It's a good thing I have so many minds now, since I have so many new things to play with. Barrier magic is another defensive tool in the box and I'm quite keen to prioritise it. With my reaction speed and increasing magical prowess, I bet I can throw down shields in the blink of eye, putting them where and when I need them before my opponents can even react. I don't think it would be much of a stretch to say that I'm attached to my life in this world, a heck of a lot more than I was to the on...
2021-08-20 11:04:43 +0000 UTC
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When I eventually wake it's to find that the rest of the group has already completed their mutations and that Crinis has extended herself into a wall between me and everyone else. Preserving my modesty in my most vulnerable moments. What a good companion she is!
[Thanks Crinis.]
I mean that sincerely, with all of my soul.
[You are welcome, Master.]
I slowly pick myself up and this time it’s a little more disorienting that usual. I stagger to one side before I manage ...
2021-08-19 11:54:13 +0000 UTC
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Except it isn't there. DAMMIT! I'll have to check again after I get my mutating done, but holy moly I'd hoped it would be there… I'd ripped open the magical skills list the moment I had an opportunity and raced through it, my brain practically screaming for some sweet, sweet gravity. I'm crushed it's not there. There are new things for me to look at, I was able to recognise that much, but the disappointment after waiting so long and not getting what I was after is genuinely crushing.
...
2021-08-17 11:27:11 +0000 UTC
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I don't recall seeing this before… if that's because I wasn't looking for it or if it was unlocked somehow… I can't be sure. Being able to detect Gravity? In what way? As in, the strength of the gravitational field in any particular area? Or from a specific object? Or both? Or neither? The description provided by the System is vague at best. I nervously eye the entry for few long moments. On the one hand, I want to take it. This may help push my way to unlocking the gravitational mana spe...
2021-08-17 10:59:58 +0000 UTC
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In the end, despite how much I want to see my old organs rise to the grand old height of +30, I decide to start with the new stuff, specifically, the Vestibule, Nave and Antennae. These reforged body parts are high performing and important to me so I need to invest in them. With the huge wealth that I have right now, I can blast them all the way up to +30 with a massive amount of change in the bank.
For starters, let's look at the antennae. One of the interesting things I discovered in ...
2021-08-14 11:32:12 +0000 UTC
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The tale of the Colony's expansion is one of conflict, it is true, though many point to that as the sole factor, as if everywhere we trod there was nothing but war and death. Perhaps it is easy to view us as the enemy if that were the only way we have been described. Even a cursory examination of the facts, of the actual events themselves, is enough to put that lie to rest. In truth, the Colony, through the Eldest, held out an antenna in friendship as often as it did not. Where we were re...
2021-08-12 10:47:34 +0000 UTC
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"Whooooooooo!" Vibrant cheered as she raced across the plains of leng, delighting in watching the larval demons leap from her path just in time to miss her flashing legs.
The air was boiling hot and seared against her carapace as it drove her antennae back. The smell of ash and molten rock smothered her senses as the terrain flashed by but Vibrant cared little for any of it. The rush of pure speed was what she craved and these wide open plains gave her an opportunity to run as she had n...
2021-08-11 08:35:53 +0000 UTC
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[It's so damn hot!] Sarah complained.
[Of course it is,] Granin snorted, [it’s the third stratum. Place is nothing but ash and lava.]
[You might be fine,] the giant bear grumbled, [but I'm covered in fur. If I was a rock person like you, maybe it wouldn't bother me so much.]
The old shaper harrumphed.
[For starters, I am not a rock person, I am a goglari who has bonded with a true skin, a layer of ore that covers and melds with my natural skin. And ...
2021-08-10 08:08:11 +0000 UTC
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I'm not really wearing armour. It's more jewellery than anything else. Which isn't something I wanted to point out to Smithant. She takes immense pride in being a smith, specifically in being an armourer, since she doesn't make weapons. In fact, she takes an unhealthy amount of pride in that, such that pointing out how she has basically made what amount to a series of necklaces. Not that they go around my neck, instead they fit over my legs, basically tightening around the area where...
2021-08-10 08:07:42 +0000 UTC
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Our plans made, the council disperses, Vibrant disappearing over the horizon before I can so much as blink. Although… that could be a long measure of time, since I can't blink. I'm actually starting to forget what it was like to close my eyes, to be honest. I mean, how long can you go without eyelids before you forget how they felt? I've been in a carapace so long, I'm starting to forget what skin felt like! It just seems so weird to me now, being squishy on the outside and hard on the insi...
