The next time that Edge opened his eyes, he found himself on the other side of the galaxy, wearing a body that wasn’t his own.
It took him a moment to realize that he was looking out through the eyeballs of a puppet that had been cloned for his exclusive use. His new home for the duration...
2024-07-15 17:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe story of how Edge wound up on the most dangerous planet in inhabited space had begun a little over one year ago.
Back then, he was drifting through life in an endless daze, every bland day the same as the last. His tepid existence was defined by his meaningless job. His impact on the wo...
2024-07-15 17:24:01 +0000 UTC View PostEdge shut out his awareness of the monsters converging on his position. Ignored the pounding of his heart and the electric cascade of adrenaline flowing through his veins.
He forced himself to look away, pouring every scrap of his attention into scanning the ground by his boots. There was n...
2024-07-15 17:23:01 +0000 UTC View PostSince he had a pretty good idea of where he was by this point, Edge was able to find the river without too much trouble.
He spent the next few hours crossing the wetlands and found himself standing beside its muddy banks by the time that the sun was directly overhead. That was easy enou...
2024-07-15 17:22:00 +0000 UTC View PostEdge began by reviewing everything that he knew about cores.
He had been following the Prison World broadcasts for decades, with each tourist’s puppet serving as a channel for the feed. As a result, he knew a lot about how basic cores functioned, and many of the common variants too. ...
2024-07-15 17:21:01 +0000 UTC View PostThree hours later, Edge found himself hiding within a mound of tall grass.
He was careful not to move a muscle or make a sound while the buffalo crossed the plains a hundred yards ahead. It was a sizable herd, big enough to make the ground tremble beneath his boots. By his count, there were...
2024-07-15 17:20:01 +0000 UTC View PostNow that he’d had time to think the matter through, Edge was confident that his strategy was sound. Until he evolved Skill-Eater to mid stage-one, he would use the points he gained from cycling-up to improve his energetic attributes.
He needed to ramp up the power of his skills, and he ne...
2024-07-15 17:19:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhile it had been touch and go for a while, today had been a good day.
Edge would celebrate his victory in the morning. But not just yet. In that moment, his exhaustion caught up with him, leaving black spots dancing before his eyes.
His shoulders sagged as the adrenaline faded away, ...
2024-07-15 17:18:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe instant that the vines met, they began to merge, melding into one another like they were made of soft clay. Edge was surprised to learn that he could feel the skill gaining experience as the process continued.
The magic contained within entangle grew ...
2024-07-15 17:17:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Edge hopped back to avoid a thrusting spike, the next set of vines was already waiting. The beast had entangled the ground behind his back when he couldn’t afford to look away, giving him no chance to dodge.
Before his boots hit the ground, his body was wrapped ...
2024-07-15 17:16:01 +0000 UTC View PostUntil three seconds ago, Edge’s body had always been solid. But that was no longer the case.
Turning into shadows was incredibly bizarre, not to mention the most magical event of his life. But now wasn’t the right time to explore the strange experience.
With no time to waste, he f...
2024-07-15 17:15:00 +0000 UTC View PostActing on instinct, Edge leapt to one side, just in time to keep the next set of vines from tripping him up.
Ah, hell. The one underground has entangle too. He kept moving, changing direction unpredictably, as more and more creepers burst free from the soil.
The wounded beast...
2024-07-15 17:14:01 +0000 UTC View PostEdge didn’t realize that he could run any faster. But apparently, he could.
He charged, heading straight for the beast standing beside the boulder. As the world around him became a liquid blur of color and motion, everything that he knew about his assailants came back to him in the blink ...
2024-07-15 17:13:01 +0000 UTC View PostTo get a better view of the region, Edge stepped out of the tall grass and cut across a field of pink and blue wildflowers. They had a spicy aroma that he found quite pleasant. While he walked, he started looking around to see what he could reach before he lost the light.
He needed to cross...
2024-07-15 17:12:00 +0000 UTC View PostEdge’s body went soaring into the cave half a heartbeat before the world disappeared in an ocean of crackling light.
Boom!
