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Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 56 - A Battle of Endurance

Three Voxxian monsters clambered across Elijah’s broad back, biting and clawing for purchase. He’d just used Iron Scales, so they stood no chance of actually harming him. However, the same couldn’t be said for Isaak, who was running in circles as he tried to avoid yet another creature. He was not doing a good job of it, either, because the thing kept catching up and biting him. The only reason he hadn’t already fallen was the ethereal shield that protected his body.

Eljiah could...

Chapter 440 -Ambush

The sword whistled past Zeke’s ear, missing him by scant inches. He responded with a herculean uppercut that took the massive Knight in the stomach. His armor buckled as he was lifted a few feet off the ground, and his breath left his body in a rush. However, the Knight, who was under the influence of a powerful transformation skill that had transformed him into a fifteen-foot-tall behemoth of a white knight, was not out of the fight.

Not by a long shot.

He lashed out with his w...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 55 - A Different Kind of Challenge

The forest was silent, but Elijah felt the corruption of the of the nearby dimensional rift. It was clearly higher grade than the one he’d entered back on his island, which didn’t bode well for the difficulties ahead. Even as he focused on that with one facet of his mind, the other partitions in his Quartz Mind monitored his surroundings. One facet was trained on Isaak, who walked beside him, but the rest were entirely focused on the environment. He didn’t want to get ambushed again, an...

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 36 - Deprivation

I once dreamed about exploring other words, thinking it would be some grand adventure. But now that I know what’s waiting out there, I just want to be left alone on Earth.

Patrick Ward

“What’s going on?” asked Rex as I once again reloaded my weapons. He and the rest of his team definitely looked a little worse for wear, and the Dingyts that had been tasked with helping me on my mission were clearly anxious. They ...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 54 - The Nemean Lion

Pain erupted in Elijah’s back as his attacker brought incredibly sharp claws to bear. Due to his high Constitution, he wasn’t ripped to shreds, but the claws still scraped against his ribs. As the creature – whatever it was – tore his flesh to ribbons, one facet of Elijah’s mind focused on casting Form of the Guardian. The second he finished the spell, his body started to morph.

First, he grew scales. Then, his arms extended, his hands becoming vicious claws. His legs didn’t...

Chapter 439 - A Nice Set of Armor

“You didn’t need as much healing this time,” said Eveline. “That’s progress, isn’t it? You should be happy.”

Busy drying his hair, Zeke didn’t respond. Instead, he settled on the most recent battle. He hated losing control like that, and he knew that if he kept allowing it to happen, he would end up killing a lot more people. He dreaded the day when he would descend into a rage-filled madness and only come out of it after he’d slaughtered his own allies. And he knew it...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 53 - Ladenia

Elijah missed his own bed.

And the tree house. The grove, too. Even Nerthus. When he’d first washed ashore on that island, he’d have never expected to think of it as home, and yet, from the moment he’d departed, he had begun to miss all the things that had grown so familiar. Certainly, he didn’t miss the monster attacks or the starvation that had plagued his first few weeks, but his grove had come a long way since then. It was easily as comfortable as his apartment back in Hawai...

Chapter 438 - Acceptance and Ascension

Zeke tore himself free of the Knight’s blade, and quite a bit of his rocky flesh came away with it. He stumbled to his knees as a dozen runes latched onto his mana, draining it with every passing second. More, he could feel it dragging down on his stats, impeding his attributes. He dragged himself forward, feeling as if a hundred iron bands had been wrapped around his lungs. He coughed, sending a cascade of metallic blood to the ground.

As he tried to comprehend what was happening, an...

Weekly Check-In (1/28/24)

It's Sunday!  Which means it's time for everyone's favorite post - the weekly check-in!

This week's been a mixture of fun and tedium.  Fun, because I wrote some really cool chapters I'm very excited about.  But tedious because I'm currently doing the final edits on Death: Genesis 7, and it is kicking my butt.  It's not a difficult task, but it's definitely time-consuming.  However, it has reaffirmed that I really like the end product.  So, I hope when it co...

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 35 - An Intentional Explosion

I’ve seen versions of war that most people can’t even contemplate. True destruction that boggles the mind and strikes palpable fear into anyone who really understands how close we are to utter annihilation. That is what awaits anyone when they reach the peak.

