《Starborne Warrior》Chapter 7: Mercenary
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A man suddenly burst into the Black Star mercenary guild. He was heaving and gasping for air. Having run straight here, his clothes soaked in sweat. Eyes glimmering with hope, deeper in lay anxiety, with the desire to prove himself.
He quickly became the center of attention. Not many burst into places full of seasoned warriors so carelessly. He stumbled forward to the front desk. A handsome man, the receptionist smiled sweetly.
“What can we do for you today, sir?”
Still gathering his breath, attempting to form words. He took a pause, took a deep breath, and regained his ability to communicate.
“I would like to join the guild. I want to be a warrior!” spoken with ferocity that sparked the allure of the receptionist. This was how a man should be. Strong, handsome, determined.
“Of course, sir! But first there will be tryouts. We hold them every week, luckily, the next one is held tomorrow. You may still sign up.” She handed the man a pen and form to fill out.
She then tenderly asked, brushing her hair behind her ear, “What’s your name?”
At the sight of this, a large man got up and laughed heartily, in a mocking fashion.
“Boy, you think you have what it takes to be a warrior?” he brandished an axe, standing in a combative stance. “Shall we trade a few blows?”
The man was unfazed, heroic, and determined. Eyes burning with passion. He gripped his sword, clearly not backing down. Fights occurring in the guilds were as common as people stumbling on stones. A crowd gathered. A show was about to begin.
One large, bearded man with an axe, smiling crudely. He was known as Barbos, and was a simple, strong, and vicious man. He had no metallic augmentations, a purely organic savage. An original strength cultivator, likely.
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One well-built, handsome, and heroically posed, sword in hand. Ready to slay anything in range. His sword arm covered in a strong alloyed steel. His neck also protected with epidermal metal armor.
The crowd grew excited.
“This kid is going to be crushed, Barbos is too savage.”
“May he rest in peace. Or pieces.”
“This kid has augmentations. He may stand a chance. One good blow to the neck will end this irrational loudmouth. Let’s pray.”
As the crowd chattered, the tension grew between the two men, the crowd's voices faded. Barbos swung his axe overhead and down with one arm. The other man took a sidestep, but this was anticipated. The other arm of Barbos threw a powerful punch to the man’s chest, sending him flying into the crowd.
They quickly cleared, as the large beast pounced. The man rolled to the side and quickly got up, re-brandishing his sword. He was battered, and noticeably weaker. A sunken stance, and weak grip, heavy breathing.
The fight would be determined here unless he revealed a trump card, in a simple single blow. Fights often ended this way.
But the man did indeed have a trump card.
A gun.
His alloyed arm transformed, opening a slot in the wrist, with a Gatling barrel inside. Bullets started flying everywhere. Bloody holes making Swiss cheese out of Barbos.
This is what he imagined happened. Instead, the gun jammed. This arm was cheaply made, obtained on a black market. Not too surprising, but very unfortunate. As the large man chuckled, and stepped towards him, “You are not ready yet. Go back to where you came from.” And the man stepped past him, sitting back at his table, taking a large swig of ale.
The crowd dispersed in chatters.
“Another example made.”
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The man sat there, in humiliation. He did not want it to end like this. He was not willing to go back into his shadow again. Never. His whole life, every single moment of living, he couldn’t help but compare himself to his brother. A cold, aloof man with achievements that made him unreachable.
It was time to change, so what if he lost? It was just the first time. Next time, he will get better augmentations. He will learn swordsmanship, and one day, one day, escape their shadow.
Fire reignited in his eyes. He walked back to the receptionist, handing her the form as if nothing happened at all. “Here is the form.” He spoke with greater confidence than before, despite having lost. Despite having been humiliated. He did not worry about the one known as Barbos. He only worried about that one.
That relative of his.
“Johnson? Lux?” The receptionist said excitedly. “Like the Light Blade, Lux? Are you two related? I have always had a small crush, hehe, I probably shouldn’t admit that.”
Upon hearing this, the man, Barbos, silently sneaked out of the building. He decided to not return for a long time. The power of that last name, “Lux” was too much.
The look in her eyes completely reignited, a look of excitement, infatuation, and longing. A look, he thought, he would never receive on the merit of his own name.
Johnson stared blankly at the woman and spoke after a long silence, “We are of no relation.” he whispered as he briskly exited the guild.
The world was very cruel to him. It always has been, and maybe always will. The people even crueler.
Many stared as he left, pushing open the guilds large wooden doors with strength.
Many also saw, as he bumped into the intimidating, armored, seven foot tall beast colored of blood standing at the entrance.
This was not his day. But when was it ever?
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8 108Of Gods and Dungeons
March 16, 2021 - Hiatus note: I will come back to this story! I'm really struggling with it, though. It's been a number of years and I kind of forgot what the original outline was. I still remember the main path, but not any of the details, because I stupidly didn't write an outline. Progress is being made. I'd like a very decent sized buffer before I start posting again. Don't want to get hopes up only to immediately disappoint! ----- Amy Barnes, an aspiring chemical researcher, finds herself dying from cancer. One of her most desperate prayers is answered in a way that she'd never dreamed possible, and she finds herself living a new life as a dungeon. Warning: Violence, morbidity Cover: Taken from here, courtesy of www.pexels.com by photographer @tookapic. Author's Note: I've read some dungeon core stories on here, and they've tickled my fancy. I've thought up a whole story, start to finish, and thought it'd be a blast to put it into words. Other than the violent and morbid aspects, this story is suitable for children. Aside from the vocabulary, that is. I will avoid the temptation to have any cursing, sexuality, or gore. Excessive gore, I suppose - it is a dungeon story, after all. I’ll do a little research from time to time, but this story will not have a great deal of rigor. I’ve made Amy’s knowledge comparable to my own for that reason. There’s a few things she knows more about than I do, and a few things that she knows less about. Unlike me, she doesn’t have access to Google - it’s a non issue for her to be more knowledgeable than me, on occasion :P This story does not use the same magic system that I’ve used in either Sorcery in Boston or A Summoner’s Confession. This one is mostly intention based, and designed to be easier access for people who are more used to the idea of, “It’s magic, therefore it works” kind of thinking. Do note that Amy is, in most senses of the term, overpowered. This goes along with the usual dungeon core stories. She’s not more powerful than other dungeons per se, but she does have knowledge and intelligence that puts them to shame. I thought about doing this in a LitRPG style, but systems take balance, and I wanted this to be pure fun to write.This story was inspired from a few sources. Despite the title, it wasn’t really inspired by Of Mice and Men, though some of the themes match. Rather, I’ve taken inspiration from a few dungeon core novels on Royal Road Legends for the main idea. Many conventions of dungeon core stories have been perverted from the genre, however. I’ve taken my usual science-loving self to town to play around with the powers, and I can only hope you have half as much fun reading this as I have had writing it.
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8 92The Never-Ending Search for Amusement
For as long as I can remember, there was nothing. I didn't mind mind, because it was all I had ever nothing. There was just me, surrounded by a dark void, thinking. Before time existed, there was a being. It had no body, but was alive. When the Universe exploded into existence, it realised that it could move the individual atoms to create and destroy entore galaxies. This is the story of a god. Or When god gets bored, he creates deities to amuse him. He makes a planet and fills it with life, including people, and give them a challenge. The deities have 10000 years to make the people as advanced as possible, or they die. Oh, and there's magic.
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