GCLopes

I'll Be The Red Ranger - Chapter 198: The Purple One

[Oliver PoV]

“Which one else?” Midas-1 replied, gesturing toward a flash drive resting in the center of the table like a relic in a shrine.

Oliver’s gaze settled on the sliver of metal and polymer, its tiny status light ticking in a steady pulse. He remembered the day he got it, back when it was all much simpler. He hadn’t known then that the data it contained would become his lifeline. Back then, Hector had been little more than a passing acquaintance helping during his m...

I'll Be The Red Ranger - Chapter 197 - Aquarius

[Oliver PoV]

Oliver felt the energy coil around him the moment the teleportation began and found himself holding his breath. Relief washed over him when his surroundings shifted, and he stood once again on solid ground.

'That last strike, that was scary. I think I could've taken it, but you never know.' Oliver breathed a little more easily.

He recognized the station's bare walls. It was one of the many built for missions that demanded complete discretion. Unlike the other te...

I'll Be The Red Ranger - Chapter 196 - Blood Coffin

- Oliver -

Oliver stood on the shattered pier. Smoke rose from fires nearby. His transmitter crackled to life.

"I'm picking up a signature," Hermes-1 said. "It's General York. She's converging on your position."

"Great," Oliver muttered. "Just what I needed."

"Couldn't you talk to her?" a new voice chimed in. It sounded like Hermes-1, but slightly off. Oliver recognized the telltale signs of someone new at the controls.

"Who's the newbie?" he ask...

I'll Be The Red Ranger - Chapter 195 - [Alert! Green Ranger]

- Oliver -

"Green, do you read?" The familiar crackle of the communicator stirred Oliver from his sleep. He blinked awake, trying to see the navigation panel in the cramped cockpit.

"Loud and clear, Hermes-1," he responded.

"Your presence has been detected," Hermes-1 informed him. "Multiple ships are already en route to your location."

Oliver's jaw tightened. "Anyone I should be concerned about?" he asked, fingers deftly dancing over the console to bri...

I'll Be The Red Ranger - Chapter 194 - Regulations

- Athena -

Five Years Later

It had been millennia since Athena had last been summoned to this chamber. 

The vast hall seemed to stretch endlessly in all directions. Towering pillars of obsidian rose from the floor, disappearing into the ceiling above. For many, it was their first time within these sacred walls. Typically, any issues were settled quietly among the Sovereigns themselves.

But not today. Today was different.

The...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 156: News from the South

[Thomas’s POV]

Thomas stood at the window overlooking the street in front of the Golden Fiddle. For once, it was a calm morning. No urgent knocks on the back door, no frantic shouts from the alleyway, and no battles to be fought. It allowed him a moment to catch his breath, though he suspected this moment would be short-lived.

He traced a gloved finger against the pane, thinking of how two days had passed since he’d last seen Julie. An ache gathered in his chest at the mere th...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 155: Union

Jamie let out a long, tired sigh as he tightened the buckle on the gauntlet hugging his forearm. Both pieces of leatherwork clung to his arms, keeping the fabric of his attire from shifting. Despite the ceremony he was dressing for, his expression showed only impatience and reluctance. He'd been fasting for over twenty hours, as required by the ritual.

By the window, Jay lay sprawled, narrowing his eyes in silent reprove.

'How in the world could you agree to this?!' Jay had deman...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 154: Sentenced

Maximus’s gaze fell upon her like a physical blow. “Explain,” he said. “Why did your father stink of dark magic?”

Standing two steps behind her, Jamie felt a faint, crushing force pressing down on his shoulders. It reminded him a lot of the power they’d faced at the Gate in that cursed dungeon. Yet, it wasn’t as overwhelming.

Despite the oppressive aura, Serana remained poised. She kept her eyes forward, only allowing a slight tremor in her hands. “I’m not certai...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 153: The Lord

“Daughter,” he said with unmistakable warmth as he caught sight of her. Then he turned to Jamie with the same grave composure. “And you. James.”

Jessica responded with a brief nod, lowering her head in acknowledgement. Jamie, for his part, said nothing. However, the tightening of his hands betrayed a surge of mixed feelings.

"He wouldn't dare attack me here. Right?" Jamie thought, worried.

Jamie hadn't forgotten his first memory in this world. Maximus had tried to st...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 152: Palladins

Jamie tightened his grip on his daggers before warning. “He’s coming."

