The hell is degrading at a different speed than it was before. I observe it carefully as I blitz back towards Sierra, and I conclude that overall, the stronghold I eliminated is degrading slower than the area around it. It’s not by much—killing the angels seems to have accelerated the process even after the death of the demons began to restore the world—but it’s slowed.
What that actually means for us is for Sierra to figure out, not me, but I have guesses.
We are closer t...
2023-09-16 21:57:27 +0000 UTC
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There are a scant few heroes that were famous from their first day—most of those who achieve S-rank on their initial evaluation are household names immediately. For the supermajority of superhumans, however, this is not the case. Contingency and Miracle, currently widely considered to be the two strongest living beings, famously both earned C ranks when initially registering and spent four years together before reaching even a hint of their current status.
- Excerpt from ...
2023-09-15 06:58:33 +0000 UTC
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Angelic Tower — Root: The 24th Floor
“The twenty-fifth floor is different,” Kirin explains as they walk up the steps. “While the tenth and twentieth floors both individually represent paradigm shifts, the twenty-fifth is the first of what we call challenge floors.”
“I’ve heard of that,” Adrian says. “Nobody from the Category 1 groups I was with wanted to even try anything above the twentieth, so I don’t have great information about it.”
2023-09-13 06:51:31 +0000 UTC
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Supers never stop. They may change sides or disappear or die—and many do—but you will never see a superhuman retire.
- Foreword of On the Nature of Superhumans by Vincent Hyde et al., published 2017
#
Hypothermia occurred when the human body dipped below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which Vivian knew because she’d spent an anxiety-ridden night searching up every possible manner of death that her college town could offer her. She could only hope that she had...
2023-09-11 02:48:05 +0000 UTC
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Every minute of heroism you see is the result of a hundred hours of hard work.
- Promotional material for the United States Guardian Agency
#
The time was 7:02 AM Tuesday morning and Vivian’s alarm wouldn’t shut up.
Step one of Rachel’s fitness routine was cardio. Vivian had been planning on running anyway—gasping and wheezing to the extent of uselessness at the bank and after the museum had been enough of a wakeup call for her. She was generally fit, ...
2023-09-09 05:59:43 +0000 UTC
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Ninth Circle
To be honest, I’m surprised I haven’t unlocked a proper coercion skill of some sort by now. With the way the system works, I should have gained Interrogation or something similar through the process of extracting information from those who created me.
Speaking of which—I understand that those who have filtered into this hell are the ones who are actually capable of diving to the Ninth Circle, which means their power isn’t grea...
2023-09-09 05:58:19 +0000 UTC
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Yeah, so the thing about villains is that they’re like weeds. You pull one out, there’s always two more [expletive] to take their place. I’m think [sic] of them as like—alright. Back before supers, we had regular crime, right? Mafia ’n mob ’n and all ‘at. It took six years to get Al Capone arrested. Normal police fighting normal gangs couldn’t take them apart for [expletive] years. Decades.
So what I’m saying is, no, we can’t just “beat the villains....
2023-09-08 06:16:38 +0000 UTC
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Casualties are to be expected in the course of superhuman activities. Recently, our foremost statisticians found that in only a year and a half, an estimated four million people have perished either directly or indirectly thanks to superhuman actions, overtaking stroke as the second-most common cause of death worldwide.
At least, it would have been second—instead, it is third, behind the Cataclysms. In the wake of what is now being termed the Third Cataclysm, which is cur...
2023-09-08 06:16:07 +0000 UTC
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Angelic Tower — Root
“To do the impossible,” Kirin muses. “I don’t know how much of that you’ll find from me, Adrian.”
“You’re Category 3,” Adrian replies. “That’s further than I can manage.”
The sixteenth floor was trivially easy with Kirin’s treasury of artifacts, as was the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth.
Adrian was honestly getting bored. He knew that Sierra and Evelyn were risking their lives right this very se...
2023-09-08 06:15:17 +0000 UTC
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CHAPTER FIVE: The Plan
The distribution of power rankings by the Guardian standard is a slightly skewed bell curve. The numbers (determined last in the 2023 superhuman census) in the United States currently stand at the following, rounded to the nearest percentage.
S-rank: 3%
A-rank: 10%
B-rank: 37%
C-rank: 40%
D-rank: 9%
F-rank: 1%
There has been some debate on ...
