Well, that was long... I wanted it to be longer too. Anyway, that's another volume done. On to the Roadtrip Arc. Care to give me Gems? It helps my motivation to do better. To those wishing to contact me, kindly do so in my Discord. I accept private messages. My server's a bit dead at the moment, but feel free to join anyway: discord.gg/NZA6Jun Conversely, follow me on Twitter @FriedMokou.
In a world that's barely on the cusp of a renaissance, the concept of machines and industrialization was probably the furthest thing from every common man's mind. Hell, even the most learned scholars of the time probably didn't even know about the power of combustion, let alone the concept of letting machines do the work of a hundred artisans. Then again, with a magical system that puts an emphasis on blacksmiths and artisans through the use of runing, I wouldn't even be surprised if industrialization wouldn't take root in the first place. A renaissance? Sure. But with a populace that wasn't really pressured by the casualties of a devastating plague, I'm sure that any and all artisinal guilds would horde any and all efficiency innovations they had.Either way, technological progress in this world was utterly fucked for the next few centuries or so. Wait... Why am I even pondering on this in the first plac
"Why are we stopping?"Oh lord...Since Livia was the one in charge of the engine, she had quickly picked up that something was wrong the moment she heard me tell her to cut the power. Not that I blame her. She probably saw Grigori come in and come back out laughing like a lunatic. Of course, since I taught her about respect, she won't really ask unless she thinks I won't be forthcoming. So props for her to withhold her question until after we were at a complete stop."We're gonna do some preventive maintenance," I neutrally responded. "Check the treads, the engine, all that stuff for any sort of minor stresses that might become a problem after prolonged use.""I see," my sister hummed in approval. "I did feel something funny in the engine a few hours ago... Maybe I'll check if it's something we have to worry about."
I took a deep breath as I let the adrenaline run through me. As usual, Grigori was probably going to play defensive. Watching, waiting; looking for me to make the first move seeing as I was always the offensive type of fighter. Drawing the Firebrand, I held it in a two-handed grip, pointing it straight at my opponent as the wind swept through me."Well, Little Eul? I'm waiting!"Right... I have to focus... I've fought this guy numerous times already. Sure, I haven't beaten him even once, but I should at least be able to make some progress in beating this guy. Now what have I learned from sparring with this man? He usually relied on his right arm to keep me away while his left hand was usually preoccupied with holding his hammer. He preferred to attack from his right side; constantly making that angle practically suicide to tackle. I've also learned the hard way that approachin
I didn't even have the time to process what was happening before something blue and shiny burst out from the tree line. Turning off my flames, I was just about to ask my sparring partner about it when a massive boom erupted from beyond the tree line. Birds flew off into the sky, other animals erupted into the clearing; the woman flanked by wildlife on all sides as she herself bolted right onto us.That was, of course, when I finally recognized the mystery intruder."Arya?!" I found myself shouting at the former Prime as she floated on her usual chair made of water. "What the hell-""NO TIME! RUN NOW!"Huh?-Another explosion rocked the forest behind her. This time, a cacophony of leaves and branches accompanied the shockwave as the debris almost made me raise my sword in defense. The wind sw
My lungs heaved with desperate energy as Arya and I navigated our way out of the forest. I knew it wouldn't be long before we finally reached our destination, but the fact that the sounds of battle still felt like they were only a few meters behind us was really keeping me on the edge of my nerves. It honestly felt like there was still someone trying to chase us, and it was scary as all hell."Arya, is there someone following us?" I called out to my companion as I found myself taking a glance behind us every once in a while."Not that I know of, Dear," Arya replied, her feet now touching the ground as she actually ran this time. "We've established some distance. I'm sure the Lord Stone can keep the three of them occupied."Another shiver ran down my spine as I felt the phantom presence behind us again. This wasn't normal, but if Arya says so, then
Fucking hell... I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be leading the charge for what could possibly amount to a car chase in a medieval world. While we weren't using horses, the engine was far from being capable of going over a hundred kilometers per hour anyway. In a sense, it was just a powerful, roided-up horse that can somehow pull a massive hunk of metal along despite its cruddy design. Well, at least said hunk of metal will finally have its purpose justified so long as it was able to defend against some of the more basic attacks and such."Fuck me..." I whispered to myself as I once again saw the massive cloud of lightning that almost killed me the first time. "Right... Lace! See that cloud of lightning in front of us?!""Yeah?!" I heard our driver through the steel plating. "You want us to avoid it?!""No! I want you to go into it!" I yel
The stresses of panic and anxiety were starting to set in as I wiped the growing sweat off my brow. We were not out of the woods yet. In fact, we were actively charging into it!"Sis?!"Shit... "It's fine!" I called back out to Livia. I guess my outburst was loud enough that she heard it in the driver's seat. "We'll pull through. Don't worry!"With a sigh, I hurried back out to the APC's roof, leaving Arya to Lace's capable hands as I readied myself for yet another bout. Love already had an arrow nocked into her bow as I stood beside her; her eyes scanning our trail as we moved."There is no sign of Lady Static giving chase, Lady Crimson," she relayed. "The storm cloud has dissipated. However, I highly doubt that she will simply give up.""Well, let her chase then," I threw out. "We're runni
Fucking shit... The engine just died! "Livia?! Why'd we stop?!"I didn't hear a response as I pulled myself back up to the roof of the APC. Love looked alert as all hell as I tried my best to keep myself upright, the contrast making the situation all the direr as the one guy that kept blasting us with fire suddenly appeared beside Mr. Baldhead himself."I know not what sort of Denominator Runing could enable such a heavy contraption to move at such speeds, but if it is as strong as it looks, it will clearly be suited to be of use for the Empire."Oh my fucking god, this bitch.I felt Love stick to my side as she aimed her bow at the two Primes. Meanwhile, I held my sword at the ready, my eyes not even taking the time to assess the potential damage in favor of not getting blindsided by these people again. I could only ho