I tried to convince her, I really did. Unfortunately, there was no changing her mind. Emeri had gotten it into her head that we owed the inquisitor, the man that had imprisoned us, the truth. Apparently, she was convinced that the man would change his mind once he learned of our quest, of what we had uncovered.
As you can imagine, I was fa...
2023-04-21 18:22:18 +0000 UTC
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Emeri and I woke groggily, our senses returning to us as the acrid smell of blood filled our nostrils. Thankfully, the fighting had abated during our time away, meaning that reinforcements had yet to arrive.
We found ourselves surrounded by the remainder of Dalius’ forces, though most of them had fallen in battle. Noticing our return, a ...
2023-04-19 18:06:15 +0000 UTC
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Because work got in the way. Yay.
2023-04-18 07:45:16 +0000 UTC
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We reappeared on the other side of the portal and found ourselves in the middle of an ongoing skirmish. It turned out that our delay wouldn’t matter in the long run, as Dalius’ hadn’t managed to secure the second target in time anyway.
Emeri and I ducked behind a nearby stalagmite as some rogue skill fire flew overhead. From what I c...
2023-04-16 18:06:10 +0000 UTC
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My thought process was interrupted by a sudden lurch that ripped me right out of the opened portal. For a moment, my mind went blank as I tried to react to this sudden change. With a dulled sense of urgency, I noticed that Emeri had been pulled back with me, leaving us both sprawled across the church’s small courtyard.
I tried to bring m...
2023-04-14 18:39:37 +0000 UTC
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Emeri and I reappeared in the middle of a town square. No, judging from the size of the nearby buildings, we were currently within a larger settlement, perhaps even a city.
The sight would have been a familiar one, if it weren’t for several things that stood out. A subtle difference between the cities I was used to and the one I was look...
2023-04-12 19:24:00 +0000 UTC
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Emeri and I hid behind a rock as we observed our target. The church in question was built on a small island that sat in the bay, surrounded by a formation of shark rocks that jutted out of the water and broke the waves before they hit the shore. At first glance, nobody would have believe that the small, dilapidated building could ever house one ...
2023-04-11 09:08:48 +0000 UTC
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I spent the last two days testing the limits of [Dark pursuer], pushing the skill to its extreme. BY letting it copy each of my skills at least once, I wanted to see which skills it synergised with and which ones were less effective. Without going into an excessive amount of detail, I came to the conclusion that my offensive skills got the large...
2023-04-08 17:43:37 +0000 UTC
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If I wasn’t so certain that my advancement had been successful, the dry man’s ominous statement would have upset me slightly. Turns out that worry would have been for nought anyway, because he went on to assuage any lingering doubts I might have had.
“Sorry for catching you off guard, child. I was simply surprised, is all. Such speed...
2023-04-06 19:02:52 +0000 UTC
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I opened my eyes, a serene calm washing over me. I had achieved… something? Oh, right, my class evolution! The trial! I had succeeded! But… how had I done so again?
My memories had been tampered with. When I tried to remember my trial, or even my earlier trials, I only remembered an endless white void accompanied by… feelings. Emotio...
2023-04-04 18:43:43 +0000 UTC
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Warning: Death of a child. (Not a real one, but still.)
I was faced with a dilemma. Following the trial’s rules, I would have to give the small girl in front of me two of whatever arbitrary resource that represented health in this place. To do so, however, I would have to take back what I had given the old man earlier… Despi...
2023-04-02 18:22:49 +0000 UTC
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The dry man set up a safe house near the old castle site in the form of a repurposed cave. There wasn’t much space here, just enough to stretch my legs a bit. It did emanate a lot of dark mana, which had led to the dry man’s recommendation to advance in this very cave.
A lack of mana to absorb could lead to issues upon tiering up, afte...
2023-03-31 14:25:18 +0000 UTC
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2023-03-29 13:18:17 +0000 UTC
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Time seemed to pass a crawl, the dry man’s training of choice getting more creative by the second. After overcoming the initial shock of losing my limbs, things had turned dull quite quickly, from my end. My tormentor didn’t seem to share this problem, however. In fact, the old man took great pride in his work, almost admiring his handiwork ...
2023-03-27 18:14:58 +0000 UTC
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After Ash’s initial shock died down, he still refused to talk to me. Instead, he had decided to start a staring match, leaning his head on his hands while he concentrated on trying to give me a withering glare. It would have worked, if it weren’t for the dry man’s calming presence. He seemed amused by Ash’s exaggerated jealousy, but even...
2023-03-25 16:41:42 +0000 UTC
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The other spectators quickly forgave my transgression once they saw Ash welcome me. Even the necromancer that had been winning the bid knew the way the winds were blowing, because he averted his eyes. Ash, for one, had all but forgotten about the auction he was here to attend. Instead, he came over and clapped me on the back, before leading me o...
