A charred chunk of flesh stood before us, baring its teeth—or rather, they bared themselves, the lips had fallen away. Its eyes were burned out as well, though that didn’t stop it from looking.
"Simon," I spat.
"What?" the baronet answered.
Feron turned his head to glance at his namesake. To avoid further confusion, I said,
"You’ll be Kettle. He’s Simon."
"...
2025-03-28 00:46:00 +0000 UTC View PostI reached Novak as fast as I could, but deep down, I still felt like I should have been running. As if every second of hesitation was giving someone—or something—a greater chance to get ahead of me.
When the door opened, Vaclav greeted me with his usual impassive gaze, though this time, there was a tension in his eyes. He stepped aside to let me in and shut the door behind me, as if c...
2025-03-28 00:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostI headed for the showers under the watchful eyes of my roommates. After what happened last time, I decided not to tempt fate again.
Denis and Marlon took turns standing guard outside the door while I washed up.
Naturally, I slept through dinner, so by the time breakfast rolled around, I wolfed it down without even tasting it. My roommates were patient about my state—but once I’d...
2025-03-27 00:36:02 +0000 UTC View Post"Now, about the formation on your armour," Kate said. "I want Alan to install a switch—so you can disable hypersensitivity when needed. And the opposite—dull your senses if the situation calls for it."
I paused, thinking it over.
Turning off sensitivity? That sounded great. Less strain on my nerves while walking to the garden. And when work got hectic, the formation could be mor...
2025-03-26 00:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostI froze and pretended to be a brainless piece of trash. Wait! Why? It wouldn’t make a difference where Chapman saw me, as long as it wasn’t in the chair. Rising again, I bolted toward the Arch. A single extra line, and the whole system might fall apart.
Too bad I couldn’t gauge just how catastrophic the consequences would be. Killing the Archmaker outright would’ve been ideal.
... 2025-03-25 00:46:01 +0000 UTC View PostIncoming message: K. L. Wong
Subject: Re: Technique
Content: Works.
I stared at the reply. Seriously? That was it?
Outgoing message: K. L. Wong
Subject: Re: Re: Technique
Content: That’s all? No details?
The response came instantly—a ringi...
2025-03-25 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post"I found it in the metro," I said, sticking to my usual lie. I’d have to tell Novak that I’d decided to stick with this cover story.
Diego gave the ring an extra second of attention before waving it off.
"If it were anything important, no one would’ve lost it. Put it in your pocket—unless you'd rather I hold onto it for you?"
A flurry of paranoid scenarios instantly fl...
2025-03-24 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostKnuckles and I watched as Harry calmly allowed the handcuffs to be snapped on his wrists and Sir Samuel was escorted out of the restaurant. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until I noticed a female figure striding purposefully toward us. Beneath the wide-brimmed hat, gloves, and oversized sunglasses, she could only be a vampire.
I rolled down the window, and she disappeared. Of cour...
2025-03-22 00:46:00 +0000 UTC View Post10:15.
I weighed out three grams of Clear Thoughts on the scale and poured the leaves into a cup. The kettle, pre-set to heat to 97°C, beeped as it reached the right temperature. I immediately poured the hot water over the leaves and covered the cup with a lid.
Now, I just had to wait two minutes—which I did, as the scent of honey, citrus, and mint spread through the room, blendi...
2025-03-21 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI barely remembered how I got back to my room. I came to with my tablet in hand, the library tab open on the Fist section of First Stage techniques. There were hundreds of fist techniques.
Adaptive Blow, Aether Knuckle, Anchor Fist, Arcane Gauntlet, Astral Breaker—and that was just the A’s, not even all of them…
Kate had mentioned Flowing Fist, so I started there.
The li...
2025-03-20 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Go on,” I prompted after half a minute of listening to the static crackle on the line.
“Go on with what?” Nina shot back. This vampire wasn’t nearly as cordial with me as Kate was. “I asked you what business you have with Patrick Wimbush. You didn’t answer.”
“Because it’s none of your concern. I’m not prying into your family business, am I?”
“Well, y...
2025-03-19 00:46:01 +0000 UTC View PostI stood there, still processing what I had just experienced. The sensation of Fist Qi still vibrated in my mind—like the echo of a powerful strike that had shaken me to my core.
And then, suddenly, my interface flashed red. A warning message appeared before my eyes:
WARNING!
Violation of Fist Garden regulations detected!
Remain...
2025-03-19 00:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe tension lingered in the air for a moment longer, but then I saw Johansson’s gaze flick over some text I couldn’t see, and his grip on the mace loosened. His expression shifted—he no longer looked like he was about to turn me into a bloody smear.
Novak had clearly sent him a message.
"Sorry, kid…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his helmeted head.
I just snorted bu...
2025-03-18 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostNovak returned with the same dark green teapot he had used when serving Kate and me.
One teapot on the tray, one cup, and one thick glass filled with a deep amber liquid. When Vaclav set the tray on the table, the liquid rolled against the glass in a thick wave, leaving an oily trace in its wake. The scent of caramel and alcohol blended with notes of citrus, honey, and mint.
The tea...
2025-03-17 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing we did was call Moody, but the solicitor had spent the entire night at the police station, trying to get Simon released. Meanwhile, we were sipping our morning tea and sorting through the tangled schemes of our enemies, almost sending the Sparrow brothers to Bremshire. That was, until de Camp himself called, personally instructing us not to do anything stupid and to receive the ...
2025-03-16 00:46:01 +0000 UTC View PostI was too overwhelmed to say anything, so I just went back to the room with the others.
