[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 143: The Musical Cat

With a tremulous meow, Komachi took out a shiny new instrument from her Inventory.

When Sam was on death’s door, and stayed that away for a while, she stopped eating. She stopped playing any kind of music.

Not intentionally. She couldn’t help it. Sam was her best friend, and she couldn’t cope with the possibility of him going away for good.

It didn’t make any sense to the cat. She knew about death, to some extent, but Sam? Dying?

That didn’t make any sense.

He was immortal, with the blood of a god. As strong as Raiko, the fallen angel from another world. By now, Sam was probably stronger than her.

While he was gone, Komachi just shut down. She had a hard time remembering it all.

But now, she was starting to feel a little bit more like herself. More two-brain cell genius-like.

The fear was still there, however. And going without food for a while took a hit to Komachi’s vitality in a way she did not completely understand.

The little Bard had gained loot from completing the Dungeon Quest too, because that harp didn’t resemble the instrument the Abyssdiver boss had previously dropped when they rescued Lenal.

Clutching the snowy white marble harp, carved into the incredible likeness of sunlight and stars, Komachi experimentally strummed its strings.

Of Unusual rarity, one higher than Uncommon, the harp dramatically increased the potency of any Light mana songs. Its Light mana imbuement was helpful too.

It was quite the find from that [Dungeon Instrument Coffer (Copper Grade)], so Komachi was rather pleased. It was nice to gain loot that wasn’t handed over to her from somebody else’s pile.

Not that she’d ever say no to free loot, but it was good to have something wholly her own.

The harp wasn’t as useful for [Haste Mazurka]. She’d have to fall back on her Wind mana enhancing instrument for that.

Komachi also picked up a new [Light Mana] attunement from one of her many level ups. When presented with a choice for picking up a new skill, spell, ability or the like, she opted for the attunement.

Having accrued over 200 points in Mind and reached Unusual rarity in [Restorative Magic Foundation], the Bard had a greater understanding of healing magic. More than anything else, she had been casting those kinds of spells from the very beginning.

[Recovery Stance], the type of magic that let her continuously stack Regen upon a target, was scraping the bottom of Unusual rarity as well. It still was down at Uncommon V, but that was close enough to Komachi.

She had long since left the maximum stacks of 3 behind. Ever since her [Status] race changed from cat to soul aeder, her MP went crazy high.

That +25% MP trait is pretty sweet, Komachi thought, feeling quite proud of herself.

Light mana possessed a particularly strong healing modifier. Wind mana wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t anywhere as good as Light mana could be.

That’s why she opted to morph [Regen Paeon] into a Light mana song, rather than Wind mana. It was a bit of a risk, since she had a Wind mana affinity, and not a Light mana affinity. However, it seemed that [Regen Paeon] and her new song would affect each other stronger that way.

It was possible to pick up affinities naturally, anyway. With training and determination, she hoped to develop a Light mana affinity sooner rather than later.

Altogether, Komachi was trying to become more proficient and effective at healing, rather than just a buffer.

She considered throwing shade at Kai later, since his healing seemed fairly crummy. He didn’t do any party wide healing like she could as a Bard, and his single target heals were just a onetime burst of HP.

She glanced over to Raiko, instinctively seeking reassurance from the one other person the cat felt would protect her no matter what.

The Ninja’s eyes were closed though. Komachi’s ears flattened, until the woman’s hand darted out and scratched under her chin.

To the keen-eyed observer, it looked like what little was left of Komachi’s fur got a little fuller just from that single pet.

“That’s a good cat, huh?”

Komachi let out a pleased meow and began to play [Healing Aria] on her harp. It greatly increased the restoration potency on a single target. Hopefully, the spring’s healing over time would be affected by the song.

Reaching level 29 Bard had its perks.

***

The sounds of harmony, of the surf and sun, of days that felt like a lifetime ago spent on the beach with a paper plate of musubi and a passion fruit smoothie woke Sam from his unexpected slumber.

Without care or thought for his own injuries, he reached out and petted his cat from her pointed ears to the tip of her tail. “That’s a lovely song, Komachi.”

He could feel the song’s effect already increasing his healing rate. Somehow, it was improving the spring’s HP recovery rate.

Sam’s arm got stuck somewhere around her butt, where Komachi raised her backside up like cats were wont to do. He tried moving it, but the damn thing was almost frozen with tenderness.

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, Sam managed to pull his arm back under the healing waters.

That was a definite downside to having high HP. Most healing methods didn’t seem to heal a percentage of his HP. Instead, they healed a flat amount that varied based on things that Sam neither knew nor cared about.

What mattered was the result, and the result kind of sucked.

If, for example, Kai could bottom out his entire store of MP only to heal Sam for 2,000, that would work fine if he had a third of his current HP.

But with 6,402 HP, in this make-believe scenario, Kai would need to bottom out his MP over three times just to heal him back to full.

That wasn’t something that could be done easily out of battle, let alone during combat.

And there was something worse about it that Sam only realized later.

Having more HP acted as if he was harder to heal. He didn’t know how that worked, or why it was like that, but both Kai and Komachi had expressed frustration with their ability to heal him.

It wasn’t just the Void wounds, which were fast on the mend now. It was also his superior HP. Sam wondered if it was a bit like attacking a higher-level monster with the same level of abilities.

He could use [Heavy Blade] to awesome effect on a monster around his level, but for each level above his own, he needed to pour more power into the ability.

Eventually, he would only be able to scratch a sufficiently powerful monster.

Which you’ve done, a part of his mind reminded him, consistently.

