[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 109: Big, Big… Sword?

Sam continued perusing his older abilities, looking for a gem that would call out to him. While he did really like the look of [Onslaught], he already knew it would have tough competition from [Iron Mountain].

And with [Switch] going unused due to his lack of a second stance, Sam needed an ability that was so staggeringly good that he could hold off on getting another stance.

So far, he hadn’t found one. But he felt certain he would come back to [Onslaught] someday. Not like it was going anywhere.

[Evasion]

(Swordsman Skill) (F-Class)

(★Common)

The best mitigation is when you don’t get hit. By paying close attention to your surroundings and your enemies, you’re able to utilize this new skill to grant you a slight edge when dodging from incoming attacks. Grants a miniscule bonus to the effect of Agility when using [Evasion].

Not as useless as it would have once seemed since his Swordsman gave Agility per level, but it still wasn’t enough to sway him away from [Iron Mountain].

Avoiding hits was nice, but he knew that unless he completely demolished the build he was making for himself, he would never be as fast as Raiko.

She could take full advantage of an evasive skill, but Sam would take his chances with parrying and blocking. And when all else failed, he could use his large HP to tank hits long enough to put the threat down.

It wasn’t the best plan of action, he admitted. But he had over 100 Strength and Vigor now, and he figured he should lean into his strengths wherever possible.

Especially considering how rare abilities and skills were.

With every level becoming harder and harder to acquire, they would get further and further apart unless he continually pushed himself against enemies that were far stronger than him.

And to do that, he’d need to pick the right abilities.

[Block]

(Swordsman Skill) (F-Class)

(★Common)

Brace against melee and magical attacks, using your weapon, armor, cloak or shield. Sheds a portion of physical and magical damage received. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Vigor when using [Block].

That was more like it.

He’d take [Block] over [Evasion] any day. His sword was already large enough to hide behind and barely be seen. Why bother with dodging when he could just use his oversized weapons to double as defense implements?

He also had his manatuned cloak from the Hidden God that he could fill with Void mana and use defensively. He’d already done that to good effect against Raiko’s magical strikes. If this allowed him to transfer that over to physical as well, he’d be quite happy.

But of course, all of these abilities and skills paled in comparison to the next one. The one he had foregone for [Traversal] last time.

He was glad he did, but he still wished he could have had both. Well, now he could.

[Iron Mountain]

(Sword Stance) (F-Class)

(★Common)

Raises your resistance against physical and magical damage by increasing your Leaden Stacks the longer you root yourself in place. The more Leaden Stacks you possess, the more damage you resist and the heavier you and your weapon become. Grants a minuscule bonus to Vigor and Strength when using [Iron Mountain].

Maximum Leaden Stacks: 3

And there it was, the stance he had missed out on last time had come around again.

With [Switch], he could generate stacks of [Fury] from [Power Stance] and then swap over to [Iron Mountain] to expend [Leaden] stacks and vice versa as the need arose.

It would be a great synergy between the three abilities and would provide a much-needed defensive utility that he currently lacked.

[Rally] was great, but once that temporary HP was gone, the added defense it provided was gone.

The only saving grace for [Rally] was that it seemed to be a percentage of his maximum HP, so the more HP he had, the better [Rally] was.

I suppose it’s possible that [Rally] might boost Komachi’s Bard overhealing as well. Emphasis on might here though, he thought.

[Iron Mountain] also doubled as an offensive buff as well. His weapon, as a colossal type greatsword, was already heavy as all hell. There was a reason it took 100 Strength to wield it effectively.

If this could increase it more without requiring him to need even more Strength, then he could only imagine the devastation each swipe of his sword could bring.

But he would be stupid to pick [Iron Mountain] without looking at the new things Swordsman brought him.

As always, there were new abilities and skills on offer on top of the ones he had seen before. And this time was no different.

He wondered if eventually he’d have a list of over a hundred abilities, skills, or traits that he never picked but nevertheless were still waiting around to be picked.

[Heavy Blade]

(Swordsman Ability) (F-Class)

(★Common II)

Tap into the Metal mana of your weapon, increasing the weight of any greatsword or larger and providing a scaling modifier of Strength and weight. Amplifies your already overwhelming Strength, pushing every stat point further. This ability can be charged, consuming even more mana, granting your weapon a Metal aura, and enhancing its weight and damage further. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength and weapon weight when using [Heavy Blade].

Sam felt like he was drooling just reading the description. Something that enhanced every aspect of his weapon that it was already exceedingly good at?

And he could charge it for more damage?

He looked forlornly at [Iron Mountain]. Sorry, looks like you’ll be benched for another round.

There was no way he wouldn’t pick [Heavy Blade] over [Iron Mountain]. While he loved the stances that his Job had, they weren’t abilities.

In truth, Sam had very few abilities that he could tap. [Rally] was more of a onetime thing. His stances had Arts, but that wasn’t the same. They didn’t cost much, and they were intrinsically tied to the stance.

With [Heavy Blade], he had his first real ability. Something that he could use to deal more damage directly, whether he was using a stance or not.

If it worked as he hoped, it would have amazing synergy with [Iron Mountain], as both increased the weight and damage of his weapon.

