Apocalypse Tamer

When Basil Bohen woke up, his world had changed.

The day started like the one where civilization first ended: with a black Bombay cat kneading his back and howling for breakfast.

“Yeah yeah, gimme a second,” Basil grumbled as he rose out of bed. Plato immediately bolted out of the room and towards the kitchen. “Some things never change.”

After rubbing his tired eyelids, Basil strode out of the bedroom and moved on to the well-stocked kitchen. It felt like a lifetime ago since he last walked the rooms of René’s house. The Trimurti had rebuilt it from scratch, down to the very last brick. Basil could almost smell the nostalgia in the air.

He had grown weary of it.

Basil prepared breakfast behind his counter, the dim morning light falling through his window. A peaceful emerald aurora glowed in the sky. It meshed well with the greenery outside and soothed Basil’s heart.

“There.” Basil gave his cat a bowl of food. “Be ready, our visitors will arrive at noon.”

His cat nodded without a word and then quickly buried his nose into the food. Basil couldn’t suppress a smile.

After taking a shower and stocking the last of his belongings into his inventory—except for his Renault—Basil patiently waited for his visitors to arrive. He sat on the threshold, sipping his coffee cup to the tune of birds signing across the marshes. He had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed the Barthe’s simple, natural beauty. He would miss it dearly.

A familiar black Mercedes drove along the path leading to the house and stopped quietly by. The driver, a petite woman still wearing her gendarme uniform, stepped down first. Her new boyfriend followed after her alongside his little daughter. He was an unassuming man with short red hair and glasses. His eyes darted around at the greenery, which he was clearly unused to.

It felt so strange to see Benjamin missing his horns and wings.

“Welcome to your new home, Officer Elissalde.” Basil warmly shook the driver’s hand. “Are these your companion and stepdaughter?”

“They arrived straight from Paris,” Neria replied with a kind smile. She put a hand on the child following her. “Come on Celia, say hello to Mr. Bohen.”

“Hello,” the little girl said shyly. She looked so much like her father, with inquisitive eyes and short black hair. “What level are you, Mister?”

“Celia!” Neria scolded her. “That’s not something you ask of strangers!”

“I do admit I am curious too.” Benjamin examined Basil quietly, his eyes sharp as an eagle’s. “I possess a Perk that allows me to see someone’s classes and levels, but it says yours is too high to analyze. This is the first time such thing has happened to me.”

“Let’s just say I’ve gone through a lot of adventures in the past few months,” Basil replied evasively. “I’m not a social person, so my cat and I had plenty of time to do Quests.”

Celia’s eyes lit up when he mentioned Plato. The Bombay cat emerged from the house as if on cue, much to the child’s delight. “He’s so beautiful,” she whispered before quickly scratching his ears. Plato, never one to miss an opportunity to be spoiled, let her touch him. “What’s his name?”

“Plato,” Basil answered, smirking. “He’s quite the glutton, but he kept me safe in troubled times.”

Plato glared at him in silence while basking in Celia’s adoration.

“The last few months have been strange for us all,” Neria said. “I’m still not used to the System, nor the fact a dungeon sprang up so close to Dax of all places.”

Benjamin nodded sharply. “It’s been over six months since the System appeared, and we still understand little of it.”

If only he knew he helped design it once, Basil mused. “Neria told me you came here to study the Barthe’s dungeon?”

“The French head of the European Dungeon Management Agency, General Leblanc, personally assigned me to monitor this place.” Benjamin smiled at his girlfriend. “Though I suspect he mostly transferred me there so that I might settle with Neria.”

“Thankfully, I knew a few friends in Bordeaux who have the General’s ear,” Neria replied coyly. “Your sale offer came in the nick of time, Mr. Bohen. It felt like fate at work.”

“Is that so?” Basil mused. “Well, you’ll find no closer place to the dungeon than this one.”

“What can you tell us of it?” Benjamin asked, suddenly tense. He probably worried for his child’s safety. “Should we expect to raise a fence?”

Basil shook his head. “Most critters here are completely harmless, and the goblins are good neighbors so long as you respect their personal space. They’ll even let you explore the dungeon’s depths if you ask nicely.”

Basil would never have expected to get along with the little bastards, but most monsters turned out to be quite friendly when not born with the instinctive urge to kill Players.

“I put in a good word with the local tribe for your arrival,” Basil said. “They’re fond of jerky, so I suggest introducing yourselves by inviting them to a feast for introductions. Once you do, you’ll become part of the tribe in all but name.”

“Goblins?” Celia asked, suddenly interested. “Do they ride flying pigs? I’ve heard they do that.”

“No, but they train horned rabbits,” Basil replied with amusement. “I keep a few in my backyard, if you want to pet one.”

Celia immediately lost interest in Plato, much to his annoyance. “Can I go, Father?”

“I have no objection,” her father replied calmly. “Mr. Bohen can give us a tour of the house in the meantime.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Basil replied before inviting them inside. “This way please.”

The visit was short and to the point. While it pleased Basil to see Neria and Benjamin happy, their presence in the house left him unsettled.

It had been nearly four weeks since the Trimurti recreated the world, and Basil mostly spent them putting his affairs in order and checking on his old acquaintances.

As it turned out, these reincarnated people were strangers to him. They wore the same face as the people he once knew, but retained neither their memories nor history. They kept similar mannerisms, enough to make Basil uneasy in their presence, but there were subtle differences in their behavior that betrayed the illusion. Simeon led an adventurer guild in Bulgaria, one that earned fame for teaming up with dragons rather than killing them; General Leblanc managed the new agency in charge of dealing with System-related phenomena; Benjamin met Neria years before the System appeared while on vacation and recently decided to move in with her.

As the Trimurti said, they’d all earned a new chance at a happy life, freed from their bitter past.

A pity Basil no longer fit in it. As far as Neria knew, they had only met a few weeks ago when she approached him about potentially buying his house.

Their battle-forged friendship now only existed in his memories.

“I remember you saying you expected a fourth person?” Basil asked as he showed Benjamin and Neria the guest room. He briefly peeked through the window to check on Celia, finding her playing with his horned rabbits under Plato’s watch. “Will they be arriving soon?”

“Celia’s Tunisian penpal will spend the summer with us, but she won’t arrive before the month’s end,” Benjamin replied with a groan. “Her cat Misha has more levels than all of us combined.”

“At this rate, cats will reach level 30 before humans do,” Neria said. “The highest level recorded so far is 27.”

Basil wondered how they would react if he revealed his true level. Level progression in the new Trimurti System was painfully slow, especially since experience gains had been divorced from the act of murder. Fighting provided experience, but the System saw no difference between a sports competition and a fight to the death. It rewarded increasing skills, not the act of shedding blood.

As a result, many people leveled up without ever meeting a monster. Musicians gained experience playing their craft; gardeners raised happy vegetables that could talk to them; alchemists became better at brewing medicine with each life saved. The idea that one could slaughter their way to godhood was relegated to the most condemned of conspiracy theories.

Neither had the appearance of dungeons caused society to collapse. Since they no longer felt the urge to kill for levels, many monsters were more than willing to coexist peacefully with humankind; while the army and police could handle those that remained hostile. Dungeon cores—the strange runestones that replaced Neurotowers—were an energy resource waiting to be exploited, as oil and uranium before them.

The appearance of dungeons was no longer a tragedy, but a change. Much like the industrial revolution altered the course of history, the System had become something to seize rather than to suffer through. Europe, the USA, China… all power blocks across the world not only survived its appearance, but studied how they could benefit from it.

Some things won’t change though, Basil thought. He had heard many officials discuss the System’s potential for warfare, how it would change the world’s power balance, and how crafter-made AI might one day take over the world. Even without Dis, fear and greed endure.

But Basil kept faith. He knew things would eventually improve. After all, mankind had bounced back from its own utter annihilation. The human spirit could overcome even its darker nature, given time.

“I’m quite surprised you’re selling this house at all,” Benjamin noted after completing the tour. The rune-powered generator in the basement particularly impressed him. “You could earn three times more than your current price.”

“It’s not a question of money,” Basil replied. “This house belonged to a dear friend of mine. I wanted the new owners to treat it with the respect it deserves.”

“We will,” Neria reassured him kindly. “I promise you that your faith in us isn’t misplaced. We will take good care of this house.”

Basil smiled. “I know.”

“How so?” Benjamin asked with a frown. “I appreciate the trust you’ve shown us, but you seem awfully confident.”

“Call it a gut feeling. But I assure you that I didn’t make the decision lightly.” Basil had seen these two at their best and worst; they would treat René’s legacy with respect. “I’m about to move somewhere far away, and I don’t think I’ll ever come back. This place carries memories dear to me, and I wanted to entrust it to good people.”

“Memories…” Neria’s eyes wandered to the window and the brilliant aurora in the sky. “I’ve heard someone tell me once that once a friend departs, all we have left are memories. It is through them that we maintain an eternal bond with the dead.”

Basil’s smile faded away slightly. “Yes,” he replied to this former friend, who returned from the dead, “that’s a nice way to say it. An eternal bond.”

Afterward, Basil gave the couple a rundown on how to raise his poultry and rabbits—though he had the feeling little Celia would do much of it herself—gave them the key, and departed the house. He drove away in his Renault with Plato occupying the seat next to him.

