“Do you know how to find her? This place is massive.” Tina squinted her eyes at a few open gates.

  “True. There are a few sections in which she could be right now, depending on if she is alone or with a squad.” Bryn nodded. “But, there’s a way. See that pillar in the very, very center? Let’s get closer to it.”

  They did exactly that and soon stood in front of a thick metal pillar about six meters tall and three thick. It looked retractable, standing in the middle of countless cuts and lines in the metal flooring. A weird, shiny mirror was attached to its surface, bent slightly around it to accommodate the curve.

  “What’s this?” Miria asked, curiously brushing her fingers over the mirror.

  “It’s one of the absorption pillars. Skodul always leaves one out after finishing a session so that whoever would like to test their physical or magical strength can do so without having to look for her. The mirror-like plaque can withstand any attack and changes colors depending on how powerful the impact is,” Bryn explained. “It’s just one of the variations but, easy to imagine, the most commonly used one. There are also iterations that can be used to test Healing Magic and such. They operate just a little bit differently.”

  “And how is that alluringly interesting piece of magical machinery going to help us?” Grea asked with a grin.

  “The colors go from purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, to red.” Bryn counted on her fingers. “Anything above green should catch Skodul’s attention since she wears a bracelet connected to the arena and knows when something is used. It should save us a lot of time as I’m sure any of you are able to reach that far. Want to give it a try?”

  Everyone shared a look and then directed their gazes at Asterios.

  He shrugged with a chuckle. “I mean, I could, but if we want to be certain that it works, I think Selene holds the crown of the heaviest hitter.”

  “To be honest, I’ve been researching a few things mentioned in Kaguya’s analysis of external spiritual circuits and could use this opportunity to test a technique or two out,” the fox lady replied.

  “Oooooh! Yes, please!” Miria clapped.

  The others were equally interested in seeing it and stepped away to give Selene some more space while observing her attentively. She moved to the pillar close enough for her to reach it with an extended arm and grazed the shiny surface of the absorption mirror. Nodding to herself, she took position.

  Asterios and the other girls expected her to draw her fist back as usual, but instead, Selene surprised and confused them a little by doing the complete opposite. She kept her right arm extended straight forward and curled all of her fingers in except for the pointer and middle ones. They were bent in the knuckles instead and pressed into the metal.

  One by one, more bushy tails materialized behind Selene’s back. In just a moment, she reached her current limit and brought eight fluffy clouds out. Then, she closed her eyes and focused deeply. The circuits hidden under her right sleeve started glowing increasingly; the emitted light pushing through the smooth material.

  But, the most surprising part was their expansion.

  While everyone in Ast’s group was already aware that Selene’s marks had grown to some extent, now reaching almost halfway through her upper arms instead of ending short of her elbows, they suddenly watched the shining patterns crawl even further before their own eyes. They followed the lines slowly appearing on their friend's skin up to her very shoulder, going as far as to inch onto her neck.

  When the circuits finally stopped expanding, she took a deep breath and a noticeable spiritual pressure burst out of Selene’s body, slowly starting to increase in intensity. Instead of causing a small spiritual storm, it made the air around her feel heavier and denser. Soon, the atmosphere in Selene’s close vicinity was so thick that bits of dust and separated metal began floating up from the ground.

  Bryn squinted at the point of connection between Selene’s fingers and the absorption mirror. It was hard to spot, but she was almost certain that the surface close to the fox lady’s knuckles changed colors. With how small the area was, it wasn’t possible to figure out which one exactly. It could very well be blue or green.

  Then, just as the spiritual density around Selene grew by an entire magnitude, her external circuits flashed strongly. Bryn’s eyes shot wide as the previously small contact zone grew to the size of a fist and flickered through green, yellow, and red colors in a fraction of a second.

  “Wai—”

  “HAAAAP!”

  Bryn’s shout was cut off as Selene’s entire body tensed heavily and her external circuits flashed strongly. Her fist rushed forward past the remaining distance created by her extended knuckles and smashed into the absorption mirror the very moment the plaque passed a brown hue and turned pitch black.

  An earth-shaking gong echoed through the entire arena as the ground shook violently. The magical plate crackled with ominous, black lightning and suddenly broke. Selene’s fist bore into the crumbling structure and an enormous explosion of spiritual energy blasted through the entire pillar.

  It was torn off the ground and sent flying ahead inside a swirling tunnel of cyan spiritual energy. A jagged, regular trench was carved in the floor up to the very back wall of the arena, where the released attack smashed into it with another powerful tremble, denting the metal heavily and lodging the pillar in it like a javelin.

  Selene exhaled heavily and held her limply hanging right arm. The noise of a metal gong still reverberated through the coliseum as she stood in front of the beginning of the path of carnage she had just created. The patterns slowly receded back to their initial state.

  Asterios hastily appeared by her side and supported his vulpine mate with his body. Selene smiled at him warmly and welcomed the help. Bryn followed him shortly and immediately started using her Healing Magic without a single word spoken. The other girls took their time to approach the group.

  “Is your arm okay?” Asterios asked as he looked at the unresponsive limb.

