"Your weapon should work against The First One as well if we're lucky. Most of the skills need at least a bit of mana for activation and upkeep, so disrupting the connection he has to other ants should stop him from getting their mana, vitality, and from ordering them around," Myrra says.
"Only if we're able to keep him stabbed with it. How big is The First One?" I ask.
"His head is around a similar height to mine. His body is covered in pitch black matte plating. Unlike other ant...
2023-12-27 09:06:57 +0000 UTC
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Interacting with people is hard, isn't it? I could be on my own, not worried, not having to deal with them. It would be easier.
Sure, I like being alone and I really need it often to recharge my batteries, but being able to once in a while walk into the living room and just listen to other members of Group 4, joke with them, tease them, that's also fun.
I wonder how my life in the tutorial would look like now if I had decided to stay on my own.
Noname - ...
2023-12-26 09:18:54 +0000 UTC
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After a few hours of sleep, I wake up and stretch my body. Jumping from the bed, I take a few steps and enter the balcony, looking outside at the city. Virelia is unusually quiet, and the walls that used to surround it are gone, as well as dozens of buildings destroyed and a few towers tilted or just straight up toppled.
Further in the distance, I can see the trunk of the Living Tree. Colossal, grayish bark, and branches without any leaves.
Defeated, destroyed, killed, just like t...
2023-12-25 09:12:29 +0000 UTC
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Our way back to Virelia is faster than before. I refrain from using mana as much as possible to restore it while I carry the battered members of Group 4 with my arms made of mana.
The three of them are all missing legs and are currently all unconscious, something Lily did with the rest of the mana she got from my arm. She also used what was there to restore her legs and now walks next to me. Without arms, but walking on her own.
Tess is scouting ahead of us together with Obelia, w...
2023-12-24 09:08:53 +0000 UTC
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For those celebrating, Merry Christmas! Have nice holidays and rest well!
2023-12-22 10:40:13 +0000 UTC
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POV Tess Hansen
Was I ever this angry in my life? Did I ever hate another being that much?
If Nathaniel hadn't stopped me, I would already be in the middle of the room, fighting the four ants and probably risking the lives of three of my precious friends in the process. Lives of my comrades.
Can I trust you to save them? I want to ask, but our eyes meet for a second and I know I don't have to.
Right now, Nathaniel shows an expression I had yet...
2023-12-21 08:59:14 +0000 UTC
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"We don't have time for this," Tess says, releasing a bit more lightning from her crown, and Lily uses more mana to create a gray arrow.
"This will be quick," I say. I've long since thought about how I would fight myself or deal with someone with mana similar to mine.
A javelin that I have created, boosted by kinetic energy, absorbs the mana trying to slow it down, and lodges into the Mana Channeler ant after breaking the barrier he creates.
However, as expected, before the ...
2023-12-20 08:40:53 +0000 UTC
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Hey, some of you may have missed it, so here is the cover of Book 2. Book 2 will end around Chapter 207 - right after the escape from the tunnels under the old capital.
The scene on the cover is mostly from the end of the 3rd floor.
Oh, just in case, this post is for everyone, so please avoid spoilers from chapters after chapter 207.
2023-12-19 21:06:17 +0000 UTC
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Using [Perception] in the darkness that surrounds us, I find us inside a single half-sphere-like shaped room.
That's when a few of the enforcers join their skills together and create some sort of domain that doesn't allow me to perceive further nor any mana to pass inside.
Myrra also sends something towards the edge of the domain and continues to carefully examine something, “I feel no skill trying to pass through the silencing field, we should be fine for now....
2023-12-19 08:57:47 +0000 UTC
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We reach the area with flooring that is impossible to destroy, and most of the important people are already around there. There are even a dozen lynthari wearing the same black armor, each of them level over 200. Unlike most of the lynthari we met until now, they are calm and serious.
“How is it, Myrra?” I catch her to the side.
“Oh, this? This is nothing. Even if a hundred times more ants attacked, we would be fine, feral one, and soon all of them will be dealt with. We jus...
2023-12-18 09:24:44 +0000 UTC
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“We are leaving, right now!” For the first time, I hear extreme urgency in Myrra's voice, and she even grabs the item from Obelia's hand, and uses it to charge and activate the array after throwing a few mana stones on the ground.
While they are preparing to leave, I send a pulse of [Perception] towards the city in a thin cone instead of a field that surrounds me.
