"Shit!” Rowan slashed at the millipede with his rake. The millipede darted its head back, dodging the blow. He leaped the bug’s body and chased after Kaidu, flipflops slapping over the leaves and roots.
The millipede surged after him, thousands of tiny legs churning the leaves. It lunged for his ankles. Rowan kicked his leg out of its reach and smashed at its head with the rake. The tines glanced off its thick shell, but the millipede still halted a moment. It squealed and twisted, ...
2021-07-15 12:00:01 +0000 UTC
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He glanced up. “So... Jude isn't coming?”
“By now, almost certainly not. The first floor drops people at random locations. After this long without seeing him, he probably spawned somewhere else,” N. Kaidu said.
Would it have killed you to say that earlier? Then the implications of the statement hit, and Rowan grimaced. “We have to clear the first floor without our combat class and healer?”
N. Kaidu shrugged, unworried. He gestured, presumably opening his...
2021-07-14 14:00:01 +0000 UTC
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The stats menu awaited him.
HP: 42 (+3)
STR: 6 (+0)
MAG: 5 (+4)
SKL: 6 (+0)
SPD: 9 (+1)
LUK: 4 (+0)
DEF: 7 (+2)
RES: 4 (+1)
CHA: 6 (+1)
Damn, three points to HP again? At least it’s not nine. Rowan sighed and navigated to his skill list. Four skill points awaited allocation.
“Did you find your pruning spell yet?” N. Kaidu prompted.
“Jeez, honestly. Do I have to find a pruning spell? Where would I even find one? ...
2021-07-13 14:10:00 +0000 UTC
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The receptionist entered the last of their information and clicked something on her interface. She looked them over and smiled. “You are now formally registered as a party. Bear in mind that, from the System’s perspective, this is purely for the Tower’s convenience. Party members can harm each other, and are not granted any buffs or debuffs for being in a party. Party members can see each other on interactive maps, if the Tower has not disabled such maps in the area. Please keep this in...
2021-07-12 14:02:59 +0000 UTC
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What now? Rowan wandered the streets, half-stunned. I don’t have a home. I’m homeless. Should I… should I just challenge the Tower? Just jump in, today?
He glanced down at his feet. Flipflops. Bare toes. He rolled his eyes at himself. Flipflops? What was I thinking?
The Tower loomed above him. Startled, Rowan gazed up. At some point, he’d wandered to the Tower without realizing it.
Ah, oh well. I’ll buy shoes after I register. Maybe b...
2021-07-11 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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“You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re going, no matter what.”
Rowan glanced at the floor. “Ah, well, I, uh… I do really want to, and uh…”
“You want to?” his mother asked.
Rowan shook his head. He stared at the floor another moment, then met her eyes, his eyes flashing with determination. “I need to. I have to. No one else will do it, Mom. No one else will stand up for support classes. If I climb the tower, I’ll prove, once and for all, that support cl...
2021-07-10 14:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Motion caught his eye in the upper right hand corner. Rowan glanced up and found his over-full EXP bar ever-so-slowly draining.
Level 6. Please select a skill.
Level 7. Please
Level 8.
Level 9.
Do I have to be poisoned? Is that the secret? Rowan groaned. I don’t want to have to poison myself all the time!
“Ah! Right, right, I almost forgot, my once-daily—Antidote!”...
2021-07-09 14:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Rowan hurtled backward, limbs flying out. His head hit the asphalt, and a sharp crack rang out. A second later, pain stabbed through his head. He shouted, surprised and hurt.
“Jealous? You think I’m jealous?” Terry laughed, short and sharp. He kicked Rowan again, between the legs this time.
Rowan screeched and curled into a ball. Unimaginable pain rushed upward, radiating through his legs, his spine, sinking sick into his stomach. He gasped for air, barely able to breathe.
2021-07-08 14:26:49 +0000 UTC
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Ashe laughed, suddenly, spoon raised half to her mouth. Cereal spilled back into the bowl.
“Ashe! Careful,” their mother warned.
“No, it’s just, did you see? Rowan posted on the quest board.”
Rowan stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. He snatched up the toast, putting a slice in his mouth. “Thanks for breakfast, mom. Gotta go.”
His mom wrinkled her nose the same way Ashe did. “Rowan did what? Where’d he find the capitol to post rewards for a quest?...
2021-07-08 14:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“Mom, Rowan’s home!”
“How’s our little Gardener? Find a job yet?”
Rowan scowled. “Thanks, mom.”
His mom peeked around the corner, a rose in one hand. Curly dark hair flourished around her ears, as untamable as his own mop. “You aren’t staying here until you’re thirty, I’ll tell you what! Have you spoken to your father yet? I know he’s a Landscaper, but if you apprentice under him, you should be able to evolve Gardener to Landscaper within a few year...
2021-07-07 14:00:00 +0000 UTC
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“Hey, are you okay?”
He whipped around. A man in a puffy baby-blue jacket stood down a narrow crossroads, a box tucked under his arm. Bright blue hair swept forward in stylish waves, shaved short on the sides. He frowned at Rowan, confused more than anything.
“I—frogs!” Rowan managed.
The man’s eyes went wide. He gestured at Rowan. “This way!”
Rowan hesitated a moment. What if he wants to extort me, like those other combat classes?
A frog...
2021-07-06 14:00:00 +0000 UTC
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Rowan furrowed his brows. Huh? I… I can’t gain EXP. How…?
Level 3. Please select
Level 4. Pl
Level 5.
A skill tree bloomed before him, spreading out in all directions. Desperately, he scanned it. Poison resist. Poison immunity. HP Up. I need something, anything.