Denis was the first to break and burst into laughter.
"And you said it was a bad idea!" he chided Kay. "You gotta use your brain!"
Kay shook his head.
"Unbelievable…"
"Well then, assistant supervisor?" Denis snickered, grabbing my half-finished cup of tea. "Are you gonna aband...
2025-03-14 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostWhere’s the best place to meet vampires? The baronet’s house, which was initially planned, was off the table for a number of reasons. I suggested “At Mo’s,” only for Sunset to twirl a finger next to his temple. But why not? It seemed like a good place: the precinct wasn’t far, there were plenty of coppers about, and that alone should discourage any bloodsuckers from playing their li...
2025-03-13 00:46:01 +0000 UTC View PostI sat on my bed, watching as the tea leaves slowly unfurled in the transparent teapot, the water gradually changing colour. A thin stream of steam rose from the spout, while the bitter aroma created an almost meditative effect.
I needed to calm down.
I was a little anxious. Not because I had beaten the crap out of Tariq in front of everyone, but because the penalty points still hadn...
2025-03-13 00:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostMy first awakening greeted me with a dull ache in my side and a strange, alien sense of lightness in my body. The recovery pod had done its job—while the pain hadn’t completely vanished, at least I no longer felt like I was underwater.
Still, something lingered. And it wasn’t the pain.
Tariq.
My lips pressed into a tight line as his pompous speech and smug grin at the mo...
2025-03-12 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostAs the shower room doors finally closed behind Tariq and his lackeys, I took a deep breath.
Shit… That was not fun.
I ran a hand over my ribs, feeling a dull ache. My stomach throbbed a little too, and the impact on my back would probably linger for a while. Well, it happens. I’d have to message the doc to check me over, but first…
"Thanks for pulling me out of that mess...
2025-03-11 00:37:01 +0000 UTC View PostI never thought that undressing could be this pleasant. This time, there were no awkward moments. Perhaps I was less afraid and steadier on my feet, or maybe the platform in the central hall was more advanced than the one in Alan’s workshop… It was certainly larger.
The moment the manipulators finished removing my armour, the world around me seemed to turn grey and distant. The armour...
2025-03-11 00:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI thought Kate would just dump me into the work and leave, it wasn’t exactly complicated, but, apparently, she had something else in mind. She led me deeper into another part of the garden, where the thinhorns were harvesting crops.
Drones moved soundlessly between the rows, slicing flowers and placing them into large baskets on their backs. Some thinhorns simply watched over them, whil...
2025-03-10 14:19:45 +0000 UTC View PostI woke up rich.
Four million units.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my account balance—the system had sent a notification during the night, and the moment I woke up, it flashed before me in massive numbers:
New funds have been deposited into your account:
17.05.3225 00:01 +4,000,000.00
Looks like the School had ke...
2025-03-10 14:12:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe School had an entire business center—its own metro stop, a separate building with shops, restaurants, and even a hotel. There were several types of stores: the school shop, corporate halls, private vendor stands, and an auction that was traditionally held once a year. The next one was five months away.
The commercial area itself wasn’t that large since real goods weren’t display...
2025-03-10 14:06:52 +0000 UTC View PostSo, he wasn't planning to kill me. The immediate danger had eased, though the tension hadn’t disappeared. I laced my fingers together, mirroring Vaclav. But my heart was still beating faster than it should.
Something else was starting to boil inside me. It felt like the emotional crash I’d experienced after the interface installation. I forced my emotions back under control—as much ...
2025-03-10 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostI sensed his presence before I saw him. The hairs on my arms stood on end, as if a tiger had crept up behind me. It felt similar to the mace-wielding cadet, but much—much—lighter.
Kate and I turned at the same time.
He didn’t look like a traditional Chinese shifu with a long beard and bushy eyebrows. Though his hair and beard were white, both were neatly trimmed and carefully ...
2025-03-10 13:53:45 +0000 UTC View PostWhen messaging Doc, I was the picture of politeness.
Outgoing message: R. P. Robinson
Subject: Personal Inquiry
Content: Good evening, sir. Apologies for the intrusion. How can I find out what happened to a cadet? My roommate, Bao Feng, hasn’t returned since visiting the Meditation Hall, and his cu...
2025-03-10 13:48:48 +0000 UTC View PostThis time, the Chamber didn’t just look like a crematorium—it felt like one. The overwhelming concentration of qi in the air, combined with the taut, wire-strung nerves, created the eerie illusion of smoke hanging in the chamber. All that was missing was a pile of ash on the thick metal grating of the floor.
I shook off the intrusive thought, stepped inside, and tried to sit on the me...
2025-03-10 13:42:27 +0000 UTC View PostDinner, sleep, and breakfast passed without incident. Even Bao Feng was calmer than usual. He actually came to breakfast with us. Maybe it was the crisps, maybe he just wanted company… I decided not to ask unnecessary questions for now.
The cafeteria buzzed with tense anticipation. Almost every other cadet was fidgeting in their seat. With each passing minute, the atmosphere felt more a...
2025-03-10 13:35:06 +0000 UTC View PostI felt the air in the station’s airlock shift as the hermetic doors hissed shut behind me. A group of armoured figures stepped inside, and among them was a short, almost dwarf-like figure in a black-and-pink exosuit—or rather, pink-and-black. There was barely any black at all.
Kate Wong flipped up her visor and waved a massive gauntlet before pointing towards the lift.
Shame—I...
2025-03-10 13:23:36 +0000 UTC View Post