It isn’t flapping its remaining wing or using any magic to slow or change the direction of its fall.
The creature seems to have given up and is just permeating sadness as it falls into this artificial abyss.
My steps through the air are powerful, so the distance between us closes in less than a minute. However, ...
2024-08-31 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I walk up and down the aisles, picturing the two silver blades aimed at my core and heart slowly piercing through my flesh.
The microseconds pass as the rush of new stat points adds to my base power. My speed and agility are what I have to rely on most for the plan I’ve devised next. I slowly make my way back to the w...
2024-08-30 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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More and more level-up notifications ring in my ear as I push the dragon back even further.
Every time I land a full-powered hit with both my swords, I’m able to shatter the barrier and send this beast flying back.
The only problem is, I don’t have enough time to throw the same powered attack at it right after...
2024-08-29 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The second collision goes almost exactly as expected.
Our speed on impact isn’t as fast, so my strike is less powerful, but I’m more focused on keeping this dragon entertained while I figure out how to gain slightly more power and fully understand what this yellow hexagon ability is.
The fact that there is no ...
2024-08-28 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The seconds before the collision are the most intense.
The entire flight over has been slightly nerve-wracking, but now that I am about to collide with a bronze earth dragon that is 5,000 levels above me, with a True Core of similar strength to my own, the reality of my predicament sinks in.
The air becomes thick ...
2024-08-27 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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I turn my head in the direction of the odd presence that pressures the back of my mind, but I don’t activate my full perception skills and buffs because I’m too close to my teammates and the Crimson City to risk letting out that much power.
Instead, I calmly look back toward Abby, who posed the question, and nod.
2024-08-26 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Both of the teleport crystals are crushed in our fists, and we’re brought to the Crimson City.
My double greets us beneath the guildhall, keeping guard over the last remaining isolation pod that’s healing Ember.
“Back so soon?” He locks eyes with Rodrigo, then looks back at me before continuing. “It appe...
2024-08-25 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Despite locking eyes with Rodrigo, the voices that yell the loudest throughout the room are the fire and wind users who radiate bright red divine energy.
“What is the meaning of this? My life has been a lie! My mind—I—” The wind user shouts out, now fully missing his hand and leg due to the lack of borrowed gold...
2024-08-24 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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All over the globe, nine silver devices ping simultaneously.
Some are locked away in item boxes and magical storage vaults, while others are worn around strong hunters' wrists and necks like ornaments.
Every one of them sends the same signal: a flashing yellow light among nine other lights that glow brightly.
<...
2024-08-23 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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[Status Open]
____________________
Name: Jay Soju
Level: 4246
Hp: 21235/21235
Mp: 21235/21235
Strength: 19011 [+61025] [+85740] [+92013] [+77565] [+61025] [+142963] [+117108 ] [+92203] [+172050] [+9506] [+19011] [+87831] [+47528] [+47528] [+76044]
Total Strength: 1,208,151
Speed...
2024-08-22 23:01:01 +0000 UTC
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I keep walking forward, pretending not to notice a thing.
The elevator door behind us closes, and I start to show more interest in the massive cave-like room we’re in, while moving toward the back of it, over 100 meters away.
The golden tendrils emanating from the Director's back begin to reinforce themselves wi...
2024-08-22 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A confident woman’s voice echoes from the door as a narrow white entrance hallway comes into view.
“Welcome back, Mr. Freeman. That was a quick trip, as expected.”
A woman with tightly tied back blond hair, clad in a black and green association-branded combat suit, greets us at the end of the short hall.
...
2024-08-21 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The dark room moves just like the smaller cube I was in before.
I take a few steps forward and pull a black chair from the opposite side of the table and sit down, doing as the Director asked. The three new A-Class hunters take seats near me as well. Their golden collars glow brightly.
The feeling of being guided ...
2024-08-20 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I spend the night in one of the newest hotels in the Crimson City.
My doubles helped recreate a small number of luxury rooms similar to the mana dense rejuvenation rooms found at the Moon Bar back in Valor City. With my new imbuement skill, creating building materials and furniture that release controlled amounts of man...
2024-08-19 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The echoing cracks of Soul Energy attacks, strengthened by countless red threads of divine energy, ring throughout the desert as I approach my teammates training.
None of them have their main weapons out, and no ranked-up buffs are activated; they’re all fighting in their base human forms.
