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The Simulacrum - Chapter 137 - Part 3

"Sunova—!"

"Evening, Raven Boy," I greeted the young Knight sitting at the table, and he glared at me in return.

"I told you to stop doing that!"

"Stop doing what?" I asked innocently as I sat down as well.

"Stop appearing next to me like that! It's freaking me out."

I had many a different response on the tip of my tongue, but in the end, I settled on a shrug and absent-mindedly scanned the room with my eyes.

We were inside the 'dockyard hideout', as I us...

Fantasy Economics 101 - Chapter 17

Every great business starts with a plan

"Wait, Mister Raol! Slow down! You're being too rough!" the hermitess cried out in alarm.

"You heard her, fool! You have to insert it gently, and only speed up gradually, over time!" the ghostly necromancer scoffed while floating near the ceiling.

"So this is how the humans do it? Fascinating," the dwarf whispered as he rose to his tiptoes to have a better look.

"Stop talking like we're doing something lecherous!" the skeleton ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 137 - Part 2

A family outing. It wasn't that odd of a thing to consider; after all, I'd already taken my sisters for one of those escape room attractions a while ago, though back then, I was accompanied by my girlfriends. This time, it was a 'pure' family experience only involving the Dunning household.

By the way, let's stop this train of thought and ruminate on this point for a while longer. 'The Dunning household'. On the surface, we might've looked like a suburban family right out of an old sitc...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 137 - Part 1

My return from the Elysium was swift. While I was tempted to pay a visit to Kane, I could do that any other time, and I found it more important to return home and keep tabs on the directors while the wounds on their egos were still fresh.

As such, by the time me and Jaakobah returned to the usual balcony, we were already welcomed by an open portal. He must've called ahead, but it worked out perfectly for me. On the elevator ride to the right floor, I did a quick Far Sight round on all t...

Volume 7 Extra 3: Spring has come to Critias

Valentine's wasn't that big of a deal on Critias as expected. Sure, we had a fun little fair going on at the main square, and the whole 'give chocolate to people you fancy' thing was alive and kicking, but it didn't have the over-the-top, all-permeating presence of the holiday season. I half expected that all the Christmas garlands and light-strings would be replaced by ones made of pink hearts around the city center, but to my pleasant surprise, the former all disappeared along with the snow...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 136 - Part 4

"Lord Archon?"

Hearing the flat voice coming from the doorway, I opened one eye and glanced at Jaakobah, who returned my gaze with an unperturbed expression. I was sitting inside the clandestine meeting room of the chief directors at the moment, and I've just finished doing a Far Sight round check across all the relevant targets. My coming here was a bit of a gamble, because it gave the nefarious Narrative the perfect opportunity to start moving the pieces on the board in my absence, so...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 136 - Part 3

It was a slow, languid Saturday afternoon, as if in direct defiance of the crazy day I had before, and the familiar living room of Josh's home felt especially tranquil. In retrospect, I kind of needed something like this to unwind a little, and even the repeated yells of 'Wave Motion Fist!' coming from the television felt oddly calming.

"So, you're not going to flip the Elysium's table overnight?" Josh asked, obviously trying to divide my attention so that he could catch me in an air ju...

Fantasy Economics 101 - Chapter 16

The true power of gold

"P-Please excuse me for my previous conduct," the stubby man spoke in a low voice, his eyes glued to the table in front of him. "I… let my excitement get the better of me."

After the dwarf finally regained consciousness and ceased panicking, everyone sad down around the table. Except for the ghost, of course, since the concept hardly applied to him due to an obvious lack of legs. Or butt.

In the meantime, Raol put on his full disguise to make the g...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 136 - Part 2

"No. I'm telling you, I've had enough!" I said, crossing my arms with the defiance of a thousand soccer moms demanding to see the managed combined. "This was the last straw. I'm fed up with the stupid Celestials and their games, and I'm putting an end to it."

Following my declaration, Roland touched his forehead and let out a soft groan.

"Please be reasonable. We just talked about this the other day," he insisted, but I was too mad to care.

After my return from Elysium, I ch...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 136 - Part 1

The air in the Elysium, for the lack of better words, tasted different. It was something I'd noticed before, but this time I was sure it wasn't just my imagination. I wasn't sure what the exact difference was, but it was weird.

