《3rd LAW: Mixed Magical Arts》2-1
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The streets were crowded. In the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of a busy shopping district, that wasn’t surprising. People from all walks of life came and went, some moving swiftly, purposefully, through the crowds and some meandering. Some stopped to examine the displays in shop windows while some were oblivious to anything but their cellphones. There were salarymen with briefcases and buttoned-up suits, housewives with shopping bags and small children in tow, high-schoolers fresh out of class for the day, laughing and joking, planning afternoon distractions to let off some steam. All stages of life could be seen and heard. There was a kind of energy that you could find anywhere on Earth but that was still unique to this time and place as these particular people jostled their way along, going about their business.
A young woman pushed through the crowd, moving quickly, but furtively, as if she had places to go but feared being followed. She was in her late teens, on the small side and pretty in a girl-you-know sort of way, like a classmate or neighbor. Soft, reddish-brown hair, pulled back into a loose pony-tail, her bangs swept to one side and pinned in place with a hairclip, bounced and swayed with each step she took. The skirt and slightly-baggy hoodie she wore couldn’t conceal the sureness or athleticism in the way she moved, weaving around other people with enviable ease. Yet her eyes darted constantly about, scanning her surroundings.
Others were surveying the busy scene, as well. A pair of men, well-dressed in expensive suits, each with a Bluetooth earpiece clipped in place, looking professional and self-assured—but still somehow thuggish—roamed the shopping district. Their eyes were sharp and roving, taking in every detail, on the alert for something – or someone.
In another part of the crowd, a chill ran down the girl’s spine. She cast a glance over her shoulder, trying to zero in on whatever it was that set off her instincts, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Hmph,” she grunted and pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up before hurrying on her way.
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Be-deep!
A thick, calloused finger depressed a button on an earpiece that was a little different from a standard hands-free phone accesstory. “I see,” the stylish thug murmured. He turned to his companion, putting a hand on the other man’s arm to get his attention. “This way.” He pointed with his free hand towards a side-street. The second man nodded and turned in that direction.
The girl hurried her step. She saw nothing unusual, but still something kept prickling at the back of her neck. She didn’t want to draw any attention. Her only choice was to leave the area as quickly as possible.
Damn it, she thought. I was almost to the station.
Walking to another station would make her trip home that much longer, but safe was better than sorry. She picked up her pace a little more, turned a corner – and ran straight into a plump, middle-aged woman carrying an armload of shopping bags. The pair collided with a muted fwump! and the girl fell backwards, landing on her bottom with a grunt, her hood falling down around her shoulders and the front of her skirt flapping momentarily upwards in the breeze from her descent. A cascade of groceries clattered to the street all around her.
“Oh, no!” the larger woman cried, her hands flying to her chubby cheeks. “I’m so sorry!” She bent forward, holding out a hand to the girl. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” The girl waved away the offer of help, rubbing the base of her spine with her other hand. “Don’t worry about it, ma’am. It was my faul— huh?”
Surprise cut her short. Past the woman’s legs, she glimpsed the very last thing she wanted to see: a tall, thick-bodied man in a fancy suit and high-tech earpiece. His head swiveled this way and that.
“Crap.” It was the only way to describe the situation.
The older woman’s bulk shielded the girl from her pursuer’s view, but that was only a temporary reprieve. “Damn it,” she cursed her luck as she leapt to her feet and dashed in the direction she first came from, leaving the other, bewildered, woman to pick up her own fallen purchases.
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A King in the Clouds
Tanlar. A cruel, repulsive, and foul word. It meant untitled, officially, but it also meant ungifted, unable, unworthy, unnecessary, unhuman. It was more a curse than a term, a badge only the damned and condemned wore. To be a tanlar was to know your life, your entire being, was insignificant. Once Kaizer had resigned himself to such a fate, but those times had passed. He may have been untitled, but he was anything but untalented. He refused to scrape by at the bottom of society. Those who stood above him could sneer all they liked, but he wouldn’t suffer being stepped on for long. He’d be better, much better. But of course he would be. ‘Fate’ demanded it so. [Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] What To Expect: The story of a boy becoming a man becoming a king + everything that entails. Largely gamelit, but later arcs could be called litrpg. Also schemes. A lot of schemes. I do love some good ol' fantasy politics and intrigue. Minimum Word Count a Week: TBA after Writathon Release Time(s): Daily for as long as I can/until the end of the Writathon. I also write The Deathseeker [Returning Dec 5th]
8 82Legendary Farmer (available on Kindle July 2022!)
