Quugaarpak (Male).
I don’t even know how to pronounce that, let alone what it means, Adon thought.
Samson, do you know what a Quugaarpak is? Adon asked.
No, his brother replied.
Goldie? William? Adon transmitted.
No idea, Goldie sent.
“I have no idea,” William said. “Nor have I ever seen anything that looks or smells like these monstrosities.”
That last part seems unn...
2025-04-20 23:10:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe group moved in silence at first.
Adon was still stuck in the interaction with Rosslyn a bit at first. Even though he was no longer in the moment, there were questions he could not help asking himself about what the Princess had told him.
How could she have changed her mind so fast? After what she said just hours before… Did it have something to do with the way I reacted earlier? Was that it?
The questions were extremely unpleasant to dwell on—even though Ado...
2025-04-20 23:08:38 +0000 UTC View PostWe’re not alone.
Adon’s telepathic voice cut through the darkness and reached all those around him, not just Rosslyn, the spiders, and the young lords.
“What do you mean?” asked a Dessian knight in a tone of alarm. He turned to the young lords. “What does the butterfly mean?”
“Adon?” Frederick asked, raising an eyebrow.
In the darkness, there are other creatures lurking, Adon replied, loud enough so that the whole group could hear him....
2025-04-18 23:41:21 +0000 UTC View PostJames wanted to reply to Luna, but the System message—which also appeared to be about her—had captured his full attention.
[Your subordinate has defeated a Ruler and received the right to become a Ruler!]
What?!
Luna would become a Ruler? What would that mean for the Fisher Kingdom? For her relationship to James and the other residents of the Fisher Kingdom?
But the System message continued, as if intent on answering all his questions.
... 2025-04-17 17:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe Eastern Diamondback Hydra fled across the Florida landscape, and the lone wolf followed.
Past the early days when the Queen had made some efforts to move through water and hide her tracks, it was not difficult to follow her trail. This was partly due to Luna getting better at it as she went alone; her tracking-related Skills had leveled up several times during the journey. Mostly, however, the ease of tracking the enemy came from the fact that Silk left a trail of destruction in her...
2025-04-16 16:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostA week passed, then two.
The sense of shock that had taken hold of the members of the Council at the idea of the invasion had mostly calmed now, as time passed and nothing actually happened. Until the Panther Army actually came into view somewhere near the outskirts of the Kingdom, it was easy for them to put it from their minds.
As for James, the Panther Queen was never far from his thoughts.
Several hours each day were spent in trying to get his body back up to its normal ...
2025-04-15 15:00:24 +0000 UTC View PostMen and women walked down the streets wearing varying expressions that invariably conveyed some flavor of awe.
Some wore special head coverings or hats. Others covered their faces. And some wore none of that, simply going about in their unadorned street clothes.
Many of the people who filled the public spaces came from countries where they had enforced laws or held strict customs over such matters of attire.
But for now, no one gave anyone else trouble or even criticism for ...
2025-04-12 16:00:35 +0000 UTC View PostIt was twilight, the sun still below the horizon, the light still dim enough to conceal even some things right in front of one’s face.
The wind was starting to pick up. The season was changing, and a brisk breeze brought the scent of wet fur to Doppelganger’s nostrils.
He crept through the underbrush, pressing his body closer to the ground. The enemy was somewhere close.
There was a rustling twenty feet to his left, and he let out a quiet whistle, one that could easily b...
2025-04-12 01:44:47 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s just not going to work, Mr. Roget,” Christian said.
“Explain it to me again, Christian,” Alan said resolutely. “Use small words this time. Please cut out the scientific stuff. No one goes to law school to specialize in math and science.” He let out a little chuckle. “Except patent lawyers! And I was not that.”
“Right, right,” Christian said, nodding. “So, the reason it won’t work, in simple terms, uh—” He picked up a twig and started fiddling wi...
2025-04-09 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe Fisher Expeditionary Force entered the forest cautiously.
It had been essentially constant danger and detours after they left the tortoises’ land. They were beginning to grow accustomed to the risks of the world outside the Fisher Kingdom.
There was no Ruler here, they would have felt that, but the scouts could sense something ahead. Alan had chosen to keep the group tightly together rather than let the scouts separate themselves to get a better view this time. The last time...
