“We should keep in touch, Apprentice Cal,” Ken said as he watched Cal tie the oxen to a recently purchased cart. “The Masters here seem to like you. I think I can convince them to make you a preferred vendor for your territory.”
That got Cal’s attention. He finished with the cart and handed the reins to Bran before turning to Ken. “You seem confident about winning that deed....
2025-07-15 18:11:55 +0000 UTC View Post“—last call and sold! To the young woman with great taste!” The auctioneer closed the bidding on the tenth item for over three guildmarks. The couple, dressed in finery, had bought every item, consistently overbidding to nonsensical amounts.
Cal grumbled along with the crowd, but nobody could stop the overbids. They had the right to spew their coins.
“Apprentice Cal, should ...
2025-07-15 03:12:56 +0000 UTC View Post“I want to learn,” Cal blurted out. Reason set in right after. “But am I allowed to? I can’t imagine the Harvest Union being happy about it.”
Arhan gave him a look before muttering under his breath about the Celestial Order. The tone wasn’t flattering. “My guild won’t care about what I do with my own spell. Besides, I’m curious about how much you’ll understand.”
<... 2025-07-14 20:20:03 +0000 UTC View PostEDIT: I changed Vern's name to Arhan.
“This is one that I planted just a few months ago. What do you think of it?” Arhan asked.
This farm had caught Cal’s eye on the way to town. It stood out from the purple-colored crops growing on it. Each stood straight—as tall as him—and purple grains grew at the top in a densely packed sphere.
“Uh, it looks go...
2025-07-14 20:19:12 +0000 UTC View PostCal stood in front of a nondescript warehouse surrounded on both sides by even larger warehouses. Then again, the whole town was like this, so it wasn’t a surprise.
He didn’t doubt where Bran had led him. After he detected the Masters in town, he had contained [Mana Sense] to avoid antagonizing them by accident. Still, the frequent use of the spell had made him sensitive enough to kno...
2025-07-11 00:22:46 +0000 UTC View Post“Boy, move out of the way!” The driver yelled as he navigated the carriage around the increasingly dense crowd.
Cal had become accustomed to the crude way the driver spoke since they hired him from Mariner’s Rest. He had been ready to run to Purple Vale when Bran had suggested to get a carriage, reminding him that running was impossible unless he was willing to carry Bran. Which he ...
2025-07-11 00:21:51 +0000 UTC View PostCal scratched his chin as he left the house when the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. He could hear arrows striking the hardened barriers in the distance. Seris had woken earlier than him by some miracle and was putting the extra time to good use.
He glanced at his field, subconsciously smiling at the neatly covered rows where he had planted the Sunfire Grain seeds yesterday. He c...
2025-07-08 18:21:33 +0000 UTC View Post“—and then Cal casually said he needed to visit the cursed sinkhole! With no information! Can you believe that?” Tavia said with exaggerated hand movements. She had been on a similar rant ever since she pulled over two friends from their house in Mariner’s Rest.
Amara shared a glance with Vivi, rolling their eyes at what was to them a years old rant. It wasn’t the first time Tav...
2025-07-08 18:20:56 +0000 UTC View PostCal continued to shovel the rubble, using the pickaxe when needed to create more. He frequently emptied the wheelbarrow near the dirt hills, creating a new one for the deep hole he was digging. He suddenly appreciated the golem for doing this tedious work for him recently.
The voidiron shovel quickly reached the uncommon rank, and the pickaxe had long reached the advanced rank, after whic...
2025-06-28 04:22:18 +0000 UTC View PostCal returned to the farm, his mind still on what the overseer wanted him to do. He steps past the tree line and entered his field and saw some unexpected visitors.
Outside the farm’s borders, Miren and Torin huddled together, reviewing their shared notebook. He saw the Orrin and Seris, standing next to the house and staring at the two builders, whispering to each other with wide eyes. 2025-06-25 20:48:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Cal had spread the mana tendrils to cover the whole town, including the port. His goal was to sense the overseer as he entered the town, but that was easier said than done. Overseer Marek was one of the few that he was blind to when using [mana sense]. However, he felt he was much more proficient in using the spell, so he hoped that was no longer the case.
He had spent hours learning how ...
2025-06-25 01:26:05 +0000 UTC View PostIt was too quiet. Cal felt it was odd that there wasn’t the constant sound of hammer hitting anvil near Orrin’s house.
He entered the doorless house and passed through the rooms filled with failed creations. He exited through the back door and saw Orrin sleeping next to a pile of voidiron pellets. There were various stages of incomplete tools and weapons made of voidiron shoved beside...
2025-06-24 06:26:09 +0000 UTC View PostCal stepped off the lift and took in the atmosphere of the busy port. That wasn’t strange in itself, but nearly all the workers were busy moving Sunfire Grains onto ships at the loading dock. There seemed to be far more ships than was necessary, but he knew little about the optimal way to ship the crop.
He scanned the port and couldn’t see Drex anywhere, which was a little disappointi...
2025-06-23 19:44:43 +0000 UTC View PostHe saw the silhouette of a man waiting in the distance, unmoved by the wolf pack that was prowling around him. This was a familiar sight, though in a slightly different location.
Cal gently patted the pack leader’s head to stop him from moving forward and approached Maelor. He wasn’t sure why the man was back so quickly, but he felt a bit of excitement at the unexpected windfall that ...
2025-06-21 23:14:18 +0000 UTC View PostCal found joy explaining how to treat the dead soil of this land while patting the sack of mulch at his side, one of the many that were stacked high. He had already introduced the tubs of loam and powered crystals before the mulch.
It was the most basic of instructions, considering both were [Gardeners], but he was just happy at the thought of these tasks no longer being his responsibilit...
