Zalan stopped in his tracks, the loud audience roaring above him making him second guess what he heard.
“You saw Slasuon in the Castle of Docrun?” Zalan asked Rep.
“No, but I remember his name. You said it when you read it off the letter,” Rep said.
“I didn’t even know him before this week,” Zalan shook his head.
“The letter you read in the Chaos Cham...
“Quickly now, come here!” Doctor Quill demanded.
Rep and Zalan made their way to her side next to a patient breathing faintly on a cot. His chest was bare, his clothing cut open by the doctor. The patient was almost unresponsive, not reacting to the checks Doctor Quill made.
“He is so cold. Can either of you start a fire?” Doctor Quill asked.
Rep held a small flame ...
Rep and Zalan sat next to one another in the stone stands, watching the arena intently.
“It’s a lot of fun to watch. A lot less pressure. I can see how they pull such a big audience,” Zalan said.
“But… it is thrilling to win,” Rep admitted, embarrassed.
“Oh, for sure. Well, I don’t think I really got the thrill in the first fight. I was more confused than an...
Zalan imbued himself with a thin layer of lightning, ready to share the power for the first time in public.
“Raah!” Leon ran forward and threw out a ball of fire immediately, trying to catch Zalan off guard.
Zalan was almost relieved to have his opponent come after him so quickly. He had spent too many nights of training with Nold, where Nold had consistently jumped straight i...
Zalan and Rep made their way back to the healing tent, hoping to find Nold before their first fights.
“What are we going to do?” Rep asked, his arms gesturing more than his words called for.
“About what?” Zalan asked, confused by his agitation.
“The bracket combination! We will go up against people much stronger than us!”
“Nold taught us that we should ...
The tent of fighters began to cry out at Umdarr in protest as the news sank into them.
“That is not fair!” someone screamed out. “I am only Level 3! How am I to compete against those that are Level 8 and 9?”
“I apologize, but I have told you the circumstances. There is no negotiation to be had. We will not be changing back,” Umdarr replied.
“I would not mind f...
Zalan and Rep awoke to the daylight, Nold evidently having kept his promise of taking watch for the entirety of the night. As he broke down the sand walls, the two students stretched themselves, not knowing exactly what would come next. Nold looked over the two of them, then a smile stretched on his face.
“Are you ready to compete in the tournament? We must move quickly and enter befor...
Days of travel went by without any more monsters. Nold spent the hours of sunlight disappointed at the lack of enemies to train against. He filled the evenings with a series of challenges for Zalan to imbue himself in a thinner and less conspicuous manner, hiding the fact he was imbued from his opponents. The instructor had Rep figure out the full range of ability with his injured shoulder and ...
2024-04-22 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Shell King ran forward, brandishing its halberd as it took long, ponderous strides. Zalan and Rep reacted immediately, throwing out a flame and blast of lighting that merged to explode upon impacting the Shell King. It was the first time they initiated a battle together, confident in their combined ability. It charged right through the explosion unperturbed.
“It tanked our Elementa...
There was a path that led from the city to the tournament, but Nold deliberately led them far away from the path, looking for more monsters for his pupils to face before the tournament. To their surprise, he didn’t impose any restrictions when they came across their first set of Boznoks. He simply nodded toward the monsters and Rep and Zalan charged in with fists raised.
Zalan marveled...
Zalan shot out of bed in a matter of minutes. He tenderly stretched his hands and arms, until satisfied that he’d fully healed himself. He punched his arm out excitedly, not having been able to use his arms for days. He swung his legs off the mattress and looked to Nold who was standing at the door.
“Can we go?” Zalan asked impatiently.
Nold shook his head and silently nodde...
The next day’s travel was spent very similarly to the morning’s encounter with the Fogfangs. Occasionally, Nold would spot monsters at a distance and take his students to fight them. The monsters were relatively simple to take on, like Roaches or Fogfangs, and Rep and Zalan were growing used to fighting with their feet, alone. They hadn’t even attempted to use their hands since they had s...
2024-04-12 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostZalan awoke the next morning to the sound of a waterfall of sand breaking apart around him as Nold took down the protective wall. He had slept surprisingly well, his body taking advantage of every moment of rest that he had. He flexed his hands and winced, seeing they were still tender with their fresh wounds.
“I saw you use your feet for Elemental power last night. Good work. It is a ...
Rep raised his arm defensively as the Sand Shark descended upon him. Zalan tried to get there in time like he had with the Slimescorp, but was too late. The Sand Shark latched onto Rep’s outstretched arm viciously. Rep howled in pain and then emitted flame from his bitten hand, burning the shark from within. Zalan watched helplessly as the Sand Shark began to glow with increasing heat. Rep su...
2024-04-08 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe three travelers sat around the evening fire. Zalan’s system was sore and throbbing mercilessly. His hands were wounded from combat or sparring. His chest still burned from the blow Nold delivered him. His legs were totally exhausted to the point he wasn’t even sure he could stand up anymore. In short, everything hurt.
