Chương 21: Unravelling of Magic

The north-east side of the ruins was a treasure haul. In just five hours, they managed to crusade through most of the ruins and gathered about seventy-three Materiality Cores. It was not just Day Walkers, though, so Liesel believed the Necropolis was throwing other demons out too. It was still not enough for her teammates. It was somewhat frustrating when Liesel had already explained that the goal was to learn each other's skills and find a pace where they'd not be slaughtered by a stronger monster.

Liesel could already see the flaw with her ideas. Inevitably, Kurvam would lead the team. Today was just lucky. No, in the second layer and forward, he should lead the team, for that was his designation. And no matter how cohesive they became, it was in vain. She was not the actual leader of the expedition, and more and more, Liesel felt like she was playing the role of a babysitter for the inexperienced team.

Fiya's second spell was a failure, though it was hot enough to melt the ice and create a pool of warm water beneath their feet. Still, the armor itself didn't show any sign of compromise. Everyone was somewhat disappointed. The other mage expressed his awe at Fiya's speed in learning. Liesel felt she was being sadistic for hiding the magic resistance penetration from the mage, but she had to stay patient. Its hand still seemed like a weakness, and she had to know if that would work before she let Fiya kill it.

She had a much harder time arguing about staying behind. The healer was especially against it, and after Yehia and Fiya learned about the state of her injuries, they were willing to tie her up and take her back to the base. Of course, they were strangers, and Liesel could always force her hierarchical standing to get ahead of them, and she did. She was sure it would fracture some of the trust she had built with the team. A small but bitter price for a permanent gain.

The second day was probably worse than the first. She made no progress against the perfect warrior. It was basically impossible for her to overcome its technique, and the sneaky strike she landed on its crystal arm almost had her hand cleft from her shoulder. She could see her bone from the injury. But she didn't die, and now she knew unquestionably that despite being a crystal-like material, it was not any easier to destroy. She wrapped the bandage around the cut. It was hissing in pain.

"I can heal you."

"Yes, Auram, you can always heal me. But I will not accept it," Liesel said. Probably the second time today.

"You don't owe me your light." She climbed to her feet. Today, she didn't have the luxury of rest. Today, the blacksmith should be bringing her sword to the Shade Passage.

"Are you sure it's not dangerous?" She met a Shadow Stalker on her way back. It was happenstance. At this point, she understood the ruins and the hot spots of demons, and could guess where she was likely to encounter the demon. With her arm injured, it was not a fun fight, but she managed to kill it, at the cost of catalyzing the pain twice over. Its bleeding body lay in front of her, and Liesel weaved the Unravelling Rune on the palm of her hand. Then she settled it on the demon's head.

Its body unravelled into thousands upon thousands of hair-thin strands of energy and was absorbed into her body. [Analyzing and Extracting Unravelled Yarn! ETA: 4 Hours 21 Minutes] It was a much shorter period than last time, and that was somewhat relieving. It also lessened her pain. It was the only demon she encountered on her way back.

"Its hands are equally as sturdy," Liesel said to the group. They were just done with dinner, and now Healer Borran was fixing her hand.

"I don't think we can count on that to get under its armour." Fiya seemed sick just from looking at Liesel's wounds. That was somewhat alarming. A mage should have a strong stomach, for they'd witness fighters get torn open by demons and still have to respond to the threat before it kills everyone.

"That's so fucking unfair," Sarkot exhaled.

"It's got impenetrable armor, unbelievable reach, terrain advantage, and no fucking business."

"And a mastery of sword technique," Liesel added, chuckling sarcastically. How does the Custodian expect me to defeat it alone?

"And resistance to all kinds of magic," Fiya added. Her eyes were fixed on Liesel's unskinned arm, which the healer was stitching back together with dissolving Materiality threads. Liesel was having some doubts about the kind of education Fiya had received. Those with weak stomachs were taught early to ignore wounds, not even glance at them by mistake, and yet the mage was seemingly bothered by it and unable to look away. She may have chosen the wrong sessions to skip or gone to a very poor academy.

Either way, Liesel felt Fiya was insufficiently trained for the expedition, even if she was a remarkable mage.

"Does it not hurt?" Fiya asked.

"It does," Liesel smirked.

"But after the thousandth time, your mind simply cannot care about it enough."

"What are we going to do about the armor?" Yehia asked.

"Maybe we can distract it and try to get to the door?" Sarkot suggested. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"A binding spell might do the trick," Liesel said.

"And it may be the only way for us, but the door is not open."

"It might hold a key?" Garol Borran suggested. His eyes were focused on stitching the skin back. Sarkot was frowning.

"And we can't kill it. Maybe we should ask Lord Seer to help us out?"

"Seer's not a warrior," Liesel said.

"His power and authority do not lie in destructive power. Perhaps the chancellor or one of his confidants might have enough power, but when the realm is in such a volatile state, they cannot spare them to this side."

"Should I try to learn a binding spell?" Fiya asked.

"No, we have to destroy it. If it can get out of a binding spell with its strength, then we'd be risking too many lives. That is the desperate last attempt. We have a month to finish the expedition, and it's only like four days."

"What if the second design of the Necropolis is just this but even worse?" Sarkot asked.

