Alex
“Fuck!” Alex yelled in pain.
She knew what was causing the pain. Her water breaking had preceded the contraction a few moments ago. She had been hoping to make it to the meeting hall before this had occurred, as she had the downside of being alone, reading a book when it started.
The loud thumping alongside her reminded her she hadn’t exactly ...
2025-07-31 12:52:20 +0000 UTC View PostWe spent the next few weeks in and out of the simulator, trying run after run against the giant man, never getting any closer to victory. It was a fun diversion, and actually let me practice more of my skills in a way I hadn’t gotten to before. The cores and I managed to come up with several routines where we managed to work our magic well together, and while the effects were impressive...
2025-07-31 12:51:00 +0000 UTC View PostInterestingly, of the previous Arena fights, I could only select the first floor. Did that mean I needed to clear it here as well before I could select further? That made some sense as I’d now be fighting it alone. I also had access to all the Orc fights I had had on Earth since our return. Hell, there were even the training fights Mel had put us through. The evolved skil...
2025-07-31 12:49:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe moose did not join us for the return trip, but Roril assured us he would be fine. After several questions and answers to fill in Elody and Pryte on what had happened with the primal mana beasts, and why the bear had joined us, we bid the last two paladins farewell as they had other duties to get back to.
“Maud, could you take the bear to Trolke and work out a living situation ...
2025-07-28 09:33:01 +0000 UTC View Post“That is unusual behavior for a mana beast of any kind. I’m not entirely sure I have ever heard of it before. Primals are usually not able to use any sort of mana or class orb until several stages past where this moose is. It’s quite the curious situation. It makes me glad you have all decided to protect your primals rather than exploit them for a limited gain,” Roril said, now ex...
2025-07-28 09:31:59 +0000 UTC View Post“Hello, sir, this planet is truly graced by your presence,” Roril said, as he bowed low to the moose.
After leaving the meeting hall, we had guided Roril and Morkland to where the moose had generally been hanging around. We found him roaming one of his favorite spots on the back of my house, in between where Alex was currently resting on the deck and the cloud t...
2025-07-28 09:30:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Do any of you know anything about Jornlorn? I’m going to guess maybe Pryte or Elody, but I’ll understand if even neither of you two do,” Morkand asked. His tone had grown somber. He had a look on his face that I recognized. It was one of grief and loss. They had clearly been close friends.
“I don’t, but then again, I’ve never been much into the paladin ...
2025-07-24 11:21:56 +0000 UTC View Post“Hello and welcome to the Empire of Dave. This is Dave Imogen, the leader of the faction. What brings all of you to Earth for the visit?” Pryte said to the five paladins in front of the gate that they had just arrived through.
Of the said paladins, only a single one of them appeared to be human. They had a similar symbol to what I had seen on Elody’s books wor...
2025-07-17 08:03:18 +0000 UTC View PostAs I ate my breakfast the next morning with the expectation of the paladins at any moment, I started to dwell on just what I’d need to do in the future. There was the reality of the other governments of Earth. While I didn’t want to just usurp them, that was almost certainly going to happen as things grew.
No matter how much I hated the idea of running an empire,...
2025-07-16 06:35:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Wait, is there something wrong with them? I thought they were just, you know, not awake.” Elody tried standing up straight as she answered. She had attempted to turn her tone serious as well, but the hiccups hadn’t stopped, ruining the attempt.
“Each of the dungeon cores looks like it has been lobotomized,” Karlinovo answered softly.
“Oh no, that’s horrible!” ...
2025-07-13 08:28:23 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a very awkward exchange in which I realized I had no idea what their names were, I now had Johan and Bert with me in the dungeon. We had made a stop to get them bundled up on the way. Johan was the seismologist, and he was here mostly to test how forces passed through the different exotic materials. The goal there was twofold: being able to detect rarer minerals on different worlds,...
2025-07-13 08:27:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Rabyn, can you hear me?” I said as we propped him onto the nearby couch. Both Elody’s and my own healing magics were already at work on the man. The big problem was that neither of us had the ability to easily regrow lost limbs. For now, the best we could do was keep it patched as we slowly worked to heal the arm.
“I can now. Damn, that was the chopping arm,...
2025-07-13 08:25:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Hit it harder!” Karlinovo yelled as I worked to balance the spike at an angle in the Antarctic dungeon. I had since learned the proper name for it was the Cold From Beyond, which was fitting considering the thing we had encountered here.
“I’ll try!” Yorela yelled back as she slammed an oversized mallet into the end of the spike over and over.
We had been at this for...
2025-07-09 04:37:30 +0000 UTC View PostI wished I had had time to sleep on this conversation, but we needed that spike in as soon as possible. That meant I needed to face the only core that managed to get inside my head since Corey. No matter the fact that I was stressed, tired, and desperate for its help. It was almost certainly a recipe for disaster, which was why I pulled up a chat window. I needed the cores. 2025-07-09 04:36:06 +0000 UTC View Post
It had only taken Quarilyn two days to get a gate built to the specification the giants required. The bigger issue was the power generation we needed for it to run on the Earth side. Similar to the problem she had faced when setting up the connection between the homestead and the United States, we just didn’t have the power. Though in this case, we had the mana flow. It just wasn’t a ...