Basil gave the house one last glance on the way out, one without bitterness nor sorrow. He had already said goodbye to its first incarnation in another lifetime, after watching it burn away. René’s home would enjoy a second life too, with a new guard kind enough to see it prosper. He hoped Neria and Benjamin could make happy memories of their own there.

“Plato?” Basil asked as they drove through the marsh.

“What?” his best friend answered.

“How long do you intend to sulk?”

“Until the end of time.” The cat dropped the illusion he had clad himself in and revealed his true self: an adorable Rakshasa kitten, whose eyes were brimming with sadness and frustration. “I was a smilodon, Basil! A sabertoothy tigergod of the hunt! This is unjust!”

“Artemis’ divine essence had to go back home at some point,” Basil pointed out. He was mourning his lost halberd, and had yet to choose another Soulbound Weapon to replace it with. Without Dis to keep them bound to Earth, the old gods of Olympus vanished after the Trimurti recreated Earth. “You’re still the most powerful feline on the planet.”

So strong, in fact, that he had to disguise himself as a normal cat so as not to spook the locals.

“But Bugsy kept his wings! Why couldn’t I keep my fangs?” Plato started grooming himself to destress. “No amount of saliva can lick away my suffering!”

“Your appearance doesn’t matter to me, Plato.” Basil gently scratched his friend behind the ears. “You’ll always be a tiger king to me.”

It took much rubbing, but his gentle hand eventually won over Plato. “Mmm… your flattery does soothe my pain a bit. Please do it again, for the rest of your life.”

“I’ll think about it,” Basil mused.

The world may have changed, but their friendship had not.

“We should find another god to take the essence from,” Plato suggested, the same way a child would suggest buying candy from a store. “We must salvage this situation, Basil. For my sake. I deserve to become a smilodon.”

Yes, some things never changed.

The Renault trailed along the riverbank, before stopping next to an empty church. A graveyard on a mound oversaw the water below under the radiant sunlight. Bugsy was busy decorating the tombstones with a tasteful arrangement of flowers; each memorial welcomed its own unique combination of roses, tulips, sunflowers, and other colorful combinations. The wind blew their delicious smell all over the marsh, attracting fist-sized bees and phantom dragonflies.

“Welcome, Boss, Plato.” Bugsy had lost his star-tail alongside Apollo’s essence, but miraculously kept his wings of fire. His loss of divine power hadn’t diminished his enthusiasm in the slightest. “How did the sale go?”

“Pretty good.” Basil stored the Renault inside his inventory after he and Plato set foot outside it. This car was no replacement for Steve, but it would prove useful in the journey to come. “Are you sure you don’t want to say goodbye to the house before we leave?”

“Why, Boss?” Bugsy pointed at a spot on his body, which Basil assumed housed the heart. “It will always be safe here.”

“You know, must you keep calling Basil ‘Boss’?” Plato said joyfully. “Flattery gets to his head.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Basil replied with a smirk. “But he’s not wrong, Bugsy. You’ve saved my life and Earth along with it. We should make you the new boss.”

“Nah, I’ll keep calling you Boss, Basil.” Bugsy chuckled to himself. “I’m your friend and your subordinate both.”

“Funny,” a familiar voice said from behind the Bohens. “Hagen told me the same once.”

It didn’t surprise Basil that Walter Tye could sneak up on a level ninety-six party without being detected. The dragonknight looked over his shoulder to find his favorite shopkeeper standing behind him, his arms crossed with a thoughtful look on his face.

“These gods of yours could have done more to reward you,” he said with a snort. “Though I will admit raising eight billion souls from the dead is quite the laudable feat. Not to mention rebuilding an entire reality from scratch.”

“Could you have done it, oh arrogant necromancer?” Plato asked mirthfully.

Walter Tye frowned in annoyance, but he was proud enough not to lie. “I admit such display of power is beyond me… at least for now. I am convinced mortals can surpass the gods given enough time.”

“We know they can become gods at least,” Basil replied. The implications of Walter Tye’s presence worried him a bit. “If you’re here, I assume there is no Level Barrier to keep you out of Earth?”

“There is a barrier, but I figured out a way around it. I am an archmage after all.” Walter smiled thinly. “Don’t fret, Basil. Your world has powerful defenders, who will make sure no wandering terror threatens it.”

“Such as you?” Plato asked with a healthy dose of skepticism.

“Did you mistake me for an ungrateful wretch, young feline?” Walter shrugged. “Your lot saved my world and many others from disaster. Should you find yourself in need of shelter, you will always find sanctuary with me. I assume many share this sentiment across the cosmos.”

Basil nodded in thankfulness. After shouldering the weight of a world on his shoulders, it felt good to have friends willing to help share the burden. With the likes of Vainqueur and Walter watching over the newborn Earth from afar, no new Maleking would ever despoil it again.

As for Dis, its complete destruction meant that Maxwell’s kind would not return to sow tragedies across the cosmos. The Systems touched by the abomination purged it in the wake of the Trimurti’s return to power. Blackcinders, Wyrde, the Maleking, the Horsemen… all of these villains did not return from the dead either, their souls having become the mortar of the reborn Earth.

Much like its victims, nothing remained of Dis’ legacy but memories. And that was for the best.

“Although… remnants of both the Apocalypse Force and the Unity remain afoot.” Walter’s smile turned into a scowl. “I doubt they’ll amount to much with their leadership decapitated, but even the smallest weeds can overrun a garden if left unattended.”

“We’ll go after them,” Bugsy replied with a sharp, decisive nod. “Ronald and the rest of our Guild are waiting for us in Outremonde to begin the hunt.”

“We’ll wipe out these factions and ensure they won’t make a comeback,” Basil confirmed. “We’ll nip the Maleking’s would-be heirs in the bud.”

“And what will you do afterward?” Walter asked, an eyebrow raised. “Settle in your girlfriend’s homeworld?”

“Never!” Plato snarled. “I shall not stand a world where barbarians eat my kind for breakfast!”

“We’ll keep visiting Vasi’s family on holidays, but we’ve decided to build a home somewhere else,” Basil said as he prayed for the dead. “The multiverse is a vast place. There has to be a world that satisfies us all.”

A dozen tombstones were erected in the yard. One belonged to René; and another, to Basil’s mother Aleksandra. Her presence there surprised Basil; he assumed this new reality followed a different history than the one it overwrote. Celia being alive in this reality, although her original self had perished long before the System appeared, only confirmed it to him. Perhaps Aleksandra had enjoyed a better relationship with her son and came to live with him before passing on from natural causes.

He wasn’t too interested in learning more. This new world was as foreign to Basil as Outremonde. He simply no longer fit in.

It didn’t bother Basil much. His team was his home. He could settle in the very depths of Hell, so long as he had them by his side. The knowledge his human friends would live happy lives soothed his heart.

Other tombstones contained no corpses, yet honored the dead nonetheless. Basil prayed before each of them, with Plato, Bugsy, and Walter watching in solemn silence. The words engraved on the stony surface would remain for future generations.

Shellgirl

2022-2023

She always gave joy for free.

Rosemarine Eglantine de la Barthe

2022-2023

She ate the moon and spat out the sun.

Steve Roadwonders

2022-2023

A Bohen until the very end.

Perhaps they were alive out there, in a reincarnated form. Basil hoped so. The Trimurti told him that death was not quite the end, and he had faced enough undead to give their word credence.

“We’ll meet them again someday, Boss,” Bugsy said with certainty. “I can feel it in my gut.”

“We will,” Plato confirmed. “Do you remember when we met René again, Basil?”

“I do,” he replied. “One day, we will all end up in the same place again.”

“It is only a matter of years before this world’s humans develop portal magic of their own,” Walter pointed out. “I wonder if some will figure out how much you sacrificed for their sake.”

Basil shrugged. “I don’t care if they do.”

Basil never wanted to become an Overgod nor to be worshiped as a hero; he only wanted to get the job done and then live the rest of his life in peace. He had achieved half of this goal and would work hard to complete the other.

“Well, I do.” Plato licked his fur. “They owe us a statue or two.”

“Oh, Little Nessia said her people intend to build us one!” Bugsy chirped happily. “I can’t wait to see her again!”

Plato was immediately interested. “Perhaps we should settle in the Sunsea. I’ve heard the weather is nice, and they worship winged cats.”

Little Nessia should never have mentioned that sphinx demigoddess in Plato’s presence. It sowed the seed of future disasters.

“You’re also welcome to visit my world when you wish it to,” Walter said. “I have big plans, and adventurers of your caliber would help make them a reality.”

Plato’s head perked up in interest. “Do you have more gods to hunt?”

“Not quite,” Walter replied, much to the feline’s disappointment. “But… I’ve told you that I wandered the multiverse looking for a way to save my world from entropy. The way you brought your own back from the brink only strengthened my resolve.”

Visiting Walter’s world wasn’t high among the team’s priorities, but Basil guessed they could give it a shot. He wouldn’t turn down people in need. “We could stop there after the Sunsea,” he said, “I’m sure Vasi would enjoy reading through your magical library.”

