I splash water over my face.
It feels unbelievably refreshing. The last time I had anything close to a proper bath was days ago. And even then, scrubbing with a rock while splashing myself with cold water barely counts. But it’s as good as it gets. Soap, shampoo, a heated shower—those only exist in my fantasies now.
I hold my gauntlets in my hands, scrubbing my forearms and arms while keeping them close. I don’t let them out of sight. Honestly, I really, really like them.
2024-12-12 07:08:03 +0000 UTC
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As my words hang in the air, I see one of them launch forward, his eyes burning with fury. Oh, the kid from back then.
I stay calm, sliding my sword back into its sheath with a casual motion.
“Long time no see,” I say, deflecting a projectile with a smooth flick of my arm. The gauntlet absorbs the impact as if it were nothing, the force dissipating harmlessly.
Another dagger follows. I lean back, letting it slice past my throat by mere inches. The kid’s ai...
2024-12-12 07:05:54 +0000 UTC
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Chiara stared ahead, her eyes slightly widened at the scene unfolding on the coast.
How… how is he so strong?
She swallowed hard, her body twitching as if to take a step forward, to go and help. But she stopped herself. The idea was foolish. By the time she reached him, the battle would already be over. And even if she made it in time, then what? What could she even do?
Her teeth clenched as frustration bubbled inside her. Why is the gap so massive?
2024-12-12 07:04:12 +0000 UTC
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I push Overdrive to the top again.
I rush forward.
The pincer comes straight at me. I slow my pace, letting it close the distance. As it reaches for me, I change direction sharply and accelerate.
The pincer crashes down with a deafening thud. The shockwave blasts me forward, lifting me slightly midair. I use it to my advantage.
I keep moving, but I don’t leap this time. I position myself near its massive legs, watching their movement, anticipating the next swing.
...
2024-12-06 03:26:08 +0000 UTC
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As I leap from the cliff, time seems to stretch.
The roar of the wind engulfs me, whipping against my face, cold and sharp, like an old friend pulling me into its embrace.
I grip my sword tightly, channeling my waves into it. The energy surges through the blade, and with each pulse, it pulls me forward, steady and controlled.
Then I feel it—the subtle, defiant push upward. It’s not enough to counter gravity, but it eases its grip. My fall becomes lighter, a controlled de...
2024-11-23 07:02:43 +0000 UTC
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Were they… were they supposed to kill that thing?
Did they even have a choice? The crabs had claimed the only viable territory so far, leaving nowhere else to settle. The volcanic region might have been manageable for food, but water? The Swamp was the only alternative, and its murky depths weren’t exactly inviting.
Her fists clenched at her sides. Could they even reach that thing? And if they did… how could they possibly take down a monster of that size?
She gritted h...
2024-11-23 07:01:27 +0000 UTC
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Chiara let the memories of the past days flow through her mind.
Seven days since they’d exited the waiting room. Four since she’d last seen Alonso.
The camp had found its rhythm, though not without losses. Five Climbers never made it to the initial camp, and three more had fallen since then. Their numbers had dwindled from 45 to 37, a sobering reminder of the trial's stakes.
Despite the losses, progress was evident. Strategies and tools had improved survival rates, offer...
2024-11-23 07:00:23 +0000 UTC
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More.
They’re coming again. The third batch already. Faster. Rippling. Like ghosts twisting in the air.
Blue cores pulsing. Tentacles slicing.
I laugh, the sound bursting out of me uncontrollably. “Let’s go!” I shout, slamming the Overdrive lever. Hard. The surge is a wildfire through my veins.
The world bends. Slows. Sharpens.
Every ripple in the mist, every flicker of light—it’s all laid bare before me.
My senses scream, urging me for...
2024-11-23 06:59:05 +0000 UTC
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I keep Overdrive at a controlled level, slightly higher than usual—and for good reason: I’ve stepped into the Riftflow.
The air here is dense—humid and heavy, like a wet cloth clinging to my skin.
The faint, acrid smell of something faintly metallic lingers, mixing with the earthy scent of decaying vegetation and the tang of salt carried in from the coast.
My boots press into the soft, uneven ground, squelching with each step. The terrain is uneven, jagged roc...
2024-11-23 06:52:13 +0000 UTC
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Those damn signals!
I picked them up first thing in the morning.
They freaked me out, honestly. My first thought was that it could be some herd of creatures communicating with each other, each signal bouncing in intervals. I’d nearly jumped awake, scanning for the source. But after a few moments of tuning in, I started piecing it together. The approximate source was familiar, and the pattern wasn’t like anything I’d noticed with the wildlife. This had to be the huma...
