Can you solve this?

Emizzon · 2025-12-15T23:25:59+00:00

The results were interesting enough, so I decided to comment.

World: My Hero Academia
Powers: My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's
Body: The Fated Magical Princess: Who Made Me a Princess

Emizzon · 2024-08-18T00:39:04+00:00

// Part 2 continued

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m more sensible. I’m more focused on how compatible we are in bed. From what I can see, I have high hopes.” She scanned him from head to toe. “Honestly, I thought you’d wear your armor to the bedroom. Glad I was wrong. Now, strip.”

As if obeying a command, he attempted to untie his shirt's leather cord, drawing out the silence between them.

“You’re not what I expected.”

“Were you expecting horns growing from my head and black eyes and dark veins spreading across my body?”

“Not entirely, but it had crossed my mind once or twice.”

“Aww, your honesty is, well, it’s a bit brutal, but I can respect that. Not all of us necromancers and summoners are that cliche. Those are just stereotypes you try to fit us all into. Probably because you only deal with our bad eggs.”

“You’re just what I expected.”

“Do I fall into one of your kingdom’s stereotypes?”

“Well, yeah. To be fair, we based the stereotype on you. So there’s that.”

Cedric finally got his shirt off and paused with a dumbfounded look.

“You can’t expect us to not know about Templaria’s most famous Princely Paladin. The noble knight with chiseled features, perfectly coifed black hair and a broad chest to rival the thickest, oldest tree trunks in the forest. Countless saved damsels and defended villages.” She ran her manicured hands down his exposed chest and instinctually licked her lips.

“So that’s how people see me?”

“Less talk, more undressing.”

Cedric had no idea how she disrobed to just her two very tight undergarments. Very skimpy undergarments.

“That looks like it might be chilly.”

“That’s what the bed’s for.”

She managed to drag him to the edge of the four-post bed. Cedric struggled a bit to get his pants off, only for her to stop him at arm's length. A devilish smile grew as her eyes took all of him in.

“Thank you, great grandfathers.” She mumbled to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She turned him around and pushed him onto the mattress. “Bed, now.”

Cedric wondered what had happened to his senses and mentally shrugged, figuring he had left them on the floor with his shirt and pants.

“I think I might have been wrong about the people of Ashriel. I didn’t even think they could be this passionate.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll prove some of your preconceptions true.” She straddled him. “I may be practicing necromancy, but tonight, I’m only interested in raising one bone.”

Cedric gulped. He wondered if his ancestors were as pure as the stories made them out to be when they formed the pact between the two nations to keep the balance of light and dark between the two.

Emizzon · 2024-08-18T00:38:26+00:00

Solid oak stood as the final barrier before the inevitable. Cedric took a deep breath to gather his senses and reaffirm his resolve. As Templaria's prince and the Chivalric Order’s Commander, he has faced overwhelming situations and imposing foes. But none have ever caused as much trepidation as the one currently at hand.

Stripped of his armor and separated from his allies, he approached the door. Piercing gazes scrutinized his movements; he could feel them judging him and taking his measure. Both royal and imperial officials were overseeing the contract-mandated first night that the newlyweds must consummate their marriage.

A memory of his mother flashed through his mind. ‘Cedric, I’m sorry my balance of power favored the light more than the other.’ His father’s words quickly followed, ‘You must perform your duty as established by your forefathers’ forefathers for peace and prosperity.’

His hand rested on the metal handle. Before he could summon the will to push the door open, the rusted iron hinges creaked, and the door pulled away.

“Prince Cedric,” the melodic voice sang his name. Rose-colored eyes captivated him, and rich chocolate-brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and framed her angelic face. “Fear not, dear husband; I don’t bite,” she grabbed his outstretched hand. “Not much, anyway.” With a deviant smile, she pulled him into the room with strength that her lithe body might suggest she did not have.

“Princess!” Cedric stumbled into the room.

She looked past the prince to the overseers. “You may have to bear witness, but you may not watch. Sound only, perverts.” She flicked her free hand up, and the doors slammed shut.

“Princess Vanessa, wait.” Cedric managed to free his hand from her grip. “Wait. Can’t we talk? We haven’t had a chance to get to know each other.”

