《Friendship Overload》Ch. 65 Newfound Strength
Advertisement
Time flew by in the cave beneath the lake. The teens no longer needed a tunnel to enter it as the cavern had grown so big it went way beyond the shore.
From the bottom of his neck all the way to his toes, Ethan was covered in various tattoos. He was particularly proud of the giant flaming dragon painted on his backs whose wings embraced his rib cage.
“What do you think?” he asked Ana after the drawing was done.
“Looks ominous.” she responded honestly.
“Nonesense! It’s majestic, beautiful, the epitome of dragons.” The drawing was the spitting image of his former pet. To anyone else, the protruding teeth and abnormally large claws would probably look terrifying. But to Ethan, they were all parts of its charm.
“Anyway, it’s your turn. Time to get over your squirming.”
Though Ana had tattoos on both her arms and legs, she had refused to get some on any other part of her body.
“What’s the point?” the girl complained. “I already have several tattoos for every earth technique I might need. You’ve said it yourself that using others would just slow down my progress.”
“I’ve also said you should have them just in case. You never know when flying or a healing spell might save your life.”
Though Ethan could manipulate the needles and ink without even touching them, Ana was still uncomfortable showing her skin. The ancient mage recognized this problem, but he found it superfluous. If embarrassment was all he had to endure on his quest for power, then his past life would have been a joy ride.
“What a pain…” Ethan scratched his head for a solution. Eventually, his limited social skills and battle crazy personality led to a singular idea forming inside his head.
Advertisement
“Ana.” The girl lifted her chin. Ethan placed one arm on his hip and pointed a finger at her using the other. “I challenge you to a duel.”
“Huh?” The boy’s cartoonish provocation was met with confusion.
“If you don’t need more tattoos, then you must be super strong already.” he snickered mockingly. “Surely, you can take me on by now.”
Ana knew he was baiting her but accepted anyway. There was a lot of pent up stress she had accumulated in the past few months, mostly because of him.
“Are you ready, My Lady?” the boy asked sarcastically.
Her response was a stone spear to the face. There was no warning, no warm up, and definitely no rules being set before spells started flying everywhere.
For several minutes, the cave shook violently as numerous holes formed within its walls. Water began dripping from the broken ceiling and the now mana-less rock from the middle the lake threatened to come crashing down on their heads.
“You plan on taking down Charles with just this?” asked Ethan while covering the cave in flames. The girl hid within the ground and started an assault of her own.
“When his daddy tries to kill you for smacking his progeny, what then?” Every spear she threw at him got obliterated by a series of gravity fields. “As you are now, you can barely take on a rank two.”
Every word out of his mouth was designed to piss her off. To Ethan’s credit, he succeeded marvelously. After a couple more insults, Ana had more than enough.
“Hey, if I mortally wound you, do you have a way to recover?” she asked in a serious tone.
“Unless you can somehow damage my soul,” ‘which you thankfully haven’t learned yet,’ “I can take anything you’ve got.”
Advertisement
Demons were especially scary for this very reason. However, if the soul wasn’t targeted, Ethan could continuously restore his body until his mana ran out. Given his low rank and the healing spells he placed in half of the dragon’s claws, he was confident in recovering from just about anything.
“I won’t forgive you if you die.” warned Ana.
Ethan wanted to laugh out loud, but his expression soon did a 180. He could see a wave of mana wash over the cave’s walls, one much larger than what Ana should’ve had access to.
“…Shit.” Before he could take a single breath, thousands of stone needles came flying towards him. There were so many of them that the flames were extinguished and even the gravity fields collapsed. At the end of the barrage, the cave’s surface area had shrunk by more than a foot.
Fortunately, as soon as he sensed danger, Ethan dug himself into the ground avoiding most of the assault. “Muahaha! Nice try.” Though his ears and shoulders were bleeding, and his arms resembled dangling vines, the boy still felt like taunting her.
“What now? Want to give up?” he asked while rapidly healing his body. “If you don’t come out, I’ll come find you.”
“No need.” A cold voice was heard from somewhere nearby. Suddenly, a huge amount of mana surrounded the tiny hole Ethan had dug himself into.
