I wanted to thank you all for your patience while I recovered. While I'm not 100%, I was eager to start writing again.
Chapter 88. Loadout.
I enjoyed my final stroll through Somhagen. For all the dangers and surprises the city held, it also had a mystical beauty that you would be hard pressed to replicate back on Earth. As I exited the gates and walked past the tents and shops outside the first wall, the crowds dissipated and I had only Melvin, who was quietly resting in his...
2023-09-20 15:19:43 +0000 UTC
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Hello everyone. As many of you know, I was severely injured in the Army several years ago. Lately, my injuries have been getting worse and I'm going to have put a short pause on my writing while I receive treatment.
I don't anticipate being gone longer than a couple of weeks, and I'll dig back into writing as soon as I'm physically able.
Thank you everyone for your support and I hope to be back soon with more chapters.
2023-09-05 19:25:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 87. Melvin and me.
“If my hand melts off, you’re getting a bad Yelp review,” I warned as I placed my hand on the cube.
“I don’t know what a yelp review is, but as long as you don’t harbor thoughts of harm to Melvin, you should be fine,” Zillaria replied.
The outer surface of the cube was warm, and a bit sticky. My natural reaction was to pull away, but I forced myself to keep the hand there, trying my hardest not to think of any bad thoughts toward th...
2023-09-04 19:08:10 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 86. Bounties and blobs.
“I’m not moving, what’s going on here?” I asked as the sword blade pricked the skin on my throat and a small trickle of blood dripped down.
“Screams and sounds of combat were heard from inside this room, and when we entered, your summoned creature attacked us. It seems you and your minion have committed a murder,” the man, who was encased in plate armor, accused. One of the other guards, of which three had crammed themselves into our r...
2023-09-01 20:31:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 85. Staying the night.
There was a lot running through my mind as I walked the last two blocks toward the arena. At least one person from Earth was living and had a business in Somhagen. As much as that intrigued me, the goal of finding where I wanted to live was one for the future. For now, I had to continue to climb the tiers and gather power and money if I wanted to survive. The next step in my visit was to check out the arena.
It was near Lavelle’s shop, and I wasn...
2023-08-31 21:31:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 84. Information sale.
I moved around the outer ring of the city, toward the west where the information broker that everyone recommended was supposed to be located. His shop was easy enough to find based on the directions, a small storefront that looked like someone’s residence. It was a simple stone structure that had a wooden sign standing on the tidy lawn out front.
As I walked into the shop, the front door creaked and a small bell above the door gave out a cheerful ...
2023-08-30 20:06:40 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 83. Skills and advice.
I had 51 summoning points remaining. Out of the options that Meara found for me, the ones I was most interested in were the mana conservation and gear efficiency. I’d already bumped up against the gear score cap, and the situation was only going to get worse if I continued to perform well and gathered more rewards.
Mana conservation was key if I wanted to maximize my mana pool, especially back home. More spells were probably not the best use of m...
2023-08-29 17:28:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 79. Back to the city.
There were finally some good options in my armory, and I was happy to see the shelves and racks stocked with the gear that I’d acquired. My maximum gear rating was now at 150, which should let me equip most, if not all of what I had. First, I needed my armor and weapons.
I’d take the new war hammer, of course, despite its relatively steep gear cost of fifty. With the hammer, I wouldn’t need the flail, but I did want a dagger as backup, or to h...
2023-08-28 16:13:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 82. Some good finds.
Meara walked me to another part of the store where there were more display stands as well as some tables where various bits of gear were laid out. I was also interested to see that they had a small collection of summoning figurines. These were single use items and as such, weren’t overly expensive. With my class giving me a boost of one rank to anything I summoned from a figurine, as well as my mana cost for such items being set at one, they might be goo...
2023-08-28 14:32:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 81. Too many options.
The summoned market was only two streets north of the apothecary shop. It was nestled up against the wall leading to the second tier of the city. When I had visited the summoned market that was outside the walls of city, it had been a simple tent. Here, it occupied a storefront. As with the previous shop, it was painted orange for some reason. At least the color scheme made it rather easy to spot.
As I approached the shop, I noticed several people s...
2023-08-25 15:29:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 80. More rewards.
