HideousGrain

HideousGrain posts

Short Break (Vacation and Revision!)

2025-08-27 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post

(Updated) Beastforged - B1 Chapter 27

2025-08-09 05:05:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Apocalypse Healer - B4 Chapter 4

His mind space had changed a lot. It looked like a vast, ever-expanding expanse. That was the result of his [Soul Domain], and it would continue to expand as he nourished it with more pure Blood and Origin Essence.

While [Soul Domain] didn’t do anything actively, it guarded his soul from damage and augmented all aspects revolving around his soul. Nourishing [Soul Domain] and pushing it beyond Advanced not only increased the potency of his Blood by a fraction, it also augmented the output of his Skills, Sparks, and Intents.

Last but not least, it influenced his Source too, accelerating the production of pure Blood and Origin Essence.

A gargantuan palace highlighted the center of the massive expanse in his mind space. It engulfed his Source, the Laws and Intents, and his Skills and Sparks, safeguarding them from damage. However, [Mind Palace] did much more than just protect. It held everything within its towering walls together, ensuring nothing broke, no matter how much David strained his Skills, Sparks, or Source. Everything was held together and joined the weave that connected it all.

The Class Skills of Serene Ego were not particularly powerful when David used them for the first time. However, they had augmented his mind and soul, creating a formidable foundation, which he had nourished ever since. Both Class Skills had transcended the threshold of the Advanced grade and granted David a foundation that was exceedingly difficult to acquire under normal circumstances.

He could clearly feel that his Class Skills had crossed a line—their limit. Before he arrived at the Naughtrealm, he felt that Serene Ego had reached its limit. The Secondary Class hadn’t been of a high grade, which was why it made sense for its Class Skills to reach a limit. Monk was different. Still, even his first Secondary Class was struggling to provide him with any more benefits. It was highly possible that it would have reached its limits a long time ago if David hadn’t created the Spark called [Aether Breath].

Regardless, Serene Ego had gone beyond its designated limitations. David was sure of it. However, he couldn’t ask the System about it since the System was inactive. He was still unable to access it and received the same response whenever he tried:

[System is unavailable. Intelligence is being transferred to the Host.]

[Pending…]

Unable to rely on the System for anything, David had to search for answers on his own.

He sat cross-legged atop Orhain’s walls and watched the townspeople as they lugged the monster corpses around the battlefield. They pushed them into a tin box the size of a fridge, which held far more than it should. A spatial device, just like the muscular woman had mentioned. However, the box retained the weight of its contents, making it extremely heavy.

Nobody carried the box, and David watched it compress the earth underneath as they squeezed more corpses into it.

They worked efficiently, but without the right tools, their efforts were slow and tiring. It was strange to see someone cleaning the battlefield without proper spatial devices, yet everyone did something. Even the elderly tried to help, though they were more baggage than actual assistance. They were old, fragile, and classless.

“To think they survived like that without anyone’s help for so long.” David grimaced, leaning back as he thought of the things he had achieved since the integration struck the Earthen Union like the disaster it was.

He’d done a lot, and he would have to do much more in the future.

“The System won’t be the same. I think I broke it,” he murmured to himself, leaning back.

Even if he hadn’t meant to, consuming so much Nihilum and transforming it into Vitae had caused that. Given the fact that his heart had somehow transformed into the gathering place of Vitae, and the unknown power he seemed to generate the more the people of Orhain relied on him, his situation seemed a lot more complicated than expected.

Is it their trust that grants me power? Or their reliance on me and my power? It could also be their awe and fear of my power? Then again, the strength that gathers in my heart cooled off when I asked them for information. When… they doubted me, the power seemed to change. But what exactly is that power, and where does it come from?

The latter was something he’d already answered in his mind. It was merely a theory, but he was fairly confident that the Fallen had something to do with it. The Fallen’s power, to be precise. The moment the god ceased to be, its power had entered his body. It was inside him… and that seemed to have changed a lot.

He couldn’t be certain the events were related, but the Maelstrom was no longer in Deryadus’ Arm—let alone intact. Its shards were embedded in David’s heart, which could easily contain his Vitae. It was corrupted, yet nothing was happening to him. If anything, the Vitae in his heart seemed to strengthen him more than it did when it was in his arm. He felt stronger—better than before.

The Fallen did something to me. He would have loved to do it to Zachariah, but since that asshat wasn’t present, the Fallen chose him instead. But we were compatible…was that what he said? He’d been working on Nihilum as well, but he failed, whereas David succeeded.

David ruffled through his hair while allowing the complicated feelings to wreak havoc within him. Meanwhile, his attention never left Orhain’s townspeople.

Clearly, they did not have many Skills. In fact, David was certain their strongest fighters had to stay in the town at all times to protect Orhain from aerial monsters, as well as the ones living on the surface and underneath.

He had yet to see the rest of the country, but Kamia was clearly riddled with monsters. They weren’t too strong for him to deal with, but definitely too much for Orhain. Even more so considering David had yet to find any other survivors. The muscular woman hadn’t been wrong—they appeared to be the only natives of Kamia who’d survived the integration.

Through the avian Echos’ reconnaissance, David learned a lot. He discovered half a dozen recently opened Rifts and packs of monsters that could only have spawned from collapsed Rifts that hadn’t been cleared fast enough. It was only a matter of time before Kamia would be razed to the ground.

Since he had a rough understanding of his location, David could have left. He might have to travel for a while to reach the Dwarven Sanctuary, but he could have left. However, he couldn’t see a reason to leave early. There was no need to rush back to the Dwarven Sanctuary.

First of all, Zachariah would be fine without him. Second, the Naughtrealm was no more, so there shouldn’t be any more overpowered Voidre for quite a while. Even if there were, Zachariah could deal with them alone—or with Maja’s help.

Third, the Aether density in and around Orhain was quite high. David’s first assumption had been that the Earthen Union’s awakening had finally concluded, but that did not appear to be the case, as the regions claimed by the Infected were not as densely packed with Aether as Orhain.

Only the immediate surroundings of the Rift Core in the prehistoric valley were better, yet David had to share the Aether and Essence there. Here… in this place, he didn’t have to share much. A little bit for the people he’d have to teach Meditating—maybe he could help them create a Spark. If not, they could nonetheless absorb Aether more efficiently. A Spark wasn’t required to do so. Or he wouldn’t have been able to replenish holy power when the integration arrived.

Plus, he kind of liked it in Orhain. The part about being ‘revered’ as some pseudo-deity was a little over the top, but the rest was quite interesting.

At last, he was free. He was no longer stuck in the Naughtrealm. It no longer existed either, which ended the End’s plan for a quick destruction of the Earthen Union. His avian Echos had yet to find any wastelands or signs of Voidlings as well. While that didn’t mean anything definitive, David was certain the Regressor wouldn’t need him to deal with the Voidlings spawning under the End’s natural influence. After all, it would take a little bit longer before Voidre could—or should—form naturally.

We should have until the end of the awakening, David mused. The World Awakening had long since changed the Earthen Union, but the planet’s Aether density was still increasing. The planetary core had yet to fully develop, removing the last restrictions forced upon the external forces, and David hoped that it would take a few more years before the first gods and naturally spawned Voidre would walk the Earthen Union. Gods were not all that pleasant to be around, after all.

Not all of them, at least.

Memories of William and the Poisonous Beast God resurfaced in his mind, and he grimaced.

Focus.

David couldn’t do anything about William or Zephyr right now. Sure, he could search for William with Divine Compass, but he doubted the Intent would lead him to his old friend at once. He knew he was too happy being around the living—around people—to trigger the Intent properly. Sure, it would probably lead him closer to his old friend, but he couldn’t even be certain his friend was anywhere nearby. Running around without a plan screamed of idiocy.

Thus, he would stay. As for how long... David couldn’t quite tell.

Did I change this much? Am I so lonely that I feel like playing guardian to a town of weaklings? he wondered, his Bloodthrone Dominion lingering on the battlefield.

Screams reached his ears, and he turned to see a handful of non-Classers dropping the corpse of a larger, scaled wolf they’d been carrying as they ran back to Orhain. Their life signals were a mess of desperation and uncontrollable fear, threatening to consume them at the sight of a few dozen monsters running toward them.

Chaos was bound to sweep through the rows of volunteers who’d been busy clearing the battlefield, but David didn’t allow it to go that far. He cast [Archaic Shackles] several times in a row and watched the monsters in the distance as silvery-white chains burst from the ground around them. The shackles coiled around the monsters’ limbs first, slowing them just enough for the remaining chains to do their work, pinning the monsters to the ground.

“Calm down,” David called out from the wall, amplifying his voice with pure Blood. He didn’t bother standing up, but watched the excellent work of his Class Skill with wonder.

Was the range of effect of [Archaic Shackles] always this long?

The monsters that had been charging were still thrashing, trying to escape the confines, but the taut chains weren’t something a bunch of hyenas at the Bronze Rank could break free from. Even Rift Bosses at the Gold Rank would be unlikely to escape [Archaic Shackles] at this point.

“The hyenas must have smelled the corpses. Or the blood of the dead,” David spoke calmly toward the panicking non-Classers. He went as far as to cast [Healing Sphere] to calm the nerves of the least stable people working on the battlefield.

“Either way, everyone without a Class can kill one of them. If no one is willing, or no one in need of a Basic Class knows which one to choose, the Iron Ranked Warriors can slay them. You may not rank up more than once, given the lack of a challenge, but one more rank is better than nothing,” he called out, his voice still amplified.

Warriors would gain the most from slaying and protecting. While there was little to protect when fighting against a chained monster, they could still gain something. Hunters, Mages, and Clerics, on the other hand, wouldn’t gain anything—except for a massive boost in their Skill proficiency. Every Skill Rune successfully used on an enemy above one’s Rank would increase the gains drastically. Then again, David was certain he couldn’t trick the System by shackling Rift Bosses at the Gold Rank and transforming them into Orhain’s punching bags. It may work for a few days, but the System was bound to find out.

When nobody moved to take one of those easy kills, David got up. He leaped from the wall and landed on the battlefield with a soft thud. His eyes flicked from one volunteer to the other, and it took a tremendous amount of self-control not to sneer at what he saw.

“You.” He pointed at the skinny boy with ocean-blue eyes. “You wanted a Class earlier. Get over here.”

The teenager had been overly confident before. At least, he tried to make it look like he was confident when he asked David for a Class. And in the few hours that had passed since David nourished [Soul Domain] and [Mind Palace], that hadn’t changed. Fear was ever-present in the teenager’s bright eyes, yet he tried to mask it all as he approached David.

“Do you want to back out? If you do, others who are more willing to acquire a Class can gain full access to the System instead.”

“No!” the boy shouted, moving faster to close the remaining distance between them. “I want a Class. I need it!”

“Sure.” David shrugged. “What’s your pick?”

The boy looked at him, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his features.

“What Class are you going to pick?” David asked, suppressing a groan.

“I want to be a Warrior!”

That declaration earned the boy a scrutinizing look.

“Sir! I will be a powerful Warrior and protect everyone. I may have always been a little bit skinny, but I am a good protector! My siblings are alive and well even after the world collapsed. I made sure to follow my duty as the man of the house, and I will not stray from that path! My parents would be proud of me!”

