Sage_of_Eyes

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 84

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 84

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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In the span of an hour, there was only so much help that I could get.

Maelstrom was naturally on board, and it was easy to get her to come to help since  knew where she was, but everyone else I had to find and talk to.

A quick conversation with someone else can end up taking fifteen minutes.

Convincing another person to go ahead and atta...

V9: Chapter 12

V9: Chapter 12

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Man, I sure am glad that I planned on backstabbing the Wardens the moment I met them.

Having plans and procedures for a surprise attack helped that surprise attack come together much better.

My transport hit the staging area, and I found Khanrow waiting for me there already.

“What’s the situation?” The sound of beating wings and horse hooves were behind me, as the transport and the steeds that pulled it were taken away. A constant stream ...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 17

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 17

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Wordcount: 2500

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After getting the capture, the rest of the mission was all about putting my mech’s back to a wall and gunning down everything that came to try and kill me. Point defenses took care of anything lobbed my way, and with the arrival of the main force, the bots really couldn’t bother with me. Once they knew the jig was up, they started uploading away, self-destructing, and generally scrapped everyth...

V9: Chapter 11

V9: Chapter 11

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Interlude: Khalai

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Of the brave inquisition that went forth to survey the despoiled lands, only a handful returned with Sirena’s remains and a gift from the Ancients.

I raised my hands towards the heavens as they knelt before me, their wounds healed by my magic in an instant, but the scars on their souls from what they witnessed still apparent. One what were once gleaming, bright souls were gashes of baleful ebony light threatening to engu...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 16

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 16

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Wordcount: 2500

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Unfortunately, the transport didn’t have a large, pointy drill at the end. I guess that they figured out a better way to tunnel through in the week since I saw the model. Instead, it had some sort of sonic-drill that came out of emitters, broke down rocks, and shunted them off to the sides.

Honestly, it was disappointing.

What kind of underground transport doesn’t have a giant, poin...

V9: Chapter 10

V9: Chapter 10

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Cool, they found the Academy’s secret space station.

In-game, the loot table for it was pretty horrible and generally not considered worth the effort of taking. Players have the option to destroy it from range, and generally they do, because the Tier 2, mini-boss units they deploy are basically death machines that mulch melee units and outrange most T1 ranged units. Even with just ‘one unit’ worth of models, the Ancient War Machines can do severe dam...

V9: Chapter 9

V9: Chapter 9

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Wow, Celia survived the assassination event.

Guess that I need to prepare to deal with her for a couple of decades.

“Ayah, start supporting and aiding the Guardians from the shadows. Celia has no choice but to start accepting our help now.” Ayah gave a prim bow, while Morgan looked up from her plate, and Khanrow just kept eating. We were having breakfast. Instead of a newspaper, I read up on espionage reports. “If things go well, we can have Und...

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 54

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 54

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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“It began with a parasite that we found in the depths. An expedition mounted by mages to find better materials for their equipment. In doing so, they found strange land far below.” Lassandra’s grandfather, the former king of this land, ate while informing me of the source of the parasite. He unsealed records from his time, aged parchment kept in tubes of stones and ...

Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 6

Point Zero: Of Gods Old And New: 6

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Commissioned by Ichypa

Wordcount: 2500

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An itemized list of supernatural creatures and their weaknesses lay before me.

“This feels somewhat wrong. Honestly, at this point, the supernatural may as well be just more infected with different sets of powers.” Infected were studied carefully and their abilities categorized. It made dealing with them easier. After all, it would be foolish to have a group of soldiers ar...

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 82 and 83

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 82

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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After all that eating, you’d think that I’d gain a few pounds.

Unfortunately, with my powers, gaining weight was a difficult.

In fact, if I wasn’t careful, my body will eat up muscle mass before I notice. The last time I really pushed myself to my limits, I was basically emaciated and barely able to walk. Thankfully, my power shuts off before...

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 53

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 53

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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I told the others of my findings amongst the rebels, and they shared my belief that it was best to not affiliate with them.

