Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 218, Season of the Rising Sun, Day 7 –

Terry searched through his dimensional storage and placed all the spears in front of him on the floor.

Hm… Maybe this one?

He picked up one of the spears he had looted from the Hall of Power.

Or this one because it seems easier to remove?

He placed the first spear aside and looked at another one he had found in a storage ring by one of the martialists he had defeated.

“I don’t know.” Terry shrugged and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He glanced back at the cavern with the Spring of Rejuvenation where Apex was still recuperating.

Terry himself had stopped entering the water. He already felt younger than when he had entered this folded space, so whatever lingering effects his interaction with the time-accelerating mana had left in his body was gone. Only his improved physique from the mana transformation had remained.

Terry made sure to mark the location of the rejuvenating spring in his five-point ring in case he wanted to return after visiting more dao chambers, but for now he was stuck with diminishing returns from it. He did not want to waste the precious mana for foundation training. Apex’s recovery took priority. After all, Terry was counting on her for his plan to get rid of Vicious once and for all.

He could not help but frown when thinking about Vicious. He still remembered his first encounter with the channeler of the Shapeless Pond. The man had attacked Syn City at the behest of a misleading Guild mission most likely issued by the Preacher.

After the battle over Syn City, Terry had done some introspection on his weaknesses. He glanced at the layers of translucent golden mana that he was summoning at different locations around himself.

His encounter with Vicious and the soldiers of the Preacher’s Divine Division had been one reason that Terry wanted to master the divine hammer inscription. He had come a long way since he had started, but…

Not enough.

He clenched his fists. He still had trouble dealing with non-corporeal opponents and he knew it well. His disruption discharges had eviscerated death specters when last he met the ethereal creatures, but going against someone like Vicious with his shapeless body was another challenge entirely.

Even when knowing the location of his channeling anchor, I don’t feel ready to deal with him. I might be able to buy time and escape but killing him is… Unless I burn through the rest of the items from the Halls, I don’t see it happening. Not without help.

Terry’s unsatisfied eyes were glued to the divine mana around him. He almost felt as if the intersection between light and metal was taunting him. Ridiculing him for his lack of mastery.

Not much has changed, has it?

Back in Tiv, I had to rely on the mana sublimator and monster cores. Now, I’ll have to rely on martialist talismans.

Back in Tiv, I required Aunt Sigille and everyone else to protect me. Now, I’ll have to rely on Apex to take care of Vicious.

If only I figured out how to move the mana layers from the divine hammer inscription. Together with the rest of the mana-coagulant powder and the channeling anchor, I might…

“Not helping.” Terry hissed at himself. Focus.

He returned to examining the different spears while practicing with the divine hammer inscription.

***

“What in the heavens are you doing?” Apex had left the rejuvenating spring and was staring at Terry with a cramped up expression.

Trick question?

Terry blinked innocently at Apex and then looked at the items in his hands.

In his left hand, he had the weird staff he had won for the three perfect performance tokens. He had extended it by infusing some mana.

In his right hand, he had a spearhead that he had extracted from one of the magic spears in his possession.

“Uh…” Terry wrestled down his own confusion and tried to explain. “This is a staff.” He held up his left hand.

“Yes, the Third Staff of the Monkey King,” said Apex matter-of-factly. “An unbreakable artifact of legend that was rumored to be hidden in this tomb. One of the most valuable— Where did you even get that?” She stared at Terry as if he was a strange beast. “And what exactly are you trying to do with it?!””

“Uhm…” Terry glanced at the staff and then blinked at Apex again with an innocent expression. “I don’t use staffs.” He held out his right hand slightly. “I use spears.” His eyes moved from the spearhead to the staff and he gestured to put the two together. “This one fits.”

By size, by aspect, by magic activation, and even with a magic way to attach it. The only issue is that the spearhead’s blade is roughly a third longer than those on my usual spears. I’ll have to get used to that.

Terry had been proud of himself for identifying such a good fit to turn the strange staff into something he could actually see himself using in battle.

“You…” Apex stared at Terry for nearly a minute.

Terry became uncomfortable. She isn’t going to try and steal the staff, is she? She doesn’t use weapons as far as I know.

Apex raised a palm to her forehead. “...and they call me heretic.” She exhaled sharply.

An amused snort? Almost a snicker? Was that something resembling laughter? Terry tried to maintain a deadpan expression. That’s a first.

