M.S. Davidson

A Quick Note on Tiers and Pricing (Good news!)

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note for those that have been here a while. I've adjusted the tiers to make things cheaper.

Here's the breakdown:

• If you are only interested in Path of the Paladin: Please cancel your current subscription and subscribe just to the Runeforged tier. It's cheaper on purpose.

• If you are only interested in Rivera's Repairs: Same deal. There is a separate, cheape...

  2025-11-14 17:17:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Rivera's Repairs: Where are the Chapters?

Great question. Short answer: I'm writing them.

This story started as a Writeathon project, and it gained way more traction than I ever expected. I'm pushing hard to write more and get ahead.

Here's the deal:

• You'll get new chapters as soon as they're finished.

• After Book 1 wraps up on Royal Road, all of Book 2 will be posted here in short order. Similar posting structure (as often as possible).

That's ...

RvR1|Chapter 21: Supplies and Suspicions

The afternoon sun filtered through Sector 6’s haze, casting everything in amber. Tess walked the familiar route from Tak’s toward Kain’s Components, tool belt light on her hip after the FCN-01 repair had consumed most of her consumables.

The sector felt different now. Shops stayed open past noon. Nutrient dispensers hummed with consistent power. People moved with a little less exhaustion, a little more purpose. Minor changes, but they accumulated.

Seven point four percent Ae...

RvR1|Chapter 20: Processing

The dock district sprawled in familiar chaos around her as Tess made her way to Kade’s berth. Grounded freighters and salvage haulers stacked in improvised patterns, connected by external ladders and jury-rigged catwalks.

Kade’s hauler sat at the edge of the district—a squat, ugly vessel that looked like someone had welded three different ships together and hoped for the best. Probably because that’s exactly what had happened.

She found him at the cargo ramp, loading boxes...

RVR1|Chapter 19: Inspector's Warning

The morning light filtering through the freighter’s viewports was steady. Tess kept glancing outside expecting them to flicker, but they didn’t. Just consistent amber illumination that made the common area feel almost homey.

Tess sat across from Marcus at the small table, pushing rehydrated eggs around her plate. Real protein, not synthetic. The nutrient dispenser in Sector 6 had been fully stocked this morning when she’d stopped by—another side effect of the increased Aether ou...

Looking for Rivera's Repairs?

We're merging the new Patreon here, Royal Road doesn't support multiple patreons. Im setting up collections, tags, and asking a friend to work late on some artwork mashing.

I should be writing, but WEE! Let's get this sorted. You'll see new membership options (cheaper too).

Thanks for sticking with me.

-M.S. Davidson

New Side Project: Rivera's Repairs - Royal Road Writeathon 2025

Hey everyone!

I've got something a little different to share with you all today. I'm jumping into the 2025 Royal Road Writeathon with a brand new side project, and I figured it was a good call to let you all know about it.

You can check it out here: Rivera's Repairs

First things first: This will NOT affect Path of the Paladin Book 2 at all. Book ...

Book 2 Poll 2

This is the second poll that will be posting to Royal Road. I encourage you to vote in both places to be heard.

Question: Every good Cultivation Story has an Auction. Vote on some ridiculously tempting items for Ben.

Review Contest! Plus Book 2 Timelines

Now that Book 1 is wrapped, I'm throwing everyone who leaves a review into a hat and drawing for a year of free Acolyte status. Submissions stay open until December 3rd, so head over to Royal Road and drop one whenever you get around to it. Rating doesn't matter—seriously, don't feel pressured to blow smoke. This is about improvement for me, not fishing for five stars.

Timelines (subject to change, but hopefully not since I've already done all the legwork):

2025-10-20 16:21:02 +0000 UTC View Post

SIDE STORY: Fetch!

Author's Note: This story takes place at the Winters' Ginseng Farm

Red's muscles bunched as he watched Ben's arm draw back, the orange leather ball clutched in those wonderful fingers that gave the best scratches. The afternoon sun caught Ben's dark hair, and Red's tail—just the one visible for now—wagged so hard his entire rear end swayed. This was it. This was going to be The Throw.

Ben's aura flared blue, just a little—and the ball launch...

Book 2 Poll 1

The first of two polls for Book 2, both polls will be posted on Royal Road in a few weeks and I implore you to vote there too. As a paid member your vote should count twice.

This Poll is: What OP Paladin Spells would you like Ben to have as he advances?

Multiple selections are allowed, as I will try to get the top selections into book 2 (or maybe book 3 depending on popularity).

I've left the names somewhat recognizable, however it's worth noting some will b...

Book 1 Feedback

Hey everyone! This post is for feedback on Book 1. Now that you've had time to sit with it, I want to hear your thoughts—the good, the bad, and the "what the hell were you thinking?"

Were there any scenes that felt off? Any character moments that didn't land right? Plot threads that got dropped or felt rushed? Magic system stuff that needs clarification? Pacing issues that made you want to skip ahead or felt too slow?

Lay it on me. I can't promise I'll address everything (or any...

What Happens Next?

Hey everyone,

Thanks for sticking with me through all of Book 1. If you read the original version and made it this far again, an extra thank you - your feedback has been invaluable.

Acolytes/Aspirants: I'm hoping to get Book 2 started for you in a few weeks. The original plan was October 22nd, but the beta readers came back with some great feedback that I want to nail before launching. That said, the prologue drops October 22nd either way. Book 2 will post at 2 ch...

Epilogue II

LIBERATED REGION 001

The world formerly known as Mydz

Vexaan Draal had made his name as a Fetcher by being very good at getting things.