2023-03-23 18:51:23 +0000 UTC
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I hoped that I would feel better today, but I honestly don't. I don't think its covid, though. Either way, with me being woozy as I am, I'm gonna have to postpone chapters until I recover. I'm not gonna give a definitive date, but I should be back by next week Thursday at the latest.
2023-03-18 16:28:06 +0000 UTC
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I caught a bad cold recently and it's hit me like a ton of bricks these past few days. My head is pounding too much for me to focus on writing at the moment, so I'm tentatively postponing today's chapter to tomorrow. It's possible that I'll delay more depending on how I feel tomorrow, but we'll see. I'm optimistic.
2023-03-17 17:48:21 +0000 UTC
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The alleyway I had landed in was deserted. Except for a few rotting crates and, morbidly enough, festering fly-ridden corpse, it was empty. The distinct smell of spoiled meat wafted into my nose, coming from all directions. If my sense of smell was to be believed, the pungent odour was all-encompassing, rather than just a direct result of the ne...
2023-03-15 19:29:37 +0000 UTC
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Recovering from the sudden shock of hearing a monster talk, I immediately summoned a dozen chains to constrict the armadillo, leaving the pointed ends right near its neck. The creature squeaked in surprise, before starting to shiver in fear.
“P- please, don’t hurt me…” it spoke.
Or rather, it communicated, because I couldn’...
2023-03-13 19:31:35 +0000 UTC
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Thankfully, I didn’t need to climb to descend into the hole. With the power of flight came a number of convenient advantages, and this was one of them. Instead of slowly making my way down, I was therefore able to just bob up and down, slowly lowering myself into the pit.
Strangely, I couldn’t see the bottom, despite my ability to see ...
2023-03-11 17:57:35 +0000 UTC
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Ding! Combat finished. Congratulations on reaching [Hollow essence Knight] level 98!
Name: Arthur
Titles: [Dark prodigy]
Class: [Hollow essence knight] LVL 98
Strength 1291
Constitution 1360
Dexterity 1292
Intelligence 476
Wisdom 860
Affinity 859
Free stat points:
2023-03-09 19:37:37 +0000 UTC
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In the end, I decided to go for [Aura dash] the implications of being able to chain the skill into itself was too tantalizing to pass up. Furthermore, the system’s wording left enough room for interpretation, which I hoped would turn out for the better.
After mentally reaffirming my choice, my status screen updated, showing my new skill ...
2023-03-07 18:12:18 +0000 UTC
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The system notification came as my saving grace, an assurance that I had not only survived, I had won. 9 entire levels from a single creature seemed almost ridiculous, but considering the difficulty I had experienced trying to put the thing down, it didn't feel undeserved in the slightest.
Now that the creature had died, I could f...
2023-03-05 16:40:16 +0000 UTC
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“The portal is ready for you, young man.” An older lady shared. She gave me an inviting smile and gestured to the centre of the chamber, where a mirror-like portal shone brightly. I said my hurried goodbyes to Emeri, who wouldn’t be joining me on this delve and followed the elder to the portal.
I wondered for a moment why an older pe...
2023-03-03 14:57:36 +0000 UTC
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Moments after the end of the vision, we once again found ourselves in the real world, being stared at by Dalius’ guards. Word soon spread that our goal had been accomplished and that the time to retreat had come. Things moved pretty quickly from there, so it didn’t take long before we were back at base.
My thoughts were still whirling ...
2023-03-01 19:26:20 +0000 UTC
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The giant cocoon hanging from the ceiling started to glow in response to Helios’ destruction of its minions, filling the room with its emerald glow.
The light coalesced, gathering at the bottom tip of the cocoon. It flowed like water, forming a single shining orb, which hung from the cocoon as if it were a drop of water. As the light lef...
2023-02-27 18:35:21 +0000 UTC
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I'm heading out of town for my dads birthday this weekend and didn't manage to squeeze some writing time in during my break at work, as I thought I would be able to. The next chapter will come out on monday for patreon and the 1st of march for RR. Sorry for the late notice, guys.
On another note, I'd like to share some story ideas that hav...
2023-02-25 19:07:22 +0000 UTC
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A blinding light enveloped us and before we knew it, Emeri and I found ourselves at the edge of a forest, on a plateau that overlooked a valley.
To our right, a middle-aged man with a scar above his eyes and some stubble on his chin stared down at the valley below. The man had a distinct look, one we both remembered seeing before.
...
2023-02-23 18:21:05 +0000 UTC
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A few days after appraising the orb, Emeri called for a strategy meeting, which she forced me to attend. It took place in Dalius’ command tent, where a big scroll was unfolded, revealing a map of Agratos.
Several major cities were marked, Agratos included, and the locations of the five statues were scribbled on. Two had already been cros...
2023-02-22 20:13:32 +0000 UTC
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