The Grand Weave

I waved goodbye to the others and entered first. I caught a glimpse of Celanae's worried look and Teddy's frown, but I chose to ignore it. Even if they were worried about me, I wanted to do this.

As the portal's energy washed over me and transported me into the dungeon, I let the tension in my shoulders fall away. There was no safety net this time. I would be relying on myself and not the other's protection. I know they didn't like that I wanted to enter the dungeon solo, but I felt like I had to do this.

After being grilled by Celanae for hours, she and Teddy helped break down my current problems and what I could do to work on them. Along with the anecdotes from their time training under Brelten, they highlighted some critical things to focus on.

And a side comment Teddy mentioned struck a chord within me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. He mentioned how Brelten would have all of them learn to fight without using any skills. Passive skills were allowed, but that was only because it took a lot of work to suppress such a skill.

Of course, when he made that comment, he didn't mean for me to take that as a challenge, but I did. My current goal was to delve as far as possible using only my spear without relying on my skills. I wasn't stupid enough to try and swear off summoning my familiars entirely, but I wanted to see how well I could do. So far, my main style of fighting has always been with the acceptance that I would get hurt. At some point, injuries stopped mattering as much when I had the option for Áine to heal me of all my wounds.

I didn't think relying on that was such a bad thing. I had mana to spare, and Áine's skill was good enough to fix everything. But right now, at this moment, I wanted to establish a baseline. If I could clear most of the dungeon without having to use my skills, then I could feel proud and comfortable in my ability. After all, I've seen what happens in this world if one is not strong enough.

When the portal spat me out into the same familiar hallway half drowned in water, I took a minute to settle myself and summoned my spear. For now, I decided to keep my familiars inside my soulspace.

After ensuring my gear was in order, I tapped my spear against the stone floor and set off. The eerie silence was occasionally interrupted by the sound of water sloshing, and I couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Since arriving in this new world, I've always had some company by my side.

Sam was there for me from the start, and I quickly befriended Bera, followed by Warren, Nadia, and Marcus. Even Brelten became a mentor whom I interacted with daily. And Orsk and Petraeus were always there during the rift if I needed to talk.

It was funny in a way. From what I could remember from my life back on Earth, I knew I was a bit of a recluse. There was a vague memory of my time in high school, but no matter what I did, I could never recall it outside of the general feeling of loss and sadness. Whatever happened after that led to me primarily socializing with a select group of people, with Sam as my main source of friendship.

Somehow, becoming a Reborn reignited that social spark that fought against my long-built habit of being a recluse. And inside these deceptively empty halls, I felt that seclusion all the more.

I leaned against the wall and observed the two monsters swimming lazily in the air. This was my third time delving into the dungeon. And while the dungeon changed some things around the deeper you delved, this first hallway was always the same—two ghostfish about ten meters apart.

By now, I have slain more than two dozen of them in the last week, and I managed to pick up on some patterns. However, without Zharia to act as a distraction and ranged support, it'll be up to me to finish off the first monster before the second one can interrupt.

I wasn't too worried, but I'd prefer to do this perfectly if I could. And that meant I had an extremely small margin for error.

Slowly, I approached the monster, sticking close to the right wall. I waited outside its aggro range and watched it flip off the left wall and swim toward the right. My muscles in my leg tensed, and as soon as the ghostfish approached the wall, I rushed forward.

As smoothly as the monster could move, being a levitating fish, I learned during my second delve that they tended to commit once they did an action. That meant when the monster decided to flip off the wall in front of it, I had a second where I could launch my attack without the monster reacting to me.

I extended my arm and slipped my blade past its head. Three discs past the skull, I angled my weapon so the wings could slide into the groove of the bone and hook into the protrusions coming off the fourth and second disc.

After tucking the shaft of my spear into my armpit, I rotated and swung the fish back against the wall. The monster's body cracked in places along the spine, but I wasn't finished. I released my weapon from the crevice of my arm and stepped in. With my left hand, I hooked my fingers behind its skull and pulled up while I tugged my spear downward.

It was surprisingly hard to separate the monster's skull from its body, considering it was a literal animated skeleton with a thin film of glowing ectoplasm stretched across its bones. Still, I pulled with all my might, and I heard the satisfying cracking of the bones. With a final jerk, the monster's spine shattered, and I tossed its skull away while I threw the other half of its body at the second monster.

By now, the second monster was already rushing at me and was within six meters. When I threw the split remains of its fellow dungeon monster at it, the ghostfish dodged by dipping downward and disappearing into the water.

As the second ghostfish sunk into the ankle-high water, I smiled. Standing still, I waited with my spear at my side. I counted the seconds in my head. Three, two, one...

