“You’re about to see something that even my friends haven’t seen, Grimmy.”
Under a purple, starry sky-ceiling chasing away the setting sun, I stopped at a watering hole near some Rank 0 deer. The animals took one look at me and Grimmy before the doe went back to drinking. The buck kept watch as we trudged far under the gloom away from civilization and prying eyes.
Little insects buzzed about. Muggy water vapors clung to my unarmored body as my oneness with this lesser plan...
2025-08-09 00:51:37 +0000 UTC
View Post
“So, you must’ve wondered what new spells I would have after all we gained from the Final Rose and the Diamond Castle,” Merlin said.
“That does spark some curiosity,” I replied.
He placed the children down and shooed them away. When Dinky tried to scamper off, a simple telekinetic spell snatched the little half-gob guard gently and dragged him close to our side.
Then, the telltale spark of spells and magic craft ignited in Merlin’s mind, becoming noticeable and f...
2025-08-09 00:48:14 +0000 UTC
View Post
The moment I saw them, something inside me squeezed tight. Doomie, being the natural doom-bearer that she was, increased that sensation until I became short of breath and wobbly on my own legs.
The edges of my vision throbbed like a malignant heart, and I had to concentrate on standing, digging my toes into the soft gravel road, while centering myself.
My focus veered to the halcyon morning, the merry tweeting birds, the sun sliding along a literal wall on a course that would take...
2025-08-09 00:46:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
There was nothing weirder for me than seeing Rankers below Rank 4.
I had trouble understanding Dinky’s fragility until Thumper leaned over and whispered the exact Rank into my ear.
Apparently, Dinky was Rank 2, and yes, if I sneezed on him, he would die. If any of us moved too fast or too hard close to him, he would die.
Hell, Grimmy had only flicked away his spear with a finger and pushed him down as gently as possible, and she still ended up breaking ribs. After the towe...
2025-08-09 00:41:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Why are we here, Jeb?” asked Dinky, the half-gob yawning while half asleep.
He hated the morning shift. The darn lieutenant insisted every guard, regardless of their natural sleeping patterns, had to work every shift when needed. Morning shift was Dinky’s enemy.
Still, the little Rank 2 guard trudged up to his spot, dragging his short spear through the recently trimmed yard. The rising sun peeked over the rolling green and idyllic land of his home. Warm orange light glowed ...
2025-08-09 00:41:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
[Brug, “Don’t Think, Just Hit,” Pathwalker (Male, Half-Orc)
Path of the Raider: Level 82
Path Magic: Path Energy (Epic), Berserk Rampage (Epic), Boarish Rush (Exquisite), Grudge Cleave (Exquisite), Blood Fervor (Rare), Path Fire (Rare), Hunter’s Mark (Uncommon).
Full Capacity: 300% Epic Energy.]
***
[Marnarka, “Protect The Herd
2025-08-09 00:36:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
Grimmy’s major power gains:
[Congrats! You’ve acquired a new Great Skill: Tiny Cutie Vengeance!]
[Tiny Cutie Vengeance: Level 11 (Uncommon): You may be a tiny and cute thing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t kick ass, especially when you’re harmed or wronged! When your suffering needs to be redressed, activate this for a boost in strength, speed, and scariness!] [Cost: -1%]
[Congrats! <...
2025-08-09 00:35:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
For the next half hour, we ate like kings and queens, all fourteen of us.
Velira and Weaver ate the calmest, sampling each delicacy like they were the prim, proper example of noble patrons, even with the elf eating ‘vegan’ eggplant platters while drider had his breakfast rabbits alive but unconscious. Brug and Redfang were the opposite, tearing into slabs of steak and bowls of fluffy eggs like their lives depended on it.
Kroker prayed to his God-Dragoness before every bite, th...
2025-08-09 00:34:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Path Energy: 15%.
Shaking my head, I ignored the temptation to lean against the nearest pearly wall and show weakness. That strike from a Demigod had been a lot to endure, and he hadn’t even hit me directly.
That was the first time I’d ever met one of that Grade, and the impression he left on me would last for a while. The mountain of power remained ever taller.
“I’ll Keep Going,” I said, my Epiphany resonating sharply, perking me back up.
Though the...
2025-08-09 00:33:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
Merlin felt like an asshole.
It was the day after the celebration, and comforts that nearly rivaled the personal compound of the Dragon Princess surrounded Merlin.
On the walls, expensive illustrations set in diamond-crusted frames depicted scenes of his greatest moments during the tournament. His favorite replicated when he’d gone up against a cocky spellsword.
The wizard had caught the spellsword with a master grab before crushing the guy headfirst into the arena stage.<...
