Chương 16: Big fists

This tutorial area wasn't like the ones before. A large room in an old cathedral unfolded around him from darkness and stone. Massive pillars lined a central hallway that led straight to a towering statue of Grim. The monument towered over, and two small basins were at its feet. Inside them, a pair of contorted angel heads lay with a painful expression. Eric pulled out his weapon instinctively, but the only sounds he could hear were the ones from himself. Nothing else was present in this tutorial.

More statues were in the walls between the pillars. Six weeping angels watched from either side of the chamber. This looks… scary. Why does the statue of Grim look ready to slaughter someone? Death held his massive scythe raised mid-swing. If it wasn't for the obvious stone everywhere, Eric would have thought the monument was alive. Down the hallway and to the left, an angelic figure held a flame in its hands. Eric walked approached while looking around and scanning for any immediate danger.

Above the angel, a narrow ledge led deeper into the cathedral. He tried to teleport, and a system message greeted him, making him clench his teeth in anger. /———————————————————\ Warning! In this tutorial area, you cannot use your other skills. \———————————————————/ Great! Exactly what I needed! Thanks a lot, you old hag! The statue in front of him depicted an angel clutching a burning pile of charcoal. Just below its hands was a scratch resembling a stab wound.

Eric tried climbing up to the ridge, but the heat from the embers made it impossible. An idea he didn't like came into his mind from the flash of the dagger in his hands.

"Please forgive me for what I'm about to do," Eric said. He channeled his essence into the knife as it extended into a longsword. Impaling the statue below the pile of burning embers made his heart twitch. The carved angel already looked mournful. Seeing it pinned in place by his blade made the whole thing feel wrong. Using the embedded sword as a foothold, Eric pulled himself onto the ledge above. Another hallway was in the upper part of the chamber.

Near the entrance sat a stone block engraved with scenes of angels battling demons. At the end of the hall, a cube-shaped gap waited in the wall. If he pushed it over, it would fit perfectly. This seems straightforward enough. The first thought that came into his mind was to go behind the cube, lean back into it and push with his legs. Considerably smaller than he was, the box didn't budge despite Eric's best efforts. His legs were on fire, and sweat dripped onto the ground from the continuous struggle.

It felt as though the cube had fused with the floor itself. He tried looking around to find something that could signal how to move the box, but nothing showed up. Eric leaned on a nearby wall to gather some strength.

"While I'm stuck fighting this stupid rock, Ash might get caught or worse. Guards were still roaming the place. They wouldn't find the key warden, but I can't be sure of what's going on. This… damned… little… piece of crap. Move already!" Running over to the box and screaming, Eric delivered a series of punches. His hands began to ache and bleed from the fury of the strikes. On the last punch, green energy burst from his arm.

A massive spectral hand materialized over his fist and slammed the cube down the corridor, straight into the waiting slot. The cathedral trembled as the box locked into place. Eric ran to the railing near the edge and looked at Grim's monument. The basin on the left was filling up with blood leaking from the contorted angel's eyes. Another system message popped into Eric's vision. /—————————————————-\ Fill the air with tears to set yourself free. \——————————————————/ As if this wasn't hard enough.

Next time I'll thank the system when it skips tutorials. Eric jumped down on his longsword and bounced off the handle to the ground. He pulled out the weapon and summoned it back. The brief moment he could see all his weapons in his inventory reminded him of the Eternal Flame relic. The witch's hand had produced enough heat to flood an entire floor with steam before. Maybe it could solve this puzzle too. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Eric put the item into the other empty basin, but nothing happened. He didn't want to activate it now because it could waste its charge. The air in the room smelled of iron. Turning around, Eric saw all eleven angels crying tears of blood. Only the one holding coal wasn't. The burning embers in its hands evaporated the blood from its eyes before it could fall. The coal… that's it! Eric stepped closer to the statue, trying to work out how to handle the embers safely.

He knew that touching with his already injured hands wouldn't work. His previous use of Phantom Hand was instinctual, but this time, he had to use the skill willingly to move the cinders over to the empty basin. Moving even closer, Eric tried placing his hands below the angel's and channeled his essence. Green sparks flickered around his fingers, but nothing happened. Death's apprentice lowered his arms and exhaled sharply. Using Spectral Throw earlier had given him a rough idea of how skill channeling worked.

He was still learning how to do conscious summoning. Concentration casts or delayed casting were entirely different beasts to handle. Determined to put an end to this, Eric squared himself in front of the angel and raised both hands. Looking straight at the cinders, he imagined moving them over to Grim's statue. Come on! Don't think too much. Two ghostly human hands appeared in the air and grabbed the burning coal.

