Interlude: The Goddess in Jade, in the Eternal Spring Sect’s war camp.
The huge flood of refugees was causing enormous problems for the Goddess in Jade.
It began with his return following his first mission.
“I’m back. Got your refugees too,” Carter said upon returning to Jade’s study.
“Well done, and quickly, too. How many were you able to save?” Jade asked.
Carter shrugged. “Few hundred.”
“That few? I knew my followers were being pers...
2025-04-19 15:00:17 +0000 UTC
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After we met with the Goddess in Jade, we took the express route home. I wasn’t interested in risking my life with those cultivator teleportation arrays any more than necessary.
I activated the anchor on my ring, tore open a portal to Sanctum, and then walked on through. The portal closed behind us, and soon we were strolling through familiar corridors.
I waved to the construction workers around us, who had done a good job with repairs in such a short time, though for them, twic...
2025-04-18 15:00:18 +0000 UTC
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The teleport went smoothly, and we arrived in the open air rather than empty space. A B-Grade cultivator was standing near the teleportation array when we arrived. Her job could likely best be described as guarding, but the elegant veiled woman reading from an ornate scroll as she relaxed in a chair with a sunshade overhead seemed as far from a guard as I could imagine.
“Hi, we’re looking for the Goddess in Jade?” I asked.
Mimiko soon backed me up with something more closely...
2025-04-16 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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I accessed the Sanctum mystic realm at the first opportunity. Reluna and Mimiko followed behind me, and we toured the place, which was still largely in ruins from Elder Blackhand and the heretics’ climactic fight. I looked around, eying my surroundings.
The signs were faint, but somebody had definitely been here. They’d flown, so their tracks weren’t completely obvious except at the destroyed decoy System Planetary Hub. Someone had taken what little was left of the scrap that was ...
2025-04-14 15:00:16 +0000 UTC
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I ended up lying in wait while leaving the bulk of communications and scouting to the council. Since I would be leaving for a bit on the Goddess in Jade’s errand and to pick up my stuff on Ladwick, it wouldn’t make sense for me to take charge of any important operation.
The military men Frank and I ran into seemed particularly suspicious to me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were up to something. I listened in on the council meeting, where Margaret and the others craft...
2025-04-12 15:00:13 +0000 UTC
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My tour took Sakura and Bridget around the shard, where I took in new things as quickly as they did. Both of them were B-Grades now, thanks to the campaign, which was also very pleasing to me. The System wouldn’t let them leave for a bit, so while they’d hate to see me go, I could leave trusting Crownhill was in good hands.
“Reluna certainly got a bit carried away making herself at home. Don’t worry, I will reign her in,” Sakura said as we walked through Crownhill.
“I ...
2025-04-11 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Crafting a Probability Engine was no easy feat, even for a Kindling Architect. In ancient times, a craftsman like me would buy most of the subcomponents they planned to use.
It was like Carl Sagan said, “To bake a cake from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
Thankfully, I wasn’t starting completely from scratch. The raw copper and titanium I had access to from salvage was at least on par with what the blueprint called for. The computational engines pulled out of a...
2025-04-09 15:00:08 +0000 UTC
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The reward chest for completing this stage of the integration appeared before me. I was eager to see what was inside, so I wasted no time in flipping the lid.
I had hoped it would be overflowing with goodies, given the notification I’d just read, but the chest was half empty. There were only three things inside it. A potion, a token, and a metal sphere.
None were particularly large, and they almost looked ordinary, at least until I examined them.
Signature Skill Sl...
2025-04-07 15:00:12 +0000 UTC
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I awoke in the morning feeling more refreshed than I had since I left Ladwick, and my lovers were still traveling there. The reasons for that easy-going contentedness lay in my arms.
I blinked away the sleep from my eyes, and the quiet peace turned to anxiousness when I remembered what happened the previous night. I’d slept with Reluna and Mimiko.
Now that the deed was done, I would have to take responsibility for them. The effects of Scepter of the Supreme Patriarch were both s...
2025-04-05 15:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Reluna and Mimiko demonstrated the ritual the two of them had developed working together, and even I had to admit it was pretty damn good. By combining their efforts and knowledge, they’d repaired the flaws I pointed out and created something that would likely work as planned.
It would be challenging to operate, but once they showed me what needed to be done, I was reasonably sure the two of them could handle it. I could lend a hand if needed, but for the most part, I’d just be maki...
