[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 11: Reunited

“That’s awesome,” Sam said, staring at the ogre in the distance. It was enormous. A creature the size of a building, and yet it seemed so still that you could have missed it if not for the system or whatever it was.

“You might want to put on some armor, yeah?” Kale prompted, tapping his own chainmail and padded shirt.

Sam paused and looked at the state of himself. He was wearing simple cotton-spun clothes, gloves, and simple boots. Better than his board shorts, but only just.

Those that weren’t fully wearing whatever they had received from the coffers were now donning what they had gotten over their clothes.

It was odd seeing Darren put on his chainmail shirt over his blue work vest with the spark logo that would have marked him out to any Karen looking to complain about the store not having something she wanted.

Didn’t they understand? There was no going back to Earth, and yet he saw almost everybody seemed to be keeping a hold of their old Earth life.

Granted, nobody wanted to get absolutely naked in front of a bunch of strangers. And even those that weren’t… well, Sam was close with Kale, but not that close.

Kneeling down, Sam looked through his Inventory. It wasn’t as intuitive as he hoped.

He had to dig and root around and to find what he was looking for. The extra items received as part of the quest rewards cluttered his Inventory and he had to move the [Camping Kit] and multiple boxes of [Simple Rations] aside.

“Man, that looks so bizarre,” Chris said, watching as Sam’s arm disappeared up to the elbow as it entered his Inventory.

“Useful though,” Sam said, pulling out the massive [Dull Claymore]. Luckily, it came with a leather baldric so he could carry the sword without having to hold it.

“Is that all you got?” Chris asked incredulously.

Kale, however, looked on at the massive blade with envy. “You gonna cosplay as Guts or something, brother?”

Sam stood up and shrugged. “I picked the martial option. Apparently, that means ‘big fucking sword’ and little else. Oh, I got this pouch that increases my Inventory.” He patted the leather at his hip.

That got a rise out of those nearby. Everybody turned and looked at him with surprise.

“How much would you like for it?” Darren asked, pulling out his wallet, fat with cash.

Kale rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think that dollars will be very useful where we’re going,” Sam pointed out.

“Nonsense,” Darren protested. “There are obviously going to be Americans here. They’ll understand. Even if we can’t go back home—which I don’t believe we can’t—then at least they’ll probably start up the good ol’ US of A economy. Bet on it.”

“This is a new world now,” Kylie spoke up, albeit quiet as ever. When their attention fell on her, she blushed and looked away.

“I got’chu, Sam,” Komachi said, rooting around in her [Cleric Job Coffer]. She pulled out a number of things, most of it being equipment, but what drew Sam’s attention the most was the leaf topped wand with a bell attached to it.

With paws far more dexterous than they ever used to be on Earth, Komachi selflessly gave Sam all her armor. It wasn’t as if she could use it easily, or at least… if she could, she chose to remain as a naked furry British shorthair.

“Thanks, Komachi,” Sam said, scratching under her chin.

Like Kai, Komachi had access to a [Bronze Half-plate], and [Stout Boots]. More armor than he presently had, even more than either Kale or Darren, by the looks of it.

Sam gladly buckled on the [Bronze Half-plate], thanks to his [Armor Foundation] skill, it felt like second nature to put it on. He looked curiously at Komachi, then Kai, wondering how they could put on armor without the skill.

“What skill?” Kai asked, when Sam voiced his question.

“I suppose that means you don’t need the skill to equip the armor, then,” Sam said. He focused his attention on the armor, bringing up the relevant info.

While it was good to know that, if he needed to, it likely meant that he could use a knife or spear in a pinch, he did wonder what it meant to have the Skill Sphere.

[Bronze Half-plate]

(Armor) (F-Class)

(☆Primitive II)

Enhancements

Slashing Defense II | Piercing Defense I

Blunt Defense I

Metal plate armor that protects the wearer’s vital areas and little else. Issued to Jobs like Fighters and Clerics that typically endure the brunt of a battle’s damage to improve survival rates amongst newcomers. Being bronze, this half-plate is on the lighter side for metal armor. However, since its Rarity is the lowest, its plates tend to make a lot of noise.

“Not bad. Offers better protection against slashing weapons than piercing and blunt,” Sam said, looking over the half-plate. “Though I can practically hear the plates squealing now. No magic defense either, if that’s a gear enhancement at all.”

“My robes have actual magic defense,” Chris said. “Though, based on the information on them, it’d be better if the enhancement was more specialized.”

Sam nodded. “That’s good to know.”

If only he had more time. He wanted to give the [Gear Tool Set] a try on this armor. Not to mention his sword could use a touch up too. It had “dull” in the name, after all.

The best of the bunch was the Primitive-rarity cloak that was just a tier lower than his claymore.

[Flamewool Cloak]

(Cloak) (F-Class)

(☆Primitive III)

Enhancements

Fire Defense IV | Ice Defense V

Water Defense II | Magic Defense II

Imbuements

Fire Mana

Made from the rare blazelamb’s wool, this cloak has exceptional warming capabilities despite its simple creation. Owing to the natural imbuement of Fire mana, the cloak is also highly resistant to Fire, Ice, and Water mana as well as the elements. However, it has very poor durability and care should be taken to avoid direct damage to the cloak. There’ll be no cold nights for you, wrapped up in this abundantly warm cloak. Do not leave unattended on the ground, may cause forest fires.

Not bad, Sam thought. And to add onto it, he could tuck Komachi into the cloak and keep her warm as well.

Sam had already experienced the size-magic of putting on clothes that were clearly not his size, and yet after putting them on, they fit as if they had been tailored for him.

