Kernoel77

Chapter 196: Days going By

Chapter 196: Days going By

Daryel and Mercury were forced to watch three more hunts, two of which ended in blood, and one in the granting of a boon. It was a young adult, maybe in his mid twenties, who won, bloodied and bruised. He, an orc, asked to be granted power over the earth, and so he was to be taught some magic, then returned to Chronagen.

After those hunts were over, more minor ones happened, but the big spectacles were done. Mercury could leave. The winners wo...

Chapter 91: History Lesson

She smiled, faintly, then gave a small bow towards me, though as she did so, her eyes flitted over the rest of our party. “Your guild, Dawn of Ambition, may listen as well, of course. It may be a bit rude of me not to greet you all individually, but I can assure you, your services are valued. Please indulge an old lady for a while.”

“It’s no trouble, really, archmage,” Marie said.

The old lady smiled at her, too, then turned back to me. “So, then. About the war… wher...

Chapter 90: Archmage Saif Zolycc

“One way to break the news, eh?” Matt joked when we were outside later. 

I snorted. “Seriously?” 

He sighed, giving half a shake of his head. “Nah. I’m not the one who broke anything.”

“Pfft,” I said, then pinched his cheek. “Listen here, brat, don’t you speak to me like that.”

“Or whaa?” he asked, his words coming out muffled with me holding onto him.

“Or I’ll shake you down for your lunch money.”

H...

Chapter 195: Bloodsports

Chapter 195: Bloodsports

Mercury would have preferred a third day of challenges over what was happening.

There was no breakfast on his fourth day in the fae realm. Instead, they headed downstairs to find the main hall had shifted into an arena. It would be a day for blood sports and betting.

Unsurprisingly, Mercury did not, in fact, enjoy that practice. He had been moderately okay with it in human cities, since it was more of a profession for adventurers to train ...

Chapter 89: Decisions, Decisions.

“There’s an eclipse coming.” 

It was starting to feel like that sentence was one of the heaviest strings of words I’d had to say in my life. On par with “I can’t come to school, I’m attending my brother’s funeral.” and “You can’t come over, my dad is drunk off his rocker right now.”

But this time, the reaction was none of the awkward stumbling I usually got as a reply. Instead, there was a heavy silence hanging over our group.

The inn around us w...

Chapter 194: A Statement

Chapter 194: A Statement

Mercury met Orvyn again in one of the domes meant for challenges. Ethereal light enveloped the world around them, cutting them off from the other fae. 

The heir of Blossom smiled, a ferocious, wild expression. “What will it be first, Mercury? Truthfulness or trust?”

“Truth,” Mercury said. It was always a better choice than dare.

“Do I get to ask first?” Orvyn replied, and once he nodded, she asked faer first question...

Chapter 88: Tavern Time

I stood in front of the door to mine and Ann’s room for too long before I finally worked up the courage to knock. My knuckles tapped against the wood exactly once, then the door swung open before I could tap it again.

Ann stood in front of me. She’d swapped out her mage robes for a purple, slightly baggy shirt and black pajama shorts. Her red eyes were as vibrant as ever, and her short hair dark from what seemed like a recent wash.

“Uh, hey,” I said, smiling at her. I felt...

Chapter 193: Bonds

Chapter 193: Bonds

The dinner went about as well as he expected. Multiple of the heirs came up to him again, though this time more pensively. The snake didn’t show its face this time, too embarrassed to do so. Asher, however, didn’t have that luxury.

Mercury faced the fae rather early into the dinner. Apparently, the fae of fire had seen the beginnings of their friendship drag out long enough. Though they had to wait a while. Lady Whisperblossom was currently taking...

Chapter 87: Respite

‘What do you mean there is an eclipse?!’

[The information you paid for has been delivered. Your contribution is not significant enough to acquire additional intel. Please vacate the altar for interaction by other users.]

Rage. ‘Jam, you can’t just say that and then fucking blow me off.’

[Please vacate the altar for interaction by other users.]

‘An eclipse?? And you’re telling me I can’t leave?!’

[Please vacate the altar for interaction by other ...

Chapter 192: Shadowshaping

Luckily, Mercury’s mind was built to withstand blows far harder than those. Having a whole new way to perceive the world, alongside the memories on how to interpret those signals certainly was unusual, but it had happened to him before.

After being briefly stunned, Mercury shifted his ystirs. His imagination crumbled, leaving the contest area empty for use by others. With a lot of self control, he managed to walk stably out of the small arena. 

