To be outnumbered was not to be outclassed. That was a lesson Alex had carried with him his whole life.
There was always a way, a second, more important lesson his first experience with being outnumbered had taught him. Throughout his past life, he had been outnumbered on more than a few occasions and in more ways than one. He had faced two opponents, or five, or ten, or at one point, fifty. He hadn’t won against fifty, though. But he hadn’t exactly lost either;
B...
2024-03-29 12:35:58 +0000 UTC
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Alex’s fingers curled around the grip of his sword, a quiet, familiar touch that anchored him amid the escalating chaos. His heart beating a steady, calming rhythm in his chest that sent waves of information surging through him. It was strange to be able sense and see your inner workings so vividly. He was no doctor, but he could feel that he had hardly sustained any injuries reaching this here. His boots enhanced his movements, and his armoured’s force field held strong, imperceptibly sh...
2024-03-28 22:47:02 +0000 UTC
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Alex stood still, his breath controlled, eyes sharp. Alone. He moved carefully, a shadow amongst the ruins. The din of distant battles sounded, but they were far behind him now.
His feet barely whispered against the worn cobblestones as he traversed the labyrinth of shattered and burning buildings. His strength and agility, now beyond mortal in their capacity, superhuman, lent him catlike grace as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, silent as the wind.
The horizon was bleeding. A te...
2024-03-28 21:53:29 +0000 UTC
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Three demonic forms ravaged the settlement. The smallest, Gutter Imps, were grotesque parodies of children. Their faces bore sickening grins, their eyes pools of gleeful malevolence. Each raised sharp-clawed fingers, playing with their meals in a mockery of innocent curiosity.
Then, there were the grotesque Slaughter Fiends. Tall and towering, covered in rippling muscles, they were monstrous beings. Their skins were deep crimson, and multiple eyes shone with malignant and depraved inten...
2024-03-28 20:38:51 +0000 UTC
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A cry pierced the settlement. Alex skidded around a corner to a stop. There, an armoured woman was trapped under fallen debris. Her eyes locked onto his.
One quick glance. Nothing around. He lunged forward.
Muscles strained under the weight of the wreckage. The woman scrambled free, tears streaming down her ash-covered face as she recovered her weapon. A nod of thanks. A shared glance of understanding. Time was a luxury they didn’t have. He was off again.
The light from th...
2024-03-27 18:00:18 +0000 UTC
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Alex watched as a horde of figures, a maelstrom of red with flecks of white and black, swarmed into the town, now awash in a deep, ominous red. Explosions of light and flame erupted in their wake, walls buckled, and buildings crumbled beneath their onslaught. Among the chaos, the town's inhabitants clashed with the invaders, some fighting back fiercely, while others were swiftly overrun. Towering entities loomed over the fray, some rivalling the town's structures in height, with others so mas...
2024-03-27 16:25:40 +0000 UTC
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A wave of pressure exploded from the incursion point, sending all who witnessed its birth sprawling to the ground. Alex knelt and braced, but the shockwave still shook his bones, sending him sliding back across the floor before coming to a stop, the impact forcing him to stabilise his position with a blade stabbed into the stone and earth. He rose before the others to witness the inevitable.
The centre of the red light had transformed into a menacing gateway, and from its depths, demoni...
2024-03-26 21:22:37 +0000 UTC
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[System Message: Choose one of 2 Skills]
[F-grade Skill 1: Immortal Mamluk (Passive): The Sovereign systemically conquers all, and rules all. the soul of your greatest foe will be pulled from the wheel of samsara and shackled to yours, its spirit forever bound to reside within your shadow. It will become your personal assassin, acting as an immediate layer of defense during the day, able to absorb damage in your place, while being able to be summoned compl...
2024-03-25 21:21:29 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: Update to chapter 48 - Alex acquired (stole) some relics.
“Alex felt that he had chosen well. Very well. Alongside various blades with increased sharpness and durability enchantments, Alex had secured four items and placed them in his inventory, with no plans to take them out or even have them appraised. A pair of gloves, a cloak, an aged wooden stake, and a grimoire. He had no idea what they did, but they were filled with more mana than any other item he had...
2024-03-25 20:55:26 +0000 UTC
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There's been an important change- Alex received first place for killing the queen, hence his enhanced rewards. Second was quite forced and didn't really serve a purpose, and was quite the mistake. He was always intended to get first place (as he practically solo’d the queen) but not get the evolution insight, so the evolution insight is now the reward for second place.
