MT 99 - At Loggerheads
I checked to make sure my party had abandoned ship before our caravel was shredded by 40 cannons, full broadsides from two different battleships. Varrin had leaped out onto the water and was now literally sprinting across its surface. Etja, Xim, and Nuralie all...
2024-03-21 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostMT 98 - Spirit, Sea, and Lots of Cannons
Before parting ways with Ealdric Senior, the patriarch pulled Varrin aside to provide some words of wisdom. The pair made no effort to avoid being overheard and I made myself obvious as I waited on the big guy, so that no one could fairly ...
2024-03-18 11:47:52 +0000 UTC View PostMT 97 - Umi-Dooby-Doo, Ecchi Otaku?
“Let me repeat that back to you,” said Ealdric, “and you can tell me if I’ve understood you correctly.”
He clasped his hands together before him, pointer fingers held together close to his mouth.
“The System gave you a m...
2024-03-16 11:48:26 +0000 UTC View PostMT 96 - Patriarch
Timagrin was Hiward’s staunchest ally, and my mind obsessed over how Hiward might respond to the destruction of Canotha. The nations had a shared history of joint defense, and the idea that an invading force was to blame reignited my worry over the potential f...
2024-03-14 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostMT 95 - The 'Hammer' is My...
“Your Blunt skill is too low,” said Khigra. “It wouldn’t be worth my time to make a hammer for you.”
We stood before a rack of weapons the dream forger had made, each with requirements more substantial than the last.
“Makes se...
2024-03-11 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 94 - System Phases
When I walked out of Sam’lia’s stone treehouse I found Xim kneeling in prayer, her body bathed in crimson light. I waited a few minutes for her to finish what I expected was her own communion with the deity. When she finally opened her eyes she looked mo...
2024-03-09 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostHere is all of Volume 1 (Published chapters 1-75, plus Epilogue) together in one place with cuts and edits for pacing and consistency. The cuts led to some chapters being condensed so there are fewer total chapters listed, but it covers all the content from 1-75 plus Epilogue.
2024-03-09 01:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHello! A couple of people asked if they could see the character sheets for the main party members so I wanted to make them available as a resource. These are the sheets as of level 6, which is the party's level post-Mimic Delve.
These are primarily meant as a tool for referencing spells, ...
MT 93 - Talking to (a) God
“Lady Sam’lia,” I said, giving the goddess a bow.
“No need to be too formal,” she said, then gestured to the chair beside her. “Please, sit.”
I walked forward and lowered myself into the chair. There was a knot of anxiety build...
2024-03-08 22:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostMT 92 - Tonight We Dine in Hell
“Grotto?” I said, looking over the small dude.
He was three feet tall, although his robes dangled down to cover his feet, so he may have been shorter. He was bald and bare-faced, looking like some kind of religious monk with beliefs that ...
2024-03-07 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMT 91 - Homecoming
Traveler’s Amulet
This is an evolving item.
Current Level: Crumb-Cruncher
Effects:
1) It’s Stylish
2) Soul-Sight
Greetings!
It occurred to me that there was a gap of time where folks coming to the Patreon from RR may not have seen my patch notes post discussing some of the changes that have been made to the way Delver levels work moving into Volume 2. I mentioned it in an a/n on RR after chapter 75 an...
2024-03-03 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMT 90 - Fix My Build
Varrin trotted up to the scene, still lacing up his pants and looking over the damage.
“What happened?” he asked. His ice-blue eyes were puffy from sleep.
“I got my jaw punched through some buildings,” I said, following his gaze to the wre...
2024-03-02 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMT 89 - Don’t PvP in a Pocket Dimension Controlled by Your Opponent
Tavio regained his stance after being pushed a few steps across the portal’s threshold, then threw Shog aside with another burst of radiant light. The pitch dark room within the Closet was illuminated in a ph...
2024-02-29 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 88 - Don’t PvP with a PvE Spec
Past Arlo sometimes did future Arlo favors. In this instance, past Arlo had considered the idea that future Arlo would one day be caught with his chausses down, and had chosen a Speed evolution with that in mind. After all, this wasn’t the fi...
2024-02-26 12:51:33 +0000 UTC View PostMT 87 - Tavio of Seqaria
“There are many who are worried,” said Nuralie. “Between the avatars and Litta, there is much to be concerned about.”
