Ad Astra

139. All That Power (IX)

A rule of thumb: creatures impenetrable from the outside often hid a soft interior.

The Javelin gored through a huge chunk of flesh and kept going, spearing through a bulbous bulge of throat, quickening as it went.

He saw the Torchdragon’s pupils flare out, dilating, a trembling corona of pale orange. The Beast’s jaws made to clamp down, and gagged—mere feet from crushing Dorian’s head to paste. Dorian’s heart skipped a beat.

Then they breached the surface. Dorian ...

138. All That Power (VIII)

Breath check: no issues there. He still had a good half-hour, maybe more.

Qi check: good, and fast recovering. Merely swimming these waters gave him a pleasant boost to his qi recovery; he felt the energies of the universe seeping through his skin.

He was ready.

His mission had changed. Where once he’d come as a treasure hunter, come to clear out some Beasts and perhaps snag some stray Blood, now he felt like a spy. As he swam deeper, he cast his senses out as wid...

137. All That Power (VII)

Dorian took the plunge. Ker-plunk!

At his stage, one breath could last an hour if necessary. He could go a month without eating if needs be. His body was fueled mostly by qi. So he was heedless as the Sinkhole waters enveloped him in a cool embrace, heedless as he sank farther and farther in, feeling vast currents swirling and coursing all about him. He went on, seeking the depths—the fathomless deep blue and the promise of that sweet, sweet resonance.

At fir...

136. All That Power (VI)

It was fast becoming clear that Dorian’s current strength level was not going to cut it.

Not by far.

He was at best as strong as that other Oasis Lord. The one who’d gotten wiped off the face of the plane by that blast of Fire Law. And that was one Sky-Realm dragon, among a dozen! And what’s more—

There was Nijo to contend with. And whatever else human experts the Ugoc had.

It was enough to make Dorian’s head spin.

He had just two weeks to slap...

135. All That Power (V)

That night, Dorian climbed into his cot in a foul mood. Lots to deal with. Lots to think about. And he only had two weeks of prep time?! But all this was fodder for tomorrow. For now, sleep.

He’d put his body under an immense amount of stress. First there was the Tournament, then the breakthroughs, then the total qi depletion… his brain felt like it was about to leak out of his ears. Thinking felt like wading through mud. Even gods needed rest, to say nothing of mortals. 2022-10-14 23:44:36 +0000 UTC View Post

134. All The Power (IV)

Really? It’s been nearly a month! What took you so long?!

Dorian stared deadpan at Nijo’s smiling face.

And this is how you choose to do it? No face-to-face meeting? No secret lair? A scroll in the middle of the damned street?

“I’m fine, thank you,” Dorian said evenly. “And you?”

“Lovely,” sighed Nijo. “It is, as ever, a joy to be alive. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. My life has been rather hectic of late, you see....

133. All That Power (III)

It was a shame, but it had to be done.

The Javelin swerved around, angling for its newest victim.

Then Dorian paused. A neat idea had come to him.

“How about this?” he said gently. “You seem like the honest sort, Pebble. And you’ve been of great help to me. Renounce the Rat-King! Join me.”

“…Hum,” said Pebble, wide-eyed. “I can do that?”

“Sure! Hells—your boss is crippled. His best fighters are dead! There’s a power vacuum there...

132. All That Power (II)

[Bloodline Density]

[17% -> 19%]

[Core Saturation]

[5% -> 11%]

At last, the Tear’s gifts were slowing. What was a torrent was now a stream, and fast winnowing to a trickle. But before it petered out it bestowed upon Dorian one last gift.

[Bloodline Density]

[19% -> 21%]

[Level-Up!]

[Bloodline Technique: Serpent’s Senses] Lv. 0 -> 1

There it was. If the Oasis Lord was to be believed, this marvelous little Technique would let...

131. All the Power (I)

Every god in the Multiverse knew Houyi’s Three Principles by heart. If they hadn’t had it drummed into their heads growing up, they found the Principles on the martial path. They were one of the first things any ascended Martial Artist learned—for they were the fundamental theorem of all combat.

These three principles propelled the Godking Houyi to his title as the most powerful being in the Multiverse. With the three principles, the weakest rat could down the mightiest dragon. Th...

130. The Tournament (IV)

A/N: sprinted this one out last-minute, no edits—feel free to point out any mistakes!

//

This time, the terrain was like the Outside: a field of dunes, rising and falling like humps on a herd of camels. Not a shadow in sight.

Already Dorian was off to a rough start.

He eyed the Rat-King, who stood idly on the other side of the arena. His arms were crossed, his eyes narrowed to brooding, angry slits.

And here—in the brief span of the referee�...

129. The Tournament (III)

A/N: Patreon-only bonus chapter! 

Kaya and the Rat-King took center stage.

Kaya bounced back and forth, loose and limber and grinning. The Rat-King, meanwhile, wore an expression that could’ve belonged to a rock face. He looked bored at an existential level.

“Begin!” cried the referee.

Kaya burst out with a lively cry, fists smoldering gold. The Rat-King did not move. She halved the distance between them, then halved it again in a b...

128. The Tournament (II)

A/N: From now on, [Profound] Patrons officially get an extra perk: 1 extra chapter a week compared to RR! This also means advance chapters will expand by 1 chapter a week.

Expect a Patreon-only bonus chapter tomorrow. 

//

The Artificers were nothing if not efficient. In a day they’d rearranged the main floor of their forge. Now Dorian and Artificer Head Thon strolled on a catwalk above clusters of forges, each clanging and smoking and bursting with sp...

127. The Tournament (I)

“The name was Jez,” said Kaya again, licking a puff of cream from her upper lip. “‘Least, that’s what the priest said…”

She paused between munches, then squinted. “Um. Why’re you staring at me like that?”