2025-04-04 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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After ditching the pair of young drakes and trading them in for slightly lower-quality dragon eggs, I returned home and did it again.
I repeated that process a few times until there was only one drake wandering the Torchdragon shard and preventing the end of this stage of the integration. While I was there, I distributed the rest of the designs for my Mark Two armor to my people spread across the multiverse, and the passive experience I was gaining from them went up significantly.
2025-04-02 15:00:15 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys, I'm doing a quick poll to see what you're leaning toward. As you saw in the title, this poll has minor spoilers for an upcoming chapter, but I wanted to feel you out. I think I know what people will pick, but I want to be sure I'm not way out of sync, as that has happened before, like with the accelerata race choice.
Yes, Carter will be getting another signature skill. It was always going to happen, since Carter still has way too many abilities for me to use them all in a figh...
2025-04-01 17:22:21 +0000 UTC
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<Note>
Due to frequent and popular request, I’m bringing back a favorite and beloved character from the Amazon Apocalypse series for his own spin-off! Hope you enjoy this sneak peek:
Along the outer edges of the Arcadia Multiverse, a giant raven flew through the void. Its talons were sharp as swords, and its feathers were black as night. This was the Chaos Raven, and to see it was to see your own death.
Ordinarily,...
2025-04-01 15:00:15 +0000 UTC
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When the System made its presence known, I held my breath for a while. What did it think about me teaming up with a cultivator?
I waited... and waited... and waited.
Either it didn’t care, or it didn’t think much of anything about my current plans. Perhaps I’d only gotten the attention of one of those decentralized processes Lyra mentioned.
Satisfied that the System wasn’t about to strike me dead with a bolt of lightning from the heavens, I let myself calm down a bit...
2025-03-31 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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With my schedule clear, I decided to pay a visit to the Goddess in Jade. Perhaps I should have done so sooner, because as soon as I arrived at the outskirts of Mayor Wiglaf’s village and from there onto the shrine, Sir Sandon’s knights stepped aside.
Each of them was in full uniform. Their breastplates shone like mirrors, and their boots were polished for a parade. And when trumpets blared and banners were raised, I realized I was being given a very warm welcome. Someone had even ro...
2025-03-29 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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I spent some time thinking over the problem of transporting souls over from the afterlife and acquiring new bodies. Since Mimiko and Reluna had proven helpful before, I picked their brains over once again.
“All things can be accomplished through ritual magic. Some skills can resurrect the recently dead, and some scholars have engineered rituals to replicate such abilities. I’m sure I have at least one in my books,” Reluna said.
I stroked my chin. “That would be a good plac...
2025-03-28 15:00:16 +0000 UTC
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Lyra sighed. “Letting the living speak with the dead is normally against policy. I had to manually clear an exception for this item.”
“Thanks for that. If I could ask for another favor, could you put Ben on? He should be wandering around there somewhere. I just want to check in with him and let him know how things are going.”
Lyra shook her head and crossed her arms in a big ‘x.’ “Oh no. Don’t think I don’t know about your plan to cheat again! You haven’t escap...
2025-03-26 15:00:15 +0000 UTC
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“Broken how?” I asked Sir Trellis.
“Ever since the world ended, the afterlife changed. The same entity that stuffs all these nonsensical numbers before our eyes has stolen our rightful afterlives from us and separated us from the souls of our ancestors.”
Sir Sandon’s shoulders slumped. “I feared as much. The Goddess said something similar, though I hoped they were a metaphor beyond my understanding. Apparently, her she spoke plainly. Eternal salvation is truly beyond o...
2025-03-24 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Plugging Governess into the golem shard had a few issues, starting with running wires for her. Previously, I’d been using Crownhill’s old cell tower to transmit her signal.
Unfortunately, there was no such tower on the Golem shard. I could build one given time, but even then I was skeptical if my old cell tower trick would work. Between the latency and bandwidth limits, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to properly interface with the golem production facilities if I routed data throug...
2025-03-22 15:00:07 +0000 UTC
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All the enchanting had really done quite a bit for my Kindling Architect level, and before I All the enchanting had really done quite a bit for my Kindling Architect level, and before I knew it I'd already passed level 300. I wasn't sure if it was decoding the fate enchantment, making the golem, or crafting Mimko's formation array, but the System quite clearly showed me my progress.
