《My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror》Chapter 12: Comparing sizes
Advertisement
“He did all the enemy making,” Damien replied, crossing his arms. “It’s not my fault they thought I was lying.”
Henry shifted within Damien’s mind and let out a laugh.
“You were.”
Damien ignored his companion. The gray fire in the brazier reached its peak, flickering steadily at a short bit over three times Nolan’s height. The boy stepped back, releasing the bowl and sending a smug grin at Dross. The fire receded, vanishing back into the depths of the brazier. Reena clapped her hands.
“Good job, Nolan!” She cheered.
“It sounds like you’d like to go next,” Dross said dryly, gesturing for Reena to step forwards. He jotted something else down in his notebook and snapped it shut.
Reena followed his instructions, giving Nolan another smile before reaching the brazier. Damien mentally reached out to Henry, well aware that he was still being observed by the nameless girl standing beside him.
She already thought he was weird. There was no point wasting precious time that he could spend making sure the test went according to plan. It’s not like she had any way to know what he was doing, anyways.
Of course, that wasn’t the smartest assumption to make. Underestimating the intelligence of anyone, even if done in an innocent manner, wasn’t the wisest thing to do. Then again, we’ve gone over Damien’s intelligence, so it shouldn’t take you by any more surprise than it took me.
Henry, is there anything we need to do to prepare for the test?
“Boy, I could burn a hole through the roof if I wanted to,” Henry replied, scoffing. “There are two problems with that, though. First, you don’t have the ability to handle that amount of my power. You’d probably explode. While that would be incredibly amusing, I’d find myself back at square one. Second, even if you could handle that much of my energy, would it really be wise for you to display such power? We don’t need to go looking for attention.”
Advertisement
Loathe as he was to admit it, Damien had to agree with Henry’s words. His companion was making a lot of sense, and that worried him. When you start agreeing with the extraplanar eldritch horror you summoned when you were a power hungry thirteen year old, it might be a sign that something’s wrong.
As Damien conversed with Henry, Reena managed to get the pillar of fire to just a little under where Mark’s had been. Her flames were the same gray color as Nolan’s, but they flickered and hissed more aggressively despite not reaching as high.
The blonde’s teeth gritted as she strained, trying to force the flames even an inch higher. They flickered, reaching up for an instant, then collapsed back into the Brazier. Dross wrote in his notebook once again. Then he waved at Reena with it.
“Next,” he ordered.
“Can’t I try again? I was nervous –”
“No.”
“Right, sorry,” Reena said, sighing. She sat down beside Nolan, who compassionately patted her on the shoulder. He was still beaming from his apparent success, but did his best to repress it for the sake of his sister.
“Don’t fret too much, Reena,” Nolan said. “There’s nothing wrong with your score. The average person can’t even get the flames to rise their own height, and this is only a measurement of latent power. Such things can be defeated through skill or even politics.”
“Next!” Dross yelled, staring at Damien and the unnamed girl. “I do not like to be kept waiting. If you don’t choose, I’ll do it for you.”
“I’ll go,” the girl said. “I was helped by a field operative. He said he would send word and has requested to remain anonymous.”
Dross’s eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing. He gave her a small nod.
Advertisement
The girl calmly walked over to the brazier and laid her hands on it. She didn’t hesitate for a moment, and the flames matched her. The moment her hands were on the stone, a pillar of inky black flame launched upwards, stopping nearly exactly at her height.
Calling them flames might have been a mistake. It was more like a single flame – a pillar of dark fire that didn’t show a single flicker or fluctuation. Dross’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Before he could say anything, the girl released the stone and strode back to the group.
“Interesting,” Dross said, jotting something into his notebook. “Impressive control.”
The other four students goggled at his words. The man had actually given a compliment to such a pitiful performance compared to the others. Damien didn’t have long to consider it. He could already feel the annoyed gaze of the mage on him.
He strode towards the brazier, wiping the cold sweat on his palms away on his pants. He stumbled over a crack and had to jog a few steps to regain his balance. Damien heard Nolan and Reena chuckle behind him.
“We’re going to have to work on that pitiful persona,” Henry growled. “It’s honestly sickening. Get some self-confidence, boy. You’ve got a goddamn void creature as your companion, but you walk around like a whipped dog.”
“Shut up,” Damien replied as they reached the bowl.
“Better,” Henry replied. “Now, let’s get you some bragging rights. I’ll not have my partner look pathetic next to these worthless mortals. This world needs to be destroyed with style, and you’re out of season.”
Damien did his best to ignore the ominous warning behind his partner’s joyous words. It was disconcerting to hear a being millennia older than him talking about fashion, but now wasn’t the time to deal with it.
“I summoned on my own. I didn’t receive help,” Damien said.
He drew a slow breath and grabbed the stone bowl before Dross could say anything. It was cold and rough, like stone generally was. Damien was almost disappointed. His hands started to tingle and he felt lines of heat travel up through the veins in his arms. They reached his chest and expanded outwards.
It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it was certainly strange. His body felt warm and vibrant, like he’d just woken up after a good night’s rest with the sun beating gently down upon him.
A gout of sickly black fire erupted from the brazier. It roared past Damien’s face, threatening to spill over the edges of the bowl. The flames were raw and untamed, crackling and popping as they struggled to escape the confines of the brazier.
The pillar of fire rocketed until it was just about where Nolan’s had been. Then it inched downwards by a foot, remaining at that level steadily.
