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Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 66 - As It Seems

It should have bothered him more.

As Miguel looked at the shimmering wall of ethera, he reached out and touched it.  The surface was permeable, but not so diffuse that it wouldn’t take significant effort to bypass.  However, what should have alarmed him was that on the other side of that translucent barrier, time looked like it was standing still. 

At first, he hadn’t really noticed it, but after a while of staring at the forest, he saw a bird hanging in the air...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 65 - Talent

Sadie erupted into motion, letting out snarl as she slammed her fist into the frost-covered boulder.  It cracked beneath the blow, but due to being bathed in dense ethera for months, the rock was durable enough to withstand the unwarranted attack. 

“I don’t think that’s helpful,” Elijah said from his position across the cultivation chamber.  He’d been pondering the shape of his soul while trying to usher a plant back to health.  He didn’t know what it was...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 64 - A Little Help

“Attacks have increased in frequency,” said Rasana, the gnomish scout.  She was one of Kurik’s team of hunters, though instead of her class coming from a Ranger archetype, she’d begun her journey as an Explorer.  And while her class had given her a few combat abilities, her origin could not be ignored.  Once an Explorer, always an Explorer, Ramik thought.  Even so, she was the best scout in the city, even if she didn’t always conduct herself with the decorum one ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 63 - Terrifying Power

“Uh…should we loot?” asked Ron.

“No,” Elijah said, still staring at Sadie.  The woman had just displayed a terrifying amount of power, effectively forcing a powerful enemy to surrender without a fight.  That, among other things, needed to be addressed.  “We need some answers first.  I’m not going another step until I’m satisfied with the explanation of what just happened.”

“But –”

“He’s right,” Dat said.  His gaze hadn�...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 62 - Solace

Miguel greeted his impending death with a snarl. 

The sword fell, glinting in the faint light of a setting sun, and his stomach twisted into a thousand knots as he considered all the things he’d intended to do with his life.  Now, none of that would be possible.  Like his mother, he would go too soon.  He only hoped that his family would understand, that they would be able to ascertain his fate.  Even as he made amends with the end of his life, the blade conti...

Chapter 577 - Burned Out

“You seem to have done pretty well for yourself,” Zeke said, leaning against the railing and trying to ignore the thousands of feet worth of open air separated him from the ground.  The last time he’d been on an airship, it had crashed well before they reached their destination.  Since then he’d avoided that particular mode of travel, even if it probably would have made some of his trips much easier. 

“I can’t complain,” Tucker responded with a grin, his eye...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 61 - Inevitable

It was only a whisper.

But in Miguel’s ears, it was as loud as any shout.  He shot to his feet, a layer of dirt and dried blood cracking with his every motion as he erupted from his hiding place in the hollow beneath a huge, exposed root.  His sword lashed out in a backhanded swing that met flesh after only an instant.  A moment later, the dark elf’s head flew free with a spray of blood.  It went to the right, while the rest of the would-be assassin�...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 60 - Absolution

“So, what do we do?” asked Dat.

“Um…we need to kill her,” Elijah said.  “I think.  The quest just says to illuminate the shadows, so I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean.”

Sadie barely heard the discussion.  Standing so close to her companions was a special kind of torture.  Even Ron and Dat, both of whom had barely triggered Sense of Sin before she’d made the wrong choice of specialization, were nauseating to look at.  Not only were...

Chapter 576 - Not Quite Complete

Zeke dropped to his knees, then planted his hands in the blessedly dry sand.  He took a deep breath, then flopped onto his back and stared at the sun, which hung high in the sky. 

“Sometimes, you forget just how amazing the sun is,” he said aloud.

“Don’t get maudlin on me,” sighed Eveline.  “Nobody wants that.”

“If I want to wax poetic about the beauty of the sun, I’m going to do just that.”

“Is that what you call it?” she asked.&...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 59 - Illumination of Failure

Darkness pressed in on Elijah, so powerful that it verged on suffocating.  His pulse quickened, his skin grew clammy, and his breathing became shallow.  It felt like he was on the precipice of a panic attack, though he’d never been prone to that particular problem in the past. 

“We ain’t meant to be here,” Kurik said, his voice quavering. 

“That’s obvious, bro.  Just put your big boy pants on and deal with it,” Dat responded. 

