Theo was certain the information provided by the book was not accurate to how things worked on Earth. The [Swamp Truffles] worked much like the [Spiny Swamp Thistle Root] for propagation. There might have been some spores involved, but the way the book described it was like growing a plant from a tuber. Truffles weren’t the easiest mushrooms to access, either. They buried themselves deep in the semi-wet soil, typically near the space between the Newt and Demon and the eastern wall. But he o...
2023-03-17 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Woohoo. Alright. Friday updates. Here we go.
So, I need to write out a schedule for the fishing story, but I wanted to start posting it in April. So that should be going up soon.
First on the agenda, I took the first week in this month to finish chapters for the fishing story (The Last Cast). Then I rolled around in the mud for a while and worked on some other story concepts as a break. First one didn't work. Second one kind of works, but they were both for fun.
Second unnam...
2023-03-16 16:40:38 +0000 UTC
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Oops it's not Friday. Oh well.
So, I'm supposed to be on a break from writing. Two weeks in this month lined up so I could have a break and keep chapters of N&D coming. So, of course I started writing another book.
There were some ideas from class consultant that were too good, and I couldn't help myself. First, the fishing story starts going up...Uh...End of this month? Then we'll see how it does. If people don't like it, I'll shift focus over to the other story. Yay.
2023-03-12 13:15:51 +0000 UTC
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Theo found Ziz and his men hauling blocks from their quarry, down to the river. He watched with amusement, waiting for the group to detect his presence. Only after the men cursed and kicked at the absurdly heavy blocks did they notice him.
“An inventory!” one shouted.
“Theo!” Ziz said, huffing to regain his breath. “Mind giving us a hand?”
“More than you know,” Theo said, producing 5 [Stonemason’s Cores] from his inventory.
Ziz’s eyes lit up, lettin...
2023-03-10 12:02:59 +0000 UTC
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Tresk got clever with her assassination attempt in the Dreamwalk that night. Instead of ordering her minions to attack simultaneously, she staggered them in stages. It was hard to hide intent through the Tara’hek, and Theo already had a solution for that problem. His mana control in the real world was bad, but within the dream realm it was acceptable enough to not kill him instantly. When he tossed a [Reveal Construct] in the air, bathing the surrounding landscape with a pale glow, it dropp...
2023-03-10 12:02:00 +0000 UTC
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Warning bells clattered, a frantic staccato rhythm that sent every adventurer in Broken Tusk into a frenzy. Theo set the alarm with a warning, using his town-wide messaging system. Every able-bodied citizen stood ready behind those sturdy walls, ready for whatever Fenian brought with him.
Theo stood with his command structure, looking out over the short field to the east. Something shimmered in the distance, but Aarok and Luras were too busy forming battle plans to notice. It was all wa...
2023-03-10 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Welcome to Friday, every person!
Alrighty, let's see...February was a great month for writing (despite getting sick earlier this week), and everything has a nice schedule. I've timed writing and releases well, for once.
Newt and Demon has a back log again. Yay. The fishing book, which will likely be titled "Last Cast" or "The Last Cast" has enough chapters for a test run. I'll finish the first book of that no matter what, and it'll get a big backlog if people like it.
"Backl...
2023-03-03 12:24:48 +0000 UTC
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Theo spent what was left of the afternoon on reactions. His alchemical garden was at the point where it could produce hundreds of [Healing Potions] per day, but that left a gap for his other potions. Fenian enjoyed walking away from the town with a variety of potions. Attribute-enhancement potions were popular, but the alchemist was interested in brewing more niche potions. While his idea for constructs had fallen to the side, he needed to take the chance to produce for the trader. The cost o...
2023-03-03 12:02:59 +0000 UTC
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Theo found no surprises with the [Refined Dissolve Essence]. Zarali’s improvements on his stills meant he didn’t have to worry about a second process to get the most from his essences, gaining him much needed time. He inspected the essence one last time before deciding on what form of potion to create.
[Refined Dissolve Essence]
[Essence]
Epic
Created by: Belgar
Grade: Excellent Quality
Alignment:
Drogramath (Midd...
2023-03-03 12:02:00 +0000 UTC
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Where are you? Tresk asked. I suddenly feel a sense of overwhelming smugness.
Theo couldn’t suppress his smile, trailing Throk back to town. He met with Tresk outside of the Marshwolf Tavern. Xam had taken to holding the festivities outside. After the pair took a seat, the alchemist explained the source of that smugness. She didn’t have an opinion on the new idea, shrugging it off to await whatever the cook made tonight. It was another variation, unsurpris...
