Chapter 19 - In Charge
Liesel waited in the waiting chamber with most of the teammates, but Fiya, Verka, and Kurvam were still not here. Nor was the Seer.
They were a few minutes away from the shades calming down.
Yehia paced around the room impatiently. "Even if they don't make it in time, we have to return."
She had at least Sarkot's agreement.
"Why do you look so worried?" Liesel asked. Yehia had been rather laid back so far as Liesel had seen her.
"Well, they are late."
Finally, Fiya and Verka arrived. And the Seer strolled directly into the Shade Passage chamber.
Fiya looked extremely exhausted, and most likely hadn't had a moment's rest. She regarded Liesel for a moment, frowning. "Where's your sword?"
There was a longsword strapped to Liesel's hip, but that was not her broken sword.
"It needed slight repair," Liesel explained. She'd have to return to pick it up the day after tomorrow. She had communicated with the Seer, and the smith would be allowed directly into this chamber. Liesel would then rush through the passage, take the sword and the appraisal result, and run back to the base, in a matter of minutes, before the Shades grew too chaotic for human capacity.
"Where's Kurvam?" Liesel asked Verka.
"He was injured during his training today. He will return tomorrow night, or during the day by another mode of travel if he feels well by morning."
Liesel held back a sigh of exhaustion and relief.
The Seer opened the door. "Quick!"
Liesel made sure she showed her displeasure as she rushed past him. And the Seer smiled as if he understood what had ruined her mood.
If Kurvam was not coming along, then she'd have to be in charge tomorrow. Liesel was not looking forward to the morning.
But he had paid for her sword's forging, so she had no grounds to complain about it directly.
Again, they kept their heads straight and didn't look to the side. At the very least, everyone on the expedition had that much discipline.
********
"Are you going to be fine without your sword?" Auram asked as she settled on the window ledge, staring out into the ruins.
"It may have supported me a little in these past weeks, but I should be fine," Liesel said. "I hope that going through the reforging would be worth it."
"Why didn't you stick with just killing demons and using that to let it evolve on its own?"
"For one, I had already spent a lot of money not to go through with it. It's called the sunk cost fallacy. And second, I feel I'd be safer if I didn't have a voice in the back of my mind telling me that I need to land the killing blow with my sword against every demon we encounter. And I know how weak I am to those kinds of suggestions, so this is safer. Regardless, it is only two days."
Liesel had been spending most of her free time trying to increase her Layering speed. It was still too slow for her to use in combat, but she'd consider herself considerably faster than yesterday. To an extent, she had progressed greatly. Weaving a net of Materiality wasn't as difficult, and she didn't need to guide every strand each time. But it was far from the stage of integrating into her subconscious mind, where she wouldn't, actively, have to think about using it anymore. But that was
She didn't manage to sleep until early morning, which was natural given that she was forcing herself to replenish her Materiality through the Materiality Cores and then using it to practice. She ended up practicing using the layering on the sword's edge as well. It was not as easy as she had expected. Enforcement was a hundred times easier, only a two-step process from channeling. She'd only need to weave the strands of Materiality that manifested naturally after flowing through her underdeveloped Soul Veins. She'd have to weave it into a hexagonal web, and then burn. Layering was doing the same thing with a hundred times the precision and control. Weaving it at the blade's edge alone took her about five minutes.
And the layering only dulled its edge. She had to push it against the wood, and it dug in the same way as the blunt side. But the Enforcement went through the wood like paper.
Now, there was only one problem with her experimentation. She might need to pay a fine for damaging the base. Hopefully, that wouldn't be necessary. The Seer was pouring money over her, so he wouldn't bat an eye at squeezing out as much in damages as possible. She on some level understood it was not because of how capable she was, and more because of the Archive Quest that convinced him she was stronger and more capable than she let on.
The biggest reason for using Enforcement was to preserve the blade's integrity and sharpness under an untenable amount of force.
[Control 17--> 18
Layering Technique +1
Layers increased from 5 to 6]
At the very least, that was the positive outcome of the whole night's endeavor. Gaining the initial levels was easy, but they didn't mean much. Three layers were almost a thirty-three percent increase, but it would be the least effective amount. She'd need to get it to the ninth level, where the channeling speed and the number of layers would allow her to use it like Enforcement. And she'd need to find a way to make it efficient because there was no way to increase her Materiality Capacity during the expedition.
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Liesel did fall asleep after that, only to be woken up by Fiya when breakfast was ready. Somehow, Liesel seemed more exhausted than the mage who hadn't slept for two days.
She didn't enjoy the breakfast, and the shower did little to fight off the wave of sighs and pain coursing through her body.
After breakfast, it was time to gather for today's agenda.
"Since Kurvam is... ill," Liesel yawned, "I will be taking charge of today's session."
She caught more than two worried grumbles. She hoped it was because of her exhausted state, and not because they wanted to be part of Kurvam's team.
She went over everything they had understood so far, and then she shifted her attention to the mage.
"Did you find any other way to get into the armor?"
"I have... uh, about five spells that I want to try, but I can't use them yet. It will take some time to memorize and replicate them."
"Can you not use spell papers?" Liesel asked. The same method that Liesel used to seal the Ash-dust corroding her Soul Form.
"I don't think it would be effective enough without pure spell circles," Fiya said. "I can memorize one by the evening. Maybe we can try it then."
Liesel nodded. She considered for a moment showing the mage the option that might wear off the resistance spell, but the Archive Quest lingered in her mind. For now, she decided to keep it to herself.
"Then, you should focus on memorizing the spell. As for the rest of us..."
