A Soldier's Life - 241 - The Saboteur (edited 4-3-25 +350 words)
Added 2024-08-05 17:27:09 +0000 UTCan important chapter. will prbably do another read edit before publising. address most of the comments with edits
Chapter 241: The Saboteur
Corvus stared at me for a moment as the cat jumped up onto a shelf nearby and promptly knocked off one of the jars. The glass shattering on the sandstone floor echoed in the chamber, his head half-turned tracking it. “Your cat?” He asked was an amused smile, sounding annoyed but curious.
“The first time I saw it was when I entered the Archives,” I replied as the cat knocked another jar to the floor and looked down at its own mess in confusion. If it kept this up, I wouldn't have to do anything. Corvus made to grab the cat, rushing around a shelf. It sensed his intentions and leaped down and raced away among the shelves.
Corvus realized he was not going to catch it and focused back on me. He studied me intently, still doubt in his eyes. As Hounds, we were trained to recognize the dozen creatures that could mimic humans. I expected him to try and stab me with silver before long.
He spoke in a casual tone, “When you didn’t arrive in Varvao, and the Caliphate fleet didn’t either, we assumed you died slowing them down. Centurion Sergius was praised for your efforts by the Emperor.” He paused and asked curiously, “How did you manage it?” He gave me the answers I sought without me even asking the questions—they already thought I was dead.
I slowly walked toward Corvus as I prepared to bullshit him as I got closer. I also needed to be careful about the range of his ability to influence me. From reviewing the charm affinity spell forms, I knew they all had a very limited range. “I snuck aboard the lead warship, and I killed the orc priestess on the lead warship; she was quite comely for an orc,” I smiled lasciviously. “When she used her magic, she was unencumbered by clothes, making her a temptingly easy target.” It was a lie, but plausible in my mind.
I sighed heavily, like recalling a bad memory, “Unfortunately, the Pathfinders took offense to me spearing their priestess and chased me for days seeking revenge. I lost my goggles and message book during my flight east. They blocked me from heading south to Varvao, but I eventually reached Vartaholme.” I stopped twenty feet from him to appear unthreatening. He seemed to be processing my words and considering my story conceivable, even smirking when I called the orc priestess comely.
He nodded slowly. “How are you here then? In the Archives?” Corvus asked skeptically.
“Centurion Sergius sent me here after I reached Ogala. I thought it would be fun to surprise you.” I answered in a friendly tone.
He immediately frowned, “My father would have never directed you to the Archives.” Well, shit, I miscalculated but maintained my smile. Corvus had even warned me that his father didn’t trust me. I thought after saving the Centurion’s ass and delaying the fleet, I would at least trusted. Corvus tensed, and I stepped forward to within fifteen feet, and I attempted to remove his head.
An aether shield flashed around him, and I realized that bastard was wearing the amulet I had given him under his persuasive magic. It somehow defended against my spell form as my aether bottomed out, and I experienced a severe backlash, causing me to stumble.
I focused as best I could through the pounding headache, pushing the migraine away, drawing magebane, and rushing at him. Corvus dodged right, using the heavy shelves as leverage to gain distance while drawing his only weapon, a dagger. His reason for not engaging directly was probably because he wasn't wearing his Hound armor or gear. I knew I couldn’t let him out of this room, but I also didn’t want to chase him all night.
“Why don’t we talk about this?” He asked, putting a shelf between us. He probably thought I was a spy of some mimic creature now. I felt his spell form trying to gain a foothold on my consciousness, but my surging adrenaline and the necessity to leave no witnesses made it ineffectual.
I moved to give him a path to the entrance to the chamber, and he took it, rushing to the exit. I raced after him, leading with magebane and my dagger in the other hand. From our time together, I already knew I was much faster than him and overtook him in half a dozen strides.
Corvus reached for something on his belt and cursed loudly, “Pluto’s cock!” He was not wearing his Hound belt, so whatever he had hoped to get was not there. He stopped running to fight me, and we had an exchange with our blades. With only his dagger, he was on the defensive and backpedaling as he focused on avoiding magebane’s superior reach. When we separated, he had a long slash down his forearm from my dagger and was dripping blood steadily on the floor. The muscle was cut, and if he wanted to continue, he would have to switch the dagger to his other hand.
