The two of them stared at the world spirit, who had changed once more, this time appearing as a living embodiment of a volcano. Her skin was dark as obsidian, assuming it wasn't literally obsidian, with veins coursing with golden magma, and her hair was a twisting ashen grey topknot.

"Aelia," Rory nodded to the world spirit. "It's been some time,"

"Well over a decade for me," Zoey added.

"What do we owe the pleasure?" Rory continued, pretending he hadn't heard her earlier words.

"You two," The world spirit said, her eyes narrowed. "Are not behaving."

"Not… behaving?" Zoey seemed confused, turning to look at Rory. "Do you have any idea what she means by that?"

"I think so," Rory said before rolling his eyes. "But why doesn't the wise world spirit inform us mere mortals?"

"This," She waved her hand, tipped with steel-colored talon-like nails. "It isn't correct."

"Enlighten us," Rory said.

"You are supposed to be competing with one another, refining one another like an axe to a grindstone, not galivanting around."

"Says who?" Zoey countered.

"Says me," Aelia all but growled, glaring at them.

"Uh-huh," Rory said, unimpressed. "Someone has gotten rather self-important."

"Excuse me?" Aelia all but stepped back, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Here is my little theory. Now that you've got considerably more people and growing by the year, these people probably only know of you through stories passed down, ironically, from us." Rory waved a hand between himself and Zoey. "Us founders. With so many people who know of you but don't know you, they probably say your name in hushed tones, almost reverential. Maybe a few are even offering prayers? Does that sound like I'm in the ballpark?"

Aelia said nothing, only glaring at Rory.

It was Zoey's turn to chime in, picking up what Rory was putting down.

"Oh my god, do you think you're a god now?" Zoey all but laughed in her face. "I remember first meeting you, you were closer to a giggling teenager, and now you're thinking you're some divinity?"

"Impudence, both of you. It's because of me that you've both had the chance to grow as you've had."

"Hmm, how about no?" Rory said, shutting down the world spirit. "Ascensions existed even before you did. What we've had is a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship. Except now someone is power tripping. Or wait… no, something has you frazzled."

Aelia was once more silent.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Rory laughed. "You're bugged out over something, and so when you see us working together, you feel like we aren't doing things how you feel like we should. 'Oh, you founders must be rivals who blah blah blah' yes, you said that once, but I don't see any rules that state we have to."

Was Rory always happy to have Zoey peppering him with questions and the like? No, but overall, he wouldn't deny that the fact that the two of them–three if he counted Eia—had managed to defeat a mid-tier-seven Trial boss, something that wouldn't have been possible on his own.

"So, what's the real issue?" Zoey asked, staring up at Aelia without flinching.

"I could withhold the rewards from this Trial for such behavior," Aelia threatened.

"Nah, five dollars says that Eon would have something to say at that point," Rory countered, seeing straight through her bluff. "At best, you're probably allowed to delay them for a bit."

"Bah." Aelia nearly spat the sound out, grinding her teeth for a moment before relenting. "I shouldn't be too surprised it was you of all people who caught on."

"Hey, what about me?" Zoey interjected, only to be ignored.

"Yes, I am frazzled. I have a looming deadline that may result in my literal death, and you two are off merry-making! In under a hundred years, I need my founders to overcome the trials and challenges my siblings will present, and that will require each of you to have at least reached the eighth realm. Is it conflict that breeds growth, and you two are not in conflict?"

"Siblings, as in other planets in the solar system?" Zoey asked.

"Correct."

"I appreciate the foreshadowing," Rory said, playing the role of smartass. "But we've still got quite a bit of time, don't we? It's not ten years from now, now, is it?"

Aelia was silent.

"Exactly. Perhaps your nature advocates only for conflict against your foes," Rory said, giving her at least some leeway in understanding her reaction. "But not everything necessitates direct conflict, man against man."

"Man against Woman," Zoey corrected.

"Semantics," Rory countered before continuing with his spiel. "Have we let you down before?"

"That depends on your classification as-"

"Have we let you down before?" Rory repeated, cutting off the world spirit like a parent scolding their child.

"No," Aelia finally huffed.

