OverXelous

patreon

OverXelous posts

Posts: 295 Files: 11

9. Breaking Point

Jonathan looked over the Rock Troll camp, his hands loosening and tightening around the leather-wrapped axe handles repeatedly.The camp sprawled across a natural depression in the rocky terrain, filled with crude structures and the massive forms of the trolls moving between them. A large figure stood near the center, its rocky skin a shade darker and a head taller than the others.The Chieftain.Jonathan recalled the System blue window that appeared in his vision and labeled a task to slay the Roc...

8. Blind Fury

The most extended blue window that he’d seen yet appeared in his vision.***StatusName: Jonathan Reeves - Level 3 Class: None HP: 60/60 MP: 38/50Traits: (1/3){Rage}Physical Stats:Strength: 7 Agility: 7 Constitution: 6 Vitality: 5Magical Stats:Intellect: 6 Willpower: 8 Mana: 5 Wisdom: 6Free Points:6Active Skills:[Rending Strike] (Novice - Level 1)Passive Skills:(None)***He was impressed and startled that it had rated his physicality based on numbers. There seemed to be an average, and he was ple...

7. The System

Jonathan emerged from the rocky crevice where he'd been resting. His body ached, but it wasn't the bone-weary exhaustion he had felt a few hours before.He studied his surroundings properly for the first time since he'd begun fighting. With each of his battles, he thought it would be his last and allowed his awareness to lapse. Despite that, he felt that his surroundings were almost identical to those he'd seen when he first entered the rift and then followed the signs of battle f...

6. Rage Awakens

Jonathan’s eyes cracked open to a throbbing headache, the kind that reminded him of too many beers on a night out on the town. He squinted and put his hands to his head. Finding himself slumped in an odd position on his knees, he stood stiffly.Strange blue rectangles floated in his vision, like those damn pop-up windows on a website. He blinked hard, but they stayed where they were.“What kind of VR nonsense…” Jonathan tried to wave them away and nearly lost his balance as his hand passed...

5. Blood and Stone

The weightless sensation vanished as gravity reasserted itself on Jonathan.His boots hit the solid ground, and he immediately dropped into a crouch, raising his pistol. He scanned his surroundings, tuning out the unnecessary and looking for movement or immediate signs of danger.The scene that greeted him broke his flow and concentration. The desert scrublands of Eastern Washington were gone and replaced by something altogether more alien. Enormous, towering formations of dark gray stone stretche...

4. Point of No Return

Jonathan’s pen moved across the page in the dim morning light of his study.He'd never been good at expressing his feelings. But the words came easier than he’d expected them to, maybe because this felt so final. He wasn’t writing with hope or uncertainty. The words poured out. He wrote of all the things that he should have said over the last two years but was too stubborn to be the first to talk. About how proud he was of David’s choice to follow his mother’s path and how sorry he ...

3. Seeking Answers

Jonathan sipped on the bitter coffee in his mug. His phone lay on the wooden kitchen tabletop. He took a deep breath, letting memories of Marcus wash over him. As it rang on speaker, he looked at Marcus’s dog tags in his fingers. They were still taped with thin strips of duct tape at the top and bottom. It was a tradition in RASP for the instructors to have the young soldiers tape the tags together to prevent the rattling noise, citing the need to be silent.He remembered the pride he felt when...

2. Gone Dark

Jonathan's phone sat on his desk, drawing his eyes every few seconds. He hadn’t slept well the night before, and his classroom was empty between periods.Sitting back, he turned away from his laptop and scanned the room. Sunlight cut sharp shapes across his whiteboard where his neat, all-caps handwriting outlined the day’s lesson. He was usually able to teach about Civil War battles in his sleep, but he couldn't focus on the lesson, even with his notes.He checked his messages again.No...

1. The Last Call

Jonathan paced in front of his whiteboard.“Alright, everyone, let’s focus up. Today, we're going to discuss the Roman Empire. At its height, it controlled vast territories and influenced a large part of the known world. We’ll explore not only their impressive architecture and engineering but also the military strategies that allowed them to expand so effectively.”“The Roman legions were the key to their success. They were soldiers trained to be disciplined and cohesive on the battl...