That was a lot more information than he wanted, but David didn’t complain. He looked at the boy and saw a bright flame of determination flickering in his eyes. The boy may not have a Class—he may even be scared to death of the future that awaited him as a Warrior in a world that devoured the weak—but he appeared far more strong-willed than his initial impression suggested.

“I don’t mind your decision, but you do realize that you don’t have to be a Warrior to protect everyone, right?” David said. “I was forced to pick [Cleric] as my Basic Class because I was injured and bitten by an Infected at the start of the integration. But while I didn’t like my Class at first, it turned out better than expected. Sure, not everything was great, but it worked out in the end.”

The teenager’s eyes widened in surprise. “H-How is that possible, sir? I… I saw what you did out there. I mean… I also saw you healing everyone, but that’s all the more reason to believe what Lilia said!”

Lilia? What did she say?

Was that odd woman trying to tell everyone that he was a demi-god or something along those lines? David shrugged inwardly and continued to trod through the battlefield. He called out for a few more people whom he believed to be ready. Some didn’t move, but that was fine. David replaced them with more willing subjects, including a few Iron Ranked Warriors.

“I can fight, heal, and wield magic. Then again, my magic is different from a regular Mage’s. My first Class evolution was special, and it allows me to do many things.” He waved dismissively. “But my past isn’t important. If you think the Warrior Class suits you, you should choose it. However, if you want to protect your siblings, you don’t necessarily need to be a Warrior. A Hunter is good with traps, reconnaissance, sneaking, and occasionally excels at deception as well.”

Most would have advanced Classes by the time they learned the basics of their initial Class. They’d specialize from then onward and could potentially change their entire build-up—especially since advancing to the Bronze Rank granted access to a Secondary Class.

David didn’t speak further. Instead, he watched the people around him and listened as they spoke about their choice. Everyone regarded him carefully, but they didn’t seem suspicious of him anymore. Something about the townspeople’s attitude toward him had changed, and it affected the warmth and power that filled his very being as well.

The tension around him skyrocketed suddenly as the distance from the fortified town increased, and David found himself surrounded by low-ranked Warriors and non-Classers. They inched closer as they emerged from the battlefield, only to slow down and press closer to him as they neared the shackled hyenas.

The monsters hadn’t stopped thrashing, but their attempts had lost their initial vigor. [Archaic Shackles] was still active, draining tidbits of his reserves every other second.

“Who wants to go first?” David asked, only to realize something crucial. “Preferably someone with a weapon.”

He had a few weapons, but the Obsidian Blade wouldn’t work for others. Precisely, it would drain their lifeforce instead. Serpent Fang, on the other hand, was way too heavy. He considered conjuring a weapon made of blood, but he didn’t know if a weapon created from [Blood Manipulation] would interfere with the Class acquisition somehow.

One of the Warriors stepped forward, his steps slow and his quivering eyes fixated on the nearest hyena. The monster yelped and shrieked. It thrashed and tried to escape the chains’ confines, but it was to no avail. In fact, David tightened the chains until the hyena could no longer move.

“If you want to be over with this quickly, you can pierce its eyeball and brain in one go. But if you want to train your Skills a little bit, you can also use [Slash], [Charge], and the like.” He offered a piece of advice, but it didn’t look like the Warrior was listening.

His trembling arms moved at a sloth’s pace as he lifted his sword, and a tear dripped onto the ground as he watched the monster. The Warrior screamed at the top of his lungs and slashed down, drawing blood. He slashed through its neck—after David gave him a little push and cast [Herald’s Blessing] on the sword.

The sword clattered to the ground beside the dying hyena, all while the Warrior’s legs caved in, tears pouring down his cheeks.

Is that guy serious? David nearly blurted.

He rolled his eyes, glanced at the mortified figures of weak Warriors and those who had yet to acquire a Class, and sighed deeply.

This is going to take a while.

2025-08-07 10:37:35 +0000 UTC View Post

Beastforged - B1 Chapter 38.1

Lea was a pain in the ass. Somehow, I had attracted her ire. And the worst thing about that wasn’t even that everyone watched our spar. What really got to me wasn’t even that Daniel’s sister beat the living shit out of me without breaking a sweat. The worst was that she looked damn good while she thrashed me.

Lea blocked my attacks easily. She redirected my punches and used my momentum against me effortlessly. I toppled, a new ache in the chest area joining all those other aches, and Lea’s legs shot forward, sweeping me from the ground. My face was the first to hit the floor, adding another pain to the repertoire, and the rest of my body followed behind.

I was already on the ground, but that hadn’t stopped Lea before either. Knowing she was out for my life—at least, that was what it felt like—I rolled to the side and jumped to my feet. A small burst of ether was enough to push me from the ground, but Lea was just too fast. Her leg smashed into the floor where I landed a moment ago, but her eyes were already upon me. So was her fist.

A punch to the chest knocked the air out of me, and I slumped to the ground. This time, however, I couldn’t get up before Lea’s feet crushed down on me.

“That’s enough,” Merlin said, and Lea retreated, even though she didn’t look happy.

Why are you doing this to me?! I wanted to scream, but I held it in. Preserving what little energy I had left was more worthwhile than shouting at Daniel’s sister.

“Adam is still a little foolish, but he isn’t too bad. A fledgling, sure, although with a sharp beak.” Selene’s voice rang out beside me, and she sounded oddly happy. And as encouraging as her words were, I knew she didn’t say that to motivate me.

Looking up, I caught the old demoness staring holes into Merlin, who did not look half as happy.

“I’m not sure about his beak, but he is a fledgling,” Merlin grunted. “Too weak to take care of himself, and too young to spread his wings to fly.”

“Teens at his age progress rapidly, so he will be fine.” Selene nodded, her eyes twinkling as they remained on Merlin. “Training a teenager is very different from training children. Adam knows what he’s learning for, and I don’t think he’s doing this half-heartedly. He has been giving his best ever since.”

That was actually a nice comment. It made me smile, even though Merlin’s follow-up destroyed it all.

“Giving his all, huh.” Shaking his head, he turned to Daniel. “Are you fine with this?”

Fuck you, too! I screamed internally while Daniel fidgeted around, avoiding his uncle’s eyes.

The look of discomfort on my friend’s face lasted no more than a few seconds, and he met Merlin’s bottomless gaze.

“Yes, I am, and so are my parents. We are happy with Adam. He is doing great!”

Merlin cocked an eyebrow and turned away with a shrug.

“If you say so,” he said and nodded toward Selene before walking to the door of the combat simulation room. Lea was about to follow behind when Merlin glanced back at her. “I will be busy with the Council and Ruler Wale. Stay here and train with Swordmaster Selene. She knows what she’s doing—most of the time.”

He glanced at me when he uttered the last part, but it hardly mattered to me. At this point, it would be weirder if I hadn’t noticed his dislike toward me. It was obvious to everyone.

Selene took Merlin’s words to heart, and the twinkling in her eyes died. I almost felt bad for the Swordmaster, but I was glad she finally seemed to see Merlin for what he truly was: a jerk. Although, as unfortunate as it was, a damn powerful jerk.

Lea bowed politely toward Merlin, but she did not seem particularly happy with her teacher’s order either.

“Sometimes, I really hate our uncle,” Daniel muttered, which earned him a glare from Lea. “I know you idolize him, but even that has its limits, sis.”

She didn’t look like she agreed, but Daniel couldn’t care less.

“Are you exhausted?” he turned to me. Scrambling to my feet was hard, but it was answer enough for Daniel. “Good, because you and Aureus need to be exhausted for this.”

Hmm? I lifted my head with some difficulty, ignoring the pain shooting through my entire skull.

“Teach finished his latest project, and he wants to see you,” Daniel said brightly.

Beaster Bert wanted to see me? It had been a while since I saw him. More than a week, actually—since he and his wife tore through the two-headed lion.

Aureus and I hadn’t received any serums the entire week, although I was sure they held back to ensure our bond would recover flawlessly. It took almost a whole week until my World and the bond settled down, fully recovered, but we were back at our peak.

Was that related? He probably wanted us to start consuming serums again. That would be perfect. Aureus and I were growing stronger without serums, but they accelerated the process drastically. They granted power, and that was exactly what I needed—not just to fight beasts or protect people if the Bastion was attacked again, but to stop others from beating the living shit out of me, too.

***

“Since your World has no restrictions, as far as we can tell with the equipment at our disposal, we made a decision,” Bert said after I sat down on the couch in the basement of the Beaster’s shop. “After careful consideration, the Zerogs and I decided to remove the containment solution within Aureus’ evolution serum.”

That was certainly not the first thing I expected to hear from Bert. I was glad he and his wife were fine — it didn’t look like they’d sustained any wounds from the attack a week ago — but something like a ‘Hello,’ a simple ‘How are you doing?’ or anything would have been better.

A quick chat about how messed up the attack had been and everything that had changed in the last week would have been great as well.

The public opinion of powerful Blessed had been tarnished. Berthold — or whatever that piece of shit of a human being was called — had been caught and put in prison, where he was waiting for the Council’s final decision. It looked like the Council was out for the jerk’s blood, if Chloe Zerog’s contacts could be trusted.

Apparently, putting a Bastion in danger was a no-go — who would have thought? The only surprise was that Chloe said even Rulers had decided among themselves to never endanger mankind. If it could be avoided, they would never put the Bastions in danger. Not after everything that happened in the past.

Then again, that was just what Chloe said. I highly doubted the Rulers could be punished even if they were to endanger mankind’s survival. It was probably a good thing they never did something as stupid as Berthold.

Regardless, victims of the incident were still being recovered. The dome sustained damage and wouldn’t be repaired for another week or two, more than ten thousand innocent people had been killed, and dozens of buildings had been razed to the ground, causing damage in the billions. The skytrain network was still out of service as well, and the tension between unBlessed and Blessed was higher than ever. It was a fucking mess, and nobody wanted to talk to me about it!

Maybe that was the point… Maybe I was the one who needed someone to talk to. To empty my heart about the incident and all those deaths rather than avoiding the topic like my parents did. Even the Zerogs didn’t seem to like talking about it.

However, in a way, diving into work might be the Beaster’s way of coping with the situation, and that was fine. I was the one who wasn’t fine… or was I? Was it okay to feel like a mess even after one week had passed since that day?

“Adam?” Bert’s voice rang in my ears, pulling me out of my train of thought.

“Hmm? Sorry, I was–...” I blurted out loud, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

The Beaster raised an eyebrow at me, but he didn’t look angry.

“You know what a contained evolution is all about, and what it means if we do not contain it, right?” he asked.

Containing evolutions was important, if not crucial. It ensured Soulkins wouldn’t evolve in ways that could possibly harm their Blessed. That usually happened when a Blessed allowed their Soulkin to evolve naturally. Sure, it was cheaper, as it did not cost anything to evolve a beast naturally as long as it had the potential and met all the other requirements to evolve — including months, if not years, of absorbing soul energy. However, cheaper didn’t mean better. In most cases, natural evolutions would be better as they allowed beasts to transform into their most compatible form, but they were also uncontrolled.

What would happen if a beast evolved from a non-elemental beast to an elemental creature? If the Blessed was fortunate, their World had the required elemental affinity and everything would be fine. Under normal circumstances, however, that didn’t work. Their World was more likely to be incompatible with the Soulkin’s new form, and the bond had to be severed in a timely manner or the World would break. Or worse, the Blessed might.

