Formal dinners were a staple of upper-class life in big cities. As a member of the Kepler Clan, Sorin had attended many such events. It fell to the head of a household to host formal dinners, and for the first time, Sorin found himself in the position to do so. He didn't have the same financial ability he used to have, but that didn't stop him from offering his best. His friends de...
2023-12-19 19:22:28 +0000 UTC View PostUploading three chapters at once. Happy New Year!
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Sorin was no stranger to spell craft, as in his younger years, his mentor had forced him to study spell theory and minor spells to make up for a physician's deficits. Though he'd only begun cultivating six years ago and had spent 3 of these years as a cripple, those three years he had practiced had been filled with ample ...
2023-12-19 19:21:38 +0000 UTC View PostDaphne asked Sorin a few more questions before leading him up to the library's second floor. Most of them pertained to his mana control and his ability to separate his mana into different natures.
"Different spell shapes are more suited to different types of mana," Daphne explained. "And variable mana cultivators, though uncommon, are numerous enough that this matter gets spe...
2023-12-19 19:20:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe following day, Sorin ate a light breakfast before heading off to the Mages Guild, located just south of the outpost's central square. The guild was a very different sight in the day than in the night, when Haley had dragged him over for testing, not giving him any time to take in the wondrous glass building located at the center of a giant hedge maze.
Said building was a ...
2023-12-19 19:19:54 +0000 UTC View PostUploading three chapters at once. Happy New Year!
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The leatherworker was located three streets from the outpost wall, in an eight-block by eight-block section of the city reserved for metalwork, leatherwork, slaughterhouses, and other similar types of businesses.
There was a total of twelve leatherworkers in the city. Still, Gareth swore by Sanderson's Leather Outfitting and...
2023-12-19 19:19:08 +0000 UTC View PostAt noon the next day, Sorin traveled to the Adventurers Guild for a meeting with his team. An employee hailed him as he entered the guild and escorted him to a conference room at the back, where a healthy spread of food had just been set out.
Stephan and Gareth were naturally already there, and Lawrence followed ten minutes later. An old man in mage's robes and a pointed hat ar...
2023-12-19 19:17:45 +0000 UTC View PostIt took a short while for Sorin to process Marcus's words. Marcus is indeed from the Sovinger branch. He's not from the Mockingjay branch under my uncle's control, and neither is he part of the Lucian branch that supports the Mockingjay branch. The implication of Marcus's words was that there was some disagreement on how to handle his situation.
"Your branch is histori...
2023-12-19 19:17:03 +0000 UTC View PostI am going on vacation for about a week, so I'm uploading all the chapters for that period of time in advance.
Merry Christmas!
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Sorin ate a hearty breakfast the following day with toast, ham, and a poached egg covered in a creamy sauce. When Sorin asked about this new dish, Percival confessed that he'd been learning from a chef in town in his spare time.
"He was s...
2023-12-19 19:16:25 +0000 UTC View PostGood news everyone! After nearly 6 years of writing, I've started using Grammarly, which is doing wonders for catching errors and typos, etc. So far, I've got Chapters 51 onward done, and plan on working my way back and updating the other Patreon tiers while also getting the future RR chapters fixed up.
Many thanks for your patience over the years. Hopefully, this provides you all with a...
The minotaur cleaved down with its axe, catching Stephan just as he was about to retreat from its range. Sparks flew as the blade struck his half-plate armor, and blood poured out from the wound.
"I've taken its berserk attack!" shouted Stephan. "Its essence is confirmed to be Violence! Watch out for its minions!" The tide of demons being held back by both their teams suddenly ...
2023-12-15 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostWith the addition of Haster and Barbara's teams, their speed through the labyrinth increased severalfold. They encountered four groups of demonic creatures that took a total of a minute each to dispatch before arriving at a different entrance to the center of the maze.
"I hear sounds of battle," said Gareth as they approached the entrance. "Sounds of steel and magic and bows."<...
2023-12-14 21:49:34 +0000 UTC View PostSorin's unblocking of his teammate's primary meridians led to an immediate increase in combat prowess. Their team easily swept through any obstacles they found in the Labyrinth, even going so far as to take turns single-handedly holding off swarms of demons.
It wasn't long before they doubled their original gains in demon cores. They did not discover any other adventurer remain...
2023-12-14 21:49:02 +0000 UTC View PostOnce again, a friendly request to review / follow Pandora Unchained on RR. It helps out a lot for lists and stuff.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/78050/pandora-unchained-a-cultivation-progression-fantasy
Quite a few notes today.
First of all, I started using Grammarly after nearly 6 years of writing, so you should see a marked improvement in chapter quality going forward. I've got these changed on Patreon going all the way back to Chapter 35.
Second, I'm going on vacation, so I'm uploading all the chapters from now until the 27th in advance. Merry Christmas!
Third, someo...
Orpheus’s arrival put an immediate damper on the team’s festive atmosphere. Stephan, who’d been receiving treatment for his bruises, stood up abruptly and half-shifted into bear form. Lawrence and Warren took out their daggers while Gareth and Lise each nocked an arrow.
Unsurprisingly, Daphne didn’t even seem to notice the altercation. She’d been recovering during the...
2023-12-08 23:30:21 +0000 UTC View PostHey Everyone,
Pandora unchained is officially out on RoyalRoad! It's very exciting to pivot back to the same platform Painting the Mists started on, and I'm glad to be back.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/78050/pandora-unchained-a-cultivation-progressi...
