Eric yawned and stretched as he came to from yet another dream where he was burning alive. He found it a bloody miracle his friends weren't glaring murder at him, since he slept three times a day with his training regimen. And if two of those sleeps were blissful, the third was always a doozy.
He slumped back...
2022-05-09 06:35:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Morlekai!”
Alice’s awful terror was a palpable thing.
"Hold, Alice! Don't fire. Not until they're in range!" Morlekai hissed, and Eric could taste the edge of the man's panic, eerily echoing his sister's as the sudden upswelling of red-tinged potency filled the air, the Don of their little group ...
2022-05-09 06:34:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Eric, fuck! They’re coming right for us. Set your spear! Eric?”
But Eric had already tuned out the panicking Drake as not the expected one or two, but a full half dozen mutated dogs the size of leopards came roaring and charging down the wide grey stone tunnel that arched to a roof studded in stalactit...
2022-05-09 06:29:19 +0000 UTC View PostEric feigned sleep when Alice knocked on his door, which wasn’t that hard since he had been asleep two minutes ago. “Get up, sleepyhead! Bro wants to talk to you!”
Ten minutes and one quick sponge bath later, Eric found himself sitting across from a contemplative looking Morlekai peering intently at him...
2022-05-09 06:25:44 +0000 UTC View PostDespite the exhilarating rush he felt with his skill and stat gains, he was humbled every day that he was put in his place by the pair of grinning 19 Strength monsters. Because whether it was winding and binding with bladed spear staves, or having his weapon twisted completely out of his grip before his legs were s...
2022-05-09 06:22:56 +0000 UTC View PostOnly after leveling up his Bardiche skill did Eric finally take a break, sitting his ass down right there by the pel and power napping for who knew how many hours before getting up with a groan, stretching, and carefully reviewing everything he had learned using both bardiches and his saber, now sensing more clearl...
2022-05-09 06:19:22 +0000 UTC View Post“You sure about this, Eric?" Asked Drake, rubbing his eyes and cracking a yawn, holding a pair of unsharpened bardiche. The shorter, heavier ones that were more like a cross between battle axe and nagamaki than anything else, most of their curved blades backed by a wooden haft that technically made them bardiche ...
2022-05-09 06:14:15 +0000 UTC View PostMorlekai turned to the smith who had witnessed their no-holds-barred sparring. “Thoughts?”
The smith gave a thoughtful nod. “He’ll do well with my spear bardiche. As for the nagamaki variant? That depends.” He turned to Eric. “Know what a draw cut is?”
Eric answered by way of a smile.
<... 2022-05-09 06:13:19 +0000 UTC View Post"You might want to pick out a new name, kid," said Morlekai with a smile, waving him over to the bemused-looking blacksmith and his associate, clearly having the same ideas Eric was. "One might actually start to think you were related to someone famous."
"Ha ha. Yeah, let's not mention that again. Ever."
<... 2022-05-09 06:02:46 +0000 UTC View PostEric gazed at the harvester in genuine admiration before turning to look at the mountain of neatly prepared cuts of meat and organs, massive plates of extremely tough lizard hide, a pair of crossbow quarrels, and a softly glowing grey orb he was almost certain was a beast core, before immediately putting everything...
2022-05-09 06:01:44 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m sorry, Morlekai. But as much as I would be beyond grateful for your party’s continued and much appreciated help… what you’re asking me… to betray my nation’s trust...”
“The government’s already fallen. As has every other government the world over,” Morlekai said, each word crisp and...
2022-05-09 05:59:47 +0000 UTC View PostA completely unfazed Morlekai dipped his head Eric’s way as Drake tossed him a dark ale caught without even shifting his gaze. The absurdly graceful man with the aura of a tiger in repose, a certain seductive savagery kept forever in check, truly did look like the lead his mother had sunk her claws into, just thr...
2022-05-09 05:58:44 +0000 UTC View PostNote - low key Adult Content in the last part of this chapter.
“Who the hell is this?”
Those were the first words Eric heard as he stepped past the foyer of what had to have been the largest and best maintained house in all of Junk Town, Alice’s secret g...
2022-05-09 05:57:52 +0000 UTC View PostEric nodded in satisfaction, pulling out five extra silvers from the ether, and in very short order, Velvet was showing Eric not only how to assemble each type of boxed crossbow, but the basics of proper maintenance, cleaning, even how to replace the steel cables in a pinch. Then it was learning how to properly sig...
2022-05-09 05:55:21 +0000 UTC View PostFor just a second, Eric found himself smiling with a certain fond warmth as he caught sight of people strolling from one clapboard building to another. It wasn't too hard to imagine everyone was just living their lives on set as the sound of laughter and play in the distance warmed his heart. Eric then caught sight...
