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Chapter 366
🕑 Added 2024-10-04 18:59:01 +0000 UTCChapter 366
Kai listened to the man in the sky speaking and felt it hard to accept what he was hearing.
But there he was. This… Ascender Titan.
There was a weight to those words, imparted by what he assumed was magic projecting the speech into his ears, that he couldn’t quite describe. He wanted to just call it magic, but it wasn’t that. It was part tonal emphasis and part stressing of syllables that wasn’t typical of the Noricum lexicon.
It was important. Kai didn’t know why, but he felt like a sword was hanging over his head and was correspondingly on edge, so he held on tightly to any possibly important tidbit and sorted it instinctively.
Kai had seen a lot of things growing up in a rough neighborhood, but he had never imagined that magic was real.
Magic was the thing of stories and legends. It wasn’t real.
But one glance up showed him a man floating mid-air with a giant fractal spider webbing across the night sky.
The architect part of his mind idly wondered what kind of material that spiderweb was made out of. Nothing had the kind of strength needed to reach the horizon without any kind of support. Or maybe the supports were there, but they were just magically invisible?
Could he get some of those invisible supports?
A shout from the neighboring apartment caught Kai’s attention. Any other day, the neighbors shouting at each other wouldn’t have been unusual. They argued over seemingly everything and anything, but it was easy to tune out because Kai didn’t speak Northern Cipri.
Except, just as he had heard the flying man’s words whispered as if right next to his head earlier, Kai could understand his neighbors yelling.
The woman was currently blaming the man for the appearance of the magical man in the sky.
Kai nearly panicked as his mind went to the two of them somehow being responsible, and him getting caught up in whatever they were doing, but it quickly became clear the two were just venting at each other when the man turned the accusation around and blamed the woman in turn.
That made Kai reevaluate just what was going on. He could understand the man in the sky speaking in his language. Heck, he was clearly magic, Kai would understand if he was speaking every language.
But this? He hadn’t just made himself understood, he made everyone understood. When that… Titan, he called himself, had said that they were all now part of this enormous Empire, did that mean he’d just gotten rid of all other languages? Was Kai actually still speaking and thinking in his native tongue, or was he speaking some kind of magical common language now?
What the hell was happening?
As his mind ran through the possibilities, Kai finally started to accept some of what he had heard.
Magic was real. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Magic could be cool. Kai had never been one to dive too much into fantasy, the real world was rough enough that he didn’t have time to spend on such extraneous pursuits, but he was in touch with nerd culture enough to know about typical magic systems. Assuming that ‘real’ magic was anything like the stories, which didn’t seem likely.
What kinds of things could he do with magical materials? There was clearly something able to literally stretch across the sky, and it was either ludicrously strong or supported by invisible struts. Could they build flying cities? Walkways that were invisible but invincible?
Actually that last one was a safety hazard, they would need to be at least translucent. But then again, magic. Who knew what was possible?
That brought his mind to the other things commonly seen in relation to magic. Fireballs, ice blasts, teleportation, and magical healing.
But what were the limits?
Kai didn’t suddenly feel the call to become some kind of fantasy healer, but he had seen people missing limbs one day with them back a few weeks later during his short time at Gate’s Rest.
Had that been magical healing? The obvious answer seemed like a yes but was that all it could do? Could it do more? Was it useful for the general pains of a lifetime of hard work like his mother had experienced?
His mother!
Kai slammed his shin into his coffee table as he moved to the apartment’s phone, causing a spike of pain that nearly sent him sprawling. Cursing, he hobbled over and punched in his mother’s number.
The phone gave a busy signal, and he had to call back three more times before his panicked mother picked up.
Their call was cut short as the phone network went down for a few moments, but when he called back there weren’t any issues and they were able to talk and comfort each other until they both felt the need to start preparing for other outages. It was enough to know she was ok and was staying inside until things settled down.
Kai went through storm prep even though he didn’t live on the coast any more. It was what he knew and he didn’t know what else might be useful. Tub filled with water, fridge closed tightly with the perishables noted, and windows securely closed.
Calming himself, Kai flopped onto his couch and flicked on his TV out of habit, but every station was static, some pre-scheduled rerun, or news reports talking about The Announcement.
Finding something inoffensive and unobtrusive, Kai turned the volume up to drown out his neighbors’ continued arguing. He did figure out that they were still speaking in another language, because if he really listened he was able to tell the difference between the sounds they were making and the words he was hearing… which was equal parts insane and distracting.
Looking up at his TV, he fiddled with settings until he changed the audio channel into another language, and to his surprise, he found that even the words of the movie were translated.
Not letting himself get distracted, he logged into his computer and paused as he saw on the front page of his typical search engine was a link to the document that the sky wizard had been talking about.
There were multiple forms of media, but Kai went for the document.
It was so large, his computer chugged as it opened the file, but after a minute that felt like an eternity, Kai was able to start reading.
The introduction chapter was a dozen pages long, but that was nothing to the tens of thousands of pages of the rest of the document.
Regardless, it was incredibly well-written, and he quickly felt a lot less unsure of himself. Things started to make more sense, and his fear of being killed by some magic man floating in the sky with nothing he could do about it slowly subsided.
That was, however, replaced by other fears.
These people, these cultivators, they were so powerful, so mighty, did they… have houses? Buildings? Did they need architects? The man in the sky had done something that wrapped around the entire planet, could they just magic themselves a house?
The prideful part of himself insisted that of course they’d need buildings and houses, that even if they just shipped in castles from other planets and dropped them onto estates made out of clouds, of course they’d still need architects to design things, but… what if they didn’t?
What if they didn’t care about that sort of thing? The introduction talked a lot about fighting and killing and wars and ‘rifts,’ were all cultivators soldiers? Did that mean they wouldn’t care about the beautiful and sublime, the graceful elegance that could be found in styles of building? Did they use architects, or did they just brute-force basic shacks by using impossibly strong materials?
He sure hoped they needed architects, otherwise he was probably screwed.
A decade of work might be in the trash if they just lived in basic buildings, if they didn’t care about the nuance he could provide. That thought ate at his mind. What else would he do? Any kind of academic job seemed useless with the existence of these magic powers that could seemingly hand wave issues away.
Were all jobs filled with these magical gifted people and only them? Would he still have a job if he didn’t get this magic suited for his profession?
Would he be homeless? Wait, the man had said housing was a right and was provided by the Empire. So they must have houses. But that didn’t mean that they weren’t just like tents made out of magic materials. Could he be the revolution that brought beauty into their buildings or would he end up with no skill set to market himself?
Kai had tried to avoid that thought, but it bubbled up like a pocket of noxious swamp gas.
He had worked too hard to allow that, to let the end of the world as he knew it make him or his mother homeless.
He was still worrying when he fell asleep on his couch.
The sun coming in through his window woke him up, and Kai felt a kink in his back from where he had slept wrong. Limping his way to the bathroom, Kai kept his ear out and faintly caught the couple next door talking.
Just like the day before, the words translated themselves. As Kai processed what they were saying, he flushed hot and rushed to play some music so he couldn’t hear them any more.
