***
The first thing he did was organize his Attributes to be as even as possible. With all the Free Attributes he’d just gained, organizing and distributing them all left him with a single Free Point at the end of it all. Instead of ruining any of the perfect synchronicity, he left that lone Free Point at the bottom of his Status.
Status Sheet
Name: TJ (Thiago Jorge) Harris IV
Race: Semi-Divine Human – lvl 29...
2025-06-11 15:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post***
The aftermath of the Misti Hawar attack was difficult to struggle through. They’d made their way through our defenses and killed so many. After all the effort I’d gone through to bolster our numbers, it was a heavy blow, to say nothing else. The only positives that I could get out of the situation were that there would be plenty of food for the survivors in the coming days, I’d announced my country’s existence to a qualified individual, and that [Pack Tactics] had progressed...
2025-06-11 02:49:41 +0000 UTC View Post“Yeah, thank you! I’ll be back! No, not tomorrow, the day after. Yes. The day after.”
Each of the clients obviously loved Ahna and her food. It wasn’t a surprise, and for the first time, Astrid considered why Ahna had become a Baker, as well as why she’d said she wanted to be a Healer. The cute girl loved this, being in the kitchen preparing food for friends and customers, experimenting with new ratios, new recipes. She’d always seemed like she enjoyed helping out in the loc...
2025-06-10 21:08:05 +0000 UTC View Post***
TJ continued looking at the minotaurs as they collected the three bodies. He wanted to test himself, and he still had a connection with the Ahuizotl to draw more resources from, but if he wanted to consider it to be a battery for him, he’d need to ask for that permission. As such, TJ snuck back to the water’s front and held onto the end of the leash. As soon as he did, Acalan’s voice filled his body once again.
find young killer? kill young killer? 2025-06-10 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
***
“Keep them together!”
“There’s no venom to it, so just keep the wounds pressed! Healers will be coming!”
“There’s a small group on the eastern side inside the walls! They’re putting up resistance and Solia’s leading a charge there! Those who crave vengeance and victory, follow me!”
Talks about the various magics that filled my empire made me smile. I remembered what Cupun had said about different races and species’ magics,and what Nievtala’s...
2025-06-10 04:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostJust about as soon as she could see the small walls around Stalstadt, Astrid remembered how she knew the man she’d appeared before, asked a single question to, and sprinted past. She’d seen him get his Class right before she did. Interesting. And wholly useless to her. Her steps thundered on the stone pavement for the hundred paces or so that they extended beyond the town’s walls. Knowing that there was nothing she could do now if the draft had already swept through the city, Astrid for...
2025-06-09 21:15:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe minotaurus tribe, because there wasn’t any better way of putting it, had settled in on the eastern banks of the lake. They’d ripped trees from the earth to serve as building materials, and they’d taken what they couldn’t from the growing trees from buildings all around. Remnants of homes, more piles of rubble than anything else, decorated the area. TJ’s first reaction to the destruction was indifference. After all, so many homes had been left empty and forgotten from the Integra...
2025-06-09 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: so I lied, haha. Had an impromptu grandparent meeting that cut into writing time. No regrets. Just delays. No more promises until I can be more consistent though haha
Astrid woke in her bed, still wearing the clothes she’d worn to the celebration and her head pounding. The last time she’d gotten even remotely drunk like this, she hadn’t had the benefit of a long sleep with Quick Recovery working off the worst of the hangover. Even before she tried to open her...
2025-06-09 05:08:09 +0000 UTC View Post***
i am acalan.
The voice of the Ahuizotl reverberated through TJ’s body, and he forced himself to stay calm. Though it was a monster and obviously dangerous, he could feel that there was genuinely no malevolent intent in the beast. Instead, it was curious, and apparently felt some sort of a kinship with him.
“Nice to meet you, Acalan. I’m happy to continue to talk with you, but I’ll be unable to continue flying for much longer. Come ...
2025-06-08 20:27:34 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I've been behind this week, haha. Just had my wife out of town, and so I've been single-dadding it. Been a pleasure, but I've been damn busy. Now that she's back, these chapters should be ready around the same time that the free chapter goes up. All you new patrons... Holy shit. I'm speechless and emotional. 22 in one week is nuts. I... I just can't express my gratitude enough. Thank you.
After discussing it and doing some additional research on it, Astrid...
2025-06-08 07:43:51 +0000 UTC View Post***
You have taken the first steps towards acquiring a Dirt (0) tier version of the Skill: Lightning Manipulation. You will occasionally be able to control the movement of lightning while it is in your surroundings. Continue to increase your control over lightning in order to gain the Skill: Lightning Manipulation.
