[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 23: Assessing the Aftermath

Once the fire was roaring, Sam settled back down to enjoy some [Simple Rations] with Komachi. He spared a thought for Kale and his friends, wondering how they were holding up without any of the supplies.

Stroke of luck that I managed to keep them, he thought. Not that he would have let Darren take them, but he wouldn’t have thought anything of passing some of his stuff to Kale.

Despite his bone-weary fatigue, Sam pulled up the long list of notifications he had missed while fighting and nearly dying. First, of course, was his level ups from killing that behemoth of a monster.

He couldn’t help the grin that slid across his face as he gazed into the fire feeding the [Archflame Coal]. Circle of life, he thought wryly.

You defeat the [Dire Hoary Wood Golem (Level 9)].

You gain immense Experience for slaying a Very Tough monster!

Level Up!

Your [Fighter] Job has reached Level 5.

+2 Strength | +2 Vigor | +1 Agility

+1 Bonus Point

You have [Fighter] abilities to select from.

Level Up!

Your [Fighter] Job has reached Level 6.

+2 Strength | +2 Vigor | +1 Agility

+1 Bonus Point

Level Up!

Your [Adventurer] Legend has reached Level 2.

+1 to all Stats

+2 Bonus Points

Level Up!

Your [Fighter] Job has reached Level 7.

+2 Strength | +2 Vigor | +1 Agility

+1 Bonus Point

Sam’s jaw dropped as the rush of acknowledged stats surged through him and settled in.

The golem awarded an astonishing quantity of Experience, propelling his Fighter Job all the way to Level 7. Even his Legend went up, and those levels were far less common to come by.

That amounted to 6 Strength gained from Fighter going up alone, and his Adventurer Legend hitting Level 2 increased it by a single point too.

Not too shabby, for nearly dying, he thought wryly.

Altogether, that single monster kill increased his stats to such a high degree that it showed how incredibly valuable defeating higher level monsters were.

In fact, most monsters he had been fighting on the starting island were higher than him, but none were rated as Very Tough like the golem had been.

It certainly seemed to Sam that the higher level monsters were, the more Experience he and his cat could gain.

No doubt that golem was meant to be taken down by multiple people working together. He didn’t solo it for sure, since his cat was healing him the entire time, the coal was buffing him, and the fall inflicted considerable damage on the golem.

And while he had done a good amount of damage himself, he doubted he had enough gas left in the tank to finish the job otherwise.

Good thing the Golem didn’t have [Endure] like I do, he thought with relief.

Despite his weariness, the increase in stats helped to temper his fatigue somewhat and push it back.

He knew he couldn’t ignore it forever, but he felt more clear-headed for now. Enough that he felt confident he could stay awake to set his bonus points.

Judging by the fight, and his brush with near-death, he felt a knee jerk reaction to dump every last point into Vigor.

It would enhance his HP, but would it be enough to survive several hundred feet? Probably not. At least, not at his current level. So, ignoring the fall, what else could he have needed throughout the fight?

Replaying the battle in his head, Sam found it surprisingly vivid and clear, as if he was watching a video of it in his head. He could see every swipe of the golem clawing at his arms and legs, gouging the soft bronze armor plating on his chest.

Even with the coal’s power flooding into him, he was awkward and brutish in his attacks. Not necessarily because he was trying to be, but because he didn’t know how to translate what his instincts told him to do.

They were at constant odds with his sword training. Muscle memory told him to do one thing, while instincts told him to do another, and the small delay in deciding made him appear erratic and uncontrolled.

Makes sense, he thought to himself. He looked at his Status. My Dexterity is also the lowest of all my core Job stats. Even with all those levels, it’s only sitting at 11 while Strength and Vigor are more than double that.

Though he felt he was already quite a bit ahead of what he could have achieved with a proper diet and strict training back on Earth, Sam could see his weaknesses already forming cracks in his new life.

With 5 bonus points to spend, Sam could help shore up his shortcomings, but the stats were just a temporary fix. To get at the root cause, he would need much more time to re-train himself.

Even with a world that had stats and systems like Il’dran, you couldn’t get away with just throwing numbers at the problem and hoping it would go away.

The core of the issue, as Sam saw it, was that he relied upon his HEMA training.

Training which, with a longsword, was definitely useful. But his training dealt with opponents of similar size and shape as him, who would wield their own weapons in certain ways according to their own stances and teachings.

Historical European Martial Arts didn’t do shit to train you to fight a monster that could crush a car with its bare fist. The rules of engagement were utterly alien here, and Sam knew he needed to adapt if he was going to survive.

Moreover, he no longer wielded a longsword. His [Dull Claymore], now significantly duller and more chipped, was an absolute unit. Weight and size alone put it in an entirely different class than any longsword. Sam pulled out his kit and began to work on it by the campfire.

He could bludgeon somebody to death with the flat of the blade without even trying. No human on Earth could lift this and seriously swing it around as he had, and that afforded him significantly different options that his training was ill-prepared to take advantage of.

My [Heavy Weapon Handling] trait allowed me to pick up this sword when I had less than half my current Strength, he mused as he idly ran the dampened whetstone against the blunt edge of his blade. So how useful would it be to double-down on Strength then?

Probably not much, even if it had allowed him—with the coal’s help, of course—to stave off the golem’s many crushing attacks. He doubted if he had even a single point of Strength less that he would still be breathing.

That meant he needed to get better at handling the bulky, unwieldy mass of his greatsword. And for that, he could only assume Dexterity would aid him.

