Robert Vlaho

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 130 - Freddy's Luck

In a small corner of Valhalla’s armory, a fully armored Freddy waited for Lucas to exit the changing room. 

The young man left before long. He was wearing relatively light, synthetic, camo-colored armor, with extra focus on forearm, neck, head, and chest protection. And a solid pair of boots, too.

While Freddy was absolutely not willing to get the boy tzenekite equipment, he had decided to splurge a little extra on an unimbued inscribed helmet. It held a single major rune o...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 129 - Ride and Grind

Thor escorted Freddy over to their treasury, where Shawn’s personal belongings were finally exchanged. The treasury was a sealed space that prevented outside tracking, meaning that they could take anything out without having to fear revealing themselves. 

As for Shawn’s gear, all the enchantments had to be removed. It was impossible to just remove the tracking runes and keep everything else—an item’s enchantment was a gestalt, unified ether construct. It could only be remov...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 128 - Second Chance

As Freddy combed through all of Shawn’s stuff for a long moment, he almost felt like throwing all his moral values away. 

Not only was the ring quite spacious, making it already rather valuable even on its own, but it was packed with all sorts of goodies. From essence-recovery medicine to ability-growth elixirs to a decent number of primes that actually seemed to hold a good amount of value, it was every looter’s wet dream.

The whole value of everything inside the ring, i...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 127 - A Step too Far

Bad things had no tendency to happen in any real pattern. Be it tragedy or mere inconvenience, nothing prevented life from randomly beating the shit out of you in quick succession. 

This had birthed a saying a long time ago.  “When it rains, it pours, huh?” Shawn thought out loud as he sighed. 

He was sitting at a small cafe close to the only passage in Repentawa and sipping on a coffee. 

Last night, their spies had finally confirmed that the man who ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 126 - One Scary Motherfucker

Thor hadn’t swung his axe with full force, nor was he nearly enough of an amateur to be unable to stop his strike. 

As Freddy leaped in front of the axe, the weapon stopped dead in its tracks, and Thor’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Freddy. “What are you doing?”

“Wait a moment! Please don’t kill this man!” he said.

Thor scowled. “I’m gonna need you to explain yourself.”

“He’s a lead doctor at a local clinic,” Freddy said. “I have an ap...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 125 - The Raid

The stage was set. 

As the clock ticked to midnight, the doors on the van opened, and the vanguard left one by one, with Freddy standing at the very front. 

“You got this, big guy,” the red-armored woman, Lara, said as she tapped him on his shoulder. “Remember the protocol.”

Freddy nodded.

The voice of a scout sounded through the comms, and all the groups got into position. 

The vanguard was composed of most of the melee fighters there. The...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 124 - Welcome Aboard

Before heading to the arranged site, Freddy sent Bloodshed to scout the area first. Just in case. 

Thankfully, it seemed that there was no trap. Thor was waiting in the corner of an alley, right behind a dumpster, with a hood pulled over his head, smoking a cigarette. 

A car was parked nearby. 

To be honest, Freddy was surprised that he’d be welcomed by Thor personally. For what reason the leader of a rather major local faction would do something like this, ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 123 - Invitation

Freddy extracted a small piece of paper from the envelope and unfurled it to take a look. Inside was a message from Thor, written in messy handwriting:

HEY THERE, PAL. BEEN A WHILE! 

I HOPE YOU’VE RECOVERED FROM THOSE INJURIES! 

ANYWAY, ABOUT THE REASON I’M CONTACTING YOU… SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GOING MISSING LATELY, SO WE’VE TAKEN A CLOSER LOOK AND FOUND A SHADY ORGAN TRADE ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CITY. WE’RE GONNA BUST IT TOMORROW. I WANT YOU TO JOIN US....

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 122 - Crimson Spring

Freddy’s meeting with the two men went rather smoothly. 

Freddy’s only real requirement was that he wanted to be more of a partner to Valhalla than a subordinate, and Thor agreed to that without much trouble. There was an air of healthy distrust between them—while they were willing to work with one another, neither side had enough information on the other party to say without a doubt that they weren’t up to no good. 

In the end, they settled on a simple deal: Val...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 121 - Bottom Line

Thor twirled his axe. Lightning sparks flew from the blade, striking the armored men and paralyzing dozens as they jumped from one soldier to another. 

He was exhausted. Sweat coated his entire body, and his essence reserves were depleting rapidly. Just as he was about to start feeling desperate, the soldiers before him suddenly evaporated into faint white smoke and disappeared.

