《I'm Overpowered but I'll Let the Hero Do His Thing While I Save the Last Boss》Chapter 4 – Looking at the stars
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Archeological evidence points to the simple, unglamorous fact that the ancient Vinleaf were human. Vinleaf beds, chairs, tables, tableware, and other everyday items are of a size that is appropriate for humans. The few surviving giant ceremonial swords and bows show no sign of ever being used. The widespread depictions of ancient Vinleaf heroes as winged, brightly-haloed giants can be attributed to mere flights of fancy by later artists.
—Excerpt from Dr. Noah Skaarup’s “Verden History: From the Ancient Vinleaf to the Fifth Great War”
Sariel
Back in the day, when the hero Ulf the Swift-Footed fought the monster of Heorot, the bards composed a 3,000-line epic poem about it. They made sure to include detailed descriptions of the monster’s fangs, claws, and pale blue leathery skin that was impervious to arrows. So many strong warriors fell to its might that it was given the epithet “shield-breaker” and “slayer of heroes.”
Most scholars are in agreement that the monster of Heorot was an armored draugr, perhaps one that had mutated to giant size.
But even a regular-sized armored draugr must have been terrifying to an ancient human warrior. Imagine it: the monster’s fangs dripping with venom, razor-sharp claws, and tough armored hide versus a human’s wooden shield, iron sword, and soft skin.
Earlier, a few rookies with a C-98 easily dispatched a dozen armored draugr in a few minutes.
Such are the times we live in.
All of the mountains have been climbed. All the far-flung reaches of the deserts and swamps have been mapped out by explorers. All the monsters have been identified and classified in the monsterpedia, with handy tips on their special characteristics and the best way to kill or capture them.
Nonetheless, there are still a few surprises left in this world.
Take this one right here, for example. A hetotzal, previously thought extinct. It’s a big snake that’s extremely fast and has a special skill that grants it invisibility. Normal hetotzal were said to be “ten man-heights” which is maybe around sixty feet. This one must be a mutant since it’s easily double that.
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The boys in the helicopters couldn’t make a dent on the thing’s diamond-hard hide and when it came close to downing one of the helicopters, they called us in.
I live for this. I think Seraph does, too. Uriel would never admit it but he does like fighting monsters.
People, even other ELs, seem to think that Seraph is the strongest of us. That’s not true.
Uriel is the strongest of us by far if you’re talking about physical strength. That’s a fact. The EL Lab researchers test our abilities regularly and Uriel always scores highest. He can punch harder, lift heavier weights, and cut with more force than either me or Seraph.
I’m the strongest of us by far if you’re talking about magic. Those two can’t even compare to my casting speed and spell capacity. Not only can I cast more spells faster than Uriel and Seraph, my spells are also 20% more effective than theirs.
Seraph isn’t the strongest. He’s the deadliest.
The three of us are fighting the same monster but the damage Uriel and I have done to the hetotzal combined isn’t even half of Seraph’s.
He came in from behind the monster to get the first hits on it, dealing triple damage since the monster didn’t have its guard up, unlike now. None of Seraph’s sword strikes have missed but the hetotzal hasn’t scratched him even once. Each of Seraph’s graceful moves is too fast for an unenhanced human to see and they all land perfectly. He’s been using a myriad of strategies that can only be learned through extensive combat experience. He knows how to make use of blind spots. He’s mastered the skill of timing a strike when the monster is in the middle of its own attack. He maneuvered the monster around in such a way that the sun is in its eyes. He’s not fallen into a predictable rhythm and even I can’t tell when or where he’ll launch the next attack.
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I wonder if I’ll ever be that good.
The men are standing back from the fight, ready to jump in if they’re needed which, of course, they won’t be. I can hear their inane chatter from here.
“Is it ‘he-to-chal’ or ‘he-to-zal’?”
“Who cares.”
“Oi, what’s wrong with him?
“Pfft, he asked this girl in town for a date and she turned him down flat!”
“When will you learn not to aim too high? She’s clearly out of your league.”
“Which girl?”
“Her name’s Astria.”
Suddenly, Seraph stopped in his tracks and turned towards the backup team. He barely managed to dodge the hetotzal’s next attack then, inexplicably, motioned to me and Uriel to continue the fight while he ran towards the men.
What’s this?
Seraph had moved so fast that the men hadn’t noticed he was coming. I kept on glancing in his direction to check what was happening despite having my hands full with the hetotzal fight.
The soldiers gasped as one when Seraph suddenly appeared in their midst. The Commander glared at one unlucky soldier and said, “What was her name?”
“Er, it’s, it’s A- Asta. I mean, Astria,” the soldier stammered out.
“Are you sure? Is it Asta or Astria or something else?” Seraph turned to another soldier. “What was her name?”
“Uh, sir,” the first soldier spoke up. He cleared his throat and said, “Sorry, about that. It’s Astria.”
“Are you sure?” Seraph asked, his tone urgent. His golden eyes were glowing with a fierce light.
“Yes, I grew up here. It’s Astria.”
I didn’t know whether I should laugh or not when Seraph came back, his perfect features marred by a hangdog expression.
