Rholont shut his eyes for a moment, then pulled a card with an elaborately designed backing out of thin air. He handed it to Mel.
As soon as Mel grabbed it, she realized that Rholont wasn’t letting go. She wasn’t going to tug ineffectually on it.
“I would normally say, ‘good luck’ here,” Rholont said pensively. “However, in this case, I believe it is your enemies that need all the luck they can get. Though our time was longer than I would have wished it, I can...
2025-03-01 11:00:15 +0000 UTC
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“Machi!” Komachi squealed when Mel picked her up and held her like a baby in front of Rholont.
Mel looked at her, then at Rholont. “I should have known you’d be immune.” She looked over at the Fire Oppa thoughtfully, who was over by the frozen spar between Jacob and Hal.
“He let it happen,” Komachi said, licking her syrupy paw enthusiastically. “Machi do what she want.”
“What’s the matter, Rholont? You’re looking a little panicky.”
The ...
2025-02-28 11:00:08 +0000 UTC
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As Mel would have expected, the Magi were welcoming and accepting. With Shrubley and Gwen making breakfast for everybody, there was a tower of pancakes drenched in butter and syrup in front of each person at the long table.
More seats were found and placed around Mel for her new friends. They were quiet and reserved at first, but Magi were practiced at dealing with humans. That had been their first tenet long ago when darkness had threatened their home.
Of course, nobody me...
2025-02-27 11:00:34 +0000 UTC
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“H-how?” Sabrina asked, her voice breaking. She pressed her hands to her mouth to stop the sobs coming out.
Shane put a hand on her shoulder.
Nathan looked at his hole-ridden shirt. “I…was dead.”
“We all were,” Maddie said.” She furrowed her brow, trying to remember. Then she looked at Mel and she broke. “Oh…Mel. I’m so sorry.”
Charlie had stepped into the room at some point during the ritual. The door shut behind her. “It worked,” sh...
2025-02-26 11:00:24 +0000 UTC
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Mel looked up from the [Revival Scroll] to see Charlie, in tightly fitted witch robes, striding across the open floor with a basket from one of the Grand Orders in her arms.
You gotta be kidding me, Mel thought sourly.
The rival Archon gifted embers, manuals, potions, and pearls to Sylvie’s team. Because of course Sylvie and Komachi would be the leader of that group, despite Sylvie being the youngest Magi. By the looks of it, Charlie even shared a p...
2025-02-25 11:00:07 +0000 UTC
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After months of sleeping roughly, always worried that there was danger around the corner, you would think that the first night in warmth and safety would be restful.
It was not.
Mel tossed and turned for more reasons than her large bed was missing a certain tall, statuesque woman. She awoke every few minutes when the silence became too much.
If it wasn’t that, it was some phantom memory that jolted her awake. She was, at her heart, a warrior. And that meant expectin...
2025-02-24 11:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Charlie lingered by Mel’s door that night, gripping her staff with white-knuckled force. Her posture was tense, like she was struggling with something. Even her witch hat was lopsided, hiding everything but her frown.
When Mel turned down the hall to her room, she paused and observed the witch for a moment while she was undetected.
What’s she doing? She shook her head. I’m really not built for this subterfuge shit. I only know of one way to find out ...
2025-02-23 11:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Mel didn’t expect the Magi to reach an agreement so fast. Their usual bickering and backbiting lasted all of a few minutes before the majority decided in favor of creating an Order.
Once that first roadblock fell away, all other complaints were made purely for the sake of them. None of them truly held any merit.
Besides, with most of the Magi in support of forming an Order, nobody wanted to be left out.
Even more surprising was the nearly unanimous decision to put b...
2025-02-22 11:00:06 +0000 UTC
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In some ways, it was as if Mel never left Brookmoors. The petty jealousies and rivalries resumed right where they had left off. People mostly talked about their experiences in the Convocation, but it was all done with typical Magi flair.
Sylvie constantly tried to outdo her brother, Hal, and his stories. Somehow Komachi always made Sylvie seem like the Magical Girl protagonist in a cheesy show no matter how minor the tale.
Mel soaked in the warm ambiance of friends regaling...
2025-02-21 11:00:05 +0000 UTC
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There was no judgment in Gwen’s eyes. She did not look at these people with scorn or disdain. She even gave another health potion to Wrug.
Mel had to resist the urge to give these downtrodden people money. They would never accept it. Their pride would not allow it, and yet she couldn’t leave them to their fate. She did, however, have another plan.
