Aster Loka

Upcoming Schedule Weirdness

Heyo! Aster here. Got a general notification for y'all, I have a number of appointments, wonky scheduling at work, and other miscellaneous things going on in my life over the next two weeks. There may be some chapters posted much later than usual, or doubled up on the same day, or other odd timings as a result. (For example, I usually finish and post the day's chapter over my lunch break, but today I'll be at the dentist, so it's likely chapter 116 won't be ready until late evening once I'm h...

Chapter 115

The next dungeon had a scarab swarm as its boss, the first Levi had encountered in a level 1 dungeon. It was considerably less intense than that in the level 2, but swarms were still one of Levi’s least favourite enemies. Even if this one was decimated so thoroughly by his growing army of minions and allied minions that it lasted less than two minutes.

Gremlin Two has reached level 6!
Gremlin Two has 2 stat point available.

As requested, his ...

Chapter 114

The first dungeon had a gremlin pack for a boss, which in this case was three gremlins. One warrior with metal armor, and two spear-throwing backup. It might have given them trouble if any of them had been level 5, but at level 1 the fight was almost comically easy.

Shadevine and Plus dropped down on the two support, beginning to drop their health before the fight had more than begun. Centoo charged the main armored gremlin and began tearing at him with his claws.

Frosty spat webb...

Chapter 113

They continued to hammer out the details for another several hours, Laurence demanding details about everything Levi had experienced, Cassandra and Irene going over maps and lists of addresses, building out a convoluted route for both the convention circuit and Levi’s team.

Levi answered questions while helping to route both groups past as many specialty dungeons as possible while in pursuit of their other objectives. He very much wanted a non-Destruction crafting essence to grow his ...

Chapter 112

"I'm going to travel as far as I can and spread the word," Cassandra declared. "I think this is the best use of my time and expertise. And I call dibs on Irene.” Cassandra threw her arm over her sister’s shoulder, then looked over at Levi. “You can come too, if you want, but you ruined our vacation with your scaring Irene half to death thing, so she’s coming with me.”

Levi frowned. "Are you asking us to go on a road trip around the country visiting weirdo conventions every few...

Chapter 111

Cassandra grinned as she held up a poster she’d printed out. Bright cartoon characters splashed across the page, text proclaiming ANIME-CON and the dates JULY 25-27, among a lot of text about location and presenters and the like.

“What better place to start recruiting than among the sort of people who’ve waited their entire lives to get an opportunity like this?”

Cassandra started passing out tri-fold pamphlets she’d printed out. “Ignore the stuff about potions, I wrot...

Chapter 110

Levi considered his options. Aside from the basic abilities, which would each cost a single ability point to unlock, there were Levi's own species-wide abilities, costing double for Shadevine, but still available if you knew where to look:

Shadevine: Enhanced Drain (0/5) - Shadevine minions will drain enemies 20% faster (2 ability points)

Shadevine: Advanced Elongation (0/5) - Shadevine minions can stretch or thin themselves up to 20% mor...

Chapter 109

Skarm’s name disappeared from Levi’s minion list. In the same moment, Levi felt an intangible something slip away from him. He’d never noticed the feeling of the minions tethered to him, never realized there was more to the tie between them than a number in a list.

He now realized that a tiny part of his subconscious had always been devoted to tracking and interacting with Skarm in some indefinable way, and suddenly that part of himself was empty.

Levi braced himsel...

Chapter 108

“Can't I go with you?” Peter asked Levi as they left the dungeon. “We could keep talking about my next levels.”

“Once you’re fast enough to keep up with me, sure. But you’ll need a lot more stamina than you have now.”

“I bet I can beat you. I’m fast.”

Levi smiled. “I bet you aren’t. But, what do you want to bet?”

Peter thought for a moment, then, “I know! The next dungeon we go to. You want to do something boring, right? If you win, I won�...

Chapter 107

The ogre stood staring at them, uncrossing its arms as it scowled at the invaders. Its fists were adorned with spiked gauntlets, rusty jagged things clearly made for punching.

"Be careful," Levi cautioned, then they charged into the boss room and the fight began.

The ogre didn't like being surrounded. Levi scored a decent slash across its side with his Destructive Slash, then was sent flying as a fist slammed into his armor and launched him across the room. Henry fared a little be...

Chapter 106

Levi led them to the next Destruction dungeon, a nice quiet level 1 which should pose a moderate challenge to Irene and Peter without being too dangerous.

He did only have half his team with him, but that wasn't a major problem. He suspected Skarm and Centoo could clear the place with no problem. But that wasn't the goal today. Today was for Peter and Irene.

Peter walked at the front of the group, one hand on Henry's side as the dilo's frill flared and his head bobbed and darted, ...

Chapter 105

"Huh, would you look at that." Levi stared at his level notification and laughed aloud. "Turns out you can level without leaving home. Maybe I should start sending out multiple teams more often."

The idea started small but quickly expanded, as he realized the potential. He could send a minion escort with smaller groups of new Awakened, better ensure their safety, and be passively increasing his own army's strength as well as his personal level all at the same time.

He could even t...

Chapter 104

Gayle came down first, by which time Levi was already pouring batter into the waffle iron.

"I hope you reduced the sugar in those," she said by way of greeting. "That son of yours doesn't need any more sugar in his diet."

"I followed the recipe," Levi said, remembering in a flash of barely-suppressed irritation all the reasons he'd had for avoiding the Jackson side of the family. "Been away a while, you may recall."

Her eyes turned judgmental. "Yes, so you say."

"Pleas...

Chapter 103

At Laurence's insistence, they did go to a second dungeon, though this one was only a level 1 and no one leveled up as a result. They did continue to increase their stock of items, with the addition of two more health restoratives, one each of mana and stamina, a Destruction token to add to their growing pile, an elixir base which could be used to make custom restoratives, and a storage bag.

This bag had a much larger capacity than anything else they'd received so far. Levi gratefully t...

Chapter 102

Gayle was sitting in the car waiting when they arrived back at the parking spot. Or rather reclining in the car, her seat all the way back, and… yes, upon closer examination, she was asleep.

Peter, for his part, was not. He was more full of energy than ever, despite the late night. Irene was yawning, but then she’d had a late night the day before as well.

“Should we wake her up?” Cassandra asked, staring at her sleeping mother. “I’m sure she’s calmed down enough to b...

Chapter 97 (v2)

[Heya! Aster here. Today's chapter is a bit out of order, as this morning I realized there should be a bit more shown of the Levi/Irene discussion before we move on to the next arc, so here it is.  I trust you can forgive.  I might like to further expand 98-99 as well, but haven't decided if that's a thing to do now or later.

To those reading this later who are confused by the posting dates, this chapter was written after 100, and inserted into the timeline betwee...