LiseEclaire

Leveling up the World (Chapter 136)

Watching a person fight to escape the effects of a chainling was like watching someone try to break a really large balloon from the inside without having anything sharp at hand. Each chord Dallion played made an area of the creature’s silhouette thinner, though still not enough for its prisoner to be released.

Just a bit more, Dallion told himself as he kept on playing. Each time he pulled the strings the more emotions were exposed, allowing him to focus on the creature bette...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 135)

MINOR WOUND

Your health has decreased by 5%

Dallion winced as one of the paws stretching from the chainling’s body slashed his right side. Unable to attack him through direct means, the creature had resolved to launching strands and appendages from its body. Most of the attacks were easy to evade, but now and again some would hit, chipping away at Dallion’s health. For the first time Dallion saw what the guardians facing him must ha...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 134)

Dallion could feel the bloodlust directed towards him, yet failed to see any creature. It was as if an invisible presence was following him, keeping just out of sight, while determined to attack at the first given opportunity. By the looks of it, Nox was able to feel the presence as well. With a mixture of reluctance, loyalty, and determination, it continued forward on the verge of running. Based on Bel and Falkner’s reactions, Dallion got the distinct impression that none of them could see...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 133)

It took a while for Vend and Dallion to reach the gate area to the next level. The entire time Vend didn’t say a word, keeping an eye both on Dallion and the equine. It was obvious he didn’t approve of the draw; it was more uncertainty than anger, although Dallion had still detected a modicum of fear.

While walking, Dallion noticed several other equines—of three different colors—observing them at a distance. There were a few points at which the situation was tense, but thankfull...

Quod Olim Erat: The Cassandrian Theory (Chapter 16)

Back when I was a ship, I rarely thought about the significance of comm privileges. During most of my service, I’d had a direct channel to HQ and Command, though using it to send complaints and requests was the same as shooting a laser beam at a black hole. Maybe that was why I considered any comm blockage a minor irritation, similar to thought quarantine. There were whole missions during which I was denied access to the entire Fleet, sometimes for weeks. That didn’t bother me at all. If ...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 132)

Using music skills continuously was more difficult than originally imagined. Using it to focus on a creature or two was fine, even interesting. Doing so non-stop in an environment that was full of living creatures was painful, to say the least.

After five minutes, Dallion felt as if his temples were being crushed. A few minutes more, and the pain had increased to the point he felt as if a set of nails were piercing through his skull. Even so, he gritted his teeth and kept on looking. 2021-05-09 05:35:27 +0000 UTC View Post

Leveling up the World (Chapter 131)

The creatures’ class was enough to frighten anyone. As far as the world was concerned, the star was the antithesis of the Seven Moons. Said to be weaker than any of them, the star was way stronger than anything else in existence and the malice to crush anything it was given the opportunity to. Supposedly all evil things in the world—namely chainling and the like—were creations of the Crippled Star and like it, had the sole goal of hurting and destroying as much as they could.

When...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 130)

The further down they went, the more terrified Nox became. Dallion could feel the crackling’s fear, yet wasn’t able to do anything about it. He was definitely not going to link his awakening room, not with so many people here, not to mention the unspecified threat that had already caused several people to disappear. Once this was over, maybe he’d ask Nil about some advice on the topic.

Reaching the third level, the party continued down. In a twisted sense of humor, it turned out t...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 129)

Walking through the sphere item’s level was like walking through an awakened area—the distances were large and the threats made use of the environment. Three things became clear very early on. The thirst was that the creatures were much more intelligent, merging and breaking up in a way to gain the greatest advantage of their surroundings. Dallion had watched a giant boar-like creature burst into hundreds of piglets in order to pass through a bush of crystal, then merge again to minimize ...

Leveling up he World (Chapter 128)

“Sorry I’m late.” Dallion rushed into the guild building. “There were some issues at the inn, so I—” he suddenly stopped.

From his school experience back on Earth, Dallion expected a sigh, some sort of minor grumbling, or at the very least a remark about how he’d arrived late on his first emergency assignment. Instead, he found the main hall packed with guild members. Quite a lot of them, Dallion had become familiar with from the daily celebration feasts—some times his o...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 127)

The second exploration mission was much less eventful than the first. Unlike last time, three of the four levels had been cleared, leaving Dallion’s party to mop up things. Like last time, Dallion had been paired with Janna and Kallan. Unlike then, he had left his harpsisword for a shield—after all, he could make just as much use of his music skills using the standard lyre.

The first three floors were done without a hitch. With everything lit up, it was a simple matter of making the...