“I’ll be back. I won’t…” Mel choked up for a moment. She took a deep breath to compose herself. “I won’t forge...
2025-02-20 11:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Mel sagged in place, looking at the towering brutes. She scrubbed at her eyes, dashing the tears away. “This is the only place that feels like home to me,” she said in a quiet voice on the edge of breaking.
A few of the grubby men nodded, as if they understood.
A large, meaty hand came out and rested on her shoulder. Despite looking like he broke rocks with his face and could crush Mel into the size of a basketball, he gently guided her toward a small alcove set into th...
2025-02-19 11:00:09 +0000 UTC
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By the time Mel got out of the forest room, most of the Magi had settled in. Collectively, the group behaved like cats. The general idea was to let them adjust to the space without forcing anything onto them.
Being there to greet them would have made it seem like Mel was rubbing her good fortune in their face. The only way she could have made it worse would be to overtly tell them that they were welcome and to enjoy themselves.
That would have collectively put all&...
2025-02-18 11:14:43 +0000 UTC
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“Mel, there’s something else you need to understand about your rival,” Gwen said, frowning. “She’s an Asleton. Highborn. And from the main house, like Sylvie and Hal. Except she’s technically older, being their father’s sister, so she holds more authority.”
“Wait, how old does that make her?” Heath asked.
“Our age,” Gwen explained. “She’s Disjoined, like me. Except from 90s California, instead of 800s Northern Europe.”
Heath took a little...
2025-02-18 06:04:33 +0000 UTC
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There were a lot of showers to choose from. Mel didn’t care much to avoid going into the other Magi’s rooms, especially since they hadn’t arrived yet.
As far as she considered it, it was their fault for not claiming dibs yet.
The only one she didn’t go into was Gwen’s, since she was already in there. Plus, it opened into an indoor forest paradise with various viking decorations.
She picked the first and nearest room, which naturally wasn’t hers. Mel would ...
2025-02-17 04:24:28 +0000 UTC
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“That’s murder!” Heath protested.
“Technically, no,” Elian corrected. “So long as you are a competitor in the Convocation, you are competing for the prizes and glory associated with the Convocation. Whether you are in a trial or not, you still possess an Authority Level and move up or down in the rankings.”
“Wait,” Mel said, holding up a hand. “Are we getting battle points even outside of a trial?”
“For anything that applies.” Elian gestured ...
2025-02-16 03:49:18 +0000 UTC
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The carriage exploded, raining burning debris across the expansive courtyard filled with the carriages of countless nobles and wealthy patrons.
Even as Mel tucked and rolled, keeping her precious cargo (Hush) safe, she mentally noted the reaction between Poison and Fire aspects.
That knowledge totally won’t put me on a terror watch list.
Gwen was left sitting on the smoldering remains of the carriage’s seat. She blinked rapidly, covered head to toe in soo...
2025-02-15 02:22:13 +0000 UTC
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In fact, her titles explicitly stated that she didn’t earn them so much as loot them from the corpses of her enemies.
Mel realized, belatedly, that her titles literally told the story of the Convocation. From her first to the last, all six titles were integral to her journey.
(Titles)
[Boss Rash]
(Title, Legendary)
While others were duking it out with fluffy rabbits, cute hedgehogs from hell,...
2025-02-14 01:27:35 +0000 UTC
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While Heath and Gwen asked their own questions en route to the Starling Tower, Mel looked at some pending notifications.
You earn a higher Authority Level.
[Exile] → [Commoner]
Deed Wall surpassed. You earn a higher Authority Level.
[Commoner] → [Vagrant]
The hell is that? Mel wondered.
She had more than a few notifications for her aspects and decided just to take a...
2025-02-12 01:38:51 +0000 UTC
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“Charlotte Asleton,” the Holy See medic began, full of sympathy. “I am immeasurably sorry to say that there is not much more we can do for your condition.”
Dread crawled in from the fringes of Charlie’s mind, trying to crush her under the weight of Lormar’s Guilt. She reacted instinctively, falling back on her highborn training to protect against useless despair.
Shutting her eyes, she focused on the argent waves of cold echoing out from the star in darkness. It...
2025-02-12 00:55:23 +0000 UTC
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While Elian answered questions and extolled the virtues of the Seabrim Crater, Mel looked at her status. She had gotten a few increases, a new title, and something about an Authority Level.