The moment a crimson strand shot forward to try and pierce the back of my head, I ducked while kicking my right foot upward. The ghostfish habitually attacked from two angles when they ambushed you. They preferred using the weird fleshy strands they controlled to aim for your head while their physical body would rise out of the water. I assumed whatever ability they used prevented them from wielding the flesh strands until they had their body anchored in the physical world.

The two strands that usually tried to wrap around my leg and pierce my calf were thankfully disrupted the moment I knocked the monster's body into the air. With the fish stunned in the air, it was easy to grab and repeat the same maneuver that killed its companion.

Once I had successfully defeated both monsters, a wave of relief washed over me, causing me to release the breath I had been unconsciously holding. I leaned against the rough dungeon wall, taking a moment to center myself and survey my surroundings. Looking down, I saw the lifeless bodies of the ghostfish floating in the water at my feet.

Despite my initial hesitation, I knew passing up the opportunity to loot their remains would be foolish. After all, Erebus was primarily a non-combat skill, and I was determined to find a way to utilize his transformation abilities in battle. Which meant I could not squander the chance to practice with the skill.

I summoned Erebus and waited for the little guy to get to work. The hit to my mana was annoying, but it shouldn't matter with me not using my other skills. As he finished, I placed him on my head and threaded mana into the loot orbs. The first orb produced another vial of ghostgoop or water-attuned ectoplasm, as I've learned, thanks to Khrem. The second orb produced something different.

I found a small crystal stone in my hand. It was crafted from deep-blue glass with black streaks. When I raised it towards the torchlight, the cube-shaped gemstone appeared hazy and opaque. Based on my recollection from a primer I read long ago, that meant it was a mid-tier skillstone.

The only problem was that I had no idea what skill it held. I was always on the lookout for more skillstones to fill my slots, but without a way to identify the pretty rock, I had to pack away my enthusiasm and wait till I finished my delve. But the thought of a new skill was too exciting of an idea to ignore.

Yet, I quickly summoned Chomperz and watched him sniff the skillstone in my hand. After running a tiny claw along its edge, he opened his jaws wide and sucked it in. When I expected him to rush back into my soulspace, I froze as he paused and hovered before me. His tiny wings flapped almost lazily as the dragonling watched me in dead silence.

Before I could open my mouth to ask him something, he made a chomp sound and flew into my chest. Scratching my head at the weird interaction, I picked up my spear and continued deeper into the dungeon.

If only I could see what goes through your mind, Chomperz. One day.

During the next two hours, I delved into the first floor of the Drowned Necropolis. Thankfully, all the monsters were the same. Otherwise, I would have probably died from the blood loss I suffered.

Starting from the tip of my toes to the top of my head, I sported nearly a dozen wounds. I wasn't stupid enough to leave them open, free to hemorrhage blood like a hose. Instead, I used all the bandages inside my first-aid kit and even had to destroy one of my shirts when I ran out. By now, I was starting to severely lack in the clothing department, which was yet another thing I planned on taking care of when I got out of the dungeon.

When my left arm started to itch again, I clicked my fangs together in annoyance. The shirt bandage I used to dress the wound was already soaked in blood. The once grey shirt was now stained a light pink. I couldn't help but remember how cathartic it was to reduce that monster's skull to fragments. That fucker managed to skewer me with three strands at once.

It was the first and only time I ever saw one of the ghostfish wrap its strands together into one thick strand and use it to attack me. Usually, they preferred attacking from multiple directions and at the same time, so when the new attack came out of nowhere, I was caught off guard.

My leather bracers were usually enough to block the monster attacks, but creating a super strand apparently meant it had more penetrating power. The wound was severe enough that I almost threw in the towel and summoned Áine. Luckily, I managed to cauterize the wound with a torch before I lost too much blood and bandaged it with the strips of what used to be my shirt.

It hurt like hell, which only further stroked the rage in me. I didn't even care that I was unable to loot the monster's body. Alone while drenched in water and riddled with agonizing wounds was all the excuse I needed to smash the monster's corpse against the wall until the dungeon reclaimed the fragments of bones scattered in the water.

I could have summoned my familiar and rid myself of my injuries. In fact, I knew I was being idiotic and should have summoned her. But I didn't. Closing my eyes, I pictured the inside of my dimensional storage, and I willed for an object I knew was stored there to appear.

When the purplish-red healing potion appeared in my hand, I bit the cork stopping the bottle, and yanked it out. I then spat the cork into the water and downed the potion.

The relief came in the form of a wave of bugs crawling under my skin. It didn't hurt, but it was beyond unpleasant. Áine's healing was a soothing balm that restored your body, while the potion was a burn that restitched your flesh.

Within five seconds, the plethora of cuts and minor scrapes riddling my skin disappeared. Next was the closing of the shallower wounds dotting my legs and stomach. By the time the potion's effects ran out, fewer than half a dozen injuries were left.