He fell to his knees, taking deep breaths. His Deep Breathing activated, and he felt the numbness ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 120 - Unholy Blessing

Freddy stared at the leader of the wave. The fact that the general was a deviant didn’t even sink in, and he received another shock.

A three-star!? 

The leader of this wave was more powerful than Freddy. It was early, very early into the third star, but that was an incredible jump in power compared to the wave that came before it. 

No wonder this wave was effectively the final wave for all intents and purposes. 

The leaders of the waves had so...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 119 - Blood Javelin

Logic would dictate that lighter things were easier to throw. 

But as the ballista bolt of pure metal left Freddy's grip, it flew faster and farther than any of the javelins he’d thrown prior, and it went almost exactly where he’d thrown it, flying straight at the big boss of the wave. Before the invading soldiers could even react, the terrifying projectile zipped through the air and struck—

The commander’s horse. 

It struck its forehead, and half the shaft...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 118 - Siege

In the Fortress Dungeon, there was a thirty-minute waiting period before the waves of enemies arrived. This period was most likely so that the challengers could prepare themselves. 

And indeed, Freddy spotted the weaker folk rushing into the towers and pulling out ammo. He followed them. 

People respectfully moved around him as they grabbed the racks of ballista bolts and picked up the rope nets full of catapult ammo. There was even a two-star who was busy collecting the...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 117 - Fortress Dungeon

There were many different types and subtypes of dungeons. 

The most common were the ordinary dungeons—these were simply passage realms with some form of structure that appeared to be created by an intelligent lifeform. These were more or less the same as any other realms. If the structure within was destroyed, it would remain destroyed forever. 

Then, there were the more exotic—and more valuable types. 

The entrance to the Fortress Dungeon was pretty close...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 116 - Stubborn Hero

After returning from his delve, Freddy was greeted by a scene that made him pause. 

Hellen and Lucas were sitting on the couch; they looked to be in a strange mood. 

Freddy could spot a hint of glee in Lucas’s eyes, but Hellen looked… confused. Torn, maybe. 

Before he could ask, he spotted the newspaper sitting on the coffee table before them. The headline immediately cleared up any questions Freddy had. 

SCION OF GEM & FALLER FOUND DEAD!&nb...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 115 - A Century of Solitude

Freddy's heart nearly stopped in the half-second when Bloodshed seemed to be missing. But then he remembered something. 

In the next moment, he appeared in the Netherecho, using his body as a shield against anything that might try to attack him. 

There he found bloodshed staring at the metal barrier behind which the passage was barricaded. 

“Jesus Christ almighty, Bloodshed!” Freddy shouted. “You scared the fucking shit out of me! Don’t disappear like ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 114 - Spikeroot Caverns

It was a bright, rare morning where the sun shone above the gray city of Repentawa. The dazzling light pierced through the omnipresent windows, illuminating a sight of breakfast and conversation.

Freddy and Lucas sat at the kitchen table, eating cereal. While they ate, they talked. 

For the most part, they steered away from serious topics. At that moment, they were talking about the plans they both once had for their future, before their lives were suddenly thrown off course....

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 113 - A Very Powerful Enemy

A few snowflakes fluttered through the air. The middle of the woods was quiet and dark, with the only exception being the flickering headlights of a crashed car and the cursing of the men trying to escape it. Freddy watched while he walked right past Bloodshed.

“Master,” the skeleton called. 

He turned to face it.

Bloodshed raised a clawed hand. The aura Bloodshed’s body was made from was mostly stable, but on the bones of its palms, it was starting to look fuzzy,...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 112 - Painful Memories

Freddy was lying in his bed. He had just taken a shower but hadn’t yet gotten ready to sleep. It was 9 p.m., and he wasn’t tired yet. With his two guests, he didn’t want to bring Bloodshed out to watch movies with him, so he instead just crashed in his bed and thought about some stuff.

He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a storage ring. This was the ring that belonged to the man he killed just earlier that day. And now, he finally decided to take a look at it. 

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 111 - Leviathan Among Sharks

FinNado!

Fastest loans at the lowest interest rates! 

Freddy had never approached loan services of any kind—other than the bank. Thus, he was a little surprised at what he saw. Mentally, he had the image of a considerably sketchier place. 

But by all means, the business they arrived at looked very legit. 

