Drifting Embers

[MGM]: 22 - A Flaming Strategy

Jacob sheathed his sword, droplets of blood cascading down the sharp edge and intermixing with the muddy sludge, a direct cause of the thunderous rain that had lasted through the night and origin of much of their problems.

Right beside him stood his acolytes, each nearing the peak of E-Rank and holding the banner of the Red Tower, a subsidiary of the Tower of Spirituality and under direct supervision of Sir Zeke, a genuine Rank-A Knight ...

[MGM]: 21 - Undercurrents

Blood Monarch.

A talent that gave one dominion over blood. Not water, and certainly not liquid in general, just blood. An SSS-Rank talent and yet with such an imposed limitation. One would argue that it was Blood Monarch, not Water or Ocean Monarch. But one would fail to see the true terror of an SSS-Rank talent.

Despite such limitation, it managed to acquire the rank of SSS. How? Why would an SSS-Rank talent provide control over a...

[MGM]: 20 - Epoche

A Dragon Heart is the wellspring of mana. It's as open to the world as the world is open to it. That's why, among all the species, dragons in particular are obsessive, greedy, lustful, and compassionate.

A dragon is oath-bound to the world. It has to return what has been bestowed upon it. Consequently Dragons are rare and much sought after.

"Wait, so dragons aren't evil harbingers of calamity and destruction?" I expressed doubt at ...

[MGM]: 19 - Onwards We March

"Something is wrong."

After hours of walking, a faint seed of suspicion had wormed its way into my heart. For End Forest to look as deserted as it was, even when taking into account the light drizzle, made me wary in a way that set my teeth on edge.

"Is it really that suspicious?" Amara expressed doubt at my skepticism, which was understandable when judging from her perspective. But I knew better. End Forest was a death trap, and w...

[MGM]: 18 - Synchronisation

It was later that night I realized Amara's attempt at humor. The fact she was trying to fool around like that provided a much needed relief. Her acceptance meant progress and progress was everything I desired.

I was well-rested for the night so I opted to remain on the watch, but Amara refused under the pretext that Immortal negated any need for sleep or hunger. It would seem I had sorely underestimated her talents, not und...

[MGM]: 17 - Rain Shower

The dreamy haze lasted moments after I opened my eyes. The sights that welcomed me looked dim and foggy, and my body demanded more rest. I pushed past the reluctance and made to sit up.

"You're awake?" I heard a voice call from beside me and spotted Amara perched atop a boulder as she poked at the flaming lumber. 

I rubbed the sleep off my eyes and felt my parched throat ache in protest. Sporadic spasms of hunger assaulted my ...

[MGM]: 16 - Interlude Amara

Amara remembered the darkness. The omnipresent void of suffocation pulling her in, threatening to snuff out her existence. For a long while, that was the only thing she had known. Everything else existed behind a separate veil, far removed from her senses. A memory that belonged to her, but taken away, caged, and isolated. But she remembered the darkness.

An eternal fall that left her feeling numb, resigned before the inevitability of fa...

[MGM]: 15 - Companion

I wasn't used to dealing with life at such brisk intensity. Even the normal effort left me exhausted and in a grim mood afterward. I didn't know exactly how long I had spent in the cavern, but my stay had to have lasted more than half a day. Add in the previous day, and I hadn't slept for over 24 hours.

Mentally I was spent; physically I felt sore all over. Drained, exhausted, and overall in need of some serious rest. And now I had to de...

[MGM]: 14 - Hasty Mistake

Teleportation Rune worked by virtue of connecting two points in space and shuttling the object or person through the narrowed space channel. It required Void Mana as fuel, which I found out was actually Mana tainted by the essence of a creature with void affinity.

Amara explained to me how the runes inside the chamber worked. Basically, a dragon was an endless well of mana, so as long as they remained breathing, mana would flow. That's w...

[MGM]: 13 - Friends, Maybe?

I knew I shouldn't have doubted her, but only now did I fully understand how wrong I had been.

SSS-Rank.

What exactly did that symbolize? Where did these behemoths stand compared to others? To what extent did their strength reach?

Despite having met a dragon in person, it was only after seeing Amara in action that I realized the massive gulf that divided the masses from these unfathomable existences.

All around the cave...

[MGM]: 12 - Goblin Extermination

"Goblins?" She questioned.

"Yeah, goblins," I answered.

"You're afraid of a bunch of goblins?" She blinked at me.

I hesitated in answering her question. While I certainly wasn't afraid of the monsters behind the door, I could vividly recall their sharp weapons poking holes in my body. And I loathed to admit it, but I was considerably weaker than my previous self, especially in terms of the agility department.

And Amara ...

[MGM]: 11 - What Awaits Beyond

The rest of Amara's talents were as fearsome as regeneration, if not more so. Immortal, besides providing one with eternal life, also made one mentally resilient. An individual with this type of talent would be impervious to fear, death, illusion, the passage of time, and anything that remotely affected one's psyche.

Shadow Dominion turned out to be fairly simple. It provided complete and ut...

[MGM]: 10 - Soul Record

Scouring her profile was easy enough; I just had to focus on her name in my Hunter—I mean, Soul Record. Hmm. The name definitely conveyed a feeling of a personal record rather than a professional profile. It was decided; I would call it Soul Record from this moment on.

Anyway, Amara's Soul Record.

Name: Amara

Race: Vampire [Ascended]

Age:&n...

[MGM]: 9 - Summon Thy Monster

While the rarity of the Origin alluded to the overall potential of a hunter, the level, on the other hand, was indicative of their rank. Level 1 to Level 25 were referred to as E-Rank hunters, while Level 26 to 50 were those at D-Rank.

The ranking wasn't just an arbitrary measure but a tangible divide. Every rank-up would grant a hunter a talent associated with their origin.

I had received Basic Stealth right aft...