2023-03-03 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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The coin mint was a long-term solution to a long-term problem. Gridgen assured the group that minting coins didn’t happen overnight. The only positive side to this new project was that it wasn’t illegal, anyone could mint coins if they had the resources. This was because the system often generated coins, giving them out as rewards to quests or for defeating monster waves. The Kingdom of Qavell couldn’t regulate something like that, not with their limited resources. While the miners coul...
2023-02-24 12:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Your timing is suspiciously aligned with when I create a new potion, Theo said.
He took a seat in his lab, gazing out the window as the voice of Fenian echoed through his mind. The telepathic link was like the Tara’hek’s version, but different enough to render it cumbersome. The entire experience reminded him that the officials from Qavell hadn’t contacted him in some time, and the last time he tried to establish communication, they didn’t respond.
I’m a man...
2023-02-24 12:01:59 +0000 UTC
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Theo wouldn’t have trusted even Zarali to instruct him on how to produce mana reliably. The system covered that for him with his water enchanting, but without a skill related to the act, it was up to him to bridge the gap. Xol’sa explained it to him. The alchemist could grab a chisel and a hammer, practicing to create the stone tablets Ziz made for him. One day he might get rather good at it, but it would never compare to what someone could do with a [Stonecutter’s Core]. With one deft ...
2023-02-24 12:00:59 +0000 UTC
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Book 3 be chugging along. I'll mostly talk about the fishing story in this post. It still doesn't have a name.
Once I realized what the fishing class was, everything for that story fell into place. The fishing class isn't meant to just bring fish up and sell the meat, it's a treasure-hunting class. Once the MC starts fishing up strong enough fish, they drop loot. That leads him to the cycle of finding stronger fish for better loot.
He needs to use his second class, a defensive mag...
2023-02-23 20:44:26 +0000 UTC
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Theo woke the next morning with one thing on his mind. During his time in the Dreamwalk, with Tresk’s constant interruptions, he realized this was a chance to understand which potions would be most useful for adventurers. He could simply take a poll to figure out which worked best for them, but people rarely knew what they wanted. In the dreaming realm, he could experiment forever without getting tired. As he walked with Tresk to eat their breakfast, his mind rolled over the possibilities.<...
2023-02-17 12:02:59 +0000 UTC
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Theo spent the rest of his day fiddling with the alchemy construct idea. Zarali stuck around for a while, but once Tresk returned home she departed. The Marshling spent her day patrolling the walls of Broken Tusk and seemed to have little interest in the constructs. She was always interested in things that would affect her life the most over the shortest time, and since the construct could barely hold its form she didn’t care.
“You can really do more dungeons,” Theo said as they d...
2023-02-17 12:01:59 +0000 UTC
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If not for the powerful jaws of the [Alchemical Grinder], the [Pozwa Horns] would have been impossible to grin into a fine powder. Theo fed the hard horns into the device, wincing as it groaned. But after a few moments, the job was done, and 100 units of powdered horn sat at the bottom of his [Drogramath Still]. The alchemist poured in enough water to get the still started, then set the temperature low and returned the lid. The clasps snapped shut, and the magical fire burned underneath. A st...
2023-02-17 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Hooray. Newt and Demon 2 is wrapping up on Royal Road on Monday, so that's fun.
The fishing story is going well. There's a plot in there somewhere, but I don't care to find it. It's balanced on three pillars. Slice of life, fishing, and magic. The magic crafting system is shaping up to be interesting.
A lot of books in the genre (N&D included) end up focused on god-level issues fairly quick. I've got a lot of ideas for the fishing story to show how low-level adventuring ...
2023-02-16 23:56:18 +0000 UTC
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“Should you be practicing that Drogramagic?” Tresk asked.
Theo and Tresk sat in Xam’s tavern, which remained mostly empty during the morning. It was the 51st day of the Season of Blooms, 8 days before the end of the season and the closing of the Festival of the Dying of the Blooms. The alchemist had many things to do before the season ended, but those were mostly self-imposed goals that could fall by the wayside. Alchemy was on the top of his list, but he couldn’t see himself hi...
2023-02-10 12:03:00 +0000 UTC
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Theo left Zarali at the river. She wanted to spend time there, but for what reason, he didn’t know. The entire time he lingered near the western border of his town, he felt eyes upon him. They weren’t eyes that pried, digging into his soul to determine his merit, they were kind eyes. Attention that brought comfort and protection. The alchemist knew Tresk lurked near enough to come if he needed it, and he wouldn’t have to call for her aid. With her [Shadowdance] skill, she could enter th...