“Where is she by the way?” Walter asked with a frown. “Already in Outremonde?”

Basil raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Shouldn’t you read our minds to find out?”

“I can’t do that anymore.” Walter chuckled darkly. “You’re only three levels behind me, Basil. I would need to break down your mind’s door, and even then I’m not sure I would succeed.”

“Good to know,” Basil replied, quite pleased. He didn’t like having anyone inside his head. “I’m still four levels away from completing Technomancer.”

Basil wondered what would happen if he were to reach level 100 now. Would he ascend to godhood? Or would he ascend to another world with greater dangers and adventures to offer, as Victor Dalton once suggested to him long ago?

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Walter said with a smirk. “At your current power, it might be years before you gain a level, let alone four.”

“I thought you couldn’t read minds anymore?”

“I can’t, Basil, but you remain an open book.” The necromancer looked to his left, right as a rift in space opened. A familiar fairy stepped through it. “Vasi, here you are.”

“Walter, have you come to escort us?” Vasi rejoined her boyfriend and kissed him on the lip. She alone hadn’t changed in the slightest, as no divine essence from Earth powered her. “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“I would wait forever for you,” Basil joked. His girlfriend answered with a short laugh. “But I do wonder, what took you so long?”

“I went to check on Simeon in Bucharest and got sidetracked,” Vasi replied. “The Swords of Saint-George are doing great, by the way.”

“Good for them.” It pleased Basil to know his homeland would be in the hands of great and capable adventurers. “I should tell Bulgaria goodbye next.”

“I was about to suggest we make a stop in Shumen.” Vasi grinned ear to ear. “You won’t believe what awaits us there.”

“Oh?” Basil couldn’t suppress his curiosity. “Lead the way then.”

“Are you coming with us, Mr. Tye?” Bugsy asked.

“I will take my leave,” Walter replied calmly. “I have the feeling we will meet again soon.”

Vasi put her hands on her waist. “So long as it doesn’t involve B&C games.”

Walter’s smirk widened further. “I was about to suggest Monster Poker.”

“Whatever the game, I will take you on with all my might,” Basil boasted.

Vasi rolled her eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“I shall await your challenge then, Basil.” Walter saluted them with a short reverence; a small gesture that, coming from someone so proud and powerful, meant a great deal indeed. “We shall meet again, my friends.”

He vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving the Bohens alone.

“I don’t know if it's just me,” Vasi said with a coy smile. “But he sounds nicer than before.”

“I think he is.” Basil chuckled. “Even the living dead could warm up to others, I suppose.”

“I should learn to teleport too,” Plato said as he stepped first through the portal. “It would work wonders for dramatic exits.”

“Just turn invisible,” Basil replied. He crossed the rift and froze upon facing what awaited him on the other side.

Once a small metropolis amidst broken hills, Shumen had changed quite a great deal with the world’s rebirth. The Founders of the Bulgarian State Monument stood tall over a vast jungle that swallowed houses and buildings alike. A primordial forest had grown in symbiosis with the city, covering concrete towers in protective moss, raising rows of trees along the road, and causing vines stairs to link elevated wooden houses together. Shumen had become a land where nature and civilization intermingled together into a cohesive, peaceful lot.

A field of familiar plants stretched before the Bohens in the middle of what must have been a park. A hundred mouths salivated at their coming, chirping in joy.

“Oh, a Mister!” A carnivorous plant observed Basil head to toe, her maw many shades of gold, her leaves shining like emeralds. “Welcome, welcome!”

“Who is this Mister?” another plant asked. She looked almost identical to the first, albeit younger and not yet fully grown. “He is so tall!”

Basil’s heart skipped a beat in his chest as a small horde of tiny monsters no larger than Plato gathered around his team. Small vine legs carried them out of the ground. Some wore ribbons, others rosy bow ties.

Basil had to hold back tears when his Monster Insight sent him a notification.

Killaplants

Level 2 [Plant]

A hundred baby Rosemarines had come to greet the Bohens.

“That’s a big bug!” one of the Killaplants said upon noticing an astonished Bugsy. “When I’m grown, I’ll become as fearsome as he is!”

“Mister, can I eat your shoes?” One of the plants tugged Basil’s sleeve, saliva dripping from her mouth. “I’m hungry!”

Basil, unable to resist such beautiful greenery, tossed his shoes to the Killaplants. They promptly caught the treat in midair within their jaws and chewed them whole.

“I can’t believe it…” Plato was at a loss for words. Even the unflappable cat knew not how to respond to this strange turn of events. “How… how is this possible?”

“This… this is the place.” Bugsy glanced around, his eyes widening in joy. “After Blackcinders destroyed Shumen, Rose… she sowed the seeds of a forest over the ruins.”

Could one of them be Rosemarine reborn? Basil wondered as he observed this beautiful, talking garden. If so, then Shellgirl and the others… Are they out there somewhere, waiting for us?

“It’s what Vishnu said,” Vasi whispered. “The dead may be gone, but their feelings remain.”

The good people left behind lived long after them.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The words echoed in Basil’s head, both an encouragement and a sermon. He remembered his battle with the Maleking, the warmth that spurred him to carry on the fight, and he finally figured out his answer.

“I think I understand now,” Basil whispered. “It’s faith.”

“Faith?” Vasi squinted at him in her confusion. “In your God?”

“This is the answer to the Maleking’s question. About the source of my strength.” Basil had mulled long and hard over this conundrum. “Everyone puts his faith in something. Some believe in themselves, or their skills. Others trust in luck, in magic, in money, or science.”

“But at their core, all of these beliefs share the same root,” Plato guessed.

“Yes, they do.” Basil looked up at the sky, where the sun and moon both shone brightly. No fake stars nor circuit marred the heavens’ beauty. “To have faith is to believe that there is something out there that can make life better. That you can find happiness.”

And that was why Basil first gave a centipede a second chance after they tried to slay him; why he had let Rosemarine, Shellgirl, and Vasi into his life; why he had spared Benjamin in spite of all his crimes.

Because Basil thought things would turn out for the better. Because he had faith in the future.

And as he watched the sun illuminate a reborn Shumen teeming with life, Basil knew that both this world and his party had many happy days ahead of them.

The Bohens’ time on Earth had ended.

But their journey had only just begun.

DISMAKER LABS WISHES YOU A HAPPY ENDING!

Art by Dinovoila

The Bohens' pre-final battle stats:

Name

Basil Jean-François Bohen

Type

Humanoid

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

EXP

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

N/A

Physical, Corrosion, Metal, Wood, Fire, Water, Ailments.

Manslayer, Soul, Wind, Lightning, Light.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87 (Tamer 20; Alchemist 1; Runesmith 9; Technomancer 3; Deathknight of the Sepulcher 10; Dragonknight 20; Warrior Saint 10; Chronomancer 14)

3480

1510

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

97 (+10%)

114 (+10%)

67 (+32 from equipment) (+10%)

70 (+10%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

73 (+10%)

72 (+10%)

85 (+10%)

70 (+10%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

-

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

-

-

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

-

Weak

Weak

-

-

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Monster Charmer III

Runestorm I

Runecraft

Magic-Eater I

Alchemy I

Magitek

Monster Lair II

Spell: Fire Rune

Runic II

Spell: Ice Rune

Duty Beyond Death

Fuel Technology

Monster Insight

Monster Cure II

All for One

One for All II

Soulbound Weapon

Spell: Venomous Rune

Lethal Vigil

Spell: Corrosive Rune

Dragoon II

Spell: Savage Rune

Dragon Rider II

Death’s Banner II

Dragonbane II

Elemental Orb

Double Jump II

Dragonbreath II

Wyrm Spirit

Spell: Bless Weapon

Turbo: Physical

Spell: Accuracy Rune

Sacrosaint Tactics II

Spell: Flash of Prescience

Divine Auspices II

Spell: Hasten

Holy War Apotheosis

Time Leap

Chronomancy II

Time Acceleration

Accelerate Spell

Permanent Buff

Stasis Strike

Alchemy I (Passive): you can craft alchemy items without need of a recipe and create your own through experimentations. The list of items you can craft includes potions, alchemy tools, mutagens, poisons and bombs.

Monster Charmer III (Passive): You can recruit monsters into your [Party]. The monster’s level must be equal or below yours to join, and they cannot outlevel you afterward. Monsters in your party gain a 20% boost to stat growth on level-up, but will also die if your HP hits 0. Recruited monsters cannot leave your party unless you allow them to. You automatically form a party with an original partner selected by the Trimurti System. You can unlock the hidden potential of a recruited monster, granting them an additional Perk they cannot access in the wild. Monsters will keep these additional abilities even if you kick them out of your party. When monsters reach the level needed to undergo metamorphosis, they will now choose between multiple options rather than having one forced upon them.You must validate the choice as their Tamer.

Monster Lair II (Passive): you can select a hideout or dungeon under your control as your personal Lair. Lairs offer benefits based on your level. You can select and improve your Lair by clicking on Status in your menu. Your monsters can now create Lairs of their own; however, they must have undergone a metamorphosis at least once. Your monsters will keep this ability and their lair even if they leave your party.

Runic II (Passive): you can now learn and cast [Runic] Spells up to Tier II. If you gain the ability to cast [Runic] Spells from other classes or Perks, the Tiers stack together.