Popping the last bit of dragon finger into my mouth, I looked for a place to throw away the stick it had been served on. Rather than wander around or ask a random person like a clueless tourist, I observed the folks around me. It turned out there were several grated openings in the street that must have led to the sewers or something. People seemed to throw any trash they might have in there and nobody gave them a second glance.
Following suit, felt a b...
2023-08-24 16:11:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 78. The menagerie.
Before activating the dragon, I made sure all my forces were at their best. Duplicate was cast on the most powerful minion, my ghoul, and I added Empower Minion on everything. At my current rank and tier, I’d never have the mana to do all this, but my training center allowed me all the mana I needed for the simulation. With a thought, I activated the dragon figurine.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, and things happened much faster than I could keep tr...
2023-08-23 14:59:30 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 77. Summoner sparring.
“We have a few more things to go over before you are set loose on Somhagen once more. By hitting the first tier, you’ve acquired the training center for your personal space,” Minerva said, gesturing toward a new door that was placed on the opposite wall from the armory.
Instead of just pestering Minerva with questions, I entered the training room to get a look at what I had to work with. It was a large, square, open space. There was more than...
2023-08-22 17:21:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 76. Time for class.
“Please confirm your choice. Once you’ve confirmed, information on your class will be displayed. After that, any physical changes will occur and your skills and spells will be revealed,” Minerva said.
Confirm that you wish to select the Foe Summoner class.
I mentally confirmed and new information appeared.
By unlocking a class, you have unlocked stat points. Stat points are a measure of your power in several ...
2023-08-21 18:39:37 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 75. Decisions.
“How do classes work for summoned beings, and what exactly do they do?” I asked Minerva.
“Classes unlock additional skills and as you rise in rank and tier, you’ll have opportunities to gain significant power. Each class is a bit different, but there are several archetypes. The system will evaluate your past, both on your home planet and during your various summonings, to generate a class for you.
“As you attain each new tier, you will be o...
2023-08-18 16:40:47 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 74. Loot.
I was almost drooling as I approached the loot chest, setting it to only display new items. The haul was even better than I expected as I sorted through everything.
Rico’s Loot.
New Inventory.
1. Copper coins, 1,876.
2. Silver coins, 512.
3. Gold coins, 19.
4. Small gems, 12.
5. High-quality gems, 4.
...
2023-08-17 16:45:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 73. System expansion.
It seemed like I hovered in the void for only a few seconds before finding myself standing next to my reward chest in Rico’s Place. I took a deep breath and tried to process everything that had happened to me. We had defeated Pharox, but he might be still alive out there somewhere.
“Welcome back Rico, it appears your latest adventure was a great success,” Minerva said, startling me a bit even though I should have realized she’d do that. For ...
2023-08-16 19:15:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 72. Cornered.
My blunderbuss cannons would be of little use against the giant skeletons, but the metal shaft of my spear should crack a few bones. The only problem was the blades these undead wielded. They had carved easily though Glintzbuggle’s mech and would do the same to mine.
A few more Fail Weapons spells fizzled against my mech, the mana infusing my machine able to stop them from doing anything catastrophic. Lumpy was still firing magic missiles into the undead ...
2023-08-15 14:07:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 71. Breach the keep.
Our column stepped cautiously through the shattered streets of the ruined city, silent, save for the stomping mechs and rattling armor of the surviving infantry. The air was thick with the stench of decay and the coppery scent of spilled blood. A cool breeze blew into the viewports, as well as through the gaps in my cockpit where the undead had almost pried their way inside.
As we advanced toward the keep at the center of the city, all conversations ...
2023-08-14 14:11:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 70. Get off me.
As my mech shuddered under the weight of the ghouls, I frantically tried to shake them off. My heart pounded in my chest as I realized that every move that I made only seemed to encourage their relentless assault. The groans, grunts, and stench of the undead creatures filled the cockpit, drowning out the sound of my mech’s movement.
"Get off me!" I screamed, triggering magic missiles at any ghoul that I could manage to target. But it was no use; the gho...
2023-08-11 17:36:22 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 69. Canned lunch.