2023-09-05 04:51:59 +0000 UTC
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Dictionary definition of a Washer, as provided by the USA’s Guardian Agency: “The abbreviated name of the official class ‘Brainwasher’; A super whose power includes the ability to influence the minds of others.
Recent studies have supported the fear that Washers are the most insidious, dangerous class of super. Making up only 3.4% of superhumans worldwide, they arguably impact society more than the much more common durability-based Aegis and ranged-power Marksmen. C...
2023-09-05 04:51:34 +0000 UTC
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The necessity of the London Superhuman Accords is obvious when you examine any of Earth’s mightiest heroes in the context of pre-super law. The original seven Guardians would’ve been charged for so many counts of manslaughter that none of them would’ve seen the sun ever again.
It is unfortunate, but supers play by a different set of rules. Especially heroes.
Here’s a tip: never give a hero the trolley problem. A fair chunk of them will kill everyone i...
2023-09-03 19:48:51 +0000 UTC
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Seventy-five percent of new supers are between the ages of 14 and 24. Although it is not yet known why vials tend to present themselves towards this age range, the most common theory is that the fragments of the Pacific alien seek those who are less emotionally stable.
This has made superhuman interactions rather volatile.
- A passage from On Superhumans by Amelia Li, oftentimes referred to as “the greatest understatement ever made”
#
2023-09-02 04:09:27 +0000 UTC
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In 1971, the first and only alien humanity has ever seen died over the Pacific Ocean.
We’ve been dealing with the consequences since.
- Excerpt from a public statement by Vincent Hyde, current director of the Superhuman Response Unit
#
Vivian accidentally became a murderer on her first night as a superhero.
The day had started simply enough. As per usual on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Vivian had to wake up at the crack of dawn to join tw...
2023-08-31 03:56:57 +0000 UTC
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UCC Site 9 - “Diving Point 1”
“What a beautiful day,” Marie says, stretching indulgently. “Is anybody not ready?”
She has long since progressed past the point where that sort of gesture affects her body on a level beyond the aesthetic, but when she has time, she treasures the practice of seeming human.
Yes, the muscle fibers only extend because she wills them to, and the acidic burn is supplied entirely by a flex of her dominion over the concept ...
2023-08-31 03:53:14 +0000 UTC
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Hi everyone! I’m happy to announce that book 1 of Demonic Devourer is now available on Kindle Unlimited! If you can spare a download or a rating, I'd be eternally grateful.
Cover commissioned from FuyuDust by MelasDelta :D
For those few of you who aren't familiar with the premise:
Devour. Level up. Repeat.Awakening in an abandoned lab with no knowledge of the world, Evelyn is empowered by a system that grants her bloody magical powers in exchange ...
2023-08-24 17:37:44 +0000 UTC
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Angelic Tower — Root
“You can’t just drop a bomb like that and walk away!” Adrian protests.
“Yes, I can,” Kirin replies. “Watch me.”
At least he isn’t very fast. Kirin clearly still needs Adrian, because he’s not running away. Adrian knows he isn’t running away because even he can run faster than that, and his only movement skills involve deluging himself with water.
“You’re talking about collapsing a hell,...
2023-08-24 03:49:33 +0000 UTC
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Angelic Tower — Root
Kirin arrives as Adrian is grinding his way through a nest of spiders. It’s an irritating region, and he needs to use all his focus to ensure that their nearly-invisible webs don’t trap him. On one occasion, he does actually get stuck, and he’s forced to use Blade of the Eternal Sea to get out, manifesting it from his back to slice through webbing that is significantly stronger than steel.
At no point does he actually ...
2023-08-13 16:19:14 +0000 UTC
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Two hours pass before the Communication Stone activates again. Two long, harrowing hours, where Adrian has nothing to do but gather souls and wonder if the person on the other end of the Communication Stone is alive.
Operator Kirin Uten, he thinks—and contrary to Sierra’s opinion, he can in fact do that, thank you very much. What’s your angle here?
The last Adrian saw of his fellow operator was in their apartment, just about thirty seconds before everything...
2023-08-10 15:15:52 +0000 UTC
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Name: Evelyn Carnelian
Age: 19
Race: ???
Class: Divine Demon/Proto-Titan
Level: 119/29
Kill Count: 2015
Available Stat Points: 0
Traits:
Demonic Heritage
Enhanced Blood Affinity
Kinslayer II
Killer VI
Free Bird
2023-08-08 15:11:23 +0000 UTC
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Witness. Us.
The message ripples throughout the worlds, imbued by the undying bond between two dying proto-Titans.