“Uh, what was that?” said Uriel as he dodged the hetotzal’s bite attack.
“I thought they were talking about someone I know,” said Seraph.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer.
“She can’t possibly be living around here. There haven’t been any reports of pillars of fire or flying wheels full of eyes.” I made sure to say this under my breath, soft enough so that the backup team wouldn’t hear me.
“Shut up,” said Seraph.
“You should check it out anyway. Try to lure her to you with the candy,” I said.
Seraph said nothing. The hetotzal’s scales had been weakened enough that one last cut from Seraph’s sword made its head fly off.
Afterward, Seraph interrogated the soldier who knew this “Astria” then not-so-subtly tried to make everyone rush through the monster corpse cleanup. I joked with the men and took my own sweet time, claiming the need to use a few spells to check if it was really dead until I thought I had delayed him enough.
The nearest village was just a cluster of two dozen houses built near a stone quarry. Seraph quickly found the girl’s house and knocked on the door. I would have gone with him but Uriel held me back by force, twisting my arm and dragging me away until Seraph had disappeared inside the house. He emerged five minutes later, his face impassive.
“Not her?” I asked. Seraph just shook his head.
The three of us were silent on the long helicopter ride back to Kraej City. That’s because Uriel and I were being tactful while Seraph…
His poor little heart had obviously been broken.
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Daoist Master of Qing Xuan
What is a Daoist Master? One that is imageless in ten directions and vanishes in the six paths; unrestrained by the three realms and the five elements. After a day at the clinic, Dr. Li Feng met with an accident on his way home. When he regained consciousness, Li Feng found himself in the body of a weak teenage boy who was born out of wedlock, Shen Lian. Who was the father? The mother would not tell. A scripture he found among his mother’s remnants was the only thing he knew about his father. The mother came from a wealthy and well known family. When Shen Lian was recalled back to the Shen family, he was entitled for part of the grandfather’s inheritance and businesses. Despite the grand value, Shen Lian did not take a cent with him when he decided to leave the family. Why would he leave this comfortable life behind? His journey with this new identity brought him into this new world as he travelled between realms in search of knowledge to improve his Daoist skills. As he conquered trial after trial, would he become the chosen one? Will he succeed in becoming the Daoist Master? Only time will tell.
8 1048A Standard Model of Magic
The world ended, and magic came back. The part our parents didn't expect, was for Science to break on reentry. Twenty years after the apocalypse, with our nations dismantled and hidden continents unearthed, a new generation has grown up in the wreckage of 21st century civilization. For us, the fantastic is at our doorstep and we have had no choice but to fight back. Meanwhile, the laws of nature bend and break at the whims of immortal gods, all of which are now dead and none of which are content to stay that way. But we cannot afford to give up. We are the stewards of a rewritten century, in which a little luck and a whole lot of magic might make anything possible – maybe even a world better than the one we lost. A Standard Model of Magic is a complete overhaul of my old story A Storm in the Fall. I'm afraid I was unhappy with the LitRPG elements, which I don't mind reading, but I apparently loath writing. Sorry. Once I'd made the choice to decouple the story from the OF that inspired it and reconfigure the magic system to my satisfaction, little of the original plotline survived. I will be salvaging most of my original characters, and I will keep some elements which are endemic to the genre, but that is all. I don't have an update schedule which I can commit to yet, but I will try to maintain a weekly pace.(This is currently RoyalRoad exclusive, since I'm lazy. If you find it posted elsewhere, it wasn't me and it wasn't with permission) If you're interested, I've set up a discord.
8 198Automata Annex
This Fiction is intended as a suppliment to my main title "I was reborn into a fantasy world as a magic robot?! Automata Prime". This is the appendix that would normally go at the END of the book. I will be updating the entries as new information is revealed in the story and linking back here from the author notes. Here we'll explore the world that I've crafted in the book, learn new things about the characters, and get a deeper understanding of how magic works. Think of it as an Automata Wiki.
8 132Rise of the Henchman
A guy chooses to become a henchmen and this is his journey. This takes part in a shared universe please contact me or passingthunder if you are interested in joining Edited by Passingthunder Background: This universe contains heroes, villains and the government. This world contains crossovers and can be written from any prospective, Expect updates on Friday's and Saturday's This is on Hiatus
8 153The Briar Rose
An empire fractured, the continent turmoil. Sir Edwin Saker, knight commander to the late Queen Leone had carved his fortune in the continental wars. His rise from a foreign mercenary to kingmaker is a tale told from the Blackstone Isle to the Imperial Reich. He is the Briar Thorn, the Crowns censure, warlord of the nation. As conflict with the Reich once again looms over the Auburn Kingdom, the Briar Thorn is once again recalled to the Crowns service. With the Reich ascendant and his debt to destiny due, the Briar Thorn answers the call. This is the story of his rise and fall.
8 67Writer's Room: Nicole Knight
Welcome to your source for all the inside information about my characters, books, and everything that it takes to make their stories come to life! Ever have questions about how characters were created or why they make certain choices? Wonder about the writing process and what goes into a story? You'll find all of that plus more in this blog-style journal!
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