Contained evolutions also ensured the Blessed’s World was large enough to house the evolved Soulkin. No evolution pushed a beast from 5-Star Wild to a high-level Awakened beast or to the Evolved grade, but Soulkins could advance to an Awakened beast that required 30 soul energy units instead of nine-ish.

While that would be great in many cases, in mine it would shatter my World into smithereens.

All that talk about evolutions and the ability to initiate a loosely controlled evolution was exciting, and my heart skipped a beat as Beaster Bert retrieved a vial of liquid stars. I had not the faintest inkling of what kind of serum Bert had prepared, but it looked like it contained stars.

I could feel the serum’s potency from the distance, condensed ether sloshing through the tiny vial. It was a lot more potent than anything I had seen in the last few months.

“Is that a second-grade serum?” My heart drummed wildly against my rib cage, threatening to escape my body. “B-by any chance… is that… is that what I think it is?”

Was that a–

“No, that is not an evolution serum.” Bert threw me a pointed look. “The serum will further reinforce your bond. Given the data we’ve collected about you and Aureus, the serum should be effective. If it works as intended, the reinforced soulshare will also affect Aureus and enhance his potential. With a little bit of luck, Aureus will reach 5-Star once the last properties of the serum settle, completing the preparations of mind and body.”

“As long as it works out, which it should, you will be busy feeding Aureus soul energy for ten days, maybe two weeks. You can still refine your World in the meantime, and you definitely should do that if Aureus grows as fast as we predict. That way, neither you nor Aureus will have problems once we proceed with the evolution serum.”

Did I hear that right? Bert was talking about evolving Aureus… right?

Thinking about Aureus, his potential evolution, and how much would change if Aureus advanced to an Awakened beast, my heart skipped a beat. Somehow, the thought of evolving Aureus had been so far away all this time. Now, all of a sudden, it was so close. Soon…

“The data on Pith Potency and the other serums have been good enough. Nonetheless, I recommend visiting the shop daily for thorough examinations. I know all those tests are boring and it will take up a chunk of the time you need to prepare for the Camp, but it is a crucial measurement to ensure your safety,” Bert explained, placing the pre-evolutionary serum—I named it like that myself—in my hands with a reassuring smile.

My heart was racing, drowning out the world around me, but my body was already moving. Aureus appeared on my forearm and rushed to the small glass vial resting in my hand. He didn’t care if he injured me and exposed his ravenous gluttony and impatience to everyone in the room. I barely managed to remove the cork when Aureus reached the vial.

“Once Aureus digests the serum, and the results are within an acceptable range, we can proceed with the evolution serum. Merlin was generous enough to provide the fragmented core of a Lesser Earthen Drake for the serum. That may be a bit of overkill, as most of the potential contained within the evolution serum will be wasted and discarded by Aureus, but the core of a Lesser Earthen Drake is definitely compatible with our little mutant Soilback. There shouldn’t be any compatibility issues,” Bert clarified.

Merlin provided a core? The… core of a Lesser Earthen Drake? I’ve heard about Drakes, but I had yet to read about Lesser Earthen Drakes.

However, no matter how suspicious Merlin’s sudden generosity was, I was glad. Not because Merlin was generous, but mostly due to Aureus’ excitement. It didn’t require a firm bond to tell that Aureus would have loved to consume the Lesser Earthen Drake’s core as is—unrefined and definitely not ground into an evolution potion. Maybe the fragmented core was already enough to stimulate a natural evolution, but it looked like Beaster Bert and the Zerogs wanted to push us further down the path with the pre-evolutionary serum, whether it was for our safety or to make full use of our potential—Aureus’ potential.

That made sense, and I agreed completely. Since we had three months left until the Camp would start—or was it two? No… there should be close to three months left now that everything had been postponed with the Mistrals’ attack. Maybe we would have even more time before the Camp started, though I highly doubted that. Regardless, I was happy Bert and the others focused on our safety. By providing Aureus with both the best training and resources, they strengthened him for the evolution. Not only did that increase Aureus’ chance at success—apparently an evolution could also fail miserably—but the probability of unlocking more racial traits was much greater with a well-fortified foundation as well.

Furthermore, the stronger the foundation, the better the resources, and the Soulkin’s natural potential, as well as the empowerment provided by the Blessed’s World, the higher the chance was for a stronger evolution that may or may not allow the Soulkin to evolve further.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked Bert when Aureus disappeared in my World. The pre-evolutionary serum was empty—Aureus didn’t leave a single droplet—and the little glutton wasn’t moving anymore. Aureus was rolled up in the World, golden particles coating him in a paper-thin cocoon. He’d be out of service for up to two weeks if Bert was right.

“Now?” Bert patted me on the shoulder with a pitiful smile. “Now, you’ll have to train harder than ever. Stimulate the bond as much as you can and make full use of the next few weeks.” He grimaced and added, “Your World will struggle a lot. Maybe not in the next two weeks, but Aureus’ evolution will fuck you over if you’re not careful. You need to push harder than ever to create enough space for Aureus, so you better refine your World at all times. Stimulate the bond and World like there is no tomorrow because you do not want to be on the receiving end of a Shattering. Especially not with a physique that will suck you dry.”

Great. That was really… reassuring. Not.

However, no matter how I looked at it, the thought of losing my World, of losing the bond with Aureus, was motivating like nothing else.

2025-08-06 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Apocalypse Healer - B4 Chapter 3

The residents looked at him, perturbed, when David began to laugh. It didn’t make sense to them that he would start laughing seemingly out of nowhere, especially after bringing discomfort to his patients. Sure, their complexion improved almost immediately as he healed them, but what kind of Healer would laugh in the face of their patient’s pain?

David did laugh, but it was completely unrelated to his patients’ momentary discomfort. It lasted no more than a quarter of a second and was barely worth mentioning. He’d been forced to endure a lot more since the integration.

Ignoring the perturbed looks thrown his way, David was smiling. He was satisfied with himself, knowing he could use the power of the Void to help rather than destroy.
The power that should have consumed everything turned out to be the reason the elderly residents survived. Sure, he could have cut the patients open with a knife and cut out the fleshly aether constructs that resembled ulcers, but that would have consumed more energy, and it would have taken a lot more time.
He was also certain not everyone would have allowed a stranger to perform surgery like that. Not in the open, and not even in a more private setting.

“I think that’s it. The aether ulcers – I think I’ll just call them that – have been removed, and I took care of the others as well. Or are more wounded residents hiding somewhere?” David knew there was no one, but he asked anyway.

“You really healed them,” one of the few Healers at the Bronze Rank muttered, the disbelief in her voice ringing in his ears.

Lilia burst into tears and hugged her grandmother tightly, pressing her head firmly against the elderly woman’s chest. The grandmother patted Lilia and consoled her until her tears ceased.

“Thank you. Thank you very much! I don’t know what we would have done without your help, Your Excellency,” Lilia said, snot running down her nose.

You, just like everyone else in Orhain, would have died. Not to the aether ulcers, but to the monster horde. And stop with that ‘Your Excellency’ nonsense! David nearly snapped. Instead, he asked what he wanted to know.

“Can you tell me more about Orhain? I was... stuck in a Rift for quite a while and have no idea where I am,” he said, mostly truthful. “Though I am aware that we’re still in the Earthen Union, probably on the western continent, but that’s about as far as I can tell. I couldn’t find any other settlements in a several-kilometer radius with my Skills, and most of the surrounding land looks ‘unfamiliar.’”

His question echoed through the town center. Murmurs resounded, but David was mostly interested in the townspeople’s complicated expressions.

“You won’t find any other villages or towns out there,” Lilia muttered quietly after cleaning her snotty nose. “We are the only ones who’ve survived the integration. We are...”

“The last survivors of the Earthen Union’s humans,” someone else, another woman, finished for Lilia as she stepped forward.

The woman was taller than David by an entire head, possibly two, and she was even more muscular than he was. Then again, his muscles were concentrated, whereas the woman looked like a massive bodybuilder on one too many doses of steroids.

“Last survivors? That’s nonsense.” David chuckled, his expression distorting when nobody laughed with him.

Clearly, they weren’t joking. They seriously thought they were the only survivors of—... His heart skipped a beat.

“How much time has passed since the integration?”

His stomach tightened and so did his throat as he waited impatiently for an answer. The muscular woman and Lilia looked at each other for a moment and answered in unison.

“More than a year.”

“Close to 18 months have passed.”

David exhaled deeply and patted his heart.

“Okay, that’s good. I was thinking...” He shook his head.

The probability had been very low, incredibly so, but for a moment he had been worried his escape from the Naughtrealm caused him to be stuck in eternal darkness for decades, if not centuries. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Why do you think you are the only survivors? And if you really think you are the only natives left from the Earthen Union, where am I from?”

The muscular woman looked squarely at him, but David didn’t pay much heed to her. She didn’t strike him as particularly bright. If anything, physical might appeared to be the only thing she was decent at.

“Our Seekers searched for others for weeks. Some for months. However, none of them found anything... other than death.” Lilia clenched her fists. “Your Excellency, you have to understand... nobody survived. I don’t know how long you’ve been stuck in one of those monstrous Rifts, but the Earthen Union you once knew no longer exists.”

That was nonsense, but he wanted her to continue.

“The integration destroyed everything. They tore the land apart and killed millions by changing the environment around us. It was like all signs of human life had been eradicated.” She looked to the ground, unwilling to say more. Instead, the muscular woman continued. “The Seekers passed through the changed lands and found death and destruction. That included the Infected, as you call them. Entire cities full of them. Kamia no longer exists.”

Kamia. David remembered a country by that name. They were one of the few countries in the Earthen Union that never announced the Union’s universal language as their mother tongue. They continued speaking their native tongue. And they had never stopped, as it turned out.

Come to think of it, I can understand them just fine.

Then again, he could also understand the dwarves, elves, tirac, and even the gods. Not always, but it appeared that the Union’s tongue was much more common than he’d expected. Or maybe the System had its own way with language.

It didn’t really matter before, but it’s quite interesting.

He smiled at his own confusion.

“So you’re saying a part of Kamia has been replaced with other regions. Namely, everything around you is different from what it used to be. There are dozens of Rifts in the adjacent regions and thousands upon thousands of monsters. However, your Seekers—I guess they’re your Scouts—found cities filled with Infected beyond your borders. So, unable to find a single human, alive and breathing, you assumed that you are the sole survivors of the integration?” David raised an eyebrow.

He had a lot to say, especially about these idiots’ lack of power and their arrogance in believing that no one could have grown as ‘powerful’ as them.

“That also means you haven’t met any Protectors, and you do not know anything about the System Sanctuaries, right?”

David interpreted the looks thrown his way and sighed deeply.

“First of all, I am a native of the Earthen Union just like you. And I know millions who’ve survived, and most of them are stronger than your people. Basically, everyone has accepted the System and claimed a Basic Class, and—” He could have said a lot more but didn’t feel like shocking the townspeople too much. Their eyes were already wide open and bulging, looking like they were about to fall out.

Explaining the System Sanctuaries, what Protectors were, and so forth was something he could do later.

“Either way, I think you guys did a… decent job at surviving.” That was as far as he could stretch the truth.

David had to give them the benefit of the doubt. First of all, they had nobody to explain anything to them and had taught each other everything they knew. Second, they did not have any resources. He had discovered some proper weapons, but they were clearly System drops rather than forged by a Blacksmith. There were no Artifacts, no Relics, and David hadn’t seen the Classers of Orhain use many Skill Runes either.

