Savage Awakening 509. Challenge of the First Ones (III)

By then, his Asura Titan’s body was on the edge of a Limit Break.

He switched out his weapons too. This time, he loaded up his hammers, stacking them heavy with Nuclear Fusion, just like he’d done with his axes.

He was eager to see how much damage a good crush could do.

He broke into an Annihilation Charge.

One step, two, three, and he was freight-training down the corridor; four steps was all he could get out before he was bearing down on The Chunk.

The momentum of it let him spin into the blow, cranking back even farther than he had for that first blow.

He let The Chunk have it.

The blast whited out the cavern for a few seconds—he saw The Chunk shudder. Then Zane had to blink away a plume of dust, coughing.

That shot had been one of the hardest he could throw. The kind of thing that could run through a string of planets without slowing—a shot he was pretty proud of.

This time it made a much deeper mark, striking off a crag that went nearly a foot deep. It was just shy of the deepest mark there.

He was happier with that attempt; it’d been a much better showing. It’d demonstrated much more of what he knew he was capable of.

Still... some part of him just couldn’t let that deeper mark stand. 

This was a test of raw strength, after all. No moving targets. No Monsters attacking him. Just him, and all the power he could muster. 

It was as Zane a test as you could come up with. If he didn’t win this one he’d be kicking himself. Frankly it was so suited to him that even if it wasn’t a test, if he saw a rock like that sitting in the woods, he’d probably try smashing it anyway. 

He was suddenly quite curious just what Rhino had made that foot-deep mark. 

He sank his soul into the scar, and an impression showed up. It looked to be a Rhino festival, as grand as any he’d seen.

Giant floating islands full of lush grass, crystal-clear rivers, and mud pits. The day was full of sunshine. Everywhere he looked, he saw Rhinos cheerfully munching grass. There had to be tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of Rhinos there, to his surprise—ten times as big as any herd he’d come across. Some enjoyed mud-baths, others jousted in chalk circles or ran races—contests abounded. Still more nodded along to an old Shaman Rhino’s speech.

But most of the attention was focused on the centermost island, where a Rhino with a chipped horn was going to work.

It broke into a charge. A Skill made its horn shine like the dawn sun. Off to the side, Rhinos stomped and tail-swished, cheering it on as it went.

Then the chipped-horn Rhino made its mark.

For a few moments, the Elder Rhinos off to the side seemed in shock. Then they all began sounding their horns, and Zane got the feeling he was witnessing the arrival of quite a significant Rhino in history. His heart swelled with the sound.

That had to be that Daybreak Horn at work. A Divine Profound skill, just like his own…

A worthy rival, he felt. 

Finished? wrote Nic.

“Not just yet.”

To him, it was your greatest effort that showed who you truly were. That Rhino had shown what it was made of.

He had to do the same. He just had to.

This time, he backed up all the way.

Past even the entrance. That heavy gravity came on, but he cycled gravity of his own. And with how fired up his Asura State was right now, he could take it without issue. That pressure was just more fuel.

The Sage looked surprised as Zane went by. “You done already, lad?”

“I just need a running start,” Zane informed him.

The Sage laughed. 

Three miles in, and he felt it’d be enough.

His first three steps came one after another, and he was blasting down the tunnel—“You go tear ‘em a new one!” went the Sage.

Four steps. Five. Six, and the entrance was in sight. Not even the tunnel’s gravity could hold him anymore. Seven steps, and he’d charged into the clearing.

His eighth step came with such force it almost collapsed the whole Inheritance. Runes flickered up the walls, struggling to contain him.

On his ninth step, Zane hammered.

The Chunk showed its legendary durability then.

It took all of that firepower, all of that raw mechanical force—everything that represented the best of him—and absorbed it.

Stopped it dead in its tracks.

There was a single heartbeat as blinding cracks raced through the thing, top to bottom. Nic the Rhino had to blink.

And it blew to smithereens, showering into the walls and making a hefty dust cloud.

The Rhino looked around, seemingly a bit baffled.

Then he went down to his notebook and scrawled a number. He held it up for Zane, like a contest judge.

10

Now he was satisfied.

It was the standard he always set for himself—the knowledge, deep down, that in matters of strength, no one could best him. It was a little arrogant. Then again—he felt he needed a little arrogance to do the things he did. 

