《Plumbing the Depths》CH14
Advertisement
I held [Melpomene’s Condemnation] for a moment longer, until the last of the unnatural harsh light faded away, and the sun no longer seemed to hang over the forested area around the gate like a baleful red eye.
The scene in front of me was decidedly freaky, and from the way that the blue haired fellow was looking at me, about to revert to violence any moment.
Or it would have, had Jack’s sobbing not interrupted him. He gave me one last glare, and rushed over to his muscle-bound friend… Or lover? I wasn’t sure, and I had a hard time bringing myself to care.
After all, I still couldn’t feel anything below my legs except as a sort of painful cold mess. I was pretty sure my ribs were cracked, again, because pressure differentials DID exist in a light-less, airless void that maintained temperatures just above freezing.
Less, around that fucking toad’s lair, but still. That had been a horrible fight, since it had belched out clouds of vile gasses that faded away into nothing when it opened the third eye on its head.
Finally impaling it on a storm of icy spears had been an immense relief, as had the bonus ability I got afterwards.
And of course, my new Power which would hopefully make this all worth it. It had been part of the second set of powers Chaos had offered me: [PERCEIVE DISASTER] - I’d not had a chance to use it yet, but it synergised with one of my two Eye skills. I wasn’t sure which one yet, but certain parts of buildings, power lines and a lot of the sky suddenly seemed to hold… promise.
What did annoy me was that I had made no progress towards my class advancement, and only taken a single step out of… Three?
Advertisement
[Progress to Class Advancement 0/5]
[Progress to Style Advancement 1/3]
The message flashed up in front of me again, and I paused.
“I can pull up system messages?” I muttered.
“Oh for… Are you serious?” The blue-haired guy said. “You don’t even know how to use the interface, and you waltz in here smelling of oaths and madness to take a trial that is supposed to make you better and you come out with… That, whatever that is?” He spat.
“Alright.” He cracked his knuckles. “My brother just tried to kill me. My boy here is a weeping mess. And the universe keeps piling on the bullshit… So I’m going to punch you now. Destress, ya know?”
And then, he appeared in front of me. I sidestepped his punch, and then I was crashing through the roof. I groaned, and pushed myself up.
“OK.” I grumbled. “I get that this is stressful.” I jumped lightly out the window, drifting down and settling atop the ashen ground.
“But if you punch me again, I am going to hit back.”
The man looked at me, and then, appeared beside me, fist swinging for my face.
[High-Speed Reflexes] wore off at that moment, and my head was rocked back before I could trigger it again - and of course, now was when it started hitting cooldowns. The next few seconds were miserable as the blue-haired man did his best to break my bones with viscous strikes.
And then it reactivated, and I caught his fist. He looked briefly shocked. “My turn.” I murmured, and tapped him gently with my palm. Of course, given everything else that was going on with that Skill, well.
He was sent twirling lightly through the air, unable to get his feet under him, or for that matter, get back to solid ground anytime soon.
Advertisement
“Hell Servant” The man who had been wielding the flaming sword earlier was staring at my furiously. “You interfere!”
I shrugged. “He started-”
“No!” He exclaimed, interrupting me. “You! Interfered! You! You!” He was also getting angry. I could see Jack pulling himself up as well, and I did not fancy a three on one.
Well. Not in close quarters anyway.
I had, thanks to my last bout of Talismania, only Vortexes available to me, but some kind soul had created a thick layer of ash.
SPELL SYNTHESIS FAILED.
I blinked the blue text away, and frowned. Then I saw ashes and smoke begin to coalesce around the dog bones next to the man in faded red robes… That were rapidly becoming less faded again.
SYNTHESISE SPELL COOLDOWN EXPIRED
SPELL SYNTHESIS FAILED
I narrowed my eyes. Once was bad luck, a misalignment, something like that. All I wanted to do was call on… darkness.
I remembered an airless, chilling void, and sighed. It was obvious in retrospect. I used Magical Art, and I had absolutely no desire to use darkness, however useful it might be.
SYNTHESISE SPELL COOLDOWN EXPIRED
SPELL SYNTHESISED SUCCESSFULLY: DESTRUCTIVE TRANSMUTATION, LIGHT TO LIGHT VORTEX.
“Two ways to skin a cat” I cackled, delighted at a solution presenting itself. The light in a large circle around me shattered, becoming a mess of colours and refractions, hard edges that didn’t really exist, and turned every surface into a blurry mirror or a black, light-drinking void.
