[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 36: Talent Show

“A Stat Talent?” Raiko shook her head. “About the only thing I know for certain is that, very rarely, Paths award them upon level up, seemingly instead of raw stats. I suspect talents enhance physical and magical stats beyond their capacity, but to what degree, I can’t begin to guess.”

She squinted at him. “Why do you ask? What have you done?”

“I unlocked a Void Path,” he answered truthfully. “And like usual, nothing explains what it means. But it sounds like it took a lot of Experience.”

“It does. The stronger the Path, the more Experience it takes to unlock it. And that boss monster…. That would do it.” Raiko looked away in thought.

“It would have been nice if I had options,” Sam said, trying not to sound ungrateful or sulky. He did like the sound of a Void Path, but would it have killed the Shard to give a guy some warning that several levels-worth of Experience would be siphoned to open it?

“You and I both,” Raiko said bitterly. Then, as if just registering his previous words, she did a double take. “You embraced the dangers of Void mana?!”

“It wasn’t like I had any choice in the matter,” Sam countered. “If given the option to use something wildly dangerous to me or allow myself to be harmed by it with no benefits, I’m going to choose the former every time, Raiko. I’m pretty sure it was going to kill me.”

“You didn’t… have a choice for your Path either?” She sounded disturbed, and appeared deeply troubled. “That word, it is meant to mean your way of power. The means, even traditions in which you seek to achieve it.”

He paused. From the beginning, Sam was given the option to choose his methods of progression. His Job, his Legend, even what type of stance from leveling up.

The Void, ever since he encountered it, was the sole exception. It consumed all other mana attunements well before he unlocked its Path.

And now, technically, it consumed any other Path as well. For some reason, that was rather interesting to Sam. Much like his bloodline, this was becoming something unique to him.

Thinking back on it, Sam wasn’t sure he was actually able to deny the Void Path.

Not that I wanted to truthfully, he thought.

He earned that power by surviving a trial by fire, so he wanted to use what the Void had to offer to his advantage. Discover where the Path went and how it developed.

Because whatever didn’t kill him would just make him stronger, right? The sentiment felt familiar, though he wasn’t sure why.

Sam shrugged. He didn’t know what else to tell Raiko.

“The greater the risk, the greater the reward,” she intoned, as if reciting a worn and well-used phrase.

Now that was an ideology he agreed with. Nodding, he returned to his notifications, intending to give them a closer look over.

Clearly the Shard meant talents to be something different here than typical stats. It even categorized them as “Strength Talent” instead of just “Strength” as it normally would.

Your [Void] Path has reached Level 1.

+1 Insight Talent | +1 Strength Talent

+1 Arcane Talent | +1 Vigor Talent

Four talents with an equal spread between physical and magical.

The Arcane and Strength stats were magical and physical counterparts, but Insight and Vigor didn’t seem to share that kind of similarity to Sam.

Somehow, all four of these were involved in pursuing his Void Path. Surprisingly, it wasn’t completely mana based. He would have expected it to be wholly revolved around magic, being that the Void didn’t seem to be physical that he could recall.

So did that mean he should spread his stats a bit more toward the magical side of things? His Job already helped him with Strength and Vigor, but his Arcane and Insight only went up whenever his Legend did.

And he still wasn’t sure what prompted that to level up.

“How exactly is a Path different from a Job?” Sam mused aloud.

“Cleric gibs me the healing juice,” Komachi said. “Fighter gibs you the… stabbing juice? Does your Path gib you the mana juice?”

Sam chuckled, and even Raiko cracked a grin.

“Maybe? It is named after my mana attunement,” Sam said.

“It could also be different depending on what a Path is styled after,” Raiko said, hesitantly petting Komachi. Despite being in some kind of spirit form, the interaction still worked.

“Do either of you have a Path?” Sam asked. The looks on their faces told him enough, even before Raiko answered him.

I bet she thinks I’m humble bragging.

“You’ve told me the truth. Why shouldn’t I share the same with you? My Path is Chaos,” Raiko said, looking away. He could tell the admission was dragged out of her.

Clearly Raiko resented what Apocalypse mana had forced onto their Paths.

“I want a Path,” Komachi said. “Somethin’ awesome, and not world-endy.”

Sam smoothed back Komachi’s ears. “You’ll get something good,” he told her. “Probably a lot better than what I got.”

“Yeah?” That got her excited.

“Of course, Komachi.”

She peered up at him with her jewel-bright eyes. “What’d your Path gib?”

Sam looked over at his pending notifications. “I’m sure I’ll find out.”

Level Up!

Your [Adventurer] Legend has reached Level 3.

+1 to all Stats

+2 Bonus Points

Level Up!

Your [Void] Path has reached Level 2.

+1 Insight Talent | +1 Strength Talent

+1 Arcane Talent | +1 Vigor Talent

The Void within responds to the harrowing call from Beyond.

You gain [Void: Scour].

[Void: Scour]

(Magical Art) (F-Class)

(☆ Primitive)

As your connection to the Void deepens, you begin to understand the meager and ethereal nature of mana. By sending out a burst of Void mana, you are able to violently scour all other mana leaving nothingness in its wake. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength and Insight when using Scour.

Mana Cost: Low

Sam’s arm went numb with cold for a moment before life flooded back into the limb. That was unlike nearly any other skill he had unlocked.

It felt as if something cold and lifeless reached through the vastness of time and space to plink a tiny droplet of knowledge directly into his mind.

