Malcolm Tent

A Novel Approach chapter 69

Wish upon the Stars chapter 824

We emerged on the outskirts of the island that Highhaven was in the center of. “Island” might actually have been a poor choice of words. Continent was closer, though admittedly it was a small one. Because of that, we had plenty of room to travel before we had to come up from the tunnels, with the Citizen informing us that they’d needed to end the tunnels at least a few miles from shore.

“Beyond the usual issues with moist ground holding shape, the dark force from the ocean can s...

Secret Ending chapter 13

Wish upon the Stars chapter 823

“So, you’re hoping for an intro to Dezi’s territory?” asked the Citizen with a jovial grin. He tossed back a huge mug of beer, smacking his lips and pulling a small comb from his pocket to comb the foam from his glorious mustache.

I assumed “Dezi” was Dezcarta, the general in charge of Ironreach, where Ashborn was located. I had learned recently that the island chains surrounding the larger islands where the cities were located were called “domains” and were named after ...

Secret Ending chapter 12

Wish upon the Stars chapter 822

We stopped in front of the building we’d been directed to, and I couldn’t help but stare. “Friendly Bar,” I read aloud. “I can’t tell if this person is really lazy or a recursion genius,” I said with a laugh. 

“Might be both,” Callie said cautiously. “So be careful. Honestly the recursion might already be working on us. I feel…a bit too relaxed. Remember what the cloak said, these people are violent thieves. That’s why we left most of the others behind. Hone...

A Novel Approach chapter 68

Wish upon the Stars chapter 821

We followed the cloaked figure into a long hallway, then up a flight of stairs into an office. Most of us were led to a waiting room, with only me, Callie, Abel, and Bethy following the figure inside. “Please, come in,” they said cheerfully. Walking over to a coat rack, they gestured for us to sit down. 

“Sorry, let me get comfortable first,” Reaching up like they were about to remove the cloak, the figure instead grabbed the darkness underneath it, pulling to reveal a huma...

Secret Ending chapter 11

Wish upon the Stars chapter 820

“I expected it to be more…on fire,” I said lamely as we all studied Abel’s new form. “Or maybe steaming? It looks the same.” His Ragam Blood Body had been adapted by the both of us working together. As a former Master Candidate who had broken his shackles on pseudo D-rank planet and condensed an illusory Path long before I met him, Abel was obviously pretty talented in techniques too.

With our combined effort, some help from Callie, and the foundation of the two extremely po...

A Novel Approach chapter 67

nsfw warning mind the tags.

Wish upon the Stars chapter 819

I woke feeling oddly refreshed. No pain, no exhaustion, if my memory wasn’t so good I might have forgotten how I fell asleep in the first place. This feeling of refreshment ended nearly instantly as I opened my eyes to see a hideous fish staring right into my eyes. I shrieked, hands going up to protect my face as I rolled, hitting the floor of the shack in a clatter of armor and curses.

Leaping up, I spun, summoning my staff to find…Bethy, unconvincingly trying to hide a fishing rod...

Secret Ending chapter 10

Wish upon the Stars chapter 818

Callie beamed at me as she called up her stats. Then paused. “Um…do you have some paper I could use?” She helplessly held up her hands. “This isn’t the real world, so I can’t bring my stuff in here, which means I don’t have anything to write on.”

Thinking about it, being able to carry objects into my soul and leave them there like the staff would have been useful, but probably pretty ridiculous. I cleared my throat and snagged a book off the shelf. I decided since I was ...

Secret Ending chapter 9

Wish upon the Stars chapter 817

Callie was waiting with the others when we got back inside, and she tackled me in relief. “Shane! What WAS that? Those screams…” she shuddered. “I felt like it was drowning me in my worst fears. I kept seeing visions of you dying, my mom being killed, even Jessie getting murdered. I tried to use the bond to pull strength from you but I couldn’t shake it.”

I grimaced. “I don’t know what it was, but I felt it too. I went through a similar experience back on Rackham, where ...

A Novel Approach chapter 66

Wish upon the Stars chapter 816

The forms that emerged from the sea mist were only nominally “men”. They had all the parts that made up a human: skin, eyes, even hair to an extent, but those parts were…lacking. The skin was too tight and wrapped around what looked like desiccated flesh, their eyes were shriveled and cloudy, and their hair was wispy and brittle looking, more like straw than healthy human hair.

In short, they looked super creepy. But what they looked like was nothing compared to the SOUND. The scr...

Secret Ending chapter 8

Wish upon the Stars chapter 815

Landing inside the Screeching Shoals was surprisingly anticlimactic. I was half expecting to be attacked right off the bat, but glancing around, it was clear that we weren’t in any immediate danger. At least not from people. Environmentally though, there was still some hazards around, something that was pretty clear from the moment we landed.

We were standing on a rocky outcropping, something you might generously call an island, if you had read that word in a dictionary and had never ...

A Novel Approach chapter 65

Wish upon the Stars chapter 814

It took less than a day to get to the entrance to the Screeching Shoals. Like my grandmother had said, the Acheron was a whole different beast when she was the one commanding it. I hadn’t noticed a real difference before, but it was clear she’d just been letting us take the scenir route.

Not just in terms of stealth, but speed as well, the ship had completely changed, swimming through space like an invisible fish cutting through still water.

During the trip, I took the opportu...

Secret Ending chapter 7

Wish upon the Stars chapter 813

“So, dungeons,” I said as we all settled into the Acheron. ‘Are they all like the Moonsong Glade?” We’d just gotten off the damned ship, so it was annoying to have to get back on, giving up the firm security of real ground. I was never quite as comfortable in space as I was on a planet. My grandfather pointed out that ships were basically planets, and that he’d been on ships that were LITERAL planets, but it didn’t feel the same.

My grandfather shook his head. “Not all o...

Secret Ending chapter 6

Wish upon the Stars chapter 812

“So, what have you all been upto?” My mentor asked as he flopped back down onto his chair. “Heard you’ve had some decent fights. Even killed a C-ranker at early D-rank, that’s pretty wild. Punching up is doable, but most people only manage it from the peak of the previous realm. Your new minions were telling me all about.”

Dom bristled. “What do you mean minions? We’re not his minions.”

Sable rolled her eyes. “We’re totally his minions. But I’m cool with ...

A Novel Approach chapter 64

Simon comes face to face with the darker side of Brockton, and how people can be more monstrous than actual monsters.

Wish upon the Stars chapter 811

Our next stop was the Imperial clan descended from Alkem, the Varhana clan. They were a Ducal clan under Duke Darius Varhana, known for their wind attribute abilities. Apparently even in Alkem’s time they had a whole legacy of wind based Skills and spells, and often synergized them with their main Skill to create unique capabilities.

It wasn’t a bloodline, because they’d never had an S-ranker, but after generations of similar abilities they had a tendency to develop powers in that...

Secret Ending chapter 5

Wish upon the Stars chapter 810

The banquet was surprisingly energetic. Most of the ones I’d been to were somber, formal affairs, but the Dryads were incredibly lively. Dancing, singing, party games. Rather than champagne or wine they served chilled fruit smoothies (though some of the fruits were intoxicating, I avoided those) and everyone was laughing and having a good time.

The group of Dryads who had been looking for me (most of whom had just been hoping I could help them like I helped Daysia, despite my insisten...