Nauja appeared in a dark corner. She was instantly on guard.
There was little she could make of the surrounding space. Everything a few feet away from her was darkness. There could be anything out there.
However, Nauja was a trained warrior. She immediately fell into a crouch and dire...
2023-05-12 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostRemember when Sage mentioned the existence of teleportation devices inside the labyrinth? Yeah... Those never came up, so I'll either remove their mention altogether or have the Sage say they are in both the following rings, so I can use them in Garden Ring.
I get the feeling there was one ...
2023-05-11 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack, Longsword, and Bocor stood before a dark cave mouth.
“Well,” the Lord said, “guess we found something. What do you think, Jack?”
“I think it’s a cave, and I also think that I cannot see in the darkness.”
Bocor snorted. “Are you afraid, little man?”
...
2023-05-10 17:37:00 +0000 UTC View PostWahoo!
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Brock felt like his eyes were open for the first time. He saw his soul. It was beautiful.
His inner world was a gaping nothingness peppered with floating leaves. It felt crampy and impossibly expansive at the same time, like space had lost all meaning.
Brock flo...
2023-05-09 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack opened his eyes, glancing at the dancing bonfire before him.
He was still inside the labyrinth, of course. It was just ridiculous what kind of resources people like Lord Longsword got. He had his own bonfire, fuel-free and foldable enough to fit in his pocket.
Despite the homely ...
2023-05-08 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey Nauja, check this out!” Salin held up a blue crab, moving its pincer from side to side. “It says hi.”
“Salin, put the poor thing down.”
“But it’s happy. It’s waving.”
“You are waving.”
“Fiiine.” Salin reluctantly placed the crab on...
2023-05-06 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostEdgar floated in nothingness, suspended before a massive sapphire sphere. His eyes watered. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
The sphere was colored light blue, with little stars glistening inside. It was made of a material like starry silk. Its outer layers flowed around th...
2023-05-05 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack’s eyes traveled from the tip of the long sword, down its length, to its handle, and up to the sharp brown eyes that hid under dark hair. A tattered cloak drifted behind this man, its edge almost touching the floor, and his brows were raised in amusement.
Human (Earth-74), Lev...
2023-05-04 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostNauja stumbled into a wall. Still reeling from the aftereffects of teleportation, she leaned on it and looked around.
Deep inside, she was excited. It was finally time to explore alone. To venture on her own power. To prove she was worthy. A primal urge rose inside her, the urge to—
Shorter chapter this time, but there were some pretty large ones recently. Now, it is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Enjoy!
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The labyrinth contained a whole lot of nothing. Torch-lit corridors as far as the eye could see. Turns after turns after twists and bends...
2023-05-02 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostHappy new month, everyone! As always, thank you for your continued support, and I have news for you! This month, on the 30th, Book 1 of Road to Mastery goes to Kindle. That one day will define the next two years of my life, but I believe things will go great. There is pressure, but I love pressur...
2023-05-01 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack didn’t respond right away. He savored the words. “Invite me into Black Hole Church?”
“Yes,” the Sage replied. “You already know I’m part of it—though I hope you’ve kept this information safe. Dorman is one of us, too, as are many people across the galaxy. And we want ...
2023-04-29 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostJack couldn’t believe his eyes. Here, hovering in the middle of a super horde in Trial Planet’s Space Ring, was the Sage.
What the hell?
“You aren’t even going to say hello?” the Sage said again, with a small smile. His telepathy was coming in handy.
“He...
2023-04-28 16:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostMy Dao of Catchy Titles is going strong.
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Space monsters were unique creatures. They were formed by Dao that stuck together, the fundamental properties of the universe given shape and form. When that happened, sentience was developed, but most monsters only remained at the E-Grade,...
2023-04-27 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostJack lounged on a rock when Gan Salin woke up. He coughed, then shakily raised his upper body. “What happened?” he asked.
“Space monsters,” Jack replied, “but we pulled through. Are you okay?”
Salin’s eyes were piercing. “Did you save me?”
“It was nothing.”...
2023-04-26 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the world settled, Brock found himself in a long and narrow underground chamber. Or, at least, it looked underground. There were no windows. He might as well be in a large stone box illuminated by a series of torches on the walls.
