C_Mantis posts
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Im Scrapping Chapters 31 and 32
I wrote myself into a bit of a corner and brought plot elements into the story sooner than I really wanted for the cool factor. I decided to rewrite from chapter 31 and am much happier with this new version. It will be out Friday 4/30/2021.I am sorry about the Tier 15 and 25 losing some of the extra chapters but I am going to try and make the ground back up this next week. So you'll still the three MWF chapters but there should be extra ones when I and my editor get them done.So new chapter 31 this Friday and honestly I'm writing better...
Chapter 32 rewrite.
Thanks for the feedback, I really do like that you guys pointed out the flaws with today's chapter.I am very much an amateur and this was a large deviation from the tone of the normal story. So for now we'll treat this as a interlude joke chapter at the end of the arc. Thanks for the feedback. I'll get the new 32 out on Friday and try and get Tier 15, and 25 a extra chapter next week. (So 4).I'm putting this in the vault of lessons learned.
Old Chapter 32/ interlude
NON OF THIS IS CANON. JUST A FUN SIDE READ OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.Chapter 32As they entered the throne room, they found a man with long midnight black hair, and the pale skin of the monsters they had killed before.The most striking feature of his appearance was his ruby-red eyes. They seemed to glow with a physical light.The man didn’t have the exaggerated emotions of the others. He sat calmly and drank from a wine glass. It was hard to tell from their vantage point, but the man seemed to be drinking actual wine instead of blood.The man said...
Old Chapter 31/ interlude
I decided to change this chapter as well. I wrote myself into a bit of a corner and brought plot elements into the story sooner than I really wanted for the cool factor. I decided to rewrite 31 and am much happier with this new version.NON OF THIS IS CANON. JUST A FUN SIDE READ OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.Chapter 31Matt and Liz were in their tent. It was late, but with two weeks left of the training world’s six month period, he wanted to do something different.The last few months had been good. Calm almost.So, he was looking up Tier 5 rifts that ...
Chapter 30
Chapter 30The following day, Matt woke up to a dark, empty room. Climbing out of bed, he padded into the living room, and saw that his boxes of food were removed from the table. He looked around, and saw that the trash was empty, and that Aster wasn't in Liz's room. With a quick check of his ring, he noticed that its counterpart wasn't in range.Deciding to take a shower, he came back out to Liz when he was finished. She came in with a bag full of breakfast.Testing the waters, he smiled and said, "Hey."He got a bright smile f...
Chapter 29
Chapter 29His blade was no longer lodged in its skull, as there was practically no skull left. A massive crater had been removed from the entire left side. The flesh and scales were peeled away at the edges, exposing fragments of bone that were still intact.Everything in a one foot radius of where Matt embedded his blade in the serpent and unleashed [Mana Charge] was completely vaporized. Even the monster’s brain had been mostly destroyed. He could see bits and pieces leaking into the monster’s mouth.At the thought, he sat up and tried to g...
Chapter 28
Chapter 28The next day, it was Liz's turn to solo the final fight. It was far less of a challenge for her than Matt had expected. The blood that she had collected throughout the rift allowed her to breeze through the boss encounter. Liz used the accumulated blood to create another blood golem, and smashed the bears and lizard shaman into paste.The next day, she tried again, but this time she refrained from using her golem strategy. It was gratifying seeing her struggle, at least a little, against the three bears.He wanted his partner to be ...
Chapter 27
Sorry about the delay. It shouldn't happen again. The extra chapter this next week should come out wednesday ish.Chapter 27Matt sat in the central gathering area. In the last week of delving, someone had created stone tables and chairs. Their creation was a source of entertainment, or problems, depending on how you looked at it.The raised platform had turned into a debate stage. Currently, there was an incredibly pale man standing across from a magic archer. Matt hadn't caught the archer's name, but the pale man was Brent Corosi.In ...
