The Soulweaver - Stealing Souls to Cultivate [LitRPG/ Dungeon Crawler]

Charbil's injury had healed, but he was far from healthy enough to be effective in battles. He would be a burden if he tagged along.

Garvin seemed reluctant to leave Charbil behind, but if Liesel had insisted, he would have acquiesced. Liesel refrained.

Farki Jan seemed reticent, but Healer Boran convinced him to leave the safety of the village. He argued they could not live the rest of their lives within Necropolis, and he was a necessary component for the expedition team's success.

Surprisingly, Kurvam wanted to tag along. After their last conversation, Liesel had expected Kurvam to do something reckless. But he hadn't. With him, Verka, who had barely recovered, also joined her team. He was better off under Rakamel's care, yet even Healer Borran's patient, emphatic persuasion didn't budge him an inch.

The journey itself was rather uneventful. As this place was built to accommodate and foster Rakamel's, the Primordial Vein was not inhabitable.

"These supplies should alleviate some difficulties of living in the Garden," Drahk said.

He gestured at a ball of fabric, large enough to crush a human like an insect.

"Thank you, Drahk," Liesel nodded.

She had asked him for any information about the Storm Serpent. Only after deliberating with the elder would he give her anything. It was on hold for now.

After learning about the dynamics between him and the Elders, Liesel almost pitied the Spearhead.

Under different circumstances, he could've been a reliable ally. No, he's still a reliable ally. Just not half as useful as he could be.

"I hope you will make time for my request."

"A borderline suicidal act won't serve you any purpose," Drahk said. "Sarmlif is beyond mortal power, a being woven in Primordial Origin."

That was more information than she had before.

"It is a primordial being?"

"So we understand," Drahk nodded.

"I am not going to kill it," Liesel said, honestly.

"Rendering such a being immobile might be harder."

"I know," Liesel replied.

After a few more hollow exchanges, he retreated to the village.

The supplies included two tents, some bedding, and a few other things to live somewhat pleasantly in the Garden.

They were going to prepare a base close to a lake.

"Fiya can prepare a ward, I presume?" Liesel asked.

"We have Materiality Cores to burn, so it shouldn't be difficult. Without another mage to assist us, it would take time."

Jaisel had refused to join her on principle, as he believed they were going to perish without hope. He even insisted that she beg forgiveness from the Elders and Saaraname, if that would earn her the safety of the village.

Liesel hadn't argued. She didn't want anyone unwilling. As long as she and Fiya left, almost everyone else was still welcome to be their guest.

"Then, we—"

A distant howl drew their attention.

"Ah, reminds me of the good times," Yehia grinned. She was already dashing towards it.

Liesel shook her head. Healer Borran and Liesel stayed behind and went to keep the demons at bay.

Compared to their first time, no one sustained any injuries. The wasteland may have been beyond bleak, but for a proper Ascendant, it also was a boon.

They were stronger, faster, and much more mature. The Centipedes didn't leave much opening for sloppy actions; neither had Liesel led them with anything less than perfection.

The day ended up being mostly uneventful. A demon managed to sneak past Markil's direction, and Liesel took its head with a thread.

Her threads were sharp. Relying on Rune to use them was a crutch that she'd need to fix in the future. For now, it was good enough. This place didn't allow perfection at every step.

"That thread..." Fiya mumbled as she was almost done with the ward. "Is that your new power?"

"It seems strong only against simple creatures. Once magic is involved, it would crumble quickly."

Liesel held back from saying this was the only thing she could do. Practicing Shade Severing Strike might be paramount. After the advancement of her technique, giving it up was less than ideal—even if she had lost her ability to engage enemies as a vanguard.

Sustenance was abundant in the Garden, dangerous too. They could have a few bites of the killed animalesque creatures, which would keep them sufficiently healthy. Anything more would be deadly, as much as the condensed energy bars were.

Over the next week, Liesel studied the Thread Cultivation Manual every waking hour, while weaving multiple runes for the Crest.

She deliberated on waiting on the Crest, as coordinating with others was important. Her powers suited mid-to-long-range battlefield control.

Until they faced Ashlord, they would not face creatures where coordination was necessary.

The sheer enormity of the Sand Serpent left nothing to consider. She only hoped it had a weakness. There was no even battlefield against it.

A perfect Shade Strike might kill it.

Her sword was tiny, and slaying the storm serpent with a blade that might be pregnant with a Mindeater would be beyond unsettling.

The runes came along at a steady rate. She reviewed the runes at the end of every hour and discarded almost half of them, which were not perfect. It was easier than focusing on weaving identical runes.

