Vowron Prime

124: The Princess And The Ravager

NOTE: Now that the $10 tier is at 35 chapters ahead of RR, all tiers gain more chapters. The $5 tier goes up to 8 chapters, from 5, and the $10 tier goes up to 18, from 15. Enjoy!
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“Vason!” Tia cried, intercepting the nearest Hunter-Gatherer who’d swarmed upon them. The beasts raged like they’d gone mad. She suspected they might actually have. Their behavior seemed less like addled fury and more like they’d broken down, somehow. Without the Matron commanding t...

123: Retribution

Vir’s return to the world of the conscious was not nearly as pleasant as his arrival into the dream world.

His entire body blazed with debilitating pain, and it was all he could do to not black out again. Gritting his teeth, he forced his blood to cycle in the pattern he’d practiced.

Praying to Janak that it wasn’t all some weird delusion he had, he willed the prana to move through his back.

The pain grew even more intense, making Vir question whether he’d messed up....

122: Parai The Ancient

NOTE: If you're in the mood for something very very stupid, consider checking out my litrpg satire comedy, Big Rick Energy: Number Go Up [RPGLiteraturd] on RR:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67840/big-rick-energy-number-go-up-rpgliteraturd

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Vir awoke to a forest, but not the one he’d just left. A thin haze hovered just off the ground, giving the ...

121: Brood Matron

Tia looked up just in time to see the Brood Matron descending upon her, all eight of its bladed limbs poised to skewer her.

Reacting instinctively, Tia allowed herself to fall, turning her momentum into a roll.

It wasn’t enough. She narrowly avoided the matron’s devastating limbs, but she hadn’t rolled far enough away to clear the matron’s enormous body.

“Gaaaaaaaaaah!” Tia screamed as the matron’s weight crashed down upon her. It was all she could do to wrench...

120: Guerrilla War

NOTE: From now on, major holidays will be observed.

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The days blurred by as the Spear’s Edge conquered Aranya Forest, a little at a time. Vir’s strategy worked like a wonder, and the party grew more proficient with each squad crushed.

Their tactics had become so smooth that no words were even necessary. Upon finding a squad, they’d move into formation and act more like different parts of a single body, rather than four individuals.

And since they took...

119: Predator And Prey

“I told you to be careful!” Haymi chided as she applied a Treat Minor Burn orb. While it was a B Grade Life orb, it still wasn’t capable of completely healing Vir’s acid wounds, which had eaten deep into his flesh. But a deluge of water along with her Heal Skin orb neutralized the acid, allowing Haymi to patch up Vir’s bicep up.

Neel looked on with worry.

“You’ll have to wait for your body to do the rest,” she said. “I could’ve healed...

118: Reconnaissance of the Shadow Demon

NOTE: Today's bonus chapter! The $10 tier is now 28 chapters ahead of RR, and on our way to 35!
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Vir flew through Aranya Forest. Not on the floor, but up on its many branches. Not only were the treetops far easier to navigate, but taking the high road saved him invocations of Dance of the Shadow Demon when skirting around enemies.

While Ash prana was relatively abundant in this area, it was always a scarce resource, and Vir didn’t see that changing ...

114: Breakthroughs

“Yes. Yes! Show me the might of the Aprabomb!” Vason roared as he hunkered down behind his tower shield. An onslaught of blades struck his shield, forcing him to defend with all his might.

“I’m… not… a bomb!” Vir roared. Internally, he cursed at this pointless approach. Better to Leap around the big warrior, or sink into the shadows and strike from behind than to take Vason head on. He’d beaten the man repeatedly, but then Tia had handicapped him. No Ta...

117: Monsters Of The Deep

“They’ve penetrated this far? Then…” Haymi said, her face white.

“Then this is going to be a difficult fight indeed.”

Balar 400 to 700 was far beyond even what the Narapazu had been. Individually, Vir would’ve had no choice but to tuck his tail and run, but even with a party, it seemed like a tall order.

“What do you know about these Matrons? How do we fight them?” Vir asked.

Tia shook her head. “Not now. First, we need to establish a fortified base...

116: Aranya Forest

Though Haymi insisted she’d recovered enough to fight, the rest of the party—including Vir—disagreed. While her bones had mostly been mended by the Life mejai, Haymi still flinched when she walked. Powering orbs took concentration, and any distraction could break that. Losing their armor or weapon enhancements mid-battle could very well spell the party’s doom.

