Aura, Navi, Lucas, and Kai hopped onto one of the four blue platforms that were on the edge of their wall. They could see the approaching void swarm getting closer; the vibrations traveling through the ground and up the wall were getting stronger, as they watched.
[Swarm 3 km, prepare for deployment]
The trial's voice warned as Aura stood on the platform; she heard a hum and then watched as a blue energy field expanded from all the platforms, individually encircling each participant in a shield…then without warning the platforms dropped…Shit…thought Aura instinctively, reaching out to brace herself against the shield only to find she couldn't move.
Just as suddenly, the drop was over, the platform coming to an abrupt stop a few inches off the ground, the blue energy shield that encased her and all the other participants vanishing.
[Void swarm 1.5 km, prepare for battle]
The four looked at each other, then moved, climbing a decent-sized boulder near their section of the wall and moving into battle-ready positions without saying a word. Lucas stood in the middle with Navi, Aura, and Kai circling him.
Pebbles, small rocks, and broken crystal shards that lay on the ground trembled, then rose before moving into orbits around each team member.
"Tsk… show-off," muttered Kai.
Lucas grinned. "You're just jealous."
[Void swarm 500 m ahead, prepare to engage]
The trial voice warned, interrupting the moment. A dark fog seeped from Kai and spread, covering the team just as the first wave of the void swarm appeared from behind the boulders ahead, the sound of menacing growls and the snapping of jaws reaching them.
Lucas didn't waste time as a glowing arrow whistled through the air, striking a void crystal, shattering it on impact. Then the wave crashed into them, and a familiar chaos engulfed them.
Aura's object weave snapped into action; pebbles and crystal shards spun defensively around Navi, deflecting a lunging spawn's claw with a sharp clink.
She felt a strange warmth in her chest—unaware a flicker of mana, unbidden, was amplifying her control. With a flick of her wrist, a jagged rock shot forward, cracking a spawn's crystal, allowing Navi to smash it with a flaming shield bash, the core shattering in a burst of sparks.
"Nice one!" Navi shouted, flames licking his armor as he parried another spawn, his shield glowing red-hot. He thrust forward, cracking a crystal, and Aura finished it with a precise sword strike, her blade guided by an instinctive surge of mana that made her movements unnaturally fluid.
Kai's dark fog thickened, obscuring their flanks. An arc bolt crackled from his hand, striking a spawn and paralyzing it mid-leap. "Gotcha!" he grinned, twirling a knife before hurling it into the stunned creature's core, shattering it.
Another spawn lunged through the fog, but Kai's second knife briefly pinned its claw to the ground, giving Lucas a clear shot. A glowing arrow pierced the crystal, exploding it in a shower of fragments.
Lucas stood firm, his bow humming with energy. "Aura," he called in warning, loosing an arrow that grazed a spawn, disrupting its charge as it leaped at her.
But the spawn kept coming, their growls deafening. Aura sensed another wave of warmth, her concentration sharpening as she wove a barrier of orbiting rocks, blocking a spawn's tail swipe aimed at Kai.
"Too close!" Kai yelped, retaliating with a dual arc bolt that stunned two spawn. Navi capitalized, his shield slamming into one, cracking its core, while Aura's shards finished the other.
The battle continued; Navi, enveloped in flames, used his shield to block attacks, striking mercilessly when any opportunity was presented to crack or shatter the void beasts' crystal cores.
Aura used object weave to create opportunities to destroy crystals, using either the objects under her control or a sword strike, while also using it to defend her teammates.
Kai combined his arc bolt and knives to destroy the void cores or paralyze them for his teammates to destroy.
And Lucas supported them, using his bow to destroy cores when he could or interrupting attacks while also providing healing when needed.
Time passed, and Aura felt battle exhaustion begin to set in; arm muscles began to ache, and the beginnings of a headache formed due to the concentration requirements of object weave.
The others were showing signs of exhaustion too; the relentless assault was beginning to test their stamina.
But having already experienced and survived a void swarm before helped; she gritted her teeth determined to overcome the challenge.
[12 Void Spawn Detected in Your Area]
The trial's voice flooded them with relief as they realized the battle was almost over. As the last of the void spawn circled them, lightning gathered around Navi, and a massive thunderbolt hit several, while a wave of electricity spread, stunning the rest.
Pebbles and crystal shards gathered in a fast-spinning orbit around the group before shooting out in all directions, shattering the paralyzed void crystals, ending the battle, which was immediately confirmed by the trials voice.
[All void spawn defeated, please return to the platforms]
Aura staggered toward the platforms and boarded one; she was followed by the rest of her exhausted team.
The moment they all stood on their platforms, energy shielded them again, and the platforms shot to the top of the wall before stopping just as abruptly as it did on the way down.
All four moved off their platforms and collapsed together in a huddle on the wall. But before they could rest, they heard the trial voice again.
[Do you wish to continue defending, or do you want to return to the rendezvous point]
Aura glanced at everyone; no words were spoken, their expressions conveying their choice. "Return," she replied.
[Congratulations on completing your first mission. Points will be awarded. Initiating return teleportation]
Golden light engulfed them; Aura briefly felt the familiar pull, unsettled stomach, and dizziness before finding herself back at the rendezvous point in front of the mission obelisk.
All four were still seated on the ground, in the same positions they had been when they were teleported.
"I don't think I have ever been this tired in my life," whispered Kai, exhaustion clearly evident in his voice.
"Yeah, we need a rest," said Aura as she glanced at her wrist timer… [13:47:42]… "We have been in the trial for nine hours now."
"I think we should get a tent from the mission store and have a few hours of rest" suggested Navi as he slowly stood up, clearly tired.
"Yeah, let's do that," Lucas agreed