[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 49: A Delicate Weave

“Sonnuva bitch!” Darren cursed, holding the wound at his side. Blood dribbled out between his fingers.

Leilani pressed her hands to his side, casting [Cure] on the wound, but that bastard Simon had coated his blade in poison when he stabbed Darren.

Albert gave Darren’s wound a calculating glance. “What do you want us to do?”

Already, Darren could feel his power slipping.

Everything had happened so fast! He had no time to prepare or conjure illusions and doing so after the fact only made people more suspicious, as he had learned with Kale when the black bastard defected.

Ungrateful asshole, who does he think let him keep his job despite all the doctors’ visits he kept going to?

Not Darren, but Kale didn’t know that. To his face, he had always tried to show support and care for the cripple. Now that he could walk, he was acting like none of that mattered!

His group diminished, betrayed not once, but twice, and now Darren could see the little cogs turning in that rat-faced Albert’s head. Sooner or later, he was going to try to make his move on Darren too, but only if he seemed weak.

Gritting his teeth against the poisoned stab wound in his side, he said, “Leave them. We’re completing this damn quest and getting the hell off this island.” Darren held up a golden card, a key to one of those things moored at the edge of the main island.

Albert reached out for it, but Darren slipped it back into his pocket. He’d be dead and buried before he let that slippery SOB hold that key. It was the only real power he had left, and he meant to wield it like a sword.

In the distance, Darren could hear Simon’s laughter. At least nobody knows that he took the other key.

With just a few minutes left on the quest timer, Darren and what remained of his crew limped their way toward one of the so-called Skyshards.

Proffering his key at the crystal terminal at the edge of the starting island, Darren bound the Skyshard’s access and every last one of its functions to himself as the sole owner.

There was a plethora of other choices. But none of them would guarantee he would stay in control. Even a tyranny might be usurped.

He could have made it a democracy, a council, a dictatorship even, and everything in between. In the end, he didn’t even give the other people a say as slaves. According to the Skyshard, they might as well not even exist.

Let’s see them try to take this from me.

Quest Complete: Battle Royale I

With mere minutes to spare, you’ve managed to get off of the starting island and make your way to your own Skyshard. This is just the start of your grand journey, and the reward you receive will help you on your way.

Reward: [Supply Cache]

***

Kale swung his axe through the air, severing the beast’s head from its shoulders. But, just as with the last three times, it only made the creature pause long enough to pick up its head.

“Run for it!” Kale shouted to the others.

Ping fired a [Binding Arrow] at the [Revenant], pinning it in place, but it would soon break out. The thing was powerful, and it reminded Kale far too much of the golem that had taken his best friend.

Thanks to that mysterious Nomad named Raiko, he at least knew Sam was alive and well. That makes two of us, he thought as Kale holstered his axe and picked up the unconscious Chris.

The bite on his arm looked bad, but there was nothing that they could do about it. None of them were healers.

In the strangest twist of fate he had ever seen, Leilani actually sided with Darren, of all people. Even after Kale was sure that she would see through his illusions.

Sorry Kai, Kale thought, hoping the man was still alive somewhere. I’ll make it up to you somehow.

A blast of necrotic energy zipped over Kale’s head and withered a tree they were passing.

“He’s broken loose!” Ping cried.

Another odd choice. He would have sworn Ping was firmly in Darren’s camp, but when that weird ghost-lady came to Kale and told him about Sam and everything that happened, Ping had been one of the first to support Kale’s mutiny.

Of course, not everybody had, and in the end a brief scuffle split the party. If it hadn’t been in the middle of the night with Darren asleep, there would have been more casualties, for sure.

As it was, Chris still hadn’t woken up, and Kale was pretty sure one of Darren’s people was dead.

They still outnumber us seven to four, even if that new guy who ambushed us from the tree line died. Kale still felt sick to his stomach when he thought about it.

Everything had happened so fast. He had only wanted to expose Darren and wake people up so they could make their own decisions.

Instead, it had nearly started a war.

Shaking his head to dispel the image, Kale hurried down the slope. Chris was light, but his newfound Strength stats made carrying the man trivial, though fighting with somebody slung across your shoulder wasn’t.

I’m not a leader, Kale thought as they broke free from the gloomy swamp and saw the Skyshards beyond. I don’t know what I’m going to do once we reach the Skyshards. Darren had the keys, and if he’s beaten us there, we’re even more screwed than I thought.

Fate, as it turned out, wasn’t as unkind as Kale had once thought. And he had plenty of time to think about how fucked up fate was when he was wheelchair bound for so many years.

Most of the Skyshards appeared deserted, but there was a lone figure beside one of the crystalline pedestals at the edge of the starting island.

He turned at the commotion and yelling of Kale’s group, the snarling [Revenant] that was chasing them, and rather than doing the sane thing like getting the hell out of there, he waved at them.

He just waved. Calm and collected as you please.

When the young man came within earshot, he said, “Hurry up, I’ve got a key here, but it looks like you could use the help! Get aboard, hurry!”

