Author Frank Morin

Ch 228 - I Step Into Twilight

From Adam, the only interesting thing I’d looted was an amulet.

“Shadow Amulet of the Intrepid. Grants the wearer the level-5 ability Shadow Blades.”

“Shadow Blades. Ability. Rare. Level 5. Condense blades of shadows within 1 yard per level of ability and control them with you...

Ch 227 - A Bit of Velvet Resolve

“Let’s bury them,” I said, then walked to the edge of the open plaza and extracted my Earthshaker Maul. With a heavy swing, I slammed it into the ground nearby, triggering its Tremor Strike ability.

A channel 3 feet deep and 3 yards long ripped open in the stony ground. A pyre would w...

Interludes 2 & 3

Another bonus chapter!

These will be placed near the end of book 1.

Tony shook his head violently, sending drops of sweat flinging out of his eyes. He couldn’t waste time wiping his face, and lacked normal hands to do it with at the moment anyway.

The sight of his quick...

Ch 226 - Ends and Means

On the other side of the clearing, Liz, looking terrified, was pointing at Jane, obviously preparing to unleash a spell.

I used my new Mimicked spell. A blade of condensed shadow materialized and drilled into Liz’s gut. She screamed and doubled over, hands grasping the wound, her own cast...

Ch 225 - The Best of Intentions

I sent messages to Tony and my team, explaining what I’d discovered and what seemed to be happening, along with the waypoint I’d just marked.

“I do not like going high above the ground,” Nigel said.

I ruffled behind his ears and passed him a Water Flight potion while I took an...

Ch 224 - I Explode My Brain

The rain had grown more intense, coming down in constant sheets that obscured the water-soaked ruins, while the thick fog of the night before still lingered. I still had some of the Lurker’s Eyes, but not quite enough for everyone. Nigel and I each took one, since we’d be scouting out wider.<...

Interlude 1

BONUS CHAPTER!

This is an interlude chapter I am adding to book 1 as I prep for release. You guys get to see it as a special perk for being part of my Patrreon. I'll be sharing a couple more bonus chapters, 1 per week. This interlude will be placed near the beginning, right after Lucas gets...

Ch 223 - A Librarian Finds an Obituary

My Recycling Supervisor Gloves I’d gotten in my brief exploration of the inner world appeared on my hands and I reached out to touch the mana barrier. At the same time, I activated Spellseer’s Gaze.

The colors all around deepened as mana came to life in my vision. The vault did not cont...

Ch 222 - I Get to Play With a Crystal Ball

The metal door flashed and disappeared, and I led the way inside, with the others crowding close behind. Like Velexis’s vault, the large space extended pretty far, but the outer walls were indeed blocked by shimmering energy barriers.

“Aw,” Steve groaned when he saw the barriers. “N...

Ch 221 - Trial and Error

After I left the store, I sent a message to Ed.

Lucas: “Ed, where are you at? Want to go hunting?”

He responded almost immediately.

Ed: “Lucas, terrible timing. I’m on a hunt right now with Burns and a bunch of other folks. He told us not to get distracted, so no messagi...

Ch 220 - I Get a Shiny Pin

Sythrak, my tuxedoed personal salesman, grinned widely when I appeared in his luxurious lounge, his scales turning a happy blue color. “Master Lucas, welcome back!”

“Hello, Sythrak. I had a minute and wanted to check on my custom orders. I also need another dose of that Soul Slice enc...

Ch 219 - Potions, and Spikes, and Lanterns, oh my!

While the rest of the team split off to take care of various errands or, in the case of Andy and Lana, for wall guard duty, I headed for Sam’s tavern. I wanted to track down Ed and organize the hunting party back to the merfolk lair, but first I had to check in on my business partner.

A s...

Ch 218 - I Get Schooled by a Swashbuckler

Quick update.

Good morning! September is shaping up to be a great month.

Just returned from a research / 30th-anniversary trip with my wife to Switzerland, Germany, and Prague. Wow! Such amazing cultures, scenery and cuisine! So much research accomplished, and also refilled my creativ...

Ch 217 - I Join a Secret Court

Queen Marisara: “Did I not make it clear time is of the essence in this mission? Have you captured the human?”

For a moment, I thought it had to be a joke and looked around, as if I might see Tomas or Steve chuckling as they peeked around a corner, but that was stupid. They couldn’t h...

Ch 216 - I Dream of Endless Cookies

Stage-3 Countdown Timer: 5 days, 22 hours, 15 minutes.

Survivors Remaining: 301

Views: 220,465,873

Followers: 45,782,790

Favorites 10,911,465

VIP Points 100,363,987

I should have expected the huge growth in my counts. A lot of folks had been paying for VIP acce...

