Soulweaver 92: Ranking Up (Patreon)

NOTE: Sorry for the delay! I had a bunch of edits to make wrt levels and such. Some of them are retroactive. The Tldr is that Greg gains a level at chapter 85, which I will update on patreon. There have been some other additions wrt reflecting on the levelup, stats leveling up in the recent battles, etc, for both Greg & Aerion.

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Soulweaver 92: Ranking up

Congratulations! [Initializer] has leveled up to Foundation - 8. Max Essence Increased from 270 to 290. Essence Utilization: 235/290. Would you like to reclaim Initialized equipment?

Not bad at all. The levelups were coming faster now than before, and I had no doubt it was the dungeon’s effect. High stakes and actual combat got me more levels than any amount of practice and drilling could.

As for Aerion…

“Well? Care to spill the b—Care to tell me?” I corrected, glancing back at Richard, who was plodding his way over. “It’s a bit rude to—Oh shit!” I yelled, jumping forward and pushing Aerion aside. 

Just before an enormous arrow sailed past where she’d just been, lodging itself in the snow.

I looked into the distance to see a new barge, and a Commander with a bow, grinning viciously at me.

“Later! We need to get going,” I yelled, loud enough for Richard to hear. “Now!”

Richard broke into a run, and together, we set out fast-plodding through the deep snow.

“Richard!”

“No good, mate,” he replied. “They’re out of range.”

Great. Just great.

To say that our pace was agonizingly slow would be an understatement. Sinking knee-deep with each step was a lot like walking through waist-high water. You can put all of your strength into moving your body, but you go nowhere fast.

Normally, that’s just an inconvenience. Here? It was a death sentence.

Another oversized arrow shot for us, but having seen it coming, I positioned myself closest to the barge. 

The arrow slammed into my shield and pinged off, landing broken in the snow.

“Shield! Yes. Bloody good idea, mate,” Richard shouted.

“Yeah, well. Not so great when the archer’s on a barge.”

I was the only one with any sort of defense against projectiles, and after two failed shots, the Commander had had enough. He barked an angry order at the barge’s pilot, and it turned, putting it on an intercept course.

“I know I don’t need to say this,” I said between breaths. “But we can’t outrun that.”

“Ironic… isn’t it?” Richard said from a few steps behind us, panting laboriously. He was working twice as hard as Aerion and me, and even then, he was falling behind. For all his lethality, it was patently obvious he had none of the boosts Dominion and Vigor gave Aerion and me, and part of me wanted to tell him to save his breath. “It’s what… We did… To them… Just need… a little breather…”

Having reached his limit, Richard slowed to a stop.

The barge, seeing this, turned to target him. Much easier to crash into a panting, stationary guy than a pair moving as quickly as they could. Or maybe they knew we wouldn’t abandon him…

If so, I had to give this commander a lot more credit. That was a smart plan.

“You lot go on ahead. I’ll catch up,” Richard said, looking close to puking from the exertion.

“How about no?” I said, scooping up the man and hoisting him over a shoulder. The feat would’ve been impossible for Earth Greg on a good day, but came quite easily with 41 points of Dominion.

“You’re strong as an ox!” Richard said. “And a million thanks. But I’m afraid you’ll have to speed up, or we’ll be minced.”

“Going as fast as I can…” I grunted. Aerion was now several feet ahead of me, so at least I’d take the full brunt of the barge’s attack. The armor gave me more of a chance, but even with that, I wasn’t—

The scenery changed. The world shifted, and I tripped and fell, sliding a good fifty feet on a sheet of pure ice before crashing to a stop.

The barge was gone. The crater was gone. We found ourselves in a dim, enclosed space.

It took my Greg brain another two seconds to realize we’d tripped the boundary and entered.

And we were all still together. Richard, Aerion, and me. We’d made it… Again.

— — 

“Well, that’s one way to get out of a jam,” Richard said, brushing himself off… With a handkerchief. I had to wonder if that was something he brought from Earth. It sure seemed that way to me.

“Alright, let’s take stock and—gah,” I cringed, clutching my left shoulder. 

“Greg?” Aerion asked, bolting to my side. “What’s the matter? Are you hurt?”

I nodded. “Took a hard fall from the barge.”

Aerion helped me remove my pauldron, and after probing and moving my arm, we decided that I’d likely broken something in there. It wasn’t bad enough to render my arm entirely useless, but it did hurt like hell when I moved it a certain way.

“You’ll want to be extra cautious with that,” Richard said, pointing to my arm. “Might not be bad now, but abuse it, and I guarantee you’re in for a world of hurt.”

“Noted,” I said. “Though, I’m not sure we’ll get much of a choice. We’re in the middle of a dungeon filled with monsters, without Sanctuaries and miracle healing water. I don’t see how I’ll be able to baby it.”

“Reckon you’re right,” Richard said, trailing off. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to guess what he was going to say. 

“Not a great way to enter the last stage of the dungeon,” I said. “I know. We’ll have to revise our strategy going forward to take this into account. For now, how about we take a look around? Get a feel for where we’re at, and then we can worry about plans later.”

