A dozen more void-things erupted from the ground like warped insects, limbs slick with glassy shadows and flailing in sick arcs.
Tommaso raised both hands overhead. “Sing of Trials; Ring of Fire.”
[Spell Detected: Ring of Fire (Rank V)]
Crimson runes blazed beneath his feet in a perfect circle. Flame burst up in a towering wall, then imploded like an infer...
2025-07-30 09:58:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe North Pond was off-limits today, but a No Entry sign had never stopped Tommaso Ardefiamme before.
With one quick hop, he planted a boot on the lowest rung of the fence and vaulted over it like it was a stage prop. His hair, tousled by the wind, fell over one side of his shoulder as loose waves danced with the motion. The barrier wasn’t even aether-imbued—just ironwood slats and fa...
2025-07-29 23:51:08 +0000 UTC View PostHalf of this chapter is new content :) I think it's pretty fun and you should read it.
The ventrafig tree was a peculiar tree.
It didn’t grow like the others in the courtyard grove. While most trees stretched skyward with ambition, chasing the sun, the ventrafig sprawled low and wide, its limbs twisting like lazy serpents. Its leaves were large and fan-shap...
2025-07-29 17:14:39 +0000 UTC View PostLorvan had said there was nothing Fabrisse could do about the lore clerk situation. That it was political, above his clearance, best left alone. But Fabrisse had spent the entire night lying awake, watching the cracks on his ceiling shift with the moonlight, thinking about it over and over again.
By morning, he’d decided—no, resolved—that there was one thing he could do.
He kn...
2025-07-29 16:07:15 +0000 UTC View Post“Ganvar struggles with mass disturbance spells.” Rimmar said as he morphed into the shadows, blending himself into the corner of the room.
Tommaso and Ilya’s quarters were technically rented Synod property, but stepping through the threshold felt like walking into a hidden world stitched together from heat and . . . frost. The layout was standard issue: a single sitting room with a ...
2025-07-29 08:55:07 +0000 UTC View PostThere was no longer anyone around. Well, except for Ilya, who was resting her back against an oak tree, a book in her hand. Her raven was perched on her shoulder, peeking at her book like it could read. But having Ilya around felt very much like having no one around.
“Uh . . . Can you help me with Stone spellcasting then?” Fabrisse scratched his head.
“I don’t get paid for t...
2025-07-28 17:09:23 +0000 UTC View PostMy friend, who’s in acting school and is practicing to become a voice actor, has generously spent his time to narrate Chapter 13, a fan favorite chapter, for us. If you wish to listen to the audio version of Chapter 13, feel free to do so here and let me know what you thi...
2025-07-28 02:24:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Huh? Copy?” Celine tilted her head. “Faultweave won’t trigger unless you’ve properly learned Tremblehold.”
“I know,” he replied. “But I’m not trying to cast it. I just need to copy the motion. I think that’s the last piece.”
She gave him a skeptical look but didn’t stop him. “Alright,” she said slowly. “But don’t twist your knee. The stance sequenc...
2025-07-27 14:44:08 +0000 UTC View Post“I think you should learn this one.” Celine flipped to a specific page in Anabeth’s book with the confidence of someone who’d dog-eared it in her heart. Her finger landed beneath a spell diagram scrawled in rough charcoal: Pebbleburst.
“It’s so satisfying,” she said, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. “It’s like—like hurling a rock but it shatters ...
2025-07-27 14:32:24 +0000 UTC View Post“You cannot be serious.” Fabrisse stared at Greg Johnson in disbelief. Liene burst out laughing so hard that she started snorting like a piglet.
“I-is that a person?” Celine said, this time in a hoarse whisper. She had now abandoned her poise and simply stood rooted to the ground like a miscast petrification spell had taken full effect.
“I just said his name. . .” Fabris...
2025-07-27 02:23:19 +0000 UTC View PostNote: I've changed the magic system a bit, so now ARC is RES. Check out the details here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/changes-to-magic-134960131?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyL...
2025-07-26 17:07:10 +0000 UTC View PostFabrisse had tried to calm Lorvan by claiming that he had thought of a brilliant plan to end the attacks once and for all. Upon hearing the plan, Lorvan became unreasonably mad.
“Using yourself as bait? Do you actually think they will fall for that lousy little scheme?” Lorvan seethed as he rose from his desk. Fabrisse stood awkwardly near the doorway, begging for the rage to stop so ...
2025-07-26 09:42:52 +0000 UTC View PostThe system’s over-complexity has always been a weaker part of the book, so Rolen is making changes to it. Here are the changes. They will be gradually implemented into later chapters of the book after another round of revision.
1. Both Thaumaturgy and System definition now require these components for casting a spell:
Technique
(or aid from magical It...
2025-07-25 20:49:59 +0000 UTC View PostCeline Moose hadn’t talked much as she was escorted back to her dorm, and Fabrisse was surprised how close she actually lived from him. Just two buildings apart—though, technically, that was two entire dormitories and a courtyard with a security ward that screamed politely if a non-resident crossed after curfew. Still, close.
They now stood in the front garden of the girl's dorm, unde...
2025-07-25 01:51:12 +0000 UTC View Post“We need a safe space,” Rolen said the moment he entered. Fabrisse opened his mouth to speak, to explain about Severa and Dir and everything else, but the words dried up as Rolen raised one hand. The classroom trembled faintly as a line of chalk-thin light traced itself across the floor in a semicircle around them.
