dragonheartednovels

[D'sP] Faux Double Dash - Chapter 453

Doyle spent a good bit of time putting the cyclone goats through their paces. This mostly involved spawning a few of them on the 19th floor and telling them to mess with the other monsters.

The first cyclone goat on the floor had a good showing. Of course, there weren’t any clouds to walk on, so a third of its skills were offline, but Airdash worked just fine. So, in service of following orders, it dashes straight up in the air.

From higher up, the goat is able to spot a nearby ...

[NR] No, The System Is Out To Get Us - Chapter 713

The trio finished their breakfast and after a little clean up, they gathered around the table again.

Rosha looks between the other two before asking, “So, what now?”

They sit in silence.

Rosha, “Like, we can just go back to me and Courtney exploring while Jason stays back. There’s not really a reason to switch up something that is working.”

The other two look at each other and stay silent for a moment.

Jason speaks up, “We both suspect something.” 2025-06-18 11:37:11 +0000 UTC View Post

[NR] Lifespan - Chapter 712

Courtney logged off to compile all that information Jason had just shared, leaving Jason alone. Which was fine by him as there wasn’t anything else to do but turn in for the night. And so the night passes quickly with him actually getting a full night’s rest.

Next morning, Courtney is back and preparing breakfast as Jason stumbles out of his cabin, suffering from that classic irony of feeling tired despite having slept more. Though it seems Rosha isn’t feeling much better.

C...

[SD:OA] I've Eaten Enough Fish - Chapter 10

Gem leans over the railing, guarding their eyes from the sun as they squint. “I think that’s Whale Island!”

Samuel rolls his eyes, “Is this the third or fourth time you’ve claimed that?”

Gem scoffs, “Bah, this time I’m extra double sure! And there’s seagulls! So there’s some kind of land involved this time!”

Emrys shrugs, “Well, we are supposedly getting close.”

June rolls her eyes, “Besides, if you claim to see the island every day, you’l...

[D'sP] So Many Goats Go Flying - Chapter 452

Doyle was focusing on one of the visiting teams hitting the tenth floor when his attention was torn away. It was happening.

Up on the 15th floor, a goat is changing. Ooh, nevermind. It was changing, then got dashed against the ground.

Doyle shakes his core, this is maybe the third time. Worse, he couldn’t make the wind weaker as they didn’t change with the weaker wind.

Ally laughs, ‘Got another one? Well, they’re happening more often. Eventually, the goat will either...

[NR] The Needed Herbs - Chapter 711

Jason gets back into NeoRealm, and because of the time difference, Rosha is already asleep.

Courtney, on the other hand, is waiting for him. “So, what are we looking for first?”

Jason settles down on the log across the fire from her. “There are technically herbs to help with the base meridian clearing, but they leave flaws. If you can manage it on your own, the better. The eight extraordinary meridians, on the other hand can not be opened on their own.

“Either they a...

[NR] Fire And Ice Aren't Just Hot And Cold - Chapter 710

Courtney frowns, “Well, if we have to test specifically this plant, we know how to do it.”

Jason laughs, “I will admit, this was a little specific. Though the general concepts will transfer. We are missing the key tool for those without the ability to sense power to do this.

“A solution or tool to test which of the basic and derivative elements a power is a part of. Of course, an actual tool is best. You can probably source something tech-based for this and I can help cali...

[SD:OA] And All We Got Were These Black Gloves - Chapter 9

After half an hour, the sea calmed enough for passengers to once again return to the deck. Gem, in particular, rushed up there as soon as it was allowed. Though much to their disappointment, the Leviathan and Kraken were long gone.

Gem did manage to get a bit more information on what happened. One sailor relayed to them that the fight had really only lasted ten minutes, but the aftershocks had kept everything all riled up. Also, it was a tie and so presumably, back the way they just cam...

[SD:OA] Just A Small Cult - Chapter 8

While the leaders fought, their people also went at it. In particular, Gem was having a grand time on the back line. An odd position given their proclivity to charge right into the mess of things.

Except for the fact that unlike the attack yesterday evening, this horde of cultists was mostly White threats and not early White either. Oh, and there were a few green threats thrown in to match up with the stronger members of the crew. So while Sssally is holding her own, even pushing forwar...

[Closed] Deciding the Short Story Prompt for June 2025

Below are the full prompts as the poll doesn't allow the full text. In the case of ties the first option that got there wins. The short story will be finished by the end of the month.

• Dream: Today i was reborn as a human, the horor... what i gona do? Beep, Beep... An eldritch child woke up.

• Supervillian Intern: A fresh intern in a supervillan organization, trying to work his way up in a hostile, high turn-over environment. No, the...

