Robert Vlaho

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 100 - Don't Worry About the Eyes

For a while already, a Mark-shaped hole was present at every family meal at the Afronte dinner table. 

Throughout their time living in Starhold, Mark had been growing busier and busier with every passing day, barely finding the time for his family even though they lived pretty close to one another. 

But, at the very least, he never let a week pass without visiting. Now, it’s been almost two full weeks without any of them seeing him. And they’d had enough.

As so...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 99 - He Will Die

Freddy walked into his newly rented apartment and placed two large glass containers and a bag of groceries on the tiny table in the room. 

The new place he was renting was considerably smaller than the former apartment. It was only a single room with a bed in the middle and a table next to a sink, but it was still thrice as large as the coffin room he had grown up in. 

While he was itching to finally get his own damn apartment, he didn’t mind waiting a bit longer. He h...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 98 - The Kraven Bloodline

Madame woke up from a nap with a jolt. She looked around her colorful office, looking for anything unusual. She was still in Pittersville, even five months after sealing her deal with the empress, and her preparations still wouldn’t be done for at least another half a year. Moving headquarters was no easy task, especially not for someone with the mantle of a Lord. 

Due to all the stress, she habitually took half an hour to clear her mind and stay productive. She had no need for s...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 97 - Criminal

Once he spotted the lights, rather than rush out and introduce himself, the first thing Freddy did instead was turn back around and jog to his hideout. 

He prepared his ID, putting it in a pocket.

He cut off the ring finger on his left arm to remove the Blood Ring from there, then he hid the ring in his storage ring. He cut a small incision in his right calf and inserted the storage ring under his skin. It was soon joined by the two cultists’ rings, as well as Sophia’s, w...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 96 - Bloodshed's Secret

Freddy woke up with a jolt. As he did, he found himself in near-total darkness. For a long moment, he thought he was dead.

As he heard the rustling of the several leaves scattered on the grass below him and felt around, feeling both his body and the ground beneath, he realized that that wasn’t the case. 

Once the disorientation faded, he remembered having a flashlight in his storage ring. He took it out and flicked it on. “Holy fucking…!” he shouted as the light lande...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 95 - Asura

Freddy’s mind froze as he saw the scene. But he didn’t panic. 

He couldn’t afford to. 

Sophia’s head was in one piece; there was a good chance she could still be healed.

The scorpion-tailed woman slowly turned her head to face him. While the man had been more like a wild animal, the woman was entirely in control of herself despite the incredible power pulsing through her body. On top of that, while Freddy had felt the man’s power as a peak two-star, he di...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 94 - Scramble

There was no time to think. Freddy jumped before Sophia as a barrage of arrows flew their way, most of them landing right on his skin and embedding, albeit rather shallowly, as his Thousand Wet Hells-tempered body resisted the projectiles, while the rest of them bounced off the massive shackles, keeping him restrained. 

The soldier who was holding Freddy’s leash had thankfully let it go to fend for his life. 

Sophia pulled the arrow out of her stomach and used her life...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 93 - Red Barrier

Illya stood in a small clearing. 

Standing right beside one another, every remaining member was seemingly out in plain view—more than 50 cloaked people stood in the middle of an exposed clearing.

Yet, as another group of soldiers combed through the nearby woods, they walked right past them, completely failing to notice their presence. 

What kept them hidden was a large illusion array, one of the most expensive ones money could buy. Even then, while it was a mirac...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 92 - Shackles

Illya chewed on her nails, eyes bloodshot as she stared at the bane of her existence. She hadn’t slept in days. The artifact—the massive, mummified arm of crimson skin and wicked nails—defied every attempt to even as much as mute its aura of bloodthirst. 

Several of their members stood anxiously around the intimidating object, similarly displaying signs of stress and severe exhaustion. The situation wasn’t helped by the mountain of rancid, rotting flesh, which smelled so ba...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 91 - Eidolon of Authority

The reasons to seal a passage were as numerous as the grains of sand in a desert. However, they all ultimately came down to the age-old rule of risk vs. profit. 

