“Phew,” Rory wiped his brow, the slight nerves he’d had instantly absolved. “I was hoping for this, so I’m glad it didn’t surprise me.”
Grand Crafts were, in general, far less special than the name suggested. They were like any other form of craft, except they required a unified creator capable in multiple fields. They made for extra potent items, but they weren’t some sort of mythical creation beyond comprehension, something he’d long since come to understand with the...
2025-10-24 17:43:24 +0000 UTC
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“…and then the entire thing led to a cascading result in which we were forced to evacuate, but only temporarily!”
“Uh-huh, right,” Rory muttered as the woman continued to jabber on. “Well, I’m glad you found much inspiration from it, but I’ve got places to be.”
“Of course, Lord Founder, and thank you once more for your patronage!”
“Uh-huh, yep, totally.” Rory muttered before finally escaping the clutches of the short woman, apparently the ‘...
2025-10-23 17:59:31 +0000 UTC
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Liquid Pneuma was something Rory had thought about often ever since he’d learned of its existence from the Trial of Space. It was a state of pneuma that Rory had only had small amounts of success with forming. Basic pneuma existed like the atoms in the air, invisible and almost entirely dispersed. Evolving past that was gaseous pneuma, something he utilized from time to time and was most prominent in its usage as the ‘starting fuel’ for the original Stellar Forge.
Liquid pneuma wa...
2025-10-22 17:00:14 +0000 UTC
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“You know, you lot can be stubborn, I swear.” Rory sighed as he spoke to his captive audience.
Captive, being literal, the Scourge Mites were not exactly fond of being manhandled, twisted, and turned as Rory inspected every inch of them.
It had been several days since his outing at the Apostolos clan home-
They really need to come up with a proper last name, or clan name, or something; calling them the Apostolos household feels weird.
-and Rory ha...
2025-10-21 17:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Back in time, a short while
“Right, probably shouldn’t wear something covered in dust and dirt,” Rory muttered to himself as he moved about his room. “Got to make a good first impression.”
Scrounging about, Rory finally settled upon a pair of tan breeches fastened just above his ankles and a black justacorps-style coat atop a white poet shirt.
I either look like I’m off to sign the Declaration of Independence or sail the high seas. One of the ...
2025-10-17 17:00:13 +0000 UTC
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“Trial number fifteen,” Rory grumbled before yawning. “Eighty-eight percent noxious, eight percent blood, four percent heavenly…. And start.”
Mentally counting down in his head the moment he saw the eggs ejected from the mite, right on schedule, at exactly zero seconds, the eggs burst open.
Immature Scourge Mite Empress
Level: 1
Sitting upright instantly, Rory’s exhaustion faded.
Hol...
2025-10-16 17:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Carrying the red crystal sphere under his arm, Rory quickly made his way to the teleportation temple, stopping at the top as he prepared to leave, only to freeze as a massive head rose from the depths of the small lake surrounding the temple.
“Architect,” The Khan of Blue Lightning rumbled.
“Khan,” Rory nodded. “How’ve you been?”
“I have fared well,” The Khan said, lowering his head so that his eyes were level with Rory. ...
2025-10-15 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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It was a day later when Rory finally dragged himself back into familiar glades of shock yellow and electric blue, a presence landing upon him all but instantly as he appeared.
Tier Eight… Must be the Khan.
Rather than enter the mini-Ehkorrus, Rory waited further out, his arms folded over each other, as minutes later Apostlos appeared, jogging over with concern on his face.
“Are you okay?” They were the first words out of his mouth, causing the corners of Rory...
2025-10-14 17:37:51 +0000 UTC
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Having slaughtered the Blight Commanders, Rory led the way as they traversed deeper into the Blight Khan’s territory. Now aware of what Rory was doing, Apostolos began to focus and pay more attention as they traveled, finally noticing the subtle shifts and warps in the terrain around them, which seemed to jump like a flipbook of sketches. Had it not been for the fact that the environment seemed like one endless expanse that didn’t show real differences, it would have been far more jarring...
2025-10-10 17:33:48 +0000 UTC
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For old times’ sake, my ass. Apostolos mentally grumbled to himself. He was waist-deep in muck that he really didn’t want to know the full details of, all while Rory was whistling, clearly having a great time even though he was also waist-deep.
“How are you so nonchalant?” Apostolos grumbled, casting an annoyed look at Rory.
“Oh my not-quite-young, not-quite-apprentice, this doesn’t even top my top five most disgusting things I’ve had to wade...