Looking up in the now sun bright sky, Kai was almost startled to see the man, Ascender Titan, was gone from his spot.
He had half expected the man to float there, raining down divine judgment until he was satisfied.
Seeing it was well past morning, Kai threw on the TV and cycled to a news station. There, he found two news anchors talking about what was going on.
The past president of Noricum had even come out of retirement to give a speech urging everyone to calm down and try to adjust to their new world as quickly as possible.
Kai wasn’t sure if it’s what the man intended, but it felt like the man was really saying that nothing they did would have any effect, and they needed to get used to their new reality. That didn’t sit well with him.
It felt gross, like they had given up.
Kai, like nearly everyone else, was glued to his TV in the coming days, as it was the best source of updates on what was going on. But it quickly became clear that things were truly different.
Two TV stations went off the air for ’inciting discord and spreading falsehoods,’ even though Kai felt like nothing they’d said was really that bad.
That left a bitter taste in Kai’s mouth, and he wondered just what they were trying to hide, and why this Ascender Titan felt like he could override their concerns. They had rights. Who was this outsider to decide what the truth was, and say that anything else was forbidden?
Thankfully, things did start returning to normal after three days of chaos.
The Falkner Architect firm was left adrift at first, not knowing what their place in this new world would be, and they mostly sat around their offices for a few days before they finally heard news.
They would keep their jobs, but some of their standards would be changing.
Kai was initially fearful that meant they would be told to cut safety corners, but if anything, the new standards were far safer than before. It wasn’t just more redundancies needing to be built into every structure, but every building was made for longevity, overbuilt to the point it should last centuries and with mandatory clear decommissioning plans, ensuring that any updates or demolitions could be done easily and cheaply. If a building was unlikely to last less than a century it could only be considered a ‘semi-temporary structure,’ and required a whole host of additional permits to even be considered.
On the other end of the spectrum, government buildings and other ‘fixture sites’ were to be designed to last for millennia, something that he would have scoffed at even a week ago. But magic… well, magic probably made anything possible.
That was another thing none of them wanted to hear: Most buildings were built with magic things called formations. Not just to do things like heat water, but to make the buildings themselves more durable and in some cases repair themselves.
Once they were familiar with their new standards and passed a grueling certification procedure, the orders started to pour in.
The city was expanding, and it was going to be doing so in three stages over the next decade.
Word was that the monsters had been temporarily dealt with, but they would be back in a few months.
The job security was nice, as were the new contracts they needed to sign, which was more generous than his previous in everything but terms of pay.
Money was weird.
After the first week, all of Soerilia switched over to the Empire’s currency credits. That would have been weird enough, but the value of things were all over the place.
Food prices especially had dropped through the floor, or at least raw produce had. The Empire set strict food prices with zero room for negotiation. Kai expected pushback from the farmers because there was no way the prices were sustainable, but they were even happier, as the Empire was subsidizing not only the difference to the farmers, but almost triple what they had earned before with the understanding that farms should not only be producing but over producing at all times.
Ready-to-eat food serving places didn’t change too much, as there weren’t any strict regulations over their prices, but most places did lower their prices somewhat which made it down right easy to grab a bite to eat during or after work instead of feeling bad about such purchases.
Some foods, mostly snack foods, did increase in prices thanks to taxes placed on them but they were one of the few to increase in price. A fair bit of luxuries had additional taxes placed on them beyond their normal prices increasing which put them out of reach for more people but it wasn’t so bad that people got upset.
It was strange, but Kai and everyone else got used to it before too long.
There were jobs to do, which kept everyone busy enough that they didn’t have too much free time to think how much everything was changing.
That was until Gate’s Rest got their awakening machine… thingy.
The news stations had talked about the devices that gave magic powers, but Kai, like most people of the mandatory age, was nervous. Not that they could refuse. Apparently it was obvious to tell those who had been awakened from those who hadn’t, and anyone who refused was forcefully put into the machine and then fined for their troubles.
The stories the news stations broadcasted about the awakenings were mostly positive, not strictly positive like Kai would have expected with media companies being shut down, but it generally leaned that way. Save for a few pieces about people getting seemingly boring powers, like the one lady whose power cleaned stubborn stains easier.
There were a few rumors about people who had seemingly bad reactions, but they were rare. Far more common were all the people who got fantastical powers. The 18 year old girl who could now fly, and was now something of a minor celebrity, or the 25 year old man who could fix broken items with a touch so long as they were recently broken.
What Kai paid attention to was the few reports about architects. There was apparently one 14 year old who had gotten the ability that made it so any buildings off blueprints he created were stronger than normal.
Even a quick scribble was enough to make a suspension bridge made out of twine and thin sticks hold ten full grown adults. The kid had been given a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious university to get his architecture degree the moment he graduated high school.
No one said anything, but everyone at the firm felt the pressure. How could they compete with someone like that? Who would want their work when someone else’s work was appreciably better than theirs?
Kai didn’t know, and from the glum silences, no one else did either.
He just hoped that, despite the records saying otherwise, that because of his dedication to his craft, he would awaken a similar Talent thing.
Kai and seemingly half the town went to the facility, a massive building that had been converted from a warehouse.
Kai sat down and went through a dozen screens telling him not to share his Talent with anyone, and after confirming that he was sure he understood, he felt a rush of something enter him.
It was… more.
Kai couldn't really describe it, but it was like he had a sense that had been asleep all of his life, and now it had woken up. He thought Awakened was just a word but he realized it was really the perfect thing to call it in absence of a better description.
The feeling faded quickly, and a beep from the screen next to him brought his attention down.
Kai looked at the result blinking on the screen in front of him. It was unbelievable, unacceptable. And apparently unchangeable.
He felt sick.
Sure, they said it was random and to not be disappointed with whatever you got, but he’d figured that just meant they couldn’t predict it, that he’d still get something related to architecture, the thing he’d devoted his life to. How was this awakening anything within him?
Tier 1 Talent determined.
Pigments you mix are more vibrant or subdued, depending on your desire.
Pigments? Like paint? Kai had never painted in his life, nor had he mixed pigments before. He didn’t even know how.
What was that Talent?
Kai wandered back home, not knowing what he should do.
In the end, he didn’t have any better answers than try to cling to his well-paying job for as long as he could before those with related Talents pushed him out, but he did stop by an art supply store on his way to his apartment and bought a few tins of oil paints.
He had no idea what he was doing, and felt stupid as he squirted paint onto a disposable plate.
Letting his eyes wander, he looked for a color and decided on the olive green of his jacket.
Holding the color in his mind Kai dipped his brush in the yellow and then into the blue but in a lesser amount. Smearing the brush around, he found himself staring down at an olive drab that perfectly captured part of the jacket that was a little sun and wear-worn.
It was perfect, exactly like the jacket.
It was useless.
What good was mixing paint colors?
Any idiot with an instruction manual could have managed the same, even if it took them a few attempts. Suddenly Kai didn’t care about his Talent shenanigans any more and with a bit more force than he should have used, he threw away the oils he had just bought.