TJ fell out of his Divine Transformation. The small, reasonable part of him said that of course it wasn’t so easy to get a Skill, regardless of every...
2025-06-07 17:56:54 +0000 UTC View PostSorry it's late. Been a busy day and haven't had nearly enough time to write. Still doing fine though, and this was a fun chapter!
Every part of her screamed to check out her new Skill. To make the choice. After all, she’d have five options available now, and they’d be the ones that the Great One deemed as the most valuable to her. She could—
Astrid pulled her thoughts away from those thoughts. The longer she allowed them to linger, the more tempted...
2025-06-07 06:20:57 +0000 UTC View PostI smiled down at my mate, nuzzling at the nape of her neck before pulling back to look at my children. The male, our son, moved more than his sisters. The girls cuddled together, largely willing to just share the other’s warmth. Their black and white scales blended together such that it was nearly impossible to tell their entwined limbs apart. When their brother managed to barely move himself towards them, they both hissed just a little at him. He didn’t care and simply collapsed o...
2025-06-07 04:00:40 +0000 UTC View Post***
Before the advent of the System, TJ wouldn’t run somewhere unless he was in a massive rush or if he was trying to exercise. Now, though, just walking was annoyingly slow. Part of that was definitely because no cars were currently functioning and walking was slow, but another part of it was how easy running was. With all his Attributes being at least 20 times higher than the peak of human performance from before the Integration, running somewhere at what had to be about 40 miles pe...
2025-06-06 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post***
“Hrack, you go tell Shemira that she and Took are in charge. If they absolutely need us, we’re here.” I tore my attention from my little ones to emphasize. “Ensure not a single living Misti Hawar is left in my city. I don’t care what path of blood and corpses is necessary to eradicate every one of them. Leave not a single beating heart or twitching claw in my land.”
“Yes, Zaaktif.” Hrack flared his frills and bowed low before turning on his heel and striding ou...
2025-06-06 04:47:50 +0000 UTC View PostAt the end of her first day of exterminating every warg she could find, Astrid had a bag that looked more like it was for luggage than anything else filled with ears from wargs. Her thick leather gloves were nearly soaked through with sweat from the day, even though she’d taken them off when she’d had her short breaks through the day. Grom had kept an eye on her on the fourth floor after she’d killed the Boss, and had needed to bail her out when she’d been attacked by six wargs at the...
2025-06-05 23:04:54 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Sorry, forgot to schedule this last night! Knowing more or less what was coming, TJ shrugged. “Sarah, Farid, if you’ll wait for me. I w
A/N: Sorry, forgot to schedule this last night!
Knowing more or less what was coming, TJ shrugged. “Sarah, Farid, if you’ll wait for me. I won’t be long.”
“Are you sure?” Raya asked, her face studiously and deliberately kept from emoting. “There might be more that I would like to—”
...
2025-06-05 18:03:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe evening passed quickly. The bath? Barely a memory. Meal? No idea what she’d eaten or what it’d tasted like. She managed to engage in conversation with her two friends, but Astrid couldn’t keep her mind from the days ahead. How many wargs a day would she kill? From her understanding, each floor spawned more and more wargs a day. The first, which she wouldn’t be clearing, spawned about 30 on a regular day. The second floor was a bit under 40, the third right at 50, and the fourth fl...
2025-06-05 06:42:20 +0000 UTC View Post***
Just as soon as my people gathered together and fought back against the Misti Hawar, the “hunters” weren’t sure what to do. They’d expected the few strongest among us to cower, or to be easily dispatched. That was far from the case. Instead, with screeches of rage and practiced battle formations, Kha and Khatif held against the writhing shadows of our enemies while the Keel shredded through the undisciplined Misti Hawar. The small groups of hunters had no idea of what to do ...
2025-06-05 03:54:36 +0000 UTC View Post***
TJ sent Molly and Tessie off with the two newest Copper tiers around. The four of them would be more than capable of working together and making sure the others states safe, especially since there was now representation from each of the primary Classes. For his part, TJ wanted to be alone. More and more, he realized his Bloodline wanted him to hunt by himself. Community was good for working together, for protecting others and allowing rest and exchange…
But Kukulkan was not ...
2025-06-04 15:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Sorry for the delay. With this, we're officially 20 chapters ahead of the public chapters. Woot!
Warg slain. 8 Experience gained.
