Zachary Scott

Chapter 86 - Knee-Deep In Corpses

I walked ahead of the group with Lyria at my side. Neither of us spoke much, which was hardly a surprise.

We hadn’t had much time to think with all the chaos, and even now, we were wading through knee-high piles of twisted, vaguely humanoid rat corpses. I had just likely pissed off some powerful son or daughter of somebody I was supposed to be afraid of. We were probably going to have to explain how the hell I managed to kill an Eclipsed when I tried to claim my accomplishments with t...

Chapter 85 - A Name to Remember

Vitus

I touched the grommet’s aura, confirming he was either as powerful as a small twig or exceptionally gifted at hiding his strength.

“Caution,” I said slowly. “Something is wrong here.”

The seven of us, drenched in blood and hardened after a full day of slaughter, slowly approached the grommet with our weapons held high.

The grommet waited patiently, large eyes partially shielded by hair. Its rocky, flat, white teeth also peeked out from ...

Chapter 84 - Sweat, Desperation, and Musky Grommets

I woke with something hard and earthy in my mouth. I sat up, tried to bite down, and found my teeth sinking into something with the texture of a potato.

Several pairs of hands urged me back down. I noticed black veins bulging across my body and a feeling of… something. There was another presence in my body. 

“What are you trying to do?” I managed to ask. I was speaking to the voice, this time.

“We’re keeping you still until you can sleep, Brynn,” Ly...

Chapter 83 - Out of the Frying Pan

I strained my eyes against the darkness, breath coming in quick gasps as I searched for whatever had triggered my Mana Sense a moment ago. I had my back to the grommets, a Viperlilly-infused Elemental Spike already summoned and clutched in my hand, and my party gathered behind me. The narrow size of the tunnel meant we couldn’t jump without bumping our heads, and we could only stand side by side if we wanted to practically hug. I couldn’t think of a much worse place to get ambushed.

Legend of Items, Abilities, and Characters for Reference

ShawnForReal from Discord mentioned how it would be helpful if we had a running list of characters so far in the story. I thought it was a great idea and decided to put it all together today. While I was at it, I also compiled all the items and abilities for Brynn and Lyria, just as a kind of "book 1 is almost finished" kind of reminder list. This can be something I'll keep on hand for book 2 as well, maybe as a reminder/recap portion to start off book 2 so we don't forget everything going in...

Chapter 82 - The Long Watch

Oriander

Behind me, the work continued. The sound was a constant clink and clatter as the men and women worked on the containment room being built behind my throne.

The work had already taken longer than intended, but nothing could be done. Two men and two women had spent the past six weeks locked in my chamber, forbidden from leaving and forbidden from contacting the outside world in any way. They were told it was a temporary sacrifice for the Long Watch...

Chapter 81 - Digging

Ever since discovering the hidden grommet tunnels, I had wondered where the hell the dirt went. As a kid who dug himself many pointless holes at the beach back on Earth, I knew every hole or tunnel created piles of material. It had to go somewhere, but in the case of these dungeon tunnels, the material seemed to disappear completely.

So where the hell was it all going?

I finally got my answer as I watched the grommet squadron dig the tunnel I had requested. They formed a brown, ha...

Chapter 80 - This One is Called... Timbo

“Hey ho,” the white-robed cleric said. He was still squinting up at me. As a kid, my grandma had a pet chihuahua, and I was never sure if it was thinking about biting me or about to fall asleep. The grommet hero gave me the exact same impression. His voice was even more scratchy and wobbly than Grimbo’s.

“Hi there,” I said, trying to inject some respect into my tone. The grommets obviously thought this guy was something special. Maybe he was? After all, I couldn’t q...

Chapter 79 - The Hero

The sound of creaking and groaning wood filled the chamber. After granting my fusion class, the massive bone tree rumbled and began to vibrate. To my disbelief, the tree seemed to be growing in reverse. The thick, dark-mana-studded branches withered, shrank, and retreated into the main trunk.

In less than a minute, only a bony white twig protruded from the ground where the great tree had been. 

“I guess nobody else gets to use the altar,” I muttered to Pebble, pulling my ...

Chapter 78 - Fusion

Chapter 78 - Fusion

The list of potential class options floated in my view. To my surprise, Voidgaze displayed a separate message for me, as if I was inspecting the readout itself. A separate window of information popped up into my view. I hadn’t seen Voidgaze do something like this before and wondered if maybe reaching Iron had unlocked more potential for the Gold-ranked item. If so, I was going to have to start inspecting the shit out of things—not in a creepy way...

Chapter 77 - Advancement

The cave chamber smelled horrible. The stench of the flaming pieces of Eclipsed, the somewhat burned and poison-beamed baby head with spider legs boss, and my own unbathed scent had all begun to marinate. It wasn’t the best environment for total focus, but I was doing my best.

I sat cross-legged, eyes closed, and thoughts inward.

Ever since reaching level 50, I had sensed something new. It had been distant and out of reach before, but killing the Eclipsed had brought it close en...

Chapter 76 - The Return of Pebble

I stood alone in the chamber with the dead dungeon guardian’s corpse, the still-steaming remains of the Eclipsed, and the massive bone tree. My eyes were still on the cavity in the center of the tree, but I knew I had a little more to do before I should approach and find out if the tree could upgrade one of my corestones like the others believed.

