JaceVAmor

Chapter 49: Block Patrol

Peacock Park was as safe as it could get after the apocalypse. Coop was sitting on a wooden bench taking a well earned break while watching ducks swim along the shore of a small lake inside the park. The sun was shining and birds were cheerfully singing from the branches of nearby trees. There we...

Chapter 48: Peacock Park

Coop found himself in the ruined living room of Charlie’s childhood home with some strangers. The girls had left him with this Mr. Gibson to arrange the transport of all the people Charlie’s father had already organized. Charlie’s goal had been to gather her family and friends, but honestly...

Chapter 47: Neighborhood Watch

Charlie joined Camila in leading the way as Coop observed every detail of the city. She figured he was just surprised by how much things had changed. The metropolitan areas had no way of disguising the damage that the assimilation of mana had caused. Compared to natural landscapes, it was a lot m...

Chapter 46: Proper Sailing

Coop was inside the Eye of the Storm. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but he was in a spot of relative tranquility, isolated from the controlled chaos outside.

Captain Kayla was accommodating enough to allow him to stay within her quarters while they sailed to the mainland. A proper sailin...

Chapter 45: Slayer II

Coop sat on the dunes, watching the golden sunset reflect on the calm waters around Ghost Reef. A great white heron was walking along the beach, and Coop admired its silhouette as the last of the light faded away. Earlier, one of the new foragers, an ape-like alien, waded out of the water and hea...

Chapter 44: Pig Island

The first Primal Kite initiated its ambush, bursting out of its hiding place, launching water and sand into the air. The group wasn’t even halfway across the shallow waterway before they found their first enemy. Coop had previously readied his ethereal armor and spear to the surprise of Shaneâ€...

Chapter 43: The Siren

Coop exited the menus of the civilization shard to watch the galleon, christened The Eye of the Storm, approach the fort. The massive ship entered the canal, rowing past the impressive library and advancing toward the center.

The settlement needed a proper marina. It was another constructio...

Chapter 42: Reinforcements

Coop was worried that he had just unleashed some evil sorcery upon Ghost Reef. The spectral relic had exploded with energy when he placed it at the top of the lighthouse. There was no visible damage to the island and the ghostly mist had slowly disappeared. The island looked the same as it did be...

Chapter 41: The Downbeat

Coop researched curses in the new library until after the sun had gone down.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to cure Jones anytime soon. The rituals were specialized knowledge that required someone with specific affinities to perform successfully. Coop’s spectral affin...

Chapter 40: Vronk Bread

The bakery door announced Coop’s presence with a friendly chime. Coop stepped inside and was greeted by the heavenly smell of fresh bread. A wide display counter separated the front of the bakery from double doors that led into the back section. The lovely aromas wafted from unseen ovens behind...

Chapter 39: Alchemy and Herbalism

Every time Coop made purchases for the settlement, Jones was there. It was Coop’s fault he wasn’t with him this time. Coop shook his head in an effort to ward off the wayward thought. Instead, he recalled all of the things he wanted to purchase but couldn’t until he saved enough credits. 2023-02-25 16:11:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 38: Blood Curses

Coop wasn’t sure if the Empire’s challenge attempt on his settlement was already over. It seemed like Kevin was only able to muster himself and two others to defend the civilization shard. Somehow, it was even less than the minimum that Coop had expected.

He went ahead and upgraded the ...

Chapter 37: Kevin The Hammer

Coop waited, balancing on top of the ship’s side railings while watching the fort slowly draw closer. Charlie was carefully steering the ship within the narrow channel that guided them through the treacherous reefs that earned Ghost Reef its name. They had passed more than one wreck. The ribs o...

Chapter 36: The Last Tour

Coop had grown to love being the junior caretaker of Ghost Reef, but dream job or not, that wasn’t his role anymore. Instead, he was now Champion of Ghost Reef and the responsibilities had evolved along with the title. In a way, becoming Champion resembled a significant promotion even without a...

Chapter 35: Charlie's Angels

The interior of the offshore oil platform was nearly shrouded in shadow as the fading sunlight struggled to illuminate through overlapping pipes and metal grates. The day’s light fled the emptied structure and Coop was prepared to do the same. It was the end of a long day in a series of long da...

