(While this is a bit longer than my normal chapters, it took me a while to get all the math and updated spells completed. That, and I spent about 2 hours digging out from the 40-hour snowstorm that pounded my neighborhood, with another 10 inches to a foot expected to come starting tonight into Saturday morning. Winter is finally here!)
Chapter 35
As Thaden jumped down from the wall, starting his run toward the undead horde in the distance, he recheck...
2024-11-07 22:45:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 34
It only took him a little over 6 minutes to fly all the way up to the north/northeast to where the dungeon he was looking for was located, though it took another minute of searching for the ring of dead trees mentioned in the file. From the air, it looked a bit different from what he expected, as the trees were extremely tall, even taller than the ones in Darkwood Forest, though their trunks were fairly thin in comparison. But their trunk size and the...
2024-11-06 23:41:12 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 33
“And that will be a total of… 434,750 gold and 60 silver pieces for the items given to us for sale, minus our commission, of course. Would you like to reinvest any portion of this with the Guild?”
Thaden thought about it for a moment, but the choice was made easier when Sadia gave her own opinion.
“Go ahead and do all of it. You don’t need it, after all.”
That was defini...
2024-11-06 18:55:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 32
Setting down just outside of the Descent into Darkness dungeon, Thaden unequipped Wyvern’s Flight and reequipped his Healthful Protection cape, before quickly casting a plethora of Support and Defensive spells on himself, going so far as to boost his Health pool to incredible heights and set up his Leach combination so that he was prepared for everything. In case the Adversarial Elite monster was inside, he was as ready for it as he could...
2024-11-05 23:33:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 31
Thaden got up out of his chair and stored it into his Inventory all in one motion.
“I have no idea. This… doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Coming in from the southwest, which was in the direction where the Descent into Darkness dungeon was located, and was where Steven and the other Raid Party members had gone the day before, was a group of Contenders. All through th...
2024-11-05 20:00:09 +0000 UTC
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(This was a longer and more complicated chapter to write, so only one chapter today! There should be much more action after this one, which was necessary to wrap up a few things.)
Chapter 30
Even though he’d spent plenty of nights sleeping in trees since he’d arrived on Tarth, after spending so much time lately in the comfort of a Diamond-Ranked room, he wasn’t much of a fan of roughing it anymore. Regardless of his feelings, it was necessa...
2024-11-05 00:16:00 +0000 UTC
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I hope everyone had a great Halloween! We had something like 150 trick-or-treaters, so we were busy all night!
As for the Healer story, there may be a few more adjustments to some of the latest chapters as I see how the various components function out in the world, but it's about 95% accurate at this time.
Next week, I'll be writing Monday through Friday, without any specific plans that might interrupt my flow. Sunday I have to work on getting information on my cover to my cover...
2024-11-01 22:41:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 29
Thaden hesitated to go through with it, but Sadia was already reacting to his clear pause.
“If you want this to work, you’re going to have to do it. No matter what happens, this part is important.”
The Omenic Drifter leaned back against the trunk of the tree he’d picked as a good spot to rest for the moment, as they’d been traveling for about an hour after leaving Darkwood Vale. After he had really looked at his new Class and spo...
2024-11-01 22:36:24 +0000 UTC
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Happy Halloween!
Chapter 28
He wasn’t sure how he managed to forget what had happened every time before when he evolved his Class, but Thaden somehow blocked out the memory of the agony that accompanied the selection – voluntary or not. The former Solitary Shaman pitched forward as pain suffused his body and mind, and he barely caught himself on the counter before he faceplanted right into it like last time. While his previous Class change had f...
2024-10-31 18:33:22 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 27
Sitting up in the bed, Thaden did his best to move past the bombshell that Sadia had dropped on him concerning the Adversary and the potential for more monsters out there somewhere, as there was nothing he could do about anything at the moment. He needed to get stronger in order to fight back, and while he’d completed his first objective on that journey by fulfilling his Evolution Assignment, there were a few things he wanted to look at before he went dow...
