Some of you may have noticed that I changed the Enhancer tier benefits from "5 Chapter Headstart" to "Backlog Access." I'm doing this so that I can write on a less strict schedule. I know that my previous output wasn't incredible by any means. Many authors on Royal Road and elsewhere crush my two chapters a week. But I'm basically a brand new author.
Bear Station is the first writing I have ever published in any official capacity and I started writing it about 3 months ago now. My initi...
2022-03-10 21:49:15 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 35
Explosion
The explosion immediately blew through every one of Janus’ reinforced mana panes, only stopping after it blew Tara completely off her feet. Janus and Rowan only felt a rumble.
[Your party has defeated a dangerous enemy: Heartstone Guardian] x7
[You have gained 2 levels]
[Your Bravery skill has gained 1 level]
[Your Spell Weaving skill has ga...
2022-02-23 20:44:42 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys, just want to keep everyone in the loop with some new stuff.
I've rebranded bonus chapters as interludes because I'm not using them the way I had originally intended to use them. I'm doing this because they are occasionally taking up the slot of a full chapter, I don't want to mislead people with the term "bonus."
I'm working on expanding my backlog beyond 5 chapters for Patreon. I've started a new Patreon goal to release new Patreon tiers with this expanded backlog.
<...
2022-02-22 23:32:41 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 34
Crack the Shell
“I can’t speak for everyone here, but I need the money. With you guys here, we should still be able to get out if things go sideways,” said the earth manipulator up front.
Some of the others didn’t look so sure, but nobody contradicted the digger.
“This is a gamble, man. Even just a small portion of the reward could be worth years of pay. Everyone heard about the massive payout for the last quest ...
2022-02-21 07:26:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 33
Struck Gold
Rays of red light cascaded throughout the tunnel as strange jewel covered creatures burst into the tunnel in a spray of debris. They looked almost like dogs covered in razor sharp gemstones. Janus had learned his lesson in the past, wasting no time before identifying them.
[Hearststone Guardian - Level 40]
Janus wasn’t sure how many of them there were, but the level of the monsters alone was ...
2022-02-18 01:16:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 32
Bedecked
Janus just stood there, processing. He had never really relaxed after he hadn’t found his father in Crow Station. The secretary had just given him the best news possible.
“He’s alive?” asked Janus.
“When the refugees came here, we had them verify themselves. If his name is on the list, it should be because he told them himself.” The secretary smiled.
“Thank you for checking. After the attack, t...
2022-02-15 04:56:29 +0000 UTC
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Dexterous
Pella quickly discovered that one of the greatest assets of her class was discovering skills with the same stat bonuses. If every skill she learned provided her a bonus to the same stat, she could easily reach very high values for that stat.
She hadn’t built up her library of skills as much as she would have liked, however. It was difficult to prepare for every scenario with the correct skills. Most of the time, she simply took as wide of a range of sk...
2022-02-10 15:26:32 +0000 UTC
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I would like to start this by saying the Bear Station is fine and will continue to be published. If I ever decide to put Bear Station on hiatus I will make sure that everyone is fully aware.
However, I am at a point where my priorities have shifted a bit. Bear Station takes a lot of time to write. What you see tends to be a quickly edited second draft, but even this can be very time consuming. I originally had planned to do 3 chapters a week, but I am struggling to meet...
2022-02-10 15:11:02 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 31
News Flash
Continued sleep in a comfortable bed left Janus even more refreshed than he would have hoped. Hashilli must have been running late the night before, and Janus had gotten to bed early. He had a few things to take care of before meeting up with his team.
His first order of business was seeing if he could get his robe repaired. After the night before, he had little left in the way of funds, but it was worth a try.
...
2022-02-07 19:48:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 30
Inconceivable
“You mean Hashilli?” asked Janus.
“Yes. I spoke with him yesterday,” Devon replied.
“This is the guy then, Devon?” Pella said, eyeing Hashilli. “Good find. Might be the only [Enhancer] on the station.”
Pella seemed to realize her mistake almost as quickly as she made it. Janus stood behind Hashilli, awkwardly shuffling his feet.
“Wait, no! Janus. I’m sorry we w...
