The Creeping Death wasted no time in sending out an opening shot. He cast a few balls of water at the enemy army, they flew comparatively slowly, up and out, each about six feet in diameter. That wasn't small by any means, but it wasn't enough to drown an enemy armor. He expected more from an [Archmage's] opening salvo, and he was a bit surprised that an [Archmage of the Creeping Death] would use water magic.
Brin wasn't naive enough to assume that the balls of water was all there was ...
2025-08-07 19:53:31 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for the delay, it took me longer to shake this thing off than I expected. Next chapter will be Thursday, and then I'll aim for another on Saturday.
##
The fall of night affected Brin's Lance just as strongly as the rest of the army, and their newly donned armor started to squeeze them as their bodies began to swell again. He saw it hit a breaking point in Hedrek who ballooned until the cysts began to burst and trickles of yellow fluid came through the gaps in his armor.
<...
2025-08-05 16:54:49 +0000 UTC
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I'm feeling a bit better now. Next chapter will likely be Saturday.
##
The first real battle in the Great War of Arcaena was underway, and though it wasn’t a battle of swords and spears, it was no less deadly.
Only desolation could be seen no matter where Brin’s invisible eyes looked. The commanders ordered a return to camp, and those that could comply did so, but many soldiers collapsed where they’d been standing for the joint exercises. Neither the camps nor ...
2025-08-01 00:44:29 +0000 UTC
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Sorry, I came down with a very bad flu and I won't be able to post today. I might still do 2 chapters this week, depending on how long this bug sticks around. Pretty ironic that this is the chapter I'm too sick to write, tbh. At least I'll have a lot of very recent first hand experience when I feel up to finishing this.
2025-07-30 16:10:45 +0000 UTC
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The trumpets sounded the wake up call, and Brin started his count, a soft tapping once per second, audible only to the members of his Lance. Normally, this would be a time that everyone donned their armor before leaving the tents, but he’d heard they got points for doing maintenance on their armor out in the open, so of course that’s what they’d be doing.
After exactly fifteen seconds, they left their tents and lined up, each carrying their armor. Normally, the under-armor clothes...
2025-07-25 22:33:17 +0000 UTC
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“First, you get used to moving with the armor, and then you learn to move against it. I could explain what I mean by that, or you could learn by doing. And since I'm not much of a talker, we're going to do the second thing. Lateral jumping drills. Go,” said sir Crost.
The Lance was pretty used to this particular drill; it was just jumping sideways left and right. Simple, but important. With the forces and speeds they worked at, one of the biggest dangers was trying to change directi...
2025-07-23 21:21:17 +0000 UTC
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The Lance was much more receptive to the idea of training to win the joint exercises than he'd expected, though maybe shouldn't have been surprised. That little competition was the first time where his Lance had actually been seen to be good at something, and that had been the moment where they had shifted from being the loser Lance to the promising up-and-comers.
Even now, they couldn't claim to be as good in a fight as the more experienced Lances. After all, there was little ...
2025-07-18 16:41:57 +0000 UTC
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I'm out of town and the internet is extremely spotty. Not sure if I'll be able to post next chapter on time, could be Saturday at the latest. Or who knows, it might be on time!
###
“Why? Do you have a new Skill you want to practice with?” Brin asked.
“Something like that,” said Hedrek, looking to the side.
“I bet everyone got some good Achievements for our work in Canibri,” Brin prodded. “I know I did.”
“Do you want to duel or not?”
“F...
2025-07-15 23:46:55 +0000 UTC
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The next day, Brin’s Lance wasn’t called to the front, which meant that they had free time. It was a strange concept to Brin and he thought it must be some kind of trick, but Cid assured him it wasn’t before running off to his leadership meeting. “This is what being a knight-at-arms is supposed to be like.”
The rest of the Lance went their separate ways, too, though most of them would go to the sparring grounds to train. Brin wanted to do that, too, but first he needed to figu...
2025-07-10 17:30:49 +0000 UTC
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Books 2 and 3 are on sale today, so I decided to post a little early. Next chapter will be Thursday, and then we'll probably go back to the normal posting schedule next week (Wednesday and Friday)
###
Two hours before dawn, Govannon shook Brin awake with orders to report to the front. He quickly stood and dressed and when he remembered the state of his old armor, hoped that this would be one of the last times that he would need to wear it to combat. There were several holes...
