106

As I understand it, it who'd depend on where she is when the god destroys the world. The max damage goes up the more magic is in an area.

Håvard

The part about max damage is kinda interesting right? How would you reconcile that with the fact that this setting apperantly has gods running around? Like...imagine some angry god decided planetary reoriginarion was in order, and launched some cataclysmic attack to shatter the very firmament of reality. Technically the warden would survive such an attack since it, for all its power, can't deal more than the maximum damage. Kinda cool bit of world building there.

Starless

In the web serial Worm, there was a very good reason why all the people with super powers were a bunch of dumb shitheads. It was actually a very powerful and satisfying reveal that flipped the entire story narrative around. Let's hope SS is going for something similar here.

Starless

We'll have to see, he did get advice from Rain.

jiecut

I wonder what the max level is for those guys who awakened just from being near the destroyed Dungeon Core back in chapter 55. Im curious because the obelisk Rain is currently attached to is being descried almost exactly like a Dungeon Core; smooth, black, obsidian that seems to absorb light, and tethers people to Subspace/Soulspace respectively.

Starless

Ok the Lavarro and Warden bit was fantastic. It could probably be a little shorter to go into more detail to show some of her past with Halgrave or Mahira or even just their family in general to explain why she was so willing to kill a bunch of civilians and destroy a good chunk of a city just for the chance to free her daughter. She doesn't even know how she's doing, it just felt like a bit much. At the same time it could've been cool to see how far back the Warden's mind magic goes. Regardless I was pretty happy about it(I just hope we can see what how everybody else is reacting to Lavarro getting mind-jacked relatively soon...). Everything else tho? Unnecessary fluff. Kettle was just a whole chunk of terribleness. Why is he behaving this way? I get it, Awakened people become assholes but he's only been Awakened for what? 2 weeks? Less?! And even then it happened in the middle of a crisis where his city is under attack on 3 different fronts: the Citizens, the Empire, and the new monsters. And none of these have been resolved so you would think one of those would be his source of concern not just looking cool. Doesn't his family still live in the city? Where are they? Were they hit in the initial attack? If so why isn't he angry? If not why isn't he the least bit worried about them? Before he started officially training it was all about his family with him but since the training started, not even since he Awakened but before that, he's just become a hotblooded shithead that talks in slang. Why would he believe that any Guard member is his "rival" instead of his goal? He knows he's surrounded by way, WAY more people that are many times more powerful and experienced but for some reason a random fire-using guard who've been a guard for who knows how long is his rival? I'm not saying he shouldn't be a shithead, he's a teenager, but he shouldn't be this.... dumb should he? And then why are we reading about Kettle anyway? If SS wanted us to know about what's happening while Rain's out(again...) why not Carten, or Val, or the Guard leader, or any of the other Guard members that we've seen before like the wolf lady? Or why not a POV from Mahira instead of another character talking to her? Again her wellbeing has been a central point to alot of events but we still have heard so little from her own mouth. As for Myth/Reason honestly their part was so nothing that I forgot about it until I read the chapter twice more. It just feels like filler. Any progression that they were to have with their experiments could've just been mentioned whenever Rain ran into them again. And that's not to say that I'm against world-building or whatever you wanna call their part just not right now. Like 5 different situations are underway, do we really need to hear from 2 purposefully obtuse shopkeepers? Lastly just like I predicted last chapter we're probably gonna have 2-5 chapters of drawn out details and numbers crunching. For no reason other than SS likes it despite it being at the sake of the overall pace. You really, really, REALLY need to fix that.

When Val was just starting to actually self-reflect, Kettel gets dumped in as an even worse replacement. Like I think we already have enough Guild mentality characters around.

Atlas Dwarf

I prefer the white on black - I have photophobia, so staring at a white screen physically hurts me. Chapter was ok, but a chapter of mostly prevarication followed by a completely MCless chapters feels a bit much. May have been better timed after there was some payoff.

PraxisInPratice

I really like the conflict between those two characters too. Vartreece seems like a duty-bound old lady, ready to lie and kill for her goals (which seem good). And Lavarro is this tragic character who just cares about her family, but is too anti-social to do it right. I can't take any side, and that's how I like stories !

