Luke stood face to face with Bartholomew. Every nerve screamed at him to strike. End it here, end it now, one clean kill in front of everyone. His hands twitched with the urge to draw steel, to carve through flesh. But reason clamped down hard. Madness. To attack here would unleash chaos, Bastion’s most dangerous fighters descending at once. Allison and Mason would be dragged into the crossfire, and worst of all, the mission would collapse. They wouldn’t even reach the first mechanism.
2025-09-08 19:05:33 +0000 UTC
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Mason walked arm in arm with Lucy toward the fortress gates. His pulse refused to settle, and he couldn’t tell whether the nerves came from the mission itself, or from the stunning woman clinging to his side.
This woman is really Luke?
Even after being warned, he still had to ask, just to hear it confirmed.
“Lu-Lucy?” Mason ventured.
“Yes, darling, I’m Lucy. Did you forget my name?” she replied with a radiant smile.
His heart lurched. Mason s...
2025-09-08 18:21:06 +0000 UTC
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Luke stood outside the well, training again. He had to practice shifting into mist while still in female form. The last thing they needed was for him to materialize as a man in the middle of a dress, or worse, a maid outfit. If that happened during the banquet, Allison wouldn’t be able to bail him out by triggering the necklace’s enchantment.
And honestly… he really didn’t want anyone seeing him as a guy dressed like that.
“What is it, human?” Franky’s voice hissed a...
2025-09-07 19:37:16 +0000 UTC
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Bastion’s celebration loomed ever closer. Mason had secured entry to the event, along with an invitation that listed Luke as his companion. Jack, meanwhile, had been slipping through alleys to their hideout, leaving bundles of supplies in an abandoned house nearby. Evangeline insisted on the precaution: if anyone trailed him, they wouldn’t trace the goods back to the group.
Inside the fortress, the Haven folk who had remained behind worked steadily on repairs. They patched cracks in...
2025-09-07 19:35:24 +0000 UTC
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In that room, all eyes were on Luke: Mason, Evangeline, Jack, and Allison. They all knew the truth. The key to escaping the tutorial was completing this mission. There wouldn’t be another chance to enter Bastion, not without a full scale war and the loss of countless lives.
Luke’s gaze dropped to Allison’s hand, where the gender shifting necklace glimmered faintly. He sat in silence, elbows on his knees, weighing the risks. No one spoke. They just waited. Finally, Luke raised his ...
2025-09-07 06:38:40 +0000 UTC
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Luke sat cross-legged on the forest floor, eyes closed, body still. Calm washed through him, that rare inner state he had trained himself to reach whenever the faint spark of insight stirred. In that space, he could shift perspective, turn problems on their side, see them from angles he wouldn’t otherwise. He didn’t just imagine his own moves, he placed himself in the mind of the enemy, trying to simulate their thoughts, their reactions, their fears.
His mind wandered through every ...
2025-09-07 06:07:25 +0000 UTC
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Eleanor was still confined to her quarters in Bastion. Since the incident with Kruger, she had lost even the pretense of freedom. The last time she’d seen him, his backhand had sent her into darkness, her cheekbone splitting under the blow, her body crumpling as the world faded. When she woke, the fortress walls had become her cage.
From then on, she was treated less like an officer and more like a problem no one knew how to solve. Her record of loyalty complicated matters; she had pr...
2025-09-06 01:57:35 +0000 UTC
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The chamber inside the fortress was dim, lit only by torches along the stone walls. A map sprawled across the heavy oak table, its edges held down by daggers and half-empty cups. The air smelled of smoke and steel, and every face around the table carried the weight of too many sleepless nights.
Jack slowly raised his hand. The movement was hesitant, almost timid, but it drew every eye in the room. He actually had an idea, an idea that might get them into Bastion without sparking a war.<...
2025-09-05 23:54:58 +0000 UTC
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The first night in the fortress had passed, and the group now faced a grim reality. They would have to infiltrate Bartholomew’s stronghold, a fortress rooted deep in the heart of the first Safe Zone, guarded by a force far larger, better trained, and far more organized than anything they had.
The so-called army of Haven barely reached eighty people, while Bastion held close to four hundred within its walls. Not all were soldiers, but that hardly mattered. Bastion had years’ worth of...
2025-09-04 18:31:03 +0000 UTC
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After testing Charlie’s Spectral Soldier skill for a while, Luke returned to the fortress. He had uncovered a few things about the power, and some of them were worth noting. The summoning cost was 500 mana. Charlie had nearly two thousand, but that didn’t mean she could call forth four versions of General Morvat. The skill only allowed one. And after a while, the summon dispersed.
Luke still wanted to push the limits in combat, find out what happened if Morvat was actually killed, o...
