My eyes blinked, and the scene changed.
The top floor of the tower was not all white like the previous one. The top half of the circular floor was cut off and replaced with an amalgamation of laws intertwined with each other.
I looked at my Senior Brother and asked him in confusion, "What about the other levels?"
"There is no need," he replied, but said no further. I wasn't satisfied with that, "Care to explain?"
He grunted slightly and said, "This tower was designed to help anyone in creating a bridge to laws."
What he didn't say was that there is no need now for me to pass through these levels, as I have already completed their designed objective. However, what I didn't understand was why I didn't enter it in the first place.
Farbauti must have guessed my thoughts as he provided even more explanation, "Lord Richard told me to let you try at first and only let you do the tower levels in case you really do fail."
"Why go through all that trouble?"
Farbauti locked eyes with me, "Do you think power comes with ease? Listen well, Orion. What you did was not easy, and that is the point. The power you gain through hardship is more real than the one gained through shortcuts can ever be."
I lowered my head slightly and processed his words. What he said made sense. A person can't build muscle if they weren't trained tirelessly. The same applies to this case and many others. In fact, that was the case with the other tests as well. I didn't just walk away with the Pangu shards but also with a solidified foundation.
Farbauti gets the axe and grips it with both hands. The axe has some runes etched on it, and they were starting to glow. He looks at me and says, "Three rounds. Your task is to survive them all."
And death if I don't. That much was clear. The runes are glowing immensely now as he declares, "Round one."
I unsheathe Pangu and immediately try to fend off the attack. A violent and cold wind erupted from an axe swing and made its way to me. So, it is a runic attack.
Runic attacks are a specialty of the Giants of Jotunheim, one of the nine realms of Yggdrasil. It requires some preparation before battle, as they have to transfer the runes from a scroll to the weapon that they use. The Jotun's anatomy focused more on the physical aspect rather than the elemental one; so, in order to harness the power of the elements, they developed runic attacks for their weapons.
Farbauti is, and will always be, a Giant of Jotunheim, the father of Loki, the current leader of the realm. The style that he has chosen for this test is the one that resonates with his people the most.
At first, the wind seemed to flow without any gaps, but as the first few minutes of tanking the attack failed, I started noticing the gaps. However, the duration that these gaps appear in is extremely short, so I have to be quick.
When the next gap appeared, I tried my best to step into it as fast as possible. Despite that, I still managed to miss it. Timing is key, then. The next time was better, and so were the consequent ones. This went on for around ten minutes before my Senior Brother stopped.
I was out of breath. He took another scroll from his waist and chanted a few words. The scroll had five runes that left the paper and inscribed themselves on the blade's surface. He looked at me and declared again, "Round two."
I braced myself for the next round of attacks. Farbauti suddenly disappeared before the attack came out of nowhere. Sneak attacks… Very well.
Like what happened during the first round, I didn't manage well against his attacks. But, for some reason, my senses were being sharpened with each attack. Soon enough, I was able to see the attacks and dodge in time.
My clothes were in tatters, and I looked pathetic, but I could tell that Farbauti was about to end this round. However, when he attacked next, I felt something hot beyond anything I had ever felt course through my veins before being unleashed in a tongue of fire that counter-attacked Farbauti.
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Updated on 11/3/2025