webnovel

The Deceitful One

With the advent of steam power, mankind has advanced and ushered in the industrial revolution. This is the age of steam locomotives, automatons, guns, and cannons, as well as curses, magic, artifacts, and the occult. Hidden in the shadows are a group of extraordinary people who wield enormous power and strange abilities that normal people cannot even begin to comprehend. They are known as Transcendents! Bryan, a wily thief with a penchant for mischief, lost his parents at a very young age and was forced to live on the streets. That is until his whole life turned around when he was shown the Path to becoming a Transcendent. The Theft Path specializes in deceit and illusions. It can steal everything under the heavens. Even the powers, thoughts, and lives of others. Follow Bryan on his journey through this dangerous and treacherous world as he steals from gods and robs the mortals. This is the story of The Deceitful One. *** My novel has a steampunk world setting, so expect a lot of steam-powered technology as well as retro-looking futuristic inventions. Furthermore, there will be churches, secret organizations, and cults. So if you're a fan of LotM—which I have taken inspiration from btw—you will definitely like my novel. Also, this is my first attempt at writing a novel so you might find some mistakes here and there. Just know that I'm constantly trying to improve. Cheers! *** https://discord.gg/ZwFUa2zM

PandaDumpling · ファンタジー
レビュー数が足りません
264 Chs

Illusion Part III

As soon as Bryan heard the scream from downstairs, he went on high alert. At the same time, his spiritual force was triggered. This meant that he was in danger!

He instinctively bent over and at the same time used his right leg to execute a back kick. Kenny, who was trying to stab Bryan from behind, missed his attack, only slightly grazing Bryan's right arm.

Instead, he was kicked right in the stomach and flew backward in the direction of the main door. Bryan turned around and immediately took out his pistol from his underarm holster.

He aimed the pistol at Kenny who was grimacing in pain by the door and without any hesitation pulled the trigger.

Bang Bang Bang!

The next moment, something that Bryan had never expected even in his wildest dreams to happen, happened. Instead of the bullets hitting Kenny's body and blood spurting out.

What Bryan saw was bullets passing through Kenny and hitting the door behind him. As for Kenny, his body slowly dissipated like a phantom as he disappeared from the spot.

Bryan's pupils dilated as only a single word echoed in his mind, 'Transcendent!'

Panic began to creep into Bryan's heart as he had never fought a Transcendent before. Well, he did fight with Detective Watson but that was only sparring. Moreover, Detective Watson had never used any of his Transcendent abilities.

He took a few deep breaths and calmed his heart. Bryan's mind went on full alert as he used his spiritual force to extend out of his body for about 30 cm.

This was the embryonic form of spiritual sense that could only be used by a Transcendent after they've formed their sea of consciousness! The reason why Bryan could already do this now was because of his excellent talent and aptitude.

Bryan was currently in the living room as he looked around warily. He took out a curved black dagger from the side of his waist. He held it in his left hand in a reverse grip. While his right hand held the pistol and rested on top of his left hand.

Bryan slowly continued to rotate and surveyed everything in the living room. His embryonic spiritual sense suddenly sensed a disturbance on his right. He immediately crouched and rolled to his left.

At the same time, Kenny appeared on Bryan's right and slashed his knife horizontally in a ferocious manner. But he missed again.

Bryan, who had just positioned himself stably after the roll, aimed his gun at Kenny again and pulled the trigger.

Bang Bang!

The first bullet missed but the second bullet dug into Kenny's left arm. Kenny was completely unprepared for the counterattack. After getting shot at, he disappeared into gray smoke again.

Bryan on the other side cursed silently, 'Fuck! How the fuck did I miss his head? I only have 1 bullet now and he won't give me the time to reload.'

He got up to his feet and surveyed his surroundings again. Not long after, Bryan's embryonic spiritual sense was triggered and he rolled forward again.

But this time Kenny didn't attack himself, instead, he threw his knife at Bryan. Meanwhile, he had already postponed himself right in front of Bryan after the latter had rolled forward.

Bryan didn't even have time to look up after he rolled when all of a sudden he was kicked right in the face by Kenny. He flew backward and landed on the floor face up.

He lifted his head and saw Kenny walk towards him with a twisted expression. He no longer had the handsome appearance, instead, his face now was full of worm-like pustules.

Instead of shooting his last bullet at Kenny, Bryan smirked and formed a spell structure in his mind with spiritual force. Then he muttered softly, "Earth Spear!"

The floor underneath Kenny started to rumble, then all of sudden four solid mud spears protruded from the ground and stabbed at the unguarded Kenny.

Kenny was so shocked that he just barely managed to dodge the attack by jumping backward. But right when he was in mid-air, Bryan aimed his pistol at him as he lay on the floor and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

This time the bullet lodged into Kenny's left shoulder. Blood spurted out as he grunted in pain and fell to the floor. However, he disappeared into smoke again the moment his back touched the ground.

Bryan stood up, threw his pistol to the ground, and unsheathed his other curved dagger from the side of his waist.

He held both his curved daggers in a reverse grip and took on a combat stance, ready to attack at any moment.

"Hehehe, so you're one of them too huh?" Kenny's deranged voice was heard from all corners of the room.

Bryan looked around but couldn't find Kenny anywhere. All of a sudden Kenny appeared right in front of him, about half a dozen steps away.

Bryan sneered, "Finally sick of hid-"

Before he could finish his sentence, another Kenny appeared on his right. Then another one appeared on his left. And then another behind him.

He was now surrounded by four Kennys. Bryan started to panic again as he thought, 'I'm fucked! Who's the real one?'

All four Kennys started laughing. All of them looked the same, their faces covered in worm-like pustules that were squirming, giving one the urge to puke. The nails on their hands had turned black and pointy.

'Fuck me! What kind of Transcendent is this?' Bryan looked at the Kenny in front of him and felt his back turn cold. He had never seen such an abomination before.

"Give me your liver, your heart, your kidneys…Gotta eat! Gotta kill! Gotta eat! Hehehe" All four Kennys spoke in unison and attacked Bryan at once.

Bryan tightly gripped his daggers and braced for the incoming attacks.

He slashed his right dagger at the Kenny who was attacking him from the front. The dagger slashed through his body with ease. However, this Kenny wasn't real. He disappeared into gray smoke.

Meanwhile, the Kenny behind him clawed at him but it was too late for Bryan to block it. He could only slightly turn his body so that his vitals weren't hit.

Kenny's claws slashed through Bryan's left shoulder, tearing his clothes and leaving deep gashes on his skin and muscles.

Bryan grunted in pain, but before he could counter-attack, the other two Kennys attacked simultaneously from the sides.

Seeing no way out, Bryan carved another spell structure in his mind as he spoke in a cold voice, "Shadow Chains!"

Hello everyone! I am working on a new Chapter 1 that will give you all a sneak peek into how Bryan will be in the future. So, just giving you a heads-up. Also, this new chapter will not affect any of the chapters that I've already released to date. Just think of it as a trailer for the later parts of the novel. I'll let you know when I release that chapter! Thank you!

PandaDumplingcreators' thoughts