The Mag'es Path: Chapter 42

Hi all, 

Here is chapter 2 of 30 for this month.

Chapter 42

Harry leaned against a boulder, resting as he considered his next move. In front of him, dozens of rifts gathered together, each opening to an unknown realm.

He wasn’t sure which path led back to the tower dungeon. His mini-map offered no helpful clues about where to go. One wrong turn now could leave him trapped with no way to get back.

He pulled the witch's map from his inventory, spreading it across his lap. Moria had marked this location as "The Fishing Spot," but she'd provided no guidance on identifying specific rifts. He wasn’t going to track her down and ask which rift she had pulled him from.

A pebble skittered across the rocky ground behind him.

Harry's head snapped up. The fog had thickened whilst he'd been resting, reducing visibility to mere metres. Another stone clattered somewhere to his left, then silence returned.

"Who's there?” Harry demanded. 

The response arrived like a spear, blue steel cutting through the air and hitting the spot where he had sat just moments before. Harry rolled to the side and hurried to put some space between himself and the danger.

A figure emerged from the fog. Blue-scaled armour covered the man from head to foot. A mask concealed the face, bearing the intricate design of a snarling sea dragon. Water dripped steadily from the armour's joints, pooling on the rocky ground.

Zael - Finfolk - Level 81

Harry froze. This wasn’t an opponent he wanted to tangle with. He glanced at the cluster of rifts. Should he take his chances and pick a rift at random?

"You're coming with me, boy," Zael said, voice muffled by the mask. He stretched out his hand, and the spear he threw came back and landed in his palm. "Queen Leviathan wishes to speak with you."

"Sorry, but I have other plans," Harry replied. “Tell this queen to make an appointment. The next available slot is when hell freezes over.

Harry summoned wind blades onto his hands and launched them at Zael. The attack streaked towards Kael, but water spiralled around his body like liquid armour, deflecting the magical attack harmlessly aside. 

Kael lunged forward, spear thrust aimed at Harry's shoulder. Harry twisted away, the point scoring across his demon-hide vest. The impact sent him stumbling backwards, boots sliding on loose gravel.

"Stand still," Kael said, pursuing relentlessly. "This will go easier if you cooperate."

Harry fired three more Wind Blades in quick succession. Each one met the same fate—dispersed by swirling water that seemed to respond to Kael's will. The man moved like liquid himself, flowing around obstacles and strikes with preternatural ease.

The spear caught Harry's forearm, splitting skin. 

Harry’s HP: 230/450

Pain flared hot and immediate. Harry hissed, pressing his free hand against the wound. 

"First warning," Kael said. "I don't want to damage you too much, but I will if necessary."

Harry stepped back toward the rifts, not caring where he ended up, just wanting to get away from the man in front of him.

Kael raised his spear and drew back for a decisive strike—a column of water erupted from the ground between them.

The blast caught Kael unawares, launching him backwards through the air. He crashed into a boulder with bone-jarring impact, his spear spinning away across the rocky ground. 

A new figure stepped from behind an outcropping—a woman wearing a mask similar to Kael's but a completely different design. Some type of flower. She wore a pair of simple blue robes and held a wooden staff in her hands. 

???? - ???? - ????

Harry frowned. Who was this newcomer?

"Leave now," the woman said. Her attention remained fixed on Kael, who was struggling to regain his footing. "The boy is not someone you can touch."

Kael spat blood, retrieving his spear. “This territory serves at the Queen's pleasure. Step aside, witch. Her majesty wants the boy."

"The Queen's reach doesn't extend everywhere." Water rose from the ground around the woman's feet. "This is no longer her territory. Leave now, and I won't make this unpleasant."

Kael's response came as a charge, spear thrust forward with desperate fury. The woman sidestepped gracefully, water tendrils lashing out to bind his weapon arm. But Kael twisted mid-strike, using his armour's aquatic properties to liquify his form momentarily. He slipped through her binding, reforming behind her with his spear aimed at her spine.

