Just an FYI working on World Spheres next chapter but crashing for the night. I edited two chapters of Solider book 4 this afternoon but spent most of the day doing paperwork to buy a piece of dirt in NH.
2025-02-27 04:35:41 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 352:
It was the seeds. The seeds, not the flesh or the juice of the golden fig, that I needed. Dissolving the pulp in cold water allowed the seeds to float to the surface after a few hours, and then I could skim them off. From there, I would dry them slowly and grind them in a mortar and pestle. The paste then needed to be dissolved into a solution of six parts water and one part giant bee honey, which gave me a base for my first successful aether restoration potion. I used othe...
2025-02-26 05:09:38 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 351: Groundhog Day
The door to my room in the Adventurer’s Hall pounded, waking me. It soon pounded impatiently again. I pulled the griffin-down pillow around my ears to block it out. Every damn morning, an hour before sunrise, Konstantin came to wake me up. Why did I suggest he get a room next to mine?
Honestly, this was my own fault. I had swapped the ring of sustenance for the ring of surefootedness two weeks ago. This was partly because I ...
2025-02-25 04:45:37 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://www.patreon.com/collection/704892
Announcements (this feels like high school again with pre-day intercom announcements):
Book 1 of the World Sphere Audiobook is finished. According to Audible, it will be approved within 10 business days - so by Friday March 7th.
Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I spent most of the day driving through New Hampshire and Maine, and I was just too exhausted ...
2025-02-24 16:59:01 +0000 UTC View PostWarning: Another controversial chapter is below! I am reading the comments and will eventually be doing my read/ edit on it. Remember, these are all draft chapters but usually the controversial things are tied to plots in the future. I don’t know when I will be editing it, as Raelia will be off-scene for a number of chapters.
Chapter 350: Raelia POV
Initially, she wasn’t sure. However, after the Lucky Equilibrium arrived in the fishing t...
2025-02-23 05:46:13 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 208: Unification Quest
It was an ambitious project: reuniting the eight larger islands and a dozen smaller islands of Skyholme. We had discovered ancient maps in the Black Spire, and the island used to be roughly circular, measuring about six hundred miles across. While it isn’t a huge landmass in the vastness of the Sphere, it is large enough to support a few million people if its dungeons were properly delved. Uniting the islands would make defending our home easier and redu...
2025-02-22 22:45:51 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 349: Large Appetite
It was evident that the halfling sorcerer had a mischievous streak. Perhaps she had been upset when she found nothing on me to pickpocket. Still, I was where I wanted to be. I would play the fool if I had to deal with the halfling woman again. It was easier to anticipate situations if people thought you were dumber than you were—especially with her kind, who believed they were intellectually superior.
I bowed and addressed him in Elvish, “Master Arc...
2025-02-21 02:20:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 348: Godok
We were not headed directly to the city of Godok, as Konstantin had been told. Instead, the Lucky Equilibrium was headed for the coastal city of Kryvan. Here, they would pick up barrels of salted fish to sell in Godok. There was nothing to do about the three-day detour.
Our “private” cabin was barely large enough for the hammock, and Baldo had to sleep underneath Raelia and me. It also smelled like fish and ammonia, just like the rest of t...
2025-02-20 05:29:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 347: I'm Not Crying, You Are Crying
I placed the small brooch on the table. It depicted a majestic bird with spread wings made from tiny rubies and diamonds. “It is a dungeon artifact,” I said, and the seer’s interest flagged. She would have no past to delve into, making it harder to read the object. She picked it up and held it in her hands, closing her eyes.
She shook her head and placed it on the table. “Elves are normally highly resistant to spells with a...
2025-02-18 05:38:08 +0000 UTC View PostAs mentioned, I will be moving two chapters on Mondays instead of Wednesday's from the Seraphim collection. Fan Fiction contest deadline is approaching. MARCH 1st!!! Link here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/fan-fiction-2-110591204
https://www.patreon.com/collection/704892
2025-02-17 19:14:00 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 346: History Lesson
We stood far below the icy slopes, and the warm, humid air felt welcoming. What were we going to tell Navek? Were we going to reveal the entrance to him? If the golden figs could serve as a base for aether potions, this dungeon could make his people extremely wealthy. But then again, all the goliaths I had met were like Maveith and did not place much value on gold.