With the manual by her side, she didn't have a hard time. Instead of weaving the exact number of runes first, she went layer by layer for each piece. The Crest itself was not a whole construct, but rather individual pieces that came together to form a pendant-like structure.

She had difficulties along the way, of course, but none so worrying as to give her a pause.

While she worked, she left everyone to do as they pleased. She asked Yehia not to mess with Kurvam.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The noble heir seemed very focused on growing stronger. He spent almost all his time fighting, and he left Verka behind to face the demons alone. To experience the mortal danger that he had been sheltered from until now.

It was a good direction, and she could basically see Auram grinning at her.

He's changing! Auram would declare, falsely.

He's coping, whether for the loss of his father or the loss of his privileges, remains a mystery yet. And he's not turning over a new leaf.

As Yehia or someone else was always by Liesel's side, Auram had to stay in the library.

On the eighth day of her routine, Liesel ventured deeper into the forest, away from her team.

"Finally!" Auram exhaled, shaking her head grimly. "You should at least find an opportunity once a day. After spending three months with people, it's boring to spend every minute alone in the library. The Custodian does not appreciate conversations."

"I am afraid we don't have time to waste."

"How's your crest coming along?"

"A few more days," Liesel said.

A flash of worry crossed the spirit's eyes, very briefly. "I see, that's good."

"Did something happen?"

"Well..." Auram drew her eye away. "I don't know how, but Isa is missing from her home. I went there at all hours, but she has not returned. Some of her ingredients, the volatile ones, cracked and basically burned down her entire distillery."

"That is odd," Liesel nodded. Her mind raced for a plausible cause. "Did she speak with a stranger regarding her understanding of the situation?"

Liesel could easily see someone from the administration playing the role of a curious passerby, trying to bait the perceptive ones among the masses. They were whisked away in daylight, only a few. A warning that hung on everyone's neck like a reaper's cold scythe.

There's a line, and Isa should know better than to cross it, especially when the looming threat of demon invasion is by and large unsolved.

"Hasrah is devastated. He knows something, but he won't speak… to the empty air, you know."

"Please don't ask him where she's gone," Liesel said.

A pang of worry coiled in her heart, but not for Isa as a person. Liesel barely knew her. But for a person afflicted with Ashening, a shadow really.

Anything to seal the void mother left behind.

"I don't know him enough, sadly," Auram shrugged.

It just gets more and more complicated. I hope you are alive, Isa.

Yet, a part of her felt something was still missing.

On the ninth morning in the Garden, Liesel's Crest came together. It was rather unsatisfying.

It looked hideous, as everything was just runes, and they were translucently white.

The last part was taking a vow.

A complicated one, and she didn't understand one word of it. A doubt lingered in the back of her mind as she uttered those words. What if it was a vow of exchange and she was in the process of trading her life for an iota of Materiality?

A part that was raised to be Crusader General hissed, stop!

Except for the Emperor and the Marshals, those above her station, none should be trusted with unfamiliar vows.

She didn't trust the Custodian's intentions, but she trusted his conduct. He would not leave her with an untrustworthy source. Would he even allow something like that in his Library?

While the final purpose of the library remained a question, even she felt the Custodian had a great degree of fondness and pride for the knowledge he helped preserve. Auram's words alluded to the same.

As the final word escaped her lips, she felt a coil of energy—not Materiality, nor the primordial energy—fill her being.Invisible to her Soul Sense. She saw it finally as it revolved around the Crest.

The energy swirled and accumulated. The layer of platinum filled the tiny gaps in the Crest, between the strokes of the runes, and the empty spaces left by aligning thousands of non-uniform runes.

It was a several-hour-long process. At the end, she was left with a shiny pendant. It even had a translucent dome, as if to see what was inside the Crest. It was fair to say she might have created it, but she didn't understand it.

Liesel breathed out the last remnant energy from her body.

[Quest Available: Complete the Weaver Archetype

Acquire an Aspect and preserve it with the Crest.

Reward: ???

This is a compulsory quest that cannot be denied. At the end of a two-week period, it shall expire, and no reward for completion of the Archetype will be honored.]

It was sort of an honorary quest from the Archive itself, a guiding lamp for the last stretch. But the reward would be a path trait; she didn't know why that was just question marks. She'd have very much loved to see what it was.

Regardless, that meant she had to kill something and use Soul Unravelling on it.

It was night when she opened her eyes. The primordial core has messed up my perception of time.

