You have entered the safe zone of sector 45,104 of the Forever Kingdom, an open sector forming part of the region known as the Coral Islands. It is currently neutral territory, unclaimed by any faction or Force.
Note, a shield generator is in place around the sector, preventing portals from opening anywhere except in the designated teleportation areas.
I stepped out of the gateway, blinking in surprise. The sector welcome message had m...
2025-01-15 19:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Day 4 of Michael’s Deadline
You have slept 8 hours. Your stamina, mana, and psi reserves have been fully restored, and your blood memories have recharged.
You have lost knowledge of the stolen spells: mana strike, disrupting ray, and fireball.
Ghost’s magma maw has reached rank 13, her ash armor rank 15, her death magic rank 11, and her nether manipulation rank 9.
You and Ghost have reached level 260!
2025-01-15 05:02:02 +0000 UTC
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I spent the next few minutes improving the two tier three Dexterity abilities I’d marked for advancement.
You have upgraded your trap disarm ability to superior trap disarm. The fourth tier of this ability allows you to deactivate tier 4 traps.
You have upgraded your lockpick ability to superior lockpicking. The fourth tier of this ability allows you to open tier 4 locks.
You have 1 of 142 Dexterity ability slots remaining.
2025-01-11 07:59:19 +0000 UTC
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“I can get you all this,” Sedgwick said once he was done perusing my list.
“You can?” I asked, a little surprised by his easy confidence.
The merchant nodded. “Provided you can pay, of course.”
“Of course,” I murmured. Money was tight at the moment—a state of affairs I didn’t expect to change until Nicola fulfilled his debt—nonetheless, I foresaw no problems paying Sedgwick.
My shopping list was hardly what you would call extravagant—at le...
2025-01-10 16:10:06 +0000 UTC
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Al-Takor closed his eyes, savoring the intense heat of the gelatid crystals he was submerged in. He had missed such pleasures while traipsing by ship around the galaxy.
Thank the Creators I don’t have to do any of that anymore, he thought. He had found not one, but two, species for the emperor’s armies.
He smiled a deep, intense smile of self-satisfaction. The emperor was best pleased with his efforts, and Al-Takor was sure he would soon be richly rewarded.
2025-01-10 12:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I had to meet Sedgwick immediately, of course.
After promising Adriel I’d greet the new nagians tomorrow—she’d rehomed another fifteen during the course of the day—I bid good night to the weary lich and followed Safyre away from the campfire.
“Where are we going?” I asked. Safyre was leading me toward the left side of the cave, but I’d already analyzed every player in the cavern and knew there was no one named Sedgwick about.
“Into the tunnel network below,...
2025-01-09 14:32:18 +0000 UTC
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“Dace, we don’t have time for this,” Everett complained.
“Whatever this is,” Bayan muttered from behind him.
“I promise, it will all become clear shortly,” I said expansively as I led the way into the townhall.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Evelyn asked from beside me.
“Time is already short for us to get everyone to the exit portal before the Final Dissolution begins,” Juyorah added from my other side. “We can’t aff...
2025-01-09 12:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Dawn rose, bright and beautiful.
Sitting down on the eastern slope of the hill that had so recently borne witness to a bloodbath, I gazed into the rising sun. Plans were already underway for the exodus to the exit portal, but I wanted no part of that. Let Everett, Evelyn, and the others bear that burden.
I had done my part already.
No, my thoughts were preoccupied by entirely different matters. The System. The Simians. Humanity’s purpose in this world. The stra...
2025-01-08 12:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Adriel’s scolding began every bit as fiercely as I expected, but I weathered it stoically, and in the end, her tirade was short-lived—the lich was too exhausted to stay worked up for long.
“It had to be done,” I said quietly when she finally ran down.
Adriel, Safyre, and I were sitting alone around the cave’s main campfire. The lich had not made any effort to hide her ire, and not wanting to risk her wrath, the nagians and even the wolves had withdrawn to the cavern’s ...
2025-01-08 11:00:07 +0000 UTC
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“Night, tell me what you see,” I ordered as we neared the bottom of the hill. The black dragon spirit was flying in the air above me.
“There are twenty ratkin directly in front of you. All sleeping.”
“And further in the camp?”
“No movement yet.”
“Alright, alert me at the first sign that the creatures are rallying.”