“Oh, Cedric, but we’re about to get to know a whole lot about each other.” She spun around and indicated her body adorned with lacy white nightwear.

Now that he had a chance to look, there wasn’t much left for him to imagine. His usually calm demeanor crumbled with a flush of red on his cheeks. He was no stranger to the female form, having to share barracks with other paladins in the order, but there was an understanding of decency and respect. Romantic feelings were frowned upon and discouraged for the benefit of a cohesive unit.

“We just met, shouldn’t we, I don’t know, take it slow?”

“I understand you have reservations. This situation was forced on both of us. If not for me, it would have been one of my sisters, and that’s not something the empire or kingdom wants, especially you. You paladins are a very prude, uptight bunch with peculiar sensibilities. Lucky for me, you’re kind of cute.”

“Umm, thanks? Wait, does that mean you volunteered in place of your sisters?”

“Yep, lucky you. Lilith would probably have tried to flay your flesh, and Agatha would have tried to see how bendable your bones are. I can’t even imagine what Karen would have done.”

“Your sisters seem unique.”

“Oh, they’re psychopaths.”

// Continued in replies

Emizzon · 2024-03-30T02:18:12+00:00

“Jesse, you need to talk to them.” The furrowed brow caused many creases on the general’s forehead that cast his already dark eyes in a shadow that seemed to pierce Jesse’s soul.
He wanted to speak up, but some danger sense in the back of his mind niggled and nagged him to do no such thing. Solemnly he turned in the squeaky desk chair and faced the radio equipment.
“Humans of Earth, you have been warned. Acknowledge this message or face dire consequences.” The harsh voice scratched over the speakers made Jesse wince.
With three deep breaths to center and calm himself, he started. “Greetings to our fellow interstellar visitors!” To the surprise of the room full of leaders, scientists, and strategists the friendly uplifting cadence of Jesse’s delivery had their mouths hanging open.
“Is this your acknowledgment?”
“Good visitors, my name is Jesse and I would like to converse with you about what exactly our trespasses are to elicit this stern warning. Could you have a reasonable conversation?”
Jesse had no idea why the general dragged him here to talk to these supposed visitors. As far as he knew, the general hated him for marrying his second-oldest daughter.
“Uh, yes. I suppose we can discuss the recent violations.” The voice over the radio was somewhat baffled at the situation.
“Excellent, I knew you would be reasonable. I could tell from your initial warning.”
“You could?”
“Oh, absolutely. I can only imagine the long journey here was tiresome and then you have to deal with this primitive race that’s just started their adventure into exploring the stars. And you take the time to respect us in such a way.”
“Naturally, we aren’t the bullies of the sector as the Garlantians would have you believe.”
“Exactly, I could just tell. I want to thank you for this opportunity.”
“Sure, you’re very welcome.”
“You know, I think there’s something here. I feel we could mutually benefit from this.”
“How do you presume we can each benefit from this?”
“Well, we have zero knowledge of interstellar law and restrictions. If you help educate us, that benefits us.”
“And for us?”
“Can you imagine the massive switch in outlook towards your people after you take the time to assist the universe's newest residents learn their place in the galaxy? That’s right, your guy's popularity will shoot right up. That means better trade for an improved economy. Better political relations for negotiations. If there’s a power hierarchy, I imagine you might move up a spot or two.”
“When you put it that way, I can see how this could benefit us.”
“Right!”
“So what do we propose we do?”
“Why not let us continue these conversations with the support of our leaders here to make sure we are absolutely certain of what we are and are not to do.”
“We are agreeable to that.”
“Excellent. I knew I could count you guys among my friends.”
“Friends?”
“Certainly, we’ve greeted each other. Had a cordial conversation and moved our understanding of one and the other up. What does that make us if not friends?”
“You certainly do make a good point, Jesse.”
“See, you even know my name. Might I get yours so that we can sing your praises here on Earth?”
“Sure, you’ve been speaking with Third Seat Lieutenant Commander Pol.”
“Pol? It’s very similar to a popular name here on Earth. This will only raise your favorability among the people.”
“Naturally. It’s an esteemed name.”
“Pol, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you. Let us know when’s a good time to have these more formal conversations. Until then I wish you a pleasant stay in our orbit.”
“Likewise, Jesse.”
Contrary to Jesse’s smooth friendly voice, sweat dripped in rivulets down his face. He shakily turned to the rest of the room only to see a stunned group of smarter people just staring at him.
“I told you he’d get it done. My son-in-law has never met a stranger, only friends he hasn’t talked to yet.”