A wasteland with no valuables could one day release a monster, and with nobody aching to dive in, keeping it open was a mere liability. Conversely, hellscapes ordinary humans couldn’t survive in remained open all across the world since the riches within were too valuable to place behind a seal.

During the early day...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 90 - Manhattan, Nova York

Madam looked herself over in the mirror, taking a closer look at the new foundation she had put on. 

She was located in a small room atop a tall building. Her surroundings were a plain, subdued grey, with nothing but a cupboard to her side and a mirror before her lovely image. 

She held a sponge in her left hand as her right pulled a finger down her right cheek, testing the fortitude of the layer she had just applied. It was still a bit loose, delicate as it was.  2024-05-21 16:08:48 +0000 UTC View Post

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 89 - Cohesion

Phillip couldn’t help but think that if a psychological researcher had the opportunity to observe their group throughout their time in the trap room, they would have learned quite a few exciting things.

While there was no doubt that some among them, like Jacob, would have preferred to work through their emotions in privacy, it was undeniable that most of them were more than happy to not be alone through their suffering, himself included.

That was good and all for the first few d...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 88 - A Job Well Done

Freddy spotted a creature fighting a gorel worker. The size difference between the two monsters was stark, with the small, dog-sized gorel looking minuscule compared to the massive, nearly horse-sized freaky camel monster—a nebber. 

The strange being had a stubby, bulky body akin to a bear's, but its neck was elongated. Compared to a camel, which had a stiff neck, the neck of the nebber was akin to that of a snake, coiling and shifting side to side as it confronted the small gore...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 87 - Disturbance

A small, isolated room lay deep within the Tomb of Harrkanna, down a meandering path and past a long line of corpses doused in black ooze. The only way to enter it was to pull on several hidden levers, and there was nothing of substance within. 

In fact, the room was a trap. Around a minute after being opened, the massive stone slammed down and trapped anyone who had entered within. The only way to break out was by force, which would trigger another trap. 

That was no pr...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 86 - The Advent of Bloodshed

[QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE]
Sorry for the lack of a chapter last Friday; several things caught up with me, and I was stalled. Dropped the other story, which bummed me out, got hella sick, and had to go to the hospital three times; anyway, this chapter is extra beefy, and I plan to catch up with the missed upload soon, so don't worry bout it.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers!
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Freddy peeked through the rocks barricading the tiny cave where he and Sophia ...

[DEVILICH] Important News

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 85 - The Final Preparations

Freddy felt profoundly itchy watching Sophia cradling the shiny ball. “Sophia…” he called cautiously.

“Oh, shut it!” she yelled. “I’m not gonna steal it, you—argh! I wish I killed a damn Lord by accident.”

“I wouldn’t call it an accident,” he said, stepping forward. 

She groaned and handed the object back to him. “Listen to me, Freddy,” she said, looking at the box. “Here is what you have to do. Go into the Netherecho, then eat this thing.�...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 31 - Basic Education

After my agreement, the guards went away, returning to their duties. Martin stayed behind, expressing a certain degree of hesitance.

“Is something wrong?” I asked the man. 

He looked at me worriedly, a spark of reluctance dancing through his eyes. “Look… James… I have no right to tell you what to do, but… becoming a guard isn’t such a simple matter,” he told me.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s a tough line of work,” he said with a dark ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 84 - The Three Items

The passage that Jacob’s and Jack’s parties, as well as the few strangers, were hiding in was also a hub for the dungeon they had delved just earlier that day. 

The passage that went into the dungeon wasn’t just open to the wilderness of the small realm, but rather, it was an enclosed, fortified building that was located underground. 

Rather than wait right outside the flimsy barricade they improvised, they went deeper into the passage, reaching the fortification a...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 30 - Tying Loose Ends and Climbing Up the Rope

I needed to satisfy two requirements if I wanted my story to fly. So, without further ado, I started on the first. 

But to satisfy the requirement, the truth wouldn’t be good enough. Thus, I had to openly lie. “I did,” I spat, answering the stern man’s previous question. “I contacted the guards.” I turned to the shortest guard present. “I told him,” I said as I pointed my finger.