“Most of our people died protecting the others. Only a few survived killing the monsters when they attacked. They were too strong, and more good, brave people died to ensure our survival,” Lilia said, her voice somber as she told her story—the story of Orhain.

David listened in silence. He felt like intervening to ask about a few things when Lilia mentioned them, but he held back and waited until she was done.

So the weakest monsters around here are at the Bronze Rank? In that case, you guys did fairly well. David tapped his chin, keeping the thought to himself as the story went on.

Ranking up as an Iron Rank is quite difficult if you do not have any notable Skills or suitable enemies to fight. The Healers should have had an easier time healing someone but it is not like [Cure Wounds] is enough to resurrect the dead. They can only heal those who made it back to Orhain, which rarely happened. Either they returned with light wounds, or some Classers sacrificed their lives for others, leaving nothing to heal.

Interestingly enough, Orhain’s residents didn’t try to leave. More precisely, they had given up on leaving their hometown. Apparently, the Seekers had traveled through Kamia, looking for more secure places, but most of the country was overflowing with Infected. If that was true, the country had fallen.

Then again, Kamia’s border to the adjacent countries was natural, right? David tried to remember what he knew about Kamia. Analyzing the country had been one of his major exams in his final year in high school, but he couldn’t quite recall what it had been about. It felt like his time in school had been centuries ago.

Cut off by an ocean and surrounded by two crossing mountain ranges—was that it? If that were to be the case, Kamia would be like the prehistoric valley, separated from the rest of the Earthen Union. David couldn’t tell if the natural borders were still intact, given that many things had changed with the integration. Monsters could have destroyed a portion of the mountain ranges, or one of the mountain ranges had been replaced by a forest, desert, or another region.

That was possible, but it seemed unlikely the longer he listened.

“A valley of death,” David murmured, glancing at Lilia and the others. “And you stayed here because this was the only way you could stay away from the undead, while also procuring meat and other resources. The monsters are not only your enemies but also your source of life and guardians.”

Maybe the townspeople were not as stupid as he’d first assumed. Sure, they were still weak, but they had made use of their greatest adversary and managed to survive for 18 months.

“We did, and we survived until now. But we can no longer go on like that. Too many good people died protecting us. Our strongest succumbed when the last Rift broke. We failed to clear the Rift early enough and suffered the consequences.”

Blood trickled from Lilia’s clenched fists. “We are on our last leg. If not for your timely arrival, the horde would have killed everyone. Orhain would be no more, Your Excellency.”

And once I leave, you will die. The Infected are probably growing stronger, but so are the monsters. More Rifts will form, and as long as nobody clears the temporary Rifts, they either will anchor and create a constant stream of powerful monsters, or will break and expel all monsters living on the other side of the Rift.

That was fucked up. If they had access to better Skills and the means to grow, David wouldn’t have said anything, but the avian Echos had yet to discover a single Iron-Ranked monster. Sure, there were some weak juvenile monsters, but they were all part of a horde, pack, or already at the Bronze Rank.

“Can you make use of the corpses?” David asked, pointing back to the battlefield.

“We have a Monster Butcher and a Junkyard Artificer. Some of us can make armor and weapons from the monsters, but…”

“But that won’t be enough. I understand.” David nodded. “I don’t know if there will be any system drops since the horde was no challenge to me, but I was not the only one participating in this fight, so you might be lucky. Check the battlefield for Skill Slates and distribute them to the people who are willing to fight.”

He ruffled through his hair, unsure if he was doing the right thing.

“I can help everyone get a Basic Class,” David proposed. “And I can help you a little bit more. Guide your fighters a little bit.”

Did he have so much time to waste? No. Could he leave Orhain’s people alone to fend for themselves? Sure.

So why did he feel like helping them? Why exactly did it feel like he was connected to them? They were weak, barely worth his attention, really…

Whatever. It’s not like I’m in a rush.

Kamia was quite the distance from the Dwarven Sanctuary. Then again, it wasn’t like he was missing anyone from there. Maybe Zachariah, and definitely Maja—he missed Electra too—but it wasn’t like he could teleport like Maja. They would be fine without him too.

But the people from Orhain wouldn’t. Without him, they would die.

“You’ll help us, Your Excellency?” Lilia asked with a shaking voice.

David was not a fan of her calling him ‘Your Excellency’, and he doubted he ever would, but that didn’t change his plans.

“I’m not going to clear all Rifts or defeat all monsters. However, I will help everyone acquire a Basic Class and share what I know about Skill Runes, Class Skills, stats, and the likes. My expertise may not help everyone, but I’m certain it will help most.”

While it was not possible to advance everyone to Silver Rank in a few weeks, especially with the System registering everyone’s contribution and effort in the performed tasks, he could provide an environment in which everyone could grow stronger.

“I want a Class!” someone shouted, and David’s eyes landed on a young man, a teenager at best, squeezing through the masses, waving his hand in the air. “Please help me kill those monsters!”

David cocked an eyebrow at that. The boy was no older than sixteen. He had bright ocean-blue eyes and sharp features. However, he was short and skinny. Worse even, David could see his wildly flickering life signals. While the boy tried to shroud his emotions, hiding his fears beneath a facade of fake excitement and bravery, David saw the truth.

“Not today,” he shook his head. Ignoring the boy’s grimace, he turned to Lilia. “Do you have a spatial storage to keep the monster corpses, or do you want me to preserve them for the time being?”

The muscular woman stepped forward and answered in Lilia’s stead, “We have a cooling box with an expanded space. A masterpiece of our Junkyard Artificer!”

He wasn’t quite sure if a Junkyard Artificer’s cooling box could be compared with his defective storage necklace, but he wasn’t going to argue. If they had the means to take care of themselves, so be it. It was probably for everyone’s best.

“In that case, I assume you guys don’t need my help.” David nodded with a faint smile on his lips. “Either way, I would like to know all about this town. That means I’d love to know everyone’s Ranks, Classes, stats, Skill Runes, and how you want to progress. Furthermore, I want to know what resources Orhain has, which special items the town possesses, and any other relevant details.”

The residents looked oddly at him—some even with open hostility—and he realized, in surprise, that the shroud of warmth within him shifted ever so slightly. It did not go so far as to drain the power he’d just acquired, but his strength no longer increased. And if it continued like that, David was certain he would lose some of the power he had gained since discovering Orhain and meeting its residents.

“If you want to share that much,” he added with a light shrug, “I cannot create specified workout routines and custom paths for everyone if I don’t know what I’m working with.”

That seemed to satisfy most.

“I may be able to see and feel a certain bit about you and your powers, but I don’t know everything. That’s also why I would like to guide those without Classes. Nobody should have to pick a Basic Class they do not like or know nothing about. But even if your Basic Class does not fit you perfectly, your first advancement at the Bronze Rank will unravel many paths. And as long as you work hard in the right direction, you will be able to pick a Class that suits you better. With my help, unlocking a Rare Class shouldn’t be too difficult—though I won’t promise anything.”

Uncommon Classes hadn’t returned either, but he hoped Lilia and the others would be able to advance their Class to Rare or Epic once they reached the Silver Rank.

“Why are you helping us?” an elderly woman asked, her suspicion palpable.

“Why not?” David shrugged in response. “Like I said, I was stuck in a Rift for a while. All by myself, without anyone to talk to. Being around people feels quite good.”

Much better than I expected, he added silently.

While his answer was not enough to mollify everyone, it was good enough for some. That was enough for David.

He retrieved a black slate that resembled a noteboard and handed it to Lilia. “I got that from one of the System Sanctuaries I worked for. The information stored within has been removed, which should give you more than enough space to note down everything—everything you and your townspeople are willing to share with a stranger. Insert your mana and think about the information you want to store. Keep it short and precise, or you’ll end up filling the storage with useless data.”

With that, David turned to the others. “I can still help those who’re unwilling to share their stats, Classes, and so forth. The information would help me help you more efficiently, but I do not necessarily need it. But...” He lifted his finger. “Don’t come at me and complain when others improve faster than you.”

When nobody responded, he excused himself with a nod.

He’d considered going to sleep, but he wasn’t tired. It must have been weeks—maybe even months—since he’d slept properly, yet he was far from tired.

Rather, his mind drifted to reinforcing [Mind Palace] and [Soul Domain]. While his Skills hadn’t been upgraded in the Naughtrealm or in the darkness that came after the Fallen had expelled him from the Void’s Rift, he could still cast [Reinforce], [Aether Breath], and refine [Mind Palace] and [Soul Domain]. He didn’t need the System to see the improvements. He could feel and see them.

I guess it is time for a breakthrough.

2025-08-05 10:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

Beastforged - B1 Chapter 37.2

It seemed the Zerogs had only just realized there were others in the room. Peter glanced at me and then at my parents, understanding dawning upon him, while his wife’s gaze moved slowly through the room. Her attention lingered on me longer than on my parents, and my body reacted instinctively. Goosebumps spread all over my skin, and I wanted nothing more than to run away and hide as the vibrant eyes of Daniel’s sister landed on me.

If memory served me right, she was two years older than Daniel—and me, for that matter—but she looked so… different. So mature.

She had long, silky hair that fell smoothly down her back, and ocean-blue eyes that seemed to catch the light even more than her father’s. She was at least a head shorter than me, and standing next to her uncle’s towering figure made her seem even smaller. Daniel’s sister looked delicate—almost like a doll—with a quiet, flawless kind of beauty.

My heart skipped a beat as our eyes met, but the beauty of her surface was quickly washed away as a wave of pressure crashed over me. I didn’t sense any ether. Instead, the weight pressing on my shoulders contained something else—something powerful that resembled bloodlust, though it wasn’t quite the same.

Daniel stepped forward and slid between me and his sister, blocking my view of her, and the pressure dissipated.

“This is my friend and his family. I decided to bring them to the estate until the chaos of the tide has been removed.” He glanced at his mother, who nodded subtly, and then turned to the towering man. “Adam hasn’t been a Blessed for long, Uncle. Please be nice to him.”

That confirmed it. It had already been clear, but hearing it aloud didn’t make it easier to accept. The towering man was Daniel’s uncle—the Blessed of the massive wyvern who’d effortlessly killed two Guardian beasts. He was also hard to read. Was he a good guy with a tough exterior, or was he as tough as he looked?

“Good afternoon, Mr… Zerog?” Unsure, I continued, “Thank you for protecting the Bastion.”

“Call me Merlin. I do not like confusion, and there are too many members of our family present today,” Daniel’s uncle said hoarsely. His voice was nice, yet there was a stab to it.

Daniel pulled back until he stood beside me and whispered, “Uncle is the strongest in the family. Well, he’s a special case.” He shrugged. “Just make sure you don’t get on his wrong side.”

Thanks, Daniel. That’s really reassuring. I grimaced and stiffened when Merlin’s deep eyes locked onto me. He studied me for a moment, and something shifted in his features, as though he recognized something. He… threw a dirty look in my direction?

“Is that the retinue you picked for Daniel?” Merlin asked Chloe Zerog, not even trying to hide the displeasure in his voice.

The dirty look was imprinted in my mind. I couldn’t help but feel like a gold digger. Merlin’s displeasure rang in my ears, and I felt smaller than ever—weak and insignificant.

Merlin turned back to me with a motion to step closer. “Let’s see if you have what it takes to help Daniel,” he said, his eyes speaking volumes. “Show me what you got.”