The section with the Warden attacking Westbridge was great. 'took me a bit to figure out what was going on. I was like "Why is she attacking the city ? Why does she have those non-mentalist-sounding spells ? Was Lavarro secretly the real Warden the whole time ?" I clapped at my phone when I connected the dots ; it was glorious^^

I didn't like Rain. He was useless, a complete baggage for every character involved with him. He was naïve, and in a bad way ("Doctors don't work for free ? F*ck those assholes !" kind of naïve). He lacked the ability to recognize when he was at fault (his bitchin' about the Tel in the mine's expedition with Lavarro and him calling Halgrave a bastard for kicking him out when he was being a disrespectful migrant breaking the law). His interractions with other characters were annoying, always talking about Earth and putting his two cents in everything (I was wishing he would just shut up when Ameliah and Tallheart were talking about Snowlily). I nearly dropped the series a few times, but hung on. The fact that I could binge it probably helped a bit (I started reading about 3 weeks ago). And it started paying off ; slowly but surely he was becoming a likable character. 'felt great really. Like I saw this kid grow into an adult in real time, and I was being all proud of him. Plus, the story was gonna be a whole lot more enjoyable starting from now ! And then Kettel came in like a wrecking ball. Impolite, arrogant, hot-headed, no self-awareness... And I would have been fine with it. If he had stayed a side character. But him being the only character, other than Rain, for whom we have been shown stats and skills sheets sends me this signal that he'll become the second most important character to the story. Like a secondary protagonist of sorts. It took about 80~90 chapters for Rain to become tolerable, and he still needs progress. God knows how many it will be for Kettel. I don't know that I'm up for that.

Yay, Reason and Myth! I loved the bargaining scene and I can't wait for Reason and Myth to talk to Rain again and make an army of crystal slimes to clean the city. I found the Warden's mind clone ability a bit difficult to understand. Not only is it unclear what the limitations are but also the capabilities. For instance, is Lavarro aware of the mind clone, or not? Can the Warden mentally communicate with the clone? I guess we'll find out... Looking forward to Rain making Mahria eating her words. Mana is the best... Also, does Kettel not know who Mahria's parents are?

ParadoxFox

Regarding the Myth/Reason interlude; you'd probably have to feed the slime it's relevant mana type to see any effect. Back in chapter 55 we learned that dark type mana exists, among others, so I'd wager slimes work by eating stuff and breaking it down into their mana type, and subsisting off that mana. Could also be why they make cryst;, to store excess mana if they eat too much. Kinda like how animals convert excess glucose into fat. In fact, all monsters probably subsist off their aligned mana type in some way, shape or form. That's why infusing a dark-aligned dungeon core with dark mana will immediately respawn all the monsters(from ch. 55). Maybe they should try feeding the crystal slime a mana potion. Attempting to directly infuse them with mana probably didn't work for the same reason Rain could not manipulate or interact with the mana infused into his body/soul from that heal spell last chapter.

Starless

Then leave and stop complaining, most people like the pacing fine and you can always follow the story through royalroad to save money

Max Thomas

He's likely not at his best after having the city and people he'd watched over for decades wiped out in a few seconds followed by having his leg ripped off lol.

Compendium

loved the chapter, but while val was bad, kettle is worst :p you really have a thing for shonen characters :p

Thenais

The only complaint I have about this story is that I want more of it. So... great job SS! I don't regret my monthly pledge in the slightest! Seriously, amazing work.

This was a decent chapter. Good choice with how your portrayed Lavarro and the warden's interaction. Kettle bit was good, and will become better if it leads somewhere next chapter. Thanks old man. EDIT: That said, Westbridge is coming across as a fool. His death greatly harms the DKE whereas setting Mahria free would be much less risky. Even just buying time would have been worth the costs.

Mr R

I liked it, found it interesting to see the other perspectives. Really liked seeing Kettle's system.

Sickul

Everyone wants more rain, I was enjoying Kettels innocent perspective, but more rain would still be nice.