Okay, so maybe using himself as an example wasn’t the best idea. He had incredibly high Strength, and high Strength coupled with huge and heavy weaponry meant he was a walking siege engine.

Still, he thought the point stood if you applied it to anybody else. It was as if he was raising the difficulty by increasing his Vigor so relentlessly.

Not that he was increasing Vigor purposefully. Swordsman did that all on its own, and his Talents further pushed it toward dizzying heights without any input of Sam’s.

It was clear that the Shard had a plan for him, or at least understood where he wanted to go, even if he only knew it subconsciously. And that was to be a frontline fighter that waded into the blood and death, to emerge from the other side still standing.

Sam could only hope that Kai would soon get some new spells or abilities that would help recover his monstrous HP. Komachi’s newest song was a significant step up from what she had before. But even as he thought it, he felt a little ashamed for being so selfish.

He was the only person with so much HP. Was it really a good idea to hope that they would have something that would serve him?

Yes, Sam thought to himself after a moment, it is. Even if Kai can only heal 500 HP, if he is able to heal 1,000 HP instead, that’d help anybody who had less HP.

Sam, of course, would profit the most, but it wasn’t as if it was a wholly selfish ask. He made a mental note to talk to Kai about it in case he had new skills to choose as well, then Sam dove into the new selection.

Both [Traversal] and [Heavy Blade] had been instrumental in the most recent encounters. He hoped that he could go pick up [Iron Mountain] finally, but as always, Swordsman provided new abilities and skills as well as all the old ones he hadn’t picked up.

You have [Swordsman] abilities to select from.

[Flash]

(Hybrid Ability) (F-Class)

(★Common)

Swordsmen see their weapons as extensions of themselves. Through their weapons, they can perform a myriad of feats that would look like pure magic to any onlooker. By channeling a small amount of mana to your blade, you can create a blinding light that afflicts any opponents facing you that can see your blade. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Arcane, Control, and Agility when using [Flash].

[Blade Pattern]

(Physical Ability) (F-Class)

(★Common II)

Known across the Shardrunes as the first step toward being a true Blademaster, Swordsmen are able to bond with their weapon in more ways than there are stars in the sky. One such way is to do the unthinkable and meditate during combat, attuning your mind and soul to that of your blade.

While using [Blade Pattern], you take 50% less damage, and your ensuing Pattern deals proportionally increased damage based on damage received while using [Blade Pattern]. Unlocks [Pattern: Flowering Gust]. Unlocks further Patterns. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Vigor, and Dexterity when using [Blade Pattern].

[Pattern: Flowering Gust]

While utilizing a one-handed sword, attune yourself to the speed of the blade. Your striking speed is increased while the damage you deal is decreased. Grants an additional minuscule bonus to the effect of Agility and Dexterity when using [Pattern: Flowering Gust].

[Flash] was useful, and Sam liked the utility it provided, but he wasn’t that interested. Not because it was a bad ability, but because it didn’t fit his current style of fighting.

He had already bent stances to the way he preferred, and he wasn’t about to undo that by picking an ability that would force him to fight differently than he already did.

That being said, he felt different about the next ability.

Sam rather liked the [Blade Pattern] ability, not only because it sounded like a fun thing to use, but because he knew he could now use a colossal greatsword in one hand, making [Pattern: Flowering Gust] usable for him.

And one of his greatest weaknesses was his slowness. It was inevitable with his stat layout and his choice of weaponry, but if this ability could fix it….

[Blade Pattern] was clearly intended to open up more Patterns later on, much like his stances did, and yet he felt like he would make a mistake by picking [Blade Pattern] as opposed to [Iron Mountain].

Both were right up his alley as far as how he wanted to fight. While [Iron Mountain] leaned into his current style and enhanced it in every way, [Blade Pattern] and specifically [Flowering Gust], allowed him to shore up a weakness of his.

Sam could have gone back and forth for hours without making a choice. It was that close between the two. Ultimately, he knew that he would side with [Iron Mountain], if only because it had no weaknesses.

Its weaknesses were his weaknesses, and while [Blade Pattern] was bright and shiny and new, it still wouldn’t let him use [Switch] which he wanted to take full advantage of while he could.

Sam selected [Iron Mountain], already knowing that he was likely to pick up [Blade Pattern] next time.

[Iron Mountain]

(Sword Stance) (F-Class)

(★Common)

Raises your resistance against physical and magical damage by increasing your Leaden Stacks the longer you root yourself in place. The more Leaden Stacks you possess, the more damage you resist and the heavier you and your weapon becomes. Grants a minuscule bonus to Vigor and Strength when using [Iron Mountain].

Maximum Leaden Stacks: 3

Now I can finally use [Switch], he thought to himself. It wasn’t that [Switch] was incredibly useful in itself, but it allowed a level of freedom and fluidity that he craved.

[Switch]

(Swordsman Ability) (F-Class) (☆ Primitive)

Through your experiences and training, you’ve stumbled upon a fundamental truth earlier than most and uniquely suited to Swordsmen. Where others must stay committed to singular stances, you have learned how to [Switch] from one stance to the next while keeping all relevant resources and buffs, granting you greater fluidity in combat. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Dexterity, and Agility while using any Stance.

Not to mention, [Iron Mountain’s] defensive boost would have made it easier to hold back the monsters of the Dungeon Core without nearly dying.

Even with his large HP, Sam wanted to make sure he lost as little of it as possible.

Besides, with [Switch] now having a function, he could finally take his last Swordsman skill out of Primitive.