AuthorPalt

Tutorial Rewrite 150

To recalibrate our current position, we are now camping out right on the border of the empire, in a little forest close enough to a village for me to steal from it but not close enough for Simel to realise that that’s what I’m doing. Camping of this sort has been our modus operandi for months now, so there’s nothing weird about it. No, the weird thing is that when I returned to our little campsite from wrestling a boar, I found Simel in a most peculiar state.

To be specific, he wa...

Tutorial Rewrite 149

Getting the money to pay for the boat was pretty easy. The problem was convincing Simel that I wasn’t going to kill, rob or loot anyone to get the money.

But I was able to cook up a pretty good half-truth. Basically, I told him that I’d been able to get one of the city’s rich judges to pay to have me analysed by one of his court mages. This was not a lie. I did, in fact, turn up at the house of one of the city’s four high judges and tell him I was a human and that I was willing ...

Tutorial Rewrite 148

“Did you hear what happened last night? Nasty business!” the innkeeper says in greeting as we step up to the counter. A number of goblins are already seated in the dining room, not a few of them giving me looks that can, at best, be described as unsavoury. They’re looking at me in the same way you’d look at a loosened tiger. Suspicion. That’s it.

“What business?” I say, somehow managing to not stammer. From the corner of my eye, I notice a few of the patron’s eyes wideni...

Tutorial Rewrite 147

And, like that, we left the city of… what was it called? Standsore? Something like that.

Before we left fully, though, I stopped by a little shop and, uh, ‘borrowed’ a map. See, we’re here, and to get to the empire, we’ll need to pass through a couple of cities, a number of forests, a mountain range, across a sea, and… Yeah, it’s a bit of a distance. But that’s nothing the dynamic duo of Ho-Jae and Simel can’t achieve!

Why, on our first day alone, we wer...

Tutorial Rewrite 146

I put my hands on my hips, hopefully only resembling a disappointed mother by coincidence. “Now, why would you go and do that?” He stares up at me with the same kind of look he’s had the past couple of days. I heave a sigh, mostly just to show him how I really thought better of him. I mean, come on! “You’re lucky I went running after you or these armed hoodlums would’ve had their way with you! Can you imagine that? I mean, this guy was carrying an entire halberd for cryin...

Tutorial Rewrite 145 Simel's Lament Pt3

The room was not quite dark. In these places, the night was never entirely dark. Not like at home, where night held its rule for all hours of the night, only unwillingly banished once the sun took her throne. Down here, the moons seemed so much brighter, and the stars were so many.

The night air was cold. It streamed gently through the window, alongside the little wisps of moonlight. As Simel stood by the window, he put one hand to his heart and the other to his mind and gave a short pr...

Tutorial Rewrite 144 Simel's Lament Pt2

“So, yeah. For now, how about I go get you a bowl of that soup I mentioned? That’d be nice, wouldn’t it? And, just so you know, there’s no meat in it whatsoever, and the broth wasn’t distilled from any blood, so it’s totally pure and fresh and healthy and all-organic.” Saying so, the creature stood up. “Just sit tight and I’ll be right back, yeah?”

There is no escape.

As though Simel could leave.

With that promise of return, the creature...

Tutorial Rewrite 143 Simel's Lament Pt1

Simel of Acheron—also called Simel the Survivor by those his ruling entailed—awoke from his deep sleep sometime in the early afternoon. He found himself inside a bedroom he had never seen before, with walls of yellowstone and furniture of thickreeds.

It was a simple room, one that in many ways resembled that of the inn he had resided in before their disastrous pursuit into the desert of ash. At that time, he had wanted to remain with his soldiers, sleeping in the simple ten...

Tutorial Rewrite 142

In the middle of the night, while Simel is still sleeping, I grab all of the bodies and put them in this one room, off to the side. I’m not sure exactly what kind of room it was originally, but like the front door, it was one of few rooms protected by both a door and a lock, said lock actually having a key to it. The key is small and made of what I think is brass. After locking the door, I put the key in my inventory.

And then, I return to my seat next to Simel and wait for morning to...

Tutorial Rewrite 141

“—Simel!” The word erupts joyously from my throat and I turn my head to look at his face. “Simel, we’re here! We finally got here! Simel, the city, it’s—” He doesn’t react. His face is slumped over across my back, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, ears drooping. I can feel my chest rising and falling. “S—Simel?...”

