Chris
[Hammer Reverberation].
The decision wasn't that hard. While [Jotun Battle Roar] sounded amazing and wildly powerful, [Hammer Reverberation] was more versatile. There was a certain amount of buildup that [Battle Roar] required that the other skill didn't.
The perquisite that there already be Ice and Snow present was also a drawback. Sure, that was usually a given when I fought using my Skills, but there was also the issue of repeated use.
<...
2025-04-30 21:18:05 +0000 UTC
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Chris
My Points were gone and it was time to return. My mind exited the absurdly white space and my senses returned to the sizable tent we had all been standing in.
Around everyone were piles upon piles of boxes, books, materials of all kinds, and more boxes.
We were lucky the System provided suitable containers for most things as it had before. The treasure I used to upgrade my Affinity came inside a box to contain and preserve it until I was ready...
2025-04-29 21:39:36 +0000 UTC
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Chris
Having watched my purchases add up already, I was giddy to keep the ball rolling. Watching my points dwindle had dampened that, but nothing compared to purchasing new goodies.
Especially new and shiny goodies that fit my needs perfectly.
Sadly, spending the Faction Points would be a little different. All 592,854,235 points had been allocated for and planned out exactly. There would be no browsing like I had with my Personal Points.
Even ...
2025-04-28 21:59:14 +0000 UTC
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Chris
I feel like specialized, strengthened Jotun bones are better than unspecialized higher-tier Lesser Frost Giant bones.
The benefits of what I was choosing gave me more control if I went with Jotun Bones and I liked that aspect about it. I got to hand-pick which aspect I wanted instead of going with higher Tier, yet more generic.
The Lesser Frost Giant bones would have been a big boost, too. If I could handle it and not blow myself up t...
2025-04-26 22:22:30 +0000 UTC
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Chris
It took me a second to rein in my outburst and get my aura under control. I hadn't known that was in me, and it came out at a time I hadn't expected. This was also the first time I had so obviously seen the effects I had on people.
Grace and Sophia weren't just shaking because my aura made them cold, but because they were scared. There were also people outside the tent that were affected, as the tent didn't have any impact on how my aura spread.
...
2025-04-25 21:10:55 +0000 UTC
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Chris
No rest for the wicked.
My body ached, my mind was tired, and there was a dull buzzing in the back of my head it felt like, but I still couldn't lay down to rest. Hell, I still hadn't been to a Healer yet, as I had instead hurried out to meet with other Leaders straight away.
I'd been worried they would take off before I had the chance to speak with them making everything all that much harder. Now that an agreement was alread...
2025-04-24 20:51:32 +0000 UTC
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Chris
Fitzwallace looked at the Crystals blankly, which was odd considering they were supposed to be rare. Everyone else I talked to showed wanting and greedy faces when I flashed them before.
They knew they were valuable. Gear, enchantments, powering pretty much anything that ran on mana, but most importantly, expedited growth of Dungeons.
That was what we mostly used them for followed closely by powering Formations.
I wonder how many flo...
2025-04-23 21:10:43 +0000 UTC
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The Admiral
"We, the representatives of Sea Breeze Merchant House would like to meet with the leader of New Norfolk. Do you know where they are so we can discuss future cooperation?" The blueish-green human was looking for him and he didn't know why.
After being swamped, the Merchants had cleared a path and split up to go in different directions. The Admiral knew from their dress and insignias that they were all not of the same Faction which made...
2025-04-22 21:30:50 +0000 UTC
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Chris
The choice of who to visit first wasn't that hard to decide upon. There were a few that I could start with that didn't worry me as much as others, but I decided to start with one I was most personally interested in.
I'd spoken to her only briefly and while her City wasn't as immediately close as Ashton's was, she was still considered a neighbor.
It helped we had already started talks along these lines through messages. Now all we had to do was...
2025-04-21 20:34:50 +0000 UTC
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Chris
"Marcus, did you know about this?" I asked as we watched the Aliens receive a flood of requests.
The initial surprise had worn off and now I was just trying to wrap my head around real-life Aliens. Austin was more than excited to meet them, but I had him stay back in case something happened.
I didn't think it was likely, but it was best to be cautious.
The books we had access to in the tutorial told us a lot, but we had to know they were...
2025-04-18 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Vulwin
Vulwin stepped through the portal with only slight apprehension. This wasn't his first time traveling between Planets but it would be his first going so far. Usually, jumps between nearby Planets only took a few moments.