What? Merlin remained unmoving, his gaze urging me to attack him.

Daniel groaned beside me but shoved me ahead. “Just do it. Hit him as hard as you can. Use your sword, though.” He cursed softly, but I didn’t hear a thing. “Give it your all… good luck.”

I slowly unsheathed the refined silvernit sword. My mind drifted to Merlin’s fight with the Mistrals, and I shuddered involuntarily as my imagination went wild, showing me images of getting crushed by Merlin—or swallowed by his wyvern.

“No pressure. Bad posture. He barely has any ether,” Merlin said, glancing at Chloe Zerog and shaking his head. “I expected more from you, sister.”

Somehow, that made me angrier than it should have. Daniel’s mother had been incredibly generous with me. She and Peter Zerog had been patient and… much better than I’d expected a renowned family of Blessed to be. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but they loved their son more than anything and were willing to give their all to help him. Yet, as much as they wanted to help Daniel, they didn’t force anything upon me. They helped me, and they… they trusted me.

I didn’t suppress the anger and called upon my ether reserves as I stepped forward, only to remember there was no more ether to use. Pulling ether out of the dry core was not only impossible—it was painful, too. A pained grunt escaped my lips, and my World rippled, as if to tell me not to do that again. I didn’t.

Clutching the silvernit sword tighter than ever, I felt pain, but it did little to disperse the worries etched onto my mind. Nonetheless, I stepped forward, confidence slowly filling my strides as I closed the distance. Then, I felt Aureus again—his emotions. The bond was still frail, yet feeling my Soulkin flooded me with more confidence than I should have felt. His anger reached me, but also his uncertainty. Aureus was like a beast that had been suppressed.

Allowing the anger to guide me, I kicked the ground, following Swordmaster Selene’s instructions, and barreled toward Merlin. I closed the distance near-instantly and slashed at Merlin. Daniel’s uncle didn’t move an inch. The blade should have cut into his abdomen—but it hadn’t.

I gritted my teeth as the silvernit sword collided with something metallic. It was harder than anything I’d slashed before, and it blocked my attack easily. My momentum halted instantly, and a shockwave shot through my arms. It felt like my forearms had just chipped and shattered from the impact of my own attack.

Merlin looked down at me, his eyes speaking volumes.
“Is that all?” his eyes seemed to scream at me, and I wanted to shout back and explain my situation, but it was to no avail.

Merlin sighed deeply and shook his head in disappointment. Seeing him like that was crushing, yet it wasn’t until he flexed his abdominal muscles that the difference in power was fully imprinted in my mind.

He flexed, and all of a sudden, it was like Merlin repelled me. He hadn’t moved, yet I was yanked through the air. I was hurled across the living room and smashed into the wall on the far side. A stifled scream escaped my lips as pain and cracking noises mixed.

My back was broken, for sure, just like every other part of my body.

What in the…

My vision blurred as I slumped to the ground, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I would have seen if Merlin had moved, even if it had been nothing more than a blur—but there hadn’t been anything. He had merely flexed and hurled me through the air.

A distant scream reached me, and I was certain it was Mom shouting at someone. Even Chloe’s voice rang in my ears—oddly clear compared to my mother’s.

“Did you really just do that, Merlin? What in the Rulers’ names is going on in that pea-sized brain of yours? We’ve been training him hard for the last few months, and you appear from—where the hell have you been with my daughter, in the first place!?—and hurt your nephew’s retinue? What is wrong with you!?”

I was picked up from the ground and a viscous liquid was poured into my mouth. Awareness of my body’s condition flooded me, and I was happy to find that no bones were broken. Some were chipped and would need time to recover, but it looked like Peter’s serums were working wonders. His steely eyes lingered on me for a while after I finished the third serum—one sweeter than the last—and he placed the fourth one back into his storage unit.

Peter pressed his hand flat onto my chest and channeled ether into me.

“Your bond is damaged.” His expression soured.

“Y-yeah… My core is empty too, and my World is itchy,” I croaked. “Has been like that since we found my parents.”

Mom and Dad were beside me, tears trickling down my mother’s cheeks.

“That’s not good,” he said, dead serious. “You’re lucky your bond is firm, Adam. Normally, bonds as young as yours wouldn’t survive any kind of damage. No matter how small, the bond would’ve been severed—and that, I’m sure you can tell, would result in a fucking mess.”

It was the first time I heard Peter curse, but that was all the more reason to take him seriously.

Merlin stepped up beside Peter Zerog, his eyebrow raised as he turned to his sister—whom he’d ignored until a moment ago.

“What is Peter talking about?”

Chloe cursed but spoke up anyway. “Adam has a malleable World. Too small to bind a beast. As you can see, he fixed that issue, but only a few months ago. As far as I can tell, he’s been refining his World for a decade before he could bind a small, mutant beast egg. That has been about—…”

She looked at me, tilting her head.

“—about four months and a bit, if I’m not wrong.”

I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the blood pouring down my face, and got up. My back still hurt as if Coco bulldozed me, but I was getting better. Peter’s healing serum only seemed to ignore my poor buttocks. I’d survive that, though.

“He awakened four months ago and his bond is already past the first threshold?” Merlin regarded me once more. The disdain was no longer visible, but he shrugged nonchalantly. “Still not good enough. Below average. Half-decent at best. Maybe a quarter of an acceptable retinue.”

Somehow, that was enough for the other members of the Zerog family to flick toward Merlin.

“What?” Merlin snapped back.

“Nothing…” Chloe said, but that didn’t feel quite right.

There was definitely more to Merlin’s comment. If not, Daniel’s sister wouldn’t be glaring at me like I was dead to her.

Whatever. My butt was hurting.

2025-08-04 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Beastforged - B1 Chapter 37

As it turned out, Daniel’s family was powerful. It wasn’t the usual “I think I’ve heard of them,” but more like, “You don’t know the Zerog household? Have you been living under a rock?”

The Mistrals tried to move away from Dirk—what a stupid name to give a massive wyvern—but the beast was already upon the first Mistral, its maw crunching down on the avian beast’s neck. I saw dark speckles resembling a tall figure in the distance as someone leaped from the wyvern’s back. The figure was fast and pounced atop the other Mistral in a flash. A moment later, the beast’s head slid from its neck.

“What in the—...” I gasped, goosebumps spreading all over my body.

Had it been easier to defeat the Mistrals than expected, or were the wyvern and his Blessed simply that much stronger? Powerful enough to defeat the Mistrals effortlessly.
But that—... How was that even possible? I swallowed hard and glanced at Daniel, who was still rambling about his sister.

That has to be a mistake. Daniel’s uncle is not that powerful, I told myself, but the confidence drained from me as the words echoed in my mind.

Or is he? I mean, I have no idea who his uncle was in the first place. He never really mentioned his uncle—or his sister, for that matter.

To be fair, I didn’t even know how powerful the Zerogs were. The only time I saw them in action—if you could call it that—was against the Shadowing. While impressive, the Shadowing was only an Awakened beast.

Daniel was already a Journeyman. His parents were definitely stronger than that, meaning they had to be Experts with Soulkins at or above the Evolved grade. In all likelihood, they had Unblemished beasts, or…

Could they be Masters with Guardian Soulkins? If that was the case, they could have fought the Mistrals head-on… right?

My attention lingered on the Mistral torn apart in the wyvern’s maw, and I found myself pitying the beast. It was hard to grasp my feelings as I looked at the dying creature in the distance, but I was not sad about its—their—death. That much was apparent.

They attacked the Bastion, tore the dome apart, and killed almost everyone. Not even their deaths would balance the deaths that were yet to come. The Mistrals had killed hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people. Still… it was not like they would have attacked the Bastion under normal circumstances. All they wanted was to get their child back. The Mistrals were not the initial perpetrators. They were victims of circumstance, even if their actions led to many deaths.

But that did not change the facts; they put the Bastion in danger. So… why was I feeling like that? I… should be angry at them—loathe them and all the other beasts.

However, I wasn’t angry at them. If anything, I was angry at the people who took the Mistrals’ child. Their selfish act caused it all. It was them who killed everyone—be it humans or beasts.

***

Mom and Dad were adamant about returning to the apartment now that squadrons of the Bluesky Battalion patrolled the sectors, but they didn’t know Daniel well enough to know that he didn’t accept a “No” for an answer. He was as stubborn as his Soulkin, and that meant something.

Daniel convinced my parents to come with us to the Zerog estate. He invited them to the main sector, which took us a while to reach as the skytrain and other means of transportation were out of service. At least none of the beasts we encountered on our journey through the Bastion attacked us. Not many beasts were left to be dealt with, and those few troublemakers that remained would soon be removed as well.

“Where are Bert and Evalynn?” I asked at some point, but Daniel didn’t know either.

“I’m not all-knowing, you know?” He snickered, trying to hide the steely look in his eyes as he inspected the death and destruction around him. No street had been spared from beast attacks, although some streets seemed better off than others.

The main sector looked bad compared to the outer sectors, but the Mistrals caused a lot less damage than I’d expected. I was half-certain the Zerog estate wouldn’t have made it, but other than a few broken windows and a disheveled garden, it looked fine.

Butler Steve emerged out of nowhere, which resulted in surprised yelps from my parents, but I pushed them through the gate when Steve opened it. My parents stared at the butler, who vanished moments after the gate closed behind them.

“Was that—...?” Mom asked in a high-pitched voice.

“Did he just…?” Dad added, shuddering.

“That’s Steve. I have no idea where he comes from or where he goes. No, I do not know how he can sense us, but he does, and yes, he is always there to open the gate.” I ruffled through my hair, trying to hide the irritation building up within me. “Ask Daniel if you have questions. He’ll be happy to talk your ears off.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow and stepped into the elevator beside me. “How about you jump into the shower? Today has been a bit of a mess, but I’m sure cleaning up and putting on some fresh clothes will make you feel better.”

I glared at my friend, ready to snap, but I said nothing. Unable to feel Aureus’ emotions, I didn’t have an outlet for mine—not that I needed one, but the day had been a mess. Everything had been a mess, and it certainly didn’t help that I didn’t know whether Bert and Evalynn were fine.

They’re strong enough to take care of themselves. We rescued my parents, and everyone else… is dead. I cursed myself. The unBlessed in the outer sectors were probably dead now. There hadn’t been many beasts in the outer parts of the Bastion, as even Wilds barely benefitted from the unrefined Worlds of unBlessed. Still, they benefitted from their Worlds, and they instinctively knew that.

Even 1-Star Wilds were a threat to normal people. UnBlessed could defeat them or hide from them, but how many had managed to save themselves, and how many fell victim to today’s incident?

I didn’t know how I reached the shower, let alone when I stripped my clothes. My eyes lingered on a set of clean clothes Daniel must have given me at some point, but I couldn’t recall when or how long it had been since I entered the shower.

My eyes were still aching, my World trembling, and my bond was still fragile, yet I was alive. My parents were alive as well.

I moved the nozzle to the side and waited for the stream of water. It came in a small flood—ice-cold and distracting—exactly what I needed right now. To my dismay, I got used to the cold stream trickling down my body, and my mind had free rein to think about what had happened and what was bound to happen now that the Mistrals and the vast majority of beasts that had attacked the Bastion were dead.

