Five days passed between Esposito’s murder and the monthly tournament. The entire school was convinced the drug trade had finally been stamped out. Everyone — except the addicts, who continued buying their product from the dealers still working for the demons.
I had no idea what the Order’s higher-ups believed, but officially, the th...
2025-08-03 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Get out of there!" Johansson ordered. Judging by his voice, he was already on the move.
Esposito was dead — well and truly dead. Technically, Novak’s plan had worked. But neither I, nor I imagine Vaclav himself, had expected a sniper. The idea was that the demons would send in a quiet assassin.
What happened here was anything bu...
2025-08-01 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI’m relaunching Lord Loxlin on Royal Road, which means Chapter 1 of Book 3 will go live on Patreon in about a month.
Right now, I’m trying to reach more readers — and this isn’t the kind of story that usually thrives on Royal Road, so I’m struggling a bit with my RS run.
If you’ve read Warlock’s Last Exam or Wizard’s ...
2025-07-31 07:14:33 +0000 UTC View Post"Hi, Luca," I said.
Luca Benedetti tensed immediately.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Jake Sullivan — third place in the last tournament."
Benedetti tensed even more.
"And what do you want?"
"Give up your dealer," I told him.
He flinched and tried to sidestep me. Unfortunately for him, I already knew his de...
2025-07-30 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostJohansson and I met in his office, in the central building of the Hall of Order, on the same floor where I had once spoken with Mei… Mei-What’s-Her-Name. The swordswoman — deputy head of the Hall and master of Liang Shi.
Unlike hers, Johansson’s office was much smaller and far less ostentatious. Just a single desk with two chairs, ...
2025-07-29 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostYes, I had to make the call, otherwise, Rene might do something stupid himself.
But to whom?
Would calling Johansson turn out to be the stupid move instead? Should I call Novak directly instead? And what if Rene was working with the drug dealers himself?
No, that was ridiculous. Still, I couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibil...
2025-07-27 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThey patched me up in under a day. I was thrown out of the capsule early in the morning, before the general wake-up. Zola wasn’t there, though I’d grown used to seeing her nearby every time I came round in the infirmary. But the familiar hunger was. So I decided to check if the cafeteria was already open.
It was completely empty, but t...
2025-07-25 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostIn the next round, I was up against the female version of Dubois — Sophia Mitchell. A wide-bladed rapier and four daggers. Unlike Dubois, her weapon had a clearly defined edge. It was obvious that from second year onward, she intended to pursue the path of a classic swordswoman — Point-Blade.
Like me, she hadn’t taken any damage in p...
2025-07-23 23:36:02 +0000 UTC View PostI woke up earlier than usual, and for the first time in weeks, I felt… whole. My muscles didn’t ache. My head wasn’t pounding. Moving was easy, and breathing was pleasant.
Though I wasn’t exactly in a fighting mood, I was ready to take part in the tournament. And I knew exactly what I had to thank for that gift.
Evening Sun.<...
2025-07-22 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostSince early morning, I couldn't get a bite down. As luck would have it, the machine served me a bowl of my favourite ‘metallic rice’ among other things, but that wasn’t the main reason. In less than half an hour, I had to attack Martin Lao.
I knew it was necessary, but personally, Lao hadn’t done anything to me. Nothing personal, a...
2025-07-20 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostBy the end of the session with Rene, I’d run the route seven times. He only calmed down once I managed to complete it without falling three times in a row. And even then, he still didn’t look satisfied. He kept sighing like I’d completely missed the point of the exercise.
“What’s your problem with it?” I finally snapped. I was ...
2025-07-18 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostRene held individual training sessions late in the evening, after the general practice in the hall. Like I said — my evenings were busy. Though to be fair, the rest of the day wasn’t exactly free either: morning session with Adam, morning session with Rene, lunch, block duty, Adam again, and only then the one-on-one with Rene. I usually had ...
2025-07-16 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe day of the tournament arrived. Cinar was competing; I wasn’t. Dubois had also declined the idea, so we were bound to face each other next time. Still, there were plenty of others I was glad to avoid. Praise be, number one, Leon Gunther, was in this tournament. As were Turgunov, Okoro, Zabyaka, the one who had flattened Cinar last time, and...
2025-07-15 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostFara Rakotoarisoa was part of the Hall of Technology. Not Medicine, as Novak had suspected, but specifically the Engraving Division of the Hall of Technology. Which made sense, though it wasn’t exactly obvious from the name. The Engraving Division dealt with formations and arrays. And we already knew that it was through formations that demons ...
2025-07-13 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt was the first time I’d seen fog through a window here. Not that there were many windows around. Even Adam and Lina’s room didn’t have a real one, just a screen that displayed the view from one of the city cameras on Earth. And it wasn’t even clear if it was a live feed or a recording. On Verdis, if you wanted greenery, you had to go t...
