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2024-03-11 16:40:09
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Mana System In The Apocalypse Initiation
People always thought the end would come from war or disease, maybe some global economic collapse. Who would have thought the end would be caused by something from a video game.I awoke with a start, my head pounding and a shrill noise blaring in my head that seemed to permeate every bit of my being echoing throughout my body. The noise appeared to have no direct source that I could discern.This is not what I had expected when I went camping in the Northwoods, well more like glamping since there were bathrooms and electricity but hey it was nice just to get away from the city, and my job if only temporarily. I only came up here for a quick weekend retreat to avoid people as it was earlier in the season than most people came camping and the campgrounds were empty of any other campers.I rolled over in my tent and vomited the remains of my supper on the floor as I clutched my throbbing head trying to will the world to stop spinning. It felt like I had gone on an all-day bender and this
Mana System In The Apocalypse The beginning
Welcome to the Mana System, test yourself, grow, and strive to survive. Diligence is rewarded, cowardice is not.I blinked, it was extremely weird, the feeling of suddenly changing. Feeling stronger, more alert, and suddenly having knowledge shoved into my brain that wasn't there before. Giving the staff a quick twirl test it felt natural in my hands if a bit on the light side. That was good; at least, it wasn't too heavy or unwieldy to swing around.It also appeared that the system didn't reward you with being a wallflower. I would need to get my hands dirty and possibly risk my life if I wanted the rewards granted by the Mana System. I guess it was better than being a cubicle jockey for a company that didn't care about you. At least this was based only on my merit.Focusing my mind I thought inventory. A screen popped up with two tabs, equipment, and storage. In the equipment slots, I had my clothes my shoes, and my staff. I focused on the staff.Crafted Ironwood staffQuality: Low
Mana System In The Apocalypse Trek To The South
I jogged down the side of the road. The office had been a bust, nothing but a few filing cabinets and refrigerated food. None of which would do me any good, I had been hoping for some dry foods, or canned goods to help round out my meager supplies. Oh well, I was making good time and should be able to make it into the nearest town within 2 days if I could keep up this pace and I wasn't attacked.The road made for an easy run and I remembered reading that trained soldiers could make 20 miles a day on a march. Well, I sure as hell wasn't a soldier, trained or otherwise, and had no intention of running myself ragged., setting an easy 10 to 12-mile pace, mainly because I wanted to get into the town early tomorrow. I also needed to find a safe place to set up for the night. After about 10 minutes I made it to the main road heading south towards my destination.Looking up and down the road I could see quite a distance, the land was relatively flat in this area of the state and I didn't see
Mana System In The Apocalypse Random Encounter
I stopped at the edge of the forest, not sure what to think. I had been traveling for a good hour since my last fight and cleared a good distance. Knowing the woods would be coming to an end soon, making way for farmland. What I saw ahead of me was not farmland or more of the ever-present forest.The land laid out in front of me was hilly, punctuated by rock outcroppings and a few scattered trees that looked like dead sentinels, watching over the sparse vegetation, daring it to grow.Herds of grazing animals of some sort could be seen in the distance. The edge of the forest I stood at seemed to end on a rise, like it had just been sliced away cleanly.This new landscape reminded me of a picture of Saharan Africa I saw once, hopefully, it didn't come with the wildlife as well. I also found it strange that I had not seen a single vehicle since leaving the campgrounds. While I could discount this on the campground road, this was a major road north and there should have been a few cars or
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Stinky Hole
It didn't take me more than 10 minutes to find the dungeon, or lair, or whatever it was. The smell is what led me to it. I watched, crouched low over a hill a few hundred feet away. There were about seven of the stinky green things milling about outside of a rock outcropping with a large cave entrance."I should have taken a stealth character or a ranged class," I mumbled to myself, "Well no pain no gain," I said, backing down the little hill. I wanted to test my new skills out, and although, I didn't know the goblin levels they looked exactly like the ones I killed earlier. If that was the case I would continue into the cave. If they were significantly higher level or more numerous than I thought I could handle I would run.I checked the time of day from the position of the sun learning about how to do it from some nature show, seemed to be around early afternoon. That gave me three or four hours before dusk, plenty of time. Heck, even the sun was in my favor coming from my back as I
Mana System In The Apocalypse Here Goes Nothing
I did manage to catch up to the merchant, or what was left of him and his cart. The trail of black smoke is what drew me off the road and towards the grisly scene. I had hurried over to see if I could offer assistance to whoever was in trouble, forgetting for the moment that there were dangerous creatures about. It appeared he tried to flee from something. The large area of the burned field around the remains attested to that.'God I hope a dragon didn't do this,' I thought, scanning the sky.It didn't take me long to piece the scene together. The dozens of odd tracks leading to and around the site spoke of a desperate flight and last stand. Not of some magical aerial predator. The only reason I knew it was Frathsar were the few bits of unburnt carriage that poked through the glowing pile of ash, still sporting the flamboyant colors from his cart that I remembered from when I first spotted it. I poked at the pile with a stick but only produced ash and bits of wood."Rest in peace Merc
Mana System In The Apocalypse War Leader
I managed to make it to a two-story farmhouse, the front door closed but unlocked. I looked back realizing I had maybe a few minutes before the creatures caught up to me. They seemed to have endless stamina, but I was huffing and puffing by this point, the run through the muddy field having sapped away a lot of my strength. I came up with a quick plan as I ran into the house. On my way towards the house, I spotted a cellar door around back. If it was operable my plan should work.I blocked the front door with some furniture. It wouldn't hold long but it should buy me some time. I ran around the first floor until I found the basement. Peering down from the top I saw a few wooden beams holding up the first floor and I could see the cellar stairs on the far side. Just then I heard pounding on the front door. I rushed down the stairs to the exterior door. It was only held closed by a bolt and easily swung open. Just then I heard the front door shatter and the creature's feet pounding on t
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Town
I crouched behind the burned-out remains of a truck, looking towards the town. It was the first sign that some bad shit had gone down but not the only one. Number two of the poo parade was the roaming groups of armed Sulid and other humanoids I could see. A once thriving community of nearly fourteen thousand people reduced to roaming mobs of monsters and other things. They say trouble comes in threes and the third would be the numerous sounds of gunfire in the distance."Well this is just wonderful," I sighed."Paul, what are you doing?"I nearly leaped out of my shoes and I definitely didn't scream like a little girl when the unknown person managed to sneak up behind me unnoticed. I turned around to see someone I was not expecting to see again. Standing there without a care in the world was the green-skinned merchant extraordinaire."Frathsar? What... How...? I saw your corpse," I said in surprise."Apologies friend Paul, you weren't meant to see that scene. I was forced to abandon my
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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
