As the quest leader, Sakura received a pack to make their lives easier. It contained a map, rations, magical torches, unnaturally light rope, and several other devices. The most useful among them were six little clips that attached to the top of everyone’s ear. They fit snugly behind the earlobe. They were communication devices and made swift communication possible and easy. Nil and his compa...
2024-09-25 06:00:40 +0000 UTC View PostA dull ache at the back of Nil’s head stirred him the following day, and an annoying buzzing accompanied it. He and Selia had stayed up late into Sunday night, and both agreed that it was okay to sleep in a couple of mornings a week. By ‘sleeping in’, they meant waking up somewhere between six and six-thirty instead of five, if not earlier, and such mornings followed their ‘date’ even...
2024-09-24 15:55:22 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Selia returned and resumed her training, Nil had seen significant growth. He had Meatball’s garden and his manuals to thank for the rapidly growing numbers.
Might: Iron 7
Finesse: Bronze 2
Mind: Iron 2
Spark: Bronze 7
Brutal Battery...
2024-09-24 06:24:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Meet Cara Sue.” It took Isabella a week to find someone suitable to join Nil and Shawn during their daily sessions. “She just won her fifth Bronze Gauntlet of Ten yesterday and has graciously agreed to help out.”
“I wouldn’t have if Isabella and Layla didn’t ask personally,” Cara said. “I think it mad to attempt the Death Gauntlet, let alone in Iron Realm when you’re ...
2024-09-23 19:17:21 +0000 UTC View PostNil didn’t know whether Emily was too busy with school, no longer considered going out with her big brother cool or had seen the match recordings and now feared him. She rejected his offer for a brother-daughter dinner date, claiming she had vital coursework to complete.
I hope I’m wrong.
“Just be patient,” Selia told him as they sat in his garden, basking in the wa...
2024-09-23 06:48:39 +0000 UTC View PostNil woke alone and, while making his bed, found red, lacy underwear in it. He folded them neatly and left them on the nightstand. He was sure their owner would come by later to collect them.
The Sunday night didn’t turn as wild as he had expected. Most of Mayfair’s best restaurants were closed, and he struggled to find a booking at first. Then, an old colleague who was now a sommelier...
2024-09-22 18:37:26 +0000 UTC View PostYou have received 5 Schema Tokens and 1000 Schema Credits for your victory.
Victory against a combatant with seventeen Gauntlet of Ten and four Death Gauntlet wins, and destroying the Cursed One has earned you an additional prize.
Would you like upgrade materials for your soul weapon or growth fruit for your soul beast?
The de...
2024-09-22 06:57:18 +0000 UTC View PostA torrential downpour came down upon Nil and the ancient temple. The heavy drops were loud on the stone. The pillars already limited Nil’s range of vision, and the rain limited his vision further. It was icy cold but didn’t bother his Body of Bronze much. The constant movement helped too. The elements had rendered the ground rough, and he didn’t worry about slipping much.
The decisi...
2024-09-21 17:00:30 +0000 UTC View Post“What the hell was that?!” Isabella exclaimed.
Shawn appeared as surprised as she sounded. New, watermelon-sized barriers still clung to his palms as he stood in an attack stance.
“I don’t know,” Nil answered, taking a moment to process what had just happened. “It was spontaneous.”
“Try it again,” she commanded.
“I don’t know how.”
“...
2024-09-21 06:49:15 +0000 UTC View PostEven though he failed to replicate the necessary routine, Nil consumed the Spirit Pill. He needed to design his routine around the pre-decided training sessions, and it took a couple of days for his body clock to adjust.
Nil's day started at half past nine in the evening. He freshened up, made himself a vegan pill, and then retired to the garden room for eight hours of uninterrupted culti...
2024-09-20 05:29:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe date ended with the match’s broadcast. Nil held Selia for a while. He didn’t know what to say and hoped his presence and warmth were enough to provide comfort. She didn’t move or say a word for a long time. The woman stared silently at the screen for what felt like an eternity, tears streaming down her face and occasionally hiccuping. Symbiotech had taken many people dear to her, and ...
2024-09-19 19:11:52 +0000 UTC View Post“Why are you moving like you’ve been run over?” Selia asked when Nil met her later in the day. It was earlier in the day than they had planned, but they bumped into each other when he was returning from picking up the steaks.
“Noah had me join him for an impromptu training session,” Nil answered, and we went at it without Absorb or Expend. “I’m much better than I was this mo...
2024-09-19 05:57:48 +0000 UTC View PostMuch to Nil’s surprise, Noah Granger called him on Sunday morning. The Forge didn’t have a set routine, but from what he had heard, most took the day off. The Summoned used the time to relax or for solo training. Nil had planned to cultivate, study the exercises in his manuals, and attempt command training with Meatball before his date. Nil had also planned on calling Katherine and having a...
