Arthur looked at his distorted reflection in the lake of water, a toothbrush in his mouth. Today was the day they'd decided. Come success or loss, they’d be entering the third layer before nightfall. If things went well, Arthur would be leaving it with a legendary class. If not, well, his chances of achieving it without a second apocalypse core were highly unlikely. He took a look at his status, appreciating how much had changed over the past few days.
Status<...
2023-11-14 23:59:31 +0000 UTC
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I should've released a chapter on Saturday. Sadly, my dumbass decided it was a great idea to organise my google drive and make it cleaner and more presentable. I ENDED UP DELETING 4 CHAPTERS. Sure, I still have them, but they are in a raw unedited form. It's not the end of the world, but it's still annoying and a waste of my limited time. If there's anything I've learned from this, its that if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it. As messy as my google drive was, I could still use it. ...
2023-11-13 01:37:55 +0000 UTC
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Upgrading his shadow bomb skill had taken Arthur the better part of the day. That left them a little under a week to finish rounding out the rest of his skills before their self-imposed time limit came to an end. Whether or not he was ready at the end of it, they'd have to finally challenge the hydra at the centre of the layer.
Delaying any longer than that posed a risk of permanently harming them, in what Alyssia called hollowed soul, a phenomenon which contrary to its name did not dam...
2023-11-09 23:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Talking to Alyssia was enlightening. It helped him refine the ideas he'd been working with and made them goals he could actually work towards. It turned out he wouldn't be making magic nukes anytime soon.
Not that he'd been considering the possibility. Replicating the devastating potential of destabilised Uranium with shadow magic was preposterous, the thoughts of an idiotic child. Nope, he definitely hadn't been considering it. At the end of the day, he'd fallen back on the things he'd...
2023-11-04 23:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Arthur sat on the grassy plains across from Alyssia. After their brief encounter with the Guardian's domain, they'd decided to retreat and better prepare themselves. Their return journey had been a silent affair, Alyssia not answering any of his questions until she was sure the beast wouldn't be able to observe them.
Whilst she was certain the animal hadn't learned true speech, what with it being a Loci construct with no access to no conversation partners, beasts at high enough levels c...
2023-11-02 23:59:01 +0000 UTC
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When Arthur opened his eyes, he was in a different place. The wooden walls of the stable no longer surrounded him and he could feel an artificial breeze blowing on his skin, the sort that you usually felt from a fan, not the natural air of the wind.
"What the fuck is with this second-rate locus." Alyssia cursed loudly from beside him.
Arthur couldn't help but agree with her. From the stories she'd told him, a locus was supposed to be a place of adventure and danger, where...
2023-10-28 17:36:03 +0000 UTC
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Arthur prodded his greaves a few times, marvelling at its beautiful design. It looked like a cross between a plant, snakeskin and tree-bark, somehow taking the best qualities of each material and mixing them in such a way that only enhanced rather than detracted from the final product. Touching it did, however, raise a few worries.
"Alyssia, what do I do if I break my greaves? They seem kind of... fragile."
It was a legitimate concern. No matter how amazing the soulbound item may ...
2023-10-27 23:17:39 +0000 UTC
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Okay guys, I've mostly recovered from my illness and am well on the way to recovery. The first two days were the worst, a time where I couldn't keep anything down, not even water. Things got better fast on the third day and now I'm practically perfect. This is the delayed chapter. You'll be getting the one that's supposed to be released today tomorrow. I'm also going to to try to work on increasing the number of advanced chapters you'll have available to you, so you have that to look forward ...
2023-10-26 23:54:20 +0000 UTC
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Today's chapters going to be delayed till tomorrow at the minimum.
I'm currently suffering from the worse diarrhea known to man. Like I kid you not, I will be glued to the toilet for the next ten hours straight.
Had some dirty takeaway and now my ass has turned into a fountain, like I'm legit pissing shit. And I feel nauseated on top. I can't bring myself to eat anything solid even though I'm starving. Pray for me guys.
I know this is TMI but I need to keep the creative juic...
2023-10-21 22:53:17 +0000 UTC
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“If I were alone, I never would have considered it,” Alyssia said quietly. “This locus seems difficult enough without the extra difficulty. With you, however, I think it might be possible. Heck, it’s probably the only way we’ll actually receive a proper challenge from this place.”
Alyssia didn’t say anything else, giving him the time to consider their options properly. Her words, however, had made it clear what she thought about the matter. Arthur didn’t let her opinions...
