The first light of dawn crept over the horizon, casting long, golden rays across the landscape. The obstacle course loomed in front of Leon. An unforgiving stretch of steel, mud, and towering structures designed to break the weak and forge the strong.
Each twisted rope and jagged wall seemed to glint menacingly in the early sunlight, prom...
The mana was thick. So thick it pressed in from all sides, like a second atmosphere layered over the world.
Leon sat still in the center, legs crossed, hands resting on his knees, his breathing calm and even. His eyes were closed, but he didn’t need to see to feel it. The mana wasn’t visible, no glowing streams or flashes of light, but...
2025-08-10 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostLeon and Nyra took off sprinting at the signal. Nyra's reflexes were much faster, and she gained a lead at the start. He saw her dive headfirst into a crawl, positioning herself right under the first wire, her movements fluid and precise.
Leon soon followed, but misjudged the height, nicking the wire with his calf.
BZZZZZTT<...
2025-08-09 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostHey,
I just put everything under a "Collection" and organized it so that can be used as ToC and "Back/Next" button when reading through there for ease of navigation.
Sorry, it took me a while. Not very familiar with Patreon so had to ask another author for help.
...
Leon was sitting on the ground, entering the trance-like state he had experienced the night before. Each breath drew in unseen energy, threading it through his system, syncing with the nanites in his blood. The current was faint but enough to sharpen his senses, making Ferros' harsh landscape seem more vivid, its sounds more distinct.
Now ...
2025-08-08 12:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostKnock Knock
A few seconds went by.
THUD THUD
Leon was standing outside of Nyra's room. He glanced at the corner of his vision where he had the time displayed.
0530
What is she doing? We are going to be late.
The doors to Nyr...
2025-08-08 12:03:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon's room was a mirror image of the one aboard the cruiser. Functional and just large enough to accommodate a bed and a small desk.
Yet, within this modest space, he had luxuries: his own bathroom, a recessed closet built into the wall, and inside it, three fresh sets of the standard gray recruit uniform he currently wore. Below th...
2025-08-08 12:02:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon was sitting inside the Orbital Carrier with ninety-nine other recruits. Their harnesses locked them in place as the vessel prepared for planetary descent. Despite the advanced technology, the atmosphere in the cabin was tense.
"Systems all check." The crew members had enabled the communication channel to be heard in the passenger cabi...
2025-08-08 12:01:32 +0000 UTC View Post"The Imperial Army has six ranks, and within those ranks, the members have different duties that determine who has seniority between those of similar rank," Nyra explained.
The two were inside Leon's private quarters in the cruiser. It was small and cramped, just enough to fit a bed and a small desk. The walls hummed faintly with the ship'...
2025-08-07 12:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Warcenturion and his guards re-entered the passenger cabin through the same lift the crew member had taken moments earlier. Without needing to be told, Leon and the other recruits rose to attention as they approached.
"Come," the Warcenturion said, then turned and led the way toward the cargo hold with his guards falling in behind him....
2025-08-07 12:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon passed the threshold of the gate, allowing him to peer into the dock without walls obstructing his view.
He was surprised at the sheer scale of the station. He couldn't see the end of it as rows upon rows of military spacecraft lined either side of the dock. This spaceport stretched far, each ship gleaming in perfect formation. <...
2025-08-07 12:02:11 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stared out the window, his eyes tracing the curve of the transit line as it arched skyward, a silver thread climbing into the light. The Upper Level unfolded above them, suspended terraces that shimmered like a mirage against the sky. Just days ago, that world had been unreachable.
The docking platforms floated on supports of tr...
2025-08-07 12:01:14 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stared at the stranger in the mirror in the bathroom of the medical bay.
A thin young man with messy dark brown hair that refused to stay in place, no matter how many times he absently pushed it back from his forehead. His deep brown eyes, warm with flecks of gold that caught the light, looked back at him with the same quiet intellige...
2025-08-06 12:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostA couple of days had passed in the medical bay, each one blending into the next with the predictable rhythm of recovery. Leon sat on his bed talking to Nyra, who occupied the adjacent cot. Though the medical bay was lively with other recovering recruits, they were all Fulgaris who ignored both Leon and Nyra.
"What do you think is for lunch...
2025-08-06 12:03:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon's eyes fluttered open to white light and moving shadows. Hands grabbed his shoulders, yanked his body from the pod's cushioned embrace. His muscles refused commands, dangling uselessly as strangers transferred him to something flat and hard.
"Neural readings critical but stabilizing."
"Pupil response minimal. Get him to Ward C."...