Congratulations! Your job, Kindling Architect, has reached level 305.
After notici...
2025-03-21 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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We got back into translating ancient texts and designing talismans. Reluna continued to show me around the new and improved workspaces she’d designed for me.
As I’d suspected, she’d put a lot of thought into how to design a workbench that was comfortable and quick to use. Reluna seemed to be very keen on getting the maximum result out of the minimum amount of work.
With her to guide me, I sank into a newer and more efficient flow faster than I expected. The layouts for drawe...
2025-03-19 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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“You have uncovered a truly impressive artifact, my lord,” Mimiko said.
“No, it’s a fascinating enchantment! The artifact is of little relevance,” Reluna said. The two soon went back to glaring at one another.
“Thanks, ladies. Did either of you find anything interesting?” As soon as I spoke, I had both their attention again. They were both eager to show me what they’d found, and soon there were two piles of artifacts before me.
I poked through them both, care...
2025-03-17 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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The cell tower I was looking for was an ancient Obelisk, like the kind in the center of Crownhill. Once upon a time, this was undoubtedly the center of commerce for this group of Architects. The Obelisk was even in good shape, considering how old it probably was. The golems no doubt guarded it diligently.
I tried to access its features and was surprised when the menu popped up as normal, not counting the administrator features I had access to at the Obelisks I officially controlled.
...
2025-03-15 15:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Being a Prophet of Forbidden Knowledge seemed to not feel all that different from being a Sage of Forbidden Knowledge. My core abilities remained unaffected, as did most of my other abilities. Truthfully, my build hadn’t changed much, and I wasn’t feeling any different.
I’d probably have to wait until I was in combat. Checking out the bonuses to my current stats, I guessed I’d probably received something around a twenty percent boost in my overall fighting ability thanks to the ...
2025-03-14 15:00:15 +0000 UTC
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Sir Trellis turned to Sir Sandon with narrowed eyes. “Do I know you, stranger?”
Sandon’s face fell. The body he wore was not his own. It had belonged to a kid from Crownhill before that poor young man was slain by creatures from the void, leaving his body a hollow husk. Sir Sandon had already died by then, but his ghost stubbornly lingered on the mortal plane, so it was a perfect opportunity to stuff his soul in a rapidly dying body to help keep it warm.
“In another life, ...
2025-03-12 15:00:14 +0000 UTC
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With an army behind us, Reluna and I spent the rest of the day destroying the surrounding landscape. Unlike Reluna’s original explosive talismans, the redesigned talismans were actually an implosion. Instead of destroying everything in a fiery burst that was satisfying to watch but very destructive, the implosion inverted space in a small area around the talisman.
While the resulting implosion was almost as spectacular as a regular explosion, the spatial inversion meant that significa...
2025-03-10 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys, I had some artwork done of Eowyn, from Emmanuel, the same artist who did my Spellheart series covers.
You can find more of his stuff here.
I do hope we get to see more of Eowyn soon, but she will show up if and when the story allows her to. I'm hoping for next book though.
2025-03-09 15:00:11 +0000 UTC
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After finishing up the council meeting, I spread my dragon wings and took flight for the front lines. I actually didn’t need Mimiko with me, but she’d been diligently following me around like a lost puppy. I figured she was nervous in her new surroundings and didn't want to stay in a strange town full of unfamiliar faces.
Maybe I’d introduce her to Sir Sandon. She had a lot of resemblance to the Goddess in Jade’s statue, since both women were presumably descended from the ancien...
2025-03-08 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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A certain blissful feeling came with the thought of coming home. I hadn’t even been away all that long, and truthfully, most soldiers who went off to war were on deployment far longer than I’d been on campaign on Ladwick. Despite that, it felt like I’d been away for years, and I half feared that I’d be returning somewhere completely unrecognizable.
I was certain that was just a feeling until I actually stepped through my front door.
“Home sweet home,” I said, helping M...
2025-03-07 16:00:11 +0000 UTC
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I felt more than a little relieved that the System backed me up on my accusation. It would have looked quite strange otherwise. Doing a few favors for the local System node really paid out. Though I wasn’t sure those favors would carry over to the node controlling Crownhill.
Everyone who heard my accusation and then received the System quest followed my pointed finger to Lady Velicia and then examined her. The information I received was suddenly different from last time, as though the...
2025-03-05 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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