The woman spun, her staff intercepting the thrust. She channelled water up through the weapon's length, the liquid spiralling around the shaft before launching at Kael's mask in a pressurised jet. He ducked, the attack shattering against the boulder behind him.

Kael drew water from the air itself, forming twin daggers of compressed liquid in his off-hand. He feinted with the spear, then slashed with both daggers simultaneously. The woman parried the spear with her staff's head, but the daggers found their mark, scoring lines across her ribcage.

She retaliated immediately, slamming her staff's base into the ground. A geyser erupted beneath Kael's feet, launching him skyward. He managed to twist in mid-air, landing in a crouch as she swept her staff horizontally. A crescent of water followed the weapon's arc, aimed at his neck.

Kael raised his spear vertically, splitting the water attack down the middle. The separated streams curved around him like liquid wings before reforming into restraining cables. He broke free, his armour scales flaring outward like defensive fins.

“This is ridiculous,” Harry muttered. 

He had never seen a fight this big before. When would he be able to fight like that? It was clear to him now that he still had a long way to go.

The woman advanced, her staff weaving intricate patterns. With each movement, water rose from the moisture-laden ground, forming a series of floating orbs around her position. She thrust the staff forward, and three orbs launched themselves at Kael in sequence—high, middle, low.

He rolled under the first, deflected the second with his spear point, and caught the third on his armour's shoulder plate. The impact staggered him, but he used the momentum to spin into a devastating counter-attack. His spear became a blur of blue steel, striking multiple times in a second.

The woman's staff moved to match his speed. On the eighteenth strike, her staff caught his spear in its carved groove, trapping the weapon. She twisted sharply, using leverage to disarm him completely.

Kael's spear clattered across the stones, but he didn't pause. He drew every droplet of moisture from the surrounding fog, shaping them into a whip of compressed water. The weapon cracked through the air with the sound of breaking glass.

The woman ducked the first strike, parried the second with her staff, but the third caught her shoulder, spinning her sideways. She used the rotation to her advantage, bringing her staff around in a devastating arc that would have caved in Kael's skull.

He liquified his upper torso again, the staff passing harmlessly through his reformed state. But the technique cost him—his magical reserves were depleting rapidly, and maintaining dual forms strained his concentration.

The woman recognised his weakness immediately. She slammed her staff down, sending ripples of force through the ground. Every puddle within ten metres responded, launching upward in synchronised jets. Kael couldn't avoid them all—three struck his legs, two hit his torso, and one caught his mask directly.

The impact cracked his face protection, revealing glimpses of the man beneath. He staggered, his liquid whip dissolving as his focus shattered. The woman pressed her advantage, sweeping his legs with her staff while simultaneously commanding the airborne water to form restraining bonds.

But Kael had one final gambit. He liquified his entire form, becoming a rushing torrent that flowed around her attacks. The water-Kael struck like a tidal wave, reforming at the last second with both hands wrapped around her throat.

"Yield," he gasped, his reformed state unstable and flickering.

The woman raised her staff, and every drop of moisture within fifty metres responded. Water lifted from pools, condensed from fog, even drew from the very air they breathed. It formed a massive sphere above her head, rotating slowly as more liquid joined the growing mass. The technique was beyond anything Kael could match—his water magic seemed primitive compared to the sophisticated spellwork taking shape overhead.

Kael's eyes widened behind his cracked mask. He released her throat, scrambling backwards as he recognised the scope of power being assembled. 

The sphere collapsed inward before exploding outward in all directions. Harry threw himself behind his boulder as the wave crashed over everything, the force enough to shift smaller rocks and send debris tumbling across the landscape. The sound deafened him temporarily, pressure changes making his ears pop.

When the water receded, Kael lay sprawled across the stones, his spear snapped in half, and his armour cracked in multiple places. He struggled to his hands and knees. 

"This isn't over," he wheezed, pulling something from his belt. A small crystal flickered in his palm.

Light enveloped him, and he vanished.

