"Lord Arthur, you haven’t slept in two days. You need to take a break."
"There is no time for that, Mary. I need to prepare as much as I can.”
Books lay scattered across the wooden floor like fallen leaves, dozens of thick tomes with cracked spines and yellowed pages. Maps covered the walls, overlapping charts and diagrams creating a tangled web of strategy and governance. Arthu...
2025-06-09 08:02:07 +0000 UTC View Post“This should be enough to pass the test... Should I just hide until it’s over?”
“...”
Rusty didn’t reply. Gwen had forgotten to keep her inner monologue to herself. She was staring at the bottle, now filled to a third, seemingly all she needed to pass the test. In a sense, that was enough for him to complete the quest, since its purpose had been to help her succeed. But ...
2025-06-08 08:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe helmet pulsed with a soft azure glow as the readings stabilized. Roland leaned in and tapped the panels with his fingers as the process began.
"The memory transfer is going through. Feed is steady..."
A dozen screens flickered to life across the console. Each displayed fragmented but vivid images—glimpses of Arthur’s trial unfolding like scenes from a tale. Mary stood silent...
2025-06-06 08:09:28 +0000 UTC View Post"Keep it busy! We just need more time."
"It's breaking through... nooo... my Orc!"
A young man shouted as he watched his summoned creature dissolve into particles of light, snapped in half by a massive pincer. The pincer belonged to a towering black creature that looked like a monstrous scorpion. Its oversized tail dripped with a corrosive fluid that hissed each time it touched the ...
2025-06-05 07:50:16 +0000 UTC View Post"A letter from Father?"
Arthur asked with a hint of confusion on his face. He was in his study with two others. One was his trusted maid and bodyguard, Mary. The other was his most capable ally, Roland, known to most as High Commander Wayland.
"Yes, Lord Arthur. It arrived as soon as we returned from Aldbourne.”
Mary replied as she handed him the letter bearing the Val...
2025-06-03 08:00:47 +0000 UTC View PostRusty scratched the side of his helmet with a gauntleted finger, the sound of metal rasping against metal filling the brief silence. His halberd hung casually from one hand, the aftermath of battle already fading into the moss-covered forest floor.
“Hmm…”
He muttered, tilting his empty visor slightly.
“That was fun, but… was this really the point of the summoning? Ju...
2025-06-02 07:58:42 +0000 UTC View PostBack in Aldbourne, the celebrations continued late into the night. Food was handed out from the stores, torches lit the streets, and even the noble quarter was opened for citizens to admire. Despite the festive atmosphere, Arthur remained on edge. He had brought in his own people to serve as the new local leaders, since the previous ones had proven themselves untrustworthy. The only exception w...
2025-05-31 08:03:07 +0000 UTC View PostRusty stepped into the summoning circle as instructed. The runes around him flared to life, pulsing with magical light that reflected off the high ceiling of the summoning chamber. For a moment, he felt the familiar sensation of his essence being pulled away. But before the summoning ritual could begin, something unexpected appeared before him once more.
By choosing ‘Mystwood Ac...
2025-05-30 08:09:58 +0000 UTC View Post“I can’t see… Is it over?”
A bare-chested Armand shouted as he squinted into the distance. Before him, the soldiers had stopped moving, and the dust began to settle across the battlefield. Beside him stood Roland, clad in armor, his visor glowing as he surveyed the scene.
“Almost.”
Roland stood still. There was no more reason to be concerned. The battle had been wo...
2025-05-28 07:52:46 +0000 UTC View PostRusty stood in front of the material shelves provided by the Soul Forge. For his next creation, he needed mana-enhanced twilight steel. Enchanting without it would be impossible. If the mana wasn’t infused into the alloy beforehand, enchantments would usually be rejected. According to the books, it was possible to force enchantments onto almost any metal, but doing so required a high level of...
2025-05-27 08:06:27 +0000 UTC View PostAlphonse could not believe it. Even as enemy banners rose on the eastern horizon and thousands of mounted warriors charged into view, he refused to retreat. Pride held him fast. His gauntlet clenched around the reins of his warhorse, and his jaw was locked so tightly that it ached.
"Commander, we must fall back!"
One of his captains shouted in alarm.
"Their numbers are overwhe...
2025-05-25 08:04:28 +0000 UTC View Post“These spells are a lot more difficult than the other ones…”
“Hah, of course! Spellcasting is only for the chosen few. I’m sure you now recognize my greatness!”
“Could I just be dumb…”
Rusty scratched his metal head while Aburdon hovered above him, mocking his struggles with even the most basic spells. Their friend Gleam made everything look effortless, but R...
2025-05-24 07:47:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe sound of hooves grew louder, rhythmic and deep like thunder rolling over the plains. Dust curled up behind a great column of cavalry and foot soldiers clad in blue and silver. Banners bearing the stag of House Valerian rippled in the wind as Alphonse, Knight Commander of Theodore Valerian, rode at the front of a force nearly three thousand strong.
They came in orderly lines, dis...
2025-05-22 08:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“What does it say?”
“I don’t know… Let’s get Big Brother to read it for us!”
Two girls squinted at a note hanging on a large door. The door led to the basement of the house they were currently staying in. After a few moments, they returned with a teenage boy, the only one in their group who could actually read.
“It says not to enter this room or disturb the Mis...
2025-05-21 07:59:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe great stone towers of Valewatch Keep pierced the afternoon sky, the Valerian banners fluttering in the highland winds. From the highest balcony of the inner keep, the sweeping view extended far over the green plains and hills that formed the core of Theodore Valerian’s lands. The city below bustled with activity: civilians rebuilding walls, knights tending to their wounds, and smoke risin...