Monster Insight (Passive): you can passively glean information from monsters by observing them closely, including their elemental affinities and useful trivia. Your chances of analyzing a monster depend on your Intelligence, their level, and the effect of secondary Perks.

All for One (Passive): Tamer class Capstone. You have proven that the bond uniting you to your monsters is unbreakable. All buffs and beneficial status effects affecting you apply to your monsters; however, status ailments and debuffs also carry over. [All for One] applies to your entire Guild.

Soulbound Weapon (Passive): Select a weapon in which you have an advanced or perfect proficiency. This weapon will be bound to you, allowing you to teleport it to your hand at will as long as you both remain on the same world; it will also gain new abilities and improve in quality as you progress into the Deathknight of the Sepulchre class. You can only select one Soulbound Weapon and cannot select a new one until the first is destroyed beyond repair.

Lethal Vigil (Passive): Nothing will disturb your vigil. You are immune to all status ailments that would either impede your ability to freely choose your actions (such as [Berserk], [Madness], [Charm]...) or physically acting at all (such as [Paralysis], [Sleep], [Petrification]...). Self-inflicted ailments, such as those activated by your Perks or equipment, will still affect you.

Dragoon II (Passive): You gain perfect proficiency with Swords, Spears and Shields (x3 damage, +30% Crit).

Dragon Rider II (Passive): You gain perfect proficiency with riding creatures, but only those with the [Dragon] Type (+30% damage to attacks when mounted, you cannot be dismounted by anything unless you wish to be, your mount’s Agility benefits from a perpetual buff, and you can direct your mount and attack without splitting your attention).

Dragonbane II (Passive): not only will all your attacks made with weapons in which you have a proficiency inflict Dragonslayer damage supereffective against [Dragon] types (x3 damage), but they will also ignore all of their natural forms of damage reductions (Equipment or Spell related damage reductions are unaffected) and Resistances (but not Immunities).

Double Jump II (Passive): You can jump continuously while in midair, allowing you to fly. Additionally, the distance of your leaps is doubled and the damage of your Spear weapons is doubled while in the air.

Duty Beyond Death (Passive): not even death will stop you from fulfilling your duty. When your health points hit 0, you do not immediately die. Instead you gain the [Invincibility] status for 5 minutes, during which you cannot take any damage, nor suffer from debuffs and status ailments. However, you cannot regain HP and once the effect ends, so will your life. You also cannot be turned into an [Undead] type by any means, even willingly.

Runecraft (Passive): you can now incorporate runes to your crafting process, permanently empowering your equipment with their additional effects.

Wyrm Spirit (passive): Your determination to win at all costs is truly worthy of a dragon. Your attacks made with weapons, including your natural ones, increase in power equal to the percentage difference between your Max HP and current HP (so if reduced at half health, you will inflict 50% more damage). This modifier does not apply to Spells, but it affects Weapon Techniques.

Turbo: Physical (Passive): Your [Physical] attacks ignore Resistance and inflict 30% more damage.

Sacrosaint Tactics II (Passive): Grants +20% damage, damage resistance, evasion, and accuracy to all party members. This replaces [Sacrosaint Tactics I].

Divine Auspices II (Passive): You can now learn and cast [Prayer] Spells up to Tier II. If you gain the ability to cast [Prayer] Spells from other classes or Perks, the Tiers stack together. Additionally, if you possess Perks in other schools of magic, their Tier is raised by II. This replaces [Divine Auspices I].

Holy War Apotheosis (Passive): all weapons are holy when wielded righteously. So long as you touch an item with your hands–from swords to sticks and stones–they are treated as a weapon in which you have Perfect Proficiency in (x3 damage, +30% Crit). The effect is lost once you are no longer in contact with the tool in question.

Chronomancy II (Passive): You can now learn and cast [Chronomancy] Spells up to Tier II. If you gain the ability to cast [Chronomancy] Spells from other classes or Perks, the Tiers stack together.

Accelerate Spell (Passive): Whenever you cast a spell, you can immediately cast a second one by spending twice its usual SP cost.

Stasis Strike (Passive): When you successfully inflict a critical or supereffective hit, your target will suffer from the [Paralysis] ailment for 5 minutes.

• Active Perks

Magitek (Active): You can use the ‘refine’ option on a technological device to forge a rune on a selected item. The device must have an unused effect spot and you must know a rune spell to assign to it. This ability can apply to pieces of technology from forged tools to machines and vehicles, but cannot work on Consumables, Lairs, or Key Items.

Fuel Technology (Active): you can spend Special Points to power machinery instead of the normal fuel. The Special Points consumption rate is unique to each device.

Monster Cure II (Active): 50 SP, [Support], [Life]. The tamer heals a medium amount of HP for all monster members of his party (HP recovered: (Tamer Levels+MAG) x 2); the Tamer and other Players do not benefit from the healing, but the effect applies regardless of distance. Additionally, the spell will heal status ailments affecting the targets. This replaces Monster Cure I.

One for All II (Active): if you are a party leader, you can teleport your party back to your Lair. Additionally, you can spend 1 SP x Level of a tamed monster to summon them at your current location; this ability works even if you have no Lair selected, but you can only summon one ally at once. You can now summon all monsters in your party at once instead of one at a time, though you must pay 1 SP x monster for each individual you are trying to summon. Neither teleportation effect works in dungeons or magically warded areas, and they cannot cross dimensions.

Death’s Banner II (Active): [Support], 10 SP per minute. Your faith empowers your party members, granting them the following benefits as long as they benefit from [Death’s Banner II]: All their attacks gain the [Deadslayer] effect (x3 damage against Undead types); immunity to the [Terror], [Zombie], and [Insta-Death] ailments; they do not take damage from ailments such as [Poison], though it doesn’t cure them of it; and their critical hits will inflict [Insta-Death] on the victims. This replaces [Death’s Banner I].

Elemental Orb (Active): Variable element, 60 SP. You can throw a deadly orb of elemental energy from your hand; you can choose the elemental affinity of the orb, but it must be an element in which you have a Strong affinity (Base damage 130 of the selected element). This power is the equivalent of a Tier VI Spell.

Dragonbreath II (Active): The power of your breath is increased to 90 base damage. Additionally, it has a 30% chance of inflicting an additional ailment based on its element. Element selected: [Corrosion]. Associated ailment: [Poison].

Runestorm I (Active): [Support] 10 SP. You can empower any melee weapon you wield (such as swords, axes or daggers) with an elemental infusion for five minutes, changing the damage Type to the chosen element. Available elements: [Fire], [Wind], [Earth], [Water], [Frost] and [Lightning].

Magic-Eater I (Active): When you have Runestorm active on a weapon, you can redirect any spell of the channeled element within twenty meters to your weapon, absorb it, and regain an amount of SP proportional to the spell’s power. You can only redirect Spells, and not Active Perks or standard attacks.

Time Leap (Active): [Mythic], [Support], 1 SP per second. You can leap across time to avoid an attack. This allows you to teleport at the same place in the future, with the ‘length’ of the jump being equal to 1 SP per second skipped. You are invulnerable while time-leaping, but you have no awareness of what happens during the skipped time.

Time Acceleration (Active): [Mythic], [Support], 20 SP per minute. You can temporarily accelerate time for yourself to reach heavenly speeds. This manifests as your base AGI temporarily increasing by 1 point per second until it reaches double your normal stat (currently 228); your agility resets if the effect is ever interrupted. This stacks with Hasten and other Agility Buffs.

Permanent Buff (Active): [Mythic], [Support], 10 SP. When you benefit from buffs or status effects working on a time limit, such as ‘hastened for one minute,’ you can pay 10 SP to reset all timers once they run out; this option can be set to automatic, allowing you to reset effects even while unconscious. However, this does not prevent effects from being dispelled, in which case you must apply them again; neither does it apply to abilities including limits other than duration or that demand continuous SP consumption to maintain, such as [Time Acceleration].

• Spells

Spell: Fire Rune: Runic, 10 SP, [Fire]. Empowers one of your weapons with the power of flames, inflicting an additional 20% [Fire] damage for 5 minutes. Multiple applications of [Fire Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Ice Rune: Runic, 10 SP, [Frost]. Empowers one of your weapons with the power of ice, inflicting an additional 20% [Frost] damage for 5 minutes. Multiple applications of [Ice Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Corrosive Rune: Runic, 20 SP, [Corrosion]. Empowers one of your weapons with the power of corrosion, inflicting an additional 20% [Corrosion] damage for 5 minutes. Multiple applications of [Corrosive Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Venomous Rune: Runic, 20 SP, [Ailment]. Empowers one of your weapons with the power of poison, inflicting an additional 20% [Poison] chance for 5 minutes. Multiple applications of [Venomous Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Savage Rune: Runic, 20 SP, [Support]. Empowers one of your weapons with savage power, increasing its chances of inflicting a critical hit by 20% for five minutes; the Berserker’s favorite tool. Multiple applications of [Savage Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Accuracy Rune: Runic, 30 SP, [Support]. Empowers one of your weapons with precise power, increasing its accuracy bonus by 20% for five minutes; the Berserker’s favorite tool. Multiple applications of [Accuracy Rune] do not stack and the weapon loses its properties if you no longer wield it.

