnel disappear?'

Without a visual reference, I attempted to touch the walls to help guide my steps, but I quickly realized that there were none.

I hurriedly signaled Edwin, who was walking right behind me, to stop by tapping him on the shoulder so that we wouldn't get separated. Then, I promptly sent a fireball to both my right and left while holding my breath, carefully listening for when, or if at all, it would hit the rock.

So, when I heard the distant bang a few seconds later, I exhaled in relief. The good news was that we were still inside a cave and not in some endless void full of darkness.

However, on the other hand, we seemed to somehow exit the bare-rock tunnel, emerging into what looked like another spacious cavern.

Yet, in this one, there were no shining beacons; instead, we were surrounded by the same veil of oily darkness as in the tunnels.

'If I can't use my eyes, I must simply employ my other senses...' I reasoned. I could hear just fine, but sadly, there was nothing to hear. Still, after a while, I noticed something else. 'Isn't it getting a bit warmer?'

I tried to follow the strange sensation, and it sure was - the further we advanced in that particular direction, the warmer it got.

'Bingo!' I then spotted something else ahead and felt there was more to it than a simple coincidence, so I wanted to get to the source of it.

"Keep your guard up," I said in a low voice, "I think I saw something up ahead."

There was a faint glimmer—a small, reflective surface embedded in the rock. The flame's light danced off it briefly before vanishing.

The air grew warmer with each step, and I couldn't help but smile, knowing that we were getting close to our target.

As we approached the spot where I'd seen the glint, I noticed a small golden disc embedded into a floor. I raised the hand holding the flame over my head, and some distance away, I spotted another faint glimmer. 'It's like following breadcrumbs,' I chuckled.

Nevertheless, we eagerly followed the unexpected clues and soon found ourselves in a small open chamber cut into the cavern's wall.

The unnerving darkness partially retreated, replaced by a soft glow coming from a large golden disc that was partially buried into the rocky floor right in the middle of the room.

Edwin knelt beside the strange disk, which was etched with many glowing runes, and traced the ancient script with his fingers. "These are similar to the inscriptions on the tablet we found earlier."

'Great, another stupid riddle...' I sighed. But since Edwin was so eager, I was more than willing to let him handle it. "Any luck?'

"I believe this wheel is part of an apparatus we need to activate in order to retrieve the key," Edwin said after a while.

"So, this must be part of the trial," Inge surmised, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Gil asked, folding his arms.

"Maybe with magic?" Edwin suggested.

I nodded as it made sense. Not wasting any breath, I quickly extended my hand toward the disk, focusing my energy while silently moving my lips, pretending to utter an incantation.

A small spark of flame ignited in my palm before jumping over the runes. The etchings glowed brighter, pulsing with a rhythmic light.

But as the spell ran its course, the runes once again dimmed, and nothing happened. 'Hmm, it looks like we are on the right track, but there seems to be something missing...'

The first thing that came to my mind was that using the other elements in a certain order might do the trick, but then I paused as something about it didn't feel right.

'With how most of the participants can't even use magic, there's no way there would be enough people on each team to command every element. No, there must be an easier way to do this...' I reasoned.

So, I did a double take on the small chamber, and I was right. I smiled, feeling stupid for not noticing this sooner. The whole time, we were focused on the floor, so it took me a while to notice the three discs embedded into the ceiling.

Their surfaces were polished to the point that they resembled mirrors more than anything else, and then it clicked. I grinned as I quickly began another incantation.

This time, however, I didn't release the spell. Instead, I held the flame in my palm, increasing its strength as much as possible while positioning myself until the three disc's reflections aligned perfectly with the larger disc's surface.

The runes began to glow, and the disc's light intensified. With a soft hum, the apparatus activated, raising itself from the floor to reveal a hollow space beneath the golden disc, and hidden inside... "Wow!" Inge let out, staring at the apparatus with starry eyes.

It was a large red gemstone pulsing with subdued light. The everpresent darkness parted before it like it was never there in the first place, and the relentless cold quickly disappeared, replaced by a warm breeze.

Finally, we got it. We completed the challenge. All that remained was to return to the stone plaza and activate the beacon.

I quickly retrieved the gem from its resting place. It was surprisingly light for its size and somewhat warm to the touch.

What's more, the light was pulsing in a strange way, as if urging us to move in a specific direction. 'It's like a compass!' I widened my eyes. 'It was that easy the whole time?'

With that, it was time to head back to the ancient ruins.

The journey through the tunnel of darkness proved equally uneventful. Before we entered the ominous passage, I briefly tensed, mentally preparing for the ordeal, but just like before, the oily darkness parted before us, the whole tunnel brightened, and nothing slowed us down.

Thus, we safely made it back onto the large plaza and soon found ourselves standing next to the trio of shining beacons. Now, all but one were lit up, yet once again, there were no other teams in sight.

Still, I couldn't help but feel unease - this all felt too easy for some reason. I waited for something to go wrong the whole way back, yet nothing happened.

"Let's hurry up and activate the beacon!" I urged the others as we made our way over the stone pavement.

The gem slid into its slot almost seamlessly, producing a single pulse of light. Then, like the others, the entire beacon lit up with a beautiful corona of golden flame.

'I think it's about time...' I smiled, turning in a certain direction, but then I was interrupted by a distant rumble.

We hurriedly turned our heads toward the source of the loud sound, only to find a large stone gate embedded into the cavern's wall directly opposite the plaza, which now began slowly opening. 'It’s the treasury!'

"What are we waiting for? Let's get ourselves some treasure!" Gil exclaimed enthusiastically, ready to start sprinting for the gate.

However, I quickly signaled for him to stop as, at that very moment, multiple figures emerged from the rubble at the plaza's edge, blocking our way.

"You've got lucky in the last Trial, but this is as far as you go! Such trash has no place aiming for the top spot!" Tristan shouted as he emerged from behind one of the pillars.

'Finally, I was just starting to think he would never show up...' I snickered.

I didn't deign to answer his petty insults. Just because I was dressed cheaply for convenience didn't mean I was any less capable than him or his cronies.

They cleverly waited for the moment when we activated the final beacon before making their move. But of course, I knew about him being here... and the others, from the moment we arrived in the ruined city.

There was no point trying to hunt them down, as I knew they would all eventually come to us, serving themselves on a silver platter.

'Alright! I think it's high time to teach this arrogant prick a small lesson in etiquette...'