2024-09-18 18:16:01 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m so glad you’re alive!” Bunty exclaimed when he and Nil met. The building, with group training rooms and Apocalypse Arena services, also had a cafe and meeting room for visitors. Since Nil didn’t feel comfortable showing up in public yet, he picked it as their meeting space. “After the Symbiotech thing and not hearing from you, I was sure you died.”
“That’s my bad,...
2024-09-18 08:20:47 +0000 UTC View Post“Oh good, you’re back,” Isabella spotted Nil before he did her. Shawn walked next to her, covered in sweat and holding an ice pack to a red welt on his cheek. Nil had seen the most basic form of her sonic abilities. Absorb protected him from the bulk of it, but Isabella still rattled his bones and messed with his inner ear. Shawn’s more active defenses likely struggled with them far mor...
2024-09-17 17:42:46 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re back!” Susan bounced over as soon as she spotted him. “Is Andrew with you?”
“Unfortunately, not.” Nil smiled sheepishly. They exchanged hugs and were glad his family didn’t linger. They had met Susan before and waved her goodbye before returning to their quarters. “The quest won’t end until his trainer is satisfied with his progress. I think she wants him to as...
2024-09-17 05:51:21 +0000 UTC View PostNexus’s operators appeared to be fond of simple titles. Their ludus and new earth-side headquarters didn’t have anything Grand like Golden Aegis or didn’t show off its affiliations like Wilson Luduses. Instead, they had settled for calling themselves The Forge. If one were to peek through the new gate or over the five-meter-tall wall, they’d see barely anything different from the old re...
2024-09-16 14:54:05 +0000 UTC View Post“I was almost sure the crazy tinkers on your world damaged the soul weapon’s memory,” Samara said, studying Nil. Two days had passed since the cavern attacks. Dealing with the aftermath had kept the soul smith busy, and she summoned him after his shift. He lay on the rune-covered stone table in her workshop as she and Andrew closely studied his gauntlets. “Clearly, I was wrong.”
When Nil didn’t question the current weapon’s uses and compatibility and continued enjoying its gifts, the white lines faded, and the soul weapon solidified. The material around the hands and wrists resembled a regularly used and seasoned wok's dark finish, like metal regularly charred by hot flames and extreme heat. The outer surface gathered a robust sheen further up the arm and almost re...
2024-06-19 20:52:27 +0000 UTC View Post[I'm back for good. Goal is to finish book 2 by mid July and I'll post as I write. Sorry guys. Caitlin's pregnancy difficulties have eased off. My lungs are still in bad shape but more manageable. Spent all my life staying away from cigarettes yet childhood asthma returned with a vengeance. Anyway. Sorry and thank you for sticking around.]
“Do you even know where you’...
2024-06-18 21:02:40 +0000 UTC View PostOn the seventh day after the quest’s beginning, Samara Khan summoned Nil to her workshop. It sat across near the forges just off the settlements central gardens. Several similar spaces littered the cave system. Plants alien to the outer desert biome filled it, growing under the light or magical sunlamps. Some grew food for the residents. Others served as grazing and living areas for the camel...
2024-06-02 20:50:10 +0000 UTC View PostEven though Nil had lost Restless In Body And Mind, his senses felt sharper than ever. Besides the titanic increase in Brutal Battery’s capacity, Nil lacked the means and understanding to measure how an increase in Spark affected him. The case wasn’t the same for Finesse.
It wasn’t just his senses that were sharpened. Nil could now move comfortably with supercharged speed with...
2024-05-15 10:27:54 +0000 UTC View PostYou have earned 6 Schema Tokens!
You have earned 1000 Schema Credits!
“That’s a lot more than I was expecting,” Nil said, immediately deciding to bank all of the tokens. When he first started as a Summoned, he raced toward using all his resources to maximize his attributes. However, he now had access to the Moon Rabbit Emporium and still had their Spirit Pill. Gi...
2024-05-14 21:21:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Brute force it?” Selia asked, scanning their surroundings. She phased in and out of sight, transitioning between transparency and translucence. Even when completely ‘invisible,’ Nil could spot her as light distorted around her body. “I don’t know the first thing about computers or overloading things.”
Nil shook his head. “We want plausible deniability. If I bash things or...
2024-05-14 14:55:36 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m detecting increased security in the building.”
Andrew’s voice was loud in Nil’s ear as he arrived at the Symbiotech headquarters. The aether-tech-savvy scrapyard owner had whipped together a communication device that was barely a quarter of an inch across and comfortably fit just inside Nil’s ear. Someone would have to stick a finger in to discover it.
...
2024-05-13 20:52:36 +0000 UTC View PostIt took Nil three days of cultivation and exercising to get the necessary ranks for ascension. His insides still felt ravaged, but he powered through it, hoping the pain would earn him another rank of Might. Unfortunately, he didn’t get what he wanted. Nil finished circulating the Body Pill’s gifts, getting him where he needed. Katherine, Susan, Andrew, and his family wanted to meet him in ...
2024-05-13 06:54:46 +0000 UTC View Post