NOTE: Legendary Farmer is now COMPLETE. The first book, Clearing, was released on Kindle Unlimited July 5, 2022 with significant edits. I will post the first chapter of Clearing, as well as three chapters of Cuckoo's Dream, another novel in the LF universe, as a stub, with a link to the first book, so if you love LF and want me to be able to keep writing consistently, please go give Clearing five stars! In the VRMMORPG, Veritas Online, things are getting a little stale. Since the game launched, only one world- wide event has occurred, and that was a year ago.. The players are still having fun, but everyone agrees it’s about time for something big to happen. Everybody tends to forget that big things grow from small things, and little things are always changing in Veritas.The human country of Quarternell is at peace for the first time in... ever. Aspen, a former war hero, feels like he’s earned a quiet life together with his animal companions. They’re tired of fighting, and other people in general. They plan to live peacefully, far away from the city. As soon as Aspen figures out this farming thing out, he’s never going to go anywhere again. Unfortunately for Aspen, his country and his goddess aren’t quite done with him yet.Rouge the Rogue is a casual gamer in Veritas Online. She’s just a kid, and her focus is supposed to be on school and hanging out with friends. Emphasis on ‘supposed to’. She’s already pretty good at the school thing, and she doesn’t actually have that many friends. What she really loves is exploring all the cool ways the developers of Veritas found to make their game unique and realistic. Then she’s offered a very special quest, and an opportunity to go beyond the average player. She’s never been that much of a rule follower anyway....Clearing is appropriate for most ages. It has minimal foul language, no sex, and some violence. It is LGBTQ+ friendly. (P.S. IMPORTANT! This book contains very mild profanity, no sex, and is meant to be FUN. Yes, the characters sometimes think Deep Thoughts, and idealism pretty much runs rampant, but, in the end, I hope you just enjoy reading it. Laugh, cry, share it with your kids, read it to your dog, whatever makes you happy. My goal is for it to be accessible to everyone from ages 12ish on up, so you could definitely consider it YA, but with lots of big words because I don't believe in talking down to my readers.) Book Two: Harrowing (Starts after the original Chapter Fifty, now Sixteen, since I condensed chapters from the same perspective together.) Zoey has started her summer internship at Veritas Corporation, and she can honestly say that being an adult is boring. Until she starts learning secrets she was never supposed to know. In game, Rouge is finally making progress on her big quest. Apparently Duke Penbrooke took too long to return to the world, so the world is coming to get him... in the form of a few assassins. Aspen is going to have to face the life he left behind, and deal with the fact that it's not as easy being 'dead' as he thought. When what he'd hoped would be a short trip back to civilization to resupply turns into a whole lot more, he'll have to fight for his life, his friends, and his kingdom. Book Three: Sowing Rouge and Aspen have reached Bright, only to find that their enemies were already expecting them. They will have to quickly unravel the mysteries of who their opponents actually are, because they're already ten steps behind. Rouge and Aspen are finally home, but that doesn't mean they can return to their peaceful days of farming. Their enemies are hot on their heels and determined to destroy everything they've managed to achieve. Join them and all their friends for the final volume of Legendary Farmer.
8 218Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4
Darkness was always kind to me. And after I got stuck in a non-existent game thanks to a technical glitch in a virtual capsule, the God of Darkness became my Patron. He gave me power and showed me the way. In this dark world, I'm different compared to everyone else, but I think it's for the better. *** Gloominess is a popular Russian LitRPG and dark fantasy book series. In the course of one and a half years, five books containing 160 chapters have been written. The author is now working on the sixth and final book of the series. More than 100,000 people have read the original books. The story of the dark world is currently being translated into English. The first three books have been translated and are available on Amazon. HERE ON RR IS PUBLISHING THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE SERIES. You can buy the 1st books on Amazon or read it for free in Kindle Unlimited. Gloominess +1: Gleam of Darkness Gloominess +2: Congregation Gloominess +3: Reign of Decay
8 144Protector, Protector (BL)
They came for him when he was nine. The Shadows. They tore his mother's heart from her chest and left her there to die. Now Azame Jackson is 17, and his time seems to be running out. They exist in the darkness, the very thing Azame's life keeps at bay. He was born a Siren, a creature of light, and the Shadows were his mortal enemy. He could only run. With his Protector, Ajax Gabris, he'll attempt to survive what most of his species can't. All while Azame changes slowly into something just in between both worlds. Can he fight off the darkness that threatens to consume him? Or will he succumb? Perhaps his anchor will be Isaac Harrison, the boy who seems locked within his orbit. Time will only tell. Ajax Gabris is forever bonded to Azame Jackson, one of the last Sirens to enter their world. On his shoulders rests an unbearable weight. Born half-human, Ajax will be pushed to the brink of his strength. Will the Ancient Greek blood that flows through him hold as the pressure builds? Or will Ajax snap and sink? Ajax stands at the crossroads of going straight or betraying everything he'd ever believed in just to keep Grant Snyder by his side. For Grant, he finds. He will set the world on fire. Cover Art Done By Jude Beasley!!!!
8 51Impossible Devices
Twenty years after the start of the new millenium, the world was largely at peace. Crime was at an all-time low in most nations. No large scale conflicts between countries currently existed, and the people of Earth had even begun to see hope for the future. In the year 2020, all of that changed. The first occurrences of the interdimensional reality altering zones occurred. Named 'Dungeons' these supernatural and alien existences unleashed monsters and mayhem upon the world. Only after considerable loss of life and adaptation to the new world order did people begin to rally back. The discovery of a strange artificact item in one of the dungeons allowed humanity to develop powers far beyond their wildest imagination. This device worked on principles considered to be impossible. It was not the only one. Items of super-science and magic were discovered inside the dungeons of the world that could not possibly work according to the known laws of physics. Yet, they did. A special school was built to train young people so that they could specialize in dungeon exploration, in the defeat of monsters and the acquisition of the Impossible Devices. Warning: Tagged as [18+] for mature content that includes Adult Situations, Sexual Situations, Graphic Violence, and offensive language. Further: This story is a work of comedy and parody. It is not designed to be a gloriously realistic story, even though there are a few deep themes and other mature concepts involved.
8 137A-Team
"No matter how much we fight, we will always need each other Raph."Raph doesn't reply. He doesn't deny it either.
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