agoraphobic_dragon

Godfather's System 85

With both of us busy with our tasks, it had been a week since I had last visited Zolast. “You look like shit,” I said the moment I entered as I noticed just how exhausted he looked. His face was sullen, with large bags under his eyes. 

I was ready to write it off as a sign of his e...

Godfather's System 84

When I arrived in the town, I did my best to look relaxed and casual. I wanted to talk with Zolast, and I was even ready to reveal some of my secrets if that was required to get his buy-in. I was a rather selfish man, but I had my own red lines … kidnapping people and turning them into monsters...

Godfather's System 83

After my spectacular show of illusion, I escaped the town and run through the opposite side of City Yoentia for ten minutes before finally taking a break, killing the occasional beasts that targeted me despite Charisma as I fought.

I waiting to see if there were any that were trying to foll...

Godfather's System 82

There was an art to noticing hidden pursuers, and, as I followed my unfortunate victim back to the same passage he had used, I had to use that art to see who else was following them — which was inevitable after the secret message the guard had sent. 

The first, and the easiest, step ...

Godfather's System 81

“Wow, that was harder than I expected,” I said as I let the mana around my eyes dissipate as I rushed between the roofs for a while to make sure no one followed me. Of course, being hard didn’t refer to convincing my target … but maintaining that glow during the discussion. 

Th...

Godfather's System 80 - Interlude, Barzist

Barzist didn’t expect to be woken up early, as he had given his men strict orders to make sure he was not disturbed. After a week of constant work, he finally had a chance to sleep, and he had been intending to enjoy it. 

His week had been chaotic since he had stupidly made a greedy ...

Godfather's System 79

Twenty minutes later, I was once again at the edge of the Town Maell. This time, I trusted the darkness of the night to cover me, so I rushed forward with relative recklessness. 

Though, when I arrived, I had to stop a moment and examine the town carefully to make sure I had arrived at...

Godfather's System 78

After my initial trip to the new hunting lodge, I had fallen into a busy routine, a routine that consumed a full week. Every day, I traveled between the town and the hunting outpost, sometimes several times a day, supervising construction on both locations carefully. 

At the side of th...

Godfather's System 77 - Interlude, Zolast

“Work never ends —” Zolast started to mumble as he stepped into his tent, bored and exhausted, only to freeze as he felt a chill at the back of his neck. He wanted to react in some form… but he knew that it would have been useless. 

They found him. And his restricted state, he ...

Godfather's System 76

“You’re a wizard, Edward,” I chuckled as I looked at my hand and examined the dance of the blue glow, slowly dispersing as my attempts to manipulate it failed. 

[-1 Mana]

Even with everything going on, this new world had its ways of pleasantly surprising me.

Pity, no ...

Godfather's System 75

I left Zolast alone after asking some more questions, mostly about the hunting outpost, which Jertann and the rest were overseeing. Apparently, almost a thousand people decided to trust Jertann and stay in the outpost, which surprised me. 

Zolast asked me to visit them and make sure ev...

Godfather's System 74

Unlike our first arrival, my entry to the inner city was smooth. The guards, wearing tabards carrying the sigil of House Yoentia, didn’t try to pull any trick against a guild member. Though, I could see that those soldiers were new recruits rather than loyal members of the ducal family, as they...

Godfather's System 73

“That was…” Mahruss murmured in a daze as we left the guards behind. 

“A good example of why you should be very careful outside, particularly near any noble,” I completed his words.  “And, a good topic to avoid discussing if you don’t want trouble.” The fact that i...

Godfather's System 72

I left Jertann and Zolast behind to handle their logistical and political challenge, happy to be able to foist the work on them. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean I was free. I was already walking toward the small gathering that held the employees of my small operation. 

They were wait...

Godfather's System 71

It was a little later than midday when we arrived at our destination. Or more accurately, we arrived close enough to see the outer defensive line created by the members of the Night Blades, who were dealing with the monster attacks rapidly. 

