Seth flew down the halls on his sword, heading for the central nexus that connected the six mazes. The trip this time was quick, as he wasn't concerned about triggering more traps. That would change once he got to the black section of the maze. I wonder if that's the end section for everyone. It would make sense, and would also make sense of why I haven't seen anyone else. Then again, are we even in the same instance of the thing? I haven't seen anyone else here since we started.

  The nexus remained unchanged, and he dove into the black corridor. Like the illusory version, there was no lighting to speak of. That was where the similarities ended. The hallway was much the same as all the others. He briefly landed to see how it felt to walk on. Like the illusion, it was like walking on carpet instead of stone. After that test, he mounted his sword and started flying down the hallway.

  He proceeded slowly, checking with qi sight every twenty feet to make sure he missed nothing. At the first branching path, he started following his left-hand rule. Progress was steady, though he wasn't winning any speed awards.

  The first trap he came across was a spear trap, which he dodged easily. I'm becoming too used to these things. He kept his pace, as he didn't need to be first, but being in the last couple of positions would force his exit from this contest. No more rewards, which meant no more chances to find a solution for his cancer problem. Several times, he caught himself moving faster than would be smart. The tension in his neck and shoulders became palpable, and dread settled into the pit of his stomach.

  An hour passed wandering the maze. He dodged several traps. A vertical blade trap triggered, taking Seth by surprise. He had to stop to regenerate a hand for his impatience. As soon as I'm out of here, I'll have to practice healing while on the move. In a fight, enemies wouldn't stop just because he was down a limb.

  Eventually, the maze opened up to a cavern so large he couldn't see the sides or ceiling. The cavern was a forest of pitch-black stalactites and stalagmites. He contemplated turning back, but decided this room was too important to ignore. If he found nothing in ten minutes, he'd turn around.

  Seth charged forward on his sword, stalactites and stalagmites flying by. In the distance, he heard a muffled explosion. Then another. Then another. He scanned with his qi sight, but couldn't find the source. It must be a long way away.

  His sword went spinning out of control as a heavy object slammed into it, sending Seth tumbling to the ground. Rolling to his feet, he scanned his surroundings. Even with qi sight active, he couldn't see anything. The sound of rushing air caused him to take cover behind the nearest stalactite. A boulder slammed into the one behind him and exploded into rubble.

  He darted back and forth from stalactite to stalactite, trying to keep out of sight. The first goal was to get his flying sword back. On foot, he felt vulnerable. Another rush of air made him throw himself to the right. The boulder clipped his elbow, pulverizing the bone and sending him spinning. Without slowing down to heal himself, he found his sword, jumped on it, and flew as low to the ground as he could, keeping out of sight.

  While on his sword, it was much easier to dodge the flying boulders. Explosions echoed in the distance. Guess I'm not the only one dealing with these things. After taking a peek around a stalactite, he finally caught sight of his assailant.

  The creature was ten feet high and made of black rock, causing it to blend into the cavern at a distance. It was bipedal, though its lumbering steps looked awkward, like its legs might shatter out from under it if it made a wrong step.

  Seth prepared an ice ball ritual and sent it the monster's way. Its head turned, and beady, glowing yellow eyes focused on him. A boulder was already in hand, and for all the creature's size, it threw so fast he almost missed it. He flew his sword to the left; the boulder whistling past his right ear, and the ball of ice slammed into the monster. The explosion rocked the monster, and it stopped moving. Not waiting to see if it would start moving again, Seth flew deeper into the cave.

  Now that he knew what to look for, he stayed out of the line of sight of another rock monster. In the distance, he saw the outer walls converge, though the convergence point was still out of range.

  Explosions rang out in the distance. At least one other fight had broken out several hundred feet ahead of him. Seth sped up as much as he dared, though he still stayed cautious. No need to get wrapped up in pointless fights, after all. Still, unease ate at his heart. How many people had gotten here before him? Was he competing with someone for the final spot, second, or first?

  Two minutes of flying and dodging later, and the end of the cavern had come into sight. It was still at least a mile away, and there was a forest of stalactites and stalagmites between them. A familiar whooshing sound caused Seth to dodge. Just in time. A rock smashed into a stalactite twenty feet from where he had just been flying. Still cautious, he kept advancing. Explosions still rang out through the cavern.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The explosions were getting closer. He was gaining ground. Seth's progress was getting slower, however, as he came across more and more of these creatures. It was a waste of time to fight them outright. They didn't seem like they cared to chase; they just threw rocks at whomever they saw. Well, saying just in that case was like saying a tornado is just a strong wind.

  He popped out of the line of stalactites a half mile away. A figure holding a hammer was running as fast as they could. Aaron. Seth sped up; there were no creatures between him and the exit. Aaron turned his head over his shoulder. A wave of his hand, and blades of wind streaked at Seth. A shield popped to life around Seth, and he sped up. The blades of wind hit his shield, but they lacked truly killing intent.

