Ad Astra

Savage Awakening 472. Summit of the Ages (V)

Zane's duel was a startling upset, and it would start to attract attention in the coming days, mostly by word of mouth. Most of the lower boxes were still empty. Only those in his bracket were there—and even then, only to scout Shen.

The bulk of Cloud City’s attention that day was on another of the grand arenas.

There, the top-billed duel of the day was taking place. Every box was sold out, the stands packed to the brim; folk were straining in crowds outside the arena, just to...

Savage Awakening 471. Summit of the Ages (IV)

Shen struck like a storm.

Lightning shivered the arena; there was a sound like whips cracking. His fists made writhing balls of the stuff.

Then he blurred into the wind, and threw.

They shot out like cannonballs—thudded straight into Zane. Then the Storm Prince was gone as if he’d never been there.

Another ball of lightning screamed from behind and torched his robes black.

Zane staggered.

***

“Hells, he’s fast!” said Kira.

“I didn’...

Savage Awakening 470. The Summit of the Ages (III)

The biggest boxes were the gold-rimmed ones closest to the arena. Few inside paid these early fights much attention.

But there was one young woman with her face pressed to the window. She was disheveled, with stray leaves in her hair and dirt streaked over her cheeks, and she smelled the way you’d expect from a girl who hadn’t bathed in half a year. She wore a mottled cloak. A giant bow was strapped to her back—the kind meant to kill prey in a single blow.

Her name was Virya...

Savage Awakening 469. The Summit of the Ages (II)

A/N: Bonus chapter!

//

That week he got his first postcard from Evan. It had a drawing on it, all watercolors, of a tower spearing into the clouds, each layer as wide as a kingdom. You could vaguely see what was going on inside through its archways. Gears cranked through one floor. Another seemed a water world, drifting with dolphins.

A tiny Evan popped up on the card. Chomper panted beside him. He had on a backpack and a little hat. He waved.

“We ju...

Savage Awakening 468. The Summit of the Ages (I)

“This is the meaning of martial arts!”

That slash was clean—not a wasted movement. And when it struck, each line flowered into a dozen others.

As Ren advanced, he brought a field of phantom flowers blooming mid-air, deadly sharp.

Zane was a bit surprised. Credit where credit was due. This Ren fellow was quite impressive—he really had done his training.

Maybe he shouldn't be surprised. This guy went 9-0 among top Ascendants. It wasn’t the easiest thin...

Savage Awakening 467. Jack (V)

Zane’s second fight went down as easily as the first. The third went down pretty quickly too.

There were a few thousand folks fighting on his floor. The number dwindled quickly—fighters were getting eliminated fast.

The standards seemed to be ratcheting up quickly. He only met peak Ascendants from then on.

So far, though, none could take the bonk.

***

His fourth-round opponent was a very thin man with arms wrapped in thick gauze. He had a very sharp, gaunt fa...

Savage Awakening 466. Jack (IV)

The first hotel Zane saw proclaimed itself as the “Imperial Grand” in bold letters.

It towered a full 99 floors. Lots of silver and marble.

The guards—dressed in equally shiny mail—stopped him at the doors. “We’re full, sir,” said the one with the giant mustache.

The next hotel was called the Crescent Moon Abode, a squat, delicate-looking compound perched above a little lake.

The innkeeper saw him off. “Every room’s been booked out for months,” she ...

Savage Awakening 465. Jack (III)

“Eh?” said the Spirit.

“An attacking Skill,” Zane clarified. He gave it the specifics.

It just stared at him.

“So let me get this straight. You want to imbue a… rock… with your whale of a soul,” it said. “And then hit Ascendants with it.”

He nodded. “Can you make it?”

“Of course I can!” cried the Spirit.

“Great.”

The Spirit grumbled some more, then got to work.

A few minutes later, it came back with the finished p...

Savage Awakening 464. Jack (II)

But Jack the ‘martial artist’ was nowhere to be seen.

She gritted her teeth. “…I knew it!”

The moment she saw him, she’d known exactly his type.

She’d seen plenty of street brawlers in her time. She’d fought her fair share, back in her time in the Blood Pits—which was how she knew they were only good for looking tough.

That Jack looked impressive enough—she could admit that. But when it came down to it… he was just like all the rest.

Savage Awakening 463. Jack (I)

A/N: Bonus chapter! Also, added to prior chapter this bit about Evan’s quest! 

 The only thing was, the Quest said it could involve a Title Evolution. Evan wasn’t clear on what that meant yet—only the Quest said it could be really hard. It’d challenge him—‘not just in spirit, but in heart.’ 

