《The Primordial Tower》Chapter 12- Unlucky
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Jake calmly moved through the forest, at a moderate pace that gave him enough time to examine his surroundings, but not slow enough to be labeled overly cautious. His short sword was already drawn, ready to meet anything that leaped at him with his cold, metallic blade.
He had already slain three goblins but still hadn't managed to amass enough experience points to hit the next level. He had expected a greater amount of resistance, or a feeling of disgust as he cleaved through these monsters, but surprisingly he felt nothing at all. Jake had experienced an urban lifestyle since birth, so he'd never even had to kill the animals he consumed for sustenance. For someone like him to just hack at these monsters without any change in emotion was definitely unnatural, but he simply took it in stride.
A loud crashing sound snapped him out of his musings, and it had been uncomfortably near his location, perhaps only a few dozen meters to his right. If the old Jake had been in this situation, he would've made haste and legged it in the other direction while mumbling incoherent prayers to higher powers in hopes that he would survive.
The new Jake simply switched directions and started jogging in the direction the sound had emanated from. He wasn't going there to throw his life away, but instead test whether the age-old adage 'the greater the risk, the greater the reward' applied within this twisted survival game.
As he was almost there, he dropped to a crouch and peeked through the bushes to help determine his next course of action. Next to a massive oak tree, were little bits of rotten wood scattered around. Some pieces were relatively more intact, allowing Jake to determine that a wooden container of some sort had fallen from a sizeable height, to cause such a loud noise. And in the center of the debris lay a pitch-black set of boots.
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The boots had no sole, yet they still stood upright despite the fall. They had no outer markings on them and were made of a material that seemed to absorb the surrounding light and make them harder to detect. These were definitely not of human make, but this had to be the oldest trap in the book. To have boots with presumably special properties just lying around unattended, did the Goblins really expect him to fall for that? Well, they were pretty dumb from what he'd seen so far, so it was a possibility.
A rustling sound from the tree indicated that he would soon see the culprit behind this contrived plot. He shifted his gaze upward, only to bear witness to a completely unexpected sight. The leaves and branches of the tree obscured a large part of his vision, but he could still make out a human silhouette rapidly descending the tree with a surprising amount of grace.
Jake watched as a young caucasian man, no older than 18 or 19 loosened his grip on the tree and ended up landing on his buttocks. Before he could react, the teenager recovered with impressive situational awareness and summoned a one-handed sword only a few inches longer than his own. He then walked towards the boots and started slipping them on one by one, in a standing position while having his sword hand free to move and staring northward.
Jake felt like there was something off about the situation, so he didn't make any hasty movements. This encounter had given him a vital piece of information, i.e, there were wooden crates hidden on the treetops that could provide equipment, and maybe even weapons. The part which made him wary, however, was the how and the why. Either he had run into a professional rock climber, though due to the man's young age it seemed highly unlikely, or the young man had managed to reach the next level and get a bunch of boosts to his physical abilities.
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While a single Goblin, on its own didn't amount to much, the problem was that they seemed to have a tendency to travel in groups. Jake was forced to deal with three of them rushing him at once, and the outcome had been a bit too close for comfort. For this young man to have killed more than him this early into the first floor, was impressive.
Jake had decided that he would climb the tower, hoping to find some greater meaning behind his existence. He wanted to prove, to himself, more than others that he wasn't simply a brainwashed puppet that had been mindlessly carrying out orders all this while, and that he could amount to something far more significant. Jake Lane would become a God if that was what it took to prove to himself that his entire existence amounted to more than just serving as a vessel for others to live vicariously through.
But before he decided to cut all the ties with his past, there was one last issue he had to resolve. He had almost condemned his son to the same mindless path of misery and self-loathing that he once walked on, a sin that was unforgivable in Jake's eyes. The [Token of Residence] the Tower had given him meant that he could meet his family for one final farewell. And he had resolved to return with the [Elixir of Life] for his only son as reparations, even if it meant walking down a path of no return.
For that, however, he had to stay alive. Killing that man would allow him to at least reach level 2, and receive those special boots along with anything else he had managed to acquire. Unfortunately, there was a distance of 10 meters between them, and he was facing a physically superior opponent. The risks were too high in comparison to the rewards, and he was on the verge of retreating.