The distance wasn't that far considering.
The distance between this new Planet and Dirvenguard was much longer.
Still, while longer than usual, it was much smoother than any jump he'd participated in. The Great System's...
2025-04-17 20:44:54 +0000 UTC
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Chris
It was well into the night before the bodies in need of gathering ran out. There were more than I cared to count but I knew someone already had. That someone had been pacing around waiting for me to call upon her.
I didn't want to.
I really didn't want to.
But I had to.
"Sophia," I called.
She perked up and stopped her pacing to come bounding over. Her eyes were tired, and I knew she hadn't slept in a while. Her Endurance was...
2025-04-16 20:40:23 +0000 UTC
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~~AN~~
Extra, extra! Enjoy!
~~
Chris
My mind was elsewhere as I worked. It was nearly autonomous to pick up the fallen and carry them back. My hands once again dripped with blood but this time it wasn't from fighting. Those with stomachs brave enough joined in my efforts, pulling corpses from under Orcs or out of mud.
I didn't encase them yet. They needed to be washed first. It was disrespectful to t...
2025-04-16 00:31:55 +0000 UTC
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Chris
It felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. My mind would send the signal for my legs to move but it was delayed, lagging behind for some reason. My body was racked with so much aching pain that I worked hard to tune all of it out which didn't help matters.
The only positive was that I didn't pass out. I sure wanted to, and I knew sleep was calling my name soon, but I forced myself to stay awake. Conscious as we walked through the scenes of...
2025-04-15 20:32:12 +0000 UTC
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Vulwin Zylris
Planet Dirvenguard, Sector 116-134
Vulwin was nervous to the point of nearly sweating, and that spoke to how anxious he was. This was to be his first big assignment and he couldn't mess it up. It was finally his chance to make it big and now that the opportunity had arisen, he would make the most of it.
He stood in the Large Hall with dozens of his comrades as they all watched the screen in front of them intently. The...
2025-04-14 21:46:53 +0000 UTC
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Marcus(cont.)
Christopher's aura, wild and flaring, disappeared abruptly. The once smothering blanket of otherworldly cold and fury left so quickly it made it seem like it hadn't even been there in the first place.
It was such a stark difference Marcus had to strain his own tired aura to make sure the man was still there and his eyes weren't deceiving him. The only other time he'd seen such an abrupt difference from flaring to gone was when someone died.<...
2025-04-11 20:39:31 +0000 UTC
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Marcus
The fear fell away and he fought to keep it that way. He was no coward and he was better than that. He'd fought tides of insects and killed hundreds of Orcs, he wasn't about to be paralyzed in fear just because of one, extremely strong Orc.
An Orc that could most likely kill him in one or two blows. An Orc that looked like he could...
No! He admonished himself and fought to keep the fear at bay.
His feet were freed and he hesit...
2025-04-10 21:15:20 +0000 UTC
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Marcus
The insects had nothing on the blight-touched Orcs. Oh, they were deadly, quick, persistent, and all around not a fun time, but they weren't endless like the Orcs were.
They'd either win or lose a battle relatively quickly. Not this drawn-out battle ticking up there in hours. It had been at least 4 by now! That was insane!
Mana dried up. Anchors ran dry. Stamina bottomed out, yet the Orcs were still coming.
Marcus had thought a...
2025-04-09 21:05:19 +0000 UTC
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Jayla
"Ma'am, we need to retreat!"
"The Wall is lost!"
Stone reached out and crushed another Orc as she vented her anger. Her command structure was new and without Walter, it wasn't up to her standard. It didn't help that so many had died and new people had to slide in to replace them.
"The Wall will not fall!" She ground out in frustration. "We will not retreat!"
She'd spent days going over the Wall, fortifying the stone, joining the bl...
2025-04-08 20:46:55 +0000 UTC
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Abigail
Lightning flashed and thunder boomed with the force of a thousand cannons. The rain danced around her and leapt to her touch. It whipped down, shot out in jets, and cut through the earth in large scythes. She cut down every Orc in sight but it still wasn't enough.
Her brain strained to keep up with what she was ordering of it. It had to keep up.
The wall shook and parts of stone rained down. It shook again before the Orc Chieftain was defeat...
