this armor was the inspiration for Matt's new armor. If this isn't coming across as clear I'll massage things so things feel less iron man. It can be hard to describe stuff like that. The gems were brought up in the discord so they will go but if anything else needs to change let me know.
Here is Team Zero's current sheets. Feel free to look at it. This is tagged with Sheet of anyone who wants to find it later.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jjEywQiqvNXclSpLrsx-BlrT_xWqd1LYnfwVO0x69MY/edit?usp=sharing
2023-11-06 20:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 283
Colonel Galanodel was the ‘head librarian’ of Team Firmament, a slender, bookish woman with blonde hair, pointed ears, and a golden claymore she seemingly had out all the time. It was not what Matt pictured when he thought of a smith, but if she was the leader of Firmament she must have been the best.
Matt met with the woman in a small room off the main shops in Firmament. The musty smell of enchanting permeated the entire building, and even in this meeting room, t...
2023-11-06 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Postlapse Chapter 282
Matt was not smiling for long.
“Come now, Matthew. Is that truly the best you can manage? You substantially overshot the bounding tether, and it looks like you completely neglected the Deloid Principle.”
He was holding a crystal sphere twice the size of his hand with various simple, two-dimensional runes carved into the material. Or, they were supposed to be runes. This attempt had made them look more like a child's squiggles than the crisp lin...
2023-11-03 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostTier 5 patreons. I was going to wait another week to give this to you guys but we can just start them now. Enjoy.
***
Echos Chapter 1
Luna walked through the crowds as she stalked her prey.
Silver was right there drinking a red liquid that Luna’s nose said wasn’t wine, though she had no idea what it actually was, and she made a note to look into that. New drinks were rare, but she had been napping for a while in the last few millennia.
Silver was still talkin...
2023-11-01 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA 10k chapter. Enjoy!
Also the side story Echo’s Chapter 1 comes out this wednesday at the normal chapter time.
***
Chapter 281
Allie tapped her foot impatiently.
She still didn’t entirely get what had happened to take out both Zack and Quill at the same time, but they’d been out for a couple hours now. She knew that they’d both be fine, as the moment the battlefield had been engulfed in the massive not-quite explosion, she’d brought both of th...
2023-10-30 19:01:17 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 280
Zack was wholly unsurprised that Allie challenged the new Ascenders to a fight. He probably would have done it himself, though he would have at least waited a little longer, and been a bit more polite about it. First impressions, and all that. But at least this way, he would get to fight them right away, thanks to his partner’s proclivities.
It was oft annoying, but useful on occasion.
The moment Allie teleported the room to the canyon they us...
2023-10-27 19:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 279
Matt had to resist moaning as he scraped the last remnants of the tiramisu off his plate and plopped the fork into his mouth, even as Liz did the same for her cheesecake. Aster had already devoured her warm brownie with ice cream, and was sitting there trying to coax more food out of Aunt Helen, who seemed immune to her charms.
Despite the deliciousness of the meal, they all knew that they needed to get to work. There was a war raging, and they needed to ent...
2023-10-23 18:59:01 +0000 UTC View PostA 9k Chapter. Enjoy.
Formatting seems to be fixed.
***
Chapter 278
Allister nodded as he watched the proceedings.
Another set of Ascenders from the Empire.
It was a good thing. Despite everything the other Tier 50s said, the Conglomerate of Guilds wasn’t just a pawn of the Empire to be absorbed down the line. He and Emmanuel had a dozen treaties to prevent such a thing, and while that didn’t mean their successors couldn't change that, the wei...
2023-10-20 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostI'll see you all on the 20th. EPUB is attached of this chapter as Patreon is eating formatting still.
Chapter 277
Emmanuel smiled as he watched Matt, Liz, and Aster stand tall in their moment of glory.
They had earned it.
He was even a little proud, himself.
His father and grandmother deserved more of the praise for changing the course of the Empire, but he hadn’t been riding their accomplishments the whole time, and two new Ascender groups were the proof.
