“What do you think?” Dallion asked as looked about the room with his kaleidervisto.

Strictly speaking, the three of them were given their separate rooms, but as tended to be the usual practice, he and Eury had shared one. March hadn’t been opposed and since the inn didn’t have any other guests, it was the comfortable thing to do.

There didn’t seem to be any echoes lingering, but just to be sure, Dallion had a brief chat with the furniture guardians.

“Think we’re being set up?” he put the artifact away.

“I’m not sure. The overseer shouldn’t have been there.” Eury sounded concerned.

That much was certain. His presence wasn’t an accident. Dallion had a suspicion that he was the reason for it. News of him being friends with potential future overseers had probably spread fast in the proper circles. Overseers would certainly be aware; it was also possible that they were aware of his relation to the Nerosal overseer.

“Get some sleep. We’ll be heading out early tomorrow.”

“To do the task?” Dallion asked, referring to the request given to him by Hannah.

“That too. There’s something else we need to do before that.”

That wasn’t much of an explanation. Given that she had been to the city before and Dallion hadn’t, he decided to leave it at that for now. Maybe some rest was a good idea. Before that, though, there was something he intended to do as well.

PERSONAL AWAKENING

It was night when Dallion appeared in his realm, although with the intensity the Green Moon was shining, it might as well have been day.

To his relief, the realm seemed intact. The only major difference from last time he had noticed was the new design of Onda’s tower. A rather large steampunk nest had been placed on top. At present, the nest was empty, but Dallion had a pretty good idea who it had been built for.

“Heya, Dal!” an unfamiliar voice said.

Instinctively, Dallion burst into instances, in several of which he had summoned weapons. The person who addressed him was in his late teens, dressed in traveling clothes of green leather. He didn’t appear to have any weapons, in fact, the only remarkable things were that he had dark green hair… and also that he was an illusion.

“Dark,” Dallion sighed, letting all but one of his instances fade away. “Who gave you that bright idea?”

“No one did,” the dragonlet said defensively, suggesting that it had probably come from Onda. “I wanted to be like everyone else. Cool skills, by the way. You really know a lot of stuff!”

That’s why it’s generally not a good idea to reveal your skills to kids, Nil said. They tend to talk a lot.

Dallion knew the risks of inviting Dark in his realm, however, he also knew of the benefits. Level sixty had proven to be a wall he couldn’t breach, which was why he might as well try going through with some help. It had been an eternity since he had tried to complete a challenge assisted. Now was his chance to brush up on his skills.

“What do you think of the realm?” Dallion asked.

“It’s tiny, but really cool!”

“Cool, eh?” You’ve definitely been spending too much time with Onda, Dallion thought. “Fancy doing a trial?”

A blob of curiosity emerged in the dragonlet’s forehead.

“It’ll be tough, but nothing for you to worry about,” Dallion began.

“It’s cool.” Onda appeared out of nowhere. “I go on trials with him all the time,” the hammer guardian boasted. “The last one’s been really tough.”

Eagerness appeared throughout his body like clusters of grapes. It was obvious that he was already won for the cause.

“Let’s go, then.” Dallion walked by, making his way to the central area of his realm.

Weapons appeared on Dallion as he walked. Just like last time, he was going to make use of everything at his advantage. Lux appeared, enveloping Dallion in a layer of flame, then lifting him up and forward in the direction of the trial start. Seeing that, Dark also dropped his illusion, shifting back to his usual dragonlet state.

“What are we fighting?” he asked while making loops round Dallion.

“I’ve no idea. It changes each time depending on the gear I have.”

“Why not take all the gear?”

“That’s what I do.”

Confusion emerged through the dragonlet’s chest, along with the reluctance of admitting he hadn’t understood the answer. Internally, Dallion smiled. However, even he had to admit that this was the most difficult trial by far. The only one that came close was facing the Sand Dragon back when he wasn’t even a full awakened. He had spent so many times trying to defeat the creature without success, only to shoot it down in a matter of seconds once he had acquired his dartbow. At present, Dallion strongly hoped the situation would be similar.

The entrance seemed innocent enough: a small mausoleum type structure with a passage of stairs leading down into darkness. The moment Dallion went beyond the first step, the usual rectangle appeared.

You’re in the halls of destiny.

Defeat your hidden fears and shape your future!

“That’s how you level up?” Dark asked, switching into a shardfly. “It’s different.”

“What about you?”

“Dad just creates something for me to fight and I fight it.”

The description sounded alarmingly similar to the process of an awakening shrine. That told Dallion two things: one—that the dragonlet wasn’t even a double digit, which was scary considering its current abilities; and two—magic creatures had the ability to create natural awakening shrines.

Suddenly, a scary thought crossed his mind. What if awakening shrines were, in fact, magic creatures, or at the very least made of them? It was well known that they were relics of the past that, while still functional, couldn’t be reproduced. Also, it was a fact that there were a lot fewer magical creatures that there had been millennia ago. According to Nil, the only place that potentially held the secrets of the awakening shrines was the Order of the Seven Moons.

