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Mana System In The Apocalypse Negotiation Begins
I watched as the groups left, Martin, Ska, and the invisible Fiona joining them. It was the safest they could be considering our circumstances.Seeing as there was nothing left to do I turned toward the four soldiers. There were three men and one woman. I decided to use Identify on them. I had decided not to use it earlier in case anyone got upset at its use. While I had upgraded the skill there was no telling if it was completely undetectable.[Robert | Astromancer | Level 12Gordon | Eagle-Eye | Level 11Anisha | Necro-Ecomancer | 13Tyrone | Jidian Lancer | Level 12]All interesting class names. I figured Gordon's class probably gave him archery skills or something, considering the bow he held. As for the other three, it wasn't entirely clear."So anyone up for some cards?" I asked.The four looked at each other but nobody responded. I sighed, tapping my foot and looking around in boredom. I don't remember having this little to do in such a long time.After an hour of standing arou
Mana System In The Apocalypse |/O
The others left early the next day to finish the minutiae of diplomacy. Blah, I was thankful I didn't have to be involved. I did my time sitting through mind-numbing meetings when I worked in IT.After they left, I decided to make nice with the guards. I packed a table, some chairs, and a whole case of my beer into my ring, then I headed outside.I found the four from yesterday standing off to the side, quietly watching me. I walked down the ramp and approached them. When I was ten feet away, I pulled the folding table out from my ring. It was a circular fake wood table, the kind you would find in a school cafeteria. Because that was exactly where Martin had sourced these items from. They even had the faded school markings on the bottom. Next came the folding chairs. Not the cheap ones either. These had decent padding on the top.I casually sat down at the chair facing them, dealing out cards in five places along with a set of plastic poker chips. I still didn't get any bites. I arche
Mana System In The Apocalypse Unwanted Guardian
I had a lot of thinking to do as I left the others at the party and started walking back to the fortress. It was a good five-mile walk, nothing I couldn't handle.I was well outside the city when I stumbled on a rock in the road. It was the only thing that saved my life as a bolt of white tore a chunk of scalp off as it flew past me. The pain spurred me into action and before I even spun around I had my full suit of armor on and my staff in my hand. It was a good thing too because another arrow impacted my helmet's shield, tearing away half the barrier.I recognized those fucking arrows."Come out, Jacob, you sonofabitch!"Another arrow appeared from nowhere and came at me, but I was ready this time. I swatted the offending projectile out of the air."Tsk... you should have minded your own business, Paul," the man said, appearing a good forty yards away."How about you come over here and we can talk it over?""Ha, funny as always, Paul. But I prefer to remain well out of range of your
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Hard sell
We landed six hours later, back in our parking lot. My headache had finally decided to fuck off after a healthy dose of aspirin. It was the first time a wound had plagued me for so long and I wondered if it was some magical effect Jacob's arrows had. My hud certainly didn't clue me in if it was but that wouldn't be the first time the hud let me down. Hell, for all I know it could have just been a concussion. But I didn't have accompanying nausea to go with it.I would take more care in the future, already planning on creating a self-defense amulet that could be worn 'incognito'.The truck was unmolested, which was good, otherwise, the entire parking lot would have been a crater. Yeah, I kind of went overboard with the explosives.As soon as morning came, Martin left to talk with the Marshall and Ska went to go train his protégé. I think she may have had a bit of a crush on Ska but Ska seemed oblivious to it and I wasn't about to point it out or stick my nose in.Fiona stuck around if
Mana System In The Apocalypse Parting Words
Martin stuck around until the next morning, saying goodbye to Ska and apologizing to Fiona. Ska was confused as it was anathema for a grimalkin to leave its tribe. We explained that he wasn't leaving our tribe he was joining a bigger one. It didn't seem to help and he grew agitated and left to go hunt.Fiona had recovered from her emotional outburst and only gave Martin a sad smile as he waved us off."You know we will see him again," I said quietly."You're not mad?""Why would I be. Two of my best friends found solace in one another, nothing to be mad about.""But what about us?"I sighed, "that is in the past. I still care for you but more like a sister than a lover."She smiled sadly, giving me a light pat on the shoulder. I ignored the cold that seeped into my body and wished I could hug her to lessen the pain she felt."What about Ska?""He will be back, it's not like we are leaving right this minute anyway.""If you don't mind I am going to go be alone for a bit."I nodded, wat
Mana System In The Apocalypse Unexpected Enemy
We were getting ready to head out, the fortress was restocked and Martin had moved most of his items out. He was always welcome so the room would remain his anytime he wished to visit or join us on a trip.I was finishing up my preparations when I heard a knock at the door. After checking the camera I noticed it was that hunter girl, the one Ska was training.I unlocked the door to see what she wanted.She let out a squeak of surprise, "um... is Ska here?""Yeah, but we were planning on leaving soon, can this wait until we return?""It shouldn't take long," she said, fidgeting and not making eye contact with me.I sighed, "fine, I'll go get him, wait here," I added, closing the door.I went to Ska's room, he had been acting weird since we returned. I chalked it up to Martin leaving but maybe he had a falling out with his woman friend. I sighed again, it wasn't any of my business."Ska, your hunter friend is here.""Oh..." he said, sounding lethargic. "I will go meet with her."He got
