But that was exactly what she was going to do. Wait. No witch abilities. Yet. Let's test this thing out. She spat out [Blinding Venom] at the target to test the effects.
Predictably, it did nothing to stop the construct. It just kept coming, and a set of glassy or crystalline-looking eyes was left undamaged by the effort. Not even a hint of corrosion or losing sight of her as she backpedaled, sand billowing upward from her serpentine body as she scooted away from the closing foe.
Blunt force next.
She coiled up to deliver a strike by coming in low, striking at the legs with a tail swipe, powered by [Coiled Strike]. The blow staggered it, but did not stop it. A split second later, she sprang to the side using [Spring scales] to evade the telegraphed swipe of the sandy fist.
She successfully evaded the heavy swing of the sand golem’s arm.
And the floor.
Oh. I’m flying through the air. I may have miscalculated this just a little bit. Her lateral jump had become a leap at least twice her body height, and she landed with a crash onto the sand that blasted outward.
Annoying. The prediction of her landing point might be half intuition of vectors and gravity, and half derived from the skill. She'd need to recalibrate based on her new body size and muscular strength as she rolled upright, ready for battle.
She sank into the sand and felt the gritty particles rub between her scales. I hate sand. It's gritty and uncomfortable and gets everywhere. Why any snake would live in a desert is...oh right, deal with my foe first.
The golem pivoted at great speed to track her motion, already closing the distance. It leaped through the air and reformed its arm with a heavy head of sand, forming into an oversized mallet.
She used another [Coiled Strike] and kept low, swinging her body to the side, and slammed her tail into its legs in a burst of agility, and raked her claws as she slid by, drawing sandy gouges into it. The golem tripped forward, and the mallet head exploded near her body in a plume of sandy particles, barely missing. She came out of the slide upright, her uniform all sandy, but intact.
The fact that Juni was screaming either for her to kick this thing's posterior or that she was getting kicked in the posterior was a little hard to make out in the chaos of sand constantly shifting. She weighed her options as the thing tried to get on its feet.
She had limited options. Venom wasn’t going to cut it. None of her physical strikes were damaging it, since the sand flowed and reformed as if it were a limitless resource. Burning an essence point in a moment of crisis was not a trend she wanted to continue, as she might end up with a suboptimal group of powers. What could she use to attain victory? What did she have at present that was viable?
[Ember Hex] could, in theory, fuse all the sand into glass if she held it long enough. But doing that while evading attacks could prove challenging. She cursed the fact that she artificially crippled herself by not using those Essence Points earlier.
Well, time to put her witch hexes to work. She didn't want to survive. She wanted to demonstrate and test her new body and abilities.
She darted to the side, keeping the construct at a distance. She felt a charge of energy run through her claw as she triggered her [Mana bolt] power, and a surge of tingling, vibrant energy ran down her arm, forming a small blue-white globule of energy in her claws. Clenching and unclenching it seemed to affect the magnitude of the brightness.
And maybe the power of the shot? Time to find out.
Two shots, fired in rapid succession, impacted the construct just as it wound back for an attack, surging forward like a sandy wall. Globing gobs of sand flew out of the formation, but the sandy wall did not falter.
[Spring Scales], however, didn't have a problem of scaling over it. In mid-air, she directed energy to her fangs, feeling a globule of sparking energy sting her tongue, and expelled it like she was letting out a scream.
The larger bolt hit the sand formation, sending another glob of fused sand to the arena floor. She landed in a coil, skidding a few feet and watching the creature reform to its solid phase, and all the sand it had lost had reformed in the bulky, roughly humanoid mass.
Had she done anything to stop it fully? No, but her [Mana Bolts] had done something.
A few balls of glowing blue were visible damage as the golem shifted stance, with a mixed molten yellow embedded within the creature's torso. The bolts had fused the sand in a small amount. She just needed to fuse all the sand in the entire arena.
And not die in the process.
Great. She’d run out of mana long before that happened. She needed to put her Attributes to work here. What was the best course of action? She needed to find a vulnerability first. Harvine however was shouting in surprise.
"How--when--what evolution is that? Lamias can't use mana bolts!" Harvine shouted, looking simultaneously shocked, and fascinated.
“You get an answer for an answer! How is this thing powered?” Neska shot over her shoulder, smashing her tail against the golem again, to keep it from getting up. The sand burst apart, but reformed as it flowed back up its legs, and this time, it formed a sandy wedge that almost looked like a sword. It swung wildly, and she arched backward, keeping out of its range.
“What makes you think it’s powered?” Harvine called out, sounding bemused.
