87. Back At It
Ike woke with the break of dawn. He sat up, pushing a heavy wolf off his chest, and stretched. Smacking his lips, he looked around, mind and vision still hazy with sleep.
Right. I forgot ...
2024-06-24 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
noct posts
86. Something Bad
“So? What is it?” Ike asked again.
Ket’s face turned serious. He put his hand on the rings again, and sent a huge pulse of mana into them. They all began to glow, then tremble. Abruptly...
2024-06-23 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post85. Forest Hunting
They ran around the forest that day, chasing after Wisp’s nose. One after another, the bloated monsters fell under Ike and Loup’s prowess, while Wisp ate the evidence, sans the rings. Ike colle...
2024-06-22 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post84. Sloth
Ike closed in on the sloth. Lightning chased him, and Loup chased the lightning. The sloth’s eyes glittered. It swiped at him again, its blazing-fast claws closing in on Ike.
Ike laughed. ...
2024-06-21 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post83. Net Hunting
Ike sat in the tree, waiting. He leaned his head back against the trunk and dozed a bit, one leg dangling from the branch. Loup lay below him, completely flat against the ground. Wisp lounged on a ...
2024-06-20 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post82. At the Edge of the Lake
Loup stopped at last. She sniffed the ground, then looked at Ike. Abruptly, she sat.
“Here?” Ike asked. He kneeled, looking for tracks, scat, or some other indication a beast had passed t...
2024-06-19 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post81. By the Lakeside
Ike shook his head at Wisp. Giving up, he settled down and turned to the lake. “There’s some monster out there?”
“There’s lots of monsters out there.” Wisp reached to her hip. A s...
2024-06-18 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post80. Back to the Spiders
Ike retraced his steps and arrived at Wisp’s domain before the sun was high in the sky. He twanged a piece of the web and waited at the edge of the webs.
A smaller spider, about the size of...
2024-06-17 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post79. Will o' the Wisp
Ket was the first to break the silence. He laughed. “You spoke to Will o’ the Wisp?”
Ike nodded slowly. “Uh… yeah? She was pretty normal. I mean, she ate a bunch of spiders, but—...
2024-06-16 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post78. Back Home
Ike knocked on the door to Ket’s manor. “Ket?”
The door opened. No one stood in the hallway.
Ike blinked. He looked around, then peeked inside. I guess I’m being invited in?...
2024-06-15 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post77. Tree Skills
Power flowed into his core. Ike evened his breathing, carefully regulating his mana. Unlike with River-Splitting Sword, there was little difficulty in absorbing the skill. It evenly merged into his...
2024-06-14 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post76. Fighting a Tree
Ike charged toward the tree. He activated all his skills. Lightning Clad, Lightning Grasp, Lightning Dash. He closed in on the tree in a flash of purple-white light.
Bark flew and wood creake...
2024-06-13 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post75. Defenses
Ike yelped. He crashed to the ground. Instinctively, he reached for his ankle. His fingertips scratched against a rough vine.
A vine? Ike lifted his head, searching for the vine’s ...
2024-06-12 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post74. Tapping Puppets
Ike crossed the forest quickly, familiar with the route back to the puppets. The day drew down around him, the sun nearing the horizon by the time he came to the cliff. He glanced up at the sky, no...
2024-06-11 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post73. Wolf Spider
Ike charged toward the wolf spider. The huge spider jumped, startled, but not overly concerned. It lifted a foot, aiming to squash him.
Ha. How the tables have turned.
A shadow...
2024-06-10 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post72. Spider Time
Ike finished absorbing all the mana from Rosamund’s head and put it back away in his bag. The herb Wisp had added had notably changed the tenor of the mana. Normally, it felt dark, thick, almost,...
2024-06-09 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post71. Definitely Spiders
“Hey.”
Ike whirled. Spreading his legs in a desperate attempt to hide Rosamund’s head, he lifted his sword, pointing it toward the speaker.
A girl a little younger than him stood ...
2024-06-08 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post70. Not Spiders
Ike checked the rest of Orin’s book, but found nothing else in the vicinity of the Abyss with a description that included breaking through metal or hard objects. He sighed, tucking the book away....
2024-06-07 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post69. Dolls
Ike held his breath. Staring at a hundred dolls, all lined up and perfectly still, he waited, watching them for any sign of movement.
Nothing. Not a twitch. Not so much as a blink or a breath...
2024-06-06 14:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post68. Hunting Around To Find Out
Back out in the forest, Ike couldn’t help but feel safer than he had in the city. He ran a hand over the back of his neck. The air of defeat and self-destruction in there… I’m surprised T...
2024-06-05 14:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post67. Back Into the Forest
The back garden of Ket’s manor had a gate at its far rear that let out into the back streets. Ike headed out, travelling light for the day. He’d left the majority of his gear behind. Today was ...
2024-06-04 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post66. Morning in Abyssal
Ike sat back, patting his stomach. The chicken stew warmed him from within. An herbal flavor floated on his tongue, perfectly balancing the gaminess of the rooster. Whatever Ket had done, it had im...
2024-06-03 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post65. Dinner in Ket's Manor
“Tana!” Ike rapped on her door with his knuckles.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Stew’s ready!”
“Oh! I’ll be right down.”
Ike retreated down the stairs with Loup, hi...
2024-06-02 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post64. Rooster and Herbs
Ike headed down the stairs to the kitchen, Loup at his heels. He came out into a cozy stone space. Herbs hung overhead in bunches. Bottles of oil and wine sat along the wall at the rear of the coun...
2024-06-01 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post63. Thinking
Instead of the musty old building he’d expected from his first entrance, Ike found himself climbing the stairs of a fine manor up to the bedroom. A lush red carpet stretched under his feet. Narro...
2024-05-31 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post62. Entering the Town
The closer they got, the taller the walls loomed overhead. A pair of guards stood outside the gate, each one emitting a Rank 1 aura. Ike eyed them, a little hesitant, then edged a little closer to ...
2024-05-30 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post61. The Town in the Abyss
As Ket had said, the sun was low in the sky when he pushed back a branch to reveal the town. Ike startled, a little taken aback. Even though Ket and Tana had forewarned him that it was smaller than...
2024-05-29 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post60. Below
No way.
A thousand doll bodies lined up below him. All of them looked exactly as Rosamund had after she’d degraded, at least in their base form. Smooth porcelain. Ball joints. Thei...
2024-05-28 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post59. In The Depths
Ket led them through the forest, Tana close at his heels. He followed a path that Ike would have never found on his own. It carved through the forest, twisting and turning. Sometimes, the ground be...
2024-05-27 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post58. Reunion
Ike stepped back. He let the two of them in, out of the storm. Loup looked at him, then lowered her hackles and quieted, falling in at his heel.
Tana lowered her hood, and Ket followed her ex...
2024-05-26 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post