I hid my frown as I looked at their members....

Godfather's System 70

My first impression of my new employees was … they were a sorry bunch. 

They were twelve of them. Nine of them were young men, some not even into their twenties, while the rest of them were old, around my age. No, I corrected myself a second later as I paid attention to their physica...

Godfather's System 69

I didn’t do much for the rest of the day. I stopped by my gambling operation, happy to note that it was still making a steady amount of money with no problems. It was good to see my little business wasn’t targeted.

Even my employees avoided the wider mess.

The gang wasn’t as luc...

Godfather's System 68

With my targets distracted by the unwelcome inspection, my escape went smoother than I expected … though my feelings were mixed. 

“I was hasty,” I murmured even as I balanced the crate with one hand, the other occupied with my halberd as I slashed continuously. Maybe it was the s...

Godfather's System 67

When I left the inn, I had two followers on my tail, which didn’t surprise me slightly. I even heard the boss giving them their orders, telling them to follow me from a distance, and make sure I had the items I had alluded to have, and use their magical device to communicate the result.  2023-05-16 20:35:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Godfather's System 66

The sudden silence that fell onto the inn was fascinating. No one spoke, no one even moved as the weight of the order settled over all of us. The people at the surrounding tables stopped in shock, their gazes bouncing between the owner of the bar and our table. 

Effects were even more ...

Godfather's System 65

As I walked in, I took a glimpse of the interior. There was only one word to define the place … 

Gaudy… 

Technically, my assessment could be wrong. After all, it was hard to be more foreign than I was, and my exposure to the new world was rather spotty. Only the highest ...

Godfather's System 64

I had just received Speed as my newest stat, but that didn’t mean it was the only useful utility I had. I closed my eyes as I remembered a map that I had seen on Zolast’s desk, one that showed the most recent outlay of the land, one that included all known breaches, as well as three dungeons ...

Godfather's System 63

While Terma dashed away to talk with his brother, I walked next to three that were carrying our captives, looking around to make sure there was no assassination attempt. I didn’t expect a rescue attempt likely, as I doubted they knew enough to risk more assets. 

Still, better safe th...

Godfather's System 62

I expected them to rush toward me immediately, as the two hangers-on seemed confident in their newly empowered friend. The sense of invincibility they were supposed to feel made that a quick bet. 

Which was why it was interesting to see them hesitantly, and looked at their leader. They...

Godfather's System 61

“Not a bad start,” I said as I stood in front of Karak, and examined the moving cart he had arranged. “It looks workable enough to host a nice game or two,” I said. “You’re responsible to make sure no cheating happens,” I said before I turned to the rest of the group. “Make sure y...

Godfather's System 60

I looked around the tent while Zolast sat down, taking note of the details. 

The first thing I noticed was paper … an incredible amount of it, piling over the small table and spilling onto the wooden floor of the cart. “That’s a lot of paper,” I commented even as I turned my at...

Godfather's System 59

Karak’s habitual silence once again proved convenient as we continued our journey. My attention was on our observers, both teams retreating after the demise of the unfortunate assassin, further confirming that it was just a test. 

An expensive one… 

“You’re getting b...

Godfather's System 58

“I hate you,” Karak gasped as he collapsed onto his knees once more while I chuckled. 

“You think you do, but it’s just the beginning, boy,” I said, chuckling in amusement. “But, I’m impressed. Barely four hours, and you can stop yourself from completing the attack in alm...

Godfather's System 57

It took a while for me to find Karak. While I was talking with Zolast, they walked away from the camp to keep their discussion private. Though, not as private as they were hoping, considering they were shouting at each other. 

Jertann was swinging his hammer with a precision that surpr...

Godfather's System 56

“Any guess about how many?” I asked. 

Zolast shrugged. “I’m in the same situation as you. How should I know?” 

I shook my head. He was still trying to poke around. “Why don’t you make a guess, give me a range.”

“It’s hard to make such a guess withou...