“All magical constructs need a power source!” It was one note of Risha’s about ritual variants–constructs were, in essence, complicated rituals, with bindings and limited instruction, given external stimuli. Risha had speculated about a soul being housed in a golem to animate it, but wrote she would never have dared to try, given the sacrifice of a life to do so.
What she knew for sure was that the golem had a power source, a vulnerability she could target. It might be internal, or directing energy through the sand, possibly hiding the connection to it within its body. Maybe in the sand flowing back into it to reform its structure?
She focused her gaze on the golem, letting her vision slip into the thermal spectrum. With her heightened Perception, she could see a glowing mass housed somewhere within the creatures' central cavity. A slightly less intense strand of bright light traced up one leg of the golem--a power connection transmitted through the sand! Her theory proved correct.
From her initial understanding, power sources other than fire still generated heat, a phenomenon that Neska had observed from Risha’s books and notes on mana cores. That meant the power cores’ heat flow caused the material to heat as the power passed through it, something called aether resistivity, when talking about mana sources. It was something she could see. It at least gave her a somewhat more realistic path to victory.
First step: cutting it off from the power source.
Second step: disable or destroy the golem.
The first part should be easy enough: get rid of the sand filling the arena, as much as possible.
She slammed her hand into the ground, priming her [Woven Root Hex], and multitudes of dusty, hardy roots erupted out of the sand. But she didn't try to wrap the golem up, as the proverb of grasping sand tighter would result in more slipping through her fingers.
She instead directed the roots to thrash wildly, kicking up the dust. Gritty bits were flung in every direction, forming a miniature sandstorm inside and cutting visibility.
“What on Galwein is she doing? How is she using Witch powers?!” she heard the professor exclaim.
Oh, now she wants to know? Should have just asked me. She fired more [Mana Bolts] at the golem. It responded to the projectiles by conjuring up a barrier of sand that blocked the hits, shielding the main body and the mana core.
Wait. It blocked them? No. It learned to block them.
It was adapting. The construct learned more about her with each attack. The longer this fight went on, the more it would gain a tactical advantage,
She pressed the roots to throw sand away from the arena to the edges, faster and faster. If sand was its ammunition, then she just needed to spread it out of its reach.
The entire room was filled with sand. She felt stinging, gritty particles pelting her and she coughed from the dust haze. But the sand slowly scattered to the edges of the arena, revealing a barren patch of smooth stones in the center.
The golem kept flinging projectiles, but their velocity seemed lessened, as she dodged with a few last second swerves; the golem’s power supply circuit must be weakening. Its center seemed to burn brighter in response as it tried to maximize its internal reserves. It coiled up and pounced, trying to swipe at her with the sand blade.
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Stinging particles rocketed past her, and the blade narrowly clipped through her uniform, leaving a narrow clean cut on one arm. She coiled her body and tried landing another [Coiled Strike] on the golem–except, it used its shield to body block, and then painfully smashed the barrier into her.
Getting sent spinning into the sand wasn’t fun. She conjured up another set of roots to try and grapple the hardened sand shield and sword away. The motion forced it to let go of its focus and dispersed them into blobs of sand that dropped to the floor. But there was one problem:
It took far longer to form than it did to disperse.
That left it vulnerable, unable to cover itself with the sand shielding. She triggered her [Ember Hex] and focused on heating the core sand around the power source within the construct. Within seconds, she could feel heat flowing outward.
The golem lurched, as if struck by an invisible force. It looked up at her with a featureless face and resummoned the sand blade, charging at her. She leaped away using a well-timed [Spring Scales], instinctively knowing where she’d land this time. The blade hit nothing but the arena floor and cut a narrow trench through the solid slabs of composite stone.
The blade finally stuck, unable to shear through any more material. It tugged hard, trying to free the blade. When the slab of stone wouldn't yield, the construct dissipated the blade and reformed it while her hex continued to intensify. She knew it was working; the sand turned a dull red, getting brighter and brighter.
The golem sliced again at her, moving at a faster pace and forcing her to slide away from several near-misses. She kept the hex channeled and focused on a smaller and smaller area of the core. She poured more and more power into fusing the sand, overheating the core within. The golem’s movements grew erratic, and it plunged its fist into the glowing sand, clawing away at the overheated mass.
Neska’s eyes widened as the golem flung the half-melted blob of sand at her with incredible speed. She scuttled laterally by rapidly undulating her lower body and swerving her torso to avoid the deadly blow. Behind her, the molten sand exploded on the arena wall, sending fiery particles flying. A few errant grains stung her scales with intense heat.
