Novels by GrandDaddy

The mountain didn't just shake; it recoiled. A sound like a thousand glass cathedrals shattering at once ripped through the Great Forge, followed by the deep, grinding groan of stone being forced to yield to geometry."Master! The outer wall! It’s... it’s folding!"Toby was pointing at the massive iron-reinforced bulkhead. It wasn't breaking. It was being rearranged. The rivets were popping out in a perfect sequence, and the heavy plating was bending into sharp, clean triangles. It looked less like destruction and more like origami."It’s not attacking the wall, Toby. It’s solving it."I gripped the edge of my workbench, my right hand throbbing with a phantom heat. Through the jagged gap in the masonry, I saw it. The Logic Beast was a nightmare of white-hot lines and shifting scrap. It stood forty feet tall, its legs composed of thousands of perfectly aligned girders that moved with a terrifying, fluid precision. It didn't have a face, only a central core of spinning red light that ca

The Great Forge groaned, a deep, metal-on-metal scream that vibrated through the soles of my boots. It wasn't the rhythmic purr of the Mana Heart anymore; it was the sound of a beast being choked."Master, the intake valves are melting! We can't put rubber and treated resin into the primary furnace! The lining wasn't built for this kind of chemical heat!"Toby was screaming over the roar of the fire, his face slick with a mixture of sweat and black soot. He was holding a shovel like a spear, staring at the mountain of 'unclean' scrap we’d piled in front of the main chute. Old tires, canisters of half-solidified industrial sludge, piles of oily rags, and rusted canisters of heaven-knows-what."It’s not a furnace anymore, Toby! It’s an exhaust pipe! Feed it!"I grabbed a cluster of tangled, grease-choked wires and heaved them into the maw of the fire. The flames, usually a healthy, vibrant orange, vomited a plume of thick, oily purple smoke that swirled toward the ceiling."The filters!

The air inside the Great Forge didn't taste like soot anymore. It tasted like bleach and static. I stood at the high balcony, staring down at the main floor where a scavenger named Kael sat on a stool. He wasn’t shivering, despite the frost still clinging to his tattered coat. He wasn’t coughing. He was simply... still. Too still."He hasn’t blinked in twenty minutes, Master."Toby’s voice was a jagged whisper. He stayed five feet away from the man, clutching a heavy iron wrench like a holy relic."Twenty-two minutes, Toby. Let’s be precise."I didn't mean for my voice to sound that cold. I didn't mean for the word 'precise' to ring out with such metallic clarity. I rubbed my right hand against my thigh, trying to ignore the way my fingers were twitching in a perfect, repeating Fibonacci sequence."Precision is the problem, Chase."Sylvia stepped out of the shadows, her Star Keel glowing a dim, warning orange. She didn't look at Kael; she looked at the floor around his feet."Look at

The Great Forge didn't just hum anymore. It purred. A deep, resonant vibration traveled through the stone floors, up through my boots, and settled right in the center of my chest. It was the sound of a thousand-year-old heart finally finding its rhythm."Master! Look at the copper conduits! They’re... they’re turning blue!"Toby was pointing at the primary distribution hub with a mix of terror and awe. The heavy cables, once caked in layers of black grease and rust, were now glowing with a soft, cerulean light. The frost that had plagued the workshop for weeks was retreating, melting into puddles that shimmered like spilled pearls."That’s not heat, Toby. That’s pressure. Pure, unadulterated Avendor mana."I wiped a smudge of soot from my goggles, but my hand wouldn't stop shaking. It wasn't the tremor of exhaustion this time. It was a sympathetic vibration. Every time the Mana Heart pulsed deep below us, my right hand twitched in perfect sync."But the meters, Master... the needles s

The map spread across the Great Forge’s central table was a disaster of charcoal smudges, oil stains, and jagged lines that barely resembled the geography of the lower levels. I stared at the spot where the Old Refinery met the Avendor foundations, feeling the familiar, rhythmic twitch in my right hand."You’re asking us to walk into a ghost story, Chase."Baron Iron’s voice was like gravel in a gearbox. He slammed a heavy, gilded fist onto the table, making the brass dividers jump."I’m asking you to walk into a power plant," I corrected, not looking up. "The difference is just a matter of how much iron you're carrying."Sister Sine leaned forward, the thermal gel of her robes shimmering in the firelight. "The 'ghosts' you described... they are not spirits. They are echoes. Residual formatting errors from the Spire's collapse. To disturb them is to invite the Grand Equation back into our veins.""They’re already in our veins, Sine. Every time one of our heaters fails or a pump freeze

The air in the refinery shaft didn't just feel cold. It felt heavy, like the atmosphere was being compressed by the sheer weight of the scrap piles above us. I adjusted the strap of my heavy leather satchel, feeling the material rub against my collarbone. My left shoulder was a constant source of static, a dull throb that flared into a sharp prickling sensation every time the temperature dropped. I kept my right hand buried in my pocket, gripping a small brass thermal regulator I had modified to act as a hand warmer. It was a crude piece of work, but it kept my fingers from freezing into useless claws.Watch your step, Chase, Sylvia said. Her voice was a low hum that echoed off the damp iron walls. The grating here is thinner than a rusted shim.I looked down and saw the black abyss between my boots. I can see that, Sylvia. My eyes still work, even if my arm doesn't.She didn't look back, but I saw her shoulders tighten. Just making sure you don't turn into a permanent part of the f

