For the first time in his life, Lamar Sims felt inferior.
It wasn’t some great revelation that he’d lived a charmed life. As a child, he’d separated himself from his peers by virtue of immense athletic ability. All he had to do was keep his nose clean, train when he ...
2024-10-15 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe zombies were old. Very, very old. Most of them were barely more than skeletons, with dried bits of flesh clinging to their bones, and they all wore elaborate armor, clothing, and jewelry. For a while, as Zeke plowed through them, he found himself wondering where they’d all...
2024-10-15 13:00:23 +0000 UTC View PostMiguel leaped from the branch, bringing his weapon down in a vicious hack that should have split Birk in two. Instead, the huge man shifted only slightly, and Miguel’s attack found only air. He thudded into the loamy turf, immediately launching himself forward into a roll that ended...
2024-10-14 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostZeke’s hammer slammed into the necromantic vessel’s malformed head. It snapped to the side, the sound of breaking bones an tearing flesh announcing the attack’s effectiveness. He didn’t stop there, though. Planting his feet on the thing’s shoulder, he cocked Voromir ba...
2024-10-14 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m not going back out there,” announced one woman, her voice rising above the din of conversation.
“Have you seen those things out there?” someone else asked.
“I saw something flying through the air that was bigger than a cargo jet.”
“It’s suicide!” 2024-10-13 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Yloa released his underling, letting the pitiful creature fall to the floor. He had given them so much. He had sacrificed everything for the future of Ka’arath, and yet, none of them were grateful. They spat in his face, naming him tyrant. Dictator. Villain. ...
2024-10-12 15:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostElijah was very tempted to simply grab his friends, shift into Shape of the Sky, and use Lightning Rush. But he knew that wouldn’t work. For all his advancement, he knew he couldn’t carry them all for very long – maybe a few miles at most. No sooner had that thought crosse...
2024-10-11 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostZeke’s stomach tightened into a knot.
“What’s wrong?” demanded Eveline.
“Pudge,” he grunted, already embracing [Titan]. “He’s in trouble.”
Without hesitation, he summoned a gate and told Talia, “Get the army.”
“How many?” she asked.
...
2024-10-11 13:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Dat failed to adequately describe what he saw, Elijah shifted back into his human form and retrieved a mirror from his Ghoul-Hide Satchel. Then, he activated Shape of Thorn and, once his transformation was complete, took a look for himself. The mirror was only eight-inches tall ...
2024-10-10 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure you can do this?” asked Zeke.
Pudge didn’t immediately answer, but instead stared ahead at the castle in the distance. It was miles away, but even then, he could smell the necromantic power wafting off of it. Finally, he said, “I’m the only one who can.”
<... 2024-10-10 13:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostElijah couldn’t stop grinning, and for a variety of reasons. The first was the most obvious – they were finished. The Trial was done. Sure, they still had to decide whether they wanted to embark on a quest to slay the Lightning Emperor – which seemed like an issue that was...
2024-10-09 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostSadie leveled her sword at the old ta’alaki. He didn’t even twitch, though the balls of arcane power continued to crackle as they swirled above him.
“We do not have time for this,” he sighed.
“What do you want?” Elijah asked, stepping forward to stand next to S...
2024-10-09 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostRunning his hand along the banister, Elijah remarked, “This is not what I expected.”
The interior of the tower, which had opened after Kurik had solved the puzzle of the last rune, reminded Elijah of a Gilded Age smoking room – the ones with leather, rich wood, and the sort of subdued...
2024-10-08 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“They have evacuated all military personnel up to here,” said Adara, pointing to a line cutting across the territory of the Imperium. She had insinuated herself into the army in the months since the run of dungeons she’d conquered with Zeke. At first, he’d thought that they’...
2024-10-08 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostOnce upon a time, Ron had thought of himself as steady and unflappable in a crisis. After all, he’d completed his residency in the emergency room, where urgent situations were the defining characteristic of his job. He’d parlayed that cool-headed nature into survival after the wor...
