True Love's Seventh Kiss

Ch.5 First Chasm

Marion strapped on a harness so that he could be lowered down since the ships weren't able to safely descend past a certain height. Kaliban merely did a once over to make sure he was properly strapped in. the harness was a set of leather straps that wrapped around his legs and torso similar to a rock climber's harness with more leather and extra straps for security.

Marion clipped the end of the rope from the crane and held onto a handle that was attached to an adjustable box that was hooked to the rope by the hook. It was a control box of sorts that would allow the person at the end of the rope to lower and raise themselves while attached to the rope.

"I'm sending Klayus with you to keep an eye out while you are down there. And also to offset your weight for the ship's sake, so no objections." Herman said as Klayus was already strapped in and hooked up.

"Young master, do not take the quiet of the forest to mean it is safe. There are many ambush predators even in the day that managed to kill cocky jumpers. The Chasms and underground have a whole different set of dangers." Klayus advised, he grabbed a bolt caster. Similar to Marion's gun it was technology that combined crossbow tech, gearwork, and magic.

Since reloading was difficult on the wire while being lowered or fighting mid-air, smaller bolts and clockwork tech was implemented for 'built in' quivers. Magics of various kinds were spliced in and the most common magic was the 'propellent' elements of spells commonly used for spells like fire arrow to send a bolt of fire at a target.

Marion had what was called a Bolt thrower which emphasized convenience and rate of fire while Klayus' Bolt Castor was similar to modern day water guns which could be pumped more than once to increase water pressure. This design was made to prioritize power and range. Instead of black powder or bow each device utilized a magic crystal for power, although in a bind one could fill the device with their own magic if the crystal ran out of power.

This was how Guns developed in this world around crossbow technology. The bolts themselves were the most universal part. They were five-inch-long stakes called bolts made from either just metal or a combination of metal and ironwood. They didn't need fletching due to the invention of rifling and natural spin on the spellwork that hurled them which kept them straight in the air.

"Have you ever jumped before?" Herman asked.

"Not in the forest, but dad has one of these strapped to the wall at our house he made me practice on." Marion said.

"While descending keep one hand on your bolt thrower and one on the paddle." Herman patted the control switch, and then made sure that there was a strap that connected my gun to my harness just in case. "Keep your eyes on the trees and disengage as soon as your feet touch something solid. Then tie up the line to something the size of your wrist, this will anchor the ship but hopefully be weak enough we can snap it if we need to pull on it with any real power. Last and most important, don't be a hero. If there is a monster or something that gets out of hand, always run back to the line and we will manually pull you up if we have to."

"Hopefully, it shouldn't be too long. I just plan to collect some samples. We can spend the second half of the day after lunch collecting shrikes but for now, I'm trying to pick up a trail." Marions said as he made sure his pack for collecting samples was properly strapped on as well.

Marion and Klayus each walked the plank by their respective cranes on opposite sides of the ship. They gave each other a nod since they would need to literally jump at the same time so that they didn't rock the ship too much.

Although Marion had some practice jumping off the castle wall by his house, trusting your life to a rope tied to an object that wasn't stationary and lowering himself into a chasm was something else entirely. Also the mana in the air got heavier it tingled his magical senses and even put pressure on his ears like he was diving. There was a slight sense of vertigo, but he quickly got used to it as he kept his eye on his goal.

A large root deep inside that cavern that stretched from one side of the 20-foot-wide gap to the other. The chasm itself stretched on for maybe half a mile and was 50 feet deep stretching down to craggy rocks and small rainwater puddles that had already been eliminated from the elven spring contestant list.

Once he got down to the large root, he perched onto it with some slack on the rope and began gathering samples. With a knife he cut through a rough barky layer and discovered a light green wood at the center of the tree root.

"And bingo was his name-o." Marion said as he fished out some samples and placed them in some vials he had brought along.

[-Quest completed-

-Side Quest-

-Enter Cliffgard Forest-

-Reward:Unique Skill and Unique Weapon]

[Skill Unlocked - Cavalier Skeleton Key.

-Can only be blocked by Cavalier Corsair's authority-

-Can unlock stuff and things-]

[Unique Weapon - Cursed Cutlass.

-A one-of-a-kind Master-crafted Cutlass wielded by a tragic soul who survived only the worst injustices the world could muster. This soul died in the midst of their vengeance at the peak of their mastery with the blade and with no peers. Those with a higher affinity for the previous user will grasp his skills with time and use, and those with lower affinity will suffer from his lingering tormented spirit.-

-Current affinity- above 50%-

-Current mastery-0/10-]

"I wanted something good, and I got a cursed weapon... well isn't that just my luck..." Marion curled his lip. He looked over the blade and pulled it out of its sheath. He had always dreamed of being a knight in shining armor with an arming sword like Excalibur. The metal of the blade seemed sturdy and well cared for, the fuller of the sword revealed a glowing blue green core. By the hilt there was a short inner curve in the blade for style and to reduce weight.

The craftsmanship wasn't like anything he had seen, it truly deserved to be called a master-crafted sword. The handle and guard weren't sloppy either. A black iron lattice-work resembled a wrought-iron chandelier with curved and twisted shapes. It was completed with finely worked inlays of silver.

Marion held it up to the light. It... wasn't so bad he supposed. With the blue-green glow it wasn't super villainous. Just as he was thinking that it turned red.

"Young master! Look out!" Klayus yelled and there was a screech coming from nearby.

Marion turned his attention toward the screech and saw large flying bats the size of flying cats come out of a crevice in the chasm. A loud crack echoed in the chasm and one of the bats was skewered by a bolt and fell out of the sky.

"Shit!" Marion put the cutlass away and strapped the belt to his waist. He then pulled the bolt thrower off his shoulder and aimed it.

He led the shot and the gun started to whirl with energy and gears clacking. It was more delayed than a modern gun and fired after a second. With a crack the bolt hit its target and one of the bats fell. There were a few over a dozen and so Marion cocked the level action while the gun continued its whirring sound. The next shot had less of a delay and the bolt hit another bat.

Marion kneeled on the branch as best as he could and cocked the level action again and fired and two bats fell thanks to the help of covering fire from Klayus. But the worst possible thing happened, and the whirring sound screeched to a halt.

His gun had jammed.

It was a common problem with so many moving parts, but it was managed with proper maintenance. He had shot this same gun a hundred times for hours without a problem before.

"No no no! Not now!" Marion panicked as started slapping the gun. But it was too late for that. The bats charged right at him. They threw the full weight of their body into Marion to topple him over and send him into the chasm.