A training room stretched before Jack and Brock.
The basement was large—almost as wide as the house above. Its walls held a blue metallic sheen, just subdued enough to force focus, and curved slightly outward, making the middle of the room wider than its top and bottom. When Jack touched a wall experimentally, it was soft, like the training mats people used for martial arts. The floor was made of the same material.
Moreover, th...
Happy new month, everyone. Thanks again for your support!
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The Integration City was a gem of beauty. The buildings were mostly white with blue windows, making the town resemble a picturesque island. Ar’Karvahul took Jack and Edgar down the main street, where they saw restaurants, massage places, cafes, bars, as well as a large variety of shops selling anything from trinkets to weapons and armor.
Of course, everything loo...
2022-12-01 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostWaves crashed in the Pacific Ocean. They always did; tall and short, thick and thin, close together and further apart. They traveled in groups of thousands, covering miles and miles of water before meeting another group and crashing together. Some waves—the stubborn ones—even crossed entire oceans.
On this day, their journey was interrupted. The surface frothed. Steam rose from below in tremendous quantities, scaring all sorts of mar...
2022-11-30 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostEDIT: If you joined the Patreon after 11/29, don't read this, you'll understand nothing.
Those of you who just opened the next chapter are undoubtedly wondering: who the hell is Brock!?
Well, the poll and comments on my previous post were overwhelming. Thankfully, they agreed with my opinion, too.
Therefore, I went ahead and changed Lupen into Brock. I wrote an entire new chapter to introduce him and went through every later ...
2022-11-29 19:18:51 +0000 UTC View Post“There are three major factions on the planet right now,” said Ar’Tazul, pacing back and forth before the fountain. Electricity had returned to Valville after they’d repaired the nearby power station, and the fountain’s waters jumped high and glistened in the light of a setting sun. Jack and Edgar watched Ar’Tazul with rapt attention. They’d just bought the “Major Factions of Earth” information package.
“The first is...
EDIT: If you joined the Patreon after 11/29, don't read this, you'll understand nothing.
Hey all,
First of all, this is a spoiler for those of you who just joined and haven't read Chapter 31 yet.
In a few words, I'm considering changing Lupen. And I'm considering it for two main reasons.
The first is that the method through which he was introduced was bold on my part. I am well aware that identifying with the...
2022-11-29 09:26:24 +0000 UTC View PostTheir eyes went wide. Waving goodbye to the primates, the three of them—four, as Harambe followed—took off for the northwestern part of the reserve, where the clear pond lay. They met no earth bears on the way. Harambe had cleared them all out.
They also picked up Brock, who returned ten minutes later looking all clean and happy.
Jack, the professor, and Harambe waited by the trees while Edgar and Brock lounged in the clear pon...
2022-11-28 17:36:04 +0000 UTC View PostCome morning of the next day, Edgar and Professor Margaret Rust stepped into the forest with suspicion in their eyes. Their hearts with filled with excitement and fear for the unknown, while their feet shuffled warily through the undergrowth.
Behind them, Jack trailed with a wide grin. He’d experienced so many things in this forest. It had only been a few days, but he remembered every tree and bush around here. It smelled like home. 2022-11-27 11:19:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Jack gazed at Gan Salin, who’d just switched to using a different Dao Root than before—and, from the looks of it, this was his best one. But it came with side-effects. His reason was dwindling as madness emanated from the center of his being, filling him up to the brink.
Jack identified the feeling. It wasn’t the first time he saw it. Insanity, he realized, eyes widening. This madman has the Dao Root of Insanity!<...
2022-11-27 11:18:48 +0000 UTC View PostJack stared at the man before him. His gentle appearance contrasted the threat carried by his name, but only until someone noticed the mad glint in his eye.
“It’s my town, not yours,” said Jack, frowning. “So, you’re Gan Salin. The same one who let loose Henry’s Fang in Valville?”
Gan Salin smiled. “You know what? I like you,” he said. His teeth showed more than they should, and, surprisingly, he seemed to salivat...