Verka opened the Shade Passage. Kurvam was also in the attic, tapping his boot on the floor. He was waiting for the right moment to open the Shade Passage, as the heat might damage the passage otherwise. Once he opened it, Liesel began her counting. She'd have about three minutes to return, or Verka would close the door for the day and open it tomorrow for her. It was still somehow hot when Liesel rushed down the Shade Corridor and exited the other way. She had counted to forty-five to cross the passage.

The blacksmith had been waiting for her in the second room. There were guards too, and their expressions projected their unhappiness. They didn't like him being in this room. The Shade Passage was at the core of the administration hub of the city. Most people wouldn't be allowed there. A random blacksmith should be the last person allowed in. The Smith had brought a case with him that he gestured to.

Since it was a forged sword, and so long as she didn't tell anyone about the appraisal result, she wouldn't have to register it with the city. Of course, that would be challenged the next time she entered a city without a voucher of confidence. She took the case and ran back to the Shade Passage. It was starting to heat again. The temperature kept rising in a crescendo. Her skin was burning, and the healed part of her arm and shoulder unravelled and started bleeding.

The case that she had been holding slipped from her hand. She lowered to her knees, clenching her jaw to fight back the paralyzing burn crawling inside her body and the outside from the Shade. Picking up the case, she rushed back on the other side, and Verka immediately shut the entrance. Even he was covered in sweat, and his eyes had turned red from the exposure to heat. Liesel exhaled, looking down at her hand. The healing done on her arm today had totally come undone, but the shoulder was still holding on.

The way the Shade worked was a mystery, and as much as Liesel would've liked to have a better understanding, she was not well-read enough to even guess why it would affect the healed wounds. Kurvam mocked her, of course, and expressed his annoyance that she would be taking more of the healer's time for her selfish reasons. Fiya and Yehia were still in the hall. They were playing a board game Liesel had not seen before. The map was tiny, and the pieces were like diamonds.

Their game came to a halt as soon as they saw Liesel's arm bleeding. Yehia called Healer Borran to fix it, and he seemed somewhat annoyed to be healing her twice in a single day.

"The Shade Residue is unravelling the magic," Borran said. Liesel frowned.

"Was my arm not already healed?"

"The healing magic is a mask. It doesn't fix the body immediately, but over the course of many days. That is why there's a limit to how much a person can be healed before the body is too battered to accept the healing magic. And I worry tonight you might have reached that point before anyone else."

"It'd be fine," Liesel said.

"What's in that case?" he asked.

"My sword," Liesel replied.

"It was on the verge of breaking, so I asked a smith to fix it."

"Oh." Once her hand was fixed, she settled the case on the table. She unclasped the latches on both sides. The sword was wrapped in a wet, slimy cloth for some reason.

"Yuck," Fiya gagged as she poked it with a finger, and a strand of liquid clung to it as she pulled it away. Liesel smiled as she freed the note stuck to the lid with wax. It's been reforged, but it still needs time to absorb all the energy poured into it. Keep it wrapped in the cloth until all the liquid is dry. There's an appraisal gem in the bottom compartment that you can use to see its essential features. Liesel folded the note.

"Unfortunately, its enchantment is not permanent yet. It's going to take a few days." She closed the case.

"What would it do then?" Fiya asked, as she dragged her finger on the table top, trying to wipe the oily substance from it. Yehia was frowning at the mage for that.

"We are going to find out together," Liesel said. She dragged the sword case back into her room. After being healed the second time, she couldn't find the energy to stand, let alone carry something. She collapsed on the bed as soon as she secured the case under the bed and locked the door. She blinked, pushing herself up. She looked for her new sword. She also settled it against the headrest of the bed. Just in case. An hour later, her soul analysis was complete. [Soul Analysis and extraction successful! Soul of a median Shadow Stalker. Materiality Extracted: 1238 Aspect: Dusk Flame Prestige Point: +2 Possible Attribute Absorption: Strength +1 Excess Materiality has been disposed of. The external aspect has been merged with the persisting Dusk Flame in the Soul Form. Dusk Flame aspect cannot be absorbed. (Skill: Soul Weaving is required to use the Dusk Flame.) Pick an attribute to align the residue energy.] When the duration of analysis and absorption had been cut down significantly, she had a feeling it wouldn't give her as much power as the first time. Even by those expectations, what her skill had resulted in was disappointing. Gaining a single attribute point and two Prestige Points was not really that disappointing every time she used the skill, but it might be even less the next time. It wanted her to hunt different kinds of demons. It shouldn't be the same if I were to use it on humans, right?

Maybe the cultivation is a factor. The non-ascendant demons are more or less just parasites created by the Necropolis to keep the intruders at bay. They don't have a unique identity for my skill to work. Liesel was worried about the future. Gaining attribute points after tens was significantly harder than at the base. Even the skill was bound by that limitation. [Strength attribute alignment process started! Estimated time: 11 hours 5 minutes] Liesel exhaled.

"That's a long time..." Even so, she'd have the time to hunt a Day Walker and absorb it tomorrow. But she couldn't sleep despite her exhaustion. So Liesel sat back up, sluggishly reaching over to the box of Materiality Core. She had found another one with two aspects. She was curious how the Materiality touched by the tomb's influence was different from normal demon cores.