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[MA] 362. Not Doable
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 1/2Next chapter: Saturday] The rest of the Brigade was as unenthusiastic about the mission update as Shen.It was bad enough that they couldn't hunt Bounty targets while babysitting newcomers, but more importantly, they were warriors, not bureaucrats. They knew how everything in the front lines worked from the "user" side, but Brigade Commanders—real ones—and above were the ones who mixed martial business with paper pushing, not weak Guardians ...
[MA] 361. I'll Change
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 2/2Late chapters: 3Next chapter: Tuesday (maybe Monday)] Vinamour was furious at what Shen was doing to him.Any of his subordinates could tell the Brigade Commander what had happened, and it would be bad for Vinamour, but Shen hadn't gone for them. Instead, the human gave the fanmv time to think of a lie. Then, Shen would investigate and use it against Vinamour. It was a trap.Vinamour had learned to accept the Commander was stronger than him, but this? Th...
[MA] 360. Return Command
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Saturday] The Forges were about the same as Shen had left them, with crafters doing their thing regardless of whatever happened in the rest of the mobile fortress. The glaring exception was the absence of Lieutenant Specialist Aimer Genmenor.Shen had previously guessed the B-rank had thrown him in the vault to protect the C-rank, not because he had found the experiment. The evidence supported the theory. He might be mistaken, but there was no...
[MA] 359. Silent Brother
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Chapters this week: 2/2Late chapters: 2Next chapter: Tuesday] A female voice pierced the absolute silence of the Void. "The levisnic just sent word. The human-drow survived and got rid of the Void Miasma Container."An androgynous voice snorted. "I told you that would happen. You insist he's just a first-class talent. You weren't in elite combat training with us. I trained him; I know his potential.""But," the female continued, "Luttus Vailus accomp...
[MA] 358. The Collective
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Sorry I'm late. I thought I was done with moving. I was wrong. Still putting stuff in place to this day.So, another chapter to the late list. Still planning on releasing late chapters in February.Chapters this week: 1/2Late chapters: 2Next chapter: Saturday] "It took you two seconds to locate a security breach and investigate, General," said the B-rank in beautifully crafted green and golden armor.Luttus Vailus was wearing a high elven shell, but they were actually a...
[LitF] 57. Progress on all Fronts
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: Sorry for the delay.Notice: There will be no chapters from 12/26 to 01/08. In other words, I'll take two weeks off. I was initially compelled to do so by my wife, but I'm feeling more tired each passing day and believe it's the right thing to do. It's been forever since I took a real vacation to decompress.I acknowledge the notice is a bit sudden, so if you want a refund this month, just comment below or DM me. No questions asked, no hard feelings.] The radio that wa...
[MA] 357. Final Foe
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: My sinusitis is improving, and I've successfully moved to another city. The house is still a mess, but I should be able to release the late chapter next week.Chapters this week: 3/3Late chapters: 1Next chapter: Tuesday] The daggers were already cutting deep into Shen's brain. Considering the system was blocked and wouldn't heal him, that was a worse injury than one might think. The Axioms had returned to the vault, but Energy hadn't magically appeared inside. The...
[MA] 356. A Marvelous Tool
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Chapters this week: 2/3Delayed chapters: 1Next chapter: Saturday] Unlike the other "high elves," Voided Time released a sliver of its existence upon death. It was too close to the mist, and Shen couldn't reach it in time. Fortunately, there was no need for him to move.He also crushed the sliver with his mind, and unlike its complete form, it presented almost no resistance.Shen had just killed something with willpower alone. That was outstanding. He could explain how power...
[MA] 355. Simple and Wrong
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: This is last Saturday's chapter.To sum things up: I'm moving and lost a lot of time doing stuff I didn't predict. The worst sinusitis ever didn't help, either (yup, still recovering, it's been a week already). I'll release any delayed chapters throughout this month (though I don't expect to delay another MA chapter).Delayed chapters: 1Next chapter: Thursday] Shen's True Realm fixed another issue on top of letting him sense his enemies: movement. I...
[MA] 354. Surrounded by Nothingness
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 2/3Next chapter: Saturday] Liya had limited how much information she shared with Shen about domains. She had been constrained by military rules on what she could reveal. As she had stated, a domain was technically a Path pushed out of your body with Energy, but it was also much more.A domain was a Path condensed into a single-minded desire, driven by emotions and willpower, then fueled with Energy to affect Reality. Shen's will was absolute inside his dom...