"There's not much time until the sacrificial ritual is over, so I'll make this quick," said Stephan as everyone gathered around him. "By all rights, we shouldn't be fighting an oversized creature like this. We don't have the toughness of bone forging cultivators, nor do we have the right spells or the right weapons." He pointed to Collin. "You can't fight this thing directly. It'll k...
2023-12-07 19:16:36 +0000 UTC View PostAnnouncement for Blood Thickening Cultivators: I'm going on vacation, so I'm uploading all the chapters from now until the end of the 27th. Merry Christmas!
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Stephan ignored the looks of horror their other teammates gave them and allowed Gareth and Lise time to inspect the camp from up close. "Well?" he said a few minutes later. "Is it confirmed?"
"It's confirmed," said Gare...
2023-12-06 16:26:22 +0000 UTC View Post"How is this possible?" asked Nale, kicking a skeleton whose flesh had been picked clean by beetles. It was as Lawrence said: the corpse was less than a year old, and the bones hadn't yet had time to properly dry. "Didn't we just unseal this dungeon? I was there. I saw it."
Stephan snorted. "Just because we unsealed the entrance, that doesn't mean it was the only ent...
2023-12-05 15:26:04 +0000 UTC View PostHaving experienced the horrors of the tomb above, Sorin's team and Team Oasis adopted a tight formation, with Lawrence and Warren taking turns scouting up ahead. The rest of them pressed together behind Stephan and Collin in the hopes of buying themselves precious split seconds to react.
There were advantages and disadvantages to this arrangement. Namely, the absence and presen...
2023-12-04 15:45:40 +0000 UTC View PostThe battle at the tomb entrance was the first extended battle for each of the combined adventuring teams. Each team, therefore, took time to adjust their formations.
"So what's your opinion on what our core team lacks, Sorin?" Lawrence asked when he finished recovering his mana. A brutal cut on his arm had been healed by Hellen, and only a thin scar remained.
"I'm not s...
2023-12-01 17:27:41 +0000 UTC View PostSorin had never seen a zombie in person, or at least one with its head still attached. He'd handled human cadavers and had slain many demons and even a few humans. Still, nothing could compare to the sheer wrongness of the animated dead.
It wasn't just their group that fell under attack, but all six groups in the tunnel. Doors opened a hundred meters in every direction...
2023-11-30 18:02:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe entrance to the tomb was made of fine marble and carved with wavy blue-green patterns. Sorin was struck by a suffocating sensation as soon as he entered, reminiscent of being forced underwater with no air in sight. The feeling faded a few seconds, but the dread of almost drowning and the reverence it instilled remained.
So this is the power of a god, thought Sorin,...
2023-11-29 21:58:37 +0000 UTC View PostTwenty minutes later, all the adventurers near the tomb were sitting near Stephan. His chair was quite conspicuous since none of the other party leaders had brought one. Moreover, he was in no hurry to speak and had evidently practiced for this sort of thing.
"Hello, everyone," said Stephan after the last of the adventurers not on guard duty were seated. "My name is Stephan. Bu...
2023-11-28 18:09:29 +0000 UTC View PostIt was three days later when Sorin's party arrived at the designated ruin site. Dozens of campfires were bunched up in a defensive perimeter, guarded by vigilant adventurers who verified their identities before letting them through.
"And here I was, worried that we'd be late," said Gareth. "Especially with all the demon attacks we suffered."
"I think we lucked out going t...
2023-11-27 15:59:10 +0000 UTC View PostSorin immediately recognized the squat demonic tree, a Jasmine Bone Tree. The emerald fruits it produced were called Jasmine Bone Fruit, and these fruits were the main ingredient in bone forging pills, which were used by blood-thickening cultivators to break through to the bone forging realm. Such things always traded for a sky-high price and were easily worth at least 500 gold apiec...
2023-11-24 15:43:18 +0000 UTC View PostSorin’s party spent the next two hours recovering. Only Stephan had suffered any injuries from the turtles, but Sorin was able to handle most of them with a few drops of healing potion and targeted stitches.
“They really need to figure out a better flavor for these fasting potions,” said Lawrence, chugging back a small yellow vial. “Sour lemon gets old after a few day...
2023-11-23 18:06:35 +0000 UTC View PostManabane Swamp was one of the few large water bodies in Bloodwood Forest. As a result, much of the forest’s energy was concentrated within its putrid and corpse-infested waters. The demons inhabiting it favored Death and Disease instead of the dominant Evil of Bloodwood Forest, Violence.
The swamp was a shallow one, such that a brave adventurer could theoretically cross it ...
2023-11-22 19:42:34 +0000 UTC View PostSorin woke the next morning to the ticking of an old clock. It was at least a hundred years old, judging by the wear, and was built of the same bloodwood as the outpost walls. The room smelled of must, and the bed he’d slept on had squeaked all night. Though alcohol was forbidden in the Adventurers Guild’s dorm, the few guests sleeping there were mostly adventurers too drunk to s...
2023-11-21 17:16:50 +0000 UTC View Post5 chapters again this week ^^. Enjoy!
“You’re saying I should tell you how I want to die?” laughed the guard commander. “Look at where you are, miss York. This is the Bloodwood Outpost, not Olympia.”
“If this was Olympia, you wouldn’t so much as look at me the wrong way,” answered Haley. “But you’re right. I am far away from home. ...
2023-11-20 15:48:19 +0000 UTC View Post