2022-11-27 11:18:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning found Jack refreshed. He had been on high tension for a long time; he desperately needed some time to unwind. With any luck, the next few days would hide no surprises…and then would come the Integration Tournament.
Jack’s eyes sharpened in anticipation. Until then, he would try to level up, understand more things about the System’s world, work on his Dao, and train with his new body. The Fistfighting III upgrade ha...
2022-11-27 11:12:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Just leader and supervisor? Nothing else?” Jack frowned. “Seems terribly inconvenient.”
“Not really,” the professor disagreed. “The System generally takes a hands-off approach. Most things are arranged by people. For example, you can just name someone your vice-leader; you don’t need System approval. The supervisor role is probably there to let people access some faction-related System screens.”
“I see. Then, S...
2022-11-27 11:11:57 +0000 UTC View PostA blue screen appeared in Jack’s face; it was the skill recommended by Ar’Tazul, the one that wasn’t even in the catalog.
Parkour: A mix of finesse and bodily strength can allow you to navigate obstacles efficiently, have better control of your body, and move unpredictably.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“It’s a skill formed from information we found on your Earth,” Ar’Tazul replied. “It...
2022-11-27 11:11:42 +0000 UTC View PostAfter making sure everything was fine, the first thing Jack did was take the rifle and sling it on his back for safekeeping, then enter Valville Hotel to find the secret stash of Henry’s Fang. They’d been taking items from the townspeople as “tax,” so they were bound to have some good stuff. By conqueror’s right, they now belonged to Jack—though he would return anything he didn’t need.
The gang had apparently taken over th...
“Henry White! Get the fuck out here!”
Jack roared from the hotel roof, sending his voice throughout the town. Thanks to his enhanced body, his shout was even louder than usual.
The people below froze. They looked around, then up to find a menacing figure standing over them. Some whispered. Others averted their gaze; the afternoon sun shone behind Jack, hiding his form.
The dark-skinned man at the center of the yard sto...
Trial Planet Token…
He had no idea what that was. It sounded like a random trinket he couldn’t use. Maybe he’d get cheated if he sold it now, but he could at least appraise it, or ask what it was. He took it out of his pocket; it seemed like an old gold coin.
“I have this,” he said. “What do you think it’s worth?”
“Hmm?”
Ar’Tazul looked down. He inspected the coin in Jack’s hand, then fr...
2022-11-27 11:10:49 +0000 UTC View PostThree men stood at the edge of the yard fifteen feet away, pointing handguns at Jack. Two looked like hoodlums. The third was Hugo, the slavic mafia man charged with watching the professor.
Jack looked straight down the barrel and didn’t flinch. Instead, he grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Hello, Hugo,” he said. “I see your walk has been productive. You found a few more dogs.”
Hugo’s face was still as if cut from ston...
2022-11-27 11:10:29 +0000 UTC View PostJack raised his gaze to the man behind the professor. His eyes darkened. “Who are you?” he asked.
“This is Hugo,” the professor hurried to respond. “He’s with Henry’s Fang.”
“And?”
“I am here on orders, sir,” Hugo said in a deep voice. “We have an agreement with Professor Rust. I make sure everyone honors it.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. Hugo was a big man of slavic descent, with a flat nose ...
Jack crossed the woods, feeling like Christopher Colombus discovering America. Everything he saw was the same as he remembered, but different. Being outside the nature reserve—the Forest of the Strong dungeon—felt like a dream.
What had changed? How had the System impacted humanity? What was the world like?
Was it all real?
Everything was exactly as he remembered. The trees, the broken branches, that fat bush he’d st...
Jack stood in silence. Yesterday morning had been full of tension. Today, grief.
Two brorillas and eleven gymonkeys had given their lives against the black wolves. They were brave. They could have chosen cowardice or half-measures, but every single one of them went forth to fight knowing that their lives might be forfeit.
There were many injured, too, but the ice pond had healed them. That wasn’t a pretty sight either. Oz had b...
