dirk_grey

Wild Dragon of Rome 48

Waking up shouldn’t be a surprise, but considering my last memory was dealing with the mysterious beast vitae that was going out of control, it certainly was.

Another pleasant surprise, I still had my arm. When I was falling unconscious, I was certain that Lillian would have to amputate it to save me. I took a deep breath, a short celebration that I was still alive, then I opened my eyes.

I was in a cave, an unfamiliar one. Surprising, I thought even as I shuffled, ready to st...

Wild Dragon of Rome 47

Once Astrid’s incredibly misguided yet entertaining attempt to make Lillian pay was complete, I put my pants back on before I sat down with my legs crossed, continuing my meditation. Astrid’s assistance had arrived just in time, removing the mana pressure I had been dealing with.

But, I expected that to be the only benefit. So, I was surprised when, merely after a minute of meditation, I was able to feel a connection with the scales. It was a weak, almost nonexistent connection, on...

Immortal Freeloader 123

“… Come on, genius. Is this all you can do,” one of the disciples shouted in glee as he kicked me again, while I stayed as a ball, my earlier attempts to ‘fight back’ had been easily deflected. Was being repeatedly kicked annoying, certainly, but I let it happen.

The reason was simple. The one that was kicking me was not actually an Everdawn student, but an expert of Tiger Fist who was just going through the motions. He could have easily hit hard enough to threaten my life if...

Immortal Freeloader 122

My guide didn’t say a lot even as he led me inside the formation, allowing me to get a better view of the valley I had been led into. I noticed a secondary formation inside, which was clearly stronger than the outer formation. It was surrounded by some kind of light effect to prevent anyone from seeing inside, but the presence of multiple cultivators coming in and out was unmistakable.

Luckily, they were merely Qi Gathering cultivators, obvious even from a distance. As much as I was ...

Immortal Freeloader 121

Once I built the formation to protect myself, I stepped onto the boat, acting like I was in shock. “Sit down, and don’t say anything,” the cultivator ordered, clearly frustrated at what he saw as an errant. Not that I blamed him.

He said nothing as he used his Qi to check me, though he was far more haphazard than the apothecary. He was a cultivator from one of the minor families, probably from their main branch for him to possess a small flying boat, though it was not in top shap...

The Photographer 62

“She’s an enthusiastic one, isn’t she,” I said as Carol sat next to me while listening Amy’s deep moans, not mentioning just how Carol’s presence intensified her reaction more.

“Well, she enjoys fun … though it has been a while she brought in one of her one-night stands,” Carol said absentmindedly. Amy didn’t answer, partly because she was not in a state to do so, but I doubted she would have done so even without it.

After all, it would require her talking ab...

Blacksmith vs. the System 6

Decision made, I ignored the shouts outside as I focused on examining the forge. A forge that was far more expensive than I had ever worked with.

The first thing that caught my attention was the fire at the center, spilling out of the central forge. I walked closer, its heat washing over me intensely even at a distance, far more intense than I was working with. Still, I walked to the edge, letting the heat wash over me.

[-1 Health]

It was too intense for me to resist all d...

Blacksmith vs. the System 5

We arrived at the camp at dawn. As much as I hated the necessity to keep my eyes open more than necessary, I forced myself, trying to catch the important details. It was smaller than I expected. A wooden palisade around about twenty wooden buildings, surrounded by double the amount of tents. Also, there was quite a bit of empty space.

The number of guards I could see on the wall was less than I expected. I could only count a dozen on each wall, each armed with bows, but the safety of t...

Blacksmith vs. the System 4

Once my deal with Rosie was done, I didn’t even wait for her confirmation before visiting the workshop to resign and empty my apartment.

One underrated benefit of Strength, it made moving much easier. No need to call friends and arrange for pizza and beer. And, once I brought things to the storage room Rosie provided at the basement of Broken Tankard, I spent the rest of my time rearranging my books, wondering if I should bring any.

Ultimately, I decided to pick some scientifi...

Immortal Freeloader 120

As I passed in front of the recruiter, a hint of Qi invaded my body. However, considering I could hide my abilities from actual cultivators, a martial artist recruiter who was merely using an artifact was nothing.

