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Chapter 118: (Not) A Natural Fighter
“Ack!” Jason reflexively threw his hands in front of his face. He was not a trained fighter. He wasn’t even an untrained fighter, and faced with instant, overwhelming aggression, his first instinct was to turtle up.Jason felt his arms and legs get something wrapped around them and an instant later his entire body lurched violently to the side, nearly knocking the wind out of him.Jason unscrunched his eyes and saw the spear-wielder whipping the spear around, aiming the hook at Jason’s ribcage.Jason flinched again, trying to interpose his...
Chapter 117: Unearned Power
‘William Oh’s sheer manliness that exudes a potent miasma that unites people of all races, of all walks of life. They gather together, believing they have united to oppose a common enemy, but they have simply been chosen by The Tower to bear witness!’- Jason Salazar‘…Who am I even talking to? I am so damned bored.’- Jason Salazar- **Orev Harti, Level 57 Trickster Raven**“Children, what you see before you is the epitome of the Ranger archetype,” Orev said, gesturing to himself. “I’m the fastest sonovabitch that ever graced th...
Chapter 116: Prophet of the End
‘Your request for a Party of your peers is denied. We will take your debrief about the boy under advisement, but the church has more concerns in the world than a single Deceiver. Concentrating such a staggering amount of military might into the hands of one man is both a dangerous precedent to set, and against our ethos of uplifting humankind equally. If you are incapable of capturing a single Deceiver, please let us know, and we will return you to your retirement.’- The High Saint’s Council‘I understand and will act accordingly.’- Ca...
Suggestions for Jason's Class (spoilers)
So, since Jason subbed in Will's hand for the Saint piece the Church wanted him to use, he's going to get a similar class.I was trying to think of a suitably badass name, and came up with this:Prophet of the EndAs in, the prophet that will foretell the destruction of The Tower and the end of the cycle of destruction humans have been locked in for who knows how long.Of course, everybody and their mom is gonna think it means 'end of the world', because that's a fairly reasonable assumption.Anyway!I need Ability suggestions for...
Chapter 115: Cheese Morale
‘I feel I was denied....critical…NEED TO KNOW…information.’- Caddock, to the High Saint’s Council of Granesh.“He tested three places last night.” The scout said, gesturing. “This one was the hardest hit, and where he slipped through. Their commander was known to have thought that Damage Chains were a waste of resources and invested more heavily in warriors and support staff.”“I guess he learned his lesson,” Caddock mused, glancing over at a corpse wearing the gold tassels of a commander.Caddock stood in front of a line of ...
People been asking
People been asking for clarity on exactly how he shot 100ish people with Phantom Hand Simultaneously and they died.This is how i saw it in my head.I added a picture that helps describe it, because honestly, it seemed very difficult to describe in text.The Phantom Hand can be fully loaded with one charge as long as all the objects are touching, so form a big pile and you can load a few hundred arrowheads with one ChargeSend the Phantom hand forward in a straight line, release the arrowheads one after another in sequence, mentally targeting a dif...
Chapter 114: Dangerous as They Say
Boots of the Returning Hero+5 Resistance+3 FocusAllies of the wearer of these boots can perceive their footfalls at triple the range, and more easily locate their position.What?Will thought, frowning. Your allies…can hear you coming better? That sounded vaguely useful to coordinate stealth operations with multiple operatives, but Will didn’t quite understand why they would be called ‘of the returning hero’.Well, they grant Focus, and that’s what I need right now,Will shrugged, beginning the laborious process of tying the boots one-han...
Chapter 113: Re-equipping
**Jason***“HGRFBLE!” Jason let out a string of consonants as he tumbled backwards and hit his head on the far wall.“What the-,” Jason’s complaint was cut off by a metallic screech as Will’s chest full of gear slid into the white room, the metal corners of the box leaving a faint metallic trail on the otherwise pristine white surface.Jason didn’t have time to roll out of the way, opting to scrunch himself up as the chest slid up to him, coming to a halt only a few feet away from the wall, nearly jamming his knees into his chest.“...
Chapter 112: Seeing a Friend Off
Will had developed a method for carrying the urns one-handed: The rim of the urn was fairly strong, able to support the entire thing, so Will just flicked the top off and grabbed it by the rim, balancing part of its weight on his left arm, dumping it into the pit before receiving the next from Loth’s insects.Loth was currently booby-trapping the shit out of the rest of the underground smithery. There were only a few minutes before the next rotation came in to use the refiner at the center of the underground smithery. Once that happened, their...
Let's pick a name for the Set
I can work out the details of exactly what it does once we figure out a name we like. These were chosen from the ones that had a lot of likes and i wouldn't mind calling it.Just pick whichever one you like the sound of, I'll work out the deets over sunday.Holdna’s ConsortThe Family GatheringAshen Reliquary/ Reliquary of AshCoilbreakerGranesh’s FollyHunger of the Fallen
Chapter 111: Love Letter From Holdna
On the day of their wedding, Holdna gave Ouroboros a feathered cape that allowed him to fly. In return, Ouroboros twisted himself into The Tower, so she would have something limitless to observe with her equally limitless gaze.- Jason Salazar, Basalt TavernC’mon, finish your food, we’re on a deadline. Literally.- William OhThey didn’t get mobbed the instant they stepped into town, which was good. In Will’s imagination, the instant they set foot inside the town, an old crone pointed a wizened finger at him and began shrieking, then every...