Seeing he was outmatched, I assumed he would beg for his life. Instead, he tried his influence spell form again. In a pleading tone, he addressed me. “I will surrender, and you can present me to the man who holds your leash. My father would offer an Emperor’s ransom for me.”
I thought about informing him about the conspiracy and introducing him to Antonia, but I recognized what he was attempting and resisted his influence, which was trying to worm its way into my thoughts.
“I serve only myself,” I informed him with a hint of anger. He winced and gave up on trying to influence me. He started grabbing the jars of blood samples and throwing them at me.
Even wounded, Corvus had good aim, not at me but smashing the jars so I would be showered in glass. Frustrated with his stalling tactic, I tossed a pair of pellets at the floor, blindness and smoke pellets. I then sprinted to block the door. Corvus made to get out of the cloud, but I had already thrown more pellets in his likely path as I moved.
Corvus was soon coughing and stumbling among the shelves, knocking dozens of the glass containers onto the floor. I planned to let himself exhaust himself in his blindness, but he reached into his satchel, pulled out his message book, and fumbled to find something to write with. I couldn’t let him communicate with his father.
I tossed my throwing dagger with my free hand and it made a satisfying thud into his chest as I closed. I followed up with a slash from magebane. The blade tried to draw on my aether, pulling the minuscule amount I had recovered over the last minute. I didn’t need its ability as I pivoted rapidly on my heel and cut into Corvus’ neck. He reached for the wound as it gushed blood, dropping the book.
I finished by removing his hand and then piercing his heart, not wanting him to suffer. I stood over him, breathing steadily and shaking my head. His shocked, wide-eyed expression a reminder that I was a killer. Another jar shattered, drawing my attention away from Corvus. The poor cat knocked over another glass jar as it stumbled along a shelf. The foolish feline had blinded itself by entering the myconid cloud.
I confirmed Corvus was dead and retrieved the amulet along with his message book. I was curious about what he had discussed with his father. I leaned over and took his Hound token from around his neck as well, sending it to my dimensional space. If I needed to show a Hound token in the future as I departed the Empire, I would prefer it was not mine.
I picked up the frightened cat while soothing it. Its claws dug into me for grip and as a release for its fear. It had been attempting to clear its eyes but wasn’t having much success.
After barring the entrance to the room so I wouldn’t be surprised, I walked to the desk, set the cat down, and cleaned its eyes with a waterskin I found there. The cat quickly calmed as my voice soothed it, and my washing its eyes allowed its vision to clear. Soon, it was rubbing against my leg as its savior.
With the cat taken care of, I checked the large tome and found Castile’s, Renna’s, and Zyna’s reference numbers. I walked to the shelves, figured out the organizing system, and pulled those three samples in glass jars. Each jar had small cut squares of cloth soaked then dried blood. The samples were ready to use in a blood compass. My aether had recovered enough to move all the jars into my dimensional space. I was taking these as insurance in case I needed to find one of the mages in the future.
I moved to Corvus and placed the collector on him. The collector easily pulled the blue wisps from his still-leaking corpse. It felt cold-hearted to harvest someone I knew—every if he was an adversary. I was surprised when a major intellect essence formed.
I slipped the essence into one of my pouches and searched his body. He had a silver ring with a faceted ruby and runic script. It was an artifact, just not a dungeon artifact. The dagger he had used was a dungeon-runic weapon, but not the one I had given him that belonged to Selene Greko. I returned to the desk to read his correspondence with his father. The exhausted cat was splayed across the book, sleeping after an eventful night.
These message books only held the script for two days before it disappeared, so I was not sure how much I would glean from the correspondence. As I paged through it, I frowned. Centurion Sergius was clearly grooming his son by the voluminous number of entries.
Corvus had advocated for me with his father and was upset when I had been determined to be dead. From the passages, it was Centurion Sergius who didn’t trust me, but then again, I only had access to the last two days of communication.
Centurion Sergius was apparently taking fifteen of his Hounds to support the Emperor’s attack on the Esenhem elves, which was why I had been left alone in the Western Empire and the southern wilds were undermanned to observe the developing goblin horde. It was also why the Archives only had eight Hounds in the city protecting them. I had killed two and trapped two others, so I guessed the other four were in the city above protecting the entrances.
