EdgeCases

Book 3, Chapter 52 - History

"Because I know you," Sev said. "I met you before. I adventured with you. We were friends."

Derivan shifted, and then gently put him down on the ground. Sev took a step forward, not yet completely understanding the memories he'd just unlocked, but working his way through them. There were so...

DRR 19 - Common Sense

I'm just about to cross the border into the Hotspot. The sun is low in the sky; it's the longest I've survived in the loop so far, and the evening sky is painted in shades of blue and silver. It's oddly familiar — the closest thing to home so far.

I don't let myself feel homesick.

T...

DRR 18 - Homesick

When I finish my tale, Mari is silent for a long while. I can see she's struggling with her emotions, and I give her the time she needs. I can't imagine how I'd feel in her position.

The first question she asks surprises me still.

"No raid this time?" she asks. I pull up the Interface...

DRR 17 - Consequences

A Hotspot Tracker, it turns out, does exactly what the Interface says it does — it highlights areas of interest. It's anything from potential raid locations to places that hold boss monsters; sometimes, there are even puzzles that are just built into the world.

"It sounds like they're usi...

DRR 16 - Friend

I have a lot of questions, obviously, but it seems more important to answer the mantis — Ahkelios' — question.

"You're on Hestia 307B," I say, and then add, "I'm Ethan."

I assume he's asking about the planet, at least. I don't have a clue what the particular forest we're in is cal...

DRR 15 - Fragment

When the next loop begins, I die again.

It's not too much of a surprise, I suppose, with my Firmament drained as severely as it is. I can feel small pieces of it sparking to life, trying to collect into Tough Body and give me a fraction of resistance, but all that happens is that the mantis...

Book 3, Chapter 51 - Battle Flow

The skill took effect almost immediately. Misa felt the world slow down around her, like everything was falling into focus; around her was only Vex, Jakos, and herself.

And her remaining clones, of course. There were five of them, spread out in a circle around Jakos, two of them keeping clo...

DRR 14 - New Feature Unlocked

We're on a timer.

I know this because the Lament's neck hasn't healed from the Firmament infusion. She's still bleeding, and bleeding profusely — I suspect it's some combination of Firmament and pure willpower that's keeping her conscious right now. Her neck is ruined, so my hope is that ...

DRR 13 - Boss Fight

The ten harpies around the borders of the village pose almost no threat to me now. It's almost disconcerting to think about how quickly I've grown — and yet I don't know if it's enough.

None of the other kills give me a single credit, and it's both disappointing and a relief at t...

DRR 12 - Third Try

This time, I head for Tarin's house immediately. Triplestep lets me reach the crows in record time — I reach the Cliffside Crows in just under an hour, leaving eleven on the clock until the raid begins.

Tarin, I know, is still asleep. But there isn't any time to waste, and so I barge into...

DRR 11 - Banking Skills

I wake up, roll out of the way, and activate Temporal Echo. With diminishing returns being what they are, it's no longer worth fighting the mantis myself — and besides, I don't trust myself not to make a mistake. My mind is still spinning, going over those last few moments again and again.

DRR 10 - Melody

I spin and charge for the center of the village, where I know both Mari and Tarin are. A part of me desperately hopes I'm not too late, even knowing that I can't be — that there will be another chance. Seven loops, it seems, are not quite enough for the brain to recognize that there wi...

DRR 9 - Take Two

I spar a few times over the course of the next few hours. Tarin is astonishingly spry and quick on his feet, and recovers in mere moments. It's an effect of his Firmament, he's explained, though his manipulation of it isn't particularly involved.

Apparently, basic Firmament manipulation is ...

DRR 8 - Ready or Not

I don't need the skill to do much. I need it to push Tarin off balance and give me an opening.

This version of my past self is more than enough.

Firmament gathers in a sudden wave, and I see the way the old crow's attention suddenly shifts, confused by the sudden manifestation. I don'...

DRR 7 - Training

Surprisingly, it doesn't actually take much effort to convince him. Tarin gives me a single sharp nod, interrupting my thoughts on what the best means of convincing him will be. "Okay. Raid happening. Need fight. Explain how we die?"

I'm a little thrown for a moment, mostly from how quickly...

