Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 28 (Patreon)

Retreating, Merrick returned to his camp and decided on his next course of action. The pain in his hand had vanished, leaving only a thin glowing mark that looked almost like a scar on the palm of his hand. When he concentrated on it, he could feel it tingle as it flared with bright light, pulling ambient mana from the room around him. It was a strange feeling, but one he welcomed. He had only gotten a quarter of an inch, which meant that it would take considerable time for him to complete the entire circuit, but Merrick didn't mind. He had all winter to work on this.

Knowing that his hand would ache terribly after his meditation session, Merrick decided to head out first. It would be easier to dig his way through the snow and gather more sticks and branches to fuel his fire if his hand wasn't hurting. He headed for the entrance of the cave and soon found himself facing a solid wall of packed snow. When he had looked over the entrance from the vantage point higher on the canyon wall, he saw that the small gorge leading to the cave's entrance was almost completely filled with snow, and he estimated he was going to have to dig through a dozen feet before he made it to the surface.

Rubbing his hands together, he got to work, digging out giant fistfuls of snow and packing it down tight. His goal was to create a set of steps that would hold his weight and the weight of any prey that he brought back. It was cold work, but Merrick bore with it, using his hands and feet to stomp the snow down. As he dug his way into the snow, he found it getting lighter, not as compressed as he got closer towards the surface. After three hours of freezing work, he finally broke through, feeling a stinging wind biting at his hand. Withdrawing it swiftly, he shoved his fingers into his coat, trying to get some warmth back into them. The wind that howled through the canyon was vicious, biting like knives against his skin. Still, he knew he was going to have to go out in the bitter wind. Though he would have loved to wait until his clothing was ready, Merrick needed wood if he was going to dry the skins out completely. The only saving grace was that his newly sharpened memory alerted him to exactly where the closest trees were.

Taking his spears in hand, he took a deep breath and rushed outside, gasping as the freezing wind tried to steal the breath from his lungs. Keeping his head low to try to protect his mouth and nose, he scanned his surroundings, orienting himself to where he remembered seeing the trees. They were two hundred yards away, towards the end of the gorge, and it was there he now jogged, his feet sinking deep into the loose snow that filled the gorge. It was hard work trudging through the freshly fallen snow but Merrick focused, ignoring the biting cold as he made his way to the trees.

Once there, he found that the piled-up snow had dropped off some, whipped away down the canyon by the rushing wind. There were dozens of cracked branches littering the area around the trees where the weight of the snow and ice from the storm had caused them to splinter and fall. These he gathered quickly, looping the metal cord around them to make them easier to drag. He knew they wouldn’t be enough, so he picked a few thick branches and climbed up into the tree, the rough protrusions on the frozen bark cutting like blades into his skin.

Merrick wedged himself in place so he wouldn’t fall and drew out one of his spears, using his stone blade to hack at the tree. One by one he chopped into the limbs, cutting them down. It was brutal work, but he didn’t stop, afraid that he might not have the strength to continue if he rested. Halfway through one large branch, he paused to take a sip of water from one of his canteens, feeling the blazing energy from the glowing liquid pouring through him. The water produced an intense heat in his body, creating a terribly uncomfortable feeling when mixed with the freezing caress of the wind on his skin, but he knew he needed the energy, so he channeled his discomfort into chopping at the tree.

With a massive crash that threw snow into the air, the branch he was hacking at finally came free, throwing snow into the air. His hands were nearly frozen, but he let himself down as quickly as possible and secured his spear. He grabbed one of the branches that he had chopped down and after muttering a prayer to Bear to give him strength began to haul it back through the thick snow. It was hard to drag the branch through the loose snow, but Merrick did his best to focus, knowing that his survival depended on it. When he arrived back at the stairs, he realized that the end of the branch he had brought wouldn't fit through the small opening he had made, and so was forced to take out his spear again. With shaking fingers, he gripped the handle and hacked through the hard wood, chopping it into a pile of smaller pieces that he tossed down into the cave.

After getting the branch chopped apart, he hurried down into the cave, stamping the snow from his feet and rubbing it from his body. He was bitterly cold, his body and hands shaking and his teeth chattering, so he hurried back to the cavern and started the fire back up, using all of the saved wood in his pile to build a roaring blaze. For close to an hour, he sat there, soaking in the warmth, trying to get his body back to a safe temperature.

Once he had managed to warm up a bit, he darted back outside, hauling another large branch over and hacking it apart before running back to his fire to warm up again. One by one, he brought the thick tree limbs in until he had a nice pile of thick wooden sticks. He knew that if he kept the fire going at full blast, he would go through his wood very, very quickly, but his goal for now was simply to dry out the hides. It took longer than normal for them to dry in the cold, and without the bright sun, he could only rely on the heat of his fire. But as soon as they were done, he would be able to make warm clothing that would allow him longer trips out into the wicked cold, allowing him to collect more wood, which in turn would allow him to heat the cavern, creating a virtuous cycle. He simply had to get through these first bitter moments.

Knowing that he wouldn't be going outside again today, Merrick waited for his fire to die down a bit, getting as much warmth from it as he could, and then jogged over to the underground river. There he sat, taking his first deep breath as he felt the rich air fill his lungs. At first, he simply meditated, immersing himself in the Song of the World until it sang around him, completely consuming his attention. Once he had sunk deep into its flow, he shifted his focus to his palm and the slight mana scar that he had previously created. He brought up the painful memory of the mana circuit ceremony, spending a moment reviewing it before he fixed the image of the mana circuit in his mind. In concert with his breathing, he began to focus the Song of the World, pressing the mana it contained into his palm like a blade.