Harry stepped out from behind the boulder, soaked and shaking but alive. The mysterious woman had saved his life, so he owed her at least his gratitude. He opened his mouth to speak, but hands seized his shoulders from behind.

"Wait, I need to—"

The woman's grip was iron-strong despite her slender build. Before Harry could react, she lifted him bodily and hurled him towards a rift. His protest died as dimensional energy seized him, pulling him through the rift.

The last thing he saw was her masked face, watching him disappear.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Reality reformed around Harry with nauseating intensity. One moment, he was spinning; the next, he crashed hard against cold stone flooring. 

"Harry!" Celeste's voice carried desperate relief from mere metres away. "Where the bloody hell did you go?" 

He pushed himself upright, taking stock of his surroundings. The mirror monsters pressed against the corridor's entrance. Their twisted features contorted with predatory hunger as they strained forward, but they couldn't bring themselves to enter the dead end. They appeared afraid of the rift, keeping them at bay.

"I'll explain later," Harry said. “First, we need to deal with this lot.”

“Got any bright ideas?” Celeste asked. “None of our attacks seems to work on them.”

Harry scanned the mirror monsters, but they had no status descriptions. He frowned. These didn’t seem like the usual monsters. So, how were they supposed to handle them?

Getting an idea, he pulled the voidcaster rod from his inventory. “Make some room.”

Harry flicked his wrist, sending the line towards the nearest monster—one of his mirrored copies. The cord wrapped around the creature's torso like a serpent. He yanked backwards. The mirror monster shrieked as it was dragged forward and hurled directly into the rift. A moment later, he received a notification revealing they earned experience for defeating the monster.

"Cool beans!" Celeste exclaimed. "The rifts are killing them!"

Emboldened by success, Harry began working systematically through the group of mirror monsters. The voidcaster's line could extend far, allowing him to target all the monsters bunched up near the far side of the tunnel. Cast, snare, drag. Cast, snare, drag. The rhythm became almost meditative. Even though they were disappearing, none of the mirror monsters were brave enough to step forward and challenge them. 

The last mirror monster, a twisted version of Jeanie, made a sudden, desperate lunge, pushing past its fear. Harry's voidcaster line caught it mid-leap, redirecting its trajectory straight into the rift. 

"After so many hours of fighting them, to think there was such a simple solution," Celeste muttered. 

“Where did you get that fishing rod from?” Jeanie asked. 

“It’s a long story,” Harry said. 

A notification window appeared.

======Congratulations! You have finished the Into the Abyss (2/2) quest. You earned 15,000 XP and 2 PP. You also completed a sub-objective, which gives you an extra 3,000 XP. ======

Harry dismissed the notification. The ordeal in the Abyss was finally over. Moria's attempt to cook him alive seemed like a distant nightmare now that he was back with his companions.

"Let's get out of this maze."

They proceeded more confidently through the mirrored corridors. The dimensional rifts had solved their monster problem, but Harry remained cautious about triggering any other traps. 

Their exploration method was simple but effective. Whenever they encountered more mirror monsters, Harry would retreat to the rifts and use the voidcaster rod to eliminate them. They seemed incapable of learning—they emerged from their mirrors and chased after them, making themselves easy targets.

After clearing the third section of monsters, they discovered another dead end containing a treasure chest. 

Inside, nestled in silk padding, lay a pair of gauntlets. They were made from a dark material, with thin plates of some midnight-black metal that covered the knuckles and finger joints. 

Harry lifted them, noting their surprising lightness despite the apparent protection they offered.

"Appraisal," he whispered.

