Hunter Mythos

Path of the Slayer B1 C48. Legendary

There were more notifications.

I wasn’t itching to check them.

It was hard to celebrate when Hellion was seriously broken.

I shut off all of my powers and examined my half ripper arm. I could still move it like a regular arm, but there was a lack of a spark to the crimson and edgy thing. Like the spirit inside was in a coma.

The cracks in its frame leaked dark blood that oozed slowly onto the corpse whose entire head was gone. The drip from Hellion was slow, and gett...

Path of the Slayer B1 C47. Repay Them With Rage

“Don’t eat all of it, Sabretooth!” I shouted as I dimmed Hellion’s power without the half ripper going inactive just yet. “I need to check his body!”

To my relief, Sabretooth listened and stopped consuming the flesh of the elf corpse. 

Without Vitality, it would’ve been easy for her to consume the entire thing in a second. All that remained was the gory upper torso, and even that was hanging like it was going to unravel into bloody strips and leave a pile on the...

Path of the Slayer B1 C46. Good Little Imperial

A blast of lightning and thunder escaped my body as my blood ran even hotter and my heart beat harder. If you took me out of those four participants, there were enough for one or all three to be part of Magnus’s party.

Sabretooth let out a loud and hearty roar, picking up the pace with a sudden lunge forward. Her claws were sheathed away, her tires burning rubber over cracks, uneven flooring, and small piles of gems littering the entire lane.

The tall walls rushed by as we follo...

Path of the Slayer B1 C25. Resignation

My battle with Elric Auraguard became one of attrition while learning each other’s patterns, which mostly involved him learning me. The situation flipped when he predicted my maneuvers and applied blocks that were on beat with the violent song I was following.

That forced me out of Barbaric Musician Grace and slowed my strikes severely. Worse yet, Hellion was feeding on my Path Energy while I channeled autosaw energy on the Fallen Slayer Greatsword.

Elric’s sword of radiance a...

Path of the Slayer B1 C24. Free Nomad

I made it rain all the remaining oil canisters from my storage ring, which forced Elric and Taver to hesitate. The anger and hate I saw through their open visors should’ve bothered me. Instead, it motivated me to keep going.

In for a copper, in for a gold.

“I’m going to crap down your neck when we take your head,” spat Taver.

Elric remained silent and deadly, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

The Storm Arena had no effect on them. The longer I remained, t...

Path of the Slayer B1 C23. I Expected Better

I teleported into an adjacent room close to the wreckage area that held the imperial Portal. From here, I wouldn’t know what they were doing or who they were.

I didn’t want to spy on them directly and risked them seeing me in return through the viewing window. I had no idea if it was two-way or not, and I’d forgotten to test that with one of my monster helpers.

Outside, a cloud broke, raining rainbow-colored oil.

It wasn’t highly flammable, strangely, but it could st...

Path of the Slayer B1 C22. The Golden Killers

By the fifth hour, the stress of the unknown got to me.

I made a compromise that I didn’t think I would. Even though I knew I had to use everything that was available to me to survive, it hurt me to do this one thing that felt wrong.

“Thank you for sacrificing your Vitality to me,” I said to the demon, as I raked my half ripper claws down its muscular arm. “I need to keep my Path Energy up in case the gold adventurers arrive in the next minute.”

The demon nodded du...

Path of the Slayer B1 C21. Mole Lord

The javelin went awry after taking a magnetic push from behind. Instead of flying straight and true as I’d imagined, it flipped end-over-end and smacked the Mole Lord broadly in the face.

The Portal Boss let out an undignified shout and swiped at its snout, which had come out a little crooked in the exchange, but not by much.

That was certainly not a part of the plan, but to be fair, I hadn’t given myself the chance to practice throwing with Path Magnetism. I’d barely gotten...

Path of the Slayer B1 C20. Hungry Moles

A lone mole worker sniffed and scratched around for something tasty to eat. It was in one of the old tunnels that had been long explored for years.

Still, the lone mole worker returned to this place because it once ate a tasty monkey creature that tried to use a pointy metal thing that was too long for the tunnels. That was the first time the lone worker had the delight of eating a human.

Ever since then, all it wanted was to eat more of those tasty creatures.

This was the r...

Path of the Slayer B1 C19. Use All That’s Available

There was no such thing as an independent adventurer in the Supreme Sovereign Empire. Not among humans, nor the other Ranker folks.

The empire regulated everything from the top down, and the only freedom to be had was in the guilds. Even then, that freedom was placed under strict procedures, so it really wasn’t anything but scraps.

In the daily life of a purebred imperial, those strict procedures were perfectly fine. In their heads, rules were as ironclad as the words of their s...

