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Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 77 - Coming of Age

Miguel sat in the center of the grove, his legs crossed as he meditated.  A gentle rain fell upon his head, soothing his tired muscles.  He had been training for hours, running, swimming, and lifting various rocks before spending even more hours working on his weapons forms.  It was an exhausting regimen, but one to which he’d remained committed for weeks. 

Because he knew the cost of weakness.  He had seen it with his own two eyes.  He had felt it as he was rendered helpless by the man who’d kidnapped...

Chapter 508 - Out of Control

Zeke flooded his skill with mana, pushing his Will in as well.  Even as he did, he shouted, “Talia!  Run!”

When he’d been knocked from the previous platform, Zeke had lost track of his companion’s location.  But he had a vague notion of her direction, and it was opposite of where he was aiming his skill.  Besides, if anyone was capable of outrunning the destruction of the black sun of [Wrath of Annihilation], then it was Talia.  So, he didn’t spare any other thoughts for her well-being, trusting that ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 76 - A Familiar Face

It quickly became apparent that none of the people aboard the boat were in any condition to tell a story.  The redheaded woman was mostly healthy, but her demeanor was akin to what Elijah would have expected from a cornered animal.  Her eyes darted back and forth, and she tensed at every stray sound.  It didn’t help that Nerthus’ trees were still there.  Nor did the presence of the stag help.  The other deer had already lost interest, but the giant hart, with its crystalline antlers glowing with moonlight, refuse...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 75 - Survivors

“If you keep making that face, it’ll freeze like that,” said Elijah, looking up from his meal of seared lamb chops and spanakorizo.  The lamb chops were well-seasoned and flavorful, with a hint of lemony zest, but the real star of the meal was the spanakorizo, which was a dish composed of spinach and rice.  For Elijah, it was a nice change from the relatively bland dried meat that made up most of the meals he’d eaten while traveling.  And while he’d enjoyed the Mongolian fare, he had to admit that there ...

Weekly Check-In - (LATE, 5/29/24)

First of all, I want to apologize for the lateness of this week's check-in. I'm getting close to the end of book four of Path of Dragons, so I was a bit distracted. I hope you'll all understand!

This past week was pretty awesome. Not only has Path of Dragons remained on the front page of the Popular This Week list on Royal Road for far longer than I expected (it's starting to drop now that book 3 is done over there, and I'm only posting a chapter a day, rather than two), but we're also on the verge of reaching ONE THOUSAND Patreon s...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 74 - A Sleeping Spryggent

Nerthus sat on the branch of the juvenile ancestral tree, basking in the potent life coursing through its limbs.  The tree wasn’t nearly as powerful as its forebear, but then again, Nerthus had never expected it to be.  It was still young, and it hadn’t been afforded the same opportunities for growth.  Even so, it was maturing well, and now that it had finally connected to its progenitor, Nerthus could at last visit it in person. 

However, for once, he was less interested in the tree than in the curious creature...

Chapter 507 - Life and the Abyss

Lenu, the Primordial of Life met the black cloud going too fast for Zeke to track, and when her fist cracked into the thing, the mist parted, revealing a sight he would never forget.  The individual pieces were easily catalogued.  Claws.  Tentacles.  More eyes than he could count.  But sight of the roiling mass of vaguely humanoid flesh sent Zeke’s mind reeling, and for the briefest of moments, he felt truly afraid for the first time in a long, long while. 

Coupled with that jolt of terror was a wave of ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 73 - Sins

As the infuriating man turned away, Sadie seethed.  When she felt ethera start to swirl, she embraced Consecrated Shield.  It was an upgrade of the basic Warrior ability, Bulwark, but it was far more powerful. 

Consecrated Shield

Summon a shield of ethera to protect allies.  When it breaks, it releases a wave of healing.  In addition, that wave will damage unholy creatures.

When she’d upgraded it, she’d only had two options, and the other cho...

Chapter 506 - Levu

For a long while, Zeke lay on the floor.  After everything he’d been through in the dungeon, he was exhausted.  It was his fault, really.  With how relatively easily he’d conquered the previous two dungeons – both the centaur trials as well as the arena where he’d ground out multiple levels – he had begun to underestimate dungeons.  He should have remembered how difficult the first dungeon was, but as with most people, his memories were afflicted with a serious recency bias. 

As he lay there, he vowed...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 72 - A Thousand Miles in an Instant

Before Elijah activated the gate, he inspected the other notification he’d received after completing the preparation of the hide.

Congratulations!  You have created a unique item: [Tanned Steelskin Boar Leather]

Overall Grade: Complex (mid)

Enchantment Grade: n/a

“Why are you smiling?” asked Wilhelm. 

