With his extensive knowledge, Wayde guided them expertly through the array of tunnels, immune to its confusing layout.
'Finding my way around here would have been a nightmare if I was alone,' Ryan couldn't help but think to himself.
But navigating the underground structure wasn't the only challenge he would have struggled to overcome...
Sensing a faint rumbling beneath his feet that was rapidly growing, Ryan came to an abrupt halt. Wayde seemed to have felt something similar followed suit, still hovering in the air as if allergic to the ground itself.
"What is...?" before Ryan could finish asking, a massive mutated centipede-like beast emerged from the ground, its chitinous exoskeleton glistening in the dim light.
It sprung out of the ground, aiming to get its forcipules on Ryan, who narrowly avoided its attack by leaping away.
'That was too close.'
The creature's grotesque intensity and alarming speed were frightening, but Wayde remained unfazed by it and nonchalantly groaned, "I thought I crushed all these insects."
On the other hand, albeit remaining calm, Ryan was not nearly as indifferent as Wayde, who turned to face him despite the centipede-like beast closing in on them.
Laughing, Wayde, with an air of aloofness, offered, "It's only a yellow-cored beast. Would you like to handle it, or should I take care of it?"
Considering the opportunity to conserve his strength and observe his companion's abilities, Ryan calmly responded, "Be my guest."
But it seemed as though the creature had other plans...
-
With a menacing hiss, the centipede-like beast lunged towards Ryan, its countless legs churning up the earth beneath it in a frenzy of movement. Each step reverberated through the ground, creating an ominous rhythm that echoed through the cavernous chamber.
Ryan's heart thundered in his chest as he braced himself for the impending attack. The beast's wild and desperate demeanour was palpable, its primal instincts driving it to select him as its target.
But as it zeroed in on him with relentless determination, Ryan couldn't help but exclaim internally, 'Why's it coming after me?!' while jumping around the tunnel, channelling streams of mana into his legs.
"I would be careful if I were you. Its poison can spread from even a scratch," laughed Wayde, enjoying the show.
"Can't you deal with it already?" Ryan asked, but his frustration only seemed to fuel Wayde's amusement.
However, after he had laughed to his heart's content, Wayde suddenly unleashed a surge of mana with a casual flick of his hand, displaying an exceptional manifestation of his power.
Floating in the air, he exerted an invisible force that sent shockwaves through the chamber, crushing the creature. The display of power left Ryan in awe, realising the strength that resided within Wayde.
As the dust settled, all that remained of the once-menacing centipede creature was a mush of crushed exoskeleton and viscera.
The sheer size of the fallen beast, multiple times the length of an average person, served as a testament to its formidable stature. Yet, despite its imposing appearance, it had been vanquished with surprising ease, its once-threatening presence reduced to nothing more than a grotesque heap of shattered remains.
Ryan, a mixture of admiration and apprehension filling his thoughts, muttered, "Remarkable."
Wayde, smirking, descended gracefully to the ground. A glint of excitement in his eyes, he said, "That was just a glimpse of what I can do. This is just scratching the surface, my friend. Prepare yourself for what lies ahead."
Ryan nodded, his mind racing with thoughts as he followed after Wayde, who once again suspended himself in the air.
-
After witnessing Wayde's effortless defeat of the centipede-like creature, a mix of fascination and uncertainty swept over Ryan. The raw power and control he displayed made him question his own abilities. The creature's mana core might be inferior, but the ease with which Wayde dispatched it surpassed Ryan's current capabilities.
An unspoken question lingered: Could he hold his own in a confrontation with the dominant and unpredictable Wayde?
'Perhaps Wayde truly does rival Elora in skill and power,' Ryan mused silently. 'Yet, compared to the Warlock's ominous energy, both Wayde and Elora seem to fall somewhat short.'
Despite these thoughts, their immediate goal aligned - to complete the trial and leave the place they were in.
And so Ryan had no choice but to fight alongside the formidable yet erratic mage.
But once they met their goal, the dynamics might shift.
If Wayde targeted Elora and Fluffy as he claimed he would, Ryan wasn't going to sit still.
'That's something future me can deal with,' he said to himself, clearing his mind and trying not to overthink everything.
Like that, hours passed swiftly, with Ryan following closely behind Wayde.
In that time, they didn't stop to rest, pausing occasionally only when they encountered formidable beasts. With exceptional power and combat prowess, which left a lasting impression on Ryan, Wayde would handle any obstacle they came across.
He was ragged, with his long dark hair clumping together, and wasn't the most sane person Ryan had come across, but his power and skill were undeniable. Annihilating any creature that dared appear before them, he had an overbearing and dominating power that crushed anything in his path.
Ryan had yet to comprehend how it worked, but he studied Wayde's flow of mana each time and asked the aloof lunatic questions whenever he could. A lot of the responses he received were dismissive or taunting, but Ryan had gotten used to Wayde's personality.
He had no choice but to.
Navigating the twists and turns of the seemingly infinite tunnels and facing all the beasts along the way was not something he could do, at least not right away.
And he was by no means planning on spending 3 years in some unknown underground location to be able to do so.
As such, Ryan tagged along and was patient with Wayde, who was more intelligent and analytical than it might seem.
Even if you gave him all the time in the world, Ryan wasn't confident he could memorise the layout of such a large structure that seemed to span infinitely.
Yet Wayde had been able to do so and, seemingly with ease.
He also seemed to watch Ryan's every move, assessing his abilities as well as how useful he would be.
'I'll get to see his skills eventually, and all I need are those sharp senses of his,' Wayde contemplated, deciding to pit his hopes on the unusual young mage. He had already given the trial his best shot, and so he needed a new variable, something that he couldn't calculate or predict.
So far, no matter how hard Wayde thought about it, there was no way for him to complete the trial alone.
Living with that mind-numbing realisation for who knew how long took its toll, and it showed.
But, it didn't matter as long as he could get his hands on whatever was at the centre of that maze.
If he could...
It would all have been worth it.