Cornman8700

Discord and New Tiers Active!

Hello!

We went ahead and got Discord going and have granted access to all paid tiers. Please don't burn it down or anything. Looking forward to chatting!

I also added the new tiers as mentioned in the prior post. There is Candy, which is a $2 supporter tier with no advance chapters, but does grant Discord access. Then there is Cob, a $10 supporter tier that has the same benefits as Kernel, but with its own Discord role. It's there for anyone who wishes to contribute additional sup...

MT 45 - This is Bat Country!

MT 45 - This is Bat Country!

My evolution, Magical Thinker, required me to see a spell in order to gain an understanding of it. However, I hadn’t seen any obvious sign that someone had cast a spell before the feathered hand tore open a hole in the universe. My Magical Thinker ability still sent me a notification despite this, which meant that either the skill description was misleading, or I didn’t have to understand who cast the spell or how, to ...

MT 44 - We Can't Stop Here!

MT 44 - We Can't Stop Here!

“Cool necklace,” said Xim. “Get that from Seinnador as well?”

“No, I’ve had this the entire time. Even back in the Creation Delve.”

Xim cocked her head to the side.

“Like, in your pocket?”

“No, I’ve been wearing it.”

“You know,” she said, “for most of the time I’ve been around you, you haven’t been very fond of wearing a shirt. I think I would have noticed something like that dangling around your...

MT 43 - The Eye of Sam'lia

MT 43 - The Eye of Sam'lia

The portal to the Pocket Closet would travel with the wagon while it was open. The portal exit would not travel with the wagon while it was closed and I was inside. This led to a mildly embarrassing moment where I stumbled out into the middle of the busy street and had to jog to catch up with the group.

We had two small cabins on the barge. Cole and Ember would stay in one, while everyone else would sleep inside the Pocket Closet barrac...

Updates on Publishing Cadence, and Beyond!

Nov 27, 2023

Hello, everyone.

Here are a few updates on the forward-looking publishing schedule, an official new collaborator, a couple new tiers (all advance chapters will continue to remain available at Kernel tier) and our upcoming patrons-only Discord channel.

Publishing Cadence

As (hopefully) many of you know, my listed publishing schedule on Royal Road for Mage Tank is set at one chapter per day for the duration of November. Daily chapters...

MT 42 - Ashe, Ember, and Cole

A/N 7 DEC 2023: If you've read the updated Umi-Doo chapter 38, then there is a brief section of this chapter that is redundant. It's just a repeat of a little info I added to that updated chapter. Leaving it alone for now for those that are reading through but didn't see the update. I'll edit it some in a week or so.

MT 42 - Ashe, Ember, and Cole

While my gear was in the works I rounded out the day buying a variety of steel weapons from a mundane weapons shop, along wit...

MT 41 - Weapons, Armor, and Swagger

MT 41 - Weapons, Armor, and Swagger

Trying to convince Seinnador to sell me equipment that made sense with my current stats without giving away that something was unusual with my levels proved impossible. I eventually broke down and simply told him my stat distribution after Seinnador pulled out a very detailed confidentiality agreement that he used with his “most discrete customers”.

It wasn’t exactly a blood oath, but if Seinnador spilled the beans on what I told him then ...

MT 40 - The Ultimate Attack Magic!

MT 40 - The Ultimate Attack Magic!

“Brielle, please take over and watch the front for me,” Seinnador said to one of the women working the half-finished gear. She nodded, smiled at me politely, then quickly headed off to her new task. Seinnador continued through the shop, giving the men at the forge a wave as we headed toward the area that looked like the magical equivalent of a munitions range.

“Oy!” one of the men at the forge called out. “We ‘avin a party today, eh?�...

MT 39 - The Sagacious Seinnador

MT 39 - The Sagacious Seinnador

We were given three days to get ready for our excursion south. Originally, Lito had advocated for an earlier departure, but Myria and Nuralie each had things they wanted to accomplish that would take a bit longer, with Myria saying “You think I can track down the triplets and get them on board in a day?” and Nuralie simply stating “I need to brew more potions.”

Myria decided to stay at Nuralie’s place in the artisan quarter during...