  “I think so.” Selene chuckled softly. “I’m gradually regaining my feeling in it. Thank you, Bryn. And I’m very sorry about the damage. I really didn’t think it would end up this strong.”

  The Valkyrie shook her head, focused on her spell. “You don’t need to apologize. I didn’t think that you would be this much stronger than the capabilities of the absorption pillar either. I’ve never seen anyone reach a brown stage, not to mention cause it to go full black and shatter. It’s a mistake on my part. You are a powerful individual and your bond with Master certainly enhances your strength even more.”

  “Selene! What was that?!” Miria beamed at her friend with sparkling eyes.

  “I think we are all curious about this. I’m taken aback. I would have never thought that your attack could be this destructive with a punch that had no time to gain any velocity,” Silvia added with a tinge of wonder in her calm voice.

  “I’m glad I decided to start with the weakest variation first, then.” Selene smiled wryly. “This is a technique I’ve come up with after learning more about external spiritual circuits. Kaguya’s research notes that there are entities capable of expanding the marks temporarily, which grants them an immense power boost. So far, I can only do one limb for about a minute at max. I have to forgo all the other patterns too or my control slips. There’s still so much training and studying in front of me. I’ll also need to make my body stronger. But, I think we know of a great way of achieving that.”

  Asterios shook his head as she gave him a sly smile and he leaned forward to place a kiss on the mischievous vixen’s lips. He resupplied Selene with some lost mana while she enjoyed his hot tongue. They soon parted as she started being able to move her fingers again.

  “Does it have a name?” he asked, still letting her rest on him.

  “One Inch Punch. The very initial level. There’s also Two Inch Punch and Three Inch Punch but I’m afraid that my arm will not survive their power yet. I’ve already felt like it was being ripped off my body earlier. The rebound is immense,” she replied.

  “Damn. Looks like I need to step up my game. That Dragon’s Summoning Magic research must have some hidden gems like this too.” Grea clicked her tongue.

  “You are so amazing, Selene! To think that you would come this far! I’m so jealous!” Miria hugged the fox lady affectionately.

  “Thank you, Miria. But there’s nothing you should be jealous of. You’ve been making incredible progress with your bloodline too, no?” Selene brushed through the panthergirl's hair. “Besides, you know what to do to grow quicker. Nothing stops you from having Master train with you more.”

  A deep blush quickly spread over Miria’s face as everyone chuckled together. Her tail danced happily behind her back as she kept sneaking glances at Asterios. He caressed her ears with a gentle smile in response.

  “What on Tyr’s name is going on here?!”

  A clearly angry voice reached their ears from above and everyone turned their heads to the sky. A winged figure descended towards them, slowing her descent with mighty flaps. It was an older woman with short gray hair and many scars covering the exposed parts of her skin, uncovered by the golden-brown leather armor she was wearing.

  “It looks like it worked.” Tina giggled.

  “Perhaps a bit too well.” Asterios chuckled wryly.

  Chapter 11

  Necessary Qualifications

  The newly-arrived valkyrja skilfully slowed her descent and landed next to Ast’s group, just by the short metal stub left behind the torn-off absorption pillar. She wielded a simple yet definitely sharp silver spear, resting its butt on the floor.

  Since she wore thin leather armor, Asterios could tell that she had a firm figure with her chest being on the smaller side. It was pretty obvious that the woman was a Valkyrie, being the closest to a human female, considering Bryn’s descriptions of their genders from the past and the more well-endowed Valkyrie’s troubles and insecurities.

  “Councilor Bryn, care to explain what has just happened?” she asked, trailing with her gaze over the deep, damaged trench running to the very edge of the arena.

  “There’s no need for honorifics, Skodul. I’m amongst friends,” Bryn replied and showed a slightly awkward smile. “I apologize. My goal was to use the absorption pillar to call for you but I underestimated my companion’s strength. This is the result.”

  “This was done by one person?” Skodul’s brows rose to her hairline. “I was going to berate you for using a combination attack on an unsuitable target but it seems that I was wrong.”

  “That’s right. This situation is my fault,” Selene joined in. “I stupidly assumed that the artifact doesn’t have a limit since Bryn didn’t mention anything about it, or perhaps made myself believe that it would be high enough for me to go all out.”

  The older Valkyrie laughed to herself openly. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen anyone push it past the red stage yet the first outsider I ever meet completely annihilates the device. You must be a powerful individual.”

  “The price for that power definitely isn’t low.” Selene gestured with her eyes at her still partially limp arm. “And it would have been much higher without the invaluable help I received and keep receiving.”

  Skodul followed her gaze and they both stopped at Asterios. She rubbed her chin while scrutinizing him from top to bottom.

  “So, this is the rumored monster that has been spotted in our ARK now and then. Unless there suddenly are more of those men loitering around.”

  “Most likely one and only.” Asterios chuckled.

  “Master is not a monster!” Miria pouted with a cute frown.

  “I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.” Skodul shrugged at her. “What do you need from me, Bryn?”

  “We will be hosting internal War Games in three days. I’m managing the Power Division so I came to inform you about the need to prepare the arena properly. Can you do that?” Bryn asked.

