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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Levelling Up The Weakest System Corruption Rising
“I’m still not happy with you bringing him here,” Grand Mage Kryte said. He and Alexei were both standing outside the closed door of the cell that held the assassin he had managed to capture. The poison tooth had been removed from the man’s mouth, it had been child's play for the mages of the Mage Temple to locate which tooth it had been before taking it out. He was bound by two links of heavy metal chain, which had been reinforced by the strongest mages at the Academy. There was no way the man was going to escape, whether by breaking free of his bonds or breaking free of his life. That meant, finally, Alexei could talk to one of the assassins and not have to worry about getting a blade through the skull while those talks were going on. “Yeah, I know,” Alexei said, “But what you have had me done? I need answers, Grand Mage, and I couldn’t exactly hold the bastard myself.” The grand mage sighed, “I know, just make sure that none of this ends up blowing back on us. A war between
Levelling Up The Weakest System Freedom
Alexei didn’t know how he could tell, but he knew the strange Shade in front of him was… watching him somehow. Considering the creature didn’t have any eyes he wasn’t sure how that was possible. He also wasn’t sure what the shade even was. Alexei had seen shades get formed, he’d seen shades do what shades do, all thanks to the memories that he had been allowed to view by the Demon Lord’s tapestries. The shade in front of him didn’t look like any shade that he’d seen before. The shades the Demon Lord had made were an inky blackness the whole way through, from their core right out to their edge they were clearly a blight on the skin of the world. Wrongness incarnate. Alexei’s shade wasn’t like that. It still had the wrong, dark, core. But its outer edge was a blinding white light, dazzling in its radiance. “The Demon Lord’s power is corrupting me… but, am I corrupting it back?” Alexei muttered to himself. It didn’t matter either way. Whether it was a true shade or some halfway
Levelling Up The Weakest System A Peaceful Breakfast
Waking up the next day Alexei felt like a new man. It was as if the weight of the world had been completely lifted from his shoulders. Yes, there was still a crap ton of stuff that he needed to get done, and the threats that were facing him weren’t exactly gone forever. But he had breathing room for the first time in an age, and that felt great. He stretched and shivered slightly as several little cracks rippled down his spine before finally opening his eyes. He couldn’t help the smile that came across his face as he spotted Neave, curled up in one of the chairs by the fire, pouring over a book that was no doubt filled with all kinds of magery secrets. He hadn’t really expected her to take to magery as readily as she had, but he was glad of it. It was nice for her to have something to do while he was off risking his life in perilous situations, and eventually, she’d be strong enough to lend a hand from time to time if the situation called for it. He had no doubt that she likely
Levelling Up The Weakest System Frosty Meeting
The five of them sat around the round table that Christopher would usually use for making adjustments to clothes in the back of his shop. The old lion tailor had been glad to see Alexei, almost as if he knew what was coming when the man arrived with his party of Neave, Risa and Lyla in tow. “So then, I’ve gathered you all here today for a simple reason,” Alexei said, “With the immediate threat of the assassins gone, it’s about time I lived up to a promise. A promise I made to Christopher to take down the slave tent in the market and free the beastkin who have been trapped there.” Lyra’s eyes widened in shock, while Risa steepled her fingers and rested her chin on the tips. Christopher and Neave both merely smiled. While Neave hadn’t been around for their conversation on the matter, she’d always had a sneaking suspicion that Alexei might one day return to the slave tent, either to liberate some more of the slaves who lived there or simply to burn it all to the ground. “I knew I co
Levelling Up The Weakest System Plan of Attack
Alexei’s plan, as he explained it, was a simple one. He was going to go in and distract the slave trader that ran the tent while Lyla, Christopher and Garrick broke open the cages that the slaves were kept in. When all of them were free, it would be curtains for the trader and his whole business would go up in flames. Literally. They’d be able to handwave the whole thing away as a terrible fire, one so awful just like the very same that had happened in the dockyards just a few days previously. The inferno would be so terribly strong that even the bones of the slaves and the slave trader were completely turned to dust, unable to be sorted from the rest of the ashes. It was a simple plan, and not much could possibly go wrong. The way Alexei saw it, the slave trader was a man who had gotten fat off of his own success and at that point he likely wasn’t very powerful at all. In fact, he probably relied on his own slaves to do the dirty work when it came to it. “And what about those
Levelling Up The Weakest System Distractions
