The world lifts the instant I step through the gate.
Not physically, as my balance holds, but perceptually, like the Academy has taken my senses by the collar and yanked them into a new dimension.
The light becomes sharper. The sounds around me become narrower. Even the air feels different, denser almost. It's threaded with faint pressure that brushes against my skin as I move.
The corridor ahead is carved from Aether-glass, with translucent walls layered with rotating sigils. For a second, I can see silhouettes beyond them; other corridors, other candidates, maybe monsters, and then the sigils shift, causing the view I had just seen to be erased like a thought being corrected.
The gate behind me seals with a quiet, final chime.
I'm all alone... at least for now.
The Codex flickers the moment the seal locks.
[SIMULATED ENVIRONMENT ACTIVE]
[TIMER: 03:00:00]
[GATE ORIGIN: TWO]
[OBJECTIVE: LOCATE EXIT]
[ELIMINATION CONDITION: "DEATH" EVENT]
'Death event. What a lovely way of putting it, Codex.'
... The system doesn't understand what the User means. Further explanation is required.
'Never mind, it's nothing.'
I exhale slowly, letting my shoulders settle and relax, and then I start walking.
The floor is a smooth crystal that should be slippery, but the runes embedded beneath it create friction where my boots land; they're slight adjustments, constant and hard to notice. The corridor bends left, then right, then splits into three. A sign of sorts hangs above the split: not words, but a shifting symbol that looks like a stylised labyrinth.
'Classic. Exactly what you'd expect from a fantasy world.'
I pause at the junction and watch the walls.
I can feel them breathe.
Not in a living sense, but the sigils themselves. It's bizarre. They drift and re-layer, rearranging themselves as if the maze itself is capable of thinking. I step closer, my eyes narrowing as I track the patterns. The constructs are projected Aether light, but the logic beneath it is solid. The maze isn't random. It's adaptive. It responds to the presence of candidates within, and probably alters routes to test their decision-making and Aether management.
'A system within a system. How ironic.'
Out of curiosity, I reach out without touching and just hover my fingers near the wall. I could feel a little tingle in the air.
[CONSTRUCT ANALYSIS: ONGOING]
[STRUCTURE: ADAPTIVE LATTICE]
[BEHAVIOUR: REACTIVE]
'Codex, what do you mean by the behaviour is "reactive"?'
The pattern resembles leyline microgrids... similar to nanogrids used in small-building applications from the User's previous world.
I let out a shallow laugh. "Of course they do. If I had a chalkboard, I could model this. Flow fields, decision nodes, weighted randomness. A living algorithm masquerading as architecture."
A sound snaps through the corridor.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
A scrape, like claws on glass.
My skin tightens.
The Codex reacts before my eyes can find the source.
[FOREIGN AETHER SIGNATURE DETECTED]
[CLASSIFICATION: BEASTIAL]
[ENERGY DENSITY: MODERATE]
[DISTANCE: 38 METRES - APPROACHING]
I stop moving and listen. I can hear it again, the sound of fast claws coming from the left branch of the corridor split, the one that curves downward.
I step sideways, plant my feet, and let my hand feel the Aether near my core like I'm about to reach into a furnace.
'I'm familiar with Ignis casting now, it's the only type of magic my body knows how to do without negotiation.'
But familiarity doesn't equate to comfort.
Because the last time I used it seriously, I wasn't trying to control sparks, nor was I practising with flames. I'd been in the Basin, facing a real beast with real teeth.
I still remember it clearly. The heat, the smell of burned fur, and the moment where my mind had gone clean, cold and decisive.
I remember the spell that ended it.
Ignis Implosion.
My throat tightens. Unsure of what to do.
Then the monster appears and rounds the corner.
It's a wolf-shape made of hard light and shadow, projected into solidity by the maze's matrices. Its eyes glow a harsh blue. Its mouth opens, and the inside is a rotating geometry of teeth-like shards. It moves too fast for something made of light, paws striking the crystal floor with weight.
The pain will feel real, but I can't wait for it to pounce.
So.
I snap my hand forward.
"Ignis: Vector Lance."
A thin spear of compressed flame snaps into existence. It's tight, straight and brutally efficient. The lance strikes through the wolf's chest and punches through.
But the construct keeps coming, its form shuddering but reforming around the puncture like the injury is just a mere suggestion.