But Vir and the rest of Spear’s Edge didn’t waste their time. They continued to train on the shores south o...

115: Princess Ira Kin'jal (Maiya)

“Whatever you do, don’t make eye contact.”

Maiya sat at the handmaiden’s mess with her colleagues. If there was one thing the group of young women enjoyed, it was gossip. And giving out unsolicited advice.

“And don’t speak unless you’re spoken to! In fact, it’s better not to speak at all, lest you make a fool of yourself.”

Gee, thanks, Maiya thought. Through sheer willpower alone, she managed not to roll her eyes. Such ‘unbecoming’ beh...

113: Force Multipliers

NOTE: I might've miscalculated Vir's karma gains in the prev chapters. Will be looking into that. Also fixed his payout (both were lower than they should've been.)

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The cool lake’s wind ruffled Vir’s hair as he stood on its sandy white shores south of Avi. Thanks to Daiya Lake, the region kept a temperate climate throughout the year, so it was a pleasant breeze—one that reminded him of the Godshollow in spring.

Neel bounded around, excited to finally stretch his legs...

112: Pure Seric

NOTE: Special extra chapter of the week for the $10 tier! The $10 tier is now 27 chapters ahead of RR. The backlog will continue to expand each week until we're 35 chapters ahead.
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“Name?” asked the Brotherhood Executor.

Vir had been dreading this moment. To register in Tia’s party, he’d need to provide his Brotherhood name—Apramor.

He should have told Tia in advance. That would have been the smart thing to do. And yet, he found himself unable, fully r...

111: Party Time

“Are… you alright?” Tia asked, her expression tinged with concern as she looked him over. “Are you hurt?”

Vir wiped away the tears that flowed down his cheeks. He turned away, more out of concern for his face paint than embarrassment. Luckily, he’d learned a few tricks to make the paint slightly more waterproof. It didn’t come off nearly as easily as it used to.

But why am I even crying?

Comprehension dawned upon him—these weren’t his tears, but Na...

110: Way Of The Giant

NOTE: No chapter on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. From now on, major holidays will be observed. See you all tuesday!
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When Haymi lost consciousness, her magic ceased powering Tia and Vason’s armor and weapons. The superhuman toughness that had allowed Vason to survive his earlier blow was now gone; the party had reverted to mere mortal strength again.

That was as true for Haymi as it was for the rest of her party. No longer protected by her armor, Vir could hear her...

109: Narapazu

A part of Vir’s mind told him to run. To flee with all haste. To get as far away from the thing that emitted that bloodcurdling roar as possible.

But another part spurred him on. He ran neither for glory nor Brotherhood karma. He ran because he’d heard another cry—a human cry—and one that sounded awfully familiar.

With Neel in his arms, Vir Leaped through the incredibly tall and wide Imperium hallways, all illuminated by crystal chandeliers that ...

108: Prana Blade

Prana can do damage, Vir thought. Or rather, prana combined with intent could do damage.

Riyan’s Blade Projection flung Earth prana from the blade, extending its reach. Kamna’s Blade Launch took the concept even further, firing off a concentrated burst of prana that ripped through the ground. And Ash Beasts wreathed their bodies with prana to toughen their hide and sharpen their claws.

Vir had already finished marking the Ash Biter’s corps...

107: Ash Biter

The party stared at Vir in shocked silence.

“I think you ought to abort,” Vir said, nodding to their downed comrade. The man was injured and bleeding, but not yet dead. “If you get him to a healer quickly, he might live.”

They nodded and scooped up their friend, heading back in silence. Vir thought he’d have to fight to wrestle the kills from them, but his concern was unwarranted. There were far too many zards to put a badge on each, so he made a V shaped incision in the...

106: Ekavir - Dungeon Diver

Vir stood alongside Neel and Bumpy, surrounded by dozens of mercenaries at the mine entrance—a gaping hole in the side of the South Legion Mountains. The crack was old enough to look natural, though the mining cart tracks that led inside told a different story.

By his count, nearly fifty had shown up for this contract. The sun had only just peeked above the horizon, leaving a lingering chill made worse by idling around.

He looked over at Tia, who discussed tactics and strategy w...

