Asher’s eyes shot open and he sat up, the memories of the events leading to his death hitting him at once. His attempts at sneaking his way into Eight’s workshop to assassinate him. Falling right into his trap and having his lungs filled with deadly mold. Recalling back to Kree who just happened to still be in Draken’s manor.
Putting a hand to his head, Asher looked around, surprised to find himself in a familiar room.
He was lying on the fancy couch in Draken’s study that...
2025-08-18 16:00:14 +0000 UTC
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“What did you do to me?” Asher managed, his words barely making it through his horrific coughing fit as he flexed Complete Resilience’s second tier for the third time that night to erase the excruciating pain he was in.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m not the type to go on a smug rant about exactly how I’m killing you. I’ll get just as much self-satisfaction out of seeing you dead on my workshop floor as I would watching the despair cross your face at my explanation,” Eight ...
2025-08-15 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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After heading back down into the Underside and using his Dungeoneering skill to temporarily disable the corridor barriers, Vin escorted the infernals all the way back to the Earthers’ dungeon before handing them off to a tired squad of combat classes. The warriors looked like they needed some rest just as much as everyone else, but they remained diligent, setting up in front of the dungeon entrance and constantly monitoring their surroundings to ensure none of them were attacked by errant m...
2025-08-15 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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“Of course they can come here,” Spur sighed, the Commander rubbing his weary eyes as he lazily waved the issue away. “I can’t say I’m looking forward to the added work that will give us, but that’s a problem for future us, and we hate those guys.”
“Wait, seriously?” Vin asked, looking around the council in shock. He’d expected Alice to be for the idea, but he thought he was going to have to work to convince the rest of the council.
“This isn’t like the Band...
2025-08-14 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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While he could still be caught off guard if he wasn’t expecting something, thanks to Comprehend, Asher was still able to process most things far faster than most people.
Which meant where most people would probably take a moment or two to realize their bodies were wracked with pain and feel like they were melting from the inside out, Asher didn’t have that problem.
He experienced it immediately.
“Arghhh!” he screamed, forgetting about trying to keep any semblan...
2025-08-14 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Asher stared down from the rooftops at what looked like little more than a rundown shack jammed between an old clothing shop which probably got a grand total of five customers a year, and a large bakery that had to be abandoned seeing as it was already nearing four in the morning and the lights weren’t even on yet. As far as cover for the headquarters of the worst mass murderer in all of Whikoga, he had to admit, it was rather decent.
There’s no way Eight has his entire operatio...
2025-08-13 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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“Gone as in…” Vin asked, praying Malzar would inform him that she’d simply gone off to collect more herbs for her rituals, despite the solemn look he had on his face that already told him the boy’s answer.
“She’s dead. Or at least, she’s not coming back,” Malzar said with finality, as though there was no chance he was mistaken.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” he asked, casting Stone Furniture and summoning two small chairs for them t...
2025-08-13 16:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Author Notes:
Welcome to the start of book 4 everyone! Book 3 is going to end on quite the cliffhanger with Lumel's declaration that the infernals' fragment is gone, but luckily, we get to keep reading! That's because as usual, we're rolling straight on into book 4 , because that's the way I like to do things haha. As always, thank you guys for all your support, and I hope you keep enjoying the story! You guys rock! (Also, we are about to have our next fragment selectio...
2025-08-12 16:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Luckily for Asher, getting out of the Frent estate was far easier than breaking in. He was tempted to just activate Recall and get out of there immediately, but part of him was curious as to how such a powerful noble estate would react when the alarm went up. In his line of work, that kind of knowledge might be quite handy for the future.
After swapping out his class back to assassin to silence his movements, a handful of slips through the astral got him back onto the grounds, where he ...
2025-08-12 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Unfortunately, once the epic monster had fallen and its screams had stopped, life seemed to return to both the people and the monsters alike within a few minutes. Alka and Vin did manage to dispatch a good number of lifeless monsters during that time frame, but not all of them. At the very least, the effects of the monster’s screams wore off for everyone at the same time, which meant Vin didn’t have to witness monsters running around slaughtering frozen people like he’d feared.
De...