2025-07-08 17:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Bog is back! Billing will resume on the 10th, but there's no reason I can't jump in a little early.
The vacation was fantastic. I got some time to clear my head, do some planning, and I have a few chapters written ahead so that I won't fall behind when I go on any more trips this summer.
Now I'm feeling good and refreshed and ready to get into this Arcaena War.
##
Brin took a bite of the creamy stew and all his worries melted away. Spicy enough to wake him up and get ...
2025-07-07 17:15:24 +0000 UTC
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Status sheet chapter. And now I'm on break :)
###
Information
Name: Brin isu Yambul
Age: 14
Race: Human
Class: Delusionist
Level: 42
Attributes
Strength: 254
Dexterity: 178
Vitality: 211
Magic: 231
Mental Control: 291
Will: 159
Unassigned points: 9
General Skill points: 2
Titles
Survivor of Travin's Bog
You surviv...
2025-06-09 15:23:08 +0000 UTC
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I'll get a stat sheet out sometime this weekend.
###
Meaty's smithy was another tent, though this was a very nice one. Value Sense warned Brin that it was expensive, and [Inspect] told him it was waterproof, fireproof, enchanted for temperature control and warded against sound. Meaty could work comfortably in there without being bothered by the random noises of camp, though Brin wondered if he really needed some of the enchantments. Someone as high-leveled as the [Snow-Blessed A...
2025-06-08 01:35:21 +0000 UTC
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Today's chapter is looking like it'll be pretty late, possibly as late as tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The plan after that is to go on break. I'll wait until Monday and then pause the Patreon, so no one will be paying for time that I'm not posting.
2025-06-06 15:39:55 +0000 UTC
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I think I'll make a few adjustments to the Class Selection chapter. Mostly, a few people pointed out how Confusionist looks too similar to an adherent of Confucianism and now I can't unsee it. He'll probably end up calling it [Wyrdic Illusionist] on his status screen. (Oh, and I'm also going to do a status screen before I go on break).
###
The first thing Brin did, before even opening his eyes, was create a conscious thread. He gave it the smallest amount of time possible, just ...
2025-06-04 17:25:02 +0000 UTC
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The guy floating in the air was a Mirror Image, of course. Even if Brin did somehow manage to crack flight by picking himself up with his own glass, there's no way that he'd be stupid enough to do it here. Floating above an enemy army just made you into a target in a place with no cover.
No, that was fake. He was a bit disappointed that the first image of an invincible demigod floating in the air wasn't quite the true story, but this was a [Illusionist] Class after all. Deception was pa...
2025-05-30 21:34:42 +0000 UTC
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Brin fought amidst a tremendous army. It didn’t occur to him right away to think about where he was or how long he’d be fighting. He was here, on the fields of war. The ground was blackened and covered in ash, an eerie red light shone through the clouds in the sky.
As for how long he’d been fighting? It was hard to count minutes in the heat of battle, but he was certain it was a very long time indeed.
His opponent lashed out with a three-tailed whip, scoring a new cut along ...
2025-05-28 17:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Brin stood on the front line of a tremendous army. All across the river separating Prinnash from Arcaena, the best and the boldest fighters of three nations stood in ranks, ready for the assault. Tens of thousands of armored men, plucked from the commoners, stood ready with a wide diversity of weapons. They stood in good discipline. Eyes forward, expressions stern, they didn't shift weight from foot to foot or chat among their peers. Behind them were the siege engines. Great towers, catapults...
2025-05-24 03:20:16 +0000 UTC
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Brych was looking forward to seeing Talra again. Not that there was anything special about the small town that made it worth seeing. They’d slept in a dozen better inns and gambled in a dozen better taverns since then, but Talra was the first. It was the first place he’d ever gone as a knight-at-arms. And now it would be the second place he went as an actual [Knight].
He was a [Watchful Knight], actually, although the new perception Skills felt sort of redundant with Brin in the Lan...
2025-05-22 19:58:05 +0000 UTC
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Brin woke up some time later, as he often did. He had a splitting headache and was totally naked except for a bandage on his head. But he was warm and safe in a bed with clean sheets in a private room. That was enough for now.
Oddly, the bandage didn't seem to be for the wound the [Paragon] had given him; that had totally healed. There was a tender patch of skin and when he touched it, it exploded with bright pain, like someone had set off a flare inside his head. Was that a hole? Had t...
2025-05-21 17:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Hello there!