Again, fierce pain that felt like a jagged knife cut into his skin. But this time Merrick did not immediately snap out of his meditation. Instead, he tried to breathe through it, channeling the pain through him and releasing it into the song instead of keeping it tightly bound inside of his body. This seemed to work and though he only lasted a few seconds longer than he had the previous day before his meditation collapsed and he awoke soaked with sweat, Merrick was ecstatic. The throbbing scar on his palm had extended ever so slightly, which meant that his ideas about using this method to create a mana circuit were accurate. Using the song directly with the natural resonance of the underground river, Merrick could complete the mana circuit without needing crushed manastones. The thought sent a thrill through him and lying back as he tried to recover his energy, Merrick couldn't help but grin.

After that, Merric's life settled into a regular routine. Every day, he would work on his clothing, doing his best to refine his blend of the materials he had into a suit that could withstand the fierce winter chill. He would range out from his cave, braving the cold to gather wood to add to his ever-growing pile. He would eat a little bit of the dried meat, and drink a few sips of the glowing water, and he would meditate, carefully imprinting the power of the Song of the World into his palm, inch by excruciating inch.

When he was done with his daily meditation, he would spend a few hours next to the river, practicing his martial forms, trying to get more familiar with the dual spears he wielded. They were particularly suited for a fighting style known as Jaguar's Dual Claws, and though Merrick had never learned it, he remembered seeing Barak and other spirit warriors practice the agile movements. It focused on dodging and counter-strikes mixed in with devastating flurries of stabs and hacks, using two blades to overwhelm opponents. With his newly exceptional memory, Merrick began to train himself, trying to mirror the movements in his memory bit by bit. Once exhausted, he would return to his camp to eat more meat before falling into a deep sleep. When he awoke the next day, he would stoke his fire, rising when warmth filled the cavern to repeat his routine.

Each day, he also made a slight mark on one of the large boulders, recording how much time had passed since he had arrived in the cave. Soon a week crept past, and then two, and then three, and finally, it had been a month since he had arrived in the cave. He ate a considerable amount to ensure that he could keep his strength up, as the daily meditation and form practice took a considerable amount of energy, so his food supply was starting to run low, and he knew that he had less than half a week remaining. Thankfully, he was just putting the finishing touches on his cold weather outfit, and soon it was going to be time to head out of the cave to hunt.

To his disappointment, the mana circuit was not yet complete. He still had a bit of space on his fingers to go before it reached its completed form, and though every day he attempted to use the manatech artifacts in his possession, he found that he could not. Unless the mana circuit was completed, there would be no way for him to use the rifle and the map. According to his estimation, it would only take another week before he was able to complete the circuit, and so he decided to simply push through. He was playing a dangerous game by waiting out his food supply, but Merrick figured the increased efficiency of the manatech rifle would more than make up for it.

Reducing the amount of food that he was eating so that he would still have a slight stock after he began his hunt, Merrick spent most of his time either meditating to try to complete the circuit, or practicing with his weapons. Recently he had taken to completing some movements that had appeared in one of his dreams. In it, he saw the warrior holding his rifle in various positions that made it easier to bring it to bear, spinning to fire, moving smoothly to one knee before letting off a shot, or in some cases, diving to the side and firing in mid-air. The movements of the warrior were incredibly smooth and practiced, and Merric, though he could not fire the rifle, had taken to imitating him, trying to get used to the weight and feel of the rifle.

On the fourth day, as he sat down to meditate, he felt as if he had reached some sort of threshold. Little by little, he felt the mana contained in the Song of the World burning into his fingers. The pain was intense, as if he was drawing a burning hot coal slowly across his skin, but he was so close that he could practically taste it, and he refused to give up. Even when his body shook with the exertion and his breath transformed into gasps, he refused to let go of the song, forcing it into his fingers as he completed the last bit of the mana circuit.

With a flash, he felt the world shift around him, and the Song of the World rose in a crescendo. Unable to hold on any longer, he let out a gasp and fell back. But it had been enough. His throbbing hand now held a perfect mana circuit. Looking at the delicate line running down each of his fingers and joining together in a swirl on his palm, Merrick didn't care about the pain. He knew he had succeeded. The symbol on his hand matched perfectly with the symbol on the warrior's hand. Jumping to his feet, he let out a shout of triumph that shook the cavern.

[*Ding* You have unlocked a new Warrior skill - Mana-Body Modification]

Mana-Body Modification

You have permanently altered your body with mana, making the impossible a reality.

Modifications:

Right Palm - Mana Circuit

Level: 1

The rifle was next to him, and his fingers itched to pick it up and unleash a fierce blast. But he knew doing so in the cavern would not be wise, so, prepared for this event, he instead brought out the gray slate that he had seen Vale use so many times. It was the map tool that Vale had used to help them find this cave. With trembling hands, Merrick picked it up, pressing his fingers on the mana stone embedded in it. A slight tingle filtered through the pain of his throbbing hand, and with a barely perceptible whir, an image appeared on the slate, causing him to hiss with excitement. Instantly, he could see his position at the center of the slate, buried deep underground. Around him was the top of the canyon wall the cave was buried under, and nearby was a bright dot representing the mana stone mine.

The slate had not recorded the river he was in or the passage he had taken to get here, and instead seemed to be a static scan of the entire area. He had seen Vale manipulate the image a number of times, and so Merrick set about understanding how the slate worked. Touching it on one end, he began to zoom in and out of the picture, getting different views of the landscape and canyon around him as if he was a bird flying high above in the sky.