  Still, having his shield out was slowing him down. Aaron was launching these weaker wind attacks one after another. After a moment of deliberation, Seth dropped his shield and flew up on his sword. He struggled to maintain balance, even in his seated position, as he jerked his sword up and down, left and right to dodge blades of wind. A searing feeling spread across his back, followed by a warm, wet sensation. He dove closer to the ground and sped up.

  Two hundred feet. That was all that separated Seth and the goal. Aaron was thirty feet back. A strong feeling of air pressure made him jerk his sword up. Below, a giant wave of wind streaked past. Aaron was now running alongside his flying sword. Seth sped up and dove.

  One hundred feet. Aaron let out a mighty shout, and Seth looked back. A ball of energy was flying at him like an oncoming train. No time to dodge, Seth got his shield up and braced. The ball slammed into his shield and shattered it. It slammed into his body, and he grabbed a bound spirit. His skin burned and regenerated in rapid succession as the blast flung both him and his sword closer to the goal.

  Black orb in hand, the goal was in sight. It was a bowl with enough room for three balls. He saw a black ball flying past him toward the bowl. A quick shower of ice shards knocked it off course, and Seth put his ball in the bowl.

  He was standing in the altar room. The old specter was standing by the altar, a creepy smile on his face. Aaron appeared to his right ten seconds later. He glared at Seth for a second before dropping it. They stood there in silence for thirty minutes before Mathias appeared to Seth's left. Therus and Xiaobo had lost. He looked at the leaderboard, which was still present.

  Seth - 6th peak conquered (1st)

  Aaron - 6th peak conquered (2nd)

  Mathias - 6th peak conquered (3rd)

  Therus - 5th peak conquered

  Xiaobo - 5th peak conquered

  ...

  Both of them were still alive. Seth started to breathe a sigh of relief before stopping. They hadn't survived the trial yet.

  "Congratulations on conquering the 6th peak. Before discussing the final trial, let's get rewards out of the way. The reward for completing this will be three days in an ether-rich environment." The specter's tone sounded warmer, somehow.

  "The inheritance itself is a technique that was left by the sorcerer Thelabrel. The technique they came up with allows them to create seven pseudo-dantians within the body. These pseudo-dantians can cultivate and send energy to their proper dantian, overcoming a lack of natural talent. Legends say that they conquered mortality itself, and live to this day."

  Aaron's and Mathias' expressions didn't change. Seth tried to keep his emotions off his face, but a way to cultivate that would let him surpass his tumors? Excitement welled up in his body; this was what he had been hoping for. All he had to do was complete the seventh trial.

  "As for the seventh trial, well, it's grasping the inheritance itself." The specter smiled at Seth. "The winner will have the first opportunity to claim the inheritance. The completion conditions are quite simple. Complete the seven pseudo-dantians within three days and fill the body with ether until it cannot be filled unless compressed."

  Aaron's eyes went wide as he muttered, "A breakthrough to mid qi gathering in three days? This inheritance..." A blink later, Aaron and Mathias were no longer standing there.

  "Now, let's prepare the ingredients for the seven spirits binding ritual." Another flash, and seven people appeared in a wide circle around him. He recognized Therus and Xiaobo, though they were bound with glowing white chains around their hands, feet, and neck. The rest were filled with either the living participants of the trial or the spirits of the deceased.

  Therus turned his head to look at Seth. His mouth started moving, but no sound came out. Seth would have given anything to be able to lip-read. The only ones who weren't present were Aaron and Mathias.

  "Should you fail, the second-place participant will have a chance to grasp the inheritance. If he fails, third place will have an opportunity. Naturally, failure means you will take a place as one of the ingredients." For the first time in this trial, the old specter walked down from the altar. Seth felt sick to his stomach. As the spirit walked, Seth blurted out a question.

  "I see one spirit here already. Why can't I choose from another spirit? There were more aspirants that have died in our group, weren't there?" Seth's voice was shaking, and his cold, clammy hands were balled into fists.

  "Because the ritual has a better chance of success using souls of the living. More power there, after all," said the old specter, putting his hand on Seth's shoulder. Icy cold radiated from the ethereal hand, and it took everything he had to not vomit on the spot. "Best of luck to you. You have seventy-two hours. The manual is on the altar."

  The old specter faded away as seventy-two yellow flames burst to life on the wall. Seth looked at Therus and Xiaobo. Both of them had resigned expressions on their faces. A couple more participants were visibly angry, throwing their bodies against the circle in a vain attempt to escape. They looked like they were yelling, but no sound was leaving their prisons.

  Seth took a deep breath and tried to keep from meeting anyone's gaze as he ascended the steps of the altar.