As soon as the corrupted druids appeared, Aksai felt a chill run through him, reminding him of his time in the Devil’s Den.
He couldn’t shake the question: what connection did the Holy Land Torel have with these twisted druids?
From the looks of it, Torel wasn’t exactly friendly with them—if anything, it seemed the land had been training disciples to battle corrupted druids specifically.
Aksai felt a flicker of doubt. Would Torel somehow reject him, given that his Spirit bloodline originated from one of these corrupted druids?
But he brushed off the thought quickly. The land had let him in and hadn’t shown any signs of rejection so far.
“The modifications the neural link fabric made during the bloodline refinement… it makes me something different from both the corrupted druids and the ones from Torel,” he reasoned.
Pushing these thoughts aside, he shifted his focus back to the fight.
The corrupted druids moved in unison, each casting spells that seemed to pulse with malevolence. Their fire spells burned an unsettling black, flickering with shadows rather than typical flames, and the vines they summoned looked as if they were summoned using a thick black smoke—gnarled, darkened, and writhing with a life of their own.
Aksai could tell that these spells were much more potent than their regular counterparts because of the intent-based casting involved. It gave a huge advantage to the corrupted druids over the demonic cultivators who were just beginning to harness the intent-based spell-casting with their demonic abilities.
In short, the corrupted druids were a lot stronger than Aksai and his teammates. Their movements, however, weren’t entirely fluid. The druids seemed to move with precision, almost mechanical, like they were pre-programmed to follow the actions of Aksai and his team.
Though they weren’t slow, their movements became predictable once observed closely enough. Aksai’s team, however, was feeling the pressure, struggling to keep up with the relentless assault.
“Don’t waste your Spirit essence battling these enemies!” shouted the team leader as he parried a vine-laden spell, unaware of the true nature of the corrupted druids.
Only Aksai recognized them for what they were, thanks to his previous encounter with one in Dadangar.
Aksai raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the leader’s defensive stance. “What good is holding the line here?” he thought, keeping his attacks ready. As far as he knew, the corrupted druids would only get stronger with each passing second because of their intent-based Spell casting. Plus, they were hard to kill. So it was much more useful if they attacked these enemies aggressively, not allowing them a chance to strike frequently.
One of his teammates, dodging a fire spell, called out to Aksai.
“Glaven, listen! This stage is tricky, and we’ve lost plenty of demonic cultivators getting this far. But after many attempts, we figured out that the array formation only lasts about ten minutes. We just need to stay alive long enough, and these specters vanish on their own!”
‘No wonder they were confident in coming here.’ Aksai thought.
It finally clicked. This was why the team was brave enough to challenge the third stage—they knew there was a way to survive without risking everything.
The Holy Land Torel must have built in an escape clause to prevent constant death, a backdoor of sorts. And these demonic cultivators were taking full advantage, farming Torel’s training grounds for whatever resources they could squeeze out.
Aksai took a deep breath, adjusting his stance. Ten minutes might feel long under the pressure of these relentless druids, but with the right balance of defense and evasion, they could make it.
***
The rest of the battle went by with an almost monotonous rhythm.
Aksai and his team held their ground, deflecting attacks and focusing purely on defense. The corrupted druids couldn’t break through the group’s defensive approach.
Their spells never fully connected, never truly had a chance to shine, as if the druids’ moves had been scripted but were missing their mark.
The druids advanced with relentless precision, their attacks striking at every weak spot they could spot in Aksai’s team’s formation. Each time, his teammates adjusted just enough to evade or block, but even so, injuries piled up.
One of them took a nasty burn to his shoulder, another nearly lost his footing after a close call with a thorned vine lashing out. They grimaced as they blocked, parried, and occasionally threw out counterspells, but no one had time to launch a full attack.
Their teamwork was enough to keep them from any fatal harm, though, and each teammate offered quick support whenever another seemed overwhelmed.
Aksai watched it all unfold, his senses keen and steady, carefully evaluating the situation while maintaining his Glaven persona. He could’ve summoned his true druidic powers, sweeping the field with spells far more potent than the simple defenses he was using.
Yet he held back, going with the flow of the group’s tactic, slipping into his role without drawing suspicion. His injuries were there, faint scratches and bruises mostly, but if anyone looked closely, they’d notice his condition was miles better than his teammates’.
After a few minutes.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of evading black flames, twisting branches, and shadow-laden strikes, the druids slowed. One by one, their forms flickered, wavering in the air as the array’s magic began to falter.
With one last shudder, the corrupted druids dissolved back into the air, wisps of dark energy fading away.
Aksai let out a sigh of relief, not so much because of any real exhaustion, but to match the heavy breaths of his teammates. One by one, his teammates dropped to the ground, pulling out Spirit-restoring pills, taking in long gulps of breath, and muttering quiet curses under their breath.
The worst injuries were already being tended to, and the team leader looked around with a satisfied nod.
“Well,” the leader said with a slight grin, “that was about as close as I’d like to get to those freaks.”
As the last traces of the corrupted druids faded, Aksai and his team felt a faint surge of mysterious essence seeping into them.
It wasn’t as strong as what they’d absorbed in earlier stages—the essence was weaker here since they hadn’t defeated the druids entirely.
But it was enough to give them a small boost. It also served as a token, indicating that they had indeed survived the 3rd stage’s challenge.
Then, as if responding to their newfound essence, the rewards began to appear. Items materialized one by one, floating just above the ground in front of each team member.
Each item was unique, seemingly tailored to the specific contributions each person had made in the battles so far. The rewards were based on the overall efforts and not just the teammates’ role in the 3rd stage battle. As such, there was no partiality.
The first to receive his reward was the team’s lead defender. A glimmering, translucent shield-like artifact appeared, its surface rippling like water under sunlight.
The guy chuckled, pleased with his luck—an attack-resisting artifact would be useful for the bruising battles in Torel’s trials.
Next up, one of the injured teammates received a small dagger, its blade coated with a faint, shimmering aura. It was compact, sharp, and surprisingly deadly, a perfect fit for quick, targeted strikes.
“Nice one,” he muttered, testing the blade’s edge with his thumb.
A third teammate grinned wide as a faint jade slip floated in front of him, glowing with intricate Spirit patterns. He grabbed it eagerly and held it up, examining it. “A Spirit spell? This better be good,” he mumbled, his eyes bright with curiosity.
He pressed the jade slip against his forehead, absorbing the knowledge it contained for later study.
A few more items appeared for others—surveillance artifacts, recovery potions, and even a rare healing talisman.
But when it came to Aksai’s turn, the item that materialized was different.
A vial hovered before him, containing a swirling, opaque liquid that seemed to shift colors every few seconds. The potion looked almost alive, the colors blending and pulsing like a heartbeat.
“A potion?” Aksai raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t seen one like this before. The liquid’s movement was mesmerizing, and its colors hinted at something deeper.
“That’s rare,” murmured one of his teammates, eyeing the potion enviously. “I’ve heard some potions from this place can boost certain affinities. But this…”
Aksai gave a slight nod, examining the potion with a careful eye. He could feel a faint energy coming off it, almost like it was beckoning him to drink it, to unlock whatever it was concealing.
But he resisted the urge—now wasn’t the time.
“Well, guess the cave rewards everyone in its own way,” he said casually, tucking the vial away.
He could see his teammates eyeing his prize with curiosity, but no one said anything. After all, the rewards were fair, based purely on what each person had put into the battles.