Shardrunes

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 59 – Alloys, Nobles, and Jewels

The Witch folded her hands in her lap and leaned back in her rocking chair, setting it to rocking back and forth again. The cool blue flames of the icy fireplace kept the sticky heat of the swamp at bay.

“I imagine, seeing as yon shrub over there is Copper, you understand at least the first major rank of power? Good. You see, after Copper is Bronze, then Iron, followed by Steel. A lot of people call this bracket the ‘Alloy’ stage.”

The Witch watched, seeing th...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 58 – Mistress Ceasewane

Smudge looked at the plate of quivering gelatin dessert served up to him from Sose. The resemblance to the slime was uncanny.

He stared at it, then at the oppa. “Am I a joke to you?”

The oppa coughed nervously behind a paw. “Hey, ya like it or not?”

Smudge stared at it, then slurped up a little. After a notable pause, he finally decided with an emphatic, “Yes!”

“What’re the odds?” Slyrox muttered. She shook a rattling pair of dice within ...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 57 – A Link to the Past

“Do you suppose there’s a Guidance Stone in this mirror realm?” Cal asked. “Or if… we could trust such a thing?”

The skeleton looked over at his friend, thinking.

If Shrubley could unlock his Class sooner than later and all the mysterious powers it would invoke, as well as acquiring a Prime essence in the process, then their chances of breaking free would be all the higher.

Maybe the four-foot-tall shrub would even grow as tall as a tree and be capab...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 56 - The Shrub, the Witch, and the Teacup II

Despite the startling words, Shrubley felt no reason to put up his guard. He didn’t feel relaxed, exactly, but he felt like he had misunderstood her somehow.

The Witch was looking around, judging all of their reactions, weighing them to within an inch of their worth.

“W-what?” Slyrox asked tremulously, crestfallen.

“Pyuu!” Smudge said, steam trailing out of his mouth. He grew in size, his adorable face turning mean and intimidating.

He w...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 55 – The Shrub, the Witch, and the Teacup

Now the figure rose from the chair.

She was bent like an old lady and used two walking sticks to move around. “If yer going to call on me, might as well offer ye all some refreshments. Go on, git.”

Slyrox scrambled to get between the Countess and this stranger, putting her weighted mitts up in a solid guard.

“I ain’t gonna hurt the wee lass,” she said with a dismissive flap of her blue-veined hand. “Though….” She looked keenly at the unconscious ...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 54: The Root of the Problem

“Pyuu!” the slime wailed in fear.

“What’s the matter, Smudge?” Shrubley asked, gently patting the slime.

“What’s up with Smudge?” Cal asked.

“Something is frightening him.”

Cal peered up at the slime. “Don’t worry, little guy, we’ll protect you.”

Shrubley took out his sword and shield. They were dramatically improved compared to what he used to have, but there was something about them that didn’t feel quite him....

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 53: Looper

“How is that possible?” Cal asked. “We’ve been walking all day and you keep checking the road, don’t you?”

“That’s why I think we’re in a trap,” Shrubley said. “I’ve seen that same camp twice now, and I’ve been marking trees as we’ve passed them.” He pointed to one tree, but it was completely unmarked. “I’ve marked that tree four times now. It doesn’t stay.”

Slyrox rubbed her chin thoughtfully, which because of her mask, ...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 52 – Blooming Essences II

Cal looked over at him. “How? Do you have another essence just rattling around in your inventory or something?”

Shrubley looked a little bashful. “Not as such… no.”

“Then what?”

He took out the [Essence Vessel]. Runes and sigils glowed softly on the outside. “Remember that [Recycle] essence ability that made the [Curiosity Gem] remake itself? It worked on this too.”

Cal’s necromantic fires flared in shock. “Those are incredib...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 51 – Blooming Essences

Shrubley was a good student, even if he had progressed slower than all the rest of his group. Despite the recent changes, he was still a few levels behind the next weakest person, Smudge.

His Copper Rank easily made up for the difference, but that would only hold for as long as it took the others to gain the additional essences necessary.

And nobody knew how long that would be.

“The Countess explained it to us,” he reminded them gently. “You can gain as ma...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 50 – Flowering Up

While Shrubley and his friends rested beneath the partial shelter of a set of reddish boulders, Sose awoke and squeezed out what Fantasy mana he could to form an illusionary barrier around them.

The effect wasn’t entirely complete, but it provided enough cover for their chances of detection drop to near zero. As long as nobody stuck around to inspect it.

