With 600 plant varieties added to his repertoire and matched with their ancient equivalents, Sorin easily identified a dozen different A-Tier ten poisons that could be crafted given his cultivation.
In the end, he decided on a poison called Symphony of Blood, which had a high propagation speed and could hop between similar creatures. Its effects weren't as pronounced a...
2024-05-30 23:06:21 +0000 UTC View Post
As a former physician, Sorin was well-versed in matters of corruption. Human flesh—like all flesh—was a perfect carrier for corruption and could absorb unlimited amounts if given the opportunity.
The danger, therefore, was not in the absorption itself but in the results. Mental instability was the least of many potentially deadly side effects, as it was mutat...
2024-05-29 20:56:05 +0000 UTC View PostSorin's cauldron hissed and bubbled as he added a vial of concentrated Devil Wasp Flower Extract and used his poison flame to quicken its merger with the three-poison cocktail inside his cauldron. The mixture hissed and churned, but reluctantly, it formed a stable four poison. After adding concentrated Death Eye Flower Root, he easily brought it up to the Five Poison level like he had ma...
2024-05-29 04:10:50 +0000 UTC View PostA familiar cocktail of alchemical cleaners greeted Sorin as he entered Elder Calvin's room. Several tubes were hooked up to the elder's body to help him heal, some to ward against disease and others simply to promote gentle yet effective healing throughout his fragile body.
"There you are, Sorin," greeted Elder Calvin from his reclined bed. His voice was weak, and even saying so li...
2024-05-28 00:07:13 +0000 UTC View PostHaving one's fingers severed then reattached was easily one of the most physically painful things one could experience. It ranked alongside obvious extremes like childbirth and peeing out a corrupted kidney stone.
This was due in large part to the sensitivity of one's finger nerves, which, for cultivators, was further amplified as they progressed. Suffice to say that Sorin could ba...
2024-05-24 23:20:16 +0000 UTC View PostStreets blurred past Sorin as their group travelled increasingly far away from their destination. The streets were empty as always, though eventually, they reached a point where crowds became more plentiful, and the streets became busy as they had originally been.
Only ten peaceful minutes passed before their enemies closed in on their location. A terrifying pressure came weighing ...
2024-05-23 20:50:37 +0000 UTC View PostShadows danced eerily in empty streets that would normally be bustling with activity. There was likely more than forced spatial transmission involved, but Nigel and Natasha, his protectors, didn't elaborate on the situation.
A rain of throwing knives appeared just as they were rounding the corner, forcing the entire group to duck to avoid getting caught up in the storm of bla...
2024-05-22 19:21:00 +0000 UTC View PostI don't usually make announcements, but since many of you are likely only readers of Pandora Unchained, I thought I'd let you know if today's release ^^.
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I'm happy to announce that Painting the Mists Volume 1 (Books 1-3) is now available in eBook and Audiobook formats! This bundle is the first of five that ...
The questioning of Mr. Mercer proved not nearly as damning as Sorin expected. Though on paper, he had a pile of complaints, in practice, he was an insufferable individual who caused problems for anyone he interacted with. This included the Head Questioner, Mr. Mierau. Mr. Mercer's testimony proved so consistent and annoying that when asked if they'd like to question the witness, Elde...
Apologies for the late chapter; the power and internet were out all day yesterday.
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The streets of Delphi blurred past Sorin as Elder Nolan whisked him through the skies to deliver him to the inquiry that had originally been scheduled for a day later.
It was midmorning, so the streets were relatively empty, though Sorin could sense something amiss in the movements of the fe...
2024-05-18 13:29:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Even with Astley's ritual, Sorin took until that evening to assimilate the knowledge he already possessed and another two days to finish the rest of his reading.
That wasn't to say that things proceeded without difficulty. The ritual, it turns out, had a time limit of 24 hours, regardless of what was offered. What's more, they might be allowed to remember unli...
2024-05-16 18:51:02 +0000 UTC View PostOut of all the Presiding Elders, Elder Claudius was the least busy g,iven recent changes. He was, therefore, quite happy to help Sorin procure a variety of historical texts to do with Delphi, the Kepler Clan, and Pandora in general.
"Please note that many of the Kepler Clan's historical texts are redacted," said Elder Claudius, pointing at a passage that was blurred beyond recondit...
2024-05-15 22:27:47 +0000 UTC View PostDelphi was in a state of uproar immediately after the Shrine Descent. The successful Descent naturally made the front page of the paper, but Sorin's newly revealed God Seed Status came in a close second.
This was naturally accompanied by various opinion pieces disparaging Sorin and his upcoming inquiry at the Medical Association. The Medical Association was quick to capitaliz...
2024-05-14 22:31:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Teleportation was a disorienting and dangerous thing to do outside of carefully controlled circumstances. Outside of heroic abilities, it was impossible to teleport below the Bone-Forging Realm, and even then, only if special items were used a substantial cost incurred.
Sorin was, therefore, unsurprised when he encountered sudden spatial turbulence mid-teleportation, t...
2024-05-14 00:34:03 +0000 UTC View PostMovement skill first, thought Sorin as he allowed Madness to infiltrate Adder Rush and change its straightforward attack patterns. Adder Rush was a skill modeled after the movement of serpents and was naturally a swift but winding technique.
Though Sorin was loathe to give up on its swiftness, his opponent left him no choice; he urged the technique to ch...
