Despite the sanctions against the Seven Snakes’ shopping arcade, it had been holding up well for more than a month since its inception. Already, it had become a mainstay for local residents both from within the district as well as beyond to visit.
The light-thrower shows brought countless visitors from other Sectors to watch the films, while the free bathhouse accommodated the poorer people, improving their livelihood.
With the growing business of the shopping arcade, more and m...
2023-04-27 15:20:01 +0000 UTC
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Kyle deftly sidestepped the incoming punch before ducking as a sword swung horizontally over his head. With a quick counter swing of his hammer, he fractured the ribs of the first thug before swivelling around him and kicking him in the back, sending the first thug crashing into the other.
Three swings and an arrow came in straight at him, forcing Kyle to hop backwards, his speed faster than the average fighter, thanks to his increased DEX. The leader did not look surprised, simply orde...
2023-04-26 13:58:59 +0000 UTC
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Reese whistled to himself as he slid his hand over the varnished table, glistening with a smooth glossy surface. He grinned to himself as he look around the posh office, complete with an overview of the streets outside through transparent glass walls.
Ever since he established the Sliver Snake Productions company with Kyle, his lifestyle has only been on the up and up. His invention of the light capturer and the light thrower was the turning point for all of this to happen.
His li...
2023-04-26 13:56:42 +0000 UTC
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A week later…
“Why hasn’t the shopping arcade been taken over yet! They should be bankrupt by now!” The chairman tapped the table with his fingernails rasping against the hardwood.
A wave of murmurs spread through the table, where more than two dozen business owners sat. “I say it’s due to us letting incompetent twats into the prestigious South Sector Business Owner Union of Raktor. Unable to even enforce a simple sanction against an uppity upstart, pah!” An...
2023-04-25 14:14:58 +0000 UTC
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“Berth 9, wagon arrived ten in the morning. Attacked by small-time thugs, with light damage to its exterior. The driver says that a restaurant was doing roadworks that blocked half of the road. They are really pulling out all the stops this time.” Monica spoke quickly as she walked with Kyle and Keith through the basement, where the main logistics for the shopping arcade were handled.
The basement was filled with wagons unloading food and ingredients, as well as arcite ore from the ...
2023-04-25 14:14:35 +0000 UTC
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Leyton breathed slowly as he lay flat under a shrub, the dense foilage masking his presence save for a small little opening through which his eyes peered outwards, overlooking a sandy road long weathered by wagon wheels.
He gripped the arctech radio tightly, checking the volume dial on it. Setting it too loud might spook anyone nearby, and he couldn’t talk loudly either. His left hand remained on a military-grade repeater carbine next to him as he continued observing any movements.
2023-04-24 12:21:43 +0000 UTC
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“By Yual, you actually did it!” Reese celebrated as he and Gordon watched Kyle demonstrate the Mechanical Arcia Regenerator.
“But the efficiency is extremely low – how are we going to find such a large source of mechanical energy in the city?” Gordon pondered.
“Perhaps we could build a waterwheel on the main river that runs through the city?”
“No way – the Ardent Cretins will never allow us to move that blatantly if they could. Also, we would have to submit...
2023-04-24 12:20:43 +0000 UTC
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Three days later…
Sebastian sipped on a cup of tea at a luxurious restaurant in the Central Sector. As he placed the cup down, he could already hear slightly agitated footsteps approaching him from behind.
“The great leader of the Seven Snakes, this agitated. You should be happier – your opening day for the shopping arcade went extremely well, save for the slight delay.” Sebastian spoke without turning around.
“A delay you engineered.”
“An accusa...
2023-04-23 13:21:12 +0000 UTC
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The opening day of the shopping arcade was in full swing, with hundreds of visitors flocking towards the shopping malls.
Kyle watched the entire affair from the top floor office’s balcony, overlooking the front lobby of the shopping arcade, a mere five storeys above. Keith was already giddy with excitement, watching the visitors browse the various stalls. “This is it, I can smell the money!” Keith laughed.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself - we need to make sure the first lig...
2023-04-23 12:57:08 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: Arc 3 focused on construction, media and politics. Kyle will also make a trip to Versia to find out the source of the exosuit spine - but first he must consolidate his power and position in Raktor.
One month later…
Baron Cain shifted his gaze uneasily as he adjusted his necktie and collar, glancing around the ballroom nervously. It was slightly packed, with many noble families laughing and eating happily, mingling with each other...
