Battleforged

Chapter 154 - No Doubt About It, They're Definitely Getting Bigger

To his credit, Sam said nothing when Eric returned, perhaps far earlier than expected, and immediately settled in his corner of the room to meditate, then sleep.

But the boy was certainly no fool.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sam tentatively asked when Eric woke up exactly 4 hours later, feeling bright-eyed and utterly refreshed, his mind already blazing like he had two cups of coffee and an hour’s meditation, the moment he woke up.

Eric flashed a rueful ...

Chapter 153 - Putting Everything On The Line

"How are you feeling, buddy?” Eric asked Samuel after presenting him with a plate full of grilled pork cutlets, a recipe Eric was getting an awful lot of practice at perfecting.

His friend smiled, digging into the meat. “Much better now, thanks.” He pointed at the cultivation tome. “Just going over it again. Even if I don’t have a full set of seven meridian channels, all it takes is a few intact meridian gates to benefit from cycling Qi and infusing my body with spi...

Chapter 152 - Accepting One's Limitations

Eric glared in the direction of the boar that fled before claiming both javelin and fallen tusker, quickly squelching the impulse to give chase as he raced to a still dazed Samuel’s side.

He shook his head as his guts twisted with anxiety. Because unlike himself, a classer with inherent regeneration, sure to recover from any wound, that concussive blast could have done all sorts of awful things to his young, fragile friend. God forbid he was suffering internal bleeding, or ...

Chapter 151 - A Necromancer's Lessons

Samuel gave Eric the strangest look when he came back, equal parts relief and worry.

“What’s up, Sam?” Eric said, painting on his friendliest smile.

The young man flinched and stepped back.

Eric blinked. "Sam, what's wrong?"

Sam gave an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, Eric. It’s just that, well… shit. You look pretty damn intense, if you know what I mean.”

Eric took a slow breath, trying to center himself. “Sorry about that. I got a bit cocky ...

Chapter 150 - Let's Skill Up What We're Good At!

Samuel chuckled. “Okay, enough of this moping about bullshit. Let’s focus on what we already know you’re damned good at!”

Eric smirked. “Which would be...”

“Necromancy, duh! Now hold out your arm. Time for us to work on storage tattoos.”

Eric’s brows rose at this, soon coming to learn that necromancers stored both the soul pattern and massive amount of potency they’d need to animate their chosen vessels by either using priceless soul gems, even...

Chapter 149 - Bittersweet Revelations

When Eric woke up completely refreshed four hours later, ears still ringing from the scream he had felt clawing the back of his throat… before firmly calming his racing heart, wiping free his sweaty palms, and slamming the terror and fury seeping through his subconscious firmly behind the door of ‘past shit that’s over and done with’… the first thing he did was go over his notes, having taken full advantage of the spiral notebook and pencils Samuel had on him without a li...

Chapter 148 - Fortifying My Home

“Sam?”

The boy winced, flashing an apologetic grimace. “Yeah, I shouldn’t have tossed it. It’s just that the bloody thing pisses me off!” The boy’s fists clenched with frustration. “I can’t tell you the number of hours I spent trying to get a handle on mastering my breathing, meditating, sitting in the lotus position, horse-shoe stance, a dozen other body positions my mentor taught me!” He flashed a bitter smile. “My very human, very well-read mentor who...

Chapter 147 - A Manual To Kill For

Sam took Eric’s silent smile as an invitation to continue, so he did just that. “Of course, most people still have to start as Conscripts, just to rank up their stats and skills to whatever they plan on graduating into. And if you have anyone in your immediate family who survived the pods, you’re more than 50% likely to survive yourself, even if you don’t have any other exceptional experience or skill. We learned that much already. Grandfather hasn’t been idle these past ...

Chapter 146 - So, Why Not Become A Necromancer?

Sam perked up at Eric’s question, his eyes lighting up as he spoke about what was clearly a favorite topic. “Great question, Eric. Forging zombies involve runes and enchantments placed on a subject to both preserve it, infuse it with netherworld energies, and control it once it's inhabited by a fresh spirit under your dominion. Most often, though not always, the spirit inhabiting the flesh puppet is, in fact, the original soul. You could pretty much say it's possessing itself! ...