2025-07-11 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostKim and I never did come up with a reliable way to communicate safely. Still, he gave me the names of three addicts right away. All three were guys: two lived in our block, and I even knew one of them. Y. Volkov, the very same bully victim who had now become a leader of the anti-bully coalition. The other cadet, B. Mtembei, I didn’t know at al...
2025-07-09 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe tournament results were analysed for quite some time. And, of course, the Darro twins sparked the most discussion.
They were expelled.
Rumour had it the administration tried to hush things up. After all, their plan had almost worked. Coordinated actions under cover, anticipating the judges' reactions, attacking not head-on but th...
2025-07-08 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostAnother week passed. wo, if you counted from the last tournament I fought in.
I’d signed up for the next one. So had Dubois. Last time we’d ended up in the final by chance, but this time we agreed one of us would register early, the other late. That way, we wouldn’t have to fight each other before the finals.
It wouldn’t be a...
2025-07-06 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe next cultivation session went more smoothly. My stomach and wounds weren’t as painful anymore, though they still stung a little, as if the new, regenerated flesh wasn’t entirely mine and my body was rejecting it just a bit. It wasn’t ideal, but it was manageable.
As for the cultivation itself, everything remained steady. There wa...
2025-07-04 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI had to skip my session with the mutual support club just to get in to see Novak.
“You suspect demons are behind the drug trade in the School?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” I replied, sipping plain green tea. Judging by his choice of brew, Vaclav wasn’t taking me all that seriously.
“I understand that the t...
2025-07-02 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostFor some reason, Novak only ever invited me over in the evenings. But since I’d volunteered to take on two full days of duty in the block, w
For some reason, Novak only ever invited me over in the evenings. But since I’d volunteered to take on two full days of duty in the block, we didn’t meet right away. Then came my first cultivati...
2025-07-01 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs Bulsara later explained to me, Nur’s breakdown had a very specific cause. She’d received a video message from Zola’s parents. The school’s bureaucracy had automatically notified them of Zola’s improving physical condition. Her whole big family sent congratulations and warm wishes for her recovery, eager to hear back from her as soon...
2025-06-29 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI found out I’d won before the machine even took my armour off. But I didn’t get the chance to savour the moment. One of the medics injected something into my neck — and the world went dark.
My next awakening felt like the very first one I could remember.
Cold air rushed into my lungs — sharp as a needle. My eyelids were heav...
2025-06-27 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostThis wasn’t a duel — it was a slow, stubborn dance between two broken machines, programmed to destroy each other. The formations seemed to function, but they were letting everything through. Whether the formations were failing or the fighters were pumped full of stimulants, it was hard to tell. I wasn’t an expert in either.
Both sets...
2025-06-25 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI stepped onto the arena. Sand again beneath my feet. Okoro’s hammers were already waiting for me — both of them, just as Kate had said. He
I stepped onto the arena. Sand again beneath my feet. Okoro’s hammers were already waiting for me — both of them, just as Kate had said. He stood square, torso slightly leaning forward, right e...
2025-06-24 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re an unbelievably lucky son of a bitch,” Kate declared as Tesfaye’s match ended. “Hey! Easy,” I said. No need to insult anyone’s paren
“You’re an unbelievably lucky son of a bitch,” Kate declared as Tesfaye’s match ended.
“Hey! Easy,” I said. No need to insult anyone’s parents — neither mine nor Ja...
2025-06-22 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostI skipped the third round. Advanced automatically. My opponent, and his armour, had taken significant damage. Stepping into a fight against a fully functional enemy would've been idiocy. And he didn’t.
Kaleb Shoal, a Point-Air cultivator, had won his previous fight.
Facing him on a sand-covered arena was Volkov — a Wood cultivato...
2025-06-20 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View Post"That was awful," Kate told me as I reached the waiting zone, parked my armoured backside on the bench and lifted my visor.
"I won!" I disagreed.
"Your fight looked like two toddlers wrestling in a sandbox over a toy shovel. And I wouldn’t even call it a real fight," she waved off.
"The best fight is the one that never happen...
2025-06-18 23:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostKate thought I wasn’t ready for the tournaments — and I completely agreed with her. She even let Cinar beat the crap out of me just to prove how unready I was. The tip of his pick pierced my shield, tore through my left side — skin and muscle — but didn’t reach the internal organs. A piece of armour had bent inward and kept slicing int...
2025-06-17 23:36:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few chapters will focus on the weekly tournament — and I could use your input!
The first three readers to comment below can claim their own characters. After that, please identify yourself in the #character-creation channel on my Discord server: https://discord.gg/N...
2025-06-17 08:21:50 +0000 UTC View Post