New Quest: Enter the Dragon
You have been tasked with restricting yourself to only the dreadfang style. For the duration of the incursion, you must use only that which Master Zahif has taught you. Wielding any weapon other than your fists will invalidate this quest. For every monster you slay unarmed, you will gain a stacking Experience and...
2024-10-10 01:19:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam’s days were filled with blood, sweat, and pain. Zahif was an excellent master. He taught Sam through trial and error. Showing him how to perform the maneuvers first, then having Sam practice with real-world inspired drills.
After the first day, the training sessions were private. Everything he taught Sam was for Sam alone. Zahif was very strict about anybody else...
2024-10-04 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam returned to the Scarlet Lotus later that day, his inventory stuffed full of new things from the Empire. He could have spent weeks exploring the markets and still not see a tenth of what they had on display.
He had little interest in entertaining offers from the various guilds that approached him while shopping. He was more than happy where he was.
Zahif was o...
2024-10-02 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Zahif gave Sam and Komachi a tour of the markets.
They were overwhelmed with choice. Though he had just eaten, Sam found he had the appetite for more. The twinned cities were a melting pot of cuisine and craftsmanship.
It was hardly what he expected in a place that was regularly attacked by monster incursions.
He dug into a steaming bowl of red curry, toppe...
2024-10-01 03:47:47 +0000 UTC View PostHis cat brandished her brush.
Droplets of blue paint splattered across the floorboards. The paint beaded together and rolled to a stop.
Sam watched, waiting for something to happen. The stuff glowed faintly with the presence of mana. It reminded him of the sea.
Komachi aggressively shook her brush at the paint. The beads bounced on the ground like ants on a trampoline.<...
2024-09-27 20:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam took Komachi to their room, where he hoped to spend the rest of the day sleeping away the fatigue of the last few days.
It wasn’t every day you fought ghostly pirates, sorceress lamias, and stood on the frontlines of a city’s invasion one after the other.
He barely had enough time to lock the door before he collapsed onto the low-lying bed. Just for peace...
2024-09-25 20:34:20 +0000 UTC View Post
As Sam looked over the older abilities he had earmarked as being potentially useful, he started to question his earlier decisions.
[Flash]
(Hybrid Ability) (E-Class)
(★ Common)
Swordsmen see their weapons as extensions of themselves. Through their weapons, they can perform a myriad of fe...
2024-09-25 20:34:10 +0000 UTC View Post
The most obvious thought struck Sam right then. I could tell Zarishna everything. The missing Lumanots, the Dead Echo, all of it.
The chances were slim she would ever believe him.
Worse, his being here could dramatically alter her fate. He would need to be careful. He didn’t want to Back to the Future himself out of existence.
If Za...
2024-09-20 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam looked around for some kind of marker. He had no idea where the Goldgate was. Thankfully, nearly everybody there did. Sam only had to follow the tide of bodies, readying themselves for battle.
Zorin tapped Sam on the shoulder and pointed to the second level, where the press of bodies was much thinner. “The Goldgate is through there. It’s the northernmost gate. ...
2024-09-18 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
An army is attacking the gates!
You are enlisted in the defense of the city. Earn your share of gold and glory by fighting for the Empire.
You gain combat provisions:
(3) [Imperial Health Potion]
(2) [Imperial Bandages]
(2) [Imperial Man...
2024-09-17 06:24:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam tumbled to the floor and collapsed in a sprawl. The unsettling sensation that draped across his frame announced his return to the Dead Echo. It was a gripping, numbing feeling that stole over every inch of his body.
He wanted to lie there forever, unmoving, unfeeling.
It was the Lumanot, instilling him with vitality, that got him moving again.
That and ...
2024-09-14 01:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
With the addition of the Food Court to their number, Sil’mara’s population had ballooned to over 300 souls. They routinely fished people out from the Maelstrom’s sweeping currents, usually only two or three at a time. The Food Court, on the other hand, had over a hundred well-fed and feverishly loyal subjects to the Burger Queen, Molly.
Raiko didn’t mind their ...
2024-09-12 01:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
K’thran, the lamia typhoon dancer, watched the lone human drop from the prow of the ship. How easy this would be! The stupid and the brave always were so kind to send out their heroes to be charmed and pulled into the embrace of the lamia.
Turning a brave champion against his own was the greatest pleasure a lamia knew.
The songstresses began to sing a discordan...
2024-09-10 01:51:19 +0000 UTC View Post
“The bane o’ every sailor,” Galbast told him. “Ye couldn’t ask for a more fearsome enemy to face! The Talmoori scare their children with stories o’ the lamia. Sailors would rather bare their teeth at a hurricane than squabble with a single lamia.”
“Are they workin’ together?” Komachi asked, looking between Galbast and Sam. “Or are there just that ...
2024-09-06 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The fight against the pirates through the night was long and grueling. Despite how much Sam longed for rest, the thrill of battle pushed him on.
When the Wavedancer was trying to outpace the pirates, it was harder to keep his eyes open.
There were brief periods of respite where Sam’s arms could rest. Zahif, too young to fight but wanting to pitch in al...
2024-09-04 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Ghostly skeletons climbed up the side of the Wavedancer. Rusted, barnacle-encrusted weapons clamped in their teeth promised an agonizing end. Mostly broad, curved scimitars, and knives made for slashing rather than stabbing.