It was always nice to see that knowledge made physical, undeniable reality. In this Galaxy and outside it.

He did feel a bit bad, looking at the remnants of The Chunk.

He hadn’t meant to totally destroy it. The Chunk seemed quite historic for the Rhinos. 

But Nic quickly reassured him it was alright. They’d saved up lots of Rhino glue for just such an occasion. Zane wasn’t sure how Rhino glue differed from normal glue. He just went with it.

They were onto Trial 2.

Trial of Long-Lasting. Nic scribbled.

…Zane had a feeling he’d get along with this one.

It was important to the Rhinos to be durable, Nic was writing. Not just physically, but in matters of the soul too. They had to be able to take punishment beyond what any other Godbeast could endure. That was the saying—mountains rise and fall, but the Rhinos endure.

Nic had him strip down to his loincloth, which wasn’t too different from what he normally wore. He had to get rid of his Aegis too. He couldn’t wear any defenses for this one, for body or soul. He just had to take it head-on.

The longest any Rhino had lasted for this one was 36 minutes, Nic informed him.

He cracked his knuckles.

He was told to just stand there in the midst of the pillars. The Trial would involve a Stampede of Spirit Rhinos—it wouldn’t stop until he keeled over.

As long as he stayed in the circle, he was still fighting.

He sank as much gravity as he could into himself, anchored himself to two pillars with Chains, and braced.

The herd came through like an avalanche. Dozens of ghostly Rhinos in a single charge. And though they were ghostly, their blows hit as hard as any real Rhino’s. It felt like he was being blasted by hundreds of tumbling boulders per second.

But his Physique could already destroy most half-step Empyreans by itself, and he knew he could take a great deal of this. He was even more confident in his soul, and he knew that was the crucial bit. So long as his mind hadn’t fallen, he gave himself a fighting chance.

Half an hour in and he felt battered to the bone, rammed so many times that every inch of his physique was smarting. He felt dizzy, and every few minutes a blow would hit him so hard it nearly knocked him out.

But he just bit down and kept fighting.

Soon the time crept up to 45 minutes… 50… an hour had gone by, and Zane still gripped his chains with firm fists. Still faced the charging herd with his head high. He must’ve been sent stumbling thousands of times by then. He just kept coming back.

But by the 70-minute mark, there were more dark spots than light in his vision. His limbs started to feel like lead pipes. Every blow that hit him jarred him.

The stampede was starting to get through.

By minute 80, his head was starting to bow. His fingers were starting to go slack.

His will, at last, was running out. Every man had his limit, as much as Zane didn’t want to admit it. There was only so much he could take.

He was nearly on his knees. He had to find some source of strength.

He made himself think of Reina.

He imagined Reina standing just behind him, watching him slowly go down. The look in her eyes as she saw him breaking while letting the stampede trample over him, just when she needed him most—her heartbroken expression as she realized he was letting her down…

In the end, he ended up fighting another full hour.

He woke up face-planted, lying flat on the ground. He groaned, wiped at his eyes, and sat up—Nic was doodling on the ground. The Rhino perked up when he saw Zane. He gave Zane a dutiful 10.

He asked him what that last strength boost was about, the one that made him give such a superhuman effort.

Woman, Zane explained.

The Rhino nodded wisely.

He asked for a breather. That test took a lot out of a man, and Nic wrote, sure. Zane didn’t need too long, just a few hours.

He headed back up the tunnel, briefly checked in with the Sage, and gave him a quick rundown. “I was just wondering what all that thwacking was about,” said the Sage.

“I think it’s going pretty well.” After he came back from the soreness, he felt pumped to finish strong. “The Rhino Spirit says there’s just one more trial.”

“Should’ve known better than to put you in an endurance test,” said the Sage. “You take your time, lad. Get it right. Well—not too long, now. My shoulders are getting a bit sore, I’ve got to admit…”

He frowned at them, like they’d betrayed him. “Back when I was in fighting shape, I could’ve held a few pebbles like this a year straight. …S’pose that just means there’s some work to be done, eh? Run along now, go on! I’m expecting good things.” 

Zane headed on back, feeling the same.

Those last two tests had really been about finding new motivations, now that he thought about it. New ways to get the most out of his body.

That competitive fire to be the best was a good one, it seemed. Though nothing motivated him more than Reina.

He was ready to make the most of the last Trial.