Author's note:
Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of update these last five days. The fever got worse than I thought, it was impossible to focus or to write, I even fainted for the first time in my life during this whole ordeal. It was quite something. But I got through.
I'm mostly better now, if still coughing a lot and left a bit tired by it all.
In more joyous news, BOOK 1...
2024-02-19 17:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostSofia sank into the ground as fast as her ghostly skeletons could carry her, she looked up at the creature which was now just a few meters above her.
This thing’s soul looks gross. It’s not just the body that combined, they actually have souls and they all merged together… Well, not soul, spiritual body is the better word since they don’t seem to produce their own mana.
The creature spasmed, and suddenly the amalgam was a lot closer, steadily pursuing her undergro...
2024-02-13 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostGo check this shit out, Crowie. Try not to get spotted.
The small crow skeleton jumped up from Sofia’s shoulder and hopped to the entrance of the cave where it landed behind a small rock, unable to fly due to the lack of ambient mana.
You got a mana clump about fifty meters to your left, can you look?
Crowie carefully hopped out of the cave and through the short grass to a tree, which he jumped straight up into the leaves of. From there he tried to move t...
2024-02-12 17:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostSofia spent the next three hours flying around far above the forest, and tracking down nine more Firebirds, which all had the same mana imprint. She had also tried to absorb the imprints with Pareth’s heart after taking it with her own ,but as she suspected, each imprint could only be taken by one heart. This must have been why cooperation was an unrealistic expectation for the trial takers. After each fight, only one person would get the spoils. For Sofia it wasn’t as bad, as she had pla...
2024-02-09 17:00:18 +0000 UTC View PostAlright, what else do we have here?
Sofia first identified a bird in the distance, one of the benefits of her new eye, which allowed her to get a closer look at the birds with the optical zoom and also somehow made it much easier to identify distant objects.
[Ironbeak Karoa - Lv. 196 - Imprint power : 0 - Effect : none]
‘Flesh-eating birds, usually scavenge in flocks of 5 to 8 birds, their hard beak lets them break open skulls to get to th...
2024-02-08 17:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostHey there!
So, there's a few things to talk about right about now. I'll try to be quick since I don't have much free time.
Why do I not have any time? This ->
Book 1 of SSS is up for preorder on Amazon and KU! (Ebook only, sadly)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTPQJBW1
It features a...
2024-02-08 16:23:38 +0000 UTC View Post“I see it!” Astelia told the others. She pointed up and everyone looked in that direction. It took a few seconds for Sofia to find it as well.
“I see it too. Cerberus-beta… Looks just like what Kyle showed us. You see it Michael?”
“My eyes must not be as good as yours, not seeing it. Or maybe I’m just not looking in the right spot.”
The planet and its three small moons grew closer and closer until t...
2024-02-07 17:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostSofia’s first reflex was to identify the mana heart.
[Nascent mana heart of Aphenoreth]:
Rank : F tier
Imprint power until next rank : 0/50
Effects (on use) :
All stats -30% (-60%) (F rank base)
Wager bonus (Glimpse from beyond) : Unlocks new unique ranks past the maximum
Wager penalty (The consequences of your actions) : Cannot regain life
Time before setting : 9 months, 33 days, 8 hours
...
2024-02-06 17:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post“So,” Kyle placed the mana heart down in the air it floated by itself where he let go of it, “What is a mana heart? In short, this is a bit like a second soul. A part of you which exists in the mana plane more than in the other ones. You do not have one, currently, which gives you the unique opportunity to make one for yourself. And this is exactly what this entire trial is about. There will be no other reward for this trial, no free stats, no items, no skill points, nothing, except for...
2024-02-05 17:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s fair to say he’s gotten a bit of an upgrade recently, we haven’t really had the opportunity to show it off to many people yet. What do you think? Looks good, right?”
Michael teleported away to get a better view then back in. “It’s… Huh… What kind of creature’s skeleton is this?”
“Oh that’s a custom-bred hybrid, a senior necromancer made it for me. Or for him, rather. You won’t find anything like this in the wild. I was worried it might look weird ...
2024-02-02 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostSofia’s attention was captured away from her system windows by a nagging feeling.
A hero?
One of the doors to the common room opened, and a relatively short man dressed in black strolled in, munching on a large piece of bread.