“Archmagus!” Celine exclaimed. She didn’t say anything else.
... 2025-07-24 07:12:08 +0000 UTC View PostProfessor Kaldrin was a young man, much younger than Fabrisse had expected from a professor. He was likely no older than twenty-eight, and probably still younger than Lorvan. Clean-shaven with well-proportioned features, he looked like someone who’d once modeled for Synod recruitment posters. His dark hair was combed back with just enough deliberation to suggest effort without vanity. If you ...
2025-07-23 18:01:56 +0000 UTC View PostThe hairs on the back of Fabrisse’s neck stood as a pressure ripple surged toward him from the entrance. His body moved before his mind caught up.
A tendril of absolute void cracked through the space he’d just been standing in, severing the edge of his sleeve with surgical silence. It didn’t bend any light or make any sound.
He dove sideways, instinct guiding him better than s...
2025-07-23 06:00:22 +0000 UTC View Post[ACCESS: STONE THAUMATURGY SKILL TREE]
[SYSTEM NOTE: All these skills are Common-level skills. Please refer to the known Skill tree to access Tier 2 (Rare-level) skills.]
[WARNING: Be sure to refer to double-check the requirements for unlocking every Skill. Some Tier 2 skills cannot be unlocked until the prerequisite Tier 1 skills are availa...
2025-07-22 17:03:39 +0000 UTC View PostCeline led Fabrisse around the curve of the refectory’s outer wall, past a decorative barrier of climbing ferns enchanted to hum softly when brushed, and into a semi-private study alcove nestled between two tall bookcases. Technically part of the refectory’s library annex, it was just secluded enough to muffle voices but still open enough not to count as ‘alone.’ The round window behind...
2025-07-22 16:58:34 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm also solidifying the skill tree, and this is the basic explanation of how it works. This is public knowledge, but you guys should know it anyway.
2025-07-22 14:22:31 +0000 UTC View PostThere weren’t many chances in life to catch Liene acting shy. Normally, Fabrisse would’ve jumped at the opportunity to tease her for it—if he weren’t also the one being teased today.
The Synod’s Refectory of the Seventh Fire Dragon had the architecture of the headquarters of a minor cult. Marble pillars inlaid with gold-veined obsidian ringed the cavernous space, each one crowne...
2025-07-22 08:28:41 +0000 UTC View PostHe charged his Stupenstone for what felt like less than a second and released.
[SPELL CAST: Stupenstone Fling (Rank III)]
The pebble arced even more beautifully than in his training runs with Tommaso. The throwmitts steadied his grip; the angle was clean; the follow-through smooth. Amber sparks followed the pebble like celebratory fireflies. It soared in a gentle ri...
2025-07-21 22:19:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe Stupenstone Fling is now travelling too slowly and not dealing enough damage, so I'm upgrading the base version (Rank 2), as can be seen in Chapter 35 on Royal Road.
For this reason, its speed and ra...
2025-07-21 21:17:39 +0000 UTC View PostLiene stepped up to the plate like someone ordered to recite ancient druidic tax codes in front of Headmaster Draeth. She winced as she charged her pebble, but the thing buzzed like it was excited to be thrown nonetheless. It would be disappointed.
She raised her arm and released it.
The pebble floated upward a grand total of twelve centimeters, stuttered like a nervous bug, and flo...
2025-07-21 16:53:08 +0000 UTC View PostCeline Moose was one of the few Earth Thaumaturgy practitioners within her current year, and by far the huggiest. Bubbly and prone to unsolicited hugs, few expected her to be interested or any good at it, until she made the ground eat a flask of water during mid-term. Her experience with Stone Thaumaturgy, though, was less triumphant. She could form small quartz crystals out of thin air and thr...
2025-07-21 11:06:53 +0000 UTC View PostIlya had finished eating her baguette when she finally arrived at the valley. The first thing she asked was, “Why is there a valley within the Synod campus?”
There wasn’t an answer.
Next to Tommaso, Dubbie tugged on her sleeve and leaned in with a whisper, eyes wide. “Is that her?”
Tommaso glanced between them. “She might look like an Ice Queen, but she’s actuall...
2025-07-20 21:31:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe cranecrow shrieked. The smaller crow cawed back, just as irritated. But the wind-surfing idiot was herding them both, swooping in figure-eights, arms flapping to maintain his own chaotic balance.
“Tom? What is he even riding?” Dubbie mouthed.
Tommaso passed overhead again, carving a messy circle above the valley and yelling, “Turn around, bird! You forgot to pay tuition!...
2025-07-20 13:38:49 +0000 UTC View PostThey watched in helpless silence as the two shapes tangled above the ridge—one large and laborious, the other sleek and desperate. Ilya’s crow was faster, sure, but it couldn’t corner the cranecrow. Not in open air like that. Every time it tried to force a turn, the gangly intruder just rose higher, wings flapping like a tent caught in a storm. The smaller crow was giving it all. But it w...
2025-07-20 10:47:25 +0000 UTC View PostDubbie Kestovar had a rather unfortunate habit of getting swept up in random razzmatazz.
Once, she and her airhead brother spent an entire afternoon trying to catch a frog that had allegedly mastered teleportation (it hadn’t—it was just very good at jumping and Fabrisse kept sneezing). Another time, Tommaso roped in her and three other kids from their commune to help build a rudimenta...
2025-07-19 20:16:46 +0000 UTC View Post