Several weeks had passed since the duel with Lyman, Barkatus, and Walters. The atmosphere around me had shifted. Students who once taunted or glared now stepped aside, their eyes wide with something resembling respect, or perhaps fear. I noticed it most in the halls of the Academy, ...
2025-05-11 00:28:55 +0000 UTC View PostI slashed through another red-shelled monstrosity, my enchanted steel blade cutting deep into its chitinous armor. The creature's death scream joined the cacophony of battle that surrounded us. All around me, the proud soldiers of humanity clashed with Borosmemnok's crab-like horrors on blood-...
2025-05-11 00:26:31 +0000 UTC View PostFrom my perch in the crowded stands, I watched the farce unfold below. The monster, Widow, had stepped into the arena alone, declining support from her companions. Three against one. My fingers dug into the wooden bench beneath me.
A week ago, I might have felt differently. The unfairness show...
2025-05-10 17:02:27 +0000 UTC View PostWe gathered in room 401, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows through the windows. My companions had rushed over after hearing about the team duel challenge. Their faces showed varying degrees of concern and anger.
"Why didn't you just refuse?" Genta asked, her green ski...
2025-05-09 21:21:48 +0000 UTC View PostI sat cross-legged on the floor, numerous mechanical parts spread around me as I adjusted the wiring on my combat chassis. Genta and Eyarna kept me company, both occupied with their own separate tasks. The basement storeroom had become our sanctuary over the past weeks, a place wh...
2025-05-08 23:11:51 +0000 UTC View PostI watched through Scout Spider 13's crystals as Annes parried a Cave Stalker's claws. Her movements had grown sharper, more precise since our first expedition weeks ago. Beside her, Patter's spear found the sweet spot between the creature's armor plates. The monster collapsed with b...
2025-05-07 21:59:38 +0000 UTC View PostIt was around midnight when the basement door creaked open as Annes, Copelan, Genta, and Yulios filed into my workshop. They stopped short at the sight before them: dozens of mechanical constructs scattered across tables and shelves. Scout spiders skittered along the walls while sm...
2025-05-06 18:09:15 +0000 UTC View PostI hurried through the Academy's west wing, following the directions from Copelan's messenger. The storage area sprawled across the ground floor, a maze of rooms filled with student supplies and deliveries.
Copelan waited by one of the side doors, his usual scowl softened sligh...
2025-05-06 06:05:51 +0000 UTC View PostI descended the Academy's basement stairs at midnight, my footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. The storeroom door gleamed with its new lock of my own design, crafted through Assembly. Each member of our group now carried an identical key.
Mine clicked smoothly in the mechanism....
2025-05-06 06:02:01 +0000 UTC View Post...and that's how I came to be here, at the Academy, I finished, my Mind Speech falling silent in the room.
The quiet stretched, broken only by the soft whisper of wind through the tower windows. My companions sat still, processing everything I'd shared.
Copelan cl...
2025-05-06 05:59:31 +0000 UTC View PostI marked another entry in my journal, documenting our latest losses to Omadzaburik's deceptions. The ink smeared as my hand trembled with rage. Two thousand three hundred and forty-seven soldiers lost in the past month alone. Good men and women, swallowed by quicksand or dashed upon ...
2025-05-06 05:55:49 +0000 UTC View PostI watched members of House Dragon descend from the stands, their black uniforms stark against the arena's sandy floor. They gathered around Barkatus's broken form, carefully lifting him for transport to the infirmary.
"Are you alright?" Genta's voice cut through my daze. She kn...
2025-05-06 05:52:38 +0000 UTC View PostSince I love money, I'm adding another membership tier. This one is called Revolver Girl, and with it you can read 15 chapters ahead of where the story is at on Royal Road and other sites! That's five more chapters than the Tactical Critter tier.
What's more is that I am working to bring this number up to 20 chapters ah...
2025-05-06 05:51:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe roar of the crowd filled my ears as Barkatus and I clashed again. My sword-lance sparked against his burning blade, the impact sending tremors through my damaged frame. The spectators had grown more bloodthirsty as our duel dragged on, their shouts becoming a cacophony of demands for...
2025-05-05 18:16:52 +0000 UTC View PostDawn crept through the arena's high windows as I tested each joint of my defensive frame for the hundredth time. The six legs moved in perfect synchronization, hydraulics humming quietly. I'd spent half the night reinforcing weak points and upgrading the armor with salvaged Scorn Spider ...