2023-10-19 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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“Are you sure this is going to work?” Arthur asked for the umpteenth time. The fake sun was high in the sky and sadly the heat it generated was no less real than the actual stuff. Whilst 698 constitution meant it didn’t harm him, it didn’t make it any more pleasant to bear.
“Shut up. Do you have a better plan?” Alyssia snapped back. Being far less durable than Arthur, the temperatures grated on far more. And the fact that Arthur had asked the same question so many times was ...
2023-10-14 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Arthur ran through the grasslands, ten tiny orbs of water floating behind him like a line of ducklings following their mother. It made for a strange sight, especially when he constantly stopped and changed direction, seemingly at random. The bizarre movements went on for a while longer until suddenly, Arthur lost balance and sprawled onto the ground, his conjured water bullets harmlessly falling onto the grass beside him.
“Fuck, how long did I last this time?” He cursed, spitting ou...
2023-10-12 22:59:00 +0000 UTC
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The advantage of having a perception stat didn’t only include enhanced vision and hearing capabilities. Whilst the two were incredibly useful in a fight that took place at subsonic speeds, Arthur found that he only truly appreciated the stat when he consumed Alyssia’s cooking.
A dish that was beyond gourmet standards in the pre-system era was enhanced to a sublime, near-godly level of perfection when eaten with 92 perception and no one would ever be able to persuade...
2023-10-07 23:18:18 +0000 UTC
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“Arthur.” Alyssia massaged her left hand as she called out his name, wincing as she did so. “If you don’t mind me asking, how high is your constitution? Hitting you hurts more than an Ironhide boar.”
“698”
Arthur’s reply was curt and straight to the point. He saw no point in hiding that particular piece of information from a woman who already knew so much about him. Not when she could probably read it all from his aura anyway. And seeing the look of astonishment fl...
2023-10-04 22:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Ever since Arthur had first laid eyes on Alyssia, he’d wanted to spar her. That wasn’t his irrational half-breed title title talking. At least he hoped not. For as long as he could remember, Arthur had always welcomed a challenge.
That didn’t mean he sought them out. His life was already difficult enough without adding to his troubles. Arthur doubted, however, that fighting Alyssia would add them, and what's more, it would be fun. There was no point in being modest. It was quite l...
2023-09-30 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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“And yours…yours would have killed us all,”
Six words. A single sentence and yet it hit Arthur harder than any punch ever had. If he’d been standing he would have had to sit down. As it was, Arthur relaxed the muscles in his stomach and lower back and allowed gravity to do its work.
He fell back onto the grass and looked up at the fake sky. If he focused, he could notice the slight inconsistencies in it, the way the light was too bright and unnatural, how the clouds were a...
2023-09-28 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Arthur woke up feeling like a black hole had decided to take up residence in his stomach. He was starving, and the fact that he could smell the tantalising aroma of grilled meat didn’t help matters at all. Not when his perception stat dialled up his senses to eleven.
He could hear the pop and sizzle as fat melted into oil and dripped into an open flame, and the slightly charred exterior of Alyssia’s cooking was so crisp he could somehow pre-emptively hear the crunch it would make wh...
2023-09-23 23:15:00 +0000 UTC
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The first time Arthur tried to replicate the effects of skill without the system's assistance hadn’t gone too well, and his seventeenth attempt wasn’t faring much better. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t made any progress at all, however. Unbeknownst to Arthur, his learning speeds, whilst not incredible, were far beyond average and the fact that he was progressing so fast all on his own without the aid of a teacher would annoy the wealthy parents throughout the universe who sent entire ea...
2023-09-21 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Arthur was taking a break, his feet resting inside one of the crystal lakes that had given this layer its name. The water was both cool and soothing and possessed properties that helped relax the mind. At least that’s what identify had told him, a skill he still needed to upgrade.
Elysium waters (Uncommon)- Water that has a soothing effect on the mind. Used in many alchemical procedures. Note- This water is only a replica of the real thing.
The item’s descript...
2023-09-16 22:59:00 +0000 UTC
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“So, what is this Bhai Giya thingy anyway? It sounds like it doesn't have to be permanent, with the way you said only one could be maintained at a time.” Arthur asked. "I'm guessing you can get new ones and overwrite the old, right? As long as I have a way out, I'm up for anything really. Especially if it'll be as useful as you say."
"It's Bhai Giya. Not Bhai Giya thingy, just Bhai Giya, you insufferable bastard,” Alyssia angrily snapped.
She was mortified. Here, she was, of...