Kale carried Chris across the thin bridge to the Skyshard, his sister, Kylie, following in Kale’s wake.

Ping lobbed a few shots at the hulking [Revenant], but it only seemed to make it angrier.

The mysterious man offered a golden metallic card, pressed some glowing crystals on the pedestal, swiped at some menu Kale couldn’t see, and the bridge began to glow.

He made it across right behind Ping, seconds before the bridge vanished and the Skyshard began to drift away from the main island.

The [Revenant], however, was not going to let them go that easily. It leapt through the air, and against all hope landed on the very edge of the Skyshard.

Screaming with bottled-up rage, Kylie, of all people, charged the hulking undead. It was just as surprised as the rest of them, and that cost it dearly. She rammed it in the middle with her shoulder, sending it flying back over the edge of the Skyshard.

She stood there, at the edge, panting and watching the monster fall away into the dark clouds. Somewhere below, lightning flashed.

The mysterious young man who had given them a way off the island leaned over the edge and jovially patted Kylie on the back. “Looks like rain. Good thing we’re all the way up here.”

“Listen,” Kale said, gently setting Chris down. “I wanted to thank—”

The man turned to Kale and smiled, “Nonsense, you would’ve done the same for some luckless soul too, I bet. You got that ‘good Samaritan’ vibe. Anyway, name’s Simon. Pleasure to meet y’all. Mi casa es su casa!”

***

Floating on an island, weathering out a storm in one of the tents Sam luckily still had, thanks to the Inventory system of Islegard, was the perfect time for Sam to finally catch up on his new abilities.

He also had the loot from the Dark Vault to select, but for now, with the rain drumming against the rainproof cloth of the tent, Sam was content to let that rest until he had a bit more time to think about his options.

What would an [Ascension Gem] even do after he already picked his Second Order Job? Could he hold it until his Third Order Job?

He didn’t know, and a lot of it rested on this mysterious Skyshard of Raiko’s that they were hoping to run into.

Raiko had mentioned the currents were favorable, but that could change. At the moment, Sam wanted to familiarize himself with his new Job.

[Swordsmanship Foundation]

(Weaponry Skill) (F-Class)

(★Common I)

Provides the fundamentals for all Sword-based weaponry skills, allowing the use of all Sword Stances. Through your dedication and training with both longswords and Greatswords, you have gained access to a weaponry skill that encompasses all swords. In keeping with your dedication to swords, [Swordsmanship Foundation] now applies to all types of swords, regardless of whether or not you previously had any weaponry skill for them. Additionally, [Swordsmanship Foundation] replaces your [Greatsword Foundation]. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Agility, and Dexterity when using [Swords].

Simple enough, he thought. Improves and replaces my [Greatsword Foundation]. It’s pretty much a straightforward upgrade all around.

Especially since it allowed him to wield another sword that wasn’t a greatsword, without any penalty. Having two different Skill Spheres would make having a side sword and a greatsword annoying to deal with, but now they both improved the same skill.

If I could reverse engineer my [Biting Sheath], I could make one for a longsword too. Then I could take out the weapon I need at any given moment.

While greatswords were far more fun and useful than he would have once thought possible, they weren’t great in tight spaces.

If he had no room to swing, it’d make wielding a greatsword highly ineffective. Not only that, but now that he had actual gods looking to take him out, the possibility that somebody would plan for an encounter that would exploit his weaknesses was a very real threat.

Now I just need to find a one-handed sword.

[Battle Tactics]

(Swordsman Skill) (F-Class)

(☆ Primitive)

Swordsmen are frequently found at the frontlines, shouting encouragement and shoring up battle formations. You are a beacon of hope and a symbol to rally around amid the chaos and bloodshed. With [Battle Tactics], you are able to form your allies into units that perform specialized roles which improve a wide variety of stats and skills based on the Tactic. While most Tactics work best in a group, they also apply to individuals. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Insight, Awareness, Vigor, and Strength when using [Battle Tactics].

Sam scratched his head at that one.

It made it seem like Tactics were a special thing, something that he used like a spell or ability… but it didn’t give him anything.

Was it freeform like other skills or did he need to create some sort of Tactic on his own that the Shard recognized and then gave him an ability for?

Yet another thing to test, though not during the rainstorm and definitely not on such a small island. He had high hopes for the skill, nonetheless.

The next skill could have been terrible, and Sam still would be happy with his decision to pick [Swordsman]. Luckily, it wasn’t.

In fact, it was another upgrade to his pre-existing skill set. Something of a trend he was noticing.

Does the Shard try to provide complimentary skills and abilities, or am I just lucky? He doubted the latter, but it all seemed too coincidental.

In his experience, you usually got some duds in with the good stuff. But so far, every skill was great, if not outright amazing.

Sam reached for one of the last [Simple Rations] he had, cracked the dry biscuit in half and gave it to Komachi while he ground his teeth on the other.

With three more Job skills to peruse, he still had time to find a dud or two in there.

He doubted anything would beat [Swordsmanship Foundation] though. Lumping various types of swords into one skill was incredibly useful.