  “What? War Games? Why now?”

  “I’ll be blunt with you. I need to mobilize our forces to aid us in reclaiming the Descending Spire. No one will follow such an operation unless we prove that we are in possession of the necessary fighting power to make it happen. There’s no better place to do that than the War Games,” Bryn explained.

  “You are insane. But I guess you aren’t completely delusional.” Skodul smiled wryly while taking one more glance at the carved trench. “It won’t be easy but I think you might have a chance to sway the crowd with someone like that by your side.”

  “Oh, I have much more than her. Each person you see here is more or less equally strong. I’m not betting it all on a single piece. Although, Master will certainly play the biggest role in it.” Bryn glanced at Asterios. “I need you to register him as my representative and let him participate in my stead. The others will join too but on their own.”

  “Minus one.” Grea raised a hand. “I don’t fancy getting my ass beaten even if it’s done by hot, badass, winged babes. There’s only one person who can go after my ass however he wishes.”

  Asterios shook his head at her wide grin and lustfully dancing tail. Skodul smirked at them and turned to look at him too.

  “Fine. The others are in. But, as for your representative, I need to conduct an additional test. That’s just the rules. I can’t only take your word for it in this case. Technically, they should go through one too like all the other participants, but I know that you aren’t a deceiver.”

  “We don’t mind getting tested if that’s necessary,” Tina replied.

  “That could actually be fun!” Miria added.

  “I have a lot to prepare if we really are hosting War Games so I’d rather skip those. You will be able to test yourselves during the battles. Participation examination isn’t anything special,” Skodul explained.

  “It’s as she says. But, if you would really like to experience it, we can arrange the tests after the competition.” Bryn nodded and glanced at Asterios. “Are you fine with this, Master?”

  “Naturally. What do I need to do?”

  Skodul raised her spear and hit the ground with its butt. The metals clanged together and the entire arena began trembling and emitting whirring noises. That spooked everyone and they looked around in confusion. Countless lines appeared on the floor as it started shifting, moving, and repositioning in the form of regular squares. Only the tile they were standing on remained stable.

  One by one, thick, tall walls made their way onto the surface and locked themselves in the empty spaces. The screech of metal gradually quietened as more elements fell into their positions and the regular cracks slowly disappeared. Soon, the ground was assembled again, with a completely different design. They were now standing in the very middle of what looked like a giant maze.

  “Awesome!” Miria jumped around with pure joy.

  “I don’t think you understand how much,” Grea whispered under her breath, taken aback by what they had just witnessed.

  “I wonder what else can this incredible contraption bring out,” Silvia mused.

  “There are a lot of modes and formations, and even entire simulations. This arena is one of the ancient wonders that our kind managed to save from destruction by integrating it into the ARK before it was launched. Pieces of knowledge and technology have been lost but the engineers and scholars are doing a great job at maintaining it.” The veteran Valkyrie regarded their surroundings with a gaze filled with pride.

  “That’s still amazing. Was there anything else that you managed to save?” Asterios asked.

  “I think part of Brage’s archives belonged to our race’s Divine Library in the past but that’s just a rumor I’ve heard. It’s possible that every ARK has some kind of inheritance from the city it was built in. We don’t mingle that much with each other except for trade and some other occasions so there isn’t that much the public knows about those. The Council might. In any way, it’s not like we could hide this enormous structure so we are one of the ARKs with their cards laid out.”

  Asterios took a peek at Bryn and she showed him a soft smile that wasn’t that hard to decipher. She definitely knew something but couldn’t talk openly about that knowledge or chose not to. He felt like she wouldn’t mind sharing it with him and the others in a more private environment, though, so he nodded to signal that he got it.

  “What’s my task, then?” he asked, though partially sure about it already.

  “Reach any of the exits within the given time limit. That’s all,” Skodul answered. “What do you think about a minute?”

  The faint smirk on the mature woman’s lips made it quite apparent that she was just being a tease. Bryn’s quiet sigh further supported that assumption. Perhaps it was a provocation meant to curb the overconfident applicants.

  But, Asterios smiled back at Skodul and cracked his knuckles. “It doesn’t matter how, right? I just need to get through this maze on my own?”

  The woman raised a curious brow at him and nodded. “Correct. Any external support is prohibited. Let me know when to start the timer.”

  “You can start now. I won’t take long.”

  Asterios exchanged smiles with his mates and the girls stepped back, already aware of what he was going to do. Their movement confused Skodul a bit, but she assumed that they didn’t want to accidentally help their friend and unintentionally disqualify Asterios.

  She couldn’t be more wrong.

  A frown appeared on her forehead as he walked up to a solid wall and stopped in front of it. The closest entrance was just to his left. The time was already ticking too.

  Then, right after Asterios took a deep breath, a powerful spiritual aura burst out of his body and dark crimson serpents of mana swirled around his figure. Since the high maze hid them away from any prying eyes of his potential future opponents, Asterios didn’t have to hold himself back and quickly materialized his tail, wings, and a lot of scales over his body and limbs.