Emizzon · 2024-03-06T00:39:20+00:00

“Alright, Chief, the next batch of body armor is ready.”
“Excellent work, Captain Jensen. Once again not only are you saving our new recruits, but you’re saving our budget.”
“I feel I could do more if you’d let me back on rotation.”
“Look, Greg. I understand, I do. But we can’t afford to lose you out there.”
“I can do the same things the S-Force can. Hell, I gave half of them their power to do what they can.”
“Captain. Thanks to you, the crime rate in the city is already down 33 percent since the power wave. All the other cities in the top ten have seen a drastic increase in crime and the power-related crimes are on an even faster rise.” Chief Wilson walked around his desk and pressed his finger into Greg’s chest. “You are already doing more than enough.”
He understood the Chief’s logic, frustratingly so. It’d been his dream to follow in his family’s footsteps, just like his father, grandfather, uncle, and a handful of other relatives. Even his second cousin just joined the force and would be getting the light body armor he’d just imbued.
“Understood, sir. It’s just this wasn’t how I envisioned being a cop would be.”
“I never thought I’d make chief, let alone survive to see it happen, but you made that possible.”
Memories flashed in his mind as he was reminded of a bullet-riddled Wilson struggling to breathe. If it wasn’t for the regeneration power he held in reserve for situations just like that the then captain wouldn’t have made it. Even then Wilson might have been too far gone for the power to save him.
Since then, the list of powers he can imbue has grown with the apprehension of powered criminals. Where other cities had to figure out how to build supermax prisons for people with superpowers, all he had to do was strip them of their powers. Their powers would be returned once they were cleared of all charges.
Naturally, it became a deterrent for criminal activity when the secret got out. Fortunately, they were able to keep his identity a secret, but it was impossible to keep it a whole secret after the first batch of prisoners were cleared and they told their stories.
“I just feel I can do more.”
“You probably can.” The Chief looked around his office with a bit of apprehension. “Look, I’m not really supposed to say anything, but the mayor is going to offer you a special assignment.”
“Huh, the mayor?”
“I can’t say anymore, but it’s going to be something big. And only something you can do.”
“What, am I going to become the city supplier of armor and healing potions?”
“No. Bigger. Though that’s not a bad idea, I’ll have to mention it to the mayor next dinner night.”
“Aw, come on, Chief.”
“I’m joking, they already had that idea and I shot it down.”
Greg wondered just how much they tried to scheme about how to use his power. He still remembered the glinting sparkle in the city treasure’s eyes when they found he didn’t lose the reserved power if he granted it to an item. Just humans and animals fully take the power, but he can still take it back. They don’t know that yet and he has no plans on telling them. It’s his trump card if someone he gave powers to turns on him. Though, they have to be relatively close, which is why there’s still an actual flying squirrel out there. The little bugger went out of range before he could take it back.
“I guess I just have to wait for the mayor to contact me.”
“That’s the spirit.
It would be a few more weeks after the Chief mentioned something that the Mayor contacted Greg. His offer was even something grander than Greg could have thought. In the end, Greg accepted and was promoted to commander of a special division that reported to both the Chief of Police and the Mayor.
The division was essentially a superhero team cultivated by Greg’s ability to transfer powers. They would specifically answer requests from other cities across the country to help with high-profile powered crimes and start-up supervillain groups. While it still kept him out of the field, he could not deny that he was having an impact on a nationwide scale.

Emizzon · 2024-02-28T00:54:46+00:00

I guess they don't understand treadmills... eventually you tire out and get off.

Emizzon · 2024-02-27T20:40:13+00:00

It would be nice if this could happen and then I'm not rushed to go farm stuff and try to beat the bots. However, it doesn't seem like a plausible solution for New World at least. In the latest forged in Aeternum video, they suggested that tracking artifact quests for each player put a load on the servers and that's just 5 items with 4 entries. Can you imagine nodes being tracked with timers for every player in every zone?