Chapter 34: Backstabbed

Coop had been backstabbed.

The Empire’s Chosen were trying to steal his settlement, but that wasn’t what he meant. There was a literal knife in his back. He had been stabbed right below his shoulder blade in a surprise attack while he contemplated how to leave the Zombie Lord and what t...

Chapter 33: Reaper

Coop was immediately put into a defensive position. He was barely able to block the Zombie Lord’s powerful flailing attacks as he recklessly charged into Coop like a frenzied wild animal. The Zombie Lord was fighting like a much larger version of the Agility zombie. Instead of being the size of...

Chapter 32: Calamity Bringer

Coop had a perfect view of the sunrise. He stood on the final landing and allowed himself a moment to enjoy it. Dawn broke on the 21st day since the apocalypse. He took a deep breath and gathered his resolve. He’d get this quest done and upgrade Ghost Reef. The settlement events were marching c...

Chapter 31: Guerilla Tactics

The oil rig was lit by nothing but the waning moon when Coop moved to the fifth floor. It had taken until late in the evening for Coop to feel comfortable continuing further into the zombie infestation. He had to wait for his health and mana to recover after the previous fights.

When he fir...

Chapter 30: Ethereal Swordsmanship

It was already morning again and Coop was still on the zombie infested oil rig. Time just flew by while hunting zombies. Coop had spent the second night clearing the third floor of the platform and was getting ready to start on the fourth. He was mentally regrouping before venturing further.

Chapter 29: Elite Zombies

Coop spun, his sword cut through the air and, propelled by his momentum, sliced through the neck of another zombie. He didn’t even wait for the head to hit the ground before he was moving to the next room.

He kicked a flimsy door with the bottom of his foot, putting his weight into it, an...

Chapter 28: The Breathless

The sun leisurely dipped below the horizon causing the shadows to stretch until they were replaced by the night itself. Coop found himself watching the sharks as they circled the oil platform. He had been inspecting as many as he could in the dimming light, but none of them had any levels. He had...

Chapter 27: Cruising

After arranging the boat trip with Camila and Charlie, Coop warned Jones that he would be absent for a while to complete the optional portion of the settlement quest. Jones promised to hold down the fort, as he had for decades. Coop also said goodbye to the zonked out Jett and told her to keep an...

Chapter 26: Presence of Mind

Coop finished his first dedicated Ancient Prowler hunt two levels higher than when he started. He had defeated over 3,000 monsters. It was an impressive amount, considering the increased difficulty when compared to the Ancient Defenders.

The fourth stage of the Ancient Prowler quest chain w...

Chapter 25: Ancient Prowlers

Coop began his Ancient Prowler hunting session with an audience. He trusted Charlie so he thought it would be fine that some of his abilities would be revealed. He wouldn’t be showing much other than his Salvation and Retribution skills when he summoned his equipment, but they might be able to ...

Chapter 24: Island Hospitality

Coop had done his best to be hospitable when he welcomed the ship full of people to the island. He thought he was improving his ambassadorial skills with all the practice he had been getting between the aliens and the refugees, but he didn’t think it had gone very well. The leader had been kind...

Chapter 23: Camila

Camila was watching calm waves roll over the deep ocean. She was far from her family, but they weren’t the source of her worries. Her concerns were too profound to be actionable, and that drove her crazy. She was naturally decisive, seizing upon worthy goals and taking action to accomplish them...

Chapter 22: Slayer I

The third day of grinding, Coop gained another level of scavenging, and another mana reduction to his teleport, bringing it down to 38 mana per mistjump. After he killed 3,089 Ancient Defenders, he left the dunes and moved to the beach to sit underneath his favorite palm tree and review his gains...

Chapter 21: Elite Raiders

Coop ended up spending the night at the Clumsy Shark. He learned a lot from Maeve.

The baths were magical, literally. They had magical water that maintained its temperature for as long as it was used. Coop’s only complaint was that the tub was basically a large barrel. He either had to tu...

Chapter 20: The Grind Continues

The settlement had been successfully upgraded and was officially named Ghost Reef. Judging by the leaderboards, they were in excellent shape.

They had also welcomed their first three residents who had arrived on nothing more than a raft. If it wasn’t for mana, they would have been dehydra...