The potion was expensive, stupidly so. Worth about two gold, the tincture was made with cheap ingredients that could only heal basic injuries. The hole puncturing my arm, along with the deep tears along my upper back, was still present.

I stretched carefully and removed the bandages around my legs. Even if the potioned only partially healed me, it was more than enough. Best yet, I no longer felt dizzy from blood loss, though I was starving for some food. Unlike Áine's healing, which used mana to supply most of the healing done by her skill, the potion required a nutritional toll from the user's body to supplement the healing process.

Dropping the empty glass vial, I began walking down the hallway. There was only one spot inside the dungeon that I was interested in. And even if the others yelled at me later, I had to try. I had to push myself to the limits before I could call it quits.

Despite what Cal said about how he had no expectations of me and simply wanted me to grow strong and live my life, I knew that it was a lie. He may have been all the willing to try and put me at ease, but I didn't see it that way. I was a Scion of Calstrax. My status sheet said so in bold letters every time I pulled it up. The god had sacrificed something important and became weakened because of it. That sacrifice alone was enough to make me beholden to him. And that, compounded by his genuine care and concern for my well-being, meant I couldn't allow myself to coast in mediocrity.

If the others could delve into a dungeon solo, so would I. Otherwise, I'd never be able to show my face to Sam. Because even more than Cal's sacrifice was the debt I owed her. And I was going to see her again.

My mental brooding came to a halt as I stood before the entrance to a room. Even with my ability to see in the dark, the darkness that covered the contents of the side room prevented me from seeing inside. Not that I didn't already know what to expect.

The first time I walked into the room, I was unprepared and had been ambushed. That time, I had to rely on Arturous to save my hide from sure death. However, there was no tier-two bear the size of a car to rescue me if things went wrong.

From the two times I've encountered this room, I expected around five to seven ghostfish to appear suddenly. My first delve was seven, and the second delve a couple of days ago spawned five.

Fingers crossed that the dungeon goes easy and spawns a low number.

After mentally preparing myself, I slowly approached the archway into the room. My strategy was to step in and quickly run out. The enclosed space would lead to me becoming a porcupine as the monsters skewered me with their flesh strands.

My foot passed the threshold, and I tensed, but nothing spawned. Taking a step back, I gritted my teeth and tried again, stepping a few inches further.

Again, nothing spawned, and I couldn't hold the low growl that escaped my throat. My heart was beating fast, and it soon overcame my hearing. With the rapid thumps of my heartbeat pounding in my ears, I dashed inside the room.

My eyes narrowed as the unnatural darkness covering the room faded away and revealed one of the ghostfish hovering in front of me. I reached out and gripped the monster by its eyesockets as I leaned back and pushed off the ground with my foot.

The water made the action hard as it actively resisted me, but I powered through. However, as soon as my foot reached the entryway, six red strands came shooting from my sides.

Not wanting to get impaled this early in the fight, I swung my spear horizontally in a wide arc and sliced through half of the strands. The other three continued their trajectory and cut into my shoulders. Two cut high on my right bicep, while the third cut a thin line towards the base of my neck.

Surprisingly, the attacks didn't hurt, and I couldn't tell if it was because of all the adrenaline running through my veins or if I was getting too used to pain. Either way, with my legs pushing against the knee-high water, I exited the small room and immediately turned around.

Using my momentum, I swung downward, smashing the ghostfish I held against the entrance wall. There was a distinct cracking sound as the monster's spine broke. As the ghostfish's skull tumbled into the water, I released its corpse and backed away.

One down, four more to go.

Two ghostfish dived into the water and disappeared while the other two rushed out of the room. One went high, while the other went low.

Not wanting to give the monsters a chance to divide and conquer, I lunged forward and stabbed the head of my spear into the monster's open mouth. Thanks to the monster's skull being opened in a silent scream, I lodged the blade into the crook of the jaw and pulled back.

The ghostfish came with my spear, and I used it as a makeshift hammer to smack into the ghostfish swimming towards my legs. Their bodies collided and sunk like rocks into the water.

While I was happy, I managed to stop them from coming within striking distance. I grimaced at the sight of the two bodies disappearing beneath the water. All I managed to do was allow them to escape into whatever dimension they used when they went incorporeal.

True to form, I dived out of the way as more strands aimed for the back of my head. When I turned to swing my spear, I felt something wrap around my foot. Knowing I would not come out of this unscathed, I lunged forward, pushing down on the foot that was free, and attacked the ghostfish swimming above the water.

It intercepted my attack by wrapping its remaining strands around my spear, and they tugged it to the left. Instead of being angry at my failed attempt, I shifted my grip and pulled my weapon back, bringing the monster with it.

There was some resistance as whatever force that let these monsters swim through the air fought against me, but I won in a battle of strength. Its body was dragged along, tied by the very strands it controlled. When I jerked my weapon downward, I used my other hand to grab the monster's tail and pull.

