Author Frank Morin

Ch 170 - It's Not All About Me

“Congratulations, Lucas! For motivating your team to fight bravely against impossible odds, despite the almost total certainty of violent death, you receive a platinum Leonidas loot box!”

Leonidas, the Spartan king in the movie 300 who led the famously doomed fight against the Persians....

Ch 169 - A Bit of Mana Control

“Yes!” I jumped and cheered, adding my voice to the joyful chorus echoing from every side, so loud they pierced the insulating effects of the fog.

Then I just looked up into the slowly billowing fog and sighed, throwing my arms wide and laughing as I just enjoyed the feeling of living. ...

Ch 168 - I Help Feed the Moon

Noctarus barreled down the deck. No way he’d fit up the narrow stairs, but he’d probably just jump up. In my active Spellseer’s Gaze, his entire body was thrumming with boiling black power. He was preparing a finishing move to destroy me.

So I triggered Divergent Strike to slow him do...

Ch 167 - An Offer That Cannot be Refused

I flew through the chill fog, leaving a swirling wake behind as I shot toward the bow of the closest ship, barely 50 feet from the leviathan. Noctarus saw the glowing chain of my spell and spun about to give chase, as I’d hoped.

I landed on the bow rail, weapons at the ready, but no zombi...

Ch 166 - Ballerina Twirls of Death

Both of Noctarus’s skeletal heads roared like lions and he lunged, trying to smash me flat with his giant, poisoned feet. He was huge and heavy and a single stomp could probably flatten me, but I had Agility stacked onto Agility and to me, he moved like a snail.

I danced through his legs,...

Ch 165 - I Pretend to be a Ping Pong Ball

After the movie ended, we spent an hour resting and preparing in another fancy lounge. When we got dumped back into the real world, no time had passed. I quickly selected the rest of the party, including Nigel, and used another Party Time Token to whisk them all into a movie. This time I selected...

Ch 164 - Looking for the Opportune Moment

The world froze and disappeared, replaced by the scene of a grand old tall sailing ship sliding out of a bank of fog, heading right for us. The 6 of us appeared in the air in front of the ship, hovering over the ocean high enough to see down onto the prow.

“Where are we?” Burns shouted,...

Nexus Runner 1 - ARC

This week, I completed some much-anticipated edits to Nexus Runner book 1.

Several people had pointed out issues with Cyrus appearing to lie or twist rules sometimes, and Lucas struggling with the ever-changing nature of the 'experiment'. Sometimes, Lucas came across as a bit whiny, and som...

Nexus Runner ARC

ARC copy of Nexus Runner as of May, 2025, including extensive edits to the story.

Ch 163 - Necromancers Always Say Die

We raced to the table with the gear Noctarus had taken from Burns and his team. They snatched it up just before the double doors to the outer hallway burst open. Grumpy led a squad of a dozen zombies inside, energy rifles already firing.

I rushed Grumpy, my Titanbreaker hammer appearing in ...

Ch 162 - The Hard Way

Noctarus glanced down at his brother’s head again and stiffened with renewed anger. “You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? You have to push and interfere and make impossible breakthroughs look easy!”

“So that’s what’s bothering you? My fast advancement?”

Noc...

Ch 161 - A Bit of Truth

My approach through the fog near the closed portcullis startled the big group of zombies on watch. Two even fired their energy rifles before pausing to see who it was.

I stepped aside, dodging the blasts. Thank you Alpha for my boosted Agility stat. Moving felt effortless, and even acrobati...

Ch 160 - I Swap For a Newer Model

As I plunged through the billowing fog, unable to see, unable to smell, unable to hear anything, I triggered a potion of Slow Fall. My descent slowed, although it was hard to tell because nothing changed around me.

It was so weird descending through the featureless fog. The lack of focal po...

Ch 159 - We Get a Starlit Concert

As soon as we exited the dungeon, Ed, Lana, and Andy headed out into the dense fog. I’d hoped it might disperse after I killed Alpha, but apparently Cyrus wanted to complicate everything until we finished the stage.

My lounge platform appeared hovering in the air in front of us, a flat de...

Ch 158 - Edmund Builds a Broken Bridge

My team had entered the first level of the dungeon and were exploring the devastation left behind in the goblin cavern.

“You don’t do anything by halves, do you, Bro?” Tomas asked when I raced up to them just as he exited the goblin central hall. It was one of the few buildings still ...