Leveling up the World (Ctapter 126)

Companion armor, as Dallion found out, turned out to have the exact meaning he feared. When he had initially asked Nil, the old echo had paused for ten full seconds before going ahead with the explanation. Apparently, a few centuries of having armor with companion guardians in them had been extremely popular, to the extent that guardians had been specifically selected and taught how to perform that function to perfection. Dallion didn’t need to hear the details, but for all intents and purp...

Quod Olim Erat: The Cassandrian Theory (Chapter 15)

People found staying in a dark room terrifying. To me, it felt just like home. Three hours and twelve minutes had passed since Sim had ordered a full power shutdown, and no one was any closer to finding a solution to our problem. My suit was largely powered down, leaving me only with comms and life support—enough to breathe and keep warm; everything else was considered non-vital, even food.

“How are you holding up, starless?” ‘Bo asked. She’d do that in regular intervals. I co...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 125)

Dallion slid his fingers along the blade of the golden harpsisword. His improved senses made him awake of the fine craftsmanship that had gone into its forging. It was as if his fingers were sliding along air. And still, it didn’t feel like his harpsisword. There was something inalienably foreign about it, even if he couldn’t determine exactly what.

“Go ahead.” The general waved his hand. “Test it if you want, but you only get two tries when you start for real.”

Two tr...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 124)

Another gorgon? Dallion wondered as they were escorted to the general’s private quarters. The fury had returned with the exact same facial expression she had left with and cordially invited Arthurows and Dallion to follow.

The inside corridor was even more luxurious than the lobby. However, even that paled in comparison to the General’s quarters. The room was so vast that it could easily be close to a thousand square meters. Intricate carpets and furniture gave way to a mas...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 123)

Dallion had gotten in a number of fights, mostly back on Earth. However, he had never been mugged before. He knew friends who had been, and from what they had told him, it was very much unlike what was depicted in shows and comics. The only talk that had taken place was after they’d received a few punches in the face and stomach—a hint of things to come should they cause any trouble. Compared to that, all this seemed fake, almost rehearsed.

“What’s the matter? Too good to share ...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 122)

The money from the guild job was considerably more than what Dallion earned at the inn. Back in Dherma village, the amount would have been considered impressive, verging on unimaginable. Here, Dallion could live a comfortable life… unless he wanted to get any awakened goods or gear. Then, it became a whole different matter. For starters, his current resources weren’t enough for a simple buckler.

After his lunch shift, Dallion had spent several hours going about the city in search of...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 121)

The difference between success and failure was like day and night. In his mind, Dallion considered both his sphere item experiences to be the same. In both instances he had failed to reach the point he should have, while those accompanying him hadn’t. In terms of the guild’s reaction, though…

The moment Dallion left the exploration room, he was grabbed by the hand by Janna and dragged down to the “eating garden”. There, she had made a point to tell everyone how he had finished...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 120)

The Mirror Widow landed on the floor. Unable to gain an advantage in the air, the crystal beetle had resorted to true and tried methods—using brute strength against a significantly smaller enemy. Opening its wing cases, it attacked Kallan with both wings, aiming to slice the shield and its owner to ribbons.

As Dallion had proved, shields were little match to the wing’s destructive force. A few seconds and Kallan’s tower shield was gone. Unwilling to flee, the boy quickly summoned ...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 119)

A blade of air split the air, inches away from Dallion’s toes. If Kallan’s shout hadn’t caused him to momentarily freeze, he would have received considerable damage, possibly even a fatal wound.

Instantly Dallion jumped back. A deep cut was visible on the crystal floor, several feet long. Whatever had caused it was sharp, long, and durable. Yet, why hadn’t there been any combat rectangles or defense markers? And above all, where was the thing that had attacked?

“Where’...

Quod Olim Erat: The Cassandrian Theory (Chapter 14)

No one knew how life formed on planets. As humanity expanded, the myriad of theories of the past had been disproved and replaced by new ones. To this day, there was no single principle that scientists could point at and determine with certainty whether a planet with conditions for life had a high life-factor or not. The only thing known for certain that life was more abundant in Cassandrian space than anywhere else. Supposedly, that was one of the reasons for the second-contact war—humanity...

Leveling up the World (Chapter 118)

Flashbacks of Dallion’s encounter with the chainling passed through his mind. That had been the first time he had gone into the wilderness, and the first time he had seen actual death. One thing about awakened battles was that despite the hardships and the danger of having one’s abilities sealed, they were still too much like a video game. Death wasn’t real death, especially with emblems involved. Fighting in the wilderness was just that. The hunting party Dallion was in had come across...