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Chapter 58
Chapter 58Matt burst into a full sprint. Every ounce of energy he had was directed into his legs, and he cleared the plain in moments while heading into the forest.He only had half of his attention focused on the path in front of him. The other half was preoccupied with the influx of messages, and the overlay showing the positions of the refugees.As he crested the final hill separating him from his target, his steps faltered for a moment. The group was being overwhelmed by golems. The sky was nearly black, with the metal bodies blocking out the...
Chapter 57
Chapter 57Matt watched the crowd around the table. They had been bickering for the last fifteen minutes, talking in circles that led to nowhere.The leader of the noncombatants, or as Matt preferred to call them, the less-combatants, was Kline. He kept pushing back on almost every measure brought up. Sure, most of them were fighters, but they were only peak Tier 4 or weak Tier 5’s. They had decided to try their luck with the subjugation, but they hadn’t signed up for anything like this.He couldn’t blame them, but he did hate that they comp...
Chapter 56
Chapter 56Matt sat and considered the camp with a somewhat skeptical eye. He was inspecting the log wall that the survivors had created which surrounded the makeshift camp and gathering point.Everybody who wasn’t posted at the wall on active guard duty was sitting around, mostly with haggard looks on their faces. Morale wasn’t exactly high. Since he was part of the rescue team, Matt hadn’t been in the camp all that often for the last two weeks. He was thankful for that fact right about now.With the increase in golem activity, there wasn...
Chapter 55
Chapter 55Before they could venture after the retreating hoard of spider golems, someone came over from the group of wounded. The hope was apparent in her voice as she called out to them."Are you from the prince's group!? Have you come to help us!?"Matt didn't know what could have given her that indication. Glancing around to Liz and Camilla, he could tell from their body language that they were just as confused. They did their best to hide it, but he could read them well enough, especially after all the time they had spent toge...
Chapter 54
Tier 3 and 5 patrons are getting chapter counts to match their dollar amount.Chapter 54Matt watched the distant ruin intently as Liz carefully cut the barbed crossbow bolt out of his back.The pain in his back was far less intense than the pain in his head.Matt repeatedly went over the choices that they… No, that he had made to reach this point.Their AIs were picking up a few questions and cries for help, but the ruin was still actively shooting down every satellite that orbited the planet anywhere near it. Because of the destruction, the conn...
Chapter 53
Tier 3 and 5 patrons are getting chapter counts to match their dollar amount.Chapter 53Matt paced back and forth, with scenarios racing through his mind.There was a chance that fully powering up this space they were stuck in would deactivate the ruin’s defenses.It wasn’t a good chance, but it could work. It entirely depended on the default state of the shields. Matt didn’t think they would all be on by default. He assumed that they would normally be deactivated, and only turn on when encountering an enemy capable of triggering something.C...
Chapter 52
Tier 3 and 5 patrons are getting chapter counts to match their dollar amount.Chapter 52As they turned to leave, Matt returned to the racks and shoved two of the collector drones in his bag. They could, in theory, be reprogrammed to work with his AI. It was at least something for his AI to work on while they continued to explore the rest of the ruin.Returning to the dark was less than ideal, but at least they had found an exit on this floor. If they needed to, Matt could send Liz out of the hole, and then climb up himself. With the swapping func...
Chapter 51
Hey new Patrons! you should join the discord after linking your account.https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-Get-my-Discord-roleDiscord link: https://discord.gg/6ukhCjayC5Tier 3 and 5 patrons are getting chapter counts to match their dollar amount.Chapter 51Matt took a step and poked the ground in front of him in nine separate places. When nothing tried to spring from the walls or ceiling, he took a small step forward and tapped the next row of bricks.That was the methodical pace he set while leading the group through the hal...
Chapter 50
Halfway to 100. Who would have thought we'd get so far.Chapter 50Matt carefully watched the surroundings while on watch from his place near the camp. The world was so active. This was a living planet that had a functional ecosystem well before the Empire arrived. The world was teeming with bugs, trees, and native animals.It shouldn’t have been a shock to him, as his own planet Lilly was just the same in the not so distant past. It was his time on the desolate training world that had tainted his perspective of what uninhabited worlds were....
Chapter 49
READ THE AFTER CHAPTER NOTEChapter 49The next morning, Matt woke to find that breakfast was ready, and that there were two odd corpses of what seemed like badger-lizard hybrids off to the side. That he had slept through the noise that such a fight must have caused was slightly worrying. Using one’s Concept would wear anyone out, and battling others' wills was distinctly different from using your Concept for its intended purpose. It was no wonder that he was exhausted.He made a note that he, Liz, and Aster needed to practice that, and work...