2023-02-10 12:02:00 +0000 UTC
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Theo approached the greenhouse, resting on the old gravel yard behind the Newt and Demon. Several small orbs of light floated around the interior, a benefit of the [Sun Orbs] upgrade that provided the perfect light for those plants. His [Spiny Swamp Thistle] cultivation operation was in full swing, a fact made possible by the farmers in town. Without their insight on how to propagate plants, the alchemist would have been stuck in the first stages. When cultivated, plants grew larger than they...
2023-02-10 12:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Hello! Welcome to the Friday update!
So, I wrapped writing for the this sprint of Newt and Demon 3. Jan 1st to Feb 6th and we have 38 chapters to show for it. It was an okay sprint, as far as my expectations of myself go. I want to be hard on myself and say that I should have 60 chapters to show for it, but 160,000 words part time doesn't seem feasible. Either does the 114k I wrote, now that I think about it. Hey, maybe everything is okay!
I remember writing my first nove...
2023-02-10 00:06:34 +0000 UTC
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The Dreamwalk skill allowed Theo and Tresk to traverse into a strange place. It was a reflection of a memory, recalled through the minds of both members of the Tara’hek. This often painted it with more emotions than logic, twisting reality to suit whatever either of them was feeling at the moment.
“It’s a mirror to our realm,” Theo said.
The pair stood overlooking the ruins of Berlin. A month ago, this sight would have sent Theo running, desperate to wash the imag...
2023-02-03 12:03:01 +0000 UTC
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Theo Spencer smoothed back his black hair, letting his fingers linger over the pair of horns that traced the shape of his head. He stood, stowing away the quill, ink, and leather-bound journal into his inventory. It vanished with a faint popping sound. The body he inhabited came from a brood of Drogramath Dronon, tall Demon-like creatures that were as secretive as they were reclusive. He straightened the folds in his silken robe, content with the cessation of constant rain. During the Season ...
2023-02-03 12:02:00 +0000 UTC
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Hooray. 7am EST tomorrow book 3 starts going out.
Please remember, these are structured as novels, so we'll have some reintroduction and setup for the plot of the book.
So, the end of book 2 had two really short chapters, so we're going ahead by a chapter to make up for that. Chapter 58 is the first chapter that switches perspective, but it had to happen to set up the events of book 3. I don't plan on making any other POV swaps unless it is absolutely necessary, and will likely on...
2023-02-03 01:50:14 +0000 UTC
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Gooooood Friday! Happy Friday? Whatever! I'm writing this on Thursday.
I don't know what I'm going to do for next week. I normally like to post the last chapter (a diary entry from Theo) and not count it as a chapter. But the way the chapters are lining up, we're likely going to see the last chapter of N&D 2, the epilogue, and chapter 1 of book 3.
There is no break between book 2 and 3 and I'm doubting there will be a break between books going forward. Book 2 is about 174,000 ...
2023-01-27 00:07:17 +0000 UTC
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I'd absolutely LOVE to think that I could just work on The Newt and Demon forever, but that's not how my brain works. I'm trying to write a chapter of N&D every day in January. So far, that's failed completely. I'm already behind.
I put a short brief before each story, but each is a SoL story about the same character in different situations. I left out the prologue in each, but essentially he gets shot while working in a bank in 1994 and gets isekai'd to a new world. From there, he ...
2023-01-19 01:36:30 +0000 UTC
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Oh, look at that. My chapters are running out. We have 2 more weeks of chapters for 3rd tier, then we're on to book 3! Hooray!
There will be no break between book 2 and book 3 because there's something wrong with me. Before the end of January I'll post what chapters I have for "healer" and "fishing" for everyone to vote on, but I've been putting that off. Post-holiday fatigue is real.
When February rolls around, I'll have been writing without a considerable break for a year and so...
2023-01-13 01:37:30 +0000 UTC
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Happy Friday!
Well, I'm writing this on Thursday... Oh well.
We are rounding the corner on book 2 for tier 3 patrons this week with chapter 48. There are 59 chapters in book 2 and I'm writing book 3 right now. I had a lot of fun noodling around during December, trying to get a good idea for another series. I learned a lot about what I like to write.
I'm not shy about writing combat scenes. I think I'm alright at it, but not the best. My gold standard is R.A. Salvatore, who I...
2023-01-05 23:53:44 +0000 UTC
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I usually like to do something extra every month for Patrons. This month, along with all the chapters you get normally, I wrote a short story about Fenian Feintleaf. It's about 10k words and carries a much different tone than the main series. Fenian is the narrator for this one, so no tricks. This answers the question about "What is the bridge" that a few people had been asking about.
Anyway, I have it attached here as a PDF and an epub. The epub formatting is a bit weird, but the PDF l...
2022-12-29 14:43:51 +0000 UTC
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