This place is enormous. I’m never going to find the others if I just search through rooms at random. We could wind up chasing each other’s tails for days without ever bumping into one another. I need a better plan.
Eventually, as Nick stared at the floorplan mounted to the wall, an idea came to him. Although part of the map is missing, there seem to be three central tunnels that lead from the outer ring to the middle of the floor, and maybe an inner ring b...
2024-07-09 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hey everybody. I hope that your week is going well. Just a quick update. I'm changing the chapter format on RR for what should be the last time. The only change here is that the chapters will be listed as a single number instead of two. I tweaked the numbers of the first 9 chapters today, just wanted to make sure it didn't confuse anyone.
2024-07-08 17:01:03 +0000 UTC
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The moment that Nick acknowledged the prompt, the base of the crystal projected a beam of light into the air beside him. To his surprise, it formed a three-dimensional hologram of a tall man wearing a white lab coat with a lanyard around his neck.
The detail was exquisite, to the extent that Nick couldn’t tell the person wasn’t actually standing beside him until he passed his hand through the rendering.
It was clear at a glance that the man wasn’t human. His skin was yellow,...
2024-07-08 17:00:11 +0000 UTC
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2024-07-05 17:02:01 +0000 UTC
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Ready to leave this place behind him forever, Edge returned to the altar room. Before he climbed back to the surface, he needed to retrieve his pack and anything else of value.
The once solemn chamber looked more like a slaughterhouse floor than a place of worship. He cast his gaze around the room, frowning at what he saw.
He had originally been planning to loot the convicts’ gear. But the reaver had torn it to shreds, along with all of their clothing. All that was left was thei...
2024-07-05 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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When the molecules comprising Nick’s body finished putting themselves back together, a process that felt like feathers were tickling every inch of his skin at the same time, he opened his eyes.
He raised his blade and started scanning his surroundings, ready to find out what strange place his adventures had brought him to next.
Today’s journey though the portal network had ended in a flash, and there hadn’t been time for any out of body experiences. No teleportation sick...
2024-07-05 17:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Edge picked up a lantern and walked out of the chamber. It was too hard to concentrate while staring at the remains of the reaver and the drying stains where it had eaten the jailbirds. He sat down with his back against the temple wall, letting the stone cool him off while he thought the matter through.
It was time to decide which direction he wanted to grow in. Edge only had four attribute points and he couldn’t afford to waste them. It made no sense to save them, and it was critical...
2024-07-04 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Nick was thrilled to learn that being stuck with his survivor class for the first nine levels hadn’t hurt him in the long run, something that he’d been worried about for some time. Starting off with a basic class might even have been ideal, given the extreme conditions of his solo tutorial.
It had helped him to level fast, increasing his stamina and health. Not to mention his mana, which he relied on to power his spells. While the skills he had started off with weren’t geared towa...
2024-07-04 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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When Edge woke up, a monster’s eyes were staring back into his own. Midnight orbs protruding from a feathered face that reeked of rotting meat. Only inches from his throat stretched a ragged yellow beak smeared with lurid gore.
Finding himself face-to-face with a mankiller while only half-awake, Edge screamed and threw himself back, knowing that he would never get away in time. That he was already dead, experiencing the final moment of his all-too-short life.
But to ...
2024-07-03 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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The last item on Nick’s checklist before he started getting ready to enter the tower was to check out the new knowledge point unlocks Kerry had added to his journal. Information that would undoubtedly prove useful during the trial to come.
He sat down on the bed and flipped it open, reading through the loose sheets she’d stuck between the pages. The first entry was fascinating, and he hummed to himself as he took it all in.
Species Grade
A...
2024-07-03 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Edge’s chains reared back and struck, the metallic ripple of link against link reverberating across the stone chamber.
This time, they had to fight harder, struggling to work their way through the monster’s flesh before sliding below its skin.
The mysterious manifestations wormed their way into the shadowreaver’s chest, sinking into its core. His mind tried to follow along, before something got in the way. Skill-Eater was holding him back, shielding Edge from whatever was in...
2024-07-02 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Now that upgrading his first spell was taken care of, it was time for Nick to decide how he wanted to spend the three free attribute points he’d acquired for defeating the river king and completing the first stage of ‘the fate of Earth’ quest chain.
When he was done, he wanted to check out the new knowledge point entries he’d picked up just before entering Darkstone Tower, then pass out for a few hours before his next ordeal began.
Figuring out how he wanted to spend his f...
2024-07-02 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The scraping grew louder by the heartbeat, as the shadowreaver climbed the stone terraces and started walking to the temple. Edge had less than a minute to come up with a plan and set it in motion.
The prospect of his imminent death sent his mind racing like never before, considering and discarding a dozen ideas in as many seconds. None of them would work and he was almost out of time.
Then, in the heart of that dark moment, inspiration struck.
The last time the re...
2024-07-01 17:02:01 +0000 UTC
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When the message from the System appeared in front of his face, Edge felt his core shudder.
Skill-Eater flared to life of its own accord. It sent tendrils of power rippling throughout his body, driving all other thoughts from his head.
There was a sense of a threshold being crossed. Of a power yet to be given form. A coiled tension like a tightly wound spring. The first step in a long journey to come.
There was fire in his heart, but not like before. It was the hearth ...
2024-07-01 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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How he upgraded his mana darts wouldn’t just affect his combat capabilities in the present. It would influence his future development too, changing the course of his path to power.
Nick considered each option in that context before arriving at a decision, starting with boosting the dart’s pain and the duration of its stunning effect.
So far, the pain that his darts inflicted had honestly been the best part about them. While he was convinced that tearing a chunk out of his oppo...