Totally not eldritch or unsettling at all. Nope. Just gonna toss that in the ol’ vault o’ horrors.

There was no warmth of deeper comprehension that slowly unfolded, as with most everything else. This was crystalline and immediate.

Sam understood, without even a moment to ponder, how he was meant to use [Scour]. Of course, that didn’t stop him from coming up with several other uses that weren’t originally intended.

But the fact that there seemed to be an intent behind the ability was… alarming, to say the least.

It was downright unsettling.

In many ways, it was as if the Void had answered his question about how he might face a mage.

This is it, he thought, staring at his hand. It hadn’t changed, nothing outward at least.

But he could feel Void mana coursing through his veins, cold and lifeless.

With this, I can wipe away a spell before it ever reaches me….

Granted, [Scour] had a very short range. Practically melee distance. But ultimately, it would still allow Sam to dramatically reduce the damage or even dispel a spell mid-air before it ever hit him.

And since he now understood that it was incredibly unlikely that any other person in the Shardrune Realm had a Void Path, it meant that nobody would expect it.

That alone would give him a huge advantage over casters of all sorts.

You can’t counter what you don’t expect, and with any luck Sam would not have a rematch against anybody who saw the Void Art, which would allow him to keep the advantage for a while.

It wasn’t as if he expected to become famous, or to be a wandering warrior battling the toughest person around. Though that would be fun, he mused idly.

In truth, Sam just wanted to carve out a new life for himself with his own two hands and the power he could wield. If he was able to do something that nobody else could, all the better.

I sure as hell wouldn’t want to face somebody who could expose weak points on me and negate a spell I lobbed at them as I was trying to kite them.

“You have a pleased look on your face,” Raiko pointed out, smirking. “Get something interesting?”

Despite her apprehension and even resentment towards Apocalypse mana, Sam could tell Raiko was swayed by her curiosity for new and evolving powers.

It was a rather human thing to feel.

Komachi squinted at him. “I’ve seen that before somewhere… isn’t that the face you make when you take a—”

He knew exactly what Komachi was going to say. And he did not want that happening.

Sam petted her head just a little harder than he needed to. Enough that Komachi’s chubby and fluffy face looked like it was going through a wind tunnel.

“I got a new skill or… Art or whatever it’s called,” Sam explained. “And it solves a problem I was starting to wonder about.”

“Oh, what’s that?” She leaned in.

Sam opened his mouth and then paused for a moment before he told her.

If I can’t trust her, I’m not sure who I could trust,Sam thought.

It wasn’t as if Raiko had ever intentionally hurt him or led him astray. She had, in many ways, helped him even if he would have much preferred never to have had so many close calls with death.

Still, she knew of a safe haven and wanted him to join her there. If they couldn’t be allies, what hope did he have with anybody else?

His group was gone.

Kale, Chris, and Kylie might be dead or a hundred miles away by now.

At least he hoped they were far away from the starting island.

That is, if Darren hasn’t killed them all by now, either by rank incompetence or maliciousness.

Then it hit him. “Raiko?” She had been oddly quiet after he told her about [Scour]. She hardly looked disturbed though, more thoughtful than anything.

She motioned for him to speak.

“You’re able to basically fly and pass through walls,” Sam pointed out. “After all, that’s how you’ve helped guide me to what walls needed to be broken down. Is there a limit to how far you can go? Would you be able to find somebody—or a group of people—if I gave you a general description and maybe direction?”

“For you, yes,” she said without hesitation, then seemed surprised at herself. “There’s no guarantee I will find them, but I will certainly try. If you share enough about them, or what exactly you wish me to do with them, a quest might even be triggered. That’d likely increase the odds of me finding them as well.”

Sam nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d like you to find my best friend, Kale. You know, the greeter you kept hassling at my job? Bald black guy, stylish goatee, in a wheelchair, arms the size of tree trunks? That guy. Only his legs work now, so he’s probably even more obnoxiously confident than you remember.”

“The handsome one?” Raiko asked, eyes glittering with mischievousness.

Sam rolled his eyes. “He’s decent-looking, I guess.”

“Oh, he’s more than decent.”

Sam soldiered on. “Anyway. I need you to deliver a message to him. And, if possible, to Chris and Kylie as well. They should be together. Tell Kale that Darren cut the rope to the bridge and not to trust him. In fact, if you know roughly where we’re trying to go is, tell him to meet us there. I don’t know how much danger he might be in, but if you could do that, I would be grateful.”

There was a long pause as Raiko seemed to be reading something. Her lips moved slightly as she read the notification Sam couldn’t see. “A kingdom quest, how strange.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded. “It’s not solo either. You might pick it up as well. I used to have… a feel for it, but I’m not sure I can guide it again. At least not yet. I’ll find the handsome one, along with the rest of your followers… friends. Yes, friends.”

Sam leveled a look at her. “I’ll spend a little time here practicing my new Void Art and resting. If you’re not back in a few hours, I’ll continue on though. Sound good?”

“There’s no harm in backing out of this Vault if it’s too high level. So don’t die Sam, or I’m coming after your ghost.”

Lacing his fingers and pushing his arms above his head, Sam began to stretch and warm up. He glanced back at her, “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Sam had no idea if the Void mana curling through his veins needed to be warmed up, but he didn’t want to be the first human to experience a mana charley horse.

Sam watched as Raiko melted into the floor and disappeared. He looked over at Komachi. “Time for some training, cat.”