XXX4Fans
Ad Astra from patreon

Ad Astra

patreon


Ad Astra posts

Savage Awakening 537. Man vs. Dragon (VIII)

“He’s alive,” said Jake. “It’s not over, but… hells.”

“It might as well be,” said Mox grimly.

They watched Zane laid out there—that mighty heart still beating, caught loud and clear in the scrying, but they could hear it struggling. Zane’s regeneration came from the heart. It was the font of ...

View Post

Savage Awakening 536. Man vs. Dragon (VII)

The Prince must’ve felt the massive amounts of Law hemming him in. He skidded to a halt mid-air and snarled at the nearest length of chain.

Then his eyes found Zane. Standing near the center.

And just like he’d done all fight, he lunged.

At the same time, Zane flexed.

That cage reversed direction.<...

View Post

Savage Awakening 535. Man vs. Dragon (VI)

A/N: Bonus chapter! Worked hard to get this one out for y'all

Also, housekeeping note:

changed phrasing last chapter; ‘an axe loaded with every last shred of Destruction he could muster -> loaded heavy with Destruction.’ Zane only had a split-second to load that Axe so this phrasing is more...

View Post

Savage Awakening 534. Man vs. Dragon (V)

After a few dozen exchanges, Zane felt he had a measure of the dragon.

The first thing he’d felt was the effect of his new Hide of the Ancients. That 125% Essence, Law, and Physical Resistance was most of what he relied on to halt that first charge. It’d still wiped out a good 15% Health, but he could manage that. View Post

Savage Awakening 533. Man vs. Dragon (IV)

Haxorax’s mouth was drawn like a wild animal’s, his breaths ragged.

“It’s the first look we’ve gotten at the Prince all week,” said Jake Land. “Though I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Something’s not right here—” was all Mox managed to growl.

They had no time to linger on it.

...

View Post

Savage Awakening 532. Man vs. Dragon (III)

“It’s been a testy lead-up to this point,” said Becca.

They did a quick recap of some of the drama of fight week.

First, there was a sculpture gallery opening where Reina and Princess Dya were both present—an exhibition by the Master Sculptor Sylas, whose works Reina sponsored. The papers widely covered it...

View Post

Savage Awakening 531. Man vs. Dragon (II)

One week until the fight… 

Zane had one last weekend back at the World Tree. Then it was crunch time all the way up until the fight.

Most of the work had been done by this point, and the work that was left he couldn’t really rush. So he didn’t mind a little time off.

First, he spe...

View Post

Savage Awakening 530. Man vs. Dragon (I)

The Patriarch stared down at him in silence.

Just when it seemed Haxorax might attack, he stumbled. Clutched at his head, teeth gritted. Lightning played around his skull in the astral plane.

“Master Lyxandor. Perhaps it is best if the Prince takes some rest,” suggested Sverrex. “Another Draught may yet serv...

View Post

Savage Awakening 529. Shards

Bonus chapter!

//

There was one thing Zane did want to ask. It’d been baffling him for a little while now.

“What’s that Patriarch fellow’s deal?”

“Lyxandor?” Noughtfire leaned back. “Where to begin… as it concerns you, disciple, he’s certainly using you as motivati...

View Post

Savage Awakening 528. Pure Yang

Noughtfire’s study planet was just as Zane remembered. Chill, quiet as the dawn, and blanketed in a film of fog. He always felt like he was stepping into a painting when he came here. There was something a little mystical-feeling about those distant lines of mountains and their hints of pale color.

The few times he’...

View Post

Savage Awakening 527. Skyfalls

The crucial physical upgrades had been made. 

He’d mainly be relying on a few physical strengths in the fight. There was his heart of the Prime Rhinoceros, granting him that +300% regen. His newly upgraded Hide of the Ancients. The Buff of Ultimate Vigor, letting him extreme Limit-Break on top of its health and r...

View Post

Savage Awakening 526. Last Minute Breakthroughs

“That so?” said Zane. That got a grin out of him.

“Mhm.” She gave him a worried look. “I’m serious, Zane.”

“I know. It’s just now I’m wondering what he can do.”

Now she was giving him her ‘oh, Zane…’ look.

“So do we know anything, then?” he said. “Powers-wise....

View Post

Savage Awakening 525. Last Minute Breakthroughs (I)

Evan and Avery were both quite eager to be there. Reina had a few reservations about the fight, but she was determined to be in the stands too.

In the meantime, she planned on hashing out a broadcasting deal with Elias.

The venue hadn’t even been officially announced yet. Work on the stadium had broken ground ju...

View Post

Savage Awakening 524. The Great War

A single scale on the Patriarch’s chest cracked.

That was as far as the Prince’s blow got. It shattered against the rest of the plate.

A white line scorched down the Patriarch’s chest. A line that ended on a single bloody wound.

With that, the Prince was the first creature in nearly ten thousand years ...

View Post

Savage Awakening 523. Golden Dragon

Evan made tons of friends every time he saved a kingdom. His Power of Friendship boost had even skilled up. All that faith in him was giving him a pretty substantial buff. He went around with a little aura of joy in the Astral Plane.