At that moment, a figure leapt down from the battlements. He landed among the teeming orcs with such force that the ground shuddered, sending a shockwave out in all directions. Screeching monsters tumbled head over heels as if struck by a giant’s invisible fist.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield fell silent, hushed by the audacity of this lone warrior. Soldiers on the wall paused their arrow volleys, stunn...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 151: Back to Frosthell

“I can help with that!” Jessica announced with a confident smile on her face.

“How?” Jamie asked, the note of doubt in his tone unmissable.

“Have you forgotten?” she replied, pointing a slim finger to her chest. “I’m a Paladin of Elihanna. By the way, did anyone see my weapon? Or at least have a warhammer?”

Maria hesitated. Jessica still looked drained from Theren’s ritual. Her limbs trembled ever so slightly, and her skin was still a bit pallid. “Are y...

Ranger Report - Episode 05: TGC

[2052]

By the second year of the war, the large-scale conflict that would come to be known as the First Wave had finally reached an equilibrium. Entire regions lay decimated, but the deployment of the initial Ranger units offered a glimmer of hope for humanity. Despite the Orks’ relentless attacks, these newly trained special soldiers stood firm.

Recognizing the importance of public support for its future endeavors, the Academy took steps to enhance its image. It forged partners...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 150: Campfire

A deep, resonant voice whispered, reverberating within his mind rather than his ears. "Until next time" 

For a moment, he could do nothing but stare at the space where the gate had stood. His heart thundered in his chest, and he realized with startling clarity that, for the span of a few breaths, he had been certain of his own death. It was as though he had peered into the eyes of something vast and ancient, a force capable of snuffing him out like a candle flame. Then, just as fas...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 149: Let's dance

Jamie let the remaining dagger slip from his fingertips. "Let's dance."

As the dagger descended from Jamie's hand, it vanished into thin air before it could ever touch the ground. They heard no clatter of metal, no steel hitting against stone. The cavern seemed to hold its breath.

Jamie strode toward Theren, his steps measured and unhurried, even as he weaved between the piercing attacks of the cloak. Each one missed him by mere centimeters, but he moved as if engaged in a leisure...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 148: Corruption

Jamie turned, his grin stretching wider with an almost delirious glee. The aura from the gate tried to force its will on him. Emanating an oppressive mana wave. Yet he stood as if its crushing force were nothing more than a soft breeze. Jamie flicked one of his daggers and caught it by the tip, feeling the balance of the blade.

Theren stared, baffled by Jamie's resistance. Even the antler-like horns curling from Theren's forehead seemed to quiver with uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Maria...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 147: A Shadow

[Jessica PoV]

Jessica couldn’t pinpoint when it all began, but she did remember the day she first met it. She was around four years old at the time. They hadn’t yet moved to the United States. Her family still lived in some suburb on the outskirts of London, though precisely where escaped her. Those early memories were shrouded in a fog of childhood oblivion. Still, certain moments shone through in flashes.

From early on, Jessica had noticed the difference in how she ...

Ranger Report - Episode 04: Evolution

[2051]

The first educational materials created by the Academy began to be aired around the world. Their purpose was to raise the organization's popularity and to let the world know that it was no longer the same.

The Z-Crystal had changed the course of the war, but also the course of humanity.

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 146: Remains

“Tòisichidh sinn!”

As soon as the words left Theren’s lips, the world lurched as if the flow of time had been ripped apart. Everything slowed to a crawl. Andrik’s wounded body hung in mid-air, blood drops catching torchlight as they expelled from the exit wound. Each soldier, each flicker of flame, seemed trapped in a dreamlike stasis.

Still, they were able to think, to see, to agonize in that state. Jamie wanted to move, but his entire body felt as if it weighed tons. 2025-07-25 00:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 145: Siblings

Jamie heard the call from the girl with short, green hair, chained at the center of the hall. Her voice was frail and hoarse. Yet, it didn't matter how different she appeared. She was taller, more defined, every muscle tensed beneath her grimy skin, and still, those eyes were unmistakable. They were her eyes, even if the body was not her own.

Moments before any soldier could react, the bard sprang into action. As if the world around him had slowed, Jamie vaulted toward the stone platfor...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 144: Traps

'Wonderful,' Jamie thought bitterly. 'I avoided entering the last one, and now I'm forced into this.'

He passed a hand through his hair, bracing himself for whatever might lie ahead.

Beside him, Maria appeared just as unsettled.

"You received it too?" Jamie asked.

"A mausoleum?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Is there a god buried here?"

"I have no idea," Jamie admitted. "But it seems, gods can die, and it's not as uncommon as one might think."<...