Nold had built a wall of sand around them, high enough to keep...
Zalan decided that he would be the first to spar his instructor, rolling up his sleeves. Nold rolled up his sleeves as well, revealing a strange, deep purple and black scar on his wrist where his stats would usually show up. Zalan stared at it for a moment, then thought it would be rude to ask the story behind the scar. Even more so, Nold would probably take the question as an opportunity when ...
2024-04-03 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostZalan breathed hard, throwing out as much lightning as he could with his good hand, the other in too much pain for him to want to use. The monsters that Nold raced to catch up with ended up being Boznoks. Rep seemed hesitant and Zalan remembered that Boznoks were supposed to be treated like intelligent life to some degree. It was a fiasco the last time he killed one that surrendered in combat. ...
2024-04-01 16:03:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Nold, they are too dangerous, we need our weapons,” Rep said as the Slimescorps closed in on them.
“Then take them,” Nold suggested.
“This is not a game, give me my sword back!” Rep demanded. “We can not touch the approaching monsters!”
“You can if you fully imbue your body,” Nold suggested.
“What are they? What do they do?” Zalan asked, hold...
Zalan and Nold walked in step to the exit to Oriton, Rep just slightly behind them. Zalan was eager to engage in any kind of conversation with Nold and began asking questions that he normally didn’t care for since they weren't essential for him to return home. He carried energy like an excited puppy, almost jumping at the chance to receive some attention.
“So where are you from, Inst...
“Tell me, where was your Elemental found?” Nold asked Zalan as they made their way back into the city.
“The Lost City of Xagon,” Zalan replied.
“I cannot say I have heard of it. Where is this city?” Nold asked.
“You didn’t know about it either!” Zalan said excitedly. Something about Nold being the first person to be ignorant of something in this realm made...
Rep turned to see who had addressed the two of them. It was a man at the beginning of his middle-age, hints of gray peeking out of his stubble beard. He wore a long cloak and gloves, covering every inch of his skin that was not a part of his head. The eccentric man stood proudly, a wide smile stretched across his face. He was beaming at Zalan who sat sweating and shaking on the dirt-ridden eart...
2024-03-22 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostZalan woke up in a groggy daze, knowing that he was supposed to be doing something, but not certain as to what. His mind was reaching out, clawing for something to reenter the forefront of his mind. He stretched out and sat up in bed, then noticed Rep. Rep was seated at the table in the middle of the room, watching Zalan carefully. Something was off about the scene. Rep rarely, if ever, woke up...
2024-03-20 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostZalan threw himself out of bed and stomped his way to the door exiting the guild, manic frenzy in all of his movements. Rep, his close friend and guide in this world, hesitantly got out of his own cot, extremely concerned by Zalan’s sudden behavior. Zalan paced for a few seconds, then stormed toward the guild’s exit. Rep rushed across the room and tugged at Zalan’s tunic, just as Zalan wa...
2024-03-18 16:03:00 +0000 UTC View Post
All right, yeah, I know I was supposed to take this week off, but let me have this! I'll still be returning with book 2 on March 18th, this is just some extra stuff in the meantime!
Thanks for reading The Homeseeker Book 1: A Rejection of Reality. We’re all done with the first book and I’ll get right on to releasing the second one in a few days. The response...
Zalan felt before he saw. He was lying in bed. Before he opened his eyes, a huge smile stretched its way onto his face. He had successfully survived the other world. He could get on with his life. He made it.
Home.
Something that delighted him further was that his memories were still with him. So clearly, he remembered all the e...
“Are you prepared to go home?” Rep asked Zalan.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Zalan said. “We came all this way, right?”
“You misunderstand. Are you fine to go home? Will you be fine once you return?” Rep asked.
Zalan could feel what Rep was getting at. Was he really ready to go home and face reality once more? It fe...
Rep approached Zalan with the Homeseeker in hand. The golden cube with black corners, about the size of a brick. There was an extrusion in the center of the top of the cube, looking like an obvious button to push to activate it. On every other side of the cube was a rounded cut, about the size of a wedding ring, making the Homeseeker look a...
Zalan watched in awe as the hulking monster collapsed, rumbling the chamber as it fell into its final resting place. They had killed an Elemental Dragon. They had somehow survived the ordeal. Zalan was almost certain the day would end with either he and his friends laying dead in here or him having to make the impossible decision to use the Homes...
Zalan felt many things happen at once that he didn’t fully understand. The first was the new sensations running through his body. He felt strangely relieved and realized that the claw was no longer holding him down. He was free from Hatewing’s grip and had more than enough strength to stand up. He hopped up as fast as he could to escap...
“No!” Zalan screamed as the lightning blasted into the floor where Fran stood. The entire room shook powerfully as the thunder echoed through the room. When the attack was finally over, Fran’s body lay blackened and inert on the floor, her sword remaining where it was in the ground.
Fran was dead.
Hatewing let out a full, deep, ...