[MA] 353. Assistance
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Thursday] Knowing the trick around souls didn't matter against Void Spawn, which rejected Laws regardless of where they came from. Regrettably, Voided Guardians were no different.Shen had killed the goblin, and Reality had erased the turtle from existence. The dart was still recovering, and the snake was coming at him. That left five other enemies, and two of them simultaneously attacked from afar.One of them was a massive raven. Even bef...
[LitF] 56. Submission and Culture
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: A chapter released on schedule! \o/This chapter was challenging to write and even more so to review. It's also about 50% longer than the goal of 5k words/chapter.The content is pretty dense, but I liked how it turned out in the end.] Unsurprisingly, Margrave's top authorities tried to silence all news about the slaves. However, though most media outlets belonged to Terrell, there was a limit to the moral lines the average greedy person was willing to cross when the truth was...
[MA] 352. Boundaries
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Tuesday's chapter might be late next week. It's unlikely but possible.Chapters this week: 3/3Next chapter: Almost certainly Tuesday] One Voided Guardian had long become a literal needle, a form Shen had never encountered among Void Spawn. It was one inch long and, now, surrounded by the Axioms of Lightning. Shen still couldn't understand how it could control a Law without a will opposing his Aural Realm, but he could only deal with it.Its Laws made it as fast as, wel...
[MA] 351. A Strange Experience
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Chapters this week: 2/3Next chapter: Saturday] Similar to what happened to the fog, Reality's Laws and Shen's aura couldn't occupy the same space as the Voided Guardians. That meant his Aura-Material Suppression was useless here. Indeed, as he approached the first enemy, the water jets around him never pushed against his foe. The water ceased to exist right before touching them because, like C-rank Void Warriors, their existence rejected Laws, including the ones used to m...
[LitF] 55. Of Messages and Wars
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: Sorry about the one-week delay. This latest chapter was challenging to write, and then I got caught in other things (wife got surgery, preparing to move out of this house, ADD-related stuff).I'm terribly sorry, but I won't be making up for the lost chapter any time soon. I won't have the time. I'll add a reminder about it to every chapter, but I expect to only be able to write it on July.I can totally understand if you want a refund because of that. Just say the word eithe...
[MA] 350. It Worked
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: I'm moving to another city and took an 8-hour-long trip on a truck (16 hours for the round trip). That comes with lots of loading and unloading the truck. That was Monday/Tuesday, and I slept less than 8 hours total on those two nights. I thought I'd be okay to write yesterday after a good night's sleep, but I was wrong.So, sorry for the delay.The next chapter will come out tomorrow.Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Friday] The white mist expanded slowly but const...
[MA] 349. The Forges
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Chapters this week: 3/3Next chapter: Probably Wednesday, maybe Tuesday] The Healing Ward was a special place in every mobile fortress. It occupied a relatively small area compared to the whole fort but still had a few hundred rooms and could accommodate thousands of Guardians.It was manned by the rare people whose Paths were related to healing, plus those with Life Laws who chose to learn how to use their Paths that way. They became Specialists who didn't receive any AP for it an...
[MA] 348. The Obvious
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Chapters this week: 2/3Next chapter: Saturday] When it came to Laws, Reality was an entangled mess of different Axioms that defined everything. They looked like infinite tentacles perfectly locked together in a perpetual tug of war with no space in between, but only because Shen's senses were limited. Someone who mastered a Law and looked deep enough could find the seams between Laws and hide from all Axioms.Whenever Shen willed his elements into existence, the Laws of Reality we...
[LitF] 54. The Chaos Before the Storm
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: Happy New Year!\o/Ensuring this chapter came out this year was tough, but here it is, as promised!As stated in the author's notes for the previous chapter, this is the last chapter I owe you.Vacations, here I come!Notice: The next Lost in the Future chapter will be on 01/13. In other words, I'll take a week off. I feel more tired each day and believe it's the right thing to do. It's been forever since I took a real vacation to decompress.If you want a refund this month, ju...
[MA] 347. Not Braindead
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Thursday] Despite Shen's words, he didn't dare to take things slowly. He deployed his aura, his Aural Realm, and his Aura-Material Suppression. He also saturated the air with his qi, hoping Sinaht tried to engage in a willpower battle against him.Sadly, Sinaht wasn't lying when he said he had heard about Shen, and it evidently wasn't just in passing. The elf kept his energy contained in his body.Still, despite Sinaht's car...
[MA] 346. Snitching
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 3/3Next chapter: Tuesday] There were many Bounties in Samir. Samir-7 currently hosted over one and a half million Guardians. The Bounty Window showed over fifty thousand targets, and the number kept fluctuating as more Bounties were created and others disappeared, completed by someone.Shen had expected things to become hectic, but this much.Liya had once taught him that, unlike drow, many Guardians saw the system's automated Bounty generation threshold as...
