Soul of Blades - Chapter 50: The Dungeon (Patreon)

[System Message: Choose one of 2 Skills]

[F-grade Skill 1: Immortal Mamluk (Passive): The Sovereign systemically conquers all, and rules all. the soul of your greatest foe will be pulled from the wheel of samsara and shackled to yours, its spirit forever bound to reside within your shadow. It will become your personal assassin, acting as an immediate layer of defense during the day, able to absorb damage in your place,  while being able to be summoned completely into the world at night, or in the sun's absence. This assassin, armed with duplicates of weapons held at death, will fight for a limited duration, its skill and strength reflecting the user’s mastery level. Peak mastery allows for the summoning of an elite assassin of the same soul, armed with peak statistics to further enhance combat effectiveness.

[F-grade Skill 2: Assimilate Nexus (Active): To the true sovereign, laws, rules, and boundaries are merely suggestions, easily broken. Grants the user the ability to subvert the system's skill granting processes to corrupt skill crystals and assimilate them to your class, changing their nature and how they function, and increasing their capabilities through assimilation. All altered skills will be twisted to relate to your class; designated “systemic sword sovereign.” All skill crystals of the same grade or lower may be affected. Can be utilized during the skill selection process. Peak mastery and understanding will increase the skill’s grade, leading to the assimilation of higher grade skills.] 

Alex floated, serenely drifting in a sea of endless black. The unseen ink of possibility engulfed him from all sides, observing as he considered his first option.

Alex eyed the status panel before him with extreme scrutiny, analyzing the contents of the first class skill it presented. The system had identified it as the ‘Immortal Mamluk’. He found the skill tempting.

The skill would grant him a permanent ally, an assassin that resided permanently within his shadow. The skill enveloped him in a vision of power and conquest. It was clear to him who his greatest foe to date had been, by leagues. She had been stronger and faster than him, and her expertise with Aura could potentially transform his dueling skill, turning it into a cheat like ability if her spirit was to remain summoned. Her endurance might not have amounted to much, but at the very least the assassin could absorb one blow during the daytime, and unleash hell at night. He doubted that there would be any on the entire planet that could face the two of them. But that’s only true right now, Alex thought, who knows what the future could hold? The description isn’t clear on power scaling. What if by the time I’m level 200, the spirit is still level 56? Or if its stats are tied to the skilll’s mastery, what if it’s impossible to master? I’d still be stuck with something much weaker than me. While all of those things were true, there was another element that caused Alex to find the skill somewhat disturbing, if not completely so. The description said her spirit would be bound to his shadow, forever enslaved. Deep down he had felt uncomfortable with killing her, but he had steeled his heart to do what a lifetime combat dictated had to be done. In combat hesitation got you killed, and a lack of due diligence could be fatal. Her final transformation had driven that fact home.  But now, in the aftermath, he found himself questioning the necessity of his actions. Perhaps he would meet others deserving of such a fate. But to enslave her after that felt… excessive. 

And besides, he was more concentrated on reaching the peak of sword mastery, alongside improving his physical capabilities. 

Still, the skill was powerful and tempting. It held the potential to make him truly uncontested in combat.

He moved on to the second skill; Assimilate Nexus.

The skill was huge, with endless possibilities. It could potentially be capable of pushing the boundaries of his class, far beyond the classes original purpose. With this skill, Alex envisioned a realm of limitless possibilities, where he could reshape and enhance his abilities to suit his need, with each skill aligned perfectly with his journey through the blade. The ability to customize and adapt skill crystals, integrating them seamlessly into his repertoire could afford him unparalleled versatility in combat.

Assimilate Nexus required specific conditions to activate. According to the skill’s description, he would need a skill crystal to even use it, which could be a problem. Aside from the remaining one in his possession, and the other that would apparently drive any who used it to madness, he had no idea how to get more. There was also the risk of skills becoming worse. The unpredictable nature of ‘Assimilate Nexus’ had caused Alex to pause in consideration. Altering a skill could potentially cause it to have less utility, or even lead to the very element that made a skill desirable being removed entirely. What if a multipurpose support, attack, and defense skill like ‘Phoenix Leap’ became a simple attack skill? like a ‘Phoenix Slash’ or something of the sort. It would render the skill practically useless as far as defense and general movement was concerned. There was also other risks, like increased mana costs, cooldowns, or activation conditions.

Alex weighed the possibilities of each skill, and he found himself coming to a decision incredibly easily. 

The potential of Assimilate Nexus called to him.

