“Ever been in prison before?” The man in the adjacent cell asked. Stray hairs threatened to break away from his otherwise trimmed beard, suggesting the goblins had only recently thrown him in prison.
“It’s my first time behind bars,” I said, massaging my shoulder. Dirk had joyfully punted me into the cell, making my pint-sized body bounce across the floor into a rough wall. “Well, I had a close call when I joined Univ—started my apprenticeship, I mean, but that’s a long ...
2021-05-26 21:35:39 +0000 UTC
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My first song would set the tone for my time in Grog’s Table. I wanted to start off on the right foot and make a good impression too. My former band and I had learned long ago that we couldn’t just play what we wanted to play. Our song choices needed to match the venue and audience—until we made it big, at least. My audience in the dining hall wasn’t Dirk or the general population. It was the ‘pretty’ goblin and her friends that I needed to impress. That didn’t mean I planned to...
2021-05-25 21:02:17 +0000 UTC
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When platters of food appeared in front of me with pint-sized flagons of sweet, aromatic booze, I thanked the system. It could’ve plopped the final trial on my lap instead of letting me relax, but it didn’t. Instead, I got the opportunity to dig into a plate full of unrecognisable meat, potatoes, mushrooms, and pickled cabbage. Back on earth, I hated sauerkraut, but I didn’t mind it as much anymore. It was most probably the overwhelming sourness. Meanwhile, the goblin creation contained...
2021-05-24 08:21:39 +0000 UTC
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The lights of Grog’s Table peeked at us as we left the brush. It stood in the distance atop a tall plateau, explaining the name. Several natural and goblin-made bridges connected it to neighbouring cliffs. Several rocky hills dotted the near-flat city, and lights glimmered from the window holes marking them too. The system did say that the goblins mainly were subterranean creatures. I bet they lived within the plateau too.
At the centre of Grog’s Table sat a collection of tall, jagg...
2021-05-23 18:05:30 +0000 UTC
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Congratulations!
You’ve unlocked the Mana Control Skill!
Mana Wielding: Novice Rank 1
—Mana Sense: Novice Rank 1
—Mana Control: Novice Rank 1
I swiped the screen away as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. Whatever recovery the goblin spirit caller had provided with his magic, the penalty from Coward’s Brand had washed away. My head throbbed from the exhaustion too. It felt like I had just finished a fifteen-hour workday over the grill.
2021-05-23 10:23:33 +0000 UTC
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Thanks to Coward’s Brand, I didn’t dare pick up the sling despite my new Dexterity score of three. On the other hand, I couldn’t keep my hands off the sceptre. What’s the point of getting transported to a magical world if you don’t dabble in the arcane? The crystal atop it glowed with a pink-purple hue, and the weapon vibrated when I curled my hand around the haft.
“How does it work?” I asked, testing the sceptre’s weight. It felt heavy, but I could carry it in just one ...
2021-05-22 20:40:53 +0000 UTC
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My breathing was too ragged to sing, so I focused on the riff. The scrambling, climbing, and falling had ripped skin from my fingertips, and blood painted the strings, but I didn’t stop playing. The intelligent species of Arena Disk supposedly liked halflings and especially hill folk. Why couldn’t the same carry over to the strange world’s beasts? Music was supposed to bring all beings together, and the trial said I needed to survive, dominate, conquer. What if I fulfilled the objective...
2021-05-22 08:07:29 +0000 UTC
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The branch manager didn’t warn me of what would happen once I passed through the doorway. I half expected to walk into a new world surrounded by, hopefully, friendly goblins. But, instead, the hole in the wall led me into empty space. At first, I stood upright on absolutely nothing, looking at the emptiness of space. The distant shapes were more than just sparkling dots. Instead, I saw spirals, helixes, clouds, and a variety of other forms. The site had terrified me at first, but now soothi...
2021-05-20 22:22:35 +0000 UTC
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The next candidate turned out to be wholly unimpressive. He barely stood taller than the goblins but looked more like a miniature human. He had a head of messy curls, pointed ears similar to the wood elf’s. All tied together with disproportionately giant, hairy feet. The specimen looked the most like me but skewed more towards handsome than ordinary.
Halfling – Hillfolk:
The inhabitants of Arena Disk either love the hill folk or like them. There is no ...
2021-05-20 14:27:35 +0000 UTC
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Stats:
Brawn: 0
Control: 1
Wit: 0
The base information made no sense to me at first. Fortunately, the screen responded to my query and expanded.
