(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 3/4....
2023-11-04 19:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 2/4....
2023-11-04 18:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 1/4....
2023-11-04 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostGrowing up with the dream of being a monster hunter, Kai had always known that it was likely he would die young. He had imagined countless deaths and ways to avoid them. When he'd grown older, he'd accepted that his fate could very well be one of those imagined deaths.
He had never expected...
2023-11-03 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the giant of a monster swung at him again, Kai dodged aside from its blow. The end of each limb was basically a bludgeon, so he doubted there was anything to damage within. Instead he struck at the narrower wrist, aiming a claw between the plates of armor.
He drew a little blood, but t...
2023-11-02 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe dark waters ejected Kai onto the island, no matter how he tried to resist. Either he had passed his mental limits or some part of him wanted this. All of the confused forces within him must have reached a critical point that required a resolution.
He stumbled through the glassy sand to ...
2023-11-01 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHad he smashed her with a box?
That was Inafay's first thought as she struggled back to consciousness. All her battle instincts were still blaring and she very nearly took a swipe at the healer who was tending her. It took several seconds for her body to catch up with the fact that Kai had ...
2023-10-31 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostZae Zin Nim sat alone in an abandoned house, trying to ignore the sawdust falling from the ceiling with each earth-shaking step. Her only hope of finding a solution through cultivation was beginning to seem dimmer and dimmer. If she followed every guideline she had been given, it would take her o...
2023-10-30 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
(Cognosticon here. We've stayed above 100 patrons for a while, so everyone is due bonus chapters. Expect about three of them around the turn of the month.)
It seemed unbelievable that Fhazi would really fight him alone, so Kai waited suspiciously. The young noble had an entire gang of croni...
2023-10-29 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
As the last of the monsters in the north died, Zae Zin Nim wondered why she was still fighting. The fun had drained out of the combat with Kai missing and there were no longer any threats capable of climbing or damaging the wall. Since the extended fighting had drained her, both in terms of qi an...
2023-10-28 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
As she stepped away from the controls, Inafay rolled her shoulders like she always did before they sparred. There was no delay in summoning her skills anymore: she would be ready in an instant. The only thing keeping her from attacking was the way she was looking at him.
"I don't know what ...
2023-10-27 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
No one on the walls cheered for Kai anymore, but he kept fighting. Given the way some stared at him, he supposed that he should be grateful they weren't actively targeting him. There had only been one ominously powerful attack that had been deflected, otherwise he was left to his battle.
Wh...
2023-10-26 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Could the previous Hunter Trials possibly have been only a year ago? As Rallia Orgoron stared down with the other defenders, it seemed impossible. The years started to blur together as she got older, but she remembered Kai Granfian.
It had been a sad loss, when he emerged from the mana pool...
2023-10-25 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The side of the wall flashed past him faster than Kai had anticipated, and he briefly wondered if he had made a mistake, but the armored monster was already almost in his face. He assumed that its shell could deflect all normal attacks, so he straightened his hand and thrust a claw directly betwe...
2023-10-24 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
There wasn't enough time.
As Kai desperately tried to push his Physique to the limit, he began to accept that he wouldn't make it to E-0. Occasionally he began to feel a strange twinging in his muscles, like when he had reached F-0, but it always felt wrong. The twinges were painful and, in...
2023-10-23 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
(Patreon is being screwy and demanding images on posts. I'm just going to use this WIP cover because that will get the chapters posted.)
It seemed like the two elites were going to push him aside, like he was another helpless civilian. Kai might have been humbled by the incredible powers on...
2023-10-22 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. This chapter has been bumped up as a bonus chapter after the Royal Road version passed 1000 followers. That said, I'm even more encouraged by the new support here. If we hit 100 patrons, I'll try t...
2023-10-21 22:06:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe hole in reality yawned wider and wider as they approached, but there was nothing Kai could do. While they walked within the rainbow aura they were protected and everything outside was certain death. Even if he picked up Zae Zin Nim and tried to flee, there was nowhere to escape.
More mo...
2023-10-21 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostNo matter how Kai strained, he couldn't stop his legs from moving forward. On some level, he didn't want to. Some of the others didn't seem to even notice, just strolling alongside the strange man as if this was perfectly ordinary.
When he exchanged glances with Zae Zin Nim, she looked down...
2023-10-20 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostGunjin Granfian rarely cursed, even when he was truly angry, but he cursed then. He turned back to the ground and spat out a few words.
"Stay put. I need to contact someone. Fight to stop them, if it comes to that."
Then he stepped into the portal and was gone, leaving Kai and everyon...
2023-10-19 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAt last they came into sight of Monskon City. Kai had skipped his training for the first time in ages because he had a feeling he would need every drop of strength. The problem was how to deal with his return. During an incursion some rules were relaxed in favor of survival, but he wasn't sure ho...
2023-10-18 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThere was still quite some distance to Monskon City, but Kai was beginning to find the environment familiar. That actually made him even less motivated to hurry, especially since he couldn't enter the city. Since they still had over a week until the Hunter Trials, he decided to use their time for...
2023-10-17 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostTraveling and training made great companions in Kai's view. Maybe it would have been more efficient if they'd had a self-propelled method of transportation like Zae Zin Nim wanted, but he enjoyed the walking. If they didn't talk, he could always work on mana exercises, test things internally, or ...
2023-10-16 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWinning a battle was great. Benefits included not dying. But maybe Kai's life had gotten too easy, because he was aggravated that he'd won the battle and yet hadn't broken through.
No matter how many times he checked, his Physique remained stubbornly at F-9. He'd pushed himself past his lim...
2023-10-15 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostNow Kai had no choice but to dodge backward from his opponent's careful strikes, because each one of them might twist dangerously. One of those strikes had destroyed his gauntlet, so he couldn't even rely on that. Both of them were injured, but he was being forced to move more. His opponent's sup...
2023-10-14 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostIt was strange, walking along calmly while knowing that a battle was impending. Oh, there was a remote possibility that the two elite mercenaries were following them to deliver a message. Or maybe to give them gifts because the Corinin clan had turned over a new leaf and was just so generous.
... 2023-10-13 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThatch. Kai hadn't woken up staring at thatch since he'd been a young orphan, not yet adopted by the Granfian clan. He blinked several times before trying to sit up.
The rest of the room matched the roof, so he had been moved to some village house. After everything he'd been through, he exp...
2023-10-12 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFighting the Irunians had clearly taken a toll, because Anaelina bled from multiple wounds. Yet she still moved with ease and her eyes were glowing silver, just as they had when she'd tried to kill him. As she walked toward them, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder.
"So stubborn!" S...
2023-10-11 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the most dangerous women Kai had ever known was standing across the garden, beaming at him. At first he had no idea what he was supposed to do in such an absurd situation. He wanted to attack her with all his new strength, but she was no doubt the new Corinin mercenary. If he struck the fi...
2023-10-10 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostRazz had never been shy about visiting the estate, frequently visiting the workers and other locals, but this time he sent a letter. That should have been the first warning. Just the idea of going back to Rayakan for another party should have been the second. But the letter promised so much... 2023-10-09 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post