Path of the Slayer B1 C18. The Arden You Know Is Gone

There it was.

I could see her going all out this time, like a wintery wraith aiming to bury me cold under the ice.

Ruthless. Harsh. Beautiful.

Thankfully, my visor hid my face in an impenetrable shadow. Or she would’ve seen my smile as we clashed like the mighty magic warriors we used to fantasize about when we were younger.

I ended up on the back foot, trying to survive her overwhelming avalanche of an onslaught, which certainly forced me to respect her more. It was...

Path of the Slayer B1 C17. Fighting My Ex

When Seraphina reached Rank 1, and I was still stuck at Rank 0 three months after hitting 99% Epiphany, the problems cropped up more fiercely. The ones who’d rubbed elbows with me as much as possible started to test me with small remarks.

I used to brush them all off when I should’ve recognized them as signs of the torment to come.

It was one thing to be a talented prospect at the adventurer guild while gaining small privileges that someone from my humble origins wouldn’t no...

Path of the Slayer B1 C16. Uncommon World

I woke up with a gasp. Rainbow oil covered the rooftop edge around me, the spot under me remaining dry. Dozens of imps perched to my left and right, some of them squawking in surprise at my sudden awakening.

My hands were empty, the codex gone, and with it the bookish and bland Primordial, Senior Codex.

Looking up, I saw the orange sunballs had dimmed into a dark blue. The crimson skies had turned dark like wine.

Apparently, the Raining Ruin Hell Realm had a nighttime featur...

Path of the Slayer B1 C15. Admirable and Pitiful

By round fifty, I was grasping what made Path Energy trickier to manage than Vitality or Aether, even if Path Energy was stronger overall.

Because Path Energy could do a lot of things, it wasn’t inherently good at anything other than what my Path called for. And even with that, I was certain Path Energy was far more inefficient than Vitality and Aether because it was so damn flexible.

Still, through using Path Energy like Vitality, boosting my physical prowess to keep up with th...

Path of the Slayer B1 C14. En Garde, Young Pathwalker

Instincts kicked in, and I lunged to my left while pivoting slightly, my right arm raising to meet the Primordial’s training sword. The maneuver should force the bookish senior’s attack to glance off my half ripper arm while I was positioned to disarm him of his weapon.

His training sword touched my artificial forearm and threw my entire arm off to the side. I jerked in the same direction, my steps pulled out of their practiced efficiency, my heart rate bolting.

Path Energy sn...

Path of the Slayer B1 C13. Senior Codex

I felt my pounding heart in my throat, my blood rushing fast throughout my body, my muscles tensed for action. Path Energy crackled violently over my armored form, my left hand reaching behind me to grab the handle of my greatsword.

I reached out with Hellion in front of me to serve as a temporary threat. The edgy tips on my metal fingers could cut deep even with the bonded treasure inactive.

There was darkness.

Then there was more light, but not like the diamond-flash from ...

Path of the Slayer B1 C12. Realm Master

Back in the Steel Blitz Adventurer Guild, adventurers of all sorts filled the chow hall during its busiest hours. Kel, a Rank 1 bronze adventurer, was occupying a table by himself while waiting for his party mates. One of them arrived without a tray.

“The cripple hasn’t come back from that bronze quest in the sewers.”

Kel paused before taking another bite of the chow hall’s meatloaf. It wasn’t the tastiest thing on the menu, and he could afford better, but he’d always ...

Path of the Slayer B1 C11: Never Give Up

The System was both cruel and gracious. How was I supposed to pick anything?

Growling a little, I rubbed my left hand over my face. I looked beyond the list of options I could scroll through in front of me. The golden light and the transformation of an entire Realm persisted in the background.

Seeing all that calmed me down.

I turned back to the Path Magic Selection and concentrated on what I currently have and what I could add to it.

My Path Magic already included Pat...

Path of the Slayer B1 C10. Slice of Heaven

“Am I not going to get the kill?” I asked with a wheeze once one side of my lungs had rebuilt themselves into working order.

The hulking and headless body of the Fallen Slayer tilted from one side to the other. A fountain of dark blood sprayed upward from its shorn neck, with the head lost in the acid flooding the floor of the pit.

Then, when it was about to fall backwards, the headless body jerked to its full height, if you discounted the missing head.

The creature rais...

Path of the Slayer B1 C9. Slayer Versus Slayer

I made my choice while walking out of my rest spot and straight into some bad weather, which was relative in this hellish Realm.

[Congrats! You’ve chosen Apex Fervor: Level 11 (Uncommon)!]

As the heavy rumbling and unwavering destruction grew louder and closer, an acid deluge fell from the skies. Ash sludge fell along with it. Thick clouds of yellow noxious fumes condensed along the ground, reaching up to my head, just in case my vision wasn’t already...