The goblin problem was much more severe than I thought. Sergius told his son that a hobgoblin general was organizing the goblin hordes. The few Hounds near the mountains were issuing dire warnings about the coming surge. I closed the book, angry that the communication hadn’t gone back further than two days to learn more.
I pulled the registry book to me and pushed off the sleeping cat. It was perturbed but rolled over to continue its nap. It was no surprise that neither Centurion Sergius nor Corvus had any samples stored here. I found the entries for First Citizen Boris Angella and First Citizen Justin Cicero. I retrieved and stored those two samples because it never hurt to know where your enemies were. I looked for Duke Octavian’s sample as well to gift to Castile, but there was only a dust imprint where it should have been.
I still had a few hours to dawn and needed to finish up. The aisles between the shelves were only four feet wide, and the shelves were over ten feet but made from thick timbers. There were twenty rows of parallel shelves, each one hundred and fifty feet in length. I walked on the outside row and started to remove the interior supports. The first shelf tilted, with dozens of glass containers crashing in a cacophony of shattering glass. It didn’t create much of a push to start the domino effect. The cat was wisely absent as I methodically destroyed the Archives.
It took much longer than I had thought, and the final touch was breaking the casks of lamp oil among the wreckage. I doubted more than a tenth of the samples survived and burning it all was probably more symbolic at this point. I uncorked the oil casks and just tossed them on the perimeter of wreckage.
I tossed the index tome among the wreckage, and Corvus’s body followed on top. As I soaked the book and Corvus’s body with the last cask of oil, I knew it was a risk to burn him and let Sergius know his son was dead, but from my understanding, it would prevent necromancers from talking with him.
I then lit the book and stepped back, watching it burn, and soon, the fire found the puddles of oil, and fire raced along the floor where the oil hid in cracks. The wave of heat had me step back as colored smoke rose from the burning pile. The wood was dry, and the oil was potent. Soon, the fire started to grow, and I could see the smoke being pulled up into vents high in the ceiling. One of the undamaged jars exploded with a pop. It was time to go before the air fouled too much. Although this underground complex was vast, there was a lot in this room that could burn.
When I started climbing the stairs, I found the cat confidently plodding at my side. I turned to the bunk room where I had trapped the two Hounds. I found the pair pounding the stone. Soft thuds and screams. I realized the room was above the Archives and the smoke must be filling it. I had planned not to leave witnesses, but suffocating seemed too cruel a death.
The cat hissed, and I turned around to run down the corridor. The smoke must be reaching the surface and alerting people. I hoped these two men deserved their fate and fled to my tunnels.
Pulsing earth-speak, I made my way back to the old woman’s shop. The cat took the lead and took us straight back to its home. I rewarded him with another plate of eggs and bacon. I then returned the blocks to seal the access I had made. I was starting to feel the warning signs of aether burn and happy my work was done.
I crept up the steps and cracked the cellar door, surprised to see the windows letting in the morning sun. The cat dashed past me and up the stairs. I didn’t see the old woman proprietor and moved to the back door.
Just as I was about to slip out, a dry voice cut the air from the other room, “How did you get in here?” I paused, worried I would have to deal with the woman. I pulled the hood of my manticore cloak tight over my head to hide my features. The cat meowed loudly, seeking attention. “I will feed you in a bit, Apollo.” She was addressing my feline accomplice. By his whining tone, I was sure he was telling his mistress there was an intruder, but I didn’t wait to be discovered, and I slipped into the alley.
As I walked to the Eastern Gate to leave the city, a few strangled puffs of dark smoke started to emit from some of the sewer grates I passed. I didn’t wait for the alarms to sound in the city and was soon on the road to Sobral and to join Maveith.
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Comments
corrected
Erick Thiemke
2025-04-03 22:25:16 +0000 UTCfixing now...
Erick Thiemke
2025-04-03 22:15:42 +0000 UTCcorrected
Erick Thiemke
2025-04-03 22:14:16 +0000 UTCWell task done! Glad you answered all my questions from the previous chapters in this one🤣, Thanks 📖🍿
Brianna Stormcloud
2025-03-06 09:41:55 +0000 UTCThe aisles between the shelves were only four feet wide, and the shelves were over ten feet * but made from thick timbers. The aisles between the shelves were only four feet wide, and the thick timbered shelves were over ten feet long/deep.
