Brayden brought the flat side of his sword down on a man’s skull with a ringing clang. There was a thunk that carried more than a little bit of a satisfactory element to it, not that Brayden had any plans of admitting such to anyone he knew. He didn’t need them to start thinking he’d gone insane or bloodthirsty.
The struck man crumpled to the ground in a pile of limbs. A massive beam of light crashed down from the sky to swallow him, leaving the space before Brayden barren when it...
2026-02-10 16:00:36 +0000 UTC
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Screams and yells rose into the air, squeezing out between the thunderous crack of lightning and crackling flames. The roar of magic filled the arena all around Lee. A rock hurtled past her head, smoldering with some odd black magic, only to get blasted to smithereens by a hammer formed of brilliant golden light.
The ground bucked beneath Lee under the force of all the magic clashing above it. Well, that or the people that were literally tearing chunks of earth free to hurl at each othe...
2026-02-09 16:00:25 +0000 UTC
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“We have a problem,” Koyu said.
Wallace grunted in response.
The two of them sat in obsidian chairs on either side of the anvil in the center of the Infernal Armory. Materials scattered the ground around them in what would have seemed to be a mess to anyone other than the two of them and the Armory itself.
They’d run through a dozen different theories over the past few hours. Each of them had been carved out from the sea of potential ones as a path that held even the f...
2026-02-09 16:00:25 +0000 UTC
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2026-02-09 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Alex’s domain exploded out around him, hazy Riftwarped Qi warping the air in a wide ring. He wasted absolutely no time in calling Spark to the field as well. Glint was still dead, but he wanted to save Encore for if one of his other monsters fell. There was no point overextending now and getting punished for it later.
He wasn’t the only one to act. Claire activated her own Partial Soul Manifestation, summoning forth a torrent of howling pink petals that tore past Vaxon, leaving seve...
2026-02-09 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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“Dude,” Alex said. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Maybe that wasn’t quite the best thing to say when faced with a twelve-foot-tall amalgamation of melted man and metal holding a sword easily twice as wide as a grown adult. It certainly wasn’t going to win him any favor. But he couldn’t help himself.
The idea that Vaxon had just been sitting around in Valley Ford ever since the Disruptor had fallen, wandering around aimlessly like a lost puppy, just in the vague hopes ...
2026-02-08 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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“What?” Aaron exclaimed, his gaze snapping up to follow Claire’s gaze. “They can do that? But our last fight just ended! That’s not fair! We haven’t even had time to loot!”
“I don’t know if the Cracked Steps cares too much for the concept of fair or not.” Alex’s lips pressed thin. There was no way he was going to just leave the Baveroth and its precious fur behind. “So long as we’re here, I’m pretty sure participation is mandatory.”
“So we have to f...
2026-02-06 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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2026-02-05 16:00:20 +0000 UTC
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The round ended.
That really shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. It was, after all, what rounds tended to do. There wouldn’t have been much point in having a giant melee if it went on until everyone was dead. Not much of the tournament would have been left at that point.
Noah found himself pulled back through a twisting green portal and deposited back in his waiting room, in front of the window and exactly where he’d been standing before the fight had started.
...
2026-02-05 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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2026-02-04 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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The first few rooms of the dungeon had nothing within them of note. They were populated entirely by kobolds which, as Kien had noted, had taken to using weapons and tools to fight with. The monsters had been armed with an assortment of mismatched equipment. A fair bit of it had actually been somewhat decent, with a few slightly magical swords an other items having fallen into their possession from some unfortunate adventuring groups. They’d set up traps all over the dungeon and employed a n...
2026-02-04 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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Mordred’s senses drifted through the arenas. There were no shortage of interesting mages in the second round of the melees, but there was one in particular he was interested in.
Fist had informed him that Spider was participating in this round.
Mordred still did a sweep of all the arenas to take note of anyone that might have been worth paying attention to, but his real goal was to find Spider.
That proved to be far harder than it should have been. Even with Aqua Terra’s...
2026-02-04 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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The Baveroth’s skull made a wet, squelching crunch as Alex’s anchor drove down on it. The top of the huge bear’s head caved in like a piece of wet cardboard. Its eyes bulged as its jaw was driven down into the ground. No matter how tough its hide may have been, slash resistance did precious little to stop blunt impact.
There was a moment of silence. Everyone stared at the anchor embedded in the Baveroth’s head. Even though it was buried several inches into the beast, not so much...
2026-02-04 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! Forge Book 5 is out on amazon!! It should be coming to Audible fairly soon as well, though I don't know the exact date yet. This one was a really fun one to write. Amazon's new review system really sucks as far fewer reviews/ratings make it through than before, so if you've been enjoying the series, please consider popping over and leaving some support to help its longevity. Every single person helping out genuinely makes a huge difference.
Doing promo stuff while sick is absol...
2026-02-04 14:34:05 +0000 UTC
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Getting cooked as I write this. Got a pretty nasty flu. Going to doctor tomorrow morning to get it looked at and hopefully locking back in soon.
Could not write today. Sorry guys. Watch discord or Patreon chat for updates.
2026-02-02 09:53:02 +0000 UTC
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Shadow bubbled before Alex. A large, ceramic-clawed hand burst up from within the darkness. It slammed down onto the platform with a heavy thud. The claws dug into the earth, slicing clean through it as Princess pulled herself free from the depths.
