IAmNotTheHero

Chapter 47

Maya respected Flint but often worried her favourite human was stupid. He repeatedly put himself at risk to help people that weren’t a part of the pack. She understood he had close friends, but then Flint did the same for strangers or people he didn’t particularly like. Maya often wondered whether it was a human thing or something more.

Personally, Maya loved helping people too. It came with the territory of being good—no, the best girl. However, she knew not to risk herself unles...

Chapter 46

Flint had neither seen nor heard of insects so big before. Metallic chitin with an oily sheen covered their backs. The colours reflecting off them changed as the disappearing sunlight hit the dark armour at varying angles. Ugly pincers covered grew out of their hideous faces, and spikes covered their legs. When one of the guards thrust his spear at one of the creatures, the insect displayed monstrous speed, zipping backwards, away from the attack. Then the bug's friends attacked from the side...

Chapter 45

Initially, Flint wanted to keep enemy casualties to a minimum. After Bluelake killed one of the young guards, everyone, including Winona, gave up on restraint. Instead, they took advantage of the inquisitor’s confusion and maimed anyone that got in their way. The fight had moved out of Flints’ weapons range, and he held his breath, watching the mass of armoured soldiers thinning.

“You should order a retreat,” Flint told Winona when Stark sounded his horn.

“The soldiers n...

Chapter 44

While Flint worked on improving the quality of life around the fort and make it habitable for the new residents, Winona had focused her attention on the inner and outer guard. Following her instructions, Flint had placed multiple totems throughout Woodson Territory. He had placed two of each at the top of the slope. The placements didn’t just cover the insides, bolstering the residents but all of the gardens too. Flint believed it would reinforce their food supply by helping the plants and ...

Chapter 43

Flint heard Bjorn’s howling and the bloodhounds barks long before he reached the wall. They sounded excited and worried simultaneously. Due to his focus on the fort, Flint hadn’t made much progress with the new dogs. They appeared to follow Maya and Bjorn but still stayed an arm’s length from Flint. They were more responsive to his empathic pushes and pulls, though, and it pleased him.

Some progress is better than no progress.

The trio was crossing the lower Heartst...

Chapter 42

Objective III Complete!
The Heartstone grants you two ability upgrade stones.
Use them however you feel fit.

You have awakened the Sleeping Fort! Saving the Saviour has progressed to the next stage.

[Objective I]
Repair the Woodson Fort’s water supply, enabling irrigation and close proximity to a fresh source for every resident.
Reward: Two third-tier skill stones with intermediate knowledge of their use.

2021-04-24 19:11:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 41

“I’m surprised Miss Lya is willing to let that oaf stay in power,” Flint commented, tearing his eyes away from the table. Adam had just disappeared down the repaired stairs carrying her. Percy had followed but Jerome was still around. Flint ignored the still wide-eyed young man and let him be for the time being. “If I were in her position, I would’ve let everyone know what he was trying to do.”

“A known enemy is better an unknown one,” Twylip said. “Don’t worry, thou...

Chapter 40

Adam wasn’t joking when he said it would only take a couple of minutes. Unlike the panel by the external defences, the stones around the inside gate were broken, letting the elements have their way. What rust didn’t cover had worn away. The inner mechanisms made little sense to Flint. He knew at a glance that he would’ve never succeeded at repairing it alone. There weren’t just gears and chains but long-toothed bars and locking mechanisms too.

At first, Percy appeared...

Chapter 39

[Author's notes: You raised some valid points and I accept I didn't do a good job of portraying Flint's thought process in this scenario. I've made a few tweaks and chapter 40 will expand on it. The intention was to show Mr Mayor as a massive dick and Flint holding his tongue for political reasons.]

When Ed woke Flint up the following morning, Flint couldn’t help but feel an inkling of guilt. Of the sixty-something new residents in the Woodson fort, forty were human. A little over a t...

Chapter 38

When Flint entered the fort and found close to a hundred eyes watching him, he was glad for his growing beard. Despite the many hours of working in the son, people claimed his skin was smooth like a child’s. It didn’t matter that he had a square, well-defined jaw. Most people who didn’t know Flint assumed he was much younger than his actual age and treated him. Now that he had a full-faced beard, his reflection showed a much older person.