Spell: Bless Weapon: Prayer, 10 SP, [Support]. Grants a +1 stat bonus to a weapon for ten minutes per 7 levels of the caster (minimum +1)

Spell: Flash of Prescience: Chronomancy 30 SP, [Support]. Allows the user to predict incoming blows, enhancing their reaction time.

La Mortifère

Family: Soulbound Weapon (Axe/Spear).

Quality: S.

Power: +25 STR.

Crit: +30%

Accuracy: 80%

Effect 1: [Soulkiller]: The weapon ignores defensive stats like Vitality or Charisma.

Effect 2: [Pluto’s Legacy]: Inflicts an additional 30% [Earth] damage and 30% [Soul] damage. Both pierce through Resistance.

Effect 3: [Soulkiller]: Mortifère wounds the soul as well as the body. Not only can it hit incorporeal targets, but it also ignores damage reduction from armor and equipment; damage reduction from Perks is unaffected.

Effect 4: [SP Drain]: when the weapon inflicts damage, the wielder steals an amount of SP from the target equal to half the HP damage.

Effect 5: [Death Equalizer]: if the wearer possesses an ability that only applies to a certain Creature Type, it now applies to all creature Types.

When La Mortifère visits you, you can only tell her: ‘not today.’ She never listens.

Last Vision

Family: Clothing (Armor).

Quality: A

Defensive Bonus: +20 VIT

Effect 1: [Lightning Rod]: The wearer takes no damage from the [Lightning] element. Instead, [Lightning] attacks will recharge their SP by an amount equal to the damage that should have been inflicted.

Effect 2: [Physical Amp]: Boosts the power of Physical attacks by 30%.

Effect 3: [Survivor]: grants Immunity to Critical Hits and Resistance to Ailments.

Effect 4: [Concordance of Rivals]: The wearer gains 30% less damage from foes belonging to the Apocalypse Force or Unity Factions.

Armor crafted from the remains of Apollyon, Horseman of the Apocalypse Force, and thirteen Unity dragonlords, all slain at the hands of Basil Bohen. This armor is the last thing both factions will ever see.

Moonshield

Family: Weapon (Shield).

Quality: A.

Power: +6 STR.

Defensive Bonus: +12 VIT/+6 CHA

Accuracy: 60%

Effect 1: [Moon’s Blessing]: May half damage on occasion. The chances of activation are equal to the user’s LCK/2.

Effect 2: [Form Switch]: The Moonshield possesses two forms: Full Moon and New Moon. It can switch between forms at will, which will activate a different ability.

Effect 3: [Full Moon]: Grants Immunity to Light. The user gains a [Mirror] status deflecting non-piercing spells back at the sender.

Effect 4: [New Moon]: Grants Immunity to Darkness. The user gains the [Incorporeal] status, granting them immunity to [Physical] attacks.

A shield empowered by the moooooooon. Some said the New Moon form is made of lead and the Full Moon of silver-tainted gold.

Name

Plato (Smilogod)

Type

Beast/Divine

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

Frost, Darkness, Illusions, Mind, Insta-Death, Critical Hits.

Physical, Soul, Metal, Wood, Water, Wind, Mythic, Ailments.

Beastslayer, Godslayer, Corrosion, Fire, Light.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87

3480

1690

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

61

(A+20%)

125

(S+20%)

56

(C+20%)

106

(A+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

86

(A+20%)

60

(C+20%)

68

(B+20%)

124

(S+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

Strong

Strong

Weak

Strong

Strong

-

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Weak

Strong

-

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

Strong

Strong

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Legendary Beast

Cat King’s Luck

Death in the Shadows

Darkwind Fangs

Primal Hunter

Catnapping

Nine Lives

Mirage Pack

Joyful Swordfang

Smilodon Blitz

Pawerful Dao

Wild Fang

Shieldtail

Counterstance

Personal Perks:

• Legendary Beast: Plato is a legendary beast. His natural attacks scale off his SKI rather than his STR, and he is immune to Insta-Death, Critical Hits, Mind and Illusion effects. Plato gains perfect proficiency with all natural attacks (x3 damage, +30% Crit) and inflicts an additional 30% [Frost] damage with them.

• Death in the Shadows: Plato benefits from a natural [Invisibility] effect which he can disable at will. While in a field or weather with a strong [Darkness] affinity, he gains 50% chance of avoiding any single-target attack. Finally, he is immune to any effect that would decrease his Accuracy, such as the [Blind] Ailment, and gains +50% Accuracy.

• Primal Hunter: While Plato’s attacks with natural weapons inflict [Birdslayer] damage (x3 damage against [Avian] Types), he can change the Slayer effect to target another Type of his choice at will. If he does change his favorite prey Type, he cannot change it again for one minute.

• Nine Lives: When Plato would die, he instead benefits from an [Auto-Revive] effect bringing him back to life at critical health; this also purges Plato of ailments. Plato can be revived eight times before the Perk becomes inactive. 2 out of 9 lives remain.

• Joyful Swordfang: Plato’s fangs have turned into swords after absorbing Joyeuse. Not only does Plato benefit from perfect proficiency with swords (x3 damage, +30% crit), but his fangs count as +15 SKI sword weapons each that inflict the [Brand] ailment (prevents victim from recovering HP until the ailment is removed) on a successful hit.

• Pawerful Dao: Plato can run on vertical structures, and even ceilings so long as he remains in motion. Additionally, the length of his jumps is doubled.

• Shieldtail: Plato’s tail has turned into a mighty shield capable of reflecting magic. If Plato is targeted by an elemental attack to which he has a Strong affinity, the attack has a 50% chance of being reflected to the sender.

Active Perks:

• Cat King’s Luck: 77 SP, [Support]. Buffs the Luck, Skill, Accuracy, Evasion, and Critical Hit Rates of Plato’s party for five minutes.

• Darkwind Fang: 80 SP, [Wind], [Darkness], Technique. Plato can unleash a sharp blade of cursed wind with any bladed weapon, claws, and fangs included; proficiency bonuses apply depending on the weapon used (base [Wind]/[Darkness] damage 120, +30% accuracy and crit).

• Catnapping: 50 SP, [Support]. Plato can designate a foe within his line of sight. On a successful Luck check, all the enemy’s buffs are transferred to Plato as if they had been cast on him in the first place.

• Mirage Pack: 40 SP, [Support]. Plato empowers his party with the [Mirage] status (increases Evasion) for five minutes.

• Smilodon Blitz: 150 SP, [Physical], Technique. By using the super-secret sabertooth tiger technique, Plato launches himself in one direction at blitzing speed and cuts down anything in his way. While using Skill as a base, this attack’s power also increases with Plato’s Agility (base damage 100+AGI [Physical]) and stacks with proficiencies.

• Wild Fang: 100 SP, [Physical], Technique. Plato unleashes a flurry of four bites on a single target at 60% power each; each of them counts as a normal attack as far as proficiencies and critical hits are concerned.

• Counterstance: 30 SP per minute, [Physical], Technique. By shifting his weight and focusing on a single enemy, Plato can automatically dodge any [Physical] assault from that foe and counter with a blazingly fast normal attack. However, the stance is broken if he attacks of his own initiative, and it does not work on multiple opponents at once.

Name

Bugsy Alphonse Venture (Apolloworm)

Type

Bug/Divine

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

Fire, Earth, Light, Critical Hits, All Ailments, Instadeath.

Physical, Corrosion, Metal, Lightning, Mythic.

Bugslayer, Godslayer, Frost, Water, Wood, Darkness.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87

3910

2105

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

128

(S+20%)

77

(C+20%)

114

(A+20%)

72

(C+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

76

(B+20%)

47

(C+20%)

57

(C+20%)

65

(B+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

-

-

Strong

Strong

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Weak

Strong

-

Weak

Strong

Strong

Weak

Strong

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Raging Sun

Nova Up

Star Vessel

Nova Flare

Gravity Field

Tectonic Shift

Phanaeus

Drought Bringer

Volcanic Starforce

Star Bomb

Alexicacus

Apollo’s Curse

Personal Perks:

• Raging Sun: Bugsy treats his natural weapons, like fangs and claws, as if he had perfect proficiency with them (x3 damage, +10 Crit). Additionally, these weapons will inflict an additional 20% [Fire] damage and 20% [Light] damage.
• Star Vessel: Bugsy is immune to critical hits, ailments, and instadeath effects, and takes only half-damage from attacks. Additionally, upon death, he can decide to crack his star core and erupt in a cataclysmic explosion (base power 999 [Fire]/[Light] damage).
• Gravity Field: Bugsy generates his own gravity through his star core, granting him a permanent [Float] effect. Additionally, he can sense vibrations in the air and the ground over a large area. This ignores the downsides of the [Blind] ailment even if he is targeted by it, and his normal accuracy is doubled.
• Phanaeus: All of Bugsy’s [Fire] and [Light] elemental attacks inflict 50% more damage. Additionally, they treat elemental Resistance as Neutral (piercing damage) and Immunity as Resistance (half-damage).
• Volcanic Starforce: If Bugsy is targeted by [Fire], [Earth] or [Light] attacks, including his own, he regains HP instead of losing them. Additionally, he benefits from a HP/SP Regen effect (recover 1/16th of max HP/SP per minute) in Fields aligned with these elements. Finally, Bugsy can sculpt molten lava as if it were clay.
• Alexicacus: All of Bugsy’s party members gain immunity to [Light] and [Fire]. They are also unaffected by [Phanaeus] unless Bugsy wishes otherwise.

