Novels by Nurmaria05

The courtyard of the garrison was a symphony of splintering wood and rhythmic, wet tearing. Leon moved like a specter of violence, his boots sliding through a slurry of mud and viscous black ichor. Beside him, Jax swung his shield with a frantic, uncoordinated desperation, his breath coming in sharp, serrated gasps."Leon! Behind you! Left!" Jax screamed, his voice cracking with the strain of holding his position.Leon pivoted without looking, his short-sword whistling through the air in a perfect horizontal arc. The blade carved through the neck of a lunging Rift Stalker before it could close the distance. "Don’t watch the ones in front, Jax! Watch the shadows! They move through the dark!""I can't see them! It’s too chaotic! How are you even spotting them?" Jax yelled, parrying a snap from another creature’s mandibles."Focus on the rhythm! Every time they strike, there's a hum in the air! Listen for it!" Leon barked, his eyes darting across the courtyard, his veins pulsing with the

The heavy iron door of the barracks slammed shut, leaving Leon alone with the silence. The muffled cries of Thomas being dragged down the corridor toward the isolation chambers grew fainter, finally swallowed by the thick stone walls."He's screaming my name, System. Why is it so quiet in here?" Leon whispered, gripping his bed frame until his knuckles turned white."[Host, focus. The soul capacity expansion is initiating. Do not lose your grip on reality,]" the voice responded, indifferent to the suffering outside."Reality? My reality is being rewritten by a god-complex machine," Leon muttered, his teeth gritting together as the sensation of boiling lead poured into his veins. "Did I just trade a boy's life for a few more points in my status bar?""[You traded a variable for a constant. The power you are receiving is permanent. The boy was temporary.]""Cold. You really are just a piece of programming, aren't you?" Leon gasped, falling to his knees as a surge of violet lightning dan

The clinic smelled of acrid herbs and stagnant blood. Leon sat on a wooden stool, his palms wrapped in rough, stained linen, watching the door. The air inside the garrison was suffocating; it was the heavy, static silence that preceded a lightning strike.Kael’s parting words echoed in the small, dim room. Every recruit is being questioned."Leon? You in here?"The voice was thin, reedy, and frantic. Thomas poked his head inside, his face pale and blotchy from crying. He hurried over, ignoring the healer who was busy with a row of wounded soldiers further down the hall."Thomas? What are you doing here? You should be in the barracks resting," Leon said, keeping his voice low."I can’t sleep, Leon. They’re everywhere. The MPs—they’re walking up and down the halls with lists. I heard them talking. They think it was an inside job by someone who knew the guard rotations for the inner keep," Thomas whispered, his hands trembling. "They’re checking everyone’s lockers. They searched Jax’s st

The air in the clearing turned icy as the two-headed monstrosity let out a synchronized, earth-shaking roar. A nearby recruit, paralyzed by the sheer malice radiating from the beast, didn't even have time to scream before a massive, crimson-furred paw swept sideways.CRACK.The soldier was sent hurtling through the air, his body colliding with a pine tree with a sickening thud before sliding into the muck, lifeless."No! Stay focused, Leon! It’s too big!" Thomas wailed, his voice rising to a frantic, broken pitch."Don’t just stand there, Thomas! Get behind that ridge! If you stay in the open, it’ll swat you like a fly!" Leon shouted, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird."What about you? You can't fight that thing alone! It’s a Tier 3, Leon! You’re just a recruit!""Just move! Do you want to be meat on its plate?""I... I can't leave you, Leon! You're already hurt!""Move, or I’ll kill you myself before the bear gets the chance! Go!"Thomas scrambled backward, his

"Get back, Thomas!" Leon screamed, his voice cracking against the damp, heavy fog."Leon! Above you! Look out!" Thomas shrieked, pointing upward with a shaking finger."I see him!" Leon yelled. He planted his back foot deep into the mud and thrust his iron spear upward with both hands. "Come on, you overgrown mutt!"The massive alpha Shadow Wolf slammed down. Its giant, yellow fangs clashed directly against the iron tip of Leon's spear.CRACK."Gah! Damn it!" Leon groaned, his knees buckling under the sheer, crushing weight of the beast. The impact sent a violent vibration rattling up his arms, turning his elbows to jelly."Leon! It's going to crush you!" Thomas screamed, frantically waving his sword but too terrified to step closer. "Push it off! Push it off!""I'm trying!" Leon grunted, his teeth grinding together as he stared into the wolf’s saliva-dripping jaws. "Get out of the way, Thomas!""[Warning: Structural integrity of standard iron spear has dropped to thirty percent. Shaf

"How much further, System?" Leon whispered, his voice barely a breath in the chill night air as his boots lightly touched the gravel below Kael's office window."Answering. Two hundred meters outside the western perimeter wall," the mechanical voice echoed directly in his mind. "The ambient magic density there is exceptionally low, minimizing the risk of detection during the limit break sequence.""Good," Leon muttered, pulling his hood over his face and pressing into the deep shadows of the armory wall. "My chest still feels like it's on fire from that shadow meld trick. I can't afford to get caught now.""Recommendation: Host must maintain a steady pace. The southern patrol route will be active in exactly seven minutes," the system chimed."I'm moving, I'm moving," Leon whispered, darting across the empty courtyard.Within minutes, he slipped through a gap in the wooden palisade, his movements unnaturally fluid thanks to his newly acquired goblin reflexes. The thick, dark canopy of