'Alright... so if the construct's matrix is resistant to simple penetration. What if I destabilise the entire thing?'
My pulse steadies.
The wolf lunges, causing me to pivot and duck under its snapping jaw. I could feel the brush of cold air along my ears as the wolf's bite passes too close, enough that the air stings.
The wolf whips around, its claws ripping across my sleeve, tearing fabric. Heat blooms on my skin where the claws would have opened flesh, a simulated injury burning like real fire.
I grit my teeth and step in. Not away, but in close range.
"Okay," I whisper. "You want real magic. I'll give you real magic."
I take a risk and rush in close as the wolf tries to recoil. I grab its cold and vibrating neck, pulling it towards me.
It would be a stupid move if this were real.
But luckily, in here, it's a calculated one.
'If the matrix is trying to hold its shape, then it must have a core stability point. A node to aim for and eliminate.'
Something I can destroy.
I gather Aether in my palm, hot and dense.
"Ignis:Implosion!"
For a heartbeat, nothing happens.
Then the hot ball of condensed flame appears. It doesn't burst outward, but collapses inward.
Heat compresses into a tight singular point between my hands, sucking air and pulling the wolf's mass toward it, as I push my hands against its beastly structure. The construct shudders, its limbs jerk as the matrix is forced to yield to a pressure it wasn't designed to withstand.
Its eyes flare. Its body distorts.
... and then it collapses into itself in a silent, but violent snap, like a piece of crumpled paper crushed by a fist.
The spell releases a small shockwave that ripples along the corridor walls, making the runic sigils turn bright for half a second. I stagger back a few steps, breathing heavily, while feeling my palm throb with immense heat.
The monster is gone. Only a blue spark remains, and even that is slowly dissolving into the floor.
*Huff, huff, huff
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[EFFICIENCY RATING: HIGH]
COMPREHENSION INCREASE DETECTED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 71.4% -> 73.1%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 29.2% -> 31.0%]
'Two new numbers this time, Codex, can you explain how they're different?'
System accepts the User's request. Ignis comprehension was split to differentiate between understanding and rank momentum. The User is 31% into Ignis Adept, the next rank being Ignis Master. The User's individual comprehension of Ignis is already high. 100% would allow the User full mastery over Ignis Aether magic.
'So one is for my current rank level in strength, and another is how well I understand an affinity of magic?'
Yes.
'Hmm, that's interesting.'
I swallowed the rest of whatever saliva had dried up in the back of my throat and stared at my own hand. My fingers were trembling ever so slightly from the adrenaline.
'I haven't used that spell since I was in the Basin.'
I didn't want to. Spells that can inflict that much damage shouldn't be treated like toys. They're decisions... that could lead to hefty consequences.
I ply my hand, then exhale.
"At least it still works," I murmur.
The Codex responds instantly, almost smug.
System confirms the User's observation.
I huff a laugh despite myself and turn down the corridor the wolf came from. The maze seems to want to punish any form of boldness from candidates, but what are they going to do if my boldness is precise in action?
The next forty minutes blur into motion.
The maze shifts constantly, walls rotating, corridors sealing, new paths opening. Sometimes I catch glimpses of other candidates through translucent partitions: silhouettes running, stumbling, casting frantic spells that bloom and dissipate like fireworks.
I don't try to chase them. I do my best to avoid them.
The only thing I've been chasing is the maze's structure.
Every junction, every shifting wall, every change in air pressure feels like new data. I track each pattern: the maze tends to route me toward some form of conflict whenever I linger too long in one area. It seems to reward momentum, but punishes hesitation.
That's fine. All I need to do is move...
... was optimistic thinking, as I encounter a surge of monsters.
A serpent made of segmented light that strikes from ceiling vents. A two-legged hound-thing that runs on walls. A swarm of needle-winged shapes that shriek and stab like thrown glass.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" I groan.
Each one hits harder than the last, and each dies faster than the last.
I keep my Aether casting simple... because simple is all I have.
For now.
"Ignis: Vector Lance."
A spear of flame punches through the serpent's midsection. It recoils, but it doesn't dissolve.
So I shift tactics: not piercing once, but piercing repeatedly, targeting the same vulnerable spot until the construct destabilises.
"Ignis: Vector Lance."
Again, the same spot, with less waste and more precision.
The serpent convulses, segments of its construct losing cohesion, and it collapses into tiny shards that eventually fade away.