2021-08-07 08:30:03 +0000 UTC
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The meeting dragged on for another hour before a reasonable plan of action of attack was determined. We had to consult Al fairly frequently throughout the process, trying to determine exactly what is and isn't allowed in a formal war between demon cities. In the process we got a bit of an overview on the history and practical application of this particular demon tradition. Allocrix doesn't have any idea roughly when it started, the practice is nearly as old as demon kind itself, or at least s...
2021-08-06 08:20:11 +0000 UTC
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As I watch the disc containing Brixin and her cohort of demons fly back to Orpule I breathe a sigh of relief. That was close, too close! We might have been able to win, but most likely only with the sacrifice of many, many lives and that is a price I am simply not willing to tolerate.
My siblings will fight for the Colony and in that process some of them will perish, I've come to terms with that, somewhat, but I will never accept my sisters utilising traditional ant tactics and choking ...
2021-08-04 08:36:44 +0000 UTC
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Hey there folks! Bit of a news dump but I felt like this deserved its own post.
For those who like to read, or have read the side-fictions I have in the stickied post, then good news, four new chapters of Necromancer have been added, over twelve thousand words.
I've gotten the story to the point where the 'introduction' section is basically done and I'm more or less happy with it. Still needs an edit and certain sections need working on, but overall I think the concept is coming t...
2021-08-04 04:49:26 +0000 UTC
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Seriously? Another demon city lord showing up now?! What did I do to deserve this? Seriously!
The new arrival looks down on us and the half-consumed remains of Grokus with an imperious gaze that does little to make me think this encounter is going to end peacefully. She appears to be a type of demon that I haven't seen before, a semi-humanoid torso that appears almost skeletal, with four long arms that end in scythe-like claws she looks a little reaper-ish.
On the disc with her ar...
2021-08-03 10:51:08 +0000 UTC
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The immediate fallout from defeating the city was a little odd as an experience. The remaining demonic residents of Roklu were a little bewildered by the whole experience, and some were less than pleased at being ruled by monsters from so much higher in the Dungeon than they themselves, but those opinions were soon changed by the overwhelming numbers and might that the Colony brought to bear.
You might be a high and mighty tier six demon from the third stratum with nothing to fear from ...
2021-08-02 08:11:27 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for delay!
The closer I look, the more certain I am. It isn't much, a scratch under any other circumstances, but considering that Grokus has managed to keep himself entirely pristine for the duration of this fight, something has definitely changed.
[You know, I don't think I will, surrender that is. I have a suspicion that things might just be turning to my advantage.]
[Nonsense,] the huge demon scoffs, [unless you have another of those spel...
2021-07-31 08:02:20 +0000 UTC
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In desperation, I turn the final stages of forming the gravity bomb over to my main mind, the only brain I have that specialises in handling gravity mana. I can immediately feel the difference, but I still need the support of the sub-minds to keep things flowing as I continue to piece together the biggest bomb I've ever made. When I let this go, it's going to get messy around here…
"Back off a little more!" I warn the Colony, "make sure you get a solid grip on something!"
After ...
2021-07-29 12:02:01 +0000 UTC
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That's right dear readers! I ventured where so few have dared to tread! Within the heart of the nest itself! Of all the exotic locations I have plumbed over the years, all the dangers I have braved and risks I have taken, I have to say that this, this was not like those.
A part of me wants to say it was anti-climactic, in a sense, but another part of me wants to say that it was anything but. Here I was, on the brink of stepping deep within a ne...
2021-07-28 11:18:29 +0000 UTC
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Invidia and Allocrix hovered above the fray and looked down on the wreckage below them. In the midst of the billowing clouds of dust and smoke stood Mongu'nin, the massive demons frame covered in wounds that already showed signs of healing.
"AHHHHHHHH!" the mighty demon roared to the heavens with a feral grin plastered across his face. "I KNEW YOU WOULD BE WORTHY ALLOCRIX!"
A flicker of emotion ran through Invidia, a faint whisper which so rarely occurred that he looked at it, pai...
2021-07-26 08:27:35 +0000 UTC
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[How's it going over there Tiny? Crinis?]
[We'll win, but it's going to take time!]
[Take care and make sure of it, we don't need to rush!]
I don't think… Although, looking at Grokus as the massive demon looms over me, that I'll be able to finish this quickly. If the gravity bomb doesn't manage to inflict massive damage on him, then I have no idea what will! I pull back a little from the city lord, giving myself room to plot my next manoeuvre. The area where I bit him has ...
