As Roth followed the guard through the imposing entrance of the citadel, he marveled at the number of guards in shiny armor filling the castle. The air was cool and still, and the echoes of their footsteps reverberated against the stone walls. Torches lined the perimeter, casting flickering shadows that danced across the polished marble floors. The crest of Hilsford was proudly depicted in flag...
2023-06-10 08:40:18 +0000 UTC View PostRoth was shocked at how fast the Gazpachos had sent someone to intimidate him. It looked like they were keeping an eye on Soros. No wonder the man who told him where to find Golden Mountain Inc. had seemed so afraid of being overheard. That showed that they were either making an example out of him or that he was someone they feared. He looked at the notification he'd received after encountering...
2023-06-09 08:14:49 +0000 UTC View PostThis is the first of a series of updates I'll be sharing with my patreons on a weekly basis.
In it, I discuss the recent changes in tiers, the new edition of Planet Ignis, the Raven Riddle discord event and othe things.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
2023-06-08 10:55:35 +0000 UTC View PostHello everyone,
First of all, thank you for your generous support! I want to share with you some exciting news.
MORE CHAPTERS OF HC:PACIFIST
The number of chapters ahead of the free release schedule available to Patreons has increased:
- Red Pawns: 5 chapters
- Orange Rooks: 10 chapters
- Golden Knights: 15 chapters
- Lit Bishops: 20 ch...
2023-06-07 09:05:04 +0000 UTC View PostGazpacho? Wasn't that a kind of soup? Did Soros invest money in a failed restaurant?
"The Gazpachos? Who are they?"
“They are the reason why I've fallen so low. You should have seen me in my glory days, broker. I had contacts stretching all over the planet. I imported spices from the desert, pearls from the caves, and gems and ore from the pits. Then, a few years ago, this crime f...
2023-06-07 08:45:59 +0000 UTC View PostRoth kept jumping up and down as high as he could. He hadn't seen anything in the forums hinting at a title related to jumping, but he guessed it was likely enough for him to give it a shot. The gain in stats indicated that he was probably on the right track.
By practicing jumping, you feel your legs grow more powerful and your movements become more agile. +1 dexterity. 2023-06-07 08:45:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Scratchy hadn't lied. The farther he went west, the worst it smelled.
"How can you find your way through the sewers so easily?" Asked Roth, trying to take his mind off the gut-wrenching stench.
"We just sssmell our way through it."
"I see..." Roth wondered if it made it harder or more manageable for the snakes to live down here. If they had such a powerful sense of smell, ever...
2023-06-07 08:45:17 +0000 UTC View PostTo Roth's surprise, the creature made no aggressive moves; instead, it fixed its gaze on him unblinking. A nervous lump formed in Roth's throat. He had never encountered a snake before, let alone established a friendly rapport with one.
You're meeting the snake race for the first time. Charisma bonus activated.
"Hello, I am Roth. What's your name?"
"Ssss...sss...
2023-06-07 08:44:57 +0000 UTC View PostGetting to the sewers under one of the gardens only took five minutes. Roth was disappointed. He was expecting some chamber where he could sit and gather his thoughts, but it was more of the same. It was dark, dingy, and foul.
At least here, the water coming down seemed crystalline, perhaps the drainage from a fountain or a pond in the park, which washed away some of the stench.
Sic...
2023-06-07 08:44:34 +0000 UTC View Post"Anybody there?" Roth's calls echoed in the tunnels over the slow flow of filthy water running through them. Roth kept running and calling out until he finally heard something.
There were inhuman screams and high-pitched shrilling sounds in the distance. It sounded like ratans were battling. It differed from what he had heard when players hunted the mutated beasts. This was darker and mor...
2023-06-07 08:43:51 +0000 UTC View PostRoth arrived in Hilsford's teleporting gate sweating and trembling. He took off running, not caring or knowing what direction he was taking. He had hoped they would leave him alone and that what they had done to him was punishment enough. But when his eyes met Gary's, he saw predation and violence. They were still looking for him and wanted to hurt him more.
After seeing him teleport, the...
2023-06-05 08:12:35 +0000 UTC View PostThe last few days had been very productive. Roth finished reading the first five tomes of the Fox Canon. The gains had been substantial. He had not only unlocked 3 intelligence, 4 wisdom, and 6 charisma, but he also unlocked a new title.
Well-read (Common)
Title description: You have taken an essential step toward becoming knowledgeable and scholarly. By rea...
2023-06-03 12:19:43 +0000 UTC View PostBrian left the world of AstroTerra and turned off the VR helmet. Cursed be that traitor. The basement around him was dark and dingy, reflecting the poor construction materials. Since he had moved here, he had a persistent cough that wouldn't go away. He'd asked Mrs. Bessie to get him some over-the-counter medicine, but it couldn't solve the humidity of his quarters.
Cursed be Gary. His me...
2023-06-02 08:06:17 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to the fourth edition of my first novel: Planet Ignis. This book is available to all my Patrons, regardless of rank. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
You can buy the paperback version here. You can also get the epub version attached to this post.
****** 2023-05-31 17:47:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Here we are at the end of Planet Ignis. If you enjoyed the story, please, leave a review on Amazon.
If you are like me and enjoy keeping a paperback version of your favorite books, you can buy a copy of Planet Ignis at this link.