2025-07-06 04:49:44 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m almost sure he’s right on the big war talk. I’ve been worried about that potential from the get-go. I still stand by my claim that we might be able to ride that out as the big guys fight amongst themselves, though,” Pryte said the moment the giants had cleared the room.
“Generally, people don’t offer alliances like he did out of the goodness of their hearts. Even ...
2025-07-06 04:48:06 +0000 UTC View PostWe had found the brothers back in the waiting room. Both of them looked nervous about something as they paced back and forth across the room. And just what that was, they refused to talk about. I was sure it meant they had found some news of their home. Hopefully, whatever they learned, they’d tell us in time, but it was their news to share, and I wasn’t going to try ...
2025-07-06 04:46:49 +0000 UTC View PostIt was, of course, likely that the man’s people had no concept of the handshake, but there was just a feeling about him that rubbed me the wrong way. It was hard to put my finger on exactly what yet. I withdrew my waiting arm and spotted a tiny change in his smile. Was that a confirmation? Had this been some odd power game? I didn’t know the answer, and it wasn’t something I had eve...
2025-07-02 03:36:37 +0000 UTC View Post“I understand this is entirely a failure on my part, but somehow I hadn’t realized the diversity of species that would be here,” Laura said, her mouth nearly hanging open as we left the waiting room into one of the many Spire pathways.
“Yeah, it kind of got to me at first, too, just don’t mention to them if they look like an Earth animal, they get really offend...
2025-07-02 03:35:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the night was spent trying to conserve my mana while Gamma was determined to master the air elemental orb. I finally had to put a stop to it so I could get some sleep and actually let my core recharge. While Gamma was disappointed, they understood that the next day was Arena day. Which both they and Beta were looking forward to, and that meant begrudgingly accepting calling it...
2025-06-29 09:46:38 +0000 UTC View PostIt was another long night of discussions. The food and drink continued to flow as plans became more and more abstract. The discussions were moving further down the line as to what we could do as the Empire grew. The unsaid reality by either Pryte or me was that we had already had this conversation once, and everything had already shifted thanks to the Reltleons. The future was too hard to...
2025-06-29 09:45:09 +0000 UTC View Post“So what makes ya so damn sure ya can add more people to yer simulations once we clear the fiftieth floor anyway?” Mel asked as I took a bite of a roast potato. Most of the last thirty minutes had been spent with him, Elody, and Karlinovo scanning me in various ways to make sure my body was doing okay.
“I could be entirely wrong, but the name of the quest is Squad ...
2025-06-29 09:43:28 +0000 UTC View Post“I just got a System message that said my core would crash within the hour due to my core energy being insufficient for the current load. I’m guessing that confirms Mel’s fears, and I need to get back into the simulator immediately?” I asked, worried about what would happen if I delayed this any longer.
“Prolly something those that crack their core see before t...
2025-06-27 05:30:10 +0000 UTC View PostTo Pryte’s credit, he had managed to wait until we were back in the dining hall, comfortably seated, and a plate of the leftovers from earlier in front of him before finally voicing the words behind the incredulous look he had given me in the workshop. “Why do I seem to miss all the fun when you start to tamper with your mana channels?”
It hadn’t been the question I was expe...
2025-06-25 06:12:05 +0000 UTC View Post“So I know what happens when I fortify my core and my ranks revert from their skills and attributes. Any idea what happens when I lose an actual grade and my level cap reduces?” I asked, a little worried about that part of what had just happened.
“If we treat it similar to transcending, you likely have a week or so before the actual effects start to hit you. This may ...
2025-06-25 05:23:17 +0000 UTC View PostI ended up rewriting 2 chapters today, which pushed me a bit behind. While I'm still hoping to get it done Monday. I may not hit chapter 200 until Tuesday.
2025-06-23 10:35:51 +0000 UTC View Post“Dave! I have the material!” Beta shouted as the form of the knife crashed into the closed garage door, putting a hold on the terraforming conversation.
The smaller door next to where Beta had just impacted opened to reveal a giggling Elody. “Beta got a bit too excited on the way here. And to be clear, we may have the material. It’s not refined soul plate. I’m not entirely sure wh...
2025-06-23 10:34:18 +0000 UTC View PostMel had agreed with adding Yorela and Grant to the squad. He had, in fact, already been planning to broach the topic of Grant. On the other hand, he was against adding any Reltleons until he had a chance to really pick through the guards, and as there likely wasn’t time for that before the next floor, it was a no-go. Apparently, the next floor would be another monster battle.
The only pro...
2025-06-23 10:07:47 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m sorry, what?” Laura said, turning to face the president before either Pryte or I had a chance to respond. She wasn’t the only one who looked caught off guard by his words, either. Both of the other members of his delegation were staring at him, confused.
“Dave, as you can see from the reactions of those around me, my next offer is going to come as a bit of a surprise. So I fe...
2025-06-23 09:48:11 +0000 UTC View Post“In the future, I want far more notice of the council deciding it’s time for another meeting,” I said to Grant as soon as I returned and found him waiting in the dining hall. I had left Dean with Maud to get situated. Karlinovo and Elody could start sorting through what we scavenged, since apparently I had to have a talking to with Grant.
“I’m sorry, but I told you the...
2025-06-23 09:31:25 +0000 UTC View Post