2025-08-06 12:02:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon snapped another branch free, his fingers bleeding as he frantically scraped the branch against rough bark to forge a crude point. His lungs burned, and his heart hammered against his ribs as he worked. Four minutes until the simulation ended, if the timer still functioned properly at all.
"RAAARRR!!" A bone-chilling roar echoed throug...
2025-08-06 12:01:14 +0000 UTC View PostLeon sat cross-legged inside the protective veil, surrounded by empty white space. With Wave 2 complete, he had a fifteen-minute rest period. His injuries had been healed by the simulation's restorative function, leaving him to collect his thoughts.
That went better than the first one...I think, he pondered, mentally reviewing his...
2025-08-05 12:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon found himself sprawled across a pile of rubble on the first floor, dust filling his lungs. Each breath sent pain through his bruised chest as he coughed and struggled to his feet. A sharp twinge in his left ankle confirmed a sprain. Manageable, but one that significantly limited his mobility.
To his alarm, a small bell appeared around...
2025-08-05 12:03:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon lay sprawled inside the shimmering veil, one hand clutching his injured butt cheek. The Furiboar crashed against the barrier with a sound like thunder, only to be repelled by rippling energy. It charged again and again, each impact sending vibrations through the ground beneath him but failing to breach the protection.
"Wave One comple...
2025-08-05 12:02:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon's breath came in ragged gasps as he stumbled from the rubble-strewn alley into the final stretch to his objective. The golden column pulsed enticingly, beckoning him forward, but a groan escaped his lips as he surveyed what lay between.
Open ground. At least 150 feet of it.
No debris piles for cover. No narrow passages to slow p...
2025-08-05 12:01:20 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stood in the silent ruins of a simulated city, contained by an invisible veil that shimmered when he approached its edges. The environment felt eerily real; crumbling concrete structures with exposed rebar, shattered glass crunching underfoot, and the acrid scent of smoke and dust in the air. Wisps of holographic fog curled around fallen de...
2025-08-04 12:19:01 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Jake’s confrontation, the holding area quietly shifted. The Nullari clustered closer together, forming a loose circle built on shared unease. The Fulgaris spread out more, increasing the space between themselves and the others.
Security guards were now stationed at key spots around the room. They didn’t step in, just watched. The...
2025-08-04 12:18:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon emerged from the additional assessment room into the corridor he came in from, muscles trembling with lingering fatigue. The fine blue luminescence that had coursed beneath his skin during testing had faded to faint traces, visible only when he flexed his hands.
"No permanent cellular degradation detected. Anomalous readings remain st...
2025-08-04 12:17:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon walked around the holding area, immediately sensing the stratified reality of Imperial hierarchy. Thirty other recruits occupied the space, their bodies still humming with residual mana exposure, skin glowing in varying intensities of blue luminescence.
He paused, taking in the room's divisions.
Near the far wall, Fulgari recrui...
2025-08-04 12:16:01 +0000 UTC View PostA new series of vents opened along the circular walls, revealing conduits Leon hadn't noticed during his absorption test. Wider, deeper, and glowing with more intense concentration of mana.
The air around him thickened visibly, taking on a blue luminescence that pressed against his skin with tangible weight, like standing beneath water. 2025-08-04 12:15:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The technicians separated the group and directed Leon through a corridor that terminated at a circular door. Unlike the utilitarian entrances throughout the facility, this one featured intricate patterns etched into its metallic surface. Circular patterns mixed with strange, jagged symbols he didn’t recognize. The designs glowed with faint blu...
2025-08-04 12:14:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe genetic assessment room hummed with large machines. Counters adorned with components that processed biological material that until minutes ago had been safely inside his body. The room pulsed with subtle blue light, cast by screens displaying complex genetic sequences and compatibility ratings. Every display seemed to be angled away just fro...
2025-08-04 12:13:00 +0000 UTC View Post"Medical assessment through that doorway. Don't worry about the results. We need bodies regardless." The officer gestured toward a door on the left side of the hallway.
Leon stepped through the door, immediately struck by the stark white brilliance that assaulted his vision. After the dim, soft light of the recruitment processing are...
2025-08-04 12:12:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon waited three more hours in a series of blue squares, each promising to be the final step before guiding him to yet another station.
When he finally reached the last station, Leon was directed to an isolated desk separated from the main queue by an actual divider rather than just illuminated floor markers. The small thin privacy barrie...
2025-08-04 12:11:00 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stepped through a pair of imposing archways, each carved to resemble swords crossing overhead. The main administration processing area expanded before him, so vast he lost his bearings. Towering holographic columns stretched from floor to ceiling, each displaying scenes of Imperial military victories rendered in stunning detail.
A fle...
2025-08-04 12:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post