Chapter 36 - Sudden Quest
Nar came too slowly, air still roaring past him.
He had fallen to the floor, and had lost the others.
“Jul?” he croaked, tasting blood.
“H-Here…”
“Tuk?”
“Also… Here.”
-[ 2024-11-11 14:14:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Luke Everhart posts
Chapter 35 - ITS NOT MAGIC
When they made it back to the others, it quickly became apparent that all was not well.
Kur, Gad and Viy stood to one side. Opposite, Cen had her back turned to them.
Mul had a blank expression on his face, and he was sitting a few fee...
2024-11-11 14:14:22 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 34 - Lost Attribute Modifier
Poisoned or crushed.
The shock of his impending death made him blank.
Would the poison kill them quickly? Or just weaken them so that the guardians could finish the job? Would the boss wait for it, or would it just crush them to paste ...
2024-11-11 14:13:55 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 33 - Power
Blurs moved around her.
Distant sounds echoed, muted.
She heard words.
She heard pain and fighting.
But it was all so far. Her Nexus was but a blur of dark and green that held no meaning.
Cen knelt on the floor, her s...
2024-11-11 14:13:13 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 32 - Powerless
“Kur!” Gad shouted. “What do we do?”
Nar stared up, frozen in place.
From the green lights that shone from the Sentry, a nightmare of moving limbs and blades descended upon them.
This is not real… He thought. T...
2024-11-11 14:12:49 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 31 - Survive If You Can
The silence was crushing.
Nar dragged his feet into yet another square. Another, identical, few feet of dark floor, with a single dim yellow arrow at its center. Around them, nothing. Not even the Pressure was visible, or made a single sound...
2024-11-11 14:11:25 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 30 - Mistake
Sweat pooled under him, on the sweltering hot floor.
On all sides, walls of Pressure rose to the endless darkness above them, confining the party to a tight space.
There wasn’t enough room for all of them to lay down in, and they had...
2024-11-11 14:11:08 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 29 - Invisible Trial
Their labored breaths echoed through the tight, stuffy corridor. Nar saw green out of the corner of his eyes, and that fueled him to run even faster.
Unfortunately, up ahead, Cen was slowing the back half of the party down, and unless he kic...
2024-11-11 14:10:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 28 - Poison
The walk in the dark proved uneventful in the end.
After a few more short breaks, Jul called out something in the dark.
“I-I see something,” she said, alerting the others. “I think it’s a wall.”
“A wall?” Kur asked....
2024-11-11 14:10:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 27 - Secret Guilt
Nar had never experienced a darkness like that. The light of the arrows seemed to stretch a few feet away from them, and suddenly disappear, as if swallowed.
Even sounds, which he had so clearly heard before, now seemed muted somehow, as tho...
2024-11-11 14:09:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 26 - Sense Attributes
They waited, anxious, for something to happen, but after 10 minutes of nearly absolute silence, Kur spoke up again.
“It looks like that was it,” Kur said.
Tuk sighed, and leaned back on his hands. “That was some welcome.”
Chapter 25 - From Now On, Its The Real Deal
Despite the late night, Nar woke up ahead of Kur and Tuk’s wake up call. For their last night, Kur had reinstated the watch to make sure they didn’t sleep through the deadline.
Now, Nar sat alone, drumming his fingers against the grip of...
2024-11-11 14:06:56 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 24 - The Path is Changing
Nar stepped into the blaster, and the door closed behind him, gently and on its own.
“Woah…” Nar whispered, staring at the closed door.
He passed a finger over the smooth, slightly reflective gray metal. Not even a speck of rust ...
2024-11-11 14:06:07 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 23 - Tutorial Gains & Rewards
When next he opened his eyes, the lights were still dimmed.
Nar blinked, staring up at the featureless square of ceiling above him. It was low enough that if he stretched, he could touch it.
“You alright?”
Nar turned his neck...
2024-11-11 14:05:37 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 22 - Interlude
What does light look like to those who have lived their whole life in the darkness?
What does real, true color mean, to those who cannot even imagine it?
Real color. Real light.
How can a worker know that all that surrounds them ...
