Luke Everhart

Chapter 36 - Sudden Quest

Nar came too slowly, air still roaring past him.

He had fallen to the floor, and had lost the others.

“Jul?” he croaked, tasting blood.

“H-Here…”

“Tuk?”

“Also… Here.”

-[ Quest participant’s HP/Stamina points re...

Chapter 35 - ITS NOT MAGIC

When they made it back to the others, it quickly became apparent that all was not well.

Kur, Gad and Viy stood to one side. Opposite, Cen had her back turned to them.

Mul had a blank expression on his face, and he was sitting a few feet away from his sister.

In the middle of the...

Chapter 34 - Lost Attribute Modifier

Poisoned or crushed.

The shock of his impending death made him blank.

Would the poison kill them quickly? Or just weaken them so that the guardians could finish the job? Would the boss wait for it, or would it just crush them to paste by itself.

And above it all, would it hurt?<...

Chapter 33 - Power

Blurs moved around her.

Distant sounds echoed, muted.

She heard words.

She heard pain and fighting.

But it was all so far. Her Nexus was but a blur of dark and green that held no meaning.

Cen knelt on the floor, her staff forgotten in her hands.

Her mind replay...

Chapter 32 - Powerless

“Kur!” Gad shouted. “What do we do?”

Nar stared up, frozen in place.

From the green lights that shone from the Sentry, a nightmare of moving limbs and blades descended upon them.

This is not real… He thought. There was no way it could be.

Around them, on...

Chapter 31 - Survive If You Can

The silence was crushing.

Nar dragged his feet into yet another square. Another, identical, few feet of dark floor, with a single dim yellow arrow at its center. Around them, nothing. Not even the Pressure was visible, or made a single sound.

How many squares was this now? No idea. 2024-11-11 14:11:25 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 30 - Mistake

Sweat pooled under him, on the sweltering hot floor.

On all sides, walls of Pressure rose to the endless darkness above them, confining the party to a tight space.

There wasn’t enough room for all of them to lay down in, and they had to take turns so that half of them could try to s...

Chapter 29 - Invisible Trial

Their labored breaths echoed through the tight, stuffy corridor. Nar saw green out of the corner of his eyes, and that fueled him to run even faster.

Unfortunately, up ahead, Cen was slowing the back half of the party down, and unless he kicked and shoved the others out of the way, he was s...

Chapter 28 - Poison

The walk in the dark proved uneventful in the end.

After a few more short breaks, Jul called out something in the dark.

“I-I see something,” she said, alerting the others. “I think it’s a wall.”

“A wall?” Kur asked. “What do you mean?”

“Like-Like a wall...

Chapter 27 - Secret Guilt

Nar had never experienced a darkness like that. The light of the arrows seemed to stretch a few feet away from them, and suddenly disappear, as if swallowed.

Even sounds, which he had so clearly heard before, now seemed muted somehow, as though he walked with his hands covering his ears. 2024-11-11 14:09:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 26 - Sense Attributes

They waited, anxious, for something to happen, but after 10 minutes of nearly absolute silence, Kur spoke up again.

“It looks like that was it,” Kur said.

Tuk sighed, and leaned back on his hands. “That was some welcome.”

“What do we do now?” Cen asked.

“We n...

Chapter 25 - From Now On, Its The Real Deal

Despite the late night, Nar woke up ahead of Kur and Tuk’s wake up call. For their last night, Kur had reinstated the watch to make sure they didn’t sleep through the deadline.

Now, Nar sat alone, drumming his fingers against the grip of his sword, waiting for the door to open. Around t...

Chapter 24 - The Path is Changing

Nar stepped into the blaster, and the door closed behind him, gently and on its own.

“Woah…” Nar whispered, staring at the closed door.

He passed a finger over the smooth, slightly reflective gray metal. Not even a speck of rust on it. The thing looked brand new.

With his ...

Chapter 23 - Tutorial Gains & Rewards

When next he opened his eyes, the lights were still dimmed.

Nar blinked, staring up at the featureless square of ceiling above him. It was low enough that if he stretched, he could touch it.

“You alright?”

Nar turned his neck, slowly.

The movement felt off. Like there ...

Chapter 22 - Interlude

What does light look like to those who have lived their whole life in the darkness?

What does real, true color mean, to those who cannot even imagine it?

Real color. Real light.