With this skill at his disposal, he could reshape and enhance his abilities, bending them to his will like a master artisan crafting a masterpiece. Perhaps at higher stages of mastery he could even influence the nature of changes made to skill crystals.

The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced it was the right decision. 

[Grade F Class Skill: Assimilate Nexus (active) selected!]

Alex opened his eyes to find John stood beside him, wearing stone gauntlets that seemed to transform the skin of his arms to a similar resilient material. John looked particularly pleased with himself.

“How do I get skill crystals?” Alex muttered 

“Beasts and quests,” John replied, his brow creasing in confusion. “Some Beasts have unique capabilities and sometimes drop the crystals.” He continued, flexing his wrist beneath the gauntlets to cause the entirety of his arm to harden. “How do you not know that?” He quirked a brow curiously.

“How do you even manage to remember something like that after a day like this.  ” Alex responded defensively. Alex knelt down, relieved to see John buying into his deflection. He reached for his third quest reward, an unremarkable blade at his feet. It was the weapon the system had labeled as a ‘FlameBlade’. 

It seemed pretty ordinary at first, a simple hilt and guard, with a long straight blade that seemed entirely too plain. That was, until Alex held the hilt. The blade burst with contained flame that surrounded it in a layer, perfectly mimicking its shape with searing heat and brightness.

John squinted at the weapon in Alex's hand and frowned. "Is that a flameblade?" He leaned back slightly, his face scrunching up in distaste.

Alex found himself curious. He held up the blade of contained flame, its light illuminated his immediate surroundings, only overshadowed by the light of the forges. “What’s wrong with it?“

"Flameblades are the worst," John stated flatly. “What’s the point of attacking something if you're going to immediately cauterize its wounds?” His lips curled in distaste. “They can't even kill properly, only wound." 

He sliced the air with his hand, simulating a cut. "Chop something in half, and it's likely still breathing."

John suddenly adopted a scowl and deepened his voice, a poor imitation of Grenthar's rumble. He pointed directly at the blade, fingers grasping. "That's useless, you should sell that to a rich fool." His attempt at seriousness faltered into the edge of amusement.

Grenthar's brows knitted together, his lips turning downwards as he caught sight of his nephew's antics. Without a word, he picked up a nearby unfinished practice sword and tossed it towards John, the metal catching the flitting through the forge in flashes of reflected light. 

John darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming practice sword. "Hey, you could've hurt me!" His voice spiked with a blend of surprise and indignation.

"Bah, quit your whining, nephew," Gren's voice boomed, unfazed. "It didn't hit you. And a cut would've made you stronger." He paused, a slight grin forming. "Isn't that what your class is all about? 'Bloody immortal' or something?"

"That's not—ugh," John cut himself off, shaking his head and muttering under his breath as he walked over to where Alex stood. stream of grievances about being misunderstood trailing behind him.

"… I see," Alex responded with a measured and calm tone,  taking in John's frustration, Gren's amusement, and the weapons' apparently inadequate capabilities. Alex disagreed with Johns verdict. Sure, it wasn’t the most efficient tool, but it’s searing and magically contained heat seemed capable of treating the flesh and bone of beasts like paper. It wasn’t bad.

And besides, masters could turn even the most mundane of tools into deadly items, let alone something designed to part fr he most resilient of materials with ease.

He placed the flaming blade in his left hand, then he outstretched his right.

Next, Alex summoned the blue crystal blade stolen from the hoard, the weapon had been critical in defeating the queen.

Alex's fingers found the unexpected coolness and solidness of something appearing into existence within his grasp. He pulled out the long, thick blade made of pure striking blue crystal. 

Its edges were smooth and flawless, like a tranquil sea somehow frozen into a solid form, made sharp and cutting. Running his thumb over the hilt's surface, he encountered tiny, precise sigils, so small they appeared barely visible. A thought lingered in his mind about the extraordinary effort and technology involved— the detail was so fine it seemed impossible by hand alone, perhaps requiring machinery back on Earth. To his infinitely enhanced senses, Alex could see and feel the blades mana, it moved and appeared in ways he had never seen mana behave before, appearing to match the intricate sigils of the hilt as it circulated the crystals facets like a stream through valleys. The mana was every shifting, changing, but always holding the form of a sigil or fractal, rather than the loose structure of energy or air Alex was used to seeing. It felt like he was looking at thousands upon thousands of lines of code, constantly shifting with each breath. The blade hummed in his fingers, a tiny portion of its endless mana-code gathering to form a vortex of hundreds of shifting sigils— all at the location of his touch. The vibrations offered Alex an intricate view of the lattice workings of its interior. 

