C_Mantis

Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Liz turned her head to look at the curled-up cat in the seat behind her and took the silent invitation for what it was.

Reaching deep inside herself, she found her bloodline and pulled.

With what felt like a silent pop, Liz went through the unusual sensation of being inverted until she was suddenly two feet tall and very on fire. She had enough practice with the change at this point to reign in her flames with [Fire Manipulation] imme...

PoA: Aster's Adventures Chapter 2

PoA: Aster's Adventures Chapter 2

Waking up on her second day at Red Feather Academy, Aster felt surprisingly good. She missed Matt and Liz something fierce, but she had things to do and new friends to do them with.

Padding out of her room, she noticed that Roody was the only one out in the common room, and nodded to his yawning self, which made her pause.

He shouldn’t be tired. She shouldn’t have even needed to sleep, but a quick search with her AI on the LocalNet gave ...

Path of Ascension coins are now live.

If you guys want one of these bad boys now is the time to grab one. A neat little coin with Aster and Quill mask on it. 

If it does well we might even get things like plushies of Aster. Feel no need to buy these but they are there for anyone who wants one and I think they came out super well.

Chapter 234

Chapter 234

Matt really didn’t want to say goodbye to Liz so soon after saying goodbye to Aster, but he understood the necessity of completing missions on their own.

They gave it a week after the first counselors arrived to ensure people were settling into a routine for treatment, and that the nascent dryad was getting the care it needed in the form of a specialist carefully transplanting it to a hidden grove. Once they were satisfied, the two of them flew to space, withdrew the...

Chapter 233

Chapter 233

Matt and Liz picked through the packets Luna had provided them, absorbing the information therein.

They started with data regarding a guild that was suspected to be using low Tier transients that were moving through the Tier 9 world as test subjects for a suspected mutation and domination effect. Matt also noted the bit that said if they didn’t move to handle this event within a month, it would be passed on to other teams.

The second was a packet of information...

PoA: Aster's Adventures Chapter 1

It came to my attention this should ahve come out for the t5 patreons. Sorry about that. Aster chapters will come out once a week for you guys going forward at the normal time.

PoA: Aster's Adventures Chapter 1

As Aster sat in the waiting room of the shuttle bay, she couldn’t help but perk her head up at everyone's entrance, hoping it was Matt who had somehow figured out a way to come with her. She was disappointed when it was just one of the workers escorting someone else into ...

Chapter 232

Aster chapter Wednesday. See you then and otherwise enjoy.

Chapter 232

After their honeymoon, Matt and Liz were hardly able to laze around. First, they needed to go to Lilly and show they were well and truly off The Path by spending lots and lots of money. It would hopefully allow them to then fade into a ‘decadent’ lifestyle, mostly away from the public's eye.

Once that was settled, they would be almost exclusively living as Quill and Torch until they finished The Path,...

Chapter 231

Damn I enjoyed this chapter which ends this arc and leads us into the next.

Chapter 231

When his eyes opened, Matt felt his entire body go clammy as the nerves immediately set in and ramped up to a solid three out of ten  before he squashed them.

He was nervous, which everyone said he would be, but he was a professional, and had handled far worse with higher stakes on a weekly basis. Today was the big day, and beyond that, he had less than five hours until th...

Chapter 230

Aster side story should start on the 26th FYI

Chapter 230

With a sigh, Matt looked out over the pristine beach just a mile away from their villa’s sprawling, immaculate lawn that gave a nice contrast to the stunning ocean view. The perfect scene was complemented by perfect weather; it was warm, but not too hot thanks to the slight breeze that gently rustled the curtains every few minutes.

It was a level of luxury that he just wasn’t used to, but it was wonderful.

I...

Chapter 229

We are nearing the end of this arc with the wedding and after that things start to ramp back up after our little post Minkalla cooldown arc. Choo Choo this train has no breaks.

