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World Sphere - 64 - Captivating Beauty

Chapter 64: Captivating Beauty

We had hours to warm up, and I was scheduled to fight second this time which meant Pascal was bumped to third. Since the barracks sat right next to the training yard, we had front-row seats when the Harbinger-class ship descended.

It was massive with a polished hull, but clearly refurbished. There were no visible armaments. Probably an academy-owned vessel, or maybe one of the students had powerful connections. Either way, it was meant to impress and...

A Soldier's Life - 417 - Sanctuary (minor edit 7-5-25)

Chapter 417: Sanctuary

It was half a day before the ship set sail. The Salty Widow’s hold was filled with crates of provisions and supplies. Their flag had a black background with a golden burst behind a white skull. It lacked the dagger stabbed into the skull, which represented the Death Hunters. According to our lessons, that flag protected them from harassment by other nations and pirates.

The crew looked sparse for such a large ship, but they were efficient and expe...

A Soldier's Life - 416 - Necromancy 101 (edit 7-5-25)

Chapter 416: Necromancy 101

The Hierophant looked down at the fawn and then at Evie. “Necromancy is not like other magics. All other magics take raw aether and convert it into their respective affinity. Necromancy takes life essence and transforms it into death essence. When you push aether through the necromancy aspect of your aether core, you are sacrificing your own life essence as well as raw aether to create death essence to perform necromantic spells and animate creatures.” 2025-07-03 03:28:39 +0000 UTC View Post

A Soldier's Life - 415 - Indoctrination (needs a different title as I didnt cover as much as I hoped in the chapter)

Chapter 415: Indoctornation

“She is an otherworlder?” Elyssara partially asked and partially stated as we prepared to leave her office.

There was no point in denying it, and it explained her young age and powerful affinities. “She is,” I confirmed.

She nodded slowly at Evie, trying to be reassuring. “It makes more sense. There are others like her among the Sentinels. Not nearly as young as her, but otherworlders. They will understand her better than you can,” the...

A Soldiers Life 277 and 278 moved over now

Please note I deleted the Book 5 collection since the collection "Book 5 - Final Edit" has caught up to it to clean up the collections page a bit. So you can find the two weekly chapters moved from Seaphim here:

https://www.patreon.com/collection/1489108

Today I am editing 412 and 413, and writing 414. At the suggestion of readers, I am going to place Alhur's chapter as 413 and not 414 as originally...

A Soldier's Life - 414 - Alhur's Journey (compiled and edited on 6-29-25, 5900 hundred words)

Chapter 414: Alhur’s Journey

Alhur had assassinated one hundred and seven men in service to the Kingdom—most of them Telhians. He remembered each one with perfect clarity, and each had been, in his mind, necessary. He had killed countless more through less subtle means. Now he was travelling halfway across the continent to track down a single Telhian—and maybe add him to his death roles. No, not a Telhian, he corrected himself, but an otherworlder according to Raelia and the mages...

A Soldier's Life - 414 - Alhur

Chapter 414: Alhur (yes, I wrote 414 before 413. I think I need to end chapter 413 with them leaving for Sanctuary)

Alhur had assassinated one hundred and seven men in his service to the Kingdom, most of them Telhians. He remembered each one in detail and each one as being necessary. He had killed countless more with less surreptitious means. Now he was travelling halfway across the continent to track down a single Telhian—and maybe add him to his total. No, not a Telhian but a...

Don't wait up tonight, but the chapter is in progress!

• Seraphim subs - don't worry, I am halfway through the Alhur chapter but not going to finish tonight. Since I was only able to write three chapters last week, I will definitely write four chapters this week, so I will probably write on Sunday.
  
  I edited chapters 288 and 289 of book 5 this afternoon, and we are starting to get more changes to the plot flow. For those of you who do not want to reread the chapters, basically, they are going to convince them from the beginning to ser...

  2025-06-27 03:17:50 +0000 UTC View Post

Town Builder - 104 - Mage College

Chapter 104: The Mage College

The darkness was complete. Mild panic echoed down the defensive wall. A few fireflies were dancing in the distance—no, not fireflies, but magical items with glowing gems. “The darkness is not complete—light spells!” I yelled. Of course, most players never bothered to learn a simple light spell. It was a waste of a slot as there were cheap items on the market that could replicate it. A few globes of light appeared along the wall, created mainly by my...

World Sphere - 63 - Dungeon Economics

Chapter 63: Dungeon Economics

Callem seemed to be enjoying developing a dungeon delve team more than I was. As we walked back toward the skyship platforms, he was deep in a one-sided conversation, rattling off a verbal training montage he was already compiling for Sammie. He had some guesses about her abilities, too—at least two, maybe four. He had done the same thing to Gareth when we first trained with him.

