probablyaturnip

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Hey everyone, not much to say for this one. As always vote for whatever appeals to you and hopefully I'll be able to make you something enjoyable

CH281

“Oh I hate this so much!” Ben yelled again as he accidentally passed through a portal, taking him away from the gate he could easily see off in the distance.

When they’d first arrived it had been an empty expanse with the exit in the distance, but seemingly not so far as some of the other ones. He’d been sure he’d be able to make it there in no time, if not for the predictable result that was his being teleported around the area by holes in space opening up and closing the mom...

Side Story- How Sonya met Falk part four

This might be bad.

She’d been stuck with the man, Falk, for a week as she tried to heal herself to the point she’d be able to move, and despite herself she’d gotten to know him as the time passed. Whenever something put her on edge he tried to start small, simple conversations to help her relax, he kept cleaning her wounds and applying more herbs to them to help the healing process, and the entire time he’d been showing her nothing but gentle kindness, asking before he ...

CH280 A month without Ben

<TELEKINESIS LEVEL INCREASED>

<DARK MAGIC LEVEL INCREASED>

<CHARM MAGIC LEVEL INCREASED>

Thera felt her face stretch into a deeper frown as the notifications filled her mind, but she reminded herself to breathe and ignore it as she fiddled with her necklace. She’d known for ages that training her dark magic had the chance to raise the level of her charm as well. Even if she didn’t like it, she wasn’t going to stop her training. It was the only escape ...

Side Story- How Sonya met Falk part three

Coming to consciousness was a disorienting affair. At first, she didn’t remember anything, being too consumed by the pain that coursed through her body, but as it came back in fragments she was able to ignore it for all of the relief that filled her in the end.

She was alive. Not well, Even without moving she could tell she had broken an arm and a leg, with a certainty that she’d cracked some ribs as well, but all of that could heal eventually. What mattered most was whatever she’...

CH279

The moment they passed through the boundary of the trial, all effects they were under vanished. Even injured and in pain, Ben felt incredible in comparison, vowing to never take for granted his body again as Greed came back to his senses.

“Fuck, my head… Legs, you okay?” He asked, filled with concern. “Didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?”

“I’ll live, but man are those things sharp,” Ben said as he laid down, letting Greed start to treat him. “On the plus side, if i...

Side Story- How Sonya met Falk part two

Annnnd, almost out of mana again. Damn it.

For two days, Sonya did nothing but hide away in the bushes, pushing the weak life magic she had to regenerate as much of the blood she’d lost as she could and killing any smaller creature pulled in by her charm while she waited for her sister to return, feeling her mana plummet again and again as she waited for it to regenerate each time, not feeling any major progress to the skill as she went.

It wasn’t shocking. Both she a...

CH278

“Alright Greed all you have to do is think of something and we’ll see if it works,” Ben told his companion, a metal box strapped to his head in preparation for a little experiment he’d made to keep himself sane.

“Like this?” He asked in a robotic voice, only to change his tone immediately. “Holy crap, this thing actually works? You’re crazy legs, how did you come up with this?”

“Just saw a need and decided to fill it, not that it’s any good in here.”

...

Side Story- How Sonya met Falk part one

Author's note

Hey all, here's the first part of your side story for the month. It's gonna be four parts total and I'll be releasing one each day as I do some final adjustments so hope you enjoy! Special thanks for giving me the pick this time because I've had the rough idea for this since I started doing these polls almost a year ago and this option kept not getting chosen. Let's see, other than that I'll have the actual chapter for the day posted in a few hours and the poll up after th...

CH277

Author's note

Extra chapter today cause it's the holidays and I'm wonderful. Enjoy

After he was completely healed, the fact that he’d learned how to get the trial to provide him with more food was a godsend. All of the cooked skin had been shed off in the process, and while that could be saved to give Greed plenty to eat regardless of how the crab felt about it, that meant his body had to cannibalize itself in the healing process.

It was as he was stu...

CH276

Stepping into the trial, he was actually given a few reasons to feel optimistic. There was in fact solid ground for him to walk on, though it seemed more like a construct of mana that stone or earth beneath his feet, and his enchantments were holding. More than that, he was actually too cold from them and lowered their output until he was comfortable, knowing that in all likelihood he’d need to change them again soon enough. Even if it wasn’t too bad so far, it was still hot, it just wasn...

CH275

“Holy crap!” Ben yelled out as he caught sight of a certain area of the trial's enchantments briefly activate. “There’s no freaking way, that should be impossible!”

“What?” Greed yelled in a panic as he sat in Ben’s hand, eating the only source of food available to him. “Don’t tell me we’re in trouble again?”

“Oh, no sorry, I just saw something I really wasn’t expecting. That food the trial provides? If I’m right, it looks like it makes it straight fr...

CH274

Ben opened his eyes, still cold and wet but thankfully on the floor of the next rest area, Greed already working on healing him as he laid there. He worried about how long he’d been out but cast a look to the area of the wall he knew the countdown would be and saw it was only a few hours.