Andrew Crews
2025-02-27 00:56:14 +0000 UTCI tossed my throwing dagger with my free hand, * it is making a satisfying thud into his cloth-armored chest. I tossed my throwing dagger with my free hand, and it made a satisfying thud into his cloth-armored chest.
Andrew Crews
2025-02-27 00:49:23 +0000 UTCWorking on editing book 4. I read all Patreon notes before attacking the edits
Erick Thiemke
2025-02-07 00:05:55 +0000 UTCI’ve spent the last 4 days reading this story from book 1. I’m a new reader/fan. This chapter needs a lot of work, it’s incongruent with some of the previous work …just going to paste in my notes on it, do as you will: Killed the orc priestess?…did I miss that? Sergius sent him? Get real… Saving centurions ass and be feted as a hero?..huh? Aether shield protecting Aesop… er… Aesop not wearing his armor…sure Influence spell attempt , but was already hit by magebane?…sure Considered Bringing him to Antonia?..nah Allowing the cat to be an operational risk?..just lol Missed opportunity to go into more of what was written in the book from his dad and/or just extracting more info from Aesop in general…pity Not getting more samples of various people …he’s thorough usually Anti-climactic all around - super rushed and amateur hour This needs major re-write, sorry. Still a fan! :)
CryptoBird
2025-02-06 23:57:51 +0000 UTCNo, his dimensional space is very specifically not void magic. It's space magic. It HAS fooled some people in to thinking he was a void mage, since he can cut living things with it, which isn't supposed to be possible. But yes, his dimensional space would likely still work past a small or weak barrier, or at least it should in my opinion.
Apophixas
2025-01-20 03:35:21 +0000 UTCThat simple shield amulet would be ineffective against anything like void magic which his dimensional space is
Robert Biederman
2025-01-16 12:29:22 +0000 UTC"but from my understanding, it would prevent necromancers from talking with him." but a few chapters back he was dreading a necromancer questioning the wife and 2 kids fake bodies. Need to fix that.
Nikolaus Sheehan
2024-11-11 08:49:03 +0000 UTCit is a way for the blade to function in case the wielder can not maniulate aether
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-08 17:46:11 +0000 UTCyes, i noted in our discord and made some edits to the earlier chapter. runic weapons should steal aether but this one does
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-08 17:45:48 +0000 UTCThe blade tried to draw on aether, pulling the minuscule amount I had recovered over the last minute. Wasnt the blade able to draw aether from the target as well in order to fuel its poison effect?
Karnnie
2024-08-08 17:41:39 +0000 UTCAgree. The quality of soldir fell a lot since the autor decide ressurect his dormant projects. He lost in focus, in humour, in consistency, .. I compare wt "super supportive "' from Slayca, that is kind of similar. Lots of simolaritirs. Only one project active. Quality only increase
Roberto Dias
2024-08-07 04:10:07 +0000 UTCThe first citizen revenge plot can be saved for later when he return to the country or as a surprised plot twist when the Mc isn't expecting it.
momo2009
2024-08-06 22:07:52 +0000 UTCThat a good idea. You should keep it somehow. Show his kindness but make the story realistic that he can't save everyone. Or at least the friend get into a serious injured that required rare magic to heal or lose their's magic power, coma, memory lost etc. Plus like the Mc to visit other countries so it nice to meet people before in different place.
momo2009
2024-08-06 22:03:09 +0000 UTCNow I see, thanks.