*********************** 2023-05-31 17:44:07 +0000 UTC View Post
…more and more about the Burrows, I was captivated by the role of the blues. I couldn’t stop laughing when he told me about the fearsome and mighty blue monarchs. When he asked me why, I told him there was a butterfly species called the blue monarch. When I explained that blue monarchs were harmless creatures, he laughed as well.
Aside from this humorous episode, blues we...
2023-05-31 17:43:23 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Trother told me about the crisis that almost caused the extinction of the Settlers and how it was traced back to reforms needed in the education system, I wasn’t surprised. I think that, without a doubt, education is the key to why these tribes of Settlers were able to survive so long. For a group of stranded humans, all herded together in an underground complex, to be able to give t...
2023-05-31 17:42:54 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Trother first told me about terminations I broke down crying. I was deeply moved. As a Japanese, I studied the ritual suicide that samurais used to perform, the seppuku. I have also studied the history of the Kamikaze in the World War. But these were different. The suicides in my culture were misguided sacrifices caused by war. These Terminations, as they call it, were all sacrifices b...
2023-05-31 17:42:19 +0000 UTC View Post…crew members representing over twenty different countries. It’s fascinating how the customs of all of these have been amalgamated into a single alien culture. Partly, I believe this has been due to how the children are raised. Being raised by the same programs and nurtured by the same nannies explains why differentiated cultures didn’t survive.
Even though there is a c...
2023-05-31 17:40:13 +0000 UTC View Post…Pac-man and chess.
I believe that the reason so much of the culture of the Settlements revolves around their form of chess and other games is quite simple. The average age of the population of a Settlement is fourteen or fifteen years old. No wonder games are such a prevalent part of their society. Although it is a post-apocalyptic town, it is still one that is full of pla...
2023-05-31 17:39:35 +0000 UTC View PostNever would I have imagined that Hitori was so good at programming. I mean, mission control sent him as the secondary programmer in case something happened to me, but I hardly had the time to decide what I would put into your brain with the constant cyber-attacks he kept throwing at me. I had to be quick. Here are the memories you will not have. I had to delete your knowledge of Earth’s H...
2023-05-31 17:39:02 +0000 UTC View PostListen to me! I know your programming prevents you from attacking humans, but these are no longer humans. They gave up their rights when they chose to become Hitori’s lab rats. They are mutants! Therefore, you can do whatever you want to them. Too bad they took Archimedes from me. It was the drone with the most considerable amount of computing power. I had to choose one or the other. I ch...
2023-05-31 17:38:30 +0000 UTC View PostWhen they told me they all wanted to go planetside and follow Hitori’s plan, I knew they had all lost their minds. I can’t die. I just can’t. Did they expect me to take it with a smile as they told me that I must settle with living a couple of decades at most? In that desert?! I have seen the AI reports. There is nothing down there! Nothing! There is no way on Earth they are going to ...
2023-05-31 17:37:57 +0000 UTC View PostWith the help of Hitori and Hans, I was finally able to repurpose the Stellaris drone into something that resembles a satellite grid. Remember! Stellaris is important! It’s the only drone with scanners sensitive enough to sift through all the static that the planet generates. It’s the fastest way of finding the other drones. With it, you can find where they went, and it has memory you c...
2023-05-31 17:36:57 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we were brought back from cryogenic sleep and summoned to the bridge, we all knew it was bad. The commander explained to us that most of the systems were compromised, and the situation was dire. At first, I thought I could salvage all the systems. After all, we had brought spares for virtually all equipment. But from the twenty drones, only seven survived the EMP caused by what the cre...
2023-05-31 17:34:46 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I first heard of the Phoenix project, I applied immediately. Looking back, I was already a coward because I set towards the stars, not to give something to humanity or show bravery, but to run from problems on Earth. When I learned that Mary was pregnant, I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t bear the thought of becoming a father.
So, without letting anyone know, I ran, a...
2023-05-31 17:30:21 +0000 UTC View PostYou didn’t have enough space so that I could program all my memories in your neurons, but this recording won’t occupy much space. Hopefully, you can extrapolate a lot of my personality from what I will tell you. You were born in Essen, Germany. Your sister’s name was Naomi. Your father was called Christian, and your mother Miriam. You were always fascinated by computers and have studi...
2023-05-31 17:29:40 +0000 UTC View PostEven though you were originally designed by humans, and I have given you what I believe to be the most meaningful part of me, you will struggle with making sense of the human part of your mind. How can I explain this to you… each human is unique and dreads the feeling of losing their uniqueness. Now that I added this part of my mind to yours, you are also unique. Stick to who I… you are...
2023-05-31 17:23:46 +0000 UTC View PostPART 3
Every second counts. Before I could get to the other drones, the commander overrode me, and I had to resort to my plan B. I left this information in your files so that if you can gain access to the other AI drones, you can see what… who you are. I will explain in these recordings what I… you’re missing, hoping you can rebuild my mind from what was left. H...
2023-05-31 17:23:05 +0000 UTC View Post... intertwined legends within the game’s creator. Ayu, the esteemed game maker, occupies a unique position in the lore of longevity chess. While renowned for his pivotal role in reforming the collegiums, it was his creation of longevity chess that solidified his place in history. The game became a conduit for imparting wisdom and knowledge, leading to a remarkable increase in the tribeâ€...
2023-05-31 17:22:25 +0000 UTC View Post