Bruce_Sentar

RD 5 Ch 42

Merlin huffed, as the teleportation ended, only to turn and stare at Circe and Nyx, who had come along with us. “I understand why you needed me,” Merlin said, her gaze falling on Circe harshly, “but I don’t understand why you needed her.”

“Well, I’m honest,she’s important enough for this particular outing that I couldn’t ...

RD 5 Ch 41

It didn’t take Gloria and I long to find a place to eat. Everybody nearby who had checked our skill sheets was more than happy to help us in any way possible. They practically offered their firstborn child when I asked a question.

Taking a few suggestions and following their directions, we’d made our way to a restaurant. We were seated...

RD 5 Ch 40

Apparently, even though I thought what Gloria had been wearing was just fine, she had needed to change before we were ready to head out.

I guess if she was showing off her strength, she probably wanted to look good in the process.

While I waited, I headed to check in with Merlin, who was milling about the Citadel,  taking orders...

RD 5 Ch 39

Simone and Winnie walked with Sylvie through the sect, and Simone made no secret of using her Inspect on anyone and everyone she could find.

“Are there any groups in the sect that are rather reclusive?” Simone asked.

Both of the older women snorted a laugh. “You’ll find ‘reclusive’ is the default among sects,” Sylvie sa...

RD 5 Ch 38

Simone beamed at Merlin as she dropped them off at the Roaring Wave Sect.

“Thank you for the lift, as always, Merlin.” Simone gave her a little curtsy.

“It’s always a pleasure,” Merlin said quickly. “Now, if you don’t mind, apparently I have some catching up to do when it comes to preparing for the Trial of Kings.” 2025-10-11 06:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

RD 5 Ch 37

“And that’s how it ended up as it did,” I said, finishing my story of the Trial of Kings.

By the end, Nyx had consumed my lap. Gloria stayed close enough to reach me if she wanted, but not so close as to come off as clingy. Simone puttered around, cleaning up around us, and when she wasn’t busy with that she circled back to massage...

Sept AMA

Just got this up.
Side note for KS peeps, we finally got the pickup sorted out for the pallets of packed KS that have been in my garage since Friday afternoon. Boxes are out and should have been scanned in for those wondering about packages that weren't tracking.

RD 5 Ch 36

“Well,” Circe said as we reappeared back outside the trial, “that was certainly… something.”

I blinked away the sudden shift in light to find ourselves in the dark of Tartarus, but far from the start of the trials. We were behind our own troops as they trained on the first wave.

“You’ve got that right,” Winnie said, i...

RD 5 Ch 35

“Alright, so after discussing it with your harem,” Syssy spun back around and I gave her a raised eyebrow some hours later.

I’d spent most of the time wandering the very small hall and leaving it to Simone.

“My harem?” I said, not sure if I’d call that group my harem. “Sorry. The only one I’m currently in a relationsh...

RD 5 Ch 34

As soon as that message popped up, I found myself ejected from the Trial of Kings and showered in party poppers as Syssy cheered and blew a kazoo inches from my face.

“Yay, you did it, Bran!” Syssy squealed. The green-haired fairy was overwhelmingly excited while the rest of us were still adjusting from being ripped out of the instance...

RD 5 Ch 33

With Bloodrage Ascension active, I swung back at Princess Almeria in her draconic form, my Bloodiron Blade growing to be nearly as large as I was. That meant it was nearly sixteen feet long, certainly enough to cleave the princess’s new form in half.

She twisted her long, serpentine body out of the way as her tail and the spines that ran...

RD 5 Ch 32

Luckily for all of us, Winnie got her warm sheath for her icy scythe not long after. Otherwise, I’m sure she’d become insufferable.

The four of us dove into the rear of Princess Almeria’s forces together like meteors descending on the battlefield.

It was immediately apparent the princess was with the rest of her troops. A group...

RD 5 Ch 31

I rushed alongside the others back to where all of our forces were hopefully still laying siege, with Princess Almeria’s forces bottled up inside the Citadel of Blood.

Winnie slid up next to me as we made our way back. The headstrong woman wore a scowl that, thankfully, didn’t seem directed at me. “Do you think she predicted all of t...

RD 5 Ch 30

I watched her strategy, once she started throwing sonic enchanted boulders she hadn’t slowed down in the slightest. Not that it mattered, I had come to kick her out of the Citadel, and that was exactly what I was going to do. Watching her hurl boulders that hurt these women who supported Simone was extra motivation.

Realistically, the am...

RD 5 Ch 29

I slammed my hand against the table in frustration as the plan we’d just made was already falling apart.

“Well, that’s just wonderful, isn’t it?” Winnie said, crossing her arms and turning to me as if it were my job to find a solution.