All the while, ...

Chapter 86: Status Update

My next swing, with my halfway ruined body would not have cut as deeply as my last one. To make up for the difference, I charged enormous amounts of mirror Qi through my body, blasting through another quarter of my resources. 

The gold extending from the tip of my spear turned into a radiant glaive, then the glass underneath my skin shifted. It felt like there was a mirror of myself, some alternate version, always a handful of steps ahead. Like I was strung along by a faster, bette...

Chapter 191: Systematic Dealing and Duels

Chapter 191: Systematic Dealing and Duels

Status:

Mercury Rainfall Starlight

Level: 7 -> 15

Species: Srytfyel

Titles: <Successor>, <Star Usurper>, <Trialist>, <Patient Learner>, <Mountain Usurper>, <Tenacious Genius>, <Forest Usurper>, <Tutorial Completer>

Alias: Beast, Mittens, dum-dum, Yr’Enzel

===

Hp: 349/950

Mp: 1020/1020

Sp: 597/597

===

Strength: 118 (+5...

Chapter 190: Political Maneuvering

Chapter 190: Political Maneuvering

Sadly, Arber didn’t have much more information on the seats of the empty thrones. They didn’t know how many there were, or their names. They had been scrubbed off any record, including the memories of people. 

That’s why they were the empty thrones - no one sat on them. No one had sat on them, ever. Yet, it was the fae realm’s worst kept secret that they were, of course, occupied. Then why still bother calling the...

Chapter 85: Worming through the Sky

Fighting on unfamiliar terrain, generally, was a poor idea. In this case, however, most of the terrain was flat. The forest around the city had been cut away in order to see enemies when approaching, and not give monsters breeding grounds.

This also meant that the city guard saw us coming. It was a strange feeling, my perspective shifting as I mobbed. It was quite a long, uncomfortable run, too. More of a jog, given that the Edians had to keep up. 

Despite that, it took some ...

Chapter 84: Preparations

That day certainly wasn’t coming anytime soon, though. For now, I was busy trying to keep myself from dying. I used my Qi to copy some healing patterns from the twins as well, when they used it on the other refugees, though the Divinity did a large chunk of the work, and thus my imitations didn’t work nearly as well.

Knitting flesh back together was unbelievably complex, after all. That was why healing was usually within the realm of Divinity. Different types of tissue demanded diff...

Chapter 189: A more close than near death experience

Chapter 189: A more close than near death experience

Mercury awoke on a soft bed that was entirely torn up. He had moved and thrashed in his dream, even manifesting the Dream of Starvation. The Blanket of Dreams was still entirely intact, of course, given its high grade, but the bed itself was horribly damaged.

He didn’t have the capacity to feel bad - really, he barely even registered it. The world swam. His ears rang. He could barely feel himself. There were boxes i...

Chapter 83: Qi Control

I was woken up by a tap on my nose from Ann. My meditation had most certainly ended up with me drifting into sleep. Which… wasn’t the point, but at the end of the day, circulating Qi was mentally exhausting, so it was only really a matter of time.

“Oh, good. You’re thinking again,” Ann chimed in with a smile. 

Hearing her voice, I took a moment to focus on the present again - and immediately regretted it.

Every single bit of my body hurt and complained. My bon...

Chapter 188: Unwelcome Guest

Chapter 188: Unwelcome Guest

Mercury dreamt. He’d known it would happen the moment he fell asleep. The connection to the realm within his mind was there, and he reached out for it purposefully, wanting to go there. It felt closer, yet more distant, a strange kind of dissonance in his heart.

But he arrived. In that same place, the fields of verdant grass, waving in the wind. There was a citadel of fire to the north, a castle of glass to the west, a fountain of water to...

Chapter 82: Alive

My Qi was empty. The snake woman was still alive, though she was currently held down by all members of our party. Then, though, she suddenly sunk into the floor, vanishing into the shadows.

A moment later, as my vision turned red and my world tipped onto its side, I saw Liam, too, lose cohesion and turn into a black blob.

Then, for a bit, the world was filled with dancing shadows and bestial howls. I saw claws and fangs and horrid monstrosities in the darkness.

The fight las...

Chapter 187: A Glimpse of Quiet

Chapter 187: A Glimpse of Quiet

What Mercury found out during his first day in the fae realm, was that fae liked to party. The gathering, which originally looked more like a ball, turned more and more towards poor behaviour.