“We show him the entrance and explain that it’s been a few days, yet we ...
2025-02-17 04:02:41 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 91:
I spent four days locked in my drafting room. I managed to accomplish what I needed through my interface and communication with Mad Dog. Player activity was spiking again in Malcum, but strangely, Eternal Legacy’s raid on Goatyah was not mentioned in the forums. It made a strange kind of sense since they didn’t want the other guilds to know what they had stolen from us. We couldn’t complain, or other guilds would want to know how to build steam skyships.
I found ...
2025-02-16 05:21:45 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 90: First Losses
“It is an opportune time to attack us,” Mad Dog growled as the draconic invasion was pressing forward.
“What guild is it?” I pressed Danny.
“Give me a moment. Most of our players are here,” she said. That was true, as only Malcum would have a portal for the Invasion, so we had pooled our players.
“Eternal Legacy,” she spat. “Your vampire friend is leading them.”
“Grey Weasel?” Rage filled me as that charismatic bas...
2025-02-14 21:27:52 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 345: Fresh Air
Maveith’s deep voice boomed behind me, “Harpies tits? That is definitely not a harpy, Konstantin.” Maveith knew the legionnaire slang term and was trying to be funny. I couldn’t find the humor in it as the gargantuan creature inside the chamber. I just looked too lethal.
We all watched as a serpentine neck submerged in the pool. That thick neck was attached to a massive, mottled, dark-green body. Four other serpentine necks were attached...
2025-02-13 04:16:30 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 344: Gone Manticore Gone
Well, at least the creature was talking. The question was, could we get useful information from it? I only understood a fraction of what was being said, and Maveith paused to explain what was being said as the conversation progressed. “We are not the ones who put you in the dungeon. We are just exploring.”
The creature rasped angrily and confusedly, “Dungeon?” Its head whipped around, looking for something or some way to escape...
2025-02-12 04:27:31 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://www.patreon.com/collection/704892
Starting next Monday, I am going to be moving the two Soldier chapters from the Seraphim tier on Monday's instead of Wednesday's. My goal is to switch my work week from Wednesday to Tuesday to Monday to Sunday (hopefully with Sunday off).
For those of you who do not know, my work week typically involves writing six chap...
2025-02-11 23:56:22 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 343: Unraveling The Dungeon
Our second apex channeling essence was a positive sign. It had been just over two days since we cleared the manticore room. The next question we needed answered was whether we could wait two days in the safe room and then return to obtain an apex essence or if we would have to completely exit the dungeon and come back to get the apex essence. Maybe we wouldn’t even get another apex. I vaguely knew it all depended on how strong the dunge...
2025-02-11 04:52:24 +0000 UTC View PostYeah, I got sidetracked by a Superbowl party. I have 243 half-written, and I am working to finish it now. Then, I'll move on to 244. I have to work on the missed Town Builder chapter tomorrow.
I have been editing book 4 and am reaching the part where he reveals that his burnt aether channels to Zyna. In terms of changing the narrative plot, healing aether channels is different from raising potential. It is canon that the only way for a normal person to raise potential is with apex esse...
2025-02-10 22:01:34 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 342:
As Maveith was recovering his aether, Konstantin exited the dreamscape. He looked content as he handed me back the amulet. “Wait till you see Maveith,” Raelia said excitedly. I gave Raelia the small mirror from my shaving kit to hold while Maveith checked himself out. Konstantin was shocked when the armor appeared again. Maveith posed a little before the small mirror, admiring himself. We couldn’t see his expression through the helm, but his body language...
2025-02-09 08:09:50 +0000 UTC View PostI believe the last chapter was sufficient to conclude book 4, so this could be chapter 1 of book 5. However, I might need an epilogue to properly finish book 4.