“If the Thunderous Palm Sect sees that, they’re going to skin you,” said Apex without much concern in her voice. “Same goes for a few other sects that venerate the legend of the Monkey King. If you mess with the staff, you’ll be making it to the peak of their shitlist.”

Not like they’re offering me cookies when meeting me at the moment. Terry shrugged. “They can try.”

“Oh? Finally discovered a spine?” sneered Apex. “Or just some hot air that needed to get out?!”

Ugh. Here we go again. Terry sighed inwardly but tried hard to not let his annoyance show on his face.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you messed up my battle with the little shitstain!” Apex glared at him. “Where was your spine then?!”

“Being connected to my brain.” The words had left Terry’s mouth before he knew it. He could already see the vein appear on Apex’s forehead again. “We’ve been over this. What’s done is done. Do you really have time to waste? How is your recovery going?”

Apex glowered at him for a few seconds before replying. “I’m fine, or I will be after I manage to break through.”

“Is it a good idea to try this again so soon?” Terry asked neutrally. He truly had no clue if it was.

“I don’t have time to wait for better ideas,” spat Apex. “I’ll manage. I need some time to prepare and get ready. According to my calculations, there should be a few more places in this secret realm that I can use to prepare myself. That has to be enough.”

“Any specific items you need?” Terry asked while attaching the spearhead to the extended staff.

Apex stared at him for a moment in silence again. “...why would you share them with me?”

Again?

“We’ve been over this too.” Terry did not look up. He shrank the staff down a bit and placed one end against an immovable piece of tertium. He shaped some metal to hold the spearhead in place on the other side and transfixed it as well. Afterwards, he infused mana into the staff to force it to grow into the spearhead. Then he raised his gaze to look into Apex’s eyes. “We both want Vicious dead. Helping you means helping myself.”

Apex clicked her tongue and averted her eyes. “Did you get the staff from a meta trial?”

“A what?” Terry furrowed his head.

“An additional reward based on your performance in multiple other trials,” explained Apex impatiently.

“Yeah, I guess.” Terry waited for an elaboration for why that mattered.

“Here.” Apex threw something resembling a rubber band to Terry. “You should attach this as long as you are still in this realm.”

Terry caught the rubber band and puffed his cheeks, not sure what he was supposed to do with it.

“You really have no clue, do you?” Apex scoffed. “How did you not get yourself killed already?” She shook her head with a grumble. “This type of tomb often puts a spotlight on the winners of meta trials. Definitely a signal in the sky above. Probably a connection to the trial tickets as well. Everyone with a ticket and enough brain cells will be able to feel out your location until the spotlight fades. Blindly walking into the spotlight brings you towards the peak of everyone’s hitlist. Everyone knows that meta trials give the best rewards.”

Apex held a hand to her forehead again. “That’s why it’s common sense to take at least some lucky obscuring charms into such a place and to attach the charm as soon as you have put your hands on a pinnacle item. The trial tickets often point to such items. That’s also why only a complete imbecile would intentionally complete a meta trial before the final weeks.”

Well then… I’ve never been called an imbecile before, I believe. Another first.

Terry wordlessly put the rubber band around the staff and spearhead.

Green-blue spearhead, bright orange staff, and now a pink rubber band…

Terry looked at the velvety black fabric of his shadow brooch, the brown glossy armor made of volcanic mushroom leather and the few pieces of golden septimum that made up his equipment. He could only shrug. He was aware of the horrible color coordination but he was not truly bothered by it. Whatever helped him live another day was perfect, no matter the look.

Terry returned his attention to Apex. He knew why the woman had shared the charm and the related knowledge with him. She seemed neurotically unwilling to accept anything without some kind of exchange. “So? What do you need for your cultivation breakthrough preparation?”

Apex inhaled some air through her teeth which made a quiet squeaky sound. “Do you happen to have any cultivation techniques that resonate with the phoenix? I need to adjust my fire. Otherwise, breaking through within the next season is out of the question.”

“Probably…” Terry searched his storage items. He pulled out several jade tokens as well as a few manuscripts. He had discovered that not every martialist was carrying jade tokens around. Some of the storage rings he had looted contained books with drawings instead.

Apex wordlessly picked up the cultivation instructions one by one. She whispered quietly. “These should work…” She continued until she reached a small booklet that Terry had taken out. As soon as she read the title, her eyes widened and she glared at him intently. She threw the booklet back at him. “Oy! Are you looking for a BEATING?!”