2024-11-11 14:05:11 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 21 - The Bridge
Nar and Jul sprinted down the corridor, chasing after the others.
With each step forward, the lighter his steps flew off the corridor’s floor. His very brain seemed to relax inside his skull.
“Jul? Are you feeling this?”
...
2024-11-11 14:04:15 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 20 - Predict
Nar considered the half-eaten square of cracker between his fingers.
It was the last half of his fourth cracker.
He wasn’t supposed to have finished two of them, let alone be finishing his fourth.
He wanted to blame the others....
2024-11-11 14:03:50 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 19 - The Light We Follow
Mercifully, nothing else happened that night, and everyone was able to get their share of Pressure sleep.
However, sleeping meant nothing.
His muscles grew heavier.
His eyes were always sore and gritty.
His bones felt as th...
2024-11-11 14:03:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 18 - Blocked
“Nar? Wake up, Nar.”
He returned from afar, to the sensation of light fingers gently shaking him.
“Whaaaaat?”
“It’s time to go,” Jul said.
Nar opened his eyes and frowned at her.
“Already?” he asked....
2024-11-11 14:02:38 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 17 - Clouded Minds, Clouded Hearts
“Is he okay?” Gad shouted, panting from the floor.
Cen didn’t answer, unable to in the midst of her grief.
Kur crawled over to the caster, and checked on Mul.
“He looks fine, just knocked out. Cen! Do you hear me? He’s ...
2024-11-11 14:01:56 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 16 - Endless Corridor
When Nar and Tuk woke up the others, their rest hadn’t been as restful as it had looked.
They woke up sluggish and groggy. Almost more tired now than they had been before they had slept.
“Ah!”
Nar whipped his head around, t...
2024-11-11 14:01:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 15 - Heavy
Nar and Kur woke the others with 15 minutes to spare.
As if on cue, the lights turned back on to full intensity.
“Up, people. I want everyone ready to go in 5 minutes!” Kur said.
While the others stirred awake, Nar collected ...
2024-11-11 14:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 14 - Resolve
-[ You have encountered a safe room.
Each safe room provides different amenities. You will know what they are when you enter them.
You have been granted use of a toilet.
<... 2024-11-11 13:59:43 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 13 - Safe Room
The Pressure returned to the same pattern the next day, and once again, days passed.
Would it be another two weeks before they faced their next enemy? Another two weeks of soul crushing Pressure and of that endless, straight corridor that ne...
2024-11-11 13:58:57 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 12 - The Wrong Gains
The pattern held.
The first wave hit them again the next day, at twelve thirty, and the last one at ten thirty at night.
So it was for the third day, and the fourth… And five entire days passed, forming a week of seven days.
Th...
2024-11-11 13:58:22 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11 - Humble Beginnings
He was gently brought back from his sleep, and found Kur squatting in front of him.
“Hey man, sorry to wake you up so soon, but we need to start walking,” he said.
“Walking?” Nar asked, confused.
Kur smiled and pointed at...
2024-11-11 13:54:11 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 10 - First Night
“I can’t keep going!”
Everyone stopped and turned to Cen.
The lengos sat on her knees and gasped hard, holding her throat. “My stamina… I only have 7 points left!”
Oof… I guess she has the lowest stamina out of ...
2024-11-11 13:53:25 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 9 - Gains
“Thank you. And sorry about that,” Gad said. “I’m being a burden.”
Nar kneeled next to her, gulping air like a desperate man.
“You’re fine,” he panted. “Don’t worry about it.”
She licked her dried lips, and ...
2024-11-11 13:52:20 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 8 - Not a Great Start
… one more.
Nar breathed hard.
He huffed, blowing the tickly sweat drops from his nose.
He was dying to wipe his face, but the last time he had tried to, he had almost dropped Gad.
About an hour later since they ...
2024-11-11 13:51:36 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 7 - Under the Pressure
The minutes dragged and turned into hours.
Nar had forced himself to stand, to ensure he didn’t drift off.
He had gone over all of his skills, his sword, his attributes, the HP and stamina information multiple times.
He had fou...
2024-11-11 13:51:12 +0000 UTC View Post