Active Perks:

• Nova Up: 50 SP, [Support]. Bugsy gathers power to buff all of his stats, physical and mental, for five minutes; additionally, his [Fire] and [Light] attacks are boosted by 50% during that period. This stacks with [Phanaeus].
• Nova Flare: 200 SP, [Fire]. Bugsy unleashes a powerful beam of cosmic light (base power 250 [Fire]/[Light]). Those damaged by it have 100% chances of suffering from the [Blind] ailment and 10% chances of being vaporized instantly (this is an [Instadeath] effect).
• Tectonic Shift: 100 SP, [Earth]/[Physical]. Bugsy alters gravity around him to trigger a tectonic disaster, which will damage all creatures and structures within a large radius (150 base power, [Earth]/[Physical] damage). Buildings are especially vulnerable and likely to collapse.
• Drought Bringer: 30 SP per minute, [Fire]. While normally somewhat safe to touch, Bugsy can turn up the heat of his body. Everything within a short radius around him will periodically suffer from [Fire] damage (base power 50) and all [Frost]/[Water] attacks within the Perk’s radius instantly evaporate unless produced by a higher-leveled creature.
• Star Bomb: 120 SP, [Fire]/[Light]. Bugsy fires a powerful bomb of cosmic plasma capable of great destruction (200 base power, [Fire]/[Light]). Additionally, any area marked by the magma bomb is treated as a [Star-Scorched] Field until the plasma cools off; this triggers [Volcanic Starforce].
• Apollo’s Curse: 200 SP, [Fire], [Support]. Bugsy attempts to force [Fire Vulnerability] upon all enemies in his line of sight. If the target fails a Vitality check, their [Fire] affinity is temporarily changed to Weak (x3 damage) for ten minutes. This is not an ailment but a unique debuff.

Name

Shellgirl (Christmas Mimic)

Type

Angel/Slime

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

Water, Frost.

Physical, Mind, Wood, Wind, Darkness, Ailments.

Slimeslayer, Angelslayer, Fire, Lightning.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87

3450

1860

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

55

(C+20%)

101

(A+20%)

111

(A+20%)

76

(B+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

79

(B+20%)

76

(B+20%)

82

(B+20%)

107

(S+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

Strong

-

-

-

Strong

-

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Weak

Strong

-

Strong

Strong

Weak

-

Strong

-

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Dungeon Shopper

Ice Present

Surprise Guest

Christmas Hose

Moneymaker

Lapponian Winter

Santa’s Bag

Pandora’s Box

Santa’s Workshop

Joyful Spirit

Ice Spinner

Gacha Box

Passive Perk:

• Dungeon Shopper: Much like a [Merchant] Player, Shellgirl gains access to a unique [System Shop] option in her menu; this allows you to sell items and exchange currency money against tokens, which she can then use to purchase items in an online store. Once purchased, the items are added to her Inventory. Shellgirl has access to the entire shop as if she were a level 19 [Merchant], though she receives no discount nor other benefit.
• Surprise Guest: Shellgirl always counts as invited in any location which she visits; this allows her to bypass effects such as magical barriers and protections against [Teleportation].

• Moneymaker: Increases chances of drops if a monster is killed within twenty meters.
• Santa’s Bag: Shellgirl can summon a bag serving as her Inventory. The bag can hold an infinite number of items which only Shellgirl can access. Though impervious to damage, the bag is destroyed if Shellgirl dies.
• Santa’s Workshop: Shellgirl can craft any item without a recipe with a +50% crafting bonus and create her own formula. If she uses a recipe, she always succeeds in crafting the item (unless she intentionally fails) and the results are one Quality category higher than normal.
• Ice Spinner: Shellgirl’s Agility and Skill are doubled in [Frost] and [Water]-aligned Fields and Weather conditions.

Active Perks:

• Ice Present: 60 SP, [Frost]. Shellgirl throws a present containing an ice-bomb; the bomb inflicts [Frost] damage (base power 100) on impact and sends shrapnels hitting close enemies for additional [Frost] damage (base power 30).
• Christmas Hose: 100 SP, [Water]. Shellgirl can open her bag to unleash a stream of pressurized water (150 base power [Water] damage). This attack can also be used for propulsion-powered flight.
• Lapponian Winter: 60 SP, [Frost], [Support]. Shellgirl summons a [Lapponian Winter] Weather effect over the area for eight minutes; this weather empowers [Frost] and [Water], weakens [Fire], and increases the evasion of individuals with a strong [Frost] affinity. This also triggers [Ice Spinner].
• Pandora’s Box: 80 SP, [Mind], [Darkness], [Ailment]. Shellgirl creates a booby-trapped mystery box. Enemies seeing the box have a high chance of suffering from the [Madness] and [Berserk] ailment for 10 minutes and fight over the box. Additionally, anyone opening the box causes it to explode into a thousand curses (base power 120 [Darkness] damage).
• Joyful Spirit: [Support], 50 SP. Shellgirl hyper-motivates an ally. The target’s next attack is always accurate (if possible), always [Charged] (x2 damage) and always a Critical Hit. This effect lasts for five minutes or until the target attacks.
• Gacha Box: 10 SP, [Support]. Shellgirl can summon a packaged gift containing an item selected at random. Shellgirl doesn’t choose the item in question, but its quality is always C or higher.

Name

Rosemarine Eglantine de la Barthe (Hesperides Dragon)

Type

Plant/Dragon (Plant/Divine in Nymph Mode)

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

Fire, Wood, All Ailments, Instadeath.

Physical, Mind, Life, Water, Earth, Light, Mythic.

Plantslayer, Dragonslayer (changes to Godslayer in Nymph Mode), Corrosion, Metal, Frost.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87

7580

2485

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

126

(A+20%)

78

(B+20%)

96

(A+20%)

79

(B+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

99

(A+20%)

44

(C+20%)

77

(B+20%)

96

(A+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

-

Strong

-

Strong

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Divine Vessel

Gaia’s Fury

Vineyard Queen

Hera’s Grace

Ladon

Hesperides Seed

Cosmic Flower

Eden Guns

God-Field: Garden of the Hesperides

Divine Harvest

Nymph Mode

Bacchanal Mists

Turbo: Wood

Wine Tribute

Plant Crown

Firepetal Storm

Passive Perks:

• Divine Vessel: Halves all damage taken, negates [Instadeath] effects, protects from all ailments, and grants permanent [Float] status. Additionally, the user can act as a ‘deity’ for the purpose of empowering [Priest] and similar classes.
• Vineyard Queen: Rosemarine treats all natural weapons, such as claws, fangs, breath and vines, as if she had advanced proficiency with them (x2 damage, +10%). Additionally, Rosemarine’s natural attacks may inflict the [Paralysis], [Poison] or [Sleep] ailment on contact (30% chance for each ailment).
• Ladon: Rosemarine’s natural attacks benefit from the [Bugslayer], [Manslayer], and [Giantslayer] effects (x3 damage against [Bugs], [Humanoids], and [Giants]).
• Cosmic Flower: When exposed to sunlight or moonlight, Rosemarine benefits from [Regen] and [SP Regen] Buffs (recovers 1/16th of full HP/SP per minute), and her [Eden Guns] Perk doesn’t require charging time.
• God-Field: Garden of the Hesperides: Rosemarine transforms the local area (one km per level radius maximum) into a personal, advantageous field. She can mute this effect or reduce its range at will.
• Nymph Avatar: Rosemarine can switch shape between her dragon self and a humanoid-sized dryad avatar at will. When in dryad form, Rosemarine’s type changes to [Plant/Divine], and her physical stats are halved, but she can otherwise use all her other abilities.
• Turbo: Wood: All of Rosemarine’s [Wood] elemental attacks bypass Resistance and inflict 30% more damage.
• Plant Crown: Rosemarine immediately inflicts [Charm] on all [Plant] Types within fifty meters of herself unless they possess a higher level, higher Charisma, the boss status, or immunity to the [Charm] ailment. If the ailment is lifted on a [Plant] Type affected by it, they become immune to [Plant Crown] for 24 hours.