Chapter 26
Chapter 26Liz set down the backpack with Aster in it, and let the fox free. Finally liberated, Aster sauntered over to the remains on the floor, and waited for her hearts to be extracted.After the spoiled fox had her fill, they dispelled the reward distortion. It was a small reward of only four mana stones. Not great, but they were here for the essence, not the monetary rewards.They started poking around the empty hut Matt had smashed through. Matt went over to the dead lizardman and inspected its hand. On one of its fingers was a ring that fas...
Chapter 25
Tier 15 and 25 should be ahead by Tuesday night at the latest. I want it Monday night but its on the editor to get the time.Chapter 25“Get over here when you see this.”Matt decided that he didn’t appreciate the tone of the message he woke up to. His blacksmith could have been a little more cordial, considering the amount of cash Matt was about to hand over to him.Only stopping to throw Aster in Liz’s room, so the mewling fox could go back to sleep, Matt was out the door and in the brightness of ‘morning’.By standard time it should b...
Chapter 24
Chapter 24The finals of the mini gauntlet were wrapping up, with Matt as an enthralled onlooker. The top ten in the rankings were mostly made up of Republican delvers and Empire guilders. The lesser guilds and people on The Path were unable to keep up with the gear and skills of those delvers with wealthy backings.Liz told him that this would change when people on The Path hit Tier 8, and could round out their skill set a bit. Until then, the wealth disparity put them at a pretty substantial disadvantage.Once the ground was made up, starting ar...
Dragon name
This is for the name of the dragon will also be on RR
Chapter 23
Chapter 23Matt fiddled with the skill shard in his hand. It was pretty.It glimmered along with the high powered lights overhead. This was the fruit of his hard work and risk taking. He'd be using the skill for essentially forever.The skill went into a band that locked and secured it to his wrist. The timer was set for two days, as he didn't have a core slot to dedicate the skill to.That brought his thoughts to the future. He'd be close to the peak of Tier 4 when this training world closed, and he needed to start deciding what Tier 5...
DRAGON name needed. Poll Friday!
earth and fire typelava/ magmaMale for now but if the name is good enough a swap is fine!!!!Higher Tier and old. drop a comment and give a heat to the ones you like the best ones (10ish) will be up in a poll on Wednesday for RR and Pat to vote on.
Chapter 22
Chapter 22Matt removed his shirt as well. The man had a point. It would be humiliating to be beaten while naked. But he forgot that the inverse was equally true. Being beaten by a naked man was arguably even more humiliating.Left with just his tight-fitting boxers, Matt stretched. If this was a show, he’d play his part. The crowd around the arena found his display amusing enough that he heard some whoops and cheers. He was even sure he heard a catcall or two.Matt just smiled and waved. The guilder, tired of waiting, charged. Matt just waited,...
Chapter 21
Chapter 21Matt stood there with Aster in his arms. He looked at Liz like she was a completely different person.He shook himself free, and walked over the smiling redhead. She had gotten the manacle off, and was examining her new spear with an air of affection.That was the Liz he was used to. Happy and seemingly carefree.He came up and congratulated her, “That was one hell of a fight.” He didn’t know what else to say.She just waved him away, “Nahh. That wasn’t much. I just had to show someone that playing dirty has its consequences. Th...
Chapter 20
Chapter 20They sat there for half a day, napping and dosing as they could. When Matt wasn't resting, he was tenaciously researching, displeased with the clear gap in knowledge between Liz and himself. The lacking LocalNet of this barren training planet was a hindrance, however. It only had a pittance of information compared to a normal CityNet.Once Matt had finished filling the city's mana reserves with the promised amount, they proceeded to the guild’s general store. Prices were absurd. Double or triple the cost, due to the lack of a...
Chapter 19
This one was fun to write.Chapter 19It was five days after the initial teleports to the training planet started, when they encountered the first group of Republic delvers.It was a group of four. They were walking the opposite way in the canyon, and as they crossed paths with Matt, Liz, and Aster, they stopped. The group waved them down, and Matt received a message.'A match for an equivalent prize? We are willing to wager a Tier 5 tailoring thread that increases lightning resistance.'Matt and Liz looked at each other, and Liz sent 'T...