Chapter 229

Rusty looked over his star system and just watched the planets, suns, and moons traverse through space in their natural celestial dance.

It was beautiful.

One of his favorite distractions, but a distraction nonetheless.

When the now Tier 17 Brigadier General Darrow entered his ...

Chapter 228

Chapter 228

The day after the ascension ended, things changed from lackadaisical and relaxed to bustling and frantic, and not just for the locals who were hosting the Tier 10 Tournament for the second time. Rather, it was the out of towners who wanted to leave the cramped and overpriced heartland of the Empire as soon as possible. The mad dash was jacking up prices to extremes, especially for modes of transport like teleporters, as everyone wanted to beat the rush.

Matt, Liz, and ...

Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Reality rippled around Matt as the Ascension flooded the planet with energy and he delved into the depths of his spirit. He dove past his cores and Talents, yet intertwined with them, following the meditation and practice Luna had guided them in. His awareness expanded into a white hole, unleashing an Endless amount of mana into his surroundings.

Knowing he was limited on time, Matt started to get to work.

Concept, Intent, Aspect.

The three portions of a Do...

Chapter 226

Make sure to read the author note after the chapter.

***

Chapter 226

After clearing his head through his talk with Aunt Helen, Matt threw himself into both the final preparations for Liz’s birthday celebration and creating at least some of his Intent.

The former was fun and easy as he tried to hide from both Liz and Aster, who were similarly planning small gifts and surprises for him and each other as well. Matt shouldn’t have been surprised when the family unilate...

Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Matt watched the other team as Aster finished recounting the ‘official’ end of their adventures on the fourth floor of Minkalla. As his bond described in great detail how they fought dozens of other teams under the attacks of the Fae, he was able to see how his friends had changed over the years.

Mostly, it was subtle things.

Mathew clenched his fist at the mention of Liz targeting an enemy healer and shifting to be just a little closer to his wife. Kyle, in ...

Chapter 224

Chapter 224

Matt awoke from his legacy-induced slumber to see the black monolith standing in front of him, pristine as the day that it was made. It might have lost a bit of luster, but even Matt’s senses couldn’t tell if he was just imagining a small dimming. He sighed and stretched, extracting himself from the pillow circle and exiting the isolated space that had been established around the Legacy.

Ciceron walked over, clearly distracted by his AI, and mur...

Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Matt was sitting at the table in Mara and Leon's suite while eating breakfast with Aster, when Luna appeared from nowhere to sit on their table, startling both of them.

“Get ready. Ciceron just arrived, and I want to get the three of you in sooner rather than later.”

Liz, in the middle of shuffling to the table in her pajamas, rushed over and shoveled the food Matt had made for her down in seconds, before spinning back to their room right after Matt and Aster...

Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Matt looked into the sky, using [Telescope] to inspect the food hauler.

It was huge.

No, it was massive.

At a mile from bow to stern and almost a third of that from port to starboard, the ship was completely unable to enter a planet's atmosphere. But then again, it didn’t need to, with dozens of shuttles purpose-built to do exactly that.

Matt, Liz, and Aster were with all the other lower Tiers waiting for the atmospheric...

Name Manny's Dynasty

Throw some names out there for Manny's dynasty. No guarantee I pick the most hearted one or anything but I'm farming for ideas.

The rules:
No meme names will be considered.
No IRL names (of prominence) cause I don't want the implication.

As for guidelines, I'm generally using a Greek naming scheme for their family but I don't really care if its followed for their last names. Also if you DO want to generally reference someone with a adjacent name remembe...

Chapter 221

Check out the post that will go live five minutes after the chapter goes out if you want to help name the ruling dynasty of the Empire. https://www.patreon.com/posts/80146337

Chapter 221

Matt sat at the table of their house and stretched while waiting for Aster to finish getting ready.

Luna had given them a full three days off after their Tier 18 rift delve as she and Kurt se...

