It seemed that the Janitor was able to create more of the magical projections than it had revealed until now. It had kept this fact a secret while laying a trap—hiding two more sets of force-arms behind its body while Team Earth moved to counter the first.
Nick had the sense that this configuration was far less efficient, but the creature didn’t care. It wanted their essence and was willing to spend what it needed to get the job done.
One translucent hand was headed straight f...
2024-10-04 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Edge was already running, heading toward the spot where his naginata had landed. He dove and slid the last few feet, causing a pair of water bullets to go streaking over his head instead of hitting him in the face.
The instant that his hands closed around the shaft, he shadow stepped and charged, heading straight for Warren with his weapon at the ready. Right now, Edge didn’t care if the skill got disrupted. He was on guard against rematerializing without warning...
2024-10-03 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Edge took a deep breath, shutting out the adrenaline-soaked instincts telling him to rise and run before he got hit again. He forced himself to calm down and remain perfectly still, ignoring the stalks of bladed yellow grass that were slicing into his skin.
He needed to keep a level head if he wanted to survive. To take advantage of this moment to calm down and think, although he only had enough mana to stay concealed for a few final heartbeats.
Surviving War...
2024-10-02 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Nick conjured a pair of mana darts before coming to a stop beside the burning queen.
The moment that he was in position, he started scanning the air above the party. During this phase of the operation, it was his job to deal with the force-arms extending from the creature’s torso. He was the only one who could see them clearly, besides Devin, who was now wearing Kellen’s glasses, and no one else had abilities that might be able to disrupt them.
Let’s hope this works.
2024-10-02 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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A pulse of Disruption expanded from Warren’s core, widening to a ten-foot hemisphere in the blink of an eye.
It reminded Edge of the technique that Trapper had performed, only bigger, faster, and stronger. Just like what had happened when he was fighting the crew’s leader, the instant that the antimagic field touched his body, shadow step was forcibly deactivated, and the color of the world returned.
Warren’s sword came up in a flash, gleaming beneath the li...
2024-10-01 17:01:02 +0000 UTC
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With a puff of displaced air, something came streaking out of the end of Warren’s gun. Alarm bells went off in Edge’s mind in that instant.
His instincts were screaming that he was dead if he was standing anywhere near where the spellshot landed. They were certain that shadow step wouldn’t protect him from the high-rank skill contained within the lump of crystal. After digesting the rare skill, he had learned that while ...
2024-09-30 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Before the Janitor could land a killing blow, an arrow came streaking across the battlefield to land inside its mouth.
The instant that the missile touched down, thick smoke began billowing out from its hulking jaws as Shaun’s ability activated. The smoke was harmless, but it was distracting. The dense cloud momentarily blinded the mutant, causing it to hesitate.
Before the smoke cleared or the monster could recover, Nick’s team unleashed their might. A piercing ray and a pair...
2024-09-30 17:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“I don’t want to shoot you, Vasher. But if you’re not willing to surrender peacefully, then you leave me with no choice.” Something in Warren’s tone told Edge that the manslayer was only trying to distract him. That he had no intention of letting Edge walk out of this encounter alive.
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the bounty hunter appeared before his eyes. Warren strolled across the cracked earth, grinning like he didn’t have a care in the world. His revo...
2024-09-27 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Now that the Janitor was back in its melee mode and the roach horde had been crippled, the gear swarm was ready to make its move.
Accompanied by the tapping of hundreds of metal claws, the rats came swarming into the chamber. They surged forth, hissing and squeaking, light glinting off their tightly packed bodies like a river of molten brass. The party fell into formation and prepared to hold them off. But they soon realized that none of the constructs were headed their way.
Inste...
2024-09-27 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Sakura flitted across the rooftops of Puppet Town, quiet as a whisper. She came to a stop at the end of the last block, watching as Warren left through the north gate. The same gate that Edge had passed through not twenty minutes ago. When the manslayer vanished from sight, she let out a long sigh, wondering what was about to happen.
She had no clue what fate had in store today. What she did know was this: Sometime within the next few hours, their three-way game of cat and mouse would c...