Lemes
2024-08-06 21:30:42 +0000 UTCSome thoughts on your question re the pov chapter. My father had dementia. A few things: you could ask him about events in the distant past and he would remember it in detail. His underlying personality did not change. If anything it became more pronounced. His conclusions given a set of facts would be consistent. Ask him if he wanted to continue to live at home and the answer would be yes. They do not recall recent events. They will forget to eat, tell you they are not hungry and already ate, but will eat ravenously when presented food. If the emperor was essentially a kind person, he is likely to be a kind person. If he was jealous, suspicious, the same. He will not accept there are things he could do but can no longer do. He will ask the same questions often. He will be unaware of the reasons others are having difficulties because he thinks of them as they were not as they are. He will forget the names of people or struggle for words. He will fear losing autonomy and mask confusion with social graces. Obviously, no one wants to take away the keys from a void mage. At some point, some lie to their parents, “you sold the car,” where others have the same conversation over and over. There is ongoing tension between those who are fearful of losing their inheritance and those trying to see the parent gets what they want for as long as they can (goes back to their reasoning skills are still there, ask them what they want). Elder abuse is common, physical or emotional or theft. Families fall apart. Counseling and finding groups with similar experiences is highly recommended.
sdf
2024-08-06 21:02:57 +0000 UTCit is - next chapter will reunite them
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 20:14:26 +0000 UTCthe only reason he was in the Hounds was to do this task. of course he was naive and thought he wouldnt have to kill anyone - and it was supposed to take years and not 3 months
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 20:13:49 +0000 UTCI love the sequence and I think it worked out really well, but there was some element of "I was hired, showed up in the big city to my first day on the job, went out for lunch and drinks with the team, then burned down the building along with half my co-workers.. I am now unemployed and not sure if I should put Hound on my resume..."
sdf
2024-08-06 20:11:15 +0000 UTCHe look at the arch of the entrance made sure the guards were still sleeping. He then removed some stone and sealed them in. He was frustrated it took half his aether then went back and cut it up so nobody would know there was a space that could be that big. I had to read that part a few times to understand he was sealing them in, it was in the chapter where he killed the first guard.
Rodney Stocker
2024-08-06 19:12:21 +0000 UTCI reread chapter 240 and didn't see any passage showing the MC sealing the room where the hounds were sleeping. Will you add this in a future edition?
Lemes
2024-08-06 18:59:12 +0000 UTCuncommon as they can be artificied in addition to coming from dungeons
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:19:58 +0000 UTCfigured the depth of the structure made it difficult - plus he sealing them in
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:19:12 +0000 UTCthinking of addnig some aetheric alarms that he detected with his earth speak ability and was able to avoid
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:18:24 +0000 UTChe thinks his sample is in the archive below the Imperial Palace. This is the secondary - backup Archive for mages and First Citizens
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:17:25 +0000 UTCit is just the archive. there would have been artifacts in the room were the Hounds were sleeping but just regular artifacts the Hounds normally carry
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:16:23 +0000 UTCthe plot was supposed to have the First Citizens and their Hound accomplishes attack the MC before his assignment but the resulting fallout from killing them didnt make sense. The mage aspirant was supposed to get into trouble and teh MC raced to save her but arrived too late. The MC is dealing with hero syndrome - thinking he can save everyone and it was supposed to be a faiure on his part
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:15:25 +0000 UTChe can make his own mouthwash now. when i considered how deep the network was, I didnt feel the sound would have traveled, plus he sealed the entrance to the room the Hounds were sleeping in
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:13:36 +0000 UTChe got a different ring but the amulet was the same one
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:11:57 +0000 UTCedited
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:10:23 +0000 UTCyes Aesop never wrote anything
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:08:29 +0000 UTCthe MC was committed to killing Aesop as soon as he revealed himself and was just after information. he was reaching for straws to extend the conversation and just grabbed the wrong one. if you have a suggestion of another reason why the MC was in the secret archives that only the Hounds in the Western Empire know the location of - I am open to ideas but the result is going to be the same - ending in the two fighting
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:07:41 +0000 UTCno, it was always there. i caught it before I posted it. originally Aesop had a long blade and not just the dagger but i figured he would have relaxed some. as for the conern of it being too easy to penetrate the archives. i think i am going to add some invisible alarm runes that he will avoid with earth speak
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 18:04:35 +0000 UTCHe must have added that, it wasnt in the original text. Sneeky buger lol
Karnnie
2024-08-06 17:51:32 +0000 UTCI agree! Lately I feel like the chapters seem a bit rushed and the writing quality isn't as good as before. Maybe writing three stories at the same time is taking a toll on the quality of the story Life of a Soldier because it's the one with the most chapters per week
Lemes
2024-08-06 15:01:29 +0000 UTCI'm reading A Life of an Incubus, I notice that the chapters are longer and have a better structure than A Life of a Soldier. Please give the same attention to my favorite story.( I use google translator sorry for linguage mystakes.)