Need Set names, + Set bonuses
So i think I'll have Will put all his current gear into the pile of refined ash (once i figure out how to make that happen) and hit it all with Sourdough.The result will be a Set. The name of which is pretty critical. I'm looking for some ideas for the name of the set, and it's set bonuses.Here are the Ideas for set names i've had already:Holdna's ConsortThe SerpentThe DeceiverI don't have any set power ideas, yet, but I'm thinking they'll be formatted similar to Diablo 3 whereby having a certain number of them u...
Chapter 110: Blessed Steel
“I said put me down, you scum-peddling shit-mouths!” Jason shouted at the top of his lungs, beating on the helmets of the people carrying him. It didn’t do any good, but it made him feel better.They were sprinting at top speed up a stone-pathed road cut into the mountainside, wide enough to field an army and greyscale in the dim light of pre-dawn.Above, the Graneshian fortress was looming larger and larger, the gates yawning open to swallow him.They were only a few hundred feet away from the fortress now, and-BOOOM!William Oh landed besid...
Chapter 109: Cat and Mouse
“It’s the oddest thing.” The tracker said, sniffing the wind.Caddock raised a brow and waited.“Every once in a while I’ll get a whiff of a campfire, but it’s hard to nail down a direction. Like There’s no origin. It’s diluted, miles away, but there’s no directionality to it.”After days of searching they hadn’t found the Deceiver’s landing point, nor had they caught sight of him. Like he disappeared off the face of the Earth. Most fliers couldn’t fly any longer than their Ability held, it was a rare Class that allowed l...
Chapter 108: Hunted
‘He’s got a two day head start, on you, which is more than he needs. William Oh’s got friends in every town and village from here to the wastes, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom. He’ll blend in, disappear. You’ll never see him again.’- Jason Salazar‘Who are you talking to?’- William Oh.**Caddock, level 65 Paladin **Old paladins were hard to come by.Young paladins are untempered by the harsh realities of life, and tend to drop like flies until they grow wise enough to build a fortress around the faith in thei...
Chapter 107: Regroup
Speaker, urgent news.What could possibly be urgent enough to pull me out of breakfast with the baron?Lanistonis gone.What does that mean?The building. The people…. It’s just gone.…The library?Gone.The prophet?Gone.smacking noisesWhat the abyss are you doing standing there, mobilize EVERYONE!What abou-EVERYONE!The three of them were seated at a rough-hewn inn in a backwater village stationed in the lush greenery of the rural Ring. Food was cheap and plentiful, and there was a salt deposit nearby so everything tasted fantastic. It was a gre...
Chapter 106: Blitz
You better watch out,You better not cry,You better get out.Ya better run now…I’m tellingyou whyWilliam oh is coming…to town.- Jason SalazarWhat do you think he means by that?Start packing.Who’s that knocking?It couldn’t be…The Aluum offensive was blunted by Mason using Phase Shift to turn his Conflagration acidic. Rather than wasting a charge by increasing the heat of the surrounding ocean by a degree, a vibrant yellow acid manifested in the midst of the fish-people, eroding the gills of the approaching underwater army as they breat...
Chapter 105: Level 30
‘Level thirty is a big jump in power and flexibility for most climbers. It’s the first level where a Climber gets a Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary upgrade all at once, and it’s usually the only tertiary anyone ever gets. I was actually level thirty when-’‘What’s Tershierry?’‘Means third in line.’-Gertrude, to a younger Will.Will sat under a pile of bugs crawling across his skin, focusing on his new Abilities so he didn’t panic from all the things skittering across him, their proboscis dipping down to sip…something out of...
Ability Suggestions For Level 30
I'm sitting here in the hotel about to write, when I realized Will has finally hit level 30, Where he gets to pick a new Tertiary Ability.The key point about Tertiary Abilities is that they come every 30 levels and they CANNOT be upgraded, ever. They are only ever as good as their description. Taking one boosts your flexibility but they can never be the core of your build. I WOULD LIKE YOU GUYS TO GIVE ME SOME SUGGESTIONS!For inspiration, These are the Abilities that already made the cut and will be in the list:Uru Breath (minor) 5 Charges:...
Chapter 104: The Double Fake Out
Oh yeah? Well, When William oh was a child, he wandered into the strategy room of the gods themselves.Seeing that none of them were around, he spent many hours amusing himself by setting up the flags of nations atop their expansive map, lining the flags along the Ring before toppling them over like dominos.In the real world, a hundred thousand years passed, the rise and fall of nations mirroring his every whim.- Gerald Hussar – level 20 CavalierI don’t think I’ve ever been in a ship that stunk as bad as this one,Jairus thought sourly, tak...
