<---Chapter 1 - Birth of A New Crime Lord | Table of Contents | Chapter 2 - Seven Snakes--->
Alvin was never one for fighting. Hell, he hated the thought of getting his nose broken or even having his fingernail cracked. Even wooden spli...
2024-03-31 15:46:35 +0000 UTC View PostThe polished rim of a wine glass sparkled under the chandelier’s brilliant lighting before being raised to meet the well-manicured lips of a handsome man, his gloves and suit immaculate for all to see. The alcoholic liquid flowed smoothly, the white transparent bubbles soothing to anyone witnessing.
Yet the impressive display was instantly shattered by a large burly man beside him, his suit equally perfect in every way save for the burly man’s demeanor. “Sebastian, this tie is too...
2023-10-24 14:53:36 +0000 UTC View PostTwo weeks later…
The new base in the now-cleared cavern was far different than what anybody could envision. With the carcass of the rock worm towering over them, it served as a humble reminder of just how dangerous the dungeon could be. Any naïve ADCON soldier or scout who was about to venture past the gates would be greeted with a wide open worm maw, its rows of sharp metal teeth glistening for all to see.
Despite the intimidation, the base was shaping up to be a prop...
2023-10-24 13:09:44 +0000 UTC View PostMG404: [System Message | Trial of Persistence | The prince lies in wait. | Clear Conditions: Break.]
The trial cavern had not seen peace in months ever since Kyle began to mine it for arcia crystals, ADCON squads continuously entering and escaping before the waves got too numerous and overwhelming.
Yet this time was different – more than five hundred ADCON soldiers rappelled down the cavern's opening, along with mineral ants carrying heavy defensive barriers to serve as...
2023-10-24 09:52:48 +0000 UTC View PostTwo weeks later…
The clearing where the engineer had melted was now a bustling hub of activity, with armoured personnel swarming the area, sweeping the nearby lifeforms and decimating them enmasse, all in preparation for additional exploration. The cavern was not large enough to truly establish a forward operating base, so Kyle saw fit to make it more of a post of sort.
Sasha and Yona oversaw the logistics and construction of the exploration post, though they remained c...
2023-10-21 15:56:40 +0000 UTC View PostSparks glittered through the backlit cavern, the sharp glistening armor scales of the monster’s front legs scraping across Mari’s blocking arm, the force from the friction throwing her off balance and rolling onto the ground.
Before the monster could follow up, a stream of pellets fired by the scouts blanketed its head, causing it to shrill once more, shielding its face with its legs that seemed to double up as an arm as well when necessary.
The pellets were too weak, unable t...
2023-10-20 12:41:49 +0000 UTC View PostThree days later…
A cold panic struck through Ollie’s heart, his left leg buckling as he began to fall. The cavern’s ceiling oscillated before his eyes, and was about to disappear when a metallic glove grabbed his arm with a firm grip, hauling him up in one single fluid motion.
Ollie panted, each breath heating up the helmet as he stared down the crevice that he had just nearly fallen through, loose pebbles and gravel tumbling with little clicks down into the unknow...
2023-10-19 13:35:09 +0000 UTC View PostMari could feel her breath brush against her cheeks, trapped within the gas mask as it fogged up the visor she wore, her vision cloudy.
Before she could instinctively reach up to clear her visor, a stern hand grabbed her arm tightly. “Not until the tent is cleared,” Kyle warned.
“I can’t see a single thing in this gas mask; it’s not the right fit.”
“I didn’t bring you in here to use your normal vision.” Kyle motioned to the cocoon. “Focus on the flow, and...
2023-10-18 13:32:05 +0000 UTC View PostWith the issue of rationing now making good progress, Kyle focused on other matters, most importantly, the mapping of the dungeon. The earlier mapping was done via the mineral ant network, but the scouts did not get very far.
“Our preliminary scouts have all pointed to large caverns beneath the tunnel networks. Their true size and scale are not known.” Nox pointed on a two-dimensional area map, laid out in a central operations room. The map had been generated based on the lightcaptu...
2023-10-17 13:17:07 +0000 UTC View PostA nervous company presenter in a suit shifted his tie slightly, as beads of sweats formed in the creases of his chubby neck, coating it in a thin film. His eyes glanced around the conference hall, meeting Kyle’s for a moment before he gulped instinctively, quickly averting his gaze.
