“So, I never got your name.” Cal could hear Oleg moving around in the side room. The stumbling didn’t help the girl’s future prospects.
“A-Ana.”
Cal raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lie, but it doesn’t matter. You can be Ana. See, I know you’re not the only one that’sdoing this. If you give me names—real names—you’ll be free to go.”
Since Oleg was mostly unharmed, Cal suddenly had a far lessened desire to take out Ana immediately. He was in the mood...
2024-10-19 04:57:13 +0000 UTC
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Cal approached Silverpine. He had dropped Seris off at Mariner’s Rest, but it had been harder than it should’ve been to convince her to stay in town.
She had gotten attached to Tavia when she was offered spell books out of the blue yesterday. He had to thank Orrin for stepping in and holding her back, in addition to making the multi-bladed plow for the golem.
Cal frowned when he saw that there was only a single guard manning the gate. He glanced at the too-long merchant line b...
2024-10-17 21:22:06 +0000 UTC
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There’s the looting I expected.
Kade’s workplace was in Bridgeport, an area with plenty of warehouses, so it almost makes sense for it to be looted.
He saw several groups that seemed to have the time of their lives, but that wasn’t surprising. This was what he expected when he saw what happened to Earth.
It was honestly more shocking that such a large group came together and established some sort of order in the city proper.
Kade eyed a group that was ge...
2024-10-13 20:57:46 +0000 UTC
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Kade materialized back on the freeway, right where he had last remembered being. The first thing he saw were hundreds of abandoned cars.
“What the hell happened here?” Kade asked himself when he saw some cars with open doors, as if the owners had to run. He noticed something strange on the side of the freeway.
The top of a tree.
Kade stared at it in shock. He had gotten stuck on an overpass. There was no way a tree could reach this height. It would even be taller than th...
2024-10-12 21:22:31 +0000 UTC
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Cal again caught up with the group of three that were going to Silverpine. It seemed like they still suspected nothing.
He was happy that was the case. It wasn’t like he could get rid of Astris as easily as Kaelor. As callous as it made him look, the latter was disposable since he only had contact with the others every few weeks at most.
As for Tavia’s friends, it seemed like the Frostguard Dominion was playing the long game with them. They were not a priority at the moment.
2024-10-11 15:32:25 +0000 UTC
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Kade narrowly dodged the swipe of the troll’s hand and jumped on its finger. He had a crazy idea, and since he chose to fight this monster, he might as well lean into the crazy.
He rammed his [Soulrend] into its wrist to stabilize himself—ignoring the hideously smelling roar—before swiftly running up the arm toward its head.
The troll was quick for its size, but it was nothing to write home about compared to Kade’s quickness. However, what it lacked in quick reactions, it ...
2024-10-11 00:32:48 +0000 UTC
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You have entered The Arcane Well.
Every minute you stay in The Arcane Well, you will receive a reward of +1 [Free Points]. Once you leave, it is impossible to regain this effect.
Kade felt conflicted. He shouldn’t be, considering how much he could benefit just by waiting in this lake.
This fantastic gift that fell from the sky would happen before some overpowered monster smacked the protagonist around like a chew toy. He very much consider...
2024-10-11 00:32:08 +0000 UTC
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I should’ve brought Nibbles with me.
Cal had done his due diligence on the abandoned quarry. He found it wanting.
There was no cover. The quarry had unstable walls and open views. That's it.
The only place that would’ve worked wasn’t an option. He noticed a space carved out at the bottom of the quarry with sound-absorbing material on the walls reinforced by runes.
They were similar to what was engraved on the coin that Benan had used in the Eatery.
2024-10-09 06:56:20 +0000 UTC
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All of Cal’s effort apparently meant that he occupied the roof of the tallest building in the town center. He had a clear view of all the shops, and more importantly, he could see all the carriages leaving the town’s gate in the distance.
He figured that if he somehow missed Tavia in the town center—or wherever she was—he would still be able to catch her as she left Silverpine.
Cal had already spent around an hour just waiting patiently on the roof. He couldn’t deny that...
2024-10-07 22:15:49 +0000 UTC
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text
‘Dormant’ is the rank of your [Soulrend]. If you wish for that to change, use it often. To activate it, you must verbally attempt to say [Soulrend].
Kade noticed the odd wording but didn’t pay too much attention to it. He pushed himself off the ground to stand up and checked his right leg and arm. He had been missing an entire calf and an arm that had a hole that he could see through to the other side.
Now, it was like that never happened.
<...
