(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 3/4.)
After being exiled from the Hunters Guild, not to mention becoming half a monster himself, K...
2023-11-04 19:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 2/4.)
The last of the monsters were dying on the Irunian front. A few figures in liquid metal armo...
2023-11-04 18:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. Since the Patreon has stayed above 100 supporters, everyone is getting two new bonus chapters. Because I'm also giving a bonus to free readers, plus your regularly scheduled chapter, that means you're getting four releases over the course of Saturday. This is bonus chapter 1/4.)
They agreed to wait three days.
Kai still needed time to fully heal and to digest the ...
2023-11-04 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostGrowing up with the dream of being a monster hunter, Kai had always known that it was likely he would die young. He had imagined countless deaths and ways to avoid them. When he'd grown older, he'd accepted that his fate could very well be one of those imagined deaths.
He had never expected to be lying on a monster carcass with Hannagan Lantrian prepared to deal him a fatal blow.
"Y...
2023-11-03 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the giant of a monster swung at him again, Kai dodged aside from its blow. The end of each limb was basically a bludgeon, so he doubted there was anything to damage within. Instead he struck at the narrower wrist, aiming a claw between the plates of armor.
He drew a little blood, but the plates stayed in place. Soon afterward the monster swung its limb to the side, churning up the so...
2023-11-02 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe dark waters ejected Kai onto the island, no matter how he tried to resist. Either he had passed his mental limits or some part of him wanted this. All of the confused forces within him must have reached a critical point that required a resolution.
He stumbled through the glassy sand to the central circle. The ghostly statues of the monsters rose easier than before, responding to his p...
2023-11-01 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostHad he smashed her with a box?
That was Inafay's first thought as she struggled back to consciousness. All her battle instincts were still blaring and she very nearly took a swipe at the healer who was tending her. It took several seconds for her body to catch up with the fact that Kai had defeated her.
And that he'd been right. When the boxes had started exploding, she'd realized t...
2023-10-31 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostZae Zin Nim sat alone in an abandoned house, trying to ignore the sawdust falling from the ceiling with each earth-shaking step. Her only hope of finding a solution through cultivation was beginning to seem dimmer and dimmer. If she followed every guideline she had been given, it would take her over half a day to break through. This city didn't have half a day.
Taking her last condensed q...
2023-10-30 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
(Cognosticon here. We've stayed above 100 patrons for a while, so everyone is due bonus chapters. Expect about three of them around the turn of the month.)
It seemed unbelievable that Fhazi would really fight him alone, so Kai waited suspiciously. The young noble had an entire gang of cronies with him, though they weren't enough to take him down even if they worked together. Only the Tonj...
2023-10-29 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
As the last of the monsters in the north died, Zae Zin Nim wondered why she was still fighting. The fun had drained out of the combat with Kai missing and there were no longer any threats capable of climbing or damaging the wall. Since the extended fighting had drained her, both in terms of qi and mentally, she began to retreat closer to the city walls.
Overhead, the flying ship continued...
2023-10-28 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
As she stepped away from the controls, Inafay rolled her shoulders like she always did before they sparred. There was no delay in summoning her skills anymore: she would be ready in an instant. The only thing keeping her from attacking was the way she was looking at him.
"I don't know what you've heard," Kai said, "but it isn't-"
"I heard that you had turned yourself into a monster,...
2023-10-27 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
No one on the walls cheered for Kai anymore, but he kept fighting. Given the way some stared at him, he supposed that he should be grateful they weren't actively targeting him. There had only been one ominously powerful attack that had been deflected, otherwise he was left to his battle.
Which, to his surprise, seemed to be ebbing. For a time it had felt like the monsters would keep comin...
2023-10-26 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Could the previous Hunter Trials possibly have been only a year ago? As Rallia Orgoron stared down with the other defenders, it seemed impossible. The years started to blur together as she got older, but she remembered Kai Granfian.
It had been a sad loss, when he emerged from the mana pool with a worthless Class. He was supposed to have potential, but she'd seen many times before how the...
2023-10-25 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The side of the wall flashed past him faster than Kai had anticipated, and he briefly wondered if he had made a mistake, but the armored monster was already almost in his face. He assumed that its shell could deflect all normal attacks, so he straightened his hand and thrust a claw directly between its jaws.
It pierced deep and the creature let out a hiss, but it only staggered a short di...
2023-10-24 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
There wasn't enough time.
As Kai desperately tried to push his Physique to the limit, he began to accept that he wouldn't make it to E-0. Occasionally he began to feel a strange twinging in his muscles, like when he had reached F-0, but it always felt wrong. The twinges were painful and, instead of developing his body to a new stage, he felt like he was crippling himself.
Eventually...
2023-10-23 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
(Patreon is being screwy and demanding images on posts. I'm just going to use this WIP cover because that will get the chapters posted.)