With that, the disreputable oppa returned to slumber. Shrubley gave him a comforting pat, as he had learned from ...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 120: Personal Demons

Ever since his transformation into a clearly higher state of being, Darren’s life had taken a “turn” as his mother would say.

“You’re being a bitch right now,” the imp whispered into his ear like a buzzing gnat. “Just thought you should know.”

Darren swiped at the creature, but it always seemed to know just where to go to dodge it. Like a damn fly.

He only wished it was. If it was somehow infernal or hellish, as it suggested it was, shou...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 49 – Doctor Shrub, M.D.

Reunited once more, Shrubley tended to the wounds of his friends. He made good use of his [Recovery] essence ability, fixing Slyrox, Smudge, and himself up.

He was afraid to use it on either the Countess or Cal, considering their undead nature. He had reached out to ready the essence ability, feeling an instinctive urge to help them, but stopped himself in time.

He doubted it would heal, and instead would more than likely hurt to a devastating degree, considering how ...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 119: Sushi Party

The big Hawaiian looked at Sam, then the tray, then back at Sam chewing. “Did you take my food?”

“Defrivery fax,” Sam said around a mouthful of sushi. He thrust it out in front of himself before he took anymore. Perhaps he wasn’t as sated as he thought.

“Sushi?” Kai looked surprised. “How did you know I loved sushi?”

Sam shrugged. “Just lucky. You can thank Raiko though. She apparently cleaned out some place and has more than enough ...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 48 – Slithery Business

“They’re late.”

Remal, flushed with drink, leaned over to pat the grumpy archer on the shoulder. “It’s pouring out. They’re probably holed up somewhere.” He sobered up after a moment’s thought. “You don’t think they’re–”

“No!” Henry smacked his palm flat on the table. “And need I remind you, Fio’s my sister. I know she’s a grown woman, but I don’t need to hear about this sort of thing. Especially not from a lecher like yo...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 118: Forest Home

“Whatever my Profession will be,” Raiko began. “It should be magic oriented. It’s good to have specializations in general, but it goes a bit deeper for me. I haven’t inherited everything from Dream, but that Kindred’s powers revolve around magic.”

Sam folded his hands and listened to her, but kept his thoughts to himself. He hadn’t heard her talk much about herself before.

“Could be Alchemy, anything to do with Enchanting. Whatever it is, I’m hopin...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 47 – Kind of a Big Dill

Cal sent the snakes carrying the Countess and her oppa one way, while he darted another. Slyrox, in true koblin fashion, bolted straight for the massive snake rearing up.

“Pssh-koh!” Launching into the air, Slyrox raised her fist to the sky and uppercut the snake square in the chin.

The serpentii’s head snapped back under the sheer force of Slyrox’s punch, carrying all the damage of her heavy [Kobbie Mitts] behind it.

Ever since the koblin had gained mor...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 117: What are we, Ewoks?

With the last of his MP, Sam cut down the rest of the trees and Chompers hauled them into the gap in the wall.

Sam paused just on the other side of the wall and admired the work they had done in just two days. Two days!

Bathed in golden light, Sam marveled at the design.

The palisade wall was tightly bound together so there were no seams. Somebody had placed green moss between the logs, considering it could get pretty cold at night and there was next to nothing ...

Quick Update

Hey everybody, James here. 

Voidknight just released (https://mybook.to/Voidknight1) on Saturday and, unfortunately, it's performing significantly worse than I had hoped. Less than 1% readers have given a review/rating, and in general it's not going well.

So, I'm taking a step back. I need some time for my own mental well-being. As a result, while I've already scheduled Voidknight and Shrubley for this week...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 46 – The Milk Assassin II

Lukas was one of the newest serpentii recruits. He slept soundly in the formation known as the chaos ball. No predators would be stupid enough to attack serpentii in such a state.

They were able to strike in all directions at once, able to inject their venom ten times before anybody was able to extricate themselves, and within a few steps, their would-be assailant was dead.

It was a good life, being a serpentii.

All the rats and mice you could eat, with a few la...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 116: Of Steel and Flame

Crepuscular light poured out from the dullahans’ every seam and crevice, reforging metals, mana, and cores. Where once there were dull and muted plates, were now deep-blue plates trimmed with silver and gold.

Sam felt a bit put out, to be honest, having spent so much time repairing and patching them up. Now they were good as new. Their Metal mana was greatly bolstered, and any lingering cracks he had seen before that he couldn’t quite fix were completely gone, as if the...

