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Chapter 12

Helen lived close to her work place, Pink Bodies.

During the day, the place looked nondescript.  The bulbous circles that were supposed to be blaring with pink lights, attracting the attention of those looking for someone to comfort their loneliness or take the edge off of their day-to-day stress blended in with the concrete streets.  Artemvian that the building itself was a dull-pink, no doubt designed to stand out amongst the other plain-looking buildings.

<...

Chapter 89: Party (5)

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“I-It’s coming!”  Stole sounded both excited and nervous.

I could understand why, I was excited too.

Skaris trembled, barely able to contain his eagerness.  “Sssssha! Sssslaveborn! Let me have thisssss one!”

“I could shoot it down from here.”  Kyrian commented.

“...”  Even Aurora looked to me, as if asking for permissi...

Chapter 11

Artemvian walked quickly through the metropolitan streets, eyes alert and hands ready in his pockets.  Broad daylight accentuated the dirt and grime, both the physical and metaphorical stains of this city.  Ignoring an one-eyed homeless man whose cardboard cutout read ‘Help me buy new eyes!’, the Mage looked at the address on his phone again, double checking it with the GPS and making sure he was on the right track.

His steps led him downtown, though not the sou...

Chapter 88: Party (4)

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We would meet at the docks in one week.

So I sat in my quarters (nothing more than one corner of the tent really) while Skaris and Kyrian slept.  Ignoring the lizard beastman’s snoring, I scribbled on the floor with a piece of soot I found.  Strangely, the moment made me laugh.  I had been the son of millionaires and then when my parents lost their business, I lived in a one-bedroom apart...

Cyber Fables Archive: Chapters 5 ~ 10

Chapter 6

While Riley went to the back, Brant bombarded Artemvian with questions.

“So… that guy you captured the other day… you say he was a Werewolf?”

“Yup.  Just a mutt though.”  Artemvian answered, taking another bite of his sandwich.  “Two possibilities.  One is that a traveling Veritas Lycan, a True Werewolf, ended up biting someone.  Since he’s a lone wolf and doesn't have a pack nor any interest...

CYBERFABLES ARCHIVE

Possible Covers.

Chapter 87: Party (3)

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I was going to church.

Well, the Church. One of its branches anyways.

It stood on top of a hill that stood behind Miltus, overlooking both the City and the Slums which stood next to it.  The entire building was painted with gray-white walls and mounted with elaborate structural decorations incorporating shapes such as circles and pointed arches.  It stood anywhere between t...

Fabled Archives (Introduction ~ Chapter 5)

New Novel: Title is Pending.

Introduction

Eulogy of Artemvian Moneti Delacreu

Delivered by Emperor Theodus III the Pious

Found in the Tomb of Maxxus Bolivine

Many would ask me how I knew Artemvian.

I first met Artemvian when I was 6, right after I set the nursery on Fire.  My father decided that if I was old enough to set things on Fire with Magic, then I was old enough to learn....

Chapter 86: Party (2)

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Stole led us to the central marketplace.

“Stick next to me like hair on a monster’s ass.”  She muttered then slipped into the crowd.

Skaris and I followed her, bumbling like an awkward teenage boy at his first dance recital about to ask for his crush’s hand.  Whever I looked, I saw traces of Stole.  Turning a corner, slipping behind a particularly large orc...

Chapter 85: Party (1)

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Leaving the Mage Tower after speaking with Dibo left me with plenty of questions and tasks to think about.

In a nutshell, Dibo had gotten information that the [Player’s Guild] will be participating in a raid that the Church was planning.  Using this raid, he was hoping that we could make contact with the [Player’s Guild].

Just two problems.

First, the ...

Chapter 84: The Mage Tower

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“So… this is the magic tower.”  

“You’ve never seen one before?”

Out of reflex, I nodded my head.  “I have seen them before.”

Technically, it wasn’t a lie.  I had seen them before on the computer screen.  Just not in real life.

The mage tower stood in the middle of a field, Kyrian and I having had to kill a few st...

Chapter 83: The Colosseum (2)

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The burning sands that shifted beneath my feet with each step.

Half-buried weapons, bones, fistful of hair that lay strewn around the field.

The acidic stench of blood, piss and shit that stung my nose.

People that chanted, screamed and roared meaningless, incoherent words.

As I stepped out into the arena, my senses were forcibly awakened like someone had ...

Chapter 82: The Colosseum (1)

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One of the time old arguments on the forums.

Build Design… AKA: Which Items to use for endgame content and most importantly, which Cores to take.

In MSS, there were thousands of Cores with drop rates that made me tear my hair out after 50 hours or punch my screen after 500 hours.  So it gave birth to the question: Are the Cores in a build a must? Can’t they be replaced by somethin...

Chapter 81: Oung's Double Play

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The statue’s arms were rock tight (no pun intended), one wrapped around my neck in a rear naked choke.  Her other hand roamed freely over my stomach and occasionally dipped below it, in places that should never be touched by anything made of stone.  In any other situation, I would’ve tried to break free.

But Oung’s voice, coupled with the strength of her limbs cowed me into submission.

Chapter 80: Escort (4)

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Stole watched as Gurran, the proud lightning shielder, got blasted away from the Skeleton that exploded.

Used to adventuring alone, ambushing monsters under the cover of darkness, her first instinct was to run.

Even the girl’s Core makeup was centered around this fact.  Having experienced Soul Sanctification twice, she had three Cores.

The Core of the Six-footed White Hare...

Chapter 79: Escort (3)

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｢ +7 EXP ｣

｢ +3 EXP ｣

｢ +8 EXP ｣

The expedition was going smoothly.  Almost too smoothly.

