[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 230 – A Simple Test

Sam’s mana, which wasn’t in the best shape after his trip through the Void to this place, dropped even lower as he used a burst of [Void: Scour] to disrupt the red bars of light that surely would have turned his body to Swiss cheese.

The seaweed on the creature steamed and burned wherever the energy touched it.

Rolling to his feet, Sam burst forward just as the light gathered again and fired.

He dodged two, rolled to the side to avoid a third, and used Void mana to disrupt another, but two still managed to get through.

They burned straight through his armor as if it was nothing and seared his skin. Sam turned and tucked his body to avoid Komachi being hit.

The pain dimmed considerably as his anger took hold.

Again, the glowing dots of red light sparked to life on the creature’s body, but it realized its mistake too late.

By trying to take Sam out before he reached it, the automaton gave up its own defense.

Sam crashed into the creature bodily, both hands out and splayed, as if to cushion his impact.

The creature brought down its arms, ready to pulverize the foolish man just as Sam released a twin blast of [Void: Scour] right into the creature’s core.

Though it had been little more than a guess, Sam wasn’t surprised when the automaton’s arms stopped as if it had been frozen in place. Curiously, he noticed that one of its arms had transformed from the elbow up into a suitably large greatsword.

You defeat a [Catastrophe Mangled Assembler Automaton (Level 45)].

You are unable to gain Experience in a Dead Echo.

Substantial Experience converted into skill growth.

You gain substantial skill growth!

He stared at the notification. Right, time doesn’t move here. Experience is kinda like growing, right?

That didn’t answer the question why it was funneled into skill growth, but Sam wasn’t going to complain.

“Should I scream? Thinkin’ about screamin’,” Komachi muttered. “My [Instrument] skill just went up!”

New Quest: Dead Echo of an Empire

Escaping certain death, you have fallen to another Worldshard on the brink of disaster. You are trapped alongside Empress Zarishna Alzahan and Komachi Hunter in a Dead Echo, a place where time is locked. As such, you cannot gain Experience while within a Dead Echo, but you can still grow your skills.

Find a way to return home, either by abandoning this Worldshard, or by conquering its ailments. Your rewards will be greatly influenced by your actions.

Sam was about to congratulate Komachi when the quest appeared. “Well, that’s not exactly encouraging.”

Seeing that there were no notifications for his own skills, Sam went to work dismantling the blade arm of the automaton.

It was surprisingly easy, mostly because his Strength was at a ridiculous 914. The various rivets, pins, screws, and bolts posed little barrier to Sam now that the creature was no longer fortifying itself with mana.

After a few short minutes, he had the blade free. He gave it a few test swings to get a feel for its balance.

“No wonder it had one arm that was so much larger than the other,” Sam said with a chuckle.

[Mangled Catastrophe Gear Blade -1]

(Colossal Greatsword) (F-Class)

(★★☆ Limited)

Enhancements

Slashing Damage VIII | Swing Speed III

Serration Damage V | Physical Resistance II

Creature Size Up I

Imbuements

Metal Mana III

Gear Mana III

A weapon originating from one of the once eternally loyal automatons of Empire Alzahan. It has since been altered by a Catastrophe. Incredibly heavy, generally suitable for machines and giants, only a swordsman of immense caliber can wield this properly. As such, when using this weapon, you are considered one size larger and gain a portion of physical resistance. Its serrated gear edges impart additional damage on top of its slashing damage, which is further boosted when triggering its Gear mana imbuement.

Requirements: [Heavy Weapon Handling]

800 Strength

The blade wasn’t nearly as good as his previous one, but it was still classified as a colossal greatsword and it was better than his fists.

I never realized how much I relied on having a weapon before, Sam thought to himself as he rammed the tarnished brass weapon into his [Biting Sheath].

The seven-foot-long sword shrank as it entered the sheath, making it easy to carry around on his back. To any onlooker, it would seem he now carried a rather unremarkable three-foot-long sword.

Only when he unsheathed it would the true size of the weapon be displayed.

Sam’s [Biting Sheath] was one of his most prized possessions. It allowed him to use a ridiculously sized weapon without one of the greatest drawbacks.

Something about the automaton didn’t sit right with him. In the blue glow from the torches, it almost seemed to be…healing.

He swore he saw a twitch of its fingers, but the Shard had clearly shown that it was destroyed. He gained Experience from it–translated to skills–and everything!

So why did he get the impression that it wasn’t actually dead?

Looking down, Sam realized the wounds he received hurt a great deal less than they had a few moments ago.

Are the holes smaller? Sam wondered, looking at the pinhole in his cuisses. He had been sure the beam that hit him was at least the size of a quarter.

“Let’s get out of here,” Sam told Komachi, before the [Mangled Catastrophe Gear Blade -1] miraculously returned to its previous owner’s arm.

He was nearly at the door when the familiar whirring and hissing echoed behind him. “Great,” Sam mumbled.

Fully expecting to have to break down the door, he started to tap into his Breaker bloodline. She wants to see if I’m fit to be a War Incarnate? I’ll give her a show then.

The doors hissed open when he was within a few steps, causing Sam to stumble slightly, his hands relaxing.

How she knew he was nearby was anybody’s guess, but Sam didn’t question it. His bloodline’s power needed somewhere to go, however, so he turned on his heels just in time to see the colossal automaton rushing through the blue light of the torches toward him.