Chapter 207:
It was hard to focus on the lecture. Instructor Abraham Kursai was reviewing the more obscure runes that a dungeon might have on its entrance. He was a brilliant mage but extremely long-winded. Headmaster Sana had introduced all the instructors at orientation and said that Abraham wa...
2025-02-08 05:59:18 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 341: One Konstantin Is More Than Enough
The dungeon didn’t feel any different when we entered. I did feel a slight brush against my mind fortress, but I assumed it was just the dungeon’s awareness coming to focus on us. The entry room floor was free of the little trash we had left, and the hallway was clear of our bodily functions. It looked like the dungeon had "reset." I was exhausted because I hadn’t rested with the others. Instead, I constantly worked to c...
2025-02-06 22:21:14 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://www.patreon.com/collection/704892
2025-02-05 23:34:37 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 340:
“Is that what I think it is?” Raelia said wantingly.
“It is a shaping essence, but this one is mine,” I stated firmly. I had been intentionally balancing the scales in their favor just in case something like this came up.
“But you cannot cast spells. I could make much better use of it,” she tried to lock her aquamarine eyes on mine pleadingly.
It usually worked, but not this time. I produced the lesser fire essence I had been savin...
2025-02-05 20:43:49 +0000 UTC View PostI did rewrite the last bit of the last chapter in the Navek interaction. Also posted 3 more chapters today in the book 4 final edit collection
Chapter 339: You Win Some and You Lose Some
The others were waiting for me as I brushed off the brief disorientation of the transition. “How did you convince Navek?” I asked, focusing on Konstantin. I had my doubts he would have been willing.
“I convinced him,” Maveith’s deep voice intoned. “I tol...
2025-02-04 04:11:28 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 89:
There was a convergence of events coming. We had less than a day left to complete the dungeon, and pushing to the final floor had been a challenge for Mad Dog’s group, even with two high level members. I had a lot to manage myself—in two days, the NPC auction would close, and the Lost City of Elyendell would appear on the same day. Three days after that, the next Incursion event would happen. We would not discover what realm was invading us until the portals...
2025-02-03 00:21:24 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 338:
The chamber was covered in fine web carpets, and it appeared the spiders were trying to cocoon the entire chamber. The ceiling gave off a soft blue-gray light, like twilight. There was no way to cross the chamber without disturbing the webbing.
“The webbing isn’t from spiders,” Navek’s deep voice declared. “Though it’s out of season, that’s a blood moth nest.” We all turned our attention to Navek, wanting him to explain further. “The cat...
2025-02-02 03:43:23 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 337: The Golden Fruit
Scouting ahead was actually a pretty good idea. If Raelia could fly across the maze, scout the next room, and then return, it could help us prepare. However, I reconsidered her scouting the next room because another devious trap might be lurking in the passage. Being an open-top maze, flying over it would give a clearer picture of how many beasts were in it and any surprises.
Konstantin knelt, studying the maze below us, and voiced his concerns, “I ...
2025-01-30 17:36:32 +0000 UTC View PostI am writing tonight's chapter, but a few people are confused about dimensional space. Below is the explanation I wrote a year ago. I will answer questions and edit the explanations to try to clarify. For writing purposes, I am trying to avoid 'hard' numbers, preferring approximations that are close to the world mechanics.
A Soldier’s Life: The Dimensional Space Explained
This is how the dimensional space spell form evolved in the writing.&...
2025-01-30 03:25:57 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://www.patreon.com/collection/704892
As noted, chapter 231 is the final version. Below are the first two drafts if you want to see the evolution of the pivotal chapter.
This is the link to the first draft:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/soldiers-life-is-108320238
This is the link to the se...
2025-01-29 18:53:20 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 336: Not Following the Rules
Konstantin remained on watch while the rest of us slept. Raelia curled into me and mumbled about how bad I smelled—not that she smelled too peachy, either. With the amulet locked and shared in our grasp, we entered the dreamscape.
I immediately felt out and surveyed the space, grinning. I had entered first and had greater control of the dreamscape. Raelia usually managed to enter before me, but I had channeled my aether before sh...
2025-01-28 05:56:35 +0000 UTC View Post