Bainin

Chapter 4: Lessons in Power

Asterion watched as Mr. Seitz finished the drawing, adding different stages of a tree’s growth cycle. The final tree was connected by lines to a depiction of a cut-down tree with visible rings—a cross-section like the ones Asterion had noticed on stumps from felled trees.

“Let’s start easy,” Mr. Seitz said, tapping his teaching stick on the roots of the tree he had drawn. “If ...

Updates and a new series

Greetings Everyone,

First lets get some of the smaller new out of the way.

The Audiobook for Paths of Akashic 2 will be released in 3 weeks' time, according to my Publisher.

Paths of Akashic 3 has been stubbed on RR and will be released on the 15th of this month sadly, the illustrators s...

Chapter 3: New Teacher

Asterion smiled when his friend Theos waved at him, the black haired youth sporting a wide grin.

“Asterion! Took you long enough!” Theos yelled as he came within reach, his tone playful but loud enough to draw a few glances from the others.

Alistair came to a stop next Theos sharing his smile and giving Anysia a big smile which she shily retuned.

“Did you see the new tea...

Chapter 2: A Light in the Void

Lady Deineira stepped out of the depression, heading toward her husband with a loving glance at the small bundle cradled in her arms. Behind her, one of the priests carefully emptied the basin, the liquid mana cascading away into unseen channels, before refilling it with fresh mana from pitchers that seemed to pour endlessly, their flow unbroken.

The attendant stepped forth once more scro...

Chapter 1: Day of Unveiling

It is the year 50 A.V., half a century since Khaos, Lord of the Void, was driven from Elystria—or so the remaining leaders and gods of this world proclaimed. Though his invasion was repelled and his mightiest servants vanquished and sealed away, Khaos’s presence still lingers. Vast stretches of Elystria remain corrupted, where the sun hangs pale and feeble and the void...

Chapter 249: The Siege

For the next two months, they maintained a relentless pace, their levels skyrocketing as they cleared out more and more Syndicate holdouts. They actively sought out hidden locations, bought intelligence, and took contracts to hunt down Syndicate forces. Even mercenary work requests started rolling in—including one to push back an Orc Tide.

But with the time frame for their atta...

Chapter 248: End of Reluctance

Once past the violent energies, Alistair clashed with the strongest presence he could sense. Their weapons met with a resounding impact, and Alistair was only briefly surprised to see an evolved human variant blocking his attack with a flamberge-like blade. But he didn’t care. Without hesitation, he relentlessly drove his opponent into the metal walls, effortlessly crushing through them. The ...

Chapter 247: The First Raid

Alistair couldn't help but moan in pleasure with each bite of the new cuisine. Using his Telekinesis, he casually grasped more from the surrounding tables, not even needing to look. The Beshin Tako yaki was still his favorite, but the vegetable and meat mixture covered in a spicy sauce came in at a close second. It was delicious, though he thought it would be even better with rice. He made the ...

Chapter 246: Hinoraki

Early the next day, Alistair found himself standing on the deck of one of the Beshin's boat-like crafts, waiting for the jumpdrive to complete its calculations. The previous day had been spent organizing their forces and retrieving the treasures they had won at auction. A Tok'eall representative had handed over all their purchased items in a storage ring, free of charge—including their winnin...

Chapter 245: The Black Crown

They watched in horror as, for the first time, the price of an item skyrocketed—100 million. Then 200 million.

Before they could even place their own bid at 250 million USC, it was instantly crushed by a staggering 500 million USC.

"Fuck," Alistair muttered. "There are other curse users in this auction."

"Worse," Nessyra added, her expression darkening. "They have money." 2025-02-22 09:26:40 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 244: Secret Auction

Spending the intermission with the Beshin Clan, they shared drinks, exchanged information, and hashed out plans for future mercenary and bounty hunter work until the break finally drew to a close.

Once the auction resumed, their expectations were confirmed—none of the remaining items fell within their price range or held much interest for either faction. While the spectacle remained ent...

Update

Greeting everyone!

Time for a quick update—things have been busy!

The Audible version of Book 2 is nearly finished, and I don’t expect its release to take much longer. Book 3 is also in a bit of limbo, as I’m still waiting on my illustrators to deliver a solid draft. If I don’t hear back by tomorrow, I’ll be giving them ...

Chapter 243: Appearances

Zermos barely reached "Two" before another bid came in, but Nessyra shut it down immediately with another half-million increase. The pattern repeated twice more, each time the opposing bidder hesitating longer before finally dropping out at 21.5 million USC.

Alistair wasn’t sure if they had simply reached their limit or if they had chosen to back down to avoid drawing unnecessary attent...

Chapter 242: Familiar Lots

The bids went on, the excitement in the room slowly waning after the incredible start. Nessyra suggested that the energy would likely pick up again closer to the end of the auction. For now, many of the treasures reached price points they could have easily won if they had chosen to seriously compete. However, none of the lots had met their needs or seemed worth the expense, especially when it r...

Chapter 241: The Grand Auction

They had spent longer than intended talking with Sol, discussing Earth and its current state. Sol had expressed relief at the Aegis Coalition holding together as well as it had, as this stability granted him valuable time to prepare and unify Earth.

During the conversation, Sol brought up the possibility of additional mercenary work if the first contract went well. The proposed targets, h...