Juarez Tavares
2024-08-06 14:33:57 +0000 UTCHow rare is the aether shield amulet. If it blocks his spell, I feel like someone before now would have had the same amulet. I like the progression of the fight, I wish there was a to extend it without a simple amulet causing his trump card to be obsolete.
Joshua Summerville
2024-08-06 14:07:19 +0000 UTCI think there are six hounds in total guarding the archives. But regardless of the number of guards, the only way they can't hear all this destruction would be if they were deaf.
Lemes
2024-08-06 13:34:17 +0000 UTCI doubted more than a tenth of the samples survived to this point and burning it all was probably more symbolic at this point. At this point. To this point. This distracted me. Maybe change it to this just so it flows better. I doubted more than a tenth of the samples survived and burning it all was probably more symbolic at this point.
Shane clark
2024-08-06 13:28:39 +0000 UTCi for one actually think this is better because the hounds are understaffed and most are in use , as for the archive it is archive of blood samples for trackers not books and all the other stuff so 3 men are more than enough for it because of War!
Bozidar Notgonatell
2024-08-06 11:08:20 +0000 UTCI have to be honest, I think this arc needs some rewriting. It was very contrived and hard to believe that no guard noticed all the noise and commotion the MC made. Knocking down hundreds of shelves full of glass jars and no one heard? Supposedly these files are invaluable assets, guarded by the best and most loyal hounds in the empire. For it to make any sense, either the MC should have killed them already, or there should have been a fight between Erick and some hounds who came to help.
Lemes
2024-08-06 10:26:35 +0000 UTCTo be fair, what else was he going to say for being in one of the empires most secretive and secure locations? Perhaps, " I was having a few beers at a near by tavern and when I went to go to take a piss I must have mistakenly entered the wrong door and here I am!"
Angus
2024-08-06 08:25:47 +0000 UTCA bit surprised that in the previous chapter it would be dangerous to kill sleeping hounds while here Aesop can throw stuff, Eryk can collapse shelves and no one comes. Are the tunnels and the structure so vast and difficult to access that the archive is basically defenceless?
Deliver roo
2024-08-06 04:40:24 +0000 UTCHe said at some point next book will be the about the Goliath
Tom Riddle
2024-08-06 03:36:11 +0000 UTCThank You Sir!!
Kevin Shirley
2024-08-06 02:18:30 +0000 UTCGood chapter, really felt like it zoomed.
Prinny Knight
2024-08-06 02:13:02 +0000 UTChttps://www.patreon.com/posts/starship-72557958
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-06 01:34:31 +0000 UTCCan anyone tell me where I can find all of starship engineer? Thanks
Kevin Shirley
2024-08-06 01:11:52 +0000 UTCMaybe I missed it, but didn't he think that his sample was also in the archive?
Chong Go
2024-08-06 01:03:59 +0000 UTCWait you need to removed the blood of the guy healer who first helped the MC learn his space spell form that way you can track and help him someday to return the good deed.
momo2009
2024-08-06 00:17:59 +0000 UTCEryk still has a first citizen in stasis; among others. Resolve that. Get out of the city- release them, update them and all part ways.
Silver Beard
2024-08-06 00:07:39 +0000 UTCCouldn't he had spend time to search for the bag of gold and the other hound equipment before burning the archive? One chance to find magical goods and items from the most elite hound in the empire.
momo2009
2024-08-06 00:02:49 +0000 UTCAnd maybe have a later battle with the first citizen since that plot point still exist.
momo2009
2024-08-05 23:51:41 +0000 UTCFelt to rush, should had the other two hounds wake up and fight him since the cat made so much noise. I also think the other two mages aspirants last name should had been remember because they did spend a lot of time with him so he should remember plus it allows for future possible plot point. Like saving the one who went to the other country or helping the truthseeker girl from empire control etc. Hey isn't the alchemist guy also a mage? Take his blood sample too so if you need more mouthwash or potion you can find him.
momo2009
2024-08-05 23:50:43 +0000 UTCShould have searched Aesop's body for his Hound emblem...and used its authority to portal toward Mavieth. Amongst the war... the beauacracy would be take a lot of time to come to light and Eryk, etc would be long gone.
