Aerion glowered as she scrambled back to her feet and stomped off, but I didn’t have the time to worry about her.
Activating [Snap], I sprinted over to where Aerion had dropped Rogar and Philip off.
“How’s he looking?” I asked, kneeling beside the injured blacksmith.
“He’ll pull through just fine,” Richard said. “Philip’s canteen was enough to heal his face, and poured Rogar’s dow...
2024-12-11 19:49:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe traitor whirled around, confused and panicky. Vir greeted him with a smile.
“Raoul, my friend. You have done well preparing the army. Our time has finally come.”
“Wha—I… We’re going to war? Now?” Raoul said, looking incredibly flustered. Vir nearly laughed at the traitor’s bewilderment.
Vir shook his head. “I am as distraught as you about this development. As I said, I was not the one who precipitated th...
2024-12-10 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostInstinct honed from countless fights was the only thing that saved me as my mind kept looping, wondering why in the name of everything holy the goddamned Trial Guardian was here, on floor five, of all places.
Luckily, my body had a mind of its own, grabbing Richard and running the instant that massive dragon opened its mouth. Think later. Act now.
Dragons opening mouths usually meant one of two things—either they were ab...
2024-12-09 19:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostNayan paced around the rapidly expanding forest camp, observing the preparations like a hawk. At least, that was half the reason. The fact w
Nayan paced around the rapidly expanding forest camp, observing the preparations like a hawk. At least, that was half the reason. The fact was, he couldn’t stand still. His heart beat madly, and every minute, he questioned whether he’d made a mistake.
Nayan recalled the recent days and shu...
2024-12-07 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostDamn, it felt good to be strong. I had to admit, wrecking that troll after Rogar and Philip had their turn was therapeutic. Maybe I oughta delve Trials more often, just for the thrill. Everyone needed their stress relief, right?
I glanced at Philip and Rogar, only to find them giving me weird looks. Actually, they were giving us all weird looks.
“What’s got their panties in a bunch?” I asked Aerion, who narrowe...
2024-12-06 19:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“We are here to stop you, Kin’jal handmaiden.”
“I must admit you have me at a loss,” Maiya said, addressing the two Altani mejai. Each wore robes in the brilliant white and sky-blue of the Altani, and each wielded blazing white two-handed staves. “With Sai being allied to Kin’jal, shouldn’t you be aiding us?”
The two mejai regarded Maiya with amused smirks. Maiya could just feel the ego oozing off them. 2024-12-05 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
As Philip clutched Light of the Fearless in his hand, sweaty palms hot against the grip, he realized he was probably having what most might call a panic attack.
It was unthinkable. Him, of all people? A veteran soldier? Panicking?
It was worse than unthinkable. It was unforgivable. Philip drew a deep breath in an attempt to stabilize himself.
The idea had sounded fine—participate more, so that he might ...
2024-12-04 19:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post---
...
2024-12-03 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostFor a second or two, I couldn’t tell what just happened. One moment, I was ripping through enemies, feeling good, and the next, they just… fell apart.
I first glanced at Aerion, who came out of Reave. She looked just as perplexed as I did.
If it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t her… Both our heads ...
2024-12-02 19:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostVir didn’t think for an instant that Raja Matiman or Annas would show themselves. The current Chitran leadership were cowards. Cowards that
Vir didn’t think for an instant that Raja Matiman or Annas would show themselves. The current Chitran leadership were cowards. Cowards that saw Vir defeat Cirayus—ten times the warrior they would ever be.
His suspicion was proven right, when instead of the ones responsible for the kidnapp...
2024-11-26 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostAerion had already scooped Rogar and Philip by the time I shoved the forge into my inventory. Richard jumped on my back, and we were off.
Not a moment too soon, either. Beasts of all shapes and sizes darted after us the moment we started, emerging from the forest like ants.
We hugged the small mountain range where the ore deposit had been—while the foothills were slanted and full of boulders, scree, and other hazardous foot...
2024-11-25 19:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostVir expected little trouble from the Warrior Chakra, and he was right… Mostly. After all, conflict had been an integral part of Vir’s life, even as an outcast growing up in the village of Brij. Violence was as regular as sleep, or breathing. While Vir rarely ever sought it out, violence had an uncanny way of finding him.
And so, he craved the Warrior Chakra. The very threat of such a weapon forced his enemies to fight differ...
2024-11-23 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post---
Getting Rogar water was easy enough. With the porta-forge o...
2024-11-22 20:30:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe rain of arrows was almost invisible against the dead of night. That didn’t mean it was silent, though. The twangs of their bows, the whistling of the arrows in flight…
A chill ran up Maiya’s spine.
“Find cover!” Maiya roared, mainly for the benefit of Riyan’s troops. The smarter among them had already hunkered down beneath their shields. It was only when Maiya gave the order that the others followed.
...
2024-11-21 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDamn, I enjoyed that. Was there anything quite like letting loose and utterly wrecking a few dozen Giger-level monsters?
I think not. And seeing the pure glee in Aerion’s eyes, I knew she felt exactly the same.
“Hey, uh… sorry about that,” I said, scratching my chin. “Earlier, I mean. That was uncalled for.”
The grin slipped a bit from Aerion’s face. “Yes, it was.”
“I honestly don’t know w...
2024-11-20 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostWas war supposed to be this fun? What about a rebellion?
Those were the questions looping through Maiya’s mind as she fired a B Grade Razor Gale at her unsuspecting foes in the dead of the Saian night. B Grade was when spells started to impact more of an area, and the half-dozen blades of wind she fired ripped through her enemies like scissors through silk—their bit made even deadlier by the region’s biting cold.&...