Brawn: 0
—Strength 0| Vitality 0
Control: 1
—Dexterity 0| Arcana 2
Wit: 0
—Intellect 0| Charisma 0
“Brawn, Control, and Wit are the three aspects of your being,” the branch manager said. “Each of them has two variables too. The display system is rather intuitive. ...
2021-05-20 07:27:23 +0000 UTC
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Whatever power the branch manager used to keep me silent stopped functioning as things got heated. Fortunately, he managed to keep Lucas muted and out of my hair.
“I can’t express in words how sorry I am,” the branch manager said. “If it were just our agent, this likely wouldn’t have happened. It’s no excuse, but the client got impatient and sent her herald into the mix. Believe me, they’ll both suffer penalties, but there’s nothing I can do to help you. Our budget is st...
2021-05-19 07:31:05 +0000 UTC
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Author's Notes:
As most of you know, I have quite a few prewritten stories that I'm dying to share with all of you. Initially, I was going to post Spectrum of Aether since it's mostly written but I decided to delay it since I want to tinker the story a lot more. Instead, I'm going to share with you another story based in Diskverse since I have 2+ books written(close to 200k words) for this story. Would love your thoughts on this tale as I edit and post it....
2021-05-18 15:05:08 +0000 UTC
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Two days passed without Schleb returning without his chieftain. The council couldn’t figure out what to make of their absence. They knew nothing of the Black River Bats. For all they knew, the tribe could be preparing for an attack, arranging a grand entrance for when they did show up, or the violent underwater rivers had swept Schleb away. Winona refused to take any risks and set a rotating guard around the pipeline around the clock.
Flint and the builders used the time to apply fini...
2021-05-17 17:41:04 +0000 UTC
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For the first time since the Woodson Fort’s inception, Flint called an official meeting of the council. He sent Ed off to fetch Seven and Twylip. On the other hand, Alais wasn’t hard to find. Winona stuck his head in the old puck’s office and summoned him to the [City Planning Table]. Flint hadn’t invited him to the council—Alais reused to be involved in decision making—but his insight would prove invaluable.
While waiting for the others to gather, Flint willed the sand to d...
2021-05-16 16:16:49 +0000 UTC
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Ed didn’t give Flint or Winona the time to wash up. So instead, they got dressed, relieved themselves, washed their mouths out with Twylip’s dental peppermint concoction and started their journey uphill. Initially, Flint thought it would be for the best if they maintained a professional image and didn’t make their affairs public. Then Winona took his hand, their fingers intertwined, and the thought went out of the window.
Considering how closely everyone in the fort lived, keeping...
2021-05-14 23:47:49 +0000 UTC
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Author's Notes: Apologies for the late chapter. I was reading Salvos(https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/37438/salvos-a-monster-evolution-litrpg) last night and by the time I finished editing , my internet was down. Check it out. I love the protagonist and their demon evolutions. I stayed up too late the other binging it.
Nei...
2021-05-13 18:21:34 +0000 UTC
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“You should’ve sent for me earlier!” Twylip complained, rushing to join Flint by the newly built campfire. Two stone spheres stood next to them, one on top of the other. Unfortunately, the green light coming off them didn’t help Maya. Flint sensed her pain through the empathic link, but an odd sense of pride accompanied it.
“Well, I’ve got Seven helping Maya,” Flint replied. “I’m not sure what more you can do to help them. The best I can do is comfort her empatheticall...
2021-05-10 21:37:15 +0000 UTC
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“I need support here, Mr Flint!” Ed yelled from deeper in the pipe leading uphill. He had his hands pressed to the ceiling, and Flint could see dust raining on him from the surrounding cracks. The young man’s voice shook and rose in pitch as he called. “I can’t hold this much longer.”
“You’re panicking, Ed,” Flint called. “Keep your focus and control your essence flow. I’ll be with you in a second.”
Flint cast [Animate Totem] on the seven glowing spheres at...
2021-05-09 17:49:19 +0000 UTC
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“This is amazing,” Adam said with his eyes wide after he slotted [Rune Engraving] into his [Aura Node]. Flint had rushed to meet his favourite smith as soon as he claimed the Heartstone’s gift. “The first aura softens surfaces when I apply engraving tools to them. Then it improves my speed and steadiness while I deal with runes.”