“Hey, I also exist!” cried Avery. She waved a chicken wing. “I did stuff too!”<...

View Post

Savage Awakening 522. Good Eats

Afterward, he got the sense Reina was still more than a little embarrassed about the whole thing. She wasn’t usually one to let pride or ang

Afterward, he got the sense Reina was still more than a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

She wasn’t usually one to let pride or anger cloud her judgment. It felt...

View Post

Savage Awakening 521. Claws

They were back on the Barbarian Sage’s home planet at last. It was an unusually chilly afternoon. The Banshee Monkeys had given it a rest do

They were back on the Barbarian Sage’s home planet at last. It was an unusually chilly afternoon. The Banshee Monkeys had given it a rest down in those mist-steeped hills. Ther...

View Post

Savage Awakening 520. Final Gains (II)

A/N: housekeeping note—Haxorax will be spelled with one X going forward! There were two chapters where it was spelled with two X’s by mistake, that has been changed

//

It was a technique that once belonged to a gaoler of the Superdungeon, an ancient elite Empyrean named the Faceless One. The S...

View Post

Savage Awakening 519. Final Gains

The Sage started stuffing stacks of the stuff into a saddlebag.

“I had to eat enough Divine Profound steel to bankrupt a damned Great Faction just to get through the Fourth Form!” said the Sage. He wrinkled his nose. “You don’t want that kind of grind, lad. Trust me. Never thought I could bore myself powering up...

View Post

Book 6 PDF

Hey folks!

Savage 6 (Chapters 428 -> 505) just launched, which means those chapters have to come down due to Kindle Unlimited rules. I've attached a PDF here instead for folks who'd like to revisit old chapters.

View Post

Savage Awakening 518. Z-Platinum

Zane always found that post-fight haze quite rewarding. Everything just felt brighter and warmer. He felt his heart slowing down at last and knew he got all the stuff he wanted to do done. The stuff being a great deal of smashing, of course.

The bones of the Founders lay scattered at his feet, smoking gently.

They...

View Post

Savage Awakening 517. Founder Fight (IV)

A/N: Bonus chapter!

//

Six Giant Skeleton hands reared out of the ground and crushed the Barbarian Sage.

They hammered one on top of another—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

For a second the Sage’s growls could be heard through the cracks in the fingers, and some kind of Law shield—a flu...

View Post

Savage Awakening 516. Founder Fight (III)

Zane sank his gravity core deep into the formation and wrenched.

The stumble showed it worked. But it was the cracking in that shield that gave him heart, that made him take to it like a hound on a bone.

He knew he had the bite. He just had to work it through.

He gritted his teeth and threw the full heft of ...

View Post

Savage Awakening 515. Founder Fight (II)

The Thundercrest Founder was down. A few good punches had brought down the Thousand Seas Tribe Founder too. He’d had to take three ice meteo

The Thundercrest Founder was down. A few good punches had brought down the Thousand Seas Tribe Founder too. He’d had to take three ice meteors to the back to finish off the Fou...

View Post

Savage Awakening 514. Founder Fight (I)

The Sage charged Draegmir, which left Zane to take down the Founders of the Nine Great Factions.

These were giants in the history of Dragonspire. They’d made a legacy that stretched the ages.

These were legends he was pitting himself against.

Zane had battled Thalgrim before, in a way. Back at the Festival...

View Post

Savage Awakening 513. Castle Crashers (II)

That was the final resting place of the greatest of the First Ones.

Those knights had managed to lay some heavy damage on him. The deadliest of them wielded two hammers like meteors, trailing clouds of embers. There was a messy melee before three knights got on him at once, pinning him down for just a moment—enough fo...

View Post

Savage Awakening 512. Castle Crashers (I)

They were less than half a day out from human land.

“Heads up!” roared the Sage, but Zane was already on it.

Three dozen Emberboar came charging out of the treeline.

Emberboar (Monster King)

Essence Level 699

Emberboar (Monster King)

View Post

Savage Awakening 511. Prime Blood

They floated down on clouds of silver essence.

First, a bunch of Skill tomes, as promised. They were chunk scrolls bound in hide. Rhinos tended toward scrolls instead of books, he’d noticed. Something about them being easier to roll open and shut for Rhinos.

Annihilation Charge [Common (P)]

<...

View Post

Savage Awakening 510. Challenge of the First Ones (IV)

A/N: Sorry for the late chapter, folks!

//

His rewards would be decided right here.

Nic thought he was doing pretty well so far. The Rhino said he was new to this Spirit Guide thing—he’d only gotten the job a few years before the Monsters invaded. That had been a very sad day for Nic. Th...

View Post

Savage Awakening 509. Challenge of the First Ones (III)

By then, his Asura Titan’s body was on the edge of a Limit Break.

He switched out his weapons too. This time, he loaded up his hammers, stacking them heavy with Nuclear Fusion, just like he’d done with his axes.

He was eager to see how much damage a good crush could do.

He broke into an Annihilation Char...

View Post