《The Perfect Specimen》I Can't Eat This
Advertisement
"Without being able to read, how do I know what I'm supposed to do and where I'm supposed to go? How can I earn more food?"
Alistair realizes this problem and decides that after making a stop to the cafeteria, it is a must to head towards the library.
He quickly dons the clothing folded neatly on the bed and takes a look in the mirror. Luckily it isn't a button up shirt or anything complex. Only a T-shirt with the Diamond In The Rough logo on the left pectoral, and black cargo pants.
After fully clothing himself he exits his room and darts towards the cafeteria. Upon entering it he notices the long line of students waiting to get a plate of food.
A few minutes before Alistair arrives, the cafeteria is in complete disarray. Students are piling in at the conveyor belt station where food is distributed and are shouting at each other trying to get to the front.
Some students even escalated even further to using some of their abilities to move others away or get ahead of them. The counter has a young lady who appears to be new and unable to handle the rowdy behavior.
One older student even tries to flirt with the young lady in an attempt to get more food.
Just as the young lady was becoming overwhelmed, an older woman entered the cafeteria wheeling in a long table with a cloth draped over the contents resting on top of it, and walked to behind the counter.
Completely ignoring the students fighting over lunch, she puts her apron on and begins pointing her finger at each student.
"1,2,3..." She begins counting each of them, committing their faces to memory. The students completely ignore her, only staying interested in getting to the food first.
Advertisement
Then the older woman presses a button on the side of the conveyor and halts the production of the food.
The students immediately quiet down as they noticed the source of their commotion being messed with. They all direct their attention to the older woman and some children who have been students for a while turn ghostly pale as they see her.
"So...I noticed you all taking very good care of my protege here." She smiles and announces towards the crowd of children. "I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart!"
One of the newer students who finds this scene bizarre blurts out, "Shut up and just get the food ready! We're hungry!" Sporadic cheers come from the crowd. Other students begin moving away from the children who cheered making them stand out even more.
The students who knew the woman the best immediately break away from the group and get into a neat and orderly line waiting for their turn to get food. Trying to play it off as being good students the entire time.
The older woman turns to look at each of those students and then completely stone faced says, "Your food privileges will be suspended until I say otherwise. Anyone caught giving food to those students will have their food privileges suspended as well."
The student who spoke up previously retorts, "You can't do that! I have a meal card with a lot of points on it! I earned my food! If you do this I'll report you to the headmaster personally!" He smirks thinking that she wouldn't go to overboard knowing this could get reported.
"Oh you mean my husband? Please feel free to tell him and if he has any concerns he can bring them to me personally." She smiles the young man with a malicious grin.
Advertisement
Immediately that young mans face pales at the realization that his complaints would fall on deaf ears about this overbearing woman. His next statement stuck in his throat he decides to retreat and not anger this woman any more.
Seeing the leader of the uprising backing down, the other new students whose heads blew up from confidence now find themselves deflating from realization.
The woman then turns to the remaining students who were waiting for her judgement and says, "Now then, I was going to give everyone a reward for working well with my successor here while I was retired. Now however, I see that none of you are worthy of my meals."
She grabs the cloth on the table she wheeled in and pulls it away in a dramatic fashion to display mouth watering exotic foods.
The smell from the food on the table suddenly bursts out through the cafeteria leaving the other food that was being brought out one by one on the conveyor belt looking like nothing more than slop.
One of the students who knew the woman summoned up the courage to speak against her, "Please Mrs. Diamond! You can't punish us all for getting a bit rowdy over food! You make the best food in the entire school! Some of us save up points for a long time just to get a taste of one of your recipes!"
Mrs. Diamond looks at him and smiles capriciously. She says, "You know, you're absolutely right. How about this. Anyone who was not a part the chaos that I walked into right now can have as much food as they want."
The students become flabbergasted at her shamelessness. Everyone knows that all students rush to the cafeteria as soon as it opens in an attempt to get a meal before they close down for the day. After all, the cafeteria can only stock so much good food and it is first come first serve.
Not to say that there is not food for those who can not get there in time. The only downside is that they would have to personally go and buy the ingredients with their own points. Which, after enough times can add up to an astronomical sum.
"What there's no one coming up to eat? Even after I went through all the trouble to make this?" Mrs. Diamond speaks with schadenfreude written all over her face.
At this moment the doors to the cafeteria open and a new student who no one has seen before walks in.
Alistair enters the cafeteria under the watchful eyes of the crowd and Mrs. Diamond who is shocked by the emergence of an unknown child.
He walks up to the front of the line where the food is. He sees that it is all food that is cooked and, though savory to the normal tongue, is unappealing to him.
