Zane's duel was a startling upset, and it would start to attract attention in the coming days, mostly by word of mouth. Most of the lower boxes were still empty. Only those in his bracket were there—and even then, only to scout Shen.
The bulk of Cloud City’s attention that day was on another of the grand arenas.
... 2025-05-20 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostShen struck like a storm.
Lightning shivered the arena; there was a sound like whips cracking. His fists made writhing balls of the stuff.
Then he blurred into the wind, and threw.
They shot out like cannonballs—thudded straight into Zane. Then the Storm Prince was gone as if he’d never been there.
The biggest boxes were the gold-rimmed ones closest to the arena. Few inside paid these early fights much attention.
But there was one young woman with her face pressed to the window. She was disheveled, with stray leaves in her hair and dirt streaked over her cheeks, and she smelled the way you’d expect from a girl w...
2025-05-18 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Bonus chapter!
//
That week he got his first postcard from Evan. It had a drawing on it, all watercolors, of a tower spearing into the clouds, each layer as wide as a kingdom. You could vaguely see what was going on inside through its archways. Gears cranked through one floor. Another seemed ...
2025-05-16 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post“This is the meaning of martial arts!”
That slash was clean—not a wasted movement. And when it struck, each line flowered into a dozen others.
As Ren advanced, he brought a field of phantom flowers blooming mid-air, deadly sharp.
Zane was a bit surprised. Credit where credit was due. This Ren ...
2025-05-15 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostZane’s second fight went down as easily as the first. The third went down pretty quickly too.
There were a few thousand folks fighting on his floor. The number dwindled quickly—fighters were getting eliminated fast.
The standards seemed to be ratcheting up quickly. He only met peak Ascendants from then on.
... 2025-05-14 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe first hotel Zane saw proclaimed itself as the “Imperial Grand” in bold letters.
It towered a full 99 floors. Lots of silver and marble.
The guards—dressed in equally shiny mail—stopped him at the doors. “We’re full, sir,” said the one with the giant mustache.
The next hotel was called the C...
2025-05-13 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Eh?” said the Spirit.
“An attacking Skill,” Zane clarified. He gave it the specifics.
It just stared at him.
“So let me get this straight. You want to imbue a… rock… with your whale of a soul,” it said. “And then hit Ascendants with it.”
He nodded. “Can you make it?”
“O...
2025-05-12 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostBut Jack the ‘martial artist’ was nowhere to be seen.
She gritted her teeth. “…I knew it!”
The moment she saw him, she’d known exactly his type.
She’d seen plenty of street brawlers in her time. She’d fought her fair share, back in her time in the Blood Pits—which was how she knew ...
2025-05-11 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Bonus chapter! Also, added to prior chapter this bit about Evan’s quest!
The only thing was, the Quest said it could involve a Title Evolution. Evan wasn’t clear on what that meant yet—only the Quest said it could be really hard. It’d challenge him—‘not just in spirit, but i...
2025-05-10 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post“Overwhelming force with underhanded methods… that is that Monster’s way. So you may expect its agents there, prowling in secret.”
Zane nodded.
“But Astra is a vast place, and one that fords the eras. It can't be everywhere at once—certainly not every time at once. Still, it’ll be best to ke...
2025-05-08 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostHe opened Noughtfire’s letter first.
“I do hope you’ve rested well, disciple.” The old guy looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in a while. But satisfied. “I thought Malzareth would have some tricks come the final battle. But that Slayer creature… that pushed the limits of Creation. To think such a thing was...
2025-05-07 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostZane went straight for his prize.
Ten Million Year Bone of the Titan Rhinoceros — “Bone of the Ancestor”
35 Credits
And claimed it.
It materialized in front of him in a blaze of steely light. If the Forgotten Bone looked like a solemn cliff, this thing was more o...
2025-05-06 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostZane woke to a familiar warmth in his chest. A taste of sweetness—he opened his eyes.
It was Reina, feeding him some kind of elixir.
The sunlight hit her face just so. “You’re awake—” was all she got out.
He kissed her fiercely, and she gasped. The elixir slipped from her fingers, clattered to the ...
2025-05-05 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostRed Giant raged down the Chains. Four shards’ worth of Destruction raced through.
And lashed the Slayer painfully tight.
Chain after chain bit into dragonscale, making stark CRUNCH-CRUNCHes—and as more piled on, it seemed an angry star was being painted into being, stroke by furious stroke.
The ...
2025-05-04 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Bonus chapter!
