Soul of the Warrior I: Child Soldier is out now on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible. There are some minor changes in the prologue, an additional world-building chapter, and a new epilogue. Also, the infamous info-dump Chapter 3 has been completely rewritten. As necessary for the agreement with Amazon, Book 1 has been Stubbed, and only Chapter 1 (not the prologue) remains available on RoyalRoad until Chapter 63. The book is approximately 250k words and is 1,116 pages long.
I've been...
2025-06-12 14:32:02 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn felt a flash of irritation. He was a bit surprised by his own response, and it quickly dissipated, but he felt as if his fight had been unduly interrupted. They had only just barely begun sounding each other out. He hadn’t even started using his Rhythm of War Skill, much less his Magic. Sure he had felt worried during the fight because of their opponent’s power, but it was more of an overall thing with the other enemy powerhouses fighting the Elders and all of that combined. He had...
2025-02-12 19:35:19 +0000 UTC
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The change was subtle. If Reivyn had been more involved in the fighting going on, he might not have noticed it at all, much less right away. The effect of the Providence siphon was a metaphysical wind from the Mana being sucked away. It wasn’t anything that could be perceived physically, and Reivyn suspected all of the people below Tier 4 who couldn’t inherently use Mana couldn’t sense it at all.
One moment, there was the ever-present feeling of the Mana Wind, then… nothing. It ...
2025-01-21 20:16:53 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn walked along behind the mercenary company, a steady rain coming down and soaking everything beyond measure. Mud covered his lower body all the way from his boots to his lower waist. He even had some splashes of mud all the way up to his face. He didn’t remember how it had gotten there, but it was pervasive.
The mercenary company in front of him Marched along in the rain, their shoulders drooping a bit. Morale was low overall among the allies, though Reivyn was a bit impressed a...
2025-01-01 06:10:47 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn studied the map with his Divine Sense. He was sitting on the outside of the circle of the officer’s meeting among the allied forces for their area of the conflict. They were positioned just south of the very center of the long frontlines, though they weren’t the central point of contention among the fighters.
As Reivyn wasn’t one of the commanders, just being a wild card with his Party to defend against unexpected attacks or seize rare opportunities, he wasn’t among the o...
2024-12-18 09:25:38 +0000 UTC
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Surprisingly, it was the smell that affected him the most. Gulley thought he understood what he was Marching into, what with all the practice they had with the Mercenary Corps. They had endless mock battles, from squad combat all the way to companies fighting in huge simulated battles. None of them were strangers to battlefield combat by now. They even had special scenarios where they fought against the various tactics used by the invaders.
That was all well and good, and it ensured the...
2024-12-17 03:01:49 +0000 UTC
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[ Status ]
[Name: Reivyn Class: Hero Lvl 27 Age: 16 (21)]
[ &n...
2024-12-14 10:04:43 +0000 UTC
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The soldiers stood frozen in place after exiting the Dungeon. They had immediately brought up their Notifications that had sprung up to inform them of the changes wrought during the Delve. Reivyn didn’t understand the mechanics behind it, but for some changes, the System updated inside the Dungeon, but for others, they updated once they left.
Maybe it’s based on what’s considered a reward from the Dungeon? He surmised. The Skill training is part of the Dungeon, e...
2024-12-13 09:01:50 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn led the squad of soldiers into the depths of the Skill Dungeon. They Marched in formation, their military bearing on full display. Only the sounds of their boots striking the ground in unison made any noise. The atmosphere was desolate, like they were walking to the confrontation of their lives. That may very well be true for the simple soldiers. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for them.
It wasn’t just that they would be able to get more time for training against the shad...
2024-12-10 23:14:33 +0000 UTC
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Clap Clap Clap.
Reivyn kept the rhythm with the timing of his claps. He walked around the training grounds as the soldiers he recruited to delve with him to the Skill Dungeon clacked their swords to his claps. Sweat streamed down their faces as they concentrated on their sparring partners while paying attention to the artificial metronome Reivyn provided them.
One side performed the maneuvers while the other acted as opposition. They would switch places every now and th...
2024-12-03 07:40:17 +0000 UTC
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Rhythm of War was a fascinating Skill. It was like a light had been turned on in a room that he had already walked into. Before, he could just barely see into the entrance, and everything else was shrouded in darkness, only being able to make out the outlines. The new Skill turned that light on, and he could see clearly now.