Yehia was also there, sitting on the grass, leaning against another log. She was throwing pieces of grass into the fire. The Garden replicated even the flames' flare from artificial things with a degree of perfection that left Liesel with many questions and no one to answer.

"Going somewhere?" Yehia asked.

"Hunting, I suppose."

"Yeah," Yehia nodded. She didn't ask to tag along, but Liesel could see it.

Was she willing to acquaint Yehia with her skill further? The answer was no, naturally.

The Farikam's were creatures of the Necropolis, so they didn't have any issue finding sustenance from the grass. They were controlled by two extremely sensitive threads embedded deep in their nervous system.

Liesel's control over Materiality was very precise, but it was overwhelming. She was afraid of finding out how that would mesh with these poor creatures, so she approached the forest on foot.

After fifteen minutes of walking, she heard something behind her.

"Yehia?" Liesel called. She couldn't feel the woman's presence; hardly anyone else would have followed.

Unexpectedly, Fiya walked out from behind a tree, followed by Yehia a moment later.

"I am the first suspect, huh?"

"You were awake," Liesel said.

"We were worried since you refused to join us to train at all," Fiya said. "And now you leave in the middle of the night, alone. You are not a trustworthy person when it comes to personal safety."

"She thought you might have taken off to deal with the Serpent alone," Yehia added with a grin.

Fiya's cheeks flushed as she jabbed a finger at Yehia's side. "I said no such thing."

"Come along if you wish." Liesel nodded. "The forest is an illusion. You should know better than to leave the safety of the camp alone."

"It's not that dangerous," Yehia grinned. "Maybe if we had arrived here from the Wasteland without rest. But the village, for all its pains, gave us enough time to be better than ever."

"What are you hunting for?" Fiya asked as she approached Liesel.

"Something strong, hopefully."

"Oh, I know just the place." Yehia's grin widened.

---------

Even from dozens of metres away, Liesel felt its presence.

An orcish creature with four arms and five times the height of an average human. Among these giant trees and overgrown verdant, it seemed like a natural resident. It was bashing its head against the tree, probably to knock off the nest at the top.

"Are we going to fight that?" Fiya asked. She seemed hesitant.

"You are going to stay here and watch," Liesel said. "As will you, Yehia."

"I am fine with that," Yehia said, shrugging and leaning against the tree. Of course, she was. She only wanted to see what Liesel would do.

Liesel approached the creature. If I sever its hands and leg, would that compromise Soul Unravelling?

Once she invaded the threshold of its perception, the creature finally noticed her.

It snarled as it turned.

Liesel channelled Materiality into the air. She pushed it in the demon's direction.

It roared again, rushing at her. It seemed less smart than she had presumed.

She manifested a rune attached to a thread that wrapped around the creature's feet.

The hair-thin string dug into its thick hide. Black blood sprayed from its leg as it tumbled down, losing its balance.

Hundreds of threads manifested in the air the next moment, wrapping around the falling creature like a net of blade strings as it crashed onto the ground. Blood sprayed in all directions.

She found it unpleasant, but that was a reality she needed to reckon with.

She observed it for a moment. It was big, and perhaps strong. But most certainly didn't have an Aspect. It would've used it now, but it was using brute strength to dice itself up.

Liesel unsheathed her hungry blade. You can feast once.

Was one kill enough for the Mindeater to use its illusion on her again? She hoped.

"If you don't, I am never going to use you again," Liesel warned.

Liesel channelled Materiality into her sword, and followed the Rhythm. The first attempt was a failure. She had overestimated her speed by a margin.

The second came out just about right. The creature stopped moving as the blade cut it. The blood within its body gushed out, soaking into the blade’s edge.

Liesel looked back at her companions. Her thread dematerialised as they approached.

"What the fuck was that?" Yehia uttered, staring at the tiny crystals of Materiality that lingered with concerned eyes.

"It is rather weak against anything with a mind," Liesel breathed. "It was not what I was looking for. Something that uses magic, like Malice Conjuror."

Fiya's eyes lingered on it.

"Oh, I sure do," Yehia grinned. "But I am gonna take my gear from the camp. It's on the way."

Liesel nodded. "Hopefully this one is better than whatever this creature was. Poor things died because of your judgment."

"Don't give me that bullshit," Yehia clicked her tongue, and then she grinned, "Oh, it's something the Pathstriders are trying to kill, I think, and they failed. So it's very strong."

She would rather avoid clashing with the Rakamel's over resources, as that would seem like a recipe for tragedy.

"Oh, it was Saaranam, not Drahk, though."

Liesel peered at Yehia, searching for a lie. "Then, we should hurry."