Level: 129. Rank: 12. Current Health: 100%.
Stamina: 100%. Mana: 100%. Psi: 100%.
Species: Human. Lives Remaining: 3.
True Marks (hidden): pack-alpha.
False Marks (fabricated): Lesser Shadow, Lesser Light, Lesser Dark.
Attributes 2022-10-10 03:56:42 +0000 UTC View Post
I didn’t leave the walled compound immediately.
There was still the matter of where I went from here. I’d spent months in the dungeon and gained much in the process. A new Class. Upgraded skills. A hidden sector. And not least, a Pack.
But now, it was time to contemplate the future.
I’d ventured into the guardian tower primarily to confirm my supposition about the mantises and gain a Class. I’d done one but not the other.
I wasn’t sure what it meant that the ...
2022-10-09 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t rush my decision.
I had at least until the day’s end and the sector’s reset, and I was determined to think matters through before choosing. It was a monumental decision and likely my biggest one yet in the Game.
“Magus. Adept. Void,” I muttered.
All three were fantastic and superior to the master Classes in Erebus’ dungeon, or for that matter, the one Loken had proposed. I snorted in disdain. Truly, both the blood siphon and shadow agent Classes paled in...
2022-10-08 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostBarely taking the time to acknowledge the Game messages, I spun around, ready for the worst. There were still multiple hostiles in the chamber after all, and amongst them were too many wyverns for comfort.
But I needn’t have worried.
My foes were stampeding for the exit.
With the sector boss dead—and their minds unfettered—the dungeon’s denizens were making a bid for freedom. My gaze slid to the right, where the injured wyvern had huddled. But even she was retreating...
2022-10-07 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostDoor closed. To unseal the chamber, slay the final sector boss.
Panting heavily, I took a moment to recover as the crystal barricade slid shut behind me. I was trapped in the compound now, and there were only two ways out: death or victory.
The good news was that if I died, I had a quick trip out of the dungeon. The bad news? The Game’s messages made clear I would get only a single shot at this. I will just have to make the most of it.
Swiveling m...
2022-10-06 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostYou have entered sector 109 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 5 of 5 of the Guardian Tower.
I landed in a sprawl, but rose quickly to my feet and spun around, ready to fend off any threats.
But I was alone.
After a tense moment of waiting for something—anything—to jump out at me, I relaxed.
I’d made it.
I’d reached the final level of the dungeon. Sheathing ebonheart—which had reappeared in my hand—I turned about to study my...
2022-10-05 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
What do you think of the above tables? Do they make sense, and do they give you a better feel for understanding the Game system?
2022-10-04 14:06:02 +0000 UTC View PostI crossed ten more ledges and just as many bridges, zigzagging between the two cliff faces, which I now realized were the two sides of a deep canyon. One whose bottom I could not see.
And which housed a nest of wyverns.
Time and again, the flying beasts rushed up the gorge, circled the skies, and dived back down, seemingly for no other reason than because it was… fun.
After my first close encounter, I kept my mindsight continually open. If not for it and my stealth, I woul...
2022-10-04 03:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostYou have entered sector 108 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 4 of 5 of the Guardian Tower.
I emerged on a cliff face.
In a split second, a flurry of images flashed through my mind. Sheer rockfaces. Jagged peaks. Blue sky. A narrow ledge. And space. An infinite amount of yawning space, ready to swallow me.
Thankfully, the magical chill gripping my body had dissipated, and I was moving at full speed again. Twisting sideways, I avoided the end...
2022-10-03 11:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostHi all,
Grand Game Book 3 will be done by end of next week latest, the last chapter being CH 241. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far, and would like to hear which aspects of Book 3 interested you the most.
Was it: a) the dungeon, b) the wolves, c) the nether/rift, d) city adventures, or e) all of it. :)
It releases on Amazon on 1 November....
2022-10-03 07:24:21 +0000 UTC View PostIt’s a day for surprises, it seems.