2022-05-09 05:54:08 +0000 UTC View PostEric blinked, taking a second to register her words, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement at the unexpected turn to their conversation. “Color me intrigued. What exactly are we talking about? And I got the impression that greenbacks weren’t worth much more than the paper they’re printed on at...
2022-05-09 05:35:46 +0000 UTC View PostAs fast as he could think it, Eric was sprinting, forcing his legs to MOVE like he never had before, crashing into a startled Alice, brown eyes alight with surprise and killing fury… before the snap of razor-sharp jaws snapping shut just feet away resonated through the air.
And Eric’s crossbow wa...
2022-05-09 05:34:27 +0000 UTC View PostEric's voice earned a number of startled cries and shouts to identify himself. He cautiously backed up before it clicked what the problem was, why people were squinting his way as he reflexively angled his tricorn hat, still firmly affixed to his half-helm, a part of him still ashamed of anyone getting a close look...
2022-05-09 05:33:18 +0000 UTC View PostSlowly, almost ceremoniously, he prepared for his expedition, double and triple checking both his equipment and supplies.
But not before frying up and generously spicing with salt, pepper, and oregano, what must have been at least a hundred pounds of rat meat, having already tested and verified that temperatu...
2022-05-09 05:32:19 +0000 UTC View PostEric lurched awake with a terrified gasp. His ears roared with the sound of his own pounding heart, his fist tightly clenching the hilt of his saber as he quickly scanned the room, before collapsing with a sob, realizing he was safe and sound.
The day before had been close. Too damned close. Only now did he a...
2022-05-09 05:30:16 +0000 UTC View PostPerception check made! You have successfully spotted 2 Rat Sentinels.
Stealth check made! You have successfully snuck past Rat Patrol.
Congratulations! Stealth is now Rank 6!
Eric was filled with an almost overwhelming surge of relief when he spotted yet another quintet ...
2022-05-09 05:29:05 +0000 UTC View PostIaido skillcheck made! You have critically struck your Training Pel in the blink of an eye!
Eric couldn’t help smirking, deliberately allowing his interface combat notes to take up space in his peripheral awareness as a mental narrator’s voice in the back of his mind. He found a certain comfort i...
2022-05-09 05:28:09 +0000 UTC View PostEric shook his head, a wry smirk dancing across his scarred features. Of course these mutated monsters were hunting him! He had seen the mad gimlet of hate-filled cognizance flickering in the eyes of the rat whose heart he had exploded, just days ago. Pouring so much essence into the bastard, so much more than he n...
2022-05-09 05:26:23 +0000 UTC View PostPerception check made! You have successfully spotted: Rat Sentinels.
Eric froze where he stood, peering around yet another brownstone corridor as he dared tunnels winding far beyond the tight circuit he and his sister had used to hunt.
He was quite pleased with the day so far, having successful...
2022-05-09 05:24:48 +0000 UTC View PostEric took a deep, steadying breath as he found himself before the metal door once more, the slightly gnawed but still perfectly serviceable lock once more in hand.
It didn't matter how much he had grown, these past few weeks. Even if he was a long way from being as strong, graceful, and quick as he had been i...
2022-05-09 05:23:04 +0000 UTC View PostEric swallowed his anxiety as he made himself approach his sister’s room, her door secured by yet another combination lock, one that he hadn’t even tried to open. Determined to respect his sister’s space, her privacy.
Before realizing that what held him back wasn’t reverence, but fear.
Fear that...
2022-05-09 05:21:26 +0000 UTC View PostHe couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the weight room that had been the source of so many grueling workouts, his mind already racing with plans, Mr. Vincent's words echoing in his skull, even now.
“You just need to lift twice a week, Eric. But were pushing you to the absolute limit, on those days.”...
2022-05-09 05:20:13 +0000 UTC View PostEric normally woke up with no real sense of time, always having lived according to his mother's schedules. But now he knew exactly what time it was. As if his interface was equipped with a stopwatch in the form of a gut feeling. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that exactly 9 hours had passed since he had collap...
2022-05-09 05:19:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Faster, Eric. You wanna die with a rats eating you alive? Pick up your feet and RUN, boy!”
He could so easily picture Mr. Vincent, his fitness coach who looked like a C list star with his silver-grey eyes, Beckham style haircut, and bristly mustache. A man Eric knew couldn't act for shit, but wh...
2022-05-09 04:14:33 +0000 UTC View PostCongratulations, challenger! You have successfully survived full neuro-network integration!
Crystallization complete.
The words washed over Eric as he slowly slipped free of the soothing dark waters of oblivion.
Only to be met by blinding flashes of white-hot pain.
He whimp...
2022-05-09 04:10:53 +0000 UTC View Post
