ElaraFiction

B4 - Chapter 70: Consolidation

“Send the next one in,” Zeke ordered with a tired voice.

A moment later, the door to the study opened, and a large Chimeroi with bull horns and a nose ring walked in. The man would probably tower over an average human by at least two heads, and his massive muscular frame gave him an intimidating air. However, Zeke didn’t even look up, focusing on the document in front of him instead. The Chimeroi, for his part, stopped in front of his desk and waited in silence.

In the quiet...

B4 - Chapter 69: Aftermath

The moment Zeke returned from his state of heightened consciousness, he felt exhaustion take hold. Even though he was in far better condition than last time, the spell had still taken a toll. Fortunately, the Firebrand School only had a couple hundred Slaves, making it possible for him to retain his consciousness.

“Quick, Akasha, connect me to all my Slaves,” Zeke instructed while catching his breath.

Using [Telepathy] on multiple targets wasn’t all that difficult, but every...

B4 - Chapter 68: War in the Streets III

A surge of Mana rushed toward Raavan’s body, flowing into his Core in preparation for an attack. After a moment of focus, a torrent of fire erupted from his hands, bathing a cone-shaped area in front of him in flames.

Zeke recognized the spell as [Salamander’s Breath]. He had seen several Fire Mages use it in the Elementium. However, the sight before him was markedly different from what he remembered.

The torrent of flames was many times more dense than he remembered, and its ...

B4 - Chapter 67: War in the Streets II

Zeke forced himself to tear his gaze away from Jaihar. Despite being caught off guard, the little shit had somehow survived the first round of attacks and was now hiding behind the soldiers he was supposed to be leading. It was a shame, but Zeke would deal with him in due time.

For now, he had a battle to win.

A frown slowly spread across his face as he surveyed the plaza in its entirety, the cacophony of battle sounds filling his ears from all directions. His gaze swept across ea...

B4 - Chapter 66: War in the Streets I

Mahesh stood on an improvised podium, inspecting the swelling ranks of Slaves gathering in the training yard. From the eastern edge to the western wall, one company after the other lined up in neat formations. They were awaiting his muster, one and all.

This couldn’t even be called a militia anymore. It was an army, plain and simple. At the same time, it was the culmination of his life’s work: the Firebrand school. And today, he would elevate his position further by taking out his m...

B4 - Chapter 65: A Rude Awakening

Zeke opened his blurry eyes only to find himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Intricately carved wooden beams stretched out like the ribs of a giant, adorned with delicate patterns. The ceiling rose high above, a canvas of opulence illuminated by the soft glow of ornate chandeliers hanging like jewels from its expanse.

He blinked once, then again. Yet, the sight didn’t change. He tried to rise, but his body protested, sending a bout of pain coursing through his nerves, forcing...

Today's chapter

Today's chapter is gonna be late. I have written a couple chapters ahead, but honestly? I didn't like the pacing. It was too hurried. 

Instead, I am going to write an additional chapter to consolidate his gains and explain the current situation before jumping into the next arc: War in the Streets. 

I know it is annoying, but I want to avoid the situation from last time, where I had to add the chapter later. I am pretty sure you are going to like it a lot more the way I i...

B4 - Chapter 64: Confronting an Archmage II

Zeke was pushed forward and forced through the door. He passed the two guards outside, as well as two more on the inside. Zeke recognized all four as part of the personal retinue of the Archmage, tasked with protecting him at all times. However, his gaze didn’t linger as he was driven further into the room.

Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was the ginormous bed that took up a significant portion of the chamber. As with everything else here, it was overly luxurious. Even so, h...

B4 - Chapter 63: Confronting an Archmage I

Zeke sat on the cold stone ground and inspected the wound on his chest, where the flesh was slowly knitting itself together. He had hoped to walk away from this fight in a better state, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.

Judging by the rate at which he was healing, he would only need a couple of minutes before the cut would be closed. All he had to do was remain here and don’t move. However, before even a single minute had passed, he heard the sound of footsteps coming dow...

B4 - Chapter 62: A Hard Fought Battle

Zeke lunged to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike aimed at his head. In one fluid motion, he turned his momentum into a roll, dodging the follow-up attempt to ensnare him as well. By the time he came up to his feet, the whip had already circled around for another strike. Ishaan was not giving him any time to rest or catch his breath, crazily chasing after him.

Zeke did the only thing he could: he ran.

His breath was already getting labored from the continued action. It was unb...

