egathentale

The Simulacrum - Chapter 42 - Part 3 & 4

Part 3

"Morning," I greeted Josh when I reached my desk.

"Hi," he returned the greeting with a lazy wave of his hand, not even bothering to change his slacker posture in his seat. "You are late."

"I had to pick up the girls on the way, and we kind of lost track of time," I explained myself as I put my bag down onto the desk.

"Go ahead and explode, you normie," he told with an annoying grin plastered on his face, and I automatically rolled my eyes.<...

Offer from Webnovel

My Dear Readers.

As I have mentioned in the comments of the last chapter, I have been contacted by a certain well-known (and somewhat reviled) web novel publishing company. They put two offers on the table: one would be an exclusive deal with them, combined with promises of lots of lucrative benefits, with the "only" caveat being that I would have to remove The Simulacrum from literally everywhere and grant them exclusive publishing and copyright and allow them to put my work behindvabe...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 42 - Part 1 & 2

Part 1

It was a little after midnight. The only light in my room came from the monitor of my PC, and my face probably looked pretty spooky in its light as I frowned at it in dissatisfaction. 

Ugh, fine. I might as well be honest here and admit that I wasn't really frowning at the screen; I had been doing that for a while even before I turned on the PC. The reason behind my sour mood was actually quite simple, and it was related to a certain lovely yet decided...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 41 - Part 2

I appeared on a rooftop somewhere in the urban center of Timaeus. It was a cold, cloudy evening, so I was definitely glad I brought my coat. It was only when I buttoned up that I realized I forgot to bring my phone with me. I understandably decided against going back and getting it just yet, as getting murdered by Judy would really not help with my current plans.

Speaking of which, I came over here for a reason, didn't I? I glanced over towards the edge of the rooftop, and after making ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 41 - Part 1

"Ouch," My entire upper body jerked back as a hiss escaped my mouth against my will, much to my eternal (or at the very least momentary) shame and embarrassment.

"Sorry," Snowy yanked back her hand as if she just touched a hot stove, nearly dropping the swab of cotton-wool in it.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," I reassured her and gestured for her to continue. She showed me an apologetic smile and after just a moment of hesitation she resumed her basic but much-needed treatment ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 40 - Part 2

I took a shallow breath the moment I arrived at my destination, held it in, and quickly hid in a dark little cranny I picked ahead of time by the nearest door. I was in a poorly lit concrete corridor, and the familiar smell of heavy and slightly stale air immediately told me that I was underground. I couldn't see too far in either direction, since the only source of light in the hallway was coming from the open door by my side. By the looks of the slightly arched ceiling and the various metal...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 40 - Part 1

A simple thrust down on the right, then a sharp swing back up and diagonally to the left. Keep up the momentum by spinning the spear overhead once and cut down diagonally from the other side. Pull back with a half-step and level the shaft with the ground, bend the knees, and then jab forward. Pull back before it would become a full lunge and parry counter-clockwise, then chain that into a low stab. Use the momentum to side-step to the left while pulling the spear back overhead, feint a high s...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 39 - Part 3

The sound of the last bell of the day filled me with, of all things, trepidation, all thanks to a certain workaholic class representative. This might come off as a surprise, but I really, really didn't want to meet the weird school nurse with his annoying laugh and his stupid mallet. Unfortunately for me, Ammy spent an uncomfortable amount of time nagging me about how I had to go there first thing after school before she left. 

It might have been an exercise in delaying the inevita...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 39 - Part 1 & 2

Part 1

My morning within the walls of the familiar classroom was decidedly normal, as far as such a word could be even applied to this weird little world I lived in at the moment. Our classes were all held by Mrs. Applebottom, as usual, and the curriculum was mind-numbingly boring, also as usual. 

If there was one thing that might have changed, it was that the placeholders seemed to be just a tiny bit less vacuous as before, but considering that I ...

Yet another heads up...

Hello, my dear readers.

Things have been a little hectic over here recently. Nothing big this time, but lots of small issues at work and home, plus a slew of problems with both my bank account and my PayPal account really cut into my writing time in the past three weeks. Because of that, I probably won't be able to publish the full chapter here on Friday, so instead expect half a chapter then, and the second half sometime during the weekend or early next week at the latest. I also have ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 38

Part 1

"Are we clear on this?" I asked in a grave tone befitting the situation as I raised the photos I received from the Arch-mage and flashed them in everyone's direction. "If you see this woman, do not engage her. Any questions?"

"I have one," Josh spoke cautiously. "What if she 'engages' us?" he asked, complete with air-quotes. 

"You run away and call me," I stated matter-of-factly. "Anything else?" 

For a second or fi...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 37

Part 1

"Ooow! Fuck!" Josh le

The Simulacrum - Chapter 36 - Part 3

Part 3

"At last, some progress!" I exhaled in relief when the gang assembled in the main hall once again.