We're getting close to the end of Book 4, so I thought I'd jump in and give you a little update. In a way, it's such a weird feeling to be here. This book really just jumped out of me and it was a real pleasure to write. Brin is finally coming into himself and I got to write a few chapters where he's letting loose and using his power, rather than only training and preparing. I initially planned on writing the War with Arcaena as part 3 of this book, but about halfway throug...
2025-05-21 16:38:35 +0000 UTC
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Brin didn't think he'd be able to get to Cid in time to help anything on his own; he needed a horse. An Invisible Eye found the nearest one, tied up only a block away, so he dashed towards it. That made him think of the Lances horses, or those that were left of them. He could use the lance that was tied to Meredydd's Generosity. Could he get the horse to run over here? Maybe. Well, no, it would be tied up. He created a conscious thread to see if it could solve the problem, and then focused on...
2025-05-16 17:01:24 +0000 UTC
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I'm hoping to finish book 4 this week. Let's see how the next couple days go.
####
The goblin [Chieftains] wrestled and screamed at their troops, urging them to turn around and fight, but it wouldn't happen right away. Goblins were not professional soldiers; they couldn't be ordered around with words. When they fought, they fought like demons, but they had to be worked up into a frenzy first, and that took time.
Brin would take advantage of all the time he could get. First, ...
2025-05-15 00:28:22 +0000 UTC
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He and the [Bard] girl Seren galloped across the city streets towards the place where the Lance was fighting. They were holding on for now, but he needed to give them some breathing room so that they could take a moment and let Cid make a plan. He wanted these potions to give them victory, not just create a momentary advantage.
He ignored the six goblins that were sneaking their way towards the center of town. There was a limit to the amount of trouble six goblins could get up to in a c...
2025-05-09 18:39:22 +0000 UTC
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The first potion [Inspected] as a regular Mana potion, but had a custom message as well.
Mana Potion
Drink when Mana is completely drained for best effect.
Value Sense told him that it was something more valuable than a regular Mana potion, but he wouldn’t know what exactly it did until he drank it. At least he knew he wouldn’t need to be stingy with Mana.
It was the least valuable of the three according to his Skill. The next was ...
2025-05-07 17:00:11 +0000 UTC
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Brin stared at the projection from his Invisible Eye in dismay. Everyone had heard the explosion, everyone could see the smoke, but only he could see the screen so only he could see how screwed they were.
Meanwhile, the soldiers in Lord Prima’s colors were still ferrying away the assassin. They moved through the tunnels at a startlingly quick pace. Every second made catching up even more impossible.
He numbly reported what he saw to Cid, sending his voice across the city through...
2025-05-02 19:44:59 +0000 UTC
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Brin didn’t know what the goblins’ plan was. There wasn’t a gate near the section of wall that the goblins approached, so there wasn't an obvious point for them to make their assault. He could only assume they planned to either climb up the walls or knock them down. Actually, he hoped they really were just dumb animals and they didn't have a plan at all, but he doubted he was that lucky.
The few soldiers left outside their barracks and the members of the watch congregated on that ...
2025-04-30 18:04:11 +0000 UTC
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Returning to their inn for the night was more complicated than it should've been with the assassin still on the loose. Brin suggested that they go back and camp out in a vacant building again, but Cid couldn't bear the way that would look. How could they inspire a town to defend against an army of goblins when they weren't even brave enough to walk around out in the open?
They went back to the inn where they'd first left their horses, and now it was packed with people. Most were talking...
2025-04-25 17:01:14 +0000 UTC
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"I predict that any moment now, an army of goblins will appear from the south, having been hidden by illusions until now. Their goal will be to push the people of Canibri out of their town, north to follow the original evacuation," said Cid.
Brin had been following the logic until now, but this part didn't feel right. "I've been flying my Invisible Eyes around there for more than a day now. I'm not perfect when it comes to seeing through invisibility, but I doubt they'd be able to hide ...
2025-04-23 22:10:58 +0000 UTC
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There was a moment where everyone was frozen in time. The crowd, who'd been shouting and pressing against the city guards were now stopped and staring. The guards, noticing the sudden hush, turned their heads around to look. The rest of their Lance, who'd been pushing their way through the crowd, all stared with almost comical astonishment. Even the [Herald] stood with his mouth agape.
The decapitated vampire head, held aloft by Cid, quickly became the most [Inspected] item in the city...
2025-04-19 04:17:14 +0000 UTC
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