Path of the Slayer B1 C8: Bonds and Choices

“That was insane. Why did I do that?” I found a place inside one of the towering structures to get out of the acid drizzle.

With the autosaw and my surprisingly intact adventurer pack in front of me, I took a seat on some rubble to relax a little and contemplate some things.

“Why did I throw myself off a giant tower? Like a cannon? Straight down?” I asked.

I had always been a daring man. From the orphanage to the adventurer guild, every step I took forward was a dare...

Path of the Slayer B1 C7: Relentless Striker

Path Magic activated: Relentless Surge.

Path Energy: 84% to 44%.

The sudden drop in Path Energy didn’t take away from the sudden burst of power that went off inside of me like a bomb. Everything about my body became faster, stronger, tougher, greater.

The tension was so much I didn’t think twice when I swung the autosaw’s whirring edge against the incoming glaive blade and clashed with it directly.

A strident clank followed by screeching metal-on-metal violence f...

Path of the Slayer B1 C6: Go Wild

6: Go Wild

To be honest, I only had one hard choice.

Every power was interesting, and I could fantasize about ways to use them – especially Bullish Knock Up, Stampeding Run, and Giant Slam. I could string all three into a devastating combo if I could get them all. Even Hunter’s Mark would be useful against tough foes that I wanted to track and figure out immediately.

However, Qualities and styles won out in the end.

Just like Realm Treasure Chests, I might not get ...

Path of the Slayer B1 C5: "Title Drop"

Epiphanies were more mystical than the System made it seem sometimes.

Everyone’s Epiphany, especially at Rank 0, would rise at different paces, for different reasons, and for different events. However, everyone could agree that getting from 0% to 99% required some form of hard work at something, even if the rate of growth was unique to the person.

Two adventurers practicing similar sword techniques with the same type of sword could grow their Epiphanies in two separate ways.

Path of the Slayer B1 C4: Live And Die And Rank Up

I remembered the days after I lost my hand from a bronze quest two years ago and still went to the guild, not missing a day off. I remembered how the same people who I started with as tin adventurers were looking at me with less worry and with more frustration, embarrassment, shame, and even disgust.

I remembered how they didn’t hold back their Rank 1 Suppression – or Rank 2 – while trying to coax me to stop being an adventurer and take on another job more fitting for non-rankers....

Path of the Slayer B1 C3: Live And Die On This Day

Four years ago, I was a Rank 0 copper adventurer with the honor to teach a class that would normally have a bronze instructor teaching. I ensured my stance was cool and confident, my smile open and encouraging. The fresh batch of tin adventurers were mine to mold in the same sunny classroom where I once studied and learned as a tin.

By this point, my Epiphany was at 99%. It had been there for about a month after I made my way up slowly, thoroughly, taking on more artificer training in t...

Path of the Slayer B1 C2: Into the Last Good Fight I’ll Ever Know

Six years ago, when I still had a right hand, I was raising it eagerly to answer the question of a male bronze instructor. We were in a clean and sunny classroom setting, and the question was this: What’s the difference between Ranker folks and Ranker monsters?

Once chosen, I stood from my desk and spoke about what I’d diligently studied.

“Ranker folks, which include humans, dwarves, elves, and all sapient creatures who fall under the might of the God Emperor, will ...

Path of the Slayer B1 C1: Once More Into The Fray

When I woke up, the hour was darkest before dawn, and I was due for my daily training. The only thing that slowed me was a small tightness in my chest that I’d never felt before.

Other issues cropped up as I stirred. The muscles in my torso, neck, and arms throbbed. Every motion felt stiff and slow as I swung my frayed blanket off of me and got to my feet.

I was beyond tired, like I was the living dead.

Yet, I ignored my weakness. I grabbed my dummy prosthetic from the dra...

Path of the Slayer

This is the new project:

A LitRPG Action Fantasy 

They laughed when he got stuck at Rank 0. Then he discovered the hidden path monsters and rankers fear most.

Arden gave everything he had to rise as a guild adventurer, pushing his warrior training and artificer talents to their limits. His dream: becoming the best in the empire. But for four soul-crushing years, his Rank 0 Epiphany remained locked at 99%.

Now, with his dreams fa...

Annnd I'm back

Hey, everyone, I'm back from break!

And what a break it was. I really needed it during a time I was moving into a new apartment and getting a lot of stuff in order.

Also, during that time, I let my plot bunnies start something new, and it took a life of it's own. It's different from my usual work, but I figured it'll be cool to put out there.

Before I get to that. I'm gonna take a pause on OP Wizard for now.

I'm also going to change how I do post on Patreon. I think it...