2024-10-07 04:51:56 +0000 UTC
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Kade was far too optimistic. He expected to find more goblins throwing themselves at him, but it had been a bunch of nothing since he told himself to put on a show.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the damned forest. No matter where he went, it was so uniform and neat that it had to be unnatural. It was a creation of someone, but who, he had no idea.
The only saving grace was the occasional clearing he came across. They were a sorely needed change to the mono...
2024-10-06 21:17:01 +0000 UTC
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Arcana Level 1—>Arcana Level 2
Free used Points: 0—>1
Kade’s first reaction was to think about which attribute to use the point on. The issue was that he was shit at remembering how those RPGs worked and which one needed to be boosted first. The interface interrupted any mistakes he could make.
You have reached Arcana Level 2 and are eligible to choose a Class. Once selected, you will have access to the Wisdom attribute.<...
2024-10-06 04:07:58 +0000 UTC
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Kade opened his eyes with a harsh gasp and stared at the blue sky in confusion. He quickly sat up and looked around.
Where the hell am I?
The last thing he remembered was reading that wall of text on the freeway. Now, he was somehow in the middle of a clearing that was surrounded by a forest with nobody else around.
Greetings, Kade Beckett.
You have entered the Class F Rift Zone #8,274,177.
Class F is the lowest ...
2024-10-06 04:07:04 +0000 UTC
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Blurb:
Kade thought his life was... fine. After the sky fell, Kade knew his life was perfect.
Earth has been chosen to join the fight to halt the encroaching decay of all things. But first, Earth's inhabitants need to have the capability to help.
Rift Zones are littered across Earth as the system’s trial threatens humanity's survival. Hundreds of millions have perished trying to clear the Rift Zones, and there was no doubt countless more would follow. It w...
2024-10-06 04:05:37 +0000 UTC
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It didn’t take long for Cal to find what he was looking for. All the potions were behind lock and key, so he waited for an attendant to get to him.
In the meantime, he observed the others around him. He found it curious that most of them were mortals, yet they were splurging on potions that cost several silver at the minimum. After eavesdropping, he discovered that many of them traveled to Silverpine.
Apparently, it was cheaper to buy potions here than any other place, including...
2024-10-05 01:51:54 +0000 UTC
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Cal couldn’t find Tavia’s carriage anywhere. In fact, he couldn’t see any carriages at all.
Though the town was larger than Mariner’s Rest, it was nowhere near enough for him to miss the site of carriages parked somewhere. He found it curious but not enough for him to actually go search for. Besides, he could just ask Tavia when he found her.
Cal was trying to use his half-created spell to find her. It was his greatest challenge yet since there were so many other guild mem...
2024-10-04 03:07:12 +0000 UTC
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Mariner’s Rest was located in Oracle Shores, the western region of the guild’s territory. Silverpine was on the opposite side in the Mystic Woods.
Cal had never been there before but could accurately estimate how long it would take him to get there if he didn’t hold back on speed. Given that it was twice as far away as Lumina, it should take him just under forty minutes to reach the town.
In fact, he had passed Tavia’s carriage minutes ago since his speed was more than eno...
2024-10-02 01:45:22 +0000 UTC
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Cal frowned as he was woken up by a soft ping. He blinked as he read the interface with a blank expression.
[Advanced Pickaxe] has degraded to Poor Quality.
[Advanced Pickaxe] has degraded to Trash Quality. Further use of the tool could cause it to break completely.
[Advanced Pickaxe] has been broken from overuse.
1 primary equipment has been removed.
What?
It still didn’t regist...
2024-09-30 23:34:35 +0000 UTC
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AN: Can't believe I left this out of Tavia's interlude. It's updated and I included the missing portion below.
Even the Frostguard Domain would put them to more use, though they would be brutal about it. Still, they would never let anyone with an interface starve. Her idiotic friends likely had this idea when they went to that hell on a fool’s hope.
Tavia wished they could be more like Oleg. Cal’s friend enjoyed his life as a mortal and lived it up, while her ...
2024-09-28 23:52:09 +0000 UTC
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Cal had decided long into the return trip that delivering the harvest would be Seris’s job. He would drive him mad if he had to waste a few hours a day just driving a cart back and forth.
Thankfully, they had almost reached the farm.
“Cal, do you sense that?” Tavia narrowed her eyes as she looked past the tree line. Her view was blocked, but that didn’t stop the additional presence from being detected.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Cal made a calming motion. ...
2024-09-27 23:17:31 +0000 UTC
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“– Frostguard Dominion really is that insular,” Cal muttered.
