Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

Chapter 801

With how fast the second floor had been to finish, there was no need to delay. As soon as they left it they opened the door to the next, ready for whatever new trial that one was going to hold and found a completely empty area that time, with the only thing to indicate it wasn’t endless being the four towering walls around them.

So that looks like what? Two hundred meters across both ways? Plenty of room to move if it comes down to it then. No ceiling though, and as for ground…

He tapped his foot against the floor below, finding it solid enough with no obvious markings and nothing at all in the general area to tell them what they’d have to face for that section, giving them no choice but to wait for whatever was going to come to start while they kept on their guard.

A wait that wasn’t long. Before anyone could question what they were meant to do the attacks came, dozens of constructs of mana all shaped like spears flying at them with force and all of them being stopped by Thera as she raised a barrier around them.

“...Well, that makes things easy,” Vasta muttered. “I suppose this is more of a combat floor than a puzzle one but if all there is to it is waiting it out then that won’t be a challenge with you here.”

“But is it just going to be a matter of waiting?” Thera asked. “There’s no countdown in this one. At least, not one I can see.”

“You don’t always get them,” Amy shrugged. “We’re pretty sure it’s a psychological tactic. Countdowns to create additional mental pressure knowing you only have so long to finish something and then ones without to wear on you, not giving you the chance to say that you only need to survive for however many more minutes. Both types suck. Still, if we can just stand here and relax for however long then I’ll be happy to take that for once.”

It seemed to be a sentiment that Jake and Vasta felt as well. With all of the towers they’d done together by that point, easy floors were always welcome, all the more so when it meant getting some extra breathing room.

It was something Ben was happy to take too, even as he continued to stare outside of the large barrier Thera put up, seeing the attacks continue on.

With the start feeling like a good sign for the rest of that stage, that impression only dropped as the attacks transitioned once more, his and everyone else's mana sense screaming at them that whatever was coming next was inside of the barrier.@@novelbin@@

All of them moved at once but it was again Thera’s reaction that mattered as a new barrier went up within the old, just above their heads in an attempt to block whatever mana effect was coming down on them, succeeding with no harm done.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Uh, so what just happened?” Jake asked, looking up while whatever aspect of magic continued to push against Thera’s power while she explained.

“It feels like it’s pushing down against me; I’m pretty sure this would count as an advanced application of telekinesis. I’m not sure If we’d be crushed by it but we’d definitely be knocked down.”

“So a defensive floor then,” Vasta muttered. “And one where it seems the attacks could potentially come from anywhere. I suppose this will be a bit more of a challenge than it initially looked. Everyone, be on guard, we don’t know what else might be coming.”

They’d only seen applications of raw mana to that point which made it feel safe that was going to be what they’d be getting for that floor but the fact that attacks could come from anywhere added a new dimension of danger, with Ben’s mind immediately flashing to what had already happened to his heart.

…If something appears right in front of my chest again and impales me before I could conceivably react, if I live then I’m going to destroy this tower. That might finally get me my sacrilege and from the sounds of it, nobody else is likely to take this one on before the third wave rolls around, it would be worth it.

It was a little promise to himself in the event he was forced to deal with what he saw as nothing but unfair level design but also a future concern. Once that attack stopped there were a few more rounds of different ones taking place outside the barrier Thera had up, once more giving them some breathing room until the totality of the space around them was filled with mana once again in an application Ben had never before experienced.

The air became dense with grain-sized globules of the power with the mana not crystallizing like in earlier attacks but instead taking a liquid form, droplets of it filling every available space until they moved at once, centering in on each of them to smother and drowned the five in their power as Thera blocked it once more, creating smaller, more personal barriers around each person to protect them with only the little bit that was already nearby getting through to press against their flesh, leaving Ben to analyze the attack that came.

They’re pressing pretty hard against my skin which isn’t bad for a few drops of mana but I can’t imagine how dangerous all of that would be if it got in. He thought as he looked at the thick condensate that was wrapping around the barriers, obscuring his vision of the others with just how much there was. But more than that…

“Heads up everyone, the time between different types of attacks is getting shorter.”

“Are you sure?” Vasta called back through it all.

“Positive, each round of attacks is about a second shorter than the last one which means as time goes on we’re going to be having to switch what sort of attack we deal with faster and faster, things are going to get tight.”

“Great,” He heard Jake mutter at the same time the mana around them vanished.

“On the plus side, if we assume it’s going to stop around whenever the attacks start coming every second then that actually is a good thing,” He told them, trying to be positive as a new flurry of blows came from beyond the bounds of Thera’s barrier. “If we assume they’ll stop around then, then that means we have less than two hours left.”

“That’s a rather big if,” Vasta pointed out while Ben just shrugged back.

“Maybe, but there’s nothing else to go off of so for now I’m just going to hope for the best.”

Who knows, maybe it will work out nice and easy like that.