There was no handy booklet, no guide to explain what each stat did. Sam was on his own aside from what he had been able to glean from his short stint with the group of survivors.

Looking back at his levels, he snorted a laugh. More EXP for me and Komachi.

Tossing all 5 bonus points into Dexterity, Sam pulled up his Status again to have a look at how far he’d come in just a single day. Granted, his first levels were easy compared to the last few. No doubt it got harder and harder to get another level as he grew stronger.

I’ll just need to find more worthy adversaries, a thought bubbled up unbidden in his mind. He paused the stropping of his claymore at the foreign thought. Even more unsettling was just how much he agreed with it.

Fighting that golem was the most thrilling and fun thing I’ve ever done in my life, Sam thought. Even just recalling the fight brought a grin to his blood-smeared face, but not quite as much as seeing his new stats.

[Status]

Name: Samuel Hunter

Race: Human

Legend: [Adventurer (Lv.2 - Unranked)]

Job: [Fighter (Lv.7 - Unranked)]

Path: [Void (Lv.0 - Unranked)]

Profession: [N/A (Lv.0 - Unranked)]

Health(HP): [32/92]

Mana(MP): [22/46]

Attunements

[Void Mana] (F-Class Apocalypse Gate) (★★★★ Legendary III)

Affinities

[Fire Mana] (F-Class) (☆ Primitive I)

Physical Stats

Strength(STR): 25

Dexterity(DEX): 19

Agility(AGI): 15

Vigor(VIG): 27

Awareness(AWR): 9

Magical Stats

Arcane(ARC): 8

Control(CTL): 5

Resonance(RSN): 10

Mind(MND): 11

Insight(INS): 6

Not bad at all. He nodded to himself. Now that his Dexterity was his third highest physical stat, he couldn’t help but notice his lowest physical stat was Awareness. Should probably up that next. I don’t want to get ambushed now that it’s just me and Komachi.

His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas time when he saw the next few notifications. Sam went through each one at a time, hands moving methodically to tend to his gear.

You have [Fighter] abilities to select from.

Select one of the following:

[Sturdy Stance]

(Sword Stance) (F-Class)

(★Common I)

A rooted stance boasting high defense-oriented Arts that provide a stacking [Bulwark] buff, allowing you to shrug off incoming damage at the cost of [Bulwark] stacks.

Maximum [Bulwark] Stacks: 3

Sturdy Arts:

[Rooted Tree], [Tumbling Boulder], [Northern Wind]

“I know what a stance is, but what’s an Art?” he mused aloud.

“Something pretty,” Komachi said.

He smiled and scratched her head. “I don’t think that is what it means by Sturdy Art, Komachi.”

She mulled this over. “Hmm, so I don’t pick between two different painting styles for gaining Level 5 Cleric?”

“Probably not, Komachi. Probably not.”

She meowed thoughtfully.

No stranger to stances, Sam could work out a rough estimation of what the notification meant. Though nothing would be better than testing it out.

Sam could easily imagine using something like Zornhau, and the Shard granting it some sort of supernatural power when he did so. That would make fighting a lot more complicated, since just swinging a weapon around wouldn’t be nearly as effective as using specific moves.

Continuing on, Sam was surprised to see yet another stance. And this one was an even higher rarity-level.

[Power Stance]

(Sword Stance) (F-Class)

(★Common III)

A simple but aggressive stance that builds stacks of [Fury], providing you with the opportunity to enhance your attacks at the cost of [Fury] stacks.

Maximum [Fury] Stacks: 3

Power Arts:

[Shockwave], [Whirling Slash], [Reaping the Willows]

Is there a reason its level is higher? Did I unlock this because of my overly aggressive fighting style against the golem, or is this just a basic fighting stance all Fighters get?

He had to admit that the description of [Power Stance] was way more suited to the way he wanted to grow.

Besides, [Fury] stacks just sounded awesome.

[Guard]

(Fighter Ability) (F-Class)

(☆ Primitive)

For a short period of time, redirect damage to yourself that would otherwise harm an ally. All damage is modified by your defensive attributes instead of the selected ally’s. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Vigor and Agility when using [Guard].

No mention of a cooldown, or how long he could even use [Guard]. While it looked good and was quite honestly perfect, considering his only other ally was a magical cat, Sam still wasn’t sold.

The cooldown could be hours, the duration only a few seconds. There just wasn’t enough information for him to make an informed decision.

Besides, Komachi had been relatively safe tucked away in his breastplate. If he didn’t need to take an ability, he might as well get something that would push him to greater heights.

Especially seeing as I don’t have any other people to back me up. Komachi can heal me, to an extent, but her damage leaves something to be desired. Plus, y’know, she’s a cat.

Even magical cats have limitations.

The last ability on the list was a juicy one, and if he had to be honest with himself, it was the only other competitor to [Power Stance].

[Onslaught]

(Fighter Skill) (F-Class)

(☆Primitive)

Fighters are known the Shardrune Realms over for their ferocity and grit. When backed into a corner, they fight even harder. There can be no surrender, no mercy for the enemies of a Fighter. For a brief period of time you are able to amplify the power of chained physical strikes. Effect lasts until the chain is broken, or enough time passes between attacks. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength and Dexterity when using [Onslaught].

Reaching the end of the list, Sam set the large blade across his lap and began to work on the other side of the claymore, sharpening its dulled edge with the whetstone as he mulled over his choices.