“Indeed. I doubt there is anybody who could remember those barbaric isolationists having open borders. Though all things considered, they are still surprisingly stable in their power.” Benan was grudgingly impressed.
“If the most aggressive Guild closest to the Celestial Order has no interest in starting a conflict, which one do you think has the most incentive, regardless of distance?” Cal sounded like he...
2024-09-26 17:32:56 +0000 UTC
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“What are you doing with all of this?” Tavia didn’t mean anything by her question. It was out of pure shock that she blurted it out.
Vaela had led her to a nondescript building just off the boardwalk, but the interior was one large storage room. It was filled with rows of shelves, with neatly arranged items occupying almost all the space on them.
It was a supermarket of artifacts at a level she hadn’t seen before, even in Lumina. However, a closer look indicated that most ...
2024-09-26 14:11:50 +0000 UTC
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“I can’t believe this is the only place that’s open,” Cal said to himself as he stared up at the sign displaying the words ‘Eatery.’
It was straight to the point and couldn’t be misconstrued as anything else, but he didn’t think there was anything more bland to name a restaurant.
“Why do you think I wasn’t interested,” Benan said with an amused tone. “You eat once in this town and you experienced it all.” He took the lead. “There is one good part about ...
2024-09-24 19:28:23 +0000 UTC
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“Drex!” Cal’s call made the man turn in surprise.
Drex saw the cart filled with Sunfire Grains behind Cal, and his eyes widened with happiness.
“Initiate Cal! Initiate Tavia! I was wondering when the harvest would be ready!” Drex said joyfully as he swiftly approached to meet Cal in the middle. “Your yield is lower than I had hoped, but given where you are growing them, it’s acceptable that—”
Cal raised a brow at Drex’s sudden stop and followed his eyes t...
2024-09-23 16:28:10 +0000 UTC
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“I’m not a blacksmith,” Cal pointed out. As far as he knew, only people in the trade could sponsor others for qualification tests.
Orrin, for some reason, looked to Tavia for backup. Which he got.
“But you are an Apprentice. You have the authority to get Orrin into the blacksmith test if you wish.”
Cal eyed the hand that was resting on Orrin’s shoulder. It looked like Tavia got along with Orrin nearly as quickly as with Seris.
“Is Apprentice better than I...
2024-09-21 15:50:05 +0000 UTC
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Cal noticed that the pond had changed overnight. It had visibly contracted—though still larger than before he dumped rain into it—and the water level had barely decreased.
He walked closer and saw that the floor of the pond’s slightly expanded borders were recessed. It was no longer flat like the rest of the field. That should mean the center of the pond now had an even greater depth, but he had experienced enough of his assumptions being wrong to just accept it.
The rumblin...
2024-09-19 17:06:54 +0000 UTC
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Cal was happy about the rake’s trait upgrade. Extremely happy.
While the upgraded trait meant that the tool would take longer to reach ‘Excellent quality’ if it was used the tool until it was nearly ruined, it was still only by two days.
Not that he would use a tool until it was almost destroyed.
If he set a limit for using a tool until it dropped to ‘Average quality,’ it would take five days to recover to its peak state. Three days if he let it recover after falli...
2024-09-18 13:48:24 +0000 UTC
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Cal wasn’t ashamed to say that he spent more than a few minutes watching the golem lob dirt ball after dirt ball until the field was cleared.
It did more of the same when it moved to clean up the acre of surface layer he dug up in an attempt to modify his trance state.
Cal turned his attention away and hopped onto his meditation hill. There wasn’t much he could do when it felt like his body yearned to sleep for years.
I just need to recover my mana and avoid using it...
2024-09-16 18:53:55 +0000 UTC
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Cal exhaled slowly as he recovered from the fifth time he fed the hearthstone in around three hours. The crops were fine, Tavia hadn’t left her room, and the workers were still making the stone path.
Though, they were making surprisingly quick progress for mortals. They would be done soon.
He looked out the window to see them getting ever so close to the house. A well-built stone path extended behind them to the tree line.
I’ll need to give them instructions for the ...
2024-09-16 00:01:58 +0000 UTC
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He spent the next few hours on the meditation hill, not that he actually did any meditation.
It had been necessary to water the crops when they suddenly started showing signs of withering fast. So fast that it was visible.
This happened precisely when the tunnels underneath them were filled with water.
Cal had to nearly drown the soil before the crops started to recover. His only guess for the unexpected behaviors was that the roots of the Sunfire Grains switched focus from ...
2024-09-14 05:18:49 +0000 UTC
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