IAmNotTheHero

Chapter 40

“What are you planning for your second summon?” Gwyneth asked after Baba left.

“I’ve got an experiment in mind, and I’m not sure whether it will work,” Diya answered.

“Do you need to purchase the prerequisite cards, or can we go straight to an upgrade station?”

“First, I need to use Spell Thief to get the object’s blueprints. I reckon the Climber’s Market can help us with that.”

Gwyneth sighed. “I wish I could stay and watch, but I don’t hav...

Chapter 39

“It’s good to see you too, Baba.” Diya gave him a light squeeze. He wanted to see Baba, but the thought of getting bad news about Alexander had discouraged him. “I had a meeting scheduled for later. I was waiting to get that out of the way before coming by.” Diya couldn’t be sure whether it was a lie. “How’re things in the house?”

“Tense.” Baba sighed. “Edgar’s friendship with the De Lawneys is evolving into a business partnership. You know how Lord Graham hate...

Chapter 38

Diya woke up wishing he had dreamt of his time with the apparition. They looked like Neer, spoke like him, and displayed the same body language. He had gone over the same key memories over and over again, trying to keep a hold of his image of Neer. Now, Diya no longer knew how much of them were real and which bits he had filled in himself to make them brighter. Considering Neer’s mental health, there had to be times when he wasn’t as amazing as the memories claimed. The little time he had...

Chapter 37

A warmth washed over Diya’s body, and the black ink blossomed from around his feet. It washed over the room, wiping everything away. Then he was back on the third floor and looking at the sky. Barely any time had passed.

“Hey!” He called, stirring Gwyneth.

“What?” She demanded, almost jumping out of her skin. “Don’t do that.”

“I thought you’d fallen asleep,” Diya said. “When you used the monster card, did Gaia give you an option?”

A smile spre...

Chapter 36

Diya's hands stung as he climbed back up the platform. He'd wiped his hands on moss and poured all of his whiskey-healing-brew concoction over them, but that didn't help. The last of the slime lord's digestive juices felt extra corrosive. Gwyneth assaulted his limbs with water and soap as soon as he got to the top. She didn't explain where it had come from. Her lamp's light turned golden, and a warming glow enveloped them.

"That wasn't a smart move," she told Diya. "I could've hit it wi...

Chapter 35

Gwyneth shed her bow and quiver once they were ready to pass through the door. Thanks to her soul, she didn’t need them anymore. Besides, arrows would be useless against the slime lord. They had come from the De Lawney armoury and bore their mark as well. It would stand out when Gwyneth entered the hub.

It was late afternoon when they left the third floor’s sunlight and returned to the subterranean second floor. The cavern looked vastly different in Gwyneth’s lamplight. Mei’s fr...

Chapter 34

It was late afternoon by the time they reached the dead plant monster’s lair. Every bit of it that the lizardmen had left behind was now dry and crumbling into bits. The beast had deteriorated faster than he expected. Diya regretted not securing a cutting. He would’ve liked to bring it back to the FTF. If they found a way to revive it or farm the creature, the aromatics and rejuvenating sac fluid could've turned a neat profit. As Diya thought about it, Edgar’s soul suddenly made sense.<...

Chapter 33

The path to the village appeared devoid of life. All the critters Diya had spotted the night before had left tracks heading away from the lizard men’s new home.

Was it internal strife?

Given their numbers, the chances of a monster attacking them were low. If something powerful enough to take on an entire village roamed the woods, the rodents wouldn’t be so careless. They had appeared blissfully unaware of everything but their food.

Diya heard metal clashing meta...

Chapter 32

Diya woke to the sun’s first rays on his face. His back ached from the uncomfortable sleeping position. He would’ve killed for another hour of slumber and a hot bath, but such luxuries would have to wait until his soul reached tier-two. Smoke rose from among the treetops not far away. Soft coos, squawks and a variety of other calls echoed through the trees. The creatures sounded a lot more like birds than lizards. Perhaps they were related.

The tree gave Diya a clear line of sight d...

Chapter 31

Before starting his climb, Diya removed the vest he wore under his coat. The temperate climate and testing inkfire cards had soaked his pits, back and hair. He couldn’t very well take off his jacket—its protection was invaluable. Still, he was happy to forego the metal studs that held onto his torso’s heat. Sleep, healing brew and a couple of shots of whisky had washed all the fatigue and pain out of Diya’s joints. With the Mole's Claws conjuring claws out of his boots, Diya climbed t...