Dizzregard Home

I like worldbuilding chapters, and as part of the choir I'm throwing my two cents to see more of Rain. However, I think that the issue isn't that Rain isn't directly involved in this chapter, its that the reader doesn't feel the effect of his interaction with the world. For example, the lightbulb was great for showing his influence on the world around him, and watching Myth and Reason torture an innocent slime doesn't quite have the same feel. If there were some advancement made because of the friendly-slime, then the impact would have been more resounding. (Maybe they dump a whole bunch of leaves in and get high-grade healing potions out or something, or they watch a crystal slime level up and ignore it)

Eric Hartz

Here’s hoping she never does, she’d arrest Rain and never let him go, too dangerous.

Orion Dye

I personally don't like the white on black - I find black on white to be much more readable, and this "night mode" strains my eyes a bit in the time. So, take my vote as you will. The chapter was...ok. It's all decent enough worldbuilding, but at this point I still like Rain vastly more than your other characters, so I'd rather see more of him. Ditto someone's earlier comment "also, even a very short Rain PoV would have made this chapter a lot stronger imo."

The Kettel bit was garbage. Not sure what’s worse...that author spent time developing the idiot or the chance likely going to keep appearing in the story!

Silver Beard

I would like to recommend tweaking the black and white slightly, make it a very dark grey instead of pure black, more pleasant

I always like Kettels parts in the story. I hope he finds.some secret hidden class or something like that.

COCOMOJOE

The Watch is the worst organization we've met, except for all the others. There is no good guy or for Rain to join.

wanderer117

This would be a big change, but I recommend moving the big fight with Westbridge back to just before the mini-arc of Rain trapped in the cavern. Maybe put it side by side with Sadanis' fight with the watch, cutting between the two fights. Then you could put an end of book 1 after it. I think putting this there as a climax would make the pacing issues feel a lot better.

And Then There Was None

Is it just me or does the watch seem even more corrupt than like anything else other than the empire and maybe the DKE

Steven Thompsen

For the last few months I was really wondering why I am staying a patron. I guess it is only $3 a month that is keeping me here. The one occasional chapter a month is amazing, the rest feels like a bad anime filler. I feel like story pacing is rather slow which coupled with getting only one chapter a week and some of them not advancing the plot at all is just too much or rather too little. How long is this arc of Rain being trapped 4 months? 5? I think it would be more palatable if we learned all the information included in this chapter as Rain learns it. I do not like to sound like an entitled brat but this feels to me like a bonus chapter and not regular chapter. I guess this chapter may be important down the line but given current pacing and release schedule it may be in few months when I already forgotten what this was about. Rant over. To sum up this is really interesting story I loved in the beginning but now it is starting to get too frustrating.

Wredniak2003

It's good chapter but I want it to know what happened To rain

عبدالرحمن الرفاعي

Hm, the question about: what do you think? I think - the flashback was interesting. Tells us what happened in detail, also we already know that lavaro killed westbridge. Did we need halve a chapter for retelling us? Not realy. But the way it was done was good, so - ok? Dont know what i should think about the other half of the chapter. 2 Pages id say where just fillers. While i like stats and stuff, do we realy need it for a minor side character when other good characters with more screenlight havnt shown theirs? I think that halve was a let down and honestly feeled more like a filler as a whole. Sure, some may say it was ok - but thats what im thinking and what you asked, so this is my answer. :)

D

I super enjoyed the Warden section and always good to read Myth and Reason. On the other, Kettel (and Val) are always a bit incongruous to read because this is super rational fiction and neither of them is even slightly rational or even particularly sympathetic since they are so arrogant.

HornsOfTheseus

Re: the city, Lavarro didn't just destroy the wall, she basically made it explode. And then she dragged the debris from that wall, and all of the buildings between it and the city center, and crashed it on top of the palace. After which, she meteored the wreckage, causing earthquakes to tear up was was left of the city, and then Westridge's counterattack caused lava to come boiling out of the ground through the cracks. Consider the city shaken AND stirred. The issue of the Warden isn't that she took over someone's mind. It's that she created a self-sustaining copy of her mind that took over someone's body and remains in control for WEEKS. To be clear, this isn't a channeled ability, the clone is independent of the original now. It isn't simply influence, or outright control, she is functionally possessing someone, and there are functionally no limits to how many people she can possess. There could, at any given moment, be thousands of these Warden copies controlling people at any given time, with none the wiser.