Chapter 48
Join the discord, if you have your Patreon linked it will give you a role and you can see the hidden channels.Discord link: https://discord.gg/6ukhCjayC5Chapter 48Before they left, Matt still couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole thing was a trap. So he called out, “Hold up, Malcolm. We want an AI-backed promise that you can do what you said. I’m sure you can understand how sketchy this is from our perspective.”Malcolm looked aghast at the suggestion. “I would never, but if it would set you at ease, I can do that for you.”Liz g...
Chapter 47
Chapter 47Matt struck out at the heavy bag in a flurry of blows that sent it swinging. He sidestepped the bag’s return swing. Using the workout as an outlet for his pent-up emotions, he kicked out hard, and the bag flew back to a nearly horizontal position.The emotions burned hot and deep.He was mad at the attempt on his life, but what really infuriated him was the fact that the whole thing was treated like it was no big deal.After Liz stormed back out and started another screaming match, all of their belongings were miraculously found and re...
Chapter 46
Chapter 46Matt brought his fist down on Camilla’s left arm and used [Cracked Phantom Armor] to ignore the bladed whip that was embedded in her flesh. The whip was made of linked, concentric, rotating blades that formed ‘S’ shapes. Their hooks were incredibly sharp, and could even stress his armor if the whip got wrapped around him.His fist struck her just hard enough for their AIs to count the blow as a broken arm. He was able to dodge her retaliatory strike with her gleaming mace with a back step. He used the distance gained to deliver a...
Chapter 45
Tier 3 patrons we are back to our normal M/F scheduled.Chapter 45The following day, Matt hand-fed Aster a select package of rabbit that Aunt Helen had prepared. He could tell that she would be coming out of her stupor by the end of the day, and wanted to see what changes she would experience.Once his bond was fed, he knocked on Liz's door, and they made their way up to the train car with a breakfast bar. They sat down and watched the plains turn into deserts. The hills slowly transitioned to more sand than dirt.It made a nice addition to th...
Chapter 44
This wrapped up a lot of people concerns so here are two chapters. So at the suggestion of my Tier 15 pats I'm dropping 43 and 44 together. SO NO CHAPTER ON FRIDAY.***Chapter 44Matt waited with Liz and Aster at the teleport pad. Their turn was in fifteen minutes, and the station was packed.Aster was still groggy. Her Tiering up and subsequent increase in intelligence left her exhausted. She had been napping quite a lot to regain her strength. Aunt Helen said it was perfectly normal, and was exactly why they had implanted her with her own AI...
Chapter 43
This is out last alt POV and a much darker one. Nothing explicit but its suggested.This was a dark chapter that brought a lot of negative feedback. So at the suggestion of my Tier 15 pats I'm dropping 43 and 44 together. SO NO CHAPTER ON FRIDAY.Chapter 43Camilla watched the pair walk into the club. She was perched on a stool at the bar while she scanned the duo.The woman was Elizabeth, preferred name Liz. She was tall for her reported age, but Camilla supposed that was normal enough. Especially with Tier 15 parents having perfect genetics t...
What should get art'ed next?
Best ideas will get a poll. This will still be up to me though. Post your ideas and well see what gets the art next.Ideas so far.Them eating at Aunt Helens.Liz on her feather hammock.Aster eating a heart.Them fighting on the pyramid (might be new cover art for book. That's on the pub though.)
ART IS DONE
I want to get the art put on Displate (tho that seems hard) and possibly a shirt or hat thing. Honestly I'm not sure where (if any) interest is.Also I've ripped the quaintly down as that's how to stop people from taking great copies (or so I'm told). This looks good to me but if it looks different (bad) on your computers let me know and ill see about getting it to look better.
Chapter 42
Chapter 42Matt opened his eyes and saw.It was like the world had been hidden by sunglasses that were finally taken off. The world was sharper. Colors had distinct edges where they changed hue. Removing his mental finger from his Concept, the world returned to normal. Matt took a moment to play with this new ability.It was a stronger effect of what the Emperor did when he spoke with Melinda.That thought made Matt shiver. Intellectually he knew the man was a monster at Tier 50, but he had created the same effect through a call.And Liz grew up wit...
Chapter 41
Chapter 41Bob was tired. At Tier 41, he didn’t need sleep. He just wanted it. The children of the clutches were out of the cute child phase, and in the pestering teenager phase. It was the perfect time for a nap.With a wiggle of his tail, he sunk deeper into his magma flow, and pushed his spiritual sense to find his wife. After a moment, he found her on the other side of the planet, wrapped up in a fluffy white cloud.His wife, Safrar, noticed his presence and said, “See you in a decade. Don’t let the magma lizards bite Baroub.”Bob didn...