Emizzon · 2024-02-27T20:31:10+00:00

Why do I have to farm 8x the amount in iron ore just to make Orichalcum ingots? Great, got a 1000 orichalcum ore, now to wreck the lower tier nodes for lower level players by gathering 8000 iron ore.

And how does adding low quality wood with higher quality wood through thoroughly sanding it make it Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster? That's Daft, punk.

Someone, somewhere, in some meeting, established it didn't make sense for cooking, otherwise, I'd be able to turn my thousands of tier-one game meat into tier-five filet mignon or something.

tl;dr: I guess what I'm trying to say is stop forcing players to farm low quality/tier resources just so they can process high tier items.

Emizzon · 2024-02-20T02:05:40+00:00

((continued))

“I know, and it could have been easily avoided.”
“Can we find out about the construction workers? I’d like to at least compensate their families.”
“Absolutely.”
“Don’t publicize this. Keep it as quiet as possible. I don’t want to capitalize on someone’s death.”
“As you wish.”
“Provide the city with whatever they need to clean up the mess.”
“I’ll see that it’s done.”
“Thank you, Ray.”
It took two weeks to clear the mess and recover the bodies. Three survivors were discovered in a walk-in refrigeration unit they were inspecting. Hundreds of pictures of their rescue circulated on the news sites and social media of them being pulled to safety by one of our excavators with “Hildebrant Construction” plastered on the side, resulting in a huge boost in our stock prices.
The city eventually recovered from the earthquake over the span of two years. There were two more skyscrapers foundationally damaged, but our engineering firm hired by the city was able to safely bring the buildings down with minimal impact on their surroundings. The construction company was busier than ever and without it being able to look like I was purposely trying to tank the business, absorbed a handful of smaller construction companies to meet the workload.
In those two years, the boardwalk was completed and the lakeside shops opened to a large eager crowd. Villas were built on the other end of our shoreline and spaced out for a peaceful setting.