[Hero - Lv. 249]
Wha- This guy?! Here? Now? Really?!
The man also noticed Sofia’s presence, almost dropping his bread.
“Oh shit! It’s the Saintess gal. What was it… Sofia?”
“And y...
2024-02-01 17:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostSofia looked around, there were empty plains as far as the eyes could see. Wilderness all around, lit by the full moon and nothing else. No traces of civilized life nearby.
She looked down at the person responsible for transportation. “Where is this exactly?”
Astelia was holding a paper map, trying and failing to answer Sofia’s question. “Hard to say. We’re far east of the beastman continent, I think. Moon was the one who decided on the landing point so…”
“Wh...
2024-01-31 15:33:09 +0000 UTC View Post“So, verdict? It’s a fine piece of magic, isn’t it?”
Erredis rolled the eye between her fingers, observing every nook and cranny. “It’s definitely something, that’s for sure. Clearly you’ve not been wasting your time in that underwater hole of yours. I’ve no idea how you even ended up there, but still, I can tell it’s rough around the edges.”
“Well, yeah. Prototype.” Richard answered, leaning on one of the machines in Erredis’ workshop...
2024-01-30 16:59:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Another storage item you say… Hmm, I have plenty for sale still, you can buy one at the reception on the way out. Unless…” Richard gave a sideways look to one of the human spare bodies floating in their columns.
“Unless?”
“Heh, I wouldn’t be offering that to someone else, but if anyone, you might just be the one to accept. Crazy is crazy, after all.”
“Insulting someone isn’t usually how you get them to accept something.”
Richa...
2024-01-29 15:56:38 +0000 UTC View PostRichard sent some mana into the wall and the hidden door popped out of the wall and slid to the side. Sofia looked inside the dimly lit long room; it reminded her of the simulation room in Zephir’s sect, there was weird machinery and large glass columns filled with colorful liquids.
“Alright, this is where the fun begins. Come in.”
Sofia followed the skeleton inside the new room. The door closed by itself when they were all inside, and the lights of the room turned ...
2024-01-26 17:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe discussion between Sofia and Richard had gone over the story of finding Saria and back to necromancy. Sofia explained that she needed another skeleton for Pareth, and ended up showing him the ritual circle as well as the description for the skill.
“So why is it that it only works with ‘genuine’ and unaltered skeletons? It would be so much simpler if I could just make one myself…”
“Souls, even fake ones, don’t take well to ‘objects’ is the issue. Any skele...
2024-01-25 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostSofia started walking through the office. “Thank you, but… Pretending to sleep?”
Richard kept looking into the abyss. “Yes. For myself, I act as if I was going to sleep. I lie down, cut my senses. It’s not real sleep, but it helps with organizing my thoughts, my wants, my memories. Sleep is important to the human brain. Cherish it while you still have it.”
“I never really saw it as something I could lose. Rather I have been happy that I can waste less time d...
2024-01-24 17:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post“And that’s what Orator said.”
Erredis sighed, “I see. Can’t do anything about it, then. I hoped they would know more but I guess not.”
“What was this fissure thing about, actually?” Sofia asked.
“Phageid.”
“Oh. You wanted to try to prevent the next attack by finding where they came from in advance?”
“That was the idea, yes. I thought that if anyone could know it would be the Lords. But I guess not even them can predict the future.” 2024-01-23 17:45:34 +0000 UTC View Post
How do I store the dagger though? I need to actually wear it. Needs to be hidden… Oh I could do like that time with the saint headpiece, tie it around my thigh… Yeah. A bone sheath around the leg will do, I can completely close it too so it would be really hard to steal.
And we’re done here. Find the others yet?
Sofia switched to Pareth’s vision, he was in a large hall with no windows surrounded by students of the Academy. She only needed a quick look to ...
2024-01-22 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostHow many instruments do I even know of? Like ten? Is this thing going to break when I summon fifty rats?
This one I might have to try out… Still, though. Weird. What’s next?
[Demon]: You sold your soul to a dark god. Bold.
Effect: Amplifies your demonic aura.
/Ephemeral/ : Will be lost if you are rejected by your Recessed
Oh. The fear thing that makes people pas...
