“Why are we in the Shell?” Whippoorwill whispered. A quartet of mercenaries from the 3445 surrounded them, their APEX suits polished and gleaming. On either side a pair of armored cars paced Kat and Whip, corporate security guards working frantically to monitor the situation and keep area defense security systems active.
Turrets swivel...
2024-04-20 14:37:09 +0000 UTC View Post“Hydrogen-2, Hydrogen-3, Helium-3, Nickel-62, and Iron-56.” Emma finished the list, looking up from the smartglass display in front of her. “All of them are being bought in bulk by VodCom and their prices have at least doubled.”
Kat shared a look with Whippoorwill. Under ordinary circumstances, her brain would have shorted out slig...
2024-04-05 17:58:51 +0000 UTC View Post“Oh good, an empty boss chamber,” Kaleek drawled. “I guess that means we can just walk to the alter and claim the dungeon award without any difficulty then.”
Kat involuntarily rolled her eyes hard enough that she wondered whether or not she should be using healing magic o...
2024-04-05 17:56:48 +0000 UTC View PostRain pattered down outside the cafe window, painting the streets in blue and gray. Four people sat, crowded into a small wooden booth that had been painstakingly engineered to look old and battered.
The black man, not quite middle aged but with the faintest hints of silver creeping into the close-cropped hair around his temples, brought th...
2024-04-05 17:50:32 +0000 UTC View PostErich’s body felt heavy as he trudged up the staircase. It only took a touch of mana to light the glowstone around him up, but that didn’t make the long walk any easier. With each step the weight of Wyannix’s mark seemed to weigh down on Erich.
All of the damage from the injury was long gone, but he could feel the demon following ...
2024-04-05 17:01:48 +0000 UTC View PostErich didn’t think. There wasn’t time for that.
His sword practically appeared in his hand as he lunged toward the looming shape, his form a picture perfect Magam Blossom thrust. Mana erupted from Erich’s chest, flowing down his arms to reinforce his body as his sword flashed through the air, faster than the unaided eye could follow....
2024-04-05 16:59:46 +0000 UTC View PostImp ichor dripped down the sides of Erich’s face. He took another bite, trying his hardest to fight back a grimace. The meat tasted awful. Unappetizing didn’t do it any justice. He was pretty sure that the monsters were actually toxic. Creature’s just didn’t taste that bad on their own.
It was like he was reliving his worst experie...
2024-04-05 16:57:52 +0000 UTC View Post“Coiled Vine Art, Poison Tempered Body, Overflowing Vitality Technique, Beguiling Flower Form, Purple Rosebud Strengthening.” Erich pursed his lips. He’d been trying to sound out names for his new body strengthening technique as he continued down the smuggler’s trail.
“Definitely not that last one,” he whispered to himself. “...
2024-04-05 16:55:54 +0000 UTC View PostErich’s teeth ground together as he stared at the ceiling of the tiny cave. His entire body still ached, but the light and life mana from his image had beaten back the worst of the parasite’s influence. The process had taken at least a couple of hours, the plant was stubborn and refused to admit defeat leading to it surging and fighting back...
2024-04-05 16:52:12 +0000 UTC View PostErich dropped down to one knee in the river, cupping his hands in the water and splashing it over his face. It smelled awful, but then again so did everything. Ten feet away an eel-like imp jetted through the water, ignoring Erich as he refilled the last of his canteens.
He stood up, enjoying the sensation of the rapidly drying water on hi...
2024-04-05 16:46:36 +0000 UTC View PostErich sprang to his feet. A croaking sound to his left alerted him to the presence of the golden eyed imp, but he kept himself from looking in its direction. The angry feverish warmth of the poison’s first stage pumped through his arms and legs, a reminder that he couldn’t afford a distraction.
Whatever the gecko imps were, they could ...
2024-04-05 16:42:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe glob of pale green arced through the air, landing squarely one of the flower’s petals. Erich held his breath, waiting for the flower’s tongue to penetrate the skinned rock imp or for the petals to curl up as it began to devour the dead creature.
Nothing happened.
Erich cocked his head to the side slightly. The flower just sat...
2024-04-05 16:39:19 +0000 UTC View PostErich didn’t stand up. The mere thought of it sent a shiver down his spine. The flower above him had long since opened and its petals were splayed out serenely, not giving any hint that it had just skewered and eaten a pair of imps.
He took a deep breath, crawling cautiously back toward the path he had hacked in the forest. It was still ...
2024-04-05 13:55:50 +0000 UTC View PostErich tried to retreat into the forest, but his feet felt like they had sunk ankle deep into the mud of the riverbank. He managed to take a step backward before the first of the imps dove toward him.
He shuffled his feet, taking the first stance of Magma Blossom as he tried to track the swooping demons through his faltering and s...
2024-04-05 13:49:58 +0000 UTC View PostDESCENT INTO HELL
Erich dropped Harold’s body on the pile. He was the last of the corpses from the stairwell, giving Erich a moment to rest, sweat rolling down his face and chest as he caught his breath.