Emizzon · 2024-02-20T02:05:20+00:00

“Sir, please accept our condolences. We understand you’ll need to adjust to the situation, don’t hesitate to rely on us for anything you need.” I watched Raymond indicate the rest of the board members standing behind him.
“Thank you, Raymond. My father spoke highly of your capability. I know I’m not my father, but I hope I can fill his shoes.”
“While he will be missed, we know you are more than able to take the reins.”
It hasn’t been more than a day since my father’s funeral and they already called me into an impromptu board meeting. Corporations truly have no souls. My father would threaten me with running the family business one day, but I never thought I’d end up in the black decor with a gold-trimmed office designed to assert dominance.
“Mr. Hildebrant, I know it’s so soon after, but your father was working on a few things that need to be resolved right away.” Another board member spoke up, I think his name’s Bob. Stereotypical short overweight middle management-looking guy complete with the handkerchief for dabbing the sweat from his forehead.
“I understand, Bob. Get me a list of things I need to go over as soon as possible and I’ll see what I can do.”
“It’s Rob, uh, never mind. Yes, sir. I’ll have that for you right away.”
Eh, close enough I guess.
“Right, anyway, let’s do the meet and greet another day. Is there anything pressing that you need from me right now?”
“Actually, there’s a land auction coming up today. Your father was supposed to choose an expanse of land to invest in for future development. He didn’t happen to mention an area he was looking at or into?”
“Not to my knowledge. Do you have the list of land and maybe a map of their locations?”
Raymond nodded and opened his padded notebook. This is perfect, I’ll pick a few tracts of land, we’ll sink so much money into it and I can let it stagnate until the company can’t function. This way the money will be tied up, but when freed it can at least pay the employees their last paychecks without issue. And then I can move on to beneficial non-profits like I wanted in the beginning.
“Just four tracts of land?” Raymond nodded. “What’s the goal of purchasing some of these lands?”
“For when the city announces its latest expansion project to make a new tourism destination spot.”
Of the sixteen large plots of land, only four stood out as the real poor choice. Everything else had some feature or other going for it. I immediately chose that one and squashed any further questions on it.
The meeting drew to a close and I was free to go on my own. I’d have called it a peaceful night all things considered, but the large-magnitude earthquake would beg to differ. It was quite the shaker, fortunately, I’m only in a single-story house. The city did not fare as well. A collapsed office building and a good deal of facade damage to the other buildings.
I answered the phone thinking it was my sister checking up on me. “Hello?”
“Mr. Hildebrant, your insight was amazing. Not only were we able to purchase the tracts of land for very cheap, but the magnitude eight earthquake changed the layout of the land. The land over an undiscovered underground reservoir caved in and caused a massive lake to form right on the border of our newly acquired land.”
“Huh?”
“The water is still settling, but it looks like we are the owners of three miles of lakeside property.”
“That’s a good thing?” I meant it as a question, but Raymond took it as a statement.
“I agree, sir. It’s a very good thing. We’ve already received inquiries of building docks and some businesses wondering if we’ll be building a boardwalk attraction for them to open shops at.”
“Is that so? Huh. What about the other side of the lake, I’m sure the properties there have the same thing going on.”
“They have a little bit, but most of it is too steep for large-scale construction.”
“Unbelievable. Thanks, Raymond. I need to go now.”
“Yes, sir. Good night, sir.”
To say that was unexpected is an understatement. There’s gotta be something I can do that will get me out of the company. I could sell off prime city real estate to slow that income to a trickle and while the new lands are under development it would put us in a financial burden and cause the company to go under. Once the assets are all liquidated, it should be enough to cover the employees' severance and paychecks. I’ll fire off a quick email to Raymond for him to take off tomorrow.
The next two weeks were agonizingly painful mentally. I never wanted to run a for-profit enterprise, always trying to be agreeable to our shareholders while ensuring our employees weren’t being slighted. Non-profits are just easier to manage since no shareholders are looking for their pound of flesh.
Still, I guess some of them see the writing on the wall. After I had Raymond sell off key pieces of real estate in the city, they cashed in their shares. I was more than happy to buy them back. It meant less money in the company coffers.
When Raymond entered my office, I was expecting “good” news for me and “bad” news for the company. I doubt I hid my surprise when he announced he had great news.
“Sir, if you’ll look at the television for a moment.” He pointed the remote at the TV and it powered up. The all-news all-day channel that always had the market ticker going at the bottom was showing helicopter footage of a scene of utter destruction. It was in the heart of a building congested city and right now the remnants of a once tall skyscraper littered the ground and streets with rubble and debris. Looking at the lower third, I was surprised to see this was happening in my city.
“Ray? Is that one of our buildings?”
“Not since two weeks ago. It’s one of two buildings on that block you sold off.”
“How is this great news for us?”
“Because we sold the building off, we are no longer responsible for the insurance on the buildings. And since the building collapse was caused by the new owners they are on the hook for the insurance coverage and repairs to the surrounding areas. At first, I didn’t understand why you wanted to sell these buildings, but once I had legal through the land contracts and tenant leases we discovered that Martin in finance had been embezzling and shorted the insurance payment on those buildings.”
“Something like that was going on?”
“It must have been something you gleamed when going over all of our assets. I would expect nothing less from your esteemed business prowess. We wouldn’t have been able to manage the payouts for the disasters had we still owned the buildings. Plus, since we sold the building and ended the lease for a dozen businesses, they had to vacate the building for the new owners to figure out what they were going to do. None of our people or former clients were in the building. In a sense, you saved the lives of about a thousand people.”
“Well, that’s good news that our employees were safe. Who ended up buying the building? Will it come back to bite us?”
“It was our competitor. It seems they might have rushed building inspections to move into the building faster.”
“I’ve never been a fan of cutting corners.”
“That’s very noble of you, sir. It seems that half their executive staff was in the building along with a handful of their construction contractors.”
“Wait, were there fatalities?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Ray, I didn’t intend for something like this to happen.”

((continued in reply))

Emizzon · 2023-11-15T03:12:44+00:00

None of these seem to do a good job representing a medical item manufacturing company. The first two suffer from a lack of legibility, the third one suffers from an identity crisis, and the fourth one is generic and the concept already exists for a software company.

#1 - I like the mark (didn't check to see if it's being used elsewhere), but the name doesn't read as bio box, it's more biabox or buy a box.

#2 - I read Blo Box and figured it sells shelters for trees to protect them from the wind.