Alistaris Kargat

“I need a new hat,” Rex grumbled as he sat on the bench, staring down at what was left of his headwear. Bits of it decorated the floor, evi...

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 34 - A Campaign of Destruction

I think about death a lot. About everything just ending. I know there are people out there who believe something comes next. Something better as a reward for a life well-lived. But I don’t know. That’s always felt a little too convenient to me. In my experience, good deeds are punished, not rewarded. So, why should live and death be any different?

Patrick Ward

I watched from the ship as the explosion enveloped the en...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 52 - Good Company

Atticus slapped Elijah on the back and proclaimed, “You aren’t so bad of a guy, friend. And best of all, you’re rich! So you can buy dinner!”

“Uh…alright?” Elijah said, depositing a few crystalline leaves into his sack. They were guides that he’d bought that would hopefully shed some light on a few topics that were still a mystery to him. Those same guides had been available back in Ironshore, but they had been much more expensive. Vaguely, he remembered Ramik mentioning...

Chapter 437 - Montcastle

The wall shook, but to Zeke’s surprise, it did not fall. Arrows and skills fell on his shoulders, yet they hit with none of the might one might expect. That was the one of the benefits of [Burden of Sovereignty], which not only strengthened him and his allies, but also sapped the power of his enemies. That included a drain on their physical stats as well as an impairment on their skills. As a result, Zeke, who was also under the effect of [Triune Colossus], easily endured the barrage of ski...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 51 - Atticus' Arsenal

“What are you doing out so late?!” the grizzled guard barked. He had an olive complexion and a great, bushy, and black beard. It was almost as if he’d grown such magnificent facial hair in order to make up for the lack of hair on his head. Otherwise, he was short and stocky, wearing a leather breastplate and carrying a shield and spear. “Do you have a death wish, boy? At your level, you’re lucky you didn’t meet the beast!”

“The beast?” Elijah asked, adjusting the giant...

Chapter 436 - One After the Other

“I don’t know what to do,” admitted Knight-Corporal Adara. She was a large woman, with heavy shoulders and a thick neck. More than once, she’d been mistaken for a man, which never bothered her as much as some people thought it should. What did annoy her were the rumors going around that she wasn’t entirely human. At times, she’d taken matters into her own hands and beaten people to within an inch of their lives for such insulting gossip.

But in the recesses of her mind, in p...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 50 - Argos

The morning air held a distinct chill as Elijah leaped over a burbling stream. When he reached the other side, he slowed to a stop before shifting into his human form. With a sigh, he unshouldered his pack, setting his two staves aside as he squatted next to the stream. After dipping his hands into the water, he splashed his face.

How long had it been since he’d killed the group of hunters? Two days? Three? It might’ve even been a week. After he’d slaughtered the leader, who’d b...

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 33 - Special

She is special. Even in the context of the wider universe, Mira can do things most people can’t. Some of this is by design. We may never know who was behind her carefully planned development, but it set the stage for her to become the unique person she is. But there’s far more to what she became than a one-of-a-kind Nexus implant.

Alistaris Kargat

The norcite pellets slammed into the tentacled mystic’s hastily conj...

Mistrunner 2 Available on Kindle/Audible!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mistrunner 2 is now available on Kindle and Audible.  If you want to check it out, just click below:

Mistrunner 2: A Cyberpunk LitRPG 

2024-01-23 19:14:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 49 - Pests

With mixed feelings dancing in her heart, Carmen watched her son as he trained with the practice spear she had made for him. A few years before, she’d have never condoned such a thing. Back then, even combat sports like boxing or mixed martial arts had been off the table, and she had actively forbidden him from playing football. There was too much chance of permanent injury, especially to Miguel’s all-important brain, for her to sign off on those sorts of things.

But now, the world ...

Chapter 435 - The Labyrinth

A frigid breeze whistled through the overgrown entrance to the labyrinth, carrying with the musty scent of decay. Zeke stood before it, hesitant to take that all-important first step into the elaborate maze. But it was necessary, as had been established over the past few weeks of travel through the wilderness.