All Alexei wanted to do was think about Risa now that Lyla had brought the subject up, but as he arrived back at the Mage Temple he knew that he couldn’t really afford to be thinking about things like that. Not until everything was said and done and they were out from under the thumb of the Assassins Guild. Not until the Demon Lord’s plot was halted. He sighed and opened the big doors of the temple, slipped through them, and shut them behind him. “You’re back, then,” Risa’s voice startled him, and he couldn’t help but jump. “You waited for me at the door?” Alexei asked. Risa was sat on one of the benches by the main door of the temple. Usually, they’d be used by outsiders who were waiting to be spoken to by the mages at the temple. Risa had been using it to wait for Alexei while reading a book. “I wanted… to make sure, I guess, that you weren’t angry at me like Lyla was,” Risa said, unable to meet his eye. He hadn’t noticed it before, but the way her hair played across
Levelling Up The Weakest System Ablaze
“Alexei! Get up right now!” Risa’s shouting cut through the dark of the night and Alexei’s sleep like a knife through butter. It felt like he’d only been asleep for a few minutes.“Risa?” He replied groggily, “What’s the matter?”“The marketplace… it’s on fire, and the fire’s coming from-” Risa began to explain. “The Slave Tent,” Alexei cut her off and sat bolt right up, “The slave tent’s on fire, isn’t it.”It wasn’t a question it was a statement. It had taken Alexei mere moments to figure out what had happened. Christopher had gone out on his own to try and take the Slave Tent down by himself. Alexei could feel it deep in his gut, a rising revulsion propelled by fear. “Look after Neave, I need to go,” He said, getting out of bed and forgetting entirely that he was only wearing his underpants. Risa averted her gaze, but he couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied at the light blush that suddenly came across her cheeks. Alexei cast those kinds of thoughts as far as he could fr
Levelling Up The Weakest System Timewarp
The first time Alexei had walked through the slave tent led by this strange bearskin creature he had felt distinctly unsettled. Now that he was being led through the gloom by the creature once again, only this time with the crackling sound of flames in the distance and the smell of burnt flesh in the air that unsettled feeling was magnified a thousand times over. "Are you taking me to see him?" Alexei asked, before elaborating, "Your master, I mean.""Yessss," the snake beastkin hissed without even turning to look at him.The last time Alecei had walked through the slavers tent he had been amazed and disgusted by how many beastkin were locked up in all the cages. Now not even the cages were left. The place had been completely cleared out, almost as if the slave master had known he was coming. It was strange, far too strange for Alexei's liking. "Where are all the slaves?" Alexei asked, "The last time I was here the place was stinking with them. You couldn't move without them scr
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Return of The Proto Lord
After his last encounter with the Proto Lord Alexei had never wanted to hear the hoarse croaking laughter of the creature ever again. Now that he had the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms were all standing to attention and every fiber of his being was telling him to flee, run as far away as he could, and never look back. But he couldn’t do any of that. He had a mission to complete, people to save, and a kingdom to protect. “Show yourself, Proto Lord!” Alexei called out, his staff held defensively in preparation to ward off any attacks, “I’m not the man you faced before, I’ll take you out myself this time.” “So you say,” The Proto Lord wheezed from somewhere in the dark, “And yet you still bring so many users of the Power Divine to fight alongside you. So many snacks for me to feast upon.”That was the final straw for Alexei. With a pulse of arcane power, Alexei slammed his staff down onto the ground. A sphere of light erupted out from where he stood, a magery spell desi
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Manifest
Nerves had seeped into the hearts of the men that Alexei and Harold had chosen to take with them into the underground sanctum of the Proto Lord the moment they took their first steps into the tunnel system that the creature had made its home. They all looked to be strong and full of heart, but Alexei could sense it. The fear was electric and it was all he could do not to get caught up in the worry himself. Instead, he drew his staff and allowed it to shift forms into that of a magery wand, perfect to be used in enclosed situations and easier to maneuver with so many bodies around. With a flex of his will, Alexei summoned a ball of light at the tip of the wand and sent it out ahead of the group. It illuminated the dank depths of the tunnel that they were slowly descending into. Once upon a time, Alexei could have imagined the tunnel being used for mining and most likely to serve as a lower down access port to the well that he had originally sensed the malaise of the Proto Lord seep
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
A New Team
As Alexei explained what the Proto Lord was to Harold and the other members of the Royal Defence Corps he could tell that their willingness to fight such a creature was waning further and further. Alexei could understand. After being told to go to the front line and expecting to die in combat defending the kingdom the shades had all disappeared. That had given them all a second chance at living. Being told that they instead had to fight a being that was well on its way to becoming the next Demon Lord? Something that, just like the shades, could kill you and then perhaps use you to fight the rest of your friends? That wasn’t something that a lot of people were keen on. Harold, though, was a brave man and always had been. “Very well,” He said as Alexei came to the end of his explanation, “If that is the case then this so-called Proto Lord must fall before the Proto part of the wretched thing's name becomes Demon instead.“I will not order anyone to join myself or Alexei in this f
