Thank you all for reading! It really is so amazing! I love it! <3
When Michael woke up again there was definitely something different about him. He wasn’t a different person, so to speak, but something in his eyes had changed.
Perhaps there was a glint of confidence in there. Perhaps a hint of pride at having made it past F-rank, a feat that not just anybody could...
2024-11-05 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“’Break to go home’?” Eik read out loud. “That’s what it says on this thing.”
“So we really did do it?” Heath asked. “We can go home if we break that?”
Eik turned it over in his hand. The flip side was blank and unadorned, the material appearing to be some kind of semi porous stone. He was careful not to do it quite yet, but it felt like ...
2024-11-04 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostFor several moments Eik was lost in the feeling of the Profound Toxin surging through the kilometer long underground mycelium network.
His consciousness was pulled in and through the tunnel-like structures. It was as if he had become a part of the Profound Toxin itself. Even in the darkness inside of the extensive body of the fungus king, Eik felt the eagerness of the toxin as his own, an...
2024-11-01 16:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post“Aw, shit! Are you guys seeing three of them as well?” Eik asked.
“Yes…” Michael nodded, swallowing hard.
“What do we do?” Heath asked as he raised his shield protectively. “I don’t think I can keep the attention of all three of them or even survive it if I could.”
The three newly arrived guardians stood shoulder by shoulder and briefly eyed the li...
2024-10-31 16:17:35 +0000 UTC View PostRepeating the one step to bring out the boss from the beneath the mycelium network, Sonja stepped up to the edge and got into a stable kneeling position as she drew and nocked an arrow on the string to pull her bow to its full length. The moment she let the arrow fly her hand was already moving to the quiver to prepare another arrow.
The first shaft entered the meaty trunk of the fungus, ...
2024-10-29 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostNext was the whole arm, cracked and bark-like skin decorated with the same moss that grew plentifully throughout the entire region. It bent at the elbow and put a palm against one of the many limbs, hauling itself up and out of the ground to reveal the whole of the being.
What emerged was a tangled mess of roots and moss gathered loosely together to form a humanoid shape, its eyes glowing...
2024-10-28 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostIgnoring the pain in his leg, Eik leapt on his good foot. The Gohkamorian didn’t seem to have expected that because Eik’s Viper Fang went into his stomach with little more than a hand raised halfway in response.
A breathless gasp escaped the alien’s mouth as the blade went through skin, fat, and muscle, twisting into his insides. It took him a second to come out of the shock of the ...
2024-10-27 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAs if guided by a sixth sense, the Gohkamorian whirled on his feet, axe coming up in a deadly, two-handed arch. Profound Toxin was already gushing from Viper Fang, drawing a luminescent blue line through the night.
The lethal blade made brief contact with the giant’s skin and penetrated into flesh at the depth of about three finger spans, but although the head of the war axe didn’t al...
2024-10-26 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostUnfortunately, anesthesia and pain killers were a luxury they had no access to here in mushroom world. Heath had to use his other hand to cover Michael’s mouth to prevent him from howling in agony. Even if they had run a good distance away from the where the pursuers had originally found them, they could never be careful enough.
The healer buckled and arched as Sonja yanked the shaft ou...
2024-10-25 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostAnother bolt of sailed over their heads, impacting a mushroom trunk and scorching it black.
“They’re shooting! I’ll try to return fire!” Sonja warned.
She let one fly but she had trouble aiming properly. She tried again but the second and third shot didn’t go much better.
Without being prompted by the others, Michael weaved his fingers behind his back as he ran, tryi...
2024-10-24 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostBlotting out the sky, the titanic fungus looked like some manner of alien space craft arriving to lay claim to the planet.
Eik and the others were still far enough away from the thing that they hadn’t noticed it until now with the cap cover. A real ‘can’t see the tree for the forest’ kind of moment. If anything was going to be the solution to the Crucible practical, it would have ...
2024-10-23 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Someone’s here with us,” Eik said.
“But… how the hell did Menka Tokanami’s people come after us that quickly? Wasn’t Atla supposed to stop them from following us through the fracture,” Heath exclaimed.
Sonja shrugged. “Anything could have happened after we left. If Atla and Mikla were forced to leave the fracture unguarded it probably wouldn’t have been that dif...
2024-10-21 20:08:43 +0000 UTC View PostAfter about half an hour of trudging through thick moss they came across a small pond no more than a few meters from edge to edge. Although Eik was hesitant to put his face into the water, he also realized the importance of locating a drinkable source of water before their rather limited supply began to ran out.
What they had managed to bring would last them at most three days, and especi...
2024-10-21 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostEik put on his pants and ran into the hallway where Atla was knocking up the others. Mis followed him, seeing a chance to beg for a rare midnight snack.
Sonja was up and alert in seconds, Michael following soon after. Heath was still trying to get his eyes to open all the way by the time Eik made it there.
“She’s after us? I thought she had calmed down!”
“So did I,” ...
2024-10-20 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“72496!” the judge announced, his face saying that he still wasn’t sure he had sensed that right.
Eik stared at the man, not sure if his ears had gotten the number correct either. His optimistic hope for the score had been something around double Heath’s 6748, but 72496? The potency of Profound Toxin was honestly frightening.
With the strength it now displayed, he could ...