2024-05-10 23:12:30 +0000 UTC View PostJust as it had three times before, the atmosphere of the catacombs changed, and a large amount of corruption emerged from the entrance to the third level. The statue of the dryad did not grow as the others had, but its presence increased drastically and soon overtook that of its predecessors.
When it seemed like the corruption would suddenly let out, the rune on the dryad statue th...
2024-05-09 23:18:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe air in the catacombs froze over as corruption surged out from beneath the second-level catacombs and into the Phantom Devourer. The statue expanded as it drank in the corruption until finally, it reached its limits; the statue shattered, revealing an intangible, many-mouthed creature with no flesh to speak of.
Measuring nearly a mile in length, the coiled creature ...
2024-05-08 23:01:34 +0000 UTC View PostApologies for the lack of a chapter yesterday. It was a holiday here in Canada.
Double chapter today.
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With only ten solo combatants remaining and not much leeway, their first order of business was to determine the order of participants. "The previous trend will likely continue, with demons getting progressively with each fight," said Melinoë. "Given that all remaining par...
2024-05-07 19:26:49 +0000 UTC View PostAs Sorin's team fought the serpent, the remaining heroes surrounded Melinoë and her ally, Bast. The light mage seemed unsurprised by the situation but expressed his desire for distance between himself and his polarizing patron.
"Perhaps the details should be discussed," Melinoë said after a minute of silence. "I have never sabotaged a team that was having a hard time and have onl...
2024-05-06 22:08:41 +0000 UTC View PostFortunately for the sapphire-tier heroes, the remaining matches did not produce more unexpected surprises. In fact, one of the teams even obtained one of the rare silver flames, which directly upgraded their wish-fire spheres from sapphire grade to ruby grade.
The ruby teams then went on to accept their arena challenges, and as predicted by Daphne, the wheel underwent another trans...
2024-05-03 17:15:38 +0000 UTC View PostUnder mounting pressure from three God Seeds and other individuals with strong backing, the remaining emerald-ranked teams, as they were now designated, began challenging the arena in groups.
Several important rules were discovered, including the fact that the number of normal demons supplied scaled with the number of competitors. Elite demons were also empowered based on the numbe...
2024-05-02 21:06:05 +0000 UTC View PostApologies for the lack of a chapter yesterday. It was a holiday here in Canada.
Double chapter today.
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"Banner is a spear and shield warrior, and his abilities are well known," Gareth explained as the hero and his team of five entered the arena. "His heroic ability is called Shield of Clouds, Spear of Lightning. The first part of his ability makes any shield he wields extra...
2024-04-30 17:48:34 +0000 UTC View PostSorin spent the next three days appearing in public as little as possible. On Elder Marek and Elder Nolan's advice, he ignored the mounting protests outside his house and stuck to the basement where there were fewer windows and, therefore, fewer opportunities for reporters to take pictures of him.
Though it was risky, Percival, Clarice, and the rest of Sorin's staff took turn...
2024-04-29 15:35:17 +0000 UTC View Post
The difficult situation Sorin found himself in shortly after leaving Michael's residence made it clear that he'd fallen into a trap. Moreover, it was a multi-layered trap. Charles's poison was the initiator, while Melinoë's hidden influence put on the finishing touches.
Somehow, threads of Madness had snuck aboard his body and were rapidly accumulating within him, fanning his emotion...
2024-04-26 20:43:58 +0000 UTC View PostWith the players having been whittled down to only five, the game slowed down. No large bets were made for a good half hour as everyone took their time to carefully probe their opponents and maintain their stamina.
Once everyone was clear on each other's capabilities, Charles took the lead by attempting to subdue Sorin with his poisons. The attack took Sorin by surprise, as he soon...
2024-04-25 18:46:43 +0000 UTC View PostThe game being played was called Texas Hold'em, an enduring staple that had surfaced shortly after the Cataclysmic Emergence. As for what 'Texas' was or what it referred to, neither Sorin nor anyone else he'd ever spoken to had any idea. But the game had stuck against all odds and was now widely played regardless of wealth or social standing.
Sorin received his drink shortly after ...
2024-04-24 15:42:54 +0000 UTC View PostHaving secured mental protection in the form of S-Tier jewelry and gotten his pent-up madness out of control, Sorin dove into concoctions once again to make his final preparations. While he couldn't build a faultless foundation as an apothecary before the Shrine Descent, sufficient time remained to upgrade the poisons his body could generate all the way up to B-Tier.
Acitoxin...
2024-04-23 23:04:07 +0000 UTC View Post"I decided to go with simple and rustic for you, Gareth, and elegant for Lawrence," said Master Carlos, laying out detailed physical designs for their rings. "As for you, Sorin, your style is all over the place, so I decided to go with rich and domineering." Looking at the large and square ring the man had designed for him, Sorin couldn't help but admit that rich and domineering describe...
2024-04-23 01:32:41 +0000 UTC View PostLike S-Tier leather armor, S-Tier jewelry could only be obtained in Delphi by booking an appointment through the Hero Association.
Sorin, Gareth, and Lawrence were shopping together this time as their team members had already obtained the necessary mental protection ahead of time. Gareth and Lawrence weren't powerful earners and had just recently saved up enough for their first S-T...
2024-04-19 23:20:48 +0000 UTC View PostGareth's guidance on crazy activities helped Sorin for a time, but eventually, it grew to the point that it began leaking through into his everyday activities.
The first symptom Sorin noticed was visual hallucinations. Not because they were obvious but because there simply couldn't be so much of Melinoë's influence in a single location. Threads of madness covere...
2024-04-18 16:33:38 +0000 UTC View Post