Chương 53: Chapter 52: Steps

Retreating from the growing crowd, Ben found a comfortable boulder a fair distance away and just sat down, wanting to just relax as the eager ones tested the waters for him first. And it really didn't take long for the entertainment to start. More than a dozen had rushed the staircase with stars in their eyes, but it had taken Ben's walk to the boulder and sitting down for their enthusiasm to die out.

Climbing the first few steps seemed entirely normal, but right around the eighth or ninth step, everyone practically hit an invisible wall. The kids pushed forward only to immediately lose their footing straining against some kind of invisible force that made him wonder what was going on. A heavy gust of wind swept down the spiral steps and shoved them backward and they tumbled through the air before they landed safely. It didn't take a genius to figure out the rules of this particular game.

Getting to the top of the monolith was obviously the goal, but no one had even come close yet. And judging by the way the kids were panting and sweating on just the first ten steps, the invisible pressure scaled rapidly the higher you climbed. He'd have to try it himself to figure more things out, but from the looks of it, everything seemed to be rather safe. Wandering over from the main group, Alice casually hopped onto the edge of his boulder.

Ben looked at her and remembered the burning question he'd had since dropping out of the sky.

"You don't actually have a kinetic affinity, do you?" Tilting her head, she raised an amused eyebrow.

"What gave it away? Well, it's not kinetic, it's gravity." Blinking in surprise, Ben stared at her. Gravity, huh.

"Are any of you actually going to try climbing this thing?" Hearing Alice change the topic, Ben gave her a look.

"What about you?" She scoffed and crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Of course not. I need some guinea pigs to actually test things out before I jump in like an idiot." Ben gave her the driest, most deadpan stare he could possibly muster. He just watched her for a few solid seconds.

"... What?" She blinked. Shaking his head, he pushed himself off the boulder. Dusting off his pants, he shot her a mockingly polite bow.

"Well, Lady Alice. I shall test it out for you."

"I bet you'll get blown off before you even reach halfway." Alice scoffed and muttered under her breath. Flashing her a wide grin, Ben didn't even miss a beat.

"So you think I can actually reach halfway? You flatter me." Turning on his heel, he immediately walked away before her fuse could completely blow. Approaching the massive staircase, he didn't waste any time and instantly fired up his skills. [Focus] sharpened his mind while [Mana Sonar] swept the area to figure out what was actually happening. And just to be safe, he layered [Warforged] over his muscles to reinforce his body. Stepping onto the first block of stone, he fully expected to get hit by a truck.

But absolutely nothing happened. Taking another step, and then another, he quickly cruised right past the tenth stair without breaking a sweat. So it obviously wasn't a physical force pushing people down if his reinforced body wasn't feeling a single thing yet. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Reaching the twentieth step, the environment suddenly shifted. A heavy, suffocating pressure slammed directly into his mind.

Pushing through the invisible weight, he managed to drag himself up to the twenty-fifth stair before his body completely locked up. He couldn't move a single muscle. Ramping [Focus] up a little, he tried to force his foot to take another step. But it was completely useless against the crushing mental weight. It's not physical. Realizing the pressure was entirely mental, he didn't even get a chance to try another strategy. A massive gust of wind violently erupted from the stairs and threw him right off the stone.

Tumbling through the air, he was caught by the gentle gravity magic again and safely dumped onto the dirt. A few nearby kids immediately started snickering, clearly relishing in his complete failure just like everyone else's. Ignoring them, he dusted off his pants and checked the system prompt still hovering in his vision. It wasn't grayed out. So failing didn't lock him out of the event entirely. Which meant this was just a long-term goal they were supposed to slowly work on while the rift ran its normal course.

Wandering back over to the boulder, he quickly gave Alice a summary of the weird mental pressure and his overall findings. She listened quietly, nodding along as she processed the information. After he was done explaining, he stretched a little.

"I'm gonna head out now." Crossing her arms, she raised a curious eyebrow.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I have a little hideout set up. Plus some personal projects I want to work on." Gesturing toward the distant tree line, he easily mapped out his immediate schedule.

"I'm going to hunt some more and maybe try to find another treasure out there. This monolith should be doable. I just have to try harder, but I want to wait and let these people calm down. I'll just hit the objective afterward with Ethan, and you if you want to join us, and try to exit the rift."

"Don't you want to see me try this first?" Honestly, Ben really didn't mind sticking around for a few more minutes to watch her inevitably get thrown into the dirt.

"Sure. Knock yourself out." Alice smiled in satisfaction, spun around, and marched confidently toward the stairway. Watching her from the safety of his boulder, he fully expected her to hit the invisible wall around the tenth step like almost everyone else. He honestly didn't think she'd make it very far at all. But she proved him wrong, cruising past the first ten steps with ease. She didn't even look bothered. And she didn't stop there, either.

Reaching the twentieth step without so much as a stumble, she actually pushed straight into the mental pressure zone like it was nothing. Damn, she's good. Seeing her casually step onto the twenty first stair, he was genuinely surprised by how easily she handled the crushing weight. He definitely hadn't expected a noble to have that kind of mental fortitude. But her momentum finally cracked. Hitting the twenty second step, her entire body just froze up completely.

And right on cue, a blast of wind launched her straight into the air. Catching herself with her own gravity magic, she floated safely back down to the ground and stomped her way back over to him. It seemed like the monolith wouldn't restrict her skill as she hadn't tried using it to reach the top. He could tell she was absolutely furious about her performance. But making it past twenty on a first attempt was actually really impressive.

"Hey, congratulations. Making it that far is a solid run." She didn't look happy about the compliment at all. Plopping down onto the boulder, she glared at the monolith like it had personally insulted her. And she stayed completely silent for a few long seconds before finally turning her gaze toward him.

"Ben, what is your opinion on bullying some monsters?"

"I highly approve." By the time they return from bullying some monsters, Ben felt pretty good about the changes he made to his construct. He'd even gotten an unexpected notification! [Mana Construct Lvl 4 > Lvl 5] They had spent more than a few hours or so just bullying a bunch of monsters in the woods. And true to her word, Alice was absolutely terrifying with her gravity magic, making the whole combat ordeal feel like a casual stroll.

So much so that he wondered how she'd gotten caught by those goblins in the first place! Regardless, way more people had gathered the courage to try climbing the monolith's stairs while they were gone. But naturally, almost all of them were currently eating dirt at the bottom. Scanning the actual staircase, his eyes suddenly locked onto two specific figures way up high. It was the giant scarred guy and the petite girl from earlier. Squinting against the light, he realized they were easily past the thirtieth step.

They were completely crushing his previous record, and they didn't even look like they were struggling against the mental pressure. Damn, maybe I should give it another go. Watching them climb, Ben actually felt a little motivated to try again. He really hadn't pushed himself to his absolute breaking point on his first attempt. So maybe he could actually reach higher if he just braced himself for the headache. Hitting the thirty-fifth step, the giant and the girl suddenly stopped moving.

A gust of wind swept down the stairs and launched them right off the stone. The big guy twisted in midair and landed heavily on his feet, catching the small girl before she could hit the ground. Frowning at the display, Ben quickly noticed something was completely off. Setting the girl down, the giant didn't look exhausted or frustrated at all. He just looked completely startled, staring blankly at the empty air in front of his face. He was obviously reading a system notification.

Prompted by the guy's weird reaction, Ben immediately went up to one of the pillars to touch it. Below the grayed out 'Enter' there was a new change. [Enter event monolith?] [The First Tide is starting...]