2025-05-19 07:55:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe silence held for a few heartbeats after the door closed behind Varkas. Commander Arlin's crimson eyes remained fixed on the door for a moment before she turned her attention to Rusty.
"So, you're the one who got 'lost' during the retreat."
Rusty straightened slightly. The weight of her gaze pressed on him with the same intensity as the Orc Warchief he had fled. This was yet anot...
2025-05-18 08:16:15 +0000 UTC View Post"I think the main wave has ended. We should be fine now.”
Roland muttered, his voice carried softly by the wind as he touched down beside the hastily assembled command post atop the battlements. The morning light spilled across the landscape, casting a golden glow over the battlefield.
The scorched earth and shattered stone took on an almost surreal beauty under the gentle d...
2025-05-16 07:59:58 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re Edmund, right?”
A guard asked, his voice thick with suspicion as he eyed the armored adventurer.
“Where have you been? You were listed as missing after the battle. We thought the Orcs got you.”
The guard's eyes narrowed as Rusty approached. His armor was still scratched and stained with dirt from the forest. Gleam sat motionless on his shoulder, her metallic ...
2025-05-15 08:04:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe massive, turtle-like monster began to tremble, its entire frame convulsing with a deep, earthshaking rumble that echoed across the battlefield. The light in its serpentine eyes flared red with fury. Cracks spread across its shell, revealing glowing veins of magma beneath, like a forge on the edge of eruption.
Its transformation was violent and unnatural, more a forced mutation than an...
2025-05-13 07:59:03 +0000 UTC View PostGleam zipped past the treetops like a streak of lightning dipped in moonlight, her new wings cutting the air like a razor. She looped once overhead, then dove toward Rusty, her antennae twitching as she locked onto his position. Shouts from the barbarians echoed behind him, but their voices were meaningless to her. Her only mission was to save her friend.
“ ( •̀ ᵕ •́ ) ”...
2025-05-12 08:02:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Haaa!”
A punch rocketed toward the ogre’s chest with the force of a falling boulder. The massive creature barely had time to lift its club before Armand’s fist slammed into its ribs, collapsing its chest with a sickening crunch. It didn’t even cry out before it was hurled backward, crashing against a stone outcropping like a puppet with its strings cut.
Armand stepped for...
2025-05-10 08:06:53 +0000 UTC View PostA strange scene unfolded inside a tent thick with the scent of herbs, dried blood, and smoke. An old woman, the village witch doctor, knelt before a steel helmet, her hands hovering over it as she muttered unintelligible words. Her eyes shimmered with an eerie light, and the piece of metal beneath her seemed to respond.
"You can hear me? Understand me?"
"The spirit is trying to spea...
2025-05-09 07:54:07 +0000 UTC View Post“What are those strange golems?”
“I don’t know, but they’re on our side!”
Two soldiers exchanged words as more and more magical constructs attached themselves to the castle walls. The process was swift, and before long, the golems were firing cannons that matched the power of their heaviest magical ballistae. Even more surprising, they outnumbered the soldiers’ own mag...
2025-05-07 07:59:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe barbarians fanned out along the shore, some cautiously approaching the water’s edge, others scanning the surrounding trees for threats. They were a rugged group: tall, broad-shouldered, and built like granite statues, with weathered faces and hardened expressions that told stories of survival in the harsh mountain wilderness. One of the younger warriors, with his beard barely grown in, po...
2025-05-06 07:53:21 +0000 UTC View Post"You want me to request assistance from you? But... who are you? How did you get in here?"
"Sir, stand back!"
Two guards moved to shield the acting mayor, leveling their spears at the armored figure standing before them. It was Roland. He had barged into the partially deserted mayor’s mansion for a specific purpose, and he needed to fulfill one final requirement to truly begin his...
2025-05-04 07:50:11 +0000 UTC View PostSomewhere far away, a beam of light streaked across the morning sky like a falling star. Rusty felt weightless, formless. He could see nothing and feel nothing, yet he was still something—pure energy, or as his guides once explained, particles of light.
Traveling in this form took almost no time, though the distance covered was immense. It was a useful skill for quick escapes, but it ca...
2025-05-03 08:06:07 +0000 UTC View Post"Where are our reinforcements? Have you contacted the Lord’s men?"
"Y-yes, Captain Alric. They said they are facing troubles of their own and will need some time to mobilize more soldiers. They ordered us to hold out until they arrive... They mentioned it could take days."
"Days? Hold out on our own? Are those bastards mad? We won’t last another hour like this! How do they expec...
2025-05-01 08:02:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe Warchief stepped forward with heavy, menacing footsteps, his massive greataxe slung over one shoulder as if it weighed nothing. His tusks gleamed under the moonlight, and his red-painted armor still bore streaks of blood from the last battlefield. The other three orcs fanned out beside him, in an attempt to form a loose semi-circle around Rusty. Each one held a different weapon: a flail, a ...
2025-04-30 07:54:39 +0000 UTC View Post“Lord Valerian.”
“Speak.”
A man with a large metal arm knelt before Arthur Valerian. As he rose, another oddity came into view, a glowing artificial eye, its surface laced with fine runes that pulsed in a slow, steady rhythm.
“Was it wise to let the High Commander leave? What if the monsters break through?”
“If that happens, Sir Wischard.”
Arthur re...
2025-04-28 08:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostRusty dropped from the final treetop like a falling leaf, his landing silent and fluid. The cool soil yielded beneath his feet as he moved along the edge of the orc camp. His hands had claws on the ends of his fingertips, but that didn’t stop him from gripping a weapon. He drew a shortsword from his inventory, its blade forged from twilight steel. Moonlight shimmered along its surface as he a...
2025-04-27 07:58:37 +0000 UTC View Post