Unexpectedly, Kyle gave a curt smile, a patronizing one at best. The presenter was slightly taken aback by the smile, the reputation of the ADCON’s boss terrorizing his wild imaginations of how he would ...
2023-10-16 13:38:49 +0000 UTC View PostSo far I've been reorganizing how Book 2 is written and I need feedback to determine it's viability.
The main complaint i aimed to target was the overemphasis of politics, and the 'shift' away from what seemed to be a criminal black market angle.
I also aim to personalize the threat by the industrialist, by making Harrison much more prominent. He was in the sense, the final boss of the Versia arc, but he did not get enough screentime to build him like how Sebastian was introdu...
Dekar held the manager at gunpoint, the manager now tied up and cuffed in similar fashion to the slave workers he once oversaw. “Check the schedule, we need to make sure no word of this leaks out.”
Kyle didn’t reply, already checking the documentation and upcoming planned shipment and transport dates. Five captured Nest guards laid on the side unconscious, while Kyle flipped through account books and dates.
“You won’t survive the moment Nest comes in to check!” The man...
2023-09-05 19:50:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Sir Tian, the higher-ups informed me you’ll only be here five days later.” A stern man checked a printed calendar on the wall, tapping his leather sole with a rasping sound on the stone floor. All around him, the reverberation of furnaces and workshop machines ran through the walls of the catacombs, the factory taking over a former burial chamber, expanded to allow for manufacturing operations.
Sir Tian was unintimidated, lighting a matchstick over his Euria Seed pipe and inhalin...
2023-09-03 11:23:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe hollers and chants of the protestors continued to echo through the tight alleyways as Dekar and Kyle moved quickly. Kyle himself was a bit surprised at the strength of the revolt. He had done his research before coming on the general political stability of the country, noting that the government had much goodwill. For this many people to come out in force against the state, the industrialists must have been planning this for ages.
As they snuck their way back to the catacom...
2023-09-03 11:19:10 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: Brand new chapter that is meant to replace the execution of Dekar's friend, the charity owner who safeguarded the bribe.
At the dusty corner of a small alleyway between buildings, a manhole slowly lifted, shifting aside with a soft scratching sound as the black pig iron surface grazed against the cobblestone of the ground. The top of what seemed like a swamp monster peeked out, a pair of human eyes scanning the area.
“Clear.”
Two clearly...
2023-09-03 11:18:43 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note: The entire sequence in which the fall of Minister Dekar was executed in was a bit too fast in hindsight, and it felt as though Kyle was losing heavily. In this re-edit, Kyle is shown to have even more doubts about Minister Dekar's ability to uphold the deal, but yet he thinks further ahead and plans to exploit the ensuing turmoil, for it is through chaos in which a crime lord like him will thrive.
The re-edit of subsequent chapters aim to leng...
2023-09-03 00:39:59 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: In the new 're-edit' of Book 2, I felt that Ocra was such a pinnacle point in the war, that it warrant further description and explanation. I also made the journey slightly more tense, in the sense that Kyle would require to clear more checkpoints due to the deteriorating relations between Raktor and Versia. This would spark a lot of nationalistic sentiments, and I hope to foreshadow future war events including the siege of ocra, and give the Versian military more leewa...
2023-09-02 13:50:52 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: An interim BRAND NEW chapter right after Count Leon sent a message to the Ardent Cretins to attack the Seven Snakes' weapons factory. This chapter aims to explain why the attack never happened, and the state of the war preparations and Count Leon's circumstances before entering into battle. It also hints at the Duke's insistence of not having war, as well as their feudal contract with each other.
“No.”
Sebastian was amused at the man’s respon...
2023-09-01 04:53:54 +0000 UTC View PostAll updated Chapters for the newly edited Book 1 is out on ScribbleHub now.
Chapters 1 - 60 has been revamped.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/699373/a-black-market-litrpg/
Here is the full changelog, though I highly suggest that it is worth a re-read. NOTE: Reading the changelog constitute as a slight spoiler.
Changelog BlackMarket V2.0.1
Chapt...
2023-08-31 08:14:16 +0000 UTC View PostLast chapter updated was about a few days ago, so you guys deserve an update.
I've been working hard on developmentally editing book 1. Those on discord would have already seen the changelog, and you would have also seen the additional chapter 16.5 added to smooth the story in book 1.