2025-04-07 20:44:03 +0000 UTC
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Chris
I wasn't quite sure when it all went to shit. It seemed like every fight or Wave that extended past a few hours and caused [Avalanche] to max out eventually ended like shit.
With a fight taking that long, mistakes were inevitable. Fatigue and exhaustion both put their hands on the scale after that and Skill and perseverance could only do so much to balance it.
It was only a matter of time before it came crashing down.
My hammer was chipp...
2025-04-04 20:03:15 +0000 UTC
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Austin
The small fry were slow enough that he didn't even have to pull on his anchor to kill them. They had strong muscles and their swings were powerful, but they meant nothing if they couldn't hit him.
A thrust of his spear with only a few skills was enough to drop them. Plus, none of the blood came back on him. A Win-Win way to slaughter!
The beginning of the wave was rather easy. Dance around and stab as many as he could. It reminded him of the ...
2025-04-03 20:53:02 +0000 UTC
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Why aren't they using skills?
I'd never fought orcs before but I'd fought something close. Both Goblins and Hobgoblins were sent against us occasionally during the monthly waves. Or, bi-monthly now that we upgraded our pylon. The distance of time lengthened for some reason we still weren't sure about.
Goblins used skills. Hobgoblins used skills, but for some reason, these Orcs weren't.
Is it the Blight? Did getting infected take away the ability to use skills?
2025-04-02 21:07:34 +0000 UTC
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00:00:21:01
I stood atop our Wall and watched as thousands of people fell into ranks. Over 800 people stood at the ready at my back and Marcus had even more standing behind him to our South.
The area between the ringed Wall and the obelisk was filled with all manner of death traps and poisons. Pitfalls, spikes, arcane traps, all covered in poison where it was applicable.
Carpenters to shape the wood used, smiths to shape the metal, Trappers to set it all up,...
2025-04-01 21:12:38 +0000 UTC
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The flames of the fire dwindled over the night and people broke away as the stars came out. Austin and I stayed put and watched as people returned to their tents one by one.
With my Endurance, I could stay up the whole night and be just fine but it was better to be in tip-top shape. A few hours would do the trick, which gave me a lot of time to sit and contemplate.
Why Austin stayed was unclear. He too had a high Endurance, but I thought it was also because I was still up.
T...
2025-03-31 20:41:24 +0000 UTC
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Strong? I never realized that was her last name. I knew she had mentioned it at least once before but I had forgotten. It wasn't like it was something I had to keep at the front of my brain.
I hadn't even spoken to her in years. The last time was right after we returned from the tutorial and resupplied at her city during our journey North.
I wonder what she wants? Here to call in her favor already?
She did give us a hand during our resupply so I techni...
2025-03-28 20:21:17 +0000 UTC
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"Alright everyone. Great job!" I clapped to get everyone's attention. "Go get some rest!"
The time for preparing was over. What could be done was done, and only the Pure Crafters were left with last-minute touch-ups.
They weren't participating in the fighting the following day so they could afford to wear themselves out straight up until the timer hit zero.
Some were assigned to man the siege weapons, but there were far more builders than there were slots available for that....
2025-03-27 20:23:17 +0000 UTC
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Chris
"Sadly, no, this won't be our last run-in with them," Ryan said, "It is also a problem that two separate Summonings happened back to back in a relatively short amount of time. If it's happened twice in two years just in our area, it will continue to be a problem indefinitely."
I could only agree with his assessment as that was the same way I thought. People would continue to be selfish and continue to summon Demons. There was nothing we could do to ...
2025-03-26 20:51:40 +0000 UTC
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I had left our meeting and went straight to speaking with Ashton, but there were things I had to do before I could go off and meet this new Prime Minister. I also considered putting it off until after the 'test' but decided not to. If I survived, I wasn't going to be in the mood to meet anyone, let alone a 'Prime Minister.'
I wasn't even sure how that even worked. Was the man voted in? If he was, how was an election held?
My main thought was about how it would play out into the fu...
2025-03-25 21:20:17 +0000 UTC
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With our decision made, it wasn't hard to stake our claim on the area we wanted. Those in the same ring as us didn't care to fight us over it as they had other spots they favored and no one outside the first ring was given much of a chance to challenge me over it.
Some tried to holler or shout but they were ignored.
I waited to see where everyone else who made their way to the front picked but didn't stick around for the masses.
I would get an updated map later as I had bett...
2025-03-24 20:18:03 +0000 UTC
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