Enjoy!
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He knew he didn’t stand in the plains of memory. He knew it was a memory.
“You aren’t an ordinary wraith.” Serenity couldn’t be entirely certain what it was without his Death senses, but no ordinary wraith could have sent him into memory after memory - or perhaps nightmare after nightmare? In each one, he’d been Serenity, not Vengeance or the Final Reaper. The nightmare wasn’t the memory but the thought that he might do this. Agai...
2021-10-19 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Warning: Nightmares Ahead
I lost a family member recently. That may have influenced this chapter.
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Serenity opened the door next to the pedestal and felt a warm, dry wind blow at him from the doorway. Beyond the door was a plain that looked like an ancient battlefield; he could see skeletons still covered in tattered armor scattered along the field.
He hoped they wouldn’t have to face an army of the dead, but what else was there to expect on a world ...
2021-10-18 23:04:52 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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As they continued on, the hallways and rooms continued to be plain until they got to the last room, and the enemies continued to be stupid and easy to handle. The final hallway was more than twice as wide as any of the others, and it ended in a pair of doors that swung into the hall. The hallway was plain but Serenity could see the texture where different layers of paint covered the doors.
Serenity opened the door to look into what had to be the boss room...
2021-10-17 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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They explored the room, but the only rewards they could find were the ones in the bowls. It felt like an offering room to the gods.
“Should we take these?” Raz looked at the shoes doubtfully. “They’re magical, but only barely. And I’m not sure if the dungeon would like it. The display…”
As he spoke, Katya was reaching into the bowl that held the coins to pull them out. While they weren’t Etherium, Serenity assumed they were probab...
2021-10-16 23:00:59 +0000 UTC
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Lancaster HATES the UERT acronym.
At the time the show airs that evening, approximately 2.3% of Earth’s population will have been through the Tutorial. Almost everyone has heard of it, but it’s still not common to have been through it.
Enjoy!
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Television Ad, USA, Earth
Tonight, we have a special guest: Eric Lancaster, the head of NYPD’s newest unit, the Unusual Events Response Team! He’ll be here to walk us through what they do and...
2021-10-15 23:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
-------------------
Serenity sat down and pulled up the notification he’d ignored.
[Path Choice Quest (Branching) Step 3: The Dungeon of Death]
[You have entered a Death and Undead-aligned dungeon while bearing the Heart of the Deathless. This has angered the Heart; it wishes to destroy or take over the dungeon. You must choose how to deal with both the Heart and the Dungeon]
[Take no Unnecessary Risks: You are h...
2021-10-14 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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This is not one of Katya's better days ... actually, it's not a particularly good day for anyone. Possible exceptions: Raz and Aki.
Serenity was missing a lot more in the three Rising Phoenix mercenaries' group dynamics than he knew - but then, he hasn't exactly known them for long.
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“So what should we call you? Glows-in-ley-lines?” Katya hopped off her flying chair and fell to her knees. “Gods I hate using that thing all day.” She stood up and deactivated t...
2021-10-13 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Back on Tzintkra, it was finally morning. The group split up to look for more stone buildings like the one Serenity had teleported into. Hale asked them not to enter any; they’d meet at lunchtime and decide where to go from there.
Serenity and Raz surveyed the jungle area from high in the sky, looking for breaks in the canopy. When they found one, they’d descend and see if there was a building. They didn’t find any buildings as large as the fir...
2021-10-12 23:04:07 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Serenity was overjoyed when he finally finished Steadfast. It had certainly lived up to its name; he’d had to persevere to get through it. He’d spent 13 Tutorials practicing with other instructors as much as he could to train it, which meant he’d spent more than a year on it, even though the time had passed in seconds outside the Tutorial. That certainly wasn’t terrible for a Path that leveled from something other than combat, but it was positivel...
2021-10-11 23:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Serenity has every reason to take advantage of the Tutorials to try to improve as quickly as possible.
Even if he isn't entirely happy about how long it takes.
Enjoy!
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Serenity’s appearance made integrating with the students more difficult than it had been in past Tutorials; then, he’d been different but interesting because he was a teacher. This time, it seemed like a different group found him interesting, and he ended up with several different a...
2021-10-10 23:08:25 +0000 UTC
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Yes, this is back in the Tutorial. No, we won't be here long.