I shifted the topic. “Callem, what do you think about Gimble?”

World Sphere - 62 - The A Team

Chapter 62: The A Team

I sat heavily on the bench beside Aelyn, too drained to remain standing. The damage from overdrive with my lightning reflexes spell lingered more than the bruises Callem had inflicted. Callem joined us and announced, “We are ready.”

A short man entered, handed Callem a folder, and quietly departed. Callem passed it to me with a nod. “Each candidate has a profile. They’ll come in one at a time.”

The first to enter was a small, timid girl. “L...

World Sphere - 61 - Callem's Killing Intent

Chapter 61: Callem’s Killing Intent

Early on the morning of the seventh day, I made my way to Ennet’s house to meet Callem. When I knocked, Aelyn and Wynna were already inside, busy making breakfast. I joined them quickly, drawn in by the smell of cooking and the warmth of the hearth.

Aelyn kept glancing at me, clearly holding something back. Finally, I set down my mug and said, “You might as well ask.”

She hesitated only a moment. “Storme, why didn’t you ask me ...

A Soldier's Life - 413 - Unexpected Complications (edited 6-29-25)

Chapter 413: Unexpected Complications

Exhausted young men trudged toward the Citadel alongside us, their steps heavy from training and upkeep of the stronghold. Their faces reflected a wide range of origins and lands, though nearly all were human. I spotted three elves among them, one of them a woman with silver-threaded braids and a wary expression.

We moved with the flow of bodies through the wide corridor, passing others heading in the opposite direction, their evening meal fin...

World Sphere - 221 - Magitech (minor edit 7-12-25)

Chapter 221: Magitech

Every time I started to think I had enough gold, something always came up that required more. Loriel wanted me to create a shield for Skyhold, the capital city of the islands, encompassing the city and citadel. Even though the city was smaller than Myththorne, I did not have the time, and Loriel lacked the resources for anything more than a token array.

I set up a meeting with Pakkam, Selin, Remy, Talia, Isla, and Mia. My plans involved all of them. I arriv...

A Soldier's Life 275 and 276 moved over from Seraphim

Since the editing has caught up to the releases, you should go to the collection titled final edit. This is the final edit of the plot, but it will still be going to an editor before publication.

Tonight I am writing World Sphere 221 and watching the Pacers/OKC. About a third into writing the chapter at the moment.

Town Builder will be tomorrow, and that will be the last one for a while on that story until book2 World Sphere and book 5 Soldier is done with my editing.

2025-06-23 01:24:59 +0000 UTC View Post

A Soldier's Life - 412 - The Citadel of Veilmark (minor edit 6-24-25 +200 words)

Chapter 412: The Citadel of Veilmark

I could hear the others talking well into the night, long after I had bathed and nestled into fresh sheets on the soft bed. The griffin down pillow rested under my head and reminded me of Baldo and, by extension, Raelia. Maybe I would send her a message sending to let her know we had arrived in Nausis. With Evie almost to the Death Hunters, I should be able to return to her, but even now, guilt nagged at me for thinking about leaving Evie wi...

Alhur's POV coming soon, but here is another vote for another. I already know what the epilogue is: it will give an explanation for what happened to the ley lines and dungeons to lead into book 8

We have the Alhur POV coming soon and I think I am going to do another POV chapter in the middle of this book. Just four choices:

A Soldier's Life - 411 - 'When The Dead Rise, The Living Stand Together'

Chapter 411: 'When The Dead Rise, The Living Stand Together'

The streets of Nausis thrummed with life as night approached. Finding what I sought, I stepped into the shop—a modest herbalist tucked between two carpentry shops. The interior was dense with the scent of dried lavender, rosemary, and old wood. Rows of parchment-labeled bundles lined the shelves, but almost everything was dried and probably aged, making it unsuitable for alchemy.

The herbalist, a silver-haired woman wi...

World Sphere - 60 - Training at Twin Rocks

Chapter 60: Training at Twin Rocks

As the skyship settled into the docks, I could see my large warehouse. The damaged sections had been completely repaired. I paused. The color of the stone was not very appealing, gray with splotches of black. It was probably many types of stone magically fused.

“Is the painter going to meet us?”  I asked Isla. She paused next to me.

“Yes, he should be inside now. A few panels that he had prepared have arrived, and I think he is a...

A Soldier's Life - 410 - Nausis

Chapter 410: Nausis

I pulled the small blade from my thigh, careful to stem the bleeding with a steady focus before wiping the blood off and handing it to her. A few drops stained my leggings, but my healing magic kept it minimal. She took the blade, her fingers trembling slightly, and I gave her a curt nod.

