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Mana System In The Apocalypse The Wait
I spent the next couple of days training with my hand and my staff. I still didn’t feel comfortable that I could match my previous ability. I had to face facts, I was afraid. I was afraid that Randy Cotton had followed Ska and Fiona into the tunnel. They were still moving from what I could tell but that meant little.If he was truly following them and I was forced to fight, I would die. There was no doubt about that. Dying to save my friends was a noble endeavor but also a futile one. I doubted that Randy Cotton would stop at just me.I needed to utilize the advantages I had. That meant waiting and worrying that Ska and Fiona wouldn’t return safely. The worry was eating me up inside and on more than one occasion I had to extract a deformed piece of dining ware from my metal hand.Sitting around and waiting was killing me so I got to work. I slaved the mana cannons on the fortress to one control. It wouldn’t allow me to aim them but that was fine. It was just another extra layer to the
Mana System In The Apocalypse Action
The needle didn’t move for days and I got a sinking feeling that something was wrong. I flew the fortress back to the first valley and secured it. Then I ran toward the village. I didn’t enter right away, electing instead to wait until it got dark. Then I flew over the walls, setting myself down inside the city. I donned the cloak and hood, looking like the shadiest fuck you could imagine. I decided against the hood, remembering a book I had read once about penetration testing. Act as you belong.I understood the social engineering aspect of it, but I had never been good at the physical portion. I strode down the street instead of acting like a criminal and skulking about. It seemed to work. Nobody gave me so much as a second glance. I think a lot of it had to do with me looking like a beggar.My appearance was haggard from the worry and recovery. As I neared the plaza by the cave entrance I had to slide into the shadows of an alley. Not that I was any good at hiding.Earthen barriers
Mana System In The Apocalypse Endless Enemies
I had to run to keep up with my chaperone. I could already hear the sounds of fighting coming from the tunnel entrance in the distance.We came into view of the tunnel and just a mass of monsters billowing out. It wasn’t even the dewgon, it was everything else trying to flee from the creatures. Thankfully most seemed to be stunned by the bright light of the sun and were picked off by magic and ranged attacks before they could clear the blockade.If it was this bad here, I couldn’t imagine how bad it was at the fortresses.I had to give the defenders credit, they were holding their own against the masses of creatures.I cursed the fact that I hadn’t been more diligent in figuring out my body tattoos. One use of my Aura of Rage and I could wipe these creatures out in minutes. If I used the skill now in my still weakened condition, I don’t think my body could take it.That didn’t mean I was defenseless though.I cast my buffs, giving the defenders within range a little boost, then I got
Mana System In The Apocalypse Converging in The Dark
I huffed out a tired breath, angrily kicking the dead monster in front of me. The armored carapace blunting my foot as much as it had my damn staff attacks. I had been forced to use the cannon to kill the creature, which pissed me off.The stupid monster was only level eight but my limited mobility had hampered my usual fighting style and prevented me from cracking it open through sheer might. Even my elemental powers had been useless. The creature’s tough stone armor radiated heat making lava attacks useless, my main go-to for dealing with heavily armored foes. But the pure magic of my cannon speared through the creature like a hot knife through butter as well as the stone behind the creature.The resulting damage had left a haze of smoke and rock in the air and left my ears ringing. I made a mental note to add some sort of power selector to the cannon, this was overkill for most things. For now, I only charged the gem up twenty percent. I looted the creature and got back to jogging
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Spoils
Ska and I finished off the last Broodmother, seconds after Fiona dealt with hers. Our dungeon dive lasted four full days. I was thankful for the portable shield and my arm cannon. Both had come in handy in the tight tunnels. The shield to block the bugs so we could rest and recuperate and my arm cannon because it could clear an entire tunnel with one blast.When we finally reached the spawning chamber we found not one but ten of the gargantuan egg layers. They weren’t much of a threat but the elite guard dewgon were a pain to deal with. They refused to be drawn into the tighter tunnels and had the same scythe-like appendages of the normal soldiers. But they also had sonic attacks.Fiona was our best asset in dealing with those creatures. Once she got them down to a manageable level we went in and finished off the rest. They were still only level fifteen, not much of a threat to any of us, just annoying.I plopped down to rest, we had time until the dungeon disappeared and I was tired.
Mana System In The Apocalypse Mohai Tree
We climbed out of the ravine and quickly made our way to the tunnel toward West Exit.“We have eyes on us,” Fiona said as she appeared next to me.Seeing as they already knew about Fiona there was no reason to hide her existence here.“You think they will check the ravine to see what we were up to?”“Yes,” she answered unhesitantly.“Shit, we probably should have waited for the dungeon to fully collapse before we left. Too late to change that now.”Fiona nodded as the two of us ran to keep up with Ska. It was an impossible prospect as Ska put his points in agility. Ska had been able to go above the limit on agility due to a previous encounter. I hadn’t even realized his agility was at twenty prior to today. I wasn’t sure if I would win against him in our next duel. Not that a loss would be bad, it just meant my friend was getting stronger.We disappeared into the dark tunnel as Fiona kept us apprised of the tails we had picked up.***Iron Claw stomped across the dry rocky ground as h
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Way Forward
As we flew back to Huston, I had plenty of time to think. My mind kept going back to Randy Cotton and his power to bend fate. I knew I couldn’t avoid fighting him for much longer, he was becoming too strong. I also knew even hitting level twenty and picking a second class would not bring me to his level. No, I needed help.Thankfully I had some good friends and a few new allies to call upon to assist. Before we got to that point though we set down near a rundown steel mill, north of Texas. There was a level fifteen dungeon here, one that Fiona had spotted on our way north. But there were also a lot of monsters roaming the area around the abandoned buildings.I would only need a few quick kills to level up, then I could decide on my ultimate choice for second class.***I hit the hideous spider-like creature with an electrified Stunning Gust, causing it to screech and flail its front appendages. Those appendages were speckled with lamprey-like orifices that easily drew blood and tore s
Mana System In The Apocalypse Random Chance
We spent a few days resupplying in Houston before we set out.“So, what's the plan?” Martin asked as he followed me onboard.“First I need to pick up some new abilities.”He looked at me in confusion, “Uh, why didn’t you do that in the bazaar?”“Why pay, when I can get them for free?” I said with a wink.“Part of your new class?”I nodded.“Well, this oughta be interesting.”Ska and Fiona greeted us in the kitchen as I went over the plan.“First we take out these contracts for the Marshall. Try to keep as many alive as possible, I want to try my skill on all of them to see what comes up. I figure with our speed and ability to track these men we can probably finish in a few days. Then we head for the Jackal pit.”Ska gave a toothy grin and growled happily at this news.I set out two rings I had purchased with that destination in mind. “These are mind barrier rings. They should be able to protect us for six hours, enough time to clear that dungeon. If my theory is correct and I gain the
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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