Instead, he cracked open one of his advanced architecture books after ordering a dozen books on magic architecture and formations. If he couldn't get a Talent that would magically make his buildings better, he just needed to do what he had always done. Work twice as hard as everyone else to ensure he remained relevant.
He just hoped that it was enough, but a small voice whispered that it wasn’t and his efforts were futile.
Kai knew that voice and shoved it down ruthlessly. It had been a few years since he had heard its malignant whispered but he had refused to wallow in his self pity before and would do so again.
***
Trebor was watching the interview with this duke of theirs with bated breath. Finally, after far too long spent on unimportant topics like healthcare or economics, they got to the import part. The thing he had to beg his uncle to ask.
“So, does the Empire have any special policies on pets?”
“Pets? Well, if one of them harms someone then you’re held highly responsible, is that what you mean? Outside of that, pets are fine.”
And with a relieved sigh he pulled his fluffy buddy even deeper into his embrace. As he started rubbing his cat's chin, he was at peace.
***
The reveal had been as large a shock for the Weekly Tidings as it was for everybody else, but Kenneth’s journalistic senses had kicked in before most others had stopped panicking. This could be his paper’s big break, to finally establish themselves as one of the big names in the Palkar Union’s media battlefields if they jumped on it.
Just minutes after the reveal he and his dozen most dedicated employees started scouring the hideously dense multi-thousand page introduction book that was made available to write a summary for their website. In their haste, they might have skimmed the materials a bit too much, condensed things a bit beyond too far, but he felt that wasn't an excuse to just delete the article right off their site. The move by the new government had certainly given the IT guy a minor panic attack as he wasn’t even able to tell how they had accessed their systems or why they couldn't reupload the document.
Their questions were answered when not fifteen minutes later, someone working for their new overlords showed up at the office and gave them the short version of the ‘official media standards and guidelines’, as well as another overly thick book that had the rules explained in full.
It was as clear a euphemism for censorship laws as he’d ever seen. They had given the rules the briefest skim possible before moving onto the next story: coverage on the whole magical ‘Awakenings’ thing. There’d been a report of somebody outright disintegrating, crumbling into dust instead of getting superpowers, but nobody was talking about it. Rumor had it that they’d just scooped the unfortunate kid’s former body into a bucket and tossed it in the river, but getting a definite answer was hard.
This time they went straight to paper, once it was out there they assumed it would be way harder, hopefully impossible, to remove. Except when the order to the printer was sent, it got ignored. They tried everything, from different formatting to putting it on a data stick to manually typing the article on a computer directly attached to the printer, but nothing worked.
That was until they tried printing something completely unrelated. Then the printer worked just as well as it had before.
That was about the time the unease started setting into Kenneth’s gut.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened. Especially when some backchannel talk with some of the rival newspapers showed they had similar experiences. Even printers on a completely isolated network refused to print things that didn’t comply with censorship laws. One of the bigger newspapers who actually had their legal teams dissect the censorship laws in detail claimed the laws normally weren't that bad and mostly required things to be provably true, but that some kind of emergency provision was active only temporarily to ‘help reduce the chaos of integration’.
Kenneth and most other media companies didn’t buy that, this was censorship plain and simple. He figured these ‘emergency measures’ would be rescinded in several generations at best when everybody was their obedient little puppet, and just never at worst.
He wasn’t going to sit idly by and do nothing when a fundamental truth was being stamped out.
Determined to get the news out there he spent a good chunk of his personal money and bought an antique printing press. Completely manual, down typesetting the pages by hand, one letter at a time. In hindsight it should have been obvious that digital methods were doomed from the start. Just look at how swiftly their conquerors had subverted the internet, but they had been trying to be fast and hadn’t considered every angle like they should have.
That was why every part of that attempt had been done off the web. The payment for the printing press was cash, the article was hand written— this time on how atrocious the mortality rate of delving was— composing the pages was even done in the basement, where there physically were no cables for a camera or other surveillance system to connect to. Even the walls of their old building had enough steel in them to make any wireless connection a futile attempt, as had been bemoaned by many an employee who had to file things down there.
Only when they tried to print their first copy, nothing happened. The press hit the paper, laden with ink and did nothing. The ink refused to adhere. When they with trembling hands rearranged some nonsense on the press, everything worked fine.
That was when the unease turned to fear. They weren’t just watching their networks. They were watching them.
But Kenneth wasn’t quite deterred yet. He wanted to make one final attempt. In the privacy of his own home and without telling anybody, he started writing a grocery list. Halfway through he switched to writing a flier about the oppression the press was enduring, but two sentences in, his pen stopped writing. When he resumed the grocery list, so did the ink. He looked at his wife, playing a board game with friends in the other room.
That’s when his fear turned to dread. They were watching him. Everywhere. At all times. And they could reach him through magic bull-shit so it wasn’t even like running to somewhere even more secluded would help.
When Kenneth shared the news at work, complete with an announcement they would from then on follow the guidelines, Miranda and Taylor, his two best journalists, started raising an uproar over how they shouldn't surrender. When they announced they’d shout the news from the rooftops if they had to and started walking to the door to do just that, the fist of the overlord stepped out of thin air and arrested them.
In less than five seconds they were there and then they were gone.
He sat there listening to the dreadful, ever increasing silence wondering if he had made the wrong choice, already knowing the answer deep in his heart.
***
Thaddeus looked up to the man who floated in the sky and felt desire like he had never felt before.
Kev, Michel, and Amber were with him, as they were every Tuesday night. Tuesday nights were their sacred game nights. Daggers and Damsels had been a constant in their friend group since they had found each other in middle school, and it had kept them together for just over a decade at this point.
Amber let out a small whisper as they watched the man create his magic spell. “My desires manifest!”
The phrase was said in high plains elven, which Thaddeus only knew a few phrases of, but he knew that phrase as it was the sorceress' call-to-arms in Daggers and Damsels. What he didn’t expect was the words to be translated and projected into his ears.
More proof that magic was awesome. Even a fantasy language was translated into a known language.
It was even better than Elvish Ears, and he knew that if they ever bothered to play make pretend again with real magic at their fingertips, he would need to buff the in-game spell to match this.
The four of them shared a look, and knew that they would be following the path the man laid out.
Real tangible power they could reach out and grab if they were brave enough to turn themselves from damsels into those that gripped the dagger of destiny.
Accordingly, they were the first ones to the awakening building that week. They had, in fact, camped out in front of the building, and were the first ones through the doors.
Sadly, none of them got combat abilities.
Michel got an ability that made any place he marked as a safe zone to let them recover slightly faster, which seemed useful for days spent in a dungeon crawl, but the rest of them got nothing obviously useful. And that was saying something, considering they were all munchkins of the highest order.
Even Thaddeus couldn't see how to make his Talent for making clothes cleaner when washing by hand useful in a dungeon. According to the little that they had learned, these dungeons just weren’t big enough to typically need days to clear and the effect didn’t linger long enough to be useful for a rogue.