======Abyssal Twilight Gauntlets | Level: 22 | Epic | Type: Light Armour | Set: Abyssal Twilight Armour (4/5)
Description: Flexible hand protection worn by demon assassins in the Abyss. Crafted from supple demon-hide with metallic reinforcements, these gauntlets prioritise dexterity over bulk. The dark material is treated with abyssal oils that enhance weapon handling whilst providing resistance against light magic.
*Defence: 8
*Durability: ∞
*Resistance to light-based attacks: +10%
*Improves weapon handling by 15%
*Climbing speed increased by 25%
*It repairs itself slightly each time the wearer makes a kill.
*Set Bonus (1 piece): Blindsided: has a 5% chance to blind the target temporarily when hit.
*Set Bonus (3 pieces): Desperate Times (Usable once per day): Spend up to 10,000 experience points to restore health. Every 100 EXP restores 1% of your HP.
*Set Bonus (5 pieces): [LOCKED] ======

"Four out of five pieces," Harry murmured, sliding the gauntlets onto his hands. The material conformed instantly, becoming a second skin. "One more and I'll unlock the complete set."

They resumed moving through the maze with renewed purpose. New dimensional rifts appeared at irregular intervals, providing convenient disposal methods for any mirror monsters they encountered. 

The maze's architecture gradually shifted as they progressed deeper. The mirrors became larger and more ornate, their frames carved with intricate geometric patterns. Some sections featured multiple levels connected by narrow bridges, creating a three-dimensional puzzle that would have been impossible to navigate without eliminating the monster threat.

After what felt like hours of careful exploration, they finally reached the maze's heart. It opened into a circular space dominated by a massive mirror that reached from floor to ceiling. But this mirror showed no reflection. Instead, a staircase ascended into darkness.

"The exit," Harry said.

They settled down for a much-needed rest before attempting the next floor. Harry took some food from his inventory, and they began to eat.

"Are you going to explain where that rift took you?” Celeste asked. “We spent hours surrounded by those bloody mirror monsters, waiting for you to return."

Harry took a deep breath. The Abyss seemed like a fever dream now that he was safely back with his companions, but the memories remained vivid. 

"I ended up in the Abyss," Harry said. "A witch named Moria tried to cook me alive. Literally—she had me trapped in a cauldron."

Celeste's eyes widened. "The actual Abyss?"

"Apparently." Harry recounted his experiences, from his desperate escape from Moria's cauldron to his encounter with the Finfolk warrior. He described the voidcaster rod's acquisition and the strange woman who had ultimately saved his life by throwing him back through a dimensional rift.

Jeanie listened with rapt attention, particularly interested in his descriptions of Zael's water-based combat techniques. 

"The important thing is I'm back," Harry concluded. "And I picked up some useful equipment along the way. Ready for the next floor?" 

Celeste stretched her wings. "Let's get this over with. I want to reach the top of this bloody tower."

They approached the staircase, leaving the mirror maze's reflective prison behind them. Whatever trials waited on the sixth floor, they would face them together. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The staircase ended at an ornate doorway carved with flame motifs. Harry pushed through into blazing heat that hit them like a physical wall.

"Merlin," Celeste gasped. "It's like stepping into an oven."

The sixth floor sprawled before them—a vast cavern filled with molten rock that glowed orange-red. Stone platforms of varying sizes dotted the lava lake, creating a treacherous path deeper into the chamber. Occasional bursts of flame erupted from the molten surface, sending cascades of sparks dancing through the air.

Harry wiped sweat from his forehead, the heat already making his demon-hide armour uncomfortable against his skin. He summoned his Nimbus from his inventory, eager to bypass the dangerous platform jumping entirely.

The broom materialised in his hands for a brief moment before jerking violently away from his grasp. It shot forward into the chamber, weaving erratically between stalactites before disappearing into the depths of the floor.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Harry asked.

"Just like on the last floor, you can't cheat with your broom," Jeanie said.

A notification window appeared in Harry's vision, followed immediately by another for Celeste.

======The player has gained the Overheated Burden.
Effect: All skill usage costs three times normal mana due to extreme heat conditions. Duration: While on the sixth floor ======

“What a bother,” Celeste said. “Should we wait until the weapon phase?” 

Harry shook his head. “We don’t know how long that would take. It’s already morning in the real world. I’m already missing breakfast in the Great Hall.” 

