Piper stretched languidly in her bed, luxuriating in the feel of the soft sheets against her skin. After spending weeks sleeping on hard rocks, the inn’s mattress felt heavenly. If she hadn’t had plans today, she would have happily spent the rest of the morning in bed.
I suppose I can sleep for a few more minutes.
Rollin...
2025-11-12 21:22:56 +0000 UTC View PostA powerful spring storm battered the seaside fortress, with the torrential downpour lashing the ancient stone walls, and the roar of thunder making the foundation tremble. The squall howled impotently against the steadfast structure before swirling around it and gusting across the open plains.
Elissa looked up from her writing as the shutt...
2025-11-10 16:59:29 +0000 UTC View PostEthel dropped the bundle of sticks at her feet and watched as Alfred dragged away a charred timber from the longhouse ruins. A contingent of the Crimson Guard had brought them back to the farm the previous day, and they had immediately launched into the job of rebuilding the farm.
Thankfully, the work would be done long before winter arriv...
2025-11-07 21:49:53 +0000 UTC View PostPiper stood on the barren hilltop and gazed down at the city of Kalmyros far below. Situated on an island in the middle of a river, the city had thick walls snaking around the perimeter, and a sprawling expanse of buildings on the shore banks. The road winding through the dusty valley was jammed with wagons and throngs of people.
“Welcom...
2025-11-05 21:53:05 +0000 UTC View PostPiper stood silently for a moment after the strange knight had departed. With a shake of her head, she leaned down and gripped her quiver; then, she began to feed a steady stream of mana into it. Soon, new arrows were rapidly appearing inside the quiver.
Though the demons had momentarily withdrawn, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t re...
2025-11-04 00:11:37 +0000 UTC View PostA monstrous harroth demon loomed over Piper, its armored skin glistening in the harsh red light. The creature’s mouth yawned open, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth. It let loose a deafening roar and then swung its four arms ending in talons at Piper.
Piper groped for an arrow, only to find her quiver empty. To her side lay another inj...
2025-10-31 19:34:04 +0000 UTC View PostPiper watched as Lukas advanced on the imps, a portal tearing open at his side. From within, a slimy brown humanoid plodded out before taking up a position in front of the caster. The summoned being stood there, with gooey chunks sliding off its body before plopping to the floor. It looked disgusting.
“Is that poop?” Ophelia whispered....
2025-10-29 20:45:17 +0000 UTC View PostPiper impatiently tapped her foot against the ground as she watched the duke’s forces draw closer. Soon, they would be within range of the spellcasters if they didn’t get moving. But it seemed like her new friend Lukas wanted to turn himself into a human pack mule before entering the Black Pyramid.
The young man had spent the last few ...
2025-10-27 15:56:43 +0000 UTC View PostLukas held up his hands to the blazing fire, trying to dispel the chill of the previous night. Every day they were trapped here, he grew weaker, and the cold felt more biting. Already, his clothing was hanging off him like he was a scarecrow. If they didn’t find a way back through the Black Pyramid soon, they would starve to death.
U...
2025-10-24 16:02:00 +0000 UTC View PostPiper stayed up through the rest of the night, directing the trickle of regenerating mana to her injured leg. She’d even been forced to remove her pants to prevent them catching on fire from constantly using [Demonic Blood]. But she was surprised at how long the healing was taking. The damage must be more severe than usual.&nb...
2025-10-22 15:04:05 +0000 UTC View PostI just bumped up the advance chapters to 6 for the Aspirant Tier, and 12 for the Wayfarer tier. This means that the tiers with be two and four weeks ahead of Royal Road respectively. I'm hoping to add more chapters in the near future, since you're all so awesome.
And once again, thank you for your support. It means a lot to have so many pe...
2025-10-20 17:05:39 +0000 UTC View PostPiper stood on the barren mountain slope, watching Justina stride away from them. The woman had bidden them a terse farewell before leaving. She could tell the vampire was torn by her decision to abandon Ophelia, and for a second, she feared that Justina would renege on their deal. But after a tense few moments, the woman had stalked away into t...
2025-10-20 17:00:31 +0000 UTC View PostPiper pushed Ophelia behind her protectively as she raised her hand to cast [Umbral Terror]. In hindsight, it had probably been a bad idea to save Justina. But she would never have been able to live with herself if she had murdered a defenceless woman in cold blood—even if that woman was a bloodthirsty vampire.
Justina s...
2025-10-20 16:23:47 +0000 UTC View PostThe sound of a scream made Piper jerk upright, and Ophelia, who had been sleeping on her shoulder, slid down to her stomach. She gently pushed her friend off before rising to her feet. Someone was in the room with them. The scream was followed by the crash of metal and a meaty thud.
Frowning, she hurried over to the edge of the alcove. She...
2025-10-20 15:53:51 +0000 UTC View PostGoing forward, new chapters will be released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I had hoped to keep up the daily release schedule a little longer, but I've been rewriting the end of the first book pretty intensively. However, I'm going to start increasing the number of advance chapters on Patreon.