Until three armed goblins burst out from the North, right in the direction of the young man.
As he saw it, anyone who participated in the Tower of Glory when they could have easily gone to the safe zone hadn't done so with noble, selfless intentions. Even if they had, humans were inherently self-obsessed creatures, to begin with. He doubted that people would sit still after seeing the [Elixir of Life] as an available reward.
It was his reckless actions that had brought upon this situation, and regrettably for this unlucky young man....
He would die in a single, painless blow without ever knowing how. That was the only bit of kindness Jake had left to offer.
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In the 26th Century, catastrophic warfare has rendered Terra uninhabitable, driving humankind to the brink of extinction. Spread out wide among the stars, the Interstellar Federation struggles to maintain order. In Saga of the Cosmic Heroes, Ensign Victoria Happ-Schwarzenberger follows her father's footsteps in the Metropolitan Space Navy. She hopes to accomplish great deeds, by protecting and preserving the Federation. Joining Victoria on her quest for fame is Li Chou, known as the Madame Scarface in the Year 217 Mafia. Her adoptive father, Dong Zhui, is a pirate and ruthless dictator nestled on the fringe of the galaxy. The destinies of these two entwine as they seek to write new history in the Cosmic Era. But history is most often defined by those seeking social justice, and a steadfast martyr named Alexandra Descartes-Dolz has something to say about this. The history of the Interstellar Federation is about to be rewritten. Full cover art of volume 1 was by gar32. Full cover art of volume 2 and full cover art of volume 3 also by gar32. There will be chapter illustrations I've commissioned throughout the story, and many more will be commissioned as the story goes on.
8 139Shadow- the solo sword master
the universe creators/administrators all got together and decided to create a new comrade, a new universe shall be born soon and there is a vacancy, to decide the best candidate possible they leave it up to many factors that will combine together to form a final score. the fight for survival shall begin across universes within the new universe. a place filled with natural treasures but untapped, billions of various races across universes shall meet there to fight for survival and the final goal universe creator/administrator. There will be missions set there by other races or official administrators race(think of npcs meant to help you adapt but with intelligence they are only expected to provide a basic information and help). The universe creators then set upon their task sending a status window to every living intelligent life form, Would you like to become a god? yes or no. at least 10% must accept otherwise chosen at random. all your achievements you have accumulated so far shall be converted into points to help your survival. Meet shadow a 16 year old teenager who was brought up as the heir to a well known clan specializing in swords and assassination, cold, ruthless, yet kind in his own way until one day the message appeared clicking yes he gets transported along with the rest of his clan who followed his decision. ticking random boxes i think might be inauthor notesThis is my main project now since i like it better, i write what i want to write so it may not be the typical story on this site. I release first drafts as chapters therefore has bad grammar, and writing. It uses tables (they are hard) and a point system. This fiction will start slow, and will eventually build up. There is no planning being done for the story it is write as i go
8 98Transition and Restart, book two: The Billion Dollar Empress
The billion dollar empress is back in town. Without her empire, and most definitely without a billion dollars. After her transition and arrival in a world where she was never born fifty years earlier, Christina Agerman has started to rebuild her life as a high school student in Japan. She has found friends and love, and now it's time to restart the fashion empire she never created. But it comes at a cost. How strong are those ties of friendship and love when she starts out on a road she has to walk alone?
8 162Infinity Curve - Lamentations to Unseen Friends Across the Vastness of Space
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8 160Claim Me Alpha(Editing)
When I walked into the school people look at me. I was walking to my locker and I smelled the sweetest smell ever. Mate!!! Go get mate's Reign was yelling and howling.Looking around, my eye a landed on the one person who I didn't want to see and he was staring right back at me.Cole Black.His eyes looked through mine and Reign was howling with joy.I stood there shocked not able to move.Except when he stood up and started walking towards me, I did the one thing that I would have never thought I'd do.I ran.Just as I got into the parking lot and to my car, warm arms wrapped around my arm and I knew exactly who it was.Cole turned me around to where I was facing him and growled" Mine""No, no, no, not yours!!!" I said in disbelief.His grip tightened around my waist and he growled. "You are mine. No one else's. You will not touch another male and you will not talk to another male. You are mine. Mate." He said before putting his head in the crook of my neck and inhaling.
8 224Daddy's Home ✧ LS
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8 173