2024-10-07 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostTalia smelled salt on the wind.
She had long since lost track of how far she’d traveled. To her, the only thing that mattered was the next sign. A bone here. A hunk of necrotic flesh there. Sometimes, there were miles between each clue, slowing her search to a craw...
2024-10-07 13:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment Kurik laid eyes on the complex pattern of runes, he knew which specialization he wanted to choose. Which was a good thing, because during the battle through the campus of the Academy Arcana, he’d finally managed to reach level one hundred. Since then, the choice had hover...
2024-10-06 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostLike the library itself, the site of the first rune was made of engraved crystal. However, instead of a mostly clean design featuring straight lines and sharp edges, the new building was all curves and fin-like protrusions. As Elijah looked upon the glittering structure, he couldn’t...
2024-10-05 15:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Elijah had made a lot of progress.
Or at least that was what he told himself after spending hours entirely immobile in the most uncomfortable position he could have imagined. After he’d given up on getting out of it without leaving the library, he’d turned his attenti...
2024-10-04 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostWestport fell with a whimper.
There were pockets of intense fighting, but as had happened so many other times, the ability to plant an entire army within the city was a game changer. So, in a way, Zeke understood why the gnomes had attacked him. His very presence – assuming th...
2024-10-04 13:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post“He looks so pitiful,” Sadie said. “Are you sure we can’t –”
“There’s an ethereal cage around him,” Dat said. “If any of us try to breach it, we’ll end up just like him.”
“I know. I just want to put him into a more…dignified position.” 2024-10-03 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
The floor shook as Zeke stepped forward.
“You will halt!” screamed the gnomish leader.
Zeke paid him no mind. Instead, he embraced [Eye of Recknoing]. A beam of pure destruction erupted from his forehead, and a second later, tore through a hastily erected shield ...
2024-10-03 13:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post“This is eerie,” Elijah remarked, craning his neck this way and that as he beheld the state of the campus. He’d spent most of a decade of his life in college – getting a doctorate took a lot of time – so the academy felt extremely familiar. And yet, it was also alien in the ...
2024-10-02 15:10:00 +0000 UTC View Post“We could just not do it,” suggested Kurik in his typically gruff manner. “Ain’t that an option?”
“No,” Dat, Ron, and Sadie said in unison, all having heard the same suggestion a couple of times before. For his part, Elijah remained silent, and for the first time, ...
2024-10-02 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostAlright, so the double chapters are done for now. I intend to do another accelerated release month in March, so keep on the lookout for that. In the meantime, I'll be going back to the 2-chapter Wednesdays (at least until we're 75 chapters ahead of Royal Road). I hope you a...
2024-10-01 15:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Zeke just stared at the odd-looking gnome, processing what he’d just heard. Then, he burst out into laughter.
In his mind, Eveline said, “Ezekiel…”
“This is a serious matter!” seethed the gnome.
After a moment, Zeke cut his laughter off. Then,...
2024-10-01 13:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostElijah was content.
Part of it was the setting, which was a stretch of ancient forest that radiated vitality and history. It reminded him of the Redwood Forest back in California, though with far larger trees and alien wildlife. In any case, the region left him feeling satisfied...
2024-09-30 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostKurik slammed the blade of his hatchet into the wraith’s skull, and the thing’s head exploded from the impact. He paid it no mind. Instead, he moved on to the next creature that had been subjected to one of his traps, dispatching it in the same manner. Then, he found the nex...
2024-09-30 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“They’re staring at me,” Adara said, her eyes flicking one and another as they strolled, hand-in-hand, down the street.
“It’s because you’re wearing armor,” Zeke said. For his part, he’d chosen a simple white shirt and a pair of trousers, with a pair of sturdy boots on...
2024-09-30 13:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostElijah’s advice was useless.
He went on and on about facets and partitions, as if any of that made sense to Sadie. He might as well have gone on another of his soliloquies on nature, for all the good it did. Normally, she could appreciate that side of him – even through the ...
2024-09-29 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post