But it meant he could get strong enough to fight by Zane’s side. So he was all for it. 

//

Zane got to town and found it stuffe...

Savage Awakening 462. Back to Astra

“Overwhelming force with underhanded methods… that is that Monster’s way. So you may expect its agents there, prowling in secret.”

Zane nodded.

“But Astra is a vast place, and one that fords the eras. It can't be everywhere at once—certainly not every time at once. Still, it’ll be best to keep a low profile. Even if it doesn't eliminate you, it can still make your journey much more difficult. It can a nuisance in any number of ways. Seizing the treasure befo...

Savage Awakening 461. Sage Visits

He opened Noughtfire’s letter first.

“I do hope you’ve rested well, disciple.” The old guy looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in a while. But satisfied. “I thought Malzareth would have some tricks come the final battle. But that Slayer creature… that pushed the limits of Creation. To think such a thing was possible at True God…”

He gave a wry smile. “You will be pleased to know that by destroying it, you’ve done serious damage to the Monster Overlord itself. ...

Savage Awakening 460. Bone of the Ancestor

Zane went straight for his prize.

Ten Million Year Bone of the Titan Rhinoceros — “Bone of the Ancestor”

35 Credits

And claimed it.

It materialized in front of him in a blaze of steely light. If the Forgotten Bone looked like a solemn cliff, this thing was more of an iceberg.

It started breaking reality as soon as it dropped—like it was too heavy for this world to handle.

It seemed like one great chunk of some unkno...

Savage Awakening 459. Victory

Zane woke to a familiar warmth in his chest. A taste of sweetness—he opened his eyes.

It was Reina, feeding him some kind of elixir.

The sunlight hit her face just so. “You’re awake—” was all she got out.

He kissed her fiercely, and she gasped. The elixir slipped from her fingers, clattered to the floor.

“You’re here,” he breathed. “I… saw that thing hit you.”

“I think the World Tree shielded me, somehow…” she hesitated. “If you hadn...

Savage Awakening 458. The Final Boss (II)

Red Giant raged down the Chains. Four shards’ worth of Destruction raced through.

And lashed the Slayer painfully tight.

Chain after chain bit into dragonscale, making stark CRUNCH-CRUNCHes—and as more piled on, it seemed an angry star was being painted into being, stroke by furious stroke.

The Slayer writhed at its heart.

Zane’s body felt excruciatingly hot, like steel nearing its melting point—

Upgrade progress—90%… 91%…<...

Savage Awakening 457. The Final Boss (I)

A/N: Bonus chapter!

//

For a few seconds there was only the beating of his heart, steady even now. His heavy breaths, in and out.

Then he felt it detonate.

Felt a shock roil the Astral Plane—that feeling in his chest, a war cry echoing to the far reaches of the Frontier….

One heartbeat. Two. Three—

The sky was collapsing over him.

A black frothing sky. A sky stuffed with gnashing teeth and acid slobber and masses of blackened mu...

Savage Awakening 456. The Beginning of the End (II)

 “To the folks who’re just joining us, it’s been a long night. Zane’s coming up on yet another big wave,” said Tyler nervously. “It’s been a real grind so far. It’s been nothing but hordes of Half-Steps in between these big Boss waves—they only come every few hours, but when they do it’s all Tier 7 True Gods and Monster Kings… the big man’s had to come in and out of Limit Break a half-dozen times by now. He’s barely had a minute’s rest!”

“The final c...

Savage Awakening 455. The Beginning of the End (II)

The Gigapedes came on strong. Countless chunks of heavy metals welded together into fat, writhing lines.

Zane took out his axes. He had to cut through that mass first.

Then it was time for the big one.

Goloid the Endbringer.

He sensed the auras of Earth flaring around him, filled with nervousness, hope, and bravery. Then the clashes began—their fighters going to war, shouting battle cries…

He knew it’d be a long game. There wasn't just this giant mob to def...

Savage Awakening 454. The Beginning of the End (I)

Zane’s final rampage went down three days before the final showdown.

It was complete domination. Nothing could challenge him anymore.

He fought a horde of spiked hags at the edge of the Frontier—withered giant witches, each with a spike driven through their chests, teeming with Creation. Earth’s other top Rankers could barely slow them down, much less hold them off.

Then Zane took on the gauntlet.

He slammed a punch into one hag and saw the force blast through th...

Savage Awakening 453. Rampage (II)

“Just how long has he been going for?” said Tyler.

“It’s got to be six hours by now…” said Becca.

“He’s racked up, what—eight? Nine Credits by now? And he’s still going!”

