Later that afternoon, after the horses had settled into their long, steady rhythm, Ludger decided to test what Taron had shown him.
He lifted one hand from the reins, index finger cutting slow arcs through the air. Mana pulsed faintly at his fingertip—a dim, golden-brown glow, like sunlight trapped in dust.
The idea was simple: kee...
2025-10-23 06:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe trip back home was quite easy, as they avoided the main roads. Ludger rode in the center, reins loose, sand gourd thumping against his hip. Every few miles he’d lag half a length and let his mana seep forward. The ground remembered feet; he told it to forget.
Hoofprints softened, edges sloughed, the soil shrugging back to how wind an...
2025-10-22 21:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostLudger did not pretend he liked it. He had never pretended to be a saint; he was practical, efficient, and very careful with his moral arithmetic. The men they’d captured were ankle-deep in other people’s misery—moving herbs that burned minds, hauling bodies, taking coin for lives. He pictured the trader’s face, the empty stalls, the mot...
2025-10-22 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostMaurien glanced back toward the tunnel, eyes narrowing. “The rest of what used to be the Empire splintered. Those regions became the countries beyond the range—the academies, the city-states, the forges that mix magic and machinery. Each of them with its own pride and grudges. Each claiming they’re the true heirs of civilization.”
...
2025-10-22 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThey advanced carefully at first—three shadows moving in tense silence. The air inside the tunnel felt heavier with every step, carrying the stale weight of mana left to rot. Dust motes drifted in the faint glow of Maurien’s wind-light, and even Freyra’s breathing sounded too loud.
Ludger kept his hand hovering just above the ground,...
2025-10-22 06:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMaurien’s eyes narrowed, his expression shifting from analysis to grim understanding. “That would make sense. Forgotten mines run all through this range. The Empire used them before. Plenty of space to dig a new network without anyone noticing.”
Freyra crossed her arms, looking toward the dark cliffs ahead. “So they’re rats hidin...
2025-10-21 21:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThey had finished a transaction here recently, he thought. Not a raid, not a hurried theft—this had the careful, cleaned-up feel of the underworld. Boxes opened, goods accounted, traces deliberately minimized. Whoever ran this route didn’t move stray spoils; they moved inventory.
Ludger let the knowledge settle, a cold stone in his gut...
2025-10-21 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostAcross the tavern, one of the armed men snorted quietly. Another leaned closer to his companion, muttering something under his breath. Heads turned, attention sharpening—not on a quiet group of strangers anymore, but on a ridiculous one.
Perfect.
Ludger finally looked up, his voice cutting through the room again. “Either way,” ...
2025-10-21 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAs they walked away from the trader’s house and back toward the square, Derrin caught up beside Ludger, lowering his voice.
“Hey… why’d you stop there, Captain?” he asked. “That old man probably knew more. You could’ve pressed him for names or details—maybe even who those fake guards were.”
Ludger didn’t slow his ...
2025-10-21 06:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Here’s the plan,” he said, voice low and even. “Derrin, Freyra—you’re with me. We’ll handle direct questions, talk to merchants, and look for anyone nervous around the guild’s name.”
Freyra smirked. “Finally, something that doesn’t involve doing nothing.”
Ludger ignored that. “Taron, Mira—you stay on the ...
2025-10-20 21:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThey broke camp before the sun had properly climbed the ridge, the air thin and bright. Maurien rode with them now, cloak pulled up against the wind. The road narrowed as it wriggled eastward, trees thinning to rocky scrub and the first real scars of mountain coming into view. He moved like he was floating since he didn’t want to ride anyone...
2025-10-20 17:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe man stopped a few paces from the fire, the corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re punctual, Ludger. And you brought an audience.”
Freyra blinked. “Wait, this is the Lone Terror?”
Maurien smirked, brushing ash from his sleeve. “Depends who’s telling the story.”
Ludger folded his arms, the weight of ten...
2025-10-20 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe group was still reeling. Ludger had conjured water out of thin air, nailed the spell in one shot, and even triggered a whole new job in the process. Callen was still staring at his sleeves like the laws of magic had personally betrayed him.
Then, before anyone could say another word, Ludger swung one leg over his horse and jumped down....
2025-10-20 06:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostStill, Ludger wasn’t about to complain. He was gaining experience at a ridiculous pace without swinging a weapon or fighting for his life.
By the time Freyra finally dropped to a knee, panting and laughing like she’d just gone three rounds with a bear, the fire was almost out and everyone looked like they’d aged a year. At some point...
2025-10-19 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA few days later, the landscape began to change.
The frozen cold plains gradually gave way to gentler slopes and denser trees, the air warmer, the ground less brittle under the horses’ hooves. They had officially left the northern territories behind, moving into the eastern stretch of the Empire—less wild, more watched.
Ludger ro...
