“I’m sorry about that,” Jerric said.
Shrubley shrugged his leafy body. “He is young and in pain.”
Jerric studied the small shrub intently, wondering if he was going to say anything else. Then he realized who he was talking to.
It had been an… education, speaking with Shrubley.
Even as little as he had, the Paladin came away feeling somewhat tarnished compared to the little shrub’s radiant glow of morality and inherent goodness.
He caugh...
2024-03-04 18:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Just in case you missed it, chapters started up again yesterday and will continue their normal schedule (Monday - Friday, daily chapter releases). The only difference is there's a specific Shrubley tier (or Diamond Empyrean for all series) for the story now so keep things better organized!
First chapter of book 2 is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/shrubley-monster-99485800
2024-03-03 00:44:23 +0000 UTC
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A number of notifications awaited Sam once everybody was safely back at the settlement.
Skyshard Milestones Accomplished:
Transform a Tile with Magma mana (Uncommon).
Defend against and defeat an Elite Copper-rank monster within your territory (Uncommon).
Discover an underground Tile within your territory (Uncommon).
Your Skyshard gains greater Experience!
2024-03-02 05:00:31 +0000 UTC
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Today's the day! Shrubley Book 1 is now available on Kindle Unlimited & Amazon!
Please don't forget to leave a rating/review!
Now we return to your regularly scheduled chapter for today:
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Shrubley sq...
2024-03-01 23:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Judging by the acrid scent on the wind, Sam guessed that the fire hadn’t died down. In fact, from the broken hillside, he could see several columns of thick black smoke billowing and trailing behind the Skyshard.
It was an odd experience.
Normally, if there was a fire burning somewhere, it was beholden to the wind and its choice of fuel to burn.
The Skyshard, however, was moving, and so the smoke trailed at an odd angle and shifted side to side occasionally as...
2024-03-01 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Author Note: Shrubley the OG happy little shrub is back!
Shrubley lounged by the open window in his suite, courtesy of the Adventurers Guild. The sunlight streaming through warmed his healthy green leaves, which were no longer withered and yellowed from the twisted mirror realm he had so recently escaped.
He flexed a twiggy hand, looking down at all the new whorls and patterns adorning his bark. Ever since Shrubley reached the height of Copper Rank, his plant bod...
2024-02-29 23:53:27 +0000 UTC
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A boulder of ore glittered in the dark. Grinning, Sam raised his colossal greatsword like a hammer and crashed the huge weapon into the resource point.
He took the whole thing out in one blow.
It burst apart into shrapnel, scattering chunks of ore and stone about the ledge. Kneeling, he sifted through the mess, searching for useful metal.
Sam could practically feel the metal as his hand hovered over a curious fractured lump. He didn’t quite have a sense for me...
2024-02-29 05:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Kai locked the Mana Engine in place and gave it a good whack. One of the professors of the Academy drifted around the placement of the engine and gave it—and Kai—a critical look.
“Once more ought to do it,” said the ghost.
Kai gave another obliging whack with one of the tools of his Profession, a [Simple Rubber Mallet]. It allowed him to do all sorts of wood joinery without marring the surface or damaging the lignin structure of the wood.
Although Kai di...
2024-02-28 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Hey everybody! The first Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer release is now up for preorder on Amazon and will be releasing on March 1st! You can get yours here:
(Direct Link for US) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1L7SP4
(Auto-Region Link) https://mybook.to/Shrubley1
2024-02-28 03:58:11 +0000 UTC
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You defeat the [Shrieker (Level 34 – Copper)].
You gain substantial Experience for slaying a tough match monster!
“What was that?” Raiko shouted over the wind. Between the sound of the monster’s neck snapping and the Experience notification, Sam figured she’d piece it together shortly.
“Oh, hi, Raiko,” Sam shouted back.
“What, how did you—!?” Raiko stopped bothering with questions when the dinosaur’s ...
2024-02-27 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Raiko cursed up a storm as the featherless flying monster hauled her into the air upside down. Its talons clamped onto her armored legs like a vise.