He is immediately filled with dread at the prospect of the situation that happened at the feast happening again. He noticed that anything that is cooked or that is not considered raw meat is forcefully expelled from his body.
He walks over to the lady serving the food and asks, "Do you have any food that I can eat? This stuff is inedible."
The students in the line next to him, Mrs. Diamond, and her protege drop their jaws in shock at what they just heard.
Advertisement
- In Serial264 Chapters
Delve
Summary – Level 1: Delve is an isekai litrpg that follows an average guy who just happened to wake up in a forest one day. He wasn’t summoned to defeat the demon lord or to save the world or anything like that, at least as far as he can tell. The only creature there to greet him was a regular old squirrel. Soon enough, he meets other people, only to discover that he can’t speak the language, and that not everybody immediately trusts random pajama-wearing strangers they met in the middle of the wilderness. Things generally go downhill from there, at least until the blue boxes start appearing. Delve is a story about finding your way in a new, strange, and dangerous world. It’s about avoiding death, figuring out what the heck is going on, and trying to make some friends along the way. It’s not about getting home, so much as finding a new one. Did I mention that there will be math? Summary – Level 2: Okay, but what are you in for, really? Well, this story is supposed to be realistic, or at least, as realistic as a fantasy litrpg can be. The main character doesn’t instantly become an all-powerful god and murder-hobo his way across the universe. Delve is, at its heart, a progression fantasy, but that progression is meant to feel earned. The numbers in this story actually mean something. Everything is calculated, and if you find a rounding error, I expect you to tell me about it. That said, if math isn’t your cup of tea, there is plenty more that the story has to offer. Characters are meant to feel real, and progression isn’t only about personal power; it’s also about allies, connections, and above all, knowledge. Figuring out how the system works is a significant theme. ... What, you want more details? Okay, fine, but this is going to get a bit spoiler-y. Are you sure? Yes! Really sure? I mean, this summary is practically half as long as the first chap– Now! Okay, okay! The main character becomes a magic user, but he takes a route that is not very popular in adventurer culture, namely that of a support. There is a full magic system with various spells, skills, and abilities, but our MC decides that aura magic is the way to go, and that the only stat worth investing in is mana regeneration. Most people at the Adventurer’s Guild think that this makes him a bit of a dumbass, but he’s playing the long game. We’ll see how that works out for him, won’t we? Because of his build, the MC levels up fast, at least compared to normal people. There are no cheats, though, and he is limited in other ways. There are some clear and pretty obvious downsides to his build. That’s what makes it fun, no? Morals? Our MC has them. Again, we’ll see how that works out for him. Realism, remember? Would you be okay with killing someone and looting their body? I sure hope not. POV? The focus is on the main character, but there will be occasional varying perspectives from people around him, or involved in the events related to the main plot. It isn’t going to jump all over the place. Tech is standard medieval stasis. No smartphones, but the MC does have a technical background. Computers and their programming might be involved. There might even be a bit of uplifting down the road, who knows? Anyway, it isn’t the focus. He isn’t going to invent the gun in chapter 1 and change the face of warfare. Romance is not a major focus. Friendships are more the name of the game, though there will be some characters in romantic relationships. There is exploration, though not as much of the geographical nature as you might expect. It is more about exploration of the system and the culture. The pace is slow and detailed, sometimes verging on slice-of-life. The action is meant to be realistic and grounded in the numbers, and it is intended to have meaning beyond simply punching things until they stop moving. The general tone of the story is grey, and some parts can get quite dark. People die. Sometimes, people with names, but not anywhere near GoT level. There is plenty of light, too, though, to balance the darkness. The world is dangerous, but overcoming that danger is why we’re all here, isn’t it? Anyway, if you’ve made it this far through the summary, you clearly like words. I hope you enjoy the story! Cover by Miha Brumec Summary Updated: 2020-06-14
8 822 - In Serial85 Chapters
Humanity's End
