I was distracted by the parents/daughter joint bawling session by a knock on the door. "Sorry to intrude, but we need to get going," came Tony's voice from behind it.
"Go without me," said Daniel. "I'll stay with Mary."
I opened the door to see Tony frowning. "I know this is an emotional reunion, but after you pushed so hard to get onto this mission, I can't give you permission to drop out simply because you decide you no longer need the money. It's too important for that."
...
2024-03-26 05:34:14 +0000 UTC
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"A carriage just pulled up outside," said Mary, watching from a window. "Is this who you were expecting?"
"Is it full of priests?" I asked from the dining table, where I'd long since finished breakfast and was simply waiting around, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
The discomfort stemmed from my outfit. I was dressed in my black armour, and it was stiffer than what I'd been wearing during training. It didn't restrict my range of motion, but it did provide a slight resistance, throw...
2024-03-22 05:39:00 +0000 UTC
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"This isn't working," said Tony.
"No, it's too soon to give up," said Glenda. "We've got to make this work."
"A spell of this magnitude was never going to be learnt in a single day," said Tony reassuringly. "It's time to return to Odimere."
"I still don't believe we'll ever be able to grasp it," said Johanna. "Rather than waste Thomas's time trying to teach us, it would be better spent casting it himself, and then learning to imbue it into a staff."
"I... I st...
2024-03-19 05:23:54 +0000 UTC
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"It's a pleasure to meet you," said a priest in white robes that were surprisingly similar to Alexander's, except that the trimming and decoration was green instead of yellow. Also, his hat was somewhat more sensible, barely even a foot in height. "My name is Tony, and I'm the leader of our little group of students."
Behind him stood another priest with blue trimming and no hat at all, along with a trio of priestesses, one wearing green and the other two with blue. If I had to hazard a ...
2024-03-15 05:20:33 +0000 UTC
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"This writ is legitimate," declared Christine after a careful examination. "It's signed and stamped by the late King Edward."
"Shall I prepare a room, if Miss Minoru is going to be staying?" asked Mary uncertainly.
"I'm... not sure if I am," admitted Minoru without going 'nya' once. "I was expecting to meet you at the castle, but got directed here instead."
"Yeah, we got kicked out," shrugged Wendy. "The new king doesn't like us much."
Minoru opened her mouth as if to ...
2024-03-12 05:33:32 +0000 UTC
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"Grysuurm. Hymern."
I opened my eyes but, as expected, didn't see very much. The dark fog swirling all around me made sure of that. I stooped and picked up a handful of ash, letting it fall between my fingers while I waited for what I knew was coming.
"Glyciir ga fo drivern."
And there it was. While the memory of the miasma poisoning and flame breath from last time had withered away to almost nothing minutes after waking, now that I was back, I could remember it all perfectl...
2024-03-08 05:26:42 +0000 UTC
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"Do you want to run away?" I asked as we followed directions in an attempt to find our new home. The aide who had supplied us with them had also given me a small bag of gold coins, which cheered me up somewhat. Fantasy money! I almost wanted to squee again.
Christine or Wendy hadn't thought much of it, though, so it probably wasn't very much, despite the gold colouring of the coins.
"Pardon?" asked Wendy.
"Run away. It's a simple concept. We could leave Odimere. Leave Ri...
2024-03-05 05:34:42 +0000 UTC
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"Failures, your majesty?" asked Wendy, looking equal parts confused and nervous.
"Indeed. Was it not your careless use of Magus Visus in front of Thomas that led to him learning it, and thus discovering things you were ordered to keep hidden? And was it not your carelessness, Christine, that permitted him to use Magus Visus right in front of you, undiscovered? Had you not made such mistakes, would Thomas not be battling demons right now? My family would still be whole, and the kingdom w...
2024-03-01 05:33:11 +0000 UTC
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We couldn't do the entire journey at a sprint. Taylor was the next to fall, followed by Benjamin, but after half an hour, the less physically inclined of the slayers were starting to flag too, and we ran out of people capable of carrying them.
Or, looked at another way, our group had just sprinted for half an hour. I may have had hero cheats, but the others didn't. Everyone was using body strengthening on some level. Juan's performance wasn't something I'd describe as superhuma...
2024-02-27 05:46:57 +0000 UTC
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Toby's strategy changed, performing a fighting withdrawal as he shifted the fight in the direction of his teammates. The shield of a Scutum cast appeared in the way of Christine's blade, and another in front of her ankle. She burst through both, but it was a momentary delay, enough for Toby to take some distance. Still casting subvocally, he conjured up a blast of wind in her face, slowing her further.
Most people didn't have the mana capacity of me or Wendy, so I knew what I'd seen in ...
2024-02-23 05:36:30 +0000 UTC
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It wasn't long into the second day of travel before the landscape started to change. The fields grew even less healthy, thin stalks twisted at strange angles, with no signs of anything suitable for harvest. And then the plants just cut out completely. There weren't even any weeds.
The road continued through the barren landscape, albeit in obvious disrepair. Presumably it had been built at a time this land was viable living space, and it had been corrupted since. A subvocal cast of Maius...
2024-02-20 05:43:12 +0000 UTC
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"So, what's your name?" asked one of the fighters, dressed only in leather armour and armed with a pair of short swords. The dual swords were a surprise; my time with Christine had proven it was tough to pull off. "I'm Bill. Can't say I've met many court mages. Well, any court mages, really."
There hadn't been full introductions with our escorts, which I was actually a little thankful for. Divine blessing or not, I didn't fancy my chances of remembering eleven names fired off i...
2024-02-16 05:26:42 +0000 UTC
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"Are you sure you don't want any help?" asked Mary from the other side of my privacy screen, where she'd been waiting patiently for quite some time.
