noct

144. Rescue Mission

As they walked, Clarina spoke. She spoke softly at first, but grew louder as her story progressed. Ike half-listened, keeping his ears and eyes enhanced in case any more puppets crept up on them. The gist of it was about what he’d thought. Her sect had been attacked by the New Republic dissiden...

143. Enemies of the New Republic

Ike activated Lightning Clad. He smashed his fist toward the man. A dagger glittered in the man’s hand, plunging toward Ike’s hand.

Blade sparked against blade. The man startled, shocked for a split second as his dagger bounced off the invisible blade in Ike’s hand. In the next moment...

142. Chase

Ike and Wisp ran through the woods. The two of them exchanged a glance, then ran on, faster now. Ike nodded at her. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Dangerous.”

“Are we just doing this to have the justification to kill a bunch of dudes?” Ike asked.

“You might be. ...

141. No Hunter

The man cleared his throat. “Have you seen a woman in blue?”

Ike watched the man silently, pretending to think about it. He wore a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and stood near the invisible lady, prepared to block the man off if he approached her. He honestly didn’t care much abo...

140. A Wild Lady Appeared! Wild Lady Used Explode Core!

Light gathered around the lady’s chest and abdomen. Before anything else could happen, Ike blasted off. Lighting flashed after him, booming against the air. In a split second, he reached the lady. Rather than try anything fancy, he simply introduced his knee to her forehead at top speed. Her ey...

139. Oh Deer

Wisp and Ike led Shawn through the woods. At first, the boy kept up with them, but before long, he flagged behind them. Ike paused and injected a tiny bit of aether, checking Shawn’s Rank. To his surprise, the boy was barely Rank 1.

“I am a mountain. We grow slowly. Our lifespan is meas...

138. Your Grandfather

All the way down the mountain, the kid ranted at them. He let loose a expletive-filled tirade that would’ve been at home in a seaman’s tavern, let alone coming out of a captured child’s mouth. Ike tired of it at about the quarter mark, but resisted the urge to double-handed throw the child ...

137. The Same As Me

Ike whirled. Wisp turned, less surprised.

Mont stood there, slightly up the mountain. He smiled at them and clasped his hands together. “Have you figured it out, yet?”

Ike looked at him, then turned. The landslide. Power that couldn’t be used subtly. “I have a guess. Are you t...

136. Landslide Slope

The earth flowed down the mountain. Rocks crashed down on the camp. Trees snapped and broke. The very ground itself bucked and shuddered, threatening to turn liquid under Ike’s feet. Terrified, the boy clung to Ike’s shoulder. Ike held on tight, sprinting at his full speed. Wisp dashed ahead ...

135. The Strategy

He held his breath as he jumped through the barrier, watching Wisp closely. The barrier shimmered over his body, and he and Wisp both landed smoothly on the other side. Ike let out a breath. “We’re through.”

“Awesome. See you on the other side.” Waving a foreleg, Wisp hopped off h...

134. The Tent Flap

The tent flap lifted away from the tent. For a moment, Ike caught sight of its contents.

A young boy laid in a steel cave. Heavy chains bound his neck and limbs. Only a short length of chain spanned between the cage and the boy’s manacles. He didn’t have enough slack to stand, not that ...

133. The Main Camp

Ike wove through the trees, moving silently. Mont’s help went with him, the branches clearing out of his way only to fall back into place behind him. He lost track of Wisp after a few steps, as she crawled through the trees and out of earshot. Ike alone walked through the trees, silent, invisib...

132. Contested Vein

A tight stand of trees blocked their view of wherever Mont had pointed. The man stopped, frowning at the trees. Ike glanced at him, and Mont nodded. Drawing out his wolf pelt, Ike pulled it around him, going invisible save his eyes. Beside him, Wisp hopped into the trees and did the same. The two...

131. Mana Veins

They headed out of the inn. This morning, no black-robed mages leaped out at them from the aspens. A gentle breeze blew, cooling the bare heat of the high atmosphere’s intense sun. Ike lifted his hand to shade his eyes. “Bright.”