2025-04-09 04:26:56 +0000 UTC View PostBerserk Mode is way too dangerous to just be sitting there in my Status sheet… right?
It was hard to be certain about this, because James was fairly cool-headed by nature, and even when he did get angry, it had never actually been triggered.
Let’s look at the description again before we get too hasty.
[Berserk Mode: Rage builds within you, fueling something violent, uncontrollable, and destructive. Adds Wrath Meter, which measures the current st...
2025-04-07 03:45:13 +0000 UTC View PostJames finally opened his Status again. It hadn’t actually been very long, but it felt like forever—and with no meaningful progress since the last time he had checked.
Fuck, I’m falling behind some bastard who isn’t confined to a bed, James thought. Vidarr, your blessing had better be damned useful in the end…
Then he put the negative thoughts fully from his mind—mental discipline was one of the superhuman qualities about him now—and focused on the S...
2025-04-07 03:43:49 +0000 UTC View PostJames and Hester exited the dream and stayed put right where they were in Dreamspace for a short time to debrief.
“Well, that was interesting, eh?” James said, prompting Hester to begin explaining what she had been doing while James was enjoying the show.
“I actually wasn’t watching the battle, sir,” she said. “I hope you gleaned useful information from it. But I realized, between this and the last time that you brought me into a dream, that the way resting human and m...
2025-04-05 19:16:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe group finally struck the ground, and everyone sprang into action in different directions.
Adon simply deactivated mental magic while keeping Telepathy going. This would decrease the drain on his mana pool, leaving him some leeway to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
The knights all formed a tight, protective ring around Rosslyn, who swayed slightly on her feet as she landed, the mana enforcement of her legs that she had used to break her fall slightly weakened by the amount o...
2025-04-04 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the first ball of lightning hit, it was as if the battle had just begun for the first time in earnest.
A ball of white-hot electricity the size of three men tore a massive gap in the Panther Army lines, striking at incredible speed and incinerating over a dozen Pantherfolk on the spot.
More such blows followed, as the Psychic King rained heaven’s wrath upon his enemies.
The Panther Army shifted to simply dodging and trying to scamper up the hill in between avoiding th...
2025-04-04 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe group fell through the air, and time seemed to slow down.
It was strange, until Adon realized that the reason the fall felt slow was that every one of the knights was superhuman. Their retreat before the fall had been made at mana-enhanced speeds, so gravity was significantly slower than their natural rate of motion.
Adon reached out and effortlessly connected with mental magic, then began considering his own plans to deal with the ants, his mind racing at super-speed. As he h...
2025-04-03 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Thank you,” James said, carefully manipulating his voice to mimic the Panther Scout’s. “I have traveled a long way to be here.”
The Queen suddenly snapped her head back to look at him, her body language full of surprise.
“Whisper!” she exclaimed. “I thought you were dead…”
“I think my true body is dead, my Queen,” James said, still performing his imitation. As he spoke, he felt Hester leap free from his fur, off to explore and gather in...
2025-04-02 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostI hope that gives him some peace, James thought once Moishe had left.
The Fisher King had meant everything he said to the Assassin, but if someone had killed James’s sister, even a sincere apology wouldn’t have saved them from his wrath. Sure, Moishe’s sister had been in a specific situation that made it genuinely the best possible choice to kill her—James still believed that—but it would be normal for that to be hard for someone to accept.
He waited patiently a...
2025-04-01 15:11:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Do we retreat, Your Highness?” asked the older knight Adon had healed back on the second level. The man’s voice was calm and measured, almost casual.
The butterfly could feel that it wasn’t an act, either. The old man seemed to have seen much worse situations than anything present in this dungeon, and he had always walked away safely.
“Negative, Sir Stuart,” Rosslyn replied. “Everyone, to arms! Prepare to engage, but only do so if necessary. Do not draw first blood....
2025-04-01 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post[Moishe, I’m glad to see you seem to be all right.]
The words echoed through the air around Moishe as well as appearing in the form of a System-like visual announcement. But the voice was not one of those strange, semi-human sounding System voices. It was James.
I was just about to knock, Moishe thought. But apparently he just knows I’m here. Not creepy at all.
Then the words that James had spoken registered.