Ch 157 - Steps and Ladders

“So can you explain about tier evolutions of spells and abilities?” I asked. “I’m trying to grasp exactly what just happened. When I got my race upgrade to tier-1 human, you said I couldn’t evolve spells and abilities.”

“You couldn’t right away,” Cyrus said. “You put the...

Ch 156 - Yay, I'm a Swordsman

I probably should have tried to be more circumspect with my questioning, but I was exhausted, and secret plots that complicated my life made me grumpy. I’d nearly died. Should have died, even with the insane boosts from my Alpha title.

And that was just the danger on the surface. Velexis ...

Ch 155 - I Finish More Than I Started

Thankfully, the arena barrier disappeared and the block over my spells and inventory lifted. Thank god for that.

Back in her Velexis form, the grisly wounds were rapidly closing as pulsing shadows poured in and started somehow healing the damage. That didn’t make any sense. I’d already ...

Ch 154 - I Get to Channel the Man in Black

“Done!” Sixel exulted, and a pulse of immensely powerful magic swept through the room. It wrapped around my mana core and I staggered.

Cyrus’s happy laughter bubbled around me and Eva spoke. “You have entered a death match duel with Sixel Elaris. She has initiated the Arena of Ultim...

Ch 153 - Face to Face With the Grindstone

I landed at the top of the stair, right where it climbed into the shadowed ceiling, ready to leap into battle if something jumped out at me. With Alpha’s title boosting my stats so high, a smart boss would already be running.

The stairs remained empty, so I jogged up. Then up, and up some...

Ch 152 - There Can Be Only One

How he could double his size in a mana desert area was a mystery I lacked time to solve. Alpha lunged with shocking speed and smashed me down into the stone floor so hard a couple ribs cracked. My Crash Test Dummy jacket had gotten so shredded, it barely offered any protection and my other layers...

Ch 151 - Death Match: Wolf Edition

The trolls ranged between levels 45 and 49. They were big and fierce and powerful, but I’d fought trolls and ogres and giants for 2 days and nights, so I rushed straight at the group, embracing my own rising battle frenzy.

The trolls were coming at me, spread out in a loose line to block ...

Ch 150 - I Play Tag With a Troll

Hey, celebration day!

Today we hit chapter 150! That's a huge milestone!

Take a minute after you read the chapter and post a comment with one thing you've most enjoyed about the story so far.

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My knife flew true and soared right past Alpha’s...

Ch 149 - I Get to Practice Caligraphy

Behind me, Alpha finished slaughtering all the goblins. The final Shaman, the leader of the tribe, self-destructed in a wave of darkness. Some kind of ultimate attack move that actually dimmed Alpha’s rune defense for a moment. Maybe it was running out of steam.

I ran across the cavern to...

Ch 148 - Demolition

I took a moment to study the goblins and their community more closely. My gaze fell on one of the warrior goblins trotting past, and Identify kicked in.

“Brown Goblin Trooper. Common. Level 32. Making up the bulk of the brown goblin army, the Goblin Trooper is a vicious fighter who lives ...

Ch 147 - Rebound Works Both Ways

Three hours later, I stood before the wide cave entrance to the Grindstone Dungeon, staring out at a dense wall of fog as I participated in a chat with Tony and his worried elite team leaders.

Tony: “There’s no indication the fog will thin any time soon. This will complicate things.”<...

Ch 146 - The Best Secret Weapon Waffle of All Time

When I returned to my castle, Ruby, Steve, and Susan were all waiting in the living room for the promised movie experience. I had to admit, I needed the chance to relax with friends and watch a movie before heading out for the boss battle. This would be our only chance to relax before things prob...

Ch 145 - I Get a Taste of Death By Chocolate

Twenty minutes later, I took the proffered chair in the council chamber room high in the central castle. The entire council was gathered, and I wasn’t the only one who won a lot of levels either. Every single council member now sported levels between Crystal’s level 42 to Tony and Burns, tied...

Ch 144 - Perks of Ready Money

Jeeves appeared in the living room and said, “Sir, your looted items sold for 2 tier-6 mana crystals.” Not great, but none of it had been spectacular.

My butler added, “Sythrak was quite beside himself with excitement when he inspected the ironwood planks. Apparently they are in extre...

Ch 143 - Reading the Fine Print

An hour later, when I rode Switchblade through the gates of town, I was greeted by a surprise message.

“Congratulations, Lucas! Your alternate experience streams have combined to gain you a level. You are now level 28!”

“Ha!” I jumped off Switchblade, doing 6 somersaults in th...