Really hope magical tetanus isn’t a thing here, Sam thought to himself.
Komachi strummed an instrument. A wave of h...
2024-09-03 20:07:52 +0000 UTC View Post
At the end of the first night, Sam went to check on the cargo hold. Most of the crew gave him a slap on the back or a quick smile, but they were too busy still putting everything to rights to pay him much mind.
It didn’t take him long to scour the hold. Not because it wasn’t big. The hold was massive. Whoever designed the system for storing cargo down here was a ge...
2024-08-29 16:51:21 +0000 UTC View PostKomachi rubbing her paws together, then kneading the downed mage with [Healing Biscuits] didn’t do much to calm the ship crew down.
“I know this looks bad,” Sam said, holding his hands up.
The captain shoved through the press of bodies and bared steel. “Put that away ye salt-addled fools! Can’t you tell this man just saved our hides? Or have ye been listenin’ to t...
2024-08-29 16:51:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam thought that the lurching, disorienting sensation of being thrust back into the flow of time last time was bad. This was on an entirely different level.
The large man slammed into the hard wooden floor as salt water rushed and flowed over him. Hail and stinging rain pelted his exposed skin.
Throughout it all, he kept a tight hold on Komachi. He kept her tucke...
2024-08-29 16:50:44 +0000 UTC View Post
The Skyshard’s barrier flashed above, repelling errant chunks of rock and debris. The storm seemed to be lessening. Green lightning strikes were replaced by chunks of shattered Skyshards that disguised the Maelstrom’s corrupted meteors.
Haman didn’t look up from kneading this batch of [Endura Dough]. He didn’t even seem to notice anything was amiss. The mandrag...
2024-08-23 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Matt rested within the tunnel, safely out of sight of the agitated spiders. There were two distinct groups fighting each other now. Each believed the other was the aggressor, while Matt was able to rest and recuperate.
It was Matt, of course, that had peppered them with poisoned throwing daggers. Good thing they didn’t know that. His MP was on the low side, even afte...
2024-08-22 21:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
When Matt awoke again, the Shardscript was still there.
[Toxin]
Few are capable of taming the toxic nature of plants and animals. Most creatures who rely on said toxins are only ever resistant, never immune. The mire of poison you waded through to reach the start of this road represents more than a burgeoning talent for understanding ...
2024-08-20 21:36:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Matt was in a dark, damp hole.
Again.
While it wasn’t the typical one, it was pretty much the same deal. At least it wasn’t a hole Raiko dug for him and stuffed him into. Oh no. This hole was horizontal.
Very different.
He crawled forward on hands and knees, keeping up a litany of cursing that would make a sailor blush. Or rather, he...
2024-08-20 21:36:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Matt looked over at Raiko. “Why is he doing that? Is he having a stroke?”
“No,” Raiko said grumpily, “he just got something good. Really good.”
“I got a ‘Skill Talent’,” Xero told them excitedly.
As Xero explained what the Shardscript told him about it, Matt’s mouth hung open.
“Paths can do that?!”
“So it would seem,...
2024-08-17 01:05:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Your [Heavy Blade] Skill has reached (★☆ Uncommon).
For all the effort he put into that strike, it certainly appeared to pay off. Sam had used [Heavy Blade] frequently since his intense training with the Empress, but this was the first time he saw the skill improve.
It was little wonder since the skill was E-Class now. Unlike F-Class, where h...
2024-08-17 01:04:45 +0000 UTC View Post
“That was a nice thing you did,” Komachi told Sam as he cut-and-thrust around the parrying blade of an automaton.
It was a testament to how much they had both grown that they could hold full conversations in the midst of battle.
Twisting on the balls of his feet, Sam lashed out with his new sword and cut the automaton in two. “I can only imagine how much Za...
2024-08-17 01:01:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing that resolved in Sam’s hazy vision was Raiko’s worried face. Her violet eyes drew him in with the promise of safety. The shock of killing another man, the disorientation from the Remnants’ transportation, and the pain piercing through his torso was too much to bear.
Sam slumped into Raiko’s open arms.
“Sam!” Komachi cried. “I healed him, but…...
2024-08-13 01:11:41 +0000 UTC View Post
The hideous, profane Tower rose out to pierce the veil of Oblivion mana that surged and roiled around the heart of the Maelstrom. Following the edicts of his newfound family, Quinn had tried to use his Oblivion mana to destroy the Tower.
He had to break the Cycle. It was his duty.
A duty he had failed.
He knew what was wrong now, why he had been to...
2024-08-09 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam’s next footfall landed on leaf mold. He was immediately assaulted by a dizzying sense of movement. As if he had been plunged into a roaring river.
Komachi licked her paw as Sam nearly went down to his knees in agony and disorientation. It took her a few moments to realize that Sam was struggling, because the cat had absolutely no ill-effects from suddenly enterin...
2024-08-08 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam had never used his Void powers in this way before, and he sorely doubted it would work, but he had to try. There was no way around the dreadnought, no way under or over it.
The only way was through.
Using his aura to supercharge his Path skill, Sam’s body was covered in a protective shell of purple-and-black Eschan flames.
[Escha: Surge] coat...
2024-08-06 06:11:32 +0000 UTC View Post