Getting hit with a two-ton sword would be tough for even the hardiest of monsters to shrug off.

But there were more things to see, so Sam held himself back. Just barely, [Heavy Blade] was that good.

[Aura Blade]

(Swordsman Trait) (F-Class)

(★Common II)

A Swordsman is at the forefront of every encounter. They fight on the frontlines, shoulder to shoulder with their allies to push back even the most tenacious of foes. While all Swordsmen know how to share a portion of their defense as an aura with their allies, few are skilled enough to do the same with their weapons. [Aura Blade] extends the power of your blade to your allies, imparting a portion of its damage and weight to each physical strike your companions make while within your aura. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength and weapon weight when using [Aura Blade].

Interesting, Sam thought to himself. Two new abilities, both of them offensive-oriented, and both directly citing “weapon weight” as a factor in their damage.

That couldn’t possibly be a coincidence, right?

He had been fighting with progressively heavier and larger weapons. Was the Shard picking up on his preferences and changing the abilities it offered as a result?

Even the description of [Aura Blade] suggested that not many Swordsmen ever gained it.

While [Aura Blade] was great and would be a contender against [Iron Mountain], it didn’t beat out [Heavy Blade].

It also didn’t directly increase his own damage, and while he was more than happy to strengthen others, he wanted a cornerstone ability that he could pivot his whole build around.

Without any further abilities to choose from, Sam picked up [Heavy Blade], feeling the inner workings of the ability trickle into his thoughts as he finished with yet another dullahan.

Looking up, he was surprised to see that all four dullahan now greeted him in vastly superior bodies. They weren’t completely repaired though, that was beyond Sam’s skill.

It would likely take somebody with a Profession to get them back to 100%, if that was even possible without remaking their armor.

But he had gotten then more than 75% of the way, and that was no small feat as evidenced by the boost to [Basic Maintenance].

Your [Basic Maintenance] has reached (★ Common III).

“All right,” Sam said to the dullahans. “Now that you’re all spruced up, who wants to come test out my new toy and maybe do some work?”

All four dullahan gave him a thumbs up.

“Mahalo,” Sam said, bowing at the waist.

With four dullahan in tow, Sam journeyed to the nearest [Forest Tile]. It took him longer than he would have liked, and it only occurred to him once he was there that he hadn’t eaten anything all day. Oddly, he hardly felt hungry.

I definitely don’t recall feeling like I could ignore eating before….

He wondered idly if it had something to do with the transition into Copper. Raiko did explain that it was a stage of power beyond anything he would have experienced before.

He thought that was down to the extra bonus points, but what if there were greater changes that he didn’t even realize?

Eating less is a pretty decent bonus in my opinion,Sam thought. So long as he didn’t turn into somebody who never ate anything. He liked eating, but if the choice was his, he’d eat once a day.

Granted, it would be a massive meal. But at least it wouldn’t interrupt his day so much.

Sam stared up at the towering trees that were like a bulwark to the dark depths of the much older [Forest Tile] on Raiko’s Skyshard.

“Might as well start here,” he said, motioning for the dullahan to stand back a little.

Pulling out the [Dullahan Greatsword], sparks leapt from his [Biting Sheath] as it sharpened the blade on its way out while revealing its true size.

Anybody looking at Sam would never be able to guess that the sword hanging on his back was several times larger than the sheath it went into.

Sam set a wide stance and held the blade out to the side. Even though he had the Strength to wield it effectively, it was still heavy. He could feel his muscles straining to keep it level and steady.

Just this alone would probably be an excellent workout. He hadn’t the time earlier to devise his own training, but now that they were heading toward the Academy, he couldn’t think of a better use of his time.

He felt the flows of mana rush along the veins in his body like a second heartbeat. The pulse of mana surged and entered the [Dullahan Greatsword], giving it a silvery glow.

Sam didn’t stop there. He kept pushing more and more mana into it, charging it as far as he could go. His MP drained slowly at first, then rapidly as he kept trying to overcharge it. The more mana he put into [Heavy Blade], the costlier it became.

Eventually, with his arms trembling from the extra weight, Sam had emptied nearly half of his MP into the damn thing. While his greatsword was normally huge, now it had an aura that looked as solid as real metal.

Instead of a few feet wide, it was several feet from edge to edge and well over a dozen feet long from hilt to tip.

Sam swung with all his might, remembering to pivot from the hips and follow through. He felt the blade tug at the first five-foot-thick tree trunk, but then it kept going on its own inertia without any help from Sam.

He braced for the sound of splintering, breaking wood, expecting that the blade would demolish more than it cut. But it seemed [Heavy Blade] took precedence over the innate Impact mana of the sword.

Sam watched in awe as the massive silvery blade scythed through trees as thick as redwoods. The trees creaked ominously as they began to fall in the direction of his strike.

“Oh shit,” Sam backed up, staring in awe at what he had just done. The shimmering aura around his blade broke apart into a million stars of light, joining the beauty before his eyes.

What he had thought would only be a handful of toppled trees multiplied exponentially.

[Heavy Blade’s] reach caused him to slice dozens of trees at once, and those that were cast free of their base crashed into others, toppling them with an ear-shattering splintering that rolled across the plains like a physical force.