Liesel had a simple plan for today. Hunting down Day Walkers, as many as possible, and collecting the Materiality Cores. Their numbers should've exploded by now. There was no agreement with the Seer about the distribution of Materiality they would acquire from killing the demon, so she proposed they should distribute everything equally among themselves. Of course, at least one person argued that she had taken the most precious core for herself to demand an equal share.
"That was the first night, and it was only because Kurvam would've taken it regardless. But he's not here today, and I want to make sure we use this moment not just to advance the expedition but also to build teamwork. So long as there's an incentive that benefits us all equally, we'd function cohesively. If we are all trying to land the final strike," Liesel paused, "accidents are bound to happen."
There was some back and forth, but in the end, they all agreed to it. Some more begrudgingly than others. It was not as hopeful as Liesel had hoped. She had hoped Kurvam would be the only troublesome member, but she was reevaluating that notion. Fiya would stay behind.
The frustrating part of her role was that she would need to stay with the team, as there was no way she could ask them to do that while she tried her hand against the Door Guardian. Nor did she have the opportunity to use her Soul Unravelling on any demon.
The day proceeded smoothly. They killed about five to six Day Walkers every hour, which was not very high, but for relative safety, they couldn't have asked for a better deal. Each one would sell for about three hundred Siyirs.
There were a few incidents along the way. Arguments between fighter Archetypes, especially Garvin and Sarkot. At one point, Yehia was ready to deal a knock-out blow to one of them. Regardless, they had hunted down about thirty-four cores by the afternoon.
"It's not much when you think about it," Yehia uttered as they were making their way to the base. "That's like three cores per member."
"It was only half a day," Liesel said. "And this is more of a team-building exercise. Compared to the first night, where we had four members severely injured—two on the death's door- we are relatively unharmed, and we have killed twice as many demons. So long as we stand strong and fast, we'd have the second layer of the Necropolis for stronger demons, or even the third with two mages who have highly destructive spells. But as things currently stand, we'd all be slaughtered against anything mildly shrewd. And if it's an actual ascendant demon, I don't even need to say it."
"I don't get why you get to be our team leader," Garvin said. He was the most unfriendly person in the expedition so far. "I can kill you like an insect in a fair fight."
Liesel shrugged. "The Shade Passage opens at midnight. Please take it to the Seer. I learned I was the vice leader at the same time as you. Just so we are clear, I hate to be in charge of a bunch of immature children. I'd rather be alone."
"Given your record of losing all your teammates, you are gonna get your wish very soon," Garvin scoffed.
If she were not playing the leader of this bickering bunch, she'd have punched all his teeth into his throat and made him swallow them all with his own blood leaking from the broken gum. Alas, that'd be very bad for the team's morale.
Yehia leaned closer to her. "I can lend an ear if you want to share how you want to kill him."
Liesel cleared her throat. "As the vice leader, I am duty-bound to insist on cooperation."
"Oh, don't give me that bullshit."
She wished Kurvam had ditched the expedition entirely. It was a promisingly feasible job without his interventions. Even Garvin was not as bad. Alas, the captain would be back tonight.
After lunch, they were ready to make their way to the first layer.
Fiya seemed somewhat tense. Jaisel tried to keep her calm, but it did little to help the younger mage.
The Seer had gifted her pure Materiality cores to use as fuel for the spell, which was a nice initiative from him. Liesel could see the entire expedition implode instantly if she had to suggest using the harvested Materiality Cores for the spell.
The Door Guardian seemed to have stood by the sheath buried in the ice, unmoving, since they had left. It didn't attach them either. Garvin and Sarkot wanted to try their luck. Their battle was quite the opposite of Kurvam's. Almost immediately, they were overwhelmed, injured, and disarmed. Verka's ward saved their life.
Fiya spent over ten minutes gathering energy and weaving the spell circle.
"There's no way that's feasible in a real battle," Garvin scoffed. He seemed to be possessed by the absent leader's vile spirit. His hand was slowly healing, but it was cut badly. He hissed in pain as Garol Borran pulled the light thread sharply, intentionally.
"Stay still," the healed added without looking up at the venomous eye of the swordsman.
"What spending one day with the dear leader does to a person," Yehia sniggered.
Verka's hawkish eyes narrowed at the spearwoman, but he didn't rebut her.
"Let her focus," Liesel said, meeting Garvin's eyes. "It is a new spell, for this one occasion alone. I'd hope you will show a little more presence of mind, rather than being a mental burden for everyone else."
He grunted, turning away, yanking his healing hand away from the healer. That was enough to disturb Fiya, and she had to start from scratch.
Liesel shifted her eyes to the actual vice leader of the expedition, the warder and Kurvam's protector, Verka, raising a brow and asking what they were supposed to do about him.
Verka shrugged, not offering any solutions.
The second spell, too, failed to penetrate the surface of the metal. But instead of diverting off the angled helmet, it clung to the metal. Soon, the entire energy wrapped around the helmet, slowly turning the armor, from head to toe, boiling red. Its shoe sank into the ice. Yet, when the spell ceased, the armor could
"All that—"
Before Garvin could finish his remark, Liesel had her sword drawn.
"If you insist on being a nuisance, I will cut both your feet off, shove it in your mouth, and leave you in the open for demons to feed."
He smiled, raising his hands. "Just kidding. Just kidding."
"It was the first spell. Fiya should rest for the evening and then try to memorize the second spell in the morning if she is feeling well," Liesel commanded, leaving no room for discussion. She didn't think the first spell would stick around in Fiya's mind. It was unlikely to be used again given the preparation time.
"But it was the most likely spell to work," Fiya whispered.
"Don't worry about the outcome. You are the only one with any hope of doing something," Liesel said. "Yehia. Take care of her. Verka will lead everyone back to the base."
"What about you?" Yehia asked.
Liesel shifted her eyes to the Guardian.
"I have to try at least once."