Silver Beard
2024-08-05 23:03:26 +0000 UTCHe took the Mage's artifacts not the sustenance ring. He asked for the Mage's personals not everything Eryk had on his person back in chapter ??\ Eryk recovered them, but not the gold or the pack (with jewelry) which is a bother of sorts.
Silver Beard
2024-08-05 22:54:13 +0000 UTCI disagree and enjoy it as is
BubblyGhost
2024-08-05 22:15:14 +0000 UTCThe part between becoming an official hound and burning down the archives felt very fast. I understand that the empire was collapsing and you couldn't have the MC stay a hound much longer, but I definitely think there is room here to add the First Citizen plotline. Maybe as a mini-arc before the Orc attack begins and the MC defects.
glare31337
2024-08-05 21:50:41 +0000 UTCSo, Aesop took the sustinence ring and amulet but they weren’t on him when he was killed? Bummer.
Mason W
2024-08-05 21:45:23 +0000 UTCI think he meant that Aesop attempted to write in the book but didn't actually manage to, but I agree this part was a little vague.
glare31337
2024-08-05 21:41:43 +0000 UTCIsn't it time to release folks from stasis?
Silver Beard
2024-08-05 21:38:47 +0000 UTCOctavian? Hopefully he's not long for the world
Silver Beard
2024-08-05 21:33:29 +0000 UTCSecret place like this there had to be more treasure stashed somewhere. Oh well.
Silver Beard
2024-08-05 20:36:09 +0000 UTC"...and fumbled to write in it". So, what did he write? We were shown previous information, but not what is written now. Perhaps he managed to write down the attacker's name or some other important information, for which just a few words would suffice.
dbohomolov
2024-08-05 20:25:20 +0000 UTChe had magebane in one hand and another dagger in the other. when it talks about the wound it says it's from the dagger.
Zurko
2024-08-05 20:24:28 +0000 UTCIt would say something like 12345:mage castille: spectral arms/farsight orb thingies
striderfighter
2024-08-05 20:09:19 +0000 UTCSuggestion: /heavy shelves as leverage to gain distance/ => /[…] shelves as *cover* …/
Tetsu-nii
2024-08-05 19:49:37 +0000 UTCa pulse of earth speak takes less than 1 aether to use. The math we came up with was .25 aether per pulse. So if he was in there for over 9 hours then please rewrite some of the chapter to show 9 hours of time passed. Perhaps justa sentence or two at the end of the last chapter that states he wandered for hours through the complex until he found the storage area. All the Reader knows is that it was a little over 2 hours as that is the only time frame mentioned in the last chapter and then he was in the room with Aesop.
Karnnie
2024-08-05 19:47:42 +0000 UTCTetsu-nii
2024-08-05 19:46:26 +0000 UTC“Centurion Sergius sent me here after I reached Ogala. I thought it would be fun to surprise you.” I answered in a friendly tone. Aesop told him the last time he saw him that his father would take years to trust him. This should be removed as it paints eryk in a very unintelligent light.
Karnnie
2024-08-05 19:41:07 +0000 UTCMmmh ok, thanks for the explanation 😲
Lazarius
2024-08-05 19:38:12 +0000 UTCThe muscle was cut, and if he wanted to continue, he would have to switch the dagger to his other hand. Seeing he was outmatched, I assumed he would beg for his life. Instead, he tried his influence spell form again: He is cut off from his aether, wouldnt he know that he he tried?
Karnnie
2024-08-05 19:36:24 +0000 UTCok yeah I agree....here is the edit: I tossed the index tome among the wreckage, and Aesop’s body followed on top. As I soaked the book and Aesop’s body with the last cask of oil, I knew it was a risk to burn him and let Sergius know his son was dead, but from my understanding, it would prevent necromancers from talking with him. I then lit the book and stepped back, watching it burn, and soon, the fire found the puddles of oil, and fire raced along the floor.
