Now, the golden spiders moved faster than ever.
It seemed that this shouldnât be a problem for Adam and Alexia, because they had an effective tactic to deal with it.
When Alexia released the frost waves, they not only froze the spiders but also slowed down those who managed to avoid being trapped in ice.
"Iâll stop them!" Alexia exclaimed as she directed a mass of energy toward her gauntlets.
The next moment, the orb trembled, and an especially powerful frost wave spread dozens of meters around.
However...
"Agh?"
When the frost wave reached the golden spiders, nothing happened. They continued to move at the same speed and even seemed to get a little faster.
Adam looked up at the platform, as his fears were confirmed.
"Shit, itâs not as fair as we thought, right?"
Earlier, one socket disappeared every second, as 600 sockets were equal to 10 minutes. But now, after the ten golden spiders turned into a fast-moving amber ring, two sockets disappeared every second.
Their remaining four minutes turned into two, and maybe they actually had less.
"Alexia, itâs not working! We have to stop them some other way while we still have time!" Adam exclaimed.
Her eyes darted from side to side. She didnât understand why her ability wasnât working on the spiders.
Fortunately for Alexia, besides Adam, she had another ally who was always ready to support her.
"Alexia, heâs right. Most likely, these golden spiders are just moving too fast, and the ice doesnât have time to form on their bodies. You need to join forces."
Louisâs voice magically calmed Alexia as she nodded deeply.
The frosty streams emanating from her ceased; they were no longer necessary as she looked at Adam.
"Letâs try to stop them. I can hit them with my hammer!"
"Go for it!" Adam exclaimed.
He wanted to see the result of Alexiaâs attempt before making a decision. He had an idea, but he wasnât sure about it.
Step. Step. Step.
Alexia ran forward, the ground shaking beneath her feet, as the frost vapor she had used against the ice worm appeared around her. If that ice worm hadnât been so resilient, her attack would have easily ended their battle, and she wouldnât have needed Adamâs help.
This time, she jumped high into the air and clenched her fists together. The hammer shape reflected in her eyes appeared above her in the next moment.
It wasnât her weapon; she wasnât holding the ice hammer in her hand. It just hovered above her and repeated her movements to complement her attack. The ice spear worked the same as all the other weapons in this ability.
Adam narrowed his eyes.
Despite the threat from Alexia, the golden spiders did not react.
Crash!
The massive ice hammer crashed right into the amber ring, which was actually ten fast-running golden spiders.
Cold steam and ice shards flew off to the side. A tremor ran through the ground, and pebbles fell from the cave ceiling.
However...
"WHAT!?" Alexia exclaimed in disbelief.
She looked at the crater left behind after her strike. Despite this, the golden spiders didnât even flinch. They continued running along the same path, rushing over the hole beneath their legs.
Adam frowned. What he had feared so much had happened.
âTheyâre moving too fast. If their speed were lower, they would have fallen into this crater or gone around it. Not to mention that they completely ignored Alexiaâs strike. That hammer could have knocked that worm aside; she used more than enough force.â
Crack. Crack. Crack.
A cascade of sparks rained down on them, causing Adam and Alexia to look up.
The golden light ran like a flame along the edges of the platform, causing it to slowly rotate, which ultimately increased the speed of the sockets. Now, three sockets disappear every second.
Adam and Alexia had less than a minute left to pass this trial.
It seemed like no big deal, because they could try again and again. But they didnât know yet that this was their last attempt.
[The platform is moving too fast!]
[If you donât stop it, the platform will be destroyed!]
[Without the platform, you wonât be able to try this trial again!]
Adam and Alexiaâs eyes widened.
They had to stop the golden spiders right here and now!
"Adam! Damn it! Tell me you have a plan!" Alexia waved her hand.
Strangely enough, Adam nodded as his green eyes deepened.
"Yeah, I have an idea. I didnât want to use it, but now we have no other choice, right?"
He was asking not only Alexia, but someone else as well.
âSure.â The Silver Weaverâs voice echoed in his mind. âGo ahead, we thought the most important thing in this trial was speed, but we were wrong. All you need is your needle, thatâs me!â
Whooooosh.
At the same moment, Adam lunged forward, leaving his black staff behind. It just fell to the ground, while gloves and boots remained on Adam.
He rushed past Alexia, as her eyes reflected the long white needle that appeared in Adamâs grip.
Without hesitation, realizing that they only had 30 seconds left, Adam took a step forward, standing directly in the amber ring.
He understood that at such a tremendous speed, the golden spiders could simply knock him down and leave him with serious injuries, but he simply had no choice but to act right now!
"We can do this!"
Adam held his needle out in front of him, gripping it tightly with both hands. In fact, the Silver Weaver was helping him with all his energy.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
One golden spider after another crashed into Adamâs needle, while waves of recoil and pain ran through Adamâs body.
However, he endured, standing in one place until all the golden spiders flew into his needle.
They moved too fast to stop.
"Gha..." Adam sighed heavily as a bright light reflected in his eyes.
Now, 60 amber stars hovered above him and Alexia.
The first trial was complete.