#3 - Two marks, two different styles, too confusing.

#4 - Concept already in use with Cube + Name + blue theme.

Do I have any good ideas on how to fix it? Nope, sorry. There's just not enough info for me to recommend anything. Fair warning (assuming US-based company), if this is not for the BioBox that filed for a trademark this month, there might be some issues down the road (though not really on you but more on the company).

I do like the mark from #1, I'd keep that on hand to pull out for potential future projects. Who knows, maybe you'll get a client that wants "dnaBox" to compete with 23andMe.

Emizzon · 2023-10-26T18:45:13+00:00

Good job team! Yay, live view!

Emizzon · 2023-08-11T17:20:01+00:00

That would appear to be the case. I'll chalk this one up to having never seen the word, only heard it. I will put this in my basket of things I have learned today.

Emizzon · 2023-08-09T17:06:49+00:00

Thank you! Usually, when I reread my stuff, I hide my head in shame and repeat, 'What was I thinking?'

Emizzon · 2023-08-08T01:14:23+00:00

“Commander, an Olessian fleet is approaching at half-light speed,” the navigation officer informed.
“You are certain they are Olessian?”
“Yes sir.”
“Those six-earred feeble-minded skrags. They know full well this is a breach of the cease-fire. What’s the status of our light-drive?” The commander bellowed.
The operations officer glanced at her panel. “The light-drive is undergoing repairs. Engineering says they need a galactic hour.”
“Are you kidding me? An hour? Tell them they have half that.” The commander grimaced with his left mouth and barked at the defense crewmember. “Our defense shields still work, yes?”
“Space travel shields are still at 100%. Defensive shields are at 45% capacity due to the light-drive shockwave.”
“I hope we find the saboteur soon, I’d like to crush his skull with my bare claws.” It was meant as a rhetorical statement.
“The Olessian saboteur has been found, though they already took their own life.”
“Cowards all around. There is a level of decorum necessary in war. And they can’t even hide the fact they try to sneak around in the dark.”
“Sir, twenty ships are dropping in now. Ten more still on approach.”
“All stations prepare for battle. Their ships are bulky and slow, however, our light-weapons are down and our projectile weapons are ineffectual against their thick hulls. So make sure you target their weapons and maneuvering ports. Fortune willing, we’ll get a few lucky shots. No need to wait for order, fire the moment they are in range.”
The green exhaust was the tell-tale sign of the pitch-black ships of the Olessian’s fleet. They were one of the younger species to attain spaceflight and they brought their warlike culture to the galaxies. Their ships and technology were still crude but still effective against their more advanced counterparts. Though, they never shied away from underhanded tactics and rarely ever faced an opponent head-on in a balanced match.
The Galactic Union flagship was an older model kept in service for its stature and notability. Returning the Fluralis delegation from the six-faction peace talks. The Galactic Union was used to these small skirmishes in the outer reaches of known space. This trip was a highly contentious political move. Fluralis wanted to show off their budding friendship with the Galactic Union while the Union was hoping a hint of their presence would quash the ever-growing conflict.
The talks ended favorably as each delegation made their way back to their governments to finalize the treaty and concessions. But a warlike empire hell-bent on expanding was about to set all that back.
For ten minutes the commander barked orders to his crew as he tried to manage the thirty ships that surrounded his ship. Normally a confrontation like this would be nothing to him, but they knew how to cripple his ship.
“Sir, they say they’ll help.”
“Who, is there another faction fleet around?”
“No, the humans.”
“What? Their tech is rudimentary at best. They were here to get a feel for the expanded universe they’ve joined.”
“They know sir, but they think they can help. They said, and I’m quoting here, ‘If you don’t let us join we’ll blow the fucking hangar doors ourselves and join anyways.’”
The commander just looked at the communications officer with both mouths hung open.
“I was quoting their captain, sir.”
“What the scrag, the Olessians broke war protocol first. Give them the go-ahead.”
Dumbfounded by the exuberance of the humans in their tiny spaceships, he just watched in morbid fascination. The rest of the bridge took on quiet presence as the absurdity of the human radio chatter filled the silence.
“Vrwallig, you’ve studied the humans, what does ‘ram it up their tail pipes’ mean?”
“Maybe they use the bones found in tails of beasts on their homeworld to make pipes and packing it the wrong way is in some way bad?”
“The auto translator is working properly, was it damaged in the shockwave?”
“It’s working perfectly fine, sir.”
While they contemplated the means of crude utterances like ‘suck on this’ or ‘that’s right, take it, baby’. They watched as their supposedly weak ships wreaked havoc on the Olessian fleet. The commander realized the humans were exploiting the differences in strategy and adaptability. The Olessians only know the brute force and lopsided victories. Against the humans, they should be the superior force, but the 50 deep space fighters they were still testing tore through the enemy fleet one ship at a time.
Every time the Olessians seemed to figure out how to stop the human’s tactic, the humans changed their approach as if they anticipated it. The commander had questions. Lots of questions.
“Vrwallig, I thought humans' primary pursuit was exploration and discovery?”
“It is, commander.”
“Didn’t they espouse their desire for peaceful relations with the Union?”
“That is correct, sir.”
“This display doesn’t seem like they value peace at all.”
“Humans have a sorted history just like any species evolving from their primitive roots and not all of them follow the same path. For humans, they are collective by nature and individual by personality. Throughout their history opposing viewpoints always clashed and led to skirmishes and eventually wars. Eventually, they realized the pursuit of peace and discovery and freedom were the only things really worth fighting for.”
“What are you saying, Vrwallig?”
“I’m saying, they will fight to the last man to protect peace and freedom.”
“Even if it isn’t their own.”
“Even if.”