The entire ecosystem in the Zones surrounding the Bastions, as well as the Zones adjacent to them, changed entirely the moment the Mistrals moved. Even though countless beasts had died, probably eradicating a few species altogether, most beasts didn’t enter the Bastion. They were just scared by the Mistrals and forced in some direction—any direction—as the wrath of the Mistrals reached them. Their instincts pushed them to move away from the beasts strong enough to annihilate them with a breath, which greatly shuffled the ecosystem of those who prevailed.

That alone was already problematic, to put it simply. More problematic, however, were the deaths caused by the Mistrals and other strong beasts. It was uncertain if all beasts hiding in the Bastion could be captured in time, and I had no idea how long the dome would be deactivated. It shattered, so… was it broken too? Would it be easy to fix the dome, or was that an expensive ordeal?

As for expenses, I didn’t dare to fathom how much damage the beasts had caused. Many Blessed had been killed by the beasts, ending the lives of Blessed with crucial jobs—be they combatants, office workers, or laborers. It was, to put it lightly, a mess, and it promised to cause a lot of trouble for Ruler Wale, the Bluesky Battalion, as well as the Camp.

How many promising young Blessed had been killed by the Mistrals, and how would the incident change the Camp? Would it change, in the first place?

Ice-cold water poured down my face, but no matter how much I prayed for a blank mind, questions popped up. And when there were no more questions to ask, the images resurfaced. The dead sprawled across the streets, vivid memories of the despaired screams of those unfortunate enough to be eaten alive, etched deeply into me.

I could not help but think about them and shuddered—not because of the cold, but because I truly understood what had happened merely a few hours ago. Adrenaline had been helpful for some time, but it no longer protected me.

I dried my body once I was done showering. A small nick caught my attention, but it didn’t look infected or worse, so I continued drying my hair. Meeting my reflection in the mirror, I was greeted with a myriad of familiar freckles, long, wet hair, and a lean, well-built physique. My eyes trailed the muscles, perfectly distributed throughout the body, optimized for strength, durability, agility, and flexibility.

My body was the result of a great diet, hard work, and, of course, the custom body tempering technique. I looked nothing like I used to look a few months ago. I… was stronger than I used to be, yet it hadn’t been enough. The Mistrals were still stronger than me. No—forget about the Guardian beasts—even the weakest Awakened beasts with special traits would tear me apart.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips.

I was far from strong enough.

Daniel’s voice cut in, serious and insistent. “I want you to move in with us, Mr. and Mrs. Savier.”

I heard it as I returned to the living room. Mom and Dad were standing near the elevator, tightly holding each other’s hands. They looked out of place, as if taking one more step into the living room would cost them greatly.

“Even if you don’t want to stay here, do it for Adam. The dome has been damaged and needs to be repaired. While that might take only a few days, the Bastion will be susceptible to more attacks in that time.” Daniel stared intently at my parents, and I grimaced when Mom squirmed beneath his gaze. “I don’t want to sound like a jerk, and I certainly don’t want to force anything upon the parents of my friend, but I don’t think Adam can continue his training properly when his parents are in danger. Desperate as well as stupid Wilds will be drawn to the Bastion, day and night, and they would endanger your lives. The Bluesky Battalion will protect the Bastion and its residents, but they’re not perfect.”

Daniel looked like he had a lot more to say, but the elevator’s doors opened, sealing his mouth shut.

Peter Zerog and Chloe Zerog stepped outside, followed by an unfamiliar woman and a giant of a middle-aged man. The man was definitely more than two meters tall—probably more like 2.3 meters, if I wasn’t mistaken—and he was incredibly muscular. Even his muscles seemed to have muscles.

“Wait, is that Daniel? Nah, no way—that’s not my nephew. Definitely not,” the towering man hollered as he looked at me.

What was that supposed to mean?

The giant, apparently Daniel’s uncle, turned to Daniel with a smile. “You look more like your sister.”

The unfamiliar woman snorted and glared at Daniel, who returned the favor. He stuck out his tongue, to which his sister rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t know your sister was this beautiful,” I said, my eyes widening as the comment left my lips.

Did I really just say that out loud?!

2025-08-03 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Apocalypse Healer - B4 Chapter 2.2

He wanted to heal them all, regardless of how severe or light their ailments were.

And that was what he did once everyone was ready.

First, he cast and overclocked [Weave of Life], creating a shimmering network of life to fill a portion of the town center. He enlarged it, expending more pure Blood to grow the foundation of the weave etched into the ground.

“Everyone injured in today’s fight should enter the network of lifeforce. Those who were cut or harmed in other ways in the last few days should join them,” David added, casting [Healing Sphere], adding a few dozen spheres of healing light to the network.

He followed up with a less conspicuous use of [Lifeweaver’s Bond] as the townspeople followed his orders. David’s voice was neither loud nor commanding, but even the middle-aged men and women who looked at him in suspicion heeded his command. That made everything a lot easier as he examined a few people with the Intermediate Spark.

It was the first time he had used his Skills and Sparks on ordinary people. Their anatomy was almost too normal to be true. Not even a speck of Aether seemed to stick to them, which would make it more difficult to heal them. Or so he thought until he sent a wave of [True Restoration] into their bodies. Those who had yet to pick a Class, who hadn’t killed a monster just yet, were bursting with energy the instant he used [True Restoration] at its lowest level. However, not all problems were solved with the Skill. Not all diseases could be removed with [True Restoration].

David organized the people around him. He ordered Lilia to split them up into several categories: those who were easy to heal; those who needed new limbs; those whose entire body was fucked up; and those who couldn’t be healed—not without harming them first.

Most had been assigned to the first two groups. They were healed rapidly, restoring their maimed and broken bodies back to full health. Regrowing a lost limb back to full health didn’t take too long. David spent no more than one pure Blood droplet on overclocking [True Restoration], casting it thrice in a row on the patient to jumpstart a full restoration of the body. He could have accelerated the restoration and fixed the regrowing limbs with more energy, but they were not in combat or immediate danger. Wasting his precious Blood when hundreds of patients were waiting for him to heal them was… unnecessary, to say the least.

He’d long since tuned out the gasps, blank stares, the tears, and the rebirth of hope that seemed to shimmer in the eyes of a select few, but it was impossible to ignore the warmth embracing his very being. His Source worked harder than ever, producing not only more pure Blood than usual, but also Blood of even higher purity than he was used to. The exact reasoning was still unclear, yet David had a faint inkling.

The people caused this. Maybe not directly, but the way they respond to me; their awe, joy, gratefulness, and… reverence… The way they feel toward me affects me… somehow. It strengthens me.

Healing fucked up bodies was a little bit more challenging than he’d expected. Then again, it was the first time David saw people, Classers and ordinary, with this many disfigurements. Some were covered in scars, from poorly healed wounds, whereas others looked as if they had been born that way. But that didn’t really make sense either. There were way too many townspeople with disfigurements to make sense.

Despite that, he healed them all. First, he called upon the Law of Blood to augment [Blood Manipulation], before commanding pure Blood to surge into the first disfigured patient. Following that, David channeled [True Restoration] and [Healing Sphere], providing a constant stream of healing.

To ensure his first patient wouldn’t die miserably in front of everyone, David added [Weave of Life] as a precaution. Only then did he use the Spark, [Vital Weaving], to perform the ‘surgery’.

[Vital Weaving] was essential to reshape the disfigured bodies of those who had been broken ‘beyond repair’, as he heard some townspeople—Healers, apparently—call out. He didn’t pay much attention to these idiots, even less so once it was clear that they were merely Clerics with [Cure Wounds] and [Healing Word] as their strongest Healing Skills. David couldn’t imagine these morons at the Iron Rank to have anything more potent than a Tier-0 Skill Rune.

Sure, Orhain had some Healers with advanced Classes. But from the looks of it, those Classes were mostly Common or Uncommon. None of the Healers was at the Silver Rank either. The strongest presence with life-attuned energy within his range was Bronze.

David sighed and continued. He used pure Blood to control the patient’s nervous system and tweaked it a little to suppress the pain receptors. It was troublesome and a lot more complicated than expected, but it was essential. He broke the patient’s finger using [Blood Manipulation] to create immense pressure on the disfigured location and put it back into the right position using [Vital Weaving]. The Intermediate Spark was enough to restore the broken bone, but [True Restoration] was still active and restored the broken finger, fixing the mess once and for all.

Following the first step’s success, David continued breaking bones. He tried to shroud the patient in a dome of silence, but he wasn’t good at that. Therefore, while the patient couldn’t feel any pain, he and everyone around him could hear dozens of bones breaking over and over again.

David noticed that some people collapsed, whereas others vomited as the cacophony of breaking bones resounded, but he continued, fixing the first disfigured patient in less than 30 minutes. He’d spent a dozen Blood droplets to fix him up, but the cost was worth it. The patient bawled his eyes out and hugged him tightly, thanking David from the bottom of his heart.

He meant everything he said. David was sure of it. He could feel it—the sincerity, the truth—alongside a trace of power that wove into his being.

A trace of power was not a lot. It was insignificant compared to the value of an Attribute Point. However, it did not require him to spend weeks, if not months, working on his Classes to increase their rank by one. The power he had acquired in the last hour or two was immense. Not enough to rival three Attribute Points, which he would have acquired by leveling Lifeweaver, but it was the equivalent of more than one Attribute Point spread equally toward his Body, Mind, and Soul. After all, the power traces empowered his very being equally.

David liked that quite a lot and continued his healing. Some did not want to be healed, fearing he would kill them—he could only imagine that the sound of bones cracking scared a few poor souls—but others rushed at him, begging him to grace them with his divine touch.

There was no divine touch or anything like that. If his healing had been divine, it wouldn’t have been this difficult. Nonetheless, David did what he could and pressed on, draining his Source, Blood Storages, and Sacred Beast Core of pure Blood to heal them all.

I shouldn’t waste too much precious lifeforce. David recalled the unprocessed monster corpses outside the fortified town after a while and retrieved the Obsidian Blade. He poked his finger and cast [Blood Manipulation] on the crimson droplets that flowed out. The blood droplets riveted toward the soulbound blade and attached to it. Simultaneously, David released pure Blood to form a thin thread, which he attached to the blood coating the Obsidian Blade.

A moment later, he rose and hurled the blade toward the battlefield. [Blood Manipulation] and the soulbound blade’s desire for blood and lifeforce were all it took to stabilize its trajectory and plunge perfectly into the Rift Boss’ flesh.

A thin thread of pure Blood connected him to the carcass, and he sapped its lifeforce for the Source to produce more pure Blood to use.

He was eyed oddly, but throwing a black blade through the air was likely the least mythical thing the townspeople of Orhain had seen that day.

Acting like nothing had happened, David finished tending to the disfigured people. He checked on those with more recent flesh wounds and cast [True Restoration] on a few Classers in need of more direct healing than [Healing Sphere] or [Weave of Life] provided.

That left him with mostly elderly, sickly men and women. He’d cast [Lifeweaver’s Bond] on all of them earlier, allowing the Spark to examine them and analyze their well-being. Their situation was close to what he had suspected. Something alien had grown within them.

David had never seen cancer before, and he couldn’t be certain whether it was cancer or not, but the information package and his instincts told him that it was something similar. Something that should not have grown within them.

“Were they already sick before? Like…did they have cancer before the integration or anything like that?” David inquired, while sorting the information accordingly.