Mana System In The Apocalypse What Lay Beyond
We were on the third day of our impromptu journey. I didn’t have any real goal in mind other than scouting and maybe finding some decent dungeons to loot. So far we had just passed the edge of Texas.A Hornwell outpost marked the border in the distance. I had spotted his flag with the remote viewer. I could even see a few people moving around the small structure, keeping an eye out for trouble. They never once looked our way, the cloak was up and I was flying lower along the mountain. It really did reduce the lensing effect dramatically.Our flight continued north for another full day before anything changed. The mountain was still as stalwart as ever, rising up to touch the clouds in the east. What should have turned into mostly farmland and flat terrain in the west instead became low rolling hills marked with small groves of some odd tree.Definitely not a native tree of Earth, the wood was a strawberry red color and the leaves looked like they were dipped in blood. The fact that th
Mana System In The Apocalypse Edge Of Darkness
We set out the next day, rested as well as could be expected. Our next stop was in three days. Two of those were just getting through this valley to the next tunnel entrance.The trail wound down the steep cliffs, crossing a small stream, only to wind back up and through a high pass on the other side. I noticed the peaks inside the Spine of the World were not quite as tall as the surrounding peaks. It made me think of two tectonic plates slamming together but instead of one going up and the other going down, they both just said fuck it, let's head for the clouds.I knew plates slamming together could cause mountains, but usually one of them won out, or at least it wasn’t this extreme. Most of the peaks on the spine were tens of thousands of feet high. Some were probably taller than Mount Everest. I was pretty sure this was abnormal, but then again what was considered normal anymore.Late on the second day, we entered the next tunnel. It was located halfway up a small peak. It wasn’t a
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- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Fight For Affection
Was the person in the mirror really Henry and not an international supermodel?Henry could not help but wonder.However, Mia's reaction told Henry that it was not an illusion.Mia's mouth was wide open as she walked to Henry's side in shock. She looked at him in the mirror and was amazed."Oh my God, Henry, I never realized that you're so handsome! Gosh, you look so good."As Mia spoke, she couldn't help but touch Henry's firm chest."Oh my God, these firm pecs are worth dying for…"Henry looked at Mia, who was acting like a pervert. He shook his head helplessly and slapped her hand away."Alright, now that I've changed my clothes, let's hurry to the banquet before we go late. I'm not known for attending any events late." Hearing this, Mia finally came back to her senses. "Ah, yes. We have to hurry over. With such a handsome companion by my side, I'd like to see if those little b*tches will still show off in front of me," Mia proudly said as she pulled Henry's arm.After that, they q
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Epilogue
Martin strode down the hall of the capitol building with a worried smile on his face. He was a bit greyer now but he still oozed charm and confidence. Time had been kind to him.The city had become a booming metropolis in the ten years since Paul returned, after his year and a half of being missing. Martin knew something had happened because one day a bunch of massive flying ships had come from nowhere and obliterated the ships that had been harassing the city non-stop for over six months. They had quickly taken care of Lord Vik’t and his remaining forces, the man managing to flee back to his homeworld before the Guild caught him.When Paul had returned, he had returned a quiet man. You could see the loss in his eyes. But the man pushed on and his businesses flourished, producing the Earth’s mightiest warships and most advanced runic items. Then five years after Paul returned, he took a fleet of ten of his capital ships and vanished for another year.When he returned again, the ships
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
The devil you know
As soon as the pirates realized the Guild ships were approaching the island, they broke off the fighting and retreated toward the edge of town to dig in. They weren’t stupid enough to attack the Guild but it seemed they wanted to ensure there wasn’t an accidental incident.One of the Guild ships docked and the Captain stepped off to greet the three of us. I had been carried over by Barcos and Em’ah on the same chair she plopped me in the night before. My legs were looking less like mashed potatoes now and instead looked like mushed putty. It was hard to ignore the sensation of the bones moving around within my shattered legs but I was managing.“Captain Paul, I hope this wasn’t a last-ditch attempt to hold off your enemy. I can assure you, we will leave for safer shores immediately if it was.”I ignored the man’s condescending snark before replying. “You have the agreement from the Director?”“I do,” he smiled. “Do you wish to review it?”I nodded and he produced a stack of documents
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
A Valuable Lesson