I ran. I had absolutely no desire to get involved any further in whatever that mess was, and besides - I had a vague notion of what I wanted to do next.
The only problem was finding someone who could teach me Space Magic, but I was reasonably certain that would sort itself out.
Soon, I had left the Gate and whatever that weird fight behind, and was back in civilisation.
Advertisement
Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm
Rejuvenation of spiritual energy, prevalence of martial arts, and extraordinary awakening, Jiang He said that he didn’t panic at all. With a farm system, farming can become stronger. What should I do if I practice too slowly? Don’t panic, plant some cucumbers to eat. Cucumber effects: clearing away heat and detoxification (relieving hundreds of toxins), strengthening the brain and calming the nerves (increasing mental power), strengthening the body (increasing cultivation) What should I do if I practice without martial arts? Go to Baidu and copy a copy of Jiuyang Magical Art. By the way, let me give you some fattening feed. “Ding!” “Congratulations to the host for successfully planting an enhanced version of Nine Suns Magic Art.” [Enhanced version of Nine Suns Magic Art] “Cultivation is complete, but the nine suns can come out, burning the mountains and boiling the sea.” Jiang He: “Wait, system, is this peas in particular? It’s not edible, and the method of use is to throw vigorously??”
8 627Semi-Powerful Underling
Uploads every Thursday and Sunday at 1:00 GMTSupervillain lackey Quincy Whistlewood has got two powers. One of them is his attempt at humor and charisma, and the other is to break reality itself. And yet he's still considered the weakest and wimpiest villain at Stocklord's illegal company of evil. He doesn't mind, but when his old 'friend' Sal decides to take a job at the company, he knows his life about to spiral.Join Quincy and his hopeless group of semi-powerful friends as they try not to die at the hands of the greatest (and 100% corrupt) heroes on the planet, The Ultrahuman Force, in this comedy + action + drama masterpiece of literature that you musn't miss because I say so! This is a second draft!
8 417Spilled Blood
The end-times have come. Dimensional rifts to another world have opened and spewing out are creatures from humanity's nightmares. The Spirit Realm has implemented the System as a desparate measure to arm humanity against the incursions in an attempt to protect their once home-lands, but cannot, will not, risk coming down to Earth themselves. The System is a boon to humanity, finally giving them a chance at survival and even fighting back. And Ed intends to do much more than just survive... ---------
8 107The Cyclical Nature of Time
A girl’s life ends unexpectedly early, or so it would seem. Instead of eternal nothingness, she wakes up in an empty valley with no clue how she got there. Taking her predicament in stride, she sets out to do something about it. Unfortunately for her, the first couple of people she meets aren’t much help. They claim they haven’t heard of electricity and dress as if they were on a break from their job at a Viking-themed amusement park. MC is a somewhat normal girl. She's pragmatic and not very angsty. The story is tagged with anti-hero, but to be clear, she is not a villain. She does good if she can, she just isn't morally motivated to do so. The story starts out smelling of fantasy but will eventually shift towards sci-fi. It contains some supernatural elements and has a strong lead, but it is not your usual power trip. Expect a story that takes its time, but not to the point where entire chapters are spent on mindless chit-chat. I’m not into that. This is my first serious attempt at writing and I've learnt a lot writing this. Unfortunately, that shows. Chapter 1-10 is slow and rather pointless. Things get better, but it is not until chapter 25 or so that I began understanding how to structure chapters and to make them support the larger story. I publish about 3000 words a week (every sunday) but I write about 10000 words a week. Sticking to that pace, which is easy, the last chapter will be out by July.
8 74God of Magic and Creation
I have decided that I am not continuing this story...
8 80Spectra: The Mark of Eden
Valentine has awoken with nothing but a name. Note awakens with nothing but a doctrine. Each has found themselves in Spectra, a strange galaxy with a unique and mysterious history. Spectra is home to many different forms of life, all of whom revere a long-dead race of beings they call the Architects. Though they are now gone, there are still remnants of them left behind in the forms of their creations, the Sentinels, autonomous drones that enforce tenets all must follow. Then there's the enigma of Eden, an unknown anomaly in the center of the galaxy which the Sentinels fiercely protect.As Val and Note are hunted down by a species of gene-splicers known as the Cell for reasons as of yet undiscovered, it will only be through the friendships and alliances they forge that they'll survive. They'll find purpose in one another through exploring the wonders of Spectra, taking it upon themselves to stop the Cell, and unraveling the hidden truth of their origins.Highest Rankings: #6 in Adventure, #8 in Mystery
8 161