After leaving the fallen ship behind, he and his cadre of kobolds had trekked through forests and over mountains as they searched for a way to the other side of the labyrinth. How...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 48 - Unforgivable Sin

The smell of pine needles hung in the air, and regret danced in Elijah’s mind as he padded through the forest. He’d left Norcastle without making the mayor’s guards pay for their transgressions, and he sorely wished he’d taken a different tactic. However, as vicious as his need for justice was, they had done nothing more than inconvenience him. And by all accounts, the mayor was a big part of the reason the city’s residents had survived.

Elijah had no problem with killing. He�...

Chapter 434 - Shipwrecked

The crash was a little anticlimactic. Instead plummeting to the earth, it listed lazily, losing altitude for hours until it settled into a verdant valley. The dell was home to a gentle stream and a few scattered deer, but there were no obvious threats. The kobolds who’d guided the ship to the safest landing possible immediately started trying to repair the ship. However, it was already apparent that it was unsalvageable. The planks from which it had been built were easily replaceable, but t...

Weekly Check-In (1/21/24)

Another week has come and gone, and things are definitely looking up (not that they were down in the first place, but there's a lot to be excited about from the past week).  

First, we're only two days from the release of book two of the Mistrunner series on both Kindle and Audible!  So, if you want to offer further support, head on over and check it out 2024-01-21 16:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 32 - The First Dig Site

No planet can make it alone. There are too many forces out there that are hellbent on exploitation and oppression. We need allies. The problem is that alliances rarely come cheaply, and usually, they’re just as exploitive as any occupation.

Patrick Ward

“We don’t need him,” I muttered, more to myself than to Patrick. “He can run off to whatever corner of the universe he came from. And he can take his ridiculous...

Mistrunner 4 - Chapter 31 - Too Far

It’s not only about credits. It’s not even about raw resources. It’s about power. Ideology. It’s about keeping your foot on the necks of the people you feel are inferior. That’s what drives organizations like Gamore Confederation. The money is just a means to an end.

Alistaris Kargat

I sat on the hill overlooking the crash site, and in my mind, I could still see all the corpses I’d created. Some had been ripp...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 47 - Bad Omens

“Don’t like this one bit,” growled Kurik as he knelt next to the tracks. He looked around the pass, seeing a story that had played out months before. There were hundreds of tiny arachnid corpses, all in various states of decay. He recognized the species, which on his home world, had been referred to as sovereign spiders. Typically, the creatures were incredibly territorial, and left unchecked, they were capable of approaching sapience. They had no natural predators, largely due to the f...

Chapter 433 - Dangers of the Sky

The wind cut across the skyship’s deck, pelting Zeke with its might. Stoically, he stood his ground, and yet, he felt like he’d been cast adrift. It was not a difficult situation to understand; so far from the ground, the earth mana was almost nonexistent, and so, he’d been cut off from one of the most potent sources of his power. He could still function, but anything that used earth mana as fuel would inevitably lack potency. That meant he couldn’t use his earthen form of [Triune Col...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 46 - The Right Direction

If you all could help me out by upvoting/commenting on a couple of Reddit posts I made, it would help me out a ton.  You can find them at: 

LitRPG Reddit Post 

Royal Road Reddit Post&nbs...

2024-01-18 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 432 - The Burden of Sovereignty

Zeke stood outside the jail cell, only a foot away from the door, as he stared through the tiny slit into the small room. He didn’t need to look. Because of his bond with the tower, he knew precisely what was happening in all twenty-six cells. He knew the condition of the prisoners, and with a thought, he could cross all sorts of lines with their treatment.

“Does it frighten you?” asked Eveline. “All that control, it can be terrifying.”

“I’m not afraid,” he answere...

Path of Dragons 2 - Chapter 45 - Consequences

A blanket of snow covered the roofs and collected in the shadowy alleys of Norcastle as Elijah was escorted through the town. From most of the eaves hung garlands and flickering lights, and evergreen wreathes festooned most of the doors. Red and green ribbons and streamers abounded, lending the city a festive spirit that felt infectious, even after the encounter with the thugs at the gate.

“I didn’t realize it was Christmas,” Elijah said softly as he took in the festive decoration...