The Shi'an worlds all ran on power, and it was his job to find it. As a boy, he'd listened with hungry awe to stories of Fetchers traversing the Astral, seeking loose spirit energy to harvest. Raw power was sold to the highest bidder for their reality-bending reactors.

The Caretakers had recruited him young. A...

Epilogue I

AUTHORS NOTE: Just confirming that Patreon doesn't like Drops for chapters. They full on deleted them because I didn't upload files to download. Sorry about the bait and switch!

Maris Valerian despised fighting monsters. Just because the Strikers contributed to the Monster Hunters didn’t make her one. They were a necessary group to keep the monster population down.

And normally, monsters were weak, stupid brutes that fought to the death—hardly worth h...

75. Light

The violet light in the Varglid's eyes pulsed like a heartbeat, intensifying as it stood. Its gaze locked onto us with predatory hunger.

One look sent ice through my veins. Pure uncanny valley nightmare fuel. This thing looked too humanoid—smaller than the others, maybe even shorter than me, but absolutely shredded with corded muscle under oily black skin.

It was grinning around jagged teeth, still crunching that mana core like candy.

"Ben, I think we run. Somethi...

74. Tip of the Spear

The inferno hit like standing inside a blast furnace. Stanley's Fenghuang form blazed overhead—a screaming comet of liquid gold and crimson fire that carved through the Varglid wall like a hot knife through butter.

His melody wasn't just beautiful—it was haunting. A dirge of death that made my soul ache with recognition. The ring of fire that exploded outward ignited the larger creatures—and liquefied the rest. Dozens of grotesque aberrations melted into steaming black puddles. 2025-10-07 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

73. Perseverance

The burgundy minivan died with a pathetic wheeze on the Saskatchewan highway, stranding us in an ocean of wheat.

I was fourteen, trapped between my little brother Danny and a broken air conditioner that made the van feel like a furnace. Outside, the prairies stretched forever—flat, endless, merciless.

"If it's so flat, why don't they build a giant roller coaster?" Danny asked, kicking the seat.

"Because it would be boring as shit," I shot back.

"He's not wrong," Dad ...

72. Chrysalis

The massive Glid-thing ripped through reality like wet paper, and for one frozen heartbeat, it just stared at us.

Orange neon veins pulsed beneath its black flesh, four muscular arms flexing with anticipation. It wasn't like the violet-tinged horror we'd seen in the spirit realm—this one was built for combat.

The creature's clicking growl scraped against my brain, almost forming words I didn't want to understand.

And then the floodgates opened.

Dozens of sma...

71. I've Seen This One

A Spirit Realm. Now? My head spun with all the ways this could go sideways—trapped between dimensions, eaten alive, or worse. The possibilities scrolled through my mind like a highlight reel of horrible deaths.

The sun hammered down from a clear sky, roughly matching Ark's time. My armor turned into a personal oven, but taking it off seemed like asking to die faster. Cass stood nearby, jaw welded shut, clearly wrestling panic into submission. I knew that look. Hell, I was wearing it t...

70. Come With Me If You Want to Live

Panic erupted in the spectator boxes above as we made our way off the arena floor and into our prep room. Thea was waiting for us, clad in regal-looking white leather armor that would have been adorable on any other Vildar—if her expression hadn't been carved from stone.

"We have a big fuckin' problem," she announced, her serious tone instantly killing any amusing thoughts I might have had. "What we thought was one monster turned out to be several. Now there are hundreds, and they're ...

69. The Spire

They hadn't fully repaired the arena. We stood at its center as Grace introduced us, much like in the first round, but I had trouble focusing on her words. Deep gashes still scarred the stone around several spectator boxes; even the ceiling bore dark burn marks—etched reminders of what nearly killed Erik.

But that wasn't why I felt distracted.

The moment we stepped onto the arena floor, Valor started acting like a caged animal. It wasn't the usual prickle of being watched—this...

68. Sword

Malcolm leaned back on the couch in our suite, staring at the ceiling as he let out a long, frustrated sigh.

"I'm still not getting it. Some sort of divine warrior of light? There are plenty of light-based Runebinders. What makes this... Paladin thing so special?"

Red and I had just been dropped off after our chat with Diana and Grace. Malcolm and Katie had been scrounging for food when we walked in, and somehow we'd ended up here—me trying to explain what a Paladin even was. Fo...

67. Soul Burn

Around us, confusion spread through the lounge like wildfire. Whatever Felix and Ferris had unleashed hadn't just affected the simulated arena—it had torn through the actual building itself. The illusion was gone. The damage was horrifyingly real.

I glanced up. The ceiling above us had been scorched and sliced clean through, as if the lightning had sheared it like paper. All around me, panic rippled outward as people from other floors reacted to the sudden mana drain. The air felt hol...

State of the Realms: September 2025

Holy shit, September was absolutely insane. Buckle in, this is going to be a bit of a longer update.

Not only did we hit the main page for Rising Stars, but we peaked at 29th before the Girl Evolution meta started dominating everything. Twenty-ninth! Factoring in the 13 books that shoved everyone down, reaching the top 10 might have actually been possible! I'm still processing that. For context, a year ago I was celebrating my first follower and now here we are rubbing shoulders with au...

66. The Deluge

A heavy knocking slammed against my bedroom door, tearing me out of a very comfortable sleep. The knocking wasn't polite—it was the kind that meant urgent news now.

Cass's voice cut through the door, vibrating with barely contained excitement. "Ben! Get your ass up!"

Beside me, Katie groaned and burrowed deeper into the pillows. "Tell her we're dead."

"Can't. She sounds like she's about to explode." I summoned clothes from soul-space as I cracked the door open, keeping my ...