Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 26 (Patreon)

Curling one shoulder under him, Merrick turned over in mid-air, wincing as his back scraped against the rough ground. As he turned, he stabbed upward with his bone knife, trying to cut into the softer chitinous underbelly of the monster. His bone dagger ripped through the insect's hard underbelly, causing a stream of ichor to spray against the ground. The cut wasn’t clean and it only lasted a second before the bone blade caught on something and snapped in half. A terrible shriek filled the cavern as the centipede twisted in pain, and the sound seemed to echo endlessly as the creature landed on the ground and spun around, dark ichor leaving a trail behind it from its wound.

On his back on the ground, Merrick realized he was in trouble and tried to scramble to his feet, but the monster was too fast, rushing forward and snapping at his leg. He shoved the end of the burning stick into its face, causing it to squeal in pain again as the crimson embers stabbed into it. It was clear that the centipede had never fought anything that could actually put up resistance because it seemed to have no sense of danger. It could feel pain, however, and as the burning brand slammed into its eye socket, it hissed and drew back.

Only half way up, Merrick was knocked backward by the force of the insect's charge and he had to scramble up once again. This time, as he gained his feet, he was holding the two short spears that had been lying together. His eyes narrowed as he saw the insect starting to skitter away from him and with a start, he realized that it was trying to retreat. For a moment he considered letting it go, but he had barely managed to avoid its sneak attack and had no desire to be murdered in his sleep, which meant that killing it here was his only real option. With a fierce cry, he charged forward, power filling his legs as he unconsciously imitated the warrior he had seen in his vision.

Surprised by his turn of speed, the centipede turned with a hiss and lunged to meet him, but he slid to one knee, dodging under its bite and thrusting both spears up into its body. They pierced deep into the centipede’s flesh forming a wide X in its underbelly. With another shout that melded with the echo of the first, he heaved the monster into the air as he drove to his feet, ripping the spears free with a scissoring motion and tossing the insect to the side. The damage his attack had done was tremendous, thanks to the creature’s strange disregard of the danger and as it landed on its side, he saw that he had nearly cut the centipede in half. Still, its sharp legs continued to thrash, making it a dangerous proposition to get near. Instead, he threw one of the spears at point-blank range, nailing it through the throat, just behind and under its head. As the spear drove through its body, punching through the hard shell on its back and sinking deep into the earth, the centipede's shrill hisses grew softer and then stopped as the creature fell silent for the final time.

[Ding! Six experience points.]

[You have enough experience for a level up.]

[Would you like to level up?]

Panting, Merrick ignored the windows that popped up as he watched the centipede slowly stop its squirming on the floor, soon ceasing all its motion. Even after it stopped moving completely, he was afraid that it was playing dead, but the experience he had gained from killing it was a clear indication that he had succeeded in killing it. With careful steps, he made his way over to the corpse and pulled the spear free. It had driven straight through the giant insect and even stabbed deep into the ground underneath the centipede’s head, so he carefully examined the edge of the stone blade looking for any chips. To his surprise, he found that it didn’t have so much as a scratch.

The spears he held were strange. He had not noticed it while Barak used them, but now that he was carrying them, he could sense how odd they were. Stone, though it could be chipped into shape, was not very strong, yet it had punched through the centipede's hard shell with barely any effort. Furthermore, these short spears flew straight and true, and though he had barely used them more than a few times, he found that they were uncannily accurate. Wondering if there was a secret to them beyond what appeared on the surface, he wiped them clean. They had been Barak's weapons, and he would use them in honor of the dead spirit warrior.

Noting to himself that he needed to make some sheaths for them so that he could carry them at all times, Merrick put them down next to him and began to examine the centipede closer. He had never liked insects, and the size of this one caused him to shudder. He didn't fancy sharing his new home with giant insects, but thankfully it was unlikely that many insects of this size could survive here. At the thought that there might be more of the centipedes lurking around he paused, listening carefully for the sound of their legs on the stone floor. When he didn't hear anything, he began to look around the room, staying on guard in case there were any more large insects. He was hoping to find out where it had come from, but despite searching for nearly an hour, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Deciding there were no immediate threats he needed to worry about, he breathed a small sigh of relief and began to dissect the monster. As much as he didn't like the idea of it, Merrick knew that centipedes could be eaten, and this one had a surprising amount of meat thanks to its size. Carefully, he cut it apart, removing the legs and the giant mandibles and setting them aside. Peeling off the hard shell, he put each segment to the side. The claws of the centipede appeared to be venomous, so they were piled together to be used in traps later.

After he had finished, he got some of the glowing water to clean up the area and was surprised when the disgusting smell of the centipede's body fluids was burned away under the clear flow. The water was proving more and more mysterious every time he used it, and on a whim, he cut a piece of the centipede’s meat and tossed it into the water. With a sizzle, the meat bubbled for a moment as the venom in it was eliminated. Once it stopped moving around, Merrick fished it out and took a sniff. The meat now had a faintly refreshing smell that reminded him of clover and dew.

Without hesitating, he put the rest of the meat into his basin of glowing water and watched as it began to bubble as well. He had a moment of regret as he wondered if the water would be able to clean all the meat, but after a few minutes of vigorous bubbling, the water cleared and the cleaned meat remained behind. After he pulled all of it out, he stoked his fire and began to slice the meat into thin strips, laying them out to dry. He did the same with the boar meat and the deer, intending to turn all of it into jerky. Though he had no salt, the meat was fairly flavorful and once he had it all laid out, he took a few pieces to roast.