2025-08-09 00:32:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
“BALDWIN! Baldwin! Are you listening to me, Baldwin? BALDWIN!!” wailed the Nemesis High Goddess.
High God Baldwin, the master of the Crossroads Citadel Realm, stifled a groan that wanted to come out while sitting in his cozy office. He leaned back in his old and rustic office chair while the voice of the High Goddess on Path of the Nemesis kept wailing and wailing from the transcommunicator on his thick and wooden desk.
More than once did Baldwin think of smashing the pearly o...
2025-08-09 00:30:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
For another big dump. These next chapters lean a bit more into world-building and the affect Arden is having on the Realm Verse. Also, we get to see some cool power gains by both Arden and others as well as a look at the updated profiles.
On another note, there's been a new story cooking in my head. With OP Wizard coming to an end soon, I might try something with a fun mage-style character that combines the Systems from Rogue Ascension with the System I made in Path of the Slayer. So it...
2025-08-09 00:27:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
I had another scrumptious meal with juicy and seared meat chunks skewered on sticks. They were called wyrm kebabs, and every flavorful bite filled my soul with pleasure.
Again, I couldn’t help but think I would one day take up cooking.
Once satisfied, I performed soul journey meditation for half a day, cutting my time window ever shorter. Yet, when I woke up out of meditation, I sensed I would arrive just in time anyway.
“Make sure to summon me for some real action or an...
2025-08-01 23:22:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
Yeah, I really liked sitting back and reading my System Logs sometimes. When the gains poured in, they could be addicting to review.
[Oh no! A Hell Portal has been summoned from the Crushing Desolation Hell Realm: Rank 5 Challenge (Common)!]
[A Portal Invader has entered near you in the Citadel Crossroads Realm: Rank 8 World (Epic)!]
[Realm Quest initiated: Defeat the Portal Invader or it will lead a horde of cursed monsters...
2025-08-01 23:20:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Slaughter, let’s go,” I ordered
Path Magic activated: Slaughterhouse Avatar (Version [1])!
Other powers activated along with Slaughter, but she was the pivotal piece for the last stretch of my crafting excursion.
Appearing next to me and Sabretooth, Slaughter hovered into existence as a bloody, chain-covered wraith. Her first utterance was an ear-piercing scream that reverberated like being in a long metal hallway.
Together, we waited in the middle of my cursed ...
2025-08-01 23:18:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Dude, Merlin’s losing himself to wizard madness,” Thumper said while conducting martial maneuvers with his new Epic Rank 5 Void Nodachi.
The seven-foot-long and curved blade was blacker than black. It made no sound as the half-giant rogue swiped, spun, cut, raised, and thrust without trying to conceal himself.
From the outside, the nodachi seemed too simple, but just like the void, it could eat energy, a worthwhile feature among others at the expense of billions of credits ...
2025-08-01 23:16:18 +0000 UTC
View Post
The juniors came first, especially their armor.
However, I wasn’t going to lean heavily on artificing that just yet. Not until I saw who remained after the Embassy of Defilement.
With that in mind, I still wanted my juniors leaps and bounds above most Pathwalkers. To achieve that, I centered one special artificer piece that each armor would have – a power core.
Or in Modern Earth terms, a capacitor.
Pathwalkers were functionally walking batteries and spirited charg...
2025-08-01 23:15:10 +0000 UTC
View Post
With a knowing nod, I walked out from under the impromptu crafting gazebo that housed the non-cursed area. It was made from the busted little teeth of the titanic dragon skull that held the entire fortress in its maw.
Most of the rubble from the fight days ago had ended up pushed aside or piled into one big bed for V to rest on when he wasn’t patrolling. With him being there, I walked over to where he laid his massive, scarred head.
The orange-red orbs that were his eyes shone o...
2025-08-01 23:13:37 +0000 UTC
View Post
The spell scroll wasn’t a delicate thing in my hands.
The single rolled-up sheet was thick and made of leather from the flesh of some powerful Rank 5 creature. The rawhide string keeping it bound was nearly the width of my pinkie on my fleshy left.
When I gripped the three-foot-long item, an Epic power emanated from it, giving me chills along my spine. All it would take to unleash its power was for me to untie it and inject my Path Energy.
So, I did just that, while standi...
2025-08-01 23:11:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
As Thumper watched, he noticed how Arden acted as his own variant of One Punch Man.
Each Ranker died with one punch. Or one kick. Or one headbutt. Sometimes, Arden bolted through the air with a flying knee and splattered a row of cultists at once.