Ranger Report - Episode 03: The Academy

[2051]

Up to that point, no one knew where the first Ranger had come from. Yet her astonishing success in battle, securing humanity’s first true victory, had altered the course of the war.

Behind this pivotal breakthrough emerged an organization and corporate entity unaffiliated with any government. Simply called the Academy, it declared to the entire world that it could transform ordinary people into humanity’s ultimate weapons against the Orks.

Any nation that...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 143: Sith

Andrik announced, his tone leaving no room for question. "We are going in."

The company of thirty, once scattered among the trees, drew together. They formed a narrow column of three soldiers side by side. Andrik and his sister Serana took the lead. Just behind them marched Maria, Jamie, and a Hafenstadt soldier.

Jamie had never descended into an iron mine before, but the scenario before them matched everything he'd heard.

Stepping inside, the company advanced through the la...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 142: Murderer

[The God of War sends a message: 'Impressive.']

[You have slain 7 Orcs.]

[You spilled 60 liters of blood.]

[Some gods have chosen to bless you with 1,600 Experience Points.]

"Only seven?" Jamie murmured. He could have sworn he'd taken down more. The adrenaline of battle often blurred the line between memory and reality. Even so, the notification remained unchanged.

"Calm down. Breathe," he told himself, inhaling deeply. The cold air filled his lungs, grounding hi...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 141: Orcs

Andrik turned as he whispered. "Orcs."

The word hung in the air, sending a ripple of tension through the company. Though the soldiers halted in an instant, achieving absolute silence was impossible. The clinks of armor, the crunch of boots into the snow, all these sounds seemed amplified in the forest. Yet, masked by the fact that Orcs were anything but quiet.

Over a hundred meters away, hulking figures moved, carving a path of destruction through the woodland. The Orcs tore down ...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 140: The Party

"Wait," Maria called out, a bit breathless. "You didn't think I'd let you go alone, did you?"

Jamie halted mid-stride. Snowflakes clung to his coppery hair, and his breath formed misty puffs in the frigid air. He turned to face her, frustration etched into his features. "You don't need to follow me. You know that?" he replied.

"So what?" Maria retorted, squaring her shoulders. "If you die out there, my chance at freedom dies with you. I need you alive for my plan."

He sighed...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 139: Gone Missing

"Your sister, Yessika. She was stationed among our defenses, assigned to a crucial post. Following the last attack that occurred two days ago..." He paused. "She has gone missing."

The announcement struck Jamie like a physical blow. The change in his demeanor was immediate and unmistakable.

Anyone observing might have thought it impossible for the atmosphere to grow colder within the stronghold, but Jamie's gaze proved otherwise. His eyes hardened, glinting like shards of blue ice...

Ranger Report - Episode 02: Starstruck

[2051]

The corridor was a long, dark tunnel, and every flicker of crimson light only deepened the sense of doom that clung to the air. Between bursts of alarm sirens, an eerie hush took hold, broken only by the echo of footsteps pounding against concrete. 

Yet the only record of it came from an old security camera. Two officers rushed forward, each step driving them deeper into the underground base.

“Which one is this?” the scientist asked. “Our fourth? Fifth atta...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 138: Marriage

"They are both great options," Maria continued, her eyes meeting those of Andrik and Serana. "However," she paused, allowing the word to linger in the air, "I prefer the third option."

A subtle tension gripped the room. The soldiers and nobles exchanged curious glances. Lord Varric Frosthell, seated at the throne-like chair, arched a thick brow.

"Amusing," Varric remarked, his tone devoid of amusement. Lines of age and authority etched deeply into his stern face. "I don't recall p...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 137: Third Option

The silhouette stood stark against the infernal flames. It was a charred figure bound to the towering pyre at the center of the festivities. Yet, the townspeople revolved around it, their faces aglow with firelight as laughter and music filled the air. The macabre celebration churned Jamie's stomach.

'At the end of the day, they're all puppets in the lord's hands,' Jamie thought bitterly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He couldn't fathom what lies or accusations the lord had spun to ...

The Crime Lord Bard - Chapter 136: Frosthell

The clash with the Remorhaz had left the soldiers bruised and battered, but victory was theirs. Maria and Jamie, although not hurt, were tired from the fight.

"We're down to one carriage," Maria announced, her voice firm yet with signs of exhaustion. She stood amidst the soldiers, her breath forming pale clouds in the air. "We'll need to redistribute the provisions among the remaining carriages. As for personnel, we'll have to alternate. We'll switch shifts every three hours. One out of...