Her three-headed body bubbled and hissed as she emerged in her full glory. The huge monster rose before Alex’s group, blocking the Baveroth’s access to them.
Alex’s shadow lengthened behind her. A tall, looming form rose up from w...
2026-02-01 15:59:33 +0000 UTC
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“So… what now?” Aaron asked, glancing from Alex to Claire.
Alex grinned. He rolled the Cracked Coin across his knuckles. It slipped. He cursed, fumbling with the metal disk for a second and barely keeping himself from dropping it. Alex ignored the look Claire sent him and cleared his throat as he held the coin out.
Whoops. Really shouldn’t fiddle around with fancy stuff that I can’t afford to lose. We’ve already tossed one coin over a ledge today. Don’t need to m...
2026-01-30 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Noah was doing his best to keep track of things, but it was really getting to be quite the hassle. The world was stubbornly insisting on shifting in and out of… well, everything. He was starting to wonder if everyone had suddenly learned spatial magic out of nowhere.
One moment, people would be fighting right in front of him. The next they were gone. Sometimes they’d just straight up disappear mid-fight, while others they would teleport over to the side, suddenly covered in a dozen ...
2026-01-29 16:00:24 +0000 UTC
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2026-01-29 16:00:23 +0000 UTC
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“What?” Ida asked, blinking.
“A better workspace,” Madiv repeated. He gestured vaguely to the incredibly uninspiring surroundings. “All the rubble and drafty walls… not what I would consider a worthy workshop. It’s demeaning. A member of the Menagerie should not be working in such conditions. Unless you prefer them?”
Ida stared at him mutely. His words were reaching her ears, but they weren’t quite processing in her brain.
“What?” She asked again.
2026-01-29 04:45:03 +0000 UTC
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2026-01-28 16:00:51 +0000 UTC
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Alex kept his magic at the ready. Even though the fight was over, he had absolutely no idea if Tael planned to actually honor the deal. He wasn’t about to bet their lives on a stranger’s honor. And, to be entirely fair, it wasn’t like they’d exactly played entirely by the rules.
Claire had cheated. It hadn’t been by much. They probably could have argued their case if a magical judge and jury had popped up around them. Technically speaking, the only thing she’d done was use h...
2026-01-28 16:00:49 +0000 UTC
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Got absolutely cooked by a headache today. Not missing the 2nd chapter, but going to be doing it tomorrow morning as I couldn't write anything readable today.
Cheers!
------
Jake laughed.
That lasted about a second. Then he realized that Lillia was completely serious. The Merchant’s guildsman swallowed. He seemed to think for a moment, opened his mouth, then decided better of it. It was another second before he actually said anything.
“The whole
2026-01-28 16:00:48 +0000 UTC
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Vincent Lionsheart was born for victory.
His parents had even gone so far as to choose him a name they felt closest to the very word. They did both start with a V and ran for exactly 7 letters. But his parents had done everything in their power to ensure the similarities didn’t end there.
They found him the greatest tutors. Ensured he created the most powerful runes possible to a family of their status — which really was saying quite a lot. Vincent’s life was one that could ...
2026-01-28 16:00:47 +0000 UTC
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Noah glanced up from his badge and over to Brayden. The other man held his badge up. It was still pitch black. He hadn’t been chosen. Lee’s badge was similarly dark. Noah was going into this round alone. In some ways, that was probably for the best.
It was a lot easier to make an impact when he didn’t have to worry about anyone around him.
“You’re up, huh?” Brayden asked, noticing the glow coming from Noah’s rune. “Good luck. Don’t do anything too crazy. And reme...
2026-01-27 16:00:31 +0000 UTC
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2026-01-27 16:00:28 +0000 UTC
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Lost a fight to scheduling...
----
A wave of molten heat rolled past Mordred’s senses. The intensity of the fire was enough to make his skin prickle all the way back where he sat safely in his room. White flame slammed down into a dome of glistening ice. A crackling roar and the scream of angry steam filled the air.
Thick clouds of white exploded across the arena, breaking against the surrounding combatants like waves against rocks on a beach shore. The mist dispelled as q...
2026-01-27 00:01:04 +0000 UTC
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Due to me accidentally uploading an extra 2 chapters instead of an extra chapter on Friday, I only have 1 chapter today (as this chapter should have come out with ch590, which was released early on Friday).
Cheers!
-----
The vast majority of the Menagerie gathered in the dining room the following morning. More of them were there than there had been in a while. Maeve stood alongside Elias as if she’d always been there. She gave Arwin a small nod as he and Lillia joined eve...
2026-01-26 16:00:22 +0000 UTC
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No further attacks had a chance to occur at the Auction. Anyone who might have been sitting around in wait for the VIP section members to emerge from the Mausoleum likely found themselves sorely disappointed as the huge doors of the building ground shut behind the departed members of the lower levels.
Nobody else emerged from the building. All the VIPs were long since gone.
Rodrick and the others kept up an increased watch over the street, even as they took down the barriers they...
2026-01-26 16:00:22 +0000 UTC
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Aaron scrambled back to his feet, but no followup attack came. Even Tael had paused to stare in the direction of where the coin had plummeted over the edge of their platform. He almost looked sad, as if he felt bad for his opponent. A very significant portion of Aaron desperately wanted to throw himself over the edge of the platform and join his coin in oblivion.
“Did… you happen to possess another one of those?” Tael asked slowly. “It seems your weapon has departed you.”
<...
2026-01-26 16:00:22 +0000 UTC
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