Vacation coming up!
Hey everybody, just wanted to keep you in the loop.I'm going on vacation from the 2nd to the 9th of Feb. Gonna fly out to Vegas to spend some time with some friends then come back.I'll be taking my travel laptop with me and I expect the schedule of running around and doing stuff will likely have a slight impact on my output, probably 2 chapters next week instead of 3. (I can usually sneak in half a chapter before anyone wakes up when I'm travelling.)In many ways there's less distractions when I'm on the road, so we might tak...
Chapter 103: Getting the Hang of it
I’m telling you it was freakin’ mermaids! Thousands of ‘em wearing practically nuthin’, fought off the scalies with their bare hands and brought me back to the surface before diving back down for more!It sure as the Abyss wasn’t Granesh that sent pretty demi-humans to rescue us, that’s for damn sure. Those bastards got us in this mess…- Brian Smith, Level 30 Sailor.“Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!”The clanging of bells rose above the shouts that multiplied, echoing from ship to ship.Will sprinted across the water while Ria jumpe...
Chapter 102: Interrogation
Once, after a mighty battle, Ouroboros was caged by Granesh and the deity demanded that the World Snake give over the secret of his immortality.Oroborous slipped out of the cage, leaving behind a molt so realistic that Granesh continued to ply it with demands for many moons.While Granesh was distracted, Ouroboros snuck out and stole the secret of Fire, leaving five silver coins in its place.- Jason SalazarGet this message to the 6th floor right NOW.- unknownPoke.Poke.Will’s left eye fluttered open.His right eye was swollen shut, throbbing wit...
Chapter 101: Scripted Defeat
You know, I heard Granesh was so afraid of William Oh’s arrival on this Floor that he allied with a secret clan of fishpeople to create the Scramble, hoping to delay his progress up The Tower to tear the crown from his head. Just you wait, another Scramble is going to happen again soon.- One hundred thirteen strangers on one hundred and thirteen different vessels of the Flotilla.Will’s eye twitched.It had been over six hours of shouting back and forth from the moment the sun rose, a circular argument between Saint Jairus’s attack dogs and...
Chapter 100: Night Moves
The blade glimmered in the lamplight as it was thrust down towards Will’s chest.Will’s spine cried out in pain as he contorted inside his hidey-hole, barely shifting his body far enough to allow the blade to go past him.The saber’s blade turned towards him and he knew the attacker was going to drag it across his chest as he withdrew for another stab to start the fight off with Will wounded.Will knocked the blade aside with Phantom Hand and stomped on the side of the compartment, sending a ripple through the side of the wall and into the m...
Chapter 99: Dictum of Sweet Dreams
Aboard Shimmer, Will was staring at the setting sun, eyes narrowed for a moment before he glanced away, diverting his gaze to the sails bobbing all around them, dyed orange by the sunset.Lamps were starting to come out as the sailors around them began to work through the night to coordinate the reconstruction of the Flotilla.Despite the sheer chaos, it was moving faster than Will thought possible, owing to superhuman effort and years of practice.Will was pleased to note his political backer was still alive, slightly less pleased to note that th...
Chapter 98: Float On
Anna lay sprawled against the rigging, leaning up against the piles of thick ropes. Just getting her bearingsShe’d been terrified the first few moments as sharks had swirled down from the sky, seeking to snatch them up and tear them into chunks with their razor-sharp teeth. The way that Reese had been lifted into the darkness with barely a scream had shocked her to her core.But then…Then a few of her copies got bit.And she had to say, it was like getting bit by that little dog her mother’s friend had in the tailor shop across the street.A...
Chapter 97: Strategy Meeting
Trying to outmaneuver William Oh is an exercise in futility. He invented the art of strategy thousands of years before he was even born. He has forgotten more about underhanded tactics than he will ever know.He can read thoughts from actions, discern meaning from absence, and punish ignorance like the smiting of a vengeful god.- Jason SalazarAnna gaped as the stormclouds rolled over them far faster than she’d thought possible, the wind whipping and clawing at the furled sails like a feral thing.“Don’t just stand there, cut the lines!” R...
Chapter 96: Gerrymandering
ger·ry·man·der/ˈjerēˌmandər/verbgerund or present participle: gerrymanderingmanipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.The night disappeared into a blur of teeth gnashing out of the darkness. This time they were attacked by skysharks, Will was aboard a ship filled with hundreds of other Climbers, so he was able to pace himself and let others take their places on the ship’s railing, stabbing anything that got to...
Chapter 95: Any Boat in a Storm
The headcrab matron’s body stiffened as all the joy an excitement drained from her expression. Both from the human and the crab laying eggs in the corner of the room.Her hand shifted slightly on the desk.“Before you do anything rash,” Will said, raising his hand. “I’ve got my entire Party waiting outside the brothel for me to return unharmed and without a passenger. They have instructions to raise a shitstorm if anything other than that happens.”“William Oh…” She said, seemingly tasting his name. “It seems like your legend w...
