Hi, so I'm in a bit of a tough situation right now. Amazon has deleted Book 2 and its 400 preorders for basically no reason. So if you were waiting for it and have seen it disappear, that's what happened. I've been battling with support etc, but in short, it's not looking good.
I'll try to keep writing to schedule, but I'm not in the best headspace right now... It makes it hard to focus on anything, honestly. I'll do my best, but yeah, if I miss a day or if chapters are late, this is wh...
2024-05-20 12:41:50 +0000 UTC
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Faced with a lack of options, Sofia walked through the lifeless streets of the city. The Gods’ realm, so far, seemed like a lonely place. A constant slow wind blew over the city, making some doors creak, and the sea in the sky never ceased its oppressive rumbling.
Even when Sofia reached the castle, going through the open gates, there was nobody there, and she eventually reached the throne room. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Red Winds Empire’s throne room, one the dais in...
2024-05-17 16:00:22 +0000 UTC
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Author's note:
Hi, before today's chapter, a quick announcement!
The audio-book is live!!!
So you can get it if you're interested. Book 2 shoul...
2024-05-16 16:00:14 +0000 UTC
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The headache was horribly debilitating, throbbing through her skull like a relentless drum. Her eyes squeeseed shut, Sofia monitored her status for any anomalies, a sliver of panic creeping in when the system showed nothing amiss. Her health was not dropping, her stamina was stable, there were no errors, as if her pain was imaginary.
Everelle's voice filtered through, distorted and distant, as if Sofia were hearing her from the other end of a long, winding tunnel.
“Well...
2024-05-15 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Sofia and Everelle both drew their next cards when a sudden burst of mana washed over them and the entire arena, in lasted for only a second before it was gone.
Sofia grabbed her staff by reflex and looked in Everelle’s direction, but she couldn’t see the Sunless woman, “Did you feel that? Is something going on outside?”
“Oh, first time since you got here? This is what happens when someone finishes the trial. It was a pretty decent one, S tier heart maybe....
2024-05-14 16:00:13 +0000 UTC
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All drawn together in a single point by the power of the black hole card, the Sunless Drones fused together.
Sofia tried to find a way to salvage the round, but there was no way her twenty small destroyer skulls could do anything against the amalgam violently taking form in the middle of the arena.
She sent a skull to attack, and it died before it could even reach the forming creature, impaled by a black spike.
It can already defend itself…
[Tri-Head...
2024-05-13 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Hi! So, the usual chapter is coming in under and hour, but I wanted to take some time to test the waters here.
Basically, the number of patrons here has been steadily going down for the last six months or so. It's not really to the point where it's a financial issue at all, so far, but it's a worrying trend. And mostly, I worry about what this means about and for the story.
If it continues on a constant decline like this, bluntly speaking, this patreon will die out before the stor...
2024-05-13 15:19:44 +0000 UTC
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Left and right, [Light severance], middle, charge!
The templars followed Sofia’s orders, the two on the sides charged their ranged attack while the middle one’s armor started to glow. More walls sprung around the Sunless, forming a sort of protective cocoon.
The middle templar charged ahead, shoulder slamming through the wall and instantly letting himself fall into a disorderly pile of bones. The two other templars jumped to the midd...
2024-05-07 16:00:12 +0000 UTC
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Author's note:
Hi!
I hope your weekend was great, but sadly, I bring bad news. There will only be two chapters this week. (This one and another tomorrow) I need the rest of the week off to finish up the editing of Book 2 for amazon before the deadline... By my own estimates, I have about forty to sixty hours of work left on that to wrap up before next Monday... So... Yeah...
I felt bad so this chapter is a bit longer than usual and tomorrow's might also be like that, but I f...
2024-05-06 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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The discussion only lasted a few minutes more before Everelle excused herself. She stood up from her chair and stretched.
“I gotta get back to work. I managed to negotiate something with the higher ups while we were chatting. I’ll be preparing that, so just stay here until I come get you three in a few hours to start the last stretch of the dungeon.”
“Did you go out of your way to spare us from another maze? You did not have to, really, but thank you...