"Exactly. So let us handle things our way. Didn't we just finish slaying a mid-tier 7 Trial boss? Perhaps if we were directly clashing, that could push us to growth, but is this not proof of our growth as well?"

Aelia was again silent.

"Reward, please." Zoey stuck her hand out, wiggling her fingers.

"You are not incorrect when you state that I have grown accustomed to being deferred to as a higher power," Aelia rolled her eyes at Zoey. "I've sometimes forgotten how flippant you lot can be, aside from the Spear who has never given me the chance to forget in the first place."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Rory snorted, amused. He'd heard mentions of the Spear occasionally, but this was the first time he found himself entertained by something relating to them, that over the years, they had made it a point to harass Aelia consistently.

"Fine, I will let you two proceed as you are," Aelia finally said after a moment of thought. "But if I suspect you two of falling behind, then trust me when I say I will make sure to make your lives a living hell that will force you two back into top condition."

"Uh-huh," Rory said, unfazed. Years ago, such a threat coming from the world spirit of the planet he called home may have concerned him, but now he rolled with it as just another consideration.

Rather than vanish in the blink of an eye, Aelia's body began to harden, turning into a statue of pure black stone before dissolving into ash and dust that gently blew apart.

"Theatrical," Zoey noticed.

"Extensively," Rory agreed. "Bit of a prick, honestly."

He was half daring the world spirit to return to have the final word, but there was no sound or movement; her attention turned elsewhere, or otherwise choosing to ignore his remark.

"So, when are we going to get our, oh wait, never mind."

A notification had appeared across his vision, opening up into a full display a moment after.

Trial of Frozen Flames and Burning Snow

Clear Status: Full Completion

Prize Determinant: Due to [Full Completion] and [Pioneering Success], (1x) Grand Prize awarded

Grand Prize: Petrified Essence of Verdant Winds, Hide of a Hundred Throes, Auster Spinal Column, Minor Accolade, Deep Chambers Access Unlocked

"Oh, nifty," Rory said as he took in the screen. Looking at the remains of the monster, three points immediately began to cause his eye to twitch. First, a small soft green colored marble, which Rory assumed was the Petrified Essence of Verdant Winds. Next, from the remains of the monster, its flesh began to shimmer and warp, shrinking inward and restitching itself until what remained was essentially a carpet of dirty white fur and hide.

"Hide of a Hundred Throes?" Zoey asked, pointing at it.

"That's my guess."

Finally, the Auster Spinal Column was the easiest to locate, the only piece of bone that had remained even after the physical body of the ape had fallen apart. It was, shockingly, a piece of its spine.

"Say, do you think-" Rory was cut off as all at once the world warped, and the three of them, Eia included, were suddenly back within the tunnel they had entered the Trial from. Looking in, rather than the arctic and fiery landscape, Rory instead saw a large volcanic chamber, much more fitting given their volcanic home. Most interestingly, if Rory squinted hard, it was as if he could see, or rather sense, a second layer overlaying the chamber, the forest they had been traveling through.

"I always hate that," Zoey sighed. "Trials that occupy a layer of physical reality love to spit you out once you've collected your goodies."

"I've only cleared one trial before, and it didn't exist as a layer of physical reality," Rory said, referring to the Trial of Space.

"Oh? Those sorts of Trials are far rarer. They typically give way better goodies. That's the sort of Trial I received my Horizon Mirror from."

"Not surprised," Rory said, the Trial of Space being responsible for his acquisition of the Null Mirror that had allowed them to step through space.

"What else we'd get?" Zoey asked, still curious.

"Minor accolade. Honestly, I haven't checked how many I have in a while," Rory said as he quickly opened his interface, eyes widening.

Seven? Since God damn when?

As much as Rory tried, he couldn't recall any mentions of receiving accolades over the years, unless, of course, it was something that he had had to check on his own.

Well, I'll figure out what to do with those later.

"So, these Deep Chambers. You think that's where this all leads?" Zoey said, pointing to the sprawling cavern that had appeared.

"Probably. I've been sensing monsters deeper within the mountain for a while now. I thought at first it was the Trial that I had locked onto, but I'm thinking perhaps I was wrong."