His Tactics Skill was typically something that affected short-term, small-scale engagements. The actual fights he got into. Strategy was more about coordinating...
2024-11-22 04:56:33 +0000 UTC
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This was an interesting opportunity. There wasn’t much Reivyn could glean from a history lesson that would directly impact his combat capabilities, but there was no reason to turn down the information just because of that. Further understanding of the world around him was always a good thing, in the end.
“You said the ‘hamans’ brought the System?” Reivyn asked. “What does that mean?”
“It means what it means,” the Dragonling replied. “The System <...
2024-11-20 21:43:22 +0000 UTC
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A/N - I've been editing and revising previous chapters in anticipation of finally publishing the story through Mango Media. I don't have a definitive date for anything at this time, but there will be an e-book release coming in the near future. The main points of the story will remain the same, but my revisions will contain some differences from what you've all read in the past. For instance, Chapter 3 finally got that re-write (lol). I'll let everyone know more when I get the informa...
2024-11-20 03:33:09 +0000 UTC
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Kefira cycled her Mana and Cast the Spell, anchoring a spot right in front of her to a place in the distance they could just barely make out. She held the Spell for fifteen seconds, approximately the time it would take to safely sprint to the other side, before releasing it. Instead of dispersing the whole thing, though, like she used to, she was able to gather up the remnants of her weave and maintain half of it to quickly Cast the Spell once again.
She repeated the Casting of t...
2024-10-29 18:37:28 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn groaned as he rolled over, his awareness coming to him suddenly. It was slightly different than when he was asleep, which let him immediately realize something was off. The memories of the previous incident slammed into the forefront of his mind, and he let out another groan as his body ached.
Kefira reached out and steadied him as he rolled to the edge of the bed. Reivyn was thankful for her assistance. He knew he was close to the edge and didn’t actually need her help, bu...
2024-10-26 06:12:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 326 - Divine Ember
Reivyn stood by the open portal, waiting as the Special Unit mercenaries completed their mission on the other side of the open portal. Reivyn had previously sent out two separate missions, and the second group to be sent were the first to return. Neither he nor Kefira, nor anyone else for that matter, had enough Perception to monitor exactly what was going on down below, so they had come up with a simple solution: The first group was sent ...
2024-10-25 04:56:34 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn stared out at the landscape before him. His vantage atop the mountain allowed him to see far beyond. He could see the entire frontline of the invasion. Up until now, he had only been focused on triangulating the teleportation circle, so he had only looked for the supply lines. He hadn’t paid much attention to the actual frontlines of the enemy and allied forces.
Now he turned his gaze toward where the two powers faced off against each other. The terrain below the cliff w...
2024-10-16 21:31:36 +0000 UTC
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Okay, so Qi, Reivyn thought, getting comfortable sitting on his bed. I’ve only used it twice, both in precarious combat situations. I didn’t actively use it, though. It was more like I unleashed it, and it did its own thing.
Now that I was able to release it more consciously, maybe I can finally do something about figuring this thing out.
Reivyn’s Qi was like a ball of potent energy sitting in his dantian, his abdomen just ...
2024-10-15 05:20:48 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn turned his focus to what Kefira was doing with the teleportation device. The spires were covered in unfamiliar runes, and he could sense the Space Mana flowing through them. Even though the multiple spires weren’t physically connected, the Space Mana seemed to be intertwined. He could see some of the Mana flowing along one Spire pop up on another seamlessly. There was no break or jump. It was just in one location, flowing along, then it was in another.
Kefira knew much more...
2024-10-10 20:27:47 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn looked over the Special Unit as they did a final gear check. The sun was still a few hours away from breaking the horizon in the distance as they prepared to head out on their first mission.
“Wrap up any loose straps,” Reivyn directed. “You don’t want those things swinging around, getting caught on anything, or worse, making noise.”
All straps were pulled tight and rolled up to be secured. There would be no jangling or random bits swinging about. It wou...
2024-10-08 21:56:10 +0000 UTC
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[Exiting Dungeon]
[Calculating…]
[First Floor: Incomplete]
[Boss Undefeated]
[Special Scenario Complete: Exp +5,000]
[Total Experience: 5,000]
[Skills Leveled Up!]
