Just when I thought I'd caught up, I get the flu. This is the sickest I've been since COVID was new, and I'm only just getting better again. Hope to have chapters out again this weekend.
2024-12-20 08:14:36 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 225: The Emperor's New Clothes
Emma woke up to a package being dropped on her head. Her hand flew up, swatting the offending object away and against the wall with a dull thud; all while Emma reached for her sword, before realising she was still in her homunculus. A note fluttered down from the ceiling, one she just...
2024-12-18 05:18:39 +0000 UTC View PostAN: Finally caught up on Fantasy Arms Dealer. Apologies for the delay, it’s been a horrible week, first the kitchen sink flooding and needing lots of repairs/cleaning, and then getting sick right after that. 3 more chapters of Sworded Affair coming tomorrow, then we’ll be fully caught up.
Chapter 106: Ta...
2024-12-16 03:20:11 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 105: Petty Crime
My sandwich cost another two Gilt, well worth it in my opinion, as it put the hardtack biscuit I had for breakfast to shame. The price was extortionate, admittedly, as I’d paid the equivalent of a room for the night for a slice of roast beef, two pieces of bread, and mustard straight from the vin...
2024-12-16 01:57:15 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 104: Beefeater
I had a few goals in mind, beyond just getting up to date with the daily news. Investigating what passed for financial services was a must, if only to pay homage to my long and distinguished career back on Earth. A visit to the Church of the System would also be helpful, to get access to better metho...
2024-12-15 18:15:41 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 224: Breaking Bad
“Come on!”
Saint growled, her claws carving furrows into the dirt as she strained her magic to the utmost as she bathed the small patch of dirt in a flood of green light. A handful of short brown roots stared back at her, determined not to budge or grow a single inch despite Saint ...
2024-12-15 01:36:11 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 103: City Builder
It was weird, seeing an entire district demarcated for a specific purpose. I hadn’t bothered paying attention to the specifics before now, having considered this nothing more than a brief layover before the journey resumed. That was very much in doubt now, given the invasion, and it was probable...
2024-12-14 20:01:38 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 102: Hard Enough
I didn’t get much rest that night, despite being bone tired from all the running and fighting, instead finding myself rolling back and forth into the long hours of the night. I couldn’t even blame my accommodations for that, since the mattress was actually pretty comfortable; I had no idea what...
2024-12-12 22:42:42 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 223: Midnight Sun
Nobody approached Emma in the end, leaving her to eat in peace and quiet. She’d learned from the Lutefisk incident, and stuck to familiar foods from then on, loading up on carbs in a manner familiar to athletes everywhere as she helped herself to all of the bread within reach. The same couldn’...
2024-12-11 07:38:56 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 101: Staircase to Heaven
To my great relief, the front door didn’t open to reveal a small, dingy house fit only for the poorest of itinerant workers coming from afar, without even any windows to let a bit of sunlight inside. With three grown men plus Pumpkin, I could already see living conditions on par with the ...
2024-12-11 06:51:28 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 100: Metre Dash
I wasn’t particularly keen to go running through the streets, dodging fireballs for a second time in one night, but the alternatives were even less appealing, so off we went, chasing the best of a bunch of bad options. If anything, this second go around was even worse than before, because we were ...
2024-12-10 23:33:42 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 222: Bad Reputation
Is Felix right about that? Emma asked, turning her attention to the buffet in lieu of having to approach anyone and potentially start up a conversation, which was never the easiest thing to do at a party full of strangers, even when they hadn’t spent the past hour or so trying to kill...
2024-12-09 22:08:08 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 99: Inflation
Up until this point, I had been selective in what I stored, taking only what I needed in the immediate term, or what I was asked to store, and otherwise letting the carriages take most of the burden of transport, because otherwise why even bother hiring them? Now, the circumstances had changed; with t...
2024-12-09 16:53:20 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 98: Mind Map
“I set out tonight to meet Marek, my primary contact here in Heaven’s Reach,” Harvey began by way of explanation. “He was a local, born and raised in the city, with extensive connections in the criminal underground that made him an excellent fence and information broker. I made it a habit to al...
2024-12-09 15:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostJust a heads up, had a few big storms in UK lately, and finally got unlucky today as it knocked out the power, so I'm running a bit behind while sat in the dark waiting for repairs.
Will catch up on outstanding chapters this weekend, 4 for FAD and 2 for Sworded Affair once lights are back on.
Sorry for delay, and if anyone else readi...