2023-09-14 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Arthur woke up to the smell of Alyssia cooking something. The Alverin woman had somehow managed to start a fire, and she was currently using a metal spoon to stir the contents of the wrought iron pot she had roasting over it. At least that's what Arthur thought the items were made of. Knowing Alyssia, it could have been anything.
Sitting up, Arthur looked into the cooking pot to see that it contained a strange-looking red soup. It surprisingly smelt appetising, if a little on the spicy ...
2023-09-10 00:20:04 +0000 UTC
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“We ignore it…” It wasn’t the first time Alyssia hadn’t made any sense. “What do you mean ignore it? How the hell do you even ignore an illusion?” Not for the first time since meeting the dimensional traveller, Arthur wondered if his myriad tongues skill had mistranslated things.
“Remember what I said, Arthur. The locus is restricted to those under level 200,” Alyssia explained. “That means the illusions on this layer are weak. Almost non-existent actually, like back...
2023-09-07 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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“We call it Kushin in the Alverin tongue. There's no real equivalent in your language and I’m not proficient enough in myriad tongues to convey the actual meaning. I guess an appropriate translation would be purging, or change through hardship.”
Arthur walked through the grasslands of crystal waters with Alyssia at his side. After the bombshells Alyssia had just dropped on him, they'd decided to get moving. The horses had of course immediately bolted the moment th...
2023-09-02 22:59:01 +0000 UTC
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Talking with Alyssia was an interesting experience, to say the least. The woman could talk for ages, to the point that she'd taken the most chatty person I know award from Elizabeth. I wish I could go back to the person I was ten minutes ago. Alverin mating habits were something he could have gone a lifetime without knowing.
He and his big mouth. Curiosity killed cats and he was certain the panther in him was quite dead. It'd take a few moments for the human side of h...
2023-08-31 22:59:00 +0000 UTC
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Alyssia was stumped. As forthright as she'd been so far, having this conversation wasn't easy for her. If her sister could see her now, she was certain she'd never hear the end of it. Still, being as terrible at aura control as he is, I can't really blame him. In all honesty, she'd understood how rude he was being. Anyone else in her situation would've come to blows by now.
Nonetheless, it was best she shut these things down early on. Her relationship with Arthur was compl...
2023-08-27 00:21:11 +0000 UTC
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~Alyssia Sil’vorken~
Alyssia breathed in the fresh air, marvelling at how much ambient ether was present in the atmosphere. This wasn’t her first time in a Locus of power but from the descriptions her older sister had given her, this locus was far more potent than the one she had explored. That wasn’t unexpected though.
Rakisha had only gotten the opportunity to challenge a locus that had already been conquered after all and so it made sense that it wasn’t quite up to par ...
2023-08-25 01:23:51 +0000 UTC
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This is the last of the daily release chapters. I wanted to reach a minimum of ten at least, but I'm going to start being very busy on a gardening project my dad's started. From here on forwards, chapters will be released twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays. I'll edit the story description on RR to make this official and hold myself to it. Thank you for reading.
Chapter start...
Alyssia had just smirked when Arthur asked her where the locus of power was. “You still have a lo...
2023-08-21 01:29:59 +0000 UTC
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There was something magical about walking through the wilderness at dawn. The faint light of the rising sun lent an eerie atmosphere to everything it touched, a blanket of warmth that made itself known in the chirping of pre-dawn birds.
It wasn't too hot yet and the chill of night had just departed, and though the temperature was steadily rising, the world was currently in perfect equilibrium. Arthur took a deep breath of the fresh air, savouring how it tasted, the sweet untamed nature ...
2023-08-20 00:39:28 +0000 UTC
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Once again with the 2 am special. fuck my life.
“I left Artemo someplace safe,” Alyssia quietly said, not adding any more details. "And I've come to pay you back."
The first part of Alyssia's speech, Arthur could understand. The alien woman was very overprotective when it came to her younger brother and it made sense that she wasn't willing to share details regarding his whereabouts. he was quite literally her reverse scale, the one weakness anyone could exploit to control her...
2023-08-19 01:07:21 +0000 UTC
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I cannot release at a reasonable hour to save my life. Its 1:45 am right now.
Vital Surge- increase your vitality by 30% (Note-Evolution effects take place on an attribute after all relevant titles do their work, not in conjunction with them)
Prodigious Title bearer- Increases all title effects by 10%
It wasn't really much of a decision at the end of the day. The system was a game of numbers, and the math wasn't hard to figure out. V...
2023-08-18 00:44:34 +0000 UTC
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