Chapter 145 - Unexpected Admirers

Eric wasted no time, quickly clearing clearing the now absolutely clogged cavern entrance, surprised to find he had no problem at all storing what was rapidly approaching fifty massive boars, including a greater crocodilian spirit beast. Was it because of how much essence was infused in the spirit beasts’ flesh? He really wasn’t certain. But if earning not one but two Adept tier ranks in a single day was any indication, there was a hell of a lot. Even if he had been just a hair...

Chapter 144 - Fighting For Our Lives

Having paused only long enough to claim the beast’s remains and what he sensed was a core radiating fearsomely potent spiritual energy, Eric was hit with a fresh wave of anxiety with each furious squeal he heard in the distance as he raced back to the shelter for all he was worth.

He could only hope that the frustrated squeals were because the boy had been smart enough to reestablish the ward without waiting for him. Even if it cost them potency that the boy didn’t have t...

Chapter 143 - Boss Battle Time!

Eric winced with sympathy for the desperate urgency he heard in the kid’s voice as he approached the cavern entrance. “I’d be happy to,” Eric said. “But you’ve got a giant skeletalized tusker out here, not to mention a blood-warded fence, and I’d rather avoid tearing up your defenses if I can help it.”

A pregnant pause, then the pain-filled grunts of someone struggling to right themselves. “Yes, Yes! Hold on one second. Pray hold, don’t leave, not yet, aah...

Chapter 142 - Sole Survivor

Eric closed his eyes, using his Infravision to try to detect any human shaped form that might, by some miracle, be successfully hiding in some tree house shelter, successfully surviving stampedes of warthogs without dying of hunger or thirst.

But all he sensed was the entire forest ablaze with what he knew to be spiritual fire. The essence of Flame. In some tiny way, mirroring his own essence. Which, he thought, was pretty cool.

But it did nothing to help him find a way...

Chapter 141 - Portals, Flame, and the glories of Adept Ascension.

Eric opened his eyes with a gasp, heart pounding as he found himself balanced upon the bow of the most magnificent peach tree he could imagine, a cathedral of branches bowing over his head to provide verdant shade against the fiercely blazing sun, and upon each branch were countless globes of essence and flame and delicious succulent peach flesh.

Calling out to him with beads of nectar and fiery spiritual energy caressing each succulent fruit.

Eric flinched and hissed, ...

Chapter 140 - A Mystic Realm Revealed

As much as it served a bittersweet balm to his pain, sensing more than a few combat skills finally ready to rank up, Eric knew better than to waste time, just barely holding back from instinctively flipping his kills into an ES Space he knew needed more time to recover. Much more, if he wanted it to bounce back stronger than ever.

Instead he did a quick scan, looking for the best of his opponent’s gear, carefully securing what looked like an extremely deadly arcane blaster ...

Chapter 139 - Conflict Resolution

Crimson light flaring so brightly highlighted both Eric’s desperate peril, and the possibility of his own salvation.

“Morlekai! Do you spot three reds!?”

“Yes! My murder is ready to strike!”

“Don’t!” Eric urged, jolted by a sudden panicked certainty that if Morlekai dared that… he might lose his friend forever. “Just one scout over the head of whoever’s holding the magic wand or blaster!”

His heart was pounding.

It was all he co...

Chapter 138 - Execution Order

“Eric, we’re here.”

Eric flashed a hard smile when the crow pointed his beak at the entrance to the closest rift open to the adventuring public, though not surprisingly, the crackling portal was free of spectators, adventurers or any other sort of personnel, since it was 3 in the morning. And as much as it might be pure psychology, adventurers, according to Morlekai, tended to only want to delve if they could come out to a bright sunny day after daring the deeps.

...

Chapter 137 - Warning My Friends To Watch Their Backs

Much to his relief, he found a handful of crimson crows waiting for him on the other side of the final gate, one furtively looking all around before dropping a tiny silver key Eric made quick use of, finding himself in a rickety shed on a tiny farm a short distance from Freetown.

…. cawed the crow now perched on his shoulder.

Eric smirked, pointing to his ear, not having heard a word.

Morlekai has accepted party invite!

“You’re something e...