I detect a few items all over the city, but the tree is gone. I can't see as well as Tess, but th...
2023-12-17 09:17:10 +0000 UTC
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Did he just say deer? Archdeer?
Oh my, surely nothing wrong will happen if I buy it? I can't strengthen Bambi’s curse, and I'm sure Biscuit would like that piece of meat a lot.
“We have the first offer, one Star Stone!” the auctioneer shouts. “Surely we won’t end up at one only!”
One Star Stone is worth around 100 thousand dollars.
“Two Star Stones from an older gentleman in the audience!”
“Three Star Stones from a beautiful lady in a red dress ...
2023-12-14 09:25:34 +0000 UTC
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“What are you doing here… boss,” I say, ignoring the look I get for that.
Meanwhile, the granddaughter of the lynthari matriarch sits on my lap. Shamelessly. The matriarch called her Eris before, so I guess I should call her that.
“Grandma said that I should go there and buy myself something nice if I want to. She even gave me her card,” Eris takes out a card made from transparent white crystal and with delicate blue circuits that create something like a panorama of the ...
2023-12-13 09:04:52 +0000 UTC
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There are multiple rooms where the items are previewed, and there are already plenty of people in this rooms inspecting the items for one last time before the auction. A few guards are in each room, while the items are in glass boxes with circuits etched into them.
Armors, amulets, rings, some weird eggs, and bottles that are hundreds of years old. Some expensive meats that are also apparently hundreds of years old and perfectly stored. This meat can be smelt even through the glass and ...
2023-12-12 09:02:57 +0000 UTC
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I check myself one more time in the mirror. I'm wearing simple gray suit-like clothes. They are tailor-made, and it took a few weeks to get a few sets. Something I, in the end, let happen even though I prefer my casual clothes.
The clothes are surprisingly comfortable, with gray pants, a similar color jacket, and under it, a black shirt with long sleeves and a vest-like thing that is also gray. At a few places, there is simple embroidery made with a golden-like color.
My hair is a...
2023-12-11 08:58:11 +0000 UTC
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It had long been suspected here in this world that the Colony and the Living Tree were weapons used in a war long ago. But learning in one day that that war was against invaders called lynthari and the Colony was something created for them would be quite earthshaking news for someone from this floor.
“So, you guys invaded this world during the Pairing, you fought humans, you created the Colony and the Living Tree and a few hundred years later you are at the point you are?”
“...
2023-12-10 09:02:33 +0000 UTC
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“Can you take care of this?” I ask Tess, and when she nods, I turn my attention back to the room.
First, I check on group 4. Hadwin's wounds, even the big ones, are already nearly healed thanks to his weaker healing skill and Lily. The petite black-haired girl is still missing some limbs and fingers, but she seems fine. [Sacrifice] is a scary skill and even scarier is how used to it she got.
I will have to sit down with her and force her to learn to sacrifice ...
2023-12-07 08:38:37 +0000 UTC
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[Mana Domain] expands and I fill it with resonating mana again, canceling the arrows that the archer shoots at group 4.
Then his eyes made of mana stones glow and the stone lodged inside its chest radiates more mana. Its attacks become stronger and some of the arrows, even though weakened by my domain, clash against barriers I create.
That's when Tess reaches him, the mana exploding around her as she tears stones off the walls and the ground, making them spin arou...
2023-12-06 09:07:20 +0000 UTC
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“Level at least 220, ranged base class, get into formation 5, full power from the start!” Obelia shouts, lightning immediately cracking around her.
A few of her guild with heavy armor immediately get to the front, mana surrounding their armor or shields and further strengthened by the barrier of their teammate.
More members get further back, mana surrounding their weapons or fire floating around them. Two of her members put their hands on Obelia's shoulders and the amount of m...
2023-12-05 08:45:39 +0000 UTC
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The moment the door closes behind us, I cancel my barrier. Even though there are most likely tonnes of rock and stone filling the place where my barrier used to be, we hear nothing.
Observing the door for a while, I see that the inscriptions are up and running once again, powered by an unknown source.
I wonder, should I use the anchors I left far behind in the tunnels to get us out? It wouldn't be that difficult, to be honest. I just need to activate an anchor and get out. A few p...
2023-12-04 09:15:32 +0000 UTC
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For a while, there is nothing, just darkness, damp air, and the sound of our breathing and steps as we continue to touch the walls once in a while to send mana through the lines that light them up. It's calmingly quiet, and there is something that I can't identify that improves my mood. Maybe it is the unknown in front of us, the mystery to be solved, the expectation of a strong enemy.