Empty Shelf

Hrm. So that happened, then. The crystal part was curious, no clue what's up with that, and, honestly, I had to laugh at the bargaining for sharing Cloud. That's hilarious. Now, the Warden/Lovvaro scene. A rather unique way of doing a flashback. A bit surprised the trap worked, honestly. Am I the only one who doesn't think the damage to the city was too bad? The wall being destroyed is bad, yes, but am I missing something? I got the impression that Westbridge's city was all but flattened, but it seems more like just a direct strike? I got the impression of Westbridge's attack on Fel Sandaris was worse in terms of unawakened deaths. I have to be the only person here unimpressed with the Warden taking over the mind for a few weeks. I kind of consider that kind of thing par for the course for a mind mage, and frankly, the few weeks is actually more of a surprise than anything to me - I was expecting far longer for a platinum plate. Dammit Kettle. Don't be a Val. I mean, at least Val is somewhat competent. We're going to have to change it to "don't do a Kettle" now, aren't we? Not a fan of this part. While enjoyable in a vacuum, dragging out Rain's cliffhanger there is just cruel and mean. Shameful.

Imp

Does anyone else wonder what the fuss about the Menocht Loop is? The writing seemed incoherent and the prose was cumbersome . I don’t understand how its ranking is high as it is.

Styx

But what about the building arc 😛

Styx

Eh, I think the chapter was fine. It even works well for the pacing... if this was a novel. The problem is that its published weekly as a serial.

Styx

PDF version seems fine to me. I would recommend not using the patreon app but rather download it through the website.

Styx

Thank you for the chapter, though 2/3 of the subplots are not as interesting to learn about. While the Kettel part makes Kettel too late (as in his character type would have been fine in the first 10 chapters) and the Myth & Reason are themselves not interesting characters on their own, I like the Lavarro's part, of her events when she killed Westbridge.

Good eye. Fixed, thanks.

SenescentSoul

i like the black and white, makes it like reading on RR, chill the fuck out kettel!

@SenescentSoul If you're looking for other things to read try "The Menocht Loop", "Dungeon Crawler Carl", "Fireteam Delta", "Seaborn", "The Gilded Hero","Undead","A Demon's Tail","Super Minion" and "The Second Remnant Series : Book One - The Dark Places, Book Two - The Dividing Line". That's the newer ones, some older ones I'm fan of are: "Azarinth Healer", "Savage Divinity","Eight", "Metaworld Chronicles","Apathy","Orc Lord","Supervillainy and Other Poor Career Choices","Is it Reincarnation if I'm Still Dead?","The Outer Sphere", "The Good Student".. to name a few

Deinos

Well I liked the mechanics and skills shown, but we do need to hurry up and get out of the city

Pocket Rikimaru Thanatos

Overall the chapter is well written but ultimately unnecessary. Lavaro being temporarily replaced could have been alluded to instead have explicitly stated. Kettle's boring as a PoV character when he isn't used as a foil for more interesting characters. The guards are okay but they are cookie cutter (not that this could have been fixed with limited word count). Considering we had a near death fight and then finally got access to the control stone the anticipation has been building for a while. The previous chapter delayed and served well to slow the pace somewhat. But this chapter breakins the tension that's been building towards the culmination of the dome storyline and only frustrates the reader, i.e me. Sometimes it's okay to give the reader what they want.

Caestus

Nice chappy!

Deinos

I have to say as a subscriber on the iPhone with patreon mobile this update is impossible to read due to the length of the attachment names. The pdf is cut off below the navigation buttons and the ePub is unopenable.