Dorian was lightheaded. Hells, this Jez guy is fast! How many Lower Realms did Gerard say he’d run over? A third of them?

The chance that Dorian ended up in one such world was one in three. A fact that seemed blatantly obvious now, of...

126. A Divine Warning (II)

A/N: First time scheduling a chapter, hope this works :D 

//

“I mean…”

Dorian made a sour face. “Pooling qi shouldn’t be possible. Qi is individual—one creature’s qi shouldn’t be compatible with any other’s! Even I can’t pool qi between bodies, and I’m me. But if you’ve found some way to do it… it’s kind of genius.”

Gerard nodded. “One may vastly increase one’s qi reserves and recovery rate.” 2022-10-02 22:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post

125. A Divine Warning (I)

The moons rose high over the Azcan Oasis, where qi-lamps winked softly over empty, forgotten streets. A sheen of sleepy quiet settled in like a winter’s first snow, blanketing high-rises and Guild halls and boarded-up stores alike. Far above, the waters of the aqueducts streamed swiftly, silently, down their buffed steel tubes. The night was thick with dreams.

It was the Second Solstice. The white moon and the red rose high in the sky, looming huge and bright. Tonight their powers nea...

124. Splendid Weaponry (IX)

A/N: 

I finished typing the last sentence of this chapter 10 seconds before I made this post :D 

Most of the more irksome COVID symptoms are past me, I think, but there's still a lingering fatigue that's messed up my writing schedule (which usually takes place in the mornings >.>). Fingers crossed it goes soon... 

If I could keep up my productivity this week--in which I had a shitton of essays + midterms due *and* got COVID, all at once-...

123: Splendid Weaponry (IX)

A/N: Still tired, but feeling much better :) Think I should be fully recovered by Friday.

//

“It’s sexy. Sexy as hells! I get hard just looking at it!” chuckled Thon, the Artificing Head, as he marched down the hall. “Your Stick. I fuckin’ love it!”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” said Dorian.

“Excuse me?” said Bin, reddening.

“He means the weapon I’m about to show you—my Wizard’s Stick,” said Dorian with a grin. He paused...

122. Splendid Weaponry (XIII)

“HEAVENS! HE’S DONE IT! HE’S DONE IT!”

Even the announcer’s voice was trembling. “THE HERO IO DOWNS THE FOURTH-SEEDED PRINCESS IN THE FIRST ROUND!! JUST. LIKE. THAT!”

If Dorian thought the crowd had been crazy before?

They might as well have been monks in a monastery compared to what happened now.

It was like Dorian was some divine savior descended—it was like he truly was the so-called ‘Hero’ they made him...

121. Splendid Weaponry (XII)

It was like she’d been struck by a wrecking ball. But being struck by the weighty brunt of the Heilong Javelin wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it was that huge force spearing her through a point tinier than a needle’s head.

The Heilong Javelin was so sharp that even its holding case, forged of twice-smelted brightsteel, was designed to leave an air pocket around its tip—for a mere touch from that cruel, gleaming fang could carve grievous wounds into the toughest of metals.<...

120. Splendid Weaponry (XI)

A/N:

A few quick things:

1) Starting tomorrow, each chapter will come out at 6 PM EST.

2) Highly Tentative, Unofficial Upload Schedule:

-4x a week. M-W-F and Sunday.

-If it’s a really good writing week, I’ll drop a bonus chapter, chapter #5, on Saturday too. If it’s a really really good writing week, like this week (6x+ chapters a week), I’ll be...

119. Splendid Weaponry (IX)

I feel I should give y'all a (sheepish) disclaimer: I don't want to set the expectation of daily chapters! This is *not* an official schedule. It's just happening this way, naturally?

Habits, routines, and experience are proving to be quite the productive combo. Writing feels really easy right now.

(but still, don't expect dailies >.>)

//

The youth was a well-groomed, stern-looking fellow—probably a nobleman himself, but today he wore the muted grays of a refer...

118. Splendid Weaponry (VIII)

This could not be a coincidence.

This Eudora girl must’ve pulled strings. The first round was supposed to lob him easy meat! It was meant to be a warm-up, a showcase for his new abilities! He felt as though he were a baby bird still a week away from hatching—and then Fate cracked open his egg, dumped him on his ass still bleary-eyed and dripping yolk, and chucked him straight out the tree, screaming “Fly, motherfucker, fly!”

Dorian pinched the bridge of his nose. ...

115. Splendid Weaponry (V)

A/N: We return to chapter 118 after this! Which I hope to get out tomorrow. See y'all then.

Kaya spent the rest of the morning playing with the feeling. It was a warm gold light in her spirit, buoying her mood, and she felt it curled in her stomach like a smoldering hearth: always there, low but burning softly. Ready to flare up.

A normal [Ray], done calmly, might blast a dune apart.

A [Ray] done when she fanned that flame, let herself burn up in it and reli...

114. Splendid Weaponry (IV)

The force fields encasing the Oasis only repelled Spirit Beasts, so humans were free to slip out as they pleased. Most of the time it was for hunting or rare herb-gathering.

This morning, Kaya headed out alone for some target practice.

Something about the day had her pumped up. Maybe it was the sunrise, hot and red like warm blood. Maybe it was the rush of air on her skin, a feral summer gale roaring past the Oasis, stirring the sands. Or maybe it was her. Her ...

117. Splendid Weaponry (VII)

A/N:

A helpful patron pointed out to me in the comments of the last chapter that I was missing a scene. The chapter I release tomorrow, 114, will be a 'prequel' chapter to fill that scene in. I plan to write quite a bit this week, even more than last week, so this little change won't affect the release rate of the other bonus chapters I plan to get out. 

Happy Sunday!  

//

They didn’t approach. They just stared. There were glares and squint...