Merlin huffed, as the teleportation ended, only to turn and stare at Circe and Nyx, who had come along with us. “I understand why you needed me,” Merlin said, her gaze falling on Circe harshly, “but I don’t understand why you needed her.”
“Well, I’m honest,she’s important en...
2025-10-15 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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It didn’t take Gloria and I long to find a place to eat. Everybody nearby who had checked our skill sheets was more than happy to help us in any way possible. They practically offered their firstborn child when I asked a question.
Taking a few suggestions and following their directions, w...
2025-10-14 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Apparently, even though I thought what Gloria had been wearing was just fine, she had needed to change before we were ready to head out.
I guess if she was showing off her strength, she probably wanted to look good in the process.
While I waited, I headed to check in with Merlin, who ...
2025-10-13 06:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Simone and Winnie walked with Sylvie through the sect, and Simone made no secret of using her Inspect on anyone and everyone she could find.
“Are there any groups in the sect that are rather reclusive?” Simone asked.
Both of the older women snorted a laugh. “You’ll find ‘rec...
2025-10-12 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Simone beamed at Merlin as she dropped them off at the Roaring Wave Sect.
“Thank you for the lift, as always, Merlin.” Simone gave her a little curtsy.
“It’s always a pleasure,” Merlin said quickly. “Now, if you don’t mind, apparently I have some catching up to do when i...
2025-10-11 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“And that’s how it ended up as it did,” I said, finishing my story of the Trial of Kings.
By the end, Nyx had consumed my lap. Gloria stayed close enough to reach me if she wanted, but not so close as to come off as clingy. Simone puttered around, cleaning up around us, and when she w...
2025-10-10 06:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Just got this up.
Side note for KS peeps, we finally got the pickup sorted out for the pallets of packed KS that have been in my garage since Friday afternoon. Boxes are out and should have been scanned in for those wondering about packages that weren't tracking.
2025-10-09 19:56:23 +0000 UTC
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“Well,” Circe said as we reappeared back outside the trial, “that was certainly… something.”
I blinked away the sudden shift in light to find ourselves in the dark of Tartarus, but far from the start of the trials. We were behind our own troops as they trained on the first wave.
2025-10-09 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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“Alright, so after discussing it with your harem,” Syssy spun back around and I gave her a raised eyebrow some hours later.
I’d spent most of the time wandering the very small hall and leaving it to Simone.
“My harem?” I said, not sure if I’d call that group my harem. “S...
2025-10-08 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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As soon as that message popped up, I found myself ejected from the Trial of Kings and showered in party poppers as Syssy cheered and blew a kazoo inches from my face.
“Yay, you did it, Bran!” Syssy squealed. The green-haired fairy was overwhelmingly excited while the rest of us were sti...
2025-10-07 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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With Bloodrage Ascension active, I swung back at Princess Almeria in her draconic form, my Bloodiron Blade growing to be nearly as large as I was. That meant it was nearly sixteen feet long, certainly enough to cleave the princess’s new form in half.
She twisted her long, serpentine body ...
2025-10-06 06:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Luckily for all of us, Winnie got her warm sheath for her icy scythe not long after. Otherwise, I’m sure she’d become insufferable.
The four of us dove into the rear of Princess Almeria’s forces together like meteors descending on the battlefield.
It was immediately apparent the...
2025-10-05 06:00:05 +0000 UTC
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I rushed alongside the others back to where all of our forces were hopefully still laying siege, with Princess Almeria’s forces bottled up inside the Citadel of Blood.
Winnie slid up next to me as we made our way back. The headstrong woman wore a scowl that, thankfully, didn’t seem dire...
2025-10-04 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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I watched her strategy, once she started throwing sonic enchanted boulders she hadn’t slowed down in the slightest. Not that it mattered, I had come to kick her out of the Citadel, and that was exactly what I was going to do. Watching her hurl boulders that hurt these women who supported Simone...
2025-10-03 06:00:09 +0000 UTC
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I slammed my hand against the table in frustration as the plan we’d just made was already falling apart.
“Well, that’s just wonderful, isn’t it?” Winnie said, crossing her arms and turning to me as if it were my job to find a solution.
