Jokes aside, I think I’m missing something, Zarian thought, becoming more serious as they drew closer to deathly danger. I faced multiple challenges where warp energy was involved. It feels like there’s a lesson I’m supposed to learn, but I keep missing it. I bet Ruvaria is try...
2024-10-12 12:19:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe first major obstacle to fall to the void pit was the bloody trap spell. The void pit dismantled the ancient spell array and sucked it into its endless depths.
Then the void pit devoured the Chimera Ghouls waiting on the edges. The void pit inhaled the chimeras into its endless depths be...
2024-10-11 12:14:20 +0000 UTC View PostZarian could see how facing the monsters of the Infinita Star System would test an adventurer’s power, discipline, and adaptability. It was also a test of game design and balance under the veneer of philosophy and morality.
All monsters were evil except for special cases, which Zarian kne...
2024-10-11 12:11:59 +0000 UTC View PostZarian was almost tempted to bring in the full party after reading the expanded details. This was one hell of a lair crawl, and it connected to Corma’s lore. Ruvaria was already a terrifying figure of history, but apparently there was always more to learn. Had she left this orc alone on purpose...
2024-10-10 14:46:32 +0000 UTC View PostBefore Zarian exited the void to reach his destination, he noticed something was weird on the other side. The journey was already a long one, having required multiple stops in and out of the void up to this point, but he hadn’t felt something this troubling before.
Zarian’s excitement t...
2024-10-10 14:44:27 +0000 UTC View PostOnce they were far enough away from the village, it was easier for Zarian and his fellow Floridians to ignore the plight of the poor kiddos. They also ignored the growing rampage of an introverted elf monster being out in public among a bunch of weak normies.
Hannah parked the rune cart on ...
2024-10-09 16:20:50 +0000 UTC View PostLooking at the brain station of Ride-or-Die Village reminded Zarian why it was dangerous for engineers and scientists to get their hands on magic, especially when there was crafting involved.
When the doorway closed behind him, sealing away the bright light of the twin suns, Hannah’s lair...
2024-10-08 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostGuys, I'm leaving Europe and going back home to Miami. Well, maybe, it all depends on if the airport will let my airplane fly to Florida when we have a Category 5 hurricane barreling down at us. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But it looks like Miami and the rest of South Florida might come out al...
2024-10-08 10:59:26 +0000 UTC View PostFloating in the sky above Ride-or-Die Village, Zarian ended his cultivation and sealed away his Overwhelming Darkness. He would return to cultivating once they left the village.
He still maintained the dark seal patterns on his arms. They were for the safety of everyone in the universe and ...
2024-10-07 17:03:36 +0000 UTC View Post“What’s next?” Zarian asked.
“You will learn to fly using Aura Mastery,” she said. “Then we will go over how to apply Aura Mastery competently to all of your traits for unique results. I will leave you to self-discover the limits of your skills under Aura Mastery, though you wil...
2024-10-05 12:10:00 +0000 UTC View PostZarian was on hands and knees in front of the shining moat, his shoulders squeezed between two large mushroom caps. He was trying to see how much he’d changed with his own eyes first, but the water glowed with a bright pearly light.
It was an unsuitable replacement for a mirror.
His...
2024-10-05 12:06:43 +0000 UTC View PostRuvaria let out a long sigh. “I think out of everyone in this universe, you may judge me as harshly as you want. This dungeon, this boss, is one of my greatest regrets. I needed you to see it. So you can understand that Para’s right, I am quite terrible.”
“Mm, sure, maybe.” Zarian...
2024-10-04 08:22:04 +0000 UTC View Post“I think that should do it,” Zarian said, shutting the grimoire with an echoing thunk, the spectral chains rattling.
“I’m hungry,” Para said, this time speaking from Zarian’s stomach. She had formed a wide, sharp-tooth mouth there.
Zarian blinked down at the mouth on his s...
2024-10-03 15:25:42 +0000 UTC View PostZarian was surprised. The heavy gushing water rushing at him from the opposite end of the hallway looked powerful enough to sweep him off his feet.
Then Zarian felt a bonfire of ambitious hunger blazing from the middle of his parasitic core. He was unwilling to run away.
Fuck it, ...
2024-10-02 15:35:08 +0000 UTC View PostZarian stepped into Ruvaria’s room and felt a complex shift between dimensions. He reacted a split second too late and transitioned to a different realm of reality.
His heart hammered in his chest. Adrenaline filled his veins. His body became hot, hungry, and ready for a fight.
His ...