Kev’s ability to hold his breath for longer than normal might be useful, but it was easily replaced by a self-contained breathing system that any firefighter like Kev had ready access to. They did some testing but the obvious ways to exploit such a power didn’t seem to apply.
Amber had been hoping for actual magic, but instead just got the ability to change the color of her clothes at will. Theoretically useful, but easily replaceable by a simple trip to a military surplus store as it just took too long for her to make any substantial changes.
Still, they were determined to go into one of the dungeons and start leveling up.
They had dreamed about it for years.
If only it was that easy.
Their new ruler, Baron Hastra, had instituted a rule that no one was allowed to delve into a dungeon without passing a certification of capabilities.
Daggers and Damsels didn’t have such things, and the four of them endlessly complained that the new government was adding bureaucracy to magic, but they weren’t willing to go to one of the dungeons deep in the woods that weren’t monitored.
A few people they had talked to had done exactly that. Or, that was their intention the last they had heard from them, for not a single group who did that returned.
Baron Hastra at least recognized the issue with such a rule, and brought off-worlders in to help train them for a nominal expense.
Thaddeus had expected the training facility to be packed to the brim, but it was surprisingly empty. Oh there were others, dozens of other groups in fact, but his own excitement for real magic had blinded him to the fact that most people were content with their mundane existences.
They and another three groups were assigned to a woman with sunrise colored skin who looked no older than thirty, but said she had a hundred years of experience at training new groups how to fight properly.
Thaddeus had been intrigued by the incredible lifespan, but Michel was practically drooling the entire time Uvelt was going over her qualifications.
From there, they were led into a private room, one group at a time.
The four of them talked about their roles and prospective builds, but there was too much they didn’t know and so they had defaulted into their normal game roles.
Amber wanted to follow her typical class and go for a magic user of some kind, but from what they had been told, magic was incredibly expensive, at least for your first few centuries.
Centuries. The thought boggled the mind and all of them had a hard time processing such a thing.
Kev wanted to be a barbarian of some kind, since his time as a firefighter had given him a large build and he knew how to wield his fire axe incredibly well. He kept asking them if he could get a magical axe that had fire properties but they were as clueless as he was and could only humor him.
Michel was split between a typical sword and board combo, with a dagger as a side weapon, or going for a rogue build, but Thaddeus was trying to convince him to be on the frontlines together. While he rarely got to play, he always preferred the defender archetype. Protecting one’s friends from the dangers of what was trying to nibble at their toes while being a beacon of morality.
Their argument was cut short by the door opening and them being waved inside.
Once they entered Uvelt indicated to the side of the room. “Grab whatever weapons and armor you think you would like to use. Once you are ready, we'll do a little test and demonstration to see if you want to change your mind.”
Amber picked up one of the magic gloves while the other three struggled to get into their armor.
Michel tried to flirt with Uvelt and inevitably ended up talking about Daggers and Damsels, but instead of the cringes Thaddeus was used to, Uvelt seemed genuinely interested and listened attentively, even while helping them when they got stuck on a complicated part of the armor.
It took close to twenty minutes for them to get fully suited and for Amber to get the knack of using the fireball glove, but they finally stood before Uvelt who said, “Get ready and treat me like an enemy. Come at me!”
Thaddeus felt awkward and shuffled forward, his shield raised but his sword lowered. He knew it was blunt, but he didn’t want to hurt the nice lady.
Michel, who had gone with a dagger build, slashed at her well before he was in range. But instead of reacting, Uvelt just deflected the attacks with a rapier Thaddeus hadn’t noticed was at her waist.
Things seemed normal until Michel started to scream. Blood started to run like a river down his arms from where his wrists were cut through to the bone.
Thaddeus was still processing that when he felt a blow strike his shield, and the top of the shield bashed him in the face from where she had kicked him out of her way.
His world went white as pain blossomed over his head as his nose was shattered.
He could hear a gargled scream from someone and a wave of heat that burned through the gaps of his armor.
When his vision cleared, he saw that Amber was crying as she clutched a shattered knee, the limb bent and twisted into the wrong shape in a way that Thaddeus just knew was crippling.
Kev, on the other hand, laid in a puddle of his own blood, his legs separated from his body trying to crawl to his axe.
Uvelt, the seemingly normal woman just moments ago, turned from Kev’s body to Thaddeus, and with her rapier still dripping blood, slashed out.
Thaddeus didn’t know when he had raised a hand or what he had done it for, but he felt a new white hot pain flash as the fingers holding his blade spun through the air.
Gasping, he felt the world going black and wondered what the point of going through the motions just to kill them was for.
Why were these people so intentionally, pointlessly cruel?
Gasping, he found himself sitting on the floor of the practice room, still in his armor and not in pieces.
Patting himself all over, he made sure he wasn’t injured and then looked to his friends.
When he confirmed they were similarly fine, Thaddeus looked to Uvelt, who nodded. “A useful illusion to help you acclimate to the reality of what being a delver entails. It's not all fun and games. It's pain and blood. Yours or your enemies. If you want to withdraw from the course, you are entitled to a full refund. And if you need to talk to someone. There is an onsite therapist who can help you process what just happened. Delving isn't for the faint of heart, and sadly, your society didn’t prepare you for violence in the way ours does.”
Amber gasped out even as she clutched her perfectly fine knee, “Does it get better?”
Uvelt cocked her head before shaking it. “If you are asking if the pain hurts less, the answer will probably disappoint you. No. If anything, it gets worse. As you Tier up, your senses get better. You just learn how to push through it. Just be grateful that you were smart enough to sign up for these lessons so you could learn this in a safe environment. No one can save you when you are in a rift, and there, the wounds will be very real.”
Kev turned to the side and vomited, but instead of looking angry, Uvelt just waved her hand, and a wave of light blue magic removed all traces of the bile. Even the smell vanished as if it had never been, and Thaddeus was once more reminded that magic was very real.
Despite the memory of pain, Thaddeus wanted that. He wanted that so bad he felt he could taste it, even though he was pretty sure that was just blood from where he had bitten his cheek while under the illusion.
Thaddeus looked to his friends, the terror of death still lingering in his bones like a cold chill, he wanted to be strong for them so he put on his best confident look. They didn’t seem anywhere near as shaken as he felt so he shoved those feelings deep down to be examined later when he was alone in bed or in the shower.
Uvelt must have read their silence as acceptance and willingness to stay as she said, “Good for you four. Now, let's talk about your weapon choices. They can work, but might not be ideal. Your game is a good basis for some things, but real cultivation doesn’t have so many rules. Amber, you need more armor. Same for you, Kev. There are spells that empower you based on the damage you have taken, but healing is expensive, so they aren’t recommended. Michel, if you want to use daggers you need to not only learn how to use them, but learn how to read the battle. Frankly I don’t recommend them for beginners, but I can train you on the basics. Thaddeus, that shield is not only your lifeline, but the rest of your team’s as well. Hold the damn thing like you mean it, that kick shouldn't have disabled you like that. Really I recommend that you all take some time to try and break free from your fixation on your game classes and instead pick which actually suits you and your Talents best.”