2025-10-09 18:22:25 +0000 UTC
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You know, in hindsight, that might have been a bit overly dramatic.
It was a thought that came to Rory unbidden as he raced through the tunnels of the third floor, shaking his head as he did.
Nah. I mean, it was either make my escape or deal with being stuck in an awkward situation. It’s probably fine.
Nodding to himself, Rory suddenly slammed his foot down hard, turning with a hard pivot as a claw lashed out at his face, his eyes rolling.
Here ...
2025-10-08 17:32:09 +0000 UTC
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Two things: First, I've decided to officially move the Patreon release schedule to match RR. Second, this chapter is a bit late because I'm still recovering from being under the weather for a bit now. Thanks for your understanding!
--------------
As Rory walked out of the restaurant with a large yawn, his arms stretched overhead, he glanced over to see his small companion once more seated on his shoulder.
“Enjoy the meal?” Rory asked.
“Yes!” The small ...
2025-10-07 18:17:48 +0000 UTC
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If you haven't already noticed, Patreon and RR chapter release times have been synchronized. Made it a little easier to organize.
-----------------
“May I ask you something?” Irene asked, hands folded over her lap.
“You just did.”
“Not… not what I meant,” Irene sighed, her eye twitching. “E.O.N. above, you really haven’t changed one bit. If anything, you’re worse now.”
“Responsibility kills creativity,...
2025-10-03 16:59:35 +0000 UTC
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“God damn, my head is pounding,” Zoey groaned, eyes fluttering as she awoke from her slumber.
Man, how long was I out?
Arms stretched overhead as she let out a long yawn, Zoey glanced around. She was still in the location of their battle with the Queen, which was, in fact, still dead, not far away.
She’d done her best to put on a good front to Rory, but almost as soon as he was gone, she’d passed the fuck out, her body deman...
2025-10-02 19:06:49 +0000 UTC
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“Someone was awfully quiet,” Rory said as soon as they’d left Mariah’s home and laboratory.
“She was spooky,” Astra said with a shudder.
“I didn’t expect you, of all people, to say that.”
“She’s always been spooky. One of my first memories is her poking and prodding me.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised about that,” Rory said. Given what he’d learned about their ability to harness Astra’s aura through an alchemical concoction, it only made se...
2025-10-01 16:02:25 +0000 UTC
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Armed with a small and rather excited fairy seated upon his shoulder, Rory quickly followed the directions given to him by Gil as he traversed Ehkorrus, making a point to avoid any groups of people. From time to time, he was relatively sure that somebody had spotted him, doing a double take as they noticed him, only for Rory to quickly slip out of sight, bending light to briefly obscure his escape.
Most of Ehkorrus looked like any growing village. Still, when Rory finally came to a stop...
2025-09-30 14:00:15 +0000 UTC
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Apostolos sighed before it turned into a yawn, his arms stretched overhead as he stared at the well-shined double doors in front of him, made of fallen branches harvested from the Great Star Blood Sequoia. As far as materials went, it was one of the ‘rarest’ to obtain, given the very specific law mandating that the Star Blood Sequoia was to be untouched. Only fallen branches or the like were allowed to be used, and even that was tightly regulated.
Which felt… uncomfortabl...
2025-09-27 14:00:14 +0000 UTC
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As Rory awoke, something felt off; several seconds passed before his brain rebooted.
Oh. Oh right. I’m home. Sorta home. Whatever.
So used to living in the volcanic region or otherwise traveling through the Deep Chambers of their mountain home, Rory found himself momentarily off guard about the fact that he could hear birds chirping and the sun shining in from a crevice in the bark wall that amounted to a window.
“Another day in paradise,” Rory yawned a...
2025-09-26 14:00:18 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, some quick unfortunate but fairly minor news. I had a tech issue, and thus today's chapter will be delayed one day, which means you'll have a chapter on Saturday this week.
Sorry for the minor inconvenience!
(The minor tech issue is that my tech is M.IA, as my jump drive and laptop were left behind from when I visited some family. Thankfully I'll be getting it back later today!)
-See you guys tomorrow for our regular chapter
2025-09-25 14:00:16 +0000 UTC
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It was only a few minutes later that Rory was seated once more when a figure entered the home that Rory hadn’t seen in quite some time, a figure who he recognized, even if she had clearly done some growing up.
“Violet,” Rory nodded to the woman as she entered the home.
Her home, Rory corrected internally, reminding himself of the fact that Violet and Apostolos were now married.