Ellija

Upvote for a legitimate use for a tinfoil hat

Styx

1) kettle is not supposed to be likable, he’s a street urchin with an adventurer complex that now finds himself able to use magic. The reason he was “likable” before was because he was powerless. 2) I agree with wanting to see atleast a small half paragraph of rain. Maybe just him doing the math and being like “I’ve been in here for two weeks...” would have been nice.

SunderGoldmane

My thoughts exactly, I’m sure he’s had a breakthrough.

SunderGoldmane

Oh ffs get over yourself.

SunderGoldmane

The timing of this just at the start of a month, with a cliffhanger at the end of last month seems suspiciously much like trying to fish for continued subscription. With this kind of precedence set, then next time I see him pull such a trick I will know that the tension is not going to be released, and we would just get more drawn out chapters or filler content.

Ninetails

I enjoyed the chapter but it has good parts and bad parts. The black and white is a nice addition and I would prefer that going forward. Kettle is a believable dumbass and I hope Rain can work with him on his build and his attitude. That said he is not a character I care about so he will need major character development for me to like him. Unless he is going to be a major character then I don't think it is worth it. The mind mage portion is very interesting and shows info on the damage limit and mind magic fuckery. In this world where magic is absorbed in metal a tinfoil hat could help protect you from mental manipulation. Until Rain gets his resistances he needs to go full Magneto just no capes please, (Imagining Edna Mode). Finally I understand filler and deescalation from a narrative standpoint but I want to know what is going on with Rain. Hopefully see you Wednesday but realistically Sunday.

Michael Hughes

why is there a '0' in kettels system? (0 available stat points, should be "no available..." instead)

Ranzbart

Kettles fucking annoying good god. I hate him.

adonis piper

Cliff filler after Mega cliff chappie last week. We needs teh Rain.

M van Dongen

shes sorta carting herself off to prison

Gardor

Kettle is basically a teenager, reckless and impatient. We’ll see how that works out for him I guess. Also, called it with the warden. Lavarro got mindfucked, and now she’s being carted off to prison, or her execution.

Orion Dye

I completely disagree. Didn't care at all. The chapter was fine but I really don't care about how he died. Doesn't matter what the people at the top are doing. I want to see the progress to get there.

Alexander Dupree

Yes, it would have been way more satisfying to start with the ignorant punk and end on the high note of the warden.

Adam Roundfield

Heartily concur on both points - black on white please, or even better skip the files and just post the chapter in the post. I miss Wednesday updates :(

Guessed

Wait if it's 6pm and Rains not back yet, wasnt it almost 11am when we last saw him? That's 7*60=420h=18ish DAYS stuck in the spirit world! Hopefully this preludes him actually fixing his soul tho?

jam

Fun chapter, but a little ruff after the clif last week. Oh Kettle, you could have been a pasivist but you had to go poorly optimized fire mage instead.

wanderer117

On the bright side Kettel mentions he hasn't seen Rain all day so at least there will probably be some time crunched answers at the start of the next chapter. And uh after seeing the Warden part, Rain really needs to get level 26 for the 5 24/7 Wards. Like it won't matter to the Warden but safe in mind at least. Also really makes you wonder, does the fake Warden see Lavarro's system layout of her own?

Atlas Dwarf

I think the quality of this champter will depend a lot on what we see of Kettel in the next few chapter and how the situation with the Warden develops. Basically this chapter can only realy be good if it is meant to build up future events, some of which have to happen soon. I like how the focus on Lavarro reminds me who Mahria is. I don't like the first section with Myth and Reason because I don't realy see how it contributes to the main narrative (we already knew all the things they talked about other than dog time being used as a bribe).

Vadalken

I think Kettel’s dialect went a little overboard with the “tha” usage, and that this chapter made him a lot less likable than in previous Rain PoV chapters. Like a lot less likable. Out of Kettel, Lavarro, and the Warden in this chapter, Kettel came out looking the worst. Kettel came out of this chapter looking worse than Velika did after chasing Rain down post-dungeon and floating the idea of kidnapping Tallheart. The whole ‘awakened are prone to jackassery’ theme was strong here. It requires a good writer to make a reader dislike a character, so me rooting for Kettel to break his nose is a feather in your cap. Also, even a very short Rain PoV would have made this chapter a lot stronger imo.