2025-09-04 18:15:53 +0000 UTC
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The fortress was buzzing with activity, plans being drawn, duties assigned. In only a few minutes Jack had somehow turned into a minor celebrity, everyone fawning over the fact that he was a healer. Luke didn’t stick around for long. Instead, he wandered through the stone halls until he found a chamber on the upper floors.
It was a noble’s room, once luxurious, though now draped in dust and carrying the faint scent of mildew. Sturdy furniture carved from fine wood still stood in pla...
2025-09-04 17:59:10 +0000 UTC
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Several undead roamed the Wild Zone, their guttural cries echoing through the ruined trees. A small horde, maybe ten in total, shambled straight toward the armored woman, Charlie. She didn’t bother fighting seriously. They were weak, far weaker than a Midnight Warden. Charlie sprinted forward, letting a few lazy strikes glance off her armor before raising her hand toward one of them.
[Mark of Doom activated]
Only she could see it: a faint, crimson seal blazing over her chosen ta...
2025-09-04 06:02:19 +0000 UTC
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Luke sat inside the crumbling shell of a house. Hours had passed since Charlie’s massive leap in levels, and so much had happened that he hadn’t had a chance to stop and check her updated stats, let alone the new skills she had unlocked.
Her system interface was cluttered with notifications, but one stood out above the rest: new skill options. He had talked with Charlie about choosing them. From what it seemed, she had already looked through the list and only one had caught her inte...
2025-09-02 21:51:42 +0000 UTC
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During the time Luke had been away, he worried that his bond with Allison might have grown cold. They’d barely had a moment to talk since reuniting, on the very night they were thrown into the assault on the second fortress. But seeing her now, hearing her voice, he felt a quiet relief. She was still herself.
Only this time, her expression hardened. What she was about to say touched on wounds from her past and, at the same time, on the powers that ruled the world itself, the World Gov...
2025-09-02 21:27:32 +0000 UTC
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A trusted group from Haven had stayed behind in the Safe Zone while the others went to claim the fortress and activate the mechanism. Their job was simple but crucial: to find out if the people in the first Safe Zone had also received a notification about the second mechanism being activated. If they had, then Bartholomew already knew, and that meant they would have to prepare for the worst.
Half their fighters were injured, healing potions were gone, and everyone was still worn down fr...
2025-09-02 21:03:50 +0000 UTC
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In Luke’s hand rested a black blade, the steel so dark it seemed to drink the light around it. Even so, its surface was flawless, polished to the point he could see his own reflection staring back at him. The weapon carried a supernatural weight, heavier than it had any right to be. It wasn’t compatible with his class, nor did it align with his attributes. For an assassin, it was useless. But this sword wasn’t meant for him. It was meant for Charlie.
[Midnight Sword (Ultra...
2025-09-02 20:44:45 +0000 UTC
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A meeting was underway in one of the private chambers of the second fortress. Only Haven’s leaders were present—and Luke. The table was cluttered with hand-drawn maps, and the voices around it carried more heat than patience.
“I think we should focus on this. Forget rebuilding houses and patching up the fortress. What we need is lumber,” Quinn argued.
“Are you insane?” Miranda shot back. “You want to bring children here, let them live in rubble, surrounded by monster...
2025-09-02 20:21:52 +0000 UTC
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The system message signaling the end of the event had just faded from Luke’s vision when Evangeline emerged through the gap in the fortress wall. Her eyes first locked on the massive pit of bubbling liquid, then on the corpse of the Warden Captain. What remained was nothing but a tall husk, stripped of armor, stripped of sword, headless, reduced to a rotting carcass.
“Eight years,” she whispered, her voice tight with emotion. “Eight cursed years trapped in this place. And now, a...
2025-09-02 20:05:04 +0000 UTC
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Luke had lured the Warden Captain through the fortress halls, pulling him along like prey in a hunt. When he reached the right spot, he loosed an arrow loaded with stamina. The blast tore open a breach in the wall, and in the next heartbeat he shoved the monster through the freshly carved hole. They both plummeted. Not into the courtyard lawn, but into a deep pit, dug out by him and Charlie. Loose soil gave way beneath their bodies, the crash rattling the earth.
The original plan had be...
2025-09-01 01:51:40 +0000 UTC
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The Captain’s roar shook the stone walls, and then he charged. His sword arced high, a blow meant to crush the Haven’s shield wall into splinters. The soldiers locked formation in front of Allison, shields braced for impact. But the strike never landed. The silence stretched just long enough for dread to take hold. When the shields lowered, every eye widened. Luke was standing at the very front, holding back the Captain’s blade with nothing but a single kukri.
“Well, idiots,” ...