2024-09-26 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Edge dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the shot as the missile went whizzing past his ear. By the time that he reoriented on his opponent, Trapper had already reloaded her crossbow and was getting ready to fire again.
He knew that darting from side to side was a losing proposition. She was going to tag him with a bolt sooner or later. Instead, he charged straight for the agile hunter, trying to weave unpredictably to make himself harder to hit.
There were bound to be more tra...
2024-09-25 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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“Damn.” Devin let out an appreciative whistle. “That was one hell of an opening move.”
“She’s going to completely overpower the Janitor if it doesn’t do something,” Sophia said.
“Which would be a good thing… right?” Shaun asked, wiping some grime from his face with a rag.
“I think so,” Veronica said. “I don’t want to fight either of them, but at least we can see her attacks coming.”
Over the next thirty seconds, the queen and the Janitor...
2024-09-25 17:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Edge made it to Trapper’s right on time, thrilled by how well the last few days had gone. He had made significant progress with his skills, cycle, conditioning, and credits. He was eager to complete his training and head into the field on his first big game hunt.
He was also curious to learn what the veteran hunter was going to teach him, and to find out what she’d been up to over the last two days. He found the crew’s leader waiting on the front porch, trying to soothe an irate B...
2024-09-24 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Warren Ellington made his way through the streets of Puppet Town, on the hunt for his prey.
The crowd parted as he crossed the town square. Even cored individuals walked to the other side of the street when they realized who was headed their way. When they saw the expression on the manslayer’s face, they ran.
Today, Warren wore a dark scowl instead of his infamous icy grin. While he usually kept his emotions bottled up inside, it had been years since he had felt so frustrated. S...
2024-09-23 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Nick looked in the direction that V was pointing, taking in the war raging in the middle of the enclosure.
Although team Earth’s battle with the insect squadron had only taken a couple of minutes from start to finish, the situation had changed dramatically in that time. He wasn’t surprised given the power contained in the magical attacks that had been flying out from the Janitor’s position, tearing chunks of stone free from the walls as they carved bloody swaths out of the queen...
2024-09-23 17:00:20 +0000 UTC
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Edge had the next day all to himself, and he intended to make the most of it. He went to bed early and got up before sunrise. He washed his face, strapped on his gear, and walked down the stairs. After helping Rita move a few tables around in the bar, he left through the back before the common area opened for business.
He stopped by Trapper’s to borrow a cart and said good morning to Blue. Then he stepped through the south gate shrouded in the misty morning light, slipping out while m...
2024-09-20 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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When Nick took aim and fired the wand, the intensity of the blast caught him by surprise.
The cone of force picked up three of the smaller roaches and sent them flying across the battlefield. They landed in a heap of tangled limbs a good thirty feet out, removing them from the fight for another few seconds. He turned to point the device at the warrior roach headed his way. The beast must have recognized the danger, because it skittered to one side instead of charging back in, granting h...
2024-09-20 17:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Lilly pulled on a pair of surgical gloves, then reached for the tray and picked up a swab of cotton. After dunking it in alcohol, she rubbed it across his chest, right below where his ribs came together. The chill liquid made goosebumps break out across his skin.
Edge hadn’t expected to find himself sitting next to another attractive woman with most of his clothes off again, especially not so soon. But he was far too nervous to appreciate the experience, let alone say something witty ...
2024-09-19 17:01:02 +0000 UTC
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Edge crept his way through the heart of Puppet Town, ducking down alleyways and dimly lit side streets instead of taking the main thoroughfares. He wanted to keep a low profile, because tonight he was heading back to Lilly’s exchange to install his first magtech implant.
On his way, he tried to remember everything that he could about magic-based technology, generally referred to as magtech.
Broadly speaking, all magtech devices could be divided into low and high-grade gear...
2024-09-18 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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The Janitor must have decided that it wasn’t going to be able to reach the humans or deal with the gear swarm until the roach horde was out of the picture. It took off in a streaking blur, pulling back to the far corner of the room. Once it was beyond the range of both armies, the mutant stopped to eat a half dozen corpses that it had picked up along the way.