"Interesting. Well, just a new place to explore!" Zoey said, prepared to step forward and tackle the challenge, until Rory thrust his hand out, blocking her.

"Do we really look like we're ready for that this very moment? Your armor needs repairs, my brain needs repairs, and these," Rory pointed at their collection of rewards. "Need proper processing."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I've got to figure out how to use them best."

"Ugh, boring," Zoey grumbled.

"See, this is how you got stranded here in the first place, you probably got all excited to check out an interesting-looking place, totally didn't consider the negatives, and tah-dah, stuck in a floating volcanic hellscape."

"No, you're stupid," Zoey grumbled again, not even bothering with coming up with a clever response.

Taking the response as the telltale sign of his victory in their most recent verbal spar, Rory put his hands on his hips, staring at their rewards.

"Now, what exactly can I do with you three?"

With three rewards and three participants in the Trial, it wasn't hard for Rory to conclude that the idea had been to split their rewards. The petrified essence was the easiest reward to handle; he'd tossed it to Eia, who had promptly swallowed it whole, her jaws snapping closed with a satisfied look in her eyes.

"Gathering essence is normally far from efficient. This was a nice boost."

Not questioning it, the following item Rory had to consider was the ape hide. While it took more time to figure out how to utilize compared to the petrified essence, it was still less than an hour before Rory had a working idea. As Zoey's armor required repairs –its automatic repair capabilities were far too slow for the amount of damage it had incurred—Rory had taken it as a chance to retrofit the gear, incorporating the ape hide.

Finally, there was the spinal column, which Rory had claimed for himself. Unlike the other rewards, the question of what he would use the spinal column for was a question that he found himself pondering for several days straight, always tickling the back of his mind even as he worked on repairing Zoey's armor.

A new weapon, maybe?

The problem with bone as a material was that it wasn't easily malleable or workable like metals or even wood. Rory could have potentially ground it down into something like bone dust to add into another material. Still, it wasn't like he could easily fetch more of the bones, not unless others faced the same Trial and also were rewarded with similar goodies. It would potentially be a huge waste to try to add it into some mix only for it to add no real value.

So, Rory had latched onto the thought of turning it into a weapon itself.

Being that it was a bone from a mid-tier-seven monster, the spinal column was tough. Yet, even as tough as it was, Rory, with his experience as an artisan, could tell that there was a limit, tough but brittle. Unlike metal, it would ultimately fail spectacularly as it reached critical mass.

Thus, if it were to be used as a weapon, it couldn't be something placed under lots of duress.

From there, Rory continued to spin ideas through his mind, only to wave them off as he found flaws within. It was nearly a week later, when Rory was just about finished repairing and retrofitting Zoey's armor with the hide that made it more comfortable to wear and disperse kinetic energy far more efficiently, that Rory finally had an idea for a weapon that he found no problems with.

A staff.

For almost his entire life on Aelia, Rory had always viewed himself as something of a melee-focused combatant; his talent with magic was, being honest with himself, lacking.

Now, as much as that was true, it wasn't the end of the story. Even without talent, spending enough time working on a skill would lead to improvement. Rory had been, for one reason or another, working with pneuma and magic for well over two decades at this point. While he was far from a natural, he understood freeform pneuma manipulation better than almost anyone else.

So, while once upon a time the idea of making himself a staff was idiotic at best, times had changed. Even in their battle against the Hundred Throes Ape, Rory had fought like a backline spellcaster or wizard.

And perhaps most importantly, Rory had begun to consider himself a connoisseur of all forms of combat; his ability to switch between weapons on the fly was a bit of a growing pride point. So why not add a staff to that arsenal of weapons?

It was an idea that Rory was quite fond of, but there was one problem.

How did one go about making a staff?

It seemed like a stupid question: carve a staff, duh, but Rory felt like that would be taking it too lightly. Putting in such little effort would result in a weapon that was devoid of the sort of careful thought and energy that led to higher degrees of significance.

Already, Rory was beginning to have ideas. Inscription would be a core pillar; that much was certain. Staves in stories and fiction were often depicted as being covered in runes, after all.

What else, though?

Now that was the million-dollar question—a question that Rory planned to ace.

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