noct

233. Are You a Retainer?

He walked into town and was instantly the center of attention. He was less than half the size of the people around him, and they stopped and stared, some chuckling, others crouching down to get dow...

232. Into The Great Frozen North

Colder and colder. Rhys dropped a hoop of material on the ground and hopped through it, retreating into the void to warm up, then jumped back out and kept going. Occasionally, he saw the tracks of ...

231. Go Directly to Hell

You know, of all my plans, this was certainly one of them, Rhys thought, crossing his arms and evaluating his past life choices. What had he really thought would happen, when he came face ...

230. Into the Dark

Rhys landed at the bottom of the shaft. He looked around, extending his senses as well. There wasn’t much to see. Tunnels carved through the earth, but it wasn’t claustrophobic, because the tun...

229. Time to See the Lord

Rhys ran through the forest. He’d been planning on continuing to harass Daran, but strangely enough, the Demon King vanished immediately upon Rhys ignoring his good advice. Hard to say why, reall...

228. Serious Time

It’s time to get serious.

Rhys stopped suppressing his mana core and ran it to its top power. His strength surged from Tier 3 to Tier 4, and he reached over his shoulder and yanked...

227. Big Uh Oh Energy

Right at that moment, Rhys had two options: create a hoop and vanish into the void, or stand his ground and fight. If he escaped, no one would necessarily know that he’d been here, though it was ...

226. What Lies Beyond the Lake

He reached the place Mickie had stopped and pointed before the snow filled in the footprints they’d left behind. He set off down the hill toward the lake, heading past a snow-laden evergreen and ...

225. Believe It or Not

At last, Mickie sighed aloud. “You don’t seem like you’re lyin’.”

“That’s because I’m not.”

“Crazy thing to claim.”

“Sure would be, if it wasn’t true.”...

224. Not Many Visitors

Rhys stared. The man stared at him. They mutually shared a stare for a long moment, in the silent snowy woods, with snow drifting all around.

“What’ve you come out ‘ere for, then?” th...

223. Mickie's Hut

The sun rose late. Rhys emerged from the trash heap before it rose, wearing his new duds. They were a bit patchwork, and the fur cuffs were made of a dozen different kinds of fur each, but it worke...

222. New In Town

“New around here?”

He turned, a smile on his face. “I am! I am. Just rolled into your lovely town today…”

His voice trailed off. His eyes widened, and he looked up, and up, an...

221. Into Town

Rhys stepped out of the Black Palace, and immediately, icy winds and heavy snow assaulted his body. He flinched, even though his high Tier meant he barely felt the wind or the cold, then blinked th...

220. It's a Trap

Rhys yanked the case off the pedestal. The glass lifted away in one smooth motion, revealing the ring. He held his breath, his senses completely extended, ready for anything to lunge out at him. 2025-09-10 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

219. We Aren't Alone

Rhys stepped through the portal and drew to a halt, his jaw dropping. He gaped around the vast room, his eyes wide. “No way. How’d you get this one past the looters?”

“Didn’t you ju...

218. Delving the Black Palace

Rhys set off deeper into the Demon King’s palace. He wasn’t just looting for pleasure, or to piss off the annoying ghost who couldn’t stop him while he looted said ghost’s own palace, but f...

217. A Quiet Exit

Daran led the way through the void. He followed a particular path, tracing along an invisible guideline. Rhys extended his mana senses, and with his most sensitive senses, felt something, vaguely, ...

216. You've Realized

Rhys turned. Daran stood slightly behind him, his arms crossed, gazing at the dark filth the same as Rhys did. He nodded at Rhys. “I take it you’ve comprehended the technique, if you’ve come ...

215. Taking On the Alliance

One thing was immediately obvious to Rhys: Virgil was not, or rather, could not be, the one in control. He seemed to be in control, but whether he’d exploited a bad situation or been set up as a ...

214. One More Second

Rhys cracked his brains. Come on, come on, something…! Fighting was a losing game. Talking wasn’t working. He needed to stall for just another second before he escaped. What did he hav...

213. Home

The wall broke down. The doors flew open. Rhys stumbled again, almost falling, and would’ve fallen if Laurent wasn’t there to hold him up. Mirai tumbled over the floor, but Grave chased after h...

212. Plunging the Vault

Rhys chased after Grave and Mirai. Gold light lashed against the walls, battering the building. Cracks appeared in the wall and burst through the floor as they ran, and the energy of the sword blas...

211. Wipe Out

The Tier 3 reached him first. Rhys struck fiercely, knocking him off-balance. Before he could punish the man, a dozen lower-Tier soldiers reached him. No emotion passed over Rhys’s face. He spun,...

210. Aftermath

The man in purple hovered into the center of the battlefield. He stretched out his hands, demanding the attention of the soldiers on both sides. “Your Empress is dead. Surrender, and we will trea...

209. The Final Blow

He raced toward the Empress, and she raced toward him. Her eyes glowed bright, and dozens of cores materialized around her, circulating wildly. She drew on all of them, supplementing her power high...

208. She Means Me?

Rhys fled. Internally, he screamed, Why? Why me? What did I do? I’m just a lowly Tier 3 mage who just disrupted the entire flow of the battle and turned a battle favorable to the Empire into ...