PathOfPen

Chapter 143 – Waves

Only one of the Greens had the bloodline. Not that it mattered much as neither Elaine nor Gawain had an easy time approaching their enemies. A long trail of flames swam through the air, resembling an earthworm, burning holes through the trees’ trunks wherever it passed. It chased the two of them without pause, forcing them to keep evading. Whenever it got too close, Elaine chopped it to pieces with her whips, but the fire mage kept pouring mana into the spell. It also didn’t help they had...

Chapter 142 – War

Elaine was trekking through the Whistling Woods with a few others. The soft tunes of the oblong cones were more than a little nostalgic. They made her think back fondly to that time with Percy all those years ago. She hadn’t been here all that much since then…

‘Those were some peaceful times…’ she sighed.

Sadly, she wasn’t in the mood to appreciate the forest’s serene beauty today. Unlike that day’s pilgrimage, their current mission was far more dangerous,...

Chapter 141 – Demi-humans

A terrible tune pierced through the eerie silence of the bog. It had been going for a while, the amateurish melody driving even the owls and bats away from the area. Had somebody been unfortunate enough to walk nearby, they would have certainly torn their ears out by now.

Suddenly, a mound of mud rose behind Percy, a scaly reptilian head emerging from within, its slit eyes glaring at him in fury. It coiled once, accumulating strength like a spring as its mouth opened wide, droplets of v...

Chapter 140 – Reinforcement

Percy sighed as he watched Micky devour the corpses, each of them barely a couple years younger than him. The first one to die might have not even reached adulthood yet. Still, he knew they’d all killed dozens of townsfolk with their bloodline, and they would have certainly continued to do so had he spared them. Had he let them go, he would have only doomed several others in their stead.

“What now? You realize this is going to bring us more trouble, right?” Nesha asked.

She ...

Chapter 101 – Whirlpool of Four Streams

Percy dropped the marble in the jar with the others, before pausing for a second to catch his breath.

Then, he pushed the soul mana he’d just recovered through the ethereal cord, sending it to his wasp clone to do whatever he wanted with it. As for the pure mana, he gathered some between his palms, forming another sphere in preparation for the next crystal.

‘Just one more before cleansing time.’

This was his routine now. Percy started his days by drinking two ...

Chapter 139 – Quarterstaff

A terrifying sound echoed through the swamp, soon followed by a powerful flap of wings. A shadow rapidly dove upon Sarin, tearing two wide gashes through his shoulders before the boy even had the chance to react.

“What the fuck?!” Bessinda yelled, staring at the silhouette of the monstrous bird as it flew away, disappearing into the dark canopies of the trees ahead.

There was something strange about the creature, its plumage glowing brightly for some reason, the wind swirling ...

Chapter 100 – Into the Spire

Percy’s adventure hit a roadblock sooner than expected.

Upon stepping inside the massive stem, the buzz in his head grew a dozen times louder, eliciting a visceral response from his host. Jolted awake from its stupor, the bug fought for control over its body. Driven purely by instinct, it quickly turned and stumbled back out, only calming once the headache subsided to a bearable level.

‘What’s going on?!’

Unwilling to retreat so easily, Percy steeled himself...

Chapter 138 – Rodrick

Rodrick clicked his tongue, annoyed he’d been assigned the tedious task.

“Why couldn’t they send somebody else?!” he asked, getting a nod back from Sarin.

Did he feel a little bad his relatives were missing? Sure, he wasn’t that heartless. Still, this was Remior – people died all the time. Especially during these tumultuous years. Their family was in the midst of a damn war for fuck’s sake! Even if the bastards of House Avalon weren’t the ones behind the attack, th...

Chapter 99 – Buggy vessel

‘Everything ok?’ the main body asked.

He was holding a half-formed sickle made of teal mana in one hand. Clearly, he hadn’t remained idle, practicing the affinity fusion while waiting.

‘I will be, as soon as you get Micky off me.’ the clone replied.

A moment later the bird lifted its talon, letting the bug move about, getting a better feel of his body.

‘It’s a little on the smaller side…’ he couldn’t help bu...

[POLL] Which arcs did you enjoy the most so far?

I did a poll similar to this back when I posted chapter 30 or so on RoyalRoad, but there wasn't much stuff out there back then, so it wasn't as helpful.

Now that you've all had the chance to read a lot further, I'd like to gauge what people like the most to keep it in mind.

This doesn't mean that I'll scrap entire arcs I have planned or anything crazy like that - I already have a pretty clear idea of where I want the story to go, and I've already written a lot further than what I'...

Chapter 137 – A dangerous game

‘Rings of Sacrilege…’ Percy struggled to keep himself from drooling.

Reading some more into the book, he quickly learned a few more important details about the priceless artifacts. Apparently, the usual rules still applied to mortals, restricting them to a single blessing per person.

‘Or perhaps per core?’ he speculated with some hope in his eyes.

That said, this only happened once they fully absorbed the ring’s concept. Until then, th...

Chapter 98 – Tests

Percy had several goals for this particular clone.

Though exploring the cosmos was arguably the most important tool in his arsenal – and by a huge margin – he’d decided to take a short break from that, to test other potential uses for his ability.

Naturally, the first thing he wanted to know was whether he could create local clones on Remior. He could imagine several scenarios where that would be handy – whether it was because he found an interesting body worth possessing,...

Chapter 136 – The Tale of Svarog

The tension in the air was palpable as Percy stared at the grinning pentapus, contemplating how he’d been played. He didn’t doubt Metatron truly intended to win him over eventually. Still, the ancient titan had plenty to gain even in the meantime.

‘Should I destroy the monkey’s soul before I go?’

Percy was certain Metatron could repair his host’s body and soul if he just abandoned the creature at the verge of death like he usually did. Though he could probably...

Chapter 97 – Oblivious Agent

Generally, Percy didn’t have to interact with the Agent much. His primary responsibility was to brew the elixirs. As for everything else, it was taken care of by Nesha. However, there was one task Percy couldn’t delegate to anyone else.

‘I hope this is the right spot.’

Today, he wore a full-body shroud to conceal his face and the colour of his robes. To further disguise himself, Percy stuffed a pillow under his shirt and crouched slightly, making him appear shorte...

Chapter 135 – Metatron

“Oh? What gave me away?” the pentapus replied, its entire demeanour shifting.

Not a trace of mana leaked out, but Percy couldn’t help but feel a chill roll down his spine. It was as if a giant beast was staring at him, contemplating whether to squish him like an ant with a brush of its finger. While he’d long had a hunch about Ronnie’s identity, getting it confirmed by the titan himself shook him to his core.

Still, he tried his best to maintain his outward calm, not wil...

Chapter 96 – Happy 20!!!

‘Dear Percy,

Forgive me if this is not the exact day – as I’m not sure when the letter will find you, but…

Happy 20!!!...’

Percy paused for a moment, calculating the date. With everything going on, he’d honestly forgotten about his birthday, which had actually been a couple days ago.

‘Close enough.’ he shrugged, returning to the message.

‘…I...