I scanned the red circle and intuited the rules. Obviously, we weren't supposed to leave the circle. And the shapes on the horizon were getting closer. They were coming from every direction, which made me nervous. I wouldn't be able to stand between Alana and our enemies. But as the shapes grew larger, I realized how slow they were moving.
They shuffled along, and at first, I thought we had a genuine zombie horde closing in from all directions. But when I could make out the vines in pla...
2025-02-13 05:58:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 29: Herding Cats
The forest around Quintus and his patrol remained dark and eerily quiet. The night had long since lost its youth, the sun having set several hours ago. Back at camp, he knew, most men would still up around the fires or working by candlelight in tents before settling in for sleep. Despite that, It wasn't yet time to rest. Not for him.
The Primus Pilus was tired—not that he let it show. He'd been up early enough to greet the sun as it rose, a...
2025-02-12 02:11:05 +0000 UTC
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We went over Alana's spells, and for the most part, they did what was expected—three control spells, a minor damage spell, and a minor healing spell. It wasn't enough for her to be a dedicated healer, and she apparently wasn't very good at it. Still, she said it had helped her out a few times, and self-casting was possible.
I was pretty happy. If Astrid could stay with us, we'd have three people capable of self-healing and two who could heal others to some extent. It would be an inter...
2025-02-10 19:24:37 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 28: Romulus and Remus
The usually bustling activity of the camp slowed to a more sedate pace as Twilight's dim embrace fell over it. Night joined them shortly after, her thick blanket studded by the orderly pinpricks of firelight that slowly sprouted into existence as Legionnaires gathered among their tents. From afar, the regularly spaced campfires almost seemed to mirror the gridlike arrangement of the stars above. Gentle curls of smoke and companionable conversation drifted s...
2025-02-09 03:37:12 +0000 UTC
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///Actually 35 this time. Last post was was numbered wrong and should have been 34, the chapter content was correct though.
I didn't know how to advance, and neither did she. Whenever I skirted the topic with Loki, he avoided giving a direct answer. I assumed it was something that we would find eventually. My first guess was completing a challenge 100%.
Alana pointed out that there were people who completed challenges, but I argued that maybe they were only visiting Lesser Hall af...
2025-02-08 05:52:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 27: Do You Want to Live Forever?
A soft wind set the trees to swaying, their branches rubbing against each other with a soft rustle. The long shadows they cast melded into one singular mass as twilight's last glow began to fade.
Sharath remained motionless, hiding behind a thick tree trunk and peeking around its side as she waited. Despite the onset of night, the forest remained eerily quiet. Aside from the wind, the only other sounds that reached her were those of insects...
2025-02-07 02:00:55 +0000 UTC
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"Alana," I half-whispered as I studied her, and she kept her gaze locked with mine.
"How?" I eventually asked as I leaned forward, my elbows on the table. "How did you get here so fast?"
She gave me a dazzling smile, and I could see a twinkle of mischief in her eyes that I had missed. I swallowed hard, fighting back any honest emotional response as I waited for her to answer my question. She reached out and grabbed one of my hands on the table, squeezing it for a second before rel...
2025-02-06 05:13:31 +0000 UTC
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/// Just a quick note. I decided to make a couple of adjustments to chapters 20 and 21. Its mostly a tone thing and you shouldn’t need to go read them again. The legion was a bit harsher on the adventurers when they were questioning them and Gareth, the blacksmith, had a slightly different first interaction with the legion.
///
"Marcus. Marcus!"
The thin, reedy voice brought Marcus to a halt, his humming cut short as he looked around. To his right, an assortment of freshly...
2025-02-05 04:52:15 +0000 UTC
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She was no warrior. She didn't have the strength in her arms of the Valkyries I'd seen. Yet there was something else in the way she carried herself—a quiet strength that belied the frailty of her form. Her hair, a deep shade of brown like the rich loam of the outside worlds, cascaded in soft waves down her back, catching the cold glow with an unarmed warmth.
Her eyes, alight with reflected torchlight from the arena stands below, danced with youthful defiance. They bore no ennui of lon...
2025-02-04 04:35:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 25: A Pleasant Stroll
Tiberius strolled through the bustling camp, his hands clasped behind his back. At his side, Lucius kept pace with him, a slate held ready to jot down any notes or orders the Legatus might send his way.
His afternoon inspection of the camp was an important part of the day. If asked, Tiberius would explain that it was an opportunity to keep himself abreast of the Legion's day-to-day operations and observe any problems that may otherwise go unnoticed. I...
