Henrik Saetre

Riftside - chapter 7

The gem gleamed like liquid twilight in my palm. It was much heavier than an ordinary one. Deep purple swirled with ribbons of mottled green and brown that matched the corrupted wood of the Woodweaver's body. 

I looked closer and spotted patterns in the crystalline structure, reminding me of tree bark and fungal growths. The surface felt warm against my skin, almost alive, and beneath the purple, shadows moved like creatures swimming in the depths of a dark lake.

“Gorgeous,...

Riftside - chapter 6

I stepped through the wide workshop doors and onto the packed earthen floor, reveling in the familiar scents of coal, heated metal, and leather. Light seeping in from the skylight caught dust motes dancing in the air. The workshop stood exactly as I'd left it – two anvils out on the floor, barrels full of water nearby, the forge by the back wall towards the garden, away from the rest of the house, work tables set against the right side wall, next to the door inside, and in the far corner st...

Riftside - chapter 5

Sentinel Station’s bells rang as we ran across the killing field, the ground thundering behind us.

“Monster wave!” a guard shouted from the walls. “Everyone inside!”

I took more of Nina's weight as we moved as fast as we could considering our sad state. The stumps of felled steelhusk trees dotted the open ground between us and safety. Arrows whistled overhead, striking monsters charging from the forest edge.

“Move, move, move!” Edwin called.

The camp’s ...

Riftside - chapter 4

“Everyone alive?” Garrett asked, forcing the words out. “Talk to me.”

Nina groaned in reply, while Finn’s breathing came ragged and through wheezes. Thick beads of sweat had formed on his face, and they were trickling down to pool at his neck.

I nodded, though I knew he couldn't see me. I was staring at the monster I'd slain, or rather, the creature I finished off, and remembered that dark red aura. My weapon had barely scratched it. If it hadn't been already gravely wou...

Riftside - chapter 3

The branch walker's shriek cut off as my axe sank deep into the bark-like skin at its neck, nearly cleaving head from body. Its claws ceased scrabbling at Garrett's shield, and the legs spasmed as it collapsed. Goo splattered onto the ground as I hopped back, wrestling my axe out.

“Good work,” Garrett said as he straightened.

Nina lowered her spear, the point dark with monster sap, and Finn wiped his short sword clean with a rag.

“Yes!” Eryn pumped her fist, an arrow...

Riftside - chapter 2

I stumbled out into a hollow cavern of a room and immediately cleared my throat at the stench. For a moment I imagined myself standing in a rotting corpse, but it wasn’t that of a monster, but a great tree. The hair on my arms stood on end as if the place was charged with electricity.

The Titan's heartwood was missing, leaving a central shaft that vanished up into darkness like an oversized castle tower. The chamber stretched maybe a hundred yards across, with a spiral path winding up...

Riftside - chapter 1

“Today we are fielding three adventuring parties and three scavenger groups,” a commanding voice said, speaking over the hushed whispers. It belonged to a man who had dedicated all of his life to adventuring and keeping people safe: Commander Edwin Rothers. “This afternoon, I expect to see the same number return home from the dungeon. Remember, this run isn't about glory or loot.”

It kind of is, though. Loot, that is. At least for me.

I shifted on my feet, excited...

Writing update: Riftside Finished!

Hey everyone!

Yesterday I finished writing Riftside, with 3 chapters totalling over 8000 words!

Phew! What a sprint to the end :)

Cassius also edited through them yesterday, and we agreed it is a pretty good ending to this first book.

Let me know in the comments if you'd like to know how many chapters it is in total, or whether that'd be a spoiler.

Next up for me is doing some admin work now preparing for a run on Royal Road and the release, but my goal is to s...

Riftside Cover Reveal

Thank you so much for all your support during the writing of Riftside.

Knowing that you are reading along with me as I write (and Cassius edits) has really pushed me to keep moving forward, even in a challenging time (with the new baby and the natural reduction in sleep).

Wanted to share with you all here first, the cover for Riftside book 1!

As for the writing, we are now ≈7-10 chapters from finishing book 1, and plan to dive straight into book 2 as we have the plan for w...

Update - 31th Jan

Hey everyone!

Apologies for not posting yesterday. Newly minted daddy brain is only excuse. So posted two chappies today.

Also, I think I forgot to mention it, but I've changed Lyra's name to Eryn because I just realised I already used Lyra as name for one of the secondary characters in my haremlit story, and didn't want to have it in two books.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I wish you an absolutely outstanding day!

Best regards,

Henrik

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve!

