《Legend Land: Tale of the Nameless God》Chapter 22.2: Old Habits
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I sit down next to the corpses and slip the knife back into my hand, prying the lizard teeth out one by one. After a few moments, the fellow prisoners begin to disperse, whispering amongst themselves.
Damn that was rough. Despite my apparent victory, I don’t let myself relax. In here, everyone is out to get me. I can’t smile, I can’t joke, I can’t rest. I look down at the jaw in my hands, and the pile of teeth on the ground, suppressing a sigh.
How did it get back to this so quickly? We just said we wanted to be better, and now I’m worse than before. Just to merely survive, I’m going to have to be even worse than I was before. What happened to being a hero? To doing the good things?
Was I ever really serious about becoming better? Or was it a front? It’s that damn Dickwed.
“Dickwed,” I grumble under my breath, now working on popping the teeth out of the reptilian’s top jaw. That damn little bastard put me in here. Hopefully, he was satisfied with just stuffing me in this cage. Hopefully the others are safe. Maybe...maybe if I’m thinking that there’s hope I can be a good person. But sometimes, good people have to do bad things.
I tug the boots of the big man and begun cutting into them, using my teeth to pull when the knife won’t do. That Piper bitch, she has it coming too, tight ass be damned. It’s a shame she stuck with that rotten CEO—what a waste. Hot gingers don’t happen all the time, you know.
Stop telling jokes and work harder. I take a few leather strips from the boots and began layering them on top of one another, working the roots of the reptilian teeth through them.
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Finish this, and then finish them. You’ll escape eventually, so you have to be ready. You can’t relax, you can’t let go, until you’re out. Then maybe you—
“Hey.” I don’t look up, but count the pairs of feet in front of me. One pair of hooves, two pairs of boots, and some dirty human feet. “You look tired.”
“I’m not,” I reply shortly.
“We saw what you did there,” someone in a gruff voice rumbles. Good. That was kind of the point. I finish twisting the roots of the teeth through the leather, and begin working on the other strip. “Not many people have that kind of reaction time.” I ignore the comment, and continue working. One of those dirty human feet tries to nudge me, and I quickly flick the knife around, jamming through this foot. He falls back screaming, but I don’t lift my eyes.
“Damnit Jacquen!” the same rough voice snaps. A hairy leg kneels next to me, and I try not to let the tension show in my shoulders. A monkey’s paw reaches out and grips the knife, causing Jacquen to cry out again. “Don’t be such a little bitch,” the man growls, before yanking the knife out of Jacquen’s foot. He wipes the blood off on the underling’s pants and hands it to me, handle first. I continue working.
“As I was saying, not many people have that reaction time. For that matter, I only know one ratty little bastard who’s burned to shit with those kinds of reflexes.” I finally pause, and lock eyes with the leader of the Dier Fiends, Marazan. “And I happen to know a few people pissed at him.”
“Hello Namonai,” a voice whispers to me from behind, a blade appearing at my throat. Marazan grins as much as his beak will allow and cracks his knuckles.
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“We’ve got some old friends who are just dying to meet you,” the Dier Fiends leader growls. “It’s been awhile since we’ve all been in the same playground, and I’ve honestly missed it. It will give us an opportunity to catch up and...” I tune him out. The vague threats and posturing don’t concern me; the knife at my throat on the other hand...that’s a little more pressing. I slowly wrap the tooth-studded leather band around my hand while Marazan is talking, and his goon is attending to Jacquen.
I slam my head backwards, and knock it against the nose of my assailant. I barely have time to catch his wrist as he brings the knife towards me. I twist around and tuck the knife-wielding hand under my arm, bringing my free hand back for a strike.
BOOM! I go flying backwards and skip across the ground like a stone. I groan and try to sit up, but my head is still reeling. I recognize that feeling, and I hate that I do.
“Last time you heard that noise, I believe a ceiling was coming down around me. And you,” Chayton squats down in front of me, Marazan standing with his arms folded, “were stealing from me.”
“Don’t you know that hurts his feelings?” Marazan says with a hyena cackle.
“What, no comeback?” Chayton leans forward. “No smart retort?” I try not to focus on his crooked teeth, and attempt to do quick calculations on the speed of the gangsters. But even as my muscles are tensing, ready for action, there’s a rising need welling up. A nagging pressure that mounts towards a crescendo in the back of my brain, making my jaw ache.
“You’d think after eating a tongue, he would be all ready to talk.”
“Maybe we should...incentivize him,” Chayton says with a cruel grin.
“You two make a great couple,” I say with a forced laugh, and the mounting pressure recedes.
“Ha! Now that’s the Namonai I know and love,” Marazan says. “It wouldn’t be no fun torturing you if you didn’t talk back a little. Now—”
“Attention mongrels!” a clear voice rings out. We all turn our attention to the left, where a large metal door is being lifted by loud clanking chains and gears. Still, the thin man dressed in deep purples and golds manages to be louder. He claps his hands and the lipstick at the edges of his mouth twist high into a deprived smile. “IIIIIIT’S SHOWTIIIIME!”
