Draugr Cell //Layer 01-- Investiture: Sci-fi Action Harem
With the end of the only war to ever reach mainland Australia I found myself living out of a small room in an old military compound that had been handed over to the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The end of the war, unfortunately, didn't mean the end of hostilities. The terrorism trend that had started back in the early 2000's with the attack on the world trade center over in America, had spread to just about every country on the face of the planet. Over time the constant threat from various groups meant the civilian police force was quickly undermanned, under equipped, and overwhelmed. They were simply unable to respond to the daily threats in any reasonable time frame, and in many situations lacked the both the skills and equipment required to deal with the threats to put them down in a 'safe' and expedient manner.
Veterans of the war that were being reintegrated into society however, were just about everywhere, all the time. We have the training and the skills required to deal with just about any threat you care to mention, all we needed was access to the equipment to do so.
In a world first, under the new Veterans program, the Australian government had taken the rather controversial step of allowing specifically selected veterans to go armed in public. Sure, with Australian weapons laws being very, very strict there were a number of hurdles to get over first, but that's where the selection part comes in. Tangentially that's actually how I met Brianna, my current partner.
We work as ringers in Victory City, I thought being thrown into imptomtu combat operations and risking my life on a daily basis for barely livable wages was excitement enough. Then I met her... it... I don't know. An AI unlike anything else out there has wedged itself into my life and decided it needs to... look after me. What could possibly go wrong?
****
This is the first book I have released, and my first entry into a cyberpunk universe.
There is minimal drug use, a fair amount of sex, a bit of gory violence, and a sultry AI that has decided the main character needs a harem.
Advertisement
Chapter Selections
1. Prologue
2. Chapter One
3. Chapter Two
4. Chapter Three
5. Chapter Four
6. Chapter Five
7. Chapter Six
8. Chapter Seven
9. Chapter Eight
10. Chapter Nine
11. Chapter Ten
12. Chapter Eleven
13. Chapter Twelve
14. Chapter Thirteen
15. Chapter Fourteen
16. Chapter Fifteen
17. Chapter Sixteen
18. Chapter Seventeen
19. Chapter Eighteen
20. Chapter Nineteen
21. Layer 02 - Cognition
22. Layer 02 - Chapter One
Nero Zero
Monsters plagued the lands for too long. No matter if one had fangs, beak, teeth, skin, fur, or feather, or was tall, stout, or diminutive, the people suffered. Until the Gadgeteers came with a device that could allow people to fight back. Powered by one's own magical power, feeding off of monster Essence, the Arbitrium bracer turned the tables. It also changed society. Strength of one's level cap was all that mattered. The strongest were Kings and Emperors. The weak or those too poor to afford the marvelous device, destitute. And so it has been for millennia. All that mattered was one's level cap. High, low, a fate decided the moment the strange contraption came alive. Too high and you were a threat to those interested in keeping the status quo, a weed to be nipped before it could grow and take root. Too low and you were nobody, fated to be a bit more than a simple farmer. What if someone, somewhere, came up with a zero for their level cap? Unable to use Essence, unable to level up. On all of recorded history, it never happened. Until it did. In a small village of fur-less and tail-less ape-beastkin, a boy found out he was uniquely handicapped. Nero's level cap was Zero. But he'd never let that stop him from reaching his goals. ------------------------------------------------ All stories have already been told. We merely reuse elements from them. From Joseph Campbell's Monomith to Stephen King's advice, and that encyclopedia of tropes you've visited, fiction has been dissected and reassembled countless times. One will surely find elements inspired on other works here. Just like cooking from basic ingredients, the recipe and presentation is what really matter. This is a fantasy adventure, of someone that goes from a zero to a slightly bigger zero. It will have romance but no harem. Cruelty but with hope dimly shining ahead. Lightweight where it can be, heavy where it must. Thanks for reading. Cover Credits (The cover is CC-BY-NC-SA): Steampunk Spider Bracer, by Daniel Proulx. CC-BY-NC-SA Picture Frame, @anaterate, Pixabay license. Some odds and bits from here and there.
8 262Grave Digger Gary
Where is the last place you want to be when the zombie apocalypse begins?In a cemetary, digging a grave, of course - which is exactly where Gary finds himself when his world is abruptly initiated into the multiverse. And that's just the start of his problems. Due to a technical error, Gary doesn't get the same character sheet and upgrades as everyone else. Nope. Instead, Gary gets classified as one of the undead. He's a zombie now - except, Gary didn't die. And he doesn't want to, either!A LitRPG/Gamelit story of what happens when one man armed with a shovel takes on the undead hordes threatening to overrun his reality. Combines zombie apocalypse horror with pen and paper style RPG game mechanics. Updates are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at just after 6PM UK time / 11AM PT / 1PM EST . I've set up a Patreon account here: https://www.patreon.com/gravediggergary if you'd like to support the story and read up to 15 chapters ahead. All support is very much appreciated! The underlying system on which the story runs is a work in progress (like the story itself!) so there may be adjustments to character sheets etc as the novel rolls out. Spelling and grammar are British English unless I mess up in which case it's just gobbledygook (please feel free to point out any typographical mistakes or obvious errors, I appreciate it!)Finally, this story is cross-posted on Scribblehub. And I think that's everything! Thanks for reading!All content copyright Robert Thorne 2021
8 80Defending Mars
14 year old Tory Ciarelli did not want to get stuck on the planet Mars, but here she is, dragged 50 million miles from her home Earth, by her parents to the new frontier. She has a plan to escape Mars, but might not be able to accomplish her goal on her own. 21 year old Gurminder Kalsi is a third generation bornehere Martian, a rig driver working for the planetary clans who were abandoned by Earth but managed to survive and prosper but are now at the mercy of the massive new colonization effort. He too is trapped on the red plane, but not by circumstance, but by biology. Born on Mars he can not leave to go to the world his grandparents came from. But together Tory and Gurminder might be able to find a way out of their traps. If they can work together. If they don't manage to make things worse...
8 205Alaric: The Failed Project
Mark Fanjo’s first webnovel of Jiro Nakojima, an average teenager who has reincarnated into a world of swords and magic. His ambition to become someone vanishes as he soons discovers he has no magic, and is left as a completely vulnerable child. After losing everything and experiencing near-death, he inherits the powers of the world’s ancient nightmare. As his journey continues, he slowly unveils the truth of his powers and his new world.
8 189Dragon Ball Magic
Sala Malik and Avo Cado are earthlings. When the humans were killed and the earth destroyed, Avo was one of the few to survive. Seeing his best friend die in front of his eyes, the feeling of powerlessness was unbearable and soon, as he watched the universe undo what had been done, he made his resolve to become a powerful magician and a defender of his home ! With the resurrected Sala, Avo left the comfort and familiarity of his planet on a long journey through space... All in order to learn the secrets of the Arcane. ARC 1 - First encounter with the Namekian people. Chapter 1-7
8 174Chloé x Jean-Jacques
What's up, dudes? Me writing more vnc ship fics? It's more likely than you think. I probably won't update this as often as my vanoé one but please understand I love these 2 dearly.
8 91