First up, however, was her all-important status:
[Mel Harper]
Race: Human
Standing: Vagrant (G-League) [1st Echelon]
Class: Witchblade
Rank: High Copper
Next Rank: I...
2025-02-11 00:36:05 +0000 UTC
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“Komachi is [Ungovernable]!” a familiar voice screamed in the hall.
Sae’mir and the doctors stepped to the side as a brown blur streaked down the hall, trailing several doctors in the same robes that had treated Gwen.
“Somebody catch her!” a doctor shouted.
Another doctor dove, his arms encircling the squirming otter-like pobul with especially wooly fur, until she used [Ungovernable] and shot out of his grasp. “I can’t! She keeps using that aspect skill!...
2025-02-10 05:46:34 +0000 UTC
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And we're back! Witchblade will be continuing its daily updates starting today.
If you haven't already, you can help out the story by by rating/reviewing on RR and posting about it on your favorite litrpgs and progression fantasy hangouts!
Mel woke up in complete darkness, on a cold, hard slab.
Son of a bitch, not again, she thought to herself.
The difference between this time and the last became imme...
2025-02-09 01:38:03 +0000 UTC
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Hope you've been enjoying the story so far! The first book of Omen of the Witchblade is officially complete now at a chunky 250k words. The next book is shaping up to be even longer, but typically we have a small break between the end of one book and the start of the next. This is no different.
Omen of the Witchblade will return shortly, resuming it's daily update schedule for the foreseeable future. Sohmer and I are dedicated to making this a proper serial with plenty of time to let it...
2025-01-31 17:58:44 +0000 UTC
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Standing over the corpse of another Bloodtide member, Mel turned to the side and spit out the blood that was filling her mouth. The sound of slippered feet alerted Mel to a new danger. She twisted on the balls of her feet, bringing her twinblade to bear. She heard the sharp clang of steel meeting steel. A spark of light told her she had just parried a strike aimed at her back.
I didn’t even see what I was doing!
The sweaty man in green silk robes wa...
2025-01-30 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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With the Abhorrent One and the Lady in Chains unaware of their position, the Elders had an easy time finding the abomination that was the thirteenth Magi. She foolishly held onto a ring lingering with the Vile Covenant’s magic, making it easy to track her down.
Wearing the faces of a party they had killed upon entering, the Elders moved without suspicion around other groups of humans, like wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Yok’sal pointed out the high value targets as they ...
2025-01-29 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Heath was terrified.
It wasn’t just that there were literal monsters on all sides, but that his party members and friends were attacking them with the reckless abandon of little kids whacking pinatas.
These people are insane.
He kept pumping his daggers, tossing the unending supply of throwing daggers and then using his long-bladed knives when the monsters came in close for the kill.
Though he was the weakest member of the group, he thought he ...
2025-01-28 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Mel couldn’t take her eyes off the witch that floated just above their heads. Not just because Mel recognized her or that she was a total smoke show, but because of the hat.
Another Magi with a witch hat. A rival for power. One that would go beyond this competition.
Whatever. I can take her.
“Please don’t kill each other,” Gwen said beneath the din of battle.
Mel turned to her. “Wait, what?”
Heath was too busy us...
2025-01-27 14:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Accurate to everyone’s assumption, and surprising exactly nobody, Gwen was struck first by a monster. The [Fool’s Crown] shattered into golden shards. Before she lost it, she managed to turn a few monsters into meaty pancakes with the extended melee range of her greathammer.
Mel drew blood from the ruined carcasses to fuel her [Blood Magic] and keep her [Sanguine Coat] topped off. Unfortunately, she realized rather early on that she didn’t have much time.
After about ...
2025-01-26 14:00:07 +0000 UTC
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New Quest: Heavy Lies the Crown
The manastorm has caused a fundamental shift in both the trial’s landscape and its denizens. Monsters within the influence of the manastorm are now stronger, with many reaching levels of power previously unintended. Monster evolutions otherwise reserved for Vagrant and Wayfarer Authority tiers of the Convocation have been witnessed within the hallowed hall of martyrs. To prevent the spread of this affliction and the s...
2025-01-25 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Mel had no idea how long she slept, but she felt significantly better. The other groups, none of them Magi, she noticed, kept their distance from one another in an odd sort of queue.
At least nobody seemed to be actively ambushing and backstabbing one another. Everyone appeared fairly wary of each other.
Which made sense. By making it this far in the Convocation, you learned to protect yourselves against the human element. Monsters were dangerous, but people were worse. Alw...
2025-01-24 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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