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Ancient Evil
Alexei placed his hand onto the Warp Gate and sent a pulse of magery through the system. He’d never actually had to operate one of the things before, but thanks to his more innate relationship with magery it was a bit like opening a book and simply reading from the pages. He placed his palm onto the stone and it fed information directly to him and allowed him to open a temporary link between the gate he was standing next to and the gate that was back in Alandria. It opened with a sputter at first and then, as Alexei made the link between the gates more solid, it blazed into life with a swirling blue glow. “You really are full of surprises now, aren’t you,” Harold said with a shake of his head, he couldn’t believe how different his friend had become compared to the last time he had seen the man. “Just a bit of advanced magery,” Alexei shrugged, “What did you expect me to do when I got kicked out of the Academy, go become a merchant somewhere?”“That probably would have been the sm
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Royal Defence Corps
Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Good News
“Okay, wish me luck you two,” Alexei said, he was standing in front of a Warp Gate, one that Risa had told him led to a town that was very close to the front. Neave wrapped her arms around him as best she could and he returned it by holding her close. “You better come back safely, yeah?” Risa said, she held his gaze with a stern look. “Hey, if the Shades are running wild then you have my promise that I’ll be jumping right back into that Warp Gate,” Alexei said, “This is a recon mission, nothing more nothing less. Promise.”She gave him a critical eye, “You know, every time you’ve ever said that you’re just going to look at something or do a bit of recon you’ve come super close to dying.” “Yeah, but those times I had no idea what I was going into, this time it’s either going to be one of two things, and only one of those two things could actually be dangerous. Pretty good odds if you ask me,” Alexei said with a grin, though he could tell he was only annoying Risa with his banter.
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Grief
Waking up in the morning Alexei realised that, despite everything that was going on, he actually felt pretty good. Not only was the threat of the Demon Lord technically dealt with, he’d also met with the Administrar and had basically engineered a situation where the man would no longer be able to send people after him. All things said and done, that was two of his major problems dealt with already, even if he did still plan to get his revenge on the Administrar in one way or another. The man couldn’t be allowed to continue in his post, not after he had sacrificed so many Initiates to the Shade Front for no good reason. When everything had concluded and everyone was safe, Alexei intended to go to the Royal Household and speak to the Emperor, perhaps he would listen to reason, if Alexei could get an audience with the man of course. Alexei pulled himself out of bed, wrapped a towel around his waist, and walked off to the shower room. He shivered as the cold water streamed onto his
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
One Last Stew
“So, let me get this straight,” Lyla said, “You’re going all the way to the front to maybe take on a massive Shade Army that you have no hope of actually fighting against just in case they’ve gone wild now that the Demon Lord is actually properly dead.” It was a pretty succinct way of explaining the situation, but Alexei was glad that Lyla had grasped the broad strokes of what was going on. “Yeah, pretty much,” Alexei shrugged, “Though I have a feeling that it’s not going to be nearly as bad as you’ve just made it sound. In fact, I think it’s going to be a wasted trip, but a necessary one just in case.” “A wasted trip?” Lyla asked. “Well, after first meeting the Demon Lord and being given a sliver of his powers I’ve always been able to sort of… you know, sense them,” Alexei said, “Just as a kind of dark fuzz off to the eastern border. Can’t feel that anymore.” “What, as in they’re just gone?” “That’s what it feels like, yeah,” Alexei said, “It feels like the Demon Lord had one l
- Levelling Up The Weakest System
Lyla
While Alexei had made it seem as if he were going to be running off to the front lines as fast as he could, there was one thing that he needed to take care of before he left Alandria again. He was sure that if he left the city without at least swinging by The Trout’s Gills at least once then Lyla would have probably ripped his head off with her inhuman beastkin strength. Once again Alexei was struck by a distinct sense of de ja vu. The day had receded into night, with the final glimmers of the twilight sun just about peaking over the very top of the mountain. It was dark, and the streets of Alandria had drawn to a near-empty silence. The only thing that guided his way was the lamplight from the many torches that hung off of the sides of various buildings. The water lapped at the underside of boats and barges alike, and he knew that somewhere deep down under the water there was the body of the very first assassin that he had dealt with, now likely stripped of flesh to the bone by
