Chương 22: Major Soul

"GRAAAAAHHHH!" the giant rat monster screamed, each of its three heads channeling the noise with a different frequency. Sweat dripped down my brow. How had Hollow stood against this thing at all? Every time I cut through something, another limb took its place. It was as if I were a hedge trimmer; the monster an endlessly growing tangle of weeds. Two new arms jutted out of its back, multi-jointed and with ends that resembled knives more than hands. It brought them down on me in a flash, and I staggered backward.

How the fuck do I kill this thing? [Just keep doing what you're doing. Whoever built this thing was an evil genius. Why had I never thought of this?] And what exactly is it? [A low-tier abomination. The bones were all stuffed inside a fleshy cocoon that it can pull upon at will. The higher tier abominations use a similar construction, but this would be much cheaper and simpler to create. Though the soul on this thing must be massive…] So cut through the fleshy sack? [If you can get to it.] Three more arms jutted out of the hulking mass, bringing its total from "too many" to "what the fuck". Footsteps, followed by the crack of a staff, echoed down the hallway. Stick had finally made it. He stopped in the doorway, panting.

"She's unconscious," I barked without even turning to face him.

"Grab her!"

"I—okay." The Carrion Blade pulled me forward into another swing, knocking aside the abominations' new murder tools. Stick grunts behind me, and I hear him drag Hollow out of the room as the abomination lets out another ear-piercing screech. I'd like to pretend that her being gone meant that I could power up, or unlock some hidden ability without risk of collateral damage, but instead I had to keep relying on what I've been doing so far: aimlessly flailing and swallowing my screams.

I thrust the blade forward, taking two hits against either side as I drove the Carrion Blade into the creature's center of mass. The patchy, sewn-together flesh tore beneath the blade's point, pouring out a wave of bones. The stench, as always, was revolting. My offense cost me my defense, and all seven arms bludgeoned against me. I grunted, pain blistering through me. This thing would not defeat me. A brave, perhaps foolhardy thought to have as I was being ripped, beaten, and torn at from every angle.

But I solidified my stance, and in one heavy swing, I brought down the blade. It raised two arms to deflect the cut. I cleaved through the first one, but the second stopped me. So I swung again. Harder. Heavier. Faster. More arms raised in its defense, and each fell in my desperate flurry. It cowered back, and I rushed in, driving the sword through its center of mass and ripping outward. Blood, gore, and yuck poured out like a high tide.

I stepped back, and thrust the blade upward, piercing through the center rat skull. The light behind its eyes faded. [Oh. I should have warned you not to kill it with that sword.] [Major Soul Harvested] My entire body screamed. I forced the soul to remain inside me. Too much power to lose, no matter how much it hurt. Hollow's enthusiasm for clearing these floors was appreciated, but it meant there were three floors of lost power for me to gain.

If what Grelgo said was true, and the human adventurers were on their way, I'd need every last drop of power I could get. [You are not strong enough to hold onto it! Spit it out!] I shook my head, keeping my lips sealed, afraid that even an outward gasp would let the soul free. I can get the soul to you! [You can hardly stand! I know what you are trying to do, but the reward isn't worth the cost. Not at the risk of you disrupting your own soul.] Let me worry about my soul.

I stumbled through the hallways, passing by Hollow's unconscious form as Stick ran his hands over her. Behind them, Grelgo and his men gathered, open-eyed. I shoved them all out of the way.

"Where is he going?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Has the Carrion King grown ill?" I found the stairs down and held the walls as I took each step, pain flaring deep inside. Would you get any of this power if it let it go here? [Some would be absorbed, yes. But to get the full power it would have to be fed to me directly. Please, you can't make it down all this way!] This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Watch me. The longer I carried the soul inside of me, the more I felt my core stretch.

My inner fish tank cracked under the pressure. The Major Soul, much like the first time I took in a Notable Soul, was difficult to envision. Its shape was more akin to an octopus or squid, its tendrils breaking out of its enclosure and slithering deep inside me. My core burned. I channeled my thoughts inward, demanding that the soul remain. The soul, in turn, responded. {You think you can control me, heretic? Your flesh is weak. Your mind is weak. You are an imposter.} An imposter that defeated you. {Bah! My power while living towered over yours, you petty soul. You would not be more than a splash in my bucket.} Reaching inward, I squeezed. {UNHAND ME!} No! I stumbled onto the fifth floor, my sprint becoming a limp. Five more floors. {YOU WILL REGRET THIS!} A spectral tendril lashed out inside me, striking my core. The glass cracked. I choked, crumbling to the floor and coughing out blood. I would crawl if I had to, but not yet. Not so close.

