Lukas’ breath caught in his throat. His chest tightened. He felt heavy. It wasn’t like being in a high-mass state but something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“I don’t know if you want to call this a parting gift or my way of evening the scales. You did a lot for me and completed several jobs without pay or without me getting around to providing appropriate compensation.&nbs...
2025-06-05 16:46:28 +0000 UTC View PostUnlike the other competitors, El-Four didn’t make a beeline for the prize. Lukas had instructed him not to bother, no matter the value. It wasn’t worth the risk of exposure. Instead, he looked out for the shit inevitably hitting the fan. Most of his ‘competitors’ were already sprinting for the prize. Only the mage he had assisted and an archer from one of the teams hung back.
<... 2025-06-04 06:05:02 +0000 UTC View PostLukas faced a week after the ascension of his Soul Pillar. The time to fulfill Kwame’s end of the bargain had come. He approached El-Four after a week of constant training. It had been a fruitful week. They practiced the shortsword and three-stage spear, with and without a shield. Much to Lukas and the clones’surprise, the quartermaster also included the Shade’s Mantle in his lessons.&nbs...
2025-06-02 14:07:25 +0000 UTC View Post“I wasn’t expecting you today,” Esther said when Lukas entered her clinic. She froze mid-procedure. A strange cat-like creature lay unconscious on the table in front of her. Eyes scanned him. “You ascended a pillar.”
“Your arcane senses are terrifying,” Lukas commented.
“Not quite. It's the shard. I’ve spent enough time around you to know when it's the real you and...
2025-06-02 10:09:24 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m glad you have something stealthy,” Penelope said, clapping her hands after Lukas demonstrated the Shade’s Mantle. “If I were you, I would’ve picked an upgrade or essence more in theme with Inspector’s Compendium, but I suppose sneaking around so you can use it more and without worry is just as vital.” She reached across the dining table, took his hand, and squeezed it. “I...
2025-05-31 06:31:29 +0000 UTC View PostLukas often wanted to curse Lady Silverspine for their continued entanglement. However, the journal had proven its value twice over. Even discounting Inspector’s Compendium being able to accurately track one’s growth while others couldn’t was already an incredible advantage. Unlike most others, he didn’t need to visit a temple to discover what his current essence would give him.
<...
2025-05-28 12:56:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe Owl Temple was amongst the tallest buildings in Iskander, standing just short of the city hall and the many mage towers at approximately five stories. Much to Lukas’s surprise, it only appeared to have one main floor. Giant pillars held up the almost invisible grand ceiling. Lukas couldn’t tell whether it was magic or a trick of the light, but it felt as if he was looking at the night s...
2025-05-27 11:23:38 +0000 UTC View PostKelpie appeared within minutes of Penelope departing for the research center. She was in a hurry and they ate breakfast in the inn’s dining room for a change. It was fortunate the sorcerer didn’t need Lukas or Elvis’s services until later in the day. The landlady immediately made herself scarce and the usually doting service staff kept their distance from the corner where he sat.
...
2025-05-25 15:37:40 +0000 UTC View PostBy the time Lukas returned, Humphrey was gone. Only Guard Captain Stefan Santana remained, wearing his casual, friendly smile. Lukas knew not to trust it. The man had proven himself two-faced. Lukas and the clones were fortunate enough not to see its ugly side yet, but he was sure that it would eventually reveal itself.
They discussed mundane topics, ranging from the weather and prices of...
2025-05-24 03:12:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe samples found in the undercity kept Penelope busy and Lukas and Elvis mostly free. She only needed a porter and courier in the evenings, and it was mostly to run scrolls and stacks of research notes to mage towers in distant corners of the city. Hooded strangers watched the package runner. A couple shot crossbows at the clones and even pursued them. None managed to catch their target or lan...
2025-05-22 13:38:20 +0000 UTC View PostLukas didn’t know if it wasn’t the same for the Soul Pillar or if Lady Silverspine’s magic had made the Shard of Duplication special. He woke up two days after Penelope’s ritual, feeling significantly better than before.
The man in the mirror was barely recognizable. The gaunt, discolored body from probably years of malnutrition and neglect was gone. Lukas looked and felt healthy ...
2025-05-22 13:37:47 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re back!” Kat exclaimed when Elvis returned to the smithy the following morning. She threw her arms around him and planted a long, deep kiss on his lips. The embrace only ended when her father loudly cleared his throat from within the workshop. “I thought you’d be away for longer.”
“Me too,” Elvis replied, enjoying the feeling of her bosom pressed against his chest. H...
2025-05-22 13:36:28 +0000 UTC View Post“How?” Penelope asked, mouth hanging open. She kneeled over the mutated phaser’s corpse, fingers running over the scales. “This thing should’ve been too strong for the likes of you.”
“Your magic circle did all the work,” Lukas said, openly holding the Essence of Phasing. He didn’t want to be accused of hiding it. “We just played around the circle until it screwed up....
2025-05-22 13:35:57 +0000 UTC View Post“Was that a smart use of magic, boss?” El-One asked, keeping his volume barely over a whisper. “Do we need the extra light or are we trying to impress the hot sorceress?”
“Impress? Yes. Because she’s hot? No.”
“When did you get so boring and holier than thou.” The clone sighed.
“We need her to teach us, genius,” Lukas said, trying to focus magic around hi...
2025-05-22 13:34:54 +0000 UTC View Post“What is it, Elvis?” Penelope asked as they approached.
“I found another live one,” the clone replied, holding up a rolled parchment. All but the edges were frozen solid and black marked an edge. “He was trying to burn it.”
The parchment’s owner lay trapped under a fallen mushroom. Part of a giant mushroom crap lay across her mid-riff and her right leg pointed the wron...