When they made it clear they understood and would think over her suggestions Uvelt continued. “Now, because everyone always asks for it, we'll go through a little weapon training today but you all will need serious physical conditioning before you are ready to go into a rift. Spread out and we'll start from the top.”
Thaddeus wasn’t sure if this was a dream come true or a nightmare but this is what he had always wanted, what he had dreamed about. He wasn’t going to let something as mundane as pain, terror, and the threat of death stop him.
Standing up he prepared to face the future no matter what it might bring feeling his friends take their spots at his back.
***
We are going to only have two chapters of reactions (366 and 367) so don't worry about this stuff lingering too long but I wanted to explore the other side of this all.
Comments
BluePegasus
These POV's are great! It's fun to see the magic as magical again.
KnightRider007
Absolute mad props to the D&D group for “getting back on the horse” after that brutal, but respectful, reality check. Thank you, Mantis, for not following the trope of making them “Super over-confident nerd group who get killed because of their arrogance”
KnightRider007
Liz’s Talent was officially deemed “neutral”, she mentions that specifically during the Team Zero introduction chapter where they discuss this precise topic (how some of them have stupidly OP Talents) And while she may have made the best of it and polished it into something powerful, there’s no denying it was, and is, horribly restricting and narrows her options. We see this clearly demonstrated by her Minkalla alternate life where she gets “regular” (not OP) fire Talents and goes on to be one of the galaxy’s greatest pyromancers.
KnightRider007
Yeah, we never look into those hundreds of thousands of soldiers who’ve been in the army for centuries - how many of them actually have combat-useful Talents? That said, what we’re dealing with here is something completely new; up to this point, literally almost every character knew their Talent before making any serious life choices. Hence, they’ve either shaped their career around their Talent, or in deliberate defiance of it. But now, we’re seeing the unprecedented issue of full adults, with careers and vocations behind them, awakening Talents with completely random intersections s with their lives.
KnightRider007
Yeah, the journalist feels like one of those karens who screams “I KNOW MY RIGHTS!!” without ever actually reading what his rights are… Out world has complicated and detailed journalistic standards too - the main difference (and it *is* huge, and troubling) is the those standards appear here to be enforced in real time, rather than post-fact. “Censorship” is, and should be, a word that triggers immediate concerns, but imo, we could do without news sources that actively make stuff up and terminally distort context and details to weave a deceptive narrative. The catch, of course, is “Who’s judging?”
Julie Smith
Well, it is. I expect more to come.
Josh Ward
I think it's because Kai's arc feels unfinished.
Julie Smith
Yes, remember Matt was rejected for jobs because of his 'talent'. He developed his fighting skills and worked in a restaurant.
Julie Smith
I was thinking of using the mixing quality to make perfect runes.
Julie Smith
LOL, a gamer team goes in to train for real delving. That might be fun. We all feel queasy about the censorship, I'm sure. But if the issue is just not publishing what you're not sure is true, I'd go for that. Finally Kai. His POV is interesting, but somehow seems less interesting than in chapter 341. He doesn't seem to have as much potential and hope. Or maybe, it's just me.
Cody Barrick
There are specific shades and colors that are sometimes used for subtle effects on people. "Go-away green" is used in Disney parks to blend in things that Disney doesn't want people to pay attention to, such as staff entrances, or anything that needs to be there but they don't want peoples attention drawn to. Anything where the construction is inspired by or where there is a desire to match the natural world. Color is important in architecture to elicit the emotional response an architect desires.
Timspt8
I really enjoy these reaction chapters
Joshua allen
just got 359 in the mail instead
Akastor
Yes i did see it too
Blake N.
Did 367 get posted then taken down? I thought I saw notification but now nothing
Jesper Hansen
I feel like the empire needs to expand on how talents aren't everything in their awakening introductions.. Sure, they can be insanely overpowered and make life "easy" that way, but we have plenty of examples of varying degrees of how much talents do, from beloved duke waters and queen where talent does almost nothing to Matt & liz where it's absolutely everything.. And yes, I'm mentioning powerhouses here, but remember, that's only relevant if the end goal is equivelant to that Thinking back to Matt almost immediately dismissing a life of rifting, because of his talent only enforces that for me..
Derze
Aside from the journalist guy that didn’t add anything new , all of these side stories were very interesting.
PartyPlatapus
I love the reactions too! Wouldn’t be awesome if the next ascender group came from their Dutchee?
Philipp
Feeling like most people already said it But I love these chapters! Getting the perspective from normal people about the awwwws of your world is just amazing. The „echos“ (<—best) and „minkalla chronicles“ are probably my most favorite part of the whole series If you ask me I don’t mind a chapter here and there with the same concept
Charlottef
Agreed, CottonMod. I liked the short section with Trebor and his cat as well. We haven't really seen much on how the kids react so far. It is nice to see he has a better grip on what is essential, than the adults. ;)
Flopmind
I've reread this at least half a dozen times! I love seeing people awaken new talents and start on new paths.
Apep
Or his Tier 3 could extend it to any material. Transparent aluminum I’m coming.
Robert Smart
Got it. It doesn’t say the vibrancy is fixed when mixed just that he must mix them. So imagine architectural diagrams where fundamental parts of the construction (like electrical cabling) can be emphasised or diminished depending on whom his discussing the building with.
Elaine
good chappie
Robert Smart
Lingering? Nah, so happy to see the architect again!
Mario Reiman
I don't think your argument makes any sense right now. Liz had a laughably good detrimental talent (plus bloodline) that enables her to create an alternative version of pretty much any spell she could want to. Zack did not have a detrimental at all (to be detrimental it needs to somehow limit something, arcane mana however can do anything that a regular mana can, but better). And Matt's tier 1 and two talent combo is quite literally the most op talent combo in all recorded history. Additionally, detrimental tier 1 talents almost always get improved at tier 3 so having a detrimental talent seems more like a boon anyways. Aster wasn't really a damage dealer at early levels because she was just a fox pup with no brain and Matt did not want nor need to put her to harm's way.
Andromeda Adams
That’s what I was thinking too.
Andromeda Adams
TYFTC! It was so good!
Charlottef
I don't think it's true that most of the Talents we have seen so far are over powered. It is just that the people we see have ensured they develop Thier cultivation path in line with those Talents. Besides Matt, both Liz and Zack had detrimental tier 1 talents. Aster, Allie and Darrow all had innate skills, which is good, but that doesn't stop the skills costing a lot (relative to mana pool) at low tiers. If you remember aster could not really do any damage until she got her tier 3. Queens talent is useless for fighting, but she has been trying to get her talent to recognise her sword as a pen. Joy and Ai'la had innate understanding talents at tier 1, but knowing how to pilot is useless at low tiers and knowing how to create deployable items does not help you buy the expensive materials needed. Duke warters has a very weak talent. Even Matts talent still has 2 big issues, which he has to sort out externally. 1) mana concentration, which is still not resolved as it was stated the machine would not work forever. Without the concentration he would be much weaker than other mages. 2) mana manipulation needs to be re-learned at every tier.