I ground my teeth, clenching my jaw hard enough that my teeth might have shattered. With each floor I ran down, the Major Souls' attacks increased. My lungs froze. My bones cracked. [Travis! From the gods above and the devils below! Spit out the soul!] Floor four… Floor three… Floor two… I scrambled for the staircase. I coughed up blood, the tendrils of this soul reaching and tearing at every part of me. Something like bile rose in my stomach, but I knew it was something far more sinister.

I took a step down the stairs and collapsed. I rolled down each step as a broken mass. THUD. THUD. THUD. The raucous spiraling and jolts of pain only ceased when I made it to the bottom. The first floor was empty, except for my skeletons. The soulless eyes of the ones under Karen's control stared down at me. All of Grelgo's men had gone up to investigate the tower. A blessing in disguise. The skeletons lifted me up, carrying me toward Karen's new room. The locked door swung wide open, and they dropped me inside.

The door shut behind us, and the green dungeon core lowered. I placed my hand on it and whispered, "Bind." [You have unwound the spectral language of an unbound soul, learning to comprehend their dissonant speech.] [Ability Manifested] [Commune]: Speak plainly with a soul. [You have observed a unique attribute of a Major Soul, unwinding the threads of its power. You have gleaned the ability to imitate its ability.] [Ability Manifested] [Bind - Tendrils]: Call upon the souls in your core to serve as spectral tendrils. [Excessive stress against your core has expanded your capacity. You can now harvest Notable souls.] [Core Size Increased] I groaned. Karen's gem floated above me, bright green. Every part of me ached.

"How are you doing?" I mumbled. [You are a fool.] I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't budge.

"This sucks." [You could have died. If you had, that soul would have taken your form in a heartbeat.]"How much essence did you get from it?" She begrudgingly displayed the dungeon information. [Dungeon of the Carrion King] [Level 9] [Dungeon Essence: 9/9]"Hah! I did it! We're full up." [Unfortunately, part of the soul was wasted. My capacity isn't high enough to hold all that power. But a major soul… how had a soul so powerful come to be on floor nine of all places?]"Look at what I was able to do with just three." I swallowed.

"Is Hollow alright?" [Unconcious. Forgive me if I don't pity the both of you. Have you ever thought about taking responsibility for your actions?]"No, not really. Seems like something I should start doing though." Karen's core dulled to a sickly green tint, and she went quiet, leaving me alone in the dark. A moment to myself. A moment to think. I placed my hand on Karen, and let my eyes and mind escape my body, becoming one with the nine floors of the dungeon we'd conquered so far.

Each floor was filled with commotion. Stick moved Hollow to the first floor, setting her up in the barracks and remaining by her side as she remained unconscious. Bruises peppered her skin, and from the wrappings around her chest, she must have broken a rib or two. Stick's clan members—or, I suppose, our clan members—moved throughout the first floor, moving in more supplies from outside. A fire had been set ablaze beneath an iron pot in the kitchen while two goblins butchered an elk beside it.

A few of Grelgo's people moved throughout the living area, setting up their own supplies and bedding materials around the barracks. They kept well clear of Stick's people. There was a wall between the two clans, though no more than expected. I would have to work on that as time went on. While I had no desire to take Grelgo's position as warchief amongst his clan, I would see peace amongst the region. Grelgo explored the dungeon with a few of his men, starting back at floor two.

No nook nor cranny was left untouched, and to my surprise, their diligence was rewarded with loot. A chest here, a pot there, a hidden alcove the rest of us had overlooked. I'd been so focused on climbing the damn place that the actual exploration part had gone untouched. The goblin warchief pulled a mace out of an old chest, and bellowed a laugh. A couple of test swings, and he roared. The mace sparkled with magical energy. I focused on it, seeing how Karen saw things.

[Mace of Bludgeoning] [Force]: Impacts made by mace are increased three-fold. The goblin practiced using it on a wall, swinging it into the wall. Where he hit one brick, three shattered. Explosion, Strong, and Skully were on the fifth floor, collecting the shattered pieces of Arrowhead and setting them to the side. I hadn't realized they'd not been in here with us until then.

"Karen, they can't feel things, can they?" [Why would they be unable to feel things? They're dead, not soulless. Though perhaps you're letting your undead have too much freedom. It's uncomfortable.]"I have no desire to lead an army of subservient undead. I like that they can think for themselves." [You're a damned Necromancer. Doing that is part of the job description.] I would not let this world take my morality from me, even if it had already done a shaky job of doing just that.

I thought back to my days at Valencorp. The days slaving away under a corporate boot. With every project finished, or promotion gained, I never stopped being the little guy who was pushed around. I could never escape the endless menial tasks and unappreciated work. This world gave me a chance to change all that. For once, I was the head honcho—and I refused to grind everyone beneath me. Using these souls was a stopgap. Eventually, there would be a world where I didn't have to use them.

The world wanted me to build a dungeon? I would build a city. The world wanted me to be a villain? I would be a hero. Because I was Travis Binder—not the Carrion King. No one else would have my tower.