alstonsleet

Chapter 12 - Goals and How (Not) to Set Them

When the final Orc finally staggered his way out of my dungeon, I unceremoniously removed the entrance to a point hanging above the poison waterfall I found weeks before. I couldn’t close off my dungeon entirely, but I wasn’t eager to deal with challengers at the moment either. I needed to figure out what my plans were now that things had changed. So far, I had been letting things hit me as they came and answering my new instincts as they demanded action; and they did demand action. Finis...

Chapter 11 - Tackle Hug to a Realization - The Traveling Dungeon

There are few things in life more wonderful than being tackle-hugged by a happy woman. Especially when you thought you would never experience it ever again. It was surreal when the woman was seven feet tall, lightly covered in a smooth chitinous armor, had sharp-clawed hands, delicate white tusks, and downy-soft feathered wings. I had imagined the chitin to be uncomfortable and the claws to be frightening. But my new instincts as a…whatever I am…never even twinged as she wrapped her arms ...

Chapter 10 - Soul-Brother - The Traveling Dungeon

Rok patted the scales over his chest as he exited his latest challenge. The warm-satisfied-full sensation from his partner echoed through his mind as they turned the last corner through the twisting halls of the dungeon. This wasn’t his first time in a dungeon, but it was the first time he or anyone he knew had experienced something so odd. If the tribe-mother hadn’t confirmed it, he would have believed it was the work of a tribunal of mad wizards. The achievements, as few as he ...

Chapter 9 - You Want My Body - The Traveling Dungeon

It says something about my life that I was surprised to suddenly remember losing a one-sided argument with myself—courtesy of one of my other me’s. Worse, I honestly did lose the argument. The other me was right about all the things I had been avoiding and why. I could have been a bit nicer to myself about the way I argued about it, but then, I might not have gotten the point. I was stubborn with myself like that.

Shaking my head in annoyance, I glanced around the Hall of the Gods. ...

Chapter 8 - Building is Fun, Fun is Building - The Traveling Dungeon

It was easier to be a dungeon fragment of Dale than it was to be Divine Dale.

The difference was the same as between a bomb versus a demolition expert. Both can cause or solve many problems, but only one of them will still be there after they do their work. As a dungeon fragment, one of Dale's so-called 'other me's,' I had all of Dale's problems, but I could just focus on my assigned task and then pass my memories for him to deal with. Having a bit of distance as I did, I had more persp...

Chapter 7 - Showing Off - The Traveling Dungeon

With a simple twist, I stepped onto the trading floor of the mage's tower. My sudden appearance drew eyes, but it was the essence leaking from me in an invisible wave that created a pool of silently staring mortals. The merchants had quickly consumed the expanded floor space; carts, stalls, and tent-covered stands crisscrossing the nearly square mile of the bazaar. Despite the expansion, the open space had been reduced to small pathways between the new stalls. Surprised at the market's develo...

Chapter 6 - Pretending Problems Don't Exist - The Dungeon Traveler

I felt like I should be hyperventilating. A nice panic attack would give me a way to deal with the sudden shot of surprise coursing through my mind. Not an incredibly productive way to deal with it, but it was a way for me to deal with it. As it was, I froze and stared at the message while the Gods continued their subdued celebration. I never would have thought it, but the gods appeared to be a generally calm and considered bunch, to my surprise. The mythos from the ancient stories of gods in...

Chapter 5 - Debts Owed - The Traveling Dungeon

Nothing outlines how your world has changed than being able to step sideways through the dimensions. Ending up back in the Hall of the Gods while a vicious sharp-toothed, and dirty Goddess once again clinging to you just underlines it. Scratch that. No. Stepping sideways into the Hall of the Gods…and knowing how that works. That is the real way to know things are wholly changed. I’d known, of course, I had (the new body was a pretty big clue), but this just stomped on any idea I had that ...

Chapter 4 - Godly Birds and Bees - The Traveling Dungeon

We appeared on the side of a hill forming the boundary of a valley. Surrounding us was scrub-brush, small boulders, and a field of broken rocks. In the valley were two groups of humans fighting. It was hard to see from this distance, but they were a mix of men wearing furs with wooden spears assaulting lightly armed guards. Despite the disparity in weaponry and skill, the bandits had numbers that swayed things in their favor. Even with my unskilled assessment, I could tell the bandits would s...

Chapter 3 - Conflicts - The Traveling Dungeon

Before I could question the small goddess, the hunched, dirty divinity let out a drawn-out hissing laugh. She flashed her sharp teeth in a truly horrific grin while glancing at me through her hanging hair. Rocking her hips from side to side, the movement disturbing with her hunched form, she slowly shuffled forward to sit next to me and glared at the others. Despite the odd and disturbing movements that would have freaked me out as a human, I felt no discomfort at her actions from my new divi...

A stray scene.

Every once and a while, a stray scene sticks in my head, and I need to get it out before I can move on. So, without further a due, here is a random stray part of a scene that made me laugh.

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With a grunt I thrust forward, pelvic bone bruising under the force of my movements but ignored in the heat of the moment and the dose of adrenaline pumping through my veins. Despite the force, I barely ...

Epilogue - The Humble Life of a Skill Trainer

The waving mass of invisible tentacles swayed around Rang Yu as he stepped from Baron Verstrom's mansion. The feather-like touch erasing his passing from the minds of gardener and gate guards alike. A slightly more powerful press from his soul-linked tendrils smoothed his existence from the minds of the secret Royalist-aligned Mages hidden within the mansion across the street. With a flicker of careful will formed over centuries, he continued his way down the road. The roiling mass of his sou...

Chapter 80 - The Humble Life of a Skill Trainer

Returning to the Baron’s estate was far more nerve-wracking than our morning journey. I wouldn’t have thought it when I woke, but with the streets packed with unnerved townspeople and the squads of the King’s mercenaries roughly keeping order, it was true. Worse, we were escorted back by a team of hard-faced men who made way for our carriage with liberal use of force. They didn’t stop at the estate gates either. They posted themselves around the mansion to protect us.

I could se...

Chapter 79 - The Humble Life of a Skill Trainer

The King rose from his padded seat, his guards in fine plate flanking him as he walked. The gathered nobles’ eyes were drawn to his performance, his movements careful and measured as he stepped down the wooden stand and to the arena itself. Stopping at the edge of the pit filled with white sand, he faced Alexis and dramatically gave a martial salute. Despite his acting - and some of it was undoubtedly an act for the nobles - I couldn’t help but feel that he had been impressed by Alexis’...

Chapter 78 - The Humble Life of a Skill Trainer

The dueling rules were a throwback to an older, more brutal time of the kingdom. There were few requirements, but the few that existed were vigorously defended by the dueling pit’s aficionados. The area of battle must be lowered to designate the arena. The pit must be filled with sand or mud, and once both competitors enter the arena, the duel has begun. The use of pure white sand was an affectation of the Duke’s to showcase his wealth and capabilities despite his family’s obvious finan...