He experimentally tapped the Flameblade’s blazing edge against the blue crystals facets.

The crystal blade burst alight, covered in contained flames that perfectly mirrored the stolen essence of another's energy.

"Sacred mother… is that the ‘Infinite Blade’?" Grenthar stood in exclamation at the sight, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief.

Alex turned the blade over in his hands, inspecting its facets. Was the blade well known? He wasn’t sure how to respond.

"Infinite Blade? I've never heard of it," John confessed, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Mira leaned in for a closer look, equally puzzled. "Neither have I. What is it?"

“It’s a conduit,” The blacksmith spoke, seated by the flames of his forge and seemingly undisturbed by its intense heat. “Supposedly able to adapt to any energy.” His words were accompanied by a scowl, his tone laced with skepticism.

Grenthar spoke with his arms outstretched, “they say that with the right energy, it can even slay gods.” His fingers grasped towards the crystal weapon, still reaching from his perch by the forge.“But that is obviously just a myth, only a god can kill a god.”

“It's legend.” John whispered, in a daze, eyeing the blade with awe and reverence.

Alex felt a tug from the blade in his grasp, surging and bucking towards the blacksmith. He instinctively held the blade tighter before relaxing and letting it drift towards the blacksmith. He still needed to have the weapon appraised.

Once in his grasp, Grenthar studied the weapon intensively, much longer than he’d studied any other item they’d brought. Soon he confirmed his earlier conjecture as true. It was the blade they believed it to be. The limitless blade was a myth as old as civilisation, rumored to be a masterwork of the God of crafts. While some believed it was the work of multiple ancient kingdoms, a project of countless resources and manpower aimed at ending some long forgotten threat that plagued all borders. All agreed that the technology and skill needed to create such an item was far beyond even the greatest of masters in the world. Its origin was an enigma. The sword had been lost centuries ago, appearing sporadically in battlefields before disappearing entirely once its wielder was slain by the covetous many. It would co-opt a small portion of any energy it came in contact with and hold that energy, only releasing it offensively when the blades next swing made contact.

Double Jackpot. Alex was glad it was him and not another that had found the blade, but if it’s anywhere near as famous as Gren claims, I’ll have to avoid using it. Unless I have to, obviously.

He placed the blade in his inventory. According to the blacksmith, every single owner of the blade had been hounded until they finally succumbed to the ambushing hordes. But it wasn’t as though Alex wasn’t used to ambushes.

They stored away the remaining treasures, gold and items. Alex placed his nestled safely within his inventory as Mira and John placed theirs into spatial satchels, traded from Alex and John’s uncle in exchange for lesser treasures. Despite the heaps of conquests, all in all, Alex was beginning to feel that it had been a pretty fortuitous day.

"Alex!" The door to the smithy creaked open, and Lyra raced forward with visible excitement, her usual stoic demeanor forgotten. She charged forward with a hug, catching Alex off guard.  "It's good to see you!" She delivered a hefty slap on the back, but all Alex felt was a light sting. I barely felt that, but it sounded like it should hurt. So the endurance stat actually works, nice. Ironically, constantly facing death blows hadn’t allowed the stat to shine.

"You too," he said, smiling as she squeezed him.

Finn bumped his shoulder softly with a fist. "Heard you've been out getting kidnapped? Then getting saved by a local guard? Hah! I thought you were stronger than that."

Alex merely smirked in response, but Mira burst out laughing.

Before anyone could comment further, Mira told all present the truth, detailing their exploits through the hive and the inevitable confrontation. Alex considered stopping her at points, and John seemed to hesitate at others, but they let her tell the tale. Along the journey they had considered their options; in the wake of the towns assault and survivor interviews, a scouting and war party would be formed, comprised of a coalition of the local lands forces. The party would soon be sent to find and face what they believed to be a threat to their nation. 

What they would instead find would be an empty underground hive, abandoned by all of its members over the coming weeks. The hive was full right now, with its monarch defeated, but with Miras guidance its members would soon relocate. She had decided to return, unable to leave her kin to drift aimlessly towards their collective deaths. She would lead them as best as she could. Alex considered the ramifications of her decision, but he trusted her intentions, to a degree. The possibility of her causing problems was minimal but not impossible, but what was he supposed to do? Detaining her or killing her in cold blood would go against what he stood for, she had saved his life more than once and had proven herself to be well intentioned. Although he was well aware of people's capacity for change, he understood that at the very least, Mira deserved a chance. He had met humans far less deserving of breath than her.