2025-08-11 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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While Asher was highly tempted to simply stab the woman in the head and be done with it, she was his only actual lead to finding Eight, and he had a few questions he needed her help answering before he disposed of her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t seem threatened by him in the slightest.
“Spatial, Knowledge, and Eternity,” she grunted, tapping the vial of magadrine powder against her chin as she continued to stare at him. “My, what a unique combination of elements. A...
2025-08-11 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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Trouble was an understatement, if the number of bodies scattered around the worst monster Vin had ever seen was any indication.
Drifting right in the center of the battlefield, steered clear of by monster and person alike, was a horrifying mass of black energy. Drifting in the dead center was a bright white mask with two eye holes in some sort of terrifying mockery of a human face, and the black energy swept down and out of it, as though it were some massive robe of death. From his vant...
2025-08-08 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Identify - Lvl 20
Time seemed to slow down when Asher saw the vial of magadrine powder on the wall, and not because he’d activated Comprehend’s secondary ability. There it was, sitting out in plain sight of anyone walking by the workshop. Proof of Eight’s existence.
It didn’t make sense in the slightest.
Despite Asher’s burning desire to pull a dagger from his rift and ram it into Leighann’s freaky black void of an eye, instead, he finally did ac...
2025-08-08 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Vin dismissed the literal barrage of ‘new monster discovered’ notifications he was receiving as he looked out across the meadow, his eyes briefly catching on the many ‘new elite monster discovered’ notifications that were pouring in as well. He didn’t know why this wave of monsters seemed so much more numerous and deadly than the one for the battle for wave two when it was still only a thousand people from Earth that were being brought over, but he didn’t have the luxury to stop a...
2025-08-07 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Asher chatted with Theorn as the two of them made their way across the grounds, thankful for the cover his newest acquaintance provided. They passed a number of guards patrolling the paths as they walked, but each of them simply stepped aside and bowed toward Theorn, not doing so much as sparing Asher more than a passing glance as they walked by. It would seem the simple act of getting inside the grounds in the first place, wearing the appropriate clothing, and having a class as absurd as awa...
2025-08-07 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Asher leaned against the wall separating the third and fourth ring as he double checked his position against the city-wide map of Whikoga that Draken had lent him to Incorporate. Sure enough, according to the map, once he passed through the wall, he’d be just a short jaunt away from the Frent estate.
Thankful for the fact that it was a new moon, meaning anyone without some form of night vision was relying entirely on glowing gemstones to see into the dark night, Asher slipped into the...
2025-08-06 16:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Seven days before the supposed arrival time for the fourth wave, it began.
Vin was in the middle of eating lunch with Lumel when the deep, powerful gong of the warning bell rang out over the town. Witherson had had the bright idea to add a giant bell to the clock tower in order to notify people when the hour changed, but it could also be used as a general warning. It had taken a handful of their smiths quite some time to get the piece fashioned, and a hell of a lot of combat cl...
2025-08-06 16:00:12 +0000 UTC
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The next five days went by in what felt like the blink of an eye. As promised, Vin remained right here in town, ready to launch into action at the drop of a hat. Rather than roam around Edregon and investigate new fragments, Vin instead devoted his time toward the numerous spells still on his list to study.
With so many different options available to him, it was hard to decide where to even start. Thankfully, the choice was made for him, as he knew he had to return the truth-gem sooner ...
2025-08-05 16:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Despite knowing his Complete Resilience should give him plenty of time to make a hasty getaway in the event Draken decided to turn his death aura up to eleven, Asher couldn’t help but feel nervous as the gang leader sat him and Kree down in his study and stood over them, staring down at them both with a large frown on his face. It had been years since he’d last been in school, but Asher couldn’t shake the feeling he’d been caught doing something very bad and was about to be r...
2025-08-05 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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“Welcome to Terra!” The group of people waiting in the living room shouted, pointing and laughing as Vin sputtered and stared, all the while trying to wipe the confetti out of his face.
Just inside their apartment stood a whole host of people he certainly hadn’t expected to see.
Alka and Alice were near the front, grinning and pointing at the different bits of confetti that had been blown everywhere from whatever trap Alice had clearly rigged in Vin’s absence. Scule ...
