AutonomousPen posts
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[MA] 87. Laws, Concepts, and Paths
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Info dump warning: long overdue explanations about Laws, Concepts, and Paths.Also, check the author notes at the end.]The greed problem couldn't be worse.There were only four Pioneer spots in each age group. If someone from your age group, competing in the same stat, had a clear advantage in participation points over you, why would you help kill the golem? First, you would kill that participant. However, the attacking force would decrease whether you succeeded or died in retaliati...
[MA] 86. The Final Boss
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterOf the 917 competitors, only one-third was left. One Void Scout alone was responsible for half the eliminations.The D-rank monster didn't move very fast. It always pursued the closest person with the same running speed expected of a mortal. If the human didn't run fast enough and the Void Scout reached a proximity threshold, the competitor simply exploded.There was no indication of how it was done; the target just blew into pieces that quickly turned into motes of light.Then the Voi...
[MA] 85. The Final Stage
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: It's late, but I managed to write the second chapter today-ish! Enjoy!]Shen materialized on what looked like the AP Arena. The bleachers were separated from the stage by a tall stone wall, the same material the ground was made of.He wasn't alone. The sixteen-year-olds from the US that he recognized were all around him, including Alicia, Evelyn, Sandra, Bob, and, unfortunately, Scott.Shen was wearing a robe, Scott was naked save for his boxers, and all others wore leather armor...
[MA] 84. AP and Enemies
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: If you read chapters 77 and 79 before today, Feb 4th, please check this post. Really important.Also, most likely only one chapter today. I had an issue at home that made it really hard to focus. I'll make up for it on Saturday.]Shen could tell the dummy's movements were from a performative art, though he had never seen it before. It started slow and straightforward: place the feet at key positions, twist the body, and move the arms.When participants repeated the dummy's mo...
Change on chapters 77 and 79
This is only relevant if you read chapters 77 and 79 before Feb 4th.When the system explained about age groups, I forgot to also explain that people were divided into countries too. More important, they are still divided into countries even at the stat stages. Only at the 10th stage will people of the age each group but different countries interact with each other.By not explaining that, I also forgot to mention that when the age groups fought each other at the sixth stage, an age group that lost in one country might have won in another.Therefo...
[MA] 83. Bloodshed
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterAlmost one hundred horned rabbits filled the island's edges and kept leaping on Shen at high speed at the slightest opening they found in between the stone golems surrounding him.Projectiles kept coming, going through the Shadows' bodies as if they weren't there. Shen was constantly bending his body to avoid getting hit. The elasticity granted by the Fate Origin realm wasn't much, but it pushed him beyond the limits of the mortal body, and it helped.His body was arching back...
[MA] 82. Ebb and Flow
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter=Tutorial - 8th StageThis stage is about reaction time.You'll have endless stamina. You won't be able to use any other energy. All stats other than agility will be set to F-.Your HP has been set to 50.You'll be attacked from all sides. Survive as long as possible.The last 10% to die in each age group will pass. They will also receive 10,000 AP.=He had barely stopped reading when an arrow zipped past his head.Shen started dodging.= - = - =Alicia willed it, and ten tiny fireballs ...
[MA] 81. 10%
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterE- had been showing on the top side of Shen's vision for a long while when he finally saw the goal, a large island with golden grass at the very end of the road.No one was there yet.Shen hadn't seen anyone for a while now, so he should be the first. His E-tier learning ability, Concepts, and footwork gave him that much of an advantage.There was an island between his current one and the goal. It was barely wide enough for one foot and a dozen thousand yards long. Shen got a system me...
[MA] 80. Risk and Opportunity
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: I changed a couple things on very old chapters. Check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/61977418]Shen had been born and raised in the Eternal Empire. He had seen cultivators so old that the old lady beside him would be a fetus by comparison. Some old monsters chose to look like children, others liked looking ancient, and there were all manners of appearances in-between. So Shen was used to old and powerful people.Yet, his arrogance and prejudice got to him once again. He had ...
Important Changes on Old Chapters
So, I had to fix a couple things in old chapters. Those on Discord were informed first (check out our Discord server!).In fact, the second change happened a while ago, but I forgot to tell readers outside of Discord, sorry.1. Mixed SignalsThanks to hawc7, I found two incompatible system messages.On chapter 32, it said Shen wouldn't be capable of using the system to purchase E- stats or higher.On chapter 37, it says Shen can purchase stats at the E and D rank, but not at C-rank or righter.Chapter 37 is the correct one.I removed the system me...