2024-11-23 06:51:09 +0000 UTC
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I take a deep breath, letting the sound of nature seep into me as I look around. For some reason, the place feels… a little emptier, a little quieter.
I close my eyes, focusing on the world around me, letting my mental waves pulse out.
It feels strange, almost foreign, like tapping into a part of myself I usually save for battles. Without the thrill of a fight pressing on me, I’m just… listening, sensing, catching every tiny detail in a rare stillness.
Gradually, the s...
2024-11-23 06:50:16 +0000 UTC
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Alonso frowned slightly. Keep going like this? What was the problem?
"Alonso, you're getting addicted to full Overdrive," Houston’s voice was stern, unyielding.
Huh?
"Listen, Houston, we’ve been through this. I’m using full Overdrive because it’s the fastest way to get stronger, to finish fights faster, to push my wave control higher,” Alonso shot back. “Look at the stats yourself—my focused wave can already surpass Sidd...
2024-11-23 06:49:02 +0000 UTC
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After finishing off the last of the crab meat, Alonso strolled into the jungle, scouting out a good hiding spot. As long as he was away from the coast, tucked deep within the trees and concealed behind layers of broad leaves, it’d be as safe as it gets. Houston would manage the EM cloaking through the night to fend off any human—or rather, any Climber, he chuckled—who might be scouting nearby.
Soon, he found a suitable spot, stretched out, and called it a day.
***
"
2024-11-23 06:35:32 +0000 UTC
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"Hmmm. Another fight?"
“You’re not seriously gonna—”
Alonso changed course with a grin.
“Oh, come on, Houston. Maybe it’s a poor soul in need of help,” he replied, voice tinged with mischief.
“You’re low on energy right now. Seriously, I’d suggest calling it a day. You’ve already hit the orb limit for the arthropods—nothing to gain.”
“Nothing to gain? Well, we humans spend most of our lives doing things with nothing t...
2024-11-23 06:33:29 +0000 UTC
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Ayu moved cautiously through the thick, lush greenery, dense leaves brushing against her arms, the air heavy with the scent of earth.
Ferns as tall as her shoulders towered on either side, and vines dangled from tree limbs that seemed to stretch endlessly upward. Everything around her was alive, buzzing, and warm, giving the place an untamed energy she both loved and cursed.
Clutching her sling, she narrowed her gaze, looking for any sign of her next target.
These big cr...
2024-11-23 06:28:23 +0000 UTC
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Alonso emerged from the river, droplets trailing down his skin. With a swift motion, he ran his hand through his hair, scattering water in every direction. At the bank, he grabbed a wide piece of sun-dried bark he’d set aside—smooth enough to use as a makeshift towel—and rubbed it briskly along his arms and chest, letting the rough surface soak up the moisture.
He reached for his clothes, warmed by the sun on a nearby rock.
“It’s good to be clean again,” he murmured, b...
2024-11-23 06:27:46 +0000 UTC
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Twelve hours had passed since Chiara had sent out the gathering call.
The uniform EM field blanketing the entire stage had been a godsend. While they'd agreed to regroup if the opportunity arose in this trial, the ease with which she could coordinate through this field was an unexpected advantage.
The results so far were promising—25 people had already gathered. A little over half of those who entered, and given the circumstances, it was better than expected. It meant that, unli...
2024-11-23 06:26:55 +0000 UTC
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He dashed forward, feinting toward the crab’s right pincer, but at the last moment, he shifted sharply, propelling himself in the opposite direction. The crab reacted a split second too late, its left pincer slamming shut with a spark that sent a shock through the air. But Alonso was already out of reach, brushing the weaker pulse that reached him.
Keeping his momentum, he leapt up, using the crab’s leg as a foothold, then springboarding off the base of its thick, segmented claw arm...
2024-11-23 06:26:17 +0000 UTC
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Stage 1 - 3.320%
That should be enough for today.
Alonso jumped off the carapace and gave it one last look. Should I take something with me?
He considered it, but shook his head. Making armor now would just waste time. His priority was to push his stage progress as high as possible, fast, then focus on finishing the trial or training. Armor would just be a…
“What if you face a creature that fires tiny,...
2024-11-23 05:26:35 +0000 UTC
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“So, that over there should secure us a source of drinkable water,” Alonso said, locking his gaze on a narrow, winding stream carving its way down the cliffside, its clear water pooling in small basins among the rocks below, surrounded by lush patches of primitive greenery and thick ferns.
