Aster Loka

Chapter 86

Levi returned to the beginning to verify their mana usage was within parameters - Frosty was watching from the ceiling and waved a leg at him in confirmation that they’d been playing by the rules. This time, Rachel took the lead early and stayed in the front the whole way through. She blazed past Laurence and the others, setting a new record with a triumphant grin, barely out of breath.

“I take it you figured out how to do it?”

“I did! Thank you!” She hopped in place a l...

Chapter 85

After that, it didn’t take long for the others to figure it out, and Levi had his minions finish off the goblin boss. He wished he had more time. Ideally, they should do this every day for a week until they were fully capable of activating and utilizing mana at will, but he had already stayed here too long.

“Next, we’ll be practicing stamina-running.” He looked them over. Under ordinary circumstances, there would be some major penalty for failure to drive them on, but seeing the...

Chapter 84

By the time the youngest guild members started leaving for home, they’d finally moved on from basic leveling and classes - with a few detours to specifics about his minions, particularly Becca - to dungeon mechanics.

“It’s important to know your strength before you go into a boss room, since it’ll seal you in and it’s easy to lose a whole group if you’re not ready. But it’s also important to not let bosses build up too much, or they’ll be almost unstoppable. If you leave...

Chapter 83

Levi watched the final showdown with undisguised pride. Skarm rushed out of the hall, dropped into a ready crouch immediately, and waited. Levi could see Charles pause to drink his restoratives, but didn’t say anything. Skarm waited, then when nothing happened looked at Levi uncertainly.

“He’ll be here in a minute.”

Skarm nodded, his grin returning. A moment later, Charles did indeed emerge, but his earlier rage seemed to have vanished. Instead he was calm, determined, and...

Chapter 82 (Multi)

[Howdy! Aster here. :) I think I've rewritten this chapter about four times today, testing out different perspectives. None of them really clicked, so I ended up with a bit of a hodge-podge, but I'm far happier with it than any of the solo drafts.
On with the story! (Finally...) Hope you enjoy!]

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From the first moment they’d entered the room, this human had looked down on Skarm. And on Levi, which was even worse. Skarm was used to being looked down on. B...

Chapter 81 (Charles)

Charles Warner stood at the head of his guild, waiting for their applicant to arrive. The man had claimed to be a 'Tamer', but what that was exactly no one in the Doom Raiders knew. He suspected it was like how Laurence called himself a 'Knight' even though it was blatantly clear he was only a fighter.

But this applicant had added a bunch of pokemon nonsense to the wiki with great earnestness and there was always a chance it was legit. When monsters could appear in a real-life dungeon t...

Chapter 80

One mana restorative, three stamina, one health, a Dark token, a Dark power stone, and yet another Dark power stone. No new weapons or armor, yet again, but his crafting supplies continued to increase and they were accruing a nice stash of restoratives. It seemed the Dark dungeon really liked giving him power stones.

Levi was becoming more and more convinced that this time around he'd have to take crafting seriously. He may not know the exact, direct application of his knowledge, but tr...

Chapter 79

"We'll go back to the Dark dungeon," Levi decided. "You know how to find that one, right?"

"I thought you hated that place."

"I do, but it's the place that makes the most sense."

While a Fire dungeon might offer some variety, it would be less than ideal for their purposes. First, he had unlocked a new minion slot during the night, and would rather get another Rift Cat than a lava snake or kobold.

Second, the Dark dungeon was the known location of a special secret item,...

Chapter 78

Levi initially planned to stay away from any new dungeons on the locals’ radar, as he didn’t want to either contribute to the Essence problems or deal with one and risk losing people in the process. But they did have another dungeon that had already been de-Essenced, and should be safe and normal for several weeks even with the most egregious leveling practices.

The scarab-heavy level 2 Destruction dungeon was hardly changed at all since the first time they’d run through it, with ...

Chapter 77

"We really should try to get you some equipment," Levi said, looking Gordon over as they headed back to the car. "I'll look into it and see what I can find." He was going to be negotiating with the Doom Raiders XXX anyway for the missing Seed Fragment after all, and he had a decent amount of tradable goods now.

"I don't need—"

"Yes you do. No arguing. You're going to run out of changes of clothes soon, I don't care how over-prepared you were for the conference. And you'll do muc...