Every metal weapon swung, thrust, or thrown at him diverted around his colorful electromagnetic sphere. Even Aether-fueled bolts, streams, and crescents couldn’t reach him.
Every attack was lost once they collided with his multi-...
2025-08-01 23:11:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
Thumper really hated his unpredictable emotions.
Some days, he wasn’t sure if there was much else to live for and had to force himself to put on a decent mask. Path of the Perfect Rogue made that far too easy for him. No matter how many times he said his Epiphany, “Watch Me,” most people didn’t know what they were truly watching for.
On other days, his mood was as high as a kite, even if he kept things mellow on the outside, again, thanks to being the Perfect Rogu...
2025-08-01 23:09:50 +0000 UTC
View Post
The chapters coming out today are more crafting focused. It took a lot for me to make them happen, but I'm glad I did.
Arden crosses over from strong as fuck to overpowered territory (for his Level, of course) in a way that fits him best. They'll come out later today.
2025-08-01 17:56:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
With my finger pointed, I fired a narrow E.M.P. that acted more like echolocation than a disruptive attack.
I struck the metal enemy, giving me a better insight into the creature – it was more magical than expected, like a golem. It had little to no engineering involved, unlike a proper artificing construct.
Still, it was impressive to see a primitive automaton act with its own supernatural power. The runes on its chassis flashed a brighter purple. A large chunk of rubble about ...
2025-07-25 19:30:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
We had a feast like no other on Gunner’s main deck.
Syleth had done a great job buying as many Rank 5 delights she could stuff in special storage boxes made for preserving food. Each platter came out steaming fresh, and we had a lot of platters. Drake ribs, griffin legs, basilisk eggs, and much more, all flavored and cooked to perfection.
After all that delicious and energy-rich feasting, I did a few Soul Blaze practices with Thumper and Merlin. Despite the wizard’s complaints...
2025-07-25 19:29:12 +0000 UTC
View Post
[Your Bonded Treasure is heavily damaged! Please dismiss Railcannon Warrior Armor for one month to fix the damages. If you decide to conduct self-repairs, please be careful. A crafting failure can terminate the bond!]
My ragged armor remained on my body. Part of me wanted to fix it up myself, especially when I had the crafting materials from Merlin and Syleth’s shopping spree.
In a way, the damage to my Bonded Treasure wasn’t too big of a deal.
Things, o...
2025-07-25 19:25:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
Doomie had legs now.
They ended with working feet and articulate toes she would occasionally span or squeeze at random. If she stood on her own, she would be five-foot-three. She was also far weightier and solid than before, as if she could be her own person.
She refused to let me go, however, remaining on my back, her arms around my neck, her wings flapping gently from behind. The possessive pressure of her Brand-infused power kept hold of my ruined soul as always.
If that ...
2025-07-25 19:23:13 +0000 UTC
View Post
As Arden plotted to shrink down the shady behemoth sitting on top of him, Sharia was fending off the horrid fear that was filling her up from the inside and out.
The fear had invaded her own Domain, forcing upon her flashing visions of the monstrous Dragon Princess and the promise of doom.
Every time she thought of killing Arden the Nomad and running off with her husband, the fear and nightmarish visions worsened. Not only was negative karma a risk, but there was a sense that the ...
2025-07-25 19:20:34 +0000 UTC
View Post
As I took stock of myself, Thumper’s voice reached me like a whisper in the wind.
“The stronger you are, the stronger the Nemesis. It’s unfair, but that’s the nature of a suicidal Path like that. They become super easy to kill after their primary target is taken down, as long as there are others around to make them pay for it. But until then, it’s like fighting a hulking version of you with cheat codes.”
“Understood.” I rolled my damaged shoulder around before remo...
2025-07-25 19:19:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
The first instinct was to push aside the others and face Rory by myself.
I ignored that instinct and took an energized step back, allowing Merlin to cast a magic shield reinforced by telekinesis. The bright blue, oval-shaped barrier sprung in front of the hurtling monstrosity as my party counter-maneuvered automatically.
Still mid-flight, Rory howled even more with maddened glee. His Path Energy burst with a reddish and turbulent effect. His muscles bulged with even more girth, hi...
2025-07-25 19:16:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
“It was hard being a political doll,” Thumper said softly. “They paraded me around as bait for any loyalists to my royal line. I’m pretty sure there are half-giants who still uphold my family as the true heirs to the old kingdoms, back when there were a bunch of half-giant Realms that were more interconnected because of our reign.
“My family used to be in charge of all of that for multiple Cycles. Then there was a rebellion thousands of years ago, pushed by a rivaling private ...
2025-07-25 19:13:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