“As for meat, I’m not exactly thrilled about eating anything those arthropods can offer,” he added, wrinkling his nose. “But hopefully, there’s something down there we can hunt. Maybe so...
2024-11-23 05:25:57 +0000 UTC
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He had just crossed a little over 20 kilometers when the first interruption appeared. Another of the arthropods.
He hadn’t seen it coming—only now, as it charged at him, did he register the ground’s vibrations.
“How are you feeling?” Houston asked, a tinge of worry in his voice. He had no way of knowing what the toxic gases might be doing to Alonso’s mind—and no way to fix it either.
“It’s fine,” Alonso replied. “I think I...
2024-11-23 05:25:13 +0000 UTC
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As the creature barreled toward him, each of its many legs struck the ground like hammer blows, sending tremors through the rocky terrain.
The air vibrated with the force of its approach, and Alonso could feel the power radiating off it—a heavy, unyielding presence that only grew stronger as it closed the distance.
At over 20 meters in length, its metallic carapace gleamed in the dim light, segmented plates locking together like armor forged for war. The sheer momentum it carrie...
2024-11-23 05:24:29 +0000 UTC
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The ground under Alonso’s boots was rough, almost coarse, dotted with fractured stones and patches of cracked earth that flaked at the edges.
A faint layer of dust clung to everything, stirred only by the occasional soft gust that whispered through the empty expanse. The air was heavy, carrying an earthy scent laced with sulfur and metal, sharp and biting at the back of his throat.
The air sat somewhere between tepid and damp, clinging to his skin and thickening with each breath...
2024-11-23 05:23:43 +0000 UTC
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“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Alonso said, grinning as the wave training session ended, Overdrive lowering from 36% to his current resting state at 7%.
“There is improvement,” Houston replied, “but just a reminder: after some training myself, I can already stack 73 waves together, reaching 43% of the pulse Siddharth used as our reference. You, however, even after over five days of training here, are still at only 32% of that limit. So, you haven’t even matched ...
2024-11-23 05:23:09 +0000 UTC
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Alonso’s eyes widened. 79% Overdrive? What the hell?!
“But I don’t understand. How could I override your control of Overdrive with my waves in that state? And… how did this happen? Why didn’t anything like this happen during the fight with Siddharth?”
Houston sighed. “There could be several reasons. For one, every time you’ve exceeded the Overdrive decoupling threshold before, you never tried to be creative with the EM waves—you focused more...
2024-11-23 05:21:54 +0000 UTC
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Alonso’s eyes flickered open.
A dull ache radiated from every inch of his body.
He tried to move. His muscles screamed back, stiff and heavy. His chest rose in shallow, uneven breaths, each one a struggle, raw and painful.
The room was a blur, the edges softened, colors muted. He blinked, but it barely helped. Everything felt distant, as if he were still half-dreaming.
Where… what…?
Just thinking felt heavy, hard, painful.
He took a deep brea...
2024-11-23 05:20:42 +0000 UTC
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Alonso held the blade steady, feeling his heart pound as his muscles, tense and burning from the workout, finally relaxed. His grip loosened slightly, and he let out a slow breath, savoring the moment of stillness after the relentless motion. Sweat traced lines down his face, neck, and bare chest.
Overdrive 5%
He lowered the sword and let his arms drop, feeling the satisfying ache settle in.
Standing there in the quiet, he allowed himself a moment of peace, ...
2024-11-23 05:18:58 +0000 UTC
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Alonso suddenly opened his eyes and gazed at the numbers on the wall. They were still the same.
“How much time has passed?”
“6 hours and 18 minutes,” Houston answered.
Alonso took a deep breath and stood up. He walked straight to the barrel, opened it, and used a cup resting on the side to start drinking. After quenching his thirst, he splashed several handfuls of water on his face, cleaning himself a bit.
He was starting to smell, and it was ...
2024-11-23 05:17:53 +0000 UTC
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“Another white room?” Houston’s voice broke the eerie silence.
Alonso stood still, shirtless, his chest rising and falling heavily with each breath, muscles taut from nearly 18 hours of constant exertion.
His face remained unreadable, an empty expression that mirrored the emptiness of the room. His body, though unmarked by wounds, was drenched in sweat.
His eyes flicked across the room, catching the details but not really absorbing them.
It was pure whit...
2024-11-23 05:17:05 +0000 UTC
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