“True,” I said. “What’s going on in Eschendur and whatever Orexis is brewing is serious. I don’t want to downplay...
2024-02-24 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostMT 86 - The Why
[The concept of virtue–a dubious quality, if it exists at all–is invalidated by its wanton pursuit! You’ve sacrificed might in exchange for nothing but empty self-platitudes!]
[Uh, hey Grotto.]
[Perhaps we should call upon the gods t...
2024-02-22 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostMT 85 - Keystone Evolution
“But first!” I said, looking around the table. “Would any of you like to hear the evolution I picked for reaching Dimensional twenty?”
“No,” said Varrin. “Fortitude, let’s go.”
“Aw,” Etja said, frowning.
“Fine, ...
2024-02-19 12:40:55 +0000 UTC View PostMT 84 - Mandatory Tavern Scene
“I don’t have to chant to cast Explosion!” I said to Etja through a mouthful of stew-soaked brown bread. It was warm and buttery and presently fulfilling all of my lifelong dreams and fantasies. “I started doing it half as ...
2024-02-17 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMT 83 - Ded Mimicry
Nuralie stepped out of the shadows, her bow venting golden mana into the air. While the weapon was normally jet black, intricate rune work revealed itself when the loson put it through its paces, which she just had.
“You were charging Hunger Shot 2024-02-17 12:50:17 +0000 UTC View Post
MT 82 - Tanking Mimicry
The ‘malformed and misshapen’ Mimic began to grow dozens of eyes over its body that spun and locked onto us, gummy and seeping thick fluid like they were infected. Limbs sprouted from its bulbous form with skinless muscle attached to yellowed bone. The...
2024-02-15 12:27:38 +0000 UTC View PostMT 81 - The One and Only Mimicry
The hole was a little narrower than arm’s length. The rest of us flew, floated, or rode into the descent, but Varrin led the way by pressing his hands and feet into the tunnel walls and sliding. The edges were shaped organically, with irregular ...
2024-02-12 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMT 80 - Chatty Mimicry
If I had to play ‘Marry, Fuck, Kill’ with my active abilities, Oblivion Orb is the skill I’d marry. It was reliable, flexible, affordable, and it got the job done when things needed to get dead.
Shortcut is the skill I...
2024-02-10 12:10:52 +0000 UTC View PostMT 79 - Royal Mimicry
“You think the whole Delve is a mimic?” Varrin asked. His tone was genuine, without a hint of incredulity toward my theory. It said a lot about our experiences as a group that the idea could be floated without much pushback.
“Why doesn’t it swa...
2024-02-08 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMT 78 - Mimic Mimicry
The world got dark and sharp real quick, and then it burned.
The mimic hadn’t been the corpse in front of me, but the cobweb-ridden chandelier above me. That it could imitate something with as much fine detail as cobwebs was of no surprise, especiall...
2024-02-05 13:01:07 +0000 UTC View PostMT 77 - Cadaverous Mimicry
“It’s the corpse in the middle,” I whispered. “Gotta’ be.”
Our journey deeper into the Delve had gone mostly unimpeded. As was typical, our course took us down. The maze of rooms cluttered with art and relics eventually revealed an arc...
2024-02-03 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostHello, all
Here’s a bit of a preface, but if you want to skip it and just see an explanation of the changes, go ahead and skip down to the heading “Levels”.
Also, if you haven’t read Volume 1 (chapters 1-75) and for some reason are reading this, there ...
2024-02-03 11:15:20 +0000 UTC View PostMT 76 - Vicious Mimicry
“Grotto’s hiding something.”
Nuralie turned away from the ancient and disorganized art gallery she’d been watching intently, raising an eyeridge at my statement.
“Everyone hides things,” the loson said. Her exp...
2024-02-01 12:04:40 +0000 UTC View Post*** SYSTEM ADDENDUM ADDED BY USER NAME: [ERROR: REDACTED]
ADDENDUM NOTE: “Two years after the events of The Cage” ***
Jakom stared at the floor, waiting for the screaming to subside and the cru...
2024-01-29 12:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMT 75 - Void Transaction
“Do you know what you’ve done?” Varrin said as he stood before the dark pillar that was the Pocket Delve’s obelisk.
“Grotto wouldn’t stop bugging me about it,” I said, poking my head back out of the entrance to check on the void sphere. “He nee...
2024-01-27 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post