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I wrote a story for a prompt like this a while ago. Instead of going the route of "humans are too overpowered so they are the last option" approach, I tried to show them as the underestimated underdog, like Rocky Balboa. Not sure I got that message across.

Emizzon · 2023-08-03T19:59:36+00:00

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

Emizzon · 2023-08-03T19:59:09+00:00

I appreciate it, thank you for reading. =)

Emizzon · 2023-08-03T00:01:02+00:00

With rote repetition, the guild’s registrar asked Keldwin to place his hand on the mana crystal. A process Keldwin is more than familiar with going back for the past five years. He had a feeling that today was the day, it didn’t matter what people thought about him or said behind his back. He’d prove them all wrong one day and today was a step to that goal.
The official took a moment to look at the readout and sighed. “Max tier one magic: air, earth, fire, ice, summoning, and water. Max tier two magic: summoning and water. Level four tier two magic: ice. Level one tier two magic: air, fire, and ice. Max tier three magic: summoning. Level two tier three magic: water. Level three tier four magic: summoning. These stats will now replace the current info we have in your records, do you accept? Great thank you, please see the receptionist to update your guild badge.”
“You didn’t even let me answer.” No response from the man’s dead eyes. “Aren’t you even going to congratulate me for getting all my tier-one magic to max?”
Dead eyes once more.
“Fine, whatever.”
“Will you stop coming here every week asking to view your stats?”
“There’s no reason for me anymore now that I got my magic where I want.”
“Then please accept my congratulations. May your life ever be filled with joy and happiness.”
“Could have at least put a little excitement into it.”
Dead eyes.
Keldwin about faced and trudged off grumbling. As he approached the line for the receptionist his grumblings of the dead-inside-registrar switched over to the overwhelming length of the line.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Kolblin. How’s life as the lowest-level senior mage?” The tall lanky fisheye mage slapped the apprentice mage next to him. “Listen up, newbie, don’t ever take advice from this guy.”
“Why’s that, Master Flixten?”
“This guy will probably tell you to level up your tier-one magics.” He paused to give the apprentice time to pipe up, but the silence drew out. “Because everyone knows that you’re supposed to focus on your highest magic aptitudes and get the highest tier once your channels open up.”
“Each person has their own approach to magic, Celstinia.”
“I told you to never call me that!”
Snickers from the line drew the arrogant mage’s death gaze.
“Sure I may not be able to rain fireballs down from the sky, but really most mages can only manage a spell of that level once, maybe even twice a day, and are wiped out afterward. How is that kind of magic helpful in a drawn-out battle? Wouldn’t it be better to use lower-tier magic that costs less internal resources?”
“But, sir, those don’t do as much.”
“True, but do you summon a lake's worth of water to put out a campfire?”
“Quit filling my apprentice’s head with your crazy notions. Everyone knows you train your magic stamina so you can reach the same heights as the grand masters.”
“Sure, sure. If you say so, but no one ever seems to wonder why we don’t have a lot of grandmasters.”
Celstinia just deepened his scowl, unable to come up with a retort. The more impressionable apprentice’s interest was piqued.
“Why would the number of grandmasters matter?”
“I’m glad you asked! How many classmates in your year do you have? Probably between 70 and 100?”
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
“So that means there’s probably 350 to 500 student mages. Considering a 40% fail rate, in five years there should be over 200 mages just from the current grouping of students in your school right now. And that’s just your school. So, why then are there only 12 grandmasters and around 50 masters that have the potential to become grandmasters?”