Enjoy!
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That night, for some reason, the trio split up watch duty into three watches. Serenity would be on watch with Hale first, then Katya would be alone, then Zan and Raz. Serenity smiled to himself; it was clear that they still weren’t trusted. That made sense; it wasn’t like walking out of a dungeon you shouldn’t have been in was the best introduction he’d ever given.
Serenity decided...
2021-10-09 23:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
----------------
The trio had Raz lead them to where Garrett’s group left the two floating discs. Only one was there, which told them that Greyvine had almost certainly escaped. They’d expected that, and it didn’t seem to bother the trio; they hadn’t ever met Greyvine, so even though he’d worked with Garrett, they didn’t have a particular problem with him.
“Do either of you know how to fly one of these?” Hale looked at the disc, then back at Serenity a...
2021-10-08 23:28:06 +0000 UTC
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There was no reason to be worried about working outside the sector they were supposed to be in.
None. Really.
There was no reason this sector would be assigned, and no possible reason anyone would be following Garrett.
Is there?
Well, okay, there is one little reason...
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The armored man leaned over and whispered something to the woman sitting next to him. She replied, then he turned back to Serenity and Raz. “Ynsarac Hale. Please call me Ha...
2021-10-07 23:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
Long chapter today; there wasn't a good earlier breakpoint.
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10 Downing Street
London, Earth
Sunday evening
Miranda Elliott straightened her jacket and tried to settle her nerves. She hadn’t been Prime Minister long, and this was the moment she would be remembered for. She’d better handle it well, or she’d end up being compared to Chamberlain instead of Churchill.
No one was making th...
2021-10-06 22:56:13 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Raz stared at Serenity. He had to know more than he was saying. Why had he emphasized “dungeon” in that sentence?
Any ideas, Aki?
:None. There has to be a primary core somewhere, and anyone who can conquer a dungeon should know what dungeon they’re bonded to. He doesn’t seem to know anything. Play along for now.:
Yes oh grand Aki.
:One of these days, Raz, one of these days…:
Raz turned his attention b...
2021-10-06 00:32:49 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Raz stared at the floor as it changed. Aki? What is he doing? And how? He’s not even paying attention, he can’t be using the designer. It’s too fast.
Aki didn’t respond for several minutes, but when she did, her mindvoice seemed flustered. :It’s a ritual of some sort, but I don’t recognize it. I can’t even tell what it’s supposed to do. It’s very specialized and has something to do with Death, but more than that is hard to re...
2021-10-04 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Serenity had seen a quest screen appear during Raz’s story, but he’d waved it away without paying much attention. Raz’s tale required too much attention; he could pay attention to the quest later. It wasn’t until he finished the first healing for Raz that he realized he’d found the Path Choice Quest he was looking for.
He made sure he wasn’t facing Raz, since he didn’t want to explain the smile he couldn’t hide.
[Path R...
2021-10-03 23:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Raz woke to a soft clink of metal against stone as the winged man adjusted his armor. It wasn’t particularly comfortable to sleep in armor, so Raz wasn’t too surprised it needed to be adjusted after the man had passed out on the floor, even though Raz had customized the room to put a bed under him.
Raz tucked his hand inside the pouch that held Aki. He’d reviewed events with her before he slept, since she couldn’t see anything in the storage ...
2021-10-02 23:01:01 +0000 UTC
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We have a partial Status after today's chapter - the Magical and Physical panels didn't change this time. I'll try to note what's changed, but I may miss something.
I also wrote up his ability list. It's with the Status.
Enjoy!
---------------------------
[Field Dungeon: Last Refuge of the Deathless (Corrupted) - Unrated Special (Death, Undead, Possessive) Conquered]
[Dungeon Combat Modifiers: Combat initiated by creatures unaffiliated wi...
2021-10-01 23:09:30 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
----------------
Serenity stood in a library, watching a dragon read from an oversized book. As he paged through it, the pages turned themselves. After a few minutes, the dragon glanced up and noticed Serenity. “Ah, you’re already here. Quick, I like that.”
The voice made Serenity recognize the dragon, even though he was crouched over a book instead of sitting at a podium. He was Althyr, the Eldest of the Conclave of Dragons.
The last thing Serenity rememb...
2021-09-30 23:01:02 +0000 UTC
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This isn't the daily chapter; that should be out in about an hour.