“Nothing like it. I love these high mountain mornings...

130. Morning Light

Ike woke refreshed and light. He stretched, yawning wide, then closed his eyes again and snuggled into the bed. I want to stay in bed forever. Beds are so nice. Dear gods, I love beds.

Sunlight played over his face, warming the back of his eyelids to a translucent pink. Unable to r...

129. Worth It

A new Unique skill. Ike bit his lip, his eyes sparkling. Infinite potential spread out before him, the incredible strength of a second Unique skill opening up routes he’d never considered possible for him.

And then he glanced at Mont and sighed. “Right. Because that guy over th...

128. Black-Robed

Ike vanished before the black-robed mage’s eyes. Startled, the mage looked left and right, searching for him.

A hand wrapped around his neck. The mage kicked and grabbed at his neck. Ike shoved electricity into him. The mage spasmed, then went still, stunned.

Ike looked at the other...

127. Mana Veins

“So, what kind of room do you want?” Lanie asked. She slid behind a heavy wood desk and pulled out a large ledger. An enormous picture window opened up behind her, giving a beautiful view of the gardens.

“First floor, please,” Mont requested. He smiled and laid a heavy pouch on the ...

126. Fellow Man

Ike stiffened. He looked at the man slowly. I can’t feel his pressure, but if anything, that just makes me more scared. Wisp can hide hers, too. If Wisp just insulted an ancient mage, we’re so fucked.

The strangely-dressed man laughed. He patted Wisp’s head. “No, no. What�...

125. Foxes' Inn

Ike and Wisp ran toward the inn. Ike pulled ahead of Wisp, but still ran warily. He didn’t use Lightning Dash, and he kept his head on a swivel, extending his aether and his senses ahead of him. The mountain was thick with aether and mana alike. Ike had absorbed as much of it as he could as he ...

124. Mountain Pass

The ground sloped upward. As they walked through the forest, they stumbled upon a dirt path. It wound through the trees, barely more than a deer path. Ike followed it. Before long, the two of them came upon a clean, cobbled road. As it climbed up the mountain, the road cut back and forth. The swi...

123. To a New Town

With their non-identifiable loot and the bodies safely dumped, Ike and Wisp took off into the woods. They left the Abyss behind as quickly as they could. Ike made a beeline away from their fight. They needed to put as much distance between them and the mysterious disappearances as they could, as ...

122. Cracking the Barrier

Ike dashed in. The man lifted his hand, tossing a dozen talismans at him. The talismans burned more quickly than the previous ones, already fizzling before they left his hand. Ike raised his arms, coating them with layer after layer of Ice Armor. The fireballs blasted against him, smashing into h...

121. Listen to This

Wisp’s nose wrinkled. She shook her head. “He’s using talismans.”

“He’s… what?” Ike asked, lost.

She pointed. “You saw that stupid-looking card, right?”

I didn’t think it was stupid, but… “Yeah.”

“That’s a talisman. They’...

120. The Charge

Lightning flashed. Ike unleashed a flurry of kicks at the man’s head as he ducked to grab his axe.

The man’s fist thumped down just on the inside of his axe. A pillar of earth blocked Ike’s kicks. In a few kicks, Ike demolished the pillar, but the man had already retrieved his axe. Th...

119. Cliff Hanger

Ike pulled himself up the face of the cliff toward the edge. Just under the upper edge, he paused, listening with the full force of his enhanced senses. What happened to Wisp?

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Wisp barked, angry.

A man laughed at her. “The question i...

118. A Spider's Thread between Hell and Heaven

Ike gripped the thread and pulled. It held his weight without budging. He grabbed onto it with his other arm, then wrapped his legs around it. The thread was so thin it was hard to grasp with his legs, but now that he was Rank 2, his arms were more than strong enough to haul him up alone. One han...

268. Afterwards

Mia gazed up at the night sky. Silently, she watched the stars. There was no moon, not anymore. Just the darkness of the night.

“Looking for him?”

Mia turned. Domi walked up behind her, holding Olivia’s hand. Olivia gave a little wave, and Mia nodded back. “Yeah. I always…wo...