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The M.S. Fortune
John comes out of stasis aboard Starship Fortuna and is instantly made Captain by the bestest Simulated Intelligence in the Universe and then they live happily ever after, solving problems. Yeah. That’s totally what happens. Where are you going John? Why don’t you like my synopsis? I think it’s great and totally not full of lies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Written by Vitaly S Alexius (author of Romantically Apocalyptic) and Angry Spider (author of... various). Dark comedy! Fantastic Adventure! Space! Sexy robots! Please insert more descriptive keywords! Notice of interest:This book operates on a unique concept of "Reader Causality". Meaning - every review left on it incrementally impacts the story, adding in a new, minor twist to it. If you already left it a review - then you can impact the story by leaving comments beneath new chapters.
8 75The Djinn's Price
Albek Shokarov, a teenager struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, unwillingly enters into a contract with an entity he calls the Voice. Something changes inside him on that day, and he soon discovers that he wields a power that gives him a leg-up on the competition—though it comes at a price. Albek soon learns that the Voice isn’t the only being with an interest in him. He will soon question everything that he thought he knew about himself and his family as he is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of deceit and evil intentions. We all have a breaking point. Some may be pushed more than others, but everyone has a limit. These are the threads binding us to our identity that, once pulled taut, can't go any further without snapping. When every last thread is cut and we are left to face ourselves in a mirror, will we even recognize the person standing there? This is a tale of loss, of the powerless achieving power, of gods and men, and of the hatred and ambition that propels the founding of a legend. This is a tale of revenge. Either Albek will break his chains, or they'll break him. Updating intermittently.
8 160A Merchants Tale
Legends rise. Country’s fall. Empires wage war. But what supports these great powers, allowing them to function as a single organism. Is it the common man, Farmers and Millers forming the backbone of the land? The Soldiers and Guards keeping public order? The Wives and Widows supporting from the side-lines? The Nobles from their seats of power? Or the elusive Sorcerers who wield power untold? And what maggots crawl in this great creature, all trying to get a piece of its slowly decaying flesh. The gangs of the Underworld hidden in the shadows? The Bandits and Deserters hiding at the edges, ready to pounce on any weakness? Witches and Warlocks working their dark art? Or other Nations clawing at their neighbour’s, salivating over the riches they stand to gain from another’s demise. There is one group that belongs to neither group. They thrive on others misfortune and bring with them salvation and destruction in equal measure. They can raise a kingdom up or tear it down screaming and kicking. These are the merchants, the lifeblood of kingdoms, because what is the one thing above all else men crave. Is it Love? Power? Destruction? All these things can be acquired with one simple thing. Wealth. Wealth is the true power behind the world. Wealth can buy army’s, strangle kingdoms, and turn even the most devout man from his faith. Merchants come in many forms, shapes and sized, some gaudy, bleeding the people for all their worth, some tricky, preferring to make contracts and debts to trap men. And some desperate, doing all they can to sell even the most worthless of junk. This is a story of one merchant who goes against all a merchant stands for. He works not for profit but for some unseen goal, a prophesy aeons old. He comes and goes like a ghost, bringing with him hope and victory. All pray for his arrival to spare them from despair. But what about when he doesn’t show? What about the people he doesn’t save? For this man is no angel, no saint sent to save the masses. His goal was never to deliver hope. It merely isn’t time for their destruction yet. For nothing is eternal. And all things must end. But what comes after? Quick disclaimer in response to the review I got, this is my first story and somewhat of an experiment for me, hopefully my writing will get better the more I practice. Thanks for any helpful advice :)
8 65BREAK A LEG | VKOOK ✓
Whether it was due to bad first impressions or just pure hatred, Jeongguk and Taehyung may have started on the wrong foot. Since theatre was never something Jeongguk wanted to do, it made it worse, he'd rather do something like choir or art, anything but theatre.But will a night, locked in the theatre hall with the person he just can't stand, change that?LUMIEV © 2019
8 94Whodunnit? Murder On Mystery Mountain
"Blood dripped down from the wall. Giles watched the dark liquid cover the wood of the cabin like a blanket. Stunned into silence, Giles could only stare at the horror before him. He knew one thing for certain. Death had found him, once again."Believing he has finally escaped the evil that has plagued his life, Giles accepts a job at a sleep away camp in America. This time, he is prepared for anything, bringing protective weapons with him. He even reconnects with Lana - his previous maid- who brings her own ghosts with her. Everything seems to be fine, that is until Giles discovers a message written in blood. The evil has once again followed him, but Giles is determined to change the rules. However, the killer has a few tricks up their sleeve. With every day, another man is murdered, and the stakes increase drastically, until the most gruesome finish yet.
8 165What if? Ayanokouji of Class C
I'll try and make ayanokouji act like he does in LN and will change a bit of the story such as the manabu confrontation and sudo case and all because he in class c.
8 129