Robert Vlaho

[UPDATE] The Haze is gone

Before anything else, I'd like to start with an apology for taking so long with the finale. I'll get into why it's taking me a while a bit later, but for now, just know that I am really sorry for basically scamming you guys. :/

And second; thank you. You all have been wonderful, and know that your support has helped me set things back on the right track.

Now, onto the meat of the menu.

I feel a lot better.

I wouldn't say I'm quite cured yet, but after a very, very lo...

Book 3 of 1% Lifesteal is out on Amazon!

For anyone waiting for audio and paperback, those are up too!

As for you poor souls waiting for the finale: 😭 this is a torturous chapter to write NGL. I bit off... a lot. Not more than I can chew, per se, but enough that I have to chew really hard. It's taking me a while due to all the consequences of what is about to happen. I deeply apologize for taking so long to wrap it up!

Anyway, dw, I'm alive and well and working on it!

Other than that, have a good one...

Book 4 Finale Announcement

Just for those who might not have caught on to what was being shared in the Patreon chat, the next chapter is delayed because it's the book 4 finale. It's a real chonker, this one, and I refuse to rush it because there's a lot of moving pieces and I want it to come out right.

It has been going a bit slower maybe than it should, and just to be as transparent with my audience as possible: I'm not okay, and I haven't been for a long time.

You've probably seen me yap about it before...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 201 - Higher Intelligence

Mark vividly remembered the night it all happened. There was a bad feeling, the gnawing type that made it impossible to relax or go to sleep. 

The shadows laughed harder than usual. The moonlight filtering through the window hated him. His reflection… he certainly wouldn’t dare look at it.

He thought it was just a return of his bouts of anxiety, but no. This felt worse—the invisible threat he feared felt more real. And yet, try as he may, he found no reason to ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 200 - Apostle

[mini-note]

200th chapter, yay! 🥳

[end of mini-note]

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Freddy paused at the adjudicator’s words. 

Technically, he’d already killed a Lord once. Technically. But that was only possible with an unreasonable number of things lining up perfectly. Sure, he was far stronger now than he’d been back then, but as things stood, most of his real power was locked behind favorable circumstances. ...

HUGE news!

Hello there fellas. Chapter coming today, don't worry, I just thought I'd do a bit of an announcement post about something really cool.

1% Lifesteal book 1 is today's Audible Deal of the Day! This is MASSIVE. If you haven't already, you can pick up book one today at a huge discount!

https://www.audible.com/pd/1-Lifesteal-Audiobook/B0DXLXLX9W

But yeah, this is really really hug...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 199 - Hope and Despair

Up and all along the wall were countless defenders, anxiously waiting for whatever they were invited here for. It was a tense scene, especially knowing many of them had been taken away from defending other sides of the city, which were by no means free of assault. 

With only a few people left to defend the other sides, there was no doubt that whyever they were here had to be of extreme importance. Coupled with the recent news of many of the mercenaries deserting the defense force, ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 198 - Ether Virus

“You want to leave?” Freddy asked Lily, glancing away from her to take a look at Drake, who was looking down the wall and off into the distance. “What about him?”

She smiled at him through repressed anger and grief. “What about him?” she echoed his question. “Does he own me? Can I not make my own decisions?”

“That’s not why I asked you that, and you know it.”

Lily looked down, her lips twisting into an ugly, deeply hurt frown. “It’s like he isn’t ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 197 - Disobedience

When she turned twelve, that was the first time Emily participated in her family’s main business. She had heard that they killed people. Known it for as long as she could crawl. Seen it. Heard it. Lived her role as a future assassin. 

But it was a different thing to be sent out and tasked with taking a life.

Even so young, she had no trouble completing her task. Her training was thorough, and even as her hidden blade slit the throat of the rogue serial killer, she felt noth...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 196 - Smart Enough to Fight, Dumb Enough to Obey

Deep in the interspace beneath the Valhalla headquarters, Freddy watched Sophia try her hand at raising an undead for the fiftieth time.

She lay her hand on a crude mass of flesh in the rough shape of a humanoid being, and then, with a gulp, she used Raise Undead—stage 0. As soon as the ability activated, she leaped back to hide behind Freddy.

The two of them watched nervously as the mass of flesh slowly got up to its feet.

Freddy’s heart was hammering in his chest, a bl...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 195 - At the Edge of Ruin

Heavy snowfall fluttered from above, covering the tragedy that had unfolded. The wall breach had taken many victims. Blood and gore was scattered all around the base of the wall, and many were still being dragged away to get help, if they could even be helped at all.

Right beside the base of the newly rebuilt wall stood a small group. They were the elites who were at the forefront of the city defense, surrounding the seemingly almighty four-star adjudicator. 