“You’re going to miss at least one class.”

Harry shrugged. “Nothing I can do about it now. Who would have thought I'd end up kidnapped by a hedge witch?”

Harry studied the platform layout. The nearest stone disc was roughly two metres across—large enough for comfortable movement. But as his gaze followed the path deeper into the chamber, the platforms grew progressively smaller.

They leaped to the first platform without incident. The stone radiated heat through Harry's boots, the thermal energy creating an uncomfortable but manageable barrier between them and the lethal lava below. Molten rock bubbled mere inches from the platform's edge, occasionally spitting glowing droplets that hissed when they struck the stone.

"Movement in the lava," Jeanie warned.

A writhing mass of flame erupted from the lava pool, coalescing into a vaguely humanoid shape. The blazing wraith's form flickered between solid fire and translucent energy, its core pulsing with demonic corruption that created unnatural purple veins through the orange-red flames.

Harry immediately scanned the monster. 

======Blazing Wraith | Level: 24 | Type: Normal | Elemental/Demonic | HP: 320/320 | MP: 180/180
Primary Attributes: Spirit: 35 | Perception: 30 | Agility: 30

Defence: 18

Primary Skills:

Flame Whips: Creates tendrils of fire that lash at enemies from medium range

Molten Burst: Explodes in a shower of fire when critically damaged

Heat Shimmer: Creates visual distortions that reduce enemy accuracy

Phase Through Lava: Can move through molten rock as if it were air

Monster Traits:

Swarm Coordination: Becomes more aggressive when multiple wraiths are present

Fire Immunity: Takes no damage from fire-based attacks

Cold Vulnerability: Takes triple damage from cold-based attacks

=======

Exp: 109 [Base 85 + 1 per level]

Loot: 42 pounds; Essence of Flame; ?????

Bestiary Entry: 0/15 defeated
======

Description: Demonic beings that are comprised of pure flame. These wraiths dance between the physical and elemental planes, using their semi-corporeal nature to phase through lava whilst maintaining enough solidity to interact with the material world. Their tendency to hunt in coordinated groups makes them particularly dangerous opponents. ======

The wraith's flame tendrils lashed toward Harry, each appendage burning with supernatural fire that bent the air around it. He dodged sideways, feeling the heat singe his eyebrows as the attack passed inches from his face. The elemental creature's form rippled like liquid flame, constantly shifting between states of matter.

Harry raised his hands to cast Wind Blades, then hesitated. With the mana cost tripled, he needed to approach combat like a strategic puzzle rather than a simple application of overwhelming force. Each spell represented a significant investment of his magical reserves.

Harry's thought about the wraith's elemental weakness. The monster had a weakness to cold. The answer became clear in his mind.

He summoned a sphere of water into his hand. The wraith dissolved into pure flame, flowing through the lava like liquid fire just as Harry released his spell. The condensed water sphere struck the molten surface where the creature had been, creating an explosive reaction of steam and energy.

"Sneaky little bastard," Celeste muttered, her Shadow Lance materialising as a spear of concentrated darkness. 

The molten rock churned ominously around their platform, multiple disturbances creating a pattern of coordinated movement. Harry detected at least three separate flame signatures—more wraiths preparing to surface simultaneously.

"We need to keep moving," he said. "They're trying to coordinate an attack."

They leapt to the next platform, noticeably smaller than the first. Harry's boots scraped the edge as he landed. The reduced space would make dodging significantly harder—another layer of escalating difficulty built into the trial's design.

Two more blazing wraiths erupted from the molten rock and flanked the platform.

Harry began channelling another Aqua Sphere. The attacking wraith's flame tendrils lashed toward him and wrapped around his torso, the heat burning through his demon-hide vest.

Harry's HP: 395/450

Jeanie's spectral form solidified as she attempted to envelop the second wraith's flame core, her watery essence meeting fire in a violent reaction of steam. The creature's semi-corporeal nature made traditional grappling impossible.