Trick question? Terry tilted his head with a furrowed brow. “No?” He glanced at the booklet.

‘Inverted Phoenix.’ Phoenix. Isn’t that what she asked for?

Terry’s eyes moved from the booklet back to Apex whose face was red from agitation.

Why is she suddenly pissed again? If she has no use for some of them, she could just speak like a normal person.

Seeing Terry’s bewildered expression made Apex realize that he had no idea about the booklet’s contents. She placed her hand to her forehead and exhaled wearily. “Clueless imbecile.”

Lovely.

Perhaps teaming up with Apex isn’t such a great idea.

Then again, this can hardly be called a team up. More of a loose alliance.

At least I don’t have to worry that Apex would pull a similar stunt to Rafael. The woman is really wearing her temper on her tongue.

Terry carelessly returned the booklet to his dimensional storage and then focused on preparing his new favorite piece of equipment.

Finally some range.

Finally some proper magic damage that does not destroy the item.

What did Apex call it? ‘Third Staff of the Monkey King’? That’s a mouthful. I think I’ll go with king spear for now.

Let’s see if I can really use the lightning produced by the staff to amplify the magic in the spearhead…

***

It had been more than a week since Terry had fled into the area with the Spring of Rejuvenation.

Today, it was time to leave.

Terry was following Apex, who had mumbled about some strange moss on the floor indicating an alternative exit.

“You go first,” said Apex. She pointed at a rock whose color stood out on the rest of the wall. She stepped aside and crossed her arms.

Does she fear that thing to be trapped? Is she hesitant to show me her back when outside? Does she acknowledge that I have better mana sense?

Terry was wondering about Apex’s motive but did not care to argue. From everything he had seen of Apex, the woman was the type to punch you in the face, not the type to stab you in the back.

Terry nevertheless pressed some of his naturalized mana into the wall and rock to feel it out with his mana touch.

Too little inherent mana for a powerful trap.

There seems to be a layer of mana-osmotic material. I cannot sense signatures from outside.

No distinct mana lines have been carved. No inscriptions either.

Feels like a latch mechanism.

Terry turned the rock and heard a click. He could feel the wall give way and he pushed. A step later, he could see the light of the strange sky. With the mana-obstructing wall out of the way, he was able to sense the distant mana signatures of the martialists and of the magic flora and fauna.

Terry spread his naturalized mana out to establish his mana detection field just in case. His mana touch did not feel anything and Terry confidently stepped out of the tunnel.

Instantly, he felt his detection field penetrated from many different directions at once. He reflexively cast the Immovable Object spell many times in parallel to stop the incoming projectiles.

Crossbow bolts? Too many…

Terry moved completely on instinct while channeling mana into his helmet to summon the barrier visor. He had successfully dodged the remaining projectiles only to hear a shout from behind.

“Clueless!” A fist of azure fire rushed from Apex and incinerated the projectiles. “These are whisper darts. They spread a paralyzing poison even if they don’t hit. You have to burn them!”

Terry evaded the flaming woman while taking account of who was lurking in the area. Now that his detection field had time to spread out further, he was feeling the hidden opponents.

“Spotlight.” Apex glanced at him with a slight look of contempt. “I warned you.”

Yeah. Terry wished he had taken some more time to scout the area before walking out.

The martialists had probably all seen some signal that told them about the appearance of a pinnacle item.

They are watching all the exits to rob whoever comes out…

I hate this place.

Terry was getting pissed.

He darted around to place several immovable objects as cover from further projectiles. He dismissed the idea to waste any talismans or fragile items – no more prodigal wasting of trump cards until Vicious was dead for good.

Terry knew exactly where the enemies were hidden thanks to his mana touch. He was about to dash forward when lightning cracked and a flame-covered Apex was jumping forth with azure wings towards one half of the enemies.

How did she know where to hit them? From the projectile direction? Does she have better mana sense than I gave her credit for?

Apex arrived back on the ground with a roaring whirlwind of azure fire. She slammed her palms onto the earth and with the resonance of a yellow-golden flood dragon, snakes of lightning erupted from the earth to attack whatever was in range.

Oh right… Terry finally realized how Apex had known where to attack when he saw the shifting illumination from the raging lightning. Some of them are casting shadows.

He tried not to dwell on the fact that he had overlooked something so obvious. He reminded himself to not solely rely on his mana perception in the future and prepared to engage the remaining enemies.

He was about to dash forward but halted half-way.