A bit further aw...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 194 - Breach

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]

Sorry for the late and somewhat short chapter. I had a week from hell which robbed me most of my work time. Sick family member, lots of hospital visits, and that's on top of loads of chores. Ugh. I wish I could finally breathe a little.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!
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Despite the fact that he was rushing back to the wall as quickly as humanly possible, Freddy wasn’t panicking. A breach in the wall was a crisis, yes, but not o...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 193 - Blood Domain

There was no such thing as a wholly isolated concept. Within everything, there was a touch of everything else. Few people understood this as well as Freddy, who could simply look at something and see how it was connected to insanity. Naturally, he couldn't always decipher these connections, but it was like the difference between trying to read text by touching it in the dark and turning on the light—it made things a whole lot easier.

Some of these concepts were useful. Some of them we...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 192 - Haven

In the empire, the number of stars wasn’t the only thing that dictated someone’s status. But even the lowest of three-stars could open many doors locked to all but the most exceptional of two-stars.

One such thing was the right to request an audience with a high legal enforcer, such as an adjudicator.

It was thus that, as he barged into the adjudicator’s room in the tower, Freddy wasn’t surprised in the slightest to find the wounded man there, arguing with the adjudicator....

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 191 - Legal Technicalities

Dressed in casual clothing, and with his face revealed, pretty much everyone recognized Freddy out in the streets. His identity was public, and at this point, his image was basically everywhere. It had been for a long time. 

During his free days, he was still pretty busy, so it was rare for him to actually spend much time outside. Today wasn’t going to be an exception. It really shouldn’t have been.

As he left his apartment, having stopped by to get the little bit of slee...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 190 - The Rank Ceiling

When Freddy first met up with the elites, he had noticed something peculiar about the way they looked at him. Sure, they had acknowledged him as someone who qualified to interact with them, and even respected him enough to make some rather serious offers. 

But that was nothing compared to how they were looking at him at that moment. 

Reggie looked dazed. Peri actually stared at him with eyes wide open. Georgie was grinning at him approvingly, and Emily…

She was g...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 189 - Crush

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]

Sorry for the missed upload. I've had an agonizing week of very little sleep. Nothing serious, just a bunch of nonsense ended up piling up, requiring me to wake up early several times, and coupled with a restless baby, yeah, I barely got any sleep this week and I wasn't functional enough to finish the chapter on time. It sucks, but it happens when you got a lil baby.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one. It's pretty good. :)

Cheers!

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[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 188 - Horizon Silhouette

“Is everything all right, Mr. Stern?” John asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Freddy stared at Drake and Lily for a long moment. His mask was still on, so when he glanced at the mercenary, the man had no idea Freddy was looking at him. 

I should keep this a secret, he decided, slowly sitting back down. “Nothing. I just remembered something, but it isn’t an immediate problem. Anyway, you wanted to talk to me?”

The man nodded. “I just want to express m...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 187 - Ether Coin

Monsters were not made equal. Most of the time, their star rank meant little to nothing. There were bug-type monsters that reached the fifth star by the time they became adults. But at 4% capacity per star, they weren’t exactly the match of human five-stars.

Conversely, many monsters had a lot of essence capacity per star. Golems were among these. But again, this meant rather little. They were dumb masses of material moving through sheer force of the energy they were infused with. Rar...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 186 - The Arrival

The days were getting a lot colder. It already snowed on a daily basis. Looking out at the valley that would soon flood with hostile entities, Freddy couldn’t help but feel a little excited. While he hated fighting people, he had to admit—he was actually rather fond of going up against monsters. It was more earnest and fun, without any of the guilt and bullshit humans brought with them.

He looked behind him, seeing the imposing wall just about a mile away. They were waiting for the ...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 185 - Drake and Lily

“Hey, did you know that it’s literally impossible to spy on me?” Freddy asked the 18th servant in a row. “I always know the moment anyone tries it!” He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

The man stared at Freddy in abject confusion. “Uh… Okay.”

“Good! Have a good day!”

He and Sophia continued walking, with her staring at him. “Are you going to tell me why you keep telling this to literally e...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 184 - Mercenary Help

The mercenary recruiting went a lot faster than Freddy expected. He had thought it would be a slog through a giant list of potential candidates, but when they sorted the list from most to least expensive, he instantly found exactly what he wanted. 

There were many solo mercenaries he could mix and match like playing cards if he wanted to, but those at the top all came in parties of three. The group at the very top stood out because they were the only available three-star party on t...

[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 183 - A Beacon Among Faded Memories

Freddy had three problems with enchanted equipment: first, he made his weapons through abilities, so he didn’t need those; second, his style was too destructive to equipment, with Leviathan’s Fury being the biggest culprit; and third, he was so naturally durable that most equipment just wasn’t worth the strain on mobility. 

That being said, he wanted to have proper equipment again. Nobody was above needing a solid set of armor. He just needed something a bit more exo...