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve! Hope you have had a wonderful year of the dragon, and wish you all the best for the year of the snake, which is said (according to google) to be a great year for transformation, growth, and introspection.

As a new dad, this is guaranteed to be a transformational year, and one of growth, as he is teaching me so much already!

I perceive this will also be transformative for my writing career, with tremendous growth from the Riftside series, Qing's Quest ...

Retcon update on story

Heya everyone!

Had a chat with Cassius and decided we wanted to introduce the progression elements a bit earlier in the story to show that they are in fact becoming stronger.

It was mentioned earlier in text that the statistic gains happen upon the breakthroughs, and that is unchanged. That is when the massive changes happen.
But, what I'll be editing into the story is that Ash and Lyra experience some stat improvements during their hunts, as a result of fighting monsters.

Isekaied <3

Yesterday our son was isekaied into this world!
No idea which world he came from before, but he is certainly perfect :D
My wife is doing well, and we'll stay at hospital today and head home on Sunday!
Wish you all an absolutely outstanding weekend!

Best regards,

Henrik, a newly minted father.

Happy new year from Shanghai!

I wish you the very happiest of new years, and thank you so much for your support in 2024.

It has been an absolute crazy year, and I have a feeling 2025 is going to get even crazier.

Here we are still waiting for our son to decide it is time to grace us with his presence, so the days are filled with waiting. Managing to get some decent writing done though, which is nice.

Hope you are able to look back at 2024 and remember the good moments. Three highlights for me was my w...

Tiny Weekend update

Heya everyone!

Wanted to send a quick weekend update and show you the placeholder cover for Riftside (and let you know this is the new working title for the current story)!

We'll be getting a proper cover for it later, but wanted something to be able show when talking about the story.

I've also sent the manuscript for QQ3 sent over to Tantor for the audio book, and recording for book 1 starts soon, and it'll be released 29th April.

And in more familial news, my ...

News Update! The new story

Hi everyone,

As mentioned in the last update, I've looked at co-writing a story with another LitRPG writer, one who has a ton of experience and several kick ass series beneath his belt.

And we decided to do it!

I'm happy to announce I'm co-writing a story with Cassius Lange, who might be most known for his Mimic & Me series, though he has 43 great titles in total.

In our collaboration I'm the one writing the draft and he is doing the editing, and we have come up ...

Update + whats next?

Thank you so much for the support through writing the first Qing's Quest trilogy.

My apologies for the lack of activity and value here over the last three weeks, and for sending this too late:

Here is your link to download your copy of Qing's Quest 3:

https://storyoriginapp.com/directdownloads/93121134-c72b-4351-907c-9b1bcf127446

I was trying to finis...

GG's Quest (Qing's Quest 0)

This is a short story available through download via my email list, at the back of Qing's Quest book 3.

Sharing it here first :)

The vital signs flickered across GG's consciousness like dying stars. Champion #2,749 - Xin4a Ro44-i, immunologist, IQ 157 - was failing. Her enhanced physiology offered no defence against the engineered plague ravaging Nexus-12, the world she'd been sent to save.

Probability of survival: 0.0021%

The exercise was poin...

Qing’s Quest 3: Chapter 68 - Homecoming

As reality reasserted itself, Qing jerked to with a shock, water surrounding him on all sides. He opened his eyes and barely stopped himself from screaming.

I'm trapped!

The water tank was still there. Nobody had come to rescue him.

The storage unit's dim light filtered through the glass, distorting his view of the cramped space. He kicked up, just to bang his head against a solid lid, panic seizing him.

He kicked and punched at the glass walls, his movements ...

Qing's Quest 3: Ch2 - Demonic Kraken

The entire ship boiled with action around Qing. Commands were screamed as people sprinted to and fro, responding to the clang of the warning bell. Salty sea spray filled his nostrils, a constant reminder of the perilous situation they faced.

“We can’t let it reach the ship,” Qing said, his voice barely audible over the chaos. “It’ll rip it apart in moments.”

Cedric, standing nearby, asked, “What do you suggest?”

Qing’s mind raced through their limited optio...

Qing's Quest 3: Ch1. Shrieks at Sea

Qing stood at the prow of the ship, the deck roiling beneath him as they rode up and over the waves. The sea wind tore at his hair, blowing it every which way as it propelled them through the tumultuous ocean. Qing gritted his teeth as the ship crested, his belly sinking, and they tipped into the long descent between waves.

This is taking too long. We’re trapped on this damn ship, while Rufus struts through hell with Cleo in tow, about to free the Devil. And even if I manage savin...