Said walls were covered in moss, like the outside ones,...
2023-04-25 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostHappy new week, everyone!
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A second arrow pierced space to accurately land on the tip of the eel’s nose. Jack sensed the Dao of Lightning leak out. The eel shook its head and chased him with renewed effort. They exchanged strikes. He was on the losing end, but not by much. His pu...
2023-04-24 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostLight speared through the darkness, illuminating a long, mile-wide area. A bright path stretching from the middle of Space Ring to an exit tunnel leading to the next ring.
As Jack’s group found themselves flying through the light, he was stunned and speechless. Just a hundred feet away, t...
2023-04-22 17:36:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe outer half of Space Ring was brightly lit by the sun mushrooms that covered the outer wall. That light dimmed as it traveled. By the middle of the ring, the lighting was like a starry night.
And the final one-fourth of the ring was pitch-black. Fifty miles of darkness crowding with the ...
2023-04-21 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack and his companions couldn’t sense the aftermath of the girl and the fat guy’s attack, but it must have been tremendous. The space monster horde had all but evaporated before them, sent flying by the giant palm or burned to cinders by the sun that erupted in their midst.
Thankfully,...
2023-04-20 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostSmall change: Last chapter mentioned that the basket of torches in every tunnel leading from one ring to the next is provided by Hand of God. Therefore, the tunnel in the Ancient ruins did NOT have torches. I went back and edited it as such.
Many thanks to the patron who pointed this out in...
2023-04-19 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Space Ring put all physics Jack knew to shame.
It was a vast expanse of space, stretching so far he couldn’t see the end. The sun mushrooms around him pierced the darkness, illuminating little colorful bubbles, tiny compared to the vastness surrounding them, slowly floating through. 2023-04-18 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View Post
“That was amazing!” Nauja said, walking excitedly next to Jack. “The way you tricked them… Genius! And here I thought you were a dumb meathead!”
“You are literally a barbarian,” Jack replied, but he wasn’t annoyed. He was exuberant. Just now, he’d earned a great victory an...
2023-04-17 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack’s world sharpened to a point: the minotaur. Everything else fell away. He entered combat. A battle he couldn’t afford to lose.
Bocor closed the distance in less than a blink. His hooved legs carved the sand under them, parting it like air. He was fast, too.
But Jack was also ...
2023-04-15 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Your offer is tempting, Lord Longsword,” Jack said, consciously relaxing his body and mouth. He even forced a small smile. The first step was to give Lord Longsword his respect in front of everyone. “How could anyone refuse? You are an unmatched prodigy. Honestly, after fighting you once, ...
2023-04-14 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostJack, Nauja, Gan Salin, and Brock ran over the sand dunes, heading as far away from the village as possible. They thought they would be fast enough. Turns out, they weren’t.
Lord Longsword’s team was the first to crest the tall sand dune between the village and the desert, sprinting aft...
2023-04-13 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostHey all, small change in the previous chapter. When they notice Gan Salin and consider breaking him out, they obviously ask themselves, "how?" The following exchange ensues:
“I can break the cage.”
Nauja raised a brow.
“What?” Jack replied. “I’ll be quick. Then, we c...
2023-04-12 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostThroughout Jack’s week-long journey through the desert, he didn’t forget about the Dao Soul.
Every second night, he entered his soul world instead of sleeping. The Dao Soul waited there, a mute copy of Jack that took childlike joy in fighting.
Here, the Dao came easy, but the Syst...
2023-04-11 17:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostHappy new week, everyone!
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Jack cracked his knuckles. He was suddenly eager to fight, eager to unleash his pent-up energy on this clueless monster.
Nauja and Brock stepped away, leaving him alone against the monstrous chameleon, which still hid in the sand, unaware they’d n...
2023-04-10 17:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe sand worm was wide enough to swallow a house, and long enough that they never saw its tail. It burst out from under the sand without any warning whatsoever, biting down on and swallowing a scaled lizard that lounged on top of a dune. Thankfully, it didn’t attack them.
Giant Sa...
2023-04-08 17:37:00 +0000 UTC View Post