2025-09-01 01:46:02 +0000 UTC
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Allison tore through the fortress corridors. She was the first to cross the gate, not because she knew the way, but because someone had to be the symbol of courage pulling everyone forward.
Evangeline quickly moved to the front, flanked by archers. Unlike Allison, she knew every inch of this place; she had once lived in Bastion. The maps she had drawn for Haven came from that past. Now, that knowledge was the thread holding the group together.
“There!” Evangeline shouted, poin...
2025-09-01 01:33:03 +0000 UTC
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Allison stayed in one of the houses near Evangeline’s hideout. There was no way that many people could climb down the well and cram into her little room, so they had set up camp here instead. It was close to the wall, snow falling heavily outside, the air sharp with cold. Inside, though, the real chill came from the constant arguments.
“Are we seriously going to protect that bastard?” Gilbert asked, his hand tight around the hatchet he carried.
Luke had been dragged into the...
2025-08-30 03:36:33 +0000 UTC
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Luke understood where she was going with this. “Someone with three epic skills… could go very far in the tutorial. Well, two epic skills, plus that extra rank skill”
“That’s exactly why I want as many people as possible at that level of power. For the challenges ahead, it’s practically mandatory. How do you expect us to get through the third mechanism event, and then the castle, if we’re dragging weaklings along? Epic skills are how we’ll dominate this tutorial.”
2025-08-30 03:08:34 +0000 UTC
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Evangeline explained the concept of limits to Luke. It wasn’t exactly a level cap, but something tied to the rank of his race. Since they were both still at Rank F, the ceiling was clear: Race Level capped at 50, Class Level at 60, and Profession Level at 60. No matter how many monsters he slaughtered or how many acres of farmland he cultivated, he wouldn’t gain a single point of experience beyond that.
“This is bullshit!” He shot to his feet, pacing furiously across the room. ...
2025-08-28 18:50:59 +0000 UTC
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Luke followed Evangeline as they left that stretch of forest behind. They climbed back up through the ruins and made their way toward the city. Her hideout was farther than he expected. Instead of heading deeper into the Wild Zone toward the capital, they had to circle back toward the Safe Zone and then skirt its walls, continuing forward without ever stepping inside. Even as he trailed her, he never let his guard down. Every step could still be leading him into a trap.
“You really di...
2025-08-28 18:07:55 +0000 UTC
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In the dim glow of the street, the ninja woman stood before him. The dark fabric of her clothes seemed to drink in the light of the distant torches. In one hand, she flicked a fan open and shut with lazy precision, as if bored by the tension weighing down the air.
“Evangeline?” Luke’s voice was low, wary. He had heard that name before, from Angelica herself. The memory struck sharp now, like an echo from the past.
She stepped forward. Her eyes were half-lidded, playful spark...
2025-08-27 19:54:15 +0000 UTC
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Night had fallen, but Luke hadn’t stepped into the fortress. No one from Bastion had come after him either, which was strange. Still, it gave him time to do what he always did before facing something new: train.
Delaying the mission meant sharpening himself and, more importantly, preparing Princess Charlie. She needed to master Force Infusion. If she was going to duel the Warden Captain, she had to be ready for it. Luke passed her on the training grounds. Charlie was hacking at rocks,...
2025-08-27 19:31:02 +0000 UTC
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Luke stood inside the second fortress of the mechanism, though not in the central stronghold itself. He had chosen one of the side courtyards, the only part of the compound where the ground wasn’t paved over in solid concrete. After escaping the Safe Zone, he had come straight here. Time was already pressing against him. They were probably still hunting for him back in the Safe Zone, and this was the only window of opportunity he’d get.
He was digging. Both he and Charlie. A wide, d...
2025-08-26 17:06:29 +0000 UTC
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Kruger raised his blades, ready to finish the kill. And then the whistle split the air. Everything happened at once. The phantom assassin li
Kruger raised his blades, ready to finish the kill. And then the whistle split the air. Everything happened at once. The phantom assassin lifted his weapons, just in time to take a hit to the shoulder. His scream tore through the rooftop as he staggered back. At that exact instant, Luke surged forward, a kukri carving a brutal horizontal arc that s...
2025-08-25 15:36:50 +0000 UTC
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Luke stood atop a stone structure, the cold afternoon wind cutting across his face. From up there, he could see them clearly: assassins spre
Luke stood atop a stone structure, the cold afternoon wind cutting across his face. From up there, he could see them clearly: assassins spreading across the rooftops, forming a perfect ring around him. He was surrounded.
If he tried to escape over the rooftops, they would close in from every side. If he dropped into the streets, he’d be not...
2025-08-25 11:02:01 +0000 UTC
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