Chapter 24 - Focus
The Perception's sole use for an average ascendant was Materiality Sense. You perceived Materiality's existence around you. Even within you, to a degree. Unlike the techniques related to other attributes, Materiality Sense was an impassive, rigid sphere outside the body. There was no way to enhance it other than raising the corresponding attribute.
Upon crossing the first threshold of Perception, Focus was the first technique an Ascendant learned. It was like giving a muscle to the Materiality Sense. With it, it was possible to contract the dome to just a foot away from her body, or expand it further in distance by narrowing the sphere into a slice.
The most important role of Focus, for most Ascendants, was concentrating it into their body only. Once the sphere has shrunk to focus only on the body around you, instead of the level feet in diameter that it should, you would be able to feel the form of your soul—almost see it, but not quite. Imaging was the ability you learned upon crossing the second threshold. It was probably the most useful skill from Perception, granting you the ability to see with your eyes closed.
Because Materiality Sense couldn't phase through solid objects, for most Ascendants walking on land, it manifested as a dome-shaped construct. Phasing was one of the hardest techniques to learn, and it manifested for everyone, except for the Observer, at the hundred and one attribute points, which was impossible unless that was the entire life purpose of the Ascendant.
Liesel had expected to have some difficulty controlling the dome-shaped sense. After all, she only knew the theory, and it was supposed to be tricky. Of course, the authors of the theory may have a young student in mind whose control attribute was sitting at five or six.
Once the dome was concentrated just inside her body, Liesel closed her eyes. She could observe the state of her soul and even materiality floating within it. Her soul had, for the most part, become clearer and smoother around the edges, still barely larger than a fist-sized blob. And the ashdust sealed inside the rune cage had already started corroding it. She had time, but once the rune cage was corroded, she wouldn't have the luxury of sealing it again. The ashdust adapted to magic, so it would break out almost instantly and violently the second time. She might even die if that happened.
But a Wraith Shaman was going to be impossible to find in the Iron League. She'd need to enter the Celestial Graveyard and seek it there, if that place even existed. If not, then it would be the demonic realms, conquered and burning in the eternal damning inferno of the demons' wrath.
Most of the Materiality was gathered together in a viscous state, but some of it lingered like dust floating in space. With the invisible force of her Control, she guided it towards her core now that her Perception allowed her to feel it clearly. So she pushed all of it into the core, flexing her Control muscle. Her brows curled, and soon the back of her mind was burning. Mixing the natural Materiality with the condensed one took some effort. So instead of trying to directly push it into the nebulous core, she gathered the natural Materiality. Applied force on its surface as she kneaded it into a smaller orb, compressing it until it was as viscous as the original core. Then she drew a strand of materiality from the Nebulous Core to measure the difference.
Once it was imperceptible, she wove a strand from the two, and once they completely melded, she pushed the smaller orb into the Nebulous core.
Despite that, her capacity didn't increase as the system had already accounted for the lingering Materiality in her soul. But now her core had the space to accumulate more Materiality.
The expedition team went to hunt more demons, while Liesel decided to stay behind to watch over the base again. The decision was that she wouldn't be earning any money from the hunted cores. She didn't mind, as there would be an opportunity in the second and third layers, and hopefully they'd be worth more than the small ones they procured from here.
Liesel spent most of her day playing with Fiya, and Liesel came close to victory a few times, but she was far from being consistently successful.
Fiya's hand had swollen even more overnight, and even her face looked sickly. Most of her materiality had slowly faded from her body. Healer Borran assessed that it was part of the healing and that there was nothing to worry about.
"Thank you for staying behind," Fiya said.
"I don't want to go on a hunt with Kurvam," Liesel replied, smiling slightly. "This is a far more pleasant experience, and I would thank you for this, but that might give your ego reason to negotiate another reckless spell, so I will not. You are not allowed to push yourself."
"But... I am wasting everyone's time."
"It is not your duty to kill the Door Guardian," Liesel said.
"I promised the Seer I would," Fiya said.
"There's a boundary to that," Liesel said, as her last major piece fell and the slaughter of her ants began. "Unless he has a binding contract, you shouldn't be pushing yourself to the point of destruction."
This was probably the second time she was having this conversation, and twice she felt she was not getting through to the girl.
"But you do it too."
Liesel blinked. "I do it only for my own sake. Because I like the fighting aspects of it. And there's a reward for me for this recklessness. You don't."
"What kind of reward?" Fiya asked, probably assuming the Seer had promised her something.
"Probably a way back to Inceptius," Liesel said vaguely.
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Since there was no Fiya's turn today, Liesel left for the mist realm of the Necropolis after lunch.
Unfortunately, Kurvam was also there with Verka. He must've taken a more chaotic route, as he had a warder tailing him.
He was already engaged with the guardian, and his battle was much more bombastic, using sword skills that would achieve nothing, and he was basically trying to overpower a lifeless suit of armor.
Liesel couldn't understand his goal, but he packed enough raw strength to keep the guardian at bay. And yet, the warder kept him alive. Otherwise, the much more dexterous guardian would've cleft his arms by now.
Perhaps the demon had been analyzing the warder's barriers, because out of nowhere, its sword cut through the barrier like it was paper, and the tip hissed towards Kurvam's upper body. Verka shook off his shock in a blink and conjured another barrier, yanking the expedition leader back, and yet the sword met his armor, pierced through it, and drew an arc of blood.
Kurvam dragged across the ice and stopped a few meters away from the red line.
"Urgh," he groaned.
Verka rushed towards him as he tried to sit up.
"Don't. I can carry you back to the barrier," Verka said.