MT 38 - Main Quest Progression

EDIT: 01:39 am 7 DEC 2023

--I made substantial edits to this chapter prior to publication on RR based on some feedback both from folks here, comments on RR, and some of my beta readers. So, the text in this post has been updated to match what is going out on RR. You can view the original chapter in the attached pdf. I am also attaching "MT 38 - Main Quest Progression Updated" which is the pdf of the current version. The changes mostly deal with confusion over all the Delver terminology ...

MT 37 - Umi-Dooby-Doo, Who Are You?

MT 37 - Umi-Dooby-Doo, Who Are You?

“I am also curious,” said Nuralie, patting one of the frogs on the head. She’d taken all three back from us and sat on the ground, her lower half buried under a frog-pile. “You know each other, but why am I involved?”

“You’re also a level one platinum,” I offered. She frowned at me when I said this.

“You can tell what difficulty Delves people have done,” Nuralie said.

“More or less.”

“A useful ability,...

Maps!

Here are a few maps for the world. These are being updated as I go, so don't take them as gospel, but I think it's helpful to get oriented in the world some. I'll edit as maps are updated and as new maps are created/ become relevant.

These are made by Sir Raiu Koren using Inkarnate.

Edit (Nov 25, 2023): Updated Hiward map.

Arzia Continent Main Map:

Map of Hiward (Updated Nov 2...

MT 36 - Any Frog in a Storm

MT 36 - Any Frog in a Storm

The scene above looked like a natural disaster in action. All the shelves in the warehouse had fallen, crates were shattered and splintered, and debris lined the floor. Part of the roof had collapsed and there was a mighty gale of wind sending sharp shards of wood and gravel hurling through the air. Demarsus was at the center of the storm.

Lito’s uniform was ragged and torn. Blood covered his face and I saw more than a couple places where Demarsus’ ...

Comments, Questions, Suggestions: November '23

Hello! Welcome to my first foray into Patreon. Since I'm a bit new, I wanted to create a forum where you can give suggestions or leave comments about what you'd like to see from the Patreon. If you have any strong feelings one way or another, feel free to post them here.

I am also happy to consider any general questions you may have about my process or writing Mage Tank, though I endeavor to avoid spoilers or giving out information that isn't supported by the current text of the story.<...

MT 35 - An Entirely Inadequate Dungeon

MT 35 - An Entirely Inadequate Dungeon

As I finished off the last of my thugs, Lito tossed a lit cigarette into the air which exploded out into a dense cloud of smoke. Demarsus’s form was obscured by the smokescreen, but the sounds of coughing and retching could be heard within. Lito chanted over his one-handed warhammer and the head began to glow with white-hot heat. Molten metal dripped off its head, but the weapon seemed otherwise unaffected. Lito spun and slung sprays of the liqui...

MT 34 - Twelve Cutthroats and a Level One Delver

MT 34 - Twelve Cutthroats and a Level One Delver

Demarsus stood as we entered and pressed his thick palms together, giving us a shallow bow.

“Guardian Lito!” he said in a rich baritone. “And Dancer Myria! What a lovely surprise to have such a distinguished pair pay a visit to my humble business.”

“Well,” said Myria, “if we’re standing on Delver titles, then it is wonderful to see you as well, Tanker Dimo Demarsus.” The three of us returned Demarsus’ shall...

MT 33 - Lito the Bloodhound

MT 33 - Lito the Bloodhound

“What do you mean you never went through the Creation Delve?” said Lito. “How did you get your first level?”

“We went through the Delve on that ring.”

“So it’s not just something for this mission?”

“No. The fact that the client wanted us to bring Arlo there had us very curious about who the client was and what we would find when we returned.”

“How’d you get the ring?”

“Artemix is the one who acquired...

MT 32 - Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition AGAIN!

MT 32 - Nobody Expects the Hiwardian Inquisition AGAIN!

[What would you do with fruit?]

[The fruit is unimportant. Our future subjects should endeavor to provide tribute whenever they are allowed to bask in our presence.]

I sighed and looked around the room again. What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?

[If this were Earth, my first move would be to tie Glow up, call the cops, and try to keep Sleepy from dying, assuming he’s still alive.]