All tactics seemed to be thrown aside as the towering creature barreled toward him, its oversized shoulder leading.

Its intent was clear. Even Sam doubted his HP and VIT were up to the task of getting crushed by a half-ton monster of metal and gears.

Good thing I don’t have to, Sam thought as he did something he had never tried before. Lacing his Breaker bloodline into a matrix of mana akin to [Void: Scour], a swirling scintillating cone of destruction rolled out from his outthrust hand.

The sound of a ten car pile-up assaulted his ears. He vaguely heard the Empress curse behind him. She pushed him aside, betraying her earlier lack of concern for his well-being, and stood ready to fight off the beast.

However, the monster never came. A shower of gears, sprockets, hinges, pistons, and various pieces clattered to the ground around them like a breaking wave of metal.

You defeat a [Catastrophe Mangled Assembler Automaton (Level 45)].

You are unable to gain Experience in a Dead Echo.

Substantial Experience converted into skill growth.

You gain substantial skill growth!

Sam stood there, perplexed by what he had just done. His body felt like he’d just pulled three all-nighters, but he had never used his bloodline so easily before.

The Empress was no less stunned. She turned to look at him, her gray eyes curious and weighing now instead of half-lidded and threatening. “Full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“Still waters run deep,” Sam said automatically as he crouched down and picked up a familiar-looking item sliding across the floor toward him on a tide of metal bits.

[Mangled Catastrophe Gear Blade -1]

(Colossal Greatsword) (F-Class)

(★★☆ Limited)

It was a precise replica of the one he gained earlier, down to every exact enhancement and imbuement.

“I guess two is better than one,” he said to himself, stuffing it into his inventory. It would have been nice to get something in slightly better condition. “I’m just going to end up losing it eventually anyway. Might as well have a spare.”

The Empress watched the pieces of metal for a long while after Sam exited through the open door. When he turned to look at her, she was kneeling beside a small bundle of bolts that had broken apart.

“They do not move,” she muttered to herself.

“Of course they don’t,” Sam said. “I killed it.”

Tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder, she glared at him. “Things do not stay ‘dead’ here because there is no ‘death’ as it were. Any monster that is slain slowly reforms until it was like it never happened. Only through great effort can you halt the process, or slow it to the point it appears to have stopped.”

Sam understood the thrones of automaton pieces now. By molding the creatures into something else, it effectively “killed” them. Even if it didn’t, it would probably take a very long time to gather all the various pieces, especially if each slag heap of automaton parts was mixed with another.

“Sam’s awesome like that,” Komachi said, sounding rather pleased. “Can defeat anythin’.” Sam scratched under her chin, causing her to purr like a v12 engine.

Dropping a bolt, the Empress dusted her hands and stood up. “Perhaps you are more useful than I gave you credit for,” she said, exiting the room and shutting the door with a wave of her hand. “However, now that the creature is dead, it cannot provide you with more loot.”

Sam hadn’t thought about that. “I guess constantly regenerating monsters would be pretty good for farming,” he mused. “Especially since they’re made out of metal. I bet I could get a lot of Blacksmithing–oh. Right. No Experience.”

“Assemblers tend to be equipped with many weapons as well. And if they aren’t to begin with, they’ll retrofit themselves soon enough.” She looked away. “Or would have.”

“If you had told me–” Sam began.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. To witness you unleashing final judgment upon a monster that dwells within these halls…well, that’s worth far more than a single mangled assembler.”

Sam looked around at the darkness pressing in on their pool of light. He strained his ears, but heard no mechanical noises that would suggest more creatures were out there.

“So you understand our predicament a little more now, I take it?” Zarishna asked. “The Dead Echo. Experience halted. Regenerating monsters. No sleep. No food. No water.”

“Sounds like purgatory,” Sam told her. “So you’re trying to leave then, I take it? Go back to your empire?”

“If only it were that simple.”

“I’d ask you to explain over a meal, but seeing as food isn’t a thing here…”

“You could eat, but alas…” She shrugged. “A fire would at least be a comfort, but even that is taken from us.”

Komachi raised a furry paw. “What if you really had to go before you came here? Would it stay stuck like that forever? Always feelin’ like you gotta baja blast, but never able to?”

Zarishna stared blankly at Komachi. “That’d be hell.”

“She gets like this sometimes,” Sam told Zarishna.

“Truly a delight,” she said dryly, stepping over to a strange lamp-like object.

Standing well over 12-feet tall, the strange apparatus resembled a streetlamp. Except, instead of a glass fixture on top, there was a swirl of metal in the shape of a flattened orb.

A dull glow pulsed from within as the Empress touched her hand to its bronze base.

Pulling her hand away revealed a twisting series of sigils glowing bright azure blue. The sigils settled into a ring that orbited the lamp’s pole.

“Go on, touch it,” the Empress told him. Then, seeing that he wasn’t as keen to do exactly what she told him like before, she added, “It will grant you the highest Authority I can bestow upon you. You will be able to open doors, access portals, and more.”

Sam liked the sound of that. He reached his hand toward the blue sigils.

Drawn to his hand like iron filings to a magnet, the sigils broke apart into tiny fragments and reassembled themselves in a swirling bracelet of light around his extended hand. The bracelet of runes shrank until it passed through his armor and seared his skin with a faint hiss.

It took Sam’s body a moment to catch on to the fact that it was literally being branded. A million bolts of lightning ignited on his wrist as the sigils burned not only into his skin, but across his mana channels as well.