“Surely you didn’t think I ran out of mana cores, did you? I’ve been hunting for months.”
Advertisement
Candor: The Forgotten House
*** Please read note below *** As a 16-year-old mage from a powerful family, Jayce Candor had known from a young age what his future would hold. As the fourth son in his family the possibility of him becoming the heir to the household was very small. But, with his talent as a mage, his potential accomplishments in the military could lead to titles of nobility and political power. However, on what would otherwise be an unremarkable night, everything he had ever known, the only people he ever cared for, and all of the plans for his future were destroyed. House Candor, one of the six great houses that helped build the Eldoran Empire had been erased from history. By imperial decree, all those bearing the name Candor were hunted down and executed as traitors of the Empire. With no home, no family, and only death waiting for him, Jayce decided to escape north to the uncharted Northern Territories to begin a new life. Forced into situations he was never prepared for and trying to cope with his past, Jayce tries to find safety in a place spoken about only in legends. There for the first time, he will make true friends and find people he will come to see as family. He will encounter strong enemies, build powerful alliances, and become a person his ancestors would be proud of. But surrounded by creatures he thought only existed in tales and pressed by the Empire’s constant expansion, Jayce’s safety may be only an illusion. To survive a world fraught with danger Jayce will need to grow stronger with each new experience and rebuild his once forgotten house. ********************************************************************** Note: The story starts slow. Although there is more action as the story progresses, there is a fair amount of introspection and character introduction in the first 30 chapters. Jayce is the main character, however, other characters play a large role and the story is seen through multiple POV's. This is a draft, it is not a finished work. This is not a story that focuses on an OP MC who beats up on weaklings. At times there can be a fair amount of internal monologue. Some of that may be edited out when I rewrite the story. I decided to keep it in the draft because I think it is better to have too much material rather than too little when I edit. Constructive criticism is appreciated as it helps in the editing and rewriting process. Check out my other story Shattered Mind here
8 290Cursed Forge of Destruction
Our MC died from protecting her friend and when through a twist of fate, she’s reborn as a member of said Black-Gold Eye Clan. That alone would be unfortunate enough, but to her dismay, her eyes could very well be blind. An Archeologist was reborn burdened with carrying the curse of her Clan carved on her eye. === This novel is focused on Blacksmithing and as you may expect from the title it has something to do with Cursed Weapons. What not to expect: Sandpaper Characters that have no emotion. Plot Armor thicker than oatmeal Everything going well for the MC A world that revolves only at the MC An MC who suddenly becomes a badass and kills everyone just because she could. What to expect: Characters that feel alive. A world filled with Lore and has varying cultures. Rational MC but not robotic The cover is not mine [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 206The Forging : Chronicles of Invernia
The world is no more, the gods had a choice of saving one of two worlds with Earth losing. They instead transitioned all to Invernia in hopes they could help that planet survive the coming horrors. Out of those who survived the transition, one god who lost his children would rest his hopes on the one individual who chose to have his new life randomly set up, in an attempt to bring them back into existence. How would you handle waking up to a new world that till now you thought could only happen in VR games? Well our MC is about to find out. Hello! I have always wanted to write though never got around to it, now with all the extra time, I find myself with I have decided to finally pursue it. I would appreciate critiques and advice anyone can offer to help me be better at it. Thank you in advance!
8 89Reincarnation of a Dedicated Loser
Hard working smart kid with the determination of a lion suffers his entire life and gives up, but in his last moments he shows his strong will to fight once again. Unfortunately its too late for his life to change. But not to late for a second chance. With his dedication he resolves to never be weak or powerless and decides to live a good life, in a new world of powerful magic and adventurures, with great beasts and challenges ahead.
8 141Rise of the Demon God
In 3000 A.B at 00:00 the entire world change. There was once a boy and the world who has witness a huge disaster event that will change the entire life and world of everyone who lives in this planet call Earth. Gods descended and kidnap everyone but except the boy who grow into a omnipotent being equal to the God them self.
8 177Contract: Restart
Betrayed by a close friend and beaten to death. Blake Freed is resurrected by a god under a contract in a new world with RPG like mechanics. Now the reincarnated no longer knows the word """"Trust""""(DROPPED)
8 173