2024-05-03 16:00:13 +0000 UTC
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“Well, uh, you know… Mazes aren’t so bad… Unrelated to that, say, how about you stay in the rest area for like… huh… Ten hours or so? Ya got me?”
“Sure… Anything else?”
“I mean… Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be asking questions now?”
“I have plenty of questions, always. But everything gets censored always, so what’s the point in even trying? It’s not like I actually need more knowledge now. Unless y...
2024-05-02 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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Sofia punched a frozen Sunless drone, smashing it to pieces.
‘You have defeated [Sunless Drone - Lv. 233 - Imprint Intact]’
Before her, two Destroyer skulls from the skull choir were cutting up more drones, as long as it was just two skulls, she could maintain them indefinitely even in this dungeon with no ambient mana.
A dozen more Drones appeared from the fog.
Shit.
“More from my side!” she called out while...
2024-05-01 16:00:22 +0000 UTC
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After Bookie’s declaration, Sofia Pareth and Bookie were, again, sitting in a triangle.
“Alright, so… I have a few questions, do you mind?” Sofia asked.
“I don’t mind!”
“Great… Where to start then… Hmm, I got it, for a start, if Pareth is Brother Pareth, who am I?”
Bookie’s lower jaw opened wide like this was the hardest, most shocking question of his life. After taking a few seconds to think about it, he turned to Pareth for help, which d...
2024-04-30 16:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Not now!
[Runeforged overlord] is still…
Mana : 262 312 / 417 100
The laughter continued, getting closer and closer.
Mana : 257 213 / 417 100
We have fifty seconds if I use nothing else.
Pareth got the message and advanced, brandishing his shield.
Sofia grabbed her Scepter which had been floating near her from the...
2024-04-29 16:00:25 +0000 UTC
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Sofia fished the glove out of the mess of entrails, and her first reflex was to wash it with a bit of summoned blood.
Hmm…
It’s alright, no one saw that…
A bit embarrassed, she fished out a waterstone from Bookie’s backpack and properly cleaned the glove. It was made of a rather durable, shiny black and elastic leather-like material, with white highlights around the cuffs. There were a few clean enchantments embroidered in gold thread on...
2024-04-26 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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The black fog rapidly reformed behind Sofia, but she was focused on the monster inside the chest.
I can’t get enough distance. If I throw an explosive so close, with the corridor I’m in being the only place for all the force to go… I’ll just kill myself. Piercing it is, then.
But what if it’s not enough?
Hmm…
That could work…
<...
2024-04-25 16:00:21 +0000 UTC
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Sofia’s first instinct was to see if her dagger could damage any of the walls, the ground or the ceiling. Since her right arm was stuck, she had to make a third arm out of bones and control it from where she was.
Of course that did not work… What’s next…
Next she focused on her mana senses. There was clearly some kind of magic powering the walls.
Rituals. What is sustaining them?
It was not a static source but a constant mana flow....
2024-04-24 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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The Sunless drones appeared from the black fog, surrounded by a swarm of floating black orbs. The same attack they had launched at Sofia in the first dungeon. A tall rectangular shield appeared in Pareth’s right hand, while Sofia grabbed Bookie and they both hid behind him. The orbs all collided with the shield in a deafening cacophony.
With her mana senses, Sofia counted a total of eight drones.
Easy.
She rapidly invoked the [Spine of the black sun]
2024-04-23 16:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Sofia took a deep breath.
“It’s so nice to be able to speak again.”
“Right?”
“And yeah, the music is nice. So much better than the moon’s constant silence.”
“Good to hear. And just wait until you hear the boss music!”
“Would said boss be you?” Sofia asked in return.
“Kind of? It’s more like I’m the dungeon itself, oh, and I’m not allowed to save you even if...
2024-04-22 16:00:13 +0000 UTC
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Sofia had to use the graveyard skeletons to look through the stone walls of the cavern and find the collapsed remains of the path the Destroyer had taken through the moon’s underground.
I can try to dig that out, but if the tunnel collapses again on me… I’m not so confident about surviving that.
My best shot is still to graveyard out, but I’ve no clue how far this might be from the Kidjikkik city. Or if there’s even anything left there, it could just a...