2025-05-22 13:33:54 +0000 UTC View PostThey came from the shadows.
No reverse mermen, troglodytes, slimes, or giant rats came for the trio. The attackers were human. Lukas spotted one peek out from behind a mushroom stalk and fire their hand crossbow. The sound of countless singing birds filled the cavern as the bolt came alive with lightning. It flew slow enough for the eye to see but not for the targets to flee.
...
2025-05-22 13:32:16 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re going to be here for fricking forever,” El-One grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.
A dense line extended from the guardhouse ahead. Groups of armed and armored individuals stood in clusters. Only a pair of guards stood at the entrance. They alternated between checking badges, paperwork, and bags and inspecting everything those exiting the undercity brought out with ...
2025-05-22 13:31:47 +0000 UTC View PostFollowing the shopping incident, Lukas started pushing the clones harder. Most of the days went into intense training at the Shadow Seekers guildhouse. El-Two’s Three-Stage Spear caught a trainer’s interest.
“What in the Leviathan’s name do you think you’re doing?” The middle-aged man demanded. He wore bright, colorful clothing unlike most Shadow Seekers, and they strongly con...
2025-05-22 13:31:12 +0000 UTC View Post“First, the thing you need to understand is that unlike wherever you came from, sharded individuals are reasonably common,” Esther explained. “Every second person finds or gets a shard at some point in their lifetime. They might chance upon it, be gifted it, or get it as a reward for service.
“Most aren’t super potent. Some just make them slightly better than ordinary with...
2025-05-22 13:30:45 +0000 UTC View PostEssence of Blood.
Essence of Feathers.
Essence of Repulsion.
Essence of Shadow.
Holding onto all of the essences felt stupid. Lukas didn’t know yet what he intended to use for Arcane Clone’s ascension to the next tier. However, he believed that Essence of Feathers and Essence of Blood wouldn’t take...
2025-05-22 13:30:18 +0000 UTC View PostA magic circle spread from the point of contact, expanding in front of Big Mouth. Earth swirled up and twisted, shaping itself into a humanoid figure. Then, the textures and colors changed. The resulting construct looked like a twisted amalgamation of bone and flesh. The body had no distinct head or torso. The three segments gave it an insectoid appearance. Two limbs grew out of each section, a...
2025-05-22 13:29:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe journal’s Power Compass page had changed after the meeting with Penelope. Five new hollow circles sat where his conjunction and confluence abilities would go. He couldn’t tell if the journal was learning with him or had instructions to only reveal such information when he discovered it.
Lukas slowly got into the habit of inspecting everything he found. It served as a decent substi...
2025-05-22 13:29:20 +0000 UTC View PostAlchemical brews sizzled as they mixed on the floor, filling the shop with colorful, suffocating fumes. Lukas backpedaled, grabbed the sword’s hilt in one hand, and pulled his coat’s collar over his nose with the other.
“Get the moneybox.!” The shopkeeper screamed. He ran for the center of the shop, but a giant bubble, as tall as him, rose from the floor, surface sizzling wi...
2025-05-22 13:28:56 +0000 UTC View PostAfter spending the first day away from the inn laying low, Lukas started the second by visiting Esther’s clinic. Unfortunately, she was too busy to entertain him, and he turned to the markets instead. Lukas and the clones had passed several interesting stores and businesses during courier jobs or deliveries for Kat’s father. Time for investigations was a luxury, and they settled for glancin...
2025-05-22 13:28:33 +0000 UTC View PostFew meals of Lukas’s life compared to the ones hosted by the Lord Of Brawls and Feasts. Eighty years and several dozen more lived through the clones was a long life by human standards, at least. Much to his surprise, the breakfast made an excellent attempt at competing.
Just as Lukas finished his pastry stuffed with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella-like cheese, and a leaf that smelled like ba...
2025-05-22 13:26:09 +0000 UTC View PostEl-One didn’t get the job. More specifically, he didn’t get the job Lukas wanted for him.
“What does your shard ability do?” Kat’s Pa had asked, looking over the ‘letter of recommendation’ Stefan had written, signed, and stamped with the Iskandar Guard’s seal.
“Above average endurance and pain tolerance, and heals my wounds faster than the average Joe’s.” El-On...
2025-05-22 13:25:37 +0000 UTC View PostDifferent varieties of white stone formed the bulk of Iskander’s buildings. The cliffs bordering the city matched the older buildings—white, flecked with black flint. Some, especially the grander structures like the spires, clock towers, and palatial edifices utilized marble. Meanwhile, the newer structures reminded Lukas of a childhood school trip to Rome. It wasn’t so much the architect...
2025-05-22 13:25:15 +0000 UTC View PostOnce the guard captain departed, Lukas summoned the journal. It appeared out of thin almost as if growing out of a speck of dust. Words blossomed on the blank pages as soon as it opened.
Silverfang has been recovered and secured.
Your quest is complete!
You may unlock a new journal function:
Inspector’s...
2025-05-22 13:23:30 +0000 UTC View PostLukas woke up in a cot with stained grey sheets in a room that looked far from sterile. Stalls lined the wall to his left. Horses, bovines, and beasts he didn’t recognize stood in them, staring at him. Most had mouthfuls of hay or mud while the others’ maws dripped red. His nostrils burned and surprisingly little hurt when he moved.
“Oh, good.” A smiling bearded face looked down a...
2025-05-22 13:22:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe corridor-turned-tunnel widened until Lukas was walking on a seemingly endless bridge through a vast cavern. Crimson crystals stood on occasional pedestals. They weren’t equidistant but close enough so most of the bridge remained lit. Whenever rare dark patches appeared, he blindly tapped the darkness with his foot first and only put his weight on it after testing for stability. It w...
2025-05-22 13:21:21 +0000 UTC View Post