Harry completed his Aqua Sphere, launching the condensed water directly at the wraith holding him. The spell struck the creature's core where the flames burned brightest, creating an explosive reaction that sent steam cascading across the platform. 

Celeste launched several Shadow Lances that pierced through the second wraith while it struggled against Jeanie's aquatic restraint. 

The wraith Jeanie held suddenly flared brighter, its core temperature spiking beyond her ability to contain. She released it before the intense heat could cause serious damage to her spectral form, the creature flowing back into the lava pool.

"This is taking too long," Harry said, watching more disturbances appear in the surrounding lava. The heat shimmer effects were making accurate targeting difficult, and their prolonged presence was attracting additional wraiths. "We're going to be overwhelmed."

"Struggling already, fledgling?"

They turned to see a figure materialise on a larger platform deeper in the chamber. The speaker appeared human, though his robes bore extensive scorch marks and his skin had the weathered look of someone who had spent considerable time in extreme heat. He was too far away for Harry to learn anything about him.

"Who are you?" Harry called back.

"Nobody important," the figure replied. "I've been here since the last challenger with King's potential passed through this floor."

"Another challenger?"

"Indeed. A large fellow, unusual appearance. Called himself Adam. He conquered this floor, but it was a long time ago."

Harry frowned. “This is taking an unexpected turn. Who knew Frankenstein's creation could hold a King's potential?”

“The bigger question is why Adam was taking the trial in the first place,” Celeste said. 

Jeanie’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe he wants to become a demon.”

“That’s a possibility,” Harry said. “But I thought he would have given up on the previous floor, considering all the rifts and his aversion to mirrors.”

The man gestured, and a rolled parchment appeared in his hand. "The trial grows more difficult with time. These platforms will continue shrinking until you either reach the exit or perish in the attempt."

The man tossed the parchment toward them. Harry caught it and looked it over. It showed a detailed map of the chamber. He spotted two treasure chests marked in spots that meant taking long, dangerous detours through tough terrain.

The treasure chests were positioned on opposite sides of the chamber, each requiring them to navigate smaller, more dangerous platforms where the wraiths would have tactical advantages. He needed to open them because they probably contained another gem for the crown or the last piece of Abyssal equipment.

"The platforms are already shrinking," Jeanie observed. 

The stone disc they stood on had indeed decreased in size during their brief combat. More blazing wraiths surfaced around them. The creatures maintained their distance for now, but their numbers were growing with each passing moment.

"Decision time," Harry said, rolling up the map. "Fast route to the exit, or risk it for whatever's in those chests?"

“Do you even need to ask?” Celeste giggled. “Always go for the loot.”

Jeanie shrugged. “You're the boss.”

"We go for the chests," Harry decided. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The exit staircase spiralled upward, each step carrying them further from the molten chamber's oppressive heat. 

"Thank Merlin," Celeste said. "I thought we were going to roast alive down there."

Harry reached the top of the stairs and pushed open a heavy wooden door that creaked as it swung open. They emerged onto a circular landing carved from black granite. 

======The player has discovered a safe room: The Contemplation Chamber 

A sanctuary designed for final preparations before the ultimate trial. This chamber exists outside the normal flow of time within Thornwood's Tower and, in reality, allowing for extended rest without consequence. 

Warning: Once departed, return to this chamber is impossible. ======

Celeste collapsed onto a stone bench that jutted from the wall. "Rest sounds brilliant right about now."

Harry settled beside her. The events on the sixth floor had tested their limits in ways the previous trials hadn't. The heat burden alone would have killed them without preparation, but the treasures they'd recovered made the ordeal worthwhile.

"Right," he said, organising his thoughts. "Before we tackle the seventh floor, we need to make some preparations."

Harry withdrew the enchantment gem from his inventory—the sixth enchantment stone he'd retrieved from the treasure chest. The moment he socketed it into the crown, he gained ten Vitality. 