The man also added: "Also, it's best to stay inside until dawn. Otherwise you might attract predators lurking outside."At that point, Liora thanked him and proceeded to walk away from his directions. Once she left, he gave me a friendly wave and continued walking.It leaves us pondering what predators does man mention about, as the village seems to be rather secure with a few guards walking down the area. We wanted to ask more but the man had already gone…Even if we're a bit confused, Liora decided to follow the man's advice as she doesn't want to get into trouble. Which I agree as well, because I do not think that Liora is in a condition to fight as she barely knows any spells. As she only could cast a fireball and a healing spell, with a fairly limited amount as well due to her mana reserve being small.Plus restocking our supplies is the primary goal here… as Liora needs the extra food and water to continue her training of learning magics.…As we reached the market, the place wa

It's been a few weeks already and it seems like Liora has grasped a few basic fundamentals of casting a spell. She's still not able to cast anything too complicated, but she can at least use the simple spells that are common in most schools of magic—like healing or fireballs. While training her, I do notice that her healing and fire affinity seems to be much stronger than my own. It doesn't seem as if she is using any specific rituals for these abilities though; just standard magical practice should suffice? That might explain why she was so much more powerful the first she casted the fireballs spell at that vampire. And I have no doubt there will come a day when we'll be fighting for our lives, she will be able to protect herself and others around her. So far though, all this practice was also helping me get used to how different it feels from using magic as a Ring; even if you know what you're doing, your body doesn't always react accordingly because it's accustomed to something e

After a while, Liora finally found a place that was good enough for her to start practicing magic. The area was pretty vast and there's nothing that will happen even if Liora messed up some spell.It's better than the previous place that Liora suggested which was near the forest. There's no way I wanted Liora to practice magic there. It was not safe as there was a monster in the forest and what would happen if she failed to control the spell.As I was thinking of teaching her a fire-based spell. If Liora messed up, the whole forest might be consumed by fire and I don't want that to happen.This place was the perfect spot as there's nothing that will burnable things and it's close to a river. There's no nearby village of any sort and I think there's no dangerous monster around here.Even if there's a monster, it will be easily spotted as there's nothing that will obstruct our view. That also makes us quite visible as well but I think Liora could handle some low-level monster pretty fin

"My village has been destroyed by vampires…"As the woman hears that, she looks surprised. "What! Vampires… I thought that creatures wouldn't do that as they hate to gain attention.""So you do not believe them… just like the guards.""It's kinda hard to believe what you're saying, Liora." The woman then puts her hand on Liora's shoulder as she continues to say, "But I trust you, you're not that kind of a girl that would tell lies...""Thank you… I am here to quit my job. I have to pursue the vampire and kill it for the sake of my village.""That I cannot do, you would be killed! Let the guards handle this problem…""The guards wouldn't do anything! I already told them and they all just laughed at me and said it wasn't real." Liora said that."Then, I would go there personally and smack the guards until they listen to you.""No need to do that. I already made up my mind as I would be the one to kill the vampires," Liora said with full determination."You would just die! You're powerle

Seeing that the captain also behaves like this. Liora didn't have much choice but to leave the barrack. Well, I would do the same thing as well. Guards in this town don't even seem to care at all."So, what's now? Straight to training…""No, I have some other things to do first. I wanted to quit my job at the tavern and then we would go to train.""Quit your jobs! Why?" I say that as Liora needed the gold to survive, if she quit her job, that would mean she wouldn't have any gold. Liora's cabin was burned down and all of her valuable stuff was gone, including gold."You asking why? So that I can dedicate myself to training and hunt the vampires down… If the guards don't want to help, I would be the one who was going to do it.""But how're you going to survive? Do you have enough gold left?""It's not much but I think I will manage it. Unless you also had to eat and drink like me, Arvon.""Okay, it's up to you then but there's still a problem… Which is where you're going to stay from n

Liora left the mansion as there's nothing left there. The only thing we could find was the sapphire brooch. I did ask Liora whether she would sell the brooch for some gold.She answered that she wanted to keep the sapphire brooch for herself. It's for her to remind her of what had happened in this village. A keepsake item that Liora wanted to hold on with her.If that was what Liora chose to do, I guess I had no rights to ask her to sell. Besides, the sapphire brooch does have a sentimental value of its own, so I think it's better this way."Okay, what's next? Do you want to start your training right now…" I asked Liora that as she does need to train to become a mage."Let's hold the training first. We must report this to the town. The people in the town need to be aware that there's a vampire around the area. I do not want anyone to die again." Liora said that."You're right, Liora, we should tell the authority about the vampire."Our next destination was the town that was not far fr

