More Puzzles

Javelin squinted upon noticing the lava monster hidden in the lake. The low growls that reverberated throughout the room caused his hair to stand on end.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,

Splotches of lava kept exploding out of the pool through bubbles that formed from the monster's growls. It threatened Javelin's fur as he had to dodge the small bits that were close to reaching him.

"So… how will this be done?" Magnus muttered as he tested the benefits of Javelin's fire affinity growth.

It wasn't enough to swim in lava and survive, that was for sure. Just those splashes were enough to give him horrible burns if they hit.

Magnus thus had Javelin wait.

He waited for an entire day.

And over the course of that day, the Hivemind's Rie collected information for him from a great distance away.

Organising that information, Magnus was able to note down the following,

[[ Lava Basilisk ]]

[[ Eight-legged lizard capable of breathing out flames and spitting out lumps of lava. ]]

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. The amount of noise that came with searching for information was much too great to filter. Magnus would have to sacrifice an entire human brain just to get what he wanted.

But at least, now, he knew just what Javelin was facing.

It was quite the formidable foe, especially since it was currently on home turf. Javelin was not able to approach it at all despite being physically stronger.

Perhaps if Javelin were at 3-stars, he could have the physique to brave the flames. But now, he did not.

Javelin had no choice but to wait for reinforcements. He couldn't even retreat given the fact that the room currently had no doors at all. He was trapped.

Digging out was even more problematic. The stones were abnormally solid, with only 3-star threats capable of damaging them.

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Gallery.

Pocket World Diorama.

As Javelin hit a roadblock in his travels, the Hivemind's Rie was busy looking for the knife she was assigned to search for. Through going into a state of higher existence a few times, Rie found herself standing before a weird skyscraper.

This skyscraper looked akin to a devil's horn, scaling into the sky with curves and a sharp pointy end.

Magnus sighed when he looked up.

"The first out of one-hundred and seven towers to search..."

As usual, the specifics eluded him. Rie's Blessing was powerful, but to truly utilize it, one needed sufficient mental capabilities. Magnus could barely be considered someone who could meet such demands.

But it costs him an entire life to do so.

Something he currently didn't have and didn't bother doing given his lack of desperation.

With these lamentations in mind, Rie entered the devil horn tower.

"Damn," Magnus couldn't help but swear as he saw the objects on the first floor.

It was another puzzle.

"A hundred or so puzzle towers to solve..." Magnus was about to cry.

Puzzles really weren't his thing. Especially these puzzles that aren't actually puzzles but utter obstacles that don't allow anyone to pass.

Without Rie, it's practically impossible to even get through one of the puzzles. At least, that was what Magnus thought.

There might be some Blessing out there that could help in a similar manner. Perhaps that Blessing could even trump State of Higher Existence if it was specially made for puzzles like these.

For now, though, all Magnus could do was slave away at solving puzzles aplenty.

There was only one problem:

Supplies were running low.

The Hivemind's Rie was going to starve if he had to stay there for another week. He had, after all, stayed in the barrens for a month, skimping on meals and only taking just the right amounts.

"I need to wait until I can summon Restiel again," Magnus muttered through Rie's lips.

He needed Restiel to be active so that Arlon, who was controlling the Pocket World Diorama, wouldn't find anything suspicious.

Luckily, a week was enough for Rie and Javelin to regenerate enough Spirit Energy to summon Restiel back.

"No," Magnus suddenly realised something, "I can just summon my original body back. I have more than enough supplies to last another month or so."

If he summoned his original body, then all of these problems would be solved. Furthermore, he could send his original body to Javelin to devour monster souls, allowing rapid amounts of Spirit Energy regeneration.

Thinking up to here, Magnus let the days pass him by.

Javelin lay hidden in the lava room in his cat form, waiting for the Lava Basilisk to attack him to no avail.

Hivemind Rie continued trying to solve the puzzles she faced, but with Magnus sending the command to avoid using her Blessing, she barely made any progress. She also almost died a few times in the process.

Over the days, Magnus also wondered how the real Rie Avalon and her treasure-hunting party mates were doing. He had been tempted to search for their statuses through State of Higher Existence but he held himself back each time.

He had set his priorities already.

Thus, when the time came, Magnus reappeared beside Klaris and Rie.

Floating in the air, he stretched. Placing most of his focus on his original body was the most comfortable state for him to be in.

"Ahhhh," Magnus moaned, "I feel great."