It seemed like the two elites were going to push him aside, like he was another helpless civilian. Kai might have been humbled by the incredible powers on display, but he couldn't let that happen. After so long being forced to watch as others fought for ...
2023-10-22 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post(Cognosticon here. This chapter has been bumped up as a bonus chapter after the Royal Road version passed 1000 followers. That said, I'm even more encouraged by the new support here. If we hit 100 patrons, I'll try to upload new Patreon-only chapters and put you even further ahead.)
As the achromatic point of...
2023-10-21 22:06:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe hole in reality yawned wider and wider as they approached, but there was nothing Kai could do. While they walked within the rainbow aura they were protected and everything outside was certain death. Even if he picked up Zae Zin Nim and tried to flee, there was nowhere to escape.
More monsters were crawling out of the pit at a nearly constant rate, both the slow masses and the faster o...
2023-10-21 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostNo matter how Kai strained, he couldn't stop his legs from moving forward. On some level, he didn't want to. Some of the others didn't seem to even notice, just strolling alongside the strange man as if this was perfectly ordinary.
When he exchanged glances with Zae Zin Nim, she looked downright miserable. He felt her try to use her qi to escape, then surround herself with her corona, but...
2023-10-20 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostGunjin Granfian rarely cursed, even when he was truly angry, but he cursed then. He turned back to the ground and spat out a few words.
"Stay put. I need to contact someone. Fight to stop them, if it comes to that."
Then he stepped into the portal and was gone, leaving Kai and everyone else atop the Frontier wall. The others started to realize that they were leagues from the city, h...
2023-10-19 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAt last they came into sight of Monskon City. Kai had skipped his training for the first time in ages because he had a feeling he would need every drop of strength. The problem was how to deal with his return. During an incursion some rules were relaxed in favor of survival, but he wasn't sure how much the locals actually knew. If they had obeyed the evacuation order, there should already have ...
2023-10-18 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThere was still quite some distance to Monskon City, but Kai was beginning to find the environment familiar. That actually made him even less motivated to hurry, especially since he couldn't enter the city. Since they still had over a week until the Hunter Trials, he decided to use their time for a little more training.
The most enjoyable part of that was hunting monsters with Zae Zin Nim...
2023-10-17 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostTraveling and training made great companions in Kai's view. Maybe it would have been more efficient if they'd had a self-propelled method of transportation like Zae Zin Nim wanted, but he enjoyed the walking. If they didn't talk, he could always work on mana exercises, test things internally, or try very basic cultivation.
The wasteland environment left a lot to be desired, admittedly, bu...
2023-10-16 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWinning a battle was great. Benefits included not dying. But maybe Kai's life had gotten too easy, because he was aggravated that he'd won the battle and yet hadn't broken through.
No matter how many times he checked, his Physique remained stubbornly at F-9. He'd pushed himself past his limits and taken a severe beating. For that matter, he'd eaten a drake fruit right before the battle. Y...
2023-10-15 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostNow Kai had no choice but to dodge backward from his opponent's careful strikes, because each one of them might twist dangerously. One of those strikes had destroyed his gauntlet, so he couldn't even rely on that. Both of them were injured, but he was being forced to move more. His opponent's superior Physique versus Kai's monstrous abilities restoring him... he wasn't sure who would win.
It was strange, walking along calmly while knowing that a battle was impending. Oh, there was a remote possibility that the two elite mercenaries were following them to deliver a message. Or maybe to give them gifts because the Corinin clan had turned over a new leaf and was just so generous.
Given their opponents' Krysali vehicle, outrunning them was impossible. Turning around to face th...
2023-10-13 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThatch. Kai hadn't woken up staring at thatch since he'd been a young orphan, not yet adopted by the Granfian clan. He blinked several times before trying to sit up.
The rest of the room matched the roof, so he had been moved to some village house. After everything he'd been through, he expected to be in pain, but his body felt perfectly normal. Also encouraging was the fact that Zae Zin ...
2023-10-12 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFighting the Irunians had clearly taken a toll, because Anaelina bled from multiple wounds. Yet she still moved with ease and her eyes were glowing silver, just as they had when she'd tried to kill him. As she walked toward them, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder.
"So stubborn!" She clicked her tongue at them like a disapproving parent. "But I'm afraid I'm not letting up now. Th...
2023-10-11 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostOne of the most dangerous women Kai had ever known was standing across the garden, beaming at him. At first he had no idea what he was supposed to do in such an absurd situation. He wanted to attack her with all his new strength, but she was no doubt the new Corinin mercenary. If he struck the first blow everyone would turn against him and he would be vulnerable to her retaliation.
Yet if...
2023-10-10 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostRazz had never been shy about visiting the estate, frequently visiting the workers and other locals, but this time he sent a letter. That should have been the first warning. Just the idea of going back to Rayakan for another party should have been the second. But the letter promised so much...
"Do I have to come?" Zae Zin Nim had already changed into her good robes, so she obviously inten...
2023-10-09 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post