Wizardly Dude

(84) 2.37. Fellow Explorers!

Once each of them were at least able to hold their own against Alka for a few minutes, Alka awarded them with her highest honor of, ‘good enough,’ and declared them ready to take on the divine swordsman.

While the training had been particularly hellish, and the insects unnecessarily large, Vin had actually enjoyed camping in the woods for the past few days. After spending so much time in the infernals’ village, he’d already begun feeling a little bit cramped. Getting the chance ...

(83) 2.36. A Passive Problem

The combination of having just witnessed all four of her friends come close to dying gruesome deaths on her behalf, plus the fact that they now had a concrete method of tracking down the divine warrior, seemed to calm Alka down a bit regarding her haste to find their target. Sure, none of them were big fans of letting the deranged warrior slaughter innocent people, but if they faced him before they were ready and lost their lives, who knew how many more thousands of people would die before so...

(82) 2.35. The Grueling Ghost

Panting, Vin staggered over to a nearby tree as he was finally allowed to rest, his entire body shaking as he leaned against it. He’d never really been one for physical conditioning before, and he had a hunch Alka’s methods would make most drill sergeants back on Earth shudder and ask if they needed them to call someone. 

While contemplating how to best run away from someone that was physically bound to him, he was startled by an unexpected voice beneath him.

“I guess w...

(81) 2.34. New Nightmare Fuel

“You sure you don’t want to take any more with you? I’ve got some veggie pockets ready to go in the oven right now. Just give me fifteen minutes and they’ll be hot and crisp!”

Vin could only hold his stomach as Agne tried to force another full course meal onto him before they left. He was afraid if he said yes, he’d be so stuffed he’d have to wait an entire extra day just to digest.

“I appreciate it Agne, but we do have a job to take care of,” he smiled, turning ...

Tier Upgrade Announcement (More Advance Chapters!) and RS Update

Happy weekend everyone! Just wanted to give a quick update on the latest happenings regarding the story as our Rising Stars run is finally coming to a close. It has been an absolutely wild month of posting, so incase anyone forgot, my standard schedule for posting chapters is 5 a week M-F, and I've been doing 7 a week in celebration of hitting RS with the intention of keeping it up our entire run. And what an absolutely crazy run it's been! We managed to hit #5 on the list and even stayed in ...

(80) 2.33. A Relaxing Recovery

It took three entire days for Vin and his party to fully recover from the after effects of the purification ritual. When asked, Madam Trebella had explained that the more the ritual was forced to purify, the longer the recovery period would be. According to her, Vin’s party had pretty much set a record for sheer amount of gunk the ritual had pulled from them.

Seeing as their entire bodies had been dying on a cellular level, Vin couldn’t say he’d been all that surpris...

(79) 2.32. A Desperate Plea

Vin looked around Madam Trebella’s study, taking in the Witch’s choice of decoration. Perhaps he was being a bit prejudiced, but he'd been expecting a lot more fire and brimstone.

Instead, the head infernal’s study reminded him of his old principal’s office. There was a large desk covered with organized clutter, a handful of paintings and maps dotting the walls, and a few small knick knacks displayed proudly around the room that he could only guess the purpose of. In fact, it wa...

Bonus Chapter #2: Gate Duty

Author's Note: This is another bonus chapter I wrote as a thank you for reaching our second rating and review milestone on Royal Road. This chapter contains no relevant information in regard to the main story and can be skipped without fear of missing anything. However, unlike Bonus Chapter #1, this one does take place within Edregon and may shed some additional light onto life within the holy citadel.

Poll Winner: The gate guards of the holy citadel tryin...

(78) 2.31. A Divine Discussion

As Vin cast the spell he’d been gifted by Shia’s master, Shia, Scule, and Alka all gave him a confused look. Reginald on the other hand perked up immediately, squeaking in confirmation and scratching at his nose.

“What does it do?” Shia asked, her tongue flicking out to taste the magic. “...I can tell it’s a nature spell, but I don’t see anything happening.”

“It doesn’t do much,” Vin admitted, ending the spell. “But seeing as it let me walk through a giant ...

(77) 2.30. The Ritual of Purification

“Each of you will take one of the outer points. Your dolls will be placed on the inner point to your right. If the ritual is a success, your impurities will be transferred to the dolls, and you’ll be as healthy as the day you were born,” Madam Trebella explained, pointing toward where they and the dolls would be placed during the ritual. “You’ll feel unnaturally weak for a few days as your body recovers from the ritual, but you’re welcome to stay here in the village until you reco...

(76) 2.29. A Sense of Kinship

The purification ritual was far more complicated than the ritual of stillness. Evidently the sick bay wasn’t actually large enough to carry out the ritual Madam Trebella had in mind, so with the help of Malzar, Vin moved his friends over to the dedicated ritual room, laying them on some prepared bedrolls. By the time they got there, Madam Trebella and Xaril were already hard at work drawing out the runes for the ritual, and Vin could only look on in awe at the sheer scale of their magical w...

(75) 2.28. Head Witch

Madam Trebella frowned as she scanned over the completed inventory sheet, ignoring the apprentice fidgeting silently by the door as the girl waited to be dismissed. Despite the fact that she had so few apprentices left at this point, she still couldn’t be bothered to learn all their names.

“This is everything?” She asked, a slight tinge of annoyance left purposefully in her tone to strike fear into the fledgling Witch’s heart. “How have we already run out of oawl wood again? O...

