Ascending Endlessly: I Copy Skills

"Thank you."

I had nothing else to say. The hunter who had pulled me out was sitting next to me, casting a D-Rank healing skill. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. I would have to go see a proper healer when we got back. 

I wanted to ask why he saved me, despite the death of his friend being caused by me, but it wouldn't do any good to pry. All I could give was my thanks. His companions weren't so happy.

His two other party members were sitting across from us, the young swordsman looking towards me with an expression that seemed to be a mix of confusion and anger, while the older girl who had held a bow was crying softly onto his shoulder.

I sighed. Losses like these were common. Deaths had gone down significantly over the years, but it still wasn't an uncommon occurrence. 

"He would've died anyway,"

The healer said quietly.

"What?"

I asked.

"We were just waiting for reinforcements. The same as you, I suppose. We were all at the end of our ropes. The truth is, if you hadn't come, we all could've died, so you can consider us even."

He looked at me bitterly. It was clear that he was upset about the ordeal, but it was a rational train of thought. 

The healer sat next to me as the train started moving. He didn't speak much for a little bit, and I was okay with that. I waited for my healing skill to repair itself for a bit, an hour passing as I cast it once more to relieve some of my pain.

"Ha..."

It had been an intense day. How the hell did I pull that off? I had barely managed to push some tendrils of mana outside of my body before, and now I'd pretty much fired off the equivalent of a bomb?

The pressure was definitely part of it. However, I wasn't aware that my fine control of mana was that precise. My head was still throbbing from the focus it required to do that. the power was incredible, too. With four cards, it was roughly the equivalent of a high-end B-Rank skill. If I could reproduce that, then the C-Rank dungeon would become far easier. I could simply lure a group of ghouls into a single location and then blast them all away.

Actually, this C-Rank dungeon was harder than I'd anticipated. This one seemed particularly challenging for me considering the ghouls' speed. That was the biggest issue. I'd been in other C-Rank dungeons before, and had based my expectations off of that experience, but this dungeon required some new strategy. Phew.

There was one other bonus that I'd accumulated. There were a number of skills that I'd managed to copy from the pile of ghouls I'd eliminated. I'd have to check them out at a later time. Still, it was a fruitful trip, all things considered.

"My name's James,"

The hunter next to me who had been silent for the last hour finally spoke.

"That's my party, Eliza and Mario. We've been running dungeons together for the last two years. The tanker who died was our leader,"

He continued.

"However, I suppose that post falls to me now. What's your name?"

Just as I was about to answer, the light inside the train shifted. I looked outside the window, and my eyes widened with abject horror.

No. No. This can't be. 

Ever since Project David, I had yet to see this happen again. I thought I never would. And so far in the outskirts? No, it's impossible. It must be something else. It can't be.

Outside the window, a black dust storm had kicked up, sinking the train into near darkness as the dim lights lining the ceiling clicked on. Gasps echoed through the train car. My mind was switching between going completely blank and completely panicked.

Everyone here knew what this meant. An alarm started blaring in the train as a roar was heard outside, the black dust coalescing and growing thicker until the panic truly set in.

Like dominoes falling, the people in the train caused a chain reaction of screams starting from a single individual. Before long, a cacophony of shrill screeches had set in. I, however, couldn't hear a single thing. I was completely frozen. Like everyone else, I knew precisely what this black dust represented.

The arrival of a Goliath.

A deafening roar pierced through the thick, airtight walls of the train as it was blown off the tracks. As it flipped to its side, rolling for a moment before stopping, I was finally snapped out of it. 

This wasn't my imagination. It was reality. A Goliath was here. What can I do? We're still an hour out from the Sanctuary by train. By foot, it would be several times that. We had a large number of C-Rank hunters here, but they could do nothing against a Goliath. What can I do, what can I do...

However, my thought process was disturbed by a blissful haze that started seeping into my consciousness. The air! The train's seals must have been breached, letting in the air! I was getting high, and so was everyone else in the train. Fuck.

I acted fast and cast my B-Rank barrier, making it as large as I could. Then, injecting my mana into the skill card, I tried to control it. Fortunately, as I'd learned, skills were pretty easy to control when their built-in functions allowed it. I was quickly able to start purifying the air. 

The hunters around me started gasping. It seemed that some of them had been holding their breath to avoid falling under the influence of the narcotic. However, those of us that had already inhaled it would be suffering from its effects for a half hour or so. I was already in bad condition. I couldn't fight like this.

My body slumped over. I was barely managing to maintain the barrier... what could be done here? Then, the train was lifted up. long, sharp claws ripped through the ceiling, ripping it off and leaving us exposed to the Goliath. Now, I could see its face.

Could it be? The same as from back then? I choked back tears. This was too much for me. All at once, my trauma was flooding my every thought, filling my brain with hopelessness. My memories which had been too painful for me to reflect on were now being forced to the forefront of my consciousness.

I recalled all of the death which I'd witnessed. The innocent people who I'd lost. The only people in the world who'd supported me, their bodies lying torn apart, skin, flesh, and bone all separated neatly. 

I recalled Hye-Rin. That fucking bitch. I remember the look on her face as she doomed them all to die. That dutiful look, with the false sadness of a politician as she shook her head.

I recalled the moment that I'd left them. The moment I'd betrayed everyone who was left. It was selfish. It was stupid. All I got out of it was a false freedom, imprisoned within a cage of my own creation.

And strangely, last of all, I recalled the night I'd gone to the museum. The hope it had given me which was now all being ripped away.

I wanted so badly to call out again, to return there and escape this moment. However, my skill, once again, didn't work no matter how hard I tried. Even trying to replicate the exact moment it had functioned did nothing. 

So I was trapped here, with a Goliath.

However, it was not the same Goliath as back then. This one had the head of a dog, with a long nose and human ears. It had hair flowing from the top of its head down further than I could see.

This was it. This was where I'd die. There was nothing more I could do. The Goliath would eradicate everyone on this train. 

Strangely, it didn't cast any magic. Instead, it reached its long, spindly fingers into the car and picked me up by my shirt, lifting me towards its face. I could hear the sound of the train car dropping to the ground beneath me. Looking down, I was hundreds of feet in the air. I could feel my ears pop, ringing even louder.

"AR...CHITECT..."

The Goliath's mouth opened to the side in a sick snarl, and a deep, guttural voice called from deep within its bowels.

What? Did this Goliath just... speak?

"HIS... CHILD..."

As it spoke, the wind from its monstrous mouth nearly blew me out of its gargantuan hands. 

What the hell was it saying? The Architect? Why was that name coming up again?

"YOU... HELP... ME..."

Help? Help it? What the fuck? Why would I ever help one of these fucking monsters? What the hell was it talking about?

However, I didn't have time to ask any questions back. Because the Goliath picked me up and dropped me into its mouth, swallowing me whole.