2024-04-19 16:00:16 +0000 UTC
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[Destroyer’s Nascent mana heart of Aphenoreth]: /C tier/
9 months, 22 days, 13 hours
Imprint progress : 741.51/ 1200
Small Catalyser : 0/1
Keystone : 1/1
Effects (Stats will be doubled) :
Sofia ran as fast as she possibly could, taking random turns, delving deeper and deeper into the mines, but nothing could free her of the Destroyer’s pursuit. No matter what she did, the red light grew closer every passing second. Tunnels cracked and collapsed from the Destroyer’s rampage, closing off paths through the mines, and before long, Sofia encountered a dead end.
Faster!
The Destroyer was coming, but [Regret] was still not off its ten second ...
2024-04-17 16:00:43 +0000 UTC
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It was only a few minutes before the undercity became dark again. The Destroyer had returned to the hatchery to look over the Matriarchs.
It’s all up to you now.
Bookie must have been waiting for the right moment, as nothing happened for a few minutes before finally Sofia’s connection with the infiltrator was severed.
The caverns shook.
Did it work?
Did it eat the bait?
Concentrating on the position of Bookie’s skull, ...
2024-04-16 16:00:23 +0000 UTC
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[Kidjikkik Destroyer - Lv. ??? - Imprint power : Keystone - Effect : Unknown]
Sofia hid her presence as the creature entered the cavern.
Keystone again. Then I can assume this thing might be close in level to the Veik King who also had that. He was around 380…
Hmm…
It’s an inevitability that I am going to need one of those Keystone imprints, is it not? Maybe it would be smart to get one while I still have a comfortable...
2024-04-15 16:00:19 +0000 UTC
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Beyond the room with the guard was a straight set of stairs going down into another large open cavern. Sofia could not see much from the token’s vision. The glowing algae only grew on the ceiling of the cave and not the floor, so it was impossible to tell what was going on in there, but there was one thing that she could not possibly miss, on the opposite wall of the cavern, thousands of meters away.
Red light…
That’s where it was. Ah! Wait there!
Sof...
2024-04-12 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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Sofia sat with lich-form Bookie on a mountain of corpses. This place was where the Kidjikkiks dumped their dead and their broken tools and furniture. The dead and dried worm-people were like locked in time, unable to rot and decompose. Needless to say, for the most part, their skeletons were in perfect condition.
So we hit the page limit. And you didn’t even know about it?
Bookie shook his head.
Well, fifty pages should be enough. We’ll have to do some trimm...
2024-04-11 16:35:15 +0000 UTC
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Sofia jumped out of the window and let herself fall. She used the same trick she had used before in the Veik hive, activating the graveyard on herself at the last second to dive into the ground.
She hadn’t done that to escape the red light because of her bad experience with the Veik King. She would rather not bet her life on such a trick against an opponent who could possibly attack her in the spirit realm. That and she would not have had the time to fall all the way to the ground bef...
2024-04-10 16:00:18 +0000 UTC
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Sitting, her back against a cubic container full of water, Sofia observed the city from the roof of one of the buildings. She had landed there after taking the long way around, having the graveyard skeletons carry her through the cavern walls and ceiling, dropping down directly on top of one of the tallest buildings around.
This is beginning to feel like I might have to accept a beheading…
The city was silent, despite being underground, right now was clearly ‘night ti...
2024-04-09 16:00:15 +0000 UTC
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The shape of the room was relatively normal from a human perspective, except for the closed set of doors in the ceiling. There were tables along two opposite walls, and doors on the others. Sofia was currently on one such table, while there were things on the others which she thought were likely rocks.
Confident that she was alone in the room, Sofia stored the bone coffin.
Eww what in the…
The floor, walls, ceiling and doors were all entirely mad...
2024-04-08 16:00:12 +0000 UTC
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The secret exit wasn’t all that hidden, it was just a hole in the ground in a room guarded by four Veik royal guards. And it was just that, a hole, not a relatively clean and straight tunnel like everywhere else in the hive, a simple hole that looked like it had always been there.
Everelle stood on the border of the hole.
There you go. Have a nice trip hun.
Sofia remodeled her bone tablet. ‘That’s it?’
Not what you ex...
2024-04-05 16:45:32 +0000 UTC
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