[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 137: Poor Communication

It was painfully obvious that Lenal wished she could help more. But joined with Professor Ankwell, she was exceedingly gifted at knowing who was best suited to be inhabited. She didn’t seem satisfied with a managerial role, however, but she did not complain.

Sam understood.

This was her family. Her people. And she could do little more than play matchmaker.

Perhaps that was why, against his wishes, Sam didn’t fight against the unanimous decision that he should be the first to be possessed.

Besides, it was obvious that he was slowing, and putting himself in front was only going to lead to more problems. Thankfully, nobody brought it up.

The faster they could finish the Mana Engine, the faster the Dungeon Core would be destroyed. As Professor Nihl explained, “The Mana Engine, in its current unfinished state, is able to purify, condense, and expand mana in a bubble around itself. It is simply venting the mana because we have not properly configured the last stages of its construction.”

“A brilliant creation,” Raiko said, watching the engine from afar.

“Once it is finished, perhaps.” Nihil gripped the lapels of his robe and continued, “However, the Mana Engine should have no problem using its own surfeit of condensed mana to push through the Dungeon Core’s shielding, rendering it vulnerable. If not outrightly killing it.”

Sam had tried using his Breaking bloodline on the shimmering shield, but like the room in the Dark Vault, he just couldn’t seem to do it. And he didn’t have enough of those crystals to try using Void mana to blast through it.

His Void mana did work, however. But only for a fraction of a second, and only if he dropped [Essence of Escha] to do it. The truth was that Sam, for all of his Strength, was unable to do the one thing his bloodline seemed designed for.

Even Chompers bravely attempted a bite on the shield, but the little guy was thrown back, toppling end over end until he was upside down on his lid, dozens of corgi paws swishing in the air.

Raiko helped Sam to his feet after his latest attempt. “They are ready for you. Don’t worry, Sam, we’ll get through this.”

Grumbling, Sam dusted himself off and sheathed his sword. It wasn’t as if he would need it for what would come next. He felt odd, accepting the help of a ghost to pilot his body, to complete something that no living soul knew how to do anymore.

Professor Nihl floated up in front of him. “I am sorry to do this to a champion of Islegard,” he told him softly. “I have the utmost respect for you and Sage Raiko, but if this goes poorly, I would like you to promise me something.”

Sam blinked. “What’s that?”

Nihl floated so close that their noses nearly touched. His voice was a whisper on the wind. “If we cannot fix the Mana Engine, I would be eternally grateful if you could see to it that Lenal escapes this place. I always put off giving her more responsibilities. I suppose we never wish to burden those we care about. But she is the sole survivor of the Aker Academy. She will inherit everything once we are gone. I have already seen to it. All I ask is that you help her survive.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that, but I can’t say I disagree with you. She’s become one of us. We aren’t many in number, but we protect our own.”

“That is all I could ask for.” He drifted slightly away and cleared his voice, raising it so others could hear. “Now, if you will please recite after me.”

A new quest materialized for Sam, telling him little different than what Professor Nihl requested. Either way, there’d be a reward, as if he needed that at all.

Sam hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. Though the quest name, “Last of his Line”, suggested a relationship quite different from the one he had pictured between Nihl and Lenal.

Somewhat more wholesome than the schoolgirl crush I had assumed.

The words that came out of Nihl’s mouth were foreign and melodic to Sam, but he did the best he could to recite them verbatim.

It took a few tries before he could finally accomplish it, and when he did, the possession was immediate.

Cold numbness spread across his entire body. The Void wounds surged with fresh heat and then subsided. He collapsed to the ground.

Sam, sitting somewhere in his head, looked out through his eyes and saw his hands moving without his intent.

It was deeply unsettling.

He felt assured, however, that at any point he could wrench control away. After he heard his own body clear its throat meaningfully, he realized that he not only could take control at a moment’s notice, but he had to willingly give up said control to allow the professor to control his body.

“Such pain,” Nihl whispered to himself. “How can you think?”

You get used to it, Sam thought to him.

“Let us hope we are not here long enough for me to do the same, then!”

“Sam?” Raiko asked, helping him to his feet again. She searched his face with open concern.

Did she always look at him like that? It took being an observer, away from the pain, to see things presented in a different light.

“Ah, no. Not quite,” Nihl said in Sam’s body. It helped that this voice and inflection were different. He stood, trying to straighten a non-existent cravat, then realized he was in full armor. “Lenal!”

“Yes, Professor Nihl!” She appeared at his side in a twinkling, holding out a small folding box that, when manipulated, opened up to reveal drawers that were far too big for its size. Inside were multiple hammers, pliers, vices, and all manner of tools that belonged to Nihl’s Blacksmith Profession.

Sam watched, enjoying the break from the pain of his wounds for a moment as the professor picked the right tool—though he had no idea how he knew which he needed—and then walked over to the Mana Engine.

It was a tall cylindrical thing, nearly 8-foot-tall and 3-feet wide. There were tubes all over it, some metal, others glass, but Sam couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Granted, if he was looking at a half-assembled V6 car engine, he still wouldn’t know what most of the parts did, so this wasn’t too far off the mark.

Sam was never the sort of kid who took something apart and put it back together again to see how it worked.

He was too poor for that.

Everything he had, he needed to make sure it stayed working all the time. And that meant not messing around with it just to see how it ticks and inevitably breaking it in the process.