The strands were the first to rip, so I had to quickly reach out and grab the ghostfish by its skull. With a quick tug, it could do nothing as I separated its head from the rest of its body and threw the two halves away. Before I could turn and deal with the one that wrapped itself around my leg, one of the strands pierced my pants and pushed into the meat of my thigh.

It tried to pierce my other leg with its final strand, but I used my sharpened nails to cut it in half. I had to deal with this monster now, or I would get overwhelmed once the other two ghostfish recovered.

Rather than try to stab a blade into a monster made of bones, I used my free leg to kick backward and knock the monster into the water. I couldn't let it flee, so I quickly used the blunt end of my weapon and thrust downward.

The ghostfish was pushed to the floor, and I turned and stomped my boot along its spine while slamming the end of my spear into the spinal disc connecting to the base of its skull. Three times, I slammed my weapon into the same spot repeatedly before its skull came free. With three down, there were only two left.

Just a little more. Only two more stupid skeletons to break.

I searched my surroundings as I struggled to pull free the strand that was lodged into my thigh. Even after I managed to yank it out with a grunt of pain, two strands were still wrapped around my left leg.

Just as I managed to use my nails to slice through the flesh strings, the remaining ghostfish appeared. Their glowing forms rose out of the water like two beacons of death. I knew what was coming, so I began to drop low.

There was no way to stop all the attacks coming. They each had four strands under their control. That was eight different points of attack. I wasn't a god of martial prowess; this wasn't some anime battle. I had to make a choice. Fight or flight, defend or attack, those were my only two options. And here inside the temple, with half of my body submerged in water, I could not afford to defend.

The close proximity of the two ghostfish made my spear useless. I simply couldn't leverage enough force for the weapon to be worth it. Instead, I again relied on my hands and lunged for the fish on my right.

It reacted instantaneously and retaliated with all four strands. Two pushed past my wrist and sliced deeply into my arm, while the other two stabbed into my hand. I barely managed to shift my hand out of the way of one of the strands, so only one managed to pierce into the space between my thumb and index finger.

They didn't hurt. The strands butchering my arm and the one piercing my palm were merely a fact, not a statement. I observed this fact and ignored it in favour of grabbing the undead fish by its opened jaw. Injuries didn't matter; I could summon Áine after this and still be proud of myself.

With both hands, I pulled and pulled till the monster's head popped off like an abused Barbie doll. I was getting surprisingly efficient at doing that. Now, there was only one monster left. Only one more creature to destroy, and I could finally be fre-

Suddenly, my senses were overwhelmed by agony. The sudden rush of pain caused me to freeze and stumble into the water. Before my head could sink past the waterline, I got on one knee and whipped my head to my left side.

Piercing into and through my left arm before entering the side of my chest, was the final ghostfish's strands braided together into one super strand. The thing was three fingers thick, and it was coated in my blood.

I struggled to breathe. Every inhale was a Sisyphean task. The fucker must have punctured my left lung. The unmoving jaws of the humanoid skull barely a foot away from my face caused me to see red.

I ignored the reinforced strand pushing deeper into my chest and shot my hand outward.

"Come here, you little shit!"

It didn't matter if it was currently worming its way toward my heart. So what if I spewed blood like a punctured blood bag? I need, no, I wanted to destroy this fucking thing.

I wrapped my fingers around its tail and pulled it closer. The strands connected to it were jerked around, which caused a new raging pulse of agony to light my nerves on fire.

It didn't matter if I had lost all feeling in my left arm. There was nothing that was going to stop me.

Without my arm, I raised the monster to my mouth and bit down on the back of its skull. I couldn't even tell what the monster tasted like as blood coated my tongue. My fang must have cut into my lip as I sunk my teeth around the bone, but so what?

I used my barely functional arm to pull the monster downward without thinking. The skull was awkwardly shaped, and I barely managed to keep my teeth from slipping. I couldn't let it go. It needed to die. I crunched down harder and felt a couple of my teeth crack. None of that mattered.

I pulled harder, with my jaw pulling in the opposite direction. Like a dog destroying a bone, the skull came free, and the sudden lack of resistance caused my head to rock back.

Releasing my death grip on the monster's body, I tossed its corpse away and unclenched my jaw. I coughed up shards of bone and blood in equal measure, spraying the water around me like a shotgun.

A roar fought to release from my chest, but the collapsed lung made it impossible. The only sound coming out of my mouth was a silent shout that only I could hear.

As my body began to fail, I half-crawled to the nearest wall and sunk into the water. It stopped below my nose, my slumped figure just barely out of reach. With a soundless chuckle, I let my arm fall to the floor and looked down.

"I did it. Mission complete."

With my goal achieved, I tapped into the pool inside my chest and let the cold liquid of mana flow into my channels. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed and my thoughts faded to black was a blood-stained smile plastered across my face.