Breakfast was rice porridge topped with salted fish and pickled vegetables. Cubes of watermelon were available as a treat. Hector found himself competing with Sam to eat as much of the fruit as possible. Their rivalry fell apart when the servant refilled the bowl they were taking from.
“I...
2025-05-05 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHector wasn’t even sure he needed to escape. Maybe this was just a tournament of foreign Xian as had been advertised. That just didn’t seem likely to him. Why would they host it on the property of the Lord Platinum? She was suppressing the barracks instead of the tower.
Unless the evil ...
2025-05-02 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHector put away the donated resources with steely determination. Swallow a piece of fat the size of a knuckle. Wash it down with a sip of burning liquid. Grimace and blink the tears from his eyes while he visualized harsh smoke pouring out of his mouth and nostrils. How did Volithur drink so much...
2025-05-01 10:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostHe drank a bottle of wine and cultivated chaos even though it was the middle of the night. Though he’d intended the case of wine to power his domain improvements, he much preferred using it to speed through the cold forged method of body enhancement. He decided not to sleep that night even thou...
2025-04-30 10:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe level six Xian shopkeeper smiled broadly at his entrance, causing Hector a spike of concern. There was something predatory there. “Hello, Master Sirius.”
“Why if it isn’t the Stalwart Xian himself.”
Hector winced. “You watch television?”
“It’s something to ...
2025-04-29 10:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostAs he got onto the circumnavigating train, Hector found a familiar face. It was at the same height as his own even though he was standing while the other’s body was sitting. “Good to see you again, Xian. Is your woman friend well?”
“She returned to Maya to grieve. Thank you for ever...
2025-04-28 10:00:18 +0000 UTC View PostHector focused on increasing his energy levels for three weeks, then after that ran the dungeon once a week. He kept to the easy run through the ravine. Though he didn’t form a team, he no longer made his runs alone. Within the community of delvers, he was the infamous Stalwart Xian who destroy...
2025-04-27 10:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThey took everything that remained of Rodrick. Body and personal effects. All of it had to be destroyed to prevent the toxic miasma from polluting anything else.
The two of them held each other on the floor for hours, crying as bodies bustled around them. Hector would have left long before ...
2025-04-26 10:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostHector looked at Rodrick held before him in a princess carry. His friend was gasping for air and coughing up blood and phlegm and miasmic fluid. An anteater of epic proportions stood between them and medical attention. His brow drew down.
“Zelda, hold onto Rod. I’m going to toss the two...
2025-04-25 10:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThey were two weeks out from their next group dungeon run when a universal alert appeared in the System interface.
UNIVERSAL ALERT
Incoming miasma surge.
Dungeon payout rate increased to 80,000 credits per delve.
F...
2025-04-24 10:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostTheir next group dungeon run proved remarkably successful. Conrad took them to a short ridge inside that was both a hotbed of activity and somewhere they could rapidly escape if necessary. Zelda and Hector slayed the flying beasts that swarmed them from all directions. Conrad and Rodrick took car...
2025-04-23 10:00:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe Dream Engine was dead. Its components had worn down until a critical fault caused a cascade of failures. For the first time in over thirty years, no human in the entire multiverse was receiving dreams. And due to the Dream Engine being viewed as an utter failure, another would never be built....
2025-04-22 10:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThree days after his dungeon runs, Hector discovered fresh bruises on Riley. He avoided speaking of them until they were safely away from the public.
“Who did that?”
Riley shrunk away from him. “Spicy room.”
“I thought you weren’t going to do those anymore.”
...
2025-04-21 10:00:25 +0000 UTC View Post“What are your energy reserves at, Hector?”
“I’m fully topped up.”
“Good,” Conrad said. Zelda was at twenty percent and Rodrick just eighteen.
Rodrick apparently didn’t like the implied criticism. “What about you?”
“Forty-eight percent this morning....
2025-04-20 11:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostRiley would have agreed to absolutely anything to get a regular client who didn’t abuse her, Hector was sure. He felt like he’d taken advantage of her desperation even though he was trying to work for her benefit. “Let’s start with aura cultivation. Do you know what that is?”
“A...