105: The Banquet

“Spears Edge, party of… four?” the well-dressed greeter said, eyeing Haymi, Vason, and Vir.

“Our leader’ll join us later,” Vason replied. “Just us three for now.”

Vir stood star struck at the ballroom they’d just entered. Enormous crystal chandeliers hung from the four-story ceiling, illuminated with a myriad of Magic Lanterns.

Red and blue velvet curtains covered the stained glass windows that stretched up—each window was at least two s...

104: The Road To Vir (Maiya)

Maiya fell to her knees. She looked upon the empty dune in front of her, searching for the faintest sign of familiarity. And yet, there was none to be found.

“This has to be the place!” Maiya said through gritted teeth. She picked up a handful of sand, allowing it to filter through the gap between her fingers.

So why is it gone? How?

Riyan’s abode was missing. Not destroyed, not ransacked… simply gone. In its place was an ordinary sand dune...

Lots of Art - Avi (Rani), Daha Brotherhood, Zorin (Rani)

103: Avi - City Of Water

Vir soon learned that Rani’s peace and prosperity made for some very boring journeys. While the company was appreciated—he’d warmed up to the party again after their conversation the first night—everything else was monotonous.

The same perfectly maintained road led them the entire way south, making the navigation simple. No highwaymen accosted them, demanding ransom, and the weather was mild and temperate the whole way. Even Neel had begun itching for some action, and he ran alo...

102: Bonds of Kinship

Vir froze halfway to the fried potatoes.

“Come again?”

“Join up with us! I mean, just for now, of course. It’d give you a lot of benefits,and we’ve been looking for a fourth for some time.”

A thousand thoughts went through Vir’s mind, but all of them said one thing: no way. He operated alone. He was a being with a secret. A secret that was far more likely to come out the more he trusted anyone.

But how do I refuse such a generous offer?<...

101: Aryan

NOTE: Hope everyone had a great weekend. As stated on friday, we'll be moving to 6x a week, growing the $10 patron chapter backlog by 1 chapter every week from now on. (I have to edit all of these, so it's tough for me to dump them all at at once). All tiers will eventually get more chapters.

Also, thanks for your patience as we kick off this new arc/book. I know things are a bit slow right now, but worry not. The tension will build to epic heights :D

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“Where are you?...

100: Cave Patrol

Vir’s eyes narrowed, and he leveled a stare at the blonde girl.

“You always make damning statements like that offhand?” he asked, not letting his gaze betray anything.

Tia grinned. “Sorry, bad habit. You’d be amazed at the number of people who give up their secrets all because of an errant comment.” She fell silent for a moment. “It’s your look. The way you act, looking at everyone. The first thing you do is scan their weapons and armor. You’re sizing up their th...

99: Spear's Edge

Realizing that food shopping on an empty stomach was liable to empty his wallet, Vir splurged on a scrumptious meal at the local food carts, tasting kebabs, stir-fries, and delicious local sweets, of which an orange deep fried sugar dish was his favorite. Even Neel had his fill, so when they stopped at the market, it was all business.

Owing to its temperate climate, Zorin’s market was outdoors in an enormous square that had been taken over by a sea of colorful fabric awnings, turning ...

98: Bargains & Brotherhoods

Link to the World Map: https://www.patreon.com/posts/78269388

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It wasn’t the array of polearms, or the shields of all sizes and shapes, or even the flails, maces, talwars, or greatswords that caught Vir’s eye.

Sure, those were all very impressive, crafted of all grades of steels ranging from the mundane to the exotic. No seric, though. Vir had yet to see a single seric weapon in a store.

Arc 3 Artwork

Artwork for Daha's sewers and Valaka Amara - the outpost of the gods. I have more art to backfill, so expect similar posts in the upcoming days.

If you are unable to view these images, please let me know! I'm trying something different this time, hoping it'll work for more people.

97: Zorin - Town Of Rainbows

The journey of ten days may have been uneventful, but that didn’t mean it had been easy.

Hot desert days sapped Vir and Bumpy’s energy, but traveling at night posed its own issues. Bumpy’s degraded eyesight and uneven terrain gave them no choice. Vir had risked traveling at night before, but now realized how much of a risk he'd been taking back then.

When the desert heat finally gave way to rolling grasslands, and eventually, breezy coasts, Vir had rejoiced. While he and Nee...