Chapter 30

Diya’s hosts were still fast asleep when he set out the following morning. It was for the best. He wished to minimise human interaction. Before going to bed the night before, he had spent quite a while thinking about his deck. After the last couple of battles, he no longer trusted Territorial Awareness. He needed someone that understood cards better. Victoria spent the most time with the Boleyn tutor and paid attention during his lessons. As a result, she had a better understanding of tier-...

Chapter 29

Diya’s information, fortunately, proved correct. Not long after clearing the dead trees, the party sighted Gaia's central pillar rising into the sky. They’d have to descend a cliff and work their way through a mangrove forest on their way there, but it was still within sight. Diya grimaced at the thought of more climbing—the usual soreness had crept in, but he couldn’t wait to find an upgrade station.

The party ate while they walked. Diya worried about beasts tracking the scent ...

Chapter 28

Diya didn’t understand religion or the significance of the Ito clan’s pilgrimage. Baba came from a Hindu family but didn’t practise and worshipped the sword instead. Once a year, for five days in October, he would drag Diya to a gathering of people from the homeland. It was for a festival called Durga Pujo, which Diya never understood.

The Boleyns were similar in their religious aspirations. They forgot all about God and faith until Christmas. When the year’s longest night came,...

Chapter 27

Mei got talkative as the Japanese markers got more frequent. “We’re approaching the shrine,” Hina said, translating for her.

Water dripped from the ceiling, stalactites and stalagmites dotted the tunnels, and their feet splashed in puddles as they walked. The Ito-clan members didn’t appear bothered by the moisture, though. Diya found it concerning since the jungle of bioluminescent mushrooms had ended abruptly. If anything, they had to be denser in areas of high humidity. Beside...

Chapter 26

The mole dropped three cards. Diya only glimpsed the first of them—a monster card, before Yukiho pocketed all of them. The artwork lacked the same detail as Eirkh's card, leaving him to wonder whether it was one of lower quality or strength. Diya had no interest in the card. Given the beast's nature, he doubted it would give his soul's powers any desirable upgrades.

The party leader wasn’t interested in the hide and didn’t want to waste time on skinning. However, she and Koki remo...

Chapter 25

Diya had read about the creatures. They populated parts of the second floor where Climbers rarely ventured, only emerging to devour a troglodyte or smaller monsters. When it charged at them, Diya knew the stories of them being fiercely territorial were true.

Yukiho yelled in Japanese, and they all ran. The beast’s size made it as big as the tunnel, making getting around it impossible. It wouldn’t need to fight them to win but could very well crush the group under its massive weight....

Chapter 24

The party continued with their introductions while walking. Mei and Koki didn’t talk to Diya much because of the language barrier and chatted with Hina instead. Diya and Yuhiko walked ahead of them, discussing the tower. Unlike her younger clan members, she didn’t wear traditional Japanese clothes. She wore a shirt, knee-long cape, and baggy trousers tucked into plated boots. Her lack of a weapon didn’t concern Diya since a detailed black tattoo covered her forearm.

“You don’t...

Chapter 23

It came as a surprise when Diya’s body let him out of bed the following morning. He expected pain from the night before to leave him immobile, but besides the tightness in his side, he felt no discomfort. Either his soul's rarity gave it passive restorative abilities, or the healer’s powers were still at play. Diya’s joints and muscles weren’t sore, and when he did a once over, there were no bruises on his body. He found a few scratches on the back of his arms but nothing more.

...

Chapter 22

Diya entered the second floor’s primary hub, dragging his loot in a card-summoned tent and his coat stained green with ichor. He attracted several stares but couldn’t help but feel proud of himself. Blue twinkled from his swelling pockets, and the rolls of fur still dripped with arachnid remains. Diya kept the cards hidden inside his vest. Even though the hubs were almost always full of climbers, he didn’t trust human greed.

“What the hell have you been killing?” A wide-eyed c...

Chapter 14 (Bard)

A sharp poke to my side woke me the following morning. I didn’t have a way of tracking time in the dungeons, of course. However, given how well-rested I felt, it was a safe assumption. The cell’s cot lacked a mattress, but rough chords hung across the frame like a mattress. It didn’t take me long to get to the itchy material. In fact, it was a lot more comfortable than the crappy mattress back home. Samantha would regularly complain about the springs digging into her side or back.

Chapter 13 (Bard)

Author's Notes: Anyone that read Halfwit Halfling might recognise this chapter. It introduces a key character and JP did an amazing job of it, so I didn't write it afresh.

Sitting up, I looked at my fellow prisoners. I heard snoring from Ozman while the prisoners beyond him lay on their cots, looking away from me. It wasn’t either of the two, I was sure. It was too early for me to lose my sanity: barely a day had passed since I arrived on Arena Disk.

I went to s...