Sylas gasped for breath, immediately turning his Wisdom back to fending off the cold. But…
He looked down at his hands that had already begun to turn an uncomfortable shade of grey and blue. Just moving his lips slightly caused them to crack.
He had known this would happen. Reflecting the cold winds took up too much of his mind, and if he was going to overwhelm an opponent with illusions and tricks, that was exactly the talent of his he needed to lean into.
This time, though… it was a necessary evil.
He could only hope that the ninth challenge would be easier.
Without time to waste, Sylas’ jaw set and he pulled himself up. Gathering his things, he moved to the ninth stair and leapt up.
…
Sylas pulled himself up to see the same landscape as always: an icy plane with harsh snow falling from above.
As for what was across from him, it was yet another Clypsian and the second woman he had come across on this staircase.
Much like the man on the eighth staircase, she wore a skirt of seal skin. The only real difference was that she also had a chest band of seal skin across her breasts as well.
She stood tall, her hair braided into a thick pattern that left a single ponytail trailing down to almost her ankles and a crown on her head.
There were an odd pair of earrings hanging from her sharp ears. At first glance, they seemed normal, but whether it was his eyes or his visualization, Sylas couldn’t see a line connecting the ear piece to the crystal dangling just above her shoulders. It was like they were held together by an odd magnetic field rather than tangible materials.
The woman was shorter than the man, but she was still about the same height as Sylas. Her body looked like a lean machine. Whether it was her exposed quads or belly, each was absolutely cut.
However, her stats…
—
[Nosphaleen Tideborn (FFF+)]
[Level: 6]
[Physical: 282]
>[Strength: 282]
>[Constitution: 282]
>[Dexterity: 282]
>[Speed: 282]
[Mental: 1484]
>[Intelligence: 1722]
>[Wisdom: 1064]
>[Charisma: 1666]
[Will: 997]
—
It was the first time Sylas had seen someone with Physical stats so similar to his own. Not only in the fact they were so low, but also that they were very clearly being limited by a Stat Limit and nothing else.
Her Mental stats were simply off the charts by comparison. And this clearly didn’t include any Comprehensions she might or might not have.
She was a true monster.
And much like Nerion, she didn’t seem to be eager to attack. Though Sylas did have the intention to end this battle as quickly as possible, she spoke the moment he appeared.
“You’re from Earth…” she said softly.
Sylas felt his heart twitch but the light in his eyes quickly solidified. This seemed to half surprise Nosphaleen, but she smiled soon after. It was simply breathtaking and for a moment, Sylas thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen until he shook that off as well.
A frown furrowed his brows. ‘Charisma? A Mental attack…’
This woman’s Charisma made his own feel like a joke. She didn’t even seem to be actively targeting him, but he still almost fell.
Some of that was due to the fact his mind was a bit fatigued. But Sylas didn’t like that feeling at all.
He circulated Madness and there was a sudden wall of energy that pulsed around him. In that moment, his Will crossed countless barriers, moving to 4001 stat points.
The woman suddenly took a step back as though she had been rebuffed by something. This time, her beautiful smile was replaced by true shock.
Though she was still beautiful, it wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as the image in Sylas’ mind before. For a moment there, he would have done anything to make this woman happy, and that wasn’t a feeling he had even toward Cassarae, let alone this Clypsian he had never met before.
Inwardly, he was quite relieved, though. He could feel that this woman likely had a special Comprehension as well, not much different from the man on the eighth staircase. If not for the advancement in his Will, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to deal with her.
But now…
He felt that victory was well in hand.
Sylas took a step and was about to accelerate forward when the woman held up her hands in fear.
“I’m sorry! It just comes naturally to me, I didn’t do it on purpose. Please don’t kill me!”
Sylas was speechless. This wasn’t something that he could decide. Even when he promised to save the man on the first staircase, he realized soon after that that might not even be possible.
He had a feeling that this was another act by the woman, likely a method of enhancing her charm. However, he still came to a stop. Not only did he come to a stop, but he dismissed his Fusion, lessening the pressure on his body a great deal.
He exhaled a breath of relief.
Even without the Basilisk King’s fusion, his Will was still over 3050 with Madness activated. He wasn’t worried about being harmed by the woman, but her actions at least gave him the chance to not push his body beyond repair.
“If you can do three things, I don’t mind letting you live,” Sylas said indifferently. “First, you have to find a method to save yourself. I have no way of progressing unless I kill you outright. Second, the only way I let you out of here without killing you is if you’re subordinated to myself for the next year. I don’t need your word, I need a contract. And third, you have to tell me everything about the Clypsian and the Dogons.”
Nosphaleen peeked through her fingers as though to make sure that Sylas was telling her the truth. Then she sighed a breath of relief. However, she soon felt at a loss. How would she get out of here?