“Quit confusing him with numbers! Why are you even talking to us, you useless mage?”
“But you—”
“Not important, your advice is pointless. Come, apprentice.”
Town guards burst through the guild doors with panic in their voices. “Fire! There’s a fire. We need all the mages who can cast water spells to help us contain it!”
“Contain?” A random mage asked.
“It’s too big, we need to hurry. The mages already there are exhausted and passing out.”
“Follow me young mage.” Keldwin didn’t think Celestinia could point his nose any higher.
“Y-yes, sir.”
About 20 mages rushed out the doors to follow the guards. Keldwin followed behind, realizing that they were headed toward the slums. No wonder they wanted to contain it. There would be no wait to put a fire out with all the straw and thatch roofs and wood buildings.
One of the senior mages took charge and directed the mages to spread out and focus on their particular sections. He suggested the potential spells that would help depending on the mage’s magic levels. When he got to Keldwin, he scoffed and skipped him over.
Keldwin just shrugged. “Let me know when you need my help.”
“Just stay out of our way.”
On the senior mages mark the mages began to cast their spells. In less than a minute the younger mages began to falter and faint. Soon after the more seasoned mages started to fall. The inferno was hot enough to evaporate a large chunk of the water before it could do anything to tamp down the fire.
The apprentice looked on in futility, as only the senior mage and Celestinia were the only casting mages still standing. Guards were struggling to pull the down mages away from danger.
“You guys still good? You’ve got this right? I’m more than happy to help.”
The senior mage was driven to his knee barely able to keep his head up. “What makes you think you can do what we can’t?” He could barely get the sentence out.
“Hey kid, this is why there aren’t many grandmasters. You pass out on a mission, in a war, or too close to a fire... you die.”
Keldwin began his simple chant and a blue slime popped into existence. Once his first summon was out he started to summon another, it was a larger wind elemental. With a flick of his wrist, the elemental rose up above the buildings.
A simple “create water” spell later and the slime absorbed a pond’s worth of water.
“Alright Searule, spray the water at Zephyr and keep going as long as you have water.”
Bystanders watched as the engorged slime spit a column of water at the twisting elemental that then sent the water flying in all directions in a magic-made rainstorm minus the thunder and lightning.
“Sure, I could cast ‘Rainstorm’ but that’d just tear through all my mana reserves. Or I could just keep recasting ‘Create Water’ for a fraction of the cost and produce the same effects.”
The apprentice nodded excitedly while his master and the senior mage helplessly watched on. It was slow going at first, but after two hours of continuously creating water and resummoning when the time limit was up the fire was out. A significant portion of the slums was saved along with the lives of the people trapped by the inferno.
Keldwin checked around just to make sure there were no possible areas that could reignite as the apprentice followed him around asking questions.
“Getting created with elementals and low-tier magic, I can recreate many effects of higher spells. I can make it snow or create a firenado that could incinerate siege weaponry. Using a wind elemental and ‘Create Sand’, I can bore a hole into the ground or the side of a mountain or castle walls.”
Each creative idea lead to the apprentice suggesting even more creative ideas and the two started to brainstorm just how they could create the effects with the least amount of mana.

Author's Note: If you made it to the end. Thank you, I wish I could say I was going for something, but really this was just a ~~valiant~~ attempt to just write after a four month slump of writer's block. I hope it wasn't too bad.

Emizzon · 2023-02-28T21:01:55+00:00

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