“I...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 58 - The Nature of Shadows

“Wake up, bro.”

“I’m not asleep. I’m just resting my eyes,” Elijah muttered.  He would have already passed out, but for the rumbling emanating in the distance.  It wasn’t nearly as powerful a quake as what they’d felt in the immediate aftermath of their previous actions, but it was more than enough to distract him from descending into blessed unconsciousness.

“You really shouldn’t drain your whole core,” Dat responded.  “It’s super bad for ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 57 - Illumination

It almost felt routine.

Until it didn’t.

They were already on the fifth temple, and Elijah had just watched his companions dismantle the latest shadespinner.  He’d contributed, of course, but only in his human form, which he thought needed some work.  He relied so much on his bestial forms that he often neglected his natural shape.  So, for that fight, he’d acted the part of a mage, peppering the giant spider with lightning bolts and tiny, affliction-deliverin...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 56 - Webs

“This is unnerving,” Ron said, his eyes flicking back and forth at every hint of movement.  Elijah wasn’t certain if the Healer could actually see the shadow slayers surrounding them, or if he felt them via some latent intuition.  Perhaps it was like feeling someone’s eyes on you.  Whatever the case, he agreed with Ron’s statement.  If the man knew just how many of the creatures were out there, he probably would have gone from discomforted to outright terrified.&...

Chapter 575 - Leviathan

“I really don’t want to do this,” Zeke said, pacing back and forth only a couple of feet away from the permeable wall that protected the habitat from the crushing abyss on the other side. 

“It’ll be fine,” Eveline said.  “You’ve survived worse.”

“I’m not worried about it killing me.”

“Then what’s the issue?” she asked.

The reality was that, even if he wasn’t particularly afraid of the seagoing creatures killing him, he definite...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 55 - Candles

Sorry this is a bit late. I accidently scheduled this for tomorrow instead of today (I hate Patreon's interface). Anyway, here's today's second chapter.

It was difficult to gauge when the sun had truly risen.  Even though the pitch black of night had faded, the effect was not nearly as plain as Elijah would have normally anticipated.  It was just further evidence – as if he needed any – that the world of magic didn’t necessarily follow the thread of his expectat...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 54 - The Vale of Whispers

“I really don’t like this,” Elijah said, focusing on the sense granted by One with Nature.  So close to the forest, he could feel its atmosphere so intensely that it verged on overwhelming.  His previous supposition that the forest was in pain was only partially accurate.  Nature didn’t cry out, but strangled by shadow, it did whimper slightly.  It was like looking at an abused animal.  A beaten dog that cringed at every turn.  “This place is evil.” 2024-09-23 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 574 - Under the Sea

Zeke plunged through the semi-permeable barrier and tumbled onto dry land.  His titanic body was a shredded mess, resulting in a small pool of silver blood beneath him.  He vomited a mixture of blood, water, and bile – along with some sort of black sludge – onto the ground. 

“I hate this place,” he grunted not bothering to look around.  He knew good and well that some sort of monster was probably waiting on him within the habitat, but in a childlike bout of s...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 53 - The Umbra

“I remember going to an amusement park a few years before the world changed,” Ron remarked as they trekked through the jungle.  “My daughter always loved roller coasters, and with everything going on, I decided to treat her.  Anyway, when we got there, I saw this woman who’d attached leashes to her children.  The kids kept trying to get away, and they almost ran into a restricted area where they would’ve definitely been injured.  I think about that a lot these da...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 52 - Scope

The first of the stone statues – or golems, Elijah realized – was on him in less than a second.  The thing moved so quickly that Elijah couldn’t even react before it slammed a fist into his chest.  He flew backward, hitting another group of golems with so much force that the impact toppled the multi-ton things over.  Elijah’s mind whirled as he struggled to wrap his mind around the situation. 

He should have expected something.  Even though he’d spent ...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 51 - Adventure

Elijah’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion – both mental and physical – as he took a long, deep breath.  The salty air tasted almost sweet after spending so much time beneath the ocean, fighting against wave after wave of alaken.  He waded forward until he reached the beach, then dropped to his knees before rolling over and collapsing onto his back.  One deep breath followed the last as he closed his eyes. 

“That was pretty rough, bro.”