With that said, Magnus quickly passed Rie two Storage Scrolls filled with everyday supplies. He then disappeared in a flash of light.

When he reappeared, he was already a great distance away, grinning at the monster swimming in lava.

"Hello there, ya little rascal."

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"I am the cause of creation,

The maker of stars,

The sculptor of planets!"

WHOOOOOOM!

Magnus instantly summoned a great attractive force using a small black focal point.

Large amounts of lava flew up into the air, shining light into Magnus' feral smile.

"Come to me!" He roared as he made a grasping motion with his hands. Tentacles of gravity flew out like an anemone grasping for its prey.

Instantly, the area around Magnus was turned into a gravitational hellhole. It was a chaotic scene where objects were flying in all directions, constantly shifting, constantly changing. He was currently using all the minds of the Hivemind to supply him with superior control over his own Spirit Energy.

4 minds were operating the chaos at this moment, messing up whatever they wanted to mess up as if they were swinging their own limbs out randomly.

This was a much easier endeavour than when compared to properly controlling gravity to create works of art.

Eventually, the Lava Basilisk lost its shield of lava.

With swift movements, Javelin lunged out, unperturbed by the many chaotic zones of gravity. The faint light of a black focal point on his forehead flashed with every zone he passed through.

Soon, Javelin stopped before the Lava Basilisk and slashed out with his claws.

Swish! Swish!

RRRRRAAAAA!

The monster howled in pain as Javelin dug his claws into its flesh. Flames rushed out of its mouth, but Javelin was swift to dodge.

Like a ferocious gust of wind, Javelin pressed his feet on the ground and barrelled forward. He tackled the monster at the cost of his own injuries, knocking it into a gravity zone full of fast-moving debris.

The Lava Basilisk was showered by a storm of obsidian and igneous rock. The scales on its body were being nicked off one by one as it rose into the air, roaring in rage.

Now, the monster was perfectly within Magnus' grasp. It had nowhere to go but follow his whims as he moved the monster around with the pull of chaotic gravity.

Javelin was at its tail, scratching and clawing at the monster's vulnerable spots whenever possible.

The two, human and Spirit Beast, cooperated seamlessly under the Hivemind and eventually, the Lava Basilisk fell.

And in the lizard's place was a blood-red crystal that Magnus absorbed himself.

"Mmmm," He groaned in ecstasy. The effects of this blood crystal were much greater than the previous ones, boosting his physique by a certain amount. He now sat comfortably at 2.1 stars, just like Restiel right after the advancement ritual.

Magnus then commanded gravity to pull the fiery orange crystal towards him. He had Javelin touch it, and instantly, the wind leopard's fire affinity grew.

Satisfied, Magnus finally continued beyond the doors that had now appeared before him. He unsummoned himself and let Javelin continue forward.

Javelin stood in front of a metal doorway with some kind of prison engraved onto it. The door gave off familiar vibes, but he wasn't sure exactly why it felt familiar.

It made Magnus quite curious as to what it was.

Thus, without glancing at the other doors, Javelin pushed open the metal door. He soon found himself in a vast room that could be considered great.

"This..." Javelin's irises dilated in surprise, "It's leader Cavrien!"

The sorry figure of a tired human could be seen in the centre of the room, trembling and shaking uncontrollably. Just as Magnus wondered how they were doing during his time in boring waiting, one of the main people he took note of appeared.

Seeing this, Magnus felt wary of the room he was in.

"Why... are you here...?" A weak voice caught Javelin's ears at that moment.

"I'm here because I followed you through that doorway," Magnus had Javelin answer with Spirit Communication.

"The others too...?" Cavrien asked another question.

"Yes. We all followed after you." Magnus replied.

"What about that little girl, Rie?" Cavrien struggled to meet the feline's eyes.

"She might have hesitated at first. But I know that she eventually followed after us." Magnus answered, realising an issue.

'That means Rie might have had to fight as she goes through each room. If she is stronger than the enemy, she won't be able to kill it...' Magnus thought to himself, 'Did she really enter? Did she heed my advice?'

"That's... good," Cavrien coughed as he sat up.

"Why do you think so?" Magnus couldn't help but ask.

"Because of this damn room! That's why!" Cavrien suddenly flew into a rage.

His eyes were bloodshot and his expression was crazed. Clearly, something happened to him over the course of the week to turn him into a different person.

"HAHAHAHAHA! It's good to know that I'm not the only one suffering!"