Menace mana coursed through my blood, present in my legs. I activated it across my hooves and jumped, swiping a fruit from atop an aguarty. A tree colored in varying shades of blue, with large leaves teeming with aguar fruits. The fruits were shaped like very round bananas growing only in pairs.
I peeled my aguar and handed the other to Moonwash who also ate. She was pulling a sled of her own making just because she wanted to keep more of the materials we harvested. The most valuable pr...
2024-05-18 15:35:30 +0000 UTC
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It rained without a single cloud in the sky. Instead there was a large flock of birds, flying upon the skies.
They were cloudbirds, with feathers made to look like their namesake, colored only a slightly graying white. Every flap of their wings conjured droplets of water to drop, the sun behind them streaking rainbows through the false rain that they had made.
One of them dropped a little bit too low, and I killed it. Menace bullet, demon eyes, magic intimidation.
2024-05-18 15:34:04 +0000 UTC
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Moonwash, Baston, Luine, and I walked through the overgrown forest, away from any established roads. We all carried very large packs on our backs, but it barely slowed us down, as strong as we were.
We had gone past all the Angelorian settlements this side of the continent, and had already ditched our escorts. The centaur couple were beginning to ask ill-advised questions, as they had taken notice of my ability to wield curse-aligned magics. It was apparently a very rare ability, a...
2024-05-18 15:31:53 +0000 UTC
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Everyone was here to celebrate my departure. They were just that excited for me to be gone.
Jokes aside, I had spent the entire past month cooped up at home. I’d already said my goodbyes a million times over. There was no need for more words.
I hugged my parents, many tears were shed.
I hugged Granuel, and continued to cry as he did the same, making many promises about the future.
“Yes, yes. We’ll destroy it all someday. It’ll be fun. So stay brave un...
2024-05-18 15:29:08 +0000 UTC
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A few weeks later, I was finally ready to choose the two new Mutations I could get for free. I had pored over the list with my family and Moonwash, and just learning of the possibilities was so endlessly fascinating that that was all we did. We could have spent months doing only that, however I had to pick my new Mutations at some point. My time remaining here would not last forever.
[Mana-infused Blood]
I stared and focused on the first Mutation t...
2024-05-18 15:27:05 +0000 UTC
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_______
[Prehensile Tail]
[Violent Stomach]
[Rapid Stinger]
[Pheromone Gland]
[Mate-Seeking Nose]
[Sensitive Split Tongue]
…
_______
I still had new Mutations to choose, from a nigh endless list that left me paralyzed with choice. It was a good thing that the process turned out ...
2024-05-18 13:31:40 +0000 UTC
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“Stop. Stop! I need a moment, I need to be alone!”
Everyone paused. They looked at each other questioningly, until my dad pulled both Mom and Baston away, gesturing for everyone else to follow. They all left the basement, leaving me alone, but not before my mother left some parting words.
“Holler if you need anything, okay? Anything at all.”
I gave a curt nod just to get her away.
Wait, no! I gave a curt nod to reassure her that I was fine.
Which I w...
2024-05-18 13:30:25 +0000 UTC
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_________________
Name: Haell Zharignan
Species: Human
—Mutations—
Human Heart: Level 10 (Max)
Human Brain: Level 10 (Max)
Human Skin: Level 10 (Max)
Human Eyes: Level 10 (Max)
Human Flesh / Human Bones / Enduring Musculature(synced) : (All) Level 10 (Max)
Dextrous Han...
2024-05-18 13:29:29 +0000 UTC
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“Level 10, 10, 10. Below, below. Oh! A twenty!” I was muttering my observations to myself, as we made our way towards the upper districts. My level sense was still not as accurate as I’d like, but it had certainly improved.
“What’s wrong Haell?” Mom asked, amused.
“Oh. I’m just thinking how I could beat up most people here.”
My mother chuckled. “I’m sure you can sweetie. I’m so proud of you.” She ruffled my hair. I knew she meant it both in jest ...
2024-05-18 13:28:25 +0000 UTC
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“Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked Moonwash as we descended the very long spiral staircase leading to my house’s basement. I could just feel the rock all around us, heavy and oppressive, about to collapse and crush me at any moment. But I also knew that wouldn’t happen, the earth was packed so tight here that it may as well be as tough as diamond.
“Mahka told me I could come here and take whatever I wanted.” Moonwash said, referring to my mother...