Book 1 manuscript was submitted to the publishers on 26th August 2023, which is from Chapter 1 to Chapter 60. These chapters will be uploaded onto ScribbleHub over time, slowly replacing the old vers...
2023-08-30 19:47:50 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: For the last few days I've been streamlining book 1 of blackmarket for submission to a few publishers, deadline being 25th August 2023. I found the pacing of the first arc to be fine, but between arcs there's a bit of a hop and skip as I was writing it during the April Writeathon, which means plot ideas were not executed with better pacing.
This chapter is meant to serve as a connecting chapter between chapter 15 where Kyle meets Sebastian and Chapter 17 whe...
The rolling acres of planted Poair Trees stretched as far as the eye could see to the horizon, the undulating hills filled to the brim with workers tending and harvesting leaves. Kyle leaned against his velvet armrest while the wagon rattled slightly.
Kyle noticed that the refugees that had previously flocked to Desham had been fully integrated into the economy, with thousands of menial jobs created. The wagon drove past clusters of workers stripping the trees clean and preparing their ...
2023-08-18 15:42:23 +0000 UTC View PostRaiding the Keru Forest Dungeon was not going to be easy. Kyle was already well aware of the perils and dangers lurking within, especially now that he has ascertained that it was a Galactic Era ruin.
While much of what remained was derelict and no longer functioning, he did not automatically assume that everything was defunct. On the off chance that the power supplies and traps were still functioning, Kyle had to keep an open mind for any form of ambush, attack or enemy.
It wouldn...
2023-08-16 14:55:55 +0000 UTC View PostReminder: Two weeks left to ask for a full refund. I will refund you if you ask for a refund by 31st August, no questions asked.
What's happening currently
It is now 15th August, which means chapters will begin to release today on schedule. You can expect minimum daily chapter/s starting from today.
The last week has seen a lot of flux and changes due to well everything that's been happening.
I am s...
If you have yet to read any post, please start from 'Explanation of Ban on Royal Road' first. The tag 'Notice' is used.
BlackMarket will still continue. Free chapters will be posted on ScribbleHub as well as here.
Patreon will still endeavour to deliver two chapters a day where possible. I know I have not been keeping up with the schedule, and I'm extremely sorry because of how much i underestimated what my full-time job will contain.
<...
If you're reading this, please read the previous post in Notices first.
I joined RoyalRoad on 11th of July 2022.
I uploaded my first fiction on 30th of December 2022 - Ceres Chaos.
I performed upwards of 42 review swaps for Ceres Chaos: something I thought necessary to get my fiction name out there and make author friends.
I did not get onto Rising Stars for the first month (January 2023), engagement was low and glacial. 80% because the fiction ...
Hello. You may have seen my explanation on Discord, but I thought it would be best to have a standalone series of posts explaining the entire situation.
My name is M.G. Driver. I write A Black Market LitRPG. I have been (currently) permanently banned from RoyalRoad due to alleged site-wide manipulation of ratings and reviews. This is due to my association as a moderator for a discord where this was happening, the name of which is called 'Secret Mafia'.
The age of this 'author gro...
Two weeks later…
“Another mission?” Mari grumbled to herself as she strapped her boots in, gearing up to leave the palace. She used to enjoy her chances to leave the Culdao Peaks, but she was now weary of the repetitive nature.
It was always hovercraft here, drop, kill a few Violet Demons or Veiled Angels, and back off. Mari felt an adrenaline rush the first three times. Afterwards? She was as jaded as any other veteran, just going through the motions.
The ene...
2023-08-05 18:14:12 +0000 UTC View PostJust like that, town after town in the Cordian Plains was slowly eroded, black market traders and peddlers spreading the new drugs to every market they could get their hands on. Drug wars and violence erupted everywhere as the nascent industry began to fight over control of the new supply. Gang control shifted day in and day out, and even the major gangs began to find it hard to retain control.
The Violet Demons’ lower rungs began to fracture significantly, with the high income promis...
2023-08-04 20:11:08 +0000 UTC View PostTwo weeks later…
The truce between the Duke and Versia was a welcome respite. With the fighting ending, soldiers from the frontlines were pouring back into the region, returning home in the hopes of rest and finding peace.
Yet instead, many soldiers found themselves destitute – with no economic prospect in the war-torn Raktor. Thousands fled to the South and East in the search of a better life, but those with families or relationships tying them down to the area, they...
2023-08-04 20:02:35 +0000 UTC View Post