The world stops turning. The wind stops howling. My heart no longer beats and my lungs no longer breathe as I stare at the silent, lifeless face slung...

Tutorial Rewrite 140

After such a night, I wanted to let Simel sleep. But he didn’t want to sleep. He just kept awake, curled up, hiding inside a cocoon of bear pelts. So, as to not waste the hours, I decided to set out again.

<You have learned:

Lichen Tolerance Lv.4>

I absently scratch the spot on my right arm where the tarantula bit me. The black lichen is spreading well. A little too well, maybe. My other resistances don’t seem to be hindering it in the least, which confirms the sli...

Tutorial Rewrite 139

I stare at him, more confused than anything. “Simel, what the heck are you doing?”

His chest spasms up and down, anxious little breaths hopping out of his throat. His eyes tremble, never leaving me for a moment. Somehow, it doesn’t even feel like he’s looking at me, but rather at something that just happens to be where I am.

Frowning at him, I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to pull here, but when you snap out of it, I’ll...

Tutorial Rewrite 138

Simel cries. I have to pry him away from the lizard’s empty-eyed head. Getting him into the empty cavity I made of the lizard’s abdomen is even harder. By the time I climb in as well—the only bit of Simel’s possessions I was able to bring along being his satchel—Simel’s curled up into a little ball, sobbing.

But we survive the sootfall. That’s good, isn’t it? I think so.

It took a bit of effort to dig us out of the caked soot, but it all worked out. Simel didn’t ...

Tutorial Rewrite 137

It starts out pretty okay. We walk at a calm pace, only pausing to fight off the local wildlife or to pick up some cacti here and there. My human leather thigh-high boots broke after only a few hours, though I easily substituted them with some snake skin. And then, the trek continued.

We took a break at around midday to eat. It was mainly for Simel’s sake, though. I ate some random flesh from my inventory, Simel ate cactus, and the lizard ate some of the flesh harvested earlier today....

Tutorial Rewrite 136

“Simel, I really don’t know what it is you want to do with that lizard, but I think we should do away with it. It is clearly feral. Totally untrustable.” Mumbling such things, I watch Simel as he rummages through the things in the tent, eventually finding a small knapsack. He looks inside of it, and I only barely catch a glimpse of its contents—a pair of small books, a quill and ink, a bundle of herbs, a few pouches, a pair of crowns, a bit of jewellery, a rolled up piece of parchment...

Tutorial Rewrite 135

By the time we arrive, the sun has risen fully, banishing any former tendrils of the night’s cold. In the dry heat of the sun, the encampment doesn’t look like much of anything. There’s a big pile of ash encasing the woolly drake I killed, and then there are the two tents in the distance, next to the cave. Everything else is covered in soot.

I pause in my step once we’re here, but Simel moves on ahead with brisk strides.

Only to step on a minute raise in the soot, his foot...

Tutorial Rewrite 134

<The Day of Grand Conference

will end in 00:00>

<The Day of Grand Conference

has ended.>

<Thank you for participating!

You will now be returned to your lobbies.>

…

…

…Hm? Where… where am I?...

I pry open my crusty eyes. Oh, hey, it’s the crib! That makes sense. Yup. Total sense. Ah, my body feels a bit weird… As I move to a sitting position, a little prick of pain rings out from my left shoulder. Hm? What’s ...

Tutorial Rewrite 133

Though, of course, since it would be rude to chug the clearly expensive drink, I just take a sip. The status messages will be sure to roll in any second no—

Hang on a second. This is…

Moleman grins at me. “It’s good, isn’t it?”

…Good? This; good?

I bring the glass to my lips and take a full swig. Flavour and sweetness and mellow aromas explode across my tongue. Spices! Spices! Spices! But the second I swallow down half a mouthful I stop myself, m...

Tutorial Rewrite 132

I wave in the air. “That’s only if I’m really hurt, though.” He doesn’t look like he agrees much. “Th—that’s how it works, right?”

Moleman pulls his lips tight. “Listen, Kitty… If you accidentally see a guy stub his toe, that’s a bit upsetting even if he didn’t really get hurt, right?”

“I, well, uh… I suppose so?”

“It’s the same with you. Even though I know you’ll make it out of it just fine, seeing you a gory mess is...

Tutorial Rewrite 131

I blink at the message. The next words I was about to say die on my tongue.

“Oh, shoot, um, I’m about to disappear, but like I said, I’ll be back in twenty-four hours, so just sit tight, and try not to get yourself kille—”

The last thing I have time to see before the summoning teleports me away is a bewildered look on Simel’s face.