2024-05-18 13:27:14 +0000 UTC
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The battle raged on below us. Goblins kept on streaming through, and the templars were forced to take part, after just waiting in reserve for most of the battle.
The paladin among them shouted some orders, someone in more ornate armor lined with gold. He was supposed to be over level 40, I was pretty sure.
The rest of the templars followed the order, bunching together into one unit, each armed with a shield and either a sword or a mace. Most of them were hum...
2024-05-18 13:25:32 +0000 UTC
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I stood right behind the fence separating the tree wall from the rest of town. With me was my full party, The Harvesters.
“Alright! Let’s win this!” Angerly announced, hefting her massive mace up.
“I doubt any will even reach us,” Therick countered. “They’ve got an entire army out there. Adventurers, guards, templars.”
“That might have happened. If you didn’t just jinx it, that is.” I grinned, positioning myself just behind Angerly, wh...
2024-05-18 13:24:26 +0000 UTC
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I was back in the rainforest. Just me, my dad, and Mom. They’d asked me if I would like to take part in the eradication of the sapient goblins. There would be no judgment if I didn’t go.
“I want to go, Mom,” I had told them. “Not just to defend our home… if I even care enough to do that. But I don’t want to run. I want to go at the heart of the matter, and see things for myself. And then I’ll kill them myself.”
It had taken some convincing, bu...
2024-05-18 13:23:25 +0000 UTC
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“Happy birthday,” Moonwash said and handed me a gift. My fourteenth birthday was actually yesterday and she’d also been there to celebrate it.
I took one look at the alleged gift, and immediately snatched it from her arms. I mumbled a quick but loud, “Thank You!” before I ran back inside the house to try it on.
The helmet went over my head, I buckled the strap and stared at the mirror with a big goofy smile on my face. The helmet was round and fit enough to my proporti...
2024-05-18 13:22:30 +0000 UTC
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Fount of Glory
I walked across the streets with a pack of wands in my hand. I entered the ornate store, with my dad following behind. A cool breeze immediately greeted me inside, air conditioning ran by the company that dealt in the production of mana. I saw the fountans who made it all possible beyond the shop area, the crowd of them chatting and laughing together as refreshments were given and they were pampered in many subtle ways. The particulars of their work only involved that th...
2024-05-18 13:21:18 +0000 UTC
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I raised an eyebrow as Moonwash clambered out of the Harvester Home. She was clad in full plate armor, with thick gauntlets and guards around the limbs. She didn’t leave herself nearly as exposed as humans typically were, sacrificing some of the benefits of our sweat for more protection.
“I will collect materials. You still suck.”
I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t that bad! I’d been getting better at skinning and dismantling my kills…
“Let’s go!” ...
2024-05-18 13:20:03 +0000 UTC
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It had been over a month since the incident where my parents nearly died. Although I still wasn’t sure how close they really came, since Mom’s account of the situation always painted them out as the clear winners and that the level 60 hornse never stood a chance.
I decided to just play along.
We were a bit more cautious during our hunts after that little scare, but it didn’t take long for us to get back into the groove and venture further and further out. We met the ...
2024-05-18 13:18:48 +0000 UTC
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I stopped. I halted. My mind was still reeling, blood pumping frantically through my veins. I had arrived at the tree wall, the border marked by colored bushes. Those were the safe ones. The ones deeper in, disguised as regular plants, were the truly dangerous traps, so I couldn’t just wade through them as a shortcut.
I took a deep breath and paused to evaluate my choices. I was still in dangerous territory, so I kept on walking towards where the gate should be.
Calm. I ...
2024-05-18 13:17:38 +0000 UTC
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I went back out into the forests with my parents. It would take a while yet before I could go out as a party with The Harvesters.
I fought many of the same monsters out in the forest as Mom and Dad picked my battles for me. A lot of the potential enemies were deemed to be too dangerous for me to fight. I dispatched more wolves, ambushed the bushpiders, fought a few new specimens like giant solitary bats, and I got my revenge on those damn hares.
The main conceit of the horned ra...
2024-05-18 13:15:41 +0000 UTC
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We returned home before sundown after a fruitful day of hunting and adventure. I wanted to do more, to stay the night and brave it out in the wilderness, but my parents refused. They told me that I was too young and inexperienced, that I wasn’t ready.
I argued that I’d had plenty of experience in the matter back on Earth. I loved nature and the peace that it brings, though admittedly I didn’t have to do the same level of fighting, nor were the dangers present quite as extreme. A ...
