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Kernstalion - chapter 60: Explosive entrance

I stared at Gurlon, confused and about to ask how he knew, when I saw a glitter in his eyes. The corner of his mouth curled up a bit, and deep lines cropped up across his face. What the hell was going on? When I kept quiet, he barked a laugh before his face turned impassive again.

"Good. Don't let yourself be baited so easily. It's unbecom...

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Kernstalion - chapter 59: Assassin in a bag

I followed Bastian further through the city and tried to figure out what was following us. I now heard soft scuff and impact noises each time we passed a gap in the buildings. Someone or something was tracking us, jumping across the buildings.

Dammit, we shouldn't be luring this thing to wherever we are going, I suddenly thought.<...

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NBB3 - chapter 41: Against the clock

> Suspended animation halted

> Body waking up in: 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds

Solus closed the status window and gritted his teeth, the only part of his body he could move by now. With some effort, he focused on his connection to the barrier above. It was shivering uncontrollably, and a painful pressure surged across it ...

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Kernstalion - chapter 58: Tearful drinking

I gazed around the center of the area with slight awe. Knee-high saplings stood everywhere, most of which I had no idea what they were.

Ahead of me, Antoni sauntered to a surprisingly red sapling with three palm-sized yellow leaves.

"This one," he said as he kneeled and stoked the thin stem. Then he looked up, his face suddenly serio...

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NBB3 - chapter 40: Finders keepers, losers-

Tirella shot deeper into the Earth, seeing the end of the tunnel. An area filled with rubble and stone, and a single narrow gap in the side. The edges were burst outward as if something had crawled out.

Taking a quick look at the rubble, Tirella moved through. She entered into a completely different area: a small room with pale metal floor...

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Kernstalion 2 - 57: Sleeping on the job

Bastian's long legs carried him forward quickly, and I had to jog to keep up as he strode through the city's crowded streets. I had expected him to bring me to some remote area. However, looking around the bustling mass of people, I knew this had to be a central trading area, perhaps even the city center.

Shops lined the walls everywhere I...

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Kernstalion 2 - 56: Upsides have downsides

As I leaned back in the chair, a metal mug in one hand and scratching below the itchy new clothing, I gazed around the loud and busy common room. Most of the people that filled its stuffy interior were eating or chatting across empty platters. During our trip here, I'd mostly seen Sandasin. Here, though, there was a large variety of races.

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Kernstalion 2 - 55: Tenziran

As I swayed on my feet, I saw a balding, bearded man with a sturdy physique step from between the line of soldiers. He cradled a massive sword in his arms, but from the sheer size of his hands, I doubted it was because he couldn't lift it any other way.

"Who are you?" the man asked, curiosity lacing his gritty voice.

I'd thought up a...

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Kernstalion 2 - 54: A storm of teeth and nails

I scanned the end of the narrow corridor, flanked by creates and cursed. I had no idea where Libidi was and could only hope that she had heard the guards enter. As quiet as I could, I stepped forward, absently glad the floor was dry sand and not wooden boards. My new boots would have made way too much noise.

I peeked around the edge of the...

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Welcome Grey Beard

Thank you for becoming one of my patrons! You may now choose a bonus chapter release for one story. Currently that would be NBB3 or Kernstalion, but seeing as you've hearted Kernstalion... Let me know if my assumption is right (comment or PM) and I'll do an extra chapter release in your honor. 

You can decide if this carries over to R...

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Kernstalion 2 - 53: Encampment

When I woke, the light of the sun was warming the side of my face, and it took me a moment to realize what was wrong with that.

Libidi!

I shot upright, looking around with gritty eyes.

Libidi stood a few feet away, juggling the daggers while looking at the sunrise.

"Finally awake?"

I grunted and got up. "Wh...

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Kernstalion 2 - 52: Value is a constant

I inspected the body of the Go'in'la, but it remained unmoving. A bolt sat lodged in one of its slit eyes, a pale puss oozing out, but it remained unmoving.

"They weren't that hard to hit," I muttered, looking at my two boltcasters. Although both were slightly worn from missing a few times, I knew I had a few good shots left in each.

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Kernstalion 2 - 51: Fat does what now?

Increase my attributes?

I froze, stunned silent for a second as Par's words slammed into me. How had I forgotten about the increase the first milestone had gained me? It wasn't like I had it so easy that I didn't need any little power available to me!

I instantly opened my status window and looked at the current rank of all ...

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Kernstalion 2 - 50: Good idea, bad idea

A soft, cool wind blew across my face, waking me from a nightmare where I was being boiled alive. Luckily the painful images faded, and for a moment, I just lay there, not recalling where I was, just wondering why my back was hurting. Then my mind recalled the previous events, and the image of Libidi, blood pouring from her eyes and nose, made m...

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NBB3 - chapter 39: Coming for you!

Solus hovered in front of the dozens of energy cables, staring in dismay at the long thin cracks running across them. Even the weakest ones seemed ready to break. The big one that had led to Sumil was pulsating, with more cracks emerging.