"I am a grown adult, and I can get dressed by myself," I replied grumpily as I struggled, tangled up in a new bundle of white cloth that had turned up overnight.
"You didn't answer the question," pointed out Mary.
"... Yes, I want help," I admitted. I'd already got everything on except for the robe, so at least I wasn't indecent...
2024-02-13 05:18:01 +0000 UTC
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"Remember that dragon nightmare I had my first night?" I asked Christine once our full group was gathered back in the courtyard after lunch.
... Well, full except for Stephanie, who I hadn't seen since I'd stormed into the throne room. I had no way of confirming where she actually was—she could easily be hiding somewhere in the castle—but I had no intention of asking.
"I do. No-one else heard or saw anything, nor have there been any reports of similar dreams or signs of a drag...
2024-02-09 05:50:14 +0000 UTC
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"The trick to subvocal casting is actually pretty easy," explained Wendy, back in the courtyard. "To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out for yourself."
"Huh? Really?" I asked, holding out a closed fist, imagining the mana forming a ball of light and trying really, really hard to keep my mouth shut. The word, "Lux," escaped anyway, forcing its way up my throat and between my clenched teeth, echoing around the courtyard.
Wendy giggled, then held up h...
2024-02-06 05:39:06 +0000 UTC
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I haven't posted the schedule in a while as part of a post, because it hasn't changed, but that seems to have confused a couple of people. Current schedule is An Unruly Summon on Tuesday and Friday, and A Willing Victim on Mondays. (Unwilling Victim is via discord, due to NSFWness.) Chapters are 6AM UK time (currently GMT) give or take an hour. This will continue at least until the end of March.
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"Grysuurm. Sca xrouukn li...
2024-02-02 06:11:47 +0000 UTC
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Echoes of clanging metal resounded throughout the courtyard as I exchanged blows with Christine at superhuman speeds. With my superior base stats and mana, I'd hoped I could have dominated our mock battle, but despite her youth, her experience was not something to be ignored so lightly. Able to predict my parries, and the path they would leave her weapon on, she placed herself perfectly for a follow-up attack. She was obviously thinking three or four moves ahead, correctly predicting my react...
2024-01-30 05:28:31 +0000 UTC
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I've made some changes the end of the previous chapter; the original accidentally implied the royal family were depending on Miraculum to cure Stephanie.
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Christine didn't blur, despite launching herself forward at a speed that would have left a drag racer in the dust. With the amount of mana I was pouring into my body strengthening, I could see every twitch she made. With the lessons I'd alread...
2024-01-26 05:52:54 +0000 UTC
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Stephanie's head sprung forward, suddenly released from the grip I had on her hair.
Not that I'd let go; her hair was still firmly in my hand.
"Whu?" she gasped, feeling at her head. "My hair? You cut off my hair?"
I didn't answer, keeping a close eye on her face, and so I didn't miss the moment her confusion briefly gave way to a smirk before she schooled her expression back into something flat and emotionless. The smirk of someone who had been proven righ...
2024-01-23 05:22:20 +0000 UTC
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"Oh? What are you sorry for, exactly?" I questioned the princess as I walked slowly down the aisle, keeping my eyes open for an ambush. The throne room had far too many pillars for my liking, and parts of my brain were insisting there was a squad of crossbowmen hiding behind each one. More logical parts insisted that if an ambush was going to happen, it would have happened before they let me get within spell-casting range of the king and queen, but I had no intention of trusting whol...
2024-01-19 05:58:56 +0000 UTC
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It wasn't really any fantastic revenge. It was certainly no Conflagratio. It took only the smallest trickle of mana and produced from it a blade of wind smaller than my hand. I doubted it would do much damage to anyone, short of a perfect hit to a soft target like the throat or an eye. Given the way all four mages reflexively cast Scutum, and the fact all four knights were wearing plate armour, there was no way it would hit them at all, never mind strike a soft target.
It hadn't been th...
2024-01-16 05:28:37 +0000 UTC
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What were the options? Mary had mistaken what she saw? The castle guards were mistaken about the location of the assassin? The weapon wasn't a simple missile, but was capable of controlled flight? Magic was used to launch it through the wall?
Or, of course, the big one: people were lying to me.
I didn't want to believe it. Yes, they'd lied to me before, but trying to kill someone in order to frame the demons was a whole new level. They obviously expected her to die; Chris...
2024-01-12 05:34:34 +0000 UTC
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"Damn that woman," complained Wendy to herself, scrubbing her legs with a rough sponge. "Just how on edge was she? She's supposed to be Odimere's genius lady knight! How did she mistake me for an enemy when all that was between us was that flimsy door?"
The scrubbing continued, despite her skin already glowing red; it would take more than a sponge before she felt clean again. A pile of ash by the side of the bath was all that remained of her clothing, already 'cleaned' via the judicious...
2024-01-09 05:22:12 +0000 UTC
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Minister Dennis flinched at the noise, but recovered quickly, carefully putting his spoon down and standing up. Christine spun to face the door, crouching slightly with one hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
"What the hell was that?" I asked.
"Remain quiet and alert," demanded Christine, which despite not being an explicit answer, was a perfectly clear implicit one. Not that I needed someone to explain what a scream meant. My question had been rhetorical to begin with.
"...
2024-01-05 05:31:12 +0000 UTC
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"What was so urgent that you asked my guard to wake me in the middle of the night?" asked King Edward, peering at his daughter with a mix of annoyance and confusion. Even if she was family, they were royalty, and barging into his bedroom in the middle of the night was just Not Done. There were procedures to follow! She'd been unable to convince the guard to let her in overnight, so had turned up again first thing in the morning and camped outside until her parents emerged of their ow...
2024-01-02 06:25:57 +0000 UTC
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