2024-07-01 17:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Before anything else could happen, the big man spasmed and then went still. Now that his body could no longer regenerate, blood began flowing from his torso like a bucket with no bottom. It let the sadistic bastard die at last, after the torture he’d endured.
When the last glimmer of life finished fading from the jailbird’s eyes, a message from the System appeared in front of Edge’s.
You have slain an enemy and gained experience.&n...
2024-06-30 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
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The skill trapped in Edge’s mouth squirmed like a living creature. It darted from one side to the other in a frantic attempt to escape.
He could sense that it was still wild. Untamed. Unrefined. That if he wanted to claim it, make it part of himself, he was going to have to break it, then bend it to his will.
It was a bizarre situation that he still only half-believed was really happening.
But Edge didn’t have time to process. To ponder, think, or understand. He’...
2024-06-29 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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2024-06-28 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Edge snapped back into his body and opened his eyes.
For a second, he’d thought that he was standing somewhere else, talking to something… strange. He’d had a vision of his heart burning to ash, replaced by an incandescent organ wrapped in living chains.
I must be hallucinating from the pain… That was when the realization of what had happened washed over him, driving all other thoughts from his head.
The core! The System said that I claime...
2024-06-28 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
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The Ability Mastery System (AMS)
The ability mastery system becomes active at level 15, when an individual’s path to power begins to solidify, releasing a form of transformative energy known as essence.
When enough compatible essence has been accumulated (a process that begins before the AMS is activated) and an individual’s understanding of the fundamental nature of their power crosses a critical threshold, abilitie...
2024-06-28 17:00:07 +0000 UTC
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“Bastard,” the armless jailbird muttered. Anger warring with shock long enough to force the words past trembling lips.
“I never thought I’d see one, but that was a shadowreaver. It must have a lair nearby. It’s the only reason to leave us alive. It wants to keep our meat fresh to feed its spawn. They can only eat live prey or newly severed flesh. It won’t be gone long.”
In that moment, Edge knew that he was dead. That he would either expire from blood loss now,...
2024-06-27 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Excited by the prospect of gearing up followed by sleeping in a real bed for a change, Nick looked around until he spotted a gleaming silver box resting by his boots. A container that hadn’t existed until he finished reading through his quest updates.
He reached down and cracked it open, relieved to find a familiar strip of paper resting on top. Seeing it made him miss the knowledge points that chests had granted during his tutorial, since Nick still had a mountain of questions regard...
2024-06-27 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The hulking brute was eight feet tall, broad enough at the shoulders that it had to twist to fit through the door. Even after entering the room, it had to hunch over, or it would have been even taller.
The monster walked on two legs like a man, but there the resemblance to anything human, anything natural for that matter, ended and the stuff of nightmares began.
Its powerful body was covered in long black feathers, palm-wide pinions that were oily and matted. Its legs ...
2024-06-26 17:02:01 +0000 UTC
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“You’re no fun,” the big man whined. “You never let me finish anyone.”
“You can play later,” the tall man replied. “I’ve been wanting to test the output of my elemental blade ever since I ranked-up the skill. Now a perfect specimen has appeared before our eyes. If there’s anything left after my attack, you can have the rest.”
While they were busy arguing, Edge looked at the floor and froze in place. He was doing everything that he could to avoid attract...
2024-06-26 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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During that moment of disorientation, recent events became jumbled.
The last thing that Nick could remember was racing for the tower with the colossal hound hot on his heels. His eyes snapped open, the whites showing all the way around as fear wrapped icy fingers around his spine and squeezed tight.
His hands shot down to his waist, desperate to arm himself as quickly as he could. He grabbed hold of his wand with one hand and his dagger with the other, searching for enemies hidden...
2024-06-26 17:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Edge held the convict’s gaze without looking away. By now, he was certain that they were planning to kill him no matter what happened. But he needed to act like he still had hope. Pretend that he’d fallen for their ruse to buy as much time as he could.
It must have been the right move. Because instead of lashing out then and there, the big man’s smile grew.
“That’s the spirit, go out with a bang. I like you, little puppet. It’s a shame that it has to be like this, but ...
2024-06-25 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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When the prisoners stepped into the chamber, each carrying their own lantern, Edge knew that he was screwed. Both men radiated vitality and vigor. The aura of potency that binding a core bestowed.
The bigger man was deeply tanned and built like a bull. He was clearly a full power build, every inch of his body covered in dense, corded muscle. He looked strong enough to punch right through Edge, which Edge realized, he probably could.
He had a buzzcut and wore some kind of ela...
2024-06-25 17:02:01 +0000 UTC
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Over the last two months, Nick had crossed the threshold of a wide variety of portals. Leapt though mysterious rings of light in every color of the rainbow.
Some of those journeys had been relatively short, brief jaunts from one star to its nearest neighbor, while others had taken him beyond the Milky Way.
Although he wasn’t sure why, he had frequently been granted a vision of his voyage, as his essence was shuffled from one planet to another.
While each trip had been diff...
2024-06-25 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
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“Hi everybody, it’s Nick. I’m here with Sophia to give you a rundown on the events that took place during book two, just in case it’s been a while or you’re in need of a quick refresher. But before we get to that, Sophia, would you care to introduce yourself and say a few words? I know that there are a lot of people out there who have been hoping to meet you.”
“Sure. Why not? I’ve never done one of these before. It’s actually kind of exciting. Oh wow, you weren’t kid...
2024-06-25 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
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It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Edge wasn’t supposed to be here.
Not really here, in the flesh, wearing a body that wasn’t his own.
Although, if what the System said was true, this was his body now.
He had never expected to find himself standing on the surface of another world. Stranded by a magical disaster that had carried his consciousness across the stars.
But he didn’t have time to worry about it now. If Edge wanted to find a wa...
2024-06-24 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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