“Kliss, you got ten Imperials on you?” I asked.
The Overseer nodded.
“Give it to Delta,” I ordered.
“Why?” The Overseer asked.
“I’m buying a box of mana-reloading wine,” I said. “I’m going to need it to help you.”
The redhead sighed and pulled out ten imperials from her pouch and handed it to Delta.
I looked at the Overseer. She didn’t seem to resist parting with her money, seemed broken, forlorn. She looked like she had given up.<...
2023-09-19 22:28:15 +0000 UTC
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I noticed that the Silent Moths were all awake now.
I walked to one of the large puddles in the hollows beneath the tree roots and pulled out a rotten boar skull that I left there last night. My Infoscopes had discovered the dead body of the boar in a forest ravine and its head seemed sufficient to grow my first Silent Moth colony. I slid the rotting head into the twin-door container wooden cage.
I studied the Silent Moths for a few minutes, observing their glittering, slightly gl...
2023-09-19 15:16:39 +0000 UTC
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[Dr. Vladislav Alexandrovich Kerenski]
The Tupolev laboratory aircraft, no. 3709 vibrated noisily. I could barely hear myself think over the sound of its thrumming engines. The metal seat I occupied was incredibly uncomfortable. Bone-chilling wind cut right through my entire body. Our brilliant engineers build great and powerful machines, the biggest in the world, but for some reason never thought about ergonomics. I wrapped my hands around myself, staring through the frosted-over windo...
2023-09-17 01:30:50 +0000 UTC
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[Kliss Eliza Cessna]
I haven’t properly slept in days. I was losing it completely, losing myself to stress, losing hours and days as I stalked Skyisle like a red-caped shadow, following two bewildering aberrations one or perhaps both of which wielded bewildering non-magical knowledge from another world.
I’ve learned much from Dante… or perhaps Slava, and yet...
2023-09-17 00:30:46 +0000 UTC
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As we departed from the rocky island, the Basq legionnaires turned into wisps of mist refusing to talk with me further.
Klav had remained. The hunter sat on the edge of the hovercraft, looking in curiosity at the strange machine that simply floated over water and sand with ease.
The further we moved away from the island he died on, the less defined his figure became.
“I’m coming apart, I think,” he said as he lifted the now mostly transparent hand made from swirling fo...
2023-09-16 16:43:47 +0000 UTC
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“I recognize that insignia!” The female Basq ghost yelped, pointing at Kliss. “She’s a redcape Equalist, bound by Vows!”
The four ghost legionnaires didn't hesitate, they opened fire on us. Kliss ducked and rolled. Time slowed to a crawl as the nearest spell struck Battie’s ward, the action accelerating Neurovista to its maximum power. Three Infoscopes flashed to the nearest spell, evaluating it.
[LV 20 illusion.] The answer returned to me.
I stepped in front of ...
2023-09-14 19:07:27 +0000 UTC
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From what Delta told me, Charisma could be resisted by diving into the Astral.
After Giovashi pushed me into the Astral with her violet fire spell, my human body felt a lot less like my flesh and more like clothing or perhaps a meaty shell that I could easily remove at any time, disconnect from.
Thus, as soon as my mind became consumed with desire for gold offered by a person that didn't exist, I simply dove into the Astral.
Untethered from my human mind, my thoughts b...
2023-09-12 22:25:30 +0000 UTC
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The sunrise painted the glacier peaks pink. Kliss and I stood at the riverbank for a minute, going over the checklist of items. When we were sure that we had everything, we climbed into our contraption. I released the brakes and the metal rings began to spin, picking up speed. Wooden gear rumbled, accelerating. The propellers buzzed louder and louder and then the hovercraft wobbled, lifting from the ground.
I released another lever to make us move forward.
With a noisy hum, the m...
2023-09-11 23:53:26 +0000 UTC
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Having thoroughly examined the [Charisma-Persuasion] skill on Kliss, I memorized it down about ten levels in omnicode and then used my Infoscopes to scout the forests of Skyisle for an area in which a lot of [Charisma]-type radiance was present.
After a month of scouting, I found one, in a river delta at the edge of the magogenic fault.
On the general map of Skyisle hanging in the Office of the Overseer in the Church of Equality the area was labelled as the [Silent Glade].
...
2023-09-09 00:40:55 +0000 UTC
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"Why? Delta asked in Russian, opening one silver-blue eye. She had clearly been listening in on my conversation with the Overseer, not fully napping.
"Why what?"
"Why tell her so much? Why the science spiel?”
"Because we need her strength," I replied in Russian. "Because she's a victim and a prisoner of the Vows, not a fanatic, nor a millennia-long plot-weaver like Giovashi."
"What if she's lying? How are you so sure of her motivations?"
I sighed. "Giovashi kic...
