Congratulations! [Initializer] has leveled up to Foundation - 8. Max Essence Increased from 270 to 290. Essence Utilization: 235/290. Would you like to reclaim Initialized equipment?
Not bad at all. The levelups were coming faster now than before, and I had no doubt it was the dungeon’s effect. High s...
2024-08-21 19:37:23 +0000 UTC View PostWell before Cirayus arrived, Tara already knew what she had to do. As the only person present with any meaningful healing capacity, the burden fell upon her shoulders.
And what a burden that was…
“Aida?” Tara said, nearly choking on the words she was about to say. “I’m sorry, but I can’t heal ...
2024-08-20 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s Eskil Magnussen,” I said, looking at the giant fighting in the distance. If his roars of Odin and Valhalla weren’t enough, the way he fought easily marked him as… Different. “A Viking… Or so he calls himself,” I hurriedly added. “He’s Dominion’s Champion.”
“That right? Another ...
2024-08-19 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“We have to run!” Tara said, half in panic, half because she knew the fate of those who dared fight one of those.
“Afraid that doesn’t seem to be a choice, lass,” Cirayus said. “The lad would have returned by now if it were. My guess? He’s found his demons.”
“Then…” Tara bit her lip....
2024-08-17 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: Hey everyone! Added a bit more art for soulweaver arc 2, which you can find on my site. Basecrest, Rogar, and Rogar's workshop for now, with more to come soon! Link here: https://www.vowronpri.me/soulweaver-arc-one-art
<... 2024-08-16 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s just… gone,” Vir muttered, kneeling. Ash fell through the gaps in his fingers. “How?”
“The Ash covers all, lad,” Cirayus said, putting his hand on Vir’s shoulder. “Not surprising any evidence would be long buried by now.”
The garrison that Vir had personally helped con...
2024-08-15 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re not serious,” Aerion said, no doubt hoping for a response. So was I.
When Richard didn’t reply, however, we both learned something new about this elf. He was just a little crazy.
“Even if I can,” Aerion said. “How do you plan to get past those Hobgoblins?”
Richard lo...
2024-08-14 18:17:02 +0000 UTC View Post“This was a waste of time!” Riyan spat, rising to his feet. “I should have known better than to believe this could ever work.”
“That’s funny,” Ira said. “Because it seems to me that you are the only reason this conversation has gotten us nowhere.”
Maiya barely suppressed a groan as she r...
2024-08-13 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“So, I guess we found the core…” I said, staring at the scene unfolding before our eyes. Something felt off about the whole thing, and it wasn’t until I moved around the window that I figured out what.
“Magnified windows,” Richard said, tapping the glass. “Came across one of these in Passion’s T...
2024-08-12 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe minutes before the meeting were oddly quiet, as Maiya circled the small room.
The venue itself was nothing fancy. No elaborate ballroom, no banquet prepared—although the food that would be served was hand-prepared by Ira’s handmaidens under supervision from both Riyan’s and Prince Sanobar’s agents.<...
2024-08-10 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostI swiveled the handle, fully expecting rushing orcs, and instead… A small horde of blue floating gelatinous… blobs came rushing through, followed by a Skeleton holding a staff.
A bare skeleton without a single article of clothing or a tome of magic, and one that walked on its feet rather than floating...
2024-08-09 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostA line of handmaidens stood before Maiya’s makeshift desk, all waiting their turn. Maiya could barely see them through the towers of papers piled so high that they threatened to collapse with a stiff breeze.
Which was why Maiya had ensured that her office had no windows. Made entirely of stone, and cons...
2024-08-08 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostI wiped away some forehead sweat and blinked. “So, you basically have no idea how it works.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Richard replied. “For example, I do know that my Blessing’s only any good at short distances. Becomes nearly useless after about a dozen or so feet. Erm, what else? Let’s ...
2024-08-07 18:00:46 +0000 UTC View Post---
“The conclusion of the Tournament normally calls fo...
2024-08-06 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMore to distract myself than anything, I took a quick moment to inspect my recent gains as we walked deeper into the compound, and I couldn’t resist doing a little mental fist pump. Aerion, observant as ever, saw my expression and frowned in confusion, until she had the idea to bring up my status screen. Then she smiled too...
2024-08-05 18:23:03 +0000 UTC View PostThaman put a hand to his face and groaned. “I told him not to do anything rash. Praise Janak that you’re as level-headed as you are. What was he thinking?”