2024-12-06 22:43:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 221: Meet The Crew
“This is a bit of a departure from the Roman aesthetic,” Emma noted, giving the mead a try as she watched individuals and small groups begin to teleport into the hall.
It was a bit spicier than she was used to, but overall similar enough to the mulled wine she had every Christmas, that ...
2024-12-06 00:55:57 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 97: Sleeping Beauty
After a gruelling run, I was finally reunited with the rest of the party, even picking up an extra along the way, which was good. Less so was seeing Harvey sprawled out in my bed, groaning in his sleep and dead to the world.
[Harvey Miller - Level 10 Thief of Souls]
...
2024-12-05 22:58:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 96: The World Shall Know Pain
What is pain, exactly? Well, it’s one of those fiddly concepts that are easy to understand but hard to quantify; everyone knows it, yet no two people experience it in exactly the same way. Differences in biology, psychology, even something as simple as mood in the moment changes how ...
2024-12-05 20:58:53 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 95: We Didn’t Start The Fire
Granted, the damage wasn’t nearly as bad as in the slums, though the jury was out on whether that was due to there being fewer saboteurs placing bombs or superior building standards leading to more resilient housing. Even so, it was hard to find a row of buildings without at least o...
2024-12-04 04:27:34 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 94: Spooky Scary Skeletons
Monsters needed darkness to spawn. That was one of the few undisputed truths understood by humanity, on a subject that remained little understood; the masses remaining shrouded in superstition, misinformation and simple ignorance despite the tireless efforts of a legion of researchers spa...
2024-12-04 02:04:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 220: Back Online
When her sight returned, Emma found herself back in the prison cell where the event began. She had been seamlessly returned to her true form, and even Sir Bearington was there to greet her, having remained active whilst her mind was busy elsewhere.
[Reboot successful!
<...
2024-12-04 00:10:40 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 93: War Never Changes
War. It was a possibility that was always just on the horizon, something even the old Will had been cognisant of despite his limited knowledge of the world. They were known to happen without fail every few decades, and it had been a while since the last one, to the point where people joked tha...
2024-12-03 03:15:18 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 92: Fallout
I didn’t regret declining the communications upgrade a while back, but at the same time, I’d be lying if I claimed that resulting inefficiencies never got on my nerves. Having to parrot back Pumpkin’s report to the peanut gallery meant it took at least twice as long, and there was always the risk ...
2024-12-03 01:06:18 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 219: Kawarimi
The short reprieve was nice, insofar as it gave Emma a chance to rest, but it did nothing to alter the dynamic once fighting resumed. A cloak that turned her invisible while staying still didn’t do much good, not when her opponent had kept track of her last known position, so she was still forced to...
2024-12-02 23:36:21 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 218: You’re Fired
“I’ve had enough of this! Burn!”
A wave of heat slammed into Emma, followed immediately after by a deafening crackle as the air ignited, searing her skin despite her relatively distance to the epicentre. Her own opponent took the chance to lunge forward, stabbing at her ribs in the h...
2024-12-02 02:42:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 91: Wave Collapse
Pumpkin had expected something impressive from Schrodiner’s appearance; it was hard not to, given how much Ralph had hyped him up, never mind his extraordinary level. Pumpkin thought himself prepared to witness a storm of claws, faster than he could move but hopefully not perceive, tearing the e...
2024-12-02 00:46:20 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 90: Baba Yetu
Quite frankly, if the choice was between fighting the entire roomful of cultists to save Harvey or running, Pumpkin would already have been a blur in the distance. He didn’t mind Harvey, the man who had provided for his room and board over the last few weeks, but that wasn’t enough of a bond for h...
2024-12-01 23:44:46 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 89: Tetragrammaton
[Level up!
Pumpkin
Class: Level 4 Cat
Title: [Empty]
Experience: 315/500]
“So far so good,” Pumpkin mused, seeing nothing out of the ordinary on his status page.
The ...
2024-12-01 22:40:56 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 88: Ratting Them Out
“This is really weird,” Pumpkin muttered to himself, creeping close to the ground with his nose to the floor, following the distinctive and unmistakable scent of prey.
Will hadn’t noticed anything, but that was to be expected; the scientific consensus held that a cat’s nose was an...
2024-12-01 20:51:53 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 217: Worthy Opponents
Emma made sure to remain perfectly still, even as the floor began to move beneath her. Instead of the teleportation she’d been expecting, the raised segments of the arena were lowering themselves down to ground level, while the surface smoothed out at a forty-five degree angle, creating an i...
2024-11-30 22:42:19 +0000 UTC View Post