The gangly beast soared past the treetops with great speed, leaving behind the dullahans and the fires that raged through the [Forest Tile].
Sil’mara wasn’t going to have much of a forest for long.
This monster had been attacking the dullahan with that mutant Treant and saw how the battle would play out with Sam...
2024-02-24 05:00:01 +0000 UTC
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More Treants emerged from the forest. None of the living trees seemed to notice Raiko and Sam as they stomped towards the sunken pit.
That was fine for Sam. If his wholesale destruction of their forces didn’t draw their attention, then it’d only make his task of laying them low easier.
Darting between some Treants and the pit, Raiko adopted an unfamiliar sword form.
Turning sideways, she flipped the curved katana above her head and balanced the blade’s edg...
2024-02-23 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Sam was about to get started on another [Bronze Ingot] when he remembered something Raiko had said about the missing dullahans.
As much as he wanted more Blacksmith levels—considering the next one would net him a juicy Voidknight level—Sam gathered up his materials and put them back into his Inventory for the time being.
It was getting pretty damn cramped in there, but he managed to make everything fit. I really need to find a way to expand my Inventory furthe...
2024-02-22 05:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Sam lost track of how long he struggled with the [Artisan Orb]. It was part physical, part magical. He dumped mana into it, but that was only part of the problem.
Through the threads of mana connecting Sam to the orb, he was able to enact his Strength and Dexterity upon the orb as if he was using tools on it.
Pressing just so pushed the [Artisan Orb] back into alignment, then adjusting its spin slightly with a dexterous touch allowed him to make sure the cont...
2024-02-21 05:00:01 +0000 UTC
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“If you want,” Matt added, “I’ll go scour the area for more.”
“You’re a true friend, Matt,” Sam told him, spilling out the [Demon Coins] from one pouch.
Matt gave a jaunty wave and departed as the sound of heavy coins clinking together filled the dome.
While it was true that Sam didn’t have any sort of ore sense, Blacksmith did appear to give him an innate understanding of what sort of metals he was holding.
It wasn’t complete, and he d...
2024-02-20 05:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Sam opened his Inventory and searched through the small extra-dimensional closet that was on the other side of his pouch’s opening. “Let’s see what we’ve got here… a [Golem Eye], [Faded Mana Cores], [Escape Scroll]….”
Sorting through the stuff, Sam realized that he had quite a lot of things that he might use one day, but none of them were immediately useful for his purposes. He didn’t have any ore or raw materials as such.
But something he had nearly f...
2024-02-17 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Sam and Volquist talked for a while afterwards. Not all of it was relevant or even important. For once, Sam felt like he was getting to know somebody without all the baggage that this new normal would have.
Anybody he met now would be suspect. At least in the sense that they might want something from him. But Volquist had already made it clear what he wanted: to make amends, and for once be on an Incarnate’s good side.
For being a god of secrets and shadows, he was ...
2024-02-16 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Raiko placed the [Spirit Lantern] down against the Sacred Tree’s trunk, checking it over.
She looked over her shoulder at Sam, who was asleep still. Concern boiled over and Raiko swept her senses through the man.
While Raiko was no healer that could detect physical wounds within a person, she could discern certain things through her bloodline. Usually fairly impractical things such as whether a creature was truly sleeping or not, or if they were having a nightmare r...
2024-02-15 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“We’re getting off track,” Sam said. “I’ll make sure everybody knows to run from the big bad Black City. But I came here to ask you about Haman.”
“Right, right.” Volquist set down his mug and sighed. “This is about Raiko, correct?” For some reason, Volquist pulled out a tiny slip of paper. It looked like a prayer paper Sam had seen at a temple. People would write their prayers and burn them, hoping the gods could hear—and above all, answer—their plea...
2024-02-14 05:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Sam opened his eyes to a black void assembling itself around him. He instinctively reached over his shoulder for his weapon and found it gone.
A quick glance found that he was fully clothed, though not in any clothing he remembered putting on. Nothing worked here except his Void mana, which he brought out with surprising haste.