M

Thanks for the chapter.

Joshua Little

Kind of disappointed in how Kettle is turning out. I knew that he was brash, ignorant and impulsive but he seemed more relatable when he was with Rain in the sewers.

Andrew

Waiting for the warden to see rains earth memories

afgasd adgasd

I would recommend shifting around the order of the scenes, i.e. putting Kettle first, and ending the chapter with the much more interesting Warden POV. As it is, the middle of the chapter is highly engaging, but it ends with an annoying brat who I don't really care about... As mentioned above, in a published novel it would feel less out of place, but for *the* weekly dose of Delve it falls somewhat flat

Bob Xander

My eyes burn from the white text on black background. Other than that, it's disappointing to have to wait another week to (hopefully) get back to Rain's POV.

Daoist

Watch, Guild, Bank... Described as the three pillars when united, is basically the stereotypical military industrial complex.

Adam Roundfield

Lavarro put on the mind mage equipment which is why she was unable to resist. It is likely a lot harder to take control when they are standing infront of you

LEMON

Come on Kettel just work through the pain of mana starvation.

St Chef

I personally didn't enjoy this chapter. I liked learning more about the warden but that was it. I didnt even remember who half the people were in this chapter. Minor side characters a, b, & c. i personally prefer reading more about our mc Rain and the main crew and less about the village people.

Pagemaster

Where the hell is Rain indeed.

Yashakami

I knew it!!! You did a POV chapter of everyone but Rain! You are a monster who delights in teasing your poor readers, SenescentSoul!! Amazing chapter though!

Xamuel Jones

I like the content of this chapter but it really fucking annoys me how you put us in a filler chapter right after a cliffhanger. It’s pretty annoying.

Ethan Norton

Ahhhh BALLS. I felt like we were going to get a chapter with different POVs after the last one. I actually enjoyed this one but good lord I need more after where we left Rain. Well we know for sure Lavarro killed West now. The crazy ass. And a mind-reader has scanned her brain and has actually judged her as insane so that's just.. peachy. You do a good job making The Warden appropriately badass. I mean we know she's one of the three most powerful people in the world, but you make sure we really feel how absurd she is. Those capabilities are fucking nuts. You even adjusted Kettel's screens to include "stride". Good lord, man. So much extra work for yourself. I appreciate your attention to detail. Given you have the percentage of his kill as "2 in 100" instead of "2%", you might want to change the class descriptions to be "50 in 100" instead of "50%" and etc

Ziggy

Wouldn't it be Val 0.1, cause he has all the suicidal tendencies with even less usefulness and self awareness?

Ace Kuper

Ah, finally reading the citizen die with my own two eyes instead of a passing "that happened" is a soothing balm to my.... desire

Boredwayfarer

Thank you!

Andrew

Okay, the Warden is pretty scary now. She can literally supplant someone else's mind, seemingly without limit or their consent, while retaining a full accounting of their memories. And Lavarro was a mage, and a high-level one, so stats clearly won't save you. Yeah, Rain needs to level up NOW. The story has just established the possibility of brainwashed assassins made from literally everyone under Gold, and possibly higher. The chance of his getting assassinated/kidnapped has gone up to inevitable and his survival/escape is approaching impossible. And the last thing this story needs is yet another slave/imprisonment arc after all of this. Edit: Also this chapter was boring but necessary. I personally wasn't clamoring for the Westbridge fight, and Kettle is honestly worse than Val to read about, so the less I see of him in the future, the better. The Myth/Meloni segment was pure filler, as far as I'm concerned, since all it does is tell us things that we, the audience, already know, stated outright, from another character's perspective.

Empty Shelf

Kettel, also known as Val 2.0

Frogspoison

Please keep up with the black and white its my fav way to read online

Richard Davis ll

In agreement

Robert

I like the white on black, doesn't hurt my eyes while I'm reading at midnight.

Matthew B.

very bad..

His Dad

yes black and white pdf....

Ole Halvorsen