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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Levelling Up The Weakest System The Tall Man
Three Weeks Ago - Lyla poured another flagon of homebrew ale, their most popular drink and all made in house, for one of her locals. “Here yah go Sil, enjoy,” She said with a smile on her face before going back to slowly towelling off cups that she had washed in the sink. Things had been quiet ever since Alexei had left the Trout’s Gills to go off and join the Mage Temple, but if she was completely honest, quiet was how she enjoyed things. Quiet meant that her punters could come in for a pint after a hard day's graft on the waterways and wet their lips on her ale, which meant more coin for her. She did have to admit, though, that she missed the bloke. He brought an air of excitement and change about him, when Alexei was around the air fizzed with the promise of adventure. She sighed and set the glass that she was working on down. It wasn’t that Lyla didn’t like working in and owning the Trout’s Gills, she did. It was one of the best choices she’d ever made and the fact that s
Levelling Up The Weakest System Trickery
“So you’re saying one of the assassins ended up here?” Alexei asked, “Just eating stew and asking about me?” Lyla nodded, “I think so, anyway.” Alexei wasn’t happy about it, but at the very least it made sense. The first duo of assassins had almost definitely been in contact with the Administrar and had no doubt told the man that they had tracked him down to the Trout’s Gills. After that the Administrar had no doubt told the new pair that piece of information. What it meant was that the Trout’s Gills wasn’t really the safe haven that he had previously considered it to be, though really he didn’t have anywhere better to go. It wasn’t like he was going to go running to the lion beastkin Christopher for safe harbour, that wouldn’t fly, he was an old man with a business to protect. “You better not be thinking of leaving us and going off on your own,” Lyla said, almost as if she had been reading his mind. “It’d be safer for the both of you,” Alexei said, “You’ve done so much for me
Levelling Up The Weakest System Mad Dash
A layer of mist hung above the waters of the boatyards in the crisp morning air. Summer had truly ended in the city of Alandria, and now that the heat was receding and the clouds had rolled in, the city had become a much quieter place. While it was a capital, and to a degree was always busy, Alandria thrived in the summer moreso than any other time of year. People from across the kingdom, and some from beyond, came to visit the cities waterways. There was a reason it was called the jewel of the kingdom, after all. The added level of quietness was perfect for Alexei, he didn’t want anyone else getting caught up in the fight that was inevitably going to unfold. The boatyards sat on the opposite side of the lake that the Mage Temple was located, closer to the mouths of the rivers that fed it. It allowed the workers of the boatyard to both store boats at their pontoons and build new ones at their work yards. The work yards were what Alexei was most interested in. There were stacks
Levelling Up The Weakest System Trap Card
Alexei ducked down into the winding maze of tree trunks and cut logs. This was where his plan truly began. So far he had only seen one of the two assassins who had been sent to deal with him, the very same that Lyla had encountered in the Trout’s Gills. He was hoping that meant that the pair who had been sent to take him down was working separately, each one trying to kill him before the other could. If that were the case it raised his odds of survival drastically. Once again, inside the maze, Alexei had a plan, though it mostly relied on luck and his opponent being more than a little bit stupid. He wound through the passageways that had been made between the stacked pieces of wood toward the centre of the makeshift maze. Here there was a viewing platform that workers no doubt used to direct other workers toward the pieces of wood that they wanted to be picked out for further use. Alexei was going to use it to track the progress of the assassin and set off his charges as they m
Levelling Up The Weakest System Last Stand
Alexei staggered to his feet and winced as his left leg sent arcs of pain up through his body. He glanced down and shuddered as he saw the massive splinter that was sticking out from the limb. An unexpected consequence of how things had turned out. It had been almost 30 seconds and the Assassin hadn’t emerged from the flames, which were now rapidly spreading across the boatyard. That was another unexpected consequence, one which Alexei really should have thought about beforehand. He needed to get out of there and fast. The City Guard would soon be converging on the area, and with them teams of mages to help douse the flames. While someone without Magery would have to pour water on a flame to get rid of it, mages trained in the arts of emergency rescue could literally suck the flames right out of an area, so he didn’t need to worry about any other explosions being triggered. Alexei limped away from the explosion site, intending to use one of the other entrances to the area on the
Levelling Up The Weakest System Deal With The Demon
Alexei pushed the door to the Trout’s Gills open with a grunt and staggered inside. His left leg was still bleeding, and at this point, he couldn’t put any weight through it at all. He was spent, the fight had taken everything he had out of him. In fact, he could barely keep himself upright. Alexei staggered across the room, bumping into tables and knocking into glasses. “Alexei?!” Lyla gasped as she noticed him, “What happened to you?!” “Beat the assassin,” Alexei replied, “Didn’t exactly go to plan, but I came out on top in the end.” Lyla darted across the room and gently wrapped an arm around Alexei’s shoulders to give him some support. “Thanks, Lyla,” He said, “Not sure what to do about this piece of wood in my leg, though. Probably a bad thing, right?”Lyla glanced down at the piece of wood jutting out from Alexei’s leg and the thick oozing blood that was around it and cringed. A wound like that wasn’t an easy thing to heal, and left untreated it could become infected or e
Levelling Up The Weakest System Healed
Alexei didn’t know how to feel when he awoke. His leg was fixed up, he knew that much. The pain was gone and his thoughts weren’t all strange and foggy anymore. He looked down at the hole in his trousers where the wood had impacted and it was as if nothing had happened, except for a very faint wispy darkness that was only visible if you looked really hard. But to achieve all of that he’d had to make a deal with someone that he didn’t even want to talk to, let alone work with on anything. Alexei sighed. It was worth it in the long run, that was what he was telling himself, even if he didn’t necessarily believe it. The problem with the Demon Lord’s power was that it was addictive. Ever since his Power Divine had first absorbed the Darkonium back in the depths of the Demon Lord’s tomb he had sort of felt its effects on him, bubbling below the surface. Sure, his Power Divine had told him that it was something that had been purged from his system, but if that were the case he was su
Levelling Up The Weakest System Reasons To Live
“Is Garrick okay?” Alexei asked, shocked by the anger that had been apparent on the Gnome’s face. He hadn’t even thought that creatures like gnomes could get angry, he’d always been jolly in the past. “How much do you actually know about Garrick, Alexei?” Risa asked, “Or gnomes in general, I guess. Going by all the times I’ve asked you about knowing something other than fighting Shades in the past I’m going to guess not much, right?” Alexei nodded, Garrick was the first gnome he’d ever met and he knew pretty much nothing about their kind thanks to the limited education that he received from the Academy. “Oh Alexei,” Lyla sighed, “Garrick is almost a millennium old, he was alive during the Demon Lord’s reign.” It was as if a shard of ice had been pushed straight down Alexei’s spine as everything became just that little bit clearer. “I’m going to guess that it wasn’t particularly easy for him back then,” Alexei said with a sigh. “That’d be putting it lightly,” Lyla said, “The Dem
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- Levelling Up The Weakest System
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