<... 2023-10-09 19:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAdding a PDF of the chapters until Patreon can fix the formatting vanishing for some people. Same chapter but hopefully more readable.
2023-10-06 21:14:02 +0000 UTC View PostA 8.5k Chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 276
Power flooded Matt’s body, a wave of essence washing over his mana channels and restructuring them in a way he couldn’t quite describe. Like they were boiling and freezing at the exact same time, having a bright shadow rush through them so that he could hear them cycling like a spiritual heartbeat. The end result was unmistakable, and he became acutely aware of his mana in a way he wasn’t quite used to, and alongside that awaren...
2023-10-06 18:54:32 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 275
Matt smiled as Aster boldly dragged her Magma Otter friend Cameron onto the ship. Her bond, a short, nervous-looking woman, following behind like she expected to get turned away at any moment.
Kelly, the small Lightning Finch, laughed at the display. “Well, it's good to see someone hasn’t changed even a little bit.”
Cameron huffed even as she pulled herself free and fixed her shirt and pants. “For a stupid ice rodent, you think you would know how to chill...
2023-10-02 19:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 274
Liz stared into the blood in her cauldron, taking in everything she possibly could through sight, then studied it with ever-more esoteric senses. She needed to experience it as thoroughly as possible, all the better to properly understand her Phrase.
Blood is the Cauldron of Life.
In many ways, it had fallen into place after she’d properly gotten her Image. The visualization of blood being a carrier had been the ultimate breakthrough in that. Blood car...
2023-09-29 18:59:08 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's note: Asters Phrase last chapter was changed.
Chapter 273
Aster closed her eyes and breathed in and out, pulsing the storm around her with her meditation. Frigid winds whipped around her, an icy hurricane blanketing the polar cap of the world. Her reach extended even further than that, blanketing half the planet in a spontaneous winter, in blatant defiance of the normal seasons and still-cooling magma in some corners of the new planet.
It was pure vanity, but she ha...
2023-09-25 18:56:02 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 272
Matt groaned, dropping to a seated position. There technically wasn’t any meaningful gravity this far out from the closest sun, but the action still felt gratifying.
He had wanted a place to be alone to meditate for the first time after his incident, but just locking himself in a room hadn’t been enough, so he quickly flew into space. Even that hadn’t satisfied his need for solitude.
It cost him a small fortune, but he paid a Tier 25 to help him build a tel...
2023-09-22 18:58:50 +0000 UTC View PostHaven't done it in a while so here it is. Discord information.
https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-Get-my-Discord-role
Discord link: https://discord.gg/6ukhCjayC5
Its a fun time where we talk about the story and meme so join us.
***
Chapter 271
Matt desce...
2023-09-18 18:58:29 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 270
President Janet Olga reviewed the footage of the Empire's newest possible Gladiators.
She wished she could dismiss the video as a fluke. Just another ploy by the Empire to create false Gladiators to strengthen their image in the eyes of their people. But the proof was in the fight before her.
Three fresh Tier 20s were facing down two established chimera and not instantly dying. That they had eventually lost was a comparatively minor issue. They shouldn’t have s...
2023-09-15 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post8.5k chapter. Enjoy.
***
Chapter 269
Quill looked out at Girang and let his mask smile back at the massive bear, even as mana stone dust fell around him from his rapid recharging of his mana pool. Off to the side, Soddus handed off the fighters he had been tending to and dove into the fray. Golden flames enveloped the Chimera’s body, and when they faded, he’d been replaced with a brilliant winged unicorn. He looked mostly normal, with white-silver fur, an ivory horn, and...
2023-09-11 18:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Quills eyes will be getting the white hole but I don't have that version yet.
2023-09-11 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThis arc/book should be coming to a close on chapter 277 which will come out for patreons on the 9th of October. That means there will be no chapters on the 13th and 16th of October. Just an FYI for everyone.
***
Chapter 268
Quill would have been happy recuperating with Lila for a few days; the older Ascender was endlessly entertaining, but that just wasn’t possible. There were too many calls for help for them to ignore, and they had a job to do. So, with...
