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2024-10-29 19:42:56I managed to slip us out of town and off towards the east without being spotted, after a few hours I was able to locate a collapsed barn that had just enough room for the two of us to spend the night.
It was unlikely anyone would find us here even if they knew to start looking. I set the still sleeping woman down on the dirty hay and slumped over myself, exhausted. Before I nodded off I decided to tie up Fiona's hands and feet holding the end of the rope tight just in case. Then I fell asleep.I was awoken sometime in the night as I felt a tug on the rope.I heard a weak voice call out, "Paul?""Yeah," I replied simply.I heard her start crying, "T-Thank you for rescuing me. I'm so sorry for what I did. I thought you were working with the people following us.""I bet you are sorry, that doesn't change the fact that you tried to kill me does it," I hissed angrily, trying to keep my voice down, "If it wasn't for your damn Commander
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Mana System In The Apocalypse Modifiers
I didn't really want some strange woman bonded to me for life, it felt way too much like a marriage, and I already went down that road once before. The problem was I didn't see any other option in the time we had. We couldn't afford to sit here all day with the Black Dragon encampment soo close. So I chose yes.[Fiona Clark has been Life Bonded to you.]"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, you won't regret this," she said sounding a bit manic. I was kind of already regretting it."We need to leave before that Mage catches up with us.""She is leaving for a place called Chic-a-go," Fiona said fumbling over the unknown word, "Apparently her faction? I guess I could call it that is at war with three other groups for that area and they recalled anyone over level ten to assist. I overheard this when they thought I had passed out from the beatings. I guess that's why they are rounding up fodder to feed to others in their group to power level them."
Mana System In The Apocalypse Home sweet home
We arrived north of the metro area I called home, after another three days. Fiona had been the model of good behavior the entire way. She could have left at any time and I wouldn't have stopped her. While I still didn't trust her fully I had to admit she was trying to make up for her mistake. While she didn't have a weapon she did have a few useful skills that came in handy in the few encounters with monsters we ran across. Mostly just local mutated wildlife.I had decided to stop using the old city names for most places as it didn't quite seem to fit the new reality that was our world. Despite that, this entire sprawling urban area had been known as the Fox Valley. It stretched from Lake Michigan down to the southern part of Lake Winnebago. Of course, it wasn't all the same town.There were three or four major towns connected by a slew of smaller communities and somewhere in all that mess was the Bazaar. It wasn't on the scale of Chicago big but there had still be
Mana System In The Apocalypse Hearty Message
I cleared my throat, "For the pain, put it between your teeth when I finish the runes. I don't know how long they will hold stable."She gave me a look of shock and tried to stand, but I pushed her back down in the seat, "Do you want the collar off or not?"She didn't say anything or nod she just sat there and I took that as confirmation to begin.There is something to be said about carving on a surface that you can manipulate in any direction you need versus trying to do the same on an object you can only rotate in one direction. After less than a minute I had her lay down on the couch and I kneeled to the side to get a better angle for carving. I needed to pick up a jewelers loupe or magnifying glasses for more detailed work like this.It may not have been the most dignified position for her but it made my work so much easier. She was only wearing her loose blouse and pants so as not to ruin her armor when the spell went off. I noticed she was w
Mana System In The Apocalypse Air of authority
The bridge came into view a few minutes later and we got in line to cross. I didn't realize it was this busy the night before. I could easily see a dozen soldiers decked out in full battle gear. There were two 50 cal machine guns set up on small podiums surrounded by sandbags on the far end of the bridge. Each of these was manned by two soldiers that eyed everyone warily. There was also a man towards the back that seemed to exude an air of authority; it felt a lot like the Commander's had. As the line in front of us filtered through the checkpoint a soldier looked us over."No fighting within city limits, if we catch you, you will be arrested or killed. No warnings."Then the man moved on, repeating his message to anyone that looked like they could cause trouble. We were waived through a minute later and I stopped to ask the soldier a question."Do you know where the Bazaar is?""Go down three blocks and ask for Gertrude at the market, maybe she k
Mana System In The Apocalypse Bazaar
We finally made it to our destination, it only took a week longer than expected, a rescue, a death, and a minor beating to get both of us to this place and time."You might as well go meet your contact so I can complete my mission, meet me over there," I said, pointing to a brick building across the street, "Will two hours be enough time?"Fiona nodded and entered the Bazaar, disappearing in a flash of light as I pulled out the last message spell.Located the Bazaar, City is under friendly military control. There are a few Black Dragons around use care while entering the town.The item turned to dust as my message was transmitted. I hoped Frathsar would be safe on his journey, God knows it wasn't an easy trip for us. I kind of hoped Fiona wouldn't show up in two hours and I would be off the hook for this life bond. Although, I was starting to see the advantages of having someone to travel with.Before entering the Bazaar I decided to see
Mana System In The Apocalypse Reverse action
"Unfortunately, no, I learned this skill by myself, and as you can see my work is rough at best."The Dwarf seemed to be disappointed by this news, handing me back my items."I will purchase the normal plates for a single credit each. If you had been more adept with your skills I would buy the ones you modified. Perhaps when you reach expert rank you can come back and teach me this skill.""I could teach you what I know now," I said not understanding why I had to be an expert."Doesn't work like that lad, only experts can impart a crafting skill unless I wished to learn from scratch like you are and I can't invest that kind of time."I just shrugged, "Well I'm not sure if I want to sell the plates yet as I feel like I could upgrade my armor.""That would be a good idea, it is always cheaper getting materials yourself than buying them from a market or the Bazaar, unless those materials are in low demand."He waved the cen
Mana System In The Apocalypse A place to rest
After the altercation with Sharla and her henchmen, I decided to take Fiona back to my place. Well, mostly I tried to convince her to find some other place to stay but she just kept saying that wasn't possible. She said something about her Life Bond and that she needed to keep me safe. Eventually, I relented, figuring if we were attacked that I liked my odds better with the two of us together. We made sure to keep our eyes open as we made the trip back to my place.It would be interesting to see what had become of my home in the eleven days I was gone. A change of clothes would be nice as well. I decided to put off looking for friends and family until I wasn't being hunted by a group of slavers, deciding the people I cared for might be safer that way.We made our way, stopping occasionally near patrols of soldiers to scan for the Assassin. The absence of the man was making me nervous almost to the point I wished he would just attack us so we could get this over wit
Mana System In The Apocalypse Working for Improvement
"It's fine. I accepted their deaths long ago. I'm just grateful that they didn't have to live through this insanity. My sister may have been ok but my parents would not have been able to cope. You mentioned parents, any other family back in your world?""I have an older brother that joined the military and my parents are knight retainers. I would have joined our military as well but our military didn't allow women so I joined the Royal Guard. My parents objected but it was my choice.""I was also betrothed to the son of some lesser noble but he ended the betrothal when he found out I joined the guard. Good riddance to the pompous dilettante," she said, disdain in her voice."My family managed to find another suitor to marry me, and I was scheduled to meet the man a few days ago but as you can see I was transported to your world first," she said not sounding all that sad about it.I got the sense she had a bit of rebellious streak to her, it remind
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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
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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