First, I needed to explore this new dark mana inside myself now that I had a bit of peace. If there was anything more to understand, I hoped...

Chapter 75 - The Hole In the Tree

I blinked and saw Lyria leaning over me, her red hair dangling in front of my face. “Brynn?” she asked.

I was surprised to find I was completely refreshed. Every shred of the dark mana lingering in my body was gone. The only thing convincing me I hadn’t imagined it was the sensation around my corestones. I could still feel it tainting their walls, lurking within and ready to be unleashed.

A sudden pinch on my arm made me look down. A bed bug was biting me.

Oh, shit. I ...

Chapter 74 - The Burned Man

I was in a featureless, white room.

A blurry figure walked toward me. His form came into focus with each step as if his body was pulling itself together from nothing, taking shape before my eyes.

In moments, he appeared very much real.

The man wore a black robe with silver inscriptions that almost looked like mathematical formulas. His face was a warped tangle of flesh as if he had survived catastrophic burns. There was no hair on his head, and his nose seemed to have melted...

Chapter 73 - The Passenger

I walked toward the Eclipsed with the strangest sensation of… fullness. With each step, the creature’s eyes followed me, body still drifting above the tangle of roots where its legs should be, but otherwise motionless.

The desire to use the new dark power came with odd, unfamiliar impulses. I wanted to blast every living thing in the chamber, indiscriminate of friend or foe. I wanted to destroy. I simply wanted release, and I wanted destruction.

I blinked hard, grippi...

Chapter 72 - Dangerous Power

Lyria

One Minute Earlier

My sword barely penetrated the thick, wood-like skin of the Eclipsed. I wished any of us had larger weapons, like axes or greatswords. Instead, it felt as though we were trying to cut through a tree with knives. Even my Basilisk’s Gaze ability was instantly resisted by the Eclipsed, having no effect whatsoever.

Sylara, Zahra, and Ramzi were all heavily wounded and on the ground. Thorn was beside Sylara, face grim. It seeme...

Chapter 71 - Eclipsed

Nobody spoke as we neared the dungeon’s heart chamber. Ramzi’s soft humming provided a magical light around our bodies, helping us avoid bumping into supports and collapsing the tunnel.

Where the hell were the grommets, anyway? If they were watching us, they were taking great pains to avoid being seen. But why?

I pushed the thought away, knowing I needed to stay focused. Ahead, the tunnel curved to the left, and faint, pulsing purple light lit the dirt and stones ther...

Chapter 70 - Before the Heart

Vitus

The boon I earned when I reached Iron had hardened my body until it could withstand intense punishment. But this was pushing even my limits. How much longer could we keep this up?

Sweat poured from me as I took a step forward, swiping my great ax left and right, cleaving rats in two or knocking their weapons away as they charged. Their soft bodies gave before my ax like wheat, but they kept coming. 

The scents of blood, sweat, and excrement filled...

Chapter 69 - Clash

About thirty seconds ago, I had been feeling pretty good about the plan. All we needed to do was buy a little time. I had a laundry list of ideas for how I could do that. I could use my new Cloudfall skill with a Potion of Life to cause a distraction or create a no-fly zone between myself and Rake, forcing him to wade through dangerous poison or fire to reach me. I also had the net between us, which, if not resisted, should have slowed him down considerably.

There were just a few proble...

Chapter 68 - The First Confrontation

Vitus

I heard the sound of something running toward us with speed.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

I stood, readied my sword, and silently gestured for the others to prepare. Magic flared and gathered on weapons or in the hands of casters. Protective shields buzzed alive, casting the dim cavern in several shades of color. Metal whispered against metal as weapons were drawn.

We were forty men and women strong in total now. Nearly every new adventurer w...

Chapter 67 - No More Time

I could see the paths available for the evolution of Elemental Projection in my mind.

Like before, my Soul corestone presented me with two options. The first showed me firing out three dart-like projectiles of elemental magic. They streaked forward in straight lines, apparently unaffected by physics.

As I watched the image, I was able to feel an intuitive understanding of the ability. I grasped that it hardly used any extra mana at all and required next to no concentratio...

Chapter 66 - Something in the Mist

I checked my newly gained skill with a sense of anticipation. I saw two things before I read the details. One, it was a skill for my Heart corestone. Two, it was an active skill.

[Common] Active Skill: Mana Surge. [Tier 1] Temporarily boost the target’s mana regeneration speed.

“Damn it,” I said aloud. I could immediately grasp the purpose of a skill like that. If I didn’t have a second class hogging up three active ability slots, using Mana Surge would be...

Chapter 65 - Solo Progression

[Rare Accomplishment] Defeat [1] Elite enemy within [Beastden] dungeon. [Reward - Rare Dungeon Diver’s Token] “What happened to the whole no bombs thing? Do you have a death wish, Seraphel? I’m just teasing… That was great. Next time, I think you should start with one of those fancy bomb arrows to the thing’s chest. Just blow it up a little sooner, and nobody will get too hurt. Right?

“Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t backseat fight for you...