And then, in a flash, I’m gone.

My vision is black for all but a moment before I reappear, falling square on my ass in a room...

Tutorial Rewrite 130

A little while later, just as I was starting to worry he might have tried to take off, Simel returns from his break. He seems thoughtful as he trudges in through the door, but I’m just glad I didn’t check up on him mid-way. I close the door behind him.

“Did it, um, go well?” I ask. He gives a brief glance over his shoulder but nothing more. Yeah, okay, I don’t think I need to ask anything more. In a bit of a position swap, I plod after him as he walks through the crib and back...

Tutorial Rewrite 129

By the time the sun rises once more, the giant has been almost completely cleared of his parasitic infection, and I’m feeling a fair bit rejuvenated from last night. Ahhh, is there anything better than to stand in the morning sun, with a full belly and an organic, full-body moisturiser, rich in iron, water and red blood cells? Absolutely not.

Unfortunately, Simel might not like my current look, as trendy and modernist as it is, so before I go back inside I spend a while licking myself...

Tutorial Rewrite 128

I stare at the message before my eyes. It stares back at me.

What…?

There’s a little sound below and I look down to see Simel’s face twist in pain. He gives another whimper. My mind is whirling. What? What? What? What?

Slowly, I stand up. Then I back away, over to the other wall. I sit down.

What is going on? What does that mean? What is the right thing? What is right? What is wrong? What does this mean? What is expected of me? I don’...

Tutorial Rewrite 127

The cactus, bird and a pretty substantial bit of the skin and flesh on my back all fall off with a thud, the spines of the cactus finding a new home in the crib’s twitching flesh.

—Task complete! See, was that so hard? Not at all. Simple stuff.

To show him the prickly fruits of my great labour, I turn to Simel, doing a fun little pose as I do. Unfortunately, this goes unnoticed, because Simel is currently leaning his forehead against his propped-up knees and is therefore unabl...

Tutorial Rewrite 126

Once I get back to the crib, it’s been at least a couple of hours since I left. In fact, it’s turned dark, and the cold is starting to creep in. I’m not exactly sure how long Simel’s been on his own, but… Actually, let’s get a specific number on that one.

<Top—Status—Community>

<00:30:10

Day 364>

<The thirteenth attempt will begin in

23:29:50>

<The Day of Grand Conference

will begin in 23:29:50.>

—It’s...

Tutorial Rewrite 125

See, was that so hard? I almost want to make a joke about his indecisiveness, but I don’t think he’d take it too well right now.

“Right! Great, thank you for agreeing. In that case, I’ll get going straight away. I’ll check the camp you had, but… yeah. We’ll see.” Saying so, I head for the door. As I grab hold of its fleshy hinges, I keep my eyes on Simel. He’s still looking down, periodically checking the little puddle he expelled. Right. Okay. I don’t like not being...

Tutorial Rewrite 124

He woke up a few hours later. Careful not to repeat my earlier mistake, I kept by his side the whole time. Sometimes he’d actually make a noise—something I thought him incapable of—though this was mainly in the form of whimpers. Combined with the way his body flinched and jerked every so often, it was all too clear what kind of dream he was having.

However, as much as I want to rouse him out of his nightmares, I don’t think he’d want to wake up to that. I mean, he got knocked ...

Fart Smella

I don’t know if it’s noticable but I really like drawing this guy. hehe

Tutorial Rewrite Chaps 122-127 scrapped alt. version

(AN: I would like to preface this by explaining a bunch of stuff. To preface, this is a scrapped version of events that I wrote before fully understanding my own intentions for floor 15. No planning, no thoughts, just barging straight ahead. Kind of dumb. (Very dumb.) So, I wrote it, all 23 A4 pages and 8 462 words and then I stopped because it just... didn't feel right. Their relationship just didn't sit right with me. This was too... direct. There just wasn't any subtelty to it. I loved wri...

Tutorial Rewrite 123

In that case, it might actually be a good thing that he took it out of my hands—it is, after all, a limited-edition deluxe unique item. I wonder how much it might sell for in the shop? Not as much as her crown, but, you know… Still!

On the other hand, if Simel would rather have it as a keepsake, then I can hardly refuse him. Though, frankly, I would have liked to at least hear him say a simple thank you. Is that too much to ask for? No idea. His wide-eyed stare is practical...