2023-04-22 15:27:49 +0000 UTC
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“It is Nona, our goddess, who have shaped the earth as it is. Who has laid out every food, animal, monster and plant for our needs. And the Word of the Goddess states – ‘I have created everything on this planet for the enjoyment of the human race. Who dares claim that humans shall not consume what I have created’.”
“YEA, YEA!” The throng of people gathered on the streets, cheering a person standing onto of an arctech wagon that slowly chugged forward, forming a parade.
...
2023-04-22 15:27:21 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: Chapter 45 has been revised - Kyle does not kill Reese any longer. The organisation that put out the kidnapping contract is a completely different entity. Kyle and Sasha 'kinda' used Reese as bait, but the client killed himself. Only the last part of the chapter changed the most.
If you see any mention of Reese being dead in this chapter, please point it out. He is well and alive and is the cofounder of the new film company. ...
2023-04-21 15:45:28 +0000 UTC
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“So I just have to stand here?” A little girl with pigtails glanced around the room, while a large arctech device was aimed right at her, four black lenses staring her down.
If she did not know any better, she would have assumed it was a monster of sorts, but she had complete faith in the man behind the machine, who was currently modifying its innards with a hot pointed iron serving as an etcher, changing some of the arctech engravings on the fly.
“Yes, dear, just stay right...
2023-04-21 10:32:09 +0000 UTC
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Bishop Vernette frowned as she read through the reports over the last few days.
While the raid on the Ilysian Punks had been going on, someone had been disseminating cheap repeater handguns much like the one sold in the auction, prompting countless small-time criminals to buy them.
Baron Cain could not control the flow of handguns, leading to an increased crime rate across the South Sector, with thugs now using the handguns to threaten and raid shops and businesses. The gun situat...
2023-04-20 12:59:31 +0000 UTC
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Kyle grabbed the head of yet another Ilysian Punk and punched it hard, his fist cratering the punk’s face in. While he had managed to clear out the Ilysian Punks from the Seven Snakes district, he was slightly surprised as to how easy the counterattack was on the following day after the initial assault.
Damian too was slightly wary, afraid of an imminent counterattack. However, the Ilysian punks entire top hierarchy seemed to have crumbled in an instant. “Do you think it was the inq...
2023-04-20 12:57:22 +0000 UTC
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Makoa gasped for air as he crawled on the floor, the broken pieces of his metal gauntlet stabbing into his arms. A hand grabbed his head and lifted him up, causing him to grunt in pain.
Kyle bent over and touched the belt of Makoa from behind.
“Where did you get the energy shield from?” Kyle asked, lifting Makoa up by the neck with one hand alone, hoisting him over the ...
2023-04-19 12:12:06 +0000 UTC
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Eric Dicar winced as he plugged his ears with his finger, the screeching sound of the mortar tubes and the deafening thuds nearly blasting his eardrums apart. “I didn’t sign up to be an artillery crew!”
Gordon wiped the sweat off his brow as he and two other associates lugged a custom-made metal spherical ball and loaded it into the base of the mortar before closing the hatch. “CLEAR!” Gordon yelled before he pressed the trigger.
The ten arcite fuel packs stacked in a ha...
2023-04-19 12:10:01 +0000 UTC
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“So, you’re the Seven Snakes’ dedicated brewer?”
“And you’re the new arctech designer. How did Kyle enslave you?”
Gordon had a confused expression on his face. “Enslave? He helped install me as the factory manager.” Gordon was working on a large arctech radio, a modification ordered by Kyle. He wondered as to why did he need the radio that large. Is he planning to run his own radio station or something? With this power, the radio can reach the entire city.
2023-04-18 13:37:32 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: Feel free to point out any errors or mistakes via comments or discord, will try to fix as soon as I have a free day to edit.
Keith woke up groggily, noticing he still had bandages all over his body as he lay on a white bed. He gingerly touched his face as he struggled to sit upright, feeling the new skin that was most likely the result of the Health Potion or Kyle’s Necklace of Healing.
The door suddenly swung open, revealing Damian carrying a bucke...
2023-04-18 13:36:07 +0000 UTC
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All the inquisitors could see in the morning was a smoldering wreck of a wagon, crashed into a building. No bodies could be found, and if there were, they were all burnt to a crisp, apparently dying after the wagon’s arctech engine caught on fire.
“The Seven Snakes are definitely not playing around…” Mason remarked as he inspected the scene, which was now cordoned off by the enforcers. The fight was more than a few hours ago, with the enforcers finally responding to reports of l...
