Jack stood alone. The silence of the arena was a sudden, heavy blanket. After the chaos of scraping obsidian and splintering force.
He leaned the Judgement Warhammer against his shoulder. Its weight felt familiar and comforting. It was a tool of destruction. Yes. But in the last round, it had been his primary shield. A heavy, unyielding barrier against impossible speed.
Four rounds. The Frost Wolves had been a test of perception and crowd control. The Rock Golems... raw power and resilience. The Shock Wasps... precision and rapid response. As for the Obsidian Sentinel... it should be defense and ability to find that single, fleeting opening.
What was left? This was a Strength Trial. What fundamental aspect of Strength hadn't been tested? The strength of face magic? The environment? His own mind?
The ancient voice echoed again. It was less of an intrusion and more of a simple, inescapable fact of the arena.
"Arena cleared."
Jack didn't respond. He just watched the last wisps of ash vanish into the seamless stone floor. The air began to feel warm with expectation again.
"Proceeding to Round 5. Environment adaptation commencing."
Adaptation? That was new.
Jack's gaze swept around the vast, circular arena space. The walls remained the same featureless grey. The sky above was a constant, sky blue hue. But beneath his feet, the smooth stone began to stir.
A deep rumbling started. Low at first. Then growing into a resonant growl that vibrated up through his heavy boots. And into his bones. Cracks, thin as spiderwebs, snaked outwards from the center of the arena.
They widened rapidly. Revealing not darkness. But a churning, earthy brown soil beneath. The stone buckled. Splitting apart into massive platen that tilted and groaned.
Within moments, the perfectly flat arena floor was gone. Replaced by a chaotic landscape of jagged stone outcrops. And dark, rich earth.
Small hills rose and fell like waves. The air was now filled with the smell of damp soil. This wasn't just cosmetic. The very ground had become an adversary.
The seismic activity subsided. Leaving the arena a treacherous terrain of uneven earth. Sharp rocks. And sudden depressions.
Suddenly, a new form began to coalesce in the center. Not rising from the earth like the Golems. But seemingly pulled together. From the very stone and soil of the arena floor.
Grains of dirt, pebbles, and chunks of rock swirled upwards. Binding together with crackling energy. They formed a towering, humanoid shape. Rough and unrefined. Yet it felt undeniably powerful.
It stood perhaps six meters tall. Its form was composed of tightly packed earth and stone. With larger, rough rocks embedded like armor plates. Where its eyes should be, two points of internal fire blazing fiercely.
It had no discernible features beyond its basic shape. No mouth. No ears. Just an imposing, silent warden of the revitalized earth. Its cold moonstone core was embed exactly in the center of its chest.
Jack recalled what the creature was called in this world... A Groundborn Construct.
Jack took a firmer grip on the Warhammer. This felt entirely different. This wasn't like the Frost Wolves, the Rock Golems, the Shock Wasps, or the Obsidian Sentinel.
This... this was the arena itself fighting back. Given temporary, terrifying form.
The Construct raised one massive, crude arm. Tendrils of earth snaked out from its form. Sinking into the ground around it. The infernal lights in its head flared.
Jack didn't wait for it to make a move. He took a step forward. Testing the unstable ground.
Loose soil shifted under his heavy boots. Making solid footing difficult. He needed to close the distance. To get past this environmental control. And strike the core.
He charged. Picking his way through the uneven terrain as quickly as his armor allowed.
The Groundborn Construct responded. The ground directly in front of Jack erupted. Sharp, foot-long spikes of rock shot vertically from the earth. Like the teeth of some colossal buried beast.
Jack halted his charge. Slamming the Warhammer head down to shatter the nearest spikes. And twisting his body to avoid others. Ones that scraped against his greaves and pauldrons.
The spikes were brittle but numerous. And the force of their eruption was significant. Capable of tearing through his flesh if he wasn't careful.
More spikes rose. Forming a rapidly expanding wall between him and the Construct. Jack lowered his stance. This was the perfect time to use Ground Shockwave.
He slammed the head of the Warhammer down onto a solid-looking patch of rock embedded in the earth.
BANG!
The arena trembled as shockwave pulsed through the ground. The nascent rock wall wavered. The spikes rattled. Some even crumbled before they were fully formed.
The tendrils connecting the Construct to the ground seemed to momentarily snap back. It wasn't a complete disruption. But it gave him a narrow window.
He didn't hesitate. Charging again. Smashing through the weakened wall with swings of his hammer.
BANG! CLANG! CRUNCH!
Splinters of rock flew as he broke through.
He was closer now. Perhaps fifteen meters away. The Groundborn Construct wasn't fast. But its reach was effectively limitless across this transformed terrain.
It extended both arms. And the ground around Jack began to undulate violently. It wasn't just making spikes. It was trying to sink the earth beneath him. To swallow him whole.
Jack stumbled. Fighting to maintain his balance on the liquid-like earth. He sank slightly. The heavy armor starting to become a liability in this shifting muck. He had to get to solid ground. Or create it.
He swung the Warhammer laterally. Not at the still unreachable Construct. But at the ground itself.
A sweeping blow designed to temporarily flatten the undulating earth around him. Creating a small, stable patch.
It worked. Briefly. The earth resisted. Dense and heavy. But his strength and the hammer's enchantment forced it into submission for a moment.
However, the Construct wasn't only manipulating the immediate ground. Further away, massive boulders, torn from the deeper layers of the arena, began to rise. With surprising speed. They were hurled towards Jack.