Chapter 76

Three health elixirs, one of mana, one of stamina, a small glass vial of neutralized Destruction essence for use in potion crafting, and a Destruction power stone.

Levi found it incredibly ironic that now he already had decided on a power stone for his weapon, he was getting more than he knew what to do with. At least Destruction was a nice, safe option. It did extra damage to stuff. Nothing ambiguous there. He was happy with his Beastly Shortsword for the moment, and would gladly add a...

Chapter 75

"What is it?" Gordon asked. "You seem pleased."

Levi looked down at the item he'd been carrying. In the excitement of evolving his title, he'd entirely forgotten to identify it.

If he'd thought the day couldn't get any better, he was quickly proven to be wrong.

Versatile Power Array, Ultra Rare

Power stone: 0/1
Upgrade slots: 0/4
Active Tracing: 0/5

"It's a power array." Levi barely kept his voice from trembling with awe. T...

Chapter 74

"Becca," Levi declared, and it was so.

Before he could start looking over his new minion's stats, Becca's health, already low, continued dropping. It took Levi a moment to realize what had happened. Unbound, his shadevine had decided the rift cat was still an enemy, and never stopped draining.

"Bad, Shadevine," Levi admonished, grabbing the offending vine off Becca's tail and tossing it to the ground. "You really are the worst minion I've ever had."

Centoo gleefully stomped ...

Chapter 73

The Rift Cat was perfectly happy to be fetched. It had returned to its original room, but the moment Levi came close it sprang at him with a vicious snarl of frustrated fury. It was all he could do to keep ahead of it, even with his full stamina reserves.

The cat did hesitate at the boss room door, pausing for just an instant before charging in after him. Levi tossed the shadevine at it the moment it was inside, not holding out much hope, but the moment it was in midair the shadevine tw...

Chapter 72

Levi started stomping shadevines immediately, thankful for the boss room’s relative brightness compared to the outside rooms. There were still small clouds of drifting darkness, but for the most part it would be only a minor deterrent to the team.

Cen and Centoo moved in a rapid circle, pushing away any shadevines to clear a space for the rest of the group, while Frosty spat webbing as fast as she could. The first minute was complete chaos, then things calmed somewhat as the centipede...

Chapter 71

"I almost want to keep you around just to see what your advancement options are," Levi told the now unresisting vine section as its health slowly began to regenerate. "But if there's the chance to actually get that Rift Cat, I'll drop you in a heartbeat."

He had a hard time seeing the Shadevine as a person, it looked more like a magic plant and didn't seem to care what he did with it. He looked at its stats again, trying to decide if it was worth tying up a minion slot with the boring r...

Chapter 70

After the first trap room, the next few rooms were much simpler. The biggest problem was the shadevine. It wasn't numerous enough to actually kill anyone, but the steady drain against anyone that came in contact with it was a serious problem for Skarm and the centipedes who used parts of their bodies as weapons.

It got to the point where Levi ordered the minions to stay back while he went ahead and stomped on the slippery little vines himself. With his boots and leggings he was the best...

Chapter 69

They continued carefully together without encountering any other creatures or enemies. Levi heard the clatter of centipede legs echoing back as Cen and Centoo ranged ahead, dealing with whatever Levi called out.

"Can you at least turn on your glowing sword?"

"It's not real light, just like this isn't real darkness. It won't do much besides killing any adjusting to the dark you may have."

"There's not much to adjust to." Gordon gestured toward where the minions were fighting....

Chapter 68

Dark Dungeon: Level 2

"Level two, huh?" Levi frowned at the faint shadow hanging in the air. "Looks like someone's been playing on their own side, this one wasn't listed on the wiki."

"How long would it take for someone to level a dungeon solo?"

"A couple weeks, if you ran it every day. Most people don't, though."

"What should we expect different about a Dark dungeon? Besides, you know, all the darkness."

“Night Wisps are the base creature, I b...

Chapter 67

"So I have two things on our to-do list next while we wait for my interview," Levi told Gordon as they headed out of the empty Ice dungeon. "I got a new treasure map, and it’s local, so we should do that right away in case anyone else is going for it. I also want to visit a local Destruction dungeon to check out the Rust Scarab stats. Though that one could wait a bit. It might be better to grab something from this dungeon first since there'll always be more Destruction dungeons."

"Any...