Eric felt the need for absolute concentration as the skill required even more essence when handling damaging items. Slowly, the phantom hands seized the pile and flew it over to the empty basin. The smell of burning wet iron filled the atmosphere as the bowl of blood began boiling and evaporating from the heat right next to it. Red steam curled upward from the altar and vanished into Grim's stone monument. It flashed in a mist of silver and white while a wicked laughter rang out. Eric blacked out.

When he woke up, dizziness made him grab his head. /————————————————\ Phantom Hand Spell Learned! Essence Rooms Cleared: 2/113 \————————————————/ Purgatory's portals and flocks of land were floating in the distance. He spawned right at the entrance to the secret room discovered earlier. The lingering shock from the tutorial faded as his head normalized. His body felt fully restored, and the mental exhaustion was gone. At least these tutorials patch me back together.

Knowing my luck, that'll stop when I need it most. For the first time in a while, Eric felt genuinely capable. He survived a lot of situations in Purgatory and now had three skills related to his class. The platforming section didn't look that intimidating with a full tank of essence. His plan was simple. Use Phantom Hand and grab the hanging flags from the side of the structure. The flag could act as an anchor point to perform a wall run and jump to another protruding rock section.

If something happened, he could teleport to the last safe platform within range. The curve of the tower prevented him from seeing exactly where he was going, but he couldn't return to Ash empty-handed. Eric calmed down and caused a Phantom Hand to extend. Grabbing the nearest flag, he pulled it several times to check its strength before embarking on a wall run. Swinging back and forth in the air, he launched himself toward the closest platform.

Pumped up with adrenaline from free-running in another dimension, he continued using the flags to move along the side of the tower. A nasty surprise met Eric moments later. Two griffins dove out of the sky and circled him from opposite sides. Their riders had the distinct cracked armor of the Shattered, but on their heads were two laurel wreaths studded with feathers. Cloth pieces covered their bodies where the plating wasn't able to reach. One rider had a black griffin and black feathers in his circlet.

The other had a mix of white and gold in the quills of his steed. Eric knew his situation was dire, but he stood his ground on a smaller platform. He didn't want to pull out his weapons immediately and rely on the element of surprise.

"Halt, mortal!" The black rider could barely restrain his mount. It sensed Eric's energy differed from that of normal shades. After summoning more chains around the griffin, the rider continued, "You do not belong here. Surrender, and we may chain you with the others. Resist, and the griffins will feed."

"How about a third option?" Eric yelled as he vanished from their sight. The camouflage wouldn't fool the griffins for long, but he only needed a few seconds. He teleported to the white and gold griffin, striking its rider in the head. Before the corpse would fall, he pushed it to the side and took control of the steed. Eric summoned two Phantom Hands and tried to steer the griffin around the tower. The fists tightened their grip around the griffin's neck and reins, keeping the beast under control.

The remaining Shattered rider surged after the reaper acolyte. Trying his best not to crash into the tower or fall from the ride, Eric directed his mount and followed the tower's curve. He had to yank the reins with everything he had just to keep the griffin from smashing into the walls. In the distance, he spotted an Elegy Vault embedded in the exterior. Finally! Exhilarated by the sight of his coveted safe house and the thought of meeting his mentor, Eric poured more essence into Phantom Hand.

He forced the griffin into a steep dive, baiting the rider after him. Eric pulled both reins with his right hand and summoned his dagger in the other. Just as he turned around to locate his enemy, a searing hot chain wrapped around his left arm holding the weapon. Pain shot through his body, and for a moment, his spectral hands disappeared from the shock. The golden griffin flew away, leaving Eric hanging from the burning chain.

"I'll skin you alive!" The Shattered rider let out a thundering roar and pulled the chain. Eric's senses abandoned him as his body crashed from the wounds. Regaining consciousness, he glimpsed the Elegy Vault right below him. In one last desperate try, he summoned all his essence and encased his injured left arm in a protective film, yanking the chain from the rider and setting himself free. Eric dropped through the air and teleported at the Elegy Vault below.

He took a swing and the glowing chain in his hand wrapped around the rider.

"Still feeling merciful?" A mighty pull from the reaper acolyte dragged his enemy toward him. The moment they collided, he drove the blade straight through the Shattered rider's chest. The black griffin pierced the air with a screech as it escaped. Yellow orbs drifted toward Eric, and he collapsed onto the stone. I'm not dying outside the front door. I… have to get in… All of his vitality was almost gone. Only a small crawl separated him from the Elegy Vault.

The wounds on his body formed a pool of blood on the ground. Slowly, Eric's limbs went numb. His hands gripped the concrete floor, dragging himself to the safe house. In his last waking moments, he pushed the door to the vault and blacked out.