“If they were fighting for the sake of their people against the crown, I would be tempted to march there and offer my aid. But it seems that they want vengeance and retribution over their own people’s protection.” Erucic stated simply, wh...

V9: Chapter 8

V9: Chapter 8

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Interlude: Celia

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Consciousness returned to me and I opened my eyes to the familiar canopy of my bed.

The rest of my room, however, was in disarray.

“My lady, you’re finally awake.” Catherine’s voice drifted my way, while I sat up. The steady beeping of arcane machinery of the Ancients combined with the subtle hum of magical tools. My room was laden with magical power. All of which was dedicated to facilitating healing of the Un...

V9: Chapter 7

V9: Chapter 7

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Here’s the thing with AI-led coalitions against you.

They don’t last.

Sure, if you disable their faction victories and enable alliance victories, there’s a slim chance that they do it. However, nine times out of ten, their alliance falls apart, and they go ahead and start killing each other.

Reports from the Iterants in their lands are already reporting that’s the case.

With Celia taking the Guardians off the table, since she was w...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 15

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 15

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Wordcount: 2500

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And, instead of being sent off to war, it’s back to school.

It wasn’t back to normal, though.

Pretty much everyone figured out who the pilot was in the broadcast, and I had the usual clique waiting for me at my desk.

“Good morning, is there something that I can assist you with, Lady Remington?” Ryleigh Remington looked as prim and proper as always in the modest uniforms wo...

V9: Chapter 6

V9: Chapter 6

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Bad news.

The Citadel couldn’t produce the high-end, handheld scanners that’s ubiquitous in sci-fi, yet.

Good news, though: it could produce handheld metal detectors.

I pressed the button and the baton-like instrument let out a stable, fizzy hum. I drifted it over, whilst activated, onto a sword. The fizzy hum became a high-pitched whine. Then, moving it away, resulted in the prior sound returning. Turning the detector onto the brain of the ...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 14

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 14

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Wordcount: 2500

Free Chapter

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Yeah, I’m pretty sure that the humans are bullshitting about why the rogue AI rebelled against them.

For context, the AI and humanity worked together for nearly two centuries. Besides Empress, they’re the main reason we’re in the fight. Strategic and logistical AI manage the war and industry, keeping munitions flowing, keeping armies moving, and expanding infrastructu...

V9: Chapter 5

V9: Chapter 5

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There’s a rhythm to the game.

You fight for a bit, then you build for a bit, and then you fight again.

In the industry, it’s called the gameplay loop, and the trick is to make a gameplay loop that sucks the player in. The easiest example would FPS games. You start the game, get into a lobby, pick your gear, and start a match. If the balance is good enough, if the guns feel good to shoot, and the speed of everything is great, then your players will...

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 50, 51, and 52

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 50

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Ichypa.

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The infestation proved its intellect, as I made use of the staff, whenever we paused to resupply near a town or city.

“They are infiltrating as refugees, then signing up as guards, or becoming people who tend to livestock.” Guards would have easy access to criminals in jails or be allowed to mete out punishment. Those who treated livestock or farmed could feed poo...

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 81

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 81

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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“Designation: Egress.”

“I’m taking time off. I need it.” I was still at Vancouver checking the city out. I was taking a walk and looking for a brunch place to enjoy after my coffee and pastry. There was a good lox sandwich place here in this city, I was sure, so I was walking close to the wharfs. There weren’t many big ships, but loads of sma...

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 80

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 80

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Arksoul

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Vancouver surprisingly had an actual coffee roaster and café. I’d originally planned on getting tons of fresh beans and to make fresh roasts in my bunker, but my attempts at smaller batches always ended up not tasting very good. If the apocalypse occurred a few more months later than it did, I’d probably have gotten the hang of it, and have a few bushels ...

V9: Chapter 4

V9: Chapter 4

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Supersoldiers.

Everyone wants them.

Everyone needs them.