Ten yards from the ratkin Night had mentioned, I drew to a halt. Drawing m...
2025-01-07 12:00:01 +0000 UTC
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I was only mildly surprised that my target sensed my analyze.
Given its size and stature, I had expected the stygian to be powerful. However, that was not to say my inspection results did not disturb me.
The tree was only a mature one.
It was this fact that bothered me more than anything else and left me wondering how much more powerful a void father was going to be.
Void fathers, if recollection served, were the nether’s ruler...
2025-01-07 06:25:42 +0000 UTC
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Unsurprisingly, the Wardens proved adept climbers, and it turned out to be easier than I expected for their scouts to scale the back of the amphitheater walls and lay down ropes for the rest of us to climb.
Still, I had to remove my plate armor to manage the ascent. There was no way I was going to haul up both my own body and all that weight too.
That was easy, I thought as I dropped down lightly onto the amphitheater floor. I turned around, eager to see who else had made...
2025-01-06 12:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“What did you find?” I asked and held my breath, dreading her answer.
“The amphitheater still stands. Its gates are barred, and hundreds of humans are sheltered within.”
The tension drained from me. The matron had done it. She had gotten the town’s players to safety. “What about the ratkin?” I asked.
“They are camped at the base of the hill, directly across the road heading to the amphitheater’s exit. They are not pr...
2025-01-05 12:00:04 +0000 UTC
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My sword rose and fell.
I didn’t have to judge the angle of my stroke or pause to aim. I was guaranteed a hit every time. There were more than enough foes pressing down on me for that.
So I hacked. Nothing elegant. Like a farmer reaping his field. Again and again, my sword went up and down. Above me, Night, her form clear and distinct, laid down covering flames, keeping the ratkin off my back and flanks, and killing no few of them on h...
2025-01-04 12:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“Night,” I whispered, “clear the doors.”
“My pleasure, Dace,” she replied.
The black dragon took shape outside and bathed the ratkin clustered nearby in fire.
At the sound of the creatures’ shrieks, I wrenched open the door and rushed through. “Seal it behind me,” I yelled over my shoulder to the players inside.
I scanned the streets. To the left and right, I spotted fleeing ratkin. I took off right, chasing after ...
2025-01-03 11:00:02 +0000 UTC
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I stumbled through the doors, and someone yanked them close behind me.
I wrenched my helmet off. It was blackened in places, but otherwise undamaged. Setting the helm aside, I exhaled in relief at the waft of cool, fresh air that brushed up against my still-reddened skin.
That feels good, I thought, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensation.
“My god. Dace is that you?”
I popped open my eyes and took in the room. My eyes were still healing and my vis...
2025-01-02 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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When Night was done relaying everything of interest that she could see, I imparted the information to the Paragons.
Bayan’s brows drew down after I finished. “You couldn’t tell why the ratkin are concentrated to the town’s north?”
I shook my head. “The region is covered in smoke, but my guess would be that a contingent of Wardens are holding them at bay there.”
Bayan stroked his chin. “Perhaps. But given the number of ratkin in the vicinity, reaching them dir...
2025-01-01 11:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Hi all,
The second boxed set in the Grand Game series is out today. It gathers together books 4-6 of the Grand Game in one volume. If you're keen for a re-read or just want to support the series, you can check it out at the link below. :)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWFD6L64
Happy reading,
Tom
2024-12-31 17:15:26 +0000 UTC
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Bayan didn’t like what I had to say.
But he didn’t dismiss my words out of hand as I feared he would. In a marked change from the previous times I had approached him, he listened attentively and respectfully.
When I was done, he turned to his guild members. “What does everything think?” he asked.
The six of us were sitting in a circle on the forest floor. “We should help,” Beth said promptly.
“It’s suicide,” disagreed Jorge. He looked at me. “No off...
2024-12-31 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I emerged from the aether in the shadow of a hydra, but I barely registered the creature’s presence. Open ground lay ahead of me, and without hesitation, I hurtled toward it. Behind me, the hydra did not react. In fact, it appeared completely oblivious to my presence.
You are hidden.
The Game message explained it all, and if I could’ve, I would have exhaled in relief. My shadow jump had put me out of range of the spores.
But I didn’t stop running...