See the changes here:
Chapter 44:
Before either could respond, notifications...
2024-03-20 23:27:26 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: I have a backlog of about 20 chapters that need slight alterations before posting, as I'm pretty happy with them and they only need minor improvements, so I'm aiming to get them all out this week, hence the delay. There should be no more delays for at least the next 2 months, as those chapters are a lot of fun and send the story racing forward quite a bit.
The next few arcs begin with the next chapter, thanks for being patient guys. Enjoy.
2024-03-20 21:55:35 +0000 UTC
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Alex frowned, confusion and concern etched across his face. "What did you do? And where is the Queen's mana core?"
Mira shifted uncomfortably and her wary gaze met his. "Look, calm down," she began, her voice a mix of defensiveness and regret. "I had to use the core to grow stronger—I didn’t even get a chance to see the second Insight, it’s reward… I had to give up on trying to understand it to save him. It was the only way to bri-” she paused, hesitant to continue. “It was ...
2024-03-12 03:59:56 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: apologies for the delay guys. This chapter suffered from a case of perfectionism, where I wasnt happy with the outcome and did not want to release it until it was ‘perfect’. It was originally intended to just be the cultivator wrecking a world but ended up becoming something a little more. To be honest I'm still not happy with it and wish I had the time to improve it, but I realise that's just perfectionism talking and would lead to paralysis and nothing being...
2024-03-05 10:13:01 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: this was another chapter that ended up being much longer than originally intended (about 6/7k words!), so I’ve had to split it in two. I’ll try to get part two out tonight but it will most likely be posted tomorrow as I want part two to have a bit more focus and impact. (p.s. This character is pretty important also!)
Chapter 45: The BloodSeers Conquering Test
Jin felt at his navel with delicately scarred fingers and marvelled at...
2024-03-01 23:28:43 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: This ones pretty chunky too, at 5.3k words, (most chapters are usually 1.5-2k!!)
Enjoy.
Chapter 44: Weighted Rewards
Silence reigned in the chamber as the oppressive atmosphere began to dissipate, replaced by a tentative sense of peace.
Alex stood amidst the devastation that had only moments before been an opulent display of hidden sovereignty.
His eyes scanned the remnants around him: the shat...
2024-02-25 15:30:50 +0000 UTC
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“Your tricks will no longer save you, human.”
The Queen eyed the defiant human male with disdain. He had survived her opening salvo, somehow.
Using the old ways, she breathed deep, gathering the world's mana into her blade and sensing its contours as she altered it fundamentally, turning its structure into that of aura as she prepared for another swing.
She was using a source of free and untainted mana, granted to her by the space that the human had freed with his sy...
2024-02-19 04:55:52 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: A bit of a long one. (6k words) This and the next were all supposed to be one chapter, but it turned out quite lengthy. Enjoy
Chapter 41&42: The God of Duels
The remnants of the thorax-womb swelled and a long tear formed at the centre, a woman stepped out of it. The Queen.
But changed.
She looked…vaguely human. She was lean and tall, like an Olympic runner with a humanoid form. But well-muscled, the kind of form you woul...
2024-02-13 21:40:49 +0000 UTC
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Alex felt tremors running through the ground beneath his feet. The vibrations spiked and the sound and airwaves soon joined them, bursting with meaning and imagery; the sensations painted a picture of destruction. Several of the queen's limbs had crashed into the girl’s location behind him causing the stone floor to erupt in a plume of chaos, dust, and rubble. He tilted his head slightly, assessing the dust cloud and debris-covered wreckage without eyes, searching for the girl's condition.<...
2024-02-10 03:11:23 +0000 UTC
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Something strange had happened to Alex’s skill. It wasn’t broken. Well, maybe it was broken, corrupted. His entire class was. But it had become more twisted than before. His skill wasn’t broken in the way a blunted blade snapped at the hilt was broken; the useless kind of broken. No, It was a different kind of broken, of a more useful nature. Like a faulty ignition switch that would start a car too easily, or a sword that snapped vertically to create a sharper, more jagged and ...
2024-02-10 02:27:56 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: there’s a few more chapters to come, I’ve been working on this arcs end over the past couple days as it’s a bit complex character wise- so I wanted to get it right. I originally intended to release it all in bulk for one long read but then realised that it would take too long to post and didn’t want to leave you guys hanging on a cliff. So I’ve spent today trying to find the balance between quality and schedule getting some chapters posted. I’m pretty please...