Adults over the age of 50. Not properly integrated into the System since they lack a Basic Class. However, Aether it latching onto them, gathering in that…mass.

“My grandmother, and Mrs. Bolair had cancer but they beat it a few years ago, Sir,” Lilia answered quietly. She stepped up beside him, nibbling on her lower lip as her eyes darted from an elderly woman with some resemblance to her, then back to him. “Was doctor Lars right? Is it cancer? Did it come back?”

David didn’t want to sound too dismissive, but he could only shrug. “To be honest, I have no idea what that is. However, I think it is too much of a coincidence that only older people without a Basic Class are affected by this. The children look fine, which is good since they shouldn’t be forced to pick a Basic Class that doesn’t suit them, but Aether seems to have forced its way into the older residents, creating a place where—”

He stopped mid-sentence and examined the sick people once again. The ulcers caused by Aether were not in the exact same location, but they were all somewhere between the navel and the heart. Sure, there were some oddballs, but they were located in similar areas and looked rather similar.

“I think the Aether affects older people who haven’t integrated into the System. It’s probably similar to the creation of Infected,” David theorized. “But while a human’s adaptability to Aether supports us greatly when we gain access to the System, it seems to affect us negatively if we haven’t accepted the System. Aether wants to feed us. It wants to hold onto us, and…it seems to have found a way to do so in mature bodies of advanced age. Replicating an energy reservoir with a single difference: it kills the host from within.”

David was fairly confident that this was how stronger Infected were born. He was certain the old, sick people standing before him would resurrect as Elite Infected once they died, which would happen in a few months if nothing changed.

“W-what?” Lilia turned to him, eyes wet. She looked like she hadn’t understood half of what he said, except maybe the last bit. “They’re going to die? No! Can’t you do something, Your Excellency? I beg you!”

You and your ‘Your Excellency’. David tried hard not to roll his eyes and waved dismissively.

“Removing it shouldn’t be a problem. However, you guys should gain access to your Primary Class. There’s no need to level it if you don’t want to do so, but I don’t see a reason why you guys should stay like this,” David said, biting his tongue before he could add, ‘This is pitiful.’

He approached Lilia’s grandmother and reached out with his left arm. “May I?”

It was the first time he would do something like that, so he wanted the old woman’s consent first. While it wasn’t necessary, he would feel better if something were to go wrong.

“Go for it, kiddo.” She flashed her teeth—some yellow, others missing altogether—and put her trembling hand on top of his.

David grinned in response and released a burst of Vitae through Deryadus’ Arm. Vitae Nihilum surged out from his heart, flowed through the Ancient Relic, and poured into the old woman. Her eyes widened for a moment, while David pushed Vitae to move faster through her body. It reached the small construct of Aether in an instant and shrouded it.

Vitae hadn’t destroyed anything on the path toward the Aether construct, but that was also David’s doing. A single drop of sweat fell to the ground as he contained Vitae’s desire to devour the old woman alive. Instead, he allowed it to consume the Aether construct before pulling the Void’s energy back into his body—into his heart.

Lilia’s grandmother groaned and whimpered for a moment as Vitae ripped the construct out of her body, but David cast [True Restoration] right away, restoring her health once again. His hand pulled back when he was certain no trace of Vitae remained in the woman. Then, he studied her.

“She should be fine now,” David said, smiling faintly when the old woman’s complexion improved.

She was still weak and unlikely to survive centuries of tragedy, but she should have some good years left—if she accepted a Class and leveled it a little.

Lilia thanked him profusely, tears streaking down her face, but David was too focused on Vitae to notice anything.

Why the hell is Vitae in my heart?

All Vitae Nihilum had been gathered in the Maelstrom, which his Ancient Relic had absorbed and annexed. It should definitely not be anywhere close to his heart. The Maelstrom, however, was nowhere to be seen either. David closed his eyes, only to realize that it was not with Deryadus’ Arm any longer.

Thus, he looked in his heart. But while he could not find a fully intact Maelstrom, David was faced with something worse than that.

His heart was not like it used to be. It was still healthy and worked normally, but it was also…more.

It contained the fragments of his Maelstrom, a tremendous amount of Vitae, and…a lot more than that.

Why the hell does my heart look like the Fallen God’s heart?

It was corrupted.

Well…fuck that.

2025-08-03 10:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

Beastforged World - B1 Chapter 36

Mere fragments of what happened in the apartment remained. My vision was hazy. My eyelids felt oddly sticky. But my limbs were still nimble, and my sword remained sharp. The refined silvernit sword hummed as it cut through my enemies, while my World threatened to tear through my very being.

Aureus yelped, trying to reach our bond, but I saw red—literally.

The last beast collapsed to the ground, missing its head, just as my ether reserves bottomed out. My body screamed in exhaustion as my strength waned, but I only realized the toll it had taken once the adrenaline wore off.

“A-Adam?” Mom shrieked, half-sobbing. She took a step closer to me, but her legs gave out and she slumped to the floor.

She stared at me with wide eyes, trembling as her gaze flicked momentarily to something behind me.

A growl made me spin around—another grotesque beast. It didn’t survive long enough to barge into the apartment. A lightning bolt yanked it through the floor. One moment it stood in the doorframe, the next, Daniel was smiling at us.

“Looks like you found your parents in time,” he said cheerfully, while the big head of his Thunderhorn Bull peeked into the apartment over his shoulder. Coco bleated happily, prompting one more of Mom’s stifled screams.

“I guess it was a good thing you started bringing your sword everywhere.” Daniel chuckled, his eyes lingering on the refined silvernit sword. Blood dripped from the blade, tainting the floor—not that it stood out among the carcasses sprawled across the kitchen.

I could only agree. It had felt strange to take the weapon everywhere, and I often debated leaving it at home until I could afford a small storage unit for necessities—and the sword. But the Zerogs had insisted I carry it regardless of the looks I’d get.

‘To be ready for any kind of predicament at all times.’ They’d said, and clearly, they’d been right.

Daniel’s smile faltered slightly as he gave me a once-over. “You… are bleeding.”

His confusion confused me. I checked myself for wounds but couldn’t find any, though my hazy vision made it hard to tell.

“Your eyes are bleeding,” my father said. He was the first to move, picking up the male gibbon and inspecting him before storing him in his World.

Mom scrambled to her feet, her legs still quivering like jelly, but she managed to store her Soulkin shortly after.

I rubbed my eyes at Dad’s comment—and felt it: blood. Some of it was thick and sticky, while other droplets ran freely down my cheeks.

My eyes were burning. They had been burning since I’d charged the beasts in our apartment, but the pain hadn’t been so clear before. Rubbing only made it worse. I squirmed and tried to circulate ether through my eyes, following the pain relief method Peter Zerog had shown me over the past few weeks—but my core was still dry.

Worse, my World felt off, like I’d lost full control of it. The bond with Aureus was… fragile. It felt like even a simple message, a brief surge of emotion, might break the bond. For a moment, I couldn’t sense Aureus at all. He seemed exhausted, or at least that’s how it appeared, and he looked at me like he usually did when we communicated. Then he vanished into my World without a word.

“We need to move,” Daniel said as the Thunderhorn Bull charged down the other end of the hallway. The sounds of battle echoed after it, followed by Coco’s triumphant bleat. The situation was clear.

Mom was frantic, but Dad kept everything under control. He took her hand and led her behind him.

“I’ll take care of her.” Dad patted my back. He paused beside me for a moment, his lips parting, but no words came. Then he strode up to Daniel.

“Where are we going without our things?!” Mom half-muttered, half-shouted. “We need to get our clothes, toothbrushes, —...”

I tried to tune her out and focused on wiping away the last bits of sticky blood from my eyes. They burned as if they’d been dipped in magma—but I could still use them. I wasn’t blind yet. It was just hard to keep them open.

Following Daniel and my parents, I rushed back into the hallway. Mom was still talking about salvaging things from the apartment, but Dad was already pulling her toward the stairwell. Daniel ducked into a neighboring apartment and returned with a bloodied sword. Fresh splatters of blood stained his clothes, but he didn’t seem fazed. He followed Coco into the stairwell. My parents followed slowly, their fear and trembling more painful to witness than the burning in my eyes. I followed them.

A beast from above must have heard us. It rushed down the stairwell and leapt at me. With no ether, I had to rely on my weakened body to dodge the spider-like creature’s attacks. I couldn’t identify it exactly, but it didn’t matter long. My blade carved through its torso, eliminating the threat.

Mom gasped and paled—even Dad looked shaken—but he kept moving, pulling her toward the ground floor.

“Daniel!” I called out. “What’s the plan? Are we going to reunite with Bert, or are we heading straight to the estate?”

Daniel slowed and glanced back at me. “If Teach and Evalynn are still there, we’ll go with them. If not, we won’t head to the estate yet. A family friend’s house is closer. We’ll go there and—...”

He fell silent, his eyes catching a familiar azure-blue flash.

“Never mind, I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” he said.

I saw him looking at the projection on his bracelet, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Our situation was far from ideal. If anything, it looked like the Bastion had already been claimed by beasts.

When we reached the lobby on the first floor, the chaos was overwhelming. Beasts of all kinds—mostly Wilds commonly found in the Windbloom Forest and the Oridon Mountains—filled the streets. Most rushed into buildings; others fought in the open.

Overhead, a few winged beasts—vulture-like creatures—circled and picked at corpses. They dragged the dead into the sky, likely to feast on them atop nearby rooftops.

If my mother’s face could have been whiter, she would have paled even further at the sight unfolding before her. At least she wasn’t screaming. Daniel moved like an assassin. The lightning element was flashy, yet Daniel was quick and silent as he reached the beasts lingering in the lobby. He decapitated them within a handful of heartbeats and stepped out through a set of broken windows. Coco followed Daniel, not nearly as silent. The Thunderhorn Bull leaped through the broken window, and Daniel, Coco, and I followed.

“What are you talking—” Daniel spun around and silenced me with a gesture. Once satisfied with my silence, he turned back to the street and pointed down the street, toward the inner sectors.

I followed his gaze, only to see dozens of beasts half the size of the Mistral descending from the sky. At this point, the second Mistral had joined its partner, and they did not sound particularly pleased. I was not the best at analyzing a beast’s body language, but even I could tell the Mistrals were royally pissed. One shrieked and swung its mighty wings, and that was all it took to create a typhoon that tore through the inner sectors. My eyes were still hurting, my vision not yet perfectly clear, but I was damn sure I saw parts of several sky-rising buildings within the typhoon.

Initially, I’d been confident in the dome’s protection. The dome shouldn’t have failed so easily. Then again, Bastions were rarely attacked by Guardian beasts. There was no Forbidden Zone near our Bastion, and it was not worth the risk. I had learned enough about beasts to know that Guardians were intelligent. Some said their intelligence was as great as human adults, whereas a few researchers claimed that Guardian beasts were more intellectual than most Blessed.

And that was also why Guardian beasts should know better than to attack the Bastions. Attacking the Bastions protected by the Rulers was a certain death sentence. Even less intelligent creatures were aware of that. Only desperate times and unforeseen circumstances resulted in attacks like this, and that was exactly what was happening. The Mistrals had gone on a rampage, and they forced their will upon the beasts residing in the Zones they had crossed to reach the Bastion.

There was no reasoning with the frenzied beasts attacking the Bastion, especially not with the Mistrals. Their plumage was beautiful, glistening like polished emeralds, but the Mistrals were as beautiful as they were dangerous. A flap of their wings was enough to tear through several buildings, and it did look like they had just gotten started.