(74) 2.27. The Druid of the Divine

Vin could only stare at the golden elf, his mind still busy trying to process the fact that he wasn’t currently being eaten alive by a few tons of ravenous insect monsters. Apparently he wasn’t processing his survival quite fast enough for his savior, because the elf rolled his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

“Please, do take your time. It’s not like I’m burning through more mana than you have in your entire body every minute I’m here or anything.”

“Are you Shia’s...

(73) 2.26. Deep Within the Dungeon

“Stone Shot!” Vin yelled, blasting another one of the acid spitting butterflies out of the air before it could get closer to him. Grimacing at the stone floor melting beneath the fallen butterfly, Vin couldn’t help but imagine what that acid would do to his own flesh if it was capable of melting solid rock.

“Reginald, you good?!” He called, lining up another shot and blasting down an acid filled butterfly that had been heading straight for the rat. Re...

Latest Bonus Chapter Poll

Happy end of the week everyone! I felt bad about continuing to send people private messages whenever a new poll dropped on Royal Road, so I decided to try doing this instead!

Due to hitting another rating/review milestone for the story, the latest Bonus Chapter poll has officially dropped on chapter 56 on Royal Road. If you would like to vote on which of three scenarios gets written for the bonus chapter, feel free to stop on by and cast your vote!

2025-02-01 04:23:20 +0000 UTC View Post

(72) 2.25. Down We Go

“This has got to be one of the stranger things I’ve ever done,” Vin muttered, glancing at the two creatures flanking him as he made his way deeper into the forest. Other than Alka, most of his party was currently indisposed, but at least two of them had been in good enough condition to join him.

An indignant squeak reminded him that Reginald had excellent hearing, and Vin winced, quickly apologizing to the annoyed rat. He shot a glance at the final member of their small party to m...

(71) 2.24. Borrowed Time

Vin woke with a start, his heart racing as he sat up and took in his surroundings. He was surprised to find himself lying in one of the many beds dotting the sick bay within Madam Trebella’s manor. Looking around, he quickly spotted Alka and Scule’s unconscious forms, letting out a sigh of relief as he noticed the subtle movements in their chests that indicated they were still breathing.

“Ah. You’re awake.” 

Following the voice, Vin frowned as he spotted the familia...

(70) 2.23. The Ritual of Stillness

The inside of the small mansion was truly remarkable, but Vin didn’t get the chance to admire the many portraits and carved statues of powerful infernals lining the hallway. As soon as Agne was gone and Malzer realized just what condition Vin and his party were in, the young infernal had gotten serious, his attitude vanishing as he quickly rushed them over to some form of sick bay.

“Malzer? What’s going on?” An infernal reading beside the cluster of beds asked, getting to his fe...

(69) 2.22. A Hidden Village

Vin spat the latest insect out of his mouth as they made their way quickly yet carefully through the vast forest. The most noticeable thing about this fragment was the shockingly high concentration of bugs flying around, and it made moving fast rather unpleasant. In the short time they’d been running Vin had already encountered everything from giant swarms of gnats to large, bee-like insects the size of his fist, each with a nasty looking stinger that he wanted absolutely no part of.

...

(68) 2.21. A Ray of Hope

“I’m no healer, but that doesn’t look good.”

Scule stood beside Shia’s unmoving form, peering down at her pale face as Reginald let out a sad squeak and nudged the unconscious elf with his head. On top of whatever damage the radiation had already done to her body, it looked like Shia had landed hard on her head when the golems had launched them, and there was a small pool of blood already forming under her skull.

“Come on Shia, stay with us,” Vin said, moving to plac...

(67) 2.20. Between a Rock and a Harder Rock

New magical beast discovered! 1,000 exp gained.

The buzzing notification roused him from his ill timed nap, and Vin’s eyes snapped open as he hurried to take in his surroundings. Thankfully it looked like he’d only lost consciousness for a few seconds, as small shards of stone were still falling from the eruption that had sent them flying.

Scule stood only a few feet to his left with his daggers at the ready, the Rogue’s high dexterity no doubt having played...

(66) 2.19. I Don’t Feel So Good…

Second Ring Fragment Discovered! 1,000 exp gained.

Pleased to find that he not only still gained experience for discovering new fragments, but seemed to earn more for fragments the farther he went from his starting point, Vin couldn’t help but grin.

Despite the unnerving flat plane of death he found himself standing on.

The moment they’d crossed the fragment border, the very air itself had seemed to die. There was no breeze to be felt, no smell to the ai...

(65) 2.18. The Hunt Begins

“Are you sure you wish to head out already? Now that we know the danger has passed, I’d love getting the chance to thank you and your friends for all your help these past few days.”

Vin gave the elder a weak grin as he ensured Peter’s rations were firmly tucked away within his pack, glancing over at his party waiting for him just outside the village border.

“We appreciate it, but it’s a little early to say the danger has passed,” Vin said, slinging his pack over his ...

Bonus Chapter #1: ...Where The Hell Is The Kid?

Author's Note: This is a bonus chapter I wrote as a thank you for reaching our rating and review milestone on Royal Road. This chapter contains no relevant information in regard to the main story and can be skipped without fear of missing anything.

Poll Winner: Officer Bigs and Officer Smalls trying to figure out what happened to Vin.

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John leaned back at his desk, resisting the urge to put his feet up as he frowned at the paperwork he was supposed to f...

(64) 2.17. Some Unholy News

After another full day of rocks blowing up in his face and Eithan occasionally offering his encouragement from a safe distance away, Vin finally mastered Stone Shot. Firing a few missiles of rock at some walls Eithan summoned for him as targets, Vin didn’t even care about the fact that every single one of his attacks went wide. On a world filled with dangerous monsters that couldn’t be reasoned with, the fact that he actually had his first useful combat spell was comforti...