2024-05-18 13:14:30 +0000 UTC
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I found myself in a clearing, facing a lone wolf. Not in the sense of people who liked to call themselves that, but an actual wolf that was alone. My parents deemed it to be an acceptable enough target, with Mutations apparently ranging around level 5.
We circled each other, myself and my opponent. It was the animal that eventually made the first move, lunging towards me.
I dodged, with only a slight delay to my reaction. The wolf missed and turned towards me, but my...
2024-05-18 13:13:21 +0000 UTC
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I arrived at the southern exit of town, flanked by my parents on both sides. I was wearing my full regalia, the metal parts now coated with an outer layer of fantastreel.
Fantastreel was a high-quality metal, typically only used by those at level 20 or above, which was already a high milestone to achieve for the common people. At least, for those that started at level 0. The metal was tougher, denser, and heavier than steel. A full suit of it would interfere with my movements too much,...
2024-05-18 13:11:41 +0000 UTC
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Tears streamed from my eyes as I read about the romance of Romera and Julian. Many of the books here glorified angels and all the bullshit that entailed, and this wasn't an exception, but I couldn't deny that it was very well-made. I could enjoy things, even if I found the message to my own views, and the books published in the empire were no exception. Love and sacrifice was a universal theme, and having made the ultimate sacrifice once myself, I had gained a whole new perspective on it. Few...
2024-05-18 13:10:16 +0000 UTC
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_________________
Name: Haell Zharignan
Species: Human
—Mutations—
Human Heart: Level 7
Human Brain: Level 10 (Max)
Human Skin: Level 6
Human Eyes: Level 5
Human Flesh / Human Bones / Enduring Musculature(synced) : (All) Level 5
Dextrous Hands: Level 5
...
2024-05-18 13:09:09 +0000 UTC
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"I… I'm sorry." I tried to sound sincere. Luine decided to make us all apologize to each other, after catching us having a grand old brawl.
I couldn't even fault her for it. If I were the adult in charge of things, I might have made the same call out of sheer annoyance.
"Hmph. You should be." Sophicus, the person I nicknamed Soap-boy, scoffed at my apology.
"Sophicus!" Luine shouted his name. "Apologize!"
"No!"
"Haell apologized to you. The who...
2024-05-18 13:08:09 +0000 UTC
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“Alright people! Today we are learning about geography,” Luine said, pinning a large world map on the board. It was Moonwash who made it. I could tell by the beautiful and prominent signature on the very center of the map.
“Nice job,” I told the girl beside me. We were seated at the very back. “Planet Moonwash is very beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said, not looking up from the wooden sword she was carving designs into, nor acknowledging my joke.
I shr...
2024-05-18 13:06:55 +0000 UTC
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I stood before Dad, the both of us raising swords of wood towards each other. I heightened my focus and watched him closely, our steps drawing a circle on the hill's grass. A deep breath flowed into my body, and I burst into motion upon its release.
I started with the classic, an overhead slash, but it was easily parried. I stabbed from there to try and get my Dad off guard, but the attack was swatted away. I flowed into a rhythm, every stroke mastered over years of effort. All of my a...
2024-05-18 13:05:40 +0000 UTC
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I arrived at the foot of the tree wall, the magically sustained patch of forest that protects and surrounds the town of Latarus. Tall towering trees stood at unnaturally even intervals, their barks just a little bit too smooth, with branches and roots lacking some of the chaos of their typical formations.
“Let us go!” Salaire cheered, causing her unusually elegant coat of white fur to flutter. Her wife Luine was also with us, along with all of my friends. Which meant ...
2024-05-18 13:04:26 +0000 UTC
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I found myself back at the orphanage after Mom and Dad dropped me off to play. They didn’t want to risk me going out on my own for the time being because things were tense around town. Sentiment about the inhex reached an all-time low, which just exacerbated the problem of people provoking them into acting. Thankfully, there were only a meager few passing through town, and they would be gone soon… sent off to die in a war that they wanted no part of.
I’d had a lot of time to thin...
2024-05-18 13:01:15 +0000 UTC
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I walked the busy streets of Latarus with Granuel in tow. The ishkawtan boy was now five years old, though he was no less energetic than when he was a toddler. I made sure to tighten my grip on his arm in case he tried to run off.
The roads were very busy today because a company of soldiers was coming through. There was a frantic energy in the air as their stay was actually sponsored by the state, meaning that they partook of the many inns, taverns, and more. Even I felt reassure...
2024-05-18 12:47:46 +0000 UTC
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