(2/2)
They found the second Boss deep in the labyrinth. If not for Reina, Zane was sure he would’ve been stuck here for days—as it was it took them just three hours or so. Three pleasant hours for Zane. He learned a lot about Egyptian civilization from her. It was nice.
After the first hour or so, they started running across a ne...
2024-03-18 05:07:24 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Added one third floor boss: Malaz, the Fallen Angel
(1/2)
//
It was a surprisingly good harvest. He never expected that many A-rank treasures in one go.
They'd reached the top of the hill. From here you could see the Faction splayed out all around the Los Angeles valley, twinkling lights dotting dark...
2024-03-17 16:43:07 +0000 UTC View PostA/N:
Added two Unarmed Striking Skill-ups last chapter!
(1/1)
//
They forged farther up the dreary hill.
More Skeletons came crawling. They had fist Skills blazing with the Laws of Darkness. They had passive Skills that made their bones hard as tempered steel.
But not as hard as Zane.
Hi...
2024-03-17 01:07:35 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
This dungeon was a weird one. It only opened at dusk. The sky was an expanse of deepening purples swarming over a trail of faint orange.
Zane and Reina made their way down the broad streets of the L.A. Faction which led to the leaking dungeon. Soon a purplish aura began drifting about, staining the air; it thickened the closer ...
2024-03-16 05:56:27 +0000 UTC View PostZane gained another Level that night.
Level Up!
Essence Level 116 -> 117
Reina was up to Level 104 now too; she fell asleep on him as soon as they were done, limp and panting.
One of her Signature Skills, Architect of Restoration, could heal all things—living or nonliving. It came in...
2024-03-14 04:00:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe Asura King did everything it could to block.
It threw up its towering arms. It smothered itself in its wings; they erupted in roiling Blackflame, a Blackflame purer than any other—so intense it was fringed with a night-black corona. The whole thing looked like a funeral pyre.
Then Wish Upon a Star touched down.
The blast ...
2024-03-13 02:29:08 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
Zane found how fast he healed depended on two things. How strong his healing powers were and how strong his body was. The stronger the body, the harder it’d be to heal.
Right now Stormfire Renewal was overpowering. His body was laced with Elemental Steel. But Stormfire was a grade higher. Strange things started happening—th...
2024-03-11 00:22:21 +0000 UTC View Post(2/2)
Zane didn’t need to say a word. The crowd parted, clearing a path straight to the Array.
“Here he comes!” said Tyler. He went into his dramatic announcer voice. “Can Zane dethrone the king—again?! It all comes down to this!”
“Let’s turn to our color commentator, back by popular demand—Evan Armstrong!” ...
2024-03-10 00:49:00 +0000 UTC View Post(1/2)
The tsunami almost capsized them.
Two of the Starlit Defenders were so stunned they almost didn’t make it in time. They had to leap to grab something solid. Then it all went sideways. A line of spray all but ran them off the boat.
The boat was stuck at a dangerous slant, climbing the edge of the wave the whole way back...
2024-03-09 16:54:31 +0000 UTC View PostZane stepped through the portal.
For a second it felt like he was falling; there was a twisting lurch deep in his gut.
Then his feet hit something soft and loamy.
The world opened out. He stood on sandy ground, pastel yellow and so fine he sank a good half-foot into it. The expanse stretched on and on. A tang of sea-salt wafted...
2024-03-09 00:25:25 +0000 UTC View Post(2/2)
A/N:
Second chapter of the day!
It turns out truck-kun cannot hit you if you simply refuse to go outside
//
There was a proper campground spread around the Law Area; they must’ve spotted him a ways off. By the time he got to the fence gates, a crowd had ballooned to either side o...
2024-03-07 02:53:45 +0000 UTC View PostA/N:
(1/2)**
**probably 2 chapters unless I get hit by a truck
//
There was nothing green to be seen—the mountaintop barren, scarred over, a rugged expanse of gray stone lashed with black. Lightning cracked down, dispersing, splattering white arcs over the darkness.
The clouds swirling overh...
2024-03-06 17:54:42 +0000 UTC View Post(2/2)
Zane did another stint in the sauna. He came out feeling raw and sore—in a good way. It meant his soul was healing.
After that he had the rest of the afternoon off.
By then he got the news that Avery had broken through to Elemental Light; she tried announcing it to him by wrapping herself in a light mirage and sneaking ...
2024-03-06 02:04:27 +0000 UTC View Post(1/2)
Apparently for Reina, watching him fight was incredibly stressful. Her heart was also overflowing with joy and pride. It was a lot.
She vented it on him for about four hours straight.
When they were done she rested her head on his chest, fast asleep. Her whole body was totally relaxed; she wore a gentle smile. He watched ...
2024-03-05 18:07:57 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
The moment Zane saw the Monster, he frowned.
It had to bend to the waist just to get out of the castle. Its shadow stretched half the length of the bridge. It was made out of a steel plate blacker than black, swirling with silver dots. Like there was a night sky trapped in the metal. The plates melded together seamlessly. There...
2024-03-05 00:56:06 +0000 UTC View PostWarning!