The fae were trying to get themselves intoxicated, pushing their shells to the very limit they could sustain - it didn’t matter after all. If the shell perished, they needed to create a new one. It’d take mana and time, but what kind of price wa...

Chapter 81: Effort

An attack from a raindrop and the shadows. The first used water to fight, probably. Maybe even rain. The other was shadow or mud, it was almost impossible to tell the difference in that split second, and both would allow them to step through the muddy, dark ground beneath me.

Bending my Qi, I forced my torso backward, barely evading the knife coming at my face and watching it sail through where my head had just been. I saw the silhouette of the man who swung it, a gruff human covered in...

Chapter 80: Calm

The fish were a bit dark by the time we took them off the fire. Liam devoured one of them, all on his own, while everyone else shared the second. I refused any bite of it, though I did eat quite a few of Marie’s roots.

My body could sustain itself for longer than the others, and from a more dire diet by now. My endurance was probably the highest of the party, so I could reasonably eat tree bark by now, too. As long as it wasn’t too poisonous.

Additionally, my body was...

Chapter 186: Mellow’s Desperation

Chapter 186: Mellow’s Desperation

The effect of his name was almost immediate. It resonated with the fae realm differently than other things had. Hospitality itself was deeply ingrained in the fae, a concept each of them abided by. They respected it, enough for the world itself to take that respect and amplify it.

But his name? It was nothing like that. There was not a single fae out there that held association or belief in his name. Why would they, after all? None of...

Chapter 79: Campsite

Each and every step through the damned forest along the damned stream was agony.

I desperately clung to my spear with both hands, barely keeping upright, only by expending almost as much Qi as my wellspring made. The wound the icicle had torn into my side reopened, not just once, but five separate times.

With each damned reopening, new flashes of pain wracked my shivering body. My muscles were worn down by the enlightenment I had grasped on the cusp of death, too, so they...

Chapter 185: Careful Conversing

Chapter 185: Careful Conversing

Celash was difficult to read, honestly. Mainly due to the shifting features. Still, Mercury felt like he could at least somewhat understand the fae’s intentions by monitoring their aura. The panther-like figure was wrapped in a dark haze to Mercury’s mind, which spoke of decay. He was almost tempted to ask for the fae’s age, but decided against it for now.

Instead, he simply settled for a nod. It was important to find himself allies...

Chapter 78: Wellsprings

For a single moment, time remained frozen. The heat in my chest bloomed, my two cores suddenly growing searing hot, sending waves of agony through my broken body, until, with a pop in my ears, they suddenly changed.

The searing heat collapsed into two singularities, then suddenly froze, as an icy chill spread from those two locations. A moment later, the freezing cold turned into an invigorating, cool breeze, blowing away the absolute agony from the heat.

And that same instant, Qi...

Chapter 77: Precipice of Death

Olivia grinned, pushing her sword just a little closer to my face. “Seems like it, spear-bitch.” Her teeth seemed almost sharp.

Briefly, I wondered how she was standing in front of me. I broke her leg. And her sword. Yet, there she was. Zinnic. Sponsorship must’ve included healing and weapon replacements.

“Where’s the rest of your little party?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

“None of your business, is it?” she asked right back.

Then I opened my mouth to spe...

Chapter 184: Strange Shapes

Chapter 184: Strange Shapes

Mercury stepped through the doorway, keeping his face neutral. As soon as he and his guide were through, the opening snapped shut behind them.

In the fae realm, the atmosphere was different. The air felt frigid, hostile even. His instincts told him to be on guard, and with every new gaze landing on him, <Intuition> rang more alarm bells.

Alice, too, joined them, not through Tiranor’s gateway, though; she simply appeared in the a...

Chapter 76: Marching for Food

The damage was done.

Despite the fact that there was a huge attack on the city, there were still monsters in the trees. Bornins hassled us, and I could barely supply the effort to lift my spear and kill them. Matt still held onto his sword. He would raise it, then send out a blast of pink petals.

He barely controlled his power. Sometimes, the petals would leave gashes, other times, he straight evaporated the upper bodies of the monsters. Each time, I saw that bloody glint in his e...

Chapter 183: A Shift in Perspective

Chapter 183: A Shift in Perspective

Mercury started at Alice after she brokered the news to him. He blinked a few times, then took a deep breath.

“What, exactly, does this mean?” he asked after a few moments of consideration.

Alice gave a crooked smile. “It means, for now, that you’ll be challenged. Now, of course, you haven’t usurped gluttony itself, luckily for you. Because if you had, that would have caused much more trouble. Though the current holder...