2023-09-08 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 267
As the three of them flew to the next fight, Quill was about to say something but Torch beat him to it. “Can you believe that shit?”
Quill laughed as his wife had taken the words out of his mouth, even as Scoop hung her head and murmured, “Fucking battle maniacs.”
Poking his bond, Quill winked. “Come on. A Tier 19 who can hit that hard is a nice change of pace. It's a real challenge that isn't just someone being so much older and more advanced than us. ...
2023-09-04 18:56:54 +0000 UTC View PostThis arc/book should be coming to a close on chapter 277 which will come out for patreons on the 9th of October. That means there will be no chapters on the 13th and 16th of October. Just an FYI for everyone.
***
Chapter 266
Quill watched and waited as everyone scattered to the winds of the desert, trying to remind himself of the larger picture and his place in it. It even worked to a degree. Or maybe it was Lila sharing her view of the fights with the three...
2023-09-01 19:07:48 +0000 UTC View PostFor anyone going to DragonCon this year I'll see you there. Chapters will come out like normal so no worries.
***
Chapter 265
Matt knew how the Great Powers grew, at least in an abstract sense. The known Realm drifted through chaotic space, passing through regions of the roiling, primordial energy like a raft adrift on the seas. Countless low-Tier worlds passed through and around the territory of a Great Power, carried on the currents of chaos just as much as the Empire was ...
2023-08-28 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThis arc/book should be coming to a close on chapter 277 which will come out for patreons on the 9th of October. That means there will be no chapters on the 13th and 16th of October. Just an FYI for everyone.
***
A 7.4k chapter. Enjoy!
***
Chapter 264
Matt panted as he looked down into the valley, where a single massive bear paced around, letting out occasional chuffs and growls.
They had already spent a week clearing out the rest of the mo...
2023-08-25 18:59:37 +0000 UTC View PostSorry about that I scheduled it for tomorrow.
Chapter 263
While they were still engaging in some counterespionage even as the tournament began, Matt was looking forward to Eleanor and Ethan arriving in Stormhaven. Of course, it wasn’t like they didn’t have a thousand and one other things to do in the meantime.
Matt spent a full two weeks helping Leon quietly fill up a number of royal mana reserves, which involved a lot of sitting on his butt while filling skyscraper-size...
2023-08-21 19:31:46 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 262
With it being his third time at a Tier 10 tournament, the first for his own and the second for the Ascension, Matt expected he wouldn't be that excited for the event, but on the contrary, he was looking forward to it. Part of that was seeing Leon's capital, Stormhaven, in the flesh and getting to see his in-laws once more, another was seeing Eleanor and Ethan, and another was getting to work another mission with Susanne.
She was one of the few people he had met who cou...
2023-08-18 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 261
As predicted, Matt spent a full week in bed as he recovered from the side effects of the mana concentration formation.
If it had simply been the spiritual strain, he could have been up and moving the day after, as he was experienced with spiritual strain and could easily push through it. But as it turned out, the potion had some nasty side effects of its own, which included, but were not limited to, his bowels had been liquefied, he had blurry vision, nausea...
2023-08-14 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 260
Matt, Liz, and Aster relaxed on the couch for close to half an hour before Mara and Leon's pestering finally got Liz to sit up, where she immediately asked, “How did I do?”
Ghost Leon stuck a thumb up at her, and in a ghostly voice, warbled, “Verrrrry gooooood.”
Liz groaned. “Don’t give me that. Please just tell me how I actually did.”
Mara and Leon literally collected themselves, settling back into their normal bodies, and...
2023-08-11 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 259
Matt sighed as one of the waitstaff washed away his stress. It was impressive seeing the magic at play and entwined with the man’s Domain, delicately picking around the mana already present to avoid disturbing it even by a hair's-width, but still be just as soothing.
And that was just stress from watching Liz have to interact with so many people. She had it far worse, as the small crowd of staff surrounding her attested to. Every last hair was being put back...
2023-08-07 18:59:22 +0000 UTC View Post