B4 - Chapter 61: Fighting a Grand Mage

Ishaan lifted one side of the giant trough, dumping a pile of food into the hole. The motion barely took any effort now that the piles became so light. Today, the pile was lighter than yesterday, and yesterday, it had been lighter than the day before. It was a matter of course. He had to adjust the amount to the number of the survivors after all.

Well, that wasn’t quite right. Truth be told, Ishaan had no idea how many people were still alive down there. After all, he didn’t go down...

B4 - Chapter 60: The Hole IX

Zeke awoke from his deep slumber, disturbed by a strange sensation. As he opened his eyes, he was met with the curious gaze of two green orbs. It was Soria. The girl was leaning over him, curiously studying his face while lightly poking his cheek.

Startled, Zeke slapped her hand away. “What are you doing?”

Soria didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked deeply into his eyes. There was a hint of uncertainty in her gaze, making Zeke wonder what the girl was thinking about...

B4 - Chapter 59: The Hole VIII

Zeke roamed the Archmage’s Soul without a clear path, contemplating the most probable location of the Slave contracts. As with any Archmage, the man's Soul had assumed a humanoid form, and the contracts had to be stored somewhere within.

Was there any further significance to the shape?

Zeke couldn’t help but wonder if the vital spots of the human body corresponded to significant areas for the Soul. Of course, there wouldn’t be an anatomical necessity for it, but he thought i...

B4 - Chapter 58: The Hole VII

Zeke watched silently as the Chimeroi girl finished her meal. He tried to put on a carefree expression, but it became increasingly difficult to do so. Now that she had a name and a face, his guilt had increased exponentially.

Why did he even ask her name?

Zeke didn’t know. Yet he wasn’t able to help himself at that moment. No, that wasn’t entirely true. He had a pretty good guess as to why he had asked, but he deeply regretted it now.

Moments later, the girl finished t...

B4 - Chapter 57: The Hole VI

When Soria came to her senses, the first thing she noticed was a painful headache and the insistent grumbling of her stomach. That much wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and their presence was comforting, if anything. After all, pain and hunger had been a constant companion for as long as she could remember.

However, her mood quickly dropped as memories started to filter in. Ahh, yes, that was right. She had been sold to the Ember Scar Cartel and thrown into an underground prison. ...

B4 - Chapter 56: The Hole V

Zeke opened his eyes and quickly regained his bearings. This marked the third time in a row that he had managed to retreat from the Soul of the Archmage unharmed, and he was starting to feel confident in his ability to remain undetected.

Roughly a day had passed since he had entered this place, and it was finally time to get started on his actual work.

“Catch him!” somebody yelled. However, the aggressive shouting didn’t elicit even the slightest reaction from Zeke. Neither ...

B4 - Chapter 55: The Hole IV

Today, Zeke had learned a lot about Soul Magic, surpassing the cumulative insights from all previous experiences. Yet, the lesson that resonated with him most was the realization that he had gravely, very, very gravely, misunderstood the very essence of this field of Magic.

The first time he had dabbled in the art, he had ended up consuming a Soul indiscriminately. This led him to believe that the practice was a crude field with little need for rules or precision. Yet, if anything, the ...

B4 - Chapter 54: The Hole III

[Answer.]

Are you certain, Host?

“What do you mean?” Zeke asked in confusion. He was completely unaccustomed to Akasha questioning his decisions.

[Answer.]

In the past, Host has expressed notable reluctance to progress along this path.

Zeke grimaced, acknowledging the point. The option to use Soul Magic was initially intended as a contingency, reserved fo...

B4 - Chapter 53: The Hole II

Ishaan stayed true to his word and only explained the Mana Breathing technique a single time. Zeke was certain that this was just another way to test the Chimeroi, as only the ones with a relatively better talent would be able to pick it up that fast.

What worried him more, however, was the actual Breathing technique itself. It was completely different from the one he had observed in the Lion’s Den, and even though he couldn’t claim to be an expert, something about it felt off. Yet,...

B4 - Chapter 52: The Hole I

Content Warning: This chapter is not for the faint of heart. You've been warned.

Zeke didn’t move or otherwise act. Judging solely by the look on his face or body language, one might even think he was completely calm. Yet, inwardly, he was anything but. His mind was racing.

Had he been discovered after all? It all made sense. This situation must have been a trap. Zeke had always felt that the entire thing had gone entirely too smoothly. However, before he could think ...

