Mitzi stood in her kitchen, cocked her husband’s service pistol, and listened.
The noises of movement outside seemed to be getting closer and closer. She responded by positioning further back in the kitchen and making certain that she had ...
2024-02-12 19:34:54 +0000 UTC View Post“Mina?” James asked.
She realized she’d been staring at him, zoned out, for a few seconds as she focused.
“Oh, of course,” she said. “They were our neighbors.” The whole situation felt so strange that she could barely for...
2024-02-09 15:18:24 +0000 UTC View PostOne moment, Mina was saying surprisingly warm farewells to the people from her Orientation, Yulia by her side, and exchanging contact details with people who wanted to try and find their way to her back on Earth.
The next moment, she was in ...
2024-02-08 17:07:38 +0000 UTC View PostJames’s knowledge of power seemed to expand in the moments after he took the Fisher King Job. How to get it, how to keep it, how to use it…
It was surprising to learn so much when he hadn’t even chosen one of the Job options that empha...
2024-02-06 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“You returned,” the System Homunculus said dully.
“Was there ever any doubt?” James replied. He was very pleased to be back. Not primarily because he got to see Sisco again.
Looking down at his hand, he confirmed what he’d fe...
2024-02-06 16:45:47 +0000 UTC View PostJames walked up to speak with the people he’d just saved from death—or worse.
They greeted him with a cacophony of praise.
“Thank you for saving us!”
“That was amazing.”
“You rescued us again.”
“Than...
2024-02-02 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMina reached the bottom of the stairs.
The space around her was completely dark for a moment, and she turned her head automatically, looking, absurdly, for a light switch.
Then she felt a sudden whirlwind all around her, pulling at her...
2024-02-01 17:40:25 +0000 UTC View PostClaudius Galt wasn’t sure, but he thought, as he caught his breath, that he might have soiled himself.
That’s fine. Don’t care right now. Even his thoughts were breathless.
He tried to suck air in as quietly as he could,...
2024-02-01 02:57:23 +0000 UTC View PostAlan found himself standing in thin air.
He dropped and instinctively braced himself for a rough landing, but he fell an extremely short distance.
Just a few inches. He was one of the luckier people. All around him, he saw a half dozen...
2024-01-25 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostMina avoided looking at Yulia and Leo. She had to make her final preparation for the fight.
“I’m ready, Jose,” she added quietly after her announcement. “You can stop casting now.”
“Right,” he replied. The Mana dissipated...
2024-01-24 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostBlood splatter from the Warrior’s sundered body sprayed everywhere, although none landed on Mina or the other competitors.
A translucent, previously invisible shield popped into existence in front of them and blocked the liquid.
...
2024-01-22 18:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostJames struck out with both hands and decapitated the four undead that still clutched at his legs, directionless now that their leader was dying. Bits of skull went flying in either direction, and the bodies slowly began to sink into the swamp.
... 2024-01-19 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostJames stared down through the trees as the Kurt Ghoul shambled towards the Rodriguez camp members.
He wanted to swoop down and smash Kurt in a single motion. He would’ve wanted to destroy the Kurt abomination even if there was no pressing ...
2024-01-18 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Well, that’s annoying,” James said mildly.
The sword had been stopped from chopping through Cliff’s neck by a black shield that levitated out from Cliff’s bag to defend him.
“Another sentient weapon,” Hester said. “I w...
2024-01-16 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you ready for the challenge, then?” Charon asked, voice slightly brusque. “No more foolish questions?”
He seemed to cast a sidelong glance in Leo’s direction as he spoke the second question.
“Just one question right no...
2024-01-15 18:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Proctor!” Mina called out.
Leo looked at her, surprised and weary. “What do you think that’s going to do?” he asked.
Then a figure appeared behind him.
Mina was no longer surprised to see the colorful image of the proc...
2024-01-13 20:05:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Mina! Mina!”
She heard the voice as if from a great distance.
Not now, I have a headache, Mina thought. She wanted to say it out loud, but the words felt very far away from her lips, and her mouth seemed to be full of cot...
2024-01-11 23:06:25 +0000 UTC View PostMina hovered for a long moment by the doorway, afraid and unwilling to make a decision.
She could feel the presence of the Wendigo that called itself Cara somewhere in the dark room in front of her. It was in the chilled air, in the slight o...
2024-01-09 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMina knocked on Detective DaSilva’s door. The floorboards creaked where his heavy footsteps landed. Then the door opened. He looked surprised to see them.
“Ladies, what brings you here?” he asked.
“We need to talk about the mur...
2024-01-08 22:55:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe will o’ the wisps pulled at the weak Wills of several wolves.
James could sense it. He could not only tell how the wolves felt, but he could tell which wolves felt the tug of the lights most forcefully.
The scouts in the front of...
2024-01-05 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAs James approached the Rodriguez camp, his triumphant strut faltered slightly.
He had been bracing himself for a hero’s welcome, but as the camp came into his hearing range—far greater than sight range in the swamp miasma—he heard dis...
2024-01-03 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor's Note: I am still working on resolving some elements of the Mina Orientation plot, which is why Chapters 51 and 52 aren't here yet. I also took a week off writing for the Christmas holiday. But I don't want to keep you guys waiting...
2024-01-03 04:31:12 +0000 UTC View PostMembers of the team rushed back to the white circle in staggered groups of two.
First, Jose and Paulo returned. Probably because they were the closest, and they were young and athletic. They were barely breathing heavily despite sprinting in...
2023-12-22 04:26:27 +0000 UTC View PostA battle was waged between James’s Will and the Alpha Forest Wolf King’s. In the arena of their minds, thousands of soldiers modeled on the two combatants fought and killed and died.
The struggle lasted for less than a second, and it was...
2023-12-19 20:09:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe band of humans standing behind James shifted into battle stances.
Suddenly, though, the numbers they’d brought didn’t seem enough. James couldn’t immediately understand why, but he had a bad feeling that he was leading this team in...
2023-12-18 17:41:56 +0000 UTC View PostJames stared at the wolf pack through the eyes of his Skin Balloon, faintly puzzled.
He finally opened his human eyes and met the gazes of the people all around him.
Well, don’t look at me as if I have all the answers, he th...
2023-12-15 21:27:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Ahh!” Yulia exclaimed. “Darn it!”
She dropped the pixie and raised her hand to her mouth to kiss the wounded place.
From the corner of her eye, Yulia saw the little powder blue person stand up. Then the pixie blew a raspberry ...
2023-12-14 16:17:59 +0000 UTC View PostYulia found herself in a vast, green meadow. A big, flat plain broken up by the occasional tree. The space stretched out to a distant horizon.
Her teammates stood all around her, packed close like sardines. They had been transported into a c...
2023-12-12 20:15:21 +0000 UTC View PostTwo and a half days passed.
Yulia and Adelaide spent time with Mina each day, repeatedly bathing her in Healing Aura.
On the first day, after three shifts of healing, Mina felt as if she understood something about the nature of the Man...
2023-12-12 03:32:58 +0000 UTC View PostJames frowned. He paused for a moment amid his slaughter of the combined wolf and Ghoul force and looked at Ramon.
I know what he must be seeing, he thought. His family is dying in front of him. So this is what it looks like whe...
2023-12-07 18:59:31 +0000 UTC View Post