I doubt I'll do this every month, but hey - it's the first month so why not.
First of all, thanks to everyone for signing up for the first month. I know it's a bit of a leap of faith to sign up for that first month and trust the chapters to keep coming.
When I started this Patreon a month ago, I was three chapters ahead of what I published here. This month, I tried to write a chapter a day (and two chapters o...
2021-09-30 22:00:04 +0000 UTC
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This is a fight that Serenity really shouldn't be in.
Therefore he obviously needs to do what anyone should do in an impossible fight: cheat.
He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve; I hope you enjoy the ones he's pulling out today!
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Serenity caught himself with a step backwards. He’d deflected the strike instead of trying to block it, but it was clear that his opponent was stronger than Serenity - significantly stronger. Serenity didn’t have time t...
2021-09-29 23:27:56 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
-----------------
Raz looked to his left and saw Iva emerge from a shadow. He couldn’t make her out well, but the fact that she was holding her giant sword with one hand while facing him wasn’t reassuring. “Iva?”
She grunted and the sword slashed through the air where Raz had been moments before.
Raz threw himself into a dive and rolled across the floor, narrowly ducking under another gathering of shadow. He could feel it brush his slippers; hopefully th...
2021-09-28 23:07:55 +0000 UTC
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It's time for people to start meeting...
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Garrett pulled the door open and Iva walked up with her hand around the back of the neck of the man whose name Raz still didn’t know. His hands were still tied.
“No. No no no no no. No.” The man simply repeated the one word as he looked into the darkness beyond the door.
“Looks like a stairway going down.” Iva turned to the man. “So, are you going to go in there willingly?”
The man just kept...
2021-09-27 23:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
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Unknown Camp, Tzintkra
Raz woke up to an unfamiliar voice. “Rise and shine, fresh meat!”
Raz pulled himself out of the small tent. He wasn’t happy about being called fresh meat, but he was sure the man meant him. Aki was what mattered so he reminded himself of what the Quest said. Keep your head down and don’t volunteer.
The man standing outside Raz’s tent was human, dressed in the same sort of leather armor ...
2021-09-26 23:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
------------------
Two hours later, Rissa was watching the news about the Tutorial. It looked like every news station was talking about it. She caught a clip where an older woman talked about the Trials and a sign labeled “Serenity’s Trial Guide”, which apparently went through the methods they’d worked out on how to get as many people through the Trials safely as possible.
Rissa started laughing when the woman mentioned “Rule 10: Don’t jump in the Boss Sli...
2021-09-25 23:01:00 +0000 UTC
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So, I didn't forget about Entherys. Getting kicked out of the Tutorial for attacking a student was not in his best interest... he has no idea of what's about to happen to him...
Enjoy!
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Entherys woke up lying in his mother’s meditation garden. He opened his eyes to see his mother sitting in a chair, watching him. As he started to get up, he realized he was on top of several of the plants.
“You are back early. Explain.” Her voice was expressionles...
2021-09-24 23:00:03 +0000 UTC
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So, I forgot to ask yesterday.
Should I write a side chapter (or two or three, knowing the way my writing seems to expand) on Echo's Quest? My current plan is to have it happen in the background (along with several other side character events that are mentioned but not in detail), but that one is interesting enough I'd be willing to write it up if enough people want.
I'll be asking this as a poll on RR when we hit Chapter 98, but I wanted to ask here as well.
2021-09-24 22:31:36 +0000 UTC
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Enjoy!
We'll be back with Serenity soon, but since everyone is split up ... let's take a look at some of the other things that are happening.
I'm not going to spend too much time on what's happening on the home front, since this is unknown to Serenity - but this should give you an idea of what's going on.
Note: Several different POVs in this chapter.
--------------------
[Tutorial Complete]
[All Mandatory Goals Completed]
2021-09-23 23:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Thanks for the commentary on yesterday's post! I was curious what other people think would be the right choice.
It was split, which I'm glad for; I was trying to make it a legitimately difficult decision.
There are benefits and drawbacks to every evolution if I do it right; generally it should be a net benefit or it wouldn't be offered - but the Voice doesn't always choose correctly, and it's being very liberal with the choices available to Serenity.
The benef...
2021-09-22 23:28:40 +0000 UTC
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