《Grasping for the Heavens》Chapter Two
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These… These bunkers don’t seem very sturdy. Sure, it’s underground and all. But an explosion would rip this apart you know? Or wait. Since this world has mana crystals, does that mean the walls could be enchanted or some other bogus magic thing? I’m… Not sure…
“Hey you! You’re a combat droid! What are you doing here?” Said someone.
Looking around, I spot the man he shouted.
Pointing at myself I ask, “You mean me?”
“Yes you,” the man replies. “Is there anyone else here who is a combat droid? Get out of here!”
Ah… I wanted to be in the safety of this bunker… Actually, where is the combat taking place? Ah… I never asked that question. The floating map updated to show a path to where the fight was going on. But. I don’t know how to fight!
“Shoo shoo! Get out of here!” Shouts the man.
Fine! I’m leaving! But I still don’t know how to fight… My only question now is there a death penalty or something for fleeing from battle? I mean, I have no idea how to fight. If you tell me to trust my instincts… That won’t actually work. Actually, I’m wondering if it’s possible for one of my new species to die, get stored and become ‘reborn’. That is definitely a possibility. Or that might just be a privilege reserved for the high spec robots...
Hey… The map… Why is the path to the battle getting steadily closer? No. No no no no. I don’t know how to fight! I mean, yeah, I’m a robot designed for fighting apparently but I still have zero fighting ability… Maybe I can sift through my own program, and see if it’s there is auto combat? That requires time… Not a luxury I have… Is that a missile? *BANG* Then I’m covered by dirt and I start to lose my consciousness. What? Robots… Can lose… Consciousness…
Coughing, I open my eyes to darkness. Oh yeah. I got buried by that missile… Should I call for help? Yes…
“Mmmph! Mmph!” I shout.
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That… Was helpful. I wonder for how long I was trapped down here?
Unconscious for 24 hours.
Damn. So a day has passed? Will someone dig me out? Or do I have to dig myself out? Actually… If 24 hours have passed and I still haven’t been found. There is a high possibility that the base could’ve been wiped out… So… Should I just wait here in anticipation or should I dig myself out? Actually, do I even have the energy to dig myself out?
Battery: 100%
Pressurized Tank: 50% (leaking)
Solar Power: 0%
Ah… So the power that is mainly used for ME to MOVE IS LEAKING?! WHAT?! How do I solve this?! How do I solve this?! What? Why? Why does this happen to me… I understand that the blast could’ve messed up the tank… Oh well. I just have to dig myself out before my tank runs out of power. And digging time!
Many hours later I have barely any pressurized power left. A total of 8%. Not fun, but enough, probably. I hope. Right…
Forcing myself out of the ground I hear someone shout, “There’s another one of those buggers over here!”
Ah crap. Come on! I’m just a peaceful looking battle droid? Why would you try to harm me? Do you see these cute little sharp claws on my hands? They aren’t even threatening at all? Well. I mean, claws could look intimidating but… That isn’t the point… Actually. How were we defeated? Aren’t we made of metal? What did they use to destroy us? Or did we just retreat and I was just stuck here.
While I’m contemplating about how my kind were defeated. A resounding clang fills the air. I look up and I see a man looking at me in surprise. Um… I thought they would blow me apart? So was the strength necessary to defeat our kind simply beyond normal? Like a hero? I’m just going to get to this problem when it hits me.
Moments later I’m surrounded by people hammering away at me. Is this how my kind were defeated? Death by numbers? If so, the people of this world are surprisingly weak…
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Yup. Enough of this testing on what my armor can sustain. Slashing with my claws, I rip the men's faces around me into shreds. Um… How do I absorb these people? My power is at a worrying 2%...
Ah. There’s an auto absorb. That’s good. Right… Ah, would you look at that.
Pressurized Tank: 1% (Repairing)
Repairing. Now, if what I see is an indication of anything, we are attacked because of our looks. So if I can just edit my features to look human. Right? So… Where is this feature/edit thing? Do I just will the thing into place?
Ah… It’s finally popped up. Right. I have… A total of 10 human skins. Would I like to use them? Yes please. I just have to make myself not look like the terminat*r. Should be simple. I don’t actually want to change my eyes though… Wait. Can’t I just change the LED lights for my eyes or something? Yeah, there's the option. Let’s change that to… Black. Yup, sounds good. A large majority of these skins are tan colored, so I guess I’m a tan colored bald black eyed human. Bald? I can’t be bald. Let’s make some hair. I have 10,000,000 strands of hair… How much hair does an average person have? Like 90,000 or something right? The bad thing is that all this hair is all sorts of different colors… There’s black hair, blue hair, brown hair, blond hair… A large majority of the hair is blue… So… I have blue hair? That’s… Fine… I guess… Blue hair it is! Just slap it on. And voila. Blue haired black eyed human.
So… Should I just wait until my pressure tank is repaired and filled?
