[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 101: Hobbit Hole

“It would be all too easy to drop Matt down a twenty-foot hole and leave him there to complain to nobody but himself,” Raiko muttered, guiding Kai through the mixed bamboo and hilly terrain encircling the Tree.

Lenal trailed after them at a distance, unsure of where she belonged. It seemed clear on her face that she was at least a little worried over a split in the Incarnates.

Earlier, Komachi had given Lenal her [Flamewool Cloak], so the elf was at least warm and comfortable. Thanks to the wonder of magically re-sizing equipment, the cloak going from a cat to an elf still fit perfectly.

Lenal still needed new equipment, but there hadn’t been enough time for that.

Even Raiko was unarmored, with just a Primitive rarity altered kimono.

Focusing on her task, Raiko needed to accommodate both a secure living space without compromising the rivers snaking through, nor the natural cover for the Tree.

There had been little time, and even fewer resources, to properly set up her Skyshard.

She hadn’t even given it a proper name. It didn’t seem right to call the land what it used to be. It was no longer the same, and it was time for new things.

Despite her threat about what she would do to Matt, she didn’t have the spare energy to waste on exacting petty revenge. [Glyph: Sculpt] was costly, consuming a hidden resource that recovered slowly.

It seemed reinforced by her MP, which was already well over 1,000, but only so much.

Hence, the comparison to a bloodline. It felt and acted similarly.

“Could you do that?” Kai asked slowly.

“Right beneath his feet? Yes.” Raiko stopped atop a hill, looking over her shoulder at the Shaman. He certainly did not resemble any oni. “Should I? Probably not.”

Shamans could take their magic in many different ways, depending on where they hailed from. A Shaman that learned their magic from the foglands and another from a desert might wield such contrasting powers they likely wouldn’t resemble the same Job.

Whether Kai knew it or not, by picking that Job, he placed himself in direct opposition to those oni Shaman.

Their fell magics attempted to weave the corrupting habitat of their own dimension upon this one. If they had won, the consequences would have reached far beyond even the Sacred Tree.

Even that alone would’ve been a devastating loss to the Shard. Something she did not like thinking about.

When Kai asked what she was thinking about, she told him about the different styles of Shamans there appeared to be in this realm and beyond.

The large man took on a contemplative look.

After that, Raiko listed out the materials they would need to discover.

While this Skyshard was bountiful, it was largely in an undiscovered state. She could extend her senses through some of the landscape, but the details were muted, nor could she perceive much past the surface.

Much like Sam’s Skyshard, this one had more vertical landmass than horizontal. There could be anything right below their feet.

Minerals, ores and crystals, anything rich with mana, spirit and hopefully aether, would be exceptionally useful. Anything aethereal might be too much to hope for, given that it would rely on First Layer mana for its creation.

The Tiles seemed to generate natural resources, but as to how much of that was metal, stone and crystal, it was not yet clear to Raiko.

She looked forward to finding out.

She needed more time to explore and examine things. There just hadn’t been any. Between recovering from death’s door to acclimatizing to Ninja and these Glyphs, there was hardly a moment to breathe.

She was even putting off selecting her reward from the Dark Vault, not because she didn’t know what to pick, but because they literally needed a domicile so nobody would get scooped up by monsters and taken away in the night.

I’ll be damned if I let what happened to Lenal strike here, Raiko thought with grim determination. Mere scavenging beasts won’t be the end of us.

For now, even a supply of simple stone would be sufficient for her group’s purposes.

“I’d rather create a luxuriously comfortable yet fortified abode the very first attempt, but I’m honestly exhausted,” Raiko admitted. “This structure will start off simple, but will grow more advanced over time. I can only hope they’ll be decent enough accommodations for your company.”

That caught both Kai and Lenal by surprise. Sure, she misspoke a little bit, but that was roughly the meaning there. She didn’t want Kai to go off to the [Sourcestone] as well, and certainly not Lenal where she would be incredibly easy prey to any passing monster.

Even sleeping beneath the Sacred Tree was far safer than that.

