Item Call-in Permit — Assembler (GRECKON M19c)
A sophisticated and comprehensive machine-factory packed into the smallest size possible, this unit fills less than twenty square metres and weighs only 34 tons. It can be separated into four parts for transport.
Assemblers were originally designed for man’s early attempts to colonise Mars, but after low Earth orbit became unuseable due to mass destruction of satellites, they ended up serving a role closer to...
2025-03-14 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Jo sat beside Beth, both of them with their backs against a wall—a wall that was shaking. The dim blue light of the Trade Link lit their faces and the many people around them. Around them, the castle was collapsing, but the Trade Link merely shook slightly. Those near to the doorway reported that it was staying strong even as the castle tore away from around it.
They were unarmed, and in front of them stood John along with some others from the Coalition. John, and the others, held gun...
2025-03-12 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai’s body leapt up the tower. Even with his Soul turned a warring tangle, it had accepted the drive the AIs gave it: Move forwards! Climb! And thus this chaotic Soul was able to utilise Symbiotes, to a degree, launching itself upwards.
In the distance a gunship swung through the air, firing down on the bugs and undead carpeting the castle. Each use of its great guns echoed out, a monstrous thump-thump-thump that tore lines of fire and broken bodies through ...
2025-03-10 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Paxolnaz, outside the circle, watched with deep satisfaction. The human was a fool. It had expected it would be forced to endure more difficulties and trickery, but the human had simply… taken the Blade. After all those schemes, it had simply given in at the last hurdle.
The Demon’s expectant excitement was transformed into grinding disappointment when it felt the very thing it had known would be coming anytime now. The call of the Unwinder. The human always seemed to engage in impo...
2025-03-07 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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After retrieving all of his items and stuffing them into the Big Mouth, Nicolai activated the Cherubic Surgeon Permit. He couldn’t afford to go any longer missing an arm—he would need it for what was to come. On top of that, the surgery should be relatively quick, and wouldn’t require a loss of consciousness.
The Cherubic Surgeon appeared and did its work in record time, vanishing a few moments after it was done.
Nicolai flexed his new bionic arm. A Level 2 designed to work ...
2025-03-05 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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There were many mistakes in how they arranged themselves around him, and more in the measures they took before moving off.
They took his weapons and Imbued—they were quite confused by the severed hand with his Sheltering Glove, tucked into his belt—but they couldn’t take his Symbiotes. The Cultivator wanted to take them, but Nicolai simply said that he had none. The leader and the Cultivator argued.
Nicolai watched, and looked weak.
He knew that the Cultivator knew he ...
2025-03-03 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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[Author Note: on RR there was a fair bit of debate/complaints over the 'Karl Returns' chapter. I felt there was some credence to the complaints so I've edited that chapter a bit - now it should be more believable about them letting in the Karl-bug-monster thing in as Karl is less obviously a dead man walking plus some other stuff happens. So if you were bothered by that chapter, go have a look, I'm pretty happy with the improved version ^_^]
By the Trade Link, somet...
2025-02-28 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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‘Piece of shit…’ snarled Vikrum, kicking at the shield. He’d shoot it but he had no ammo. Still, with his great strength he was making good progress. Actually, the punches and kicks seemed to have more effect on the shields than he’d have expected. He’d seen Nicolai somehow using his Soul to aid the blows, and was doing his best to mimic that. Hateful as the man was, he had some good tricks.
Vikrum launched another desultory Soul Sense attack, which glanced straight off Nico...
2025-02-26 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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‘None can pass. In, or out,’ spoke Vikrum with a widening grin and a glance around at the great dome shield that encased the two of them.
‘Good,’ said Nicolai, and attacked.
He and his enemy moved in mirror of one another. Two quick silver feather shields were activated, catching the bullets they exchanged in blasts of gunfire, assault rifle against assault rifle.
A golden shield sprang to life around Nicolai and he darted forward, continuing to fire as a golden shie...
2025-02-24 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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As Vikrum had regrouped his people and moved toward the Coalition, he’d known it would be a difficult fight.
Already he’d lost many people, and after this lighting-quick attack from Viper, he even felt a little threatened himself. It’s unfortunate, he reflected. At this point, he would quite like the fighting to stop. All he really cared about was ending Viper… but Viper had control of the Coalition.
