LiseEclaire

Minor Delay

Apologies for the inconsistencies :(

Doing doctor's visits again this week.

Will try to get 2 chapters today

Lise

Leveling up the World (Chapter 700)

It turned out that Dallion was lucky, at least when it came to the direction. Using combat splitting, he gave Lux instructions to fly in dozens of directions, then return in precisely two seconds. Since the firebird didn’t have anyone to worry about, it managed to do just that and told Dallion of a series of obelisks further ahead. From what Dallion understood, there was a whole cluster of them—four, at the very least.

After over an hour of cautious flying, the obelisks became visib...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 699)

Aether chains flew in all directions. This time, a mere three scarabisks were caught by the spell. It was outright scary how fast the creatures had found the spell’s weakness. While their initial attempts to destroy the chains had failed, the new approach of summoning chunks of stone in immediate proximity created more than an adequate decoy.

The summoning had reminded Dallion of the ingot bombardment he had done when fighting the guardian of his Vermillion ring. All that was needed f...

Leveling up the World Chapter 698

Cheska and Iksa stood side by side, casting spells non-stop. Iska focused on the attack, sending magic projectiles at the constantly approaching scarabisks, while Cheska maintained the group’s defenses, constantly putting up magic barriers at the right times at the right spots. Dallion took on a dual role: flying outside of the berries and destroying the creatures with spark attacks—a task that seemed far more difficult than it seemed.

Back when he was a hunter, Dallion had fought m...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 696)

Being by the mass of a giant jellyfish—even If within a barrier bubble—hadn’t gone well with the rest of the group. Now that it was over Dallion found it hilarious, but everyone else was quietly seething. Since the path to the next stage of the trial was clear, none of them voiced their thoughts, but they didn’t have to—the blobs of emotions were there for Dallion to see. Thankfully, since they were children, the emotion quickly faded away once something else was brought up to focus...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 696)

Finding the proper words to apologize for a friendly fire attack was never easy, especially after doing a few hundred of them. Dallion kept on flying alongside the jellyfish, keeping his hands clearly in view. He had no idea how the creature was able to see, but given that it had a perception trait, it had its ways. Furthermore, the way it changed direction to deliberately avoid him only confirmed his suspicions.

Learning to communicate with it was no joke eater. In the past, Dallion ha...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 695)

Dallion’s initial fear was that upon gathering near the obelisk, the group would be attacked by the ever-elusive creatures. That turned out not to be the case. The emotions he could sense with his music skills remained just as distant, even if they were markedly stronger.

The strange thing was that no one seemed to be doing anything remotely useful. Raven stood ten feet from the monument, observing it intensely. Phoil was sitting on the ground, playing with the shimmering deck of card...

Quod Olim Erat: Fractal Contact (Chapter 9)

Rock peeled off the dome’s surface in large chunks, like scabs of a wound. It seemed that nothing was able to attach to the surface. I had warned the team to be as delicate as possible when uncovering it, only to be told they’d taken all possible precautions. That was not entirely the case, but given the threat of Cassandrians hanging over our heads, the compromise was acceptable.

“I thought there’d be ripples,” the colonel said through comm.

“Not always. They might ap...

Quod Olim Erat: Fractal Contact (Chapter 10)

Illeva System, Cassandrian Front, 609.2 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

Second defense line collapsing, Higher Sign transmitted. All ships move to tertiary defense!

I’m too damaged to move, heavy frigate Light Sphere said.

She was one of the most experienced veterans in the group, but her age was showing. Even with eight hundred combat shuttles under her command, there was nothing she could do against thousands. The number of missiles...

The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Chapter 42)

Only three types of entities had the power to spontaneously create armies, according to Spok. The first group were forest druids. Being one with nature, they had the power to call upon all creatures of a forest and command them to charge at any intruder, village, or entire kingdoms. For the most part they kept to themselves, living far from civilization, surrounded by pristine nature.

Dungeons were the second type. They had the power to create loads of minions, provided they had enough ...