Since I gave Stole that peptalk, she fulfilled her job as a [Pioneer] with renewed gusto.  The girl took the role very seriously and we could all see that she was taking more care than before.  Beads of sweat dropped from her chin whe...

Chapter 78: Escort (2)

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“You brat, what did you say to me?”  Dorothy took a step forward and the wolf behind her growled; its eyes glowering with red light.  Simultaneously, Dorothy’s own cerulean eyes seemed to glow.

“So she has a Core that shares certain abilities with her Summons.  Battle-oriented support summoner?”  Thinking back to the throwing weapons she deployed earlier, I changed my...

Chapter 77: Escort (1)

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A kid with a dog… wolf? –some kind of canine ears sat with her legs crossed. A crossbow –called an Arbalest– that was longer than she was tall lay within easy reach though I had no idea how she’d hoist it in time. Her eyes were pitch black with amber pupils, the same color as her spiky hair which was shaved at the sides but left long at the top and back; a few strands covering her face.. Young enough to ha...

Chapter 76: Solo (?)

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I was so going to die.

The archer with the ugly mug from before fired without warning, the twang of his bow reaching my ears at the same time I ducked my head, feeling the arrow whistle above my head.

“Stop!”  Gurran ordered, obviously their leader.  To their credit, most of the party seemed to listen, with Dorothy helping Gurran try and retain order.

But som...

Chapter 75: Solo

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“Technically speaking it’s not a dungeon.  It’s a field.”

“Sssso while I am getting my [Evolution], you will be hunting?”

“That’s the idea.”  I replied.

Currently we were walking towards the Beastman Settlement, in between Eretia and Miltus.  This was the morning after having spoken to Yousef, two days after the fire.  Kyrian and Skaris came ...

Chapter 74: Errands (3)

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The fire spread like a virus.

In this place, the Slums, everything was built out of scrap metal, driftwood and unwanted.  The weather in Miltus was sunny and warm with the occasional rain.  A weather perfect for those who didn’t have much in the way of shelter, even in the Slums the few hours of sunlight kept people warm.  However, that very fact proved to be deadly.

The f...

Chapter 73: Errands (2)

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When we entered the bar-like room that served as the Guild’s reception area, all the talking died out.  Elves froze in the midst of raising a glass of wine to their lips and beastman around us actually let out a few growls; somewhere between appreciation, respect and wariness.  Others all had the same reaction; the room beginning to fill up with whispers as Skaris and I walked past them.

“Is ...

Chapter 72: Errands (1)

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After everyone left, Aurora remained behind having asked Kyrian and I if the three of us could talk in private.

“If you need help selling off the loot to the guild or other merchants for a better price, I’d be more than happy to go with you.”  Kyrian offered.

Aurora –with her Auctioneer’s license– had volunteered to go sell off the loot.  Normally, two members would ...

Chapter 71: Debt

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Lock sat in the Forge –the dwarven word for their temple– of Smith, the dwarven god.

Contrary to what one might expect, the temple itself wasn’t a heat-filled building, filled with screeching metal and screaming hammers. The building Lock was in looked like a typical church, much like what one might find on earth. Pews arranged in neat lines, the building made out of large solid brick and an empty a...

Chapter 70: Fracture - Twilight Maze (End)

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“Damn it!”  Kyrian slammed his fist on the wall.

Everyone else remained silent, dealing with the situation in their won ways.

Krag sat straight across from me, looking after the wounded Dibo.  Dibo’s face wasn’t… pretty.  He had cuts all over his face, swollen nearly beyond recognition.  Eyelids were black and blue, closed shut.  His breathing was even sh...

Chapter 69: Fracture - Twilight Maze (16)

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We set out into the maze again, leaving the carnage behind us.

“I hope everyone else got out fine.”

I wondered if feeling remorse justified my actions.  The truth was that I risked everyone’s life, choosing a path that was narrower and riskier for my own selfish reasons.

Emotions over logic.

If I was sitting between a screen I’d never...

Chapter 68: Fracture - Twilight Maze (15)

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There are roughly 4 types of monsters.

Regular monsters are the typical mobs, swarming the field and are commonplace throughout the world. Though some argue that we should have a separate category for those that appear only in select dungeons, I personally think most monsters belong here.

Boss-class monsters.  Regardless of Grade, these always had strength that defied all reason, usua...

Chapter 67: Fracture - Twilight Maze (14)

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[Inuho-oh], a Grade-6 monster resembling a Terror Bird wearing the skin of a chicken.

There had been no benefit to actively looking for it until now.  It was bad-tempered and powerful; considering the fact that none of its abilities were a good match for us –even if it dropped a Core, a big if– I was more than content to let it be.  Simply put, the payoff hadn’t been worth the potential tro...

Chapter 66: Fracture - Twilight Maze (13)

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“Mr. Lock.  W-Was that, was that what I think it was?”  Aurora hissed, waking the others.  Then she scrambled to her feet, green eyes wide with disbelief.

I stared at my katana which had been surrounded by a black and gray hue moments before, equally as shocked.

That was…

That was [Aura] wasn’t it?

There were two requirements to unlo...

Chapter 65: Fracture - Twilight Maze (12)

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Kyrian was the first to strike, summoning a pair of [Lightning Strike] to stun the one-horned Ice Dokkaebis.

I veered off from the one I had been attacking, aiding Skaris.

Skaris whirled his spear like a martial artist from a action movie film and then stabbed forward in what looked like a single motion but in actuality were multiple thrusts.

“Damn, when did he pick ...