Advertisement
- In Serial135 Chapters
Last Flight of the Raven
„Some people live lives with narrative weight. A story woven into the possibilities of everything they do or say. A princess in a golden cage. A baker swept away by circumstance. A father challenged, a mother desperate or a son lost. Twice – Born are those who lived a life of narrative weight and died a death worth telling. Just to do it all over again, for the gods enjoy a good story as much as everyone else. And they want more. Always more.“ - Dio, the Mad King Rather than being thrown to his death by the hands of the demons of the Wyld, eternal foes of his empire, a young man takes his last free choice. The choice to die defiant of the wishes of his enemies, to die on his own accord and to jump. His last desperate act of freedom catches the eye of the gods and so he is reborn as a Twice-Born of the Wanderer, his patron a boundless spirit of freedom. A second life to survive the hell he had jumped down into. A second life to carve a new path to freedom from the depths and darkness. A path to freedom for the lost, forsaken and shackled. A second life for himself in a world he doesnt know anymore. For the Wyld has won and the old ways are gone. He enters the dark tunnels with nothing but a faint hope and the powers of the Twice-Born: to manipulate the class system and tailor to his needs what he thought was destiny. Light on the LitRPG elements. Book 2 will feature heavy kingdom building. I am not a native speaker and try to learn and improve. Please correct me when I'm wrong!
8 200 - In Serial50 Chapters
Cloud Sailor
Rhys is an Artificer who has always dreamed of owning a Cloudship and sailing out beyond his home spire. An opportunity dropped into his lap to do just that, but the consequences of his choice might very well be too much for him to deal with. Fantasy with some light litrpg elements, trading and growing the ship. Some slice of life elements as Rhys learns the ropes of being a Cloudship captain. Artwork is by Bogdan - https://www.artstation.com/bogdanantoci - I can't recommend him highly enough.
8 252 - In Serial30 Chapters
Star wars: Selfish virtue.
''He's broken, are you sure this is a good idea?'' ''It's gonna be alright, it'll become a different timeline. I will supply the power for it myself, won't cost you anything and you can watch it play out with me.'' ''If you're sure dear, the last time we did this it didn't turn out so good for the world though.'' ''It's gonna be fine! ...Probably.'' A man yanked out of our world is put into another one on the whims of beings out of his comprehension or knowledge. Journey with him as he tries for the things that were ever out of his reach in his last life, enjoyment, fulfillment, happiness... and maybe even love. This is my first time writing anything. I'll be taking it as a learning experience, though obviously, I'd hope that people enjoy it. When you find something to criticize, and you will. I at least hope you'll word it in a constructive way so I could remedy and/or learn from it. Enjoy.
8 385 - In Serial15 Chapters
Accidental Adoption
It all started out as a bluff to get under the skin of her arch-nemesis. Now Lady Bird, B-list villain, finds herself the caretaker of her arch-nemesis' teen ward for six months unless she wants to go to prison for fraudulent papers. But no worries, she has her husband and minions to help her. How difficult could it be? A story told through a series of oneshots, sometimes connected, sometimes not.
8 218 - In Serial180 Chapters
Sigil Weaver: An Old Man in An Apocalypse
A magical apocalypse? Monsters and mayhem? A war with aliens? Sorry, that's a no from Rory. Sadly, his happy retirement ends when he crashes his truck to save a kid. When he wakes up, he finds nearly everyone has evacuated his town, leaving him behind to figure out this new system that grants classes and skills through magical coins called Sigils. He's got a Legendary Sigil — it lets him turn anything in the world into a Sigil, at the cost of not being able to use them himself. That's fine. He's too old to fight anyway. Punching monsters makes his arthritis flare and dodging fireballs leaves him bedridden for days. Instead, Rory is going to gather the survivors and make sure they have the best Sigils possible. The apocalypse didn't end Rory's retirement, it just gave him a new line of business. Sigil Weaver is a LitRPG Apocalypse story, with a focus on slice-of-life elements and exploring magic. Updates daily! Come yell into the void on my discord Also got a patreon for up to 20 advanced chapters (well, 18 so far, but 20 soon!)
8 474 - In Serial190 Chapters
Reincarnation: I Married My Ex's Brother (6)
"Marry me. Once we're married, I will be loyal to you for life-as long as you keep me alive."Qiao Jiusheng was pushed into the water by her older twin sister, had her identity stolen, losing her old love and life. With no other choice, she seeks out Fang Yusheng, the blind man rumored to have no interest in women. With blank and empty eyes, he says, "Sure."In her past life, she was betrayed by her sister and trapped in the basement. Her tongue was cut off as she watched her sister take her place, winning overall her loved ones, marrying her lover of six years, and starting a family with him. Now that she's back to a time before it all went wrong, Qiao Jiusheng escapes from the river and goes to her boyfriend's older half-brother. She puts on a mask and marries him, to fight their common enemy. The wheels of fate begin to spin, and the severed threads of destiny are once again entwined... Before their wedding, he tells her, "Don't peek at me so openly just because I'm blind and can't see you." On the night of their wedding, he tells her," You don't have to dress like a bear. I don't care for women." Half a year after their wedding, just because she gives another man another look, Fang Yusheng covers her laptop, phone, bedside drawers, desk, and wallet with nothing but his selfies.This book is a Chinese novel written by Imperial Songs and he deserves all the credits for it. Link for the original novel will be provided at the end of the book.
8 286