Chapter 220

Chapter 220

Matt looked at the distortion in the fabric of reality with a sense of trepidation, irritation, and hesitation.

He could read Liz and Aster well enough to know they felt the same way.

This was one of their final attempts at beating the pinnacle of challenge Luna had set for them once Liz and Aster had reached Tier 13, and beat a peak Tier 17 rift.

A Tier 18 rift.

For three average mid Tier 13 cultivators, that was an impossible leap even in their drea...

Chapter 219

PSA to non-Americans this Sunday March 12th America goes to Daylight Savings Time, check with the authors of your followed stories, but some will now show up an hour earlier. Thank Rowsdower for reminding me this was happening on discord.

***
Chapter 219

Their trip to the nearby Tier 18 planet took all of five minutes in Kurt’s ship, simply lifting off from their idyllic Tier 15 world. After a brief trip through chaotic space, they set down in a new spaceport on a new world.<...

Chapter 218

Good news. Book 1 Audiobook book got the 'weird skills pronunciation fixed.'

If that was off putting to you now is the time to get book 1. https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Path-of-Ascension-Audiobook/B0B6CQFZZH?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

If you happened to 'borrow' the audiobook from somewhere m...

Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Matt slowly flexed, carefully controlling his motion as he pushed the weight off his chest. The fairly substantial difference in proprioception and strength between Tier 11 and Tier 13 was in full display, both allowing him to lift substantially more weight and feel each individual muscle fiber twitch and tense. The net effect was almost meditative, and aided him in relaxing.

He wasn’t lifting anything heavy for his new cultivation or even trying to get a ...

Chapter 216

Chapter 216

April arrived back in the Minkalla system with a sigh.

It wasn’t that she disliked the place. No, she rather liked the atmosphere that permeated the carved out section of space, populated with all of the entrants of Minkalla that returned. Mostly old Tier 14s who had just gotten their Concept and were now Tier 15 and immortal. There were also teams of Pathers who went in at Tier 12 and came out with more items, skills, and abilities than they knew what to do with. Th...

Aster and the Bunnies!

This was done with fiverr so I wasn't able to fix everything but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Enjoy!

Chapter 215

8k chapter. Have fun.

Chapter 215

As if waiting for the cue, Carol walked through the door with a bag slung over her shoulder.

“Is everyone ready?”

Matt looked at Susanne's manager and then down to his bed and wheelchair, wondering exactly what he was going to take with them.

As Luna nodded and jumped to the other manager's shoulder, he got his answer.

Nothing.

His oh-so-convenient wheelchair and bed were both left behind as Carol telep...

Torch art came in.

Enjoy. 

Chapter 214

Enjoy the first Matt chapter of this book.

Chapter 214

Luna felt a ripple in space, and like everyone else, narrowed her spiritual perception into the Clans' moon to inspect the group who came out.

Tier 13s, and with the overly full feeling that came with a successful Folded Reflections reward. Seeing that, everyone’s attention retreated off the now thoroughly scanned team and spread back across each of the eight moons.

The nerves across the highest Tiers ...

Chapter 213

And we are back to the normal story. 8k for this one. Enjoy.

Chapter 213

Clan Elite Program.

Seasaìdh MacMhunna walked down the hall with all the other scions of the noble families and tried to repress her exuberance.

She had fought for this opportunity amongst the peers of her lineage and had come out on top after all of the tests and challenges. They didn’t look just for combat prowess when selecting the candidates, though that was certainly part of it....

Minkalla Chronicles Floor 7

Minkalla Chronicles Floor 7

Sergio dodged an arc of green blades that tried to slam into him as he fought off a rival team from the Sects before returning their attack with a [Mana Slash] of his own.

His blade was physically useless, which was annoying, but he had spent five hundred years honing his skills for this moment, and Mind Over Matter was a floor they trained and prepared for.

His squad leader Cody called out just as he was forcing the Sect fighter back. ...