The thunder was so intense that it blew out his eardrums, leaving him deaf before regeneration kicked in. The shockwave sent him ...
2024-07-15 17:11:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe clouds’ rapid advance and unnatural radiance let Edge know what he was dealing with. It was a type of natural disaster that he’d studied before coming to Ord, but never thought he would experience firsthand.
He started running as fast as he could, sprinting toward the fingers ...
2024-07-15 17:10:00 +0000 UTC View PostEdge watched the sunrise over the plains, then carefully climbed out of the tree. He made sure that nothing nasty was lurking nearby, then continued his journey to town. He was still absorbing everything that had happened the night before and he wondered what the day held in store.
He...
2024-07-15 17:09:01 +0000 UTC View PostSometime later, a thin band of neon began glowing along the northern skyline. A curved slice of crimson that grew bigger and brighter with every second that passed.
The light wasn’t the sunrise, which wouldn’t happen for another half hour or so. It was something that Edge had hear...
2024-07-15 17:08:01 +0000 UTC View PostTen minutes later, Edge found himself standing on the highest branch that would support his weight. A place out of sight from the animals prowling the ground below. While he was by no means safe up here, it was the closest that he was going to get.
After he got used to his perch, he cast hi...
2024-07-15 17:07:01 +0000 UTC View PostNow that he had won his first true battle, followed by the best meal of his life, Edge stopped to inspect the clearing before he was ready to move on.
It didn’t take long. There wasn’t anything growing nearby other than moss and a few scattered ferns. The mana-seed must have been cl...
2024-07-15 17:06:01 +0000 UTC View PostEdge stepped over the cooling corpse and walked over to the mushroom growing in the middle of the glade. He was relieved to see that it hadn’t been harmed during the battle. Now that the adrenaline flowing through his veins was fading away, the scent was utterly intoxicating.
The ri...
2024-07-15 17:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe instant that mana went surging out of Edge’s core and into his arm, the beast’s eyes snapped open.
He wasn’t sure if he’d given himself away after all or was just plain unlucky. Either way, the result was the same. The weasel screamed in outrage while pulling its body back. His ...
2024-07-15 17:04:00 +0000 UTC View PostEdge stepped beneath the canopy, his excitement growing by the heartbeat. It was cool within the trees’ deep shade, towering growths with rich red bark and deep purple leaves.
It was hard to concentrate with the seed’s aroma urging him on, compelling him to claim the prize for his own. ...
2024-07-15 17:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhile he walked, Edge reviewed what little he knew of his situation.
In addition to cutting off all long-range communication and transportation, the unprecedented disaster had reshaped the planet. It carved out swaths of terrain from across the globe and wove them together like a patchwork ...
2024-07-15 17:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostWith a groan of exertion, Edge scaled the final stretch of slope leading to the grasslands.
When he took that last step out of the ravine, the walls of earth fell away. He grinned as the Ivory Plains appeared before his gaze. Puffy white clouds danced across the azure heavens, the prairie s...
2024-07-15 17:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostSince he hadn’t been able to learn much except that the constructs needed mana to perform a variety of functions, Nick put the body back into his bag. He intended to collect more if the opportunity presented itself, as he had a hunch that they’d eventually prove to be valuable in one way or a...
2024-07-15 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA hundred feet ahead was an intersection, where a tunnel leading deeper into the interior crossed the ring running along the outside of the floor. Better still, there were some massive pieces of rubble scattered across the junction, including a big rock that went up almost all the way up to the c...
2024-07-12 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostApparently, the constructs’ bites were even more dangerous than he’d realized, even if their bodies were weak. He was lucky that it hadn’t been worse. The wound hurt like hell, but it wasn’t deep enough to impede his movement. It shouldn’t pose a problem, but the damage to his boot was ...
2024-07-11 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a good five minutes of long-distance surveillance, Nick was ready to leave. Picking up some random cookware wasn’t worth the risk of alerting the construct to his presence. Just before he lowered his spyglass, the gear-rat turned to face him.
When he saw what it was holding between ...
2024-07-10 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post