Chapter 240: Mercenary Contract

In the end, they decided to take the meeting, though both of them remained on the fence about it. They agreed to meet with Sol in one of the chambers designated for private meetings. Reflecting on it, Alistair realized he was far less nervous this time compared to their previous encounter. It helped that he wasn’t meeting the god alone this time.

"Really curious what he’s going to be ...

Chapter 239: Clio

Alistair awoke to a strange, warm sensation on the back of his hand, part of his soul stirring, as magic brushed against it. His eyes shot open, and he immediately noticed Riseth sitting up beside him, inspecting her own hand with the same urgency.

Glancing down at his own hand, Alistair took a moment to process the sight. A third petal had formed on the back of his hand, its faint glow u...

Chapter 238: Guardianship

The negotiations stretched on for most of the day, and by the time they concluded, the sun had already set. Alistair watched wearily as Aramemnos rose from his seat, his commanding presence once again drawing the room’s attention.

"To summarize," Aramemnos began, his voice steady and precise, "the Synth Alliance will be recognized as a neutral party and will no longer be considered an o...

Chapter 237: Bargains and Boredom

The next two days passed in a similar fashion, with meetings involving various allied factions, hunting and leveling up on the ringworld, and attending the occasional smaller auctions and exchanges leading up to the grand auctions. Today, however, marked a significant shift—the meeting with the upper echelon of the Aegis Coalition and the Synth Alliance.

Alistair, Nessyra, and Riseth we...

Chapter 236: Bonds and more Savory things

Nomura raised a privacy sphere after Riseth gave a small nod of affirmation.

"As you know, the Japanese culture of Alistair’s world has a lot of overlap with your own, including what they call ninjas or shinobi," Riseth explained. "After a little digging on my sister’s part, it wasn’t difficult to make some educated guesses. Though I’ll admit, we have nothing conclusive."

No...

Chapter 235: Ringworld

"You have the strength to pass," the guard said carefully. "But be warned: beyond that gate, cyberbeasts can reach up to early Grade 7. We have no guards posted on the other side, and beyond the immediate vicinity of the gate, you may be attacked on sight."

"You didn’t place any security measures or guards on the other side?" Riseth asked, her tone incredulous. "What stops any of those ...

Chapter 234: Revelations Among Friends

They continued their banter until the Brimstone Spear lot came up. Thankfully, they didn’t have to fight too hard for it; as soon as the other participants realized the Rysers weren’t bidding for fun, they quickly relented.

Alistair watched as the spear materialized in their booth, delivered through what appeared to be sophisticated space magic. Teleportation and space-related magic w...

Chapter 233: Bidding and Bonds

Riseth joined him on the balcony, her gaze sweeping over the array of booths and the warped space before settling on the presenter below. They were in the process of auctioning off a hunting bow that utilized a mixture of Arcane and Force magic.

While Alistair could certainly make use of such a weapon, he had neither the training nor the interest in using a bow. If it came to ranged comba...

Chapter 232: Planet Citar

Alistair found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the wonders still displayed on the screens, even as they disembarked onto Citar. To his surprise, the planet wasn’t entirely consumed by urban sprawl. Instead, vast stretches of beautiful teal and dark blue greenery dominated the landscape, with winding river systems weaving through it all.

The natural beauty blended effortlessly wi...

Chapter 231: Trip to Citar

The violent back-and-forth continued for a while, Alistair intermittently feeling the strain of Forcebound Momentum tearing at his body again. He had unleashed the accumulated power through Flames of Purity twice now, though he found its efficiency lacking compared to his kinetic-based skills.

Despite the significant boost in power, the flames still failed to o...

Chapter 230: Forged in Flame

The next two months were spent in intense training with Sotarr, who only left their sides sporadically for a day or two at a time.

They frequently delved into Nivareth, steadily increasing their levels and acquiring a significant number of scales. However, none matched the unique ones they had received for slaying the two eldritch monstrosities. Instead, they found that alongside the silv...

Chapter 229: News from Beyond

"Disciples greet Master Sotarr," Alistair and Riseth said in unison, bowing with faint, knowing smiles as Sotarr waved them off.

"I told you two to stop doing that," Sotarr said with mild amusement. "That won’t be necessary unless we’re meeting in a more formal setting with dignitaries or faction elders present."

Despite his words, Alistair and Riseth both noticed how Sotarr see...

Chapter 141: Stygian Watch

Having ripped off the last of the shackles, he felt relief wash over him as he heard Mia's voice. He forced a smile and looked her way. "Yes, sorry for being late."

"Oh, thank Sol. I was worried my distress call went out too late," Mia said, her voice breaking. Tears welled up in her eyes as she neared the bars.

After being freed from the table, the unknown freedwoman moved to the o...

Chapter 140: Prisoners

As he approached the battlefields, four magitech jets took off from Sol's camp, intercepting them at incredible speeds, presumably worried he would try and break the siege. He directed King to hold his position as continuing to advance would most likely be seen as a hostile action. Needless to say, Alistair was impressed they had already converted some of the old-world jets with magitech. Thoug...

Chapter 139: Finding Remo

Alistair and King encountered numerous groups in need of assistance along their journey. King was not overly pleased with the frequent stops and only seemed happy when they fought off a group of wyverns hunting a large caravan of people.

 Despite traveling for nearly a day, they still hadn't reached Remo, though Alistair sensed they were getting close.

Alistair continued to tra...