Her hex continued to power up, and the sand turned bright orange as it started to flow like molasses. She conjured up a [Mana Bolt] with her tail, even as she focused her hex. It was almost as if her tail could operate independently of her other actions.
The creature took another gob of the molten sand and flung, anticipating her move. She triggered a [Coiled Strike] to dodge in the opposite direction, sand skidding as she lined up her final shot, feeling the cold, numbing sensation creeping into her body.
Right back at you.
She flicked the final bolt at the creature's torso. She heard a crunch of shattering glass as the bolt impacted and sheared through the molten fluid, directly into the core. The construct’s center burst open in a nebula of blue particles, a hole going straight through its torso. It staggered on its legs for a few seconds, wobbling, before collapsing into a cloud of dust.
She shielded her face and coughed from the dust, feeling gritty particles sting her limbs. When she dared to open her eyes, she saw the construct was no more but a molten pile of sand.
The only sound now in the silence of the arena was her gasping for breath, and the pulse of her heart hammering in her chest.
Then, Juni screamed in triumph. "That's my girl!"
But that cheer was short-lived, as she turned to give a molten glare at Harvine. "What in the bleeding gods is wrong with you? What the shit were you trying to prove, you psycho? She could have died!"
But the professor was already in motion, dashing into the arena and coughing on the dust and sand. "Are you okay?!" she shouted, a potion bottle in hand filled with a glowing red fluid.
Neska, still panting, waved her hand at the remnants of the core, broken shards of glass and lingering blue particles. “If that’s not a pass, I don't know what is,” she heaved.
Harvine, still staring at the destruction, then Neska loosely held her notepad, her arm slack at her side. “Dear Divines. Serkin wasn't exaggerating? He hinted at something big but not...this.”
“Yeah. Can I get some help scrubbing this damn sand out from–ooph!”
She couldn’t even finish before a cannonball of fur jumped at her, hugging her and shouting in joy and outrage. “You’re insane! You’re certifiably insane! That was so dangerous!” Juni shouted, burying herself in her arms, “It was also risky, and genius, and goodness, I need to step up my game!”
Neska let out an exhausted exhale before setting the mouse girl down after an admittedly much-needed hug of assurance. “I’m alright. Though I feel like I got s-sand blasted,” she added with a sour face aimed at Harvine. “How far were you willing to go?”
Harvine clasped her notebook shut and walked over to Neska, smiling proudly. “Further than I had planned already. Goodness, I might murder Serkin for understating it. Are you alright? Do you require any medical attention?”
The golem core fizzled and popped nearby. The light finally faded from the glowing particles, leaving a pool of half-melted glass. Neska glanced at the destruction, then shrugged. She was rather annoyed by the tear through her uniform sleeve and a long gouge that had cut into her scales. “A bandage. And a new uniform. Perhaps tell us to come prepared next time?”
The professor shook her head. “I would never have gotten a proper evaluation if you were in any way prepared. That fight was supposed to be unfair, and I would have ended it had I sensed you were in any true danger. Almost no one would endure that long, let alone destroy a valuable training asset. Serkin should have told me about the hexes,” she muttered as she scribbled down notes furiously. Meanwhile, Neska noted several abilities had improved.
Ability Proficiencies Increased
Prehensile Tail 4 → Prehensile Tail 5
Coiled Strike 7 → Coiled Strike 8
Mana Bolt 8 → Mana Bolt 9
Spring Scales 5 → Spring Scales 6
Woven Root Hex 10 → Woven Root Hex 11
Ember Hex 5 → Ember Hex 6
High-intensity efforts do level them. Which translates to constantly solving complex problems, or putting my life on the line. Seeing those values was more than numbers. Each one felt stronger, more precise, or easier to control, in little increments.
Harvine looked up from her notes. “How do you have Witch hexes? That should be impossible!”
“Yet, you can see them plainly,” Neska retorted. “Professor, there are reasons I cannot spell out the details, not in public. For your sake, are we speaking in confidence here?”
She looked offended at that, her face recoiling. “I take the privacy and well-being of my students very seriously, Cassia. We do not forget our humanity whenever doing something else is more convenient.”
Hearing her say that gave her pause. We don’t surrender our humanity whenever it’s convenient. It felt like something she needed to hear, just then. “Let’s clean and talk.”
Several minutes later, Harvine had patched up Neska's arm, and they got the sand off of everyone while they talked. Neska didn’t include every detail, only vital ones: she had access to all the Witch class abilities, along with her snake evolutions.