Active Perks:

• Gaia’s Fury: 100 SP, [Wood], [Earth]. Summons frenzied plants to attack enemies and infest buildings within Rosemarine’s God-Field (150 [Wood]/[Earth] damage).
• Hera’s Grace: 100 SP, [Life], [Light]. Regenerates HP to all allies within a fifty meters radius (base power 300).
• Hesperides Seed: 60 SP, [Life], [Mythic], [Wood]. Rosemarine can spawn a Hesperides level 30 Monster from her body ([Plant]/[Fairy] Type). Hesperides are powerful dryads with magical abilities who can serve as the seed of a new forest.
• Eden Guns: 150 SP, [Wood], [Mythic]. After charging up for a minute, Rosemarine unleashes a powerful breath of divine pollen from her mouth and twin cannons (base power 120 per cannon, [Wood]/[Mythic] damage; this benefits from [Vineyard Queen]’s proficiency multiplier). This magical attack ignores the target’s defensive stat and armor, but not damage reduction.
• Divine Harvest: 150 SP, [Life], [Wood]. Rosemarine can spawn a [Golden Apple] fruit. Consumption of this item fully regenerates the target’s HP. Rosemarine can generate as many fruit as she wishes so long as she has the SP needed.
• Bacchanal Mists: 40 SP, [Mind], [Ailment]. Creates a powerful mist that dispels buffs/debuffs in the area and has a 30% chance of inflicting the [Drunk] ailment.
• Wine Tribute: 40 SP, [Water]. Rosemarine traps a single target in a prison of wine, choking them to death (100 [Water] damage per minute of exposure).
• Firepetal Storm: 80 SP, [Fire], [Wood]. Rosemarine unleashes a storm of burning petals (base power 150 [Fire]/[Wood] damage). This attack gains +20% chance of inflicting a critical hit.

Name

Vasilisa Yaga (Glaistig Fomor)

Type

Fairy/Demon

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

57,527,848/60,000,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

All Ailments, Critical Hits, Instadeath.

Mind, Soul, Corrosion, Wood, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Frost, Lightning, Darkness, Mythic.

Fairyslayer, Demonslayer, Physical, Metal, Light.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

87

2660

3870

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

63

(C+30%)

69

(C+30%)

66

(C+30%)

68

(C+30%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

124

(S+30%)

95

(A+30%)

92

(A+30%)

76

(A+30%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Weak

Strong

Strong

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Yaga Witchcraft IX

Dark Witch Kiss

Archwitch Brew

Dreamrider

Magical Prodigy

Life Crafter

Hag Coven

Spell: Ancient Meteor

Night Terror

Spell: Crimson Lightning

Fomor Lifeforce

Spell: Black Rainbow

Born of Magic

Spell: Blizzard

Shapeshifter

Spell: Muspelflame

Skylord

Spell: Fallen Auspices

Spell: Hasten+

Spell: Ghostform

Spell: Superflare

Spell: Darkest Fear

Spell: Clock Stop

Passive Perks:

• Yaga Witchcraft X: As a true fairy lord of the Fomors, Vasi can learn spells up to Tier IX from all schools of magic except Arithmancy, Prayers, Performances, and Psychism.

• Archwitch Brew: Vasi can craft potions, drinks and witch items without need of a recipe and create her own through experimentation. Her chances of successfully crafting these items is always 100% percent, unless she intentionally fails.
• Magical Prodigy: as the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, Vasi gains twice more SP gained from mental stats than normal. Her chances of successfully learning a new spell from tutors and spellbooks are doubled.
• Hag Coven: if Vasi is in a party that includes at least two other members capable of casting Witchcraft Spells, whether Players or Monsters, then they can form a coven. A coven’s members can learn and cast unique Witchcraft spells, receive a +10% bonus to crafting potions and magical items per coven member, and can cast spells at half the SP cost. As the Tamer who awakened Vasilina’s Perk, Basil can fit in as a placeholder in her coven even if he cannot cast Witchcraft spells.
• Night Terror: Vasi passively the [Nightmare] ailment (1/16th HP damage per minute) on anyone suffering from the [Sleep] ailment within twenty meters. She can turn off this ability at will.
• Fomor Lifeforce: as a Fairy Lord of the Fomors, Vasi takes only 50% from any attack (this stacks with elemental Resistances). She is immune to critical hits, Instadeath effects, and all Ailments.

• Born of Magic: as an embodiment of magic, Vasi regains 1/16th of her full SP each minute. This effect is separated from similar [SP Regen] effects, stacks with them, and cannot be negated in any way.

• Shapeshifter: Vasi is a master shapeshifter. She can reshape her body in any form she wants (such as a human), though this doesn’t change her Perks nor innate Typing.

• Skylord: Thanks to her wings, Vasi can fly at will. This manifests as a permanent [Float] effect. Additionally, she can summon a flying broomstick to carry other passengers.

Active Perk:

• Dark Witch Kiss: [Soul], [Ailment]. Vasi can try to [Charm] a single target by kissing them. The effectiveness depends on the charisma difference between Vasi and the target, but always fails on genderless entities. Unlike normal [Charm] effects, the effect can only be dispelled through magical means.
• Dreamrider: |Ailment], [Soul]. Vasi can at will enter the dreams of any sleeping individual within twenty meters. When she uses this ability, her body is comatose.
• Life Crafter: [Life]. As a Fairy Lord of the Fomors, Vasi can create life in her image. By sacrificing 10 SP per level of her creation (maximum 20), she can shape a creature of the [Aquatic], [Avian], [Beast], [Plant], [Bug], [Fairy], [Elemental], [Giant], [Humanoid], [Plant] or [Reptile] Type at will, or any combination of two of these types. Her creation is free-willed and not under her control.

Spells:

• Spell: Ancient Meteor: Tier IX Thaumaturgy, 90 SP, [Fire]/[Earth]. Summons a mighty, fiery meteor and drops it on a large area (base damage 200, [Fire]/[Earth]).
• Spell: Crimson Lightning: Tier VI Thaumaturgy, 60 SP, [Lightning], [Ailment]. Shocks a single target with crimson lightning (base power 130 [Lightning], 30% chance to inflict [Paralysis]).
• Spell: Black Rainbow: Tier VII Witchcraft, 70 SP, [Darkness], [Ailment]. Unleashes a cursed rainbow on a single target (Base power 150 [Darkness] damage, 10% chance to [Blind], 10% chance to [Poison], 10% chance to [Curse]).
• Spell: Blizzard: Tier VII Thaumaturgy, 70 SP, [Frost]. Unleashes a powerful ice storm on multiple targets (base power 150 [Frost] damage).
• Spell: Muspelflame: Tier V Thaumaturgy, 50 SP, [Fire]. Unleashes a mighty burst of fire at a single target (base power 120 [Fire]).
• Spell: Fallen Auspices: Tier VI Necromancy, 60 SP, [Support]. Buff all stats for 5 minutes.
• Spell: Hasten+: Tier VIII Chronomancy, 80 SP, [Support]. Applies the [Haste] buff to all party members for 5 minutes.
• Spell: Ghostform: Tier VIII Necromancy, 80 SP, [Soul]. Turn [Intangible] for 5 minutes, granting immunity to [Physical] attacks and heightened Evasion.
• Spell: Superflare: Tier VII Thaumaturgy, 70 SP, [Mythic]. Bombards a target with an explosion of legendary energy; ignores defensive stats (base power 150 [Mythic] damage).
• Spell: Darkest Fear: Tier IX, Unknown, 90 SP, [Mythic]. The fairy lords’ ultimate spell, created to bring down the champions of the god. This spell can only affect an individual with either godly essence or connected to one (such as Priest Classes, chosen ones, or demigods); the target has their HP and SP reduced to 1, and suffers from the [Terror] and [Permadeath] (cannot be revived) ailments. The ailments can be negated, but not the HP/SP decrease.
• Spell: Clock Stop: Tier IX Chronomancy, 90 SP, [Support]. The user stops time for everyone but themselves for one minute, allowing them to move around and cast spells; though attacks don’t take effect until time resumes. However, each subsequent casting of the spell increases failure chances by 70%; chances reset after one hour.

Coven Spells

• Coven Spell: Grand Hex: Tier VII Witchcraft, 70 SP. Inflicts the [Curse] ailment on all enemies within ten meters of the caster with 100% percent accuracy.
• Coven Spell: Call the Drude: Tier VIII Witchcraft, 80 SP. Summons a powerful Drude monster (level 50), a nocturnal monster and witch familiar.
• Coven Spell: Grimalkin Gate: Tier IX Witchcraft, 90 SP per minute. The caster opens a portal that can lead to any place she has visited; as this is not a teleportation effect, the gate can open even in areas warded against such effects.

Name

Steve Roadwonders (Steamobile)

Type

Artificial

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

4,094,266/4,200,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

All ailments, Critical Hits, Lightning.

Physical, Corrosion, Metal, Fire, Earth, Lightning.