2023-09-08 16:15:07 +0000 UTC
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I looked at Kliss, her hand outstretched toward me, her eyes shining with hope and desperation.
I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
“You’ll do it? You’ll take me to the Church?” She asked.
"Kliss," I began. "I appreciate your offer. I really do. But I can't make this choice on a whim. I don’t trust promises without evidence. I died on Earth when I was sixty. More than once, I have been betrayed and lied to by the leaders of the Empire I lived in.”
“So, ...
2023-09-07 19:07:29 +0000 UTC
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“Do you hear that?” I asked in Russian. “I’m not imagining it, right?”
“Hrmmm?” Delta looked up, her gaze getting lost in the tunnel fluttering, violet-orange leaves overhead.
“The Tower, singing to us?” I said.
“Yes,” Delta nodded. “Someone’s singing back to us.”
“Leemy?” I exhaled.
“I think so,” Delta nodded. “She’s singing back to us. She might f...
2023-09-07 15:35:06 +0000 UTC
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Kliss emerged out of the hole in the ground, lugging an enormous, hexagon-shaped, black rock in her hands. She wasn’t wearing her armor as I made her take it off and deactivate the power source, allowing my Infoscopes to carefully examine its internal structure.
Wearing a black tank top and a skirt, without her armor and red cape, the Overseer of Skyisle no longer looked threatening or imposing.
She carefully deposited the rock on a mossy floor with a huff and wiped sweat from h...
2023-09-06 18:47:53 +0000 UTC
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“I am a man," I said.
"A man?” Kliss blinked.
“Do I need to explain to you what a man is?” I arched an eyebrow, suddenly thinking about Diogenes Laërtius, a Greek philosopher who made fun of Plato’s definition of man as ‘featherless biped’, postulating that the man in Plato's thesis was simply a plucked chicken.
“Tell me your real name, demon!” Kliss demanded waving her armacus dangerously. “Why did Giovashi pull you from the Astral and shove into the bo...
2023-09-05 20:31:37 +0000 UTC
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I blinked as the view of the interior of the tent sitting between Leemy’s enormous roots slowly swam back into my view.
I was back... back in my 12 year old body.
Someone was hugging me fiercely. I blinked again, the view focusing as my eyes started working. It was my sister.
"Hey," I said. “Guess who’s got their soul back?”
"Slava," Delta buried her face in my shoulder.
I noted that her cheeks were streaked with tears.
"I almost gave up," ...
2023-09-05 19:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Heat.
Sweat.
Worry.
Panic.
Terror.
The world coalesced around me into being. I was panting. It was hot.
Sweat dripped down my face. It was hard to breathe. The sun was slamming down on my body, burning like a brilliant, blinding sphere in the clear blue sky. The waters of the Aral sea glittered in front of me. The port of Aralsk became visible, emerging from the blur of the world.
I tried to wipe my mask’s lenses but they were badly fogged up. Each ...
2023-09-04 19:36:11 +0000 UTC
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I opened up one of the pentagonal sides, letting in a single enemy Lymphagon. I dissected and devoured it quickly.
"I need to level up. Need to grow a lot stronger a lot faster... but how?" I thought as I killed and ate the captured Lymphagon.
[Increase the number of your soldiers and you will someday prevail,] Keps commented.
"Is that what you did?" I mentally asked.
[I was a soldier and lived to follow the orders of my Alanian commanders and died fighting the Basque ...
2023-09-04 14:15:59 +0000 UTC
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I ignored the desires of murder and mayhem stemming from the memories of the Arcanix hunter and the Alanian legionnaire.
My knowledge as a virologist told me that the whale, no matter if it was a ghost-type creature had to have some sort of internal defenses akin to leukocytes. Triggering an Immune system response would be extremely unwise at this point, I had to be extremely careful as I was a very small phantom in comparison.
I knew that even the weakest attack could extinguish...
2023-09-04 13:50:53 +0000 UTC
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The perfect, damned, absolutely stunning, exquisite face refused to leave the forefront of my mind.
A realization stuck me. Klint died over a thousand years ago. Giovashi had not only survived the fall of Tricameron, she also fed on the souls of her followers for a thousand years, extending her lifespan far beyond that of mundane humans.
Giovashi's perfect smile felt like it was burned into my soul with absolute charisma, refused to let me go.
I had a sudden clever tho...
2023-09-04 01:28:44 +0000 UTC
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The violet fire around me faded away, washed away by the currents of the Astral Ocean. It was cold… so very very cold. I was dead.
Giovashi killed me. Or perhaps, simply banished my soul from my body. I momentarily wondered how exactly my body would function without me, tried to activate and Infoscope and failed.
Diatomic megastructures, imprints of people and other things rose all around me, everything and nothing passing me by as I sank into darkness.