The recruiter gave a signal to someone else, and soon, two people were following me. One of them moved forward first, and pulled me to an alley between tents. He was a burly, intimidating man, and as he pulled me, the other people retreated, some looking at the scene with fea...

Immortal Freeloader 119

Of course, while I had decided to delve deeper into the issue of Martial Arts, I wasn’t actually planning anyone to practice Everdawn Saber. Not when it was clearly linked to the others. Instead, I decided to make a fact-finding mission.

My first destination was the capital, where I visited the royal library, and dug for some information on Everdawn Empire, but failed to find even a hint. Not that it surprised me. I already expected the sects to erase that information.

While I...

Immortal Freeloader 118

Sometimes, I hated being right.

Thanks to the flying boat, visiting all forty-two capitals didn’t take long. Only thirty-six of them actually had stone gates underneath, at least what I was able to discover, each guarded by Qi Gathering cultivators.

Of those thirty-six capitals, twenty-two were under Kartpa Valley’s sphere of influence. And, of those twenty-two, none of them had their protections intact. Including Markas, it made twenty-three. A dangerous number. Worse, ever...

Wild Dragon of Rome 46B

I didn’t say much even as Astrid kissed me, expecting her to act hesitant once the initial shock had passed. She had given me the impression of a shy virgin.

But, I soon realized that I might have underestimated her. Virgin she might be, but shy, she was not. Not when she finally decided to act. Her fingers were already on my pants, enthusiastic to divest me from my clothing.

Curious about what she would do, I reached to her top, slowly untying the strings, curious whether she...

Wild Dragon of Rome 46

While watching Astrid retreat was disappointing, it didn’t distract me for long. Lillian arrived soon after.

“What happened? She looks even more distracted,” Lillian said. I gave her a quick summary of everything, including the fact that I managed to establish a rudimentary control over my transformation, and the conditions for it.

“Sounds promising. Can you show me?” she said. “I should check it as well, just in case.” I presented my arm silently, and she once aga...

Wild Dragon of Rome 45

Astrid’s footsteps quickened as I grunted in pain and frustration. I opened my eyes and looked at my scaled arm, expecting to find a mangled, bloodied mess, but only to find a pristine limb, one that was covered with scales.

That was good. Even better was the spread of the scales, which hadn’t expanded any further. But, that was all I was able to examine before Astrid arrived with a shocked expression on her face. “Are you well?” she asked, her hands twitching to reach my scale...

Blacksmith vs. the System 3

I disliked Broken Tankard.

It was a loud and crowded pub, filled with people who were far too happy to start throwing punches at the slightest disagreement. It was something I hated even before people started to have superpowers, and violence had become a perfectly acceptable form of self-expression once more. Also, the drinks were overpriced and terrible, and the food was even worse.

Despite all those, it had one redeeming factor, one that made sure I had to visit the place man...

Blacksmith vs. the System 2

I liked having a nice glass of white wine while making monumental decisions, preferably a French Riesling of a decent vintage.

Unfortunately, it was not a luxury I was able to afford any more. Pre-cataclysm goods had long turned into an incredible luxury, even the cheapest box of wine would probably go for a gold coin during an auction. I didn’t think I could survive even seeing the price tag of my favorite vintage for such occasions.

Not when I couldn’t afford even the loca...

Blacksmith vs. the System 1

”Hey, Devon, I have your letter as well,” the postman said even as he walked through the workshop floor, passing around parcels and collecting coins as payment. “You have the payment, right?”

“Five silver. Right, Sam?” I asked, but his expression showed that it was not the case.

“No, the rates went up, now it’s six,” he said.

“Again?” I asked even as I dropped my hammer, a frown on my face. “It’s getting too much. How the hell we’re supposed to...

Immortal Freeloader 117

I didn’t linger in the capital for long. I stayed just enough to make sure Kartpa Valley disciples wouldn’t start a massacre in their frustration before walking away.

“That was … unexpected,” I muttered as I walked back, still trying to understand the sudden change. Just as things were getting good, things had transformed again.

At least, this time, it wasn’t a surprise attack from a cultivator I couldn’t defend. The way my initial Markas adventure had come to an en...