Warg slain. 8 Experience gained.
Warg slain. 9 Experience gained.
Total Level: 4 (3,992/4,000) => 5 (17/5,000)
Astrid couldn’t keep herself from raising her hammer into the air and roaring in triumph. She dragged the hammer through t...
2025-06-04 08:19:59 +0000 UTC View Post***
“The egg is moving!”
“They’re on the walls!”
If wanting to hunt my people to extinction wasn’t enough of a reason for me to hate the Misti Hawar, a more pressing problem was their terrible timing. Every person in the Empire with even a little bit of know-how regarding hatching and healing said that our eggs were about to hatch as the first Keel born in this era. Then, on the day when they’d begun moving in earnest, the call went up.
Before I could eve...
2025-06-04 04:13:35 +0000 UTC View Post“There’s nothing against it.” Grom shrugged. “Don’t know if I could call it a good idea, but it’s not an explicitly bad one. Maybe it’d be something that can keep some people from losing all desire from delving? So if you can find somebody to help you out with that, then go ahead.”
“All right, thank you.” Astrid replied.
It hadn't taken long for her to come to the conclusion that, even though she was stiff and tired, she needed to get back into t...
2025-06-03 21:09:12 +0000 UTC View Post***
As the sun rose outside, TJ gently poked Sam and Mimi. They didn’t stir immediately, but it wasn’t long before they woke, and each looked at the other in excitement as they realized just what they’d finally done. Before either could excitedly say anything that’d wake the baby, TJ wrapped them up in the wind.
“I’m glad we have the opportunity to talk about this. Gimme a second.”
Walking out of the room, TJ raised his hands. “Alright. Shoot.”<...
2025-06-03 15:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostAstrid groaned as she sat up off the three blankets she’d been provided as a sleeping mattress. Though better than nothing, they’d been far from the full mattress she had upstairs. Her body was stiff, even with Quick Recovery working overnight for her. There were some things that Skills and heightened attributes still couldn’t fix. Muscle soreness seemed to be one of them, if it was as severe as what came from a panicked day spent fighting for her life and channeling a talisman that dou...
2025-06-03 07:36:19 +0000 UTC View Post***
[Agnazzar POV]
“Ensure that the letter is sealed correctly for that one specifically. The Union can be persnickety about the presentation of the communications. The Otariid especially. Yes. That fold there, it’s—”
“The Sovereign of Western Reaches has been supplanted. It’ll be a new Overlord instead of a Chieftain. Reports of which Overlord was truly in charge and will ascend to Sovereignty have varied, and there will be a war there before—...
2025-06-03 03:35:34 +0000 UTC View PostAstrid felt her mouth widen, and Aleksandr, the leader of the Golden Fist, chuckled.
“I see you’ve heard of my party.”
“And you yourself, sir.” Astrid bowed her head. “I apologize for my excessive familiarity. Please, don’t fault me for my casual manner. Um… I’ve always wanted to become a delver, to protect the Bulwark. Like you and your party do. Um. I. Just.”
“It’s no problem.” Aleksandr laughed more fully, putting his hand forward and...
2025-06-02 07:00:37 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m finally ready!”
“And I am too!”
“We’ll need another day, but we’re nearly there.”
Sam, Mimi, and William approached TJ at the end of the day. It’d been a bit over a week since the conversation he’d had with his two pretegees, as he now thought of them, and he’d pushed that same urgency into the other four Dirt tiers. The main difficulty that remained for him was what he was going to do about Luz. He wasn’t going to abandon the child, but ...
2025-06-01 15:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe water soaked through the clotted blood and caked-on sweat from the painful day. Astrid had done her best to get the worst of the filth of a day spent fighting a surge off herself, but there wasn’t any way to reliably get it all off in any reasonable amount of time and water, and Grom had said that there would be clean water in the morning, no matter what.
Holding a well-worn rag in hand, Astrid rubbed her arms. The dirt was slightly lighter than her skin was naturally, and seeing ...
2025-06-01 08:26:13 +0000 UTC View Post***
“Don’t worry, TJ. I just came by to have a quick conversation.” Sven’s voice filtered up the hallway until it strangely filled his head. Still on alert, TJ checked with the System if he’d suddenly started suffering from any afflictions or anything. Nothing appeared, and he waved for the two teens to stand down.
“Keep an eye on Luz, just in case. I think we’ll be fine.” He spoke at a normal volume, assuming that Sven, if it really was him, could hear even if he ...
2025-05-31 15:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post