Chapter 66

"A treasure? Where?"

Levi gestured uncertainly around at the dungeon. "Somewhere." He started searching the walls and floors, looking for any flaw or crack that might conceal a hidden treasure. From their first few, he'd learned how very difficult they were to find unless you were looking straight at them.

It took hours to search the dungeon and each side detour as thoroughly as he wanted, but he persisted relentlessly. He wasn't going to give up on it.

"Cen, Centoo, check t...

Chapter 65

The Ice dungeon differed from the standard Destruction ones from the very outset, proclaiming its presence with a chill mist drifting in the air rather than the glint of oily light, looking particularly out of place in the hot July sunlight.

“The best way to defeat an Ice dungeon is with lightning, much like how the best way to defeat a stone dungeon is fire,” Levi explained as they neared their destination. Ice creatures were oddly vulnerable to electric attacks.

Unfortunatel...

Chapter 64

By the time Levi and Gordon had walked Kaden through the process of devolving his Fighter class and restarting as a Tamer, it was well into the night.

"You good to go?” Levi asked. “Or do you need to rest for the night before we head out to the Ice dungeon?"

Gordon considered, then shook his head. "I think we'd best tackle that well rested."

He didn’t argue as Gordon drove the pair of them back to the motel.

Levi managed to sleep for a few fitful hours, then slip...

Chapter 63

The treasure room added another stamina and two health restoratives, finally, as well as another greatsword, a bundle of arrows, - which he split between himself and Gordon, - and a tracing. This item would flawlessly transfer its tracing onto any object, but it was also much more restrictive than true crafting. Levi recognized it as a basic reinforcement. It would top out at around level fifteen, so he’d be selling it rather than try to use it.

“Where’s Flomper?”

“I hav...

Chapter 62

Levi’s next several minutes were a frantic rush, tagging the kalvex and ogre frequently enough to hold their attention, while also pushing himself to his limits to keep out of reach.

Reinvigorated by his levelup, Centoo laid about him into the swarm of gremlins and scarabs with abandon. His flashing bladed legs accounted for so many that the swarm noticeably thinned even in the brief glimpses Levi got of them between desperate sprints across the enclosed room.

Skarm was in his e...

Chapter 61

[Heya, Aster here to make excuses again, just in case. :) I'm going to be out of town at a conference for work the next few days. I hope this won't disrupt my writing schedule, but just in case it does, rest assured that it's only temporary and I'll be back to normal posting times ASAP.]

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Levi backed up and fired a few quick shots with his bow, aiming for the ogre's big, flat, ugly head. He missed once, grazed it the second time, but the third arrow slammed firmly int...

Chapter 60

[Good news! Looks like I'm not properly sick, it was just a temporary thing and sleeping has cleared it right up, so boom! Chapter!]

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By cross-referencing the dungeons already known to the locals, Levi was able to locate the next in record time.

Destruction Dungeon: Level 2

This dungeon didn't lean as heavily on the scarabs as the first second level dungeon they'd delved, but it went all in on gremlins. They weren't significantly...

Chapter 59

[Heya, Aster here. Quick heads up, I'm not feeling well, so tomorrow's chapter may be delayed depending on whether things get better or worse. I'm hoping it's just a normal boring headache/fever/nausea without any deeper causes that will go away on its own overnight, but if the chapter doesn't show up it's because I'm focusing on recuperating. Thank you! Now, onward...]

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Once Levi put the wiki back in some semblance of order - sans demon invasion, since he st...

Chapter 58

They finally reached the dungeon, tucked between a couple trees, its faint shimmer barely visible.

Destruction Dungeon: Level 1

The dungeon provided no threat to them at their current level.

Between their advanced abilities and bigger team, they cut through the gremlins guarding it without difficulty. Gordon leveled back to 3, while Levi, Skarm, and Centoo were high enough level not to gain more than minimal returns from the basic enemies.

The boss was...

Chapter 57

Gordon found a motel without difficulty. They left the minions in the car for the night, with instructions to pretend to be inert if anyone came snooping around, and to flee if anyone broke into the car.

Levi slept uneasily and woke halfway through the night unable to get back to sleep. Nervous energy filled him, anxiety preventing him from resting any longer. He wished he had Gordon's laptop, then remembered that his phone had a browser on it. He logged into his new RL game forum accou...