  2025-06-06 12:44:25 +0000 UTC View Post

[D'sP] Doyle Is Kicking Himself - Chapter 451

There was one thing Doyle figured out that would change things in the future. At least, once the town found out, which wasn’t likely until some regular people got to floor 18. The giant wave of doom? That water park slide of death?

Yeah, a little light on the death part. Oh sure, the wave would kill the kobolds and axebeaks that got caught in it just fine. Probably even manage most of the squishier delvers. If the wave caught them unaware.

Those twisty tunnels? The wide rooms? T...

[D'sP] Magic Is Like Gravity - Chapter 450

Once back in town, Ace met with Jim and explained what they found.

Jim laughed, “Even more water! At least there hasn’t been a true water level yet.”

Ace rolls his eyes, “If we didn’t literally just have a couple of floors with massive water reserves, I would be excited. As it is, floor 11 is good enough if we ever need emergency water. What with it being right after a boss floor.”

Jim nods, “As long as you’re quick. Can’t wait around for the sprouts to att...

[NR] Long And Quick Of It - Chapter 709

Jason closes his eyes and channels his power into a single clover leaf. So small, and yet so draining. He can feel his power slowly creep in.

Oh yeah, he hadn’t missed the feeling. There was another reason that sensing like this was generally deferred to higher cultivation. While cultivation didn’t make you “smarter”, it can improve many things.

Key for sensing like this was memory, and how fast you can take in information. Right now, the process was like using a memory st...

[NR] Cheat? - Chapter 708

Courtney ponders, “Could you use the stalk as a sort of energy straw?”

Jason shrugs, “Yes, but no. This specific stem is a carrier. Which to be fair, is quite common on regular herbs changed to handle energy. You tend to have very simple systems in plants like this. The leaves collect, the stem transports, the roots are for overflow, and the flower actually does something with the power.”

Courtney, “Have you figured out what the flower is doing with the energy?”

...

[SD:OA] Corruption Most Foul - Chapter 7

With the entire crew alerted, there is no surprise on their part when the first incursion made itself known.

Out from the brush cover burst a cavalcade of monstrous humanoids. A group of thirty or so cultists charged at the workers processing what repair supplies had been on the ship.

Oh, and what passengers had stuck around finally took notice something was up and ran screaming towards the ship.

Gem doesn’t blame them. They look out at those charging down on them and thei...

[SD:OA] Of Course We Found It, We're Players! - Chapter 6

The ship had been floating along for a few days when the island was first noticed. This got the passengers excited, but Gem noticed that the crew was still subdued and so they didn’t celebrate like the others.

Sssally arrives on the scene suitably late. “Calm down! I checked the chartsss. That island isn’t on them. It might sssimply be unknown, it might be a wandering island, or it could be a trap. Prepare for a fight becaussse we’re going to crash into it.” And with that, Sss...

[Closed] Collecting Short Story Prompts for June 2025

Once again I'm here to ask all of you for short story prompts! I'll take the more popular ones as decided by the number of hearts (or that I particularly like) in the comments and make a poll at the start of the month. The winner will be made into a short story of a thousand or so words.

Not many rules on what you can suggest at the moment. That will mostly be figured out as we go. Besides that, the short story will come out before the end of the next month.

Rules for prompts:

[Short Story] Exploring The Ancient Phoenix Emperor's Realm

A group of adventure archeologist cultivators just made an amazing discovery. Their home realm has an uncountable number of minor realms attached to it over the realms long history and they managed to stumble into one from the First Earthly Empire of the Blazing Phoenix Dominion.

A truly historic find as it represented a view into one of the middle ages of their world. So defined by the period during which there were at least three cultivators at the peak of power without interruption. ...

[D'sP] Wall Of Water And A Bloody Nose - Chapter 449

Ace did not find the cause. That would have to wait for a little while. For some reason, when wolves stalk the shadows and myconids are puffing spores, people don’t spend much time looking up.

Then again, the old meme about people never looking up wasn’t just for show. Nevermind the awkward positioning. Floor seven didn’t have much going for it.

There weren’t any unique resources on the floor and the people who delved it tended to be heading towards the tenth floor boss. A...

[NR] More On The Clover - Chapter 707

Jason pulls out some narrow tipped, rubber coated alligator clips. “This step isn’t necessary for many plants. However, since I don’t know the specifics of this one, I’ll go through all the steps.”