“Stil...
2025-04-01 03:55:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe way forward was to find good ways of testing the ground before people put too much weight on it, the group decided after a few minutes of hurried discussion.
The conversation was hurried, because the collapse of a small part of the tunnel system seemed to have stirred something up underground. The golden ants began coming up out of the soil, now, not exactly attacking, but probing.
Ants poked out of various holes in the ground, far away from the intruders at first, then moving...
2025-03-27 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAdon was barely tuned into the conversation as Rosslyn, William, and Frederick discussed dungeon strategy for the level.
He was still stunned from the previous conversation he and the Princess had shared. He felt like the greatest failure in butterfly history. He wished he could slink back inside his chrysalis and melt again—dissolve until he reemerged as a different butterfly. Within the self-pitying stew of his consciousness after the conversation with Rosslyn, there was little room...
2025-03-25 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostI think we should go, Goldie sent. We have seen enough to give a report, yes? She sounded nervous at the sight of so many gold-colored insects.
Adon was inclined to agree with her, both in how much they had observed and in her slight nerves. Knowing the behavior of ants, and seeing so many of them—and more importantly, imagining how many more there were likely to be—he no longer believed this floor was intended purely to delay entrants. Rather, t...
2025-03-24 22:17:14 +0000 UTC View PostSo bright, Adon sent. This should be impossible, right?
It should not be here, Goldie agreed. As far as I know, at least…
She and Adon stared up at it nevertheless. The looming impossibility poised far above their heads. The sun.
We’re still inside, though? Adon sent. He was turning his body carefully, trying hard not to throw Goldie off-balance as he looked around. She slowly shifted back to a normal posture, less unstab...
2025-03-20 10:01:46 +0000 UTC View PostAdon did not know how long he was out.
By the time he awoke again, however, his resources were fully—or very nearly fully—restored.
“We are finally all ready to descend, Adon,” Rosslyn said smoothly, and like that, the butterfly was awake and almost fully alert. Such was the nature of quiescence. He had never been truly asleep.
Still, as the words rang through him, the butterfly’s mind was still partially in the world of fantasy that he had occupied during his semi...
2025-03-19 03:10:39 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the upsides of bringing subordinates into a dungeon, even when they were too weak to be risked in a particular fight, was that after the strongest members of the party had exhausted themselves fighting a strong monster—such as a certain wyvern—those who had not participated directly in combat could come along and help clean up the mess afterward.
Such was the role of the knights at the end of level three of the dungeon—men and women who had fought and trained their whole li...
2025-03-17 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAdon wanted to move, wanted to leap into action or help Rosslyn avoid the oncoming attack or something.
But he read the room telepathically. No one was panicking.
Rosslyn, William, and Frederick each remained unfazed by the sudden curtain of magma rolling their way.
In fact, both brothers continued charging their lightning mana, even as they also shifted positions—drawing closer to each other as well as to Rosslyn and Adon in the middle. Rosslyn simply stood in place, char...
2025-03-17 15:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post“What are you thinking?” Rosslyn asked quietly.
What? was all Adon could think to reply.
“You are not usually quiet for so long.”
They had been walking for several minutes now. As the group came upon other monsters—only monitors at first, then more of the turtles—Rosslyn and the knights had joined in on the killing. The monitors died fairly easily under the mana-reinforced blades the Princess and the warriors wielded, but the turtles seemed too robu...
2025-03-16 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAdon finally managed to withdraw out of the wyvern’s line of sight, after long minutes of crawling across the ceiling.
It was incredibly lucky that there were hardly any glowing orange cracks in the ceiling close to the wyvern. If things had been otherwise, he would have either been stuck too close to the wyvern, or he would have had to take a chance crossing over the extremely hot space, inches away from more magma.
As things stood, Adon quickly transformed into his camel-bat-l...
2025-03-15 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostAdon fluttered down yet another path in the tiresome, seemingly never-ending maze of the third level to the dungeon.
This time, he had done a better job of economizing his resources to explore for much longer in the inferno atmosphere. His Transformation form was slightly smaller and leaner, and his mana use just slightly more efficient.
The result was that he was now into his tenth path explored in the volcanic cave level of the dungeon.
The journey was overall grueling and...
2025-03-14 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post