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An attack that came from under them, designed to throw them in the air was thwarted by Thera placing a well-timed barrier beneath their feet, using her magic to keep them firmly on the ground while Ben continued to count and observe before yelling out to the rest.

“After the next one, we’ll have passed the one-hour mark!”

With the increase in attack variance keeping up with his predictions to that point, the rest of them could feel the pace had increased as well, with attacks down to below ninety seconds before they’d changed again with plenty more to go if Ben was right.

If it really is going to be another hour of this after then that means there’s still a lot to have to deal with but… So far it’s seemed manageable.

Thera had been carrying them for that floor, using her mana to protect the lot of them from everything they faced and leaving things easy for the rest, even if it left the question of how long that could keep up. Attacks were getting more violent and the changes were coming fast, eventually it would become a matter of reflex more than careful consideration if it went on long enough.

But… No, Thera’s got this.

There was a lot that could be solved by putting enough mana to a problem and she had that in spades. Even if it came down to it, she could potentially handle that floor and keep the rest of them safe by wrapping each individual person in a barrier and piling layer on layer of it to simply not create room for any attack to appear in what limited space there was and it left a feeling of confidence, right until the one hour mark finally passed and the structure of the trial changed.

All at once they were divided, walls of mana coming down and breaking through what Thera had up, not just separating them from one another but moving them as well, trapping them each in their own little bubbles with only a few meters of space to move while the new barriers that held them began to shift on their own, sliding them across the floor and away from each other.

…And that’s not ideal.

It didn’t feel like he was moving, at least not from the individual space he was in but that was going to be from the barrier keeping everything it held still. He could see the others being slid around, the same as him, in fast arcs and jerking motions in a way that didn’t seem to be an attack, even if it left a sinking feeling in his stomach as the time ticked down.

A feeling that was validated when the time came for a new attack without releasing himself or the others, with mana bullets coming in from all angles and passing through the barrier trapping him, forcing Ben to materialize his mana to protect himself as shots rang out against the metal plates he put up to block their paths, leaving him to rely on his senses and mind skills as he pushed them to the limits for the first volley before creating mirrors to see what was coming behind him, catching glimpses of the others as he did.

Thera and Vasta were both still managing fine, the first having the most power of them all and the latter the most experience with their magic, giving both of them an easy time dealing with incoming attacks and leaving the rest of them in their struggles.

Ben was at least semi-confident he’d be able to handle whatever might come based on what he’d seen so far and even if it looked like Jake was struggling more than the other two non-affinitied mages, he still had the sort of power to deal with what was coming his way. The only problem was Amy.

The only one among them without a proper magic, she did have her augmentations, both the one that would let her empower herself and her weapons with any affinity as well as her non-affinitied one that she was the first in the world to wield, but he didn’t know if that would be enough. He could see her straining, trying to block attacks as she changed her weapon to a shield and doing her best to handle the slack by using her skills to weaken the effect of any strikes that hit her back that she couldn’t protect but still clearly the one in most need among them, becoming the one he aimed to help as a result.

So what if he was locked behind a barrier? He’d gone through the same thing in the earth tower and on the demon’s world by that point and both times he’d been able to make it out. With his sacrilege, his stronger material manipulation, and his ever-growing mana pool, as soon as he placed a hand against the thing that held him he was able to feel it shatter under his will, leaving the only issue being to catch up to his friend while she was being thrown around.

That was the rub. Each barrier may have seemed still for those within them but outside that frame of reference, they were moving faster than he could run, leaving him no choice but to continue fending off strikes while waiting for her to come into a range he thought he could manage and getting it when the attack changed again.

Another downward force being created by the tower’s magic, he was able to hold it off by collecting the material he already had spinning around him to stop the previous shots and formed a roof above him to take the magical load, continuing to hold it there at the same time Amy’s barrier began moving in his general direction as the attack they were under knocked her to the ground.

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He was sure it was stronger than the last time but didn’t have the leeway to wonder what sort of stress she was being placed under. He had to trust her skills would be enough and launched himself forward the second he was sure he could make it, putting all of his speed and strength into the jump in tandem with the enchantment on his shoes, launching himself at her barrier and coming up just short. With a sharp left at the last moment it left his range, whatever spell they’d face next seconds away.

I can do this.

With time at a standstill he spent his mana, using his material manipulation on everything he was wearing to push himself those few extra feet he needed and felt his fingertips brush against it, his victory claimed as the barrier broke under his touch, freeing his friend.

“Hey, looks like you could use a hand,” He said, lifting her up as the force pressing down on her vanished once its time was up. “You okay?”

“I’ll live, thanks. What now?”