Elijah opened on...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 50 - Rotten Fruit

Elijah landed just outside of camp, where he found the others gathered around the fire.  The only one who was missing was Sadie, but he sensed her sitting just a dozen or so yards away.  Far enough that she probably wasn’t burdened by the conversation between the rest of the group, but not so distant that she couldn’t respond to an emergency.  Judging by her position, he assumed she was meditating.  Perhaps she’d decided to push her core to the next stag...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 49 - Sense

Gabriel was beautiful.

His skin shimmered golden over perfectly sculpted features that would have been entirely at home on a statue of a Greek god, while his hair – which seemed like it was composed of strands of pure, white light – danced in a nonexistent wind.  But his eyes, bearing incomprehensible symbols instead of irises, drew more attention than any of his other traits. 

If he’d claimed to be a god, Sadie would have believed him. 

“How are you h...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 48 - The Grind

Sadie rammed a shoulder into a particularly large wraith, sending it stumbling backward across the ground before it hit a clump of its fellows.  In the same motion, she spun, bringing her blade in a sweeping, horizontal strike that sheered through four other wraiths.  That left her open to attack from another set of monsters, but even as they collapsed onto her, she ignored their efforts. 

They clawed and bit at Bulwark of the Faithful, and even with the sheer volume of t...

Chapter 573 - Opportunity and Challenge

“I don’t like them,” said Athis with a grimace.  “They’re…so…accommodating.”

“You could learn a thing or two from your reptilian cousins,” Tucker remarked.  “They’re –”

“They are lizards.  We are dragons,” Athis reminded him, though he lacked the fire he might’ve once had when talking to Tucker.  It wasn’t surprising, either.  The alchemist had almost single-handedly saved his entire race.  It was difficult to marry...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 47 - A Catalogue of Treasures

The first time Elijah used Lightning Rush was one of the most exhilarating things he’d ever experienced.  One second, he was soaring above the jungle, and the next, he was a bolt of lightning ripping across the sky.  Time seemed to slow, and even though it only lasted a couple of seconds, it felt like an hour or more.  And in that time, Elijah knew what it was to be a bolt of electricity. 

It wasn’t painful.  In truth, it was only mildly tingling.  Yet,...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 46 - Purpose

As Sadie saw Elijah standing there, wearing an innocent expression on his face, she just shook her head.  Even after he’d explained his theory of how the challenges work, the notion that he’d stepped into the ocean and, after less than a day, emerged having defeated one of the Trial’s challenges, marked him as an absolute monster.  And he’d done it alone, proving that he was a true anomaly.

Most classes in their new world were focused on filling a very specific role.&n...

Chapter 572 - Catching Up

“You got big,” said Tucker, grinning as he clapped Pudge on the shoulder.  The former dire bear was at least nine feet tall and built like a champion power lifter.  The only thing that remained the same – from what Tucker remembered – was the bearkin’s head, which had retained much the same shape.  He used his inspection ability:

Pudge Blackwood – Level 86

There were a few other lines denoting Pudge’s highest attributes and mo...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 45 - Royalty

Elijah didn’t bother with stealth.

It wouldn’t have done much good, given that he needed hands – or more importantly, opposable thumbs – to open the door.  Besides, it wasn’t as if the royals on the other side could have missed the commotion of his previous battle.  So, if the door suddenly opened and nothing stepped through, the likelihood that he would be detected skyrocketed. 

It was better to simply push through while prepared for whatever lay on the o...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 44 - A Difference Side of the Call

Elijah was bored.

And considering he was in the middle of a challenge in the Trial of Primacy, surrounded by potential enemies that wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter him, given half a chance, he should not have been.  Yet, he’d grown accustomed to a certain level of danger, and when that simply wasn’t present, he found his mind straying to more interesting situations. 

He stopped in his tracks, only a few feet from one of the alaken.  By all rights, it should hav...

Path of Dragons 6 - Chapter 43 - Alone Again

Elijah floated only a few dozen feet below the surface, but his attention remained fixed on the scene below.  As Lamar had described, there was a city down there, but it looked nothing like what he might have expected on the surface.  Constructed of coral and decorated with various sea plants, it was unlike anything he’d ever seen.  Adding to that impression were the denizens, which the former linebacker had described as mermaids. 

In the most basic sense, they liv...