For a long time, I couldn’t move. Frozen in place and with my attention turned inwards, I replayed the Adjudicator’s words over and over in my mind.
The pack’s gesture—no, it was more than that—the pack’s faith in me left me speechless. And if I was interpreting the Game messages right, the implications were far-reaching.
A wolf nuzzled my hand. Looking down, I saw it was one of the pups. The alpha—beta no...
2022-10-01 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post…
Illusion deactivated.
The air before me shimmered, transforming into a glittering wall of towering ice that marched off in both directions. Yelping in surprise at the wall’s sudden appearance, Snow and the other wolves danced backwards.
I, though, stood frozen in place, still flabbergasted.
“Un-blood-believable,” I repeated, unable to think of anything else to articulate my…
Anger? No, that was too mild.
Rage? N...
2022-09-30 03:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t build a den, not really.
What I did was assemble a second sled with a closed top, tightly insulated with layers of furs and fat. The movable den became Star and her pups’ new home, one that Snow, and the other wolves gladly pulled.
It was a solution that allowed the pack to keep moving while at the same time, ensuring the pups were protected from the weather.
I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me before that pups may be born, but after Star’s litter, I...
2022-09-29 03:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI stepped out of the portal into a world enveloped by heavy banks of smog and was immediately assaulted by a barrage of Game messages.
You have entered sector 18,240 of the Forever Kingdom, a closed and unclaimed sector. You are the first player ever to have visited this sector!
Congratulations, Michael! You have accomplished the feat: Pioneer of New Realms! Requirement: be the first player to enter an unexplored sector. Y...
2022-09-28 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostIn the coming days, the wolves and I roamed the icy plains.
The pack was better than me at finding game. For one, they had the numbers for it, and for another, they were more fleet of foot. Every day, without fail, the pack’s far-ranging scouts discovered something and reported back their findings.
Sometimes, depending on the prey, I chose to forgo the hunt. Sadly, as skilled as the pack was at finding game, they were not equally adept at taking it down, not without losses anywa...
2022-09-27 06:10:19 +0000 UTC View PostThey weren’t dire wolves. That much I could tell immediately from size alone. None of the wolves stood taller than waist high. They appeared bulkier though, but that could just be a result of their puffed-out coats, which were all shades of white or gray.
A wolf larger than the rest pushed to the fore. The alpha. His fur was the color of snow and his eyes, arctic blue. Coming to a stop a few feet from me, he sat down on his haunches and studied me quizzically.
I stoo...
2022-09-27 06:06:42 +0000 UTC View PostIt took me the rest of the morning to construct the snow cone.
In one sense, it was much like building an igloo, except I filled the inside as well and expanded the structure upward as high it would go while taking pains to keep it stable.
I packed the snow as densely as possible and smoothed down the sides in the hopes that they would eventually ice over. I did one more thing, too: scratching deep lines in a large bone, I shoved it into the center of the cone. If I ever ran acros...
2022-09-22 14:19:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe day passed slowly.
I fell into an easy rhythm, placing one foot in front of the other, while trying to maintain a steady heading. All the while my gaze roved over the horizon, searching for a landmark, a shift in the terrain, anything.
As I’d come to expect, the falling snow remained a constant presence. It no longer bothered me as it once had, though. Either I’d become inured to the cold, or my winter suit was working.
Walking was easier too. Despite the added press...
2022-09-22 11:17:50 +0000 UTC View PostI woke again a few hours later, yawning and red-eyed.
The events of last night seemed almost surreal, and for a moment I wondered if I hadn’t dreamt it all. But a quick check on the waiting Game messages was enough to convince me otherwise.
You have reached level 115!
Your dodging has increased to level 80. Your shortswords has increased to level 87. Your two weapon fighting has increased to level 64. Your telekinesis has increased to level 62. 2022-09-20 12:41:23 +0000 UTC View Post
I dove out of the way, and it rumbled past. Staying down, I tried to conceal myself in the snow.