Jack was dragged out of his blissful sleep by burning agony. He woke up screaming.
The last thing he remembered was the black wolf coming for him. He was still in battle. Hell, his entire body burned everywhere the wolf had injured him. The pain was immeasurable.
He jumped up with a splash, still screaming at the top of his lungs. Two gorillas were before him, trying to calm him down—or kill him. Rocky walls surrounded him like a...
2022-11-27 11:09:18 +0000 UTC View PostHe didn’t know where to dodge. Was it early or late? How far should he lean?
Jack would later swear that, at that moment, the wolf grinned. Its claw came at him, and there was nothing he could do except gamble. It had been toying with him; it had the Dao Root of Shadow but hadn’t used it until now, except for that small illusion it activated at the very start.
The claw came for his head, its position vague. Jack had to make a d...
2022-11-27 11:08:54 +0000 UTC View PostJack quickly allocated all his bonus points equally.
The wolf stared at him with boundless rage. Time seemed to freeze. Slowly, Jack understood what happened. He remembered the wolf’s description.
Black wolves are mostly solitary creatures.
Mostly.
Well, these ones lived in pairs. They just looked the same. Fuck you, System! Why do you do this to me!?
Unfortunately, the System didn’t giv...
Jack and the monkey army prowled through the morning forest. The pleasant chattering of birds, the last drops of moisture rolling off leaves, the vivid colors, these all formed a joyful mood that contrasted the soberness of the situation.
They had chosen the morning because wolves enjoyed hunting at night. Also because Jack was getting tired of all the monkey business in his cave.
A howl cut through the forest. Their bones rocked...
System, Jack thought curiously, what is a Planetary Frontrunner?
Planetary Frontrunner (10): A Title awarded to the first ten sapients to develop a Dao Root in an Integrated planet. A sign of great potential, marking the owner as a person worthy of the Immortal System’s assistance.
Efficacy of all stats +10%.
System, what’s a Title?
Titles: A c...
Jack stood alone in the empty blue world. There was nothing here, not even a chair to rest on; only an endless cyan expanse, where the sky stretched from the horizon to beneath his feet.
He didn’t remember many things. His mind had been frozen on entering, and only his innermost reality had carried through.
As he stood puzzled in this empty world, without any distractions whatsoever, a desire sprung forth from the deepest parts o...
2022-11-27 11:07:12 +0000 UTC View PostJack stepped into the ice pond first. He wanted to act like a proper leader. Unfortunately, the moment his broken hand touched the water, he screamed like a little girl.
The pain was the worst he’d felt so far. It was like someone was using pliers to readjust his bones, except these pliers were ice-cold and everywhere at the same time.
The monkeys watched him from outside the lake, torn between trying to help him and watching the...
2022-11-27 11:06:59 +0000 UTC View PostCongratulations! Level 25 reached. New Class Skill acquired.
Calamitous Punch (I): All warriors have a finishing strike. At the cost of exhaustion, overdraw your body’s potential to unleash a devastating attack.
Jack read the description of his new skill. Unlike his previous ones, it was active, not passive. Suddenly, something appeared inside him. It felt like a switch or a big red button.
The monkey hollering was intoxicating. The rush, the haze, the spike of adrenaline as Jack faced a gorilla with his bare hands. He grinned. He didn’t burst into action; action burst out of him.
Jack and the big brorilla crashed into each another like trains and began boxing. Despite his small physique, Jack was strong; very strong. He wasn’t instantly annihilated like a pre-System human; he stood his ground and met the gorilla’s bi...
2022-11-27 11:06:00 +0000 UTC View PostJack followed the Gymonkeys into their territory.
They jumped from branch to branch, from trunk to trunk. They didn’t have the patience to walk, apparently, and Jack jogged to keep up. The branches above creaked from the weight of those beefy bodies.
As they dove deeper, more monkeys appeared. Some stared at Jack warily and held dry poop in their hands, ready to throw. Others made faces at him, or approached to inspect him. One l...
2022-11-27 11:05:44 +0000 UTC View Post