The room swiftly quieted down, and as the last of the monster outpouring was extinguished, the golems began exchanging information on the fight's outcome.
Through touch, flashes of light signaled their growth and lit up the cave ever so slightly, revealing the tired, defeated expressions on everyone’s faces.
Harel got up to her feet and started walking away.
There was a void hanging in the air. It was precisely this sort of moment where Dukean would ask where she was going...
2023-05-24 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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It was so, so suffocating. The anguish of the roiling tar, the harrowing reminder of yet another purge, boiled and sizzled as it created the passage through the searing hot lava.
Soon, they would arrive at their destination.
No movement could be seen through the thick tar, but plenty could be felt. They squirmed, part in agony and part in anticipation.
Blood. Soon, something but black ooze would be spilled.
The river of black shifted through the thick magma, creating a...
2023-05-23 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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The slime avatar finished its scouting. It vanished, and Neave returned to his body yet again.
He was tucked away in a corner of his workshop. Piles of seemingly random tools and gadgets were strewn randomly around the room. There was a faint putrid stench in the air, and the black obsidian walls had numerous scratches and cracks.
Placing a finger on his temple, Neave examined his condition. His brain was undergoing some sort of change. Its function was mostly fine, but that was e...
2023-05-22 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Sateron backed away from the demonic entity, scoffing at it, “Talk!? You believe I have any reason to speak to a demon such as yourself?”
The demon chuckled a bit, almost sadly, “I am not a demon, Sateron… I’m a monster.”
“How do you know my name!? And whether you’re a monster or a demon, it doesn’t matter to me. You’re a beast, a horrid abomination that should be purged from existence!”
The demonic monster before him smiled and said, “Perhaps you are...
2023-05-18 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Nothing but two white lights peeked through the heavy armor the golem was wearing. Despite being fashioned out of scales, bendy parts, and numerous pieces, the armor was surprisingly fashioned out of a single, uninterrupted piece of metal.
It strode through the dark hallways, unhindered by the lack of light.
Its smooth movements could be confused with the actions of a regular human. There was no jaggedness to its stride. It was a smooth, forward, almost confident walk.
G...
2023-05-17 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Harel stepped forth, fury clear in her expression, “And why the hell should we do that all of a sudden!?”
Marven restrained her, but she just turned around and yelled at him.
Dukean looked severe, “Are the demons on the move again!?”
Hunter and Gabrias were quiet, and while Hunter kept looking at the others, Gabrias looked as if he had lost something important.
Neave looked at them, unsure of what else to say. One thing was clear, though. They weren’t safe he...
2023-05-16 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Neave left Sateron alone and ran off into the distance. He didn’t really know how to feel about the young man. An anomaly, for sure, but there was no way to tell how it would reflect on Neave’s plans.
For now, he put the matter of Astrador’s creation to the back of his mind as he ran free and explored the realm of nightmares.
It had changed so much since his time in the loop. But he still recognized much of it. The peaks and valleys, ravines, and lakes were precisely where h...
2023-05-15 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Something unusual was happening at the outer edges of its domain. It took it a while to notice, but now, it was clear as day. There were many monsters coming and going, but one was far more… Clever than the others.
No matter, it thought. This was what Master was trying to achieve anyway. Foes worthy of facing him in mortal combat. Who was the shrub to take that away from him?
Besides, it had more important things to focus on. Right in the center of the chamber, where the ambient...
2023-05-12 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Neave sat in the center of the battle chamber, surrounded by the others.
They had slightly displeased expressions, and it was for a good reason.
All of them had found one or two powers they wanted to acquire, yet, Neave had summarily rejected all of them.
The reason why? Neave’s liver.
Well, not his liver now, but his liver before fusing his powers. Like a frog in gradually heating water, he hadn’t noticed that he was being boiled alive, and only now, as the water ...
2023-05-11 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Neave wrestled the typhoon puma while imbuing it with plasma spirit, and after a while, it finally began morphing.
“Thank you! Fucking finally!”
He dragged the monster that carried the trial for his speed-boosting ability and threw it on the pile of other morphing bodies.
As they morphed into the gross semi-abominid with many limbs, Neave smacked it around, and finally, it was over.
He returned to reality, back in his workshop.
All of the components were fina...