The professor, however, was the polar opposite. Sam could see a mirage of his thoughts as he went through the various internal workings of the Mana Engine.

Sam watched as his gauntlets were stripped and placed into his Inventory and his helm removed as well. The professor claimed he couldn’t see as well, even with the transparency engaged. The gauntlets were a bit more obvious.

But the man’s hands were shaking, his breathing labored and loud.

The pain, Sam realized. He’s not able to think through all the pain.

Sam took control of his body, but with such a light touch that he only took away the pain. The professor immediately relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he whispered to Sam.

It was a nice break while it lasted, Sam told him. Just hurry, yeah?

With a nod of Sam’s head, the professor went about his task with sure and stable hands.

One by one, the rest of the group was possessed by a suitable partner. Lenal was left behind to guide and be a general assistant to all, while two people were left to defend the Mana Engine and their workers.

Raiko and Kai stood in the no-man’s-land between the Engine and the Dungeon Core, attacking any creatures that were brought to life before they could attack the Engine.

Fortunately, utilizing close strikes with Blood mana seemed to be doing the trick against the magic resistant monsters, allowing Raiko to shore up one of the group’s weaknesses.

Nobody but Sam excelled at high physical damage.

As temporary as that was, even with sparingly fortifying the attacks from the [Sage Domaru Gearset’s] stores of Blood mana. At any point, her Chaos mana would shift the element to something else.

Sam was stunned at the progress the professors made. He watched his hands make fine adjustments that were at the limit of his Dexterity. And when Nihl hammered something into place, he had to be extra careful because of Sam’s ridiculously high Strength.

On more than one occasion, he had to repair the damage he caused. But on the whole, Sam’s stats worked to their benefit. Nihl could do things with his bare hands that he would have required several advanced tools to do.

“Is this what it is like to be an Incarnate?” the professor asked quietly.

Not quite, Sam told him. It’s more that I have ridiculous amounts of Strength compared to most people. It is something I have fostered quite heavily.

“Yes, I can see that. But you could strip a bolt off its threads with just a flick of your fingers. I hardly need these tools except for small adjustments that your muscles would break.”

I’m glad to be of help. Though I wish I could be fighting.

“You are in no condition to be fighting,” the professor chided. “Surely you know this? Your wounds, while not fatal, are quite severe. Engaging in combat of any kind would be a fool’s errand.”

Fine by me, Sam told him, I’m no stranger to foolishness, but I don’t think they can hold out much longer. Raiko’s going to lose access to that Blood mana anytime now. And the stronger the Mana Engine gets, the more the Dungeon Core tries to sabotage what we’re doing.

“Yes, I have noticed… and—” the professor’s hand began to tremble. He grasped it with another to steady it. “—I believe I am losing control. It must be an Incarnate trait, because I have never heard of this before. Even restrained, your will is impressive. It does not want me here. I am an intruder.”

Sam tried to keep himself open to the professor, but it was more difficult than he would have thought. If he was asked to keep something out, that would be far easier. But to allow something in was another story, not while also taking away the pain.

Then you should work faster, for all our sakes.

Matt worked with an alembic, a small burner, and many strange powders, tinctures, and liquids that frothed and bubbled as he bottled them with an elegance that clearly was not his own.

He looked up and blew a limp strand of hair from his face, his eyes glowing an ethereal blue. “Slow down, Nihl! I need more time for the dampener solution.”

“I am afraid I do not—” Sam trembled violently, then went limp as the professor’s ghost was expelled from his body.

For the slightest moment in time, Sam remembered everything the professor did and why. He had a glimpse into the workings of the man’s mind and was truly blown away by his depth of knowledge despite the relatively low level of his Profession.

He had been a Master back on Islegard, however, and much of the same mechanics transferred over to the Shardrune.

Just as Sam was reaching for the right hammer to tap one of the pipes into place, he felt the knowledge drain away like water through a sieve.

But for just one shining moment, he was absolutely sure of himself, and now he looked at the hammers Lenal offered as if they were utterly alien.

A hammer was just a hammer to Sam now.

Komachi, possessed by Heska the Merchant, used some sort of magic Sam had never seen before to literally bribe parts of the Mana Engine into operational order.

Tubes that had been empty began to fill up as coins from the woman’s dead body vanished into the air with each use.

I cannot believe that Komachi was right.

And much like Komachi, the possessed cat turned around and kicked one of the tubes until it began to vibrate and fill with a clear-blue liquid that fizzed and bubbled up into a complicated series of glass conveyances where Sam lost track of the liquid entirely.

The pain of the Void wounds was somehow fresher now that he was fully in control of his body. Sam got to his feet, re-equipped his gear, and joined Raiko at the front lines. “Your turn,” he told her, pulling his [Dullahan Greatsword] free of its sheath.

“What will I become?” Raiko sheathed her blade. Nearly halfway through, the mana shifted to bubbling water. “Good luck and survive. I need you Sam.”

He hardly had time to process what she let slip before Matt approached. Blushing, Raiko rushed off.

The light of possession was clear in his eyes. He walked up to Sam and offered him a small vial of some floral concoction. “Take this,” he said in the feminine voice of Professor Aldoverre.

“What does it do?” Sam asked, sniffing it curiously.

“I had this made for Professor Nihl when he was assuming control of your body, before you did my task for me. This will numb your pain. All of it. Be warned, however, because you will not know the state of your body, so be careful.”

Sam liked the sound of that. He downed the flowery potion in one go.