Chapter 17

I awoke with a smile, knowing that the blade was complete, though my brush with damnation marred my achievement somewhat. Even now, I could feel the memory of my encounter with The Changer of Ways trying to burrow deeper into my brain, like a maggot into a carcass. I shook my head to rid myself of the memories and took Fateweaver out to examine it closely. Even just holding the blade, I could feel our psychic connection bolstering my innate power. I chose to strap it to my back so that I could gain a boost to my powers but not gain the full benefits of its help.

It was a tool that would undoubtedly allow me to burn through entire hordes of monsters on the upper floors with merely a thought, but that had its downsides in this world. The more I struggle, the faster I will be able to grow and increase my stats. My new blade will prevent me from struggling too much if I unleash its full might, but if I only use a sliver of its power, then I can maximize the amount of energy I can call upon without blowing through everything too easily. With that in mind, I also decided to focus primarily on using my physical might to fight.

My physical stats were already falling behind the others, and with the addition of the blade, my magic stat will continue to skyrocket. Meaning I will have to dedicate more time and effort to my body than my mind. It also would improve my overall combat abilities if refine both my unarmed fighting and swordsmanship in case I ever come across a situation in which my Warp-born powers are found lacking. I shook my head again to clear my thoughts fully and got dressed. 

Once everything was ready, I made my way out of my door and down the many flights of Babel's stairs. It was my first time out since my self-imposed isolation for the week I was adding the finishing touches to my blade. It felt good to be out of my room and stretching my legs once more. I was halfway down to the ground floor when a voice called out to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned and found Captain Tsubaki standing on the landing above me. 

"My eyes must be deceiving me," she said playfully, moving closer and eyeing me like I was a rare Pokemon card, "You're out of your room,"

"I do leave it occasionally," I replied, deadpan. 

"I was beginning to worry. I thought I would need to bust down the door and sort out some issues, but it seems you've saved me the trouble," despite her playful tone, her words rang true, so I reached back and pulled my blade out of its plain scabbard on my back.

Her eyes lit up, then she tilted her head in confusion as she moved to my side to get a closer look, "I was just adding the finishing touches to my blade. I only finished last night."

"Can I hold it?" Tsubaki asked me, her interest in the runes and sigils of the blade evident. 

"Sure," I said, passing the blade to her.

She ran her fingers over the etchings I had meticulously carved into the metal. She half closed her eyes and tilted her head as if listening to a song as her hands slid along the blade. Even the passersby on the stairs couldn't help but glance over at the weapon. None of them had ever seen a weapon carved like mine. It could have also been due to the subtle thrum of psychic energy in the air given off by Fateweaver that attracted the attention. Normal human minds were unable to process or even notice the phenomena, but deep down, they were attracted to it.

The siren's song of the Warp and the power that lay within. Or, just the mind processing the danger it subconsciously felt as a curiosity or some other emotion to draw attention my way. I waited patiently for Tsubaki to finish, but she seemed to be transfixed by a particular rune. Her fingers traced and retraced the rune that had been given to me as a gift by Tzeench. My eyes widened in alarm as I carefully pulled the blade back, startling her. It seemed like she had forgotten I was even there. 

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I lost my head for a moment there."

"It's fine," I said, but internally I cast my mind into the Imaterium and examined her soul for any signs of abnormality.

I had been too lax in giving her the sword. While I doubted that anything drastic would happen even if I gave her the sword permanently, I felt more comfortable keeping it for myself. Chaos is like water during a flood. It always finds even the smallest cracks to exploit and seep through. Even in a different universe untouched by the true power of the Gods of chaos, I had to be careful. I quickly waved the Captain goodbye and made my way down the steps, not stopping on the ground floor and continuing directly into the dungeon. 

As soon as I stepped inside, I drew upon Fateweaver's enchantments, using it as an amplifier when drawing in the energies of the warp. I began to use Warp Speed, feeling the exhilaration and power as my body's natural abilities were heightened to such a degree. I moved through the first few floors, not even bothering to deal with the monsters there. No, I headed back down to the seventh floor. Once I arrived, I channeled power into my arms and felt them turn to iron. However, this iron was much tougher and more damaging than anything I had created before.

It wasn't long before I spotted a Killer Ant. I paused, deciding whether or not it was a good idea to test my might against the ant. In the end, I decided it would be the best way to test the new levels my powers had reached. I started by ripping out from behind the cover I was standing beside a blur of movement. The ant looked up, mandibles snapping loudly as it caught sight of me. I used the momentum of my brief sprint to slam my metal fist into the carapace encasing the ant's head. 

The carapace shattered where my blow landed, snapping the monster's head back violently. I didn't stop there. Using my massively enhanced movement, I slammed a heavy combo of blows into its head, neck, and front legs. The ant fell heavily to the floor, allowing me to bring both fists up high over the top of its head before slamming them back down with the force of a Warhammer. Gray matter and other bodily fluids splattered over my hands. 

I flicked my hands, ridding myself of all but the most persistent of the fluids. I reached back and drew my sword, channeling my power in it and igniting a blue flame along the blade as I swung. The blade cleaved through the ant like it wasn't even there. Blue flames raced along the corpse until the magic stone was consumed, and the creature crumbled into smoke and was reabsorbed by the dungeon. I resheathed my blade and moved on after going through the first test run of my improved powers and blade.

I moved forward and around a corner, only to find half a dozen needle rabbits staring at me. I raised an eyebrow as I watched a few more spawn from the walls of the dungeon. I looked at the cute creatures, their one horn sticking out of their rabbit heads like a unicorn. However, that cute and cuddly impression was shattered when they squeaked some sort of war cry and rushed me. They sprang through the air on powerful hind legs or charged for my shins and stomach. I used this opportunity to practice, so I focused on dodging and diverting their attacks. 

It was hard dealing with so many small attackers, but with my speed advantage, I managed to evade most attacks. I grimaced as deceptively sharp horns rammed into my stomach and legs, but I simply commanded my flesh to knit back together as I continued to evade. I stayed there until the rabbit monsters collapsed from exhaustion. Once they were no longer useful for my training, I tossed them into a single bare patch of ground and drew my blade, projecting a wave of blue fire that consumed them completely. 

Once their body was just smoke entering the walls of the dungeon, I turned and ventured deeper through the floor. I boxed most of the monsters I encountered, wringing them out for everything they were worth, before letting their bodies be consumed with the blue flames generated by my sword. I didn't forget about approaching a few ants and forcefully ripping their vitality out, either, since I was trying to maximize the efficiency of my leveling speed. 

I grinned broadly as I whistled and made my way toward the entrance to the eighth floor. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I'm back baby