Given a year to prepare by the mysterious ‘system’ for contact with the wider galaxy, humanity must work to ensure the Earth’s defense is ready to meet any challenge. Sadly, most of the world seems dedicated to tearing itself apart as the year-end deadline gets closer. The west is in barely contained Chaos, while the east descends into internal conflict and war. The Pillar Forts, one of the few successful projects of the United Nations headed by the United States, stand ready to defend humanity against any invasion that may come through the strange Connection Pillars that appeared on each continent. Massive steel and stone walls that surround the Connection Pillars. They are filled with deadly men and women trained in all manner of warfare, each trained in the newly acquired System with skills and magical abilities that they put to deadly purpose. Beside these brave warriors, tanks, helicopters, artillery and more stand ready to defend humanity at each of these powerful installations. But, can they overcome the disparity in levels and experience between themselves and the forces that threaten them and the rest of humanity? Main Characters Jessica Brown- A young African American girl. Her 18th birthday in Detroit was the same day the systems message appeared. She discovered she was Level 7, much higher than most of the rest of the world. Why she is blessed, or cursed, with the power she doesn’t know. But what she does know is that she rather likes the feeling that comes with manipulating magic. The week after her birthday, government workers started testing every person in the US in a massive census effort of skills and abilities. Jessica Brown found herself conscripted into the US Magical Corp, a new branch of the US Military, and shipped off to a Pillar Fort. Somewhere hot and muggy in her ancestors’ home of Africa. As she grows stronger, she finds she has some connection to the pillars. While everyone else sees beauty or danger when they look at the pillars, after connection is made all Jessica can see is a Tree. A tree the size of the entire universe. Isaka Smith - is a third generation American and farmer who just wants to be left alone. But she is dragged into the situation by events beyond her control. When people in her small town had to deal with rioters and looters after the system announcement, she rallied them to defend themselves, earning her a trait that the government found extraordinarily useful. After a visit to a local reservation, she finds herself conscripted to lead one of the many small support towns erected around the great pillar forts. Not near her old home, but in far-flung Africa. John McIntire, the “Fighting Bull” -The commander of the African Fort, but because of circumstances beyond his ability to contend with shortly after taking command after being re-activated from retirement, he finds communication with his chain of command increasingly difficult. The US government, hell, even the United Nations, seems to have fallen into complete and utter chaos. The African Union is embroiled in a bitter civil war just outside his door, and supposedly, most of the world governments are in similar situations. Meanwhile, John must do his best to be ready to facilitate diplomacy, or to match the hostile argument of whatever force might come through the pillar of light when the year timer finishes counting down. Can our heros defend Earth from outside threats, while it tares itself apart? Or will they need to rebuild from the ground up? DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to my father who passed away recently. Jim Holloway, you’ll be missed you old silverback gorilla. Love you dad. Always have, always will.
8 301 - In Serial12 Chapters
Rise of Toki
From a common worm to human to a dragon, they have a gem embedded in their bodies since birth. These gems contained the skills of that specimen for it to grow and mature. The more skills one obtains, the stronger they become, the more evolutionary options they open. Then their powers would be passed down to their children to unlock. This is a story about a little tortoise rising up against ... the world! Maybe not. It all started out when this little tortoise sought out to find her little sister in a big world. My attempt to draw the main characters.
8 202 - In Serial8 Chapters
Sky Dungeon
In a world filled with magic, where gods roam the earth and fearsome beasts of legend fill the land, mysterious monsters known as dungeons have existed in perpetuity since the dawn of time. This is the story of one particular dungeon that ruled the skies. A lone dungeon that hovered over the earth and traversed even the world’s most lone and desolate places! A dungeon of dreams, of hopes, and of many desires that inspired great fear in some and great destiny on others. The one and only flying dungeon of its time, the sky dungeon! Inspired by Ancient Strengthening Technique by I Am Superfluous and RoyalRoadLegend’s Dungeon Heart by MinningDragon. The Cover is temporary and is not my own work, nor have I been given permission to use it. I found it on a blog belonging to the artist Aiste Surutkoviciute.
8 133 - In Serial30 Chapters
I, Paladin (an urban fantasy novel)
I was born and raised in Guthrie, Oklahoma—a town with 10,000 people. Mama runs a vintage diner inherited from family and the farthest I’ve been from home is a thirty-minute car ride to Oklahoma City. It's been a traditional middle-America upbringing. Until I have to defend myself from a vampire at sixteen. Suddenly, life is fight training, classes about monsters, and possessing a power I don’t understand or know the origin of—all made more complicated by a crush on my instructor, Agent Thirteen. I don’t want any of this, but The Agency promises to pay Mama’s medical bills and making sure she’s taken care of always comes first. It’s only been the two of us for years. Becoming a paladin means sacrifice.
8 168 - In Serial27 Chapters
Cross Roads: The Monsters Among Us (Book One)
In a series of bizarre murders around the Sycamore University, now more than ever people are getting restless and scared. With no end in sight, a gift from heaven (so to speak) comes knocking on their doorstep. A group of magical young ladies with immense strength and unfathomable intelligence, arrives as a godsend. As they delve deeper into the investigation, a story between what is righteous and what isn't stands firmly in the presence of what is really happening around campus.
8 157