Or I'm just excited about this expedition that is something akin to a treasure hunt.
After a whi...
2023-12-03 09:15:00 +0000 UTC
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So, Champion candidate Myrra. That explains a lot, as well as gives me new questions to wonder about. How do you become a Champion candidate? Matriarch is stronger than Myrra; is she also a Champion candidate?
I will have to ask Myrra when I meet her.
When I get back home, it's already night and most of the people seem to be sleeping, with the exception of Tess, who is sitting in the living room, looking much better now. The tall blonde is sipping on a drink with steam coming out ...
2023-11-30 08:48:44 +0000 UTC
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When Tess wakes up, she is at first surprised by the people around her. Only slowly she realizes that she is in the living room instead of her room.
It was my idea. That's what she gets for making me worry.
Unsurprisingly, Tess deals with people who immediately ask her questions fairly quickly. A harsh look here, some lightning there. Yet, I notice that she is not that mad and realizes that they are just that worried. Even though she is trying to hide it, I can see her smiling a b...
2023-11-29 08:53:17 +0000 UTC
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I spend the rest of the day and a big part of another helping Tess to get used to her skill.
[Stormcrown], while activated, improves her control over lightning by a lot. It also allows her to let lightning flow through her body and create something similar to [Lightning Armor] from before. In some ways, it's a bit similar to my [Regalia].
While watching Tess use it and feeling the force behind her attacks, I can’t help but feel ...
2023-11-28 08:35:35 +0000 UTC
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I continue to look at Noodle, and he looks at me; soon, we both come to an understanding.
We are the same.
Noodle here is introverted as well, suffering under the hand of his energetic, extroverted child owner.
"Hang in there, buddy," I say. As I do, he sticks out his tongue and swivels it towards me, once again tasting my mana.
For a moment, it also looks like he is trying to reach me, but Isabella quickly hides him, and I can see a hint of jealousy on her face, "Nood...
2023-11-27 08:47:03 +0000 UTC
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First, I look at [Mana Manipulation]. It's probably the skill I use the most, and even though it's not as high-tiered as some others I have, I still hesitate. For someone like me, the skill is extremely important, so let's rather keep it. That leaves me with 6 options.
[Perception] with [Mana Infusion] would probably vastly improve my detection of mana. Maybe even allow me to feel it better and, in the end, improve the way I use it.
...
2023-11-26 08:57:04 +0000 UTC
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Even though I strengthen my body, it's still weak, so I dodge the first attack by letting myself fall, my knuckles scratching as I still hold the sword.
The leech passes over my head and, without even turning around, I send a short pulse of thermal energy at it, hearing it screech in pain.
Another attack from the ground hits me, and this time I let it.
I create armor only in front of my chest, absorbing some of the hits, and only strengthen my arm as much as I can and stab t...
2023-11-23 08:42:02 +0000 UTC
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The Skystrider Beast uses a shockwave roar again, but this time I burrow the feet of the armor into the ground, and the attack mostly disperse on the mana surrounding me.
Like a strong wind, the shockwave tears off chunks of my mana, but I ignore it all. As I take a step toward the monster, I continue to radiate more of it, repairing the damage done.
The sword in my mana hands resonates and clashes against the monster's skin. Unlike the ranged attacks, the sword is surrounded with...
2023-11-22 09:10:43 +0000 UTC
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It´s the start of day three and I'm using only my mana to observe my surroundings. The reach becomes much smaller and the cost of keeping it up is annoying, so I take some mana from the mana batteries I have on me, feeding it to the skill. Efficiency isn't as good as my own mana, but it helps me to keep my own reserves as high as possible.
I still haven't touched the Mana Reservoir, and the thermal orb I have prepared is half full.
That's when monsters able to hide their mana sig...
2023-11-21 09:10:23 +0000 UTC
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Two days later the time comes and I start getting ready for the second trial. The farewells are short. Everyone in group 4 already knows about Beyond, some a bit more, others less, so there is no need for an explanation.
Biscuit gives me a nice piece of glass that he still thinks is the same as the Mana stones they use here as currency. He also gives me a few pieces of dried deer meat.
Isabella somehow isn't petty and just hugs me and wishes me luck.
The boys are the boys, s...
2023-11-20 08:22:51 +0000 UTC
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