2021-07-23 09:01:13 +0000 UTC
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Say what I will about Grokus, he's an intimidating sight when he's up and moving. However much I weigh in my tier six body, the demon has me massively outclassed. Not only is he taller, but his girth is also considerably wider. And if I were to hazard a guess, his demon flesh and musculature is far denser than my own. Even with a portion of his body stuffed into a pocket dimension, he literally makes the ground shake with every step that he takes.
The two massive claws that sit on eithe...
2021-07-23 04:10:38 +0000 UTC
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As cool as he'd tried to play it, Isaac wasn't exactly pleased to be where he was. The ground beneath him felt like fire against his boots and the air itself scorched his lungs whenever he took a breath. Sweat fell in a constant stream from his brow and he'd stopped bothering to try and wipe it from his eyes. There's was plenty more where that water came from, the ants had loaded them up with cannisters of water before they'd come down and most of the human contingent had knocked the lot of i...
2021-07-21 09:25:15 +0000 UTC
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My tour through Renewal had been just wonderful, but it was only a portion, merely half of the equation when it came to this remarkable place. The people I met were delightful, open, and friendly folks who had pieced their lives back together after unspeakable tragedy. I can't speak highly enough of them, really! On the other hand, I was yet to unravel the true mystery, that of the ants!
I was somewhat shocked to learn at just how open the insect monsters were to people. I'...
2021-07-20 07:50:34 +0000 UTC
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Grokus had known that something was brewing in the stratum above. A pesky Colony of ants led by an unusually large specimen, he hadn't thought it would anything that he couldn't manage, but this! This was absurd!
The constant rain of acid had begun soon after the spears landed in the city, coating everything, including himself, in the burning liquid. It wasn't enough to damage him, but it was certainly enough to tick him off. How long had it been since he'd actually been attacked person...
2021-07-19 08:12:10 +0000 UTC
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I knew that the Colony would make a move to conquer a portion of the third stratum, its practically a requirement for us to grow enough that we will be able to survive, but I didn't think it was going to start this soon! Holy moly, they must have worked themselves half to death up there! Smoke is rising from inside the city already, I can only imagine that the fighting has begun!
[We need to get up there squad!] I holler at the others. [We need to hustle up the pillar!]
I immediat...
2021-07-16 08:48:17 +0000 UTC
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"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sloan asked Cobalt tentatively.
"Sure? Of course I'm sure?! Did you think I sat around here crunching numbers between my mandibles for twenty hours just for the heck of it?!"
"All right! I just wanted to check, please, keep working," the general made a tactical retreat to where several other council members were standing at a safe distance.
"Gotta be careful around the carvers right now," Wills greeted her, "they are more than a little t...
2021-07-14 07:33:53 +0000 UTC
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Grokus enjoyed being a city lord for a few, very simple reasons. First, it meant that he didn't have to put up with anything getting between himself and the only thing that gave him satisfaction in life, eating, and second it meant that he had a city full of demons who he could force to provide the abundant amount of Biomass he required without having to lift a finger. It had been decades since he'd bothered to check how much Biomass he'd amassed, having maxed out his mutations ages ago, but ...
2021-07-13 10:31:56 +0000 UTC
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It's a comforting thought that here, even two strata out of date, my mandibles are still capable of getting the job done.
DOOM CHOMP!
With a crunch that reverberates off the walls, the dark mandibles of manifest energy slam shut, causing devastating damage to the poor demons caught within. Before the caster demon can even begin to weave a spell to heal or defend, the bodyguards are already in action, appearing from thin air to execute their devastating takedown st...
2021-07-12 11:17:21 +0000 UTC
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Translucent spirit demons of vestigial obsession are thankfully less common than more mundane threats in the tunnels. That first 'ghost' was a bit of a pain to deal with, mostly because I was so hesitant to approach the ghastly thing in the first place. Tiny helped by growing bored of my slow creep forward and blasted the thing in the face with a bolt of lightning that caused the creature to shriek and writhe in pain before rushing towards us. It was almost more out of instinct than a conscio...
2021-07-09 11:05:46 +0000 UTC
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In the deepest pockets of the third stratum the mana hung thick in the air like soup. Every breath filled a monster’s lungs with fire and ash, enough to choke most creatures, or burn them from the inside out. Beyond this, an aura of evil hung over every pebble and dripped from each stone, as if the sins of the denizens of this place had been so extreme that it had seeped into every atom, penetrating the fibre of matter itself.
In this darkness a vast lake of fire could be found. Those...
2021-07-09 11:02:45 +0000 UTC
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