His hit points rose to five hundred and fifty, giving him a comfortable buffer. Combined with his Abyssal armour set's defensive capabilities, he could now withstand several attacks without immediate risk of death. He was expecting a boss on the final floor, so it had come at the perfect time. 

The second treasure chest had yielded an equally valuable discovery: two crystal vials filled with shimmering blue liquid. The Heat Nullification Elixirs had proven their worth the instant he and Celeste consumed them. The oppressive Overheated burden that had tripled their mana costs vanished completely, restoring their magical abilities to full effectiveness.

It made finding the exit much easier. Since the platforms were nearly gone by then, things could have become tricky without them. He had found his Nimbus waiting next to the stairs.

"I have enough to level up," Celeste said, looking at her menu screen. "I'm going to spend my AP on Endurance."

Harry opened his main menu to see the changes to Celeste’s status. 

====== Player Information

Name: Celeste

Occupation: Umbra Sprite 

Level:19 Next Level: 35270

Experience Pool: (1200) 

Attribute Points: 0

Path Points: 13

Resources

HP: 275/275 [225]

MP: 1080/1080

SP: 254/254

Attributes

STR: 13

AGI: 40

VIT: 45 [35]

END: 23

SPI: 54

INT: 20

WIL: 48

PER: 39

DEF: 2 [+ Equipment] 16

=====

Occupation:

Umbra Princess: +2 SPI per level; increases the potency of dark spells/skills by 50%; grants Celeste access to three skill paths. 

Titles:

Harry Potter's Partner: Celeste can now fully access the Gamer System and receive personal quests. 

Matriarch of the Next Generation: Celeste finds herself responsible for reviving the Umbra race. New skills and opportunities will appear related to raising the next generation.

Fairy Magic:  Celeste can use all her spells without the need for a focus or external aid.

?????????: +1 to PER per level, +50% effectiveness towards ???

Burdens

Fairy Constitution: All HP/STA/DEF gains are halved. (Permanent.) ======

Celeste's magical capacity would expand dramatically now that her occupation granted two Spirit points per level. 

The progression reminded him of his own pending advancement to Acolyte Mage. The seventh floor would undoubtedly test everything he had learned throughout the tower's trials. 

A boss encounter seemed inevitable on the final floor. Then there was Adam. Would he meet the monster on the seventh floor, or had he already moved on?

The revelation that Frankenstein's creation possessed King's potential had shifted Harry's understanding of the trials entirely. How had Adam even found this tower? When did Adam complete the trials? For all he knew, it could have been years, or even decades ago.

If Adam had succeeded, what rewards would the trial have granted him? It was likely something demonic in nature, judging by the blatant clues that were spread throughout the dungeon. Harry was only going along with it to obtain the final skill for his occupation advancement. 

The motivations troubled Harry most. Adam's documented history suggested a creature driven by isolation and rejection from human society. What would such a being want with demonic abilities? Power for revenge against his creator? The means to carve out his own domain somewhere beyond human reach? Or something more fundamental—perhaps the demons offered him what Victor Frankenstein never could: a sense of belonging and purpose.

"Have you given more thought to the woman who saved you in the Abyss?" Celeste asked. 

"Not extensively. The encounter happened so quickly, and then I was dealing with Zael and getting thrown back through the rift."

"But you must have formed some impression. She intervened specifically to protect you, which suggests prior knowledge or investment in your welfare."

Harry pulled out his water bottle, taking a sip as he processed this observation.

"Your mother's disappearance remains unexplained," Celeste continued. "Where else would she end up if she disappeared completely and was unable to return?"

Harry nodded. “I already considered that. What are the chances that I ended up in the same part of the Abyss realm as my mother?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Celeste said. “This Queen Leviathan seemed a little too interested in you. I have a feeling things are going to get more interesting from now on.”

"You mean even more trouble. I already have enough problems."

“Trouble makes life more interesting.”

So, what do you think? In the next chapter, Harry and Celeste take on the last floor. 

Thanks for reading.