“What about the second one?” Flint asked, smiling. He liked the large, bearded smith’s expression as he stepped away from the Heartstone. It wa...
2021-05-08 00:22:54 +0000 UTC
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As Flint climbed the stairs to the [City Planning Table], he found himself missing the dogs. Not the bloodhounds so much since they wanted to be a part of the pack more than befriend him, but he wanted more time with the others. When he was still with the Iron Army, Flint would spend entire days away from Maya but always knew she was nearby waiting. Now, getting the fort running took up all of his time, and she was busy leading the pack.
One of the matrons in the orphanage had once told...
2021-05-05 22:48:44 +0000 UTC
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“I was expecting to see you earlier,” Twylip said over her shoulder.
After finishing with Adam, Flint had taken a quick stroll through the kitchens before entering her workshop. It was the least crowded of all the rooms he had visited so far. Pira sat in a far corner surrounded by textbooks. Flint guessed Twylip had brought them over from the village for her to study. The fae had a couple of healers among them, and Flint had not long refreshed the totems around the fort. ...
2021-05-04 22:12:09 +0000 UTC
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Going forward, I'll post 4 chapters a week every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
2021-05-03 07:53:19 +0000 UTC
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The essence manipulation lessons continued for several hours after sunrise. Flint didn’t try to kiss Winona again, and she didn’t initiate either. The pair lost their trains of thoughts to lingering stares several times but enforced a professional tone once the other builders stirred. She tried to teach Flint restraint so that he wouldn’t waste excessive quantities of essence on his abilities, but he didn’t make any headway. Finally, they moved on from the subject after an hour of try...
2021-04-30 23:41:32 +0000 UTC
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For the first time in two weeks, it wasn’t discomfort that woke Flint from his slumber. Instead, Winona stood over him with an eyebrow raised, gently prodding him with her boot. He scanned the shelter. Only he and the dogs were still present.
“How the hell do you sleep under a pile of dogs?” She asked. “I can feel the heat radiating off them from here.”
Flint chuckled carefully, easing himself out from under Maya. She liked sleeping across him while Bjorn had claimed his...
2021-04-29 21:23:57 +0000 UTC
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Author's Notes: A couple of patrons have offered to highlight errors in my text/proofread/suggest edits, so I can focus on writing and maintain my pace. Henceforth, I'll link the gdocs at the top of each post to make their lives easier.
Also, when I release these chapters for lower tiers. I'll swap chapter 2.01 and 2.03. This will act as the prologue for book 2.
Paper littered Alais’s new office. They covered his new stone desk, the floor under ...
2021-04-29 21:22:52 +0000 UTC
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[Defensive Construction V]
—[Builder’s Brawn V]
—[Shape+ III] > [Shape+ IV]-up
—[Reinforce IV]
—[Architecture III]
—[Bind III]
—[Totem of Nurture I] > [Totem of Nurture II]
—[...
2021-04-28 22:00:23 +0000 UTC
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Book 2
“You’ve given up on try to make the walls blend with the cliffs, haven’t you?” Twylip asked, scanning the new walls.
“Well, the fort’s existence was never a secret,” Flint replied, using [Bind] to merge the wall’s blocks with the neighbouring click walls. “According to Winona, after the last battle, all essence sensitive entities in our arc of the disk will have felt sensed our essence. It’s a worthwhile exchange, in my opinion. Listen....
2021-04-28 15:42:07 +0000 UTC
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2021-04-27 22:24:46 +0000 UTC
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It took Flint painfully long to rip himself away from the gate and find Alais. First, he went to the healer’s corner. Twylip told him she had last seen the old puck helping out with the wounded. By the time Flint got there, Alais had already moved on. Flint spotted an unconscious Ed with bandages around his torso, but the dryad assured him Ed wasn’t in any danger. They directed him to the tanner. Once there, Flint discovered the tanner had suffered a grievous injury, and his apprentice wa...
2021-04-27 22:15:00 +0000 UTC
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The Iron Army’s barracks demanded conformity. The sergeants didn’t allow personal decorations of any type. Everything needed to be tidy and perfect for inspection. Anyone that didn’t follow the rules received reprimands and ended up with the worst duties. Flint survived by sleeping outside and only visiting the barracks to dust his chest and beds. He preferred sleeping outside with Maya and any strays he befriended.
Meanwhile, the Woodson guards had made their barracks their own. ...
2021-04-27 22:10:05 +0000 UTC
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