Running through the wastes.
Biting deep.
Tasting blood in his mouth.
Reveling in it.
Dreams faded away and Kai tasted only sand and glass. He was lying on his face on the shore, and the sand against his skin reminded him of everything that had happened. Now that he felt less hopeless, he forced himself up to his knees to make what he could of the rubble of his life.
<... 2023-09-12 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostKai grabbed at Anaelina's wrist, but she was overwhelmingly strong, far more than she should have been. Before his stamina could drain away, he struck her arm with both of his, using leverage to break her grip.
It worked, but he nearly collapsed when he dropped back to the ground. The tingling throughout his body intensified and now he understood it for what it was: part of his soul was d...
2023-09-11 17:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostCognosticon here: We just hit 100 followers on RR, so everyone is getting a bonus chapter (right after this). There will be future bonus chapters if either Patreon or the RR following hit certain milestones.
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"How can my power not be a Class?" Kai asked. He refused to think about implications and simply watched the strange woman as he thought about the facts.
"I couldn't come...
2023-09-11 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAs Kai traveled, he realized just how right Aglahai had been. Away from the major cities with strong Hunters Guilds, there simply weren't many communities so close to the central wastes. In another week of traveling he only saw a single town, a small fortified community alongside a major road, and he decided to stay away from it in case his banishment applied there as well.
With the lesso...
2023-09-10 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post"Oh, come on!" Kai pulled his bow off his back and threw it down on the ground. "I don't want to hurt anyone, and you of all people shouldn't feel threatened!"
The old man blinked at him and squinted down at the weapon. "Is that bow made of metal?"
"It's Irunian steel," Kai said absentmindedly as he picked it up. He'd been overcome by a moment of frustration, but if the old man was ...
2023-09-09 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as Kai neared the camp in the ruins, he knew that he was unwelcome. Then again, he wasn't sure that anyone was really welcome. It seemed less like a community than a stalemate of criminals who only barely hated the monsters outside more than one another.
Then again, he was one of them now, a clanless man banished for violence. Maybe he shouldn't cast judgments.
Though the ru...
2023-09-08 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAfter stumbling in despair for a while, Kai eventually pulled himself together. Not because he had hope. Simply because moving forward was the only thing he knew how to do.
In a sense, he had been doomed ever since the moment he received his Laborer Class. If a simple life in the city was unacceptable to him - and he'd rejected it at every turn - then he really didn't have any option. He ...
2023-09-07 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostBy the end of the brawl, Kai was swaying on his feet. Taking so many potions at once had worked, but it had been reckless. Far from granting him the abilities of multiple Classes, all the new sources of mana had churned inside him until he wanted to vomit.
The shock on their faces had been worth it, though. Kai had no idea what he'd looked like, but he'd been venting mana in all direction...
2023-09-06 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post"You're wasting everyone's time," Fhazi said from the safety of his small army. "You know that you'll never come to anything, but you're still consuming Monskon City's resources."
"If you really believe that, why not spar with me for real?" As Kai spoke, he observed the environment carefully. No easy exits, and breaking into one of the buildings would just cause more problems.
"We'v...
2023-09-05 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostSomehow, one month of training became two. Kai struggled with the intense pace at times, especially days when he woke up exhausted, but he refused to let himself stop. If he wanted to keep up with people who had fully developed Class abilities, he needed to go far beyond what anyone expected.
In all that time, he only managed to increase another Physique Level, but it actually didn't both...
2023-09-04 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAs he drifted in soft darkness, Kai felt as thought there should be pain. Some animal part of him knew that he was injured and should be fighting for his life. And yet there was only a tight warmth through his body. It didn't respond when he tried to move and it was difficult to tell where his skin ended and the softness began.
His mind returned after the sensations and he forced himself ...
2023-09-03 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostAll of the other monsters had rushed from their gates as soon as the bars retreated enough, but when the Isulfr's cage opened completely, nothing emerged. Kai could feel it within, even aside from its aura distorting reality. He tried to remain calm by inventorying his weapons: he would begin with his bow and his gauntlets would be useful if it got close, but he had to assume his sword would be...
2023-09-02 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post"You came after all." The old man scratched at the scar across his scalp. "When you said a month, I figured you would run off."
"Why run off?" Kai pretended that he couldn't feel the monster warping the world from across the pit and just smiled. "All I've gotten from you is promises about how dangerous this creature is supposed to be."
"Oh, trust me, you'll get the challenge you wan...
2023-09-01 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostSo began one of the most intense months of training in Kai's life. He'd always worked hard, but now that he had gathered so much information about different training schedules, he could prepare something far more extensive.
When Juray or Inafay asked, he said that it was to prepare for the fight against the monster. That was partially true, since he felt certain that it posed a massive th...
2023-08-31 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostKai lay back in Juray's bed and just existed for a while. The warmth suffused all his muscles, which decided that they didn't need to do anything in particular. Juray yawned and shifted against him to a more comfortable position, then lowered her head against his chest again. It might have felt nice to just stay there forever, but his other thoughts were starting to return.
"That was sati...