How can a worker know that all that surrounds them is but a faded memory, a mockery of what they have...

Chapter 21 - The Bridge

Nar and Jul sprinted down the corridor, chasing after the others.

With each step forward, the lighter his steps flew off the corridor’s floor. His very brain seemed to relax inside his skull.

“Jul? Are you feeling this?”

“Yes!” she panted. “The Pressure is lifting!�...

Chapter 20 - Predict

Nar considered the half-eaten square of cracker between his fingers.

It was the last half of his fourth cracker.

He wasn’t supposed to have finished two of them, let alone be finishing his fourth.

He wanted to blame the others. They ate every two or three days, lacking his dis...

Chapter 19 - The Light We Follow

Mercifully, nothing else happened that night, and everyone was able to get their share of Pressure sleep.

However, sleeping meant nothing.

His muscles grew heavier.

His eyes were always sore and gritty.

His bones felt as though they belonged in someone else’s body.

Chapter 18 - Blocked

“Nar? Wake up, Nar.”

He returned from afar, to the sensation of light fingers gently shaking him.

“Whaaaaat?”

“It’s time to go,” Jul said.

Nar opened his eyes and frowned at her.

“Already?” he asked.

She grimaced. “Yes. It’s been six hours...

Chapter 17 - Clouded Minds, Clouded Hearts

“Is he okay?” Gad shouted, panting from the floor.

Cen didn’t answer, unable to in the midst of her grief.

Kur crawled over to the caster, and checked on Mul.

“He looks fine, just knocked out. Cen! Do you hear me? He’s going to be fine!” he said, trying to calm her.<...

Chapter 16 - Endless Corridor

When Nar and Tuk woke up the others, their rest hadn’t been as restful as it had looked.

They woke up sluggish and groggy. Almost more tired now than they had been before they had slept.

“Ah!”

Nar whipped his head around, towards the source of the scream.

Tuk stood o...

Chapter 15 - Heavy

Nar and Kur woke the others with 15 minutes to spare.

As if on cue, the lights turned back on to full intensity.

“Up, people. I want everyone ready to go in 5 minutes!” Kur said.

While the others stirred awake, Nar collected his pack. He wrapped it securely around his should...

Chapter 14 - Resolve

-[ You have encountered a safe room.

Each safe room provides different amenities. You will know what they are when you enter them.

You have been granted use of a toilet.

You may rest here. You are safe...

Chapter 13 - Safe Room

The Pressure returned to the same pattern the next day, and once again, days passed.

Would it be another two weeks before they faced their next enemy? Another two weeks of soul crushing Pressure and of that endless, straight corridor that never seemed to end?

All they could do was plo...

Chapter 12 - The Wrong Gains

The pattern held.

The first wave hit them again the next day, at twelve thirty, and the last one at ten thirty at night.

So it was for the third day, and the fourth… And five entire days passed, forming a week of seven days.

Then, another week slowly dragged by.

The corr...

Chapter 11 - Humble Beginnings

He was gently brought back from his sleep, and found Kur squatting in front of him.

“Hey man, sorry to wake you up so soon, but we need to start walking,” he said.

“Walking?” Nar asked, confused.

Kur smiled and pointed at the yellow arrows at their feet.

“Oh…�...

Chapter 10 - First Night

“I can’t keep going!”

Everyone stopped and turned to Cen.

The lengos sat on her knees and gasped hard, holding her throat. “My stamina… I only have 7 points left!”

Oof… I guess she has the lowest stamina out of all of us, Nar thought.

Tuk leaned his ...

Chapter 9 - Gains

“Thank you. And sorry about that,” Gad said. “I’m being a burden.”

Nar kneeled next to her, gulping air like a desperate man.

“You’re fine,” he panted. “Don’t worry about it.”

She licked her dried lips, and looked like she was going to say more. Instead, sh...

Chapter 8 - Not a Great Start

… one more.

Nar breathed hard.

He huffed, blowing the tickly sweat drops from his nose.

He was dying to wipe his face, but the last time he had tried to, he had almost dropped Gad.

About an hour later since they had started walking, his arms were numb and tired....

Chapter 7 - Under the Pressure

The minutes dragged and turned into hours.

Nar had forced himself to stand, to ensure he didn’t drift off.

He had gone over all of his skills, his sword, his attributes, the HP and stamina information multiple times.

He had found he knew a dozen new words like “pierce” and...