The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Chapter 43)

Many things were difficult in life: relations, bureaucracy, city planning, resource management… and being forced to cooperate with someone who had tried to destroy an entire town. There were so many holes in the gnome’s story that would make a sieve seem solid. The whole idea that the creature had spent a few weeks floating in the sky and miraculously transformed from an obsessed world conqueror to mild-mannered tinkerer was absurd. Not only that, but it went against all existing proof. W...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 694)

The new realm seemed no different from the last. The stringy trees and cone-like mountains were everywhere, along with the faint presence of emotions somewhere in the distance. Creatures were part of the challenge, as was size.

Taking a deep breath, Dallion did his usual line attack with spark. Unlike before, it was quite a while since the thread of destruction managed to cause a tear in the realm; miles by the looks of it. That finding the right portal could no longer be achieved throu...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 693)

A hamster wheel, Dallion thought. We’re stuck in a damned hamster wheel!

The concept was difficult to grasp, impossible even, until the group split in two, walking in different directions. Then, the flaws in the realm began to become obvious. While walking in their respective directions, there’d always be something that forced itself between the groups—trees, hills, anything that would keep them from seeing each other. However, it was enough for someone—in this...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 692)

In theory, multi-casting was no different than any other type of spellcraft. The principles were identical: as long as the appropriate symbols were created on an adequate frame connecting them all; the spell was supposed to work no differently than if it had been gone by one person. Having five people cast in unison, though, was as difficult as trying to draw a painting using five hands, none of which knew what the rest was doing.

Suspecting the capabilities of echoes involved, Dallion ...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 691)

ENTRANCE GUARDIAN

Species AETHER LION

Class: MAGIC

Health: 100%

Traits:

- BODY 20

- MIND 40

- PERCEPTION 40

- REACTION 40

- MAGIC 40

Skills

- ATTACK

- GUARD

- SPELLCRAFT

2023-01-31 01:44:28 +0000 UTC View Post

Quod Olim Erat: Fractal Contact (Chapter 8)

Red alert messages flashed on all walls throughout the ship. The war in our section of the front had taken a turn for the worse. While the Fleet had managed to make significant progress in one area, conquering thirteen star systems, the Cassandrians had responded in turn. Their gains were significantly fewer—two systems in total—but had moved far closer to us. According to my estimates, the chances of fighting entering our system had practically doubled. Things were still a long way off, ...

Quod Olim Erat: Fractal Contact (Chapter 9)

Rock peeled off the dome’s surface in large chunks, like scabs of a wound. It seemed that nothing was able to attach to the surface. I had warned the team to be as delicate as possible when uncovering it, only to be told they’d taken all possible precautions. That was not entirely the case, but given the threat of Cassandrians hanging over our heads, the compromise was acceptable.

“I thought there’d be ripples,” the colonel said through comm.

“Not always. They might ap...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 690)

The outside of the building had changed considerably since Dallion last saw it. Over a dozen buildings had been destroyed, deep pits surrounded by scaffolding taking their place. What was weird, though, was how little everyone cared. Looking at the buzzing mess of people, one would say the Academy had always been like this. The only difference was the presence of the White Eye, who seemed to be out in force, flying over the city in groups of two.

“So, this is why my pass was revoked?�...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 689)

“Hey.” Phoil grinned. An annoying smugness emanated from him, drowning all other sounds that Dallion’s music skills were able to detect.

Without any regard for the rest, he sat down on the table, leaning on it with both elbows.

“Him?” Dallion turned to Raven. “Seriously? Him?!”

“Don’t make a scene.”

If it were anyone else, people would be staring at the commotion, but given that they caused a scene more frequently than not, the other novices had com...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 688)

Boosting five levels of magic felt like drinking a ton of energy drinks. The first thing Dallion wanted to do after he and Raven rushed out of the vertex cage storage room was to get a nap before tonight’s challenge. However, that was the least thing he could do. The increased magic felt more like adrenalin. Dallion tried to spend the pent-up energy in his realm, but even after getting exhausted, his stamina would rebuild in a few minutes, bringing him to the same restless state he’d been...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 687)

It wouldn’t be the first time that Dallion had snuck through the corridors of the Learning Hall. As long as he vaguely looked like he knew where he was going, no one else seemed to care. Venturing into a mage’s section was a different matter entirely.