It looked pleasant from the outside and clean on the inside, with a small, modernly decorated lobby scattered with a few plastic ho...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 110 - Debt

It wasn’t that Freddy enjoyed watching Lucas get his ass handed to him by nearly harmless monsters—no, actually, he absolutely enjoyed that—but on top of enjoying that, he had to admit that watching the young man slowly make progress was fascinating.

At first, Lucas was afraid to swing the baton full force, but over time, he got braver—or more desperate; one of the two, anyway. 

The issue with the improvised baton Freddy created was that it was excruciating t...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 109 - Difference in Status

Freddy and his newly minted friend started on their journey into the interspace. 

Lucas looked like he was on the brink of shitting himself, but Freddy tactfully ignored his shivering and the clattering of his teeth. 

The passage was rather wide—not quite as wide as the one in the Santorio hub, but wide enough that three people could walk side by side without a problem. 

As soon as they stepped into the first passage, Freddy scowled. 

The first st...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 108 - Lay of the Land

Freddy loved 1% Lifesteal. 

All the other benefits aside, being in top shape every day was already enough to make it a top-tier talent. 

He got smashed yesterday. Today, from the instant he woke up, he was ready for action.

While he was tempted to take a few days off and allow himself to relax a bit, he didn’t want to become complacent. There were things to do. Important things. 

Repentawa wasn’t a metropolis, but it was a city nonetheless, full of l...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 107 - Happy Birthday

It was a bumpy ride. It had been for most of the way there. 

Freddy looked out the bus window and down the dilapidated, deteriorating roads surrounded by thick forest on each side. The bus's massive wheels handled the trip quite well, but the constant jostling and bouncing had worn on most of the passengers—even Freddy had to admit that it was starting to exhaust him. 

At first, he had no real direction in mind when he set off on his journey—he just wanted to make so...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 106 - Chalice of Punishment

Basilisk knelt before the Council of Imperial Adjudicators. The council chamber was styled as an old-fashioned court, clad in wood lacquered by the tears of punishment. Men and women in resplendent clothing sat around him in a circle, reading his crimes, slowly adding more nails to his coffin. 

Throughout the whole ordeal, he maintained his composure. Even a slight sign of resentment could cost him dearly. There was nothing to be done but to play along. He had been outplayed by tha...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 105 - Northern Belt

Freddy left the barber shop, finally feeling like a civilized person again. His unruly mess of a beard was now sharp and angular, and his long, gunky hair was now tamed into a moderately wavy curtain stretching just past his neck and resting upon his shoulders. 

He quite liked having longer hair. He’d spent most of his life with a hairstyle similar to this. 

And now, it felt like the only part of “him” that remained. 

He was wearing a new brown jacket, g...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 104 - Hike

Freddy knew that crossing the Northern Spine mountain range would be a challenge. 

But boy did he underestimate it.

Before he even set off on his journey, he got some clothing more appropriate for the weather and filled whatever space there was in his dimension ring with bottles of oil. Oil was both the densest in terms of calories and the cheapest source of food, allowing him to stockpile enough calories to last him over a month. 

There was no way for him to possi...

[1% LIFESTEAL BOOK 3 START] Chapter 103 - Silver Heart’s Resurrection!? 4 Found Dead!

[Author's Note]
I'm back baby, les goooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feeling rested and like a new man. Took me a bit longer to get started because I had to wrap up book 2 and put my ducks in a row for book 3, but now that I'm back, I'm ready for Freddy, baby.

Hope y'all enjoy!

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Snow trickled from the overcast, gloomy sky, gathering atop the evergreen branches of tall trees and covering the forest's surface. It was a quiet November day near ...

[1% LIFESTEAL BOOK 2 FINALE] Chapter 102 - Naive Little Shit

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]
So, we've reached the end of book 2! It will be another long one, which I hope you guys appreciate! Quick heads up: I'm taking a wee lil' break; I probably won't be writing next week since I'll go on vacation, but once I'm back I'm heading right in. I have no intention of taking any hiatuses or leaving you guys hanging for long.

Hope you enjoy the finale!

See you guys at the start of book 3.

Cheers!
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Freddy wa...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 101 - Liberation

[QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE]
Quick heads up! The next chapter will probably be the finale of book 2! Stay tuned, folks. :)

Enjoy the chapter.
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Rahal walked into the patriarch’s office—his office. While it was a pale shadow of the throne he had dreamt of his whole life, marred by the clan’s recent setbacks as it was, he still felt a simmering glee that it now… finally… belonged to him. Not his bullheaded brother or naive ne...