Grinding his teeth, the leader sat up, venom bubbling in his eyes.
"How did you fail?!" he spat.
Verka had saved his life, but Kurvam couldn't see it that way. He was just not that kind of man. He grunted again as his chest bled. The injury was shallow, disappointingly. Perhaps it was shallow enough that he could keep fighting the guardian in vain.
He stood up, face red with pain. Verka seemed to have much to say, nothing offensive, of course. He seemed worried for the leader's life. He conjured a flat barrier at Kurvam's knee height.
"Lie here. You will lose too much blood if you walk back."
"I will not shame myself!"
He stormed toward the mist in anger. Verka picked up his sword and followed the man. He glanced at her as if asking her to follow.
Kurvam was the leader of the expedition, and as much as Liesel would rather not be anywhere close to him, she had the duty to cover him, at the very least when he had injured himself fighting an enemy demon. So she did, and it only upset the man further.
She walked a few meters away from him and the warder, and it did prove to be necessary when a pair of Dusk Howlers attacked them. With the warder assisting her, Liesel disposed of them without any trouble.
"Weak," Kurvam spat while Liesel was ripping the Materiality Orb out of the demon's body.
He extended his hand, palm open.
"Give it here."
Liesel ignored him as she washed the blood off the cores and put them in her satchel. She walked ahead now, and the leader followed behind, hurling mostly unintelligible words.
Healer Borran had been tired after healing all the injuries from the morning expedition. While Kurvam was the leader, the coordination was nonexistent, and Verka only focused on the reckless man, leaving other members open to injuries. It didn't matter really, except for now, when he was exhausted, and Kurvam was berating him for failing in his duty to heal him.
"Oh, fucking divine, why did my uncle have to pick only the most incompetent dregs off the street?" Kurvam kicked the chair, breaking its leg as he plopped onto the other. Grunting in pain, "Fuck! It hurts! Do something, worthless leech!"
Liesel was half tempted to kick the back of his feet and stab her dagger into the base of his head. Equally openly, she was tempted to return to her room and let them sort it out. She was not their guardian after all.
Garol Borran was a healthy man in body, and some may even have archetyped him into a Berserker for it. He loomed over the dinner table as he stood up, reaching with his hand to the other side. Grabbing the leader by his coat, he shoved him.
Almost surprised by the slight, Kurvam tumbled down with his chair, but Verka's ward paused him mid-fall.
She could feel the Materiality bloom through the room. Everyone was tense for a moment, even Garol Borran, but he stayed there, leaning over the table, staring at the leader.
"You don't get to complain about others' incompetence when all you can do is swing a sword like a pathetic orc," the healer finally said.
Liesel clapped her hands. It was enough to gather everyone's attention.
"We are part of the same expedition team, and there's an important role we are tasked with. Let's not fight among ourselves."
"Don't you dare—!" Kurvam roared, steaming red to the tips of his ears. But his anger didn't get any reaction from the Ascendants in the room. At this point, it was almost par for the course. He, too, seemed to realize that. He had created a situation where he was in a room with eleven other people, and most of them wouldn't take his side. In such a small space, lacking his weapon, injured and bleeding, he couldn't go on a rampage no matter how slighted he felt.
"You all will regret this."
He stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Liesel wanted to go back to the mist and fight the demon, but it was already too late. That night, Kurvam and Verka left through the Shade Passage to get him healed after the leader refused to be treated by Healer Borran. She was in charge once again, and despite everything, most people seemed very much in a good mood at breakfast the next morning.
"He's the person in charge," Garvin argued, the only person upset about their conduct. "There's a code to expeditions like ours. We follow the hierarchy. That's the only method to a successful campaign. We are all going to be slaughtered if things continue as they are. Kurvam is our leader, and we must follow his command."
Yehia's eyes twitched, but before she could say something insidious to the warrior, Liesel cut in.
"I agree. The code of conduct for a leader is only one. You always follow the leader's lead unquestioningly."
"Yet, you are the one who is poisoning our cohesion," Garvin hissed.
"But the code speaks of a different figure. It asks us to vest our trust in the experience and wisdom of our leader, dedicate our hearts to the command of the one who has fought and led a thousand battles. Whose body has soaked in wisdom from the blood of his enemies, of the heartless, vicious demons," Liesel paused, tilting her head. "We can look past some aspects, which can only be gained through years, but a steadfast heart, a cold, calculating mind? By virtue of codes that demand us all follow the leader, he is also unqualified to lead even a team of four, let alone an entire expedition of equally matched Ascendants."
"Then, what do you propose?" Garvin narrowed his eyes. "It can't continue like this. You are the only one with sway. Ask the Seer to give us a better leader."
"Liesel can do a great job. We don't need a new face a week in," Yehia argued.
"I am not demanding anything from the Seer," Liesel said. "I am a hired sword, and as much as I fulfill the role I am in, I am the most replaceable member of the team. I imagine that is what the Seer would do tonight."
That may have upset a few people who had gotten to know her, but that was not an issue.
After the last days, the ruins didn't have any more demons to hunt. Well, there were still a few lingering, but for the daytime, it was done. They'd be hunting at night from today. So Liesel asked them to rest for the day while she retired to her own room.
She dragged out her sword’s case, unlocked and opened it. The cloth wrapped around it had finally dried. She carefully took it out and unwrapped it.
The blade was slate black, and the hilt had been changed slightly. Unfortunately, it was still broken at the tip, and the slant was sharp, so she could consider it a short, angled-tip sword.
She focused her Perception on the sword and felt the bitterness lingering in the blade still. She picked up the appraisal jewel and channeled Materiality into it.