Chapter 81 – Duressed to Impress
Passing through the door of mist felt a little like passing through a wall of water—though that might have been the billowing steam on the other side of the door that filled the caldera from many bubbli...
2025-11-18 16:46:32 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 80 – Swarm Limits
One good thing about their group is that everyone in it could hustle. Besson and Nutmeg traversed hills as though they were flat ground, with a seemingly limitless supply of energy. Nona had supernatural ways of...
2025-11-15 05:03:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 79 – Smart Enough to Wait
Back under the oppressive heat of the artificial sun, they followed the trail Besson and Nutmeg forged, descending down from the shadow of the pinnacle before starting the climb back up toward the portal...
2025-11-13 04:22:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 78 – Manifestation
“Cole! COLE! Shit, Roxy, I think the apes must have poisoned him. Get over here! COOOLE!”
Howie screamed in Cole’s ear, shaking him out of his meditative state. He could feel the man scrambling for ...
2025-11-08 05:55:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 77 – Bouncy Bullets
Cole headed back to where Roxy and the others were dumping out the loot hastily collected from the apes they’d killed—an assortment of weapons, ammo, and armor pieces that looked more medieval than anythin...
2025-11-06 04:00:49 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 76 – On the Trail
Cole and the others made their way out of the steam-filled, blood-soaked ravine, returning to the high ground that offered better sight lines. Once out of the valley, the heat started to mount again as the occlu...
2025-10-31 15:47:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 75 – Chosen by Who
“We can’t move him,” said Roxy. “It may kill him.”
“Well we can’t stay here,” said Cole. “Not unless we want to be ape food if that hairy-ass mage comes back with reinforcements. So eith...
2025-10-30 06:55:24 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! The treatment plan for my eye has worked tremendously well over the last week, so I'm able to look at a screen for long enough to get some work done much sooner than I expected (though I still have to break it up into shorter session...
2025-10-28 18:46:35 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, just wanted to leave a quick update with my situation. I was able to get in to see a doctor, and apparently I have an infection and an ulcer on my eye, which feels about as pleasant as it sounds. The long and short of it is, I'll...
2025-10-22 17:22:06 +0000 UTC
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Note: Just as a heads up, I've had a slight medical issue pop up that's making it difficult for me to write and edit, so the pace is going to slow here for probably another week. Sorry for the delays.
Chapter 74 – Survivors
“Cole...
2025-10-16 16:07:54 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 73 – Ape-out
“Contact front!” shouted Besson. The full auto staccato of his otherworld machine gun echoed off the canyon walls as multiple shrieking cries . “Multiple hostiles, non-human, primitive weapons.”<...
2025-10-14 01:43:40 +0000 UTC
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Quick note: Only two chapters next week so I have some extra time to work on editing for Book 3 of My Big Goblin Space Program. Book 1 launches in a month, so be sure to pre-order! I've attached a link to this post.
Chapter 72 – Not Riski...
2025-10-10 22:37:30 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 71 – Brand Identity
“Just like that?” asked Cole. “You just said the other path was really, really good!”
“Fuck what I said. Take the bouncy bullets path.”
Roxy chuckled. “That’s the first tim...
2025-10-08 20:06:50 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for this chapter coming in a day late! Wednesday and Friday chapters will be coming in as normal.
Chapter 70 – Field Chatter
“We don’t know how high level they are, but they’re clearly not afraid of us,” said Cole. ...
2025-10-07 19:54:02 +0000 UTC
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The permanent cover is finished! And the artist really made something phenomenal, I feel. And that's taking my absurdly high standards into account.
Chapter 69 – Those Who Fear the Road Ahead
Tallorax was nearly twice the size of L...
2025-10-03 18:48:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 68 - Babel
The transition through the otherworld portals was getting more and more bearable with each new crossing. When he stepped out the other side, into a featureless, gray stone room with a fog-filled doorway, he barely felt q...
2025-10-02 02:51:30 +0000 UTC
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Note:
Ahhh here we go! The start of a brand new mission! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far. As a special treat, I have a sneak peek at the work-in-progress of DOR's forever-cover. After one artist failed to deliver, setting me ...
2025-09-30 01:52:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 66 - The Outside Perspective
“Two, one, three. Transition. One, one, two. Aim and shoot, don’t just swing and fire. Three, two, three.”
Cole watched Nona transition between her carbine and her pistol and back, moving, i...
2025-09-27 04:57:12 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 65 - Tinkering
An extra minor affix might not make or break a high-level Kicker’s gun, but to a kicker in the low teens like his teammates? Only Field Strip had charges. Tinker just required time and mental effo...
2025-09-24 23:30:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 64 – Book of Babel
“Alright, looks like we’ve got all the team leads, so let’s get this shit started.”
Cole took his seat in the conference room, scooting his chair in. He recognized the woman giving the briefing as...
2025-09-23 04:24:02 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 63 – A Road Well Traveled
With three weeks to go until the Babel insertion, Cole absorbed all the information he could on Babel in order to disseminate relevant details to his team. And there were a lot of details. He sp...
2025-09-19 22:29:50 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 62 – Branching Paths
“These aren’t the only missions you have access to,” said Sophie. “Or even the only ones you’re qualified for. But based on information provided by the data collectors on your Curahee and Vael exped...
2025-09-18 02:14:16 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 61 – Pivot Points
Cole rolled over as the sun shining through the slit in his blinds managed to perfectly lock onto his eyes, seemingly no matter how he moved. He groaned and sat up, wondering if someone was grinding coffee downs...
2025-09-16 01:21:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 60 – Caught Between
Nona started to get the hang of things after the first hundred rounds or so, at which point Cole started her on a handgun, making more corrections to her grip and form, and had her loading her own magazines. A...
2025-09-12 22:05:51 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 59 – Basic Training
Nona squirmed in the passenger seat as they headed off post. She had a duffel bag on her lap that she hugged to her chest.
“Hey dad, can we stop for McDonalds?” asked Howie from the back.
Roxy ...
2025-09-11 01:57:38 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 58 – Brutal Methodology
Bricker drummed his thick fingers on the conference tabletop and sighed. “Well, at least one of you is capable of owning up to mistakes. Moriarty, I expect better, next time. You can’t have junior Kick...
2025-09-09 00:27:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 57 – Vael Debrief
Cole spent the afternoon in the armory lab with Norn and Bjorn. He filled two more work orders—one for a midlevel kicker’s shotgun, to which he added a fire elemental effect, and one to a bolt action rifle. ...
2025-09-05 20:41:15 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 56 – Home Away From Home, Away From Home
“This is it, turn here,” said Sophie, looking down at her phone for directions.
Cole pulled off the road and onto a dirt path. Twenty-five miles southwest of the DOR compound, th...
2025-09-04 01:37:27 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys! Just wanted to drop a reminder, even if you're reading ahead on here, please don't forget to stop by the Royal Road page and leave a rating or review! I've put a link to the story in this post. Right now, the story is in the top 250 stor...
2025-09-01 23:02:54 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 54 – At What Cost
Moriarty’s hands were blistered from carrying the front half of a field stretcher for the better part of a day. He couldn’t believe how sideways the op had gone. Not just two mages in the steam carriage, but...
2025-08-30 21:24:21 +0000 UTC
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