How can anyone survive this? That… My hair stood on end, and I shuddered involuntarily as the sense of certain death enveloped me.

Will I ever be strong enough to face such monstrosities? I would be dead—there was no doubting it.

I couldn’t move at the display of power even as a few Wilds attacked me. Coco stepped between me and the Wilds and charged them with a discharge of lightning currents, and the other beasts knew better than to attack. The occasional avian dove from the sky in an attempt to tear them apart, but Daniel and Coco released deadly projectiles of condensed electricity with perfect precision.

Loud movements and sounds reached my ears. They perked up, and I tore my gaze away from the Mistrals and the destruction they caused to focus on the noises. There were shouts, laced with confidence rather than despairing screams. The best, however, were the beasts. They were on the receiving side this time—their despairing shrieks and yelps rang blissfully in my ears.

“Was about time they made their move.” Daniel grunted, but the displeasure in his voice never reached his smile. “The army is coming.”

Just as the words escaped Daniel’s lips, I caught a glimpse of plated armor, sapphire-blue and shimmering. Members of the Bluesky Battalion—some wielding weapons forged from the same material as their armor, others unleashing their Soulkins’ traits. Regardless of what they wielded to best the beasts in the ninth district, they wreaked havoc.

A fireball whistled through the air and tore through the head of an Awakened avian. Chains of condensed shadows poured from shades, shackling half a dozen beasts before they could flee. Arrows whirled through the air at a blinding speed, piercing the vital spots of several beasts in a few heartbeats.

The strongest beasts in the street were quickly dispatched, and it didn’t take long before the first avian beasts emerged around the armored Blessed. They burst out from the rows of the Bluesky Battalion and shot into the air to face the avian beasts hiding on the sky-rising buildings head-on. The Bluesky Battalion split into groups of two and rushed into the buildings, following the commands of a middle-aged woman. The right side of her face was covered in a jagged scar, the eye unmoving, yet she could still see the beast to her right.

I could only barely sense a trace of ether whipping through the air before the beast collapsed, and it never got up to move again. Nobody paid attention to the beast either as the Bluesky Battalion stepped forward, tearing through the beasts that had dared to hurt innocent souls.

But no matter how shocking the scenery in the ninth sector was, the terror unfolding in the background captivated me.

How could I not be bewitched when a third figure—one much grander than the Mistrals—joined them?

“Is that…” I muttered, barely recognizing my quaking voice.

“That’s Dirk. Weird name for a wyvern, I know.” Daniel chuckled. “It looks like my uncle is back.”

His smile faltered all of a sudden, and a curse escaped his lips. “I hope he forgot my sister on the way.”

2025-08-02 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Beastforged World - B1 Chapter 35

The sound of intense combat rang out behind the lion pack, but my plea for reinforcement was dismissed almost immediately. I caught glimpses of Blessed and their Soulkins equipped for battle, rushing into the masses of Wilds and Awakened beasts. They were experienced enough to kill a few Wilds, but they faltered against the Awakened.

They were Adepts at best, and it didn’t take long before they were surrounded by beasts, their bodies covered in deep gashes. Then there were the corpses—and the beasts feasting on the unfortunate souls. I had seen some before, but only now did I truly register what was happening as lifeless eyes stared at me.

My mind went blank as those void eyes locked onto mine, accusatory, as if I’d had anything to do with their deaths. As messed up as it was, guilt tore through my body regardless of whose fault the stampede had been.

Screams, some filled with despair, others laced with excruciating pain, filled the streets, followed by the horrors of claws and fangs tearing through those who couldn’t protect themselves. Their despair filled me with dread.

Are my parents… okay? What if— I shook my head, trying to dispel the thoughts. I had to survive first, and once again, I had to rely on the protection of others to do so.

Not now!

Bert and Evalynn were on the move. The Beaster’s wife vanished in a flash, while the two-headed lion attacked. The crystallized beast summoned icicles and hurled them at Bert, who met the projectiles head-on. He punched through them like they were snowballs.

His fist was coated in ice, but he didn’t seem to care as he rushed at the beast. Its heads lunged, but the Beaster grasped one and tore it apart with brute strength. The creature didn’t even get the chance to scream as Bert pushed forward, ripping through the beast’s left head. The right one struck, sinking its fangs into Bert’s shoulder.

Evalynn appeared out of nowhere, a set of bloodied shortswords in her hands.

I could barely comprehend what unfolded before my eyes as Evalynn’s blades became a blur—and the beast collapsed.

It was incredibly difficult to tear my attention away from the crystallized, two-headed monster, but more beasts still needed to be dealt with. Or at least, they had, just a moment ago. I had no idea when it happened or how, but the rest of the lion pack was no more. The two-headed beast’s cronies lay dead, blood pooling around them.

“Damn,” Daniel muttered aloud, and I could only second that.

Since when were Beasters so powerful? Evalynn didn’t strike me as violent. She was quiet, but kind.

But what did one of the last books I read say? The most unassuming depths often hide either boundless treasure or ruinous danger.

I shuddered and watched the couple in silence. Evalynn stored the crystallized beast in their storage unit while Bert retrieved a vial. He removed the cap and poured a viscous, dark-violet serum on his wounds. For a moment, it looked like his clothes had caught fire, but then the acrid stench of burning flesh hit me.

Bert grunted and motioned for us to follow. I was still staring at the chaos, chaos that had probably engulfed the entire Bastion by now, and dashed to catch up.

We passed through two streets with relatively little resistance. Evalynn vanished a few times, always returning with fresh blood dripping from her blades, but soon we reached my home. The building stood just fifty meters ahead, yet my stomach twisted.

Dark thoughts flooded my mind, worst-case scenarios flashing like lightning as I saw avian beasts climbing walls, slipping through shattered windows. Ground beasts stalked through the entryway. Screams echoed inside.

Something felt wrong. My gut twisted, and my hair stood on end.

“Phantom beast!” The cry barely reached me before warm blood splattered across my face. Bert appeared beside me, a claw protruding from his back.

The Beaster cursed under his breath and lunged at the unfamiliar creature, only for it to vanish into thin air.

He retrieved another serum and emptied it without hesitation, his eyes darting left and right.

“Nasty bugger,” Evalynn said as calmly as possible while pouring her own vial over deep gashes in her arm. It was only then I noticed the wounds.

“You and Daniel will be fine. The Phantom beast is after our Worlds,” Bert said through gritted teeth, but I wasn’t so sure. The Beaster and his wife didn’t sound nearly as confident as I wanted them to.

“Rescue your parents. We’ll be fine here.”

He coughed up blood as he spoke. I shuddered but nodded. Fear tried to freeze me in place, but the thought of my parents in danger burned hotter than any panic.

Daniel stepped beside me, his eyes sharp, a sword in hand. Coco emerged beside him and charged at the mass of Wild beasts clogging the street.

Daniel transformed into a purple flash and dashed past his Soulkin, paving a path for Coco. The Thunderhorn Bull charged ahead and released lightning currents in all directions, expanding the path of death and destruction. The smell of burned flesh hit me fiercely as I followed my friend and his Soulkin. I was slow, but I reached the building shortly after the others.

“There shouldn’t be any beasts nearby. Most Awakened beasts will attack me and Coco,” Daniel said, his eyes constantly scanning the battlefield. “I’ll clear the building of Awakened beasts. Get your parents out of the building.”

My mind was a mess, and I had a lot to say, yet the only thing I could utter was a “Thank you.”

Daniel patted my back and disappeared once the Thunderhorn Bull scared off the Wilds in the streets. Coco had to kill two dozen Wilds to make a statement, but those who survived understood the Soulkin’s intentions.

Aureus appeared on my shoulder as I stepped into the same old building I had lived in for the last fifteen years. Looking at the destruction around me—splattered blood and smears of dirt all over the small entrance hall—it was hard to imagine that it had once been the same place. I looked to the left at Aureus’ behest and noticed movement near the elevators. My eyes lingered on an unmoving hand on the ground, half-disappearing into one of the elevator doors, followed by a resounding crunch that rang in my head. The sound was imprinted in my memory, alongside images formed by a mixture of terror and imagination.

A burst of anger flooded the bond, tearing me away from the horrors around me. Aureus was right; I had to get moving. If I didn’t want my parents to end up like my neighbors, I had to go—now.

I didn’t trust the elevators to work properly, nor did I think it wise to use one when every floor was likely filled to the brim with beasts of all kinds. So, I turned to the stairs. Daniel and Coco were nowhere to be seen, but the sound of combat reached my ears as I neared the door to the right—or where a door was supposed to be. Something had ripped the door to the stairwell off its hinges, which was no easy feat by any means.

That didn’t promise to be a safe path to my parents, but it wasn’t like a stampede promised anything but certain death to countless innocent people.

A beast—a dog-sized spider—scared the living shit out of me when it leaped the moment I stepped into the stairwell. I regained my senses quickly enough and was ready to use Paralyse, though Aureus had already done so. The spider froze as Aureus leaped from my shoulder. He pounced on the beast and crunched down on the spider’s head.

Aureus clawed at the spider while I unsheathed the refined silvernit sword, but the little glutton didn’t need my help. He climbed back onto my shoulder after spitting out the remains of the spider’s head.

“Thanks, buddy,” I muttered, cursing myself for my lack of preparedness.

I gripped the silvernit sword tightly and channeled enough ether into the bond to use Paralyse at any time. At the same time, I made sure to channel ether through my body, augmenting my physical attributes ever so slightly.

Moving up the stairwell was a simple task. A few more beasts obstructed my path and attacked when they discovered what they thought was easy prey, but it turned out they had never been the hunters. The silvernit sword tore through three beasts that couldn’t have been stronger than a Bloodbath Deer, while Aureus helped with a fourth beast by using Paralyse. He conserved his power as much as possible and maintained Paralyse only for a quarter of a second, but that was all my sword needed to behead the grotesque creature. It was some sort of winged badger covered in scales and a slippery gel that could only be mucus.

It was dead, and that was all that mattered.

We were fortunate not to encounter the beast that had torn apart the door to the stairwell. It had continued through another door on the third floor, which was far from my final destination. My feet carried me through the stairwell in large strides, and it didn’t take long to arrive at the correct floor.

My heart skipped a beat when I noticed the stairwell’s door was wide open, but I rushed into the hallway nonetheless. My head snapped to the right while Aureus looked left, alert to unwelcome guests. My worst fears came true as I locked onto a beast stepping into our apartment. The door was nowhere to be seen.

Yelps and screams rang in my ears, and I found myself in the doorway, a dead beast lying at my feet. Blood dripped to the ground, but it was not mine—nor would I have cared if it had been.

My eyes narrowed to tiny slits, and my heart was racing as the living room came into view. Our table was crushed, splinters of wood covered in dirt and blood. I rushed into the apartment and found my parents in the kitchen. My father was bleeding and Mom was screaming, tears trickling down her cheeks. Then there were the Blackbellied Gibbons—those little mischievous, but loyal brats. They were weaker than the abominations attacking my parents, yet they fought desperately to defend their people—their family.

Seeing my parents like that crushed something deep inside me. My World roared, and so did I, as I rushed at the beasts, ignoring the blood oozing from my eyes.

2025-08-01 12:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post

HideousGrain

HideousGrain posts

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