Shaking my head, I exiled the thought from my head and straightened my tailcoat. I was standing outside one of the cottages surrounding the familiar Migdál Glaukós, weighing my options. In fact, this was as good a time as any to take a deep breath of the weird-...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 135 - Part 3

Three days. I was forced to waste three whole goddamn days because of this. Needless to say, I wasn't happy about it at all.

"My liege… I'm still not convinced that this is a—"

A single raised finger and a glare were enough to make Arnwald fall silent and let out a dejected sigh. He was sitting on my couch, along with Morgana, and I had the two of them wear casual clothes. In the former's case, that was a white shirt and brown knit vest combo right out of Judy's father's fashi...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 135 - Part 2

"Just go home, take a nice, warm bath, and rest," Elly instructed the class rep, and she let out an ambivalent noise that could be maybe-kinda-sorta-potentially construed as agreement.

The four of us, including Judy, were standing outside, near the entrance of the base. Since it was no longer strictly 'secret' anymore, after it became the official headquarters and/or fortress of the Ordo Draconis, it naturally meant more traffic. First off, we had our Knights moving back and forth daily...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 135 - Part 1

"Come inside," Moose told me as he gestured from the living room. "You must be cold after flying here."

"It wasn't that bad," I answered, opting not to correct his misunderstanding.

"Gimme a moment! I'll whip up a warm drink, don't go anywhere!" Mike exclaimed and disappeared through another door.

Sighing, I walked over to Moose's side and took a seat on the cheap couch. By the looks of it, it was supposed to be worn down, but since it was technically new, like everything el...

Just a little poll

Hello, dear readers.

I'm not going to mince words here: I feel like I'm having a bit of an adverse relationship with the Simulacrum as of late. It's not a straight up writer's block, but close enough, and it stems from the pacing. 

Right now, we are still in this "calm before the storm" segment, and when I started this post-Elysium arc, the core concept was to have Leo be overwhelmed with all of these different events and plots going on in parallel all at once, which would ca...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 134 - Part 3

A familiar sight. A clean yet simultaneously lived-in and comfortable lounge. A countertop polished to a mirror shine, and behind it, a large and burly ram-man casually cleaning a tall glass with some custom-made tool holding a washcloth. An extraordinary scene, yet at the same time, nothing out of the ordinary.

"[They art the cautious sort, and hideth their tracks with effort of the most meticulous kind. Their work fills me with pride and frustration in equal measure.]"

"[This, m...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 134 - Part 2

"You know, I seriously wasn't expecting to have this conversation today," I said softly as we sat down.

It was followed by a lengthy stretch of silence (or at the very least, it certainly felt long), during which I thought hard about how to approach this whole mess. How much of my notes did she read? How much did she understand? How should I open the conversation without giving away the game too early? If she only skimmed my early notes on the nature of the Simulacrum (heck, back then, ...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 134 - Part 1

"Would someone be gracious enough to explain to me what exactly happened on the grounds of my school, without myconsent?"

The air in Lord Grandpa's familiar study was positively crackling with ambient mana reacting to its owner's foul mood. More importantly though, it's been quite a while since the last time I've been here, hasn't it? The room was solemn yet fancy, as always, and the elderly arch-mage had even done some re-decorating by adding a few more wooden cabinet...

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Hello, dear readers.

No chapter part today, sorry.

Long story short, I had a tooth infection (probably a broken piece of a root left behind, not sure) inflaming the left side of my face for the past couple of days. It didn't hurt, but my jaw was swollen to twice its size, it was giving me a pulsing tinnitus with each heartbeat whenever I laid down, and I even got a fever and some headaches from it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get an appointment with the dentist (or rather, I could....

The Simulacrum - Chapter 133 - Part 3

Okay. Deep breath. Let's look at the situation objectively and—

"Boo! That's the wrong look!"

I was momentarily taken aback by the complaints coming from the dome, and when I glanced over, I found Angie being held back by her boyfriend. However, before I could even properly comprehend what was going on over there, my danger sense blared at me again, and I instinctively revved up the output of the physical enhancements on the armour.

A split-second later, another ruby-red b...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 133 - Part 2

The rest of the school day went without a hitch. We had another intense basketball duel with Josh during PE (our teams tied), and during homeroom, Mrs. Applebottom reminded everyone to study hard for the rest of the semester, and there was a vague mention of some kind of sports festival. That last one was news to me, but I figured I'd ask Josh about it later.