Harvine had questions, but kept them limited to one or two at a time. She asked about the curated evolutions and witch hexes from her first Tier, and Neska laid out as much as she could remember.
The pen scribbled nonstop. “Fascinating. This really is a unique case. Cassia, this test would have been difficult even for a tier two with high proficiency. Under normal circumstances, you would not have won. The construct is highly resistant to physical damage, and you have no venom powers that affect it–at present. Your assessment of damaging the core was correct.”
“Still was a tough fight,” Juni muttered, still cleaning Neska up and applying a healing salve to Neska’s scales, then wrapped gauze around her arm. “Do you do this to every student?”
“Admittedly? No. I challenge those I see with vast growth potential. Including you, Juni,” Harvine said proudly, drawing a small squeak from her. “Now, for obvious reasons, I can’t have you face the same challenge. I do have more questions for Cassia and yourself, later. I also want to run a less dangerous, more thorough evaluation."
"Juni, I’d like to see what you can do right now, no prep time.”
“M-me? My turn?” Juni stammered.
Neska gently placed a hand on Juni’s shoulder. “Strength is more than pure power. It’s knowing how to analyze and find a way forward.”
“Like how you dissected the golem. I saw it. You were testing it, each attack was with purpose!” She nodded softly at Juni's observation. The mouse girl then turned toward the professor. “I’m ready. Do you need to know my abilities?”
“You’re a terramouse, so I have an idea what to expect. Student creativity in their evolution choices and ability use still matters, however.” She cast a sly glance at Neska. “I dare say I don’t think any other student I'll ever have will surprise me in the way you did. In your powers, or how you applied them to beat a difficult challenge.”
Neska felt awkward. Hearing praise was not something she’d heard often, except from Juni and Jurik. And Hadley, too. “T-thank you,” she mumbled softly. “Um, Juni, you ready?”
The brave mousegirl had already cuffed up her sleeves on her uniform, a hardened expression etched on her face. “I’m ready.”
“Well, not with this terrain. Hold on a moment, let's change it up a bit.” Harvine marched out to the arena, grabbed a broom, then swept up the remnants of the now-cooled golem core, and deposited them in a small metal container. "Theresa is going to murder me for that," she muttered. "The lesson for me, today? Never underestimate a determined student."
The trio then exited the arena and latched the gate. Harvine returned to the metal control panel and pressed a series of buttons. Neska found the mechanical clicks pleasing.
The dust and sand all flew toward the center of the arena, pushed in all directions, and entered a small opening in the floor. In less than a minute, there was nothing but the barren stone floor. Neska pulled Juni back with a tail nudge when she heard a rumbling beneath their feet.
The center pit began spewing a plume of dirt that deposited evenly across the floor, filling it with uncanny precision as Neska stared. Within seconds, that freshly deposited dirt, easily several feet deep, was accompanied by several large stones. Then, small boulders were ejected from the seemingly endless deluge of dirt coming from the magical aperture.
She glanced, annoyed, as a clump of errant dirt sullied her already sullied uniform. Grass, vegetation, and small trees began to sprout from the fresh dirt, and soon, the trees nearly touched the top of the building. They stopped just shy of the metal cladding; branches and leaves erupted from the trunks, and suddenly, the rumbling stopped.
Neska was bewildered by the spectacle of a tiny forest clearing being housed indoors. “Uh…what magic did that?” she asked shakily.
“Same magic that created a testing ground filled with sand. Powerful geomancy effects, along with some druidic enhancements. All powered with mana cores that need to be occasionally replenished,” Harvine announced proudly, one hand clasped to her chest, as if proud of this arena. “Juni, head on in. How prepared are you for–”
“Whatever level of challenge you threw at Neska? Send it my way. Adversity is the spice of growth,” Juni said adamantly. She stepped into the arena, and Neska gently closed the gate.
“Think. Analyze. React,” Neska gave in a few words of advice, the mouse girl nodding proudly. She would say that Juni didn’t have to face this alone, but…
Seeing what Juni had done so far? She had confidence in her.
The ground rumbled to life again as Juni summoned a cluster of rocks floating above her head, and water gushed upwards from the portal.
But it stayed suspended in the air, forming a shimmering globule of energy-charged water, growing larger and larger, the sound of sloshing liquid splashing against some invisible container.
Then, the sound of a roar let loose, distorted as though from underwater, and it flopped to the ground. The blob of fluid flowed and formed into a roughly humanoid mass of water that lashed out with jets of high-pressure spray, all aimed at Juni. Where they cut, they split grass fibers and cut grooves into the ground.
Neska let out a sound of shock. That’s not a construct. That’s a monster!
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