And he clamps each leaf at the leaf side. “The reason for this step is in case there are some further steps between the leaf and where the energy is stored. With the plant’s death, those steps might be missing and the unchanged leaf energy could mix with the changed energy.” 2025-05-28 09:59:43 +0000 UTC View Post

[NR] Examining A Plant - Chapter 706

Jason removes the clover from its supports and lays it out on a piece of butcher paper. “Clovers are a common plant, but I hate just means you commonly find mystical cultivars. Which I assume this is as it was so easy to send to me. Which sadly means this is going to be one of the lower tiers of earthly wonders.”

Rosha tosses one of her plushies at the camera, “How dare you look down on my family’s precious herbs!” Though she doesn’t manage to keep a straight face and soon b...

[SD:OA] Gem Having A Bad Fishing Day - Chapter 5

In goes the oversized hook and thick line. Gem stands there, braced against a thick pole they didn’t know the use of. They were ready for whatever might happen and it didn’t take long.

The pole seemed to almost try and jump out of their hands. Gem shouted, “Got something!” Not that they needed to ask, it is quite evident.

Even after using all of the strength they could wring out of their level 8 (the fight with the sharks had netted a level up!) rank B Body, the pole dippe...

[D'sP] A Mural - Chapter 448

On the seventh floor, Doyle is in a creative frenzy. For a while now, he has slowly been carving the next addition to his rock sphere. Ever since the first Wolfkin had shown up, the concept had been at the back of his mind and now it was fully formed.

His first carving, not a picture, but the borders within which future art would be contained. Though as this work comes together, such restrictions loosen.

It only makes sense, when dealing with spatial warping, the space inside a sq...

[D'sP] Expanding The Circle - Chapter 447

A crowd gathers near the stage where Ace is standing. While this is important, the very reason for the celebration, most had an idea what was being announced and so continued to celebrate.

Ace strode to the front of the stage and clapped his hands and with a touch of magic is more than enough to quiet everyone down. “It has been over a year and look at how far we’ve come!

“But it wasn’t just you or I who made this! It was all of us together. All of us! Now, I’ve been run...

[NR] Mystical Sugar - Chapter 705

Rosha, “So plants make mystical sugar. Fair enough. How does that let you figure out what to use?”

Jason, “Well, regular plants don’t have actual photons captured in their sugar, right? Similar idea. The plants might take in the energy, but in doing so, they transform it. Oh sure, higher end plants might have literal plasma being held in suspension. For us, though?

“The important part isn’t the power being sequestered. Though we do need to be careful to not use plants ...

[NR] Obvious In Hindsight - Chapter 704

Jason runs his hand through his hair, “So, if you can’t fix an overdeveloped soul by focusing on the other two pillars? And obviously you don’t want to restrict the soul as it does provide a number of benefits, even with the penalties attached. Well, you acclimatize to it, which is actually harder for the soul than not.

“Too much strength? Just train a lot to get the muscle memory and feel for how much force to exert. The soul, on the other hand, requires a series of special med...

[SD:OA] Feeeshing - Chapter 4

From all sides, pods of dolphins rush in, with a trio of five meter long specimens rising up from under the sharkfolk fighting Sssally. Thei

From all sides, pods of dolphins rush in, with a trio of five meter long specimens rising up from under the sharkfolk fighting Sssally. Their jaws grabbing the now helpless being and ripping them apart. All while Sssally laughs.

Not that the arrival of these allies ended the fight right away. Those sharkfolk who are already onboard fight even...

[D'sP] The Whole Town Has A Festival - Chapter 446

With a new drive, the inner circle pushes harder. Not faster or stupidly. They’ve had more than enough of that. Rather, with each fight, they push themselves to be better. Which floor 17 actually turns out to be pretty decent for. The annoying traps and constant kobold patrols end up being the perfect anvil.

So they train. While the rest of the town is rushing to reliably arrive at the 13th floor in the shortest time possible, those from the inner circle are refining themselves. And l...

[NR] Humanity Sucks Sometimes - Chapter 703

Jason frowns, “Like, serious attacks? I would have wild animals sniff around the edges, but nothing I had to go out of my way to attack. Not that often, anyway.”

Courtney sighs, “And as much as I would like to blame your garden, the berries aren’t grown in yet.”

Jason, “Blarg, I guess my portable planter is doing a lot of work for my small garden.”

Courtney raises an eyebrow, “Now, I’m not paying the most attention to your gardening. But your harvest times ...

[NR] Literally The Speed Of Thought - Chapter 702

Jason’s private room loads, except the fact he even has to acknowledge the fact it is loading? That’s odd. In even the earliest days of VR, it was recognized that you need buttery smooth fps. In fact, at this point? To be sold as a VR game? You can’t have an “fps”. The game must run at literally the speed of thought, plus a decent amount of wiggle room.

Jason took this as a good sign. For the capsule to need a perceptible amount of time to load? It meant something had changed,...