The humans and the fae looked at Flint exp...

Chapter 37

The following morning, Flint woke to his bedroll and shirt soaked in sweat. Maya had returned during the night, and when she found Bjorn in her place laid out next to Flint, she had piled on across the pair. Even though Flint enjoyed being a part of the dogpile, his body was much too hot. He crawled out from underneath the team, pulled on a pair of trousers and exited his shelter.

The skies were already orange and crimson with dawn’s lights, and the camp still smelled of the last nigh...

Chapter 36

Even though the gardens at the top of the slope could’ve benefited from the nutrients in the dead slavers’ bodies, Flint got the new guard to bury them outside the walls. He didn’t feel right about grinding up human bones and wanted to spare the children the sight. It was likely most of them had seen worse already, but it was a happy day for them, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Unlike the humans, the fae in the watch had nominated a female brownie. The males didn’t appear pa...

Chapter 35

As Maya understood more, her curiosity increased. She’d recently learned the word curiosity, but it never felt like enough. Maya understood hunger a lot better. It was apparent that her human—Flint—was making changes to her body and mind. However, he didn’t understand how much was changing. It angered Maya that he didn’t understand her as well as he understood him. She loved him still.

Listening in on Flint’s conversations with Winona and Twylip helped a lot. Maya’s knowle...

Flint's Node Compass at Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Class quest completed!
Choose one of the following skill stones.

• [Restoration]
• [Imbue]
• [Alteration]

Flint felt like a dog that needed a good shake. A shiver ran down his spine on seeing the Heartstones offerings. He was glad he hadn’t settled for [Fletching]. All three options were much better than anything he had hoped.

[Restoration] lived in legends as a fourth-tier skill...

Chapter 33

After Winona’s declaration and seeing Maya transform, the rest of the fae lined up to the Heartstone. There were more brownies, plains nymphs, and a couple of more kinds he didn’t recognise. One of them was unnaturally skinny and had blue-tinted skin, and another might as well have been human. He didn’t know one from another, and he didn’t think it was the time to ask. Besides, he didn’t like it when people asked which side of his family was fae or their fae. He expected it to be th...

Chapter 32

Flint only needed to spare one cart and horse for the humans. The group consisted of the elderly and a couple of young mothers. Most of them expressed their distaste of fae and refused to reside next to them. The rest worried Flint didn’t have the means to protect the fort. Fortunately, none of them put up numa fight when it came to the blood oath. After all, he had saved their life while risking his own. Instead, they thanked him for what he’d done, the transport and enough supplies to l...

Chapter 31

Flint didn’t take any prisoners. Maya had ravaged her opponents and Bjorn had crushed his opponent. The Viking man Adam disarmed had suffered grievous injuries and could’ve survived following medical treatment. However, Flint didn’t think slavers were deserving of compassion. He could find it in himself to respecting an enemy soldier. After all, in their mind, their cause was as just as his. However, anyone who dealt in anything cruel as slavery, genocide, or torture didn’t deserve co...

Map of Lea's Slumber

I understand I didn't do the best job of describing Lea's Slumber and the Sleeping Fort. I plan to go back and fix that, but here's a little something for you guys for now. It shows how I imagine the surrounding topography and why the villagers believe they're safe.

Origins of the Lea's Slumber

Once upon a time, long, long ago, an arcane distortion disrupted the gravitational field that held two disks together collided. The smaller of the two fragmented and one of...

Chapter 30

Flint took a moment to take in his surroundings as he reloaded the crossbow. Adam stood by the gate mechanism with a dead Iron Army soldier lay at his feet. Two armed Vikings remained facing him. Before opening the gates, Adam had hidden a giant war hammer and shield behind the gate mechanism. Flint was glad Adam had the time to retrieve them after triggering the trap. Even though he was taller than him and probably all of Lea’s Slumber, the Vikings towered over him.

Fortunately, Adam...

Chapter 29

The gates to Lea’s Slumber opened not long after sunrise. Flint watched from atop the wall as the Iron Army soldiers and the Vikings burst into action, breaking camp and putting out fires. The latter dug old, unpolished armour from their carts and put them on.