2022-02-04 18:46:41 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: Well this is sort of the end of "arc" 2. I apologize if you guys aren't fans of all the dialogue going on, I'm hoping to inject some more action into the story soon! A big thank you to all of you who have just signed up for my Patreon and a big thank you to all of my existing patrons as well!
Chapter 29
Grilled
“What do you mean? Why did you go through my mail?” asked Janus. His head wa...
2022-02-03 05:11:41 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 28
Uncertainty
The air inside the massive office was pleasantly cool, but Janus wasn’t focused on the environment. Instead, his attention was on a desk roughly ten meters from the entrance.
Janus began walking, and the officer silently followed him. A dark-haired woman sat behind the desk, etching on a runescribe. She was so focused on her message that she hadn’t even heard Janus approach.
“Excuse me,” said Janus.
...
2022-02-01 03:28:57 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: A bit of a late night release here, but I couldn't help myself. The Patreon is finally, technically, 5 chapters ahead of the RR release! At least until 2pm PST tomorrow, but let me have my moment of triumph.
Chapter 27
Metropolitan
“Home sweet home!” exclaimed Tara.
Janus was amazed. They hadn’t left the tunnel system yet. Instead, the region they entered reminded him of a rail ...
2022-01-30 07:05:56 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank all of you for subscribing to the Patreon. The support that you have shown is what keeps me motivated!
I am publishing the last bonus chapter (The Great Spirit) as a full release on RoyalRoad. This means that as of right now, Patreon is 4 chapters ahead. I had to go with this because of the extra burden my classes are placing on my schedule.
But this also means that I am finally approaching my goal of fulfilling the 5 chapter head start for Enh...
2022-01-29 22:39:35 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 26
Copycat
Janus froze, water dripping from his face. Rowan was shaking his arms in an attempt to dry them off.
“Uh. Woops?” said Janus.
Hashilli and Janus had gotten the brunt of the water. The other [Enhancer] loomed over Janus, cup still in hand.
“What skill was that?” Hashilli asked.
Janus hadn’t meant to reveal his [Spell Weaving] skill. “It’s, uhm, it’s hard ...
2022-01-29 01:16:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 25
Companions
Janus wiped the crumbs off of his robe and started heading down the tunnel. He was happy to discover that his mana sense stretched almost twice as far as it did before he had cleared the [Deepstone Ravine].
Dimming his [Torchstone], Janus enjoyed the stillness and silence of the tunnel. He closed his eyes as he walked, recounting his encounters with the goblin shamans...
2022-01-28 00:27:21 +0000 UTC
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The Great Spirit
The winter air was crisp in his lungs, and Woya breathed deeply. He had spent the most of his morning strolling through the forest and the Great Tree was finally up ahead. It would have been a simple thing to travel the skies instead, but the walk was a spiritual thing. A pilgrimage.
Approaching the tree, Woya tossed back the beaded curtain in the entrance alongside a thick braid of his white hair. Immediately, the air grew warm. It would have bee...
2022-01-26 21:54:13 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: Hey guys! I wanted to point out that I posted chapter 23 and 24 at basically the same time, so make sure you read 23 first! Don't spoil yourself! I'm still hard at work trying to get all of the head start chapters finished. A small scheduling error I made cause me to release a chapter to the public earlier than I expect, but I wrote like crazy yesterday to catch back up.
Chapter 24
Lightshow
<...
2022-01-26 00:03:54 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 23
Crystallize
Janus made certain to note down everything he had learned from the goblin shamans. It always helped when he wrote things down or drew diagrams. The notebook was becoming his most cherished belonging at this point. He was very careful to not trip as he quickly scribbled a diagram of the mana shell onto the pages. It was better when he took notes as soon as possible after replicating a new skill.
It was difficult walki...
2022-01-26 00:00:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 22
Delirious
Janus could feel a warmness radiating from his wounded arm that only intensified as he continued onward. Worried, he stopped and looked at the arm. The skin was a bright red, and his arm had swollen where the snake originally bit him.
Maybe I should go back, but how am I going to get out of this place with only one good arm?
He hoped the tunnel marked on the map was lit and close enough to the ravine flo...