2023-05-10 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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As Neave observed the results of the merging, he felt… Well, not disappointment per se, as he hadn’t yet confirmed the actual results of the experiment, but he was certainly moderating his expectations.
The two large abominids had merged into a single abominid roughly around the size of the larger one of the two. It was clear that the merging was successful as the resulting abominid looked distinctly different and had hints of both in its body.
Now, the problem was… The fina...
2023-05-09 11:42:51 +0000 UTC
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The large tree’s leaves moved around in the wind, coiling its branches like snakes. A rabbit… Walked upright to Neave’s left, and a dog crawled like a worm.
“Something about this is kinda fucked up.”
Turns out that using the fourth spirit inside of the spirit realm created golems. Or, well, it breathed life into anything he touched.
Neave had a theory. He had likely spotted whatever invaded his soul, then panicked and defaulted to using the fourth spirit combo in s...
2023-05-08 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Neave was afraid of very few things. And he was terrified of only one.
A deep sense of unease washed over him when he returned to his spirit realm. It was so quiet. He had never realized it before, but the utter and absolute lack of sound was…
Unnerving.
Once again, the moment he appeared, he kept his senses wide open for absolutely anything that stood out. The fact that he felt nothing left him feeling deeply unsatisfied.
Encounters with the manipulator, as well as ...
2023-05-06 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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When Neave spotted his body moving independently, he swapped his consciousness back.
Or so he tried. But it didn’t work.
A tentacle extended from the slime, and Neave picked up his own body, smashing it dozens of times into the floor and the ceiling. He wasn’t doing any damage whatsoever, and whatever stopped him from returning to his body wasn’t gone.
Suddenly, the arm of his body shot out and severed the tentacle, and he saw it try to turn around to run away.
<...
2023-05-05 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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The black shores roiled.
The sea of tar morphed as the dark liquid rose. Then it lowered. A creature, bathed in pitch-black, crawled out of the depths and dropped to the dark soil.
The abominid lay there, unmoving. And when it got up, it didn’t fumble. Now, it had a purpose. It had a goal. It was no mere livestock.
It had become yet another agent of vengeance. But. One step at a time.
As it moved, the black substance dried on its skin and chipped off, leaving the sam...
2023-05-04 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Dukean faced a moderately sized earth golem, clutching the chain and twirling the sword around his body.
It looked roughly humanoid, with bulky limbs and a head that was slightly too large for its body, and it was quite a bit bigger than he was. Yet, it was weak.
The shards of rock were effortlessly dodged and reflected by Dukean, and by his estimate, this creature would qualify to be around gold-rank in threat, although it was on the weaker side.
Monsters had been popping u...
2023-05-03 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Sateron lay sprawled out on the ground. He could hear nothing but the distant clings of glass shrubs and see nothing but the murky darkness of the sky above.
He wanted to lash out. Anger overflowed in his body, and he wanted revenge, retribution for what had been done to him. His creator, the ‘Great God’ mad with power, had been everything he truly had.
Without him, he had nothing. Nothing at all.
It wasn’t long until thoughts of taking his own life sparked in his mind...
2023-05-02 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Neave took a deep breath, picked up a small, squishy, yellow cube, and placed it into the slime’s body. It stayed inside, and he continued to the next object, a red ball. Then finally, a green pyramid.
He turned around and grabbed a squishy golden crown and a pair of rubbery sunglasses. Placing both of those on the slime, he took a step back to admire his handy work.
A small tear ran down his eye and he smiled happily. It was so beautiful.
The purple slime now finally had ...
2023-05-01 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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A purple glow shifted through the caves of the nightmare realm, blitzing, blazing by, following an in-descript object that flew at immense speeds.
The roughly circular ball of light bounced off of walls and moved through thick growth unfettered until it eventually swerved and entered a room, landing on top of Neave’s head.
He opened his eyes and grinned. The slime may not be the most promising weapon in his arsenal, but damn it, it was likely the most fun.
Given that he ha...
2023-04-30 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Neave teleported into the sealed chamber that led to the underground magma. The moment he appeared, he paused in surprise.
The room was filled to the brim with lava slimes and golems. They turned to him, and Neave had to fend off several attacks. It was a little exaggerated to say he was ‘fending them off, given that the attacks couldn’t even leave a red mark on his body.
His clothes, however, weren’t nearly as resilient, and given that Neave had no desire to be left naked, ...