[MA] 79. Extra Things
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen didn't materialize anywhere. Instead, he found himself in absolute darkness, with only a system message in front of him.=Tutorial - 7th StageYou have reached the 7th stage; therefore, you deserve to be told some extra things.The Alliance's Guardians aren't only required to rank up within certain time frames. They have other obligations, and they come with privileges. It's time to inform you of some of them.The most crucial things Guardians are required to do are:1. Acce...
[MA] 78. Rank Me Up
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterAt first, Shen's enemies were disorganized and confused, and he took full advantage of that. By moving fast enough, he reached many before they could even raise a defense. Unfortunately, that quickly stopped being the case.Those who reached the sixth stage were mostly E-ranks who had proved their willpower against the Void. They were people at least as good as him who merely lacked his skills—and maybe his learning ability. Killing them was way harder than killing people at the third ...
February Incoming
This will only be valid until Jan 31. It will be deleted after.Hello, B-ranks!There have been a few of you recently, and I want to start saying that I don't mean to tell any of you what to spend your own money at, and that I appreciate the support a lot.I am, however, worried that you might feel unsatisfied to know Feb 1st is around the corner, and you'll be charged by Patreon again.I would understand the feeling perfectly, as you just pledged, and that's why I want to offer you a refund, no questions asked, absolute no hard feeling...
[MA] 77. 15 x 16
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen arrived at the sixth stage feeling like shit. The pain, pressure, and fear were gone, but what he had gone through still permeated his thoughts.He had resisted for ten seconds, and it had felt like an eternity. Could he have resisted for twenty? Thirty? What about five minutes? An hour?If he was going to fight Void Spawn, he needed to find a way to strengthen his willpower.At least the sixth stage had none of the creatures on sight. He was in the front line of a large group of people a...
[MA] 76. Ten Seconds
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter=Tutorial - 5th Stage - Final BossOne thing that affects willpower yet many Guardians ignore until it's too late is mortal injury.When you're at the edge between life and death on a battlefield, giving in to the Void feels like a much better option.The Multiverse Alliance has learned that the only way to truly impart the seriousness of that to any Guardian is to force them to go through it.For safety concerns, the Guardian System has no methods of directly dealing damage to anyone. ...
[MA] 75. Willpower
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterIt didn't take long for the system to bring Shen to the next stage. He found himself in a vast grassland with nothing in sight as far as the eyes could see.=Tutorial - 5th StageAs the Multiverse Alliance kept fighting the Void and understanding it better, we comprehended something:Willpower is required to fight it.Only Concepts can affect the Void, but we require willpower to resist its psychological attacks.The psychological infection caused by Void Spawn is instantaneous, impossible t...
[MA] 74. Scout
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterThe Scout was a little slower than Shen. He was upset at realizing the creature used no technique. It sprinted at him, then used its pointy fingers to try to cut him open.Shen deflected with his spear. The Sharp Qi on the spearhead's edge easily cut the thing's fingers off, and it leaped back. The chopped-off fingers turned into white smoke like Void Spawn did when killed.The creature didn't move its head at all; it was kept straight, following the body's movement. He wonder...
[MA] 73. Waste of Time
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterTo glimpse at the grandness of Fire was to lose herself in it. One moment, Alicia had been looking at the flames in her fireballs. The next, she had become one with Fire.She became the hotness of a billion suns and the warmth of a summer breeze.She became the light released by the birth of a universe and the brightness of a campfire protecting humanity from predators at night.She became the blaze that sought to consume all existence to fuel its glory and the tiny flame lighting a cigar.Alic...
[MA] 72. True Enemy
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: I almost didn't manage to write 2 chapters. I lost 400 words to a power outage and it put me even further behind schedule than the headache and dizziness.I already changed the app I use to write (it was MS Word, it's now G-Docs), and it auto-saves, so don't worry about that happening again.On a more positive note, copy pasting from this program doesn't cause double spaces here on Patreon.]Three naked B-rank drow were lying diagonally, their backs to each other, like a ...
A notice on tomorrow's chapters
I'm sick. I thought it might be covid, but the test came out negative. Then again, I had had symptoms for only 24 hours, so it might have been a false negative.I felt like shit the entire day.Tomorrow I might not be able to release two chapters. I'll do my best.Only the B-rank will be affected if that happens. I'll still release at least one chapter and unlock one for each tier.