“He must’ve taken down a good 70% of the horde by now,” said Becca, shaking her head. “Maybe more…even by Zane standards, it’s… it’s something else.”
“My word,” said Brom, mustache quivering. “I must say—when he busted out that Armor Break, I was rather be...

Savage Awakening 452. Rampage

Silence followed Skarnox’s challenge. It watched, feeling smug, as the best of humanity beat a full retreat.

They’d tried. And they couldn’t leave so much as a scratch.

Such was the fate of the lesser species when faced with an apex predator.

Only one man was left standing. The biggest of them, in many ways.

The one they called Zane.

Skarnox let out a shrill trill.

It made a greedy whirring sound and soared toward him. And its brethren took flight bef...

Savage Awakening 451. Armor Break (III)

A/N:

Make-up chapter, see y'all Saturday!

//

Just a few days after Noughtfire left, Zane got a message from the Barbarian Sage.

“Well,” said the Sage. “Might’ve heard the news by now. Caught ol’ Steelheart out in an ambush…”

He crossed his arms. “I’ll have to go back and make sure things’re settled—” 

There was a shriek in the background, and a giant many-eyed head poked its way in. The Sage laughed.

“Fl...

Savage Awakening 450. Armor Break (II)

The scene ended. A notification took its place.

Shard of Destruction Integrated!

H. Red Giant [Mythic+ (P) -> Common (D)]

Buff gained! Armor’s Bane I [Common (D)]

Grants the user 100% more damage against all armors, including armors of Creation. Stacks on top of all other boosts.

Zane’s heart was still racing.

He never knew how the Barbarian Sage got those scars. The old guy was in s...

Savage Awakening 449. Armor Break (I)

Most of the items were grayed out, but a few—the ones closest to him—were viewable.

An icon caught his eye: an up-arrow over a physique symbol.

Locked: Buff of Ultimate Vigor [Uncommon (D)]

No description he could see, but he had a solid guess about what it would do.

There was a bulk package of dreamsteel for sale, too. He still had a few dozen blocks of the stuff, but it was good to have.

There was more locked deeper in: bones, vials, strang...

Savage Awakening 448. The Second Challenge (IX)

It shattered him.

Warning!

Health under 25%

Warning!

Critical Health—

The box flickered out.

Dimly he felt himself crash, whipped hard into the ground.

He’d been hit so hard it felt like his soul had been blasted from his body.

He found himself facedown on the ground, and groaned.

His Health bar was flickering—just barely there…

He had to get up.

The ru...

Savage Awakening 447. The Second Challenge (VIII)

The instant she saw it, Reina knew what it meant.

Monster King was reserved for the most elite of Monsters.

The King was rife with the Bloodline of the Heavenly Demon—an evil older than Malzareth itself, an evil that burned through its Corrupted Bone.

It had almost as much dark Creation as Zane had Destruction.

Destruction was the only advantage Zane had.

In everything else—Level, Essence Density, even its Distortion Field, so rife with Creation it seemed to ...

Savage Awakening 446. The Second Challenge (VII)

All that Creation—the backbone holding up their bodies, running through every muscle fiber—was instantly obliterated.

And with it, the bulk of their protection.

The Brutes went soaring. Their muscles torched one by one.

And Zane stomped into one final revolution. His axes cocked all the way back.

In that moment, every last ounce of essence in his body was concentrated into one attack.

He let it all loose with a furious bellow.

It was like watching the s...

Savage Awakening 5 PDF

Quick announcement--the chapters for Savage Awakening 5 (347 - 427) will be coming down soon to comply with KU rules. I've added it here as a PDF for folks who want to revisit the chapters!

Savage Awakening 445. The Second Challenge (VI)

A/N: The Crow-King and Queen have been changed to Crow-Brutes! Same bosses with the same characteristics, just a name and slight aesthetic change.

//

The first thing he noticed about his new storm was the size of it.

It started off slow—his axes racing out a mile wide… but with each revolution, it doubled.

Doubled in intensity, doubled in height, in speed—

The firepower shot up even faster.

And with Reina’s boost, he pulled through ...

Savage Awakening 444. The Second Challenge (V)

EDIT: There is no fortress on the volcano itself, the volcano is the fortress! Also, the birds can still attack while in their invulnerable. Just can't be hit.

A/N: Tomorrow's the launch of Savage 5! That also means all chapters before chapter 427 will go down on Patreon to comply with Amazon rules. But I'll pin a post with an epub of Savage 5, so y'all can still access them whenever.

//

The birds began cratering into the sands. Ectoplasm fl...