2024-10-30 20:56:58 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 26
Even though this was far from his first time experiencing the crazy speed at which he could move thanks to Thaden’s spell, Steven still couldn’t believe such a thing was possible. The landscape practically flew by as he and the others of the Exploitation sub-Guild tore across the ground, their feet barely touching as they propelled themselves faster than a bullet train. Nah, has to be faster than an airplane. Though, not a jet, perhaps; ...
2024-10-29 22:24:39 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 25
The panic that had gripped him since he first felt the Level Compression of the Adversarial Elite faded almost entirely by the time he returned to the city of Darkwood Vale. His heartbeat returned to normal as he landed outside, uncaring that anyone saw him flying. He quickly moved into one of the lines that led through one of the gates, his thoughts scattered all over the place as he ignored everything around him. Unfortunately, the wo...
2024-10-29 20:01:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 24
The both of them watched as the Raid Party stood around them, unmoving but still obviously alive. Thaden replenished all of the Regeneration and Rejuvenation effects on everyone, as their Health fluctuated wildly. Checking to make sure they had their protection spells still active, he discovered that they were all still present – and not diminished at all since they had been up in the shaft with the Wisp monsters.&n...
2024-10-28 22:00:30 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 23
As he should’ve expected, the mind-bending effects of the Mind Absorbers were so insidious that the Guild Leader of Guilded Glory didn’t – or, possibly, couldn’t – believe him.
“That’s impossible; we would’ve seen them!” she vehemently declared for the fifth time in a row, using the exact same words as she dismissed his claims entirely.
He was getting exasperated now. “I think that’s the whole point, Rachel.&n...
2024-10-28 18:54:06 +0000 UTC
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Well, as I mentioned last week, my writing speed always takes a hit when there's a release I need to promote, which was obvious this week when I only got 6 chapters done. Now that I've done all my promotion for the Undisguised Healer audiobook, things should go largely back to normal next week.
Three things are coming up for me next week, however. The first is on Sunday, which is a piano recital for my daughter that will likely cut into any of my work time. The second thing is on Thu...
2024-10-25 21:52:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 22
When one thought about descending into darkness, a number of monsters related to darkness came to mind as possible opponents. Monsters made of inky sludge or who utilized shadows similar to The Den, perhaps, or even some sort of creepy bugs that thrived in areas bereft of light; the list wasn’t necessarily endless, but there were plenty of monsters that he could imagine attacking them in this dungeon.
But none of those ideas could prepare him – de...
2024-10-25 21:36:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 21
“Are you ready for this?”
Thaden nodded, excited to finally get it done. “More than ready. It feels like I’ve been waiting for months.” He stopped for a moment, halting his steps that would carry him into the dungeon entrance after the rest of the Raid Party, as he realized something. I guess it has been months, hasn’t it? Of course, a large chunk of that time I was stuck at the bottom of the Ragewater Sea, but ...
2024-10-24 21:29:58 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 20
“The conquering heroes return! So, tell me, how did it go? Better question, how did he do?”
Thaden didn’t bother to answer Rachel’s question, as it was clearly directed toward Corinna, who had a serious expression on her face. It was all he could do to keep a straight face as the Lieutenant led the way into the Guilded Glory’s upper office where the Guild Leader was still working on a seemingly endless stack of pap...
2024-10-23 20:19:43 +0000 UTC
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The third book in the Earthen Contenders series, Undisguised Healer, is now on audiobook! Miles Meili delivers another awesome performance in nearly 16 hours of LitRPG goodness!
Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0DKG1Z9SH
Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0DKG1X7XD
_________________
2024-10-22 13:21:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 19
Thaden was able to boost the damage mitigation on everyone by many millions of points by the time the 5-minute countdown before Wave 9 ended, and his confidence that they could wipe out the Boss of the dungeon in short order.
“Everyone ready?” he asked them all, even as they assembled at three different chutes, where – from experience – was where the monsters from the next Wave would come from. A shout of acknowledgement was the only res...