Chapter 40
Author notes. Its done! Finally over. One interlude chapter and we are off to our next arc/ book. Thank @Editor-In-Chief in discord for the work on this one. We both tweaked it a lot. It had to be right.Chapter 40The area surrounding ground zero was a madhouse. Over the last three months, people had flooded the city in waves. Now, with just three days to go, Matt couldn’t believe the crowds.Travis and Keith’s flying house was on the leading edge of the clear area. From Matt’s vantage on their balcony, he was looking at a wall of people so...
Chapter 39
Chapter 39Being back in school was weird for Matt. Things were similar in some ways, and strangely different in others. Unlike his time in the orphanage, he now had access to his AI and the EmpireNet. The classes were structured around both.It made for an odd parody of his early schooling.The thing was, he was enjoying it. There were two main lecturers teaching the general classes he was taking. The older man Matt found interesting enough, but the younger woman made the classes a joy to be a part of. Even if he mostly sat quietly and took every...
Chapter 38
Either way there will not be a cliffhanger at the end of the arc where it goes like "My image is..." find out next chapter. That wont happen. I promise.Chapter 38That morning Liz shuffled around after getting up, waking Matt up from his doze. He had spent most of the night thinking about the implications of having two Tier 47 royals as parents. Mostly, his thoughts ran in circles.Mid yawn, Matt noticed Liz looking at him. She gave him a shy smile and mouthed, ‘thanks.’ She then covered her mouth and scooped up Aster, calling out as ...
Chapter 37
Chapter 37Liz waved and called back, "Travis! I hate you! Why’d you make us hike all the way out here?"The redheaded man sipped at his cup, and paused long enough for Liz to open her mouth to shout again."Really? I’m sorry, I just really wanted to fuck with you."Liz's ensuing tirade seemed to be exactly the reaction he was looking for, as he sipped at his drink with a wide grin.They all watched Liz rage at her brother for a minute, then Travis turned slightly to Matt and said, "Hey Matt. I'm Travis. I'll let ...
Chapter 36
A slightly shorter chapter at 4.5k. No reason to drag it out.Chapter 36The following day they were treated to a massive breakfast, and then Aunt Helen sent them on their way, through a portal to the teleportation station. Matt wanted to savor the breakfast, but they had only been able to get out this quickly because of the portal the Tier 24 had created for them.There was a wave of people exiting the training world, and once they reached the teleporters, there would be no room to exit for months. Aunt Helen's help got them out before the ru...
Chapter 35
Chapter 35Liz, Aster, and Matt sat at a table with Humpty’s group. They had all done well enough to earn a skill, and the club they were celebrating in was wild. The party after the fight was epic. Most of the participants were eagerly waiting for the skills to be assigned tomorrow. Everyone had put in requests for their desired skills, and depending on their individual and team performance, they would earn a slot to pick from the skill pool.As peak Tier 4’s who fought in the Tier 5 area, they had earned a slot in the top twenty selections....
Chapter 34
Chapter 34The next morning, there was a sense of anticipation that boiled in the air. Everyone felt it. People constantly snapped at each other for the slightest affront, and every shoving match that broke out threatened to turn violent.The waiting area for those chosen to fight was directly behind the battle area. It was dead silent. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was tense. It put Matt's hackles up, and Aster felt the same. He wasn't sure if they were influencing each other, or if they were both just reacting to their surroundings.M...
Chapter 33
Chapter 33After they left the rift, they teleported back to the city and purchased standard heals from the healers. The light from the healing spells washed over them, and all of Matt’s nicks and bruises disappeared, along with the deeper stab wound in his side. The cracked ribs were slower to heal, but each breath he took during the process was easier than the last.They were back to full health, at the cost of a Tier 5 mana stone.As they left, Matt turned to the disheveled Liz and asked, “How come you struggled so much with the boss?”“...
Chapter 32
Editor in chief is a time wizard and got this done faster than i though!Chapter 32Their remaining time on the training planet passed without any hiccups. They delved five rifts a day, made possible by Matt refilling the girls’ mana pools. The increased rate of delving allowed them to rush through Tier 4. Their spirits were nearly at the peak of what they could handle.This being their second to last week on the training planet, they searched the list of weak Tier 5 rifts, looking for a rift they could counter. After some browsing through repor...
Chapter 31
As slight back track in time to right after Chapter 30.Chapter 31The Trio exited the rift after killing the group of attackers. Matt still felt the sensation of being watched, but he knew that the threat had been eliminated. No one was around the exit. The group went to inspect the area where their attackers had a tent set up, but found nothing of value.Even after widening their search over more of the surrounding area, they still could not find any hidden stashes of loot or valuables.“Well shit.” Matt looked at Liz and asked, “What are t...
