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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Mana System In The Apocalypse Kragor vs Paul Round 2
set the fortress down within spitting distance of the dungeon. I had no time or patience to be stealthy. Every hour it felt like an invisible noose was starting to tighten around my neck. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or some part of that damn ability that Randy was using. Considering it lessened as I got closer to Chicago, my money was on an ability.Well, let him use his abilities, I had surprises of my own to bring to our next encounter.The four of us rushed through the dungeon, killing off the lower-level kobolds with ease. I used it as a testbed to try out some of the new skills. Maddening Laugh turned out to be highly effective against the barely cognizant kobolds. After only one use they devolved into nothing more than aggressive animals their more animalistic tendencies taking over. They didn’t last long enough for me to cast it again, and I chose not to waste Multicast on it.Underhanded Blow was also effective. My ability to instantly enhance my speed by two points
Mana System In The Apocalypse Reconnaissance
The trip north was mostly uneventful. I say mostly because, holy shit, had the land changed. We flew near a lake that looked like blood. Massive tentacles squirmed within the liquid, just below the surface. Thankfully, I had spotted it before we flew directly overhead, who knew what creatures waited within.Another problem was a bright flash in the distance. Normally, I would have avoided that completely but the ominous mushroom cloud after made me decide to detour near the area. We needed to make sure it wasn’t something we had to worry about. Turns out someone had gotten ahold of a tactical nuke, leveling some small town on the east side of what was once northern Arkansas. After seeing what lay beyond, I couldn’t blame the people for setting the weapon off.The land for as far as you could see was dead. The radiation detector was blipping away and I chose to turn back toward the west. Fiona returned from scouting with news of what was on the ground.“Entarior locusts,” she said, loo
Mana System In The Apocalypse War Footing
The war - if you want to even call it that - between the Black Dragon, and our ragtag team of four went on for weeks.The Black Dragon had numbers, more than I had ever thought possible. Every time we thought we cleared out the entrenched heavy weapons more would be rolled out and the battle would commence again.We were hounded every time we landed, they even found our damn island sanctuary and pounded it to dust with long-range artillery. The fortress was a mess but it was holding together better than I could have hoped for.The fortress floated toward downtown Chicago, listing a bit to the left where a portion of the levitator had been blown away. Both Ska and Martin had hairless heads, a blast of flame cooking their flesh before I healed them. The scars were gone but the hair would have to regrow on its own. I hoped Ska’s regrew fast, grimalkin did not look good furless. It was a mix between a naked molerat and a wrinkly testicle.Our approach had been uncontested. That was mostly
Mana System In The Apocalypse Deciding Battle
The lobby we were in was a blood bath. I lost count of the people we had killed to get to this point. None had been elites, or above level twelve. Still, they had numbers and we had to fight every inch.Martin’s summoned creature had done the majority of the work until it poofed away in a cloud of haze, the spell spent. Then we had to get dirty.I deflected a sword strike aimed at my neck, smashing my staff across the offender's face to the sound of shattering bone.It was easy to see how my additional ten stat points - from levels alone - had me head and shoulders above anyone under level twenty. Even the level sixteen Blade Guardian I was currently fighting was hard-pressed. His skill with a blade was far superior to my skill but he couldn’t match my speed or strength.My staff snapped out, tearing through the air with an audible crack as the warrior tried to deflect my strike with his buckler. Metal met metal and his buckler lost, caving in and snapping the man's arm. He cried out
Mana System In The Apocalypse The Return
We walked out of the rubble-strewn area of Chicago where the dome shield had covered. The emitter was now safely tucked into my storage ring. I had to find a clear spot to call back the fortress for it to land.“So,” Martin said, “I see your hand grew back, was that because you killed the guy that cut it off?”I gave him a confused look before I remembered I had my new prosthetic on. “No,” I chuckled, deactivating the meld runes and pulling the hand away.Melding the mithril alloy hand with my skin, nerves, and bones was not a pleasant experience but it was less painful than getting a hand cut off.I handed him the hand so he could admire the workmanship. It had cost me forty thousand credits to get it made by a master craftsman. And even then that was only for an unenchanted hunk of metal that could mimic all of the movements of a normal hand and wrist. The hand looked to be made of tiny scales and I had no clue how the crafter had assembled it but it was a thing of beauty.It also i
Mana System In The Apocalypse Old Aquatances
We touched down in an old quarry I knew about. It wasn’t as big or as deep as I would like but it did the job of hiding the fortress.We were preparing to leave and I was getting a feel for my new hand when Frathsar’s reply arrived.Good tidings old friend. Much has changed in your absence but the city still stands and is safe to enter. Ask the gate guard to point you to Frathsar’s Fine Goods. I remain open until sundown. I hope to see you soon.Well, it's good to know he was still around and had apparently opened his own shop. I doubt he would expect us tonight though. I looked at the sky and estimated we had three or four hours until sundown.We approached the city by the same bridge we had used the last time Fiona and I had entered. I was riding Bella and Martin had purchased an Arabian horse. It was quite the equine, its mane was silver gold and it had a dappled hide to match the coloring. I would have mistaken it for a regular horse if it wasn’t for the blood-red eyes.[Abyssal T
Mana System In The Apocalypse Dinner Invite
After leaving Frathar’s shop we headed to the hotel. It was still a bit weird to see most of the electric street lamps running. There were a few that were dark and some were missing completely. I could only assume it was damage from battle or from them sitting around for so long unused.Part of me wanted to see what remained of my old house, but I knew it had been torched in anger after Fiona and I had escaped the first time. I decided that digging through the past was a lost cause and decided to leave it be and look toward the future.We decided on two separate rooms. One for Ska and me and the other for Fiona and Martin. Her relationship with Martin was like an open secret, everyone knew but nobody spoke about it. Well, except me when I ribbed Fiona about it. I had gotten my sweet revenge so there was no point for me to keep hounding her over it. I was happy for the two.The beds were nice, not super nice but nice. They weren’t pre-system manufactured beds. I imagined those had not
Mana System In The Apocalypse Dinner Is Served
With nothing left to do, I sold a few rune-crafted items to restore my funds and headed back to the hotel.I had a few hours to kill before dinner so I went over my books on runes. I didn’t glean any new knowledge from the books but it was nice to go over them every now and then. I also browsed my notes. They needed to be updated, some of my postulations were wildly inaccurate or just plain wrong. Most of that was on my attempts at enhancing my body. Something that I had put on the back burner due to current events.The fight had only heightened the fact that I still wasn’t strong enough. Sure I had won but I had a feeling fate stepped in to help on that after talking with Victoria.While the Black Dragon was effectively no more, there were still dangers out there. The Stygian Order, Lord Vik’t, and all these groups moving in from other worlds. Sure they weren’t directly opposed to me, but that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. I had also noticed that wildlife was growing stronger.
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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