//
For a few seconds there was only the beating of his heart, steady even now. His heavy breaths, in and out.
Then he felt it detonate.
Felt a shock roil the Astral Plane—that feeling in his chest, a war cry echoing to the far reaches of the Frontier….
One...
2025-05-03 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post“To the folks who’re just joining us, it’s been a long night. Zane’s coming up on yet another big wave,” said Tyler nervously. “It’s been a real grind so far. It’s been nothing but hordes of Half-Steps in between these big Boss waves—they only come every few hours, but when they do it’s all Tier 7 Tr...
2025-05-01 01:29:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe Gigapedes came on strong. Countless chunks of heavy metals welded together into fat, writhing lines.
Zane took out his axes. He had to cut through that mass first.
Then it was time for the big one.
Goloid the Endbringer.
He sensed the auras of Earth flaring around him, filled with nervousness, hope...
2025-04-30 01:30:05 +0000 UTC View PostZane’s final rampage went down three days before the final showdown.
It was complete domination. Nothing could challenge him anymore.
He fought a horde of spiked hags at the edge of the Frontier—withered giant witches, each with a spike driven through their chests, teeming with Creation. Earth’s other top Ra...
2025-04-29 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Just how long has he been going for?” said Tyler.
“It’s got to be six hours by now…” said Becca.
“He’s racked up, what—eight? Nine Credits by now? And he’s still going!”
“He must’ve taken down a good 70% of the horde by now,” said Becca, shaking her head. “Maybe more…even by ...
2025-04-28 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostSilence followed Skarnox’s challenge. It watched, feeling smug, as the best of humanity beat a full retreat.
They’d tried. And they couldn’t leave so much as a scratch.
Such was the fate of the lesser species when faced with an apex predator.
Only one man was left standing. The biggest of them, in many...
2025-04-27 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostA/N:
Make-up chapter, see y'all Saturday!
//
Just a few days after Noughtfire left, Zane got a message from the Barbarian Sage.
“Well,” said the Sage. “Might’ve heard the news by now. Caught ol’ Steelheart out in an ambush…”
He crossed his arms. “I’ll have to go...
2025-04-25 01:30:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe scene ended. A notification took its place.
Shard of Destruction Integrated!
H. Red Giant [Mythic+ (P) -> Common (D)]
Buff gained! Armor’s Bane I [Common (D)]
Grants the user 100% more damage against all armors, including armors of Cre...
2025-04-24 01:30:04 +0000 UTC View PostMost of the items were grayed out, but a few—the ones closest to him—were viewable.
An icon caught his eye: an up-arrow over a physique symbol.
Locked: Buff of Ultimate Vigor [Uncommon (D)]
No description he could see, but he had a solid guess about what it would do.
There was a bu...
2025-04-23 01:30:08 +0000 UTC View PostIt shattered him.
Warning!
Health under 25%
Warning!
Critical Health—
The box flickered out.
Dimly he felt himself crash, whipped hard into the ground.
He’d been hit so hard it felt like his soul had been blasted ...
2025-04-21 01:59:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe instant she saw it, Reina knew what it meant.
Monster King was reserved for the most elite of Monsters.
The King was rife with the Bloodline of the Heavenly Demon—an evil older than Malzareth itself, an evil that burned through its Corrupted Bone.
It had almost as much dark Creation as Zane had Destruc...
2025-04-20 01:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostAll that Creation—the backbone holding up their bodies, running through every muscle fiber—was instantly obliterated.
And with it, the bulk of their protection.
The Brutes went soaring. Their muscles torched one by one.
And Zane stomped into one final revolution. His axes cocked all the way back.
I...
2025-04-17 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostQuick announcement--the chapters for Savage Awakening 5 (347 - 427) will be coming down soon to comply with KU rules. I've added it here as a PDF for folks who want to revisit the chapters!
2025-04-16 22:56:24 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: The Crow-King and Queen have been changed to Crow-Brutes! Same bosses with the same characteristics, just a name and slight aesthetic change.
//
The first thing he noticed about his new storm was the size of it.
It started off slow—his axes racing out a mile wide… but with each revo...
2025-04-16 01:28:01 +0000 UTC View PostEDIT: There is no fortress on the volcano itself, the volcano is the fortress! Also, the birds can still attack while in their invulnerable. Just can't be hit.
A/N: Tomorrow's the launch of Savage 5! That also means all chapters before chapter 427 will go down on Patreon to comply with ...
2025-04-15 01:30:02 +0000 UTC View Post