Chapter 18
Chapter 18He and Liz talked long into the night about topics far and wide. He told tales of Aster's misadventures in the PlayPen. Liz seemed to particularly enjoy one about Aster trying to jump over a serving line, to get at some smoked rabbit they had been serving.She came back with a story of her own, about her mother when she was still a Flame Sparrow. Her mother burned down her dad's tent while they were stuck in a blizzard, simply because he had bumped the stand the small bird was resting on.Eventually, they broached the topic of M...
Chapter 17
Give props to my editor on this one. He spent two days trying to make sure the concepts stuff was understandable.Chapter 17The loud noise brought a barrage of fire and lightning strikes. Matt was able to roll under most of them. The combination of all those attacks hitting at once could pierce his [Cracked Phantom Armor], so he pushed as much mana into the skill as he safely could.Rolling with a sword was awkward, but he had practiced for this moment, and with the enchantments off during the roll, he wouldn't accidentally cut himself throug...
Chapter 16
Rifts can be anything really. REMINDER THAT TOMORROWS CHAPTER FOR TIER 5 PATRONS MIGHT BE A LITTLE LATER THAN RR. Its a complicated chapter we are trying to make simple. Chapter 16The group from the guild shouted again. After realizing their efforts were in vain, they sent Matt a message...‘Leave now, or we will force you to use your emergency teleport.’Matt sent back, ‘we were here first, go find another rift.’All he received back was a simple ‘no.’With a slight shift of his head he looked at his former opponent. While they couldn&...
Chapter 15
Chapter 15Aster and Matt left the odd double rift and headed out into the cold. There was another rift not too far away. It wasn't overly strong, but it gave him an odd sensation that caught his attention.This rift was hazier than any he had seen before. It seemed almost immaterial, or like it was about to dissolve into the background of the world. It felt stable, so he decided to enter the rift.The other of this rift was a clear blue sky with a chunk of the sky simply gone. Looking around the area, it was full of holes that led to missing ...
Chapter 14
Rifts can get WEIRD. here is a odd one. Also a nod to one of the more unique stories on RR. (i only read a bit but the concept was interesting)Chapter 14Thirteen hours later, Matt lounged in the chair. Aster curled in his lap as he watched a movie on his pad. Sitting around and transferring mana was incredibly boring and didn't take much concentration at all.The only problem was, he couldn't sleep. He could doze, but if he fell asleep completely, the mana left his control.He was interrupted by a message from Simeon letting him know they...
Chapter 13
Chapter 13The first thing Matt noticed as he exited the small transport hatch was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Dark brunette hair in a thick braid rested over her left shoulder, and eyes like melted chocolate looked up at him as he cleared the entrance.As he stood to the side of the hatch, he ever so briefly considered staying as long as it took to try and win this beauty’s heart.With a shake, he freed himself of that notion. He didn’t want to stay here. Even if she turned out to be interested, he wouldn’t remain. Joining Th...
Chapter 12
The forest around Matt was covered in the thinnest layer of snow. It was almost see-through, giving a muted look to the area.The rift was cold enough that he activated [Cracked Phantom Armor]. Not because of the ever-present danger, but to stop the biting wind.It was a strange feeling. Matt couldn’t feel the wind, but [Cracked Phantom Armor] gave him slight sensory feedback. It was almost like wearing a thick jacket in the winter but not quite.Aster was loving the cold, and the wind didn’t bother her in the slightest. She pranced around sni...
Chapter 11
Matt thought about Griff's words for the next few hours. He didn't know what to do. The risk was fairly high, but the reward was also great.If he reached out to get the specialized researcher AI, he would have an AI to use, but in the process he risked letting important information slip. It was as if he was shouting that he had a unique mana producing Talent from the rooftops, and that was dangerous.Mana was precious on higher Tiered worlds, where the general population didn’t just live by the safe areas along the coast. The runic for...