I suppose this is what comes from taking risks, Raiko thought. Some factions of the Islegardians might serve me without question, but that’s all they would be. Subjects. Whereas Sam and his Earth friends are more… unreliable. Unknown.

She was tired of the way Islegardians looked to her, even the way Lenal treated Raiko grated somewhat. Not that she blamed the elf at all.

Sam’s group didn’t do that, but she also wasn’t sure how far their loyalty went.

They split up, going wider and farther away from the epicenter of the Skyshard.

A plan started to resolve in her mind. At first, Raiko figured she’d go the lazy route and just hollow out the hills near the Tree’s spring, then seal and fortify them with additional stone.

Then Matt’s mockery exposed how flawed the structures truly would be.

There was much more open space along the outer perimeter of the bamboo that surrounded the Tree. If Raiko could Sculpt the structure entirely from stone, that would be a sturdier starting point.

If it really came down to it, these things would need to resist attacks in the night, as well as blend in with the surrounding environment.

In the future, she would rather have more ostentatious buildings that other settled Skyshards could openly recognize as civilized.

There was the potential that while they were small in number, any sign of civilization might invite unwanted visitors. The sort that looted and plundered.

That meant, at the moment, focusing on survival and blending in was the wise choice to make.

Right now, they were vulnerable to flying enemies. She wasn’t sure how well they’d fare in the confluence of mana currents gusting from the Sacred Tree, but it remained a possibility that it could be directly assaulted.

With that in mind, she needed to both be nearby, along with anybody else willing to defend, but also secure.

With Kai’s Nature mana, he was able to determine where concentrated sources of potential materials were. Where there were pockets of stone beneath the surface, there was an absence of Nature mana.

From there, it was luck whether the three of them could find something useful. Basic stone was fine and all, but something more would be better.

The [Sculptor’s Cube] pulsed over yet another area Kai indicated, pushing aside the vegetation and dirt into seamless slopes. It was an effort to preserve the natural appearance, as if this grass and dirt was always thriving there, but she managed.

Perhaps not without the cube that spawned shortly after Raiko unlocked [Glyph: Sculpt]. It served as an excellent amplifier and spellcasting focus all in one, but it only had so many charges being at merely Common rarity. And F-Class at that.

If only the Glyph or the cube was E-Class, Raiko could do so much more with Sculpting.

“Kai, you’ve found something dramatically different.” Raiko crouched down, peering within. “This changes everything.”

Quartz-like veins of [Nature Crystals] shone luminescent green in the night, wafting hazy streams of mana into the air.

“I am pleased to have found something of worth,” Kai said, formal as ever. “However, how can we collect this? We are no miners. I admit, I am unsure as to what exactly your magic does.”

“That’s the trick, Kai,” Raiko motioned at the glowing crystals jutting out of the main vein. “We’re not collecting anything. Sculpting shapes and forms whatever is already there. The more saturated it is with mana, the better.”

There were certain limitations, of course. Doubtful she could Sculpt anything that was Second Layer mana or higher at her present capabilities. But to even begin to take steps towards that, Raiko and Sam’s group would need to progress their Ascension quest.

For all of them to climb to the next Layer and reach even greater heights of power, they would need to make it past the Maelstrom somehow. Something that was clearly laid out as an obstacle in her Ascension quest.

And even before that impossible feat, they needed their feet under them. Homes, Professions, supplies. Some semblance of civilization, no matter how insignificant.

“You cannot create from nothing?” Kai crossed his bulky arms. “Mana attunements can manifest elements, such as water, but it does not persist.”

“Energy and mass always come from somewhere,” Raiko explained. In another life, she would’ve enjoyed being a Professor and dealing with experimental magic. “Mana attunements draw on your unique mana signature and partially the world, or so it seems to me. But with Sculpting, no, I work with whatever is already there.”

After they discovered a few more pockets of higher rarity materials, Raiko finally had what she needed. Some of the materials, found with additional aid from Lenal’s Analyst abilities, had enhancements and others had imbuements.

All of which, when added together, would resist monster attacks without too much risk of caving in from direct blows and keep out the mana strengthened weather.

The weather hadn’t posed a problem yet, but with something called the Maelstrom lurking out there, there was no way the weather wasn’t going to be a potential threat.