2024-10-19 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Go all out?” Michael repeated, the blood draining from his cheeks and forehead. “On that thing? What if it wakes up? I’m an F-ranker! A B-rank monster could sneeze on me and I’d die!”
“It won’t wake up,” Atla stated confidently.
“How can you be sure?” the young healer exclaimed.
She pointed at the glowing shackles. “Those. They’ve been enchanted to k...
2024-10-18 16:00:30 +0000 UTC View PostDespite holding the highest rank in their team of four, Eik didn’t even manage to get close to Heath’s impressive score in the endurance test. At fourteen seconds he was on his knees and at seventeen seconds he was out. Without Noxious Invigoration he really was more fragile than Sonja.
“You’ll probably make the top 100 in the category with that score, Heath,” Mikla said as they...
2024-10-17 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostAlthough Eik’s suite was still the largest and most exquisitely furnished, each of the three rooms granted to Heath, Sonja, and Michael had everything one could ever desire from a living space.
The wall that had been destroyed when Menka Tokanami tried to kill them after the rescue mission had even been fixed to the point where Eik couldn’t actually tell what was old wall and what was...
2024-10-16 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostA second after the battle had begun, a series of explosions of pink smoke covered the entire field. An opaque shroud now hung heavy.
Muffled sounds of struggle followed, accompanied by the shrill shriek of Travis’ Lightning Judgement of Tyrannical Ruination. Moments later a scream sounded from inside that traveled rapidly toward the spectators’ side. With a puff, Travis came flying ou...
2024-10-15 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostAtla was the first to step inside, followed closely by Mikla. Both wore the same type of ceremonial robe decorated with intricate color patterns woven into the fabric that Atla had worn for her first contact with Earth.
“You!” Boulder Fist Gary snarled and stood. His face showed equal parts fury and trepidation. Most telling was the fact that he didn’t charge at her mindlessly. Trav...
2024-10-14 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe Mission Central building had been vacated completely to make space for the tribunal. Guards circled the outer walls and milled about the perimeter. Apparently they didn’t want to risk any Awakened with abilities that heightened their senses to discover any of the information to be discussed inside.
Their eyes were not friendly as they watched Eik trudge up to the double doors of Mis...
2024-10-13 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post“You know who’s doing it?” Eik asked, eyes wide. “Who? Who is it?”
Mikla raised his hands to calm him down. “As certain as I can realistically be, yes. Have you heard of the Gohkamorians?”
“Of course I haven’t. I’ve barely heard about you.”
Mikla chuckled. “Right. Dumb question… Anyway, they’re actually also part of the Nidafjeld Alliance. New membe...
2024-10-12 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post[Acquired Movement Boost — Lv. 12]
[Acquired (Unique) Profound Toxin — Lv. 37]
[Skill evolution available. Skill available for evolution: (Unique) Profound Toxin]
[Choose one]
[(Unique) Profound Toxin — Infected Trail]
[(Unique) Profound Toxin —...
2024-10-11 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostEik, Michael, Sonja, and Heath sat around a table at a cafe. It was one of many located along one of the side streets that branched out from a main road that connected the Central Square as the city hub of Forest. Central Square was still overflowing with barricades and Awakened to keep a constant, vigilant eye on the fracture location.
Even during the Great Raid, a sizeable force had bee...
2024-10-10 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“We were worried sick!” Sonja cried. She had apparently been crying since before Eik got back, but it had intensified once they found out he had survived the attack.
They were walking back toward Forest with Eik and Michael carrying Heath between them. A stretcher had been provided for the big tank who still hadn’t woken up after almost being killed by a punch from Rock Fis...
2024-10-09 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostEven as the poison flowed thickly through its veins, attacks from the high-rankers outside continued to batter the lake serpent without pause. More than once, Eik almost lost his grip on Viper Fang which was the only thing that kept him from sliding further down the twisting sphincter and into the deadly stomach acid.
Veiny, discolored paths ran in all directions from the gash and the tis...
2024-10-08 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the fist came down Eik could do nothing to avoid it. It was too fast and too heavy. Life should have flashed before his eyes, but what he saw instead was Heath’s wide back obscuring the attack.
The metallic crash of a truck hitting a wall tore through the forest and a deep boom like that of a powerful bass pulsed through Eik’s body. In the next moment he was carried off his feet...
Rock Fist Bart stopped his squad with a raised hand when he saw the crocodilian monsters, taking another couple of cautious steps before noticing the other Awakened ahead. He frowned at the sight of Eik but quickly directed his attention back to the two monsters between them. He locked eyes with the robed man who had led Eik’s side through the trees and they exchanged looks before they began ...
2024-10-06 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostHeath’s breathing was growing more ragged by the second, the affected skin bubbling up into angry welts. Profound Toxin probably wouldn’t kill him very quickly without access to his circulatory system, but that didn’t change the fact that he would become unable to fight if his skin was flayed from his flesh.
“I don’t feel so good, Eik. It’s like my whole body is crawling with ...
2024-10-05 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe monstrous fiend got in a fifth lunge before a massive shock wave knocked it backwards into the lake, sending another large wave out in all directions.
“Something’s happening!” Heath hissed, clutching his shield tightly as if he was in the midst of the battle himself. As the serpent rose out of the lake again, a multicolored barrage of different attacks struck its side and sent i...
2024-10-04 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post