[Tier 1:]
[Aim: (52 ->55)]
[Rhythm: (35 ->38)]
[Tier 2:]
[Tactics: (50 ->52)]
[Tier 3:]
[Identify: (28 ->30)]
[Sense Threat: (33 ->35)]
[Tier 5:]
[Magic Prodigy: (97 ->105)]
[Transcendence: Domination]
[Ability: Wrest complete control of Ma...
2024-09-27 10:30:17 +0000 UTC
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The Dragonling flashed its sword through the air, creating a blast of wind. The force of the wind pushed everyone in the Party back several steps, though nobody lost their balance. The Dragonling charged forward and was immediately met with Refix. He had made a split-second decision to take the lead in blocking the formidable creature.
“The System says it’s Tier 8, severely weakened to approximate Tier 5!” Reivyn yelled.
“It doesn’t feel like Tier 5!” Teilon qu...
2024-09-26 06:09:23 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn pulled up his Notification page he’d ignored the day before. He’d gotten distracted first by the lieutenant asking questions about how far they’d made it in the Dungeon, and then he’d focused on the Runes of Kefira’s new staff. At some point, the Notifications had just been pushed so far to the back of his mind that he just neglected to pull them up.
[Exiting Dungeon]
[Calculating…]
[First Floor: Complete]
[Combat Experience: Exp +2,000]
[Boss Defeated...
2024-09-19 07:50:02 +0000 UTC
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“What did it drop?” Reivyn asked, tearing his attention away from the disappeared spark.
Teilon bent over and pulled something out of the chest, holding it up for the other to see. Reivyn looked at what was retrieved, a broken, yellow gem about the size of his two fists held together. It was cut in half with a jagged edge, like it was torn instead of cut. It was dim, and Reivyn didn’t perceive any Mana in the item with any of his Skills or Perception.
He tossed...
2024-09-17 08:47:05 +0000 UTC
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The main setup of the Dungeon didn’t vary from the previous two corridors leading to the boss rooms. There were no branching tunnels. There were no unexpected encounters. The only difference was the main kobold enemies switched to Warriors with a few miners scattered in the groups versus the other way around.
The tunnel continued to spiral ever downward, though it was a gentle slope. White protrusions stuck out from the walls, floors, and ceilings more and more often as the Par...
2024-09-13 05:52:01 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn walked behind his Party members, alert for anything popping out at them with his Divine Sense. The interior of the first Dungeon reminded him of a mix of the cave system in Drallo and the Revenant Dungeon. It was a naturally formed cave with tunnels reminiscent of mines, but they weren’t uniform or orderly like one would expect. The reason was made apparent at their first encounter with the local monsters.
A short, reptilian humanoid came screeching out of the darkness ahea...
2024-09-11 07:27:21 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn stared out at the vast expanse below. The air at the top of the mountain was cold and crisp, but his high Vitality, even with the penalty he was currently under, ensured that it didn’t bother him. It was like noticing the light was slightly dimmer inside as compared to outside. It was noticeable, but didn’t really matter all that much. His Vitality could handle much, much colder temperatures before he needed to worry.
The mountaintop wasn’t snow-capped all year round...
2024-09-10 07:35:11 +0000 UTC
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Reivyn stuffed the pasty in his mouth, savoring the sweet taste and flaky texture. He sat at a long table cordoned off from the rest of the soldiers in the cafeteria, surrounded by his Special Unit and one confused local garrison guardsman. Very rarely did he eat with those not holding a commissioned officer rank, but this was a special occasion.
Reivyn had allowed the mercenaries to rest in one of the waiting rooms until dawn, but he had roused them all and joined them for breakfas...
2024-09-07 07:06:13 +0000 UTC
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Brinaeth crouched against the side of the barracks, checking her surroundings for any alert guards nearby. There wasn’t anyone with their attention on her little corner, so she allowed herself to relax just a little. She didn’t stop actively using her Stealth Skills, but she did take deep, calming breaths, allowing her heart rate to return to normal. She had experienced a spike of adrenaline from traversing the open top of the wall and the exposure from climbing down.
Her Skills...
2024-09-05 04:50:20 +0000 UTC
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Yerrik stared into the distance, the shadows playing tricks on his eyes. The sun had long since set, and he was staring in the direction opposite to the invading force, but orders were orders. He swayed a bit on his feet as he concentrated more on staying awake than on spotting any approaching enemies.
They had been short-staffed for months, and the 24-hour alternating shifts were starting to get to everyone. There was only so much a high Stamina Stat could do to wa...
2024-09-03 17:47:11 +0000 UTC
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