Charlottef
There appears to be some synergy between a person's personality/experiences and their Talents, though it is not always obvious. A couple of examples are: Kai wishes to create beautiful buildings and gets a Talent based on colour and pigment. Kev was a firefighter and got a Talent to hold his breath. We don't know enough about the others mentioned in this chapter to see why they got Thier Talents though. Liz was always bothered by the fact that her only worth was that she was related by blood to her parents and she got a blood Talent. Matt was angry that the people of lilly weren't powerful enough to kill the rift break monsters, so he got infinite mana. Melinda was haunted by her friends death, so got a healing talent.
Charlottef
It is not just a painting Talent. The word used is "pigment". Pigments are used in all sorts of industries. The usual ones thought of are plastics, cosmetics, inks and paints (of all types). But they are also used in building materials such as pipes, panels, roof/floor tiles, prefab walls, pavers and concrete blocks. It should also be noted that pigmented and dyes are not the same thing. Dyes are chemicals that dissolve in water or other liquids. Pigments are particles (organic or inorganic) that are suspended in a liquid or solid. As a couple of examples of their different properties, for fountain pen ink dyes must be used, as pigment particles clog the nib. Where as inorganic pigments used in construction, industrial or outdoor door usage can not only provide colour, but protection and stabilisation from things like heat, light, chemical corrosion and moisture. Whilst adding colour to buildings may seam a little redundant, I think it fits with kai's wish to create beautiful buildings. I get the impression from reading previous books, that there is some overlap between empire architects and construction. There would be no point in learning formations properly if all you ever did was draw them on blueprints, instead of creating real working formations. Also, there is no reason why his tier 3 growth Talent has to be about the colour aspect rather than the pigment aspect of his tier 1 Talent. As I said above pigments (as opposed to dyes) have uses and properties beyond colour.
ValkyriaObscura
He's also not exactly wrong in his core fear. The shit about awakening was overblown (apparently) but a report on the mortality rate of delving (provided the figures are in the ballpark of accurate) is legit journalism that people considering it should probably know. Plus on the timescale of the empire, those 'temporary' emergency restrictions could very well last a couple of centuries.
ValkyriaObscura
Nah, I understand why, I'm just looking at it from the perspective of a guy slowly realising his thoughts are barely private and that the seemingly omnipotent new overlords are literally disappearing his colleagues to who knows where. Regardless of the journalistic value of what he's publishing that is scary as fuck.
Kurai
The problem is more so that they are still in the integration phase, hence fearmongering articles written only to achieve more reads will only lead to more complications from an already distraught and afraid population. I'm pretty sure that on any long-standing empire planet the article would have been fine, if only because of cultural awareness letting people understand that even if it was the case, it was impossibly rare and/or a gimmick of their talent like liz's ability to become all blood. Also, as has been said, he was a repeat offender so tolerance was low most likely
TwoMoreYears
I wasn’t worried at all about this stuff lingering too long. I’ve been looking forward to these chapters.
Jaroslav Zapadlo
Dude, this is great. Don't feel like you need to justify those POVs. It's amazing and maybe a foundation for something great. It really captures how our world would react to magic happening, so I believe everyone here can relate. It's just so good.
Mario Reiman
Also, people who say to look at Queen and Waters, could easily be top-tier elites with basically useless talents. I believe they had other compensating factors to their genetics, mentality, and luck that it would be more probable to find a thousand generational elite athletes with a first name Michael than a single one of them (Phelps, Jordan, Schumacher and so on)
Mario Reiman
So far we have definitely gotten a highly skewed view of what an average talent should be. First up, we have only focused on delving/battle teams. According to some noble from a few chapters back, the percentage of people who are actively delving is only a single digit % of the population (from the statement that tier 5 is reached by a few per cent of the population in his tier 7-8 planet (where low tier delving should be cheap)). It is quite obvious that delving is mainly picked up by people whose talent set or background supports actual combat. So we only see people who either have battle talents, bloodline powers, really expensive equipment from backers or some guys who, in the mundane world, would have been Delta Force members. Secondly, I believe that team Melinda and team Annie Emily and Conor were the rarest kinds of combinations out there. Team Melinda had several innate battle talents, additionally, all of the skills were supportive of a delving team structure, and the most ridiculous was the fact that they didn't form a party after their awakening but were a group already before it. This combination is just too darn rare, and it was the first team we were introduced to. Additionally, the second team our main characters teamed up with (aside from the prince and his squad), Annie and Emily, were sisters, both of whom had absolute elite-tier battle talents. And none of them made it even to Tier 20 on the path, so we, as readers, figured they were all failures as far as elites go (aside from Melinda). So you would guess that talents like they had were relatively common (a few percent of the population, at least).
NiceTryMate
Or start selling paint. Talent says nothing about him needing to be the one who applies the pigments, just mixing them.
Jeff Wells
He reminds me a lot of Alex Jones. He'll hear about one thing that has some small basis in truth, but then instead of investigating and digging in to what might have really happened, he makes absurd leaps in logic to come to a completely unfounded and categorically untrue conclusion, and spreads it like it's a proven fact.
Jeff Wells
If he wanted to leverage his talent he'd have to shift away from architect and move towards something more like an interior designer. As is the talent doesn't give him anything a decent painter couldn't already do (both the picture type and the house type).
Mario Reiman
There isn't much related to actual design, but a big part of the work is actually winning the bid ahead of tens of competitors, and having your design just look better on paper could give a decent advantage.
C_Mantis
TBF I cant think of anything architect related with that power. If anyone has ideas id be open to hearing it and working it in.
Brandon Cleveland
I feel like the opinion piece on the dangers of delving was at least valid journalism if taken seriously and not as a sort of sensationalist type of writing just meant to grab eyes.
MinE
Worst part is while extremely unlikely an awakening fatality due to Talents is possible, so if they bothered to actual properly source their information they might've been able to get something out. P.S. I find it weird how fatal talents wouldn't necessarily be rated as detrimental. For example getting an Ichor based talent and dying painfully.
MinE
In his defense, he really doesn't get how Talents work. Plus He is an Architect who got a painting talent when a random kid got a talent thats basically perfect for an Architect.
Adam Fellon
Trebor. A man with his priorities straight.
George
not seeing use in that talent in a creative profession isn't the slightest bit credible
Alex
I think it's a matter of perspective. From my understanding the Empire's laws basically come down to "write whatever you want as a journalist, but you better have credible sources to back up what you're saying, and it damn well better be true." The journalists in this chapter are crying foul because the Empire told them, "no, you can't go around telling people that someone turned to dust and died when they awakened because it isn't true," which is ridiculous. Kenneth repeatedly tried to spread harmful misinformation, and he repeatedly got smacked down for it. Yeah, it ostensibly seems harsh to constantly monitor the guy and make it literally impossible for him to voice his subversive thoughts, but I think it's very important to keep in mind the situation he's in. The information he so doggedly wants to disseminate isn't true, and if people hear what he's saying it'll cause them to fear being awakened because they don't know anything about how the world actually works.
