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Mana System In The Apocalypse What Lay Beyond
We were on the third day of our impromptu journey. I didn’t have any real goal in mind other than scouting and maybe finding some decent dungeons to loot. So far we had just passed the edge of Texas.A Hornwell outpost marked the border in the distance. I had spotted his flag with the remote viewer. I could even see a few people moving around the small structure, keeping an eye out for trouble. They never once looked our way, the cloak was up and I was flying lower along the mountain. It really did reduce the lensing effect dramatically.Our flight continued north for another full day before anything changed. The mountain was still as stalwart as ever, rising up to touch the clouds in the east. What should have turned into mostly farmland and flat terrain in the west instead became low rolling hills marked with small groves of some odd tree.Definitely not a native tree of Earth, the wood was a strawberry red color and the leaves looked like they were dipped in blood. The fact that th
Mana System In The Apocalypse Edge Of Darkness
We set out the next day, rested as well as could be expected. Our next stop was in three days. Two of those were just getting through this valley to the next tunnel entrance.The trail wound down the steep cliffs, crossing a small stream, only to wind back up and through a high pass on the other side. I noticed the peaks inside the Spine of the World were not quite as tall as the surrounding peaks. It made me think of two tectonic plates slamming together but instead of one going up and the other going down, they both just said fuck it, let's head for the clouds.I knew plates slamming together could cause mountains, but usually one of them won out, or at least it wasn’t this extreme. Most of the peaks on the spine were tens of thousands of feet high. Some were probably taller than Mount Everest. I was pretty sure this was abnormal, but then again what was considered normal anymore.Late on the second day, we entered the next tunnel. It was located halfway up a small peak. It wasn’t a
Mana System In The Apocalypse East Exist
The remainder of the trip was not as arduous as the first half. Part of that was due to the caravan we crossed paths with in Mid Point. Like us, they braved the dark and fought off the creatures. The beasts of the dark would return, given enough time, but most were cleared from our path.Still, it wasn’t without its difficulty. Two more merchants were forced to flee when a lava salamander surprised the group.Ska and I were able to kill it while the rest of the guards protected the remaining people. Nobody else was strong enough to deal with the level twenty creature. And it wasn’t like Ska or I escaped unscathed. Ska was missing patches of hair where the beast’s breath scorched it away.I fared better with my armor and buffs, but my eyebrows were singed off when my helmet shield failed.I was lucky enough to dodge out of the path of the lava stream before it burned my face off. My helmet was completely ruined though. Had Fiona been able to assist we could have taken down the creature
Mana System In The Apocalypse Damage Control
The sound of dripping woke me from my slumber. I cracked open my eyes, barely able to turn my head. Everything felt fuzzy. When I looked down I saw the reason for the dripping noise. A large pool of blood was staining the floor and a quick look showed that my stump had continued to leak blood after I had passed out.Going by the size of the pool I must have been unconscious for at least a few hours. I injected another health potion but that was only a stopgap. I needed to deal with the issue.I glanced at the viewer, it showed that the valley was empty. Footprints blanketed the ground but the people must have left before the cloak ran out of power.I decided to set the fortress back down and engage the shield. That would give me five or six hours until I had to worry, assuming nobody came by and attacked.With that done I slowly stood on weak legs. I had to brace myself using my staff but I made my way to the kitchen. There I turned on the electric stove and let the element heat up. I
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
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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