You have failed to hide.
So much for that, I thought, rising to my feet. Stealth wasn’t going to work. I needed another plan.
The bear skidded to a halt and swiveled about. Then, predictably, it charged again. An instant before impact, I cast shadow blink.
You have teleported 9 yards. You have evaded a cave...
2022-09-19 03:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostGetting back to my feet took nearly as much effort as slaying the leopard had. The kill had given me new hope though, and I forced my tortured body into motion.
But I didn’t sate my hunger immediately.
Instead, I began stacking snow.
The fight had cleared my mind, and I realized I couldn’t keep searching for shelter. After hours of finding none, it would be foolish to expect to find any soon. The solution was obvious.
I had to build my own.
Packing and stacki...
2022-09-18 03:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostYou have entered sector 107 of the Endless Dungeon. This sector is level 3 of 5 of the Guardian Tower.
I rolled to my feet in a world of white.
It was cold. Blisteringly cold.
Wind tugged at me, and I staggered. Icy fragments whipped into my eyes and my feet were buried in snow. I turned about in a slow circle but beheld the same thing in every direction.
A wall of white.
The ground—hard packed snow—was white. The sky—overcast and heavy wit...
2022-09-17 15:53:00 +0000 UTC View PostReturning to the boss, I tugged free the artifact from around his neck.
You have acquired an amulet of earth, the second piece of the guardian amulet of elements. In its present form, the amulet grants the bearer +10% resistance to earth magic.
The artifact was nearly identical to the other one I’d collected, except its crystal was emerald, not ruby. Drawing the necklace over my neck, I conducted a cursory search of the rest of the room.
I turned up nothin...
2022-09-15 13:33:10 +0000 UTC View PostIt took me less than a minute to get ready.
Working quickly, I put out the torches in a stretch of tunnel between the miners’ cavern and the cul-de-sac, transforming the space into an ideal hunting ground.
I’d chosen the spot with care, ensuring it was not visible from either the start or end of the tunnel. When I was finished, I hid in the darkness and waited.
It was not long before I heard the tramp of marching feet.
Many feet.
I frowned. It didn...
2022-09-14 15:37:03 +0000 UTC View PostI hurried through the main cavern for the third time. The ruckus around the nest entrance had increased with many more squads of ratmen assembling. I didn’t dare dally. Counting off passages quickly, I located and entered the one leading to the sector’s exit portal.
It, too, was flooded with ratmen.
Most were hurrying in the same direction as me—towards the portal chamber. This isn’t good, I thought. More and more, it was looking like I’d underestimated the ratm...
2022-09-13 13:50:28 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t exit the chamber.
It was far better to make the brutes come to me. Drawing on my psi, I sent probing tendrils of energy into the pairs’ minds and overcame their defenses with laughable ease.
You have charmed 2 of 2 targets for 10 seconds.
With a grim smile for what I knew needed to happen next, I ordered the guards into the room. Obediently, brute one opened the door and stepped inside; brute two followed, shutting the door behind him. Neither s...
2022-09-13 05:37:47 +0000 UTC View PostYou have killed a ratman.
You have killed a ratman.
After slaying the last ratman, I searched the bodies, but the guards had carried as little of value as the first two I’d killed and I came away with nothing. The Adjudicator hadn’t awarded me with levels from the fight either, only a few skill gains. Shaking my head at the poor recompense, I made my way back up the tunnel.
It seemed impossible that my skirmish with the guards had gone u...
2022-09-10 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA few minutes later, I was back on my feet.
My right foot was good as new. The same could not be said of my newbie shoes. It had endured the heat of the previous sector better than it had being skewered.
Fingering the large hole in my abused shoe, my gaze drifted to the ratmen. Neither had any footwear to speak of. Sighing, I slipped the shoe back on and investigated the corpses.
The two guards carried nothing of use besides their weapons, but I was ill-suited to wielding ei...
2022-09-10 11:01:55 +0000 UTC View Post