C_Mantis
Yeah I think since everyone liked it so much well check back in with the world in X years.
CringeWorthyStudios
To be fair, I think that’s mostly because the idiot in question had already been smacked for it multiple times at that point.
CringeWorthyStudios
I’m getting a very Queen vibe from that talent…
Maakolo
Not anymore, buckaroo! This is the Empire now!
Kaladorph
That's fine. I'm glad for you
Luciaron
Love these chapters
CottonMod
The training portion was such a delight to read. Reminded me of the early chapters and all this sense of wonder.
Kaine Eine
Personally I, and it seems quite a few others, really enjoy the filler chapters
Lorevi Q
Man some people are born with infinite mana and some people are born able to mix paint. Universe really do be playing favorites.
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
ValkyriaObscura
Okay but from this end the 'media control' tactics are just straight up terrifying... Can't write dissent on a grocery list
Arlano
"A useful illusion to help you accumulate" -> you mean aclimate.
ValkyriaObscura
They mostly don't though. Liz's tier one talent was basically 'make everything blood, ruin my concept and half my skills' Queen's was about calligraphy Duke Waters is good at animal husbandry Even Matt's busted ass infinite mana talent looked kinda crap at tier one.
Albadia
“Don’t worry only two chapters of reactions” - awwwww only 2? 😆
Tabais
Mark me down as loving the reactions as well! Always fun to see the common man viewpoints
james apfel
I’m sorry, I thought this was America
Hellhound
I really love these perspective chapters where we get to see how everyone is faring with their new reality.
Thomas kellerhuis
I like these reaction chapters and being the prelude had Kai in it I was really happy to get more about him
Sébastien Kingsbury
I like the reactions! It's cool seeing how a bunch of people from more less modern earth equivalent react
TechB
TYFTC! I like this change in perspective. It's interesting to see life (a new life) from regular people. I hope Kai learns magical painting. Painting light that creates shadows or water that ripples would be big for any architectural firm.
Cindri
Damn i was rooting for kai to have something epic
Brittholomew
Don't forget Duke Waters' was related to Animal Husbandry
Flopmind
I'm really enjoying the side stories, for what it's worth. Thanks mantis!
Kuniku778
Wondered how they would react to matt.
Andrew Milne
This was really interesting. Especially how the media stuff seemed from the other side.
Max Dudley
I really loved these little reaction sides. I always find them really enjoyable (even though I'm someone who doesn't typically enjoy a bunch of POV switching). This was really fun and looking forward to the next one!
Kain
Or maybe we get a look in a little down the line say a hundred or five hundred years from now.
Keegan Moss
I know this is probably not needed, but one way I can foresee the pigment mixing talent being useful for the architect is when taken in conjunction with the other person whose talent works based off blueprints. Some combo of “ a building made into art” then being brought to life. Maybe the paint/the way it gets painted from it can be used to influence the materials for construction. Alternatively some sort of epiphany system or construction boost depending on the paintings
MikeL
The Empire needs Talent Consultants who can give expand people’s horizons on what is possible with each persons talent. These people have even less idea than normal low tier planets. Make them legally unable to reveal them too.
C_Mantis
It serves a purpose but i get it. Thats why I try to limit these.
C_Mantis
noted. Ill try to keep an eye out for over using it.
C_Mantis
Lmao thats a good one
wanderer117
I wish their talents had led to more munchin-able plans, although the healing area sounds super useful and the color shifting clothing sounds like something that could be trained into a stealth talent.
Maurice Williams
I wouldn't call any talent "normal". Is all about how you apply them ie Queen's Talent. Who's to say a washing clothes talent couldn't wash away enchantments or magical effects on clothes... Could armor be clothes?
wanderer117
I don't run more slowly in my HEMA padding but I am less dexterous with both my hands and some movements. Overheating is also more of an issue, but most game systems don't track overheating so they are abstracted a slower movement speed or the like.
sargent212
i wouldnt necessarily call kai's talent unreleated to his job or calling, so long as he is using a building material that is a mix (like concrete or anything like that) he can change its color at will allowing him to customize any build he does to be beautiful and the wording of his talent means he can do it at any time. this allows the oners of his build to just call him if they want to change the appearance of the build.
Damien MIllns
Personally I love these side parts. They really flesh out the world and give a really nice insight into the affects Matt’s and everyone’s actions have. Another great chapter. 👍🏻
Alex
Agreed - I feel as though we've gotten an extremely skewed view of how Talents actually work because the ones that the main characters have are generally on the monstrously overpowered end of the scale. I think most Talents would either have appreciable, albeit niche benefits (like making a person better at washing clothes), or they would be broadly useful, but fairly weak (like giving someone a minor bonus to the strength attribute). Talents that give people unlimited mana, let them hop all over the Realm, heal perfectly without effort, or copy any Talent they wanted would be the stuff of myths and legends for the average citizen of the Realm, it just so happens that the main characters of the story have monstrously overpowered Talents like that.
Xarow
Really enjoyed the chapter. I would be happy with more than two… perhaps you could space some more in over time? For some of the other worlds coming into their duchy from other powers?
BagFullOfLizards
It’s really interesting to see the reactions and the integration process! I also like getting a look at what normal talents can be, most people we’ve seen are elites who are talented for what they do.
Keegan Moss
DnD changed from dungeons and dragons to Do Not Do this
Colin Groh
Maybe a bit of a quibble but I've noticed a lot of things are "incredibly" [adjective] recently, and it's a bit distracting.
TheFallingWhale
I love these chapters
Darune Albane
There was a couple that i would love to see later as an update 😀
yannick schwende
Thanks for the chapter. I kinda dislike Kais point of few but also appreciate it. It sucks that his talent is unrelated to his job and calling but at the same time I like his attitude of continuing despite it. Wished he wouldn't be so disappointed by his talent and ignore it, but I understand it even if I don't like it. Also great POV with the d&d group. Loved that part 😊
Robling49
Moving in leathers is gonna be faster than moving in full plate
mitchell kaiser
Honestly I love the reaction chapters! They are super fun and it’s great seeing normal folks reactions.
Jairo H
Good read, as usual. Gratitude.
Rhaid
Some nice little cameos
Sean Shivers
I mean... in reality "movement penalty" for wearing armor also doesnt exist.
Sean C Jackson
This was nice, I especially loved the last part.
Sean Shivers
when uvelt is talking about pain she says: It's pain and blood. Your or your enemies. -> Yours or your enemies'.
Kaladorph
Ah. Damn. A filler chapter
Jayson Legott
Appreciate seeing the reactions of the natives and not just going back to Matt and Liz. If possible it would be neat to come back to some of these characters in the future and see them with more knowledge about cultivation and domains. Like in future chapters down the line or even as side stories
Dolduck
"My designs have the most wonderful colors"
Tim Johnson
Walkways that were invisible but invincible? - invincible should be indestructible.
RedLeaf
Thanks for the chapter!