Artislayer, Wood, Water.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

80

10960

3260

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

144

(S+20%)

164

(S+20%)

154

(S+20%)

91

(A+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

66

(D+20%)

23

(E+20%)

46

(D+20%)

48

(C+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

-

-

Strong

Strong

Weak

Weak

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Weak

Strong

-

-

Strong

Strong

-

-

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Oppressive

Gehenna Cannon

Road Warrior

Shell Rain

Juggernaut

Fury Road

Manslaughter

Speed Burst

Lair on Wheels

Road Hazard

Improvement

Self-Repair

Mode Change: Robot

Petrification Bomb

Divine Thunderchariot

Aegis of Zeus

Passive Perks:

• Oppressive: Steve Roadwonders’ mojo intimidates opponents. Enemies hearing or seeing Steve Roadwonders will suffer a Strength and Charisma debuff if they possess a lower charisma than the Steamobile.
• Road Warrior: Steve Roadwonders takes no damage from Traps, Weather, and Field effects.
• Juggernaut: Steve Roadwonder is immune to critical hits and Ailments. Supereffective hits have their effectiveness reduced to x2 instead of x3.
• Manslaughter: The power of all [Physical] attacks is doubled, will ignore Resistance, and will inflict a Manslayer effect (x3 damage against Humanoids).
• Improvement: As a mobile weapon platform, Steve Roadwonders cannot undergo metamorphosis. However, the Steamobile can gain new Perks by incorporating new technology into its frame.
• Lair on Wheels: Steve Roadwonders can become his own Lair and equip himself with Lair features. All members of Steve Roadwonders’ Party, Guild or Faction benefit from the features when in close proximity to him.
• Mode Change: Robot: Steve can turn into a bipedal robot mode. While in this bipedal form, his Strength and Agility stats are swapped.
• Divine Thunderchariot (Passive): as the gods’ chariot, Steve Roadwonders takes half damage from attacks, is immune to [Insta-Death], and absorbs [Lightning] attacks (recovers HP equal to the damage that would have been inflicted). His [Lightning] attacks inflict 50% more damage and pierce through Resistance.

Active Perks:

• Gehenna Cannon: [Metal], [Lightning], 250 SP. Steve Roadwonders unleashes a powerful beam of energy from his main cannon (500 base [Lightning]/[Mythic] damage). The beam is a magical attack.
• Shell Rain: [Metal], [Fire], 100 SP. Rains down an artillery bombardment (base damage 200, [Fire]/[Metal]).
• Fury Road: [Support], [Ailment], 40 SP. Steve Roadwonders can apply the [Berserk] status to himself for five minutes, ignoring his own Ailment immunity. In this state, besides the usual bonus of the ailment, Steve Roadwonders has all of his physical stats buffed.
• Speed Burst: [Physical], [Support], 100 SP. Steve Roadwonders ramps up his speed, inflicting heavy [Physical] damage (base power 130) to anything in his path; additionally, he will receive a buff to [Agility] for five minutes.
• Road Hazard: [Corrosion], [Metal], [Earth], [Fire], [Ailment] 100 SP. Steve Wonders releases a set of road hazards in his wake: poisonous spikes (30 [Corrosion] damage, 10% chances to inflict [Poison]), iron spikes (50 [Metal] damage), and sharp rocks (50 [Earth] damage), and sticky bombs (-20% [Agility] unless removed, 50 [Fire] damage once countdown ends).
• Self-Repair: [Support], 0 SP. As an unliving machine, Steve Roadwonders cannot benefit from normal healing spells nor recover HP/SP naturally. However, self-repair systems will let it regain 1/16th of max HP/SP for 5 minutes; Steve Roadwonders cannot use offensive Perks during the repair period.
• Petrification Bomb: [Earth], [Ailment]. Steve can crack its own core to self-destruct and unleash a mighty petrification pulse with a radius of one kilometer per level max. This [Petrify] everything with a lower level than Steve and bypasses Immunity; even buildings and items are affected.
• Aegis of Zeus: [Lightning], [Support], 100 SP. Steve Roadwonders can empower allies with the power of [Lightning]. All allies within fifty meters will inflict 20% additional [Lightning] damage with their weapons piercing through Resistance and benefit from temporary [Lightning] immunity for ten minutes.

THANKS FOR COMPLETING APOCALYPSE TAMER!

[GAME CREDITS]

Author, Game Designer, and Level Designer - Maxime J. Durand, aka Void Herald.

Beta Tester and Proofreader - Daniel Zogbi.

Character & Bestiary Artist - Dinovoila

Cover Artist - Dinovoila & Vitaly S. Alexius.

And my most sincere thanks to all of my supporters on Patreon!

Final Notes

That was a long journey, but all roads must end.

Special thanks to Daniel Zogbi, my proofreader and first reader, and to Dinovoila, whose illustrations gave life to the world of Apocalypse Tamer.

To be perfectly blunt, Apocalypse Tamer was written in pretty difficult times. Some members of my family went through Covid-related debt issues, and I had to support them financially; others struggled with cancer; my great-aunt, a great woman who had survived WWII and the Cold War alike, ended up dying from a stroke; some of my friendships ended in rather difficult circumstances; I spent a year setting up a company and moving to another country, which proved a long and grueling process. I’ve also grown somewhat dissatisfied with a few things in my personal life (particularly a pervading feeling of loneliness) that colored everything else. The shift in Apocalypse Tamer’s early humor to the darker volumes afterward is partly because of negative events happening in the background. It’s very hard for me to write jokes and humor when I’m not happy with myself.

On the flip side of the coin, things went more swimmingly work-wise. Apocalypse Tamer is my most profitable series on Kindle, which will change a lot of things going forward; I’ve pulled up a team to design a new webtoon; though it was a struggle to set it up, I now have a company to manage my various IPs and start branching out.

All in all, after the high point of the 2020/2021, 2022 turned out to be something of a mixed blessing. That heavily influenced the writing of Tamer, and fit into the larger theme of the story: namely, moving on and the subtle power of resolve.

When life throws shit at you–especially stuff you can’t influence–the best you can do is soldier on until better days arrive. As someone wisely told me once: “when in bad times, wait for the good; when in good times, prepare for the bad.” Loved ones die, troubles come up, and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed; but in the end, better days await for those who persevere in the face of adversity.

This theme is all the more relevant to Apocalypse Tamer because it is something of a conclusion to the ‘Dis’ saga I began so long ago. Few know it, but my first official professional work was a blog web serial called Dis Acedia, whose first volume was published on Amazon as the Laws of Dis. It told the story of prisoners trapped in a maze called Dis, which devoured the souls of the dead and fed on the torment of the fallen. Many of my characters, such as Malacoda (the future Maleking), Brina, Wyrde, Lazarus (the future Dismaker/Maxwell), Loctis (the living swarm from Underland) and Shroud (Mathias Martel from The Perfect Run), were first conceptualized over this first draft.

Dis Acedia found neither joy nor success, and I burned out on it halfway through it; mostly due to overambition and frustration on my part. After learning from my mistakes, I rebooted it in the form of Magik Online, my first work published on Royal Road. That one too led me to a burnout and was never completed.

Yet these works’ legacy lived on in future works. Themes I tried to address in them were better developed in Never Die Twice, Kairos, Underland, and even Vainqueur; and the color system I had developed for Magik Online became the foundation of The Perfect Run’s system.

Yet one of my biggest regrets was never giving the characters of the Dis Saga a proper conclusion. I did that with Shroud in The Perfect Run, but characters like the Maleking, Wyrde, Brina, and the Dismaker remained in limbo. It took me a while to realize that my failure with these works was because of my own inexperience and overambition; by trying to do too many things at once, I failed to properly handle them.

In a way, Apocalypse Tamer was a way for me to give a spiritual conclusion to these abandoned works and characters. It was meant to give closure to my experiments with the LitRPG genre, exploring what I feel are its strengths, weaknesses, and implications. By tying up the multiverse I suggested all the way back with Vainqueur the Dragon, I feel I can finally move on too.

I have mixed feelings about Apocalypse Tamer. On one hand, I feel it doesn’t quite live up to earlier works like The Perfect Run, and that I failed to resolve many issues I’ve grown to struggle with as far as LitRPGs are concerned (unmanageable power-escalation over time, reducing everything to numbers, mechanics taking over at the expense of character work); I now strongly believe LitRPGs are at their best in the early stages, when skills are rare and manageable, or when used lightly/without hard stats.

On the other hand, Apocalypse Tamer is indeed my most financially successful series yet, and it let me explore ideas like a European System Apocalypse, crafting, and some very strong themes such as faith and perservering in the face of sorrow; I feel the Blackcinders/Shumen arc in particular is among my best, as was the Misha interlude and the final fourth of the story. It also let me further explore characters such as Walter and Vainqueur, to tie my stories together in what I feel is a coherent whole. The story’s system is also my best yet, mechanically speaking.

If I could sum up Tamer, it would be this way: the story’s lows were very low, but the highs were worth it.

In fact, I think many issues I had with Tamer are less about the story itself and more about the context and process that surround it. Namely, I feel the LitRPG format has some intrinsic issues I can’t manage to fix no matter what I try, at least when I write the genre seriously (satire comes easier); and writing chapters after a deadline means I put quantity before quality. Many times have I published chapters I feel deserved more time to polish not because I felt they were ready, but because I swore to publish X chapters on X days. My new stories will have a less strict schedule to put more quality into it.

Overall, I think Apocalypse Tamer is… well, not my best work, but not one I’m bitter over either. Basil and the Bohens were unlike any other protagonists I’ve written before, and I enjoyed telling their adventures. I hope you’ve appreciated their journey all the way to the end, and that you’ll appreciate the works that will follow in its wake. I’d be happy to read your comments on it.

Finally, I'm going to focus on two stories from now on: Commerce Emperor and Blood & Fur. The first has already been released on RR as we speak:

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/69923/commerce-emperor/chapter/1243154/prologue-the-merchant-hero

I hope you will enjoy this story as much as Tamer, if not more; the other, Blood & Fur, will be released a bit later.

Once again, thank you for everything, and see you around!

Best regards,

Voidy.