2024-12-31 06:00:00 +0000 UTC
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Day 3 of Michael’s Deadline
Safyre was still not back when I woke up the next morning, and Adriel had already resumed work on the golems. So, deeming it past time, Ghost and I visited the wolves for breakfast.
“How is everyone doing?” I asked between spoonfuls of broth.
Duggar, Aira, Snow and I were sitting together watching the Packs’ pups chase Ghost around. The other senior wolves—Oursk and Sulan included—were with Adriel, ...
2024-12-31 05:24:23 +0000 UTC
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I couldn’t believe it.
Shellshocked, I stared at the cruel System message while disappointment lashed at me. I had arguably just received the most valuable piece of loot I had yet found, only for it to be stolen away by the System.
“Damn it,” I muttered. Why hadn’t I chosen one of the other rewards? Clenching my right hand into a fist, I punched the wall. Bits of stone and plaster flew past me unheeded.
I’m done with this bloody game, I fu...
2024-12-30 11:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Your psi is now at 100%. Your meditation has reached rank 23.
Five minutes on, I was still at the river. The entire time, the void tree’s assault did not abate. It struck me with lash after lash, and repeated salvos of thorns. The thorn attacks were further spread apart, though, which allowed me to restore my lost psi between salvos.
The other stygians, meanwhile, did nothing.
None of the hydras braved the water. No flying serpents swooped down. No s...
2024-12-30 06:00:24 +0000 UTC
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Consciousness returned slowly.
“Dace, are you awake?” Beth asked, slapping me lightly on the face. “If you can hear me, you better bloody well open your eyes.” She paused, sounding anxious. “Your companion is growing agitated.”
She slapped me again.
With ponderous effort, I forced my eyes open. Strands of orange and red covered my vision. Beth’s hair, I thought.
As the world swam into focus, I saw that she was staring upwards at someth...
2024-12-29 11:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hey all,
I hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying the festive season. To kick off 2025, I'm giving away a 1-month free membership to my Patreon!
Join now and gain early access to the Grand Game (book 8 chapters, yippee 
) and my other works-in-progress.
Here's the GIFT LINK: https://www.patreon.com/grandg...
2024-12-29 07:32:55 +0000 UTC
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Hi all,
My week-long hiatus is over! I hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying the festive season. And don't worry, I will post the next Grand Game chapter soon. :)
In the meantime, I'll be making some updates (long overdue) to my Patreon, including:
Reducing membership tiers: namely disabling old tiers like Pioneer, Seasoned, and Master (according to Patreon those still subscribed on these tiers should not be affected, however the tiers will no longer reflect ...
2024-12-29 06:07:09 +0000 UTC
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Your max health has increased to 297 HP.
Your movement speed, attack speed, and damage have increased by 10%.
I entered the boss’ chamber fully buffed.
My sword glimmered a deadly crimson, its edge sharpened beyond what was physically possible by Beth’s spell, while my armor and limbs felt lighter, buoyed by Jorge’s spell. My own casting played a part too, raising my health beyond the norm.
All in all, I felt stronger...
2024-12-28 11:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The trip east was uneventful.
In fact, it was so quiet, I began to wonder where all the forest beasts and creatures had gone. Not that I minded. I spent most of the journey getting used to my new armor.
I quickly learnt that while wearing the mountain of steel, even walking—the simplest of activities—consumed stamina. Thankfully, I had already invested heavily in the Essence of constitution and my stamina pool was quite substantial. Yet, I realized, until I increased bot...
2024-12-27 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I stared at Beth’s receding back.
She had left so quickly she’d left me no time to question her further.
I had only two choices now. Follow after her or ignore the Paragons. And as much as I wanted to avoid even the appearance of approaching Bayan with cap in hand again, my curiosity wouldn’t let me leave well enough alone.
I ground my teeth together. Goddamn woman, I swore.
“Who was that?” Night asked, he...
2024-12-26 11:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Day Six
I opened my eyes the next morning to find light streaming in through the room’s single window.
“What time is it, Adi?” I asked.
“8 AM, Dace.”
I had slept longer than I expected. I stared up at the ceiling. The events of last night still played on my mind, but I couldn’t afford to dwell on the matter today.
I still had lots to do before I set out for the Creche exit, and time, I had learnt since the Lesser Dissolution, was not a ...
2024-12-25 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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