Battery: 100%
Pressurized Tank: 5% of limit reached
Solar Energy: 5%
What? Why did solar energy rise? Is it because of the sun? Seems so. But why is that rising? Is it because the battery is full so that there is a separate tank for solar power? I thought it was just transferred to the battery… I suppose I was wrong then.
Right… Time to move then. Wait. Can I tap the battery to see how much it can store now?
Battery Capacity: 100 fillawatts
Ah… Father? What could a fillawatt even be? What? Where? When? Why? I guess I’ll just live the rest of my robot life without knowing what that is… Now. Should I look for a human civilization. Or should I look for the rest of my kind. Choices choices choices. Ah. Now that I think about it. Aren’t I stark naked? I mean, I don’t need armor as underneath this fake skin is just metal… But wait, does the skin regenerate, or does it just rot away like some zombie?
Once a part has been implemented with a robot. That part will automatically be converted from pure mana to a solid material.
Wait… If energy could be considered mana. Can’t I just change this solar energy into mana which can then be used to improve my tanks or batteries? But first, clothing. Armor isn’t an issue so I just need clothes. There should be clothes lying around somewhere, right?
Yes! Shirt acquired! Now I just need to find a pair of pants. And then some shoes… Maybe some gloves if I want them… Ah… Can I make these claws adjustable. So that they only come out when I want them to?
Concentrating for a bit the claws slowly start to sink into my fingernails. Good. Now I’m not a creepy human with metallic claws. And I can also bring them out when I need them. Perfect. There! Pants! Yes! Now onwards! To an adventure! Actually, where am I supposed to go? If I go to the frontlines, I should be able to find some human civilisation.
Hmm? Why is the map saying I’m on the frontlines? I’m not. I can’t be. That simply can’t be…
Why… Or well. I’ll just walk in the direction of north. Afterall. North was the previous frontline… And if you wonder why I know. I took a quick glimpse of the map before I was ordered to go to the bunker…
To infinity! AND BEYOND!
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Wildling
Blurb: Silas--a scavenger living off the ruins of humanity--has spent his entire life fighting tooth and nail to provide for himself and his crew. But when a scavenging run goes awry and he's snatched up by an android patrol, he finds himself thrown into a cage and priced to sell as a pet. And when a suitor comes calling, he fears the worst: that he'll be turned into a Domestic, a human lapdog brainwashed into total obedience. Instead, he discovers an equally disturbing truth: that the creatures who stole his world have created a videogame the likes of which Earth has never seen; a sprawling, game-like theme park where humans are the Avatars and androids are the players who control them. And to make matters worse, his android guide is as hopeless as they come, having gotten all of her previous Avatars killed in record time. So if Silas wants to regain his freedom, he'll not only have to fight his way through a world that was specifically designed to murder him in brutal fashion--he'll also have to convince his android guide that he should be the one calling the shots. FAQS: Q: Who are you, handsome stranger? A: I'm Kyle Kirrin, the author of Shadeslinger, book 1 of The Ripple System, published by Portal Books, and I write crunchy LitRPG. Q: What is Wildling? And is it complete? A: Wildling is a crunchy LitRPG mash up of Fantasy and Science Fiction. And yup, Wildling is already complete at 64 chapters, or about 120,000 thousand words. You're looking at something like a third draft here--it's fairly polished, but it hasn't been picked over by a copy editor yet nor has my developmental editor seen it. Q: Upload schedule? A: 5 initial chapters today (2/15/2021) and one chapter a day for the next month. After that I'll probably slow down to 2 or 3 chapters a week until the story is complete. Q: How crunchy is it? A: It's pretty crunchy. I'd put it on the same tier as Ascend/The Land/RSSG, but it might be a bit crunchier than those three? Q: Is this the first book in a series or a web novel or what? And what are your plans for it? A: It's currently a standalone with series potential. Full disclosure: this story may head the way of my publisher eventually, but will be available on RR for quite a while no matter what. Likely several months after it's complete with plenty of warning before/if it's taken down. Q: What kind of build does the MC create? A: Sword and board! Q: Crafting? A: Plenty! Crafting isn't as center stage as it is in The Way of the Shaman, but it's close. Q: Base building? A: Two fully separate, distinct bases, both of which play a major role in the story. Q: VRMMO? Portal? Reincarnation or what? A: This one's a bit tricky. Basically an advanced race has created a game-like world that closely resembles a theme park. Think Westworld but with copious amounts of loot. And the MC has to fight his way through that to earn his freedom. Q: Permadeath? A: Nope! The MC gets 3 lives to play through the entirety of the game world, and death is extremely punishing, but not fatal. Q: Harem? Or romance? A: No and no. Q: Cursing? Blood? A: Quite a bit of cursing, yeah. There's blood, too, but it's not a gory book by any means. Q: How can I support? A: Instead of a Patreon/donations etc, I'd ask that you consider giving my debut LitRPG Shadeslinger a chance. It's free on Kindle Unlimited and the audio is already out narrated by Travis Baldree. It's an epic fantasy VRMMO where the main character gets 3 days of exclusive access to a new game plus a snarky, talking axe to guide him through it in exchange for agreeing to become the target of a serverwide manhunt once the Head Start period ends. Q: How's it similar to Wildling? And how's it different? A. The crunch level is very similar, but Shadeslinger is a much lighter, epic fantasy take on the genre. It's also VRMMO, but without any real world components aside from the first chapter. The MC is very different--he comes off as a bit of a jerk early on and can take a bit to warm up to, especially before his backstory is revealed--but he's also got a talking axe that constantly puts him in his place. Shadeslinger's a much more humorous story in general, and it's a great deal more polished as well. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy Wildling!