B4 - Chapter 51: The Ember Scar Cartel III

Zeke's mind raced. He recognized this exact setup, having used it himself once.

The Ritual was comprised of two overlapping circles, with the group of slaves positioned in the larger one while the smaller one awaited the person set to receive their contracts. In contrast to the version Zeke was familiar with, this Ritual appeared to be designed for a mass transfer of contracts.

The longer Zeke examined his current situation, the calmer he became. "Are we in trouble, Akasha?"

B4 - Chapter 50: The Ember Scar Cartel II

Zeke approached the corpses of the unfortunate gangsters Ash had killed earlier. As he did so, a mass of blood slid down his right shoulder, taking the shape of his missing arm. However, instead of a hand, the arm ended in a blade.

Ash quietly watched his master's strange conduct. However, his eyes widened when he saw Zeke use his newly grown hand to behead one of the corpses. “Master… what are you doing?” he whispered, mindful not to draw any attention.

“I am going to inf...

B4 - Chapter 49: The Ember Scar Cartel I

From his perch on the roof of a run-down building, Zeke observed the distant headquarters of the Ember Scar Cartel. Ash had been right; this didn’t look good. The scale of their operation was even larger than he had expected. Instead of a single structure, the entire neighborhood was under their control.

Their headquarters was like a city within a city, akin to a defensive stronghold, wholly closed off from the surrounding area. Even though it wouldn’t be hard to infiltrate such a p...

B4 - Chapter 48: Undercity II

Zeke immediately perked up. “What did you find?”

[Answer.]

A departing entity carries a hidden item for message transmission. This method is known for its use in counteracting remote scanning capabilities akin to ours. Additionally, the aforementioned entity displays discernible indications of heightened nervous system activity.

Without turning his head, Zeke focused his perception on the person Akasha indicated. Like ...

B4 - Chapter 46: A Brewing Storm IV

Zeke’s words woke Ravi from his momentary stupor. He suddenly remembered why he had come here and what Zeke's success meant. “Later, Pete,” he said urgently. “Come quick. I need you to help my son.”

Despite the urging of the Archmage, Zeke remained calm. “That won’t be possible.”

Ravi’s face turned dark. His bloodshot eyes narrowed as he gazed at Zeke. “What is that supposed to mean?”

The displeasure of an Archmage wasn’t something to be taken lightly...

Discussion with Ravi

As you've all undoubtedly realized, I've skipped the negotiation between Zeke and Ravi. 

My thought at the time was that there wasn't enough content there to fill an entire chapter, and I planned to reveal the outcome bit by bit over time instead. 

However, maybe that was a bit hasty. So, my question is this:

Do you want a Ravi negotiation chapter?

B4 - Chapter 47: Undercity I

Unlike the central district of the Undercity, where most of the surface dwellers resided during the storm, the true nature of the place revealed itself only in the outskirts. Here, the streets were narrow, and the absence of any natural light made the alleyways appear menacing. The frequent cries and shouts from all around further enhanced the haunting atmosphere.

“Let’s keep moving, master. We can’t afford to attract any attention,” Ash said after noticing that his master had s...

B4 - Chapter 45: A Brewing Storm III

“You look like shit.”

Zeke didn’t know if it was the unexpected words or the sound of his voice that did it, but Ripper flinched. Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes regained some clarity. She tilted her head to the side, her gaze searching his.

Zeke showed her a calm smile, waving at the young woman. “It is good to see you.”

Ripper remained silent, but her gaze traveled from his face to his missing arm, where it lingered for a while. “You too... look like shit,” ...

B4 - Chapter 44: A Brewing Storm II

The old man opened his mouth but then hesitated. “How close were you with the fighters of your group?” he asked.

Zeke frowned. From this alone, he could pretty much guess the identity of the second traitor. “Ishaan?”

The old man nodded with a grim expression.

“There was nobody to stop him?” Zeke asked.

The old man sighed. “It’s even worse than that,” he explained solemnly. “After he was done with the fighters, he snuck into the main building and att...

B4 - Chapter 43: A Brewing Storm

“Hurry up, Kiran!” a stern voice called from atop the gate. “We need to finish before it reaches us.”

“As you command, captain,” Kiran yelled back. He had no intention of lingering outside even a second longer than necessary. His feet sped up as he inspected all the entrances. He had to make sure that nobody would be trapped outside once they closed the gates. Such a fate would be a death sentence.

Kiran gazed eastward, where the horizon met the endless dunes stretchin...