Hey folks! I was planning on posting chapter 25 today, but I haven't had the time to work on it that it needs.
A chapter will go up on Royal Road today, and I'll be posting chapter 25 here tomorrow (within the next 24-ish hours) instead.
Sorry for the delay! By next week I should be a...
2024-05-05 16:58:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun beat down, spreading a relentless heat in one last hurrah for Summer days. Frank and his group stood in a parking lot just a few streets over from the apartments, within sight of the current city council headquarters. They were under a canopy tent, trying to avoid overheating. The blackto...
2024-05-02 20:28:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe Administrator stood on the surface of the red planet, observing from a distance as the new set of Guides introduced themselves to this batch of humans. It was an occurrence she’d seen many times before, though rarely from this close. This pair was new to it, she could tell. The strain in th...
2024-04-30 21:05:39 +0000 UTC View PostFrank, Mai, and Kevin walked into the mall’s lobby. Most of the lights in the building were off. Shop lights and the occasional beam of moonlight sneaking its way in from outside were the only competition against the dark of the night. The sound of their footsteps echoed through the space, boun...
2024-04-29 20:57:04 +0000 UTC View PostIf you read the past few chapters before this one came out, read this notice!
For the last couple chapters, I had initially been thinking I would do a bit of a timeskip, basically just say "and a few days passed, exams to qualify for Volunteer/Vanguard activity have been figured out, now we...
2024-04-27 20:43:32 +0000 UTC View PostThis chapter has been edited from it's original posting!
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For the second time, Frank found himself sitting down with Grant and his friends for a meal. They were in Grant’s apartment today, a two-bedroom that he was sharing with Ramy. The group was gathered around a low table in ...
2024-04-24 21:56:20 +0000 UTC View PostThis had been a productive day. Establishing the Vandenilis Fabrication Team this quickly had been a challenge, but it helped that he was solely in control of the largest remaining division of the city's workers– now the Vanguard.
Anthony sifted through the day's reports. Most of the craf...
2024-04-23 19:18:34 +0000 UTC View PostJason surveyed the ingredients in front of him. As usual, everything he had looked familiar, but none of it was quite right. Trying to cook on Ličio was like trying to cook in a dream. Instead of onions, he had a savory almost onion-y fruit from a tree with purple leaves. But it wa...
2024-04-21 19:26:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe Vandenilis Fabrication Team was decently sized, a collection of fifteen men and women with varying amounts of experience with different crafting disciplines. Few were more than hobbyists before, and any professionals wouldn’t necessarily be able to rely on modern tools and techniques to get...
2024-04-20 19:30:09 +0000 UTC View PostFrank lay in bed, watching light filter through the few beams of sunlight peeking in through the blinds. He’d remembered to turn off the alarm on his phone, so he’d managed to wake up peacefully for the first time in… quite a while. Even on weekends, I had stuff I needed to do.
... 2024-04-18 21:02:07 +0000 UTC View PostFrank stumbled back, staring in horror. In front of him, kneeling on the ground, was the man whose arm he had just enchanted. He could still see part of the word ‘strong’ peeking out from under his hand, clutched against the bicep. He could still see it, but it was warped; where the bicep had...
2024-04-16 20:52:18 +0000 UTC View PostAll eyes in the room quickly turned to look at Frank. He felt a moment of rising panic in his chest as he realized why people have nightmares about public speaking.
So much for not being expected to participate. On the plus side, hopefully I can just share what I know and get it over wi...
2024-04-14 18:28:05 +0000 UTC View PostA light pit of anxiety formed in Frank's stomach as he walked, following the mayor's aide. He knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, so there shouldn’t be any real cause for concern, but he couldn’t help it. Perhaps he had been conditioned by years of abusive bosses, but having a sudden meetin...
2024-04-14 18:03:37 +0000 UTC View PostI was told the characters might be hard to keep straight, with how many are introduced at once here, so I'm going to leave some notes at the end. Don't worry too much about remembering everyone right now, they'll get a bit more development later.
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<... 2024-04-11 21:06:31 +0000 UTC View PostFrank startled awake, sights and sounds disorienting him. He flailed in bed, body on high alert as he took in the unfamiliar room. There were posters on the wall for bands he didn’t know, and every flat surface was covered with the collections of its previous inhabitant. There were plush toys, ...
2024-04-09 19:27:29 +0000 UTC View PostFrank peered at the three books set before him. Two of them appeared to be from the same series, a recounting of the historical development of arms and armor in a distant part of history. The third appeared to be a hunting manual.
He glanced at the librarian. “So… How did you come to th...
2024-04-07 21:31:13 +0000 UTC View PostFrank squeezed around people as they passed by, keeping a hand on the antlers strapped to his back so he didn’t hit anyone with them. He got a few curious glances thrown his way, but everyone was too busy with their own work to really spare him any attention, and he made his way to the main des...
2024-04-04 21:16:46 +0000 UTC View PostFrank was, technically, in the city at this point. He was off the freeway now and had been driving down an arterial road headed closer to the center of the city. He was, at the moment, driving through a commercial zone. It was an example of the urban sprawl so endemic to America: vast swathes of ...
2024-04-03 22:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe bike was faster. It was hard to put a finger on how, exactly, it was faster, but it just was. Certainly, it wasn’t as fast as a car, or a motorcycle would be. It felt like he had somehow, perhaps magically, been replaced by a professional biker as he glided down the freeway.
...
2024-04-01 14:48:54 +0000 UTC View PostChapters a little bit shorter than normal
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Frank had no time to react as the stags charge carried through the wall and across the small office. He watched in horror as the jagged antlers approached, knowing how easily they had taken out the wall.
This might be it 2024-03-31 12:28:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Frank did not, in fact, learn [Origami]. He did, however, earn a simple [Paper Folding] skill.
[Paper Folding]
You have spent a more than usual amount of focus getting just the right shape from paper.
As far as he could tell, it didn’t really do anyth...
2024-03-30 12:42:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe world was no longer safe. Technology still existed, but society was fractured and gone. At least, as far as Frank could tell. He hadn’t actually been anywhere yet, but looking out the windows all he could see was wreckage on the freeway, burnt out husks of cars and those few unlucky enough ...
2024-03-30 12:37:58 +0000 UTC View PostIn the few moments before contact, he realized that thinking of it as a squirrel had been a rather hasty choice on his part. He could hardly be blamed for that, given the circumstances.
It wasn’t a squirrel, but it likely had been one at some point. Probably this morning. Possibl...
2024-03-30 12:37:04 +0000 UTC View PostFrank sat in his chair, still spinning from his rough landing. He stared helplessly at the screen in front of him, which moved to keep itself a fixed distance in front of his face. He stood up sharply, his chair sliding back into the wall of his cubicle.
The cubicles next to him were empty....
2024-03-30 12:30:57 +0000 UTC View PostFrank sighed, glancing at the flashing icon on his screen. The shrill ring of the call waiting for him, should he choose to accept it, blasted through his headset. He glanced down at his hands, counting his fingers while the call sat, waiting for him.
“Ten. Not dreaming, then.” He shook...
2024-03-30 12:29:20 +0000 UTC View Post