Shortly after dawn, the camp was packed up and we were ready to move out. My mech and Fitzfazzle’s were in the lead of our formation, with the rest of our force strung out behind. The other mechs were dispersed through the formation in pairs to prevent any new ghoul ambushes. Just behind our mechs was a company of gnomish infantry with one of the human war priests added to give the front of our formation some divine magic to combat the necromancy.
The...
2023-08-10 16:46:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 68. Advance to contact.
“He was the one that came to my rescue at the barn, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to him in time,” I said, feeling guilty as I watched the pyres that had been erected to burn our fallen.
“The ghouls acted with more coordination than they normally possess. I’d say that Pharox had his hand directly involved in this, guiding the monsters even over this great distance. Don’t beat yourself up, Rico, you did what you could,” Fitzfazzle tried ...
2023-08-09 13:34:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 67. Silent vigil.
The undead horde moved slowly, and our scouts were able to screen the army with little trouble. At one point, Warmaster Glumbleflump asked for a scout volunteer to show themselves but not attack. A rather wary gnome volunteered for the task and reported that the undead had no reaction to him whatsoever. When a human scout fired an arrow into the horde, there was a reaction, every undead around the one that was shot charged off toward the attacker.
Unfor...
2023-08-08 15:49:43 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 66. Scouting report.
Our battered forces returned to the dubious safety of the main camp. The surviving knight, Sir Goodwin, took charge of the human forces, but he was forced to send out the last four cavalry troopers to bring word back to the kingdom. I wasn’t exactly sure how the line of succession worked on another world, but apparently, there was a well-liked heir that was just barely old enough to take the reins of the kingdom.
Since getting word of our defeat, t...
2023-08-07 14:48:54 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 65. Breakthrough.
I joined Fitzfazzle and the other mech as we moved into position in front of the infantry. Skeletons and zombies weren’t much of a threat to us, but the ghouls were devious enough to figure out a way to disable our mechs if we gave them enough time. The cavalry split out to our flanks and formed a wedge formation. They would blast through the enemy line, then the mechs would lead the infantry to relieve the dwarves. Once the encirclement around the dw...
2023-08-04 18:28:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 64. The battle continues.
I used the mech’s legs to crush the skeletons near me, while at the same time, I fired magic missiles at targets further out. The two companies of gnomes that had been held in reserve turned to face the skeletal threat, attacking furiously, and allowing the engineers to disengage from melee. Our attackers didn’t seem to be inclined to damage the siege engines, and they left them alone as they pushed toward their living foes.
“Everyone, shi...
2023-08-03 14:56:22 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 63. Night attack.
The camp exploded into action as the gnomes gave and received orders. Each company formed up into a shield wall facing where the scouts said the undead were approaching. Our formations weren’t as solid as they wanted them to be, the swamp we were currently on the outskirts of prevented that. The camp had been set on a small rise, the only completely dry place nearby that was large enough to house our army. but even here, the beginnings of the swamp were evi...
2023-08-02 15:34:23 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 62. Off to war.
A wave of dizziness hit me as I stood in the wagon. It passed quickly and I began to pull on my gear, which had thoughtfully been left in the same wagon. After the initial alarm, the gnomes seemed to calm down a bit, but I noticed they kept their weapons close at hand. From my vantage point, I could see what looked like several armored humans mounted on horses approach the camp.
The riders didn’t appear hostile and Warmaster Glumbleflump, along with Fit...
2023-08-01 17:37:32 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 61. Battle’s end.
Taking in a breath, I gagged as the foul stench of the creature on top of me permeated the air. I closed several of the viewports where the flesh of the creature had started to bulge inside the small openings. This wasn’t just some giant that the necromancer had raised this time. It was not quite as large, but its skin was covered in rotting feathers, not regular flesh.
Screams of pain were heard from the gnomes as the monster started to lift itself...
2023-07-31 15:43:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 60. Sawmill.
“This’ll take some time to clean out,” Fitzfazzle said as we dismounted from our mechs. His mech had been swarmed by several of the bizarre undead that had erupted from the barracks. Using his gnomish ingenuity, Fitzfazzle had stomped on the enemy, but some of the strange bodies had jammed inside the joints of one leg, slowing his mech down considerably. A work crew of soldiers was helping to clean things out, but it would delay their pursuit.
“Can w...
2023-07-30 15:57:43 +0000 UTC
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