I spent the rest of the ride doing my best to puzzle out what had happened. Between the high point value of the mission and the odd messages from the System, I knew that this wasn’t going to be as simple as I might hope it to be.
What concerned me the most was the mention of the Emirates. Was the neighboring country going to cause problems? Or was it because Rieka had specifically menti...
2025-03-22 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 9
You would think that with as many species as there are in the Hegemony, we’d stop judging people based on simple differences like size or gender.
The Boghet are tiny by comparison to everyone save the Dwerg, and both species are infamous for just how sturdy they are. But people still underestimate them.
I suppose it is one of ...
2025-03-21 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA fact that I learned a while back about myself was that—with the level my stats were at currently—I could endure quite a bit of discomfort if it came to it. I didn’t enjoy said discomfort, but I could endure it.
Like ignoring a sunburn.
But rather than something as mild as a sunburn, it might be a stab or slashing wound, frostbite, or even a broken bone.
S...
2025-03-18 08:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 8
Duty.
Some people see it as a waste of time. They class it with the sort of disdain that the rich have for the struggles of the poor.
Some people hold it up as the shining paragon of everything that is good and right in our world.
But those that know it for what it is—the weight of necessity and the glue that ho...
2025-03-17 08:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostNSFW Chapter, this can be skipped if you are not in the mood for spicy. Only character development occurs in these chapters.
Rieka wasted absolutely no time when we reached the way-station. As soon as the carriage rolled to a stop and the driver called down that we’d arrived for the night’s rest, she was already up and moving out the door, onl...
2025-03-15 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 7
I’m not afraid to admit that I underestimated him at first glance. Mostly because it took all of three seconds to recognize I was doing it and correct my opinion.
That male is dangerous, and to far more than just the chastity of my girls. He’s got the attitude of a warrior-prince from those holo-vid thrillers, and a body to match if how hi...
2025-03-14 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post“Now this is comfort,” Kassandra sighed happily as she snuggled into my right side. Her long red-and-brown-patterned tail twined around my leg before piling onto the ground at my feet.
My loving linguine burrowed under my right arm so that she could lay her head on my chest while forcing me to wrap my arm around her shoulders.
Such a horrible burden, I know.
“If we hadn...
2025-03-11 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 6
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of life amongst the gangs on Akkaten. Back there, if someone said the shit about my Little Boss that the bitch tried to spread, I’d just push her teeth down her throat. Here in the military though? They frown on casual violence to solve problems.
Which makes me wonder: does that make the adept honor duels prof...
2025-03-10 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the week progressed at light-speed by comparison to the ones leading up to it. Rieka conveyed everything she could in a more in-depth report that I delivered to the queen after playing telephone for them, so that Rieka could get the high points of what her mother really needed to know to get things handled properly.
After a bit of practice, I was able to relay the messages bac...
2025-03-08 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 5
One of the hardest things I ever did was to watch Desmond tear himself apart trying to explain the reality of their situation to a group of people who were determined to keep their heads crammed up their collective asses.
~Lila Tre’jira, interview on the challenges of interacting with Terrans.
“Printing the armor is going to be far more ...
2025-03-07 09:00:20 +0000 UTC View PostTurns out there was quite a bit to run to the post office for Bitsy. My storefront had apparently caught someone’s attention, and an influencer I didn’t recognize had ordered some pieces.
That had pushed a great deal of interest to the listings and cleaned me out of jewelry. So most of the next several days were put into rebuilding my stock after I’d shipped it all out and trying to...
2025-03-04 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Preorder is up and release date locked in for this coming Sunday 3.9! Come see what mischief Koda gets up to with his group next!
(I have pulled down the preview chapters of LB2 as required by the publisher.)
Chapter 4
All the power of the galaxy at hand. Access to a power previously unknown to humanity. Surrounded by four beautiful women who loved me unconditionally.
And I still managed to get bored.
In my defense, it can happen to the best of us. And I understand that it really was more to do with the fact that we spent so much time racing f...
2025-03-03 09:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 3
The duties of a Forerunner are simple. What they can accomplish is most definitely not.
Forerunners are the representatives of their species to the galaxy at large. The Hegemony is one of several galactic nations that utilize the role to get to know a new species when it is discovered. It may go by different names depending on which nation is ...
2025-03-03 09:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 2
Adepts are the prize of the Hegemony military. The jewel in the crown of the empress and her court. And the hardened tip of her spear defending the Hegemony from threats outside and within.
They are accorded a level of independence amongst the Hegemony military that is unheard of for any other branch due to their ability as force multipliers a...