I suppose it was, now that I’d taken ...
2025-10-02 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Simone followed me back to what I could only assume was the master bedroom. It wasn’t so glorious as to have indoor plumbing, but the bed looked inviting. And after the day I’d had, I was more than eager to sink into it and move on to the next day.
That, however, wasn’t in the cards.<...
2025-10-01 06:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Winnie’s surrender of her troops to me seemed to trigger another of the seals on my stats and abilities.
While my body went through the transformation, I could feel a dozen people checking my growth, eyes scanning my stats and seeing the change. Apparently this moment sealed Simone’s al...
2025-09-30 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I swallowed audibly, the sound seeming to reverberate across the battlefield. I looked around, expecting the whole area to have heard me, and they might have as fighting slowed and more than a few eyes shifted my direction.
The more that looked my way, the more others followed. Fighting slo...
2025-09-29 06:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The fight sparked off in a raging inferno. Circe went straight through Winnie‘s people, doing her best to keep them busy with sudden gusts of wind.
On the other hand, Simone and the Mul Branova moved far more slowly, holding hands and marching towards Winnie directly. I could only assume ...
2025-09-28 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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I found myself desperately hoping that time inside the Trial of Kings was not equivalent to the outside. None of these situations or people were moving very quickly. Then again, armies didn't move very quickly. Haste was very costly at this sort of scale.
It had taken almost a week af...
2025-09-27 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Apparently, Syssy was determined to make this trial difficult for me.
At least, that was my impression as I woke up with Circe still cuddling me and an unfulfilled quest flashing in the corner of my vision. I took that to mean that even wearing Circe out in bed and exerting several forms of...
2025-09-26 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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"Oh, there you are," Circe said several days later entering the tent. "I was wondering if you were still holed up in here."
Since she left a few days ago, I hadn’t had any obvious minders. That one nymph had wandered in a few times to try her luck before her pride and frustration got the ...
2025-09-25 06:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Two days later, I found myself frowning and wondering if I should have started with Circe first.
No sooner had she brought me to her own fortified position than she simply put me to work. I still had a fair bit of supervision, but I wasn't being treated like a criminal who just needed...
2025-09-24 06:00:06 +0000 UTC
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"Stay here," Simone said as the explosion still roared in the distance. Though the velvet curtains that were the mainstay of her castle barely even rustled.
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "We wouldn't perhaps be under attack, would we?"
"We would be," she began, b...
2025-09-23 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Session 3 of the video Q&A series is being filmed early next week! Get your questions in as comments on this post! If your question wasn't picked last time, try again and it may show up this round!
The questions can be about anything you want - My own work, the genre as a whole, the pr...
2025-09-22 13:24:19 +0000 UTC
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As Simone stormed out of the room, I couldn't suppress the smile that spread across my face. Her being upset was a far cry from the indifference she'd shown me previously.
To be upset, there had to be something she was upset about. There had to be an emotional stake for her. Whether I...
2025-09-22 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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We had only just stepped out of the village when one of the Mul Branovas spoke up. "I thought Bran was one of the greatest warriors of this world," she frowned, glancing over at me. Apparently, my performance wasn't up to their standards.
I shot a pained glance towards Simone and let out a ...
2025-09-21 06:00:23 +0000 UTC
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I stood with Simone outside her castle, technically halfway to the Citadel of Blood, speaking in a village as Simone tried to score new recruits. I did my best to look handsome, tall, and worth joining.
The ladies in the village gave me flirtatious eyes and swayed back and forth, as if I wo...
2025-09-20 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Now, I had no expectations of what pretending to be myself for Simone would entail. However, after two days of being paraded around the Mul Branova, and then being sent into what were apparently extensive dungeons that seemed to be expanding almost as fast as I could go in and rid people of their...
2025-09-19 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Simone stared at me unblinkingly, making me nervous. What exactly was she going to do with me? I knew she wouldn’t remember, nor recognize me. Like my trail her memories would be blocked.
The trial of kings was a test of who you were at your core, not who you were trying to be.
Even...
2025-09-18 06:00:08 +0000 UTC
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