With kids!
Trying not to fixate on the fa...
2025-09-24 15:53:17 +0000 UTC
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And we're back for volume four!
-----------
Rory had made mistakes in the past.
Sometimes it was that he screwed up a project, which would blow up in his face. Other times, it was biting off more than he could chew. Hell, when he had been in college, he had accidentally slept with the girl one of his buddies was crushing on without ever realizing they were the same person.
Which had been resolved with a brawl that left him with a black eye and a bloody ...
2025-09-23 15:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, sorry this was meant to go out the beginning of my break, not the end, but I ended up enjoying my week off from writing to play some games and relax, so, whoops! In return, expect very in depth answers where I can!
What now really sets the Founder bird apart from any other beast of high tier?
As a general rule,
there
are three categories of monsters, Natural, Spawned, and Enlightened.
2025-09-22 15:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Final chapter of volume three!
------
Essenya had failed.
Her home was burning around her, and people she had helped raise up were dead or dying.
She had failed.
Again.
“Of any I faced in the past, be it monster or not,” The source of her failure said, looking down at her from above. “You have proven the most resilient. To that, you have my praise.”
Essenya wanted to respond, but her throat had been torn out, ...
2025-09-12 15:00:16 +0000 UTC
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Eric had made mistakes in the past. First, when he was five, he stole a candy bar. That was where it all went downhill; that thrill was too intoxicating. Forty years later, Eric had been doing time for ‘borrowing’ a car when the universe exploded, imploded, whatever the terminology was.
Then Eric had found himself back in that same original candy shop, alone, wondering if this was the afterlife.
He’d spent some time reflecting until, much to his surprise, he awoke o...
2025-09-11 15:00:15 +0000 UTC
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It turns out that blowing yourself up from a volcano wasn’t the smoothest ride of Rory’s life.
“Fuckkkkk!” Rory felt like he was being stretched like taffy, carried upon a twister of lava and terawa as it bore through space-time.
Don’t puke, Rory. Don’t puke.
It wasn’t just the sensation of being pulled apart, stretched about, and glued back together that was disorienting him. It was the fact that he was damn close to having an epileptic seizure, the w...
2025-09-10 15:05:42 +0000 UTC
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Three hours earlier
“I’m pretty sure I can hear a bunch of people calling out to me.”
Zoey stared at Rory for several seconds, slowly tilting her head.
“What?” Rory asked, still trying to shake off the buzzing sound of Architect being constantly spoken in his ear.
“Did you hit your head?”
“Uh, yeah?” Rory said. “I mean, the Queen got a few good hits on me.”
“Facetious, I was being facetious.” Zoey sighed. G...
2025-09-09 15:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone, so I actually decided to put this out on Monday as this is the final week of chapters for the volume. (Unless something requires an extra chapter for whatever reason)
I mostly just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware, and that I will be taking a one week break. Last time when I took my week break it became a rolling break, as in each tier got their one week without chapters at different times. So to make it easier on myself this time where I don't...
2025-09-08 15:11:30 +0000 UTC
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"Stand back!”
A figure clad in golden sunlight strode forward, the chaos of the battlefield briefly pushed aside as his sunlight aura flared.
“Heavenly Fury, Sun God’s Smite!”
The golden figure swept his arm down, holding a scythe in it as if it weighed nothing. As the scythe swept down, a ray of golden sunlight, crackling with a righteous electricity, descended upon the field of battle. Whatever the light touch shrieked and died, the fusion attack eviscerated the ho...
2025-09-05 15:00:23 +0000 UTC
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God damn asshole.
Zoey gritted her teeth as she was swatted across the cavern once more, for the umpteenth time.
Barely collecting herself, she found her world a blur of motion and color as the Queen snatched her by the feet, teeth struggling to punch more than an inch or two into her legs as it shook her around, slamming her side to side on the ground.
Damn thing has lost its fucking mind!
On one hand, whatever Rory was doing was working; its body wa...
2025-09-04 15:05:13 +0000 UTC
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Turning your body into metal was, shockingly, not a comfortable process.
Refine it.
Within Zoey’s body, the wispy spider-web tendrils glowed orange, molten metal scorching her insides.
Bear it.
Zoey could see Rory slipping, losing ground faster and faster.
Almost there.
The spider-webs of molten metal within her body were almost all encompassing, a framework for the forceful skill evolution.
Just a bit…. The...
2025-09-03 14:44:47 +0000 UTC
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