The novice section building he and Raven were to enter was located on the crossroads of two main corridors. From a logistics point of view that made sense: it was convenient to the mages and apprentices and at the same time, as far as ...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 15 - Final)

The case was all over the media. It was almost funny how organizations who were threatening to sue each other to the ground could come out with a common statement, once each of them got what they wanted. It was also a nice plus that the perpetrator was someone who allowed everyone to save face. H-Sec was pleased they had solved the case to glowing media reception and Ellcron was happy that they’d returned their device—whatever it really was. Even the family got a nice boost: all scandals ...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 686)

The hardest thing to do was to convince a mage that someone was up to the task—any task. As Dallion quickly found out, excellence only received a passing grade. Anything less only confirmed the notion that he should stay stuck to two classes “until he could get the hang of things.” The really sad part was that in his current state, Dallion couldn’t disagree. He tried to use every trick there was to learn faster, and most of them blew back in his face. Combat splitting proved to be par...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 14)

Stakeouts were a subtle art: choosing the perfect spot, finding the best vantage point, blending the most seamlessly with the immediate environment. Even in my relatively short experience in the matter, I’d been everything from a puddle to a barrel of water. Once, I even had to hide inside a drainpipe for half a day, waiting to catch my target in a compromising position. That knowledge was useless when it came to humans. The best they could do was find obvious concealment spots and remain s...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 13)

Alcohol wasn’t really my thing. Still, there were times when I needed a reminder of how close I’d come to getting splatted. Thanks to the recent attack, the drink was more than memorable. When the chief Rune Investigator suggested that I avoid food for a while, he wasn’t kidding. The experience felt as if I’d swallowed a bucket of coral. It took Sky half an hour and a handful of charms to get me into a presentable state. Since the world had gone round about my visit to the rig, she wa...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 12)

There was a certain sense of nostalgia that came with a home, even if it was an overpriced wreck smack in the middle of a slum. I could have said that I’d had good memories in this place, but that would be a lie. If there was something that could be called a nightmare den, that was it—the place I mostly went to sleep, and since sleep meant nightmares, I avoided it just as often. Still, it had been my nightmare den, and having to leave it felt like leaving part of me behind.

“Wow.�...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 11)

“Does it hurt when you move?” Airon Galespi, the chief Rune Investigator, asked.

When a human went through an accident, or beating, they’d normally be sent to a hospital or health clinic. In the case of law enforcement, they might ask a medical examiner for assistance. Me, I was sent to the Rune Investigation unit, since they had the greatest knowledge on the subject. The whole thing was only partially awkward for everyone involved.

People at H-Sec weren’t used to having a...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 685)

Minutes passed. Dallion waited for someone, anyone, to enter the room, but there was no such luck. Given that even Cheska had gone off, the class had to be pretty useless. According to Nil, the discipline had to do with using magic to improve items adequately. The explanation had piqued Dallion’s interest, although in all honesty he would have preferred to learn more about Echo Training.

After a quarter of an hour, all noise coming from the corridor had ceased. The novices had gone to...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 10)

It wasn’t the first time someone had come to beat me up. In my line of work, it was inevitable that some of my targets weren’t especially appreciative of my efforts. Sometimes the clients weren’t either. Having people break into my home to give me a piece of their mind was unfortunate, but understandable. When someone tore down my door to get out of my house to beat me up, then I knew this was a lot more than old debts or unhappy customers.

I grabbed half a dozen charms in my pock...

Uncharted Waters (Chapter 09)

There was nothing like the metropolitan area. Every show and cheap novel did its best to describe it, frequently going over the top into the realm of the absurd. Walking along the streets, I could honestly say that the writers and show directors didn’t go far enough. There was a sense of prosperity, grandeur, and tradition in everything around. It didn’t matter that most of the buildings were a decade old, sometimes less. Looking at them, one would think that they had been a permanent fix...