Chapter 90: Mass Extinction.
The caves around us were rather different from those of the Tutorial.
For one, the lifeforms that surrounded us were far less potent than those I was now used to. On average at least.
The spawn of the Kaiju waiting topside were hilariously overpowered when compared to their local competition. Granted, that was mainly due t...
2024-08-26 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 89: Total Atomic Annihilation.
“I feel like I’ve been scammed.” I told Mr. Seahorse. Purposely making sure to show a somewhat displeased expression, without showing any hint of aggression. Lest he turn my insides into my outsides.
Again.
‘Damn it. This is way harder than I expected. Gotta make sure he picks up on the social cues I...
2024-08-23 12:57:12 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 88: A Crown in Quarters.
A flick of its clawed fingers was all it took to send Mittens flying again. The impact sending echoing aftershocks in all directions as a blast of pure kinetic energy pushed the stale air way from the creature.
I thought it was an utterly ridiculous display, until he flicked his clawed digit a second time. Creating an explos...
2024-08-19 22:39:10 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 87: The Dragon.
The party was animated, to say the least. Over two-hundred Espers laughing and drinking with nothing short of giddiness.
Charlie was, of course, no longer brooding on his recent loss. Instead, his mind was utterly focused on what awaited him in his own world. On Mr. Whitmer and all his associates. Though, you wouldn’t know just how...
2024-08-16 16:08:09 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 86: Insidious Influence.
I felt an explosion within my chest and only later realized it was my heartbeat.
No. That was wrong.
It was the simultaneous beating of many, many hearts.
Forcing crimson vitae through my arteries and veins with such force that I feared my cardiovascular system might rupture.
It all came on as a tidal wave ...
2024-08-12 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 85: Lessons for the Others.
Well, wasn’t that funny. Overwhelming cosmic power and the ability to pretty much hyperfocus on any one moment within the timelines I could see as if it were an entire eternity unto itself.
Yet I could still be wounded by mean words.
How very fascinating.
Now, a different man would have taken the comment in stride and moved on...
2024-08-10 02:49:12 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 84: Restrictions.
Clover stopped his rant in order to catch his breath and found that the rest of us were fixated on him.
Now, what he said was completely right. Any old idiot could have told you that. It was the way he said it that caught our attention.
In that small window of time, Clover had gone from a relatively well-adjusted...
2024-08-06 18:05:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 83: Advice.
Helga and Mantis ma…Clover, were already there when we entered the room, sitting down on a makeshift leather couch.
I looked over it as we made out way over. Noting the way Helga squirmed at my presence.
‘She must have seen quite a lot of things when she tried to charm me back then. Her time spent among gnomes can’t have ...
2024-08-06 01:31:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe punch came as a surprise to Grandpa.
He had been sure that Kaito had all the advantages in his spar against Charlie. What with the Illusions and the generous use of [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. Add to that the fact that Kaito had Enhancer as his first Type and the fight hardly seemed fair.
Yet, Charlie’s fist had found the taller, lankier...
2024-08-02 23:14:39 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 81: Setting the Stage.
Mr. Park was the first to approach. His movements stiff and mechanical. As if he were forcing himself forward against his better judgement.
Indeed, I could read that his own [Predator’s Instincts] was blaring like a series of alarms ringing in concert. Much like those found on cities near newly opened R...
2024-07-29 10:34:35 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 80: The Mailed Fist.
The three before me were inconsolable. Their minds drifting back to the stories they had heard growing up within the confines of the Labyrinth.
Tales of the Seeking Drake.
A gargantuan mass of writhing, twisting, scheming flesh that consumed all within its path. Perverting once normal creatures into furniture or masonry. U...
2024-07-27 00:30:51 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 79: Shivers in the Cobweb.
My Avatar was, frustrating. Its two heads thrumming with untapped potential as I fought with its programed instincts.
I, that is, the me trying to control what happened from within the Elite difficulty tutorial, was demanding obedience. For the extension of me to keep as many people alive as it could.
It was a relati...
2024-07-22 23:20:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 78: The Silver Beast.
There was a large bonfire, in the middle of the camp. It’s embers licking the edges of the circle of stones that kept the flames at bay.
Yet, the crackling of firewood did not permeate through the night.
No.
That place of honor was reserved for the screams and the laughter of the men who were coaxing them from the...
2024-07-19 23:46:40 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, so here goes. Brand new chapters 1 through 6 or so, with a lot of spelling corrections and a lot more well written.
Split Randall's intro so that the beginning was its own chapter and added some more content there.
Two more 5000 or so word chapters 58 and 59.
New chapter as per the regular schedule.
That's it! Thank you for reading!
2024-07-15 13:37:50 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 77: The End of the Beginning.
“I’m surprised you didn’t want to bring your grandfather with you.” Slab commented as we rode Dolce.
“I don’t know why that would be a surprise. He’s relatively new at this. A freshly minted Telepath. He’s so exhausted I didn’t even dare give him the usual boost in case his mind couldn’t take it. Bes...
2024-07-15 13:35:13 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 76: Everything Adds Up.