2024-01-19 17:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Third key! I was right about there being three, though it was not hard to guess. It’s from the God Admin… An actual divine item! Oh, I should have given the earrings to Pareth for Astelia… Well, I’ll give them back when I see her. Grade: test? Item level -500? That’s… Interesting. Was it one of the first system items ever created? Hence the need to do tests?”
Also cannot own other daggers… Is that why it feels like a manaless piece of junk right now?
So...
2024-01-18 16:20:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe shields around Sofia disappeared, and the platform she was on fell toward the bottom of the crater while she was suspended in place by her ability to walk on air, and Pareth had to take refuge in her storage.
So this is how they deal with a rogue level 500.
Sofia felt that she had a bit of a dry throat.
Violated the pact?
Will they want the dagger back?
The archangel appeared in front of Sofia.
The Scribes have tak...
2024-01-17 17:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post[Scroll of assisted inspiration] : Infuse it with mana after writing your current issue on it; the system will provide you inspiration to resolve the problem. One-time use.
Item level : 100.
Grade : Flawless.
There was still her last query written on it, remnants of her passage in Sun’s orbital temple : ‘How do I survive my current situation’. She had gotten no answer that time, but now was different, this time she was in the system’s reach. With a c...
2024-01-16 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostSofia observed the room she was now locked inside of.
This… This might not have been my brightest idea.
The inside of the locked chamber was not full of riches as Sofia had hoped. Instead, there were two giant golems, one on each side of the room, dormant, and a series of stacked spherical mana shields protecting what looked to be the true body of ‘Ancestor Hugo’.
The old man looked the same as he did in the painting of him by Lola’s sister, down to wearing ...
2024-01-15 17:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostIn the gigantic room beyond the doors, an army of golems. Lined up in loose metal casings, stacked up from the floor dozens of meters below to the ceiling dozens of meters above, continuing further as far as the eyes could see, rows and rows of inactive metallic golems.
HOW MANY DO YOU NEED?!
Is this guy trying to replace every living person on the planet with a golem?!
How much mana would it cost to prime all of these?!
I think I’m sta...
2024-01-12 17:00:41 +0000 UTC View PostWell. This is definitely a time where escaping to Zangdar seems like a decent idea.
The ring activated, and nothing happened. Sofia was desperately stuck where she was. She sighed and stored the bone plate with Zangdar’s teleportation ritual circle.
I’m sure the [Ringed arms of Zar] ring could break through the shields… IF IT WASN’T ALREADY FULL FROM THE FIGHT AGAINST CARDINAL!
Well, Pareth, Bookie, seems like ...
2024-01-11 16:59:59 +0000 UTC View PostSofia told Lola to settle down in her room, leaving her with Pareth, while she quickly ran up the stairs back to Astelia’s room while continuing to channel an unlife rune she had started working on when she had gone to wake up Lola. The entire group was quite animated, talking about the competition and the information they had just learned.
Alith was the one who had opened the door, “Sof, you’re back, what were you-”
“I’ll explain later; Astelia, can you lend me the ea...
2024-01-10 16:59:45 +0000 UTC View PostIn the salon of Astelia’s apartments, after learning of his attack on Sofia and her students then of the events of earlier that day, Cardinal scrolled through his system logs.
“Hmm, this is proving to be less useful than I thought. There are a few monster kills in there, and this is most of it… I assume, from this, that my person was primarily used as a tool to hunt you down, Miss Sofia.”
Things are better this way I suppose… At least he wasn’t indirectly responsib...
2024-01-09 17:00:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe pink shield in the sky crumbled and Beligenus appeared near the group, looking disheveled and exhausted. “I shall abstain from asking unnecessary questions, this was beautifully done. Let us return-”
“Is he going to be alright?!” Astelia interrupted him, which he took in strides.
“Yes. His soul is extensively damaged but will recover in a matter of hours; his link to Scripture was completely severed, there is not a trace of essence left,” he explained.
Wa...
2024-01-08 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostSofia flew up while Astelia stayed on the ground. Since Sofia had the unlife runes as a safety measure and Astelia did not, she was the one who would act as bait while the Vampire focused on defense.
I see him.
[Summoner - Lv.300+]
Scripture’s pawn, the masked ‘elf’. He was struggling, twisting in pain under his long cape and randomly teleporting around, his image flickering through the ruins.
Impossible to hit like that. I need to b...
2024-01-06 17:01:14 +0000 UTC View Post