“Oh.  The hide turned out to be Complex-Grade,” he said.  “I was worried that it wouldn’t get there bec...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 71 - Multi-Tasking

Surprisingly, getting Wilhelm’s equipment back wasn’t difficult.  It helped that word of Elijah’s deeds had already spread throughout the city of Khotont, but he suspected that the gambling den let the items go mostly because they had no use for the esoteric equipment.  They were bound to Wilhelm, so even if someone else could figure out what they did, no one else could even use the pieces – at least until he was dead.  Because of that, Elijah only had to pay a couple of silver ethereum to obtain the bundle of items.&n...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 70 - Ley Lines and Conclaves

The night was cold, and Wilhelm definitely wasn’t dressed for it.  So, Elijah only led him a couple miles out of town before he stopped and made camp.  There weren’t many trees in the steppes, so wood was at a premium.  That meant that he was forced to use alternate fuel for his fire.  Thankfully, he’d stocked up on coal and dried grass during his previous stint in Khotont.  And with his laser pointer firestarter, it was a breeze to get a nice flame going.  Elijah even dragged a couple of collapsable camp ...

Chapter 505 - A Monument to Rot and Death

Talia dove into the hole, narrowly avoiding the storm of blades that had plagued her for the past few hours.  After spending countless days flitting from one memory to the next, she’d finally broken free, only to find herself standing on a windswept plain.  There was no vegetation.  No hills.  Just an endless expanse of featureless, brown terrain.  It wasn’t until she had taken a few steps that she realized why it was so barren. 

The first blade was so surprising that it had nearly decapitated her.&nbs...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 69 - A Question of Priorities

The winter sun hung high in the expansive blue sky, unobscured by even the wisp of a cloud.  A hawk cried overhead, and a cold breeze cut across the grasslands.  Elijah didn’t feel it.  Even without his Cloak of the Iron Bear, which protected him from the cold, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to his surroundings.  Instead, the whole of his focus was on the notification he’d received after killing the guardian boar.  Not only had he reached level eighty-seven, but he’d also gained the opportunity to evolv...

Chapter 504 - Through the Gauntlet

The ground rumbled, telling Zeke to jump.  He did, slamming into the side of the wall, then springing forward.  He sailed through the air, shouldering his way through three grasping statues before hitting more than thirty feet from where he’d started.  He tucked his shoulder, rolling to dispense his momentum, then springing to his feet at a run.  He barely cleared the area before the ground behind him completely disappeared. 

“That was close,” Eveline said unhelpfully.

Zeke ignored her.  If he ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 68 - A Druid's Duty

The mighty boar lay on its side, its chest heaving with panic.  Eyes bigger than volleyballs twitched back and forth, evidence of the animal’s ongoing terror.  Foam collected at the corner of its gaping mouth as it hyperventilated, letting out rumbling snorts with every breath.  Laying his hand on the enormous beast’s side, Elijah felt its knotted and cramped muscles.

But within the oppressive grip of exhaustion, it couldn’t move more than a few inches.  Every second or two, tiny collections of diffuse ethera ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 67 - The Boar

“That guy’s not going to get executed or anything, is he?” asked Elijah, sitting at one of the long tables in the communal dining area.  After his first visit, he’d learned that the locals referred to it as zuushny gazar, which fittingly translated to “eating place.” However, he’d also heard the word “xopxor” thrown around, which he’d also learned referred to more of a dining experience, rather than a place.  In this case, the experience centered around cooking various meats – usually involving hot stones – ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 66 - Wilhelm

“We can’t thank you enough,” said Tömörbaatar, passing Elijah a cup. 

One whiff was all it took for him to identify the milky, white liquid as something alcoholic, but it was unlike anything Elijah had ever seen before.  So, he asked, “What’s this?”

“Airag.  Fermented mare’s milk,” the short leader of the hunters said.  He’d been one of Eliijah’s first patients, and though he’d received the most healing, he still had a long scar across his face.  There was another one that stretc...

Chapter 503 - Anything Can Be Destroyed

The skill didn’t require a gesture, but Zeke had long grown accustomed to swinging his hammer when he used his skills.  In this instance, that wasn’t possible.  He’d lost Voromir early during his stint being tossed around inside the living tornado that was the storm elemental.  So, without his customary weapon, he thrust his hand out, palm-first, and released the skill. 

Immediately, a black sun dawned directly over the storm elemental.  Wreathed in white flame, wherever its light touched, the color was d...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 65 - Unassailable Truth

A thousand insects manifested by Swarm descended upon the boar, but to Elijah’s horror, their bites proved entirely incapable of penetrating the creature’s hide.  However, he didn’t have the chance to lament the conjured insects’ impotency before he was forced to flee before its thundering charge.  Before he turned to flee, he used Snaring Roots, then Brand of the Stalker, and Nature’s Rebuke.  The results were mixed.