As though hearing his thoughts, a Local transmission arrived.
2025-02-21 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai slipped through the castle. Around him moved groups of Chosen, rushing and yelling, but he was unseen by all. Rendered a living shadow beneath his shimmer poncho, his Soul shelled as necessary to hide any ripples.
He was hunting for Vikrum. Now and then he briefly unshelled, feeling at the world around him. Meanwhile Cyberwarfare was sending its feelers into the communications of the nearby Chosen.
It was Cyberwarfare who found the target first, and Nicolai moved to interc...
2025-02-19 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai’s surprise was complete. He didn’t understand how someone could be there, the room had been empty just a second ago when he’d checked and it would have taken someone longer than that—while making significant noise—to pass through it. Even with the Grasping Finger and Pegasi ring together, it would have taken him longer to cover the distance—and any Symbiotes used to move quickly would have released ripples which he would have detected.
These thoughts flashed through ...
2025-02-17 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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The site of conflict between Chosen and Coalition was easily found. Drones sped around towers and gunfire echoed off the stonework.
Nicolai led the others to a vantage point from where they looked out upon a large courtyard. On one side, Chosen hunkered in their cover and buildings, shooting at the Coalition who were likeways arrayed on the other side.
The Coalition looked to be retreating, and it was a fairly orderly retreat. This was all as planned; he, Maxine and the others had...
2025-02-14 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai’s eyes narrowed in response to the guilt he felt from the Modules. They knew what the problem was.
Probably they’re just happy to stay asleep, said Cyberwarfare.
Though capable of tricking any external system, none of the Modules were any good at lying or deceiving one another. They were too close.
After a moment’s thought, Nicolai understood.
You both seized at the new space before any of the others could emerge, he accused the...
2025-02-12 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Over the following days the Coalition grew.
Word had spread quick, people passing on Nicolai’s video whenever groups came into contact with one another.
With this, the demand for amenities and guns rose further still, and Nicolai’s business rose to new heights. The Coalition was increasingly well armed. The time was just about nigh.
His personal stock of points-tags had bloated, rising toward 150,000 thousand. However, Nicolai had already spent most of that on a Symbiote...
2025-02-10 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Over the next few days events ramped up. That first time the Chosen emerged they were quick to move and attack anyone spotted moving around. Battles erupted but they stayed minor—in those first days the Chosen were a little battle-shy, not going for big fights and tending to retreat if they suffered any losses.
The Coalition lost people but simultaneously gained new recruits. They grew, and reached towards the numbers held by the Chosen.
In response the Chosen became more aggres...
2025-02-07 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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‘So. Here we all are,’ said Nicolai, eyeing the big men and big women (status wise, at any rate) around him. Leaders of all the major groups who’d come to join the Coalition. He and the others were here to meet with them. He’d not given them any time to step back and grieve their recent losses because there was no time.
‘Here we are!’ answered Maxine, her expression focused.
‘First things first,’ said one of them, an older and balder man. ‘Soul Traps wer...
2025-02-05 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai flowed through the castle like an oil leak. He poured through holes in the ground, slid around blockages and squeezed through gaps. He floated over chasms, and used C4 to blow his way through the occasional wall.
In due time he arrived at a great door, one that had been shown in the memories Paxolnaz had implanted into him. Within his mind floated a word, rising as though called. Sensing this was its moment.
A strange and twisted word, one that did not seem meant to be spo...
2025-02-03 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai was alerted after moving halfway up the stairs, his Soul Sense moving ahead of him as always. He’d seen the door to the safe-place was hanging open. That was wrong: against protocol. The door should never be left open. He had made sure the others understood this.
‘Ready up, we may have trouble,’ he said to the others, and raised his assault rifle. As he slipped up the stairs, he sent the Grasping and Repulsive finger Symbiotes out to his hands, charging his shield...
2025-01-31 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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[Author Note:
After doing some more edits on Death of an Angel , the chapter ended up very long so I decided I'll split it in half when released on RR. To ensure the patreon releases mirror the RR release in chapter numbers, I'm therefore gonna name this chapter 197 rather than 196. So don't worry, a chapter hasn't been missed, it's just an adjustment so it all matches across the platforms. Also, because of this Patreon is now 12 chapters ahead of RR ^^]
‘And this see, it...