I suppose it was, now that I’d taken the leadership role among this group. It wasn’t ...

RD 5 Ch 28

Simone followed me back to what I could only assume was the master bedroom. It wasn’t so glorious as to have indoor plumbing, but the bed looked inviting. And after the day I’d had, I was more than eager to sink into it and move on to the next day.

That, however, wasn’t in the cards.

Simone cleared her throat. “Well, now that...

RD 5 Ch 27

Winnie’s surrender of her troops to me seemed to trigger another of the seals on my stats and abilities.

While my body went through the transformation, I could feel a dozen people checking my growth, eyes scanning my stats and seeing the change. Apparently this moment sealed Simone’s allegiance, as I felt a second gut punch of stats ro...

RD 5 Ch 26

I swallowed audibly, the sound seeming to reverberate across the battlefield. I looked around, expecting the whole area to have heard me, and they might have as fighting slowed and more than a few eyes shifted my direction.

The more that looked my way, the more others followed. Fighting slowed as the Mul Branova and Circe’s elites began ...

RD 5 Ch 25

The fight sparked off in a raging inferno. Circe went straight through Winnie‘s people, doing her best to keep them busy with sudden gusts of wind.

On the other hand, Simone and the Mul Branova moved far more slowly, holding hands and marching towards Winnie directly. I could only assume she intended to encircle Winnie with the same tech...

RD 5 Ch 24

I found myself desperately hoping that time inside the Trial of Kings was not equivalent to the outside. None of these situations or people were moving very quickly. Then again, armies didn't move very quickly. Haste was very costly at this sort of scale. 

It had taken almost a week after my discussion with Circe before we got any act...

RD 5 Ch 23

Apparently, Syssy was determined to make this trial difficult for me.

At least, that was my impression as I woke up with Circe still cuddling me and an unfulfilled quest flashing in the corner of my vision. I took that to mean that even wearing Circe out in bed and exerting several forms of dominance was not considered subduing this woman....

RD 5 Ch 22

"Oh, there you are," Circe said several days later entering the tent. "I was wondering if you were still holed up in here."

Since she left a few days ago, I hadn’t had any obvious minders. That one nymph had wandered in a few times to try her luck before her pride and frustration got the better of her.

Circe still dropped in from t...

RD 5 Ch 21

Two days later, I found myself frowning and wondering if I should have started with Circe first. 

No sooner had she brought me to her own fortified position than she simply put me to work. I still had a fair bit of supervision, but I wasn't being treated like a criminal who just needed the opportunity to commit a crime.

"I see y...

RD 5 Ch 20

"Stay here," Simone said as the explosion still roared in the distance. Though the velvet curtains that were the mainstay of her castle barely even rustled. 

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "We wouldn't perhaps be under attack, would we?" 

"We would be," she began, but I held up a hand to interrupt her. 

...

Q&A Session 3 - Ask your questions here!

Session 3 of the video Q&A series is being filmed early next week! Get your questions in as comments on this post! If your question wasn't picked last time, try again and it may show up this round!

The questions can be about anything you want - My own work, the genre as a whole, the process or nature of writing, my story in entering t...

RD 5 Ch 19

As Simone stormed out of the room, I couldn't suppress the smile that spread across my face. Her being upset was a far cry from the indifference she'd shown me previously. 

To be upset, there had to be something she was upset about. There had to be an emotional stake for her. Whether I was or was not her Bran, if that stake wasn't the...

RD 5 Ch 18

We had only just stepped out of the village when one of the Mul Branovas spoke up. "I thought Bran was one of the greatest warriors of this world," she frowned, glancing over at me. Apparently, my performance wasn't up to their standards.

I shot a pained glance towards Simone and let out a heavy sigh. "The truth is, I have been cursed and ...

RD 5 Ch 17

I stood with Simone outside her castle, technically halfway to the Citadel of Blood, speaking in a village as Simone tried to score new recruits. I did my best to look handsome, tall, and worth joining.

The ladies in the village gave me flirtatious eyes and swayed back and forth, as if I would somehow find them too tempting, and simply sna...

RD 5 Ch 16

Now, I had no expectations of what pretending to be myself for Simone would entail. However, after two days of being paraded around the Mul Branova, and then being sent into what were apparently extensive dungeons that seemed to be expanding almost as fast as I could go in and rid people of their bloodlines, I realized it was a very unwise decis...

RD 5 Ch 15

Simone stared at me unblinkingly, making me nervous. What exactly was she going to do with me? I knew she wouldn’t remember, nor recognize me. Like my trail her memories would be blocked.

The trial of kings was a test of who you were at your core, not who you were trying to be.

Eventually, she waved a hand to dismiss the ladies who...