"Please! I would do anything for you… just let me out from this cage." The monster said that.I didn't care that much but for a moment, I had some idea in my mind that could make this a lot of fun."If you really would do anything, I do have a request and only if you agree to it, then I will set you free."Even before I stated my request, the monster quickly agreed with it. The beast didn't even know what he had put himself into. Still, I don't care as long I would have some enjoyment out of this.As I am a skeleton of my words, I break the monster free from its cage. I thought that the beast would betray me as soon as I break him open. But it seems that this monster honors my request."What do you want from me?" The monster asks."Easy, kill the human here, of course. I want to see them scream in terror as you slaughter each of them." I laughed after I said that."Are you out of your mind? I would simply be captured again by them… There's no way I could beat them as their master of t

I was then caged into the same spot as these people kept the rest of the skeletons they had captured. I was so surprised that these people actually caught many skeletons and put them in a cage.I tried to talk with my fellow skeletons but none of the skeletons here was replying back to me."Are you dumb? I am talking with you…" I pushed one of the skeletons in front of me as I felt a little bit irritated that all of them were ignoring me.The skeletons didn't react at all as all of them began to stare at me with their dead eyes. I don't why the skeletons just stare at me. Do all of them don't have any intelligence at all?I am sure that all of these skeletons do have some intelligence, as the monster before did tell me there was an undead king in this world. It would be impossible for the undead king to rule all of the undead type monsters if they don't have even a tiny bit of intelligence.How could all of the undead monsters unite under the undead king then? It must be that these sk

I had just realised that I had some item that could be used for levelling up. I got a bunch of that exp stuff in my inventory and with that, I will be in max level in no time.Should I use God Exp or the Hero Exp, each item's name was different and it must lead to different effect while using it. At least that what I have been thinking in my head about these exp items.But it didn't take long for me to make up my mind, I ended up choosing the God Exp. God was much better than Hero and I guess it would make my level up to max much faster. Still, I could select the Hero Exp but I'm trying to see whether I could reach God Status using the God Exp.I then take out all of the Large God Exp and use it all at once. When I had used like 600 of the Large God Exp, there's a notification telling that it couldn't be used anymore. It says that I had already reached the max level.[CHARACTER]>IBUKI KEN>UNDEAD>LEVEL: MAX>HP: MAX>MP: MAX>Physical [Primary/Secondary/Tertiary]Strength: MAXDexte

The problem was God Cahysus was already dead and God Uvel wasn't in this area anymore. With that, Ibuki couldn't get the information he needed. Ibuki was getting frustrated as he doesn't want to stay here any longer.Frustrated as Ibuki was right now. There's nothing he could do in this situation. The only thing he could do now was to play with God Cahysus corpse. But soon Ibuki was bored as God Cahysus body had been chop into tiny little pieces."I'm so bored, how do I escape from this empty white place!" Ibuki says it in a loud voice.He then remembers that he unlocks an achievement and still doesn't know what skill he had right now. Ibuki checked his skill.[Skill Menu]-Instant Scout*-Quick Fist*-Engulfing Flame*-Pain Absorption*-God Authority*"God Authority? What does this skill do..." Ibuki then clicks on the star to see the skill description.God Authority*| Granted the user the Power Of God*"The power of a god? I guess I had to test this out and maybe I could use it to

The invisible magic use by God Uvel deflects the attack. Ibuki was not able to land an attack as God Uvel had saved God Cahysus.God Cahysus aware that and he didn't seem to like the help at all. "What are you doing, you know that the attack would not be able to harm me!""You're fool Cahysus, did you not notice the scythe of the undead... That isn't an ordinary scythe" God Uvel said that.God Cahysus look closely on Ibuki scythe as he then realizes it for himself, he was quite shocked when he sees the scythe. "Undead! Where do you get that weapon from!" God Cahysus said that."Do you think I would tell you where I obtain my SoulCursed scythe, you have to beat me if you really wanted to know," Ibuki said that to taunt God Cahysus.God Cahysus didn't reply as somewhat become much more serious right now. The spear that penetrates Ibuki skeleton body disappeared, God Cahysus stare at Ibuki as more lightning spark around his body. Ibuki knows that God Cahysus was going all out for this on

Ibuki managed to land a hit on God Cahysus but he felt that something was wrong. It was too easy as it's like God Cahysus didn't even try to evade Ibuki attack just now. Ibuki then backs down if that God Cahysus let himself get attacked, it's like the God wanted that Ibuki is in God Cahysus attack range. Because of that, Ibuki instinct told him he needed to back down or get hit instead. His instinct was right, after all, the moment Ibuki back down. A chain of lightning appears in Ibuki position earlier. Ibuki knows that he had been lucky and realizes that he should not let himself be trick or get some damage. "You're good undead. I thought you would be stupid and let yourself be struck by my lightning..." God Cahysus said that. "Of course, who wouldn't notice your dumb plan anyway. Still, it's a good try for a coward God like you. I thought you would fight me honestly." Ibuki said that towards God, Cahysus. Ibuki thought that God Cahysus would remain calm but as soon as the God h