2023-04-29 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Marven’s body shot through the air, his speed causing a sharp, high-pitched whistle as he rammed into the metal dome full force.
Neave put the hammer down and nodded satisfactorily, “That’s gonna hold up rather well!”
Marven weakly lifted a thumbs up as his body slowly peeled off the metallic wall and plopped to the ground.
While working on mastering their weapon skills couldn’t be finalized without real-world practice, where the weapons had their powers, there was...
2023-04-28 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Neave stood at the center of the dome, admiring it. It hadn’t been a simple undertaking, yet, it had gone by much faster than any of them had expected.
Gabrias effectively scrapped Neave’s plan and redesigned it from the ground up, replacing the obsidian tiles with a solid metal dome. Rather simple, but after all the details were solidified, it made perfect sense why they should do it like this.
The critical issue with the obsidian was that it was brittle and fragile. By natur...
2023-04-27 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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While Harel, Hunter, and Gabrias cultivated, the others weren’t slacking off either.
Dukean and Marven were busy primarily eating and training themselves physically. They wanted to practice with their weapons, but Neave advised them against it for now.
The cultivating three had all been encased inside a spirit dome, so they had the perfect environment to grow. Even with the highly optimal environment and the high potential they had realized in the spirit realm, achieving the tas...
2023-04-26 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Hunter received a nasty punch to his hip, yet he fully recovered and stood his ground. Three strikes were blocked with the sword, and a kick was rebutted with the shield.
Neave teleported behind him yet, found his venues of attack surprisingly limited. By the time he was over the shock of Hunter’s achievement, his opponent had already recovered and raised his defense.
Grinning ear to ear, Neave struck Hunter’s shield full force, cracking his arm and kicking him in the side of ...
2023-04-25 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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Thud.
Thud.
Crack.
Again and again, Neave brought his foot down on a demon’s head.
“Shit! Fuck!”
It was necessary to maintain total composure in front of the others. He had even told them that this was a ‘good thing’ and that whatever came out of it would only be a positive, a challenge they could use to better themselves.
As if things were that simple.
Neave had spent likely hours chasing after the demons, trying ...
2023-04-24 21:45:04 +0000 UTC
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Neave found himself up on the surface, gripping the massive sledgehammer and jumping high into the air to get a better perspective.
Looks like Gabrias was correct.
Over twenty thousand demons were rushing toward them. At the far corners, Neave could spot glass shards floating around and attacking the demons, but something was wrong.
These demons didn’t look nearly as decrepit as any others he had seen. They far more closely resembled the demon chasing the others a...
2023-04-23 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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A block of shattered obsidian lay scattered around the room as the intruder failed to get up.
Marven panicked, “That won’t be enough, Neave!”
Before the old cultivator could say anything else, Neave had already teleported on top of the enemy and wrapped his snaky limbs around the intruder’s.
The assassin groaned and strained as Neave’s limbs tightened with extreme force, and now he found himself restrained and incapable of doing virtually anything. Although he coul...
2023-04-22 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Sateron took a deep breath and released it.
A fine, pale blue mist surrounded his body, seeping into his pores and building his corpus to something more than its meager self. Finally, he was worth at least something.
For he had reached the subdivinity stage.
Or rather, as lower realm cultivators called it…
The first step of the diamond path.
Astrador nodded in what could barely pass as satisfaction, “I believe that will be enough.” He handed Sateron a pearl...
2023-04-21 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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The cultivators stared at Neave in anticipation. What was the next step going to be?
“Dodge part two!”
A perfectly synchronized groan escaped their lips.
“But!” Neave gestured with his finger, “There are two things you must do first!” They perked up, anxiously anticipating anything besides continuing the eternal beatdown, “First, I will need you to leave the spirit realm with me and confirm the weapons I’ve brought! And second, you will all cultivate as high ...
2023-04-20 21:45:01 +0000 UTC
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Things weren’t different this time at all.
Well, it depended on how one defined ‘different.‘ They were much tougher this time, and with their crazy regeneration boost, even Neave had to hit hard to finish them off.
However, that was about it. No further effort was required on his part.
Hunter bent his body back, trying to avoid a kick to his face. However, Neave’s foot instantly shot down and smashed into his chest, smacking him against the ground. On his bounce back...
2023-04-19 21:45:00 +0000 UTC
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