2025-06-21 23:13:27 +0000 UTC View Post“Finally!” Cal clenched his fist in victory. The slab of surface he successfully separated from the soil dropped to the side. It had taken him the entire night to get to this point.
The interface didn’t prompt him for a name for the spell, so he wasn’t proficient enough at it. Understandable since it took him half a minute for an area that was only fifty square feet.
He woul...
2025-06-21 23:12:45 +0000 UTC View PostKade Beckett
Arcana Level 60
Class: Arcane Lancer | Skills: 9 | Abilities: 6
Soulrend (Awakened Spear) | Abilities: 1 (Stored)
Race: Baseline Human
Titles: 2
Items: 1 | Passive Abilities: 1
MP: 81/81 | MP Recovery: 20% per minut...
2025-06-17 15:25:45 +0000 UTC View PostKade stared at the ceiling of the room and thought of the city-wide party that had started yesterday and still continued today.
The initial crowd, which witnessed Kade’s overkill killing of the kobold, spread into the city, causing the entirety of Chicago to fall into a festive mood.
It was in the revelry that Kade found out alcohol had no effect on him. He stopped after emptying ...
2025-06-17 15:24:25 +0000 UTC View PostKade stood by the doorway of the hotel room and watched over a dozen [Healers] work to save Tugan from the jaws of death. They had just stopped the copious bleeding from the stump, and now they were restoring his vitality.
“I thought you were dead at the end,” Eliza commented lightly.
Kade glanced at her and saw a glared directed at Tugan. “Me too, but Tugan has… honor.” 2025-06-17 15:23:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Kade could feel the cracks on the wooden shaft, but he couldn’t do much other than try to avoid putting it danger of direct strikes. He met Tugan’s eyes and took a deep breath before advancing.
His [Soulrend] and feet moved in harmony, a dance that he didn’t even know he was capable of. He kept his distance, stabbing, once, twice, each thrust a needle probing the defense.
Tuga...
2025-06-17 15:23:01 +0000 UTC View PostKade shuddered in disgust when the metallic surface on its head rippled. A vertical tear appeared in the center before it pulled back, revealing deep-set, sharp grey eyes meeting his gaze.
The man’s skin was weather-beaten, tinged with a golden-olive tone and log, dark brown hair that was pulled back into a tight knot. A thick, trimmed beard only added to the dangerous look shot his way...
2025-06-17 15:22:17 +0000 UTC View PostA whole day had passed as over ten thousand people traveled to Chicago. It was slower than expected, but that was about to be fixed.
Kade watched from afar as several survivors with newly recovered limbs ganged up on a single, upright reptile, which he had recently learned was called a kobold.
“Jeremy, it’s your turn,” Danny said, motioning for a middle-aged man with a missing...
2025-06-17 15:21:32 +0000 UTC View Post“This is not what I imagined,” Kade mumbled to himself, leaning on his [Soulrend] to stop his knees from buckling.
There wasn’t a scratch on him, but that didn’t mean the hours of slaughter he inflicted on the monster legion hadn’t affected him. If exhaustion were a person, it would be Kade.
He had felt this before, but never to a point where even breathing was laborious. ...
2025-06-17 15:20:48 +0000 UTC View PostKade ripped his [Soulrend] out of the troll’s leg as it fell to the ground. He walked up to the head and ended its suffering quickly.
He eyed the monsters watching him and walked away, signaling his intent to disengage. They had put up a decent resistance when he first killed off the trolls, but after slaughtering a hundred generals, they got the message to stay away.
Kade had tra...
2025-06-09 18:08:19 +0000 UTC View PostDavid wasn’t sure what he felt as he stepped onto the official battlegrounds. The leaders had called it the line of control, and it was a fitting name.
A monster breaching the line meant the city’s territory would contract.
He wasn’t among the council deciding for the city, but it was public knowledge the line of control hadn’t moved farther because of the fear of overextens...
2025-06-09 18:07:34 +0000 UTC View PostKade stopped far from the city. It was under siege.
There was a legion of monsters moving closer step-by-step, unphased by the culling of their vanguard by the defenders.
Most of the monsters he had dealt with in the Class F rift zone were goblins and gnawers, with the rare troll at the end. The legion was much more varied.
What were once mere pests that were target-practice n...
2025-06-09 18:06:38 +0000 UTC View PostHe had come across plenty of roving bands of goblins and gnawers, but there wasn’t a specific point of origin. They appeared randomly scattered.
He heard a rustle beside him, but he ignored it.
Kade had long deactivated [Suppression], his presence helping to keep most of the weak monsters from bothering him. For the ones that seem to be more brainless than the others, [Goblin Slay...
2025-06-09 18:05:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Is it the goblins? Has there been news that I missed about stronger monsters roaming Earth?” Kade said, sending a message to Finn.
He could see them rapidly approaching Chicago. Hellion’s flying was faster than his running, even with his weight added.
Finn: Not that I’m aware of. A nuclear bomb exploded over Lake Michigan. I’m still gathering information to get th...
2025-06-09 18:04:38 +0000 UTC View PostAshley had an easy role: a scout assigned to watch over Lake Michigan, where nothing ever happened.
She joined the Chicago Collective the moment she reached the city. Her only thought back then was the phrase ‘safety in numbers.’
She honestly thought that the collective comprised all people in Chicago, so when she discovered there were plenty of other groups that rivale...
2025-06-09 18:03:48 +0000 UTC View PostEliza was partially undressed, and even though she was paler than usual because of her weakness and recent blood loss, her attractiveness hadn’t disappeared.
Her looks were unimportant while they were fighting for their lives in the rift zone, and even after they escaped, Kade had become used to discarding any considerations out of habit. The view now gave him a reset.
Kade cleare...
2025-06-09 18:02:37 +0000 UTC View Post