[MA] 71. Overdue Wisdom
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterThe battle was simple and straightforward.Shen killed as fast as possible, always with a single spear swing or thrust. He didn't find Evelyn in there, but there was another guy who had developed something close enough to her gravitational powers. Shen filled his body with Boundless Qi and just ignored his power.His E- spear had three enchantments that made his job much easier: anti-wear, sharpness, and penetration.At the E- tier, the anti-wear could even regenerate tiny bits of the spea...
[MA] 70. Liability
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen was taken from his meditations by a soundless chime. He couldn't tell what it was, but something demanded his attention and cut through his focus like a hot knife. All his thoughts stopped, and his inner peace crumbled.He opened his eyes to see a system message.=Tutorial - 3rd StageThe end of the stage draws near.This time, the final boss is making the best decision for your Path and having the means to see it through to the end.You have 2 minutes.=A countdown appeared on the top s...
[MA] 69. I Need Help
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter"Follow me?" Shen asked, surprised. "What for?" Didn't Alicia have her own goals?"I trust you," she said. "And after Ken... I don't think I can trust anyone else anytime soon.""What about bringing justice to your relatives? Wasn't that the reason you joined the tutorial?""I hate them," she said. "I hate them so much. But how will I find them? Can I magic it? If so, I haven't found out how yet. What about using the Alliance?...
[MA] 68. One Condition
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: As you might have noticed, chapters will have a "tag" in the title from now on. MA stands for Modern Awakening.I'm preparing things in case I ever released more novels here.]The Dreamer hadn't liked to act that crass, but it had been the best path they had dreamed of to protect their ward. If they hadn't interfered, the high elf would've investigated Feng Shen's past, uncovered something—they hadn't checked to avoid temptation—and started manipulati...
67. Favors
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen listened to Alicia's recounting of her past. She had been born in a wealthy family then fell prey to abusive relatives. She had also gone through a fair bit of relationship drama, though she glossed over a lot of it."And then I came to the tutorial seeking power for revenge," she explained. "I wouldn't have passed the first stage without help, and you know how bad I went in the second. I'm not special in any way. I have been improving magically, but it's def...
66. Remember It Well
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterA few moments after they started cheering, a blinding flash of light filled the place. When Shen recovered his sight, he saw that probably everyone who had died was now on the bleachers. They looked incorporeal though, transparent, like ghosts.If he had to guess, they had been revived but no longer participated in the battle. The middle boss fight was over. They had been brought here for something else.=Tutorial - 3rd Stage - Middle BossOnce upon a time, the newly established Alliance Again...
A Quick Explanation About Tiers
Alright people, we have reached the last tier, the $10 one, B-Rank.Well, at least the last in terms of advanced chapters. There shall be tiers above it that provide no extra benefit other than a Discord role, but the B-Rank will always contain the latest chapters.I'm currently releasing two chapters a day. It pushes Patreon ahead only one chapter a day because I also release one to the public. I'll keep doing it until I hit this model:D-Rank - $1 - 5 chapters ahead - a quick and cheap read to see if it's worth itC-Rank - $5 - 10 cha...
65. No Pain, No Gain
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen rose more than twice as high as the others and attracted extra attention. That was part of the plan. More spells, arrows, and bolts came at him than any of the other two hundred—though they still weren't left alone. A few were even overwhelmed and turned into light.The regulars had around ten thousand long-ranged attackers. One-third had enough range to attack him. About half did just that when their leader shouted orders. Shen was glad to see his target was still calm, in the sa...
64. Now or Never
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterShen could see nothing of the battle from his position. He considered jumping before getting a better idea."Buy any G-tier equipment that would let me watch the battle as well as possible from here," Shen said.| Purchased: Any Equipment (G) | -10 AP| Remaining AP: 221,204A ladder appeared in front of him, already set. It was almost thirty feet tall."I didn't know you could buy things like that," Evelyn commented."I bought this belt thanks to that," he patted the ...
63. Cognitive Intervention
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next ChapterInstead of anger, Feng Shen showed amusement in his slight smile. It infuriated her not to be taken seriously because of her size. But when he spoke, she understood he wasn't mocking her or about to call her cute."There are two reasons I let him go first," Feng Shen said and looked at the regulars' army. "First, the regulars' leader, Mark Williams, claims to be a great genius. If that's true, I want the man who just threatened me to suffer." He frowned a litt...