A wispy, washed out...
2023-09-04 00:25:22 +0000 UTC
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“You’re made from magisteel,” Remicra commented, observing Sherlock. “If we survive this tower’s trials, I can modify your body in my forge, remove the chest plates and make you less feminine in appearance.”
“I would very much appreciate it,” Sherlock bowed to the dragoness, the stolen, magisteel-carved face of Empress Nox stretching into a somewhat creepy, mechanical smile, the gears within the golem whirring and clicking.
It took the group a few minutes to walk u...
2023-09-03 19:20:56 +0000 UTC
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My heart raced as I struggled against the invisible force that held me in place. Fear gripped me tightly, but I refused to let it consume me, tried to break the spell that bound my soul with all of my will.
It was hopeless. Aided by Ishira and the sacrifices of the villager's Vows 12 years ago, made her stronger, gave her the ability to cast spells at a level far higher than my Infoscope had defined her as.
"Everyone but the barmaids, Overseer, Dante and Delta... please leave," sh...
2023-09-03 18:16:53 +0000 UTC
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----------------------------------------------
Previous chapters of Technomagica are free at: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/73052/technomagica-progression-fantasy-litrpg
----------------------------------------------
After meeting Kliss at the Church, we walked to the Fox and Fiddle pub at the western side of town.
The old pub buried halfway in the g...
2023-09-03 18:15:28 +0000 UTC
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Dave knew that there were precious few months left until the God-Emperor’s invasion, but he didn’t want to screw up or lose anyone in the Crown Tower. Thus, he took his time to level up and gain more Phantomancy levels and then dispense them amongst his friends while taking their skills in return.
Cedez was the hardest to take levels from, but he did it at night, while telling the dead highborn lords that he and the Empress needed to make war plans.
In nearly three weeks time...
2023-08-18 19:57:59 +0000 UTC
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“You want to be the Sovereign of Shandria?” Cedez finally regained her wits after Dave's claim.
“Not particularly,” Dave shrugged. “Alaster Rim does though and he’s a small part of me now, I suppose.”
“You want me as part of your ghost legion then?” the foxgirl rubbed her dark chin thoughtfully.
“Yes,” Dave nodded. “If we’re to take control of Shandria and other Shadow cities and to stop the invasion, I want your skill and the ability to co...
2023-08-17 12:38:04 +0000 UTC
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When Dave woke up he realized that he was wrapped in something very soft and warm. He recalled that he had passed out from lack of mana before he even made it back to the caretaker's cottage.
He slowly opened his eyes, but it was very dark in the room. His Phantomancy skill activated automatically, peering through the gloom and working faster than his human eyes. A violet galactic constellation was wrapped around him like a protective embrace. Dave relaxed he observed the soul of Remicr...
2023-08-16 14:25:34 +0000 UTC
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"What... have you done?" The shimmering soul of Cedez demanded, her song-like voice sounding confused and somewhat distant as if distorted by the wreath of Shadow wrapped around her like an ocean wave.
"I woke you up," Dave answered.
"Woke me up?! How?!" She demanded. "This shouldn't be possible! This hasn't happened to any other Sovereign as far as I know! The Ward is... mindlessness... It’s vast emptiness, darkness.... how have you done this?!"
"Guess you don't ...
2023-08-13 21:58:35 +0000 UTC
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Dave stepped out into the night, walking towards the vast shadow stretching out of the Rimzadria Estate garden into the sky.
As he crossed the protective barrier glow of the red runes on the door of the caretaker's cottage, the void-colossus noticed him. A monstrous body of the Ward manifestation twitched, head tilting towards him, hundreds of silver-blue eyes focused upon the lonely individual beneath it.
The shadow-fox-centipede emitted a siren-like wail, making Dave's eardrums ...
2023-08-10 21:18:09 +0000 UTC
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“So, what did you see exactly?” Cedez asked curiously.
She and Remicra listened as Dave went on to describe his bewildering visions.
“What do you think?” He asked. “What did that vision have to do with Phantomancy?”
“I think you’re getting stronger,” Cedez mulled after a minute. “You can see souls better than anyone else here. I think what you observed were your and Remy’s past lives or perhaps some kind of alternative parallels, other worlds in which y...
2023-07-07 23:12:32 +0000 UTC
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In a few hours the group was back to Rimzadria Estate. Remicra stepped into an old fountain and rinsed herself off, finally taking off her magisteel helmet.
Dave simply sat on the ledge of the fountain and dipped his aching feet into it, noting the shimmering runes that powered the water elemental that kept the water clean and running even after Rimzadria stood empty and forsaken for thirty years.
He recalled himself, or more precisely archmage Alaster, running through the park to...
2023-07-05 15:00:58 +0000 UTC
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