Finally, after he felt a little better, Erich began picking up rocks from piles of rubble that were still left over from th...
2024-02-26 06:47:26 +0000 UTC View Post“And that is why you should always have a full understanding of the effect you want your technique to-” Sathis stopped mid sentence. He inclined his head slightly, as if gathering himself.
“It’s time Erich,” the cinderborn finished, his voice somber.
Erich blinked, shifting his seat slightly on the rocks as he cocked ...
2024-02-26 06:45:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Cinderborn society is divided into five strata,” Sathis lectured, his eyes dark as he rested. “Royals control each of the three worlds in the confederation. Nobles administer territories on the royals’ behalf. Swordsmen or sword houses represent the martial artists that are not part of a noble or royal house. The...
2024-02-26 06:44:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Erich, wake up.”
He jolted upward from the pile of rocks he had been napping on next to Sathis. The cinderborn was looking noticeably thinner. His pitchblack skin had faded to an unhealthy gray and it was stretched tight over his gaunt cheeks. Even the glow of Sathis’ golden eyes seemed dimmer.
The old cinder...
2024-02-26 06:42:32 +0000 UTC View PostErich’s mana flowed into the glowstone, brightening the entire room with just a touch of power. He hadn’t learned any techniques or arts to accompany his new image and truly advance into the first tier as a swordsman, but his body felt lighter and stronger than ever before. More than that, he no longer needed to prod and coax his...
2024-02-26 06:41:01 +0000 UTC View PostSweat poured down the sides of Erich’s face. Heat pulsed through his body, burning the jagged shards of aether that were the final reminders of his image. They dug themselves into his body like thorns, resisting Sathis’ mana as the old cindeborn tried to purge them.
Erich bit down on his lower lip. The pain from his t...
2024-02-26 06:39:26 +0000 UTC View PostTHE DYING MASTER
Erich took a hasty step back, his mouth gaping in shock. Sathis smiled up at him, a hint of teeth visible through the man’s dark lips.
“Oh don’t worry,” the downed warrior said dismissively. “I’m not a zombie or anything foolish like that. I still have a week or so to live before I die f...
2024-02-26 06:37:45 +0000 UTC View PostA sharp spike of pain alerted Erich that he was alive. Unfortunately.
He opened his eyes to darkness. There was a trickle of light coming from above, faint but red and angry, like he was looking at the embers of a dying fire.
Erich groaned, shifting slightly. The steps of the stairwell dug into his back, and a dull ...
2024-02-26 06:35:56 +0000 UTC View PostIt was so dark that Erich wasn’t sure whether his eyes were open or not.
He felt like he was floating in darkness. The only sounds were the occasional clink and scrape of a boot as one of his companions missed a step, the only sensation was the feeling of the string pulling gently at his wrist, connecting him to Kaden.
Somewh...
2024-02-26 06:33:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe darkness wrapped itself around Erich, threatening to choke out the narrow sphere of light cast by the glowstone in his hand. Harold, Kaden, Gwen, and the two Iron Ax martial artists walked close to him, packs almost the size of their bodies strapped to their backs. In the darkness around them, another three glowstones lit up the ...
2024-02-26 06:32:02 +0000 UTC View Post“By the blood of the angels!” Harold screamed, slamming a hand into the cabin’s wall. The wood crumpled slightly under the force of the strike, shaking the entire building. “An offensive? That’s practically a death sentence!”
“Come on now,” Erich replied soothingly. “It won’t be that bad. I...
2024-02-26 06:30:17 +0000 UTC View PostBugles warbled, calling everyone’s attention to the wooden podium. Harold stood to Erich’s left, beaming in his new uniform and armor. To Erich’s right were Kaden, Gwen, and the two survivors from the Iron Ax platoon. In front of them, the rest of the column was lined up and at attention, the martial artists of each plato...
2024-02-26 06:26:48 +0000 UTC View PostErich awoke to the sound of silverware clinking against plates. The smell of cooking food lingered in the air above him, coaxing him out of the pleasant cocoon of his dreams.
Pain lanced through Erich’s side, drawing a quick hiss from him as he started to sit up. Fresh bandages were wrapped tightly around his body, marking th...
2024-02-26 06:24:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe balls of fire that had been floating overhead all erupted at the same moment.
Curtains of flame rained down, signaling the start of the cinderborn charge. Atop the walls, the archers fired one last ragged volley of arrows before jumping the twelve feet to the stone ground below.
Almost half made it, breaking legs and ribs a...
2024-02-26 06:22:19 +0000 UTC View Post“Less muscle and more control when you swing Erich.”
Elias stood a half dozen feet away, scarred arms crossed in front of his chest as he focused on the young swordsman.
Erich nodded tightly, bringing his sword back up to the vertical side guard that served as the starting point for the Swaying Willow Blade. He closed his e...
2024-02-26 06:20:58 +0000 UTC View Post