“Right,” Richard said with far too much enthusiasm. I could almost see the twinkle in his eyes. Well, I guess it’s good that at least one of us was excited.

I, however, was excited about something else entirely. Aerion’s status screen came up, and when I read over the description, my eyes bulged.

Aerion: Elf [Sylvan Reaver] (Emergence — 0)

Essence: 200

Soul: Common / F

Stats (Available: 10):       Total: 108

— Vigor: 33 (Max: 33)

— Order: 8  (Max: 8)

— Wisdom: 14 (Max: 15)

— Passion: 2 (Max: 2)

— Grace: 19 (Max: 19) — Cunning: 10 (Max: 10)

— Dominion: 38 (Max: 56)

Boons:

— Racial Trait: Boon of Elven Grace: + 10 Grace

— Racial Trait: Boon of Elven Vigor: + 10 Vigor

— Racial Trait: Boon of Order: +5 Order

Blessing: Sylvan Reaver (Emergence - 0) [Uncommon]

Ancient legends once spoke of fierce warriors who terrorized the ancient Elven Elderglades. Thought to be extinct, Sylvan Reavers risk it all for ultimate power. Few sights are as terrifying as a Reaver on the battlefield.

Details: 

— [10] Stat points awarded per level

— [10] Essence points awarded per level

— [1] New ability per rank

— Abilities can level to current class level

— Evolvable (Evolutions: 0)

Spells:

— Reave (Emergence - 0): Cost: 100% Essence. When activated, the Reaver gains supernatural strength until either all enemies in the area are dead, or their essence pool is drained. In return, they give themselves to their rage, which only the strongest can control. +120 Dominion while active.

— Fading Fury (Foundation - 0): Cost: Progressive. When activated, augments all other active Sylvan Reaver abilities. The lower the Reaver’s current Essence, the stronger the boost. Essence cost doubles for every ability boosted.

Blessing: Shock [Emergence Rank Blessing of Dominion] (Emergence - 0): Imparts an electrical shock to anything the wielder touches. Consumes Essence.

“Hoooly shit…”

— — 

I locked eyes with Aerion, who grinned sheepishly. 

“Something the matter?” Richard asked, seeing our expressions.

“Aerion’s just ranked up to Emergence,” I said, mirroring Aerion’s grin. “And she’s just gained a powerful new ability.”

“Fantastic!” Richard said. “Congratulations, Aerion! Well deserved. Mind sharing?”

“Of course,” Aerion replied, and proceeded to fill Richard in about [Fading Fury]

For one, she was now E - 0. For me, that meant more Essence, and more Essence gained per level, as well as a new ability. For Aerion, she’d gotten the ability alright. Something that would prove monstrously powerful in  the long run, but was useful even now. 

“Sounds quite dangerous,” Richard reflected. “You’re already at risk of falling unconscious, yeah? Seems like a good way to get yourself knocked out in the midst of a fight.”

“I agree,” Aerion said, frowning. “It’s risky…”

“Yeah, but it’s also stupidly powerful,” I said. “Just think about it. The lower your Essence, the stronger you get. Which means your ability to end enemies and finish the fight also goes up. Plus, this thing applies to any ability you gain in the future! It’s multiplicative! That’s so unbelievably powerful, I don’t even know where to begin. Besides, you don’t need  to activate it from the get-go, right? You turn it on when you need it.”

After discussing her new power for a bit, she seemed to come around. Yes, it was risky, but her whole Blessing was based around the idea of a berserking front-line fighter. This was the perfect complement to that, and if managed properly, could prove absolutely devastating.

Of course, it did rely on Aerion retaining the presence of mind to strategically activate the ability while under the influence of [Reave]. That would pose a bit of a challenge for now, but I was hoping we could work on that.

As for her other abilities… [Reave]’s boon had doubled, giving her an absolutely ludicrous 120 point bump in Dominion. Not just that, but her Essence pool had doubled as well, and [Shock] had progressed to Emergence rank, too. Both of those had been sitting at Foundation-MAX, so it wasn’t really a surprise.

Aerion had just become far more capable as a warrior, and I couldn’t wait to see her in action. It made my own levelup pale in comparison, and I couldn’t wait to see what ranking up to Divergence would bring me.

After the fervor and excitement, we took some time to scout our surroundings in earnest. We were, for all intents and purposes, in an ice cavern. The type you see on nature documentaries, with their rich blue ice and gorgeous ice structures.

Except, there was no rich blue ice here. There wasn’t much of anything, because of how little light there was. The floor was slippery, it was cold, and dark. 

At least, it was until [Light of the Fearless] burst to life, illuminating our surroundings. After that? The nature channel had nothing on this. 

Every surface of the cavern of pure ice twinkled like a dazzling kaleidoscope as it reflected the light from the blade. Rather than a tunnel, it seemed like we were in something closer to a tunnel, with sloped walls and a low ceiling only a couple of feet above my head.

And then it was gone, [Light of the Fearless] having run out.

“Quite a handy ability, that,” Richard said, running his hand along a sloping wall of pure ice.