2024-02-07 22:18:34 +0000 UTC
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John, the town Guard - level ?? BloodBerserker
John had mixed feelings about change. Over the past week or so, he had become intimately familiar with it; change had become his constant companion.
ever since his time spent in the tutorial realm, Everything had changed. many times, in fact. And not only had things changed, but things he hadn't even known could change had rapidly become capable of change. His capabilities changed, his ‘skills’ changed, the town had changed, local...
2024-02-01 01:07:52 +0000 UTC
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In the system's inky blackness, Alex’s consciousness stood vividly alert. He lost whatever purchase his feet had found in the empty space and began to drift, detached from reality, Here, he was not bound by its rules or limits. Except one; the limit of time. Aside from times March- slowed to a crawl- His mind was his reality, and it was here he faced a crucial choice: the selection of his latest crystal gained skill.
His first option, 'Lesser-Hivemind,' presented itself as a network o...
2024-01-28 10:13:23 +0000 UTC
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Votes are in! Bestial senses it is.
Two chapters coming tomorrow guys, and possibly another two on Monday to end this arc.
2024-01-27 05:02:12 +0000 UTC
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**Edit**: Votes are in! Bestial sensed it is.
Two chapters coming tomorrow guys, and possibly another two on Monday to end this arc.
Which skill do you think Alex should choose?
The options were:
- [Lesser-Hivemind (Passive): Grant mutual mental cognition and communication between yourself and accepting beings of your choosing. The number of hive mind memb...
2024-01-25 14:56:56 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: I'm getting into the habit of writing two chapters in one go. So the posts are ending up much chunkier than usual. Anyways, Enjoy!
The hidden queen
Perched above her immense, transparent womb filled with unborn Spiderlings, the hidden Queen shifted in surprise.
She sensed the minds of the soldiers outside her chamber instantly fade into nothingness. Snuffed out in a blink. Had they killed each other during the rite? She wondered. Ho...
2024-01-25 14:52:40 +0000 UTC
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The three had discovered artifacts within a new section of the dungeon, a section filled with more deathly beauty than the last. It was a cathedral of some sort, a twisted rendition and ode to forgotten figures.
Markus looked around, his eyes settling on the towering stone figures that flanked the entrance to the cathedral-like chamber. "Those stone things give me the creeps. The hells are they meant to be, demons?"
"Statues, Markus, they're just statues." Lucia c...
2024-01-23 19:23:53 +0000 UTC
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Authors note: thanks for your patience!m guys!
In the quiet of her grand chamber, a girl sat. Well, she wasn’t quite a girl. Yes, technically she was a girl, in the way that technically a lion was a cat. But for the sake of simplicity, she often considered herself as a simple female; it was a quaint misnomer.
She sat on her throne and pondered her nine sisters, each with their own unique impressions that left ripples across the globe.
She...
2024-01-22 20:09:10 +0000 UTC
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“What do we do?! John yelled, his voice reaching Alex over the maelstrom of rumbling rock and distant screeches.
For a second and for a breath, Alex hesitated. Indecision seized his joints and the temptation of endless rewards tugged him in all directions. He did not think he had performed enough acts to secure the most valuable quest rewards for escaping. After all, John and the Kid had dealt all but one of the final blows. He found himself tempted to head back into the darkness to f...
2024-01-16 20:43:51 +0000 UTC
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"So, what's a class milestone exactly?" Alex's voice cut through the cave's oppressive silence as they trudged toward the uncertain exit.
John glanced over his shoulder, his eyes reflecting a mix of weariness and alertness. "A class milestone? It's a significant boost you get after you've grown into your class. A skill that usually hits between levels 15 and 50. And then a new milestone comes every fifth level after that with the next one being at level 100.” He gestured with enthusia...
2024-01-14 18:20:51 +0000 UTC
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Rapidly fading mana fizzled through Evan's veins as he leaned against a broken pillar, catching his breath. Lucia, wiping sweat off her brow, sagged towards the floor in exhaustion.
Within the last hour, the trio had faced relentless onslaughts from the animated suits of armour. An hour, delving through the dungeon's depths, evading death and exhaustion with each victory and setback.
Markus had not sustained any life-threatening injuries during Evans's forays into the near future,...
2024-01-14 18:03:44 +0000 UTC
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