Not that he knew what that felt like, being poor as hell, but he liked to think it would feel much as they did now. Almost like wearing nothing at all. There was no bunching or loose fabric, nothing clung to his frame more than it should, and there were no old sauce stains that featured so prominently on his various hand-me-downs as a kid.

If Komachi wore the cloak, it’d be too small to be of use to anybody but herself. Plus, it gave magic defense, which was the only piece of gear that did so.

Still, Sam didn’t want Komachi to get hurt. He was having second thoughts about taking all of her armor.

Good thing there weren’t any Job requirements on this gear. So far, just his [Dull Claymore] and his [Gear Tool Set] were the only things that had skill requirements.

There was little reason to assume that eventually requirements wouldn’t also extend to Jobs.

Strapping the baldric on, Sam slid the [Dull Claymore] into its sheath on his back and moved his [Flamewool Cloak] over one shoulder so it would hide the lower part of the claymore and keep the handle unencumbered.

Chris whistled appreciatively. “You look like you’re going to Kawai’i Con.”

Sam rapped on the bronze half-plate on his chest with a grin. “You joke, but if there’s bikini armor here, you bet your ass I’ll wear it if the stats are good. I have zero shame.”

“Komachi will need three chainmail bras.”

Nobody liked that mental imagery.

In response, his cat shook her wand noisily at the group. The bell attached tinkled, and a magical effect rolled across Sam and radiated outwards to the others.

Komachi (Level 0 Cleric) casts [Warding] on your Party.

You gain the effect of Warding.

+Physical Defense I

“Well, dang,” Chris said, eyes wide with surprise. “I didn’t even have physical defense before!”

“Nice,” Kale said with a grin. “I always liked you Komachi, even if you were a strange cat that loved water.”

Komachi licked her paw with nonchalance, but the twitch of her ears and the lash of her tail betrayed her thirst for praise.

“How did you do that?” Kai asked. “I do not have that spell.”

“She must have picked a different magical skill,” Leilani added. “I chose a Wind skill and received a simple [Gust] spell.”

Kai folded his arms and frowned, something he did very well. He looked like a nightclub bouncer, even though he was, technically, one of the richest people native to O’ahu. “Perhaps I should have chosen something other than enfeeblement, then.”

As their octahedron dipped below the crown of trees and into a narrow valley, cutting off the view of the ogre and everything beyond, Chris turned away from the view to look at the group. “I for one think that’s awesome.”

“A protective spell would be more helpful,” Kai said sourly.

Chris shook his head. “No, no, think about it! You have an enfeebling spell, right? Good. Leilani has a Wind spell, and Komachi has a protective spell. Rather than being doubled-up, our group is spread out better.

“I mean, just look at our Jobs! We’ve got three of every type. How much more balanced could we get? Darren, Kale, and Sam can be our tanks, then you’ve got Komachi, Leilani—”

“Who said we’re going to stay as a group?” Darren asked.

Matt, who up until this point had kept quiet, added, “It might be best for now if we stick together, Darren.”

Darren tilted his chin up at the group, a clear sign he was about to lecture about something nobody cared about, like fronting the shelves or organizing the back room boxes. “Then who’s going to be the leader? We can’t have a group without one.”

“Not you,” Kale said. “This isn’t work, Darren.” He turned on the smaller man. Now that Kale was no longer wheelchair-bound, he towered over everybody there except Kai. “Shit, this isn’t even Earth. You saw those things that came out of the sky. What if there are more of those? Nah. Going alone is a surefire way to die, plus it’s like horror-movie 101.”

“I… would like to stay with you,” Lisa said, sidling closer and holding her bow. “If you don’t mind… at least until Ryan comes back for me.”

Kale opened his mouth, but Chris waved him off and turned his bright tour guide smile onto the tourist. “We’d be glad to have you, Lisa.”

“We should stay together,” Sam said, turning his back on the group and looking out at the rapidly darkening forest. Even though the sun seemed to be out, the angle of it mixed with the various floating islands all around them put their current position deep into shadow.

Despite everything, Sam felt a surge of excitement. Things were finally looking up.

Somehow, he had survived the end of the world. In fact, he had fought at the end of one world. And though nobody believed that he had anything to do with the others being whisked away from the Empty that were ravaging Earth, he was oddly okay with it.

He was used to being underestimated, but for once he would have the chance to prove himself. To show that he was more than just a minimum-wage grunt. Another face in the crowd, serving the whims of tourists and nothing more.

Easing the claymore in its sheath, Sam made sure he could pull it out at a moment’s notice. While he wasn’t an expert with two-handed swords, aside from balance and weight, they weren’t too different to many of the longsword techniques he used.

With his Greatsword Skill Sphere, he was able to connect almost all his old life’s knowledge about longswords to his current weapon.

“I still say we need a leader,” Darren pressed. “And the only people I see with any experience are myself and Matt.”

Sam looked over his shoulder, wondering why they were jockeying for such a petty title. What did it matter when the world itself had changed?

Everything was different. He could see things moving in the brush at the edge of the clearing they were coming down in. Why was he the only one who understood?

Sam tuned out the noisy argument behind him. He definitely saw something moving in the brush, tracking the descent of their capsule.

As soon as the bottom of the octahedron pierced the ground, it shattered and the platform they were on rapidly dropped the last twenty feet. Sam hadn’t been ready for that, but he reacted promptly nonetheless and recovered just in time to see a lizard the size of a Great Pyrenees rushing toward them.

Sam grinned, unsheathed his greatsword in one smooth motion, and charged.