“Huh?” the guard asked dumbly. “Who? Me?” he asked. “What? No, that… ...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 29 - Interrogation

As Martin walked into the backyard, I kept calm, eyeing the man curiously. “What brought you back so soon?” I asked him, leaning slightly as if trying to see behind him. “And why are there so many guards with you?”

I had no reason to panic, none that I knew of. I was still good-aligned and would be as long as I was alive, so they couldn’t be looking to detain me. On the off chance that they were out to get me, I was more than capable of running away. Thus, I simply stared at t...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 83 - Indecision

At first, Freddy believed that getting used to his new body would be easy enough. After all, not even an hour after he started sparring with Sophia, he felt he was already 90 percent there to mastering himself. 

Unfortunately, that last 10 percent was also the most difficult to overcome.

The main problem was his muscle memory. He got the hang of his new body quickly enough, but numerous times, Sophia would do something unexpected, and he’d either freeze up, trip, or hit him...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 28 - Moral Compass

I didn’t have many redeeming qualities when I lived on Earth, but I did have some. One was that I was among the rare few people who truly enjoyed doing chores—physical ones, at least. 

It was for a simple reason—they didn’t require much thought. Thus, while they kept my body occupied, my mind was free to ponder. 

I walked out into Martin’s backyard. It wasn’t huge, but it was certainly spacious. Surrounded by roughly two-meter-tall walls on all sides, a 10-by...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 27 - Mystery

“So… You two are just gonna leave me alone in your house? Without any supervision?” I asked Martin and Amelia, who were both halfway out the door, leaving for work. 

“Why wouldn’t we?” asked Amelia. 

I was about to argue back, but before any solid reasons could come to mind, I realized that they… well… didn’t have anything to worry about. I understood their reasoning logically, but to James of Earth, the concept of leaving a total stranger entirely alon...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 82 - Carnage

Jack glanced across the battlefield, barely keeping himself calm. This wasn’t his first time finding himself in a gruesome life-or-death scenario. But he had never witnessed such a brutal slaughter. 

Still, for better or worse, the same instincts kicked in. 

He, his sister, Jean, and their best friend, Rick, witnessed many tragedies. Throughout their years together, they had seen many of their party members perish, and eventually, they no longer had the heart to invite...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 26 - Demon Fodder

I had no idea what this magic ball would reveal about me. But if it revealed literally anything other than my good alignment, I didn’t want to touch it. 

From possibly outing me as a devilich to the likely outcome of exposing my divine blessing, or even my [Resurrect] skill, touching it could result in more trouble than I wanted to deal with. 

But as for refusing to comply, I feared even thinking about it. The blessing was already conditioning me to avoid humoring evil...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 81 - Slaughter

[QUICK NOTE]
Sorry for the late chapter! This was a damn hard chapter to write, and I had a family emergency at the wrong time, which cut my work time in half the past few days.
Hope y'all enjoy!
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Not even a moment passed from the first scream until ten more sounded from the crowd's edges. The sounds of explosions, flashes of colorful light, and the splattering of blood enveloped the entire crowd in pure pandemonium. 

Jacob immediately began shouting for h...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 25 - Temple

I was back in the guard’s—Martin’s—house, having waited through the night for the morning to arrive. I hadn’t slept since I did not need sleep.

After killing the kidnapper, I returned to the town and made a few rounds looking for any of the others. Having found nothing after a while, I returned to the house, worried that someone might check in on me, only to find the room empty. 

Now that I was actively focused on capturing the kidnappers, the blessing had simmered ...

[DEVILICH] Chapter 24 - Agency

Standing in my incredibly tall, gangly form of a true devilich, I observed my symbiote.

I could feel the thoughts and smell the intent and desire of the cancer mass wrapped around my spinal column. All it wanted was survival. It held not even the slightest hint of other urges. No pride, no ego, no wants other than the pure, unrefined will to continue being—to continue to grow. 

In a sense, it was exactly what I’d expect from cancer. And it was precisely what I wa...

No chapter today

Feeling quite terrible, and my flow hasn't been very good for the past few days. Instead of pushing myself to shit out a half-baked chapter, I'm going to lie down and rest for the weekend so I can pick things back up when I'm feeling better.

Cheers!