Sapphire is halfway through dismantling a minor autocracy when she catches a glimpse of the words.
By the time it’s reached her, the signal has traveled over forty thousand miles, so it’s no surprise that it’s faint. It is, in fact, faint enough that none of the subdued army in front of her nor the archipelago’s despot senses it...
2023-08-06 15:05:20 +0000 UTC
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“Evelyn,” Adrian says. “We have a problem.”
I stare at him. “A problem.”
I was expecting some sardonic comment about this, given the fact that over half the people within a mile of us were dead, their homes collapsing in on themselves. It’s a wonder that the circle is intact, but I supposed Root is made solidly enough that even widescale destruction isn’t enough to topple the whole.
The demon piloting Sersui’s ghost was only active for a scant few seconds, ...
2023-08-05 09:40:20 +0000 UTC
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Alexander Callen knows what he’s getting into. His mimicry of Sapphire’s Sight Beyond Sight is growing dim, but its power remains sufficient for him to observe what’s happening.
Someone is puppeting an operator, telling his targets what’s coming for them. Giving them time to prepare.
Callen has one guess as to who that is. He appreciates that she is at least considering giving him a challenge. He wants to see what their full capabilities are. Anything less...
2023-08-03 09:06:58 +0000 UTC
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“I’m still not convinced that this is going to help me at all,” I say, gently removing the latest dress Sierra’s had me try. It joins an increasingly large stack of clothes that she’s determined are insufficient in a corner of the changing room.
“I told you to cover yourself up when you change,” Sierra says, not looking away. She hands me another set of clothes. “It will, trust me. These are magical, too. You could always do with a little more protection.”
I’m ...
2023-08-01 12:23:50 +0000 UTC
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Our target location is a small, temporary settlement built around a cave that’s marked with “Root Dungeon System 771 - Potential Value HIGH” in Common. There’s a few other lines of text below that, but I can’t read them.
Well, I assume this was a settlement. It’s in shambles now. The wood-and-leather huts alternate between being on fire, collapsed, or both. The sparse woods around the settlement have largely collapsed, making this place look more like a messy loggin...
2023-07-31 14:28:24 +0000 UTC
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“Wow,” Sierra says, looking over the mercifully-intact Death Prayer in her hands. “Wow.”
She’s recovered from her passed-out-exhausted state remarkably quickly, which was almost certainly because she now has Adapt as a permanent skill.
“I’d hoped that thing would be gone by now,” I say with a grimace, indicating the item. Sapphire’s handiwork lasts, I suppose. “Honestly, it’s a wonder it’s survived so long.”
“I went to so...
2023-07-30 09:13:04 +0000 UTC
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The sudden surge of power isn’t unexpected, but it is terrible.
For an instant that stretches out into a breathless eternity, everything stops. At first, I think it’s my incredible Mind (Speed) stat applying itself again, but the world is still. Far too still to simply be accelerated perception.
I can’t move, but somehow that doesn’t instill the sense of fear or losing control in me that it should. Rather than being a prisoner in a body that won’t move, ...
2023-07-29 10:32:28 +0000 UTC
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Antimemetic Cloak is growing stronger, I realize. With the skill in its original form, Sierra would be able to see through it without even trying. Right now, of course, she’s distracted, but even then, she didn’t even process Adrian or I existing until I turned it down.
RI1, however, is not going to be stopped by that. I have a better idea of what it is now, and I know for a fact that my antimemetics will work for a solid minute at best before I land an attack and i...
2023-07-26 09:55:29 +0000 UTC
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“Sierra,” I say, activating the Communication Stone. “Sierra, can you hear me?”
No response.
I’ve been trying to connect to her item for a solid ten minutes now to no avail. That could mean one of three things: capture, death, or simply being out of range.
I hope it’s the latter.
Every thirty seconds, I activate Locate. With my magic reserves as deep as they are now, I can use it without fear of depleting my reservers.
Locate<...
2023-07-25 10:03:55 +0000 UTC
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Sierra reacts immediately, but she’s too slow. Of course she’s too slow. She knows little about Sapphire, but she remembers that Aunt Marie has worked with Sapphire before as a subordinate. Marie already vastly outclasses Sierra; her superior is out of the question.
Still, she tries. Over the course of the past few days, she’s fully recovered her magic. Thanks to the sheer weight of the Titan attacks, she’s already able to use her special skills. Her domains, too, are o...
2023-07-22 08:29:45 +0000 UTC
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