Cornman8700

MT 74 - Through the Gift Shop

MT 74 - Through the Gift Shop

I was making Nuralie MVP of this Delve, and I would hear no argument about it.

We had problems. The loson had chemical solutions. Nuralie and Xim had both popped one of Nuralie’s antidotes while I went on crusade with Grotto, and I eagerly accepted one for myself now that the immediate threat had ended. It knocked sixty stacks of toxicity off my debuff, which got me back into the black with my health regen.

Xim had also emptied the rest of her...

MT 73 - Cage Match, Part 2

MT 73 - Cage Match, Part 2

After missing her first counterspell, Etja was ready for the follow-up. A wave of blue mana washed across me, Xim, and Nuralie as Orexis’ second cloud of putrescence bombarded us, creating a swirling fog of mutual magic annihilation.

I checked on Etja’s mana, seeing that the golem was nearly empty, and focused on timing my Dispel for the next round. When I saw the pestilent glow of the specter’s finger, I cast, and the spell blinked out of...

MT 72 - Reveals

MT 72 - Reveals

‘The Eye reveals’ is how Xim had explained it back on the riverboat to Arsenal. An ability that I’d tapped into later, during our Third Layer walk. I’d become connected to the other eleven people in our Layer-hopping crew, able to show them the way I saw the Layer. Not a desolate horror-scape, but a strange, yet beautiful place.

Back then, I’d been in Sam’lia’s domain, and her Eye had helped guide me in how to use the gift. Now, Sam’lia was...

MT 71 - Cage Match, Part 1

MT 71 - Cage Match, Part 1

Before Orexis could voice his displeasure, I asked a question that was burning a hole through my mind.

“So, if you’re in here, as a soul fragment,” I said, gesturing at the specter, “does that mean that the real Orexis, outside, doesn’t know that Fortune just kidnapped his sister?”

“Tell me where he has taken her,” Orexis demanded. His shadowy form trembled as the words whispered their way across our ears.

Varrin spat...

MT 70 - The Inner, Inner Cage

MT 70 - The Inner, Inner Cage

The portal was in the ground.

Our group was gathered in a circle around the entrance to Anesis’ prison, looking down at its languid surface. The gateway swirled at a slow and leisurely pace within the floor, as though it defied the chaos of the world around it—a mute and unfeeling guardian, behind which catastrophe gestated.

We’d spent the last few minutes of our brisk walk preparing ourselves. Nuralie’s quick work had made twenty-five o...

MT 69 - May I Borrow a Cup of Soul?

MT 69 - May I Borrow a Cup of Soul?

Fortune continued to walk, footfalls trodding neatly between the bodies. Though the overall shape of the central cage was a sphere, the ground here was level. Looking at the distant edge, I could see that the floor we walked on abutted the sloping wall, built flat. I had no hint as to our destination from studying the terrain.

The world was filled only with the sound of our steps, and the occasional sparking of a rune and rumbling shudder of the...

MT 68 - The Quick Way Down

MT 68 - The Quick Way Down

I’d never gone skydiving. I thought that I wouldn’t like it.

I was correct in that assumption.

The inner cage was a sphere with a diameter of about two and a half miles. We’d entered at the midway point and climbed our way up an absurd distance, though we were still far from the top. That meant there was well over a mile between us and the bottom. Or, if my recollection of terminal velocity was correct, and assuming it held true inside this D...

MT 67 - Fortune

MT 67 - Fortune

I reeled from Fortune’s words, but their meaning wasn’t lost on me. Still, I needed to be sure.

“Sorry, I’ve been getting to know a lot of gods lately,” I said. “Where did we meet again?”

Fortune’s smile receded an inch, and Xim turned her head slowly in my direction, eyes wide. It was the first time I’d seen her look genuinely worried about something. Then, Fortune’s laughter filled the room again.

“Arlo!” he said, the sound com...

MT 66 - Gods and Ladders

MT 66 - Gods and Ladders

“You know what’s odd?” I said as we hustled down the flickering corridor. The door we’d unlocked was a quarter turn around the loop from where we’d fought the Bloom.

“Everything’s odd in here,” said Varrin.

“Right, but I didn’t see any big god-mummy in that last room. The first subchamber had that huge guy in it.”

{That chamber contained an incorporeal avatar of consumption,} Cage thought to us. {It isn’t in the...