Poison Resist selected. Four skills remaining.
Instantly, the counter in the corner of his display jumped ...
2021-07-05 14:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Present Day, on the way home from the Tower
It’s not my fault. It’s the System’s fault. If it wasn’t for this System, I wouldn’t have to put up with this humiliation.
Lost in his thoughts, he almost ran into a telephone pole. Abruptly, he looked up and found himself in the midst of wreckage. Crushed skyscrapers with shattered windows sagged against one another. A huge white dish sunk through the sagging ceiling of a defunct fast food restaurant. Cracks ...
2021-07-04 13:49:20 +0000 UTC
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Three Months Ago
Rowan stood atop the stage and smiled at his fellow graduates. Excitement boiled in his stomach. Today. Today is the day I stop being a Student, and become… something greater.
“As I stand before you today, as your valedictorian, I encourage you all to consider the infinite possibilities before us. In a moment, when we turn our tassels, we will become something else. Something greater. A part of the System, each assigned to the role that suits...
2021-07-04 13:47:51 +0000 UTC
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A throbbing headache greeted Twain. Straw prickled against his cheek and side. He pressed a hand to his forehead and winced. Ow, shit. What happened?
He peeled his eyes open and immediately slammed them shut again. Feebly, he lifted a hand to block the vicious dawn sunlight that poured through the stable’s high windows. “Shit.”
From the stall next door, a horse snorted at him.
Beside him, something warm and soft stirred. He hesitated. I just woke up hungov...
2021-06-24 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Girls crowded them immediately, despite having changed back to their ordinary clothes. Fell waved from a corner, and the two of them fought their way to him.
“Mouse, you have to! How often do you see another moon elf outside your country? And he’s cute! Go on!”
Cel stumbled into Twain’s way. The two made eye contact. Cel grinned awkwardly. Twain subtly waved his hand, and both their faces blurred slightly, just enough to make it hard to tell the details. Most these gir...
2021-06-23 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
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A whistle caught Twain’s attention. He whirled. The curvy lady gestured from just under the lip of the stage, wiggling her hips and wrapping her hands around an imaginary pole.
Oh, right. I should be dancing. Er, but how? He walked around the pole, one hand on the shiny metal. Maybe… if I imagine the pole as the spear, but throw my body around it instead of throw the spear around my body? He grabbed the pole with both hands and experimentally hefted himself up. His...
2021-06-22 20:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Startled from his thoughts, Twain whirled. “Huh? Yes, I think so.”
She looked them over one at a time. “What’s with the masks?”
“It’s, uh, our theme,” Twain said.
The curvy lady frowned, and for a second, Twain worried she’d order them to take them off, but then she waved her hand. “Whatever. You’re shy, first timers, I get it. As long as you work it on that stage, I don’t care. You have stage names?”
“Er, stage names?” Twain asked.
...
2021-06-20 20:01:00 +0000 UTC
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“Anything we can do. Just ask,” Spar answered immediately.
Twain elbowed him. We have to get away, not stick around!
The lady nodded. She lit a match, touched it to the cigar, and shook it out. With a sigh, she expelled a thick cloud of smoke. “Damn. Needed that. Now, listen. I need a stripper. Someone to take off their clothes.”
Spar raised his hand.
“You… what?” Twain gawked, confused and lost.
Beside him, Fell glanced at him and shook hi...
2021-06-19 20:55:53 +0000 UTC
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June turned to Sasha. “Ready to go?”
Sweats several sizes too large draped over him, poncho-like. He looked ridiculous, like a little kid dressed in their father’s clothes. The neck hole drooped over his left shoulder, and the pants pooled around his ankles. He pulled the pants’ drawstring as tight as it would go and tied it off with a knot. Barefoot, he looked up at her and nodded. “Ready.”
She adjusted the top so it draped over his right shoulder instead, and pulled ...
2021-06-11 03:35:53 +0000 UTC
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Gilbert jumped up, a hand on his sword. Before he could grab Cecile and flee, Silas pushed him back. “Hold still. There’s not enough time.”
A stiff wind rattled the trees, sending branches and leaves tumbling. Icy, the chill reached even Gilbert on the second floor. Clouds swirled. The moon and soulstream barely had time to beam light down on the town uninterrupted by the barrier before the clouds consumed them. Pitch black fell over the town.
Cecile tensed. “What’s goin...
2021-06-11 03:29:20 +0000 UTC
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Dust settled across Saemel’s face. His scowl vanished, replaced by a blank stare. Saemel staggered forward, dragged by his own momentum.
Smiling, Twain sidestepped neatly.
Toes kissing the ribbon, Saemel drew to a halt. He shook his head and blinked. “I… wha…?”
Twain kicked him in the ass.
Saemel’s arms flew out, spinning for balance. He tripped over the ribbon and out of the ring.
“First round! Victor, Twain!”
The crowd went wild. Cheering,...
2021-06-11 03:18:37 +0000 UTC
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Kat wiggled her tail and bent down. She took a runner’s stance, bare feet digging into the sand, claws balancing her on all fours.
Opposite her, Dormeni drew her bow. Wood curved. The bowstring sang.
Kat launched herself across the ring.
Dormeni released an arrow and drew another in the same breath.
Kat threw herself to the side. An arrow rushed by, splitting her toast-colored fur. She dodged again, nimble body undulating. An arrow buried itself in the sand. Almost u...
2021-06-11 03:02:37 +0000 UTC
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Hi! Thanks for becoming my patron.
I have a couple finished books on the back burner that I haven't posted yet. Thinking of offering a vote to see which one I should put up next...
2021-04-25 17:28:57 +0000 UTC
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