2025-04-19 10:00:28 +0000 UTC View PostRodrick had his hand over Hector’s mouth in an instant. “Don’t say that word! Holy Uncle, are you trying to get us kicked out?”
“And what would you call it?”
“It’s a brothel, Hector. Please.”
Humility and Charity. Shit. Why did he bother giving away money and d...
2025-04-18 10:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe transition from ‘I feel nothing’ to ‘uh oh’ happened quite abruptly. Hector had been staring at the ceiling of his capsule in boredom when he decided to shift onto his side. The motion made him momentarily imagine himself as a massive ship at sea that foolishly decided to flop onto it...
2025-04-17 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostHector hit the streets with a sigh. His bed called to him though it was only mid-afternoon, promising it would be just as good to think about humility and charity instead of acting those virtues out. He stamped down the lazy thought. He would cultivate through his actions.
Zelda crashed to the ground beside him. “It’s time to retreat. We’re just wasting energy.”
“How much do you have left?”
“Maybe five percent,” she answered.
Hector hid his annoyance. He suspected that Conrad would be far more useful than the Arahants against this ...
2025-04-16 10:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostHector dressed, ate breakfast, and drank five expensive teas while waiting for the rest of his group. Rodrick was the first to arrive, wearing his usual armor and with a cheap armband light on each arm. He cheerfully took a seat. “Did you get your energy reserves up?”
“They’re about...
2025-04-15 10:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostHe drank the first bottle of wine in its entirety that night. It was potent in terms of its alcohol content, its cosmic energy levels, and its harsh flavor. He woke at his usual time and began the day with chaos cultivation. Then he drank the second bottle at breakfast.
“Hey there, Hector...
2025-04-14 10:00:18 +0000 UTC View PostHector studied his gains. He had managed to achieve an improvement of point one in mind, point two in aura, and point one in domain.
Survey Results
Type: Xian
Level: 4
Body: 4
Mind: 3.0 2025-04-13 11:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Conrad’s shouted advice proved much wiser than his hasty plan to fly them to safety.
Hector found his boots completely shredded from his brief flight. Xian warriors with a propensity for flight went barefoot for a reason. He let them crash land fifty feet from their original position. Con...
2025-04-12 10:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe subway train was already full when it reached them. They crammed inside like personal space wasn’t a concern. The tight quarters proved beneficial when the train accelerated forward. Instead of falling over, the crowd compressed itself a little. Soon they were hurtling forward at close to t...
2025-04-11 10:00:29 +0000 UTC View PostHector decided to start his day off with a nice tourist activity and booked two spots on an air taxi. Rodrick didn’t hesitate to agree to the outing. Immediately after breakfast, they went to the roof of a building three blocks away to catch their ride. The taxi was an enclosed observation bubb...
2025-04-10 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHector didn’t immediately agree to Conrad’s request. The two of them added each other as contacts through the System interface. That would allow them to leave messages for each other – not directly through the System, unfortunately, but any public computer would let them do so. It was how h...
2025-04-09 10:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostSix weeks passed quickly.
Wake early for an hour of chaos cultivation. Grab a quick breakfast at the cafeteria, usually just some of the cheap Jinn casserole soups. Head to the rooftop garden to perform several hours of aura cultivation. Go to the gym and max out the weight on equipment to ...
2025-04-08 10:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostChecking into the capsule hotel involved walking through the front doors. The hotel computers were integrated into the System so that they knew when a guest arrived. They didn’t get to choose their capsule assignments but simply received an address. “Floor nineteen, quadrant two, column fifty...
2025-04-07 10:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Yes, it happened,” Hector lied.
“No! I can’t believe I missed your first notification!”
Hector shrugged, trying not to reveal his complete ignorance. “It’s been fun, Malachi.”
“Yeah. You’re pretty decent for a Xian. Take care, Hector.”
Vivian elbowed...
2025-04-06 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“A dungeon is where people go to fight monsters,” Rodrick said. “I’m going to do it some day.”
“Good, then it’s not a torture tower.” He’d been worried about that.
Zelda sniffed. “No one has torture towers.”
“The guy I dreamed spent time in one, so they d...
2025-04-05 11:18:01 +0000 UTC View Post