Thankfully, there shouldn't be any lull be...
2025-10-17 23:12:33 +0000 UTC View PostPiper watched as the river of ooze poured out of the ceiling shafts before separating into distinct creatures. She counted at least ten of them. The monsters sloshed against each other, recoiling from the touch of their brethren as they crammed into the narrow corridor.
She raised her bow but then scowled as she lowered it again. Even with...
2025-10-17 23:08:23 +0000 UTC View PostPiper reached the great bronze door and unceremoniously dumped her friend on the ground. She tugged off her glove with her teeth before pressing her bare palm against the metal surface. For a moment, nothing happened.
Please, please let this door work like the other one.
The soldiers were rapidly closing in on them, and she ...
2025-10-16 20:28:55 +0000 UTC View PostPiper hurried away from Ethel and her family, doing her best to hold herself together. But after only a few steps, she felt tears streaming down her face. The biting wind immediately froze them on her cheeks. She tried to scrub them away but gave up after a few tries.
Trudging through the snow, she continued down the mountain pass. Already...
2025-10-15 23:38:46 +0000 UTC View PostEthel stood outside the cave entrance, the wind whipping through her hair. She drew Ophelia closer to her, trying to shield her shivering daughter from the cold. Inside, she could barely make out the exchange between Justina and Piper.
She blinked her eyes rapidly as she overheard Piper claiming to have bewitched her family. But even with ...
2025-10-14 23:40:06 +0000 UTC View PostPiper drew her bow back and prepared to fire at the Crimson Guard. She needed to get three arrows off as fast as possible to activate [Demonic Mark]. If she could just knock the vampires away, they might have time to retreat into the tunnel. Hopefully, the vampires wouldn’t be able to get the door open.
But as she loosed...
2025-10-13 14:49:30 +0000 UTC View PostPiper stopped a short distance down the tunnel and squinted at the darkness. While the fire behind them cast a flickering light, it didn’t penetrate far into the corridor. Would all of their exploration plans be defeated by a simple lack of light?
I wish I still had the aetherstone.
At her thought, a string of gems embedde...
2025-10-12 16:22:04 +0000 UTC View PostA single snowflake drifted lazily down from the dark sky before landing on Piper’s outstretched tongue. She pulled it into her mouth with a slight smile. Her dad had often wheeled her outside so she could enjoy the first snowfall of the year. And every single time she’d stuck her tongue out to catch the snowflakes.
She turned her atten...
2025-10-11 18:49:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe sound of redcap war cries echoed through the narrow mountain passes, the voices seemingly coming from all sides at once. A javelin soared out from the darkness and struck the rocky ground; it skittered along until it came to a rest at Piper’s feet.
In one smooth motion, she drew her bow and released. The arrow sailed out toward where...
2025-10-10 20:59:14 +0000 UTC View PostFirstly, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone supporting me here. You're all awesome. And I'm blown away by the level of support I've already received.
Secondly, I wanted to announce that I finished writing the first book today. It's currently 52 chapters long, though that might change slightly with editing. But the first book i...
2025-10-10 00:54:34 +0000 UTC View Post“Finally,” Piper exclaimed as she read her new notification. At her feet lay a plump bird with an arrow through its breast. “It took long enough.”
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Hunting, Level 1.
Moving through the trees like a deadly predator, you have learned to hunt all manner of beast...
2025-10-09 21:11:56 +0000 UTC View PostJustina grimaced as she drank from the flask of blood, the cool liquid making her freshly regrown teeth ache. Once she had taken a few more sips, she opened the intricately inscribed pouch on her belt and dropped it inside. The flask disappeared into the shining portal as if it had never existed.
As she closed her void pouch, she glanced a...
2025-10-08 13:56:01 +0000 UTC View PostPiper crept through the pine forest with Alfred at her side, an arrow nocked on her bow. They were closing in on the redcap’s camp, and all around them were the signs of a hasty departure. She stepped over an abandoned pack before picking her way through scattered cooking implements. At the center of the camp, a thin wisp of smoke still rose f...
2025-10-07 18:13:29 +0000 UTC View PostPiper crept deeper into the cave, searching for the illusion she’d cast to conceal the alcove. Her teeth were chattering so loudly she was worried the sound would wake the others. All she wanted to do was climb under a thick woolen blanket and curl up into a ball. But first, she had to find the darn spot where the others were hopefully still a...
2025-10-06 13:52:24 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m so going to die,” Piper whispered to herself as she dodged behind a tree. “This is bad. This is really bad.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was fighting down a rising tide of panic. As she stood behind the tree trunk, she cast [Veil of Lies], concealing herself from her pursuers. She watched a ...
2025-10-05 14:30:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe dead leaves crunched under Piper’s feet as she moved in the direction of the redcap’s camp. She didn’t know the hills as well as Alfred, but she knew most of the major trails. And if she was right, the redcaps were camped near the entrance to the largest mountain pass.
At least she hoped that’s where they were. It was hard to t...
2025-10-04 15:22:11 +0000 UTC View Post