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Mana System In The Apocalypse Cause And Effect
“You’re sure it was the Stygian Order that gave them info?” the Marshall asked as he walked along beside me.The remaining dwarves had fled after their King had fallen. I was hobbling along through the outer portion of Houston, healing any injured I came across, and there were many. The dwarves had been indiscriminate in their slaughter. I watched dead bodies being carried to trailers to be hauled off for burial.I felt bad that the scene didn’t affect me all that much. It wasn’t even in the top five most fucked up things I had experienced since the system came about.“Unless you told someone, only Martin, Fiona, and Ska knew what happened to that dwarven stronghold.”The Marshall stopped me with a firm hand on my arm. “That isn’t good, it sounds like they have it out for you and maybe even your friends. And what if the dwarves come back?”“They won’t,” I replied tiredly.“And how can you be sure of that?”“Because… I’m going to hunt them down.”“…Paul, the Mayor is going to have to b
Mana System In The Apocalypse Alone Again
I floated the fortress out over the ocean and spent the better part of a day cleaning up and repairing the insides. I still had the two damaged runes at the bottom of the fortress that I would need to get to but it could wait for now. My mind was in turmoil but the act of cleaning helped me settle and come to terms with everything. I still kept my emotions locked away, they would get their time.The main command chair was a twisted mess so I scrapped it. I unbolted one of the other chairs and moved it into place. Just another thing on the long list of items that needed to be replaced.I collapsed into the chair and wiped the sweat from my face. It was getting hot and stuffy inside the fortress. The air filters weren’t designed to take a hundred-meter plunge into a pit and had been mangled messes. I had spares in the storage rings though and one was running at the moment. It was working to keep the air breathable but it wasn’t comfortable.I ignored the hot stale air as I looked at the
Mana System In The Apocalypse New Headquarters
After finishing off the dwarves and stripping them of all their gear, I left their corpses to rot in the hot Texas sun. It's all the bastards deserved after attacking. Coming after me was one thing but attacking my friends was another.Despite my desire to immediately go after the perpetrators of this little plot, I was forced to curtail my emotions. I had no way of locating my target, although, I had a few ideas. First I needed to intercept my new captains and get the other barge out of Houston.After returning to the fortress I moved south of the Spine and around toward the coastal city. I really should find out what that city called itself.My arrival didn’t go unnoticed as I plopped the fortress down in an empty shipping yard near the docks. I hurried out to prevent any misunderstandings among the locals.A few of the town militia had already shown up but they quickly spotted me and lowered their weapons. But I noticed they didn’t put them away.“I thought you said you would be go
Mana System In The Apocalypse New Toys
Now that I had spoken to Javier and Maria and gotten the initial work started on the new warehouse and drydock, I turned my attention toward my next goal.Locating the Stygian Order was going to be difficult. I assumed they had spies I wasn’t familiar with keeping tabs on me. It was the only thing that made sense as to how they knew of the dwarves or where I was located after the attack at the Hornwell property.Therein lay the problem. I had no way to ferret these people out, at least not yet. I did have one concrete piece of information and that was how they got around.I hadn’t come across anyone that could create portals other than that man in West Exit that helped set up that return system. I wasn’t sure if that could be considered a portal though. That left me with two options; purchase a similar portal skill or create an item that could mimic it. With my access to the Bazaar in Houston and East Exit cut off, that left Biloxi as the closest available Bazaar and I wasn’t sure I w
Mana System In The Apocalypse Setting the lure
It took Timothy a week to finish fabricating the last of the disks for my project. It was good timing because the dry dock was almost complete. I thanked the man for his work and told him to take off until the dry dock was ready and the barge was in place. I paid him with the money I earned from the town. I essentially signed a contract to build the wall and add other fortifications. The money wouldn’t be paid all at once, as to not bankrupt the town. Instead, I agreed to installments as well as free room and board for my employees until the work was complete.It gave me a steady flow of incoming capital to continue to pay my small workforce but it was enough. If I needed a cash infusion, I could sell some runic items. My employees were happy to finally be out of living in the warehouse, especially Maria who was forced to live with three other guys. Although, I think she liked the attention of being the only female, the other guys treated her like a daughter. Timothy was the only marr
Mana System In The Apocalypse Quiet
After the initial flurry of signals I got from the detectors and the one that detonated, it was radio silence so to speak. Two weeks went by without a single hit from the detectors. I was afraid the detectors had burned out or the Stygian Order found a way to circumvent them somehow. I was able to alleviate those concerns by using my prototype portal to verify the system was still working. I guess they had been spooked off for the meantime.That didn’t mean there weren’t still spies watching me though, so I kept my actions confined to the fortress or the warehouse.I was also getting worried about Javier, he was two days overdue. I couldn’t run off at the moment to find him though. So I went to Maria.“Maria, are you ready to set out?”“Yes, Mr. Paul, is the barge complete?”I nodded. “Pick up a load of merchants from Houston and follow Javier's route backward, starting with the stop after Saint June. I’m going to send a couple of extra men with you in case of trouble.”“Do you think
Mana System In The Apocalypse Glitz and glitter
The rest of New Mexico was a boring wasteland, not improved one iota from its pre-System state. Just brown rock and sand as far as you could see. Most cities were dead husks, sand already beginning to cover over the remains. People were long gone, dead or scattered to easier climates, unable to survive after the luxuries of the modern world were gone. I wondered why anyone would ever want to live in such an inhospitable place. It did give me a newfound respect for early settlers and the harsh environment they dealt with just to survive day-to-day.One of the instruments attached to the fortress was a thermometer and it read one hundred and twenty-two degrees. This trip would have been a death sentence if I hadn’t replaced the broken climate control units in the fortress. Even then they were running constantly just to keep Ska and me from sweating to death. Thermal insulation hadn’t been a big concern when I had created the fortress.Crossing over the border into Arizona was like cross
Mana System In The Apocalypse Tournament part 1
So that was how Ska and I ended up on the bracket for this tournament. It was the quickest and most legitimate way to gain entry to the Bazaar. There were a hundred spots and everyone was given a random placement. From what Don told me, there were three former champions in this round. He pointed out their names on the massive board.“There is Hegar, looks like you and your friend lucked out, he is on the opposite bracket. Although, that means only one of you will be going to the end, assuming you got what it takes.”I just shrugged and motioned for him to continue.“Rasputin… yeah, he gave himself that name, is on your bracket. Dark magic mostly, although he can summon undead. It makes him a real pain to fight or most people, not that it helped him against Hegar. Then the last one is Natalia, or she likes to go by the name Mistress of Pain. Poisons and curses are her specialties. It seems she is also on your bracket and probably will be your first real challenge. She is a nasty piece
Latest Chapter
- 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