2024-10-21 22:16:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 18
The descriptions that Thaden had been given of what they termed “The Slaughterhouse” were fairly accurate, though unfortunately there hadn’t been any accurate dimensions of the area. As a result, he wasn’t sure if it was going to be big enough that he could use his Leach method to complete the Assault Waves, or if he needed to rely on the rest of his Raid Party to do it for him – with the idea being their safety, of course. ...
2024-10-21 18:33:29 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 17
“How the hell is he doing this?”
Corinna ignored Steven just like she had the last ten times he had asked that question, even as she privately shared that same thought. Extracting loot from yet another Shadow Turkey corpse, she didn’t even look at what it was before she moved on. Back in the first section of The Ranch, everyone had stopped after every extraction to roll for the special loot that came up, but it turned out to be too slow; t...
2024-10-20 21:59:46 +0000 UTC
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Phew! Got a bit more done this week! Healer book 4 is well on the way :)
As a heads-up, next week I'll be putting any chapters past Chapter 20 to be only accessible by any of the Patron tiers instead of free for all. I like having a bit of the story available for those who want to check out some of the 4th book, but if you need to read the rest, it'll be available for all my Patron tiers!
In other news, I've just approved the Undisguised Healer audiobook! With any luck, it wil...
2024-10-18 22:00:23 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 16
With a name like The Ranch, one might realistically think that they might face some sort of horse monster or possibly a demonic cow or two, but this wasn’t that kind of ranch. In fact, the name and environment of the dungeon was a little misleading, because what filled the first section of this Intermediate Raid dungeon wasn’t found on any farms or ranches that he knew of on Earth.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t found somewhere else.&nbs...
2024-10-18 21:53:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 15
The feelings of nervousness and elation warred with each other inside Thaden’s mind as he ran at a decent clip with his new Raid Party. While it had been more than a bit nerve-wracking introducing himself to everyone, as he still wasn’t quite adjusted to the fact that he’d be leading them all, he couldn’t deny that he was still pumped up with the badass way he had handled Steven.
“I can sense that you’re still cong...
2024-10-18 18:04:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 14
“Is this everyone?”
Corinna looked over to see #32599999-E heading toward them, or Thaden as he mentioned the day before that he preferred to be called. The way his obviously high-Level and high-Rarity set of equipment had a subtle glow about it even in the bright mid-morning light outside of the Darkwood Vale gates. The way his oval-shaped mask covered his face made him look a little untrustworthy, as she was one that always liked to look p...
2024-10-17 21:51:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 13
When both Rachel and Corinna started laughing at the same time, some of the tension left him, though he still wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not. When they finally settled down, the Guildmaster wiped tears from her eyes as she looked at him. With a chuckle, she shook her head as in disbelief and said, “That’s a good one. Haven’t heard that one before.” Clearing her throat as she arranged herself again on the chair, she plac...
2024-10-17 18:40:46 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 12
“Is this for real?” he asked as Corinna walked in behind him. His mind was finally starting to catch up with what he was looking at, even if it felt like he had been transported back to Earth.
The Fighter barked out a laugh. “That’s what everyone says when they walk in, but I guess I’m just used to it. To answer your question, though, it’s as real as anything is in the world, I suppose,” she said cryptically in response. ...
2024-10-16 21:42:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 11
“I’m not so sure that this is a good idea,” Thaden murmured to himself as he ran the last portion of the trip toward the city of Duskwood Vale. He had ended up flying most of the way, utilizing his new Wyvern’s Flight cloak with its ability to be mentally activated, which had been an incredible experience – and more than a little frightening. Even though he knew he would be fine even if he fell out of the sky, thanks to the damage mitigation...
2024-10-16 16:20:45 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 10
Unlike the other times when something unexpected suddenly hit him, such as when a powerful influx of additional base stats flowed into his body, there was no pain as Thaden was sent to his back when it felt like all his muscles had suddenly gone slack. Instead, it was almost as if his mind had completely detached from his corporeal self, thereby cutting any connection to his body, and he was forced to stare up at the ceiling as… something… happ...
2024-10-15 21:17:47 +0000 UTC
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