“What was he thinking?” Cirayus asked. “Whatever it is that all Iksana think! I’d say this was very usual of him, wouldn’t you?”<...
2024-08-03 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostI darted out the door, but Aerion beat me to it, bounding off into the snow ahead of me. Given how compacted the ground was from our earlier traversal, she made good time, while I, with larger, heavier gear, lagged a bit.
What had taken us almost an hour to hike up took barely five minutes on the way down.
In that...
2024-08-02 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“They’re still there,” Aida seethed. She’d snuck a peek outside, but recoiled from the window just as soon as she’d cracked the curtains open. “It’s been hours and they’re still there! It’s the middle of the sun’s night, for Yuma’s sake. Don’t people have anything better to do?”
... 2024-08-01 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the trek went fast, mostly thanks to the snowshoes I’d rigged together.
“I have to admit, these work better than I’d thought,” Aerion said as we neared the base. “That was almost easy.”
“Wow. A compliment from you? Hell must’ve frozen over,” I said, looking around exaggeratedly. “I ...
2024-07-31 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“This is a travesty! An outrage!” Raja Matiman Chitra roared, throwing his drink on the ground. The glass shattered, staining the priceless silken rug with shards and liquor. “Not only has the Akh Nara returned, but he can create Ash Gates, too? And who was that woman with him? A concubine? Did my eyes deceive ...
2024-07-30 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMaking hot water was easy when you had an infinite supply of snow, and a fire. I pilfered one of the several cookpots that hung above what used to be the kitchen, before I repurposed the table for firewood.
I’d slowly nudged Aerion closer to the fire, rolling her over so she got heat equally from all sides, maki...
2024-07-29 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostVir hadn’t quite known how the crowd would react to his speech. He’d braced himself for all-out pandemonium, with magic being hurled his way from all directions.
As it turned out, everyone did as they were told and sat down. That was, everyone except the Chitran, most of whom steadily moved towards ...
2024-07-27 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostTo say that I was woefully unprepared for the environment that greeted me was a comical understatement. The weird thing was, I didn’t even panic.
Instead, I contentedly ate the ice-cold snow, which mercifully dissipated the heat from my armored body. It was like stepping from a steam room into a nice, cold bath.
“Now that’s a move!” Samik roared into his mic. “What sort of movement do you think that is, Nakin?”
Nakin, similarly on the edge of his seat in the commentator’s booth, replied with a quivering voice.
“It’s… like nothing I’ve ever seen, Samik. It… It reminds me of the Iksan...
2024-07-25 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostOnly about four hundred yards separated the forest from the castle. Not a long distance, by any stretch of the imagination.
The issue was that the ground in between was covered in uprooted tree trunks, shrubs, dirt, and chunks of landing castle wall, all strewn around like they’d been part of a massive explosion...
2024-07-24 18:13:42 +0000 UTC View PostVir again Blinked across the stage, and for the first several moves, their bout went much the same as it had before, with Vir attempting to bypass Sikandar’s enormous reach while Cirayus thwarted him.
Cirayus, having led Vir to think he was being pressured, switched from defense to offense so quickly...
2024-07-23 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” the guard said, shaking his head. “Our sworn duty is to protect you.”
“No, see, that’s where you’re wrong,” I said, desperately trying to figure out how to convince this guy. “That’s your current mission. Your sworn duty is to the city of Basecrest, and to...
2024-07-22 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThat would’ve been a solid plan… Had it been any normal animal.
“Well,” I said. “I guess we now know what happened to the other strike teams.”
“Guards! Defense!”
The fully armored guards—Samaul thankfully had the presence of mind to armor everyone up before exiting the forest—poi...
2024-07-19 22:02:32 +0000 UTC View PostIt was with an odd sense of calmness that Vir stepped into the waiting area for the finalists’ tournament, and he couldn’t quite explain why.
The deafening crowd—louder by far than it had ever been for any previous duel—ought to have shaken him. The nerves of fighting one of the strongest beings in the ...
2024-07-18 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOur departure had little fanfare. No parades or ceremonies to see us off. Aerion and I left in the middle of the night, on empty streets, alone, with no one the wiser. We both wore hoods over our armor, but we’d have worn them anyway.
We’d meet up with our guards outside the city walls, within the nea...
2024-07-17 18:25:05 +0000 UTC View Post