2023-08-30 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostNo one actually explained the rules of the tournament clearly, which struck Kai as a terrible idea. There were currently a group of men and women flailing in the ring: all of them had at least G-1 Physique, but otherwise they weren't very impressive. Judging from context, he thought that this was an elimination round, sorting out who would actually get into the tournament brackets.
Otherw...
2023-08-29 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAs Kai walked through town, he tried not to skip like a love-struck idiot. It took some actual discipline, because his mood was fantastic.
From the way veterans complained at the bar, he'd gotten the impression that sex automatically made relationships complicated and messy. Everyone was either gripped by the truest love in all history or bitterly complaining about their partners. But so ...
2023-08-28 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostIn the days following the confrontation, Kai was surprised by which elements stuck with him. Talking things out with Inafay surprisingly made him feel better, since everything was clear. He didn't care about the fact that the nobles mocked him, he was just glad to continue his training.
But the numbers fixed in his mind. He hadn't focused on them at the time, but his mind had apparently a...
2023-08-27 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWhen it was finally time to meet with Inafay again, Kay found himself oddly nervous. Their relationship had always been comfortable, yet there had been so many new thoughts going through his mind lately. Or maybe it was the fact that everything had turned against him while she had just finished an extensive clan-funded training.
At first when he arrived to find her absent, he was worried ...
2023-08-26 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning Kai began training and he had no idea why. Improving himself felt good... but was that really enough? As he pushed his body to its limits alone in the training yard, he realized that it wasn't. He'd never wanted power for its own sake, he'd wanted to fight the war against the monsters and protect the people of the city.
Now, after learning so much, he also wanted to chang...
2023-08-25 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe flame immediately coursed through his flesh and Kai gasped. He could feel it reforming, twisting over him. His mana surged wildly, having no idea what to do. Allegedly it was supposed to come intuitively, so he threw himself into trying to control the flame.
To his surprise, the heat flowed together into an icy current that pooled in his hand. A moment later, it evaporated and he stru...
2023-08-24 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostKai flailed wildly, hoping he could catch the side of the wall, and did nothing but churn the air. Before he could think of any other plan, he slammed into the ground.
Groaning, Kai slowly rolled over onto his back and tried to muster the will to sit up. If his Physique hadn't improved, that fall would probably have killed him. As it was, he'd gotten the wind knocked out of him, but it ac...
2023-08-23 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAs far as Kai had read, there were few nasty tricks when it came to Physique Level. It was simply the raw amount of mana your body could process, which usually happened subconsciously, so people could advance and even break barriers simply by physical exertion. That meant there were no hidden pitfalls, but there weren't any shortcuts for him either.
He sat down on the floor and held the f...
2023-08-22 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post"Is this about the mission?" Kai nervously looked to see if anyone else was listening. "I'm sorry that we lost hunters, but the situation was more complex than it-"
"I don't give the tiniest of shits about the mission." Gunjin's eyes never left him for a second. "There were conflicting reports, and it was transparently obviously that Yangil was lying about the details to undermine you. Th...
2023-08-21 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostBeing smashed through a table hadn't stunned Kai much, but the hand around his neck felt like steel. How the hell could such a thin woman wield so much strength? She kept him pinned there, apparently determined to suffocate him.
Whatever strange power she possessed, it flowed in her far more powerfully now. He had no idea what abilities she might have or how they worked, but he was sure t...
2023-08-20 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post"Son, if you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and forget you saw anything." One of the larger smugglers lifted a sword in his direction, in case there was any confusion. "This has got nothing to do with you. And we're not selling, if that's what you're thinking."
Kai kept a smile on his face and he faced the group. All of the smugglers were in the same general range except the...
2023-08-19 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostBeing abandoned was not, admittedly, the way Kai had hoped his day would go. But truthfully, he was more concerned about the fact that the hunters had so little respect for him than the prospect of getting home. He was only a few days of travel away from Monskon City on a safer route than his first trip, so he could probably return on his own. That would be their excuse and no one could say the...
2023-08-18 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHis failure on the Path of Steel had been gutting at first, but Kai was surprised how quickly he accepted it. Maybe he was getting used to disappointment, or maybe it was just that hopes carried for a few days couldn't compare to those crushed by his Class awakening. Sometimes he even found himself laughing. Of course fate couldn't let him have anything.
Even in his less acerbic moments, ...
2023-08-17 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostKai had worried that he would become disoriented, given that it would be impossible to open his eyes underneath the surface. That was the reason he'd jumped in so directly, and he'd planned to follow his momentum to swim to the bottom.
None of that had been necessary. The liquid metal closed on him from all sides, far thicker than water, but the bottom was palpably oppressive. He could fe...
2023-08-16 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostPain swirling in darkness. Hooked needles piercing his skin endlessly. Even when he felt empty, the pain continued spearing through him, as if lines of agony had been etched in his flesh. A terrible, unnatural throbbing working its way through his veins. His very soul felt overloaded.
Voices and movement, then another rush of pain. For a time he slipped into the darkness, then he suddenly...
2023-08-15 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post