MT 65 - Breaking Gear

MT 65 - Breaking Gear

Turns out Homing Weapon was not a Guaranteed Hit, as the flappy asshats were still able to swoop out of the way of my thrown axe, technique be damned. The ability guided the weapon toward my target, but the axe didn’t turn on a dime when the chosen creature dodged last second.

It had perhaps been a bit optimistic to assume that I, with three visits to the axe-throwing range for a round of tossing axes while tossing back beers, would be abl...

Happy New Year! Updates 1-2-24

Howdy!

First, happy new year! Next, thanks for being here!

There's a lot of space on RR to let everyone know how much I appreciate their support, but no author notes on Patreon to do that. I thought about adding them to the text posts, but it looked weird so I didn't do it. I also can't pre-comment on a scheduled post. *shakes fist*

It means a lot to me that everyone is here and reading the story. SRK (Sir Raiu Koren) and I appreciate everyone continuing to support Mage Tank...

MT 64 - Handsy

MT 64 - Handsy

{The Mouth is definitely in the subchamber,} Cage thought to us.

“Is there a reason,” I said, “that you’re withholding critical information until the last second?”

{It goes against my nature to help Delvers overcome a Delve. This is all a vvvvvvery new experience for me. Besides, this isn’t the last second! It’ll take another couple of minutes for you to jog there.}

“I refuse to believe you’re that literal,”...

MT 63 - Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes

MT 63 - Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes

The hike from one spawn-infested subchamber to the next was about four miles, which made the entire loop around the outside of the main cage an eight-mile circumference.

We moved at a jog, giving our health and mana some time to recover while trying not to dawdle too much and letting the world implode around us. The goal was to make the journey in about thirty minutes, which would put Etja close to full on health and at about half on mana. ...

MT 62 - Shog'tuatha

MT 62 - Shog'tuatha

A deep voice echoed from the portal, purring like a lion as it spoke.

“Slayer of Ihbriobrixilas,” it said. “I am pleased to hear your call.”

Tentacles continued to spill from the portal, and a heavy, muscled leg stepped out behind them. The flesh was dark green, the muscle corded, and the foot never touched the ground. A long arm emerged next, gripping the edge of the dimensional tear and pushing...

MT 61 - The Wailing, The Moaning

MT 61 - The Wailing, The Moaning

“Hmm, wonder what Fervor monsters look like,” I said.

“Spiders,” said Nuralie. I jumped at her sudden appearance beside me.

“Really? Spiders?” I scratched my beard. Definitely needed a trim at this point. “Feels kind of normal, ya’ know?”

“They’re very scary,” said Nuralie.

“Sure, but I’ve never been bothered by spiders. I mean, I try and catch them when I find them in the house and let them go outside ...

MT 60 - Delve Core 9998

MT 60 - Delve Core 9998

“Alright,” I said. “What fresh asshole is talking into my brain?”

{Fresh? If I were an asshole I’d be very old. I doubt I’d be fresh at all.}

“That’s gross,” said Xim, giving me a disapproving look.

“Jesus, I didn’t know he was gonna take it in that direction.”

I decided not to have another discussion with a Delve core about ‘boy or girl?’ It sounded like a little dude, so that’s what he was until he ...

MT 59 - Short Rest

MT 59 - Short Rest

“So, what are we doing?” said Xim through a mouthful of hardtack.

We’d all broken out some provisions once Etja had dug into my offer of cheese and dried meats. The golem mostly nibbled at the cheese in delicate bites with varying degrees of awe on her face, while ignoring the meats. She’d even grown a pert nose with which to sniff them prior to consumption.

Her favorite seemed to be what I considered a Reggiano of some sort. I was happy enough to ...

MT 58 - Player 5

MT 58 - Player 5

You’ve entered an area with a very high concentration of Dimensional mana. Bonus mana regeneration capped at 10xWIS.

Current mana regeneration: 125/hour

You have survived the notice of a Divine being. You are granted +1 LCK!

I exited the Delve portal like a man doing a backward dive onto pavement. Well, it wasn’t like a man doing a backward dive onto pavement. I was a m...

MT 57 - S-Tier

MT 57 - S-Tier

Orexis turned and searched between us, looking for the source of the interruption. His gaze quickly landed on Grotto, and he snarled. The tendrils from the obelisk continued to fluctuate, losing cohesion, pulling Orexis’ attention back to his task. He began weaving his magic through the unsteady energy. The threads stabilized, but the power from the Obelisk was erratic.

[Whatever this creature is,] Grotto thought to us, [I’ll not let it threaten my ...