2022-01-24 00:08:57 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 21
Unwilling Teacher
Janus’ improvised bandages appeared to slow the bleeding. The [Rock Constrictor] had, thankfully, only bit him once. But he wasn’t sure if the monster had been venomous.
He had tried another climb up after the bleeding had slowed, but still couldn’t manage to grip well with his fingers. His arm was unnaturally stiff. He wasn’t certain if that was just from swelling or something...
2022-01-21 19:48:40 +0000 UTC
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Well, I was hoping to reach the end of the month doing a chapter a day, but things are starting to get a bit stressful. Between editing early chapters, writing new ones, classes, and my other responsibilities, it is getting much hard for me to pump out a chapter a day.
I don't like feeling as if I need to hit a word count quota. I think it causes the quality of my writing to decline. In response I am going to lower the frequency of releases to 3 a week. I will still get Patreon at least...
2022-01-20 04:09:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 20
Between a Rock and a Rock
The darkness made it difficult for Janus to tell when he slipped in and out of sleep. His dreams and nightmares melded with reality, subjecting him to a surreal collage of everything that had happened in the past few days.
It was thirst that finally brought him to full wakefulness. He had not managed to get a drink before he had fallen asleep. His mana sense extended outwards and immediately detected Le...
2022-01-20 04:05:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 19
Water Trails
Janus sat across from the [Hermit], a [Torchstone] between them. Lenny had been animatedly discussing his time in the tunnels. The eccentric man had even shared a little of his food with Janus. It was a strange, thick paste. Lenny claimed that he had grown the mushrooms himself. Janus, not wanting to appear rude, had ate a few bites.
“Boy, I know I’ve been talking up a storm.”...
2022-01-19 01:58:38 +0000 UTC
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I just wanted to say hello to everyone who has recently subscribed. I am hard at work outlining, planning, and writing arc two of Bear Station. I have already gotten the Patreon to be two chapters ahead and still plan to be be five chapters ahead by early next month.
Once I am 10 chapters ahead, I will likely launch two new tiers at $6 and $9. The $6 tier will get you the 10 chapter head start and monthly Q&A's. The $9 tier will be mostly so that people can show extra support. I wil...
2022-01-17 23:08:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 18
Long and Winding Road
Janus had spent his entire life under the ground. But Crow Station’s open cavern was a different story compared to the delver tunnels. It was almost suffocating to be in such a small area, knowing that the only exits were hours and hours away.
He knew that it would only get worse as he traveled onward. Attempting to sleep the night before had nearly been an exercise in futility. Janus simply couldn’t sh...
2022-01-17 22:55:17 +0000 UTC
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Atohi the Fearless
Atohi had heard from other delvers that Owl Station was run by a giant owl. He had always assumed it was a figure of speech. Like the governor of the station was into books, or stayed up late.
So it was to his great surprise when he entered the governors office and came face to face with a massive owl.
“Ah, my secretary tells me that you are the delver leading the team into the iron mine?” To Atohi’s amazement, the owl’s beak moved...
2022-01-16 23:31:15 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: Here we are: the end of arc one. It has been a pretty wild ride for me, seeing the reception to my story. I am humbled that so many people are enjoying it.
I am especially humbled that some of you have decided to support me on Patreon! I feel like I'm already improving as a writer and I hope this chapter speaks to that in some way.
Anyway, I don't want to keep you. Give it a read and thank you for y...
2022-01-16 17:23:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 16
Let There Be Light
The ground still trembled as Janus took in the sight. It was chaos. Delver’s were battling all over. Flashes of light and cries of alarm cascaded through the ruined guild. Janus looked around, the others were just as stunned as he was. The only exception was Harry, who was nowhere to be seen.
He used his illusion magic and ran away! He’s stranded us here!
Janus was about to ask Fao what they...
2022-01-16 02:44:48 +0000 UTC
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I just posted two head start chapters and wanted to get your guys' opinion on their formatting. Are they easy to read and navigate through on Patreon?
Also, I wanted to let you guys know that Bear Station has a discord server!
Link: https://discord.gg/zqaucCbdrr
2022-01-15 00:11:52 +0000 UTC
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