Voidknight Ascension Book 1, is Now Out on Amazon and FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

Hey all, James here with a new book release just in time for the holiday season! 

The first book has finished it's run on RR (and I'll be removing the chapters from Patreon later today to comply with Kindle Unlimited's rules). It's also been cleaned and polished bright like that silverware you only see once a year when your family  really wants to impress the guests!

You can read the newest entry into our Shardrune Universe at the links below:

(Auto-Region Link): <...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 45 – The Milk Assassin

Despite Shrubley’s dramatic change, his familiar still recognized him and didn’t appear to mind at all. The glowbug landed atop one of his many new leaves, providing an additional soft illumination that felt soothing. It would seem, now that the glowbug was evolved into a familiar, it no longer needed Shrubley’s mana to stay alight.

“We need to come up with a good name for you,” Shrubley said, gathering up his things and looking for the way out of the massive tomb...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 115: A Look Forward

Sam sat by the cookfire. The sun was setting, but the high wall to the west bathed the encampment in shadow. It had been a productive day. Not only because of the wall being halfway done, but because he had gotten a host of skill ups and a couple level ups for his Path.

And he wasn’t the only one.

All around the cookfire people were staring at their notifications, going through their progress and some even distributing stats.

Sam’s arms ached and felt like l...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 44 - Acalypha Wilkesiana

Carrying his new items, Shrubley looked for somewhere to rest. There were no undead left to threaten him and his familiar, and none of those centipede things had shown their ugly mandibles in this chamber once.

He limped away and found a cozy hollow between a couple of unmarked graves.

Then he sat down to rest, opening up his inventory to bathe in the nourishing sunlight and speed up the recovery of his health, stamina, and mana.

Shrubley looked into the hoverin...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 114: Driving up the Wall

Raiko looked at him. “You have a name, I believe, already picked?”

“Sil’mara,” Sam said. “It’s the name of my Skyshard.” He looked at her. “You suggested it, remember?”

“I like it,” Raiko said suddenly, grinning.

For a wonder, he smiled back at her. “As do I.”

Clearly, she had expected him to put forth a different name, but he liked Sil’mara. When their territory has had a chance to grow, he might like to name something after ...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 43 – Don’t Call Him “Bone Daddy”

Quest Complete: Bone Daddy

Destroy every evil skeleton to awaken the Bone Knight.

Objectives complete:

Slain Skeletons: 21/21

Reward:

Awaken the Bone Knight.

Right on the tail end of that completed quest, another one appeared. This one to quell the [Bone Knight]. Such a task could be achieved in multiple ways, not necessarily just thro...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 113: King Me

The beleaguered pair of Kai and Lenal dragged themselves back into camp between the protective sanctuary of the Sourcestone and the Sacred Tree.

The dome was far cozier than that tent had been. The fresh scent of the [Nature Crystals] and [Wind Crystals] mingling together overpowered the lingering stench of Zuu meat.

“You didn’t…” Kai wheezed. “Have to make the holes face each other.”

“Face what?” Sam asked, puzzled.

A dark expression passe...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 42 – Bone Bashin’

Jerric looked suspiciously at the tray of food on his bedside table. He frowned and did his usual sweep of the room. Various wires and detection traps remained, unsurprisingly, inert.

Nothing was triggered despite the whole room looking like some sort of acrobatics course back at the Academy. Wires crisscrossed the room and where there weren’t wires, Jerric had placed little clay discs with spells from Fio that would detect anybody’s presence.

The detection spells...

[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 112: Zuu is the Word

There were few things in the world that Matt enjoyed more than eating. He had been a skinny, malnourished thing growing up on off-brand cup noodles—ramen was far too pricey—with whatever was on sale that week added in for flavor.

Occasionally, Komachi roused and instantly took another bite of the Zuu meat waiting for her, as if she entirely forgot the previous encounter and was consumed by the great fervor for food that all pets seemed to have.

For a while, just a single bit...

[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 41 – A Light in the Dark II

For the glowing shrub and his familiar, lost in a world of prevailing darkness, it was difficult to stay out of sight of all the undead roaming the vast chamber stacked with endless coffins and gravestones.

However, Shrubley did not let go of his Light essence orb. As it turned out, the Light kept him and his familiar safe. Or at least safer than they used to be without it.

He was glowing like a beacon in the infinite darkness around him, yet the undead did not appear...