2025-01-29 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Paxolnaz had been stuck down in the depths, slaving for its Master, when it felt the Ripples. Ripples that it understood immediately.
The Denizen had had its bodily form destroyed. Its Soul had been freed.
There could only be one culprit. The fact this had happened in the moment where Paxolnaz was gone from the human was not, Paxolnaz believed, the result of dumb luck. It had come to suspect that the human was aware of the fact of the Unwinder’s call drawing Paxolnaz away, and h...
2025-01-27 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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[Author Note:
Hey guys, so some of you mentioned on Monday's chapter that it seemed odd that in spite of finally getting the anti-material rifle, he was basically just chilling and not going to kill the Angel. I thought about that and yeah it didn't make much sense, like that was the whole plan and he is on a time limit. Actually, he originally immediately went and did that but when editing I ended up moving stuff around and inserted extra scenes in between. The end result was that this...
2025-01-24 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai gazed down at the Major Node forming on his palm. The Node was his world, his entire focus. There was no more.
This is a fight, he told the Thrill. The most important fight. A fight against the world itself, as it tries to keep me down, to deny me.
The Thrill was not convinced.
A fight as it tries to stop me improving! Stop me becoming stronger! Stop me reaching the peak of my combat potential!
The Thrill stirred, considering, and the...
2025-01-22 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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User Interface 376 | User #53,217
- Cultivation
Total Nodes: 1 Major, 5 Minor
Available unconstructed Nodes: 0 Major, 0 Minor
Nodes in progress;
Right Kidney (Finalised: 100%) (awaiting final consolidation)
Left Kidney (Finalised: 100%) (awaiting final consolidation)
Windpipe (Finalised: 100%) (awaiting final consolidation)
Completed No...
2025-01-20 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Vikrum stood, peaceful and satisfied.
He’d done it, at long last. His Seed was integrated and he was a Cultivator.
From his form extended a singular Soul Sense tendril. Vikrum had been disappointed to find that he was no stronger than any other new Cultivator, in terms of Soul and Nodes. He had learned of these things from some of his people who had gone through the process before him.
It seemed that the reason his Seed had required so much Oma, was due to the cost of Infu...
2025-01-17 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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After returning to the others, Nicolai had learned that before he’d even defeated Gilvine, the Chosen who had attacked them had left. It had transpired these individuals were less enamoured with Vikrum than the standard fare. After a brief exchange of gunfire between Nicolai’s group, the group he had forced to aid them, and the Chosen, the Chosen had sent a brief message requesting an end of hostilities and to be allowed to leave freely.
It transpired that they no longer wished to b...
2025-01-15 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Shadows wound in thick rivers over the walls, eyes opening up in them, the air pulsing and breathing. The dark knew this was the moment for it to emerge, and it raged that he denied it. It strained at the cage, poured through gaps. Let me join… it whispered and begged, reaching for the merger of him and the others.
His eyes narrowed. You are a Module, he thought, and it was. He had Control, and the dark’s progress was stymied, the shadows stilling and the eyes fadi...
2025-01-13 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai turned a corner and at the same moment saw the AssassinBot modelled Cyborg coming into the corridor at the far end.
She didn’t waste any time, immediately firing at him with the anti-material rifle.
Nicolai hadn’t wasted time either, having ducked back around the corner before she’d finished fully emerging. The great boom of the rifle came at almost the same moment as the round impacted the wall, spraying chips and chunks of stone.
Through Soul Sense he watched...
2025-01-10 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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The next day Nicolai was able to arrange multiple trades. Maxine’s work on the radio was paying dividends, as increasingly people within the castle were mobilising, merging together into a coalition against the Chosen.
He had deals with a number of groups, and they set out for the first one of the day. He wasn’t far off his target, and anticipated making enough from this to fulfil his current goal. He would purchase the anti-material rifle afterwards and then go to kill the Angel. A...
2025-01-08 17:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Nicolai looked over the items before him. He was in his room, back in the safe place. On the table before him was the Repulsive Burst Symbiote. It appeared as a little round ball, rolling around on tiny legs.
Next to it was half of the Screaming White Face Grass, a small pile of Oma crystals, and few small clusters of additional ingredients. These were mostly other Symbiote foods he had that filled the role well enough. Truthfully, he didn’t have quite everything that would be i...
2025-01-06 17:03:01 +0000 UTC
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