2024-11-19 18:42:20 +0000 UTC View PostTurned out that there were no good ores to mine on the first or second floors. The most common exotic material—Frostsilver—was found on the third floor, and the better stuff like Voidsteel and Aurorium were only found on the highest ones.
And so, we blitzed up the spiraling stairs to the third floor. I initially thought that with our faster pace, we’d clear it in no time.
Except, as Aerion told me only afte...
2024-11-18 19:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostAnnas strode through Samar Patag’s castle with the bold, confident steps of one who owned it. And while he might not live here, he may as well be its lord. Before the Tournament, Annas had already been a veteran—respected and highly decorated within the Chitran military.
And while one might be forgiven for thinking his infuriating loss would have put a black mark on that reputation, it was anything but.
From the lowliest servan...
2024-11-16 18:39:26 +0000 UTC View PostPhilip’s world was a blur, and it wasn’t on account of the heatstroke. Well, that too. Not for the first time, he wondered if he’d made a terrible mistake asking Greg to take them along.
Until now, Philip had never once stepped foot outside Basecrest. Traveling had never interested him, even when he obtained the means to do so. The city was life. It was all Philip knew, and he knew it well. Its ins and outs, its alleyways and its p...
2024-11-15 19:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostCongratulations! Basecrest City Guard Suit’s ability, [Snap] has leveled up from Foundation - 6 to Foundation - 7.
Congratulations! Grace has increased from 37 to 40.
The suit’s level up happened before my fight, so the increase to Grace was the only one I’d earned, even after killing over a hundred monsters. As I’d hoped, the System counted ranged weapon fire as Grace-related experience. I...
2024-11-13 19:22:22 +0000 UTC View Post“So Raoul has thrown a monkey’s tail into our plans,” Cirayus said, stroking his beard in thought. “I admit, it is more than I thought possible for a being such as he.”
“I think we’ve all underestimated him,” Vir said. He was currently walking the ranks of troops with Cirayus during one of their training sessions. This session was a little unique—it was less about combat strength, and more about retaining prana within o...
2024-11-12 18:12:59 +0000 UTC View PostRaoul left the meeting feeling quite smug. The invasion was less than a month away, at least for those in the Deep Ash. For Samar Patag, only days remained.
It was why he had to be quick about this meeting. A necessary evil, yet one that Raoul could scarcely afford. How many days would pass in the hours he was away? How many plans would be made without his knowledge?
Raoul had done well until now, keeping abreast of ...
2024-11-12 18:06:11 +0000 UTC View PostNayan was done for. The moment the Akh Nara intervened, he knew. He’d be thrown out of his leadership position, at the very least. In some armies, his failure could have him court martialled… But this was the Akh Nara’s army. As feared as they were by the other demons, it was, perhaps, the most lenient and generous army he’d ever seen.
Not that Nayan had seen very much—he’d been a Laborer before all of this, like eve...
2024-11-09 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing that hit me when we stepped into Dominion’s temple was the cool, dry air. The second was the nostalgia. When we’d left Dominion’s Trial, we’d been half-dead, haggard, and just happy to be alive.
The tall, steepled roof of the building, its muted colors and quiet atmosphere had been such a sight for sore eyes. It was raining that day, I remembered. Cloudy and gray. My first introduction to Axius. I especially remem...
2024-11-08 19:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostTime was a strange thing in the Ash. It varied from place to place, yet even without that added complication, the lack of sun made the days and nights bleed together. A normal aspect of life for any demon, but for Vir, having grown up in the Human Realm, both the other realms were perpetually strange and alien to him.
At least the Demon Realm had the comforting presence of a familiar sun, even if it did never set. The Ash lacked...
2024-11-07 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIf it’s too good to be true, it usually is.
An old saying, but one that applied in any world.
It happened when Aerion and I were getting ready to leave Rogar’s forge. The moment I’d been waiting for. The explanation behind Rogar’s sudden persona shift.
“Wait… Grug,” the blacksmith called as I finished packing my new projectile weapons into my pack.
“Yeah?” I asked, looking up to find an expres...
2024-11-06 19:13:29 +0000 UTC View Post---
A ring of corpses surrounded Vir, piling high, forming a small hall. Thousands upon thousands of the most vicious beasts in all the realms eyed him, salivating for his flesh and prana.
None got their chance. None even got a taste of victory, for Vir ended them like the god of destruction himself.
A pack of Ash Wolves broke away from the horde, surging through the sky to pounce o...
2024-11-05 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostI had hoped my poleax would retain enough condition to retain its ability even while melted down, but no dice. The moment we started hammering slivers off the metal ingot, the weapon’s condition reached zero, and its 7 Essence points were reclaimed.
I also noted that Rocky’s Essence cost had already decreased by 2 points. Looks like the cost just ticked down over time continu...
2024-11-04 19:01:36 +0000 UTC View PostTara had been right. Vir didn’t like the news. At all.
As he sat at a table in the naga’s quarters, the hot tea in front of him untouched and cooling, he wondered why the gods, or Fate, rather, hated him so.
“What will you do?” Tara asked.
Vir groaned, massaging his temples. “What can I do?”
“Um, you’re the Akh Nara? You could have him killed?” Tara said. “Or do it yourself. Heck, this...
2024-11-02 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostOf course, forging was only one of the skills I was interested in practicing. With my Spatial Inventory’s size and weight capacity growing with each rank-up, it was only a matter of time before I could fit a full forge in there.
Which meant I could forge while inside Cataclysm Dungeons and Trials—both of which were known for their rare metals. It was either that or pay through my nose at shops, and as I’d recently seen with o...
2024-11-01 19:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post