“It’s different for me,” Dallion said, evasively, knowing that the rules prevented him from telling the dragonlet what awaited him further down the awakening path. “All you have to focus on are the opponents. Also, don’t get caught in any traps.”

The stairs went on for a considerable distance, ending in a round stone wall shaped like a disk. Reaching it, Dallion took a deep breath. The last time he had attempted the trial, he had used the whip blade, the one before that—his harpsisword. Maybe this time, he’d attempt using both. As the trial with Veil had proved, there were benefits to only attacking. Still, he did place the armadil shield on his back.

Here goes. Dallion pushed the side of the door. The disk spun open, letting him enter.

The chamber of the trial was a vast underground network of caves, roots, and streams. However, the goal wasn’t to find a target. Everything was for Dallion’s benefit.

COMBAT INITIATED

A red rectangle appeared. Moments later, clusters of raw light crystals lit up, filling the caves with light.

“Careful,” Dallion whispered. “Sometimes they tend to be fast.”

“Sure, but what are they?” The dragonlet remained in its shardfly form.

“Enemies,” Dallion replied. No sooner had he done so than the sound of flapping wings came from several side tunnels of the cave network.

Bats? he wondered, extending the whip blade. One of the first trials he had attempted to pass the trial he had fought against bats. Their coordination was so strong that they were able to merge and break up so efficiently that line attacks didn’t touch them. As Nil had made a point to point out, this battle wasn’t about brute strength, but finesse. After so many failed attempts, Dallion was of the opinion it was about both.

Having Lux fly him to the center of his current cavern, Dallion split into two dozen instances. Dark did the same.

“Don’t push yourself,” Dallion said with one if his instances. “I’m not the one you’re competing with.”

A few seconds later, the shardfly instances were reduced to ten.

The flapping became louder. Eager to test the new creatures out, Dallion did a line attack in the direction of the cave from where the flapping noise was loudest. The thread of destruction flew forward, slicing roots, rock, and part of the cave itself.

No red rectangles emerged. That was good—it meant that the enemies, whatever they were, didn’t have the ability to negate his attack. All that was left now was to—

A sword of dragonlets emerged from the cave tunnel, followed moments later by more from the next.

Dallion immediately instructed Lux to get him closer to the walls, bursting into another set of instances.

I knew this would happen, Dallion thought bitterly. Since the challenge adjusted to him, it was logical that it would react to Dark’s presence. Of course, Dallion didn’t expect it to be done in such an obvious fashion.

Releasing the whip blade, Dallion played a chord in an attempt to link to the dragonlets. In three of his thirty-six instances, the strands managed to create a connection. Dallion was just about to select an instance to make reality when everything shifted. Suddenly he found himself closer to the center of the chamber.

“What the?!”

Several dragonlets crashed together in a ball of scales and claws. From the corner of his eyes, Dallion saw Dark defeat two opponents, deducing them to yellow smoke.

“What do you think?” Dark asked, beaming with pride as he flew towards the next enemy.

“Did you just pull me to your instance?” Dallion shouted. His attempts to capture several of the dragonlets with music were now gone. Knowing the capability of the creatures, they had probably seen the instance as well, so would be prepared in the future. “Don’t just fight on your own! This isn’t a solo battle!”

A bit ironic coming from you, dear boy, Nil said.

“Not now, Nil!” Dallion hissed as he performed a cross slash with both swords. The attack managed to cut through the thick skin of a nearby creature, though not before it managed to slash his thigh with its wing.

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health ha been reduced by 15%

Dallion winced. With Lux around, the damage wasn’t an issue, but allowing himself to get hurt was. The lack of coordination had made him lose his concentration even more than expected. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had fought with someone else. Ever since he’d gone solo hunting, he didn’t have to coordinate with anyone. Even his guardians followed his instructions to the letter.

Is that the point of the trial, Nil? Dallion flew back to the walls of the cave, trying to limit the points from which he could be attacked. Coordinated fighting?

It’s a bit too early to worry about that, dear boy. The goal of this trial is quite obvious: do not get overwhelmed.

That was easier said than done. Two more dragonlets darted in Dallion's direction, each splitting into eight instances. For the moment, the number wasn’t alarming, but it was going to go. The more the creatures got comfortable with their surroundings, the more they’d start using their skills.

Another major split took place, pulling Dallion into an instance he didn’t want to go. Apparently, his ally had something in mind. Seeing that he wouldn’t come to any harm, Dallion let him.

“I told you not to pull me to your reality!” he shouted.

Predictably, Dark immediately split once more, doing exactly that. Then again.

Dallion felt himself jumping from one spot to another. Tired of the experience, he stopped combat splitting, leaving Dark to have his fun. The only silver lining was that the swarm of yellow dragonlets was just as confused as he was. There was hardly anything more annoying that a well thought out plan getting messed up by someone who had no idea what he was doing. Ten seconds later, it happened again.

This isn’t going to work, Dallion thought.