Jack raised the Judgement Warhammer. Blocking the first boulder with a swing and a deafening CRASH.
The impact sent a jolt up his arms. Rattling his teeth. The stone shattered against the enchanted metal. But the force was immense.
He ducked under the second. Feeling the wind rush over his head as it flew past. And slammed into a distant wall with a deep thud.
The third, he tried to evade. But it still hit his shoulder guard. He winced in pain at the impact.
This was a battle of attrition against the environment. His armor could withstand the boulder impacts for a time. But the cumulative force would be bad.
Combined with the constant struggle for footing. And the minor damage from the spikes... They were grinding him down. His movements were becoming slower. More deliberate. Asthe rapid attacks and and the unstable ground took their toll.
He needed to get in close. To strike the core of the Construct itself. Where the embed moonstone was located.
But every step forward was met with a new challenge. Walls rising. Ground liquefying. Spikes erupting. Boulders flying.
He tried circling. Using the chaotic terrain as potential cover. But the Construct simply reshaped the landscape. Funneling him into open areas. Or trapping him against rising walls.
He experimented with the shockwave strike again. Hitting the ground with full powered strike with his hammer. Trying to time it not just to disrupt attacks. But perhaps to destabilize the Construct itself.
He slammed the hammer down. Near a patch of ground where the Construct's root-like tendrils were thickest.
BANG!
The ground shook violently. The Construct paused its attacks. Its form shimmering slightly as if struggling to maintain cohesion. It didn't topple. But the effect was noticeable.
That was it. Its power was drawn directly from its connection to the earth. Disrupt that connection. And it would falter. But how to disrupt it permanently? Or at least long enough for him to get close?
He watched the pattern of its attacks. It would focus its energy on one type of manipulation at a time. Spikes. Then waves. Then projectiles.
When it shifted focus. There was a brief dip in the intensity of the previous effect. A slight pause.
He waited. The Construct raised a hand. And a massive, jagged pillar of rock began to rise. Directly in front of him. Designed to crush him against an existing stone formation. This was a high-energy attack. Requiring significant focus. Great!
Now.
As the pillar groaned upwards, Jack slammed the head of his hammer down diagonally. Aiming the shockwave not just at the ground But slightly under the rising pillar. Towards the Construct's base.
BANG! A deep, explosive sound accompanied the shockwave.
The rising pillar didn't just stop. It fractured. Cracking down the middle.
The vibrations were channeled unevenly. They hit the ground beneath the Construct during its moment of great focus.
The Construct staggered. Its blazing eyes flickered wildly. The earth tendrils pulsed erratically. This was the opening. Born from exploiting the very force it was using against him.
Jack ignored the fractured pillar. Or the renewed efforts of the earth around him to ensnare him. Jack sprinted.
He used the crumbling pillar as momentary cover. Then vaulted over a low ridge of stone. The one that the shockwave had conveniently lowered.
The Groundborn Construct was struggling to regain control. Its connection to the earth was frayed by the backlash. This was his chance.
He closed the distance. The uneven ground was no longer a barrier for him. But a tool he was navigating with desperate speed.
The Construct saw him coming and tried a final, desperate act of resistance. The ground around it convulsed. Trying to throw him off his feet or bury him.
But Jack was too close. Too committed. He ignored the jarring shifts. Instead, he was planting his feet during the brief lulls. Using the weight of his hammer for balance when necessary.
He kept moving until he reached his destination. The base of the towering figure of stone and earth. And he reached it.
Jack didn't stop and swing his weapon wide to break his opponent massive legs. Instead, he used the momentum of his charge and jumped.
The weight of the hammer and the power of the jump drove the head of the Judgement Warhammer forward in a brutal arc. Aiming for the very center of the opponent's form. The nexus where the light burned brightest.
CRASH!
A sound like a mountain cracking resounded. The Judgement Warhammer buried itself deep into the Groundborn Construct. Right at the target. Stone and earth groaned and splintered outwards.
The construct shuddered. A deep tremor was running through its massive frame. The ferocious lights in its head flared one last, searing time. Before dimming and disappearing.
It crumbled. Into a landslide of loose soil, pebbles, and jagged rock. The towering figure dissolved into a formless mound at Jack's feet.
Silence returned to the arena. Heavy and profound. The chaotic earth floor remained. But its active hostility was gone. The ground lay still. A broken battlefield.
Jack stood amidst the debris. Leaning heavily on the Warhammer. Which was now lodged in the pile of earth and rock. The sign of exhaustion could be seen on his monster face.
He felt he carried a crushing weight that threatened to buckle his knees. His lungs were burned. His muscles screamed.
Five rounds. Five vastly different trials. Numbers and speed versus perception and control. Resilience against brute force. Agile swarms versus precision and area attak. Lethal agility versus critical timing. And now, environmental control against adaptation.
The ancient voice, indifferent to his state, spoke.
"Round 5 complete. Clearing arena."
He pulled the Warhammer free from the dissolved Construct. The earth around him began to settle. The jagged rocks sinking back down. The loose soil compacting. The arena was, once again, clearing itself.
Jack sank to one knee. Resting the hammer head on the earth. He needed a moment. Just one moment. To catch his breath. To let the searing ache in his muscles subside.
"Proceeding to Round 6."
No pause. No reprieve. Just the relentless march of the trial.
He pushed himself back to his feet. Gritting his teeth against the protests of his body. He shifted his grip on the Warhammer. Planting the butt on the ground and leaning on it like a staff.
What fresh hell awaited him in Round 6? He didn't know. But he would face it. He had come this far.
Bring it on.