“So how’s it look Greed, am I losing any limbs to frostbite?”

“A couple of your toes were looking bad so I worked on them first, you should keep everything. I’m more surprised your fi...

CH273

<SWIMMING LEVEL INCREASED>

“I can’t believe that took me over a freaking week,” Ben complained as he got himself out of the pool he’d made. The zeroth level he’d managed on the first day, but the first he’d only gotten more than a week later, having used the better part of each day doing it.

I wasn’t even a bad swimmer on earth! Sure, I didn’t do it a lot, but I at least knew what I was doing! Why did it take so freaking long to get to level one?

CH272

“Holy shit! Did you just awaken a skill?” Greed called out as he saw Ben’s body flash with light as it flooded with mana.

“Yeah, and it’s a sick joke,” He told the crab, feeling all the more annoyed for it. He’d have to test the difference for his enchanting skill, he was sure it would have improved leaps and bounds above what he’d just done, but that was meaningless in the face of what he was seeing. With the incredible increase to everything that came with improving hi...

CH271 A week without Ben

<MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED>

<SPEED READING LEVEL INCREASED>

Thera put down the book she was reading, surprised to have gotten the level up. Even if she was doing her best to learn it, she felt that she was too distracted by the last week for anything to have really gotten through.

Ben still hadn’t gotten out of the trial. She could still feel his direction thanks to the skill they shared, but that was a small comfort that did nothing for her misery. She...

CH270

All he wanted to do was give into his body's demand that he pass out, but he knew that he couldn’t. They were in a state of emergency. Even though Greed would be able to repair the damage he’d put his body through working it like that, it would take days that they didn’t have. If he couldn’t move, he needed to at least be able to think.

It was with that goal in mind that he looked at the enchantments that were within his field of view and focused on them, making himself fall int...

CH269

Author's note 

Extra chapter today because I get to have an excellent stew for dinner and I want to pass on the happiness I feel to you all. Hope you enjoy!

<MATERIAL USER LEVEL INCREASED>

“Perfect,” Ben sighed contently as the notification went off in his head. He had about an hour before they needed to enter the trial, plenty of time to regain the mana he’d spent, and with the level up he was feeling good.

...

CH268

“What the hell are you doing?” Greed yelled as Ben’s cupped palm was lowered to him as it slowly filled with blood.

“Hopefully getting you food. Now come on and drink up. Worst to worst I can cut off some skin if you need it, but let’s see if a liquid diet can sate you for now.”

“Legs, you’re being crazy! I can’t just drink your blood!”

“Greed, for our best chance you need your strength. I’m going to be relying on your buffs and healing almost constan...

CH267

“Oh, hey Quilith, wasn’t expecting to see you so soon,” Ben said, casually giving him a wave. “Isn’t there still a few days before we’re supposed to meet up?”

“Given the nature of the situation you find yourself in, I assumed it would be better to come early. It’s nice to see you’re somehow in good spirits despite everything.”

“Legs, what the hell is going on,” Greed asked in confusion as he looked between Ben and the alien, not understanding how he had a...

CH266

Going through the portal was as violent of an experience for him as the tornado, leaving him grateful to be alive, even if he was worse for wear.

The speed he had been moving at left him rolling across the floor until he crashed into the wall at the other end, breaking his arms and legs as he went, and he was sure a few ribs too. His face felt wet from what was undoubtedly blood, but his first thought wasn’t about his own pain, but the safety of the crab secured in his pocket, which h...

CH265

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose as he took it in. He was still determined to get them out of there, it was only a matter of how long it would take. He was sure it was possible, it just wouldn’t be easy, so he needed to know what sort of time limit he was on.

“Alright, how long can you live without food?”

“Pretty sure my kind can manage about three weeks, but it won’t be a happy three, I can tell you that.”

“So then our options are either me getting us out in...

CH264

“Damn it all, where are we?” Greed swore. “I swear to any god that’s listening if this is one of my other bastards I’m going into hiding after this!”

“How many do you even have?” Ben asked, the calmest one of his minds handling talking as the rest assessed the situation. They were in a large empty room, some sort of spatial effect on it giving it far more area than could be seen from outside the building, with a fountain and a table beside it at its center. The door they...

CH263 Thera's Perspective

As her uncle dealt with the templars after their attack on Olop, she’d left him to handle the aftermath. She had more important things to do.

While watching the man slowly be broken down, it had managed to help her clear her mind. The panic and rage had subsided enough to make her realise there was something else she should have done before going to attack. She should have been helping Ben.

A part of her thought about running to a church first. She’d managed to complete her jo...

CH262 Olop's Perspective

Author's note

So I don't usually do this but I'm giving the head's up that this chapter is a bit more violent than usual, hope you all enjoy anyway.

As Olop woke the day after the competition he’d gotten confirmation that the annoyance he’d had to deal with had been properly taken care of the usual way, and he couldn’t help but celebrate with an early drink.

Really, what’s his name should have just agreed to it. Or at least had the tact to b...