Now, supersoldiers aren’t really a thing in most high fantasy settings. Their writers tend to shy away from the nitty gritty details to preserve some mystique. In low fantasy settings, your supersoldiers have just been trained from birth or are fuck-off huge for some reason, and you’re good to go. High fantasy, there’s a need to explain how you’re taking a regular, average human be...

V9: Chapter 3

V9: Chapter 3

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Additional Words for Monthly Chapter commissioned by Chaosbrain

Additional Wordcount: 2000

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The Elves worked hard at making their new home both beautiful and defensible.

I gave them one of the encampment spots left over from developing Talon Hills.

Development of a region is costly, and in-game it’s better to invest and build one city or fortress at a time. In the early game, the strategy is to place basic villages to make use o...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 13

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 13

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Acinc

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Interlude: Ryleigh of House Remington, Aspirant Savior of Earth

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The birth of a new era, denotes the death of the present era.

No symbol or act could have been a better final nail in that coffin a Seidan Battlecruiser covered in the Empress’s colors flying above the Arcology.

“They did it.” Priscilla whispered. Awe filled her voice for th...

V9: Chapter 2

V9: Chapter 2

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Since everyone was hunkering down and getting their shit together, it was time for me to keep pushing my lead.

In-game, there are quite a few things that players can do to catch up. The primary one is to ally like the Dwarves, Undead, Dark Elves, and Beast Tribes did. Allies share Citadel level, and that’s a massive boost that you get to keep even after you stop being allies. Even in-game with NPCs, you can find another NPC faction that’s losing like yo...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 12

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 12

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Acinc

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Interlude: Robert Stein: A Scarlet Knight

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Madness.

Sheer. Absolute. Madness.

That was what I was in the middle of now.

Scarlet Knight was thrown back. The Seidans shouldn’t have anything that can push it back. At twenty tons, it’s a middleweight mechanized walker and considered heavily armored. Seidan pulse weapons, their only weapon...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 11

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 11

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Interlude: The Rising Heiress: Madelynn Harris

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Operation Descending Star was absolute madness, and a gamble of everything that House Hariss has built.

Our treasury, our war chest to attempt to rise in ranking amongst nobility, was halved the instant the operation began. I bought the other Knights present at the battlefield. The airspace and land of the region cost a staggering amount, despite the presence of...

V9: Chapter 1

V9: Chapter 1

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Manipulating the AI into doing what you want is easy, even on the most unfair difficult setting.

Set yourself up nicely, win fights, and don’t fuck up.

There you go.

The problem is that there’s more than one AI.

Do all of that and you basically get to enjoy getting every enemy faction allying with one another and cutting you down to just your starting region.

Dataminers on the forums could get more into the specifics, but the gen...

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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Commissioned by Chaosbrain

Additional Wordcount: 2000

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After five or so weeks of fighting bugs, it was time to fight against the squids.

Meaning that it was time to get Gray Corpse fitted out with an entirely new loadout.

Fighting the bugs is all about staying power and ammunition conservation. That’s why I focused on bringing along energy weapons. If you don’t burn out the emitters, you’re golden for the prolonged fights again...

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 79

A Perfectly Logical Guide to a Superhuman Apocalypse: 79

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Ichypa

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“Seran, what the fuck. You know this sort of bullshit never ends well.”

I had to take a deep, steadying breath as I looked at what Seran made to potentially help in regards to the sensor issue that we were facing.

For a second, since Seran matured and became a mayor, I thought that she changed.

In fact, though, it looked like she just buri...

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 48 and 49

Gentleman’s Guide to Fantastic Beasts 48

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Wordcount: 2500

Commissioned by Sivantic.

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A small fleet was given to me to start the evacuation.

“The four smaller vessels are for defense and transport. They will bring your people and supplies aboard the larger vessels, and provide defense when in transit.” The Princess spoke simply and concisely. I listened and nodded. “The two large cargo vessels will carry people and supplies and eight more will ...