More importantly, there were a few small but noticeable changes. First and foremost, Judy's makeover, slight as it might have bee...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 133 - Part 1

As the doors leading to the school's roof opened, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks and suck in a deep, nostalgia-filled breath. Only to nearly get knocked over for my trouble.

"Sorry, coming through!" Angie called out well after she bumped into me, followed by her boyfriend. He was, once again, designated as the group's mule and was carrying a whole bunch of lunch boxes, all of which came from the cafeteria. In any case, once out in the open, the Celestial girl looked at the sunny ...

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I hope your 2023 was fine, and I wish you all a peaceful and productive 2024.

I'm a little bit tuckered out after the usual holiday shenanigans, so I'll get my bearings today, and you can expect a new chapter part tomorrow. After that, we're returning to our usual schedule.

All in all, thank you for all your support, and I once again wish you a happy new year!

The Simulacrum - Chapter 132 - Part 4

At last, Valentine's was finally over!

Well, not completely, but the individual dates were successfully completed, everyone had a great time, and I was completely exhausted by the end of it. Well, maybe not as much as Elly, who was sprawled out on the floor and resting her head on my thigh with a satisfied (if somewhat silly) grin. To be fair though, after all the jumping and waving she did on stage, it would've been stranger if she wasn't tired.

We were back in my room, and I was...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 132 - Part 3

"Oh, look! They have a photo booth!" my excited draconic girlfriend exclaimed, pointing at a spot near the central showcase of the Valentine's Fair built on top of a fancy fountain (lacking water at the moment, because of obvious reasons).

"Can you really call it a 'booth' when it's out in the open?" I philosophized, but not for long, as I was already being dragged over there.

"Don't split hairs! Let's try it!"

She didn't need to pull me that hard, but since it came to this,...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 132 - Part 2

"Seriously. It was less than ten minutes," I grumbled as I led Judy out of the movie theatre. "I thought I could go home, get comfy, and then watch them through Far Sight to see what the hubbub was about. How was I supposed to know they would launch an all-out assault the minute we left the school?"

"You should have seen it coming," Judy told me with a small shrug. "You said you told them to be discreet. Them doing the opposite is comedy 101."

"Then what was I supposed to tell the...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 132 - Part 1

Looking through the glass automatic doors of the school, I couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that time was, in fact, a fact. The season was changing. Two months before this day, during the school festival preparations (which somehow felt simultaneously like it was yesterday, but also a year ago), the sun would've been already descending close to the horizon at this hour, yet today, it was still bright outside.

It reminded me of many things, and I was lost in thought by the shoe-loc...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 131 - Part 3

Where did my peaceful school life go? The place where I could temporarily escape all the magical, supernatural, and mystical malarkey, and focus on ordinary problems? Like grades. Or avoiding romance-comedy tropes. Or getting back at Josh for beating me in table tennis.

Well, fine, that last one might have been a bit too specific, and I was still in the lead when it came to our little competitions during PE, but it was about the principle, dammit. Not to mention, he was clearly cheating...

Volume 6 Extra 7: It's All Fun and Games Until the DM Makes You Roll for Prank Resistance

"Oh, wooow!" a certain hyperactive Celestial girl exclaimed as the double door opened. "This is amazing! It's even better than I imagined!"

"It's even worse than I feared," I echoed her, and my dear assistant promptly poked my side with her finger.

"Hush, Chief. Don't be a party pooper."

Resigned, I followed the rest of our little group as we all entered a very special room of the Dracis mansion.

"So? What do you think?" Dad-in-law asked with an ear-to-ear grin, and si...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 131 - Part 2

Minutes trickled into hours as I finished inspecting the plaques and did some other miscellaneous enchanting tasks around the headquarters. After Arnwald, no one else bothered me with any additional requests, so I could finish up everything faster than expected. It was too early to pick up the class rep and Mike, so I decided to catch my breath and headed over to the lounge.

For the record, it wasn't the main hall's lounge area, with the bar counter and the mini fridge and the air hocke...

The Simulacrum - Chapter 131 - Part 1

The class rep and Mike arrived at my doorstep exactly at five in the afternoon. Exactly as expected, I would say, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to indulge in an old trick. As such, I waited on the other side of the entrance of the house, kept an eye on them with Far Sight, and just when Ammy was about to reach for the doorbell, I threw the door open with a smile as wide as my face could go.

"Welcome!"

The two of them jolted in unison, but after the first surprise, the cla...