MT 31 - Uninvited Guests

MT 31 - Uninvited Guests

I started splitting my time between research and physical training, now that I had my mental stats at a good place. After a bit of experimentation, I determined that it took about eight hours of vigorous exercise with a focus on a particular stat to get it to increase by one.

This led to gains that I can only describe as intoxicating.

There were no traditional powerlifting gyms in Formation, which made sense because Delvers didn’t improve ...

MT 30 - Training Arc

MT 30 - Training Arc

It’s not that I didn’t have any experience meditating. On the contrary, I had done quite a lot of it, especially after starting therapy. It was an exercise in mindfulness, and it helped ground me in the present moment. I was normally predisposed to being concerned only with worrying about what will happen in the future and what had already happened in the past. But like many good habits I’d developed over the years, it wasn’t something I enjoyed doing, I jus...

MT 23 - Lies! Deception!

MT 23 - Lies! Deception!

MT 29 - New Exploit

MT 29 - New Exploit

I woke up with Grotto hovering a few inches over my face.

“Gah!” I instinctively reached up and tossed the C’thon away, and Grotto tumbled through the air, then righted himself without hitting the far wall. “What the hell, Grotto?”

[I have finished my initial observations and I was waiting for you to regain consciousness.]

“Did you have to-” I realized I was talking out loud, and swapped to speaking mentally. I didn’t think ...

MT 28 - Dress to Impress

MT 28 - Dress to Impress

In order to investigate potential real estate acquisitions, it is important to look the part.

Although my feather boa and leather vest weren’t likely to hinder my progress in that regard given their magical nature, the inexpensive pants, shoes, and general dishevelment of my hair and beard weren’t likely to do me any favors. As such, I chose to visit a tailor to acquire clothes for a variety of occasions, assisted at great length by a lovely woman name...

MT 27 - Set Loose Upon the City

MT 27 - Set Loose Upon the City

The Temple of Creation was in the Formation district of the Hiwardian capital city of Foundation. The naming conventions were simple, which I appreciated, though a little confusing with their phonetic similarity. Formation was essentially the Delver district, which meant it was upscale as all hell since most Delvers were some level of nobility. Even if they hadn’t been, none of them would be hurting for spare cash based on what I’d just learned.

MT 26 - When in Rome...

MT 26 - When in Rome...

I wasn’t.

Well, at least I thought I wasn’t.

In my highschool days I’d spent a year on the football team and had gotten used to communal showers. That carried into freshman year of college where every guy on the floor of my dorm had the same five shower stalls to use, and no one was very shy about ‘grooming’ themselves in full view of others. I’d also had a series of medical mishaps in my late twenties that had me see a variety of...

MT 25 - Hell Has an Open-Door Policy

MT 25 - Hell Has an Open-Door Policy

“Normally immigration is a very extensive and intrusive process,” said Varrin. “Hiward is a comparably small nation, and given the presence of the Creation Delve and the general quality of life that its citizens enjoy, there is a high demand for immigration. Hiward keeps it tightly controlled and monitored.”

“Normally,” I said. “I presume I’m about to hear a ‘but’.”

“But,” said Varrin, “Delvers are hig...

MT 24 - Truth! Honesty!

MT 24 - Truth! Honesty!

KING CYBORG Blurb

KC was as perfectly content as any ancient cyborg-wizard could be. He spent his days–alone–on his space station, laboring on his projects and crafting new ways to store celestial energy, violate the laws of causality, and imprison minor divinities. It was quite vexing, then, when one of his devices inadvertently abducted a primitive biped from the planet Earth. Without his permission, no less.

A minor problem in the grand scheme of things, except for the fact that planet Earth is cl...

KING CYBORG

A comedic book about an ancient cyborg-space-wizard who accidentally abducts an Earthling, and must now rush to return her home before the Dogma Integrity Command "quarantines" them both.

Mage Tank Blurb

After being killed by a high-velocity tree-hug, Arlo is transported to a new world of skills, stats, and levels where those brave and talented enough to conquer ancient Delves are rewarded with incredible supernatural power. Unfortunately for Arlo, there is no tutorial, and he is immediately forced to tackle a Delve set to the highest difficulty with a party of adventurers who are not only strangers to him, but strangers to each other as well. Arlo has no armor, no weapons, no knowledge of th...