Taking another sip from his canteen as he ate, he felt the energy he had used in the fight against the centipede being replenished at an incredible rate and shook his head. It would be dangerous to consume too much of the water. The sense of energy it sent through him was addictive, but he couldn't stay here forever, and he worried that once he left it might cause him problems. Resolving to drink less of the strange glowing water, he carried the parts of the centipede he had salvaged back to his campfire and added a few more pieces of wood.

Turning over the shells in his hand, he carefully scraped them out and used some water to rinse them. Setting them up to dry, he arranged them in order as he began to think about what he wanted to do with them. He had never been much of a crafter, but he had watched his sister making clothing enough to know the basics of the theory. He had the boar hide, a deer hide, and a lot of finely woven cloth, so he thought that it would be a good idea to try his hand at making some clothing for himself to help ward the cold away until spring came and the passes reopened. Before he got started, however, he needed to replenish his water supply, create sheathes for his short spears, and most importantly, level up.

Sitting down, he took a deep breath and opened up his status window. He'd earned enough experience points to advance his level, and he was excited to see what level two would bring.

STATUS

NAME: Merric

SOUL PATH: Warrior

LEVEL: 2

EXP: 4/40

SKILLS: [2]

Warrior’s Observation [2]

Warrior’s Knowledge: Tactics [1]

Unspent Skill Points: 1

Major Blessings: 0

Minor Blessings: 1

After accepting his level up notification, Merrick saw that he had one skill point and one minor blessing that he could spend. He needed three minor blessings if he wanted to unlock one of the locked spirits so he was more inclined to spend the minor blessing on unlocking one of the Warrior skills. Of the two skills he could unlock, Warrior’s Knowledge: Manatech, and Warrior’s Knowledge: Survival, there was a clear winner in his head, and a moment later, he felt a rush of information billowing up in his mind. It felt as if decades of information about manatech weapons was being poured into him and the sensation was accompanied by a sharp pain.

Breathing through his nose as he bore up under the information assault, Merrick felt as if his entire world was being opened up. He watched his memories of the Warrior learning about manatech weapons first hand, eventually mastering them completely until they served as an extension of the Warrior’s will. As the pain faded and he blinked his eyes, he caught sight of the battered rifle and he found himself understanding every detail about it. The rifle was actually fine, as the mana was channeled through the metal rail on the top of the rifle’s wooden barrel, and it was only the wooden rod that was dented.

More importantly, he also understood why it was he couldn’t use it. His starkest memory was of the Warrior undergoing a painful ceremony to drastically change his body, creating something called a mana circuit that would allow him to channel mana into the manatech weapons and tools he would use. The People lacked this mana circuit, unlike the strangers who possessed it from birth, but after leaving this world the Warrior had been granted a simple mana circuit under the hands of the strangers. In Merric’s memory, the ceremony used crushed manastones that were implanted under the Warrior’s skin in a specific pattern, allowing him to form a connection with the manastone on the tool or weapon he wanted to use.

Taking a deep breath, Merrick reviewed the memory again, trying to understand the symbol that was being added to the Warrior’s hand. It consisted of a spiral on his palm and a smaller spiral on each of his fingers, all connected by lines of manastone dust. However, the process of pouring crushed manastones into an open wound was excruciating, and even through the haze of memory, it caused Merrick to break out in a sweat. Still, it was the only way to allow him to use manatech. Despite the fear that bloomed in his heart as he thought about it, Merrick knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to try to create a mana circuit for himself. There simply wasn’t another option in his mind. Ever since he had first seen a manatech rifle, he had been obsessed with the idea of being able to use one, and no amount of pain was going to stop him.

Before he could start, however, he had to prepare the material he would need so there was no rush. Instead, he put the mana circuit out of his mind and opened up his three skills. He had a skill point to spend, and rather than sit on it, he thought it would be better to upgrade one of them in case they would be useful.

Warrior's Observation

The greatest tool a warrior possesses is not his mind or his body, but his eyes. To observe the world as it truly is allows the warrior to make the best possible choice in the shortest amount of time.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to both observe and anticipate your environment.

You have increased your powers of observation, allowing you to better predict threats.

*NEW* You have improved your memory, allowing you to better make connections with things you have observed before.

Level: 2 > 3

The first skill was his strongest, Warrior’s Observation. This skill had saved his life on multiple occasions, and it was undoubtedly a tremendously powerful one. Furthermore, the thought of having an improved memory, especially considering that he had the Warrior’s memories rattling around in his head, was incredibly appealing, and he nearly upgraded it right then and there. Pausing just before he added the skill point, Merrick opened up the other two skills to see what he could get.

Warrior’s Knowledge: Manatech

To understand his tools is to multiply his ability to affect the world. The warrior’s ability to use and create manatech is only as good as his knowledge of it.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to use and maintain manatech tools.

*NEW* Your understanding of manatech has grown, allowing you to make improvements to manatech weapons.

Level: 1 > 2

Once again, Merrick found himself torn. He loved the idea of being able to upgrade manatech weapons, especially since he could see that there was a distinct difference between the rifle he currently possessed and the weapons that the Warrior in his memory used. This rifle was quite basic in comparison and the ability to increase its functionality was really appealing. With two good options to spend his single skill point on, Merrick sighed and opened up the final skill.

Warrior’s Knowledge: Tactics

Know thyself, know the enemy, Know the environment. Armed with these three types of knowledge, the warrior can accurately predict the course of the battle, ensuring victory.

You have gained the ability of a seasoned warrior to plan and execute advanced tactics.

*NEW* Your understanding of tactics has expanded beyond yourself, allowing you to plan and execute advanced tactics with a team.

Level: 1 > 2