2025-08-04 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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Part of Asher wanted to Recall over to Samantha right then and there and fill her in on what he’d learned, but after hearing about Brian’s fears and the trauma he was rightfully still processing, he decided he didn’t want to leave the twelve-year-old alone in the forest just yet. Even now, he could see Brian throw the occasional subtle glance over at him, as though confirming Asher was still there and that he wasn’t alone in camp.
While he waited, Asher decided to get in some pr...
2025-08-04 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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The rest of the day was spent hanging out with Lumel in the Underside and working on magic. Even if the two of them were busy with their own things and didn’t really do much talking, it was still just nice having someone he felt comfortable with hanging around him.
Vin’s time was spent understanding and meticulously recreating the runic formation contained within the water-creating artifact, and Lumel was still stuck on trying to figure out what she’d come to call the ‘last grea...
2025-08-01 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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After his heart to heart with Samantha, Asher finally let himself get some rest. Following the excitement-packed night he’d just gone through, that old bedroll lying on a cold, forest floor felt like sleeping on a cloud, and he passed out almost instantly.
He woke up early that afternoon feeling a hell of a lot more rested and ready to take on the world.
Which was good, seeing as he’d most likely be taking on at least a decent sized portion of it soon enough.
How to ...
2025-08-01 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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The next morning, Vin received an unwelcome reminder as to the slow but inevitable approach of the fourth wave. He had intended to grab a quick bite to eat before retreating back to the Underside to keep working on learning his latest water spell, when Spur jumped him out of nowhere.
Sitting down at his table without a word, the colonel turned Commander shot him a weary grin as he began sprinkling some sugar into his oatmeal.
“Glad I managed to find you before you vanished into ...
2025-07-31 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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As much as Asher wanted to rush over to the fourth ring and put an end to this, day was nearly upon them. Disposing of the bodies in his Personal Rift, meeting with Draken, setting a trap for the inky assassin and capturing him, and then dealing with the truthseekers had taken up his entire night. The sun was just about to come up, and Asher didn’t like his odds of sneaking into the fourth ring and trying to assassinate someone hiding within the estate of arguably the most powerful noble fa...
2025-07-31 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Frent… Frent… Where have I heard that name before? Asher wondered, racking his memory. He’d definitely heard someone mention the name in the past, but he couldn’t quite remember. But based on Bordan’s shocked expression and Clare’s gasp, they had to be someone important.
“The Frent family estate,” Bordan repeated, his gaze taking on a much harder look than usual as he stared down the exhausted assassin. “You’re certain that’s where the ink was made?”
...
2025-07-30 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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The three of them stared at the strange artifacts, the silence stretching over them broken only by the gentle snores of Reginald coming from the other room. After a moment, Scule looked up at him.
“Well… Here you go.”
“I have absolutely no idea what those boots do,” Shia admitted, her tongue flicking out as she tasted the magic of the artifacts. “But I can taste the fire coming from that knife handle.”
“Might as well start with the obvious,” Vin shrugged, p...
2025-07-30 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Asher was surprised that the atmosphere didn’t grow tense or cold from Bordan’s sudden declaration that he was going to execute him once this was all said and done. The truthseeker, true to his class, was simply speaking what he viewed as the truth. It wasn’t intended to be a threat to get him to cooperate or anything, Bordan was just being entirely upfront and honest with him.
Honestly, as annoying as he found the man, Asher had to admit he was impressed with how consistent Borda...
2025-07-29 16:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Vin didn’t get quite as much progress on the artifact done as he would have liked, but that didn’t mean he didn’t achieve anything for his efforts.
New spell learned! Tier 0 Water Spell (Sense Water). 2,500 exp gained.
Unsurprisingly, the inner workings of a lesser artifact were far more complicated than a minor one. Vin realized almost immediately his trick with uncovering the meaning behind the runic formation and dragging a copy of it over to his...
2025-07-29 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Vin blinked as he stared at Lumel, the pulmon still busy examining the Underside corridor. Similar to how he could sense his own artifacts, he got that same feeling from the Dimensional Mage, and could tell from where he was sitting that she had an artifact around her neck; the one she’d explained allowed her to survive outside of the water. However, that wasn’t all he was feeling. Besides the amulet, his new passive received some dull feedback actually coming from the general space aroun...
2025-07-28 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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