Chapter 100 - 99: The Edge Before Ascension
Within the quiet stone chambers of Duskspire’s inner keep, Lumberling sat cross-legged beneath the steady glow of a single lantern. The light flickered across the wooden floor and caught the dust that had begun to settle on his spear, leaning untouched against the wall.
It wasn’t negligence.
It was focus.
His mind was elsewhere, on edges that had dulled, on skills that hovered just shy of the next threshold. Beginner Hammer Shock, Beginner Concealment, Beginner Swordsmanship, Beginner Shieldmanship, Beginner Cudgel Fighting... all of them nearly ready to evolve. One more push. And they’d level.
He stood and walked to the desk.
There, neatly stacked, lay the weight of months of effort. Skill manuals collected with blood-earned gold and scavenged from corpses. Each one a thread of knowledge, a sliver of someone else’s mastery, now his to inherit.
Shadow Glide, purchased back in Novgord City during his dojo training years ago, his core method for honing Concealment. It was subtle, precise, and perfectly suited for vanishing between heartbeats.
Shield Bash, recovered from the ruins of a burned city during one of their early expeditions. Crude, but effective, ideal for refining his Shieldmanship through brute counters and raw, forward pressure.
Flowing Edge, a refined sword style meant for sustained clashes, perfect for transitioning Swordsmanship from basic form to fluid offense.
The Bonecrush Method, a brutal cudgel technique recovered from an old Red Fang stash, designed for close-quarters devastation.
Hawk-Eye Manual, salvaged from a bandit leader’s corpse, an archer’s handbook that helped him push through the early stages of Bowmanship.