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-05 19:18:03 +0000 UTCni it is just a catalog of whose blood sample is where on the shelves
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-05 19:17:04 +0000 UTCwith the channeling ring, it doubles his recovery. also he has imprved his channeling from 7 to 36 since the griffin hunt in book 1. so that means he is recovering his aether 8 times faster than back then (with the ring on). I think he was in the network for about 9 nine hours and constantly channeling Aether for Earth speak - over those 9 hours, he went through his Aether pool, say a little over 3 times in a third of a day. So yes he can technically channel 16 times his aether pool in a day with a 50 aether tolerance....so 5.333 times his pool in a third of a day. so yes his body is warning him he is getting close
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-05 19:16:19 +0000 UTC@sdf The body probably burned in the inferno the MC started, but special care hould have been taken with any killed in the operation. Sergius would want to know who raided the archives regardless of his son's death. So the other hound he killed is a worse liability
yohan gu
2024-08-05 18:52:34 +0000 UTCThe empire should have them listed somewhere, but maybe not on the equivalent of a library index. Though it would be good info to have
yohan gu
2024-08-05 18:49:37 +0000 UTCinteresting idea
yohan gu
2024-08-05 18:48:13 +0000 UTCI think you are right, He used aether far less than in other instances where the burn didn't happen. It's good to mention the fact that the problem can exist, but it shouldn't apply now
yohan gu
2024-08-05 18:47:50 +0000 UTCWas mentioned prior that the head has to be intact, but who knows, it's a world of magic and saying something is impossible is a fools belief.
BubblyGhost
2024-08-05 18:39:45 +0000 UTCThanks for the chapter 🙂
Lazarius
2024-08-05 18:36:24 +0000 UTC“I was starting to feel the warning signs of aether burn and happy my work was done.” But he has 50 for his aether Tolerance, so 16 times a day ! Having the sign of aether burn should not be possible, he has less than 40 in channeling. So less than 50 with the ring, without potion it’s impossible to burn the aether channel
Lazarius
2024-08-05 18:25:06 +0000 UTCI'd be concerned about the father bringing in a Necromancer to determine who killed his son. Sergius is devoted to his son. Erik risks being hunted by someone who is deeply invested in revenge and has access to a dozen or more Hounds. It is a significant potential liability, blood samples or no. I'd have secured the corpse in my storage and disposed of it later. Not knowing any better, I'd probably fall back on the classic, "burn the body to ash, scatter the ashes across the four corners of the kingdom." Burning it to ash complicates tracking the corpse with blood. Scattering the ash in remote locations means it would be difficult to find the body to begin.
sdf
2024-08-05 18:19:25 +0000 UTCThank you!
Andrew
2024-08-05 18:11:40 +0000 UTCI wonder if void magic is truly a deletion of someone’s existence? Also, if it is, I wonder if there is a balance where a deletion of someone’s existence actually calls for an other worlder to occupy that space?
Jazmine Gladney
2024-08-05 18:09:45 +0000 UTCInteresting I never thought about that.
Ali
2024-08-05 17:55:34 +0000 UTCUnless MC starts learning actual spells, and quickly, he'd be screwed by a full Void Mage with probably stupid high affinity just due to the fact that the Emperor would have more than one spell and has range
SodaBoBomb
2024-08-05 17:54:35 +0000 UTCYikes, he’d need to eat a lot more essences to stand a chance. The emperor just deletes people from existence, and probably has high resistance to magic and lots of protective gear.
Alex Galaitsis
2024-08-05 17:53:38 +0000 UTCGood thing he took those samples for those scumbags. They can be dealt with later. I hope he got that guy Antonia wants to make Emperor next
Moatdog
2024-08-05 17:45:44 +0000 UTCDid he read the index tome before burning it? Did it list what spells the mage had?
striderfighter
2024-08-05 17:41:52 +0000 UTCWill the emperor( void) vs Mc (space) be in the next book?
Ali
2024-08-05 17:41:24 +0000 UTCThis is the third of four chapters in the weeks cycle. Believe it or not, there are only two chapters left for book 4. I can't believe it is almost done, but the Emperor POV will probably be long. Thoughts? There are some things in an edit that might work their way in....The Mage Aspirants were supposed to play a role in the story and their was supposed to be a confrontation between the MC, the First Citizens and their Hound lackeys but it didnt feel natural so I didnt force it.
Erick Thiemke
2024-08-05 17:27:22 +0000 UTC