2025-10-19 18:00:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning sun crawled higher as the group finally left the town behind, hooves crunching against the frostbitten road. He turned around and then saw a board with the name, Lionfang… when they did name the town after Dad’s special technique? In any casey they had seven riders in total—six half-trained, one half-patient. Their bre...
2025-10-19 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThat made Ludger frown deeply. “Me?”
Arslan nodded. “Yes. He was clear about it — said it had to be you. Didn’t explain much beyond that.”
Ludger crossed his arms, his brows furrowing as he stared off toward the icy plains. “That doesn’t sound like the Maurien I know.”
Kharnek grunted. “Your teacher, eh? The...
2025-10-19 06:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostLudger’s smirk deepened slightly. “Oh, I can imagine. Probably half the border would end up buried under the snow again.”
Freyra clicked her tongue, muttering something under her breath about “southern arrogance,” but didn’t move.
Kharnek just laughed, clapping his hands together. “Then it’s settled! No punching, no k...
2025-10-18 21:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostFor the next few days, Ludger stayed mostly on the edges of the camp — a quiet shadow with sharp eyes. From the wooden rails near the fields, he watched the recruits come and go from the labyrinth, tracking their progress with calm.
They were improving, slowly but steadily. Bruised but not broken. Exactly how he wanted them.
Every ...
2025-10-18 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostKharnek rubbed the back of his neck, still chuckling. “Didn’t expect me to pull this off, honestly. Guess I proved both of them wrong.”
Ludger raised an eyebrow. “So now you’re sending your daughter here to work with me?”
Kharnek nodded proudly. “Aye. She needs to learn how the world works beyond the snow as we...
2025-10-18 11:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour later, the group finally stumbled out of the labyrinth’s mouth.
The morning light hit their faces like salvation — pale gold against a landscape of ice and snow. The recruits were breathing hard, their boots dragging through frost, every one of them looking like they’d just crawled out of a blizzard and wrestled it for good m...
2025-10-18 07:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostTwo hours later, the group crossed the last ridge, and the northerners’ camp finally came into view — smoke curling from the forges, the sound of axes and laughter breaking through the cold morning air.
The recruits stumbled in behind Ludger, their breaths heavy clouds of white vapor. The snow crunched beneath their boots, half-melted ...
2025-10-17 21:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLudger led the group a short distance from the house, stopping in the open yard where no building had been erected. The morning wind cut through the air, carrying that clean northern chill, and the five kids stood in a straight, uneasy line before him — backs stiff, eyes alert.
They looked nervous, though they tried hard not to show it. ...
2025-10-17 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Ludger finally returned, the moon had climbed higher, its pale glow tracing the outline of the border town’s walls. The night guards straightened at the sound of his boots crunching through the area, but they relaxed once they recognized his silhouette.
Near the main gate, a lone figure leaned against the stone archway — broad sho...
2025-10-17 11:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostLudger stepped closer, still half in disbelief. The twins were impossibly small, bundled in soft cloth, their breathing light and steady — one with faint wisps of pale hair like Elaine’s, the other with a darker hue that matched Arslan’s.
He cleared his throat, his voice quieter than usual. “...So,” he said, “what are their nam...
2025-10-17 07:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA few months had slipped by before Ludger even realized how much time had passed.
When he finally stepped out of his quarters that morning, the sunlight caught him square in the face — pale gold and clear, not the weak, cold shimmer of winter. He yawned once, stretching his arms overhead until his joints cracked. The familiar weight of h...
2025-10-16 21:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe thought wasn’t reckless — it was calculated. The labyrinth wasn’t just a threat; it was an opportunity. A living training ground with infinite data.
He flexed his right hand absently. Those frost paladins hit hard, but they’re predictable. If I can read their timing, measure their reaction to mana bursts, I can use that to ...
2025-10-16 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a short rest to catch their breath and shake the frost from their clothes, the group pressed onward into the second zone.
The stairway sloped downward, cut into the ice itself — smooth, unnatural, each step glowing faintly with pale blue. Their torch sputtered as the air grew heavier, the temperature dropping with every meter they ...
2025-10-16 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAs they moved deeper into the frozen labyrinth, Ludger drifted toward the back of the group. Kharnek led the way, meanwhile, Ludger was busy with something far less serious.
He balanced the earth spear on his fingertip, a faint pulse of mana humming through the air. The weapon hovered, steady as if gravity had forgotten it existed. A twist...
2025-10-16 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostFor half an hour, nothing happened aside from a few duels between Kharnek and some frost skellies. The air grew colder the deeper they went, the walls shining with veins of faint blue froststeel that pulsed like arteries.
Then the echo came — soft at first, then splitting into two distinct sets of steps.
Ludger’s eyes narrowed. ...
2025-10-15 21:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post