He gritted his teeth and tried to enter Sumil's again, but some invisible force repelled him. Upset, h...

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Kernstalion 2 - 49: Raw feet

A pop came from the third and last body as it rapidly incinerated under a layer of green flame. I quickly looked around to ensure I'd gotten everything, but all I found was a thin layer of soot that covered the cobblestones. I opened my clenched hands with a sigh, trying to ignore the pain from overly cramped fingers.

"Let's go find Casiro...

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Kernstalion 2 - 48: Renown

Est, wake up!

Casiron's voice rippled through my mind, and I groaned as the headache hit me.

The daylight poured in through the cave entrance, tinted slightly green by the long helms of grass swaying beyond. The floor and walls of the cave gleamed oily, but smudges clearly marked where we had walked. My large leathery pack l...

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Kernstalion 2 - 47: A quiet night

The grass jungle suddenly darkened as the last of the red sunlight disappeared. For a moment, I didn't see anything, then my night-vision kicked in, and the dense swaying grass came back into view.

After only a few dozen feet, Casiron crawled out into a small twenty-foot wide open area opening into the hill.

How hadn't we seen that f...

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Kernstalion 2 - 46: Leaving tracks

When we reached the trail, I noticed the chaotic tracks of thousands of feet. Wheel tracks ran criss-cross through them, and the deep imprints of Charbull mixed with everything.

I slid off Casiron and inspected the tracks. Most were dried out, and the edge had sagged inside. I wasn't a tracker of any sort, but if I had to guess, these were...

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Kernstalion 2 - 45: Trailing the Nailhounds

"Are you sure you are ready to leave?" I asked as I gazed at Libidi.

We were standing with our backs towards the hall with the portals, staring out across the city. Although many had died, the survivors that had made it here moved throughout the city, making it look livelier than it probably had in eons.

"I am sure," Libidi said emot...

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NBB3 - chapter 38: Hide and seek

Tirella hovered behind the barrier, staring in terror at the monstrosity that was now so large it resembled a small planet. Intense stabbing pain in her mind, her head, made it hard to focus, and it was as if a thin film lay between her and the incoming Kaot Lord.

A dozen ugly eyes, small and set along the edge of its maw, looked back at h...

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NBB3 - chapter 37: A cloud of Sig

Norg yawned as he stretched his body over the oversized stone couch and looked down at the bustling Battle Inn. From his balcony, he had a great view of the central arena and the dozens of tables filled with undead that surrounded it. Pudgy, yellow zombies moved between the tables, carrying plates filled with steaming white flesh. Nothing had ch...

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NBB3 - chapter 36: Finding the prize

Tirella moved like a blur across the wasteland, streaking towards the hills in the distance.

Something is wrong, she thought while she examined the cracked and ripped apart hills.

What had happened here? Hovering above the hills, she stared in disbelief at the large parts of the destroyed landscape. A slight movement in one ...

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NBB3 - chapter 35: Three days left

"Is he always like that?"

Norg turned his gaze from the window and towards Oytach.

"Who? Laron?"

"No, Solus! Is he always invisible?"

"No, he is like Tirella," Norg said with a grin as he took a look at the other.

Ever since they had returned, he'd been keeping an eye on the Kaot Lord. The other had been reasonably ...

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NBB3 - chapter 34: All together now

Norg fell to his knees and took a quick look around the squarish stone room around him. There was an opening in front of him, with a stone door cracked to the side. Bodies lay strewn across the hall beyond, and behind those, another door, also open.

Where are we? he thought.

A crackling came from behind him, and he spun arou...

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Welcome!

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NBB3 - chapter 33: GD18

Tirella cracked her neck, and it popped and snapped loudly. The bones at the top felt out of line, and it gave her a headache. She tried not to look at the skeleton, who was still aiming its massive canon arm at her. If it shot her, she would probably end up blasted apart.

A loud clang came from the door opening, and she saw the zombie, Gi...

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NBB3: A quick status update

So, November is almost done, and although I've managed to write or rewrite a minimum of 5000 words a day, I haven't finished the story yet. We are roughly 140k words into the story, and I have realized that it will be longer than book two. That, or I need to remove story elements or plot lines from it, which I'm loath to do. This also means I wo...

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NBB3 - chapter 32: A strange day

"So Sig is back?" Norg asked loudly.

He had a wide grin on his dark green, almost black face, but although much had changed, parts of his previous evolutions had remained. His features were sharper and more refined than those of Oytach, and according to Vingria, his smile had not changed. How that was of any importance, Solus didn't know.<...

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NBB3 - chapter 31: Reset

Solus kneeled beside Norg's motionless body and inspected his friend. Within moments deep hopelessness emerged. Norg didn't react at all to being freed, and his body was so drained that it reminded him of a skeleton with a thin layer of skin. He quietly examined the dull purple crystals one at a time, looking for the signs of more of Gouldiv's o...

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