“The bastards must’ve forgotten that I have [Marksmanship],” Flint commented. “You can’t hide from [Keen Eye].”

Adam grunted next to him. A small smithing hammer hung from his waist, and he wore iron vambraces ...

Chapter 28

Flint didn’t need or want the village’s permission. Yet he sought Miss Lya’s council. The dogs stayed on the wall. Their howls carried much further ever since he improved their physiology with [Guide Growth]. If anything went wrong, they’d keep him in the know. Winona and Adam stayed in their camp while Twylip arranged their meeting.

It was close to mid-afternoon when Miss Lya hobbled up to the fort. It would’ve been much quicker for Flint to jog into Lea’s Slumber and back,...

Chapter 27

Excited to get his hands on another crafting skill stone, Flint jumped headfirst into creating deterrents to slow down attackers. It took an afternoon and another day of work to finish the bridge. It felt like a stable enough structure, but Flint’s experience suggested that it heavily relied on the supports at halfway. Adam proved his worth once again as he tried to figure out an efficient method of collapsing a structure.

Instead of making the supports solid beams, Flint made changes...

Chapter 26

“What’s the saying?” Winona asked, furrowing her eyebrows and staring at the fire. “That’s right! I know it’s like beating a dead horse, but you should talk to the villagers again.”

No one had attacked the fort during the night, and Flint wanted to enjoy his breakfast in peace, but Winona started on the subject again. He understood her concern, but it annoyed him that she wouldn’t just leave the matter alone.

“I’ve been thinking about it, Flint, and if the hill...

Chapter 25

Flint and Winona were out of breath by the time they got to the wall—Winona more so than him. Mage’s weren’t known for training their bodies as much as their minds and arcane skills. They often relied on spells to bolster their physical prowess. Flint recalled Winona’s bolts reducing in number as she jumped along the roofs and pillars. She was likely repurposing their energy to enhance her body.

When they started climbing the stairs, Flint had to drag Winona behind him. Even tho...

Chapter 24

The following morning, Adam left the camp at first light. It took some convincing, but Bjorn followed him. Flint didn’t like relying on Miss Lya’s charity for vegetables. Fortunately, his new friends didn’t either. Since the soil around the inner walls were soft and tillable, it was ideal for their fruit, vegetable and herb garden. The [Herbology] skill stone in her [Aura Node] would encourage all surrounding plant matter to grow quicker. Flint hoped it would solve their food issues. 2021-04-14 16:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 23

It took Flint and Adam three days of endless work to finish the wall. Having company didn’t just make the work go faster but made it more pleasant too. Adam didn’t talk much but still managed to be great company. He made faces, juggled the cumbersome building blocks, and hummed.

On their first day on the job, Adam disappeared for two hours and returned with several metal wheels and ropes. Flint couldn’t be happier as together. They managed to rig a pulley system to lift stones to ...

Chapter 22

Flint clenched his jaw and broke into a run. He had told himself that attacks two nights in a row were unlikely. However, if his hypothesis was correct and he had captured a powerful high fae, her allies would come looking for him.

An entire rest day might’ve been too much.

Bjorn and Adam were on their feet when he reached the camp. The snowdog stayed by the prisoner while Adam was strapping the dead pucks’ light leathers onto himself. They didn’t provide a lot of p...

Chapter 21

Flint’s skin crawled as he ventured below the building. Something felt off about the air. He couldn’t tell whether it was years of stale air or he needed to worry about sinister entities. Mushrooms grew out of cracks below the stairs. Given the rubble untidily piled around them, Flint guessed there used to be many more of them. Percy hadn’t excavated so much as ripped a path into the lower levels.

As he crept through the basement, carefully avoiding areas that looked unstable, Fli...

Chapter 20

[Guide Growth] helped Maya reach the first groove in [Control]. Flint estimated he had enough sand to get [Mind] there too, but he didn’t want his best girl fragile.

“Maya is plenty intelligent already,” Flint said, thinking out loud. He studied the [Mind Sector] wishing a book would appear to detail how everything would work. “You wouldn’t happen to give her magic, would you?”

He couldn’t begin to imagine Maya wielding magic. It felt like a brilliant prospect, but h...