[MA] 345. Bounty Targets
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Chapters this week: 2/3Next chapter: Saturday] The three red notifications Shen got made him bittersweet. He wasn't sure if he would rather be right or wrong about the impending Void attack. | VOID TIDE ALERT!| ALL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ARE NOW FUNNELED TO PROTECT THE ALLIANCE!| THE ALLIANCE'S NEUTRAL FORCES ASK THE ONES INVOLVED IN CALAMITY TO END IT QUICKLY AND ASSIST WITH WHAT MATTERS! Those words confirmed Marzia had been correct. They also indicated Shen had ...
[LitF] 53. War in the Dawn, War at Night
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: I considered taking a break on Lost in the Future because this arc involves some matters pertaining to war.I decided to go ahead, but I want to make it clear that this is not a commentary on any past or ongoing conflicts on Earth. This is fiction. The characters' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the author's.Anyway, Merry Christmas!\o/As stated in the previous chapter's author notes, this is a late chapter. The next chapter, which was supposed to come out ...
[MA] 344. For Them
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N://We're back! \o/Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Thursday] The Immortal Emperor, meditating in a forest, frowned as he received a stream of red notifications. | VOID TIDE ALERT!| ALL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ARE NOW FUNNELED TO PROTECT THE ALLIANCE!| THE ALLIANCE'S NEUTRAL FORCES ASK THE ONES INVOLVED IN CALAMITY TO END IT QUICKLY AND ASSIST WITH WHAT MATTERS! Those were bad enough, but they weren't even the worst ones for him. | Neutral A-ranks away fr...
[MA] 343. Alert!
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!As stated in the previous chapters' author notes, this is the last chapter of the year.Time to rest! \o/Thank you kindly for all the support this year. You rock. If it weren't for you, I couldn't pay the bills as an author. As I always say: you keep the dream alive.Thank you so very much.Modern Awakening will return on the second Tuesday of 2024, January 9th.Notice: There will be no chapters from 12/26 to 01/06. In other words, I'll t...
[LitF] 52. Healing and Planning
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: This is last Saturday's chapter.To make up for the delay, this chapter is 40% longer than usual.This is chapter 52 because I consider the four interludes to be chapter 51 (for organization purposes). This chapter happens right after chapter 50, though.] Sophie wore something that Arthur's Wise Inspection trait called a hazardous materials suit. It was white but blooded. The blood didn't belong to her but to Tamara, whom she was carrying.Tamara's human disguise was go...
[MA] 342. Shaming the Brigade
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter[Notice: There will be no chapters from 12/26 to 01/06. In other words, I'll take two weeks off. I feel more tired each day and believe it's the right thing to do. It's been forever since I took a real vacation to decompress.If you want a refund this month, just comment below or DM me. No questions asked, no hard feelings.Chapters this week: 2/3Next chapter: Saturday] Shen kept the two Brigades inside his aura and in place until he also forced them through a B-tier system ...
[MA] 341. Filled With Water
Previous Chapter — Table of Contents — Next Chapter.[Notice: There will be no chapters from 12/26 to 01/06. In other words, I'll take two weeks off. I feel more tired each day and believe it's the right thing to do. It's been forever since I took a real vacation to decompress.If you want a refund this month, just comment below or DM me. No questions asked, no hard feelings.Chapters this week: 1/3Next chapter: Thursday] Taeral Miavalur had forged a reason to visit every mobile fortress First Lieutenant Shen locked down. He ...
[LitF] 51.4. Interlude 4 - For Freedom
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter "We lost them, sir," said one of the dozens of military operators in the big situation room.The back wall was filled with screens displaying the images received from four human satellites, which the people controlled through computers. One screen had shown three flying people close to the crater that replaced the Institute, but they became blurry and transparent, then disappeared. Blaze Terrell had seen it, too, but hearing the report made it worse, somehow."Are you sure that...
[LitF] 51.3. Interlude 3 - Rekindled Hope
Previous Chapter - Table of Contents - Next Chapter[A/N: Sorry for the delay.Notice: There will be no chapters from 12/26 to 01/08. In other words, I'll take two weeks off. I was initially compelled to do so by my wife, but I'm feeling more tired each passing day and believe it's the right thing to do. It's been forever since I took a real vacation to decompress.I acknowledge the notice is a bit sudden, so if you want a refund this month, just comment below or DM me. No questions asked, no hard feelings.] Lyraesel Naevys-M...