Brand of the Stalker landed, and the creature’s location blossomed in his mind.  Howeve...

Chapter 502 - Punching Up

The glassy surface of the plateau reflected the sky, and a blue expanse spread out before Zeke.  He trudged forward, his every step thudding with the finality of exhaustion.  Wind gusted to several hundred miles an hour, cutting into him and wearing away large slabs of his titanic body.  How long had it been since he reached the top of the cliff?  Days?  Weeks?  Years? 

“Not that long.  It just feels like it,” Eveline said.  Even though her voice was in his thoughts, it was still partial...

Weekly Check-In (5/19/24)

So, this has been a busy week for me. Just a lot of little things cropping up that needed to be taken care of, which messed with my schedule pretty badly. I ended up getting the work done, but it wasn't as smooth as I like. I'm a creature of habit, and when something throws a wrench into my schedule, it just makes things more difficult for me. On top of that, Patreon changed their interface...again, which resulted in a bit of a posting snafu this weekend. II think I've got it all sorted, but with Patreon, who knows? They definitely don...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 64 - The Hunt

I guess the mistakes just keep coming. I have no idea how I posted the same chapter (with different titles) twice, but I managed it all the same. I don't know if I was just distracted, or if there was a bug (might even be a glitch in the Matrix), but I apologize. I'll try not to let it happen again. So, I'm sorry about the short delay.

Elijah awoke to a wet nose in his face.  For a brief instant, he panicked.  Suddenly, the instincts he’d developed living in the wilderness and running towers came to t...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 63 - Khotont

Sorry about the mix-up with scheduling. I accidently scheduled it for 10PM instead of 10AM. Ugh, at the Patreon interface (and my technical deficiencies!). Sorry again. Here's the chapter...

Elijah soared through the air above the swamp, his thoughts centered on the items he’d gotten from Lars.  To most people, a pan, a mapping tablet, a flag of regeneration, and an enchanted French press wouldn’t be that huge of a deal, but for him, they were absolute game changers.  The pan would allow him ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 62 - Artificer's Goods

The city of Argos looked much the same as it always did, though Elijah still felt warmed by the general aura of acceptance he felt while walking its streets.  Everywhere else he went, it seemed as if everyone was waiting for him to snap and start killing people.  They either walked on eggshells around him – as they did in Ironshore – or responded with outright hostility, like in Seattle.  He had passed through other places where the population was neutral, but those never really sprang to mind when he thought about his rec...

Chapter 501 - A Parade of Memories

Talia fell upon the bed and, with a dramatic wail, buried her face in her pillows.  It actually took her a moment before her mind caught up to the scenario, but when it did, her tears dried and the sobs fell away.  Lifting her head, she looked around, seeing the once-familiar confines of her quarters back in her mother’s palace.  The expected décor was present, from the tacky golden trim to the elaborately carved – and gaudy – furniture.  But at least the bed was soft. 

She pushed herself upright and loo...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 61 - Preparation

Elijah awoke to the feeling of someone climbing the steps to his treehouse.  Even in his drowsy state, it only took a moment for him to focus on that facet of his Quartz Mind and identify Carmen.  And she didn’t seem happy, judging by the set of her shoulders and the scowl on her face.

“Damn,” he muttered, throwing his blanket aside.  He pushed himself upright, then ran his hand through his hair before swinging his legs over the side.  Then, he staggered across the room and into the short hall, arriving in the...

Chapter 500 - Crossroads

Zeke punched the rocky surface, creating a handhold upon impact that he used to drag himself up the cliff.  As he did, wind whipped against him, threatening to dislodge him from his perch.  He had no context, but he expected that the wind gusts far exceeded that of the most powerful hurricane in Earth’s history, and it had scoured the cliff face into a smooth plane.  The worst part of it was that the wind carried with it plenty of debris, and it felt like his body was being sandblasted. 

Still, the path had ended ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 60 - Training

With the light of a gibbous moon shining down on him, Elijah landed in a clearing near the grove.  When he hit the ground, it still sent a shock through his legs and up his spine, but the impact was far less severe than it had been even six weeks before.  All of his practice, it seemed, had come in handy.  Still, he knew he had a long way to go before he could approach the natural grace of a true avian predator like the birds who inhabited the storm to the west of his island.  But where they had reached the peak, Elijah h...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 59 - Brick by Brick

Carmen’s file scraped against the block of dragonstone, removing only the tiniest bit of material.  In a lot of cases, it would have been frustrating, but Carmen had long since fallen into what she referred to as a worker’s trance.  It wasn’t a skill or anything – just a tendency to dive so deeply into a task that everything else sort of faded away.  She’d done it often enough before the world’s transformation, and it had become more common in the wake of the World Tree’s touch. 

She could have used he...