Health under 50%
Savage Body activated
Vitality increased 25%
Strength increased 25%
Speed increased 25%
Skill up!
Apocalypse Smash III -> IV
S...
2024-03-04 02:51:40 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
Ninth layer.
Zane stood on a cobblestone bridge large enough for an army to march down. It ran straight out, ending at a castle marked out black against a swirling purple sky.
It was a night with no moon. The only light came from below, a deep somber red. He glanced down.
The drawbridge was dozens of feet up. It wen...
2024-03-03 02:25:22 +0000 UTC View PostA/N:
Added in more skill ups in the last few chapters to make increased skill leveling in the array more apparent! Skills that have changed:
Promethean noose II -> IV
Fiery Renewal II -> III
Apocalypse Smash II -> III
(1/1)
//
The neat thing about Stormfire Cyclone was he'd alre...
2024-03-02 07:49:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe strangle-off began.
The Basilisk’s coils wound over him. Its crystals shimmered, pouring out waves of essence; thick Earth Laws churned off them as the great beast squeezed tighter and tighter. Zane instantly felt it. He felt like a chunk of metal stuck deep in the bowels of the earth; some extraordinary weight pressed down on him, a...
2024-03-01 03:56:38 +0000 UTC View Post"I came here," said Eze, "To check on Zane Walker's progress. Imagine what I find.”
His eyes flared. "My attendant. Making a fool of himself. While you are part of my retinue you represent our Faction. You represent me. What are you thinking?!”
"My Lord—" said Tani, cringing. But Eze wasn't done.
"Disgr...
2024-02-29 17:25:58 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
The desert faded out. A new world colored in all around him.
He stood in a strange swamp. A thick bog rose all around him, hugging him up to the knees. Massive trees towered all around; their trunks were bone white, their leaves a deep bruised purple. Thin shafts of moonlight flickered through the leaves. Vines coiled like pyth...
2024-02-29 00:02:35 +0000 UTC View PostA/N:
Eze's Level last chapter retconned to 118
//
"Are you gonna give it a try?" said Evan.
Zane nodded.
"Good luck!" cried Evan. "You can do it!"
Evan said it almost every time Zane went into battle—from some others Zane would've thought they were just saying things. But Evan really meant i...
2024-02-28 02:42:33 +0000 UTC View PostHappy Monday, y’all!
This is installation #2 of the Monthly Q&A series. Here’s your chance to ask any questions you have on the story, or just to give any feedback you might have!
Writing update on my end: bit of a rough month—still did daily chapters but fewer bonus chapters than I would’ve liked. Kept getting hampered b...
2024-02-26 14:50:17 +0000 UTC View PostThere was a fluctuation of Fire Law. A passionate blast of a note. It ripped through the air, touching the souls of all those around him—an echo of his revelation. Spreading, spreading…
***
"Shit," whispered a burly man—World Rank #58 Danny Jacobsen. "I think it's coming, you guys!"
He'd been a welder up in Ohio before th...
2024-02-26 05:39:12 +0000 UTC View PostTwo Laws at once. It gave him twice the joy when he saw those notifications pop up.
But twice the fatigue too. It clubbed him over the head; he blinked, shook his head, clearing out the feeling.
He felt a sudden urge to yawn. Going fast was taking a toll.
For now, though…he wasn't done yet.
He closed his eyes, hunkered ...
2024-02-25 05:31:24 +0000 UTC View Post(1/2)
Bonus chapter day!
//
Zane could feel the shape of the Major Law he was working toward—could feel what he was missing. There was something between Emission and Absorption, a missing link.
Frowning, he honed in. Started paying special attention to the way heat seeped into him.
He sensed a Law there. But...
2024-02-24 14:26:46 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
Reina asked Zane if what Elias had said was true. When Zane confirmed it, she went into full worry mode.
She couldn't concentrate on anything after that. Her brain started going full speed; Zane could almost hear the whirring. Zane, meanwhile, felt pretty calm about the whole thing. He knew exactly who he wanted on his team if ...
2024-02-23 21:35:39 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
The gala took place on a hill in the middle of Campus, in a place called the 'Crystal Pavilion.' It was a sprawling crystal dome. It spread the moonlight in ghostly fractals over the perfectly trimmed gardens all around it.
Zane wore a suit custom-tailored for his size. Of course it was Reina who'd gotten it made for him—she'...
2024-02-22 20:21:57 +0000 UTC View PostOh yeah. This countdown thing.
He remembered seeing it every time he checked the Beacon. Integration Phase 1, huh. What happened when it hit 100%?
…Eh.
Probably not something he had to think about right now. So he didn't. He wasn't the type to ruminate. Most of the time he wasn't thinking of much; he ju...
2024-02-22 01:01:28 +0000 UTC View Post(1/1)
Zane woke up feeling fine. More than fine—good, actually. Which was surprising because he'd gone out feeling like he'd been run over by a truck.
Even his soul—which had taken quite a beating—felt good. Whole, at least. There was still a lingering exhaustion but that was from Law Comprehension. All the damage he'd taken in...
2024-02-20 23:37:13 +0000 UTC View Post