Ch 215 - I Get a New Chair

My team were finishing up with the treasury and checking their own loot boxes, so I clicked on my other waiting achievements. I actually only got 1 other good one.

“Congratulations, Lucas! For pushing the limits of a sanctioned duel and again defeating an enemy from the inside in a new an...

Ch 214 - Don't Wager Something You Can't Afford to Lose

“Hey, where’s the loot?” Andy cried as we flew slowly along the huge room.

“This entire room is loot,” Ruby breathed.

“It’s nice, but I have to agree with Andy,” Tomas said. “There has to be more.”

I got an idea and tried my new ability Perception Pulse for t...

Ch 213 - Beat a Count, Be a Count

“Bingo.” With Tether Slide, I shot to the top of the hill. My team followed, simply flying through the water-laden air.

The item I’d spotted glowing with so much mana was a sword with a fancy, gilded pommel and a cruciform crossguard of twisted gold stuck point-first into the sand. On...

Ch 212 - I Take an Inner Journey

Count Tydrion-crab was heaving against the sand, but for the moment, his unbelievable strength proved insufficient. I rushed up to his eye stalks, which were waving wildly. I tried slapping an emoji trap sticker onto one of them, but couldn’t pull it out of my inventory.

Weapon, I guess. ...

Ch 211 - A Bit of Fisticuffs

“Manila, Shanghai, Brisbane!” I swore as I looked down at the enormous crab.

It had to stand 40 feet tall, rivaling Velexis’s gigantor height, but at least 50 times thicker. Unlike the clockwork insects’ ponderous Leviathan, this one looked like a real, live crab, only a million tim...

Ch 210 - Into The Deep

Lord Tydrion had not teleported with me, which was fine with me. Dealing with a level 99 nymph lord alone would be hard enough. Dealing with him in the middle of a boss base teaming with other high-leveled monsters would be a total death sentence.

Nigel hadn’t gotten teleported with me, s...

Ch 209 - I Get a Lesson in Manners

I awoke in my giant, soft bed and sighed. I felt good and totally refreshed. Pushing my Night Mask off, I took a deep breath. I hadn’t slept much since before climbing to stage 3 the first time, and I’d needed the rest.

I didn’t need nearly as much as back on Earth, though. I checked ...

Ch 208 - Full-Contact Movie Marathon

“How?” Lana asked. She and Andy hadn’t experienced my 10,000 Movies Experience with the Party Time token that allowed us to watch a movie while only 1 second passed in real-time.

“Wait, there are too many of us,” Jane said. Only 6 of us could watch a movie at a given time, and the...

Ch 207 - Lana Gets a Cookie

I actually glossed over the amazing loot I couldn’t use until after the game and instead talked about my legendary weapon and armor upgrades, then hesitated.

“Um, I’m not sure how to share this part without some of you feeling left out.”

Andy picked up on it first. “Meaning ...

Ch 206 - Muffins to be Proud Of

Day 14

Survivors Remaining: 301

Views: 162,824,379

Followers: 28,614,751

Favorites: 6,081,359

VIP Points: 88,236,808

The meeting with Kaelor had taken a while, but again almost no time passed in the real world while I was in the store. Full night was fallin...

Ch 205 - I Get a Bigger Bag

“Title Scroll. New title: Elf Born.”

“Elf Born. A unique title bestowed by the tier-4 Elaris elf clan. Grants honorary inner-clan rank. Plus 25% chance to achieve future perfect tier evolutions.

“Plus 1 level to all current spells.”

“Plus 3 levels to all current tier...

Ch 204 - Best Swap Meet Ever

I wanted to ask the elf patriarch a hundred questions about the multiverse and the game and his people. On Arasha, we were isolated from everyone and everything. I needed information as badly as I needed better gear. Maybe more, considering the enemies I’d made when I defeated Velexis.

I ...

Ch 203 - I Chat With Royalty

The pylon of the system store was situated on one side of the central square near the town castle. I’d been too distracted by the huge crowd last time I passed through there, so hadn’t noticed it.

Beside it stood a second, identical white pylon stretching into the sky. A text box appear...

Ch 202 - I Make a Deal With a Devil

While Tomas and Jane excitedly talked about ways to test out his new class spells and abilities, the rest of us wandered to the living room.

“Steve, where’s Susan?”

His smile faded. “At the Expanse.”

“Doesn’t she work at Sam’s tavern?”

He sighed. “Not a...

Ch 201 - Classes

Within minutes of starting, we proved that elevated Intelligence and Dexterity combined to transform pool into an entirely different game. Sinking 1 ball no longer challenged anyone, so we adapted to seeing who could sink the longest combo.

I played better than I’d ever dreamed possible, ...