It was already well into the night, but it didn’t matter. This needed to be done as soon as possible. And what they found far exceeded Raiko’s barebones expectations.

Fortunately, when Kai urged nature to grow in an area, especially from a seedling or similar, it thrived. His trees had a lasting presence that defied what typical elemental attunements could achieve.

One of the gifts a Shaman possessed, it seemed. Or perhaps something special about Kai himself.

Veins of [Nature Crystals] marbled throughout the domicile, forming glowing crystal outcrops upon the domed [Loamstone] roof, which were supported by roots of the [Ward Bamboo] growing above.

From the outside, it would appear that the [Ward Bamboo] and the [Nature Crystals] were growing atop verdant hills. Little different than the surroundings, nothing too conspicuous. Sure, the crystals glowed, but most vessels of mana did.

Despite her weakened state, Lenal had been able to identify both the [Ward Bamboo] and the [Loamstone]. The bamboo imparted a light camouflage enhancement effect in the nearby area, which would hopefully include the domicile.

Hopefully, some of that was near the Sacred Tree as well. It was difficult for Raiko to discern the difference between one thicket of bamboo and another.

Whereas the [Loamstone] possessed some strange, combined properties of stone and dirt, while also resisting both magical and physical attacks. The roots would be able to drink from the [Loamstone]. If it were put directly into simple stone, either the plant would die off or the structure would collapse eventually.

This way, the [Loamstone] and all the vegetation would work together harmoniously, empowering one another. A living domicile that only grew stronger with time.

It would need maintenance eventually, but Raiko was more likely to add additional materials on the inside before that ever became an issue.

For her efforts, Raiko earned a considerable skill increase, and even a level up.

Your [Glyph: Sculpt] Spell reaches [Common V].

Level Up!

Your [Chaos] Path has reached Level 14.

+1 Arcane Talent | +1 Insight Talent

+1 Resonance Talent | +1 Mind Talent

It lifted Raiko’s mood to earn a level up for an act of creation, and for her Path no less.

Perhaps, in the hands of an Incarnate, apocalyptic mana wasn’t all bad.

Raiko’s Path wouldn’t ever have been so high if not for practically living a dual life, one as a spirit and as that hollow Sage for a period of time.

“Hm, it needs a door,” Kai said, studying the structure with open pride. And why shouldn’t he? He was part of its creation too.

All three of them were. Lenal was quickly becoming a great addition to their small group.

“Yeah, well…” Raiko began, staring at the arched entry without so much as a plank. “I forgot.”

“You… forgot?”

“I’m tired Kai!”

“You didn’t bring it up earlier,” Lenal pointed out, trying to suppress a giggle.

At least Lenal seemed to be getting more comfortable in her presence, rather than being constantly intimidated by what some viewed as a vengeful demigod.

The domicile was finished. Within the dome were interior walls, rooms outfitted with beds of [Cushion Moss], a recessed common area and firepit, and [Nature Crystals] spread throughout to provide more than adequate lighting.

It had more than enough space for them all. Of course, it doesn’t have doors, but whatever. It’s good enough for now!

For now, the lighting could be dimmed with basic cloth and the like. Whatever they had on hand. Raiko wasn’t a miracle worker, and certainly no goddess.

Out of a nearly lifelong habit, Raiko reached out for her pobul, Haman, and realized with a pang that he was not there.

Because of course, he had not been for some time.

Scowling, Raiko went inside.

Lenal followed closely behind. She doubted the girl could sleep alone and did not look down upon her for it.

Blessed with the paradoxical ability to both sleep deeply and wake quickly from any disturbances, Raiko would be able to defend herself. Even if Lenal was secretly a cultist or something equally ridiculous.

Maybe not from poison quickly enough, but she found it particularly hard to care at the moment.

Raiko paused by one of the doorways. “Dammit! Did I make that sideways?”

“I… did not wish to say anything at the time,” Lenal admitted sheepishly.

“Whatever, we can still get through.”

Raiko ducked through the odd doorway and collapsed into the [Moss Cushion] bed, instantly asleep.