I shrugged, despite no one being able to see it in the darkness. “It’s been more useful than I’d have thought,” I said, thinking back to how I used it to heat up Aerion’s fingers and toes. “Just wished it lasted longer.”

 “Indeed. You reckon we could lick this stuff if we had to?” Richard asked. Or maybe break it and eat it?”

“I heard eating ice was bad for you,” Aerion said from nearby. 

“Well, we have regular water, but I figure this stuff is clean,” I said, pointing a thumb to the ice around us. “Doesn’t look like anyone, or anything, has come through here in ages. Past that, you just need to worry about not having too much, or it’ll cool your body down too much. Fine when you’re out and about. Not great when you’re about to sleep for the night.”

“Good to know,” Richard said. “How about we take this tunnel and see where it leads?”

Given that the tunnel ended only about a hundred feet in the other direction, I was inclined to agree. It was either that or stay here, and staying wouldn’t get us out of the dungeon. Nor would it help the people of Basecrest, I reminded myself. As much as it felt like we were on some far-flung expedition, our actions here mattered to millions, and the clock was ticking.

A half-hour of traveling—mostly in the dark, with occasional bursts from my sword, and we were still inside our little tunnel. There had been a handful of junctions so far, but all led to dead ends. It was as if someone had mined these tunnels looking for something, but gave up.

So long as we got somewhere, I wasn’t complaining. We’d maintained radio silence the whole time to hear for any possible monsters, but after so long without having run into even a single one, we began to pick up our pace. We’d gotten more comfortable traveling in the near-dark, and so we managed a brisk walk without fumbling too much.

The end of the tunnel came with the proverbial light. In fact, it was so bright to our dark-adjusted eyes that we all had to look away as we approached, and then when we stood on the ledge the tunnel ended at, it took another minute for our eyes to adjust.

When they did, we all gasped.

If the tunnel from before was pretty with the reflected light from my blade, the sight before us was downright breathtaking.

“Have you seen anything like it?” Richard asked in wonder. Aerion and I shook our heads. 

“Y’know? I sometimes forget I’m in a fantasy land,” Richard said. “And then you see this…”

I had to agree. With the strife of the city and how frighteningly good humans were at making extraordinary things normal… It was sometimes easy to mistake this world for some sort of dystopia. 

The prismatic ice stalactites, the vast, yawning snowfield below us, its rich, blue ice illuminated by some unseen source, as if the ice itself glowed… It made for a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings. 

“It’s not even the same color,” Richard remarked. “It keeps changing. Blues to purples to yellows and reds… This is incredible!”

“I agree,” I said. “But more importantly for us, how the heck are we supposed to get past all this?”

And the question I didn’t voice: Why did all this exist in the first place? I could at least understand the Trials, being set up to test warriors and prepare them for the Cataclysms. 

Even the outer part of the Cataclysm Dungeon made sense. It resembled a sort of military base. A fortress built into the mountain-side. Something easily defensible. I had to assume the backdoor we entered through would be bolted shut during an actual invasion of any sort. 

Or maybe it was just a staging area designed to launch troops out of. Not necessarily as a defensive structure. Either way, it made sense.

This, though? Why? Why put delvers into an ice cavern instead of a deathtrap filled with mines, explosives, magic, and whatever else?

Unless… Unless they couldn’t control it. Maybe these monsters didn’t build this structure? Maybe they only found it and built their base around it? 

I knew far too little about dungeons to comment, but something was definitely off here. If they didn’t build it, then one had to wonder what the original purpose was… If any.

“Hmm,” Richard said, eyeing the sheer precipice on which we stood. We were on a relatively large ledge that protruded above the vast chasm below us. The floor of the ice field was quite a ways below under us. The shape of the landscape resembled a giant U. Basically a large canyon with sheer, vertical walls on both sides, and we were currently standing on the top of one end.

The height was too far to jump down and expect to live, even with boosted stats. “You’d think after all the trouble they took to dig that tunnel, they’d have at least left some stairs…”

There were no stairs. But did there really need to be?

“I’ve got an idea. Can everyone stand back for a moment?” I asked, ushering my companions back into the tunnel. 

I took my sword, and activating both abilities, sliced down into the ice. 

I felt nothing. What ought to have been a jarring impact felt like cutting through air, with only a razor-thin mark to evidence its passing.

I immediately cut another, at a ninety degree angle, and another at a forty-five degree, wrenching a triangular block of ice free. I repeated the process a few times, until I had a rectangular indentation in the ice, about twelve inches deep and two feet across. 

I then got to work expanding the hole and digging another one below that, finding that I needed just one of the abilities to cut through, which doubled my pace.

After about five minutes, I had three flat levels cut into the ice, each deeper than the next.

Or, in other words… Stairs.

It’d be slow. It’d be arduous. But we had a way down. Now we just had to see where it led.

The stair-cutting exercise would do something else. Something far more important.

It gave me an opportunity to put a bit of distance between myself and Richard. 

And that meant I could finally Initialize more pieces of gear, now that I had more Essence to play it.

I honestly couldn’t wait.