C_Mantis
IU did and fixed ty
Havokk
Loving the reactions though in the line “A useful illusion to help you accumulate to the reality " did you mean acclimate instead of accumulate
C_Mantis
TBF some magic systems magic is countered by metal which explains why mages dont usually wear heavy armor but I agree with you.
Alex
I like seeing video game logic getting called out for the bullshit it is. Like, why the hell should a wizard wear a dress into battle? If anything the magic users should be the most heavily armored members of the group - they can afford the mobility penalty of heavy armor since their abilities aren't limited by their range of motion. Game designers want classes to be balanced, so they make up arbitrary penalties like limiting wizards to cloth armor to keep them in line with barbarians, when the reality is that a real wizard would wear whatever was practical into battle. The simple, inescapable truth is that magic is inherently superior to sharp sticks, and if you choose to be a barbarian in a world where wizards exist you're an idiot.
Tom Roettger
I like these.
Rodney
Thanks for the chapter I look forward to them finding out that personal AIs are real
Sean McClain
A DnD group becoming delvers and possibly pathers is a fun idea.
C_Mantis
the media pov is a straight horror movie.
C_Mantis
good catch. acclimate was what I wanted.
Shane Kienholz
Love these kinds of chapters.
Hoid
What a cool chapter! Hope we see the delvers and architect in the future!
David
“A useful illusion to help you accumulate" I'm not sure what word is right here, but accumulate isn't the word. Maybe appreciate, possibly acculturate for a 3 dollar option?
badw0lf
nice to see the good and the bad. thanks for the chappy
Thomas Kuhn
I love seeing these kinds of POVs! Thanks for the chapter!
William Johnson
"Trebor was watching the interview with this duke of theirs with bated breath. Finally, after far too long spent on unimportant topics like healthcare or economics, they got to the import part. The thing he had to beg his uncle to ask." Hehehe I love me a reference! It's good to see folk's responses, also I'd be pretty freaked out if I were the media folks as well. Cultivators are pretty horror show when you're on the receiving end of their BS. Finally, go Kai! Make yourself awesome!
Charles Axelrad
Been dying for this all week!
Thomas Brusilovsky
I’m happy for the gamers. Good for them lmao. Love that you included both the ups and downs
Lucas Posner
I love Thaddeus and Co.
James Faulkner
Tftc!
John Smith
To go back to something folks said at the beginning of this book, a Path of Architecture side story (or novel) would be cool Could see a pretty cool progression from “My designs work” to “My designs last” for concept/intent
crusaderstar
Fun! Especially enjoyed the censorship down to medieval printing.
Jason Hatter
I like the POV of gamer getting to experience the reality. Hopefully some day we get to return to them.
C_Mantis
ty fixed
rockus4
I love reaction chapters thank you
Bob Bryan
I didn't know senator Kelly was on this planet and awakened his mutant ge.. I mean talent.
TimeDrawsNigh
Heck, he was clearly magic, Kia would understand if he was speaking every language. Typo? Kai?
nolan saylor
Thanks Mantis! Thanks Dae! If anyone wants to go back and reread the first time we saw Kai that was chapter 341. I do love the little ADHD thing of tangents, like an architect wondering what the material of the web is. He focuses on the physical, I wonder if a physicist might question if it is connected to something less physical, like space. Or perhaps questioning if it is not truly there and a bleed through of a different reality and it is cracks and not webs. -I sorta want a giant spider now, just feels needed in fantasy. Some massive spider that catches planets in its web. Not even in a rift but as a bloodline, maybe it is focused on finding new planets in chaotic space. (irony of this being a tangent of talking about a guy having ADHD brain.) Worrying about a sort of mind alteration is a very valid worry. A good train of thought. Bonus as they are in fact going to change the main language, just in the mundane way of all colonizers. Make it so widespread and useful that the original is relegated to secondary. Huh, if magic is real, then is it still fantasy? Or is fantasy now sci-fi, possibly unless it is a different magic system? More tangents about magic in construction! With good thoughts. I wonder what magical OSHA would say? Nice writing to have the character panic in a constructive way, semi constructive but people go for routine when their world is turned upside-down. This comfort food, songs, movies, walks, etc. -And immediately after he stops he starts to panic. Maybe it is distracting to hear double languages at once, but at least that means it wasn't someone swapping out your language... It can also be confusing to know multiple languages and some shared words can jolt you out of the non-primary language. Particularly if it is a loaner word that doesn't obey the normal rules of the other language. Yeah, more new and exciting fears! Ignorance is bliss... but it just leads to more fear later when you can no longer be ignorant. It is hardly a silly fear to worry about the arts not being needed. Particularly realistic when writing, like PoA itself, is one of the arts. They were won in a war and it isn't even wrong that combat power at the highest level is more valued than most other things in PoA. -beauty and the sublime are important things, that are often overlooked. -I am glad he calmed himself with the possibility of being the leader of the campaign of beauty. decades as a temporary structure. I do like the increased standards, and the requirement of starting with a safe deconstruction plan. Farmers, and probably a bunch of other jobs getting a nice improvement as well. Good for Trebor. Keeping it wholesome. After wholesome is yellow journalism/ sensationalism. Lovely. -How do you stand out in media? ObViOuSlY you be the one with the exciting story, not the fittingly condensed info that isn't a thousand pages or the one that brings true concerns to the forefront. I wonder if they could get around the sand man censorship by focusing on people's concern over the rumor? Or over people's concern with how little control they have, as a minor planet among millions and as being unable to publish papers. How can they know that Sand man didn't happen if any documentation could be as easily deleted... though that can basically happen IRL as well. Tiananman Square is wiped from some history books. Sand man is a rumor in Sorellia as well as the PoA discord. :) It truly is a terrifying secret police. More literally disappearing people than ever before. Gotta love D&D even in a fantasy setting, fantasy in a fantasy. Okay, fantasy languages can translate! Time to watch 'Lord of the Rings" in Elvish! -How deeply does the translation go? Only working on a reasonably built language? If the author only made a few random magic words would it translate them according to the intent? What if someone created a new world to hold a certain intent that no single word in their language had, would it translate that idea to others? I hope the nerds live. Everyone wants to be a munchkin. Ah yes, nothing escapes bureaucracy. Stronger than a black hole. I wonder how much a desire for a role matches their mental ability to keep that role. It's not easy to be a tank and put yourself in danger. A firefighter does have a good start to that ability though. -and with the firefighter joke he clearly has the highbrow humor of a tank. edit 'a typical sword and board combo' I hope the immortal joins the nerds for D&D. It sounds relaxing. It would also help the nerds live... The mindset and motivation was there for the nerds, but that little bit of magic, prestidigitation, was probably a good reminder to hold to their motivation. Keeping their drive. What's that quote, something about it doesn't matter how many time you get knocked down or how hard, so long as you get up again. Basically, good for the nerds! I am glad there will be another chapter on this. I can see it being tiresome in the future, but for now I love it!
Kasamuri
Thanks for the chapter
Asattor
Thanks for another chapter 😁