2024-10-01 18:35:09 +0000 UTC View PostIf you haven't noticed, the past week of chapters or so have differed a little compared to past chapters. That's because I've been forced to write by phone when I left behind my laptop charger by accident in Bulgaria while on a side quest to Germany to see Oktoberfest.
It took a while for m...
2024-10-01 18:33:39 +0000 UTC View PostLord Zarian and Princess Bianca stepped out from the shadows of an alley as the setting suns reached the end of their arc. The shadows were especially dark around the pair with the shade turning deeper and the light phasing out to create more darkness.
The effect was ghoulish, haunting, and...
2024-09-30 11:14:19 +0000 UTC View PostZarian was standing in the ground floor lobby of the Central Library Artillery Tower.
Looking around, he saw the floor and gilded furnishings were waxed and polished to a shiny mirror-like finish. The windows were big, thick, and spotless, letting in the unfiltered light of the twin suns on...
2024-09-28 09:56:26 +0000 UTC View PostWith everyone else occupied, Zarian opened his achievements.
Let’s see what we got.
<Achievements opened!>
<Attrition Warfare (Legendary): Normally, this would’ve been a lower quality achievement. But you held your own against a Wor...
2024-09-27 10:52:38 +0000 UTC View PostZarian hadn’t done much of anything for a week. Sometimes he would lie in his big and comfortable bed for hours. Other times, he would look out his grand and tall windows and observe the village activity down below.
Things were fine now with Metatron gone. There were fewer paladins than b...
2024-09-26 12:41:52 +0000 UTC View Post“I think the fake angel is almost dead,” Gilbert said, going with an obvious statement to spark some conversation.
Things were very weird right now. Very, very weird. And that was the fault of Zarian having a wormy body made up of mostly parasitic strands while strangely shaped in ways ...
2024-09-25 15:42:22 +0000 UTC View PostWhile Zarian played a madman’s game of attrition warfare with a Divine World Boss, Gilbert walked into a heavy metal elevator chute. The soles of his boots thudded across a thick platform that was going to plunge deep under Ride-or-Die Village.
Hannah was there with him. She brought along...
2024-09-25 15:39:54 +0000 UTC View PostZarian shoved his remaining free points into his Wonder Stat, pushing it from 267 to 302. He felt luckier, more faithful, and more perceptive of the supernatural. Then, with his Basic Aura Manipulation trait, he pushed aura hard into his Level 0 Wondrous Speed skill.
He ran faster than he...
2024-09-24 12:16:20 +0000 UTC View PostZarian had spoken flippantly to hide some of his concern. He’d known ahead of time that certain paladins, the terrorists specifically, could summon an angel through mass sacrifice. That was perfectly fine with him as long as the sacrifice didn’t harm the innocent villagers, visitors, and guil...
2024-09-23 11:50:40 +0000 UTC View PostI'm a little zoned out after a few late nights and trips going out with friends while updating the story. I figure I'll take two days off, take some time to recover, drink more water, then write the next big fight.
It's surprising how many adventures and things I can write about in this par...
2024-09-21 09:28:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Brothers! Sisters! Be not afraid!” shouted High Brother Bastien Justicier, the leader of a paladin squad trapped in a false dungeon under Ride-or-Die Village. “We are where we need to be to usher in the end of the Dark Lord! Let our sacrifice put that bastard under judgment for his crimes ...
2024-09-21 02:02:11 +0000 UTC View PostHe could’ve upgraded Basic Aura Manipulation to something better instead of turning Fractured Mind to Unraveled Mind, which would’ve made this next tactic way easier. But there was something nice about having most of his options limited by the restrictions he placed on himself while challenge...
2024-09-19 19:58:38 +0000 UTC View PostZarian stayed light and nimble, bouncing from side to side on the balls of his feet. He pushed various strands of aura into multiple buffs, making him grow more and more powerful.
First, his Level 0 skills saw a rise of aura power – Tranquil Mind, Adrenaline Jolt, Willful Might, Wondrous ...
2024-09-19 19:56:43 +0000 UTC View PostFirst things first, Zarian checked the network connection between him and the recon spiders while keeping his feet planted in one place. He also looked around with his own eyes.
His starting location was an enormous chamber that was moving around him. Different size cubes slid, docked, tumb...
2024-09-18 20:10:55 +0000 UTC View PostZarian found a predictable problem with Unraveled Mind while standing on top of the Central Library Artillery Tower. He was trying to ignore it while enjoying the view. It was a wonderful one. Breathtaking even.
The Early Spring suns were rising, turning the eastern skies a white gold color...
2024-09-17 20:25:37 +0000 UTC View Post