Reality bends beneath ...
2024-08-18 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I can feel the massive yellow core cycling energy in my chest reach a point where, in the last few sessions, it's been pushing the green threads back despite the immense pressure.
I’m prepared to go for another run, but my core finally hits its critical mass.
Not a single thread of divine energy can be pushed in...
2024-08-17 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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While I continue to think, I eat another yellow fragment to continue the process.
Even though it's not quite perfect yet, it's still close to 100 times as efficient as just eating a gem in the open desert without the aid of the trees or my limiter.
Over the next hour or so, I repeat the process, cycling the energy...
2024-08-16 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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As I turn to the real yellow divine fragment in my hand, the body double that was on its way here as this display from the Lich King unfolded sends a telepathic message as it arrives nearby.
“The last remaining isolation pod has been recharged up to a stable 10.5x dilation. Ember can begin his hibernation beneath the ...
2024-08-15 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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I finish shaking the Lich King’s hand and speak again.
“So where do we begin?”
The jet-black skeletal figure ponders for a moment, staring off into the direction of the black abyss on the horizon.
“In my first life, it took me many decades to compress my core…”
He turns back to me.
...
2024-08-14 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I think about his offer and see only green mist coming off his aura from my lie detector skill.
Even so, the Lich King’s calm demeanor and willingness to help me feels very out of character for a self proclaimed Dark God. Even if he is my summon, I want confirmation that whatever this True Core progression is, it is a...
2024-08-13 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A large black shadow of dark magic grows around me, and from its depths, the shadowy summon of the Lich King rises.
His concealment buffs are all dispelled, as there is no reason to hide. He looks like a pitch-black skeleton wearing the cloak and pendant I gifted him during the exams.
Without me using my limiter o...
2024-08-12 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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His eyes are filled with hope, but his body still trembles with fear.
This man was captured by an unknown rising kingdom in the Dark Continent by a force that easily defeated two of their strongest A-Class hunters and dozens of elite B-Class hunters in seconds.
Now, he’s face to face with me, a man who tortured ...
2024-08-11 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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We use teleport crystals to return to the Crimson City, and I'm led out into the desert, about 50 kilometers away.
There are no main trade roads connecting this far out, and the only major landmark here is the edge of the dark abyss on the horizon.
A large rectangular prison made of mana-manifested stone comes int...
2024-08-10 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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[Body Double POV]
I accept the pile of skill orbs from my main body and teleport back into the guildhall.
While I witnessed the memories of its new renovations, seeing it now with the old version that was partially built just a month ago fresh in my mind makes everything here all the more impressive.
There a...
2024-08-09 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The room is left with just ten new B-Class hunters standing in a line, and the Regional Directors stare at the empty spot where Emrie and I just left.
Brutus, the Regional Director of the Vice Region, is the first to break the silence.
“Is this a joke? He may have come in first place in this year’s ranking, bu...
2024-08-08 23:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Many of the applicants looking at the manifested contracts in front of them press down on options, pushing a finger into the fragments of blue crystals.
I watch the holograms of text fold back into the floating devices, and the crystals shift their form slightly into compact cubes with data swirling inside of them befor...
2024-08-07 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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I walk back into the waiting room and flash Rodrigo a small smile.
His expression doesn't change, but I can tell he’s both confused and relieved at the same time as he speaks up, and the door behind me closes.
“Now that all of your personal meetings are complete, please, do take time to rest while the regional...
2024-08-06 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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The waves of energy that flow off him now ripple with newfound strength. After being healed, the aura in the room feels like its coming from a whole new person.
The Soul Energy feels pure, and the Divine energy permeates through it with precision and strength that makes me begin to understand the Director's power.
2024-08-05 23:00:06 +0000 UTC
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At first, my confidence that I can handle whatever is behind that door is at an all-time high.
The dark purple ring around my finger is a reminder that I’ve already witnessed beings far more deadly than any yellow core could possibly aspire to rise to.
However, with every step closer I take, the feeling of this ...
2024-08-04 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The golden eyes glow brighter, and it feels like pressure is pushing down on us through the screen.
Yellow threads of divine energy even leak into the room straight through the mana shielding, and I see other applicants start to sweat and shake.
The gravity in the room increases slightly, and the Director continue...
2024-08-03 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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