DRR 6 - Two More Tries

Awareness filters in, and I force myself to roll out of the way just in time. Something in my body aches, like I've pushed it too hard; I've never started a loop like this before, but I don't have time to think about it.

Two tries left.

I don't bother with Temporal E...

DRR 5 - And Again

[ CRITICAL ROLL. ]

The words are vibrant and bright, almost impossibly clear in my fading vision — like it's intruding directly on my mind. I don't have the energy to process what it means. There's more to rolling for a stat-skill than I thought there was, clearly, but wh...

DRR 4 - Determination

A number of the crow-people here are fighters; they all step forward, holding rickety spears that I assume are Firmament-enhanced. There's no guarantee they've stayed that way, though. I remember quite clearly the way the chairs just failed and fell apart, and there's no reason this will be any d...

DRR 3 - Stakes

I wake with a gasp. The nature of my death leaves me rattled, and I only barely roll out of the way in time; I can feel the wind of the mantis' scythe brushing just past my ear as I do so.

And yet, something is different. It's nothing easily placed, just a strangeness in the way the air fee...

DRR 2 - Ripples in Time

The next step is pretty obvious — figure out what these new skills do. There's a thrumming in my body that I assume is this Firmament thing, and it's aggravating in the sense that it makes all my injuries feel worse. The energy courses through my body, and every little scrape and bruis...

DIE. RESPAWN. REPEAT. 1 - Die, Die, and Die Again

Author's Note: Making a quick edit here since this is the first result when searching! I have an edited epub for Book 2 you can download here; the unedited version is also free on 2023-04-05 13:56:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Book 3, Chapter 50 - Battle Orc

Jakos was not willing to talk.

Apparently, he wasn't one for words at all. The moment Misa and Vex appeared behind him, he let out a guttural roar of what Misa was pretty sure was excitement — which was disturbing enough as it was.

Then he sped towards them, almost too fast...

Book 3, Chapter 49 - Platinum

"What do you want?" Sev's tone was cautious, guarded. He wasn't afraid. Liz was a Platinum ranker, but his team was more than capable of fighting a single Platinum-ranker, at this point. The biggest issue here was information disparity — he didn't know what Liz could do, but Liz might have a go...

Book 3, Chapter 48 - Unknown Forces

Sev winced as what felt like a thousand mental cries — maybe more — suddenly slammed into him; if he hadn't experienced nearly exactly this dozens of times by his own volition, his mind might have cracked from the force of it. As it was, his eyes widened and he stumbled back, his back almost ...

Book 3, Chapter 47 - Domain

"Okay, I know we thought Wisfield was up to something, but this is fucking ridiculous," Helix panted.

He wasn't the only one. Larok and Kirsa were both out of breath, too; the three of them had been doing nothing but running for the past half-hour or so, and their legs wer...

Book 3, Chapter 46 - Boss Fight Redux

The transition from bonus room back to Elyra was one of chaos. Derivan was certain the transition to the bonus room had not nearly been so jarring — but then, they'd been escaping Irvis at the time.

When the boundary of the bonus room had snapped closed around them, flesh had sta...

Book 3, Chapter 45 - Jailbreak

Helix sat in his cell, bored out of his mind.

He'd had almost no visitors after Karix. A small human came in every day to feed him his food — and really, it was demeaning, to have to be fed. They didn't seem willing to uncuff him and let him eat on his own, and Helix wasn't willing to let...

Book 3, Chapter 44 - Armed and Ready

"You're the one who awakened me," the armor said.

"I am, yes." Derivan stepped forward — he didn't sense any ill intent from the armor he'd awakened, as impulsive as the act had been. The armor stared at him for a moment, considering him, and then gave him a slight nod.

"I've chosen...

Book 3, Chapter 43 - Orbs Again

The door slamming behind them made all four adventurers pull out their weapons cautiously.

"Never had a door slam on me in a dungeon and have it not be a signal for a boss fight," Misa muttered, and the others made various noises of agreement. "Think we're going to get attacked by ...

Book 3, Chapter 42 - Interlude - Evacuation

"Ma'am, please," Helix said.

He was in charge of the evacuation. Of course he was in charge of the evacuation. Syvila had said it was because he was a noble, and his status would help some of the people trust him.

As far as Helix was concerned, he was about fifty-fifty on tha...