2025-05-05 00:12:17 +0000 UTC View PostI sat cross-legged on the floor of room 401, watching Genta's eyes dart around in wonder. Her yellow irises flickered from person to person as she tested her newly acquired Analyze ability.
"This is amazing!" She bounced in place, her orange-spotted nose wrinkling with delig...
2025-05-03 16:36:36 +0000 UTC View PostMy defensive frame skittered through the dark tunnels, six legs moving in perfect synchronization across the damp stone. The rotating shield panels on my back shifted constantly, ready to defend against attacks from any angle. But tonight wasn't about defense.
I paused at an intersect...
2025-05-02 22:50:41 +0000 UTC View PostI stood among my classmates in the southern arena, my mechanical frame concealed beneath a layer of borrowed leather armor. Weeks of nightly Hellzone expeditions had pushed me to level 22, though I'd maintained the appearance of mediocre progress during daylight hours.
Three ...
2025-05-02 01:03:39 +0000 UTC View PostI sat cross-legged on the floor of room 401, watching Genta's demonstration with keen interest. My porcelain fingers traced the diagrams in the elementary magic textbook spread before me.
"Look at this." Genta cupped her hands, summoning a perfect sphere of fire that cast dancing s...
2025-04-30 23:04:55 +0000 UTC View PostI stood back and watched as Annes guided Copelan's hands on the practice sword's hilt. A week had passed since my victory over Lyman, yet the other C-rank students treated me no differently. If anything, they seemed more at ease around me now.
"No, no. Your grip is too tight." A...
2025-04-29 22:48:02 +0000 UTC View PostI shifted in the uncomfortable wooden chair outside Headmaster Reins' office, my royal posture slipping for just a moment. The stone walls of the Academy loomed around me, a far cry from my palace's warmth. A wry smile crossed my face; here I was, Queen of Morne, waiting like a common student.
I watched as Lyman's companions lifted his unconscious form from the sand. Blood still dripped from his nose as they rushed him toward the infirmary wing. The crowd's mixed reactions died down, replaced by the excited chatter of students discussing the fight.
Footsteps pounded do...
2025-04-27 21:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning sun cast long shadows across the arena floor as preparations for the duel continued. As Lyman's cronies finished putting his armor together, I checked my status.
Name: Widow
Level: 17
S...
2025-04-26 21:22:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Students parted like waves as Arctur dragged me through the Academy halls, my damaged frame scraping against the polished stone floor. Their faces ranged from horror to disgust to morbid fascination at the sight of my battered mechanical body. Sven hurried alongside us, wringi...
2025-04-25 23:55:39 +0000 UTC View PostI descended the Academy's grand staircase, my mechanical legs clicking softly against marble steps. Students parted before me, their whispers following in my wake. The skirt of my uniform swished around my legs as I moved with purpose toward the main entrance.
Opening my status window, ...
2025-04-24 22:18:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few days fell into a steady rhythm. During daylight hours, I moved through the Academy's halls flanked by my newfound allies. Genta's small form walked confidently beside me to Basic Swordplay, her orange-spotted nose held high despite the whispers that followed us. Eyar...
2025-04-23 17:10:46 +0000 UTC View PostI climbed the worn stone steps of the southwestern tower, my footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell. Dust motes danced in shafts of afternoon light that filtered through narrow windows. The administrative offices on the lower floors had given way to abandoned storage rooms and empty...
2025-04-22 20:53:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe Spear Beetle's projectile crashed against my shield, the impact reverberating through the chassis but leaving the steel-chitin construction unmarred. I thrust upward with the massive sword gripped in my right hand, the blade crushing the insect into the cavern ceiling. Black ichor d...
2025-04-21 20:39:38 +0000 UTC View PostI stepped out of the lecture hall, my mechanical legs whirring softly beneath my uniform skirts. Professor Howlett's voice still rang in my ears, droning on about humanity's divine right to rule over the world. The tales seemed to grow more absurd each class: today he'd claimed the god...
2025-04-20 22:00:55 +0000 UTC View PostI sat among the non-combat students in Elementary Magic Studies, trying not to draw attention to myself. Professor Kilnei stood at the front of the class, his youthful face making him look more like a student than an instructor. I was still jarred by the fact that I had an elf professo...
2025-04-19 15:29:43 +0000 UTC View Post