8 319No Absolution, An Antagonist LitRPG
Colin is bored out of his skull and has been getting more and more restless of late, and his wife, McKenna, has noticed. To help, she decided to get him one of the most sought after devices on the planet, A headset for the Ineffable Gaming System and its revolutionary game Rosengard Worldwide. The most advanced virtual reality video game and the only one with a near-perfect total immersion system, McKenna hoped that the activity in the game could help him overcome his boredom for the foreseeable future. On his first day in the game, he's betrayed for loot, killed, and even made to suffer. Unknown to these players, Colin (DevilWalker in-game) was an Assassin for hire that takes loyalty and betrayal seriously. It was never just about business, and this was not just another aspect of the game for him. This game was a gift from his wife, and he wasn't just going to stop. Now these players and anyone who harbors them are on his list. There will be no compromise, no remorse, and No Absolution to any who betrays Colin Drummond, The DevilWalker. * * * * * * * * * * This story is a LitRPG Action/Adventure story that will feature levels, skills, abilities, monsters, douchebag players, exciting and cool equipment with so much more. I have so much planned for this that it should be fun and entertaining for readers who enjoy the LitRPG genre as much as I do. Please join me as I recount the tale of a man who becomes a legend — both in-game and out of it. I plan to attempt a weekly update schedule. Upload Sunday evening(for me). Warning! This story will involve some amount of cussing to help add some realism and some insinuated sex that will fade to black the moment the fun begins. I am hoping to mostly keep this Rated PG-13 with maybe a few Chapters going rated-R due to language.
8 506LAST FEAST
The Red Dragon Empire has been the most powerful aggregate in the Burning Grasslands of the West. They summon talented individuals from another world. When passing through the summoning gate the beings will turn back into a child without memories. Sometimes they will make a mistake and the summoned being will have a defect. Blind, deaf, crippled, deformed, cannot manipulate mana and have unknown diseases. They can detect if the body isn’t in perfect condition. The discarded children wander around this unknown land until finally meeting their end. When luck strikes two people will come out of a single gate. They performed the ritual again and two people came out, one was in splendid form, and the other was twitching his shoulders, neck and saying words that’s foreign to the summoners. “Cream puff tiddy licking!” They marked Rus as a defect. With no knowledge, money, home and friends he must reclaim what’s rightfully his. Being snatched away from his world he remembers the difficulties of his life. The Red Dragon Empire just took away everything from the Boss of Tessaro Familia. With a smile that’s comparable to the ruler of hell, Rus whispered to himself. “Seventh rule of The Family: Always return favors.”
8 204Rocket in Wonderland Lost in the Multiverse
When Rocket gets lost in the Multiverse, he found himself in an alien planet scavenging for spare parts he could use to repair his ship. He was guided by a smiling cat, who called himself Cheshire, along the mysterious world and Rocket intended to keep their relationship casual. However there was something about the feline that drew Rocket close to him and as he stayed longer, he discovered that there was something else going on inside the planet and its beings. Being Rocket, he couldn't care less about the planet or the cat until the mysteries were slowly hinting that he and Cheshire might have a shared past. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters. This is merely a fanfiction and I do not intend to make profit out of it.
8 154Otsutsuki Allen (Hiatus)
Il était un vrai dieu dans l'univers mais il s'ennuyait avec cette vie et il avait l'intention de se réincarner dans un autre univers. Avec la moitié de son pouvoir, il a construit un monde un homme qui lui a parlé et s'est réincarné avec des tricheurs. Bonjour, c'est ma première histoire et j'espère que vous l'aimez. My story is not in english and i've not intention for write in is not by hate the england is for my bad grammar for example this texte
8 103CONTRACT MARRIAGE: Kim Seokjin AU √
He throws those papers at me."Sign it," he commanded. "What does it say?" I asked."It says we will marry. show love in front of everyone and after you gave birth to the child we will be over." He said normally. "Does your parents know about it? "None of your business,"I looked at the whole paper. I must do it for my child's s I signed it. But is it the right choice? Ant I sure that I will not regret it? "Congratulation to you for being my wife for 1 year." He "A said selfishly. when y/n's fiancé left her to the upper world and have to marry her fiancée's little brother for the sake of her unborn child,Oh, it's not more than a contract marriage, right?No feelings attachedStart: 09.09.2020End: ???Highest Ranking# 1- jinff# 8 - taeff# 2 - sugaimagine# 1- Taeimagine#991- kimseokjin
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