As per my previous request, my companions all changed into something more... well, I wanted to say 'practical', but considering Snowy was wearing her Abyssal outfit made of black leather strips held on by magic (or double-sided tape, one or the other), it probably wasn't the right word. 'Comfortable'? No, it didn't look that either. How a...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 36 - Parts 1 and 2

Part 1

"All right kids, gather around!" I called out to the gang scattered in my living room. 

It was a little after four in the afternoon and, all things considered, our double-date was a resounding success even with the unexpected appearance of a certain creepy monster huntress. After the amusement park, we visited a nearby zoo (in fact, the two were apparently run by the same business, explaining all the various animal mascots) and then we all had a he...

Heads up

Hello, my dear readers. 

I am writing this to notify you that tomorrow's scheduled Patreon chapter is likely going to be a little late. I have been suffering from a terrible case of insomnia for exactly ten days today, only sleeping for one-to-three hours each night. During the past few days I got to the point where I can taste colors and have the attention span of a butterfly on LSD, a compromised condition that isn't exactly ideal for doing quality creative work (unless you are A...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 35

Part 1

It was a beautifu

The Simulacrum - Chapter 34

Part 1

It was already a

The Simulacrum - Volume 2 Extra 2: – Childhood Friends

It was already dark outside, and with the lights turned off, the only thing illuminating Joshua's living room was the old CRT television in front of the couch, a relic of the rapidly shifting technological landscape of the island. The place looked fairly ordinary even under the less than ideal lighting conditions. The white walls appeared light blue due to the light of the screen, and they were covered in numerous family photos, cheap landscape paintings and other assorted ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 33

Part 1

"I'm outside of the gates now," stated the echoing voice of Elly as she cautiously peeked left and right just outside of the main gates of the Dracis mansion. "Where are you?"

"Move a little further to the right," I instructed her through the phone while simultaneously observing her with Far Sight. "Further. Further. Just a liiiiitle further..."

I continued to watch her inch forward step by step (which was an admittedly amusing sight, as she was j...

The Simulacrum - Volume 2 Extra: Crowey

"I. Want. RESULTS!"

The strained, high pitched roar of the injured man echoed in the spacious yet eerily gloomy baroque bedroom for a second, only to be immediately followed by a series of painful, wheezing coughs that didn't subside for several seconds. None of the ten or so people crowding the room dared to utter a single word until the man in the bed finished.

They were all dressed in fine, if slightly eclectic clothes ranging from modern suits and uniforms t...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 32

Part 1

I stifled a small yawn, which was still more out of habit than actual sleepiness, and then I silently stretched my back as well for good measure while still sitting in front of my PC. It was a little after seven in the morning, so it was still quite dark outside my window, with the only source of lighting in my room being the harsh blue light of the computer screen. I made sure to move my joints, which were understandably stiff after sitting still for hours, as q...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 31

 Part 1

I shivered for a moment after the longest, most nauseating teleportation experience I had since I discovered this new ability of mine. Unlike the previous occasions, when I only felt the world blur for a blindingly fast split-second, this time the process felt like swimming through molasses. There didn't seem to be other complications though, so I focused my attention on getting my churning stomach under control, an endeavor not helped by the thick, musty s...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 30

Part 1

"Bye," my dear assistant spoke as she waved with about as much enthusiasm as I have ever seen her display.

"I'm not leaving yet!" my other girlfriend retorted while still clinging to me. "We are still not at our mansion."

"Bye-bye. Take care," Judy continued, undaunted by her words.

"I told you, I'm not letting go until we are at the gates!" 

"Buh-bye."

"Leooo! Judy is bullying me," my clingier girlfriend pleaded with me whi...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 29

Part 1

In the end, I was right

The Simulacrum - Chapter 28

 "So, are we all done?" I inquired using my most diplomatic voice as my eyes swept over the usual suspects crowding around the single table in my living room. At the moment, due to the limited number of comfortable real-estate where three people could sit side by side at the same time, I was seated on my couch instead of my usual comfy chair, with one girlfriend on each side of mine. My question thankfully made the rest finally stop gossiping in the open, so I let out a long breath and c...

Heads up

Good day, ladies and gentlemen.

I just wanted to inform you that the universe apparently doesn't want the next chapter to come out on time, as I not only lost about half of the already written chapter to a freak file corruption, but last weekend I also suffered a minor hand injury, which resulted in me only being able to type with one hand, further reducing my productivity.

As such, the next chapter will be published on Saturday, or Sunday the latest, and it will be slightly sho...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 27

Part 1

"So, are you all right now?" I asked the nervously fidgeting girl sitting on the edge of the bed while I was in the process of wiping the front of my coat with a towel I found in the bathroom. She gave me a nod so insecure she might as well had shaken her head, but I didn't say that out loud, lest it would prompt Snowy to grab me again and start sobbing for another ten minutes. Speaking of time, I quickly checked my phone, and noted that it was almost eight i...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 26

Part 1

"You have what?!" The

I'm on Patreon! Yay?

Here we go, I suppose. The first step is always the hardest. I wonder how far this road will go...