2025-02-02 04:38:25 +0000 UTC
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I was entirely certain that the pain in my hip was a reversed placebo, and I forced myself not to limp as I walked back into the city from one of the many exits to the arena. It was nice to leave the building without being chased, and with little effort, I slipped into the crowd unnoticed.
I had more than accomplished my goal. Challenging myself was necessary, but I had definitely made a bigger splash than I mainly wanted. Now, I was kicking myself for not having signed my stats. There ...
2025-02-01 06:14:25 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 24: Something Sneaky This Way Snakes
"Rudolf!" The [Fighter] called over to one of his party members. "What level is that thing?"
The [Ranger] blinked, then stared intently at the creature. "Er… twelve. Higher than most stuff around here."
"That's gotta be some kinda roaming boss," the party's leader scowled. "That doesn't look like it belongs in this forest."
"Be careful—it's a chimera type," the [Healer]
2025-01-31 04:49:07 +0000 UTC
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EV B2 Chapter 31:
The Wyvern hissed as it crouched low and moved forward in a sinuous motion, like a snake with legs. Its head swayed side to side with each cautious step. I continued to sidestep, forcing it to chase me, though it didn't quite cut me off and force a confrontation.
I could hear the crowd quiet down. A tense atmosphere filled the arena as it became clear that this was a pivotal moment. A long moment passed as the Wyvern and I exchanged long, studying glances. After ...
2025-01-30 03:11:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 23: Change of Plans
Quintus watched as the bumbling adventurers engaged yet another one of the panthers in the exact same way as they had tackled the last several. It was honestly a bit disappointing. They never tried anything new. Instead, they stuck with a method of fighting the beast that worked, but left everyone injured to some extent. It wasn't even the most efficient method, given their capabilities.
However, his judgmental musings were interrupted. A loud rumble sh...
2025-01-29 05:58:41 +0000 UTC
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"Aaaaaaaaand nooooow! Our 12th contestant!" A booming voice shook throughout the arena. "Let's see how long this one lasts against the Wyvern of Thranduil!"
People went wild, cheering.
"Get your bets in now because in ten... nine... eight..."
As the countdown continued, I drew my swords and prepared for battle. It dawned on me that the time trial wasn't about how fast we could defeat the monster but rather how long we'd last. Hopefully, that meant death wouldn't be as punish...
2025-01-28 09:50:43 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 22: Get Good
"[Piercing Shot]!"
An arrow streaked through the forest clearing, striking the shadow panther's murky form in the hind leg. It growled threateningly at the willowy archer who'd shot it before quickly darting back out of range of the sword-wielding fighter that charged towards it. To one side, the group's healing witch gathered some kind of strange glow between her hands in preparation for her own attack.
Quintus wasn't exactly resentful ...
2025-01-26 03:14:53 +0000 UTC
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I was worried, but not overly so. Level 55. That was a bit higher than I had thought when I considered what level my early class had given me, but maybe she had a class as well. Still, it wasn’t to the point where I didn’t believe I could escape. It did make me wish I had assigned those 20 free stat points I’d been holding onto, but so far, she wasn’t threatening—just kind of in the way.
I took in her clothes and confirmed that, while she was a spellcaster, she a...
2025-01-25 23:57:24 +0000 UTC
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The slightly dreary room around me was strangely quiet. I expected to hear the creaking of floorboards above me, the slosh of water in buckets, or the raised voices of arguing warriors from the common room below. But as I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of my bed, I didn't hear any of that. It was a quiet tavern in a slightly seedy part of town. Was it because it was near the Temple of Order? I didn't think so. I was sticking close to Týr's clergy, but the war god's chosen were just a...
2025-01-24 05:28:22 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 21: Come Out Swinging
Gareth Irontongs was not having a good day. Or a good week. It wasn't his year, either.
Retirement was supposed to be peaceful and relaxing—time to really focus on his craft and dive into his passion. An opportunity to ignore the pressures of fast-paced city life with its demanding clients wanting everything done now, now, now. He was done with that life and the weapons that came with it—especially swords. If he never had to make one of those gods...
2025-01-24 04:18:50 +0000 UTC
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I left the temple satisfied that I had done my job. The priest of Tyr was neither difficult to locate nor hard to potentially kill. The most challenging part would have been avoiding suspicion, which, so far, didn’t seem to have progressed one way or the other. I also picked up a few initial jobs. They were not at all what I had first expected. With no massive hunting grounds that I was aware of, the typical intro quests—like killing a certain type of monster or helping a farmer—just we...