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 73.1% -> 74.0%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 31.0% -> 31.6%]
The ugly wall-runner comes next, skittering along the glass like a spider with canine teeth, something you would see in a nightmare.
It lunges from above, but I drop low, allowing it to overcommit. Then, I thrust up and—
"Ignis: VectorLance!"
The spear catches its shoulder, making it shriek; it was soundless but visibly violent. It snaps sideways, trying to counter and flank me.
I don't chase it. I let it come at me.
When it darts in again, I—
"Ignis: Implosion."
The compressed heat yanks its mass inward. The construct tries to resist, but at this range, it can't wiggle its way out fast enough, collapsing into a crackle of blue light.
[TARGET NEUTRALISED]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 74.0% -> 75.6%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 31.6% -> 33.3%]
Then the swarm appears.
'Ah shit.'
This is where my simplicity becomes a problem.
Dozens of needle-winged creatures rush from a vent, forming a cloud that fills the corridor.
'If I use the lance to kill one, then ten more would come in its place and stab me to death, but if I were to use implosion, then I risk pulling in a gang of beasts that could overcome me at any moment if my Ignis comprehension isn't perfect.'
Just as I start to think to myself, the swarm all dive towards me in sync, causing me to throw a lance reflexively. One of the creatures dissolves, but the rest keep coming.
Pain flares along my forearm as needles punch through fabric and burn against skin.
'Crap. Crap. Crap. This is really bad. I'm going to be eliminated from the maze at this rate, not to mention this pain is agonising.'
My jaw clenches.
The Codex flickers violently.
[THREAT DENSITY: HIGH]
[USER INJURY THRESHOLD: APPROACHING MAX]
The system recommends that the User deploy a barrier.
'But I don't have a barrier spell. I never learned one.'
The swarm dives again, and for a heartbeat, I can already feel the panic trying to climb up my spine.
Then the Codex changes tone, not just reporting, but initiating.
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: ENABLED]
[SPELL INITIATION: IGNIS - EMBER SHIELD]
[STABILITY SUPPORT: ACTIVE]
[CAST NOW]
A blue-gold lattice overlays my vision, showing a circular matrix, heat distributed across a rotating planar rather than a forward vector. A shield. A disc of thin, but sharp, heat.
I don't question it. I thrust my forearm up and follow the pattern the Codex draws in my mind.
"Ignis: Ember Shield!"
A rotating disc of heat blooms in front of me, thin but dense, a spinning sheet of flame like a sawblade made of fire. The needles slam into it and vaporise into sparks, deflecting away in glittering arcs.
I stare, trying to catch my breath.
'I can't believe that actually worked.'
The Codex flickers, almost clinically.
[SPELL EXECUTED: IGNIS EMBER SHIELD]
[CONTROL: UNSTABLE - FUNCTIONAL]
[IGNIS COMPREHENSION: 75.6% -> 76.4%]
[IGNIS ADEPT PROGRESS: 33.3% -> 34.1%]
The swarm keeps pressing, but now I can move under cover. I step forward behind the rotating shield, closing the distance to the vent source.
Once they're close enough, I drop the shield and slam my palm upward.
"Ignis: Implosion!"
The compressed heat snaps into the centre of the swarm, collapsing multiple matrices at once. The corridor flashes blue, then clears.
Silence returns.
I lower my arm, breathing hard, staring at the faint heat shimmer still rotating in the air where the shield had been.
"I didn't learn how to do that. The Codex did it for me." I huffed.
I didn't earn the right to use that spell.
Not fully.
That right was given to me... by the Codex.
And for a moment, that's almost more unsettling than the monsters.
I whisper, "Codex, you're able to create magic and teach it to me instantly, for me to use?"
The Codex responds immediately.
[SYSTEM FUNCTION: STABILISATION SUPPORT]
[CONDITION: USER SURVIVAL PRIORITISED]
"So... you only help when I'm about to die," I mutter.
[CORRECTION: WHEN ELIMINATION PROBABILITY EXCEEDS THRESHOLD]
"That's basically the same thing."
System disputes the User's statement.
I almost laugh again, then wince as my ribs remind me they exist, although they feel like they're hanging on by a thread.
'Fine. At least I have a shield now. And who cares if I get a little bit of 'assistance' from the Codex. If I'm going to survive this maze, then I'm going to need all the help I can get.'