Why not?

Terry retrieved his king spear and took aim from between his immovable objects. With a large infusion of mana, the spear’s pole instantly grew dozens of meters long. The sharp spearhead penetrated right into the belly of an unwitting assailant that had thought himself secure and hidden.

Damn, I was aiming for his head.

Despite his silent grumblings, Terry was happy with the range of the king’s spear. He could improve his aim with further practice later.

Heavy.

Terry fleetingly transfixed some of the septimum pieces on his forearms to stabilize the elongated spear for a moment. He infused mana into the spear’s other mana layer and lightning danced around the whole pole.

The king spear had continued growing even after piercing the first martialist and it was impossible for the man to escape from his skewer. The man was already deeply regretting joining the ambush team on Terry when the lightning from the pole hit him and nearly cooked him.

When the lightning had reached the spearhead, it charged the spearhead’s own mana layers and with a loud crack, a dense net of lightning blasted into all directions, assaulting many other martialists.

While the martialists were still trying to resist the debilitating nerve-paralysis from the lightning, Terry was busy pushing his own naturalized mana forward on the spear.

A bit too far…

He pulled some of his mana from the king spear to adjust the pole’s length. As soon as the spearhead was in range for his remote item activation, he forced his mana into a particular mana-carved symbol.

Terry could feel his mana pulled inside and he only barely managed to satisfy the mana demand from a distance…

The heavens roared!

In less than a second, a dark cloud had formed in the sky above.

A thick bright lightning bolt crashed down from the sky to meet the spearhead, joining the lightning from the pole.

The area flashed brightly as a new net of lightning escaped from the spearhead, less dense but much more powerful.

The screams of the ambushing martialists were reverberating in a symphony to accompany the cracks of furious lightning.

Silence fell afterwards.

Terry himself was stunned by the devastation. He had never activated the magic under an open sky before. Even he had not expected such a level of synergy in his new king spear.

Between Apex cleaving through the martialists and Terry’s own performance, the air was quickly carrying only a single repeated word from all sides.

“Flee!”

Terry was still staring at the singed crater of destruction he had created while pulling his mana out of the spear’s pole to let it shrink into its rest state. The unusually long spear blade and the unusually short pole made it seem like a strange sword whenever Terry removed all his mana.

“Didn’t take you for a battle enthusiast.” Apex shot him a curious glance.

“Huh?” Terry was jolted from his thoughts.

“With that, you’ll get all the battles you could wish for.” Apex pointed at the king spear.

Oh… Terry’s expression fell slightly. Spotlight.

Apex scoffed condescendingly. “Clueless after all. Now everyone will know that you were the one to finish a meta trial. All the little shitbirds will come flying.” She shrugged as if this was of no concern to her. “Unless you hunt down everyone from the first flock quickly.”

Terry frowned. He could still sense the fleeing martialists that had tried to ambush them.

“Soft.” Apex scoffed once more.

Terry understood the logic of it. He also understood himself. If he had not been taken aback by the devastation he had caused, if he had not been delayed by his own thoughts or if these martialists had not fled as quickly, Terry would have most likely killed them.

Now, however, Terry did not feel like it. He told himself that it would be pointless anyway. He might not catch all of them. They might have ways to communicate with others. Above all, Terry had no intention of keeping the king spear a secret. He refused to let such a nice addition to his equipment and combat potential go to waste. He would use it as often as possible, so that he could improve with it.

Making sure that the entrance tickets couldn’t track the spear inside this folded space was one thing, but letting the spear gather dust in his storage without using it was another.

“Let them come.” Terry spoke quietly. I could use the practice.

Most of the time, he was hanging out high up in the sky anyway, so he was not too worried unless they had a way to pinpoint his location and reach him.

Apex snorted with amusement.

“Thanks for the help.” Terry slightly lowered his head in a short nod.

Apex immediately frowned. “Shut it. They were waiting for me too. The warning wasn’t free either. Do you have a Lightning Heart Peach? I need one.”

For once, Terry actually knew the item she wanted and quickly held out two of the strange yellow peaches.

Apex quickly took one and glared warily at the second. She hesitated, but then accepted the second peach as well. “I’ll take my leave. If you see the little shitstain…”

She handed him a sheet of paper that he recognized as a communication talisman. Afterwards, she glared at him. “Don’t you dare bother me otherwise. I have other shit to do.” With this friendly warning, Apex turned around and rushed away.

***