Groaning, I opened my eyes. All I saw was darkness. I tried turning my head or moving but it seemed like I was pinned in place.I fought down the urge to panic as I evaluated my condition. My arms were still broken, the sharp stabbing pain when I tried to move them told me as much. I could breathe though so my organs had healed after the beating I had taken. That was something at least.Seeing as I was in no immediate danger of dying, I checked my skills. My blood ran cold as I saw what remained of my abilities.[Rejuvenate][Multicast][Eye of the Storm][Aura of Rage][Calcifying Strike]Frostwave][Orb of Darkness][Energy Lance][Overcharge][Tempest Ball]That was the sum total of all the skills I now had. They had stripped me of every ability I had stolen from them along with every ability my second class gave me by default, making it impossible to recover skills by stealing them from others.I let out a morbid little chuckle as I lay there. Tears of frustration leaked from the
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Unexpected arrival
Those two words seemed to freeze everyone in place, but it wasn’t magic that caused it, it was fear. My body was frozen along with everyone else but my eyes rose into the air, tracking two creatures as they forced the magical fog away from the entire area with some ability.It was hard to tell by their alien physiology but I got the distinct impression they were looking directly at me. The initial fear was subsiding and people were starting to move again until the larger of the two squid-like creatures cast a spell. I managed to get off an Identify before the spell hit.[Ulq | Void Hunter/Maw of the Void | 47/41][Xiph | Psy Commando/Maw of the Void | 45/42]My body shook as I realized they were here for me but not a single person or even the entire pirate armada currently assembled here would be able to kill these two creatures.I felt the spell wash over the area and everyone was frozen again but a halo of golden light burst into existence above my head, washing away the spell’s eff
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Beachhead
The meager fleet of ships I was now in charge of, rose from the dock and slowly spiraled into the air to get above the mist. The chaotic coloration of the mana storm was visible in the distance even through the mist. That meant the enemy was almost upon the island.The Retribution was the first ship to breach the thick covering and it was no surprise to see the enemy ships had spread out in a crescent shape to surround the island. Enemy fast attack craft zipped toward our location and I double-checked that everything was working as it should. I had also turned the mana accumulator back on.I sometimes wished I had been able to fit multiple layers of shielding on the ship. But my experiments in that regard had not gotten anywhere. Shields that close together acted like soap bubbles. Either they popped completely or merged together, but it didn’t increase the strength of the shield when they did. The only way to prevent this was to have separate bubble shields that only covered a certai
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
The Storm
After weeks of sitting around, the Retribution finally got to fly again.Knowing we were leaving, the harbor was a beehive of activity. Cobbled together crews were drilling aboard the other captured pirate ships. The people knew it wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when another enemy would appear.As soon as Khikall got us away from the docks and any possible collision, I engaged the cloak. It was far more effective now that I could enable and disable the automatic recharging system. The massive disruption of mana we used to leave in our wake was now a tiny trail.I hadn’t had time to figure out a way to smooth our passing completely but this would have to do. I also had Em’ah watching for trails from a crudely assembled periscope. Now she didn’t need to be on the deck to use her Mana Sense skill.Speaking of skills… I had picked up a few from the last fight. I also managed to finally hit level twenty in my Maw of the Void class. I stuck two of my stats in Strength, one in Endura
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Troubled water
I watched as the workers placed the last armor panel in position and began to weld it into place. It had taken a few weeks to repair the damages from our fight but the Retribution was looking almost new.The replaced sections were clearly visible by the heat transfer in the titanium. I could easily fix that when I turned the thermal defenses on. It should make everything a uniform color. Paint would work too, I suppose, but why cover up the beauty of the metal.It was a good thing the ship was complete, over the last few days, we had been getting reports from the Guild merchant ships that were stopping to trade, and they weren’t good.Large fleets of pirate ships spotted raiding islands. The Capital of the Avulian Protectorate was sacked and all of the leadership missing. The remaining fleets of the Protectorate were attacking any ship that wasn’t theirs or the Guild's. Cities burning due to the slaves I helped free, it was madness and it was spreading.Already I could hear concerned
- Mana System In The Apocalypse
Turncoat
Captain Grulaine hissed in annoyance as his second in command handed him his “orders”. His second flinched back and hurried out of the room. If he hadn’t, Grulaine may have cut him down in a fit of pique. It galled Grulaine to be under the thumb of another. He had gotten rid of his father for that very same reason. And now thanks to a series of unfortunate events, he found himself beholden to the damn pirate king Black Gar’s lap dog.How was he to know the repair yard where he went was controlled by that snake. If he had he certainly wouldn’t have agreed to the loan to effect repairs to his cannons and ship. Repairs that had taken far longer than necessary, and left Grulaine on the sidelines as the entire protectorate seemed to be crumbling around him. An opportunity-rich environment he wasn’t able to take advantage of.But that wasn’t the most galling part. He found that his repairs were delayed on purpose so Gar could tighten his stranglehold on the local pirates. By the time Grulai