Immortal Freeloader 116

The moment the dagger touched the ground, Aisnam stopped hiding her cultivation. Her gates flared with Qi, and she rushed forward with the full might of a ninth-stage Qi Gathering cultivator. It was necessary, as things would be far more difficult if her opponent started flying.

“You — you recovered,” her cousin gasped in surprise, but it wasn’t exactly fear. He raised his sword for a casual slash, forcing Aisnam to maintain distance. A mistake that Aisnam punished him readily. ...

Immortal Freeloader 115

I wasn’t the only one moving toward the walls. Most of the citizens were gathered at the walls and rooftops, anxiously waiting for the fight that was about to happen. Not too far from the main gate, there was a giant stone platform, radiating Qi.

It was not there before. An artifact, just for the duels, I recognized. Aisnam’s cousin was waiting there, with a smug expression on his face, acting like his victory was guaranteed. Admittedly, it was not a bad assumption.

A wrong ...

Wild Dragon of Rome 44

“Come on, blondie, you can do it. Just three more rounds,” Astrid shouted even as she pointed at the target, and Lillian swung her sling … missing again. “You make a terrible hunter. How can you take down a prey if you can’t even hit a tree.”

I just watched from a distance, not alerting them to my presence. I shook my head in amusement even as I watched them. When I left for another exploration trip to get a better sense of the slight threat that I could feel at the depths...

Wild Dragon of Rome 43

After an intensive crash course on the magic of Germanic tribes that took most of the afternoon, Astrid walked away to cook dinner, leaving me alone to ponder about the lesson.

I had made great progress, mostly because there were a lot of common aspects when it came to elemental magic and shifter magic, at least for the first-order, which was the beginner phase. A successful first-order mage requires only two things. The successful transfer of vitae to their body, and channel the mana ...

Wild Dragon of Rome 42

Astrid froze under my touch at the mention of the Tree of Life, her reaction implying that it was a big secret. “Sorry, I missed the last part. What were you saying?” I said.

It wasn’t a good excuse, and it was clear that Astrid didn’t buy it even for a second. Still, no matter how much I hated the general patterns of the noble life, one of their principles was certainly true.

Maintaining a false facade was better than an honest conversation.

“Ah … I was talki...

Accidental Villainy - Status Update

Hi everyone.

As the story reaches chapter 79, it marks the end of book 1 where the main focus is showing our 'hero' grow from an unlucky passerby to an ambitious young man trying to survive against much greater forces in a complicated world.

The second book will focus on the offensive against the Syndicate and the Guild - along with lots of fun scenes. Chapter 79 is essentially an epilog for the book 1 and a prolog for the book 2.

However, since there's a lot of details I...

Accidental Villainy 79 - End of Book 1

It was already afternoon. And I was lounging on Emily’s bed. She was next to me, sleeping soundly, exhausted with everything. Unfortunately, before I could join her, my phone buzzed. A message, from Daria.

‘We need to meet. Be in my apartment in an hour.’

‘How rude? What if I don’t have time?’ I wrote back. While acting like that against her was dangerous, it was better than changing my attitude after the last night.

‘You will be here!’ she wrote, no doubt ...

The Stay 25

A Gamer Adventure - Sequel

Hi everyone. I have made some progress on the sequel plans for the Gamer Adventure, but I want your opinion about the setting of the follow-up universes.

I will probably start publishing the first chapters by the second half of July.

A Gamer Adventure - Epilogue Final

“You’re late,” a trembling, ethereal voice greeted me the moment I stepped into the grand room that had been functioning as a prison and the core of the System for a long time, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of wards that were mostly put by the Eternals. However, those wards had some changes since they changed ownership. It was still functioning as a prison, but I had done my best to make it more comfortable.

I might not trust the goddess imprisoned in here, but that didn’t ...

Immortal Freeloader 114

I was glad that I focused on the formation, as merely a day later, a solo figure approached the capital, flying leisurely on a sword. The formation master.

I let out a relaxed sigh when I noticed his cultivation level. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. A relatively strong one — Eight Stage, which I could detect directly thanks to the improvements in my formation technique — but still, I was confident that I could trick him.

I walked to the living room, where Aisn...