"Because I know you," Sev said. "I met you before. I adventured with you. We were friends."
Derivan shifted, and then gently put him down on the ground. Sev took a step forward, not yet compl...
2023-04-08 12:53:51 +0000 UTC View PostI'm just about to cross the border into the Hotspot. The sun is low in the sky; it's the longest I've survived in the loop so far, and the evening sky is painted in shades of blue and silver. It's ...
2023-04-07 15:18:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I finish my tale, Mari is silent for a long while. I can see she's struggling with her emotions, and I give her the time she needs. I can't imagine how I'd feel in her position.
The firs...
2023-04-07 15:18:04 +0000 UTC View PostA Hotspot Tracker, it turns out, does exactly what the Interface says it does — it highlights areas of interest. It's anything from potential raid locations to places that hold boss monsters; som...
2023-04-06 15:57:28 +0000 UTC View PostI have a lot of questions, obviously, but it seems more important to answer the mantis — Ahkelios' — question.
"You're on Hestia 307B," I say, and then add, "I'm Ethan."
I assume he...
2023-04-06 15:56:34 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the next loop begins, I die again.
It's not too much of a surprise, I suppose, with my Firmament drained as severely as it is. I can feel small pieces of it sparking to life, trying to c...
2023-04-05 16:17:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe skill took effect almost immediately. Misa felt the world slow down around her, like everything was falling into focus; around her was only Vex, Jakos, and herself.
And her remaining clon...
2023-04-05 14:47:27 +0000 UTC View PostWe're on a timer.
I know this because the Lament's neck hasn't healed from the Firmament infusion. She's still bleeding, and bleeding profusely — I suspect it's some combination of Firmamen...
2023-04-05 14:26:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe ten harpies around the borders of the village pose almost no threat to me now. It's almost disconcerting to think about how quickly I've grown — and yet I don't know if it's enough.<...
2023-04-05 14:22:28 +0000 UTC View PostThis time, I head for Tarin's house immediately. Triplestep lets me reach the crows in record time — I reach the Cliffside Crows in just under an hour, leaving eleven on the clock until the raid ...
2023-04-05 14:11:34 +0000 UTC View PostI wake up, roll out of the way, and activate Temporal Echo. With diminishing returns being what they are, it's no longer worth fighting the mantis myself — and besides, I don't trust myself not t...
2023-04-05 14:10:13 +0000 UTC View PostI spin and charge for the center of the village, where I know both Mari and Tarin are. A part of me desperately hopes I'm not too late, even knowing that I can't be — that there will be ...
2023-04-05 14:07:25 +0000 UTC View PostI spar a few times over the course of the next few hours. Tarin is astonishingly spry and quick on his feet, and recovers in mere moments. It's an effect of his Firmament, he's explained, though hi...
2023-04-05 14:06:19 +0000 UTC View PostI don't need the skill to do much. I need it to push Tarin off balance and give me an opening.
This version of my past self is more than enough.
Firmament gathers in a sudden wave, and ...
2023-04-05 14:04:00 +0000 UTC View PostSurprisingly, it doesn't actually take much effort to convince him. Tarin gives me a single sharp nod, interrupting my thoughts on what the best means of convincing him will be. "Okay. Raid happeni...
2023-04-05 14:03:18 +0000 UTC View PostAwareness filters in, and I force myself to roll out of the way just in time. Something in my body aches, like I've pushed it too hard; I've never started a loop like this before, but I do...
2023-04-05 14:02:02 +0000 UTC View Post[ CRITICAL ROLL. ]
The words are vibrant and bright, almost impossibly clear in my fading vision — like it's intruding directly on my mind. I don't have the energy to proce...
2023-04-05 14:01:08 +0000 UTC View PostA number of the crow-people here are fighters; they all step forward, holding rickety spears that I assume are Firmament-enhanced. There's no guarantee they've stayed that way, though. I remember q...
2023-04-05 14:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostI wake with a gasp. The nature of my death leaves me rattled, and I only barely roll out of the way in time; I can feel the wind of the mantis' scythe brushing just past my ear as I do so.
An...
2023-04-05 13:59:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe next step is pretty obvious — figure out what these new skills do. There's a thrumming in my body that I assume is this Firmament thing, and it's aggravating in the sense that it makes all my...
2023-04-05 13:58:07 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: Making a quick edit here since this is the first result when searching! I have an edited epub for Book 2 you can download 2023-04-05 13:56:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Jakos was not willing to talk.
Apparently, he wasn't one for words at all. The moment Misa and Vex appeared behind him, he let out a guttural roar of what Misa was pretty sure was ex...
2023-04-03 14:35:13 +0000 UTC View Post"What do you want?" Sev's tone was cautious, guarded. He wasn't afraid. Liz was a Platinum ranker, but his team was more than capable of fighting a single Platinum-ranker, at this point. The bigges...
2023-03-31 16:08:53 +0000 UTC View PostSev winced as what felt like a thousand mental cries — maybe more — suddenly slammed into him; if he hadn't experienced nearly exactly this dozens of times by his own volition, his mind might h...
2023-03-29 14:09:49 +0000 UTC View Post"Okay, I know we thought Wisfield was up to something, but this is fucking ridiculous," Helix panted.
He wasn't the only one. Larok and Kirsa were both out of breath, too; the three ...
2023-03-27 14:34:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe transition from bonus room back to Elyra was one of chaos. Derivan was certain the transition to the bonus room had not nearly been so jarring — but then, they'd been escaping Irvis ...
2023-03-24 13:55:16 +0000 UTC View PostHelix sat in his cell, bored out of his mind.
He'd had almost no visitors after Karix. A small human came in every day to feed him his food — and really, it was demeaning, to have to be fed...
2023-03-22 14:27:55 +0000 UTC View Post"You're the one who awakened me," the armor said.
"I am, yes." Derivan stepped forward — he didn't sense any ill intent from the armor he'd awakened, as impulsive as the act had been. The a...
2023-03-20 13:36:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe door slamming behind them made all four adventurers pull out their weapons cautiously.
"Never had a door slam on me in a dungeon and have it not be a signal for a boss fight," Mi...
2023-03-17 13:16:29 +0000 UTC View Post"Ma'am, please," Helix said.
He was in charge of the evacuation. Of course he was in charge of the evacuation. Syvila had said it was because he was a noble, and his status would hel...
2023-03-15 07:58:01 +0000 UTC View Post