So eventually she would relocate the hive, and when the war party entered the old hive’s location, they would only find either vast elaborate architecture filled with emptiness or corpses. And both options would come with a lot of questions.

The three had agreed that when the time came, John would take all the credit, touting his artifacts and special class as the key to victory.

It was a win-win scenario for all. Neither Alex nor Mira wanted the attention.

In the wake of her story, Lyras party stood slack-jawed, all of them eyeing John with newfound respect. It was a respect that he bathed in, shamelessly.

Finn leaned against a table, the metal surface cool and solid beneath his weight. In his hand, a dagger spun, its blade as long and thick as Alex’s forearm, each spin catching brief flashes of light from the forge. "Gallivanting and dabbling in regicide?" he mused aloud, surprise playing on his lips. "You could've sent an invite."

Kier shuffled further into the smithy, each step deliberately pronounced, his staff clacking against the stone floor. "Actually, regicide usually connotes the killing of a king, though it can refer to the killing of monarchs in general," he spoke with crispy tones, his voice a blend of irritation and pedantry. "Queencide is what he has done." He gestured towards John with a nod, his eyes reflecting a mix of appraisal and respect.

All turned to face John, who straightened at the attention.

Lyra stepped forward and clasped a hand on John's shoulder. The wood beneath him creaked under the weight of her action. "What you've done is unbelievable. We'll need both you and Alex for what's to come."

John looked proud, then incredulous, and then slightly uneasy. "The dungeon?" he asked.

"Yes, the dungeon," Lyra nodded and released his shoulder, shifting the large sword on her back. "They say it will soon be released."

"How do they know?" Alex found himself asking the question without hesitation; the information was too crucial.

Lyra turned to face him. "They don't, but since last night there have been changes: the earth changing near its entrance, its light shifting, its size growing smaller, yet influencing all within range. It was slow this morning, but it's been reported to have increased within the last hour significantly. The ground is no longer green, the air burns at the entrance, and the trees are no longer trees. It's obvious something is coming, and pretty soon by the looks of things."

John paled before settling himself and standing straighter, stronger, and more firm, releasing a deep settling breath. He met Lyra's gaze and asked a question: "Have they sent the baron's elite?"

Kier shook his head, "all dead. A squad was stationed by the entrance but I doubt they’ll be enough. The best option is to evacuate the town, but the alert was only received an hour ago. It's dire."

Finn chuckled. "Dire, he says... It's not so bad. Some say the whole town is going to get wiped out. I doubt it, though. I've been in an incursion dungeon before; it's just dumb beasts. As long as we herd them and direct the fighting, there's only so much damage that they can do.” He flipped his blade high into the air, catching it with a finger. “We'll whittle the dumb beasts down, most likely with minor to no casualties."

"Yes, but what if the beasts are high level?" Kier added.

All stood silent at the prospect.

Finn sauntered forward through the silence, his gait undaunted by circumstance, “That’s simple, we’ll just have to k—“

The ground trembled, a jolt that turned earth wood and stone to water, flinging all too the air.

Windows burst and the door to the smithy was torn open. They poured outside.

And then, a blast of mana, heat, and light overwhelmed them.

No sooner had they stepped foot outside the smithy, a second, more powerful shockwave rumbled through the ground beneath their braced feet. Faces turned upwards, drawn to the sky by a blinding eruption of mana and light that pierced the tranquil twilight. The settlement was plunged into a state of chaos, screams of panic rising from every corner.

Alex squinted against the blinding light. A massive column of red light towered above the town, stretching high into the sky, ripping through the clouds. It was as if a sword of crimson energy had impaled the world.

A familiar sound ringed in their heads, drawing their attention to the translucent screen that appeared before them.

The message hung in the air as they looked at each other, each face reflecting the pressing reality of their situation. As the screams of panic sounded around Alex and the world seemed to teeter on the precipice of chaos, one thing was clear- The normalcy they had just begun to return to was once again shattered, replaced by the abrupt reminder of the system's cruel unpredictability.

[Dynamic Quest - Incursion Event ‘Daemon Sentinel’: An incursion dungeon, has completed its cycle and broken into your world. The inhabitants of world designation 'Haearthhel' will proceed to invade and subjugate your world. Seize back the foothold before it is too late, and close the incursion point! 

Reward: Rewards dependant on contribution. Randomised additional rewards for top contributors. High ranked reward increased due to first incursion event]

***

Authors note: What class skill do you think he should’ve chosen? What would you choose?