“Go practice with Lesna next. Blaze and Benito can take me on together.”

Evie seemed baffled, as she clearly thought she would immediately see her progress. “Can w...

Just an update....

I did 3 chapter edits this afternoon and am currently working on Chapter 410 for Seraphim. I probably won’t finish tonight since the hockey game in the background was distracting me.

However, I wanted to let you all know that I allowed a Twitch streamer to do a read of "A Soldier's Life" on her stream. It’s an informal commentary thing, and she is reading it blind.

You can check it out if you want, but it is 2am EST when she reads, so I probably won’t be able to join the ...

A Soldier's Life - 409 - (minor edit 6-17-25)

Chapter 409:

Sweat dripped from Evie’s small nose, and her thin blonde hair was plastered to her skull. She formed a half-smile as she moved one of the small daggers into a reverse grip, and I rolled my eyes as we had told her many times that was a terrible idea, especially with her terrible strength.

We had tried to teach her to use a shield, but her twig-like arms just couldn’t endure the weight for long, and any blow to the shield knocked back her slight frame.

She wa...

A Soldier's Life - 408 -

Chapter 408:

I had our group push a little harder, even though Evie was having some trouble with interval gallops. We reached Donianos well before midday. The high stone walls looked welcoming, and the numerous soldiers walked the battlements. There was a small tent city outside the wall, but it was for the people and not the soldiers. I guessed this larger city was already overcrowded.

“We are going to push to the next town and maybe beyond,” I informed my party. The road to ...

World Sphere - 59 - Loriel

Chapter 59: Loriel

Loriel was born into wealth and privilege. Her childhood was filled with false friends and an endless education. Her mother had a substantial inheritance and was forced into an arranged marriage with a Bricio. Her father was a minor noble in the Bricio family with no future, so marrying the wealthy daughter of the Miaden family benefited him, and he adopted her last name. Her mother had been in love with someone else, who suddenly stopped seeing her. She learned much ...

World Sphere - 58 - Duel

Chapter 58: Duel

As we stood across from the opposing academy, two men wearing the crests of the mage academy entered. They dictated the rules, which were quite similar to the qualifiers. The biggest difference was that intentionally killing someone would result in a ten-year sentence as an indentured servant. Guess I wasn’t going to kill Leon today. Although the mage hadn’t mentioned unintentionally killing…

We had an hour to warm up as the stands filled. It was mostly fami...

A Soldier's Life - 407 - Crimson

Chapter 407: Seeing Crimson

The early morning sun was peaking through the windows. I ordered breakfast for everyone, and a large spread was ready as they came down one at a time. The food was still plentiful, and it was months before the harvest, but if the dungeons didn’t regain control soon, there might be an issue. When the Telhian Empire was ravaged by magical weather, it was the people who suffered.  Since everyone was crowded into cities, the flocks, herds, and fields were ...

Soldier Chapters 271, 272, 273, and 274 moved over from Seraphim

Monday's Chapters Were moved to today as I catch up on editing. Only plan to move over two chapters a week as normal, but some confusion about not being able to access chapters I had edited, so four for Monday, a few days early. Also starting to get into the heavier edits so taking a little longer for each chapter.

https://www.patreon.com/collection/1489108

Seraphim Chapters 407 and 408 tomorrow.......

A Soldier's Life - 406 - Options

Chapter 406: Versatile Options

The dreamscape appeared just as I had left it, and I immediately went to my shelves to retrieve spell forms for the energy affinity. I had three distinctive tomes on the affinity: one from the Telhian Mage College, one from the Esenhem elves, and a third from the Milvanoris elves. I had paged through the last tome in Elaro’s study in Gramney and added it to the dreamscape.

Oscar was barking for attention, so I blindly threw him a ball while I worke...

Town Builder - 103 -

Chapter 103:

Working my way through the NPC auction closing was more frustrating than usual. There were a lot more players and guilds with slots than the last auction. It was becoming a headache. There were no surplus NPCs this auction since there had not been a lot of NPC deaths in the last Incursion. I did my best to moderate my expectations as I went through the first round and the auction closed to the second phase.

Not only were players desperate for free labor, but the NPC c...

World Sphere - 220 -

Chapter 220:

An Age of War was a period when there was nowhere to escape the conflict. There were always warring kingdoms, but what Loriel was referring to was a conflict that spanned hundreds of thousands of miles. If the World Walker attacks had been an indication of their scope, things were going to be truly terrible, and Skyholme would be in the center of it.

The last Age of War in our region of the Sphere was in the infancy of the Skyholme Islands, over two thousand years ago...