I was sitting on a couch. In what could only be described as a disgustingly opulent palace. Even by the standards of the UM general security council. Unfocused eyes staring out into the distance. Trying really hard to come to terms with what my grandson, or rather, the supersized crazy-eyes freak supermodel claiming to be my grands...
2024-07-15 13:34:32 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 75: Under Burning Skies.
The staircase hadn't been there before. Not the part leading down, anyway.
I had searched the mansion half a dozen times already and, in every instance, the structure hadn't possessed a basement.
'Though I suppose expecting consistency in this place is the height of stupidity.'
Indeed, the physics, or what passed for...
2024-07-15 13:33:48 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 74: Inside the Sarcophagus.
I came out of that place a different person. My eyes feeling heavy and hollow as they gazed out into the mansion’s interior.
There was a polished mirror in the living room next to me and I gazed into it now with an indescribable weariness.
The person gazing back was a suspicious stranger. With an empty expression ...
2024-07-15 13:32:48 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 73: Under Boiling Seas.
The food had become, annoyingly persistent. Refusing to lay down and die as it should have.
It was bad enough for the collector swarms to diverge from their original orders, seeing as though all that nutritious meat would be going to waste, but for the food to try and threaten me, my children…
That was unacceptable. 2024-07-15 13:32:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Chapter 72: Mittens is Here.
“Stop crying and get back to work!” I yelled. Really struggling against the impulse to dominate these fools again.
One of the fools in question sobbed pathetically. His shoulders sagging as he crumpled downwards in a heap.
“Please sir! I have a family!”
I could feel the veins in my forehead twitching with bar...
2024-07-15 13:31:36 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 71: The Ruinous Powers.
The sirens had been ringing non-stop for minutes now. Their cries piercing through air and stone alike.
They were so loud that I had to actively resist the temptation to bring my hands up to my ears. Despite the very real need to keep them at the ready, in case one or more of the monsters decided they wanted seconds.
The sounds of c...
2024-07-15 13:30:52 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 70: Divided by Chaos.
My ears were ringing with the sound of sirens. They told a tale as old as the Rifts themselves. A story of a city whose air defences had come online and done (Gnome) all for the people they were supposed to protect.
The aftermath was clearly visible as the wind carried clouds of dust and debris throughout the cluttered streets ...
2024-07-15 13:30:07 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 69: The Rift.
“So, let me get this straight.” Henry started. Holding his head in his arms.
“Your plan is to go away somewhere. To an Excursion. Wherever that may take you. There, you will confront your teammates, all of whom have a second Type, and demand to know what happened to Randall. After that, you’ll ask this, Slab fellow, who just so happens to be the y...
2024-07-15 13:29:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 68: Goody Two Shoes.
“No, Henry. I do not have a problem.” I repeated for the umpteenth time.
“Dude! You just told me that you didn’t realize you were wearing the suit until after I pointed it out! Also, you just told me you haven’t slept in two days! How are those not problems?”
“Because I’ve got them under control Henry. I sw...
2024-07-15 13:28:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 67: The Mirror.
“Hey. Hey! Wake up. Mr. Park asked you a question.”
Ryan didn’t move. In fact, he didn’t so much as twitch.
His heart was still beating and his lungs were still drawing in oxygen, but the rest of him was utterly unresponsive. Like a broken doll laying against a wall.
At first, I’d thought he had merely fainted a...
2024-07-15 13:27:28 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 66: A Call Beyond.
“Why are you running!? Why are you running!?” I called out to Ryan as he hobbled away with all the grace of someone who’d recently had multiple bathroom accidents.
At the same time, my attention was being stolen by the things he apparently couldn’t see. The things holding and spinning the knives.
They looked like mor...
2024-07-15 13:26:43 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 65: Too Much Trouble.
“Jane. Jane! Come on baby don’t pout.”
She turned around. Her face so red that it seemed like she might burst like a ripened fruit hitting the ground at any second.
She pointed an accusing finger at me. Wagging it up and down while she drew in heavy breaths through her nose. Her mouth opened and closed several times...
2024-07-15 13:26:02 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 64: Confessions of a Tyrant.
“Here, I’ll show you.” He snapped his fingers and the scene burst like a million panels of exploding glass.
Leaving the two of us, plus the avatar in a blackened space filled with other humans on one side and large crustaceans on the other. Most of the people here were blurry and undefined. More outlines than anyth...
2024-07-15 13:25:24 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 63: The Tall Man’s Home.
The rain was thickening. Red droplets falling down with greater intensity as the thing in front of us kept wheezing.
“I… control…. I control…. I…. ugh…. control.”
I moved one of my legs and smashed the poor thing’s skull. Caving it in under the weight of my current body.
Turning my eyes in time ...
2024-07-15 13:24:38 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 62: Haunted.
I stammered through a few lines. Not quite managing complete sentences.
At the same time, questions were flowing into my mind. Rather pertinent things like:
‘Why would you want to die?’
‘Why would you ask me of all people to let you die?’
‘Aren’t you already dead?’
‘...
2024-07-15 13:23:58 +0000 UTC View Post