2023-04-17 13:09:00 +0000 UTC
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The arena devolved into a frenzy, the audience thinking that the ensuing fight was part of the show. The fence surrounding the ring shook violently, the crowd cheering on the Ilysian Punk Guards and Sasha. Everyone was here to see blood.
Sasha deftly avoided the first lunge, parrying with her arm and twisting her body to deliver an elbow strike right into the first Punk’s head. An arctech aura burst out from her right hand, increasing the force of the strike and snapping his neck inst...
2023-04-17 13:07:57 +0000 UTC
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Gordon inspected the new prototype barrel that came out from the factory floor, checking the engravings. “It’s a bit rough around the edges, so the efficiency isn’t extremely high. Maybe if we modified the engraving to be more spaced out, that would result in less interference between the traces…”
He quickly stepped over the mess of books left open on the carpeted floor of his office, trying to find a related text, but not before passing the barrel over to Kyle, who inspected ...
2023-04-16 10:19:42 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: I might redo some of the advanced chapters to make the worldbuilding a bit cleaner, since I'm writing it on the spot. Will update with a changelog if I do so.
Five days later, at the Lusty Arcian…
“What? We’re expanding the brothel again?” Slavin was shocked, with Keith presenting the numbers to him.
“We have more than enough funds now to purchase a few more floors. We’ll do it slowly, but the end goal is an entire...
2023-04-16 10:18:53 +0000 UTC
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Kyle did not expect to be treated this well by the enforcers when he came in to report about finding a crate of military equipment. He also did not expect to have an impromptu meeting with the inquisitors, who wanted to talk with him right after.
The three of them were now sat in a lobby area, with Mason and Kitana both smiling at Kyle. “Only a good citizen of Yual such as you would have the heart to return such an important good. The enforcer department will confer onto you a medal o...
2023-04-15 12:06:01 +0000 UTC
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What the fuck is an exosuit spine doing here? Kyle Hawthorn was stunned, but he quickly controlled his expression, aware that Master Xen was watching him. He twisted his facial expression to one of disappointment, sighing audibly.
“Sir Hawthorn, is there a problem with the items?” Master Xen asked gently.
“No, there’s no problem. It just was not what I expected at all.” Kyle took a deep breath, calmed himself and sat back down.
The rest of the auction flew...
2023-04-15 10:18:01 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: Managed to push for three chapters today, hype.
The Central Sector was not free of crime, though its crime was of a higher class. Rather than petty protection rackets and inane extortion, it was here where most of the money laundering, trafficking and high-value deals were made between corrupt barons, enforcers and entrepreneurial gangs.
In a hidden alleyway away from the grand open streets, two bouncers dressed in suits were dutifully scanning the in...
2023-04-14 16:22:46 +0000 UTC
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The factory churned with a never-ending rumbling sound. Soot and fumes blanketed the entire factory floor, with large arctech furnaces melting metal, slag drifting on molten rivers. Assembly lines formed as dirt-covered workers moved their hands through the same mundane motions, twisting and screwing appliances before them.
On an upper floor, there were offices filled with arctech designers, working hard on improving engravings incrementally through every iteration. The manager at the h...
2023-04-14 10:04:18 +0000 UTC
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“The Red Lions took our shipment?” A burly, tanned man covered in tattoos grunted, staring down from his chair at the man kneeling in front of him, who was bruised and bleeding. “Captain, this is not an easy conclusion to make. Are you absolutely sure?”
“I-i-uhh, no, but all of the enforcers on our payroll are talking about us smuggling guns. I think the Red Lions leaked the information out to them so as to draw more heat to us.”
“It’s impossible for anyone to know...
2023-04-14 10:03:54 +0000 UTC
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Word on the street was all about how the enforcers were protecting the factories quite frequently. Even the Ardent Cretins seemed to be protecting their factories for some unknown reason. Rumour was that the enforcers finally had enough of hijackings and were actually doing something serious about it.
Niko was not planning on hitting those factories, but rather the factory that he used to work at. He knew it inside out with Karl – all they made was some processed metal, minerals and m...
2023-04-13 07:55:18 +0000 UTC
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The return of Kyle to the Seven Snakes was hushed and kept on the down low, with no fanfare. Kyle did not want to tip off any of the observers, be it the enforcers or other gangs like the Ardent Cretins.
He had left Sasha and the company workers behind in the goblin den to serve as the logistics and defenders, while the five remaining loyal companies continued to work as planned. Some of the workers definitely skimmed some of the Euria Seeds, but Kyle did not care as long as they did no...
2023-04-13 07:53:31 +0000 UTC
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