To Nick’s dismay, all the visible damage, mostly burns from the fire and acid, began healing at a far faster rate, disappeari...
2024-09-18 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Edge expected Trapper to be waiting for him to arrive, since she was supposed to conduct the final two days of his training. He was surprised to find someone else standing in the yard instead—a woman who he hadn’t met before.
Thanks to his obsession with the Prison World broadcasts, Edge knew that she was Violet, the final member of the crew. Violet played several supporting roles that kept the team running at peak efficiency. Although she didn’t go into the field as often a...
2024-09-17 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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When he returned to his room, Edge threw himself into an intensive strength training session. After almost being eaten by the giant padamas, he was highly motivated to improve his stats as fast as he possibly could. He also wanted to be strong enough to get the most out of his new weapon.
An hour into putting his body through its paces, a message from his Guide appeared before his eyes.
By conditioning your body, your power has increased by 1.
<...
2024-09-16 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Nick looked over his shoulder as he ran, turning in time to watch the Janitor finish off the last beast that was attacking it. It gave him a chance to witness its other ability in action, which seemed to operate on a different principle than the explosive blasts it had unleashed in its blob form.
Instead of a beam of force erupting from the mutant’s position, the warrior roach was lifted into the air in front of the creature, exoskeleton cracking beneath the intense pressure. After on...
2024-09-16 17:00:09 +0000 UTC
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2024-09-13 17:02:01 +0000 UTC
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Edge walked into the Forge with a spring in a step, so excited that he was dancing from one foot to the other every few paces. Every hour that had passed since he’d commissioned the weapon had felt like an eternity. At long last, the wait was finally over.
He’d spent hours imagining how awesome it would feel to hold the polearm in his hands. How great it would be to be able to inflict serious damage from further out, beyond the reach of rending claws and snapping jaws....
2024-09-13 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Nick fell into formation by Sophia’s side, sliding in between a spear-tongue frog that was guarding her flank. Crossing the room had been easier than he’d expected, thanks to the war between the Janitor and the roach horde raging in the middle of the enclosure.
He was glad that their diversion had worked, keeping the mutant from reaching their friends long enough for the next squadron of beasts to engage it.
Nick had fired off a couple of mana darts, while Veronica and Shaun u...
2024-09-13 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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In that moment, Edge thought they were dead.
But the lizard’s tongue slammed into the opposite side of the enclosure, pulling away a heartbeat later. When the elastic appendage retracted, two of the mudpuppies were stuck to one side, bound by some manner of sticky fluid. The next time that its head appears, it’s coming for us.
A crystalline clarity came over him now that the decisive moment had arrived. Edge had one chance to turn this around. If he messed up or his p...
2024-09-12 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
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The rubbery pink appendage lashed out in the blink of an eye, wrapping around the stone lion and binding it tight. The cat’s torso turned gray a fraction of a second later, flesh shifting to solid rock to protect its organs from the crushing embrace.
The cat’s defensive skill kept it from being slain in an instant, but it wasn’t enough to save it. Although it screamed, and struggled, and bit at the tongue, it couldn’t get away.
That was when Edge saw what the o...
2024-09-11 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Sophia ducked beneath a wad of caustic green goop, ordering her summons to watch out for more before returning her attention to the battle ahead. The glob of acid went sailing over her shoulder and landed somewhere behind her back, hissing as it ate through the dirt covering the floor, all the way down to the raw stone beneath.
She felt a stinging pain blossom on her cheek and realized that a few drops had hit her. She wiped them away with a rag, cast it to the ground, and got ready to ...
2024-09-11 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Edge followed Sasha through the endless expanse of grass. He kept his eyes on his surroundings through sheer effort of will, trying not to get lost in the way that her hips tapered to form her pert, perfect ass. The curve of her breasts visible through the contour of her armor.
So far, she had only caught him looking twice. Instead of the rebuke he’d been expecting, Sasha hadn’t said a word. She just smiled, shook her head, and kept on walking.
Most puppet bodies were at...
2024-09-10 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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