Holding his palm up enshrouded in silver-black flames, Sam called out to the darkness. “Show yourself!”
Volquist hissed and shielded...
2024-02-13 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 54
It didn’t take long for everything to get set up.
Hal and Hamrin had collected a few onlookers who were interested in what they were doing and were watching the two with curiosity. Above the first field was a net Hal had created that would carry and drip mana down like a gentle rain onto the plowed fields below.
Hamrin had already whipped up a small supply of seeds and the workers assigned to this farm had done an excellent job getting everything ready in such...
2024-02-11 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Unwilling to wait any longer, Raiko accepted the Dungeon Quest’s rewards all at once.
Coffer by coffer appeared around her in a semi-circle. Kneeling, she popped open one chest after the other. Though she didn’t like to compare herself to Sam, she knew she was far more efficient than he was.
Everything was still so new and bright to him. He savored every new experience. To Raiko, these things, such as they are, were like old friends. She understood them, translate...
2024-02-10 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“Raiko, do you still have Dual Wield?” Sam asked, remembering the way she fought at Shard’s End.
“Sadly, no,” she said with a pensive sigh. “I’ve been desperately on the lookout for it from what abilities, skills and spells Ninja offers. Makes sense though. Technically, it’s a bit more advanced when wielding magic through a weapon. Might have to pick up Dual Wield the old-fashioned way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Used to be you could learn var...
2024-02-09 05:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“It’s about time I accept my Dark Vault reward,” Raiko said, crossing her arms.
“Dang, you never got that? Why not?” Komachi asked with a snicker.
“I thought about it every day.” Raiko sounded miserable. “But there was never any time, and then I wondered… would it be any different if I was Copper Rank?”
Komachi squinted at her suspiciously.
Sam shook his head. “I can’t believe it, and yet I’m not surprised either. Having better ge...
2024-02-08 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“Sam,” Komachi began, pawing his shoulder. “What do we do about the rewards from the Aker Academy?”
Sam rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.
“What if what we pick turns out to be Profession gear, instead of Job gear?”
“Is that so bad?”
“I dunno,” she admitted. “There’s no changing it now, is there?”
Sam, feeling strangely better despite his HP still well under half, reached over and ruffled Komachi’s fur. “It’l...
2024-02-07 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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You have unlocked the [Blacksmith] Profession.
[Blacksmith]
Bent over anvils, their arms like mighty pistons, their forges hotter than the depths of hell, Blacksmiths are renowned across all the Shardrunes as being the basis for most great works. They may not all make the most legendary weapons, but without Blacksmiths many advancements would never come to pass.
Whether simple or cunning, a ...
2024-02-06 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 51
After a quick breakfast, Hal decided to do a little experimentation, seeing as most of the people in Brightsong were either waking up or starting their day, he would have a good chunk of time to himself.
One of the benefits of using Vorax as a cloak, second only to the immortality side-effects of soulbinding with a Founder, was his Inventory. Hal’s [Kobbiesack] was in sore need of improvement and he always meant to do something about it, but never seemed to find the...
2024-02-04 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“The Black City,” Kai began, adopting a reverent tone as he knelt beside Raiko. Sam could hear the capital letters. “We must get away from it. It grows closer by the hour.”
“That living monstrosity that paradoxically reeks of death?” she asked, without adjusting her posture. “I’m sorry Kai, our Skyshard is already riding the mana currents, guided by the tree.”
Even from the steaming waters, Sam could feel the mana-laced wind gust by. It brought the c...
2024-02-03 05:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone, James here!
The second book of Voidknight Ascension has just released on Amazon & Kindle Unlimited today! Most of you probably already know it, or have read it, but did you know that you can also borrow the book on Kindle Unlimited and/or review the book as well?
Even if you've read the book, simply hitting that borrow button helps tremendously, and of course a review is an even bigger help to keep the series alive.
Quite a few tweaks, fixes, an...
2024-02-03 01:04:13 +0000 UTC
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