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169 - Staying Alive

From Garg-Ants, we moved on to clearing Blighted Goliath Magbeetles—giant insects with exoskeletons threaded with lava, reminiscent of a Mardukryon’s upper body—from the paths used by NPC Min...

168 - How Sweet

Everywhere I turned, ugly Garg-Ants and their pinchers met me. I couldn’t see Paritor or Melonomi or the cavern anymore. Again and again, my health dropped to a sliver, an inch away from death, o...

167 - Dream Turned Nightmare?

This is going to be easy, I giddily thought as we traversed the cramped tunnels of the Garg-Ants’ nest.

Paritor and Melonomi had higher levels than my previous teammates—Megan an...

166 - Gathering the Dream Team

“There, we now have a healer,” I said to Paritor after we left the chaotic Chief’s Lodge, having signed up for two tunnel-clearing quests and one bodyguard duty. “We’ll meet them by the t...

ADGIT - Ch. 7

“Not exactly this very place,” Aileen corrected herself, sheepishly grinning. “We’re in the inner ward of the Hold. From all historical accounts—” she neglected her history les...

165 - The Courtly Summoner

The Asipu Ancestral Flame Form was among the Ocadule choices presented by Mehubanarath as a reward for the hidden achievement of killing a pack of Mirdabons solo. The other two we...

164 - Anemones on Fire

“Blazing meatballs!” I cursed through clenched teeth. The Damage-over-Time was bad enough; a diminished healing modifier made it worse. I didn’t recast [Greater Pyro Shell] even if it was off...

163 - On the Stage

“You… ugly butt!” I yelled my lame insult at the Buttress. I couldn’t think of a good pun, half surprised and half annoyed by the loss of my [Greater Pyro Shell]. A chunk of AS and my shell...

162 - Party Ants

After exiting Mother Core Online and waking up in the real world—though I wasn’t actually sleeping while playing—I took off the AU-VR Helm, blurted some quick excuse to Jimmy, and rushed back...

ADGIT - Ch. 6

“There’s so many of them!” Clement exclaimed. Hiero held his shoulder and gave him an assuring nod. Clement looked up at Hiero, his eyes stricken with fear though he tried his best to keep co...

161 - Dealing with Infestation

I crisscrossed among the Mirdabon-sized toads with violet shards protruding out their backs, aggroing them to me with [Enraging Call]. Those out of my taunt’s range, I stopped from fleeing with T...

160 - Taking on the Tanking Role

A [Lvl 36 Arcane Blighted Snorf] poked its head out a large crack in the ground, wiggling its purple snout in my direction. I galloped near it, ensuring it was within my [Blight Cloud], and cast [E...

Author’s Retrospective – Book 2

Thank you to all of you for joining the journey of Getting Hard as we finish Book 2!

I have learned a lot these past few months. There were many things I wanted to improve/fix from Book 1, mo...

ADGIT - Ch. 5

Hiero gazed east as the horns sustained their call. Through Molding, he enlarged his eyes into that of the owl king, this time allowing his skull’s sockets to deform and widen to fit them better....

159 - Unhealthy But Hard

My Ancestral Shroud pool had grown nicely, but I should improve it more. Far more. After all, it affected the thickness of [Greater Pyro Shell], my primary tanking skill. Replenishing the AS cost o...

158 - Preparing an Unhealthy Feast

“Of course, I’ll be glad to join,” I said, recalling I hadn’t yet paid Megan, Nitana, and Kezo for the loot they gave me that I sold to Chimi.

Those were from the Blighted monsters we...

157 - Sugary Stone

Smoldering Hooves of Kaghao| Item Level: 25
Relic | Med-Armor | Feet
  220 Armor
  15% Movement Speed
  Leave [Tongues of Flames] in your ...

ADGIT - Ch. 4

“An expelled Gardener,” Hiero clarified, glancing at the throne hall doors to see if they were shut tight. He then strode down the hallway, beckoning Alluverius to follow. “I swear Rebecca ha...

156 - Blue Cheese

We fumbled for another topic afterward, both of us wordlessly agreeing, as if telepathically, not to continue the dating vein. I reminded Eclairs that I had drunk poison before as an experiment. Th...

155 - The Fruity Appointment

“Yes, I did,” I said. “Just in time for the world quest.” I didn’t reveal that I had started it to not give an air of a showoff. And it might be better interaction-wise if Eclairs thought...

154 - The Presentable Herald

Goal #170: Run in a full marathon event with only walking breaks. Before my morning jog, I reviewed my latest capital ‘G’ Goal on The List, my first fitness-related ever.

I did s...

ADGIT - Ch. 3

Hiero had been called many names since he set out, a fledgling self-taught Flesh Molder. Early monikers related to the scar across his left eye. Thought by many to be the remnant of a sword slash s...

153 - Dungeonest Prison

Clip-clop my hooves went as I strolled across the Mardukryon prison. Rooms crudely dug into the rock secured by vertical metal bars lined the left and right sides of the path. Evenly-spaced golden ...

152 - Who to Trust?

Gibil threw his head back and laughed hard before clutching his chest in pain. Once he found his breath, he said, “Jester of a young one, Frost Macaques come in rabid droves to protect their food...

151 - Regicide

I retraced my hoofsteps. Feral Frost Macaques gathered on the branches of the lofty mutated trees bordering the Peely plants. They formed pairs as before. But something was different—they had a c...

150 - Better Late Than Never

[ Loot: 5,359 Artas, (5) Toxic Goop, (2) Vinereaver Prickle, (2) Mardukryon Fur, (8) Blight Tokens ]

After the boss died, players clapped their hands as some annoying people ...

149 - The Mardukryon Horde

The heavy fog ahead lit up as if a fireworks display had started. Shouting mixed with explosions. Mardukryons thundered to the action. We navigated through spiked barricades, stacks of wooden crate...

ADGIT - Ch. 2

“Can we return to the tents outside?” Hiero grumbled to no one, squinting his eyes. The rainbow shimmers gave him a headache, and his blurry left vision wasn’t helping. Could the braids be st...

148 - Man of the Blighting Hour

I first met Bonkakonb in Amberkeld Town with my human character. I thought his name was some language foreign to me, but it turned out he tried to mirror ‘bonk’ but ended up misspelling it. Tha...

147 - The Aftermath

Like a drop of blood on white cloth, the fur of the [Lvl. 1 Mirdabon] turned into an angry red, a distinct blot on the pristine snow. Its level increased to two, and so on, rapidly reaching five. I...