2025-01-22 03:02:19 +0000 UTC
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All right, it's been a couple of months since my last update. Sorry about that—I just didn't have much to add. Legion has been making good progress. My co-author and I have been plugging along, almost hitting our goal of averaging three chapters a week. The Patreon is slowly catching up, but we're also getting really close to hitting our desired word count before we can post RR! That should happen sometime this month or early February.
I also have almost finishe...
2025-01-22 02:28:31 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 20: I Wanna Go Home
"So, what was that all about?"
Cassius waited until they were safely away from the camp's entrance before breaking the question. In all honesty, Marcus had hoped he would let the matter drop. But curiosity about such a thing was only to be expected.
"Well," Marcus began to spin the relevant details into a tale, "That woman back there was the mayor's daughter."
Cassius let out a low whistle. "Truly? How did such a public shit heap like that e...
2025-01-22 02:20:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 19: An Old Flame
Marcus casually strode through the town, humming a soft tune. He kept his pace slightly slower than normal, engrossed as he was in his own thoughts. Still, to any outside observer, he would appear just as affable and approachable as his usual persona demanded.
As he walked, he scanned the populace of Habersville with an attentive eye. Villagers bustled about their work or aided with construction efforts right alongside the Legionnaires. He even heard an oc...
2025-01-19 03:23:46 +0000 UTC
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I studied the man's face for several moments. It was an average face attached to an average looking man. He was a couple of inches shorter than me, with a strong jaw and a wolfish proportion to his nose. His brown eyes held a surety that surprised me. Even with that defining quality, he wouldn't stand out in Valhalla at all. This place was full of self-assured men and women. No, there was only something that stood out because I was paying attention. It wasn't necessarily the calmness of his e...
2025-01-17 22:40:38 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 18: Reporting for Duty
Darkness. Endless, all-consuming darkness. A thick covering that permitted no light or sound, submerging its inhabitants in a timeless void without meaning. An endless slumber of unknowing.
Yet in that nothingness, something shifted.
The entity blinked—a slow movement, one that might have lasted a minute or a month. It was so hard to tell here, where time itself felt like an unspooled mass of tangled yarn. Yet the very act itself was notewort...
2025-01-17 01:04:47 +0000 UTC
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With feigned casualness, I walked toward one of the few polished stone buildings in Valhalla proper. Over the gate was a strange symbol, almost like an arrow pointing up and off to the sides. Flanking each of the giant double doors that stood open was a statue of a man with rippling muscles, long hair, a rather impressive beard, and one missing hand. The eyes of the statues seemed to watch me as I walked forward.
I was not unarmed. No one walked around Valhalla completely unarmed, but n...
2025-01-15 03:33:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 17: A Legend in the Making
Marcus whistled a jaunty tune as he headed away from the Legion's camp and toward Habersville. The darkening sky heralded the coming end of a long and productive day. Alas, his work was not yet finished. Not quite yet.
His talk with Secundus had gone well, far better than he'd hoped. The man was a worldly fellow—not exactly quick to laugh but pleasant and familiar with the ways of the world. As such, reaching an understanding was not difficult....
2025-01-15 01:36:02 +0000 UTC
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I struggled to follow along with Jorg's explanation. Despite having spent less time here than I had in an absolute sense, he seemed to have spent more time in Valhalla proper rather than off-world. He knew a lot more about what was happening than I did. I did my best to hide my ignorance because, as much as Jorg and I had in common, the parts of him that most aligned with me weren't ones I'd trust. The traits that meshed with mine were likely what got him into Loki's little club. But I wouldn...
2025-01-12 06:40:15 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 16: Diplomacy in Action
Baron von Latimore stepped down from the carriage, his posture as steady and composed as he could manage. Before him loomed the rather imposing estate of Duke Mark. The mansion seemed to glare down at him, the pristine white stone of its walls shimmering slightly in the sunlight and hinting at the not-entirely-mundane nature of its construction.
The reminder of the duke's affluence nearly made him gulp. It had been only a couple of weeks since his w...
2025-01-11 17:08:53 +0000 UTC
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EV B2 Chapter 23:
“Do you have any siblings, Miles?” Loki asked after a few moments of silence.
I was slightly taken aback by the question coming out of the blue, but I started to see where Loki might be going with it. “No, not by blood, though. I was pretty close to my brother-in-law for many decades, but I imagine that isn’t the same.”
Loki heaved a weary sigh. “Hmm. Hard to say. I was adopted, obviously. I have a stepmother, and my father is very distant.”
2025-01-10 04:00:05 +0000 UTC
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