2025-03-03 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostPreviously
After finishing his required training aboard the academy ship Valor’s Bid, Desmond McLaughlin exited with a bang. Graduating early due to accumulated commendations for excelling in the line of duty on various fronts, there wasn’t really any reason to keep him at the academy other than to give him more time on the combat range. And it was entirely p...
2025-03-03 09:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Sorry folks, thought I'd posted about this one to the Patreon folks! This is just a heads up if you didn't see it on facebook or the discord server!
2025-03-01 17:07:48 +0000 UTC View PostI know I probably looked absolutely ridiculous as I walked with Jane on my shoulders and the little mouse kin woman worked to scratch out the report in general terms while we walked. It only took about an hour to get down the bulk of what we’d observed down in the facility eked out for Gemma.
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you four alone,” I protested when Jane finally finished...
2025-03-01 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11
Moving through the city like they did, Koda was surprised to find very few of the Crooked remaining in town. Those that they did come across were inevitably trying to drag off captives. The fact that the captured townspeople were rather resistant to the Crooked’s attempts to remove them was to be expected. No one wants to go with the monsters, after all.
...
2025-02-28 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAfter raiding the little repair room for supplies, we found two other small sets of gadgets that were made of mana-infused metals.
One of the things that we found was a box full of what looked like bolts with triangular heads and were made of copper. The other was a single oddly-ruffled plate of metal that reminded me somewhat of a small square of sheet metal, made of copper as well. Thes...
2025-02-25 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 10
While Koda had fought multiple times in the past week, in a multitude of different locations, this was the first time he’d really committed to a straight up battle. Every other time they’d had a chance to either prepare in advance, ambush, or surround their enemy. The closest that he’d come to a straight up fight had been when he first arrived on this world and...
2025-02-24 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostWe encountered two more small groups of the shadow monsters in the tunnel on our way out. Neither of which lasted for longer than a few seconds, as Shayla had quickly surrounded and burned them away with her trio of light spells.
I honestly thought it was cute watching her work, as the fluffy antennae that sprouted from Shayla’s head flicked and mirrored the gestures of her spell rod, a...
2025-02-22 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Keeping his head up and moving forward was what Koda Burke was best at. After having to emancipate himself as a teen and find his own way at a young age, it became part of who he was. The most important part, or so he thought.
Until that the faithful day that chance aligned with fate, and his true worth lay revealed when he met with a dying goddess, someone who had lost hope and all but ...
2025-02-22 03:04:34 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 9
Calandra led them down the next side street at a trot. Koda kept closest to the much shorter woman, which in turn kept Arthene and Sienna close to her as well. This gave them a strong arrowhead formation with the armored dwarf in the front. The rest of the group followed behind them, with Koda’s warriors intermingling with the city folk. He could hear them talking b...
2025-02-21 09:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m still astonished at how well these papers were preserved,” Shayla muttered as she examined a sheet of blank parchment. The thin material rustled happily as she handled it, examining the finely cut edges and studying the tone of the paper by holding it up to one of her glowing light spells.
I looked up from where I’d been sitting behind the desk, reading out the contents of th...
2025-02-18 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post** Sorry about the mis-post, this is the actual chapter 8. I set these up while dealing with major dental pain (which has been resolved.)
Chapter 8
Calandra, or Cal as she insisted on being called, was a font of information once Koda got her away from Councilman Yanus. He couldn’t fault her for being upset with the man, as she explained exactly what had led up to their ...
2025-02-17 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we confirmed there were no other undead hiding in the eight closest rooms, we went back and checked the cabinets in the labs. They were mostly full of other types of glassware, tools, and other assorted odds and ends.
Seeing the metallic tools reminded me of the thing that the one zombie had tried to stab me with and I went back to check it. The hunk of metal was just an angled bit o...
2025-02-15 09:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 7
Koda was glad that no one seemed to be against the idea of trying to help Amberpost. He figured that these people, as natives to the world, were more familiar with what might happen to the people of the town if they were left to the ‘tender mercies’ of the Crooked.
It took only a handful of minutes for everyone to pack their things away. As no one had bother...
2025-02-14 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Steelforged Legacy 2 is now live on Amazon for preorders with the 2.18 release date! Hope you all enjoy it! Feel free to spread the word on it!
Settling into the new pace of his life, Casey Sullivan thought that he’d left behind the idiocy of people with overinflated senses of self worth. But even on another world, around people that worked magic into their every...
2025-02-12 01:33:09 +0000 UTC View PostSome people might laugh at me for being so willing to cave to hard labor after a bit of ego stroking from a beautiful woman.
Some folks are idiots.
I’d challenge any guy I know to not immediately start working when someone as beautiful and earnest as Rieka whispers encouragement into your ear in that loving tone while giving you the most endearing set of puppy-dog eyes that have e...
2025-02-11 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post