Berserker [A Writathon Fiction]

Jonathan wasn't looking for a second chance at life. After losing his son in a classified military operation, he was ready to go out fighting. But when supernatural Rifts began appearing across the world, his suicide mission took an unexpected turn.Awakened as a Berserker with powers fueled by rage, Jonathan finds himself caught between his death wish and his surviving son David's desperate attempts to reconnect. With ancient powers stirring and hidden factions maneuvering for control, J...

Weekly Update!

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well this morning/afternoon/evening!I enjoyed putting out the announcement and sharing an update about Spell Weaver and Berserker. I'm thinking of turning these into a weekly or bi-monthly update so you can stay in the loop on how things are going!Writing Update:Spell Weaver & BerserkerI wrote 10 chapters last week! A friend flew in from Australia, which took up some of my time over the weekend, but I still managed to write 7 chapters for Berserker and ...

Chapter 41 - Assessment

Alex rose the next morning, refreshed and eager to start the day. While the situation in Tianluo, the city where the Celestial Sect operated, hadn’t gone as he had originally planned, Alex felt optimistic. He was learning from skilled fighters and had a clear path forward, something he wouldn't have had back home.Even before the ambush, he’d begun to feel overwhelmed by his progression. His available skills and combinations with Val were growing more complex, and it was becoming difficul...

Chapter 40 - A Taste of Power

When the trio stepped through the sliding door and into the sect head’s office space, Alex heard the tail end of a conversation. Judging by the robes and their elaborate embellishments, Alex assumed that he was high-ranking within the sect. Eura was speaking to the man calmly, with his arms behind his back and it was obvious to Alex, even from a glance, that the Elder was restraining himself from an outburst.Noticing their entry, Eura dismissed the man, who huffed and turned quickly with a flo...

Chapter 39 - Savior

Sam was hunched over with his hip to the ground and an arm raised to block the next blow.Zhao Jing was in a particularly foul mood that day, as he’d begun to hit Sam the very moment that the boy had sagged to the ground.I just can’t do it anymore. I’ll either throw up or pass out if I use the skill again.His “handler” didn’t care about such things. Zhao Jing cared about only one thing: money.The first blow struck and rocked Sam’s shoulder, causing him to grunt and readjust his bloc...

Thinking About MORE!

Hey everyone!This is some really exciting news, and it makes me so happy to have people here who are interested in supporting my writing (or at least interested enough to want more)!I wanted to share some updates about my plans moving forward and get your feedback.Writing Update:Spell Weaver & BerserkerLast week, I wrote a total of 12 chapters: 5 for Spell Weaver and 7 for Berserker. I'm planning to keep writing 10 chapters each week during this challenge. Likely with 7 for Berserker and 3-5...

Chapter 38 - Rage

Alex jolted awake. He didn't appear to be in danger.What woke me up?He had his back to the stone wall and was facing the metal bars of the cell, his knees pulled up in front of him. His eyes naturally drifted to Val’s cage. Alarmed, he froze.Val?The cage was open, and Val wasn’t within. Alex reached out through his bond, only to find that Val was very close.Alex looked down and saw the small wyrm curled up in his own lap.How did you get out?The small blue head lifted, and the fish-like e...

Chapter 37 - An Expected Capture

Alex was exhausted. He’d been running for an hour straight, using his mana as he got it to increase his speed. He wasn’t sure if the Firstborn was even chasing him at this point. He just didn’t want to stop and find out.The potion he’d drank had done its job, and the cut on his face had healed, though the blood had long since dried onto his face and neck. He laughed with a touch of hysteria at a thought that jumped into his head.I wonder what Mark or Sarah would think if they saw me righ...

Chapter 36 - The Best Laid Plans

Hong Xiu pointed his sword directly at Alex as they locked eyes.Alex watched as the other man stepped forward. Through his left eye, he could see tendrils of dark mana reaching up from the shadows on the ground and enveloping him. To his normal eye, it looked like he had faded from existence before stepping out of a shadow not ten feet away.“Acolyte, what are you doing over here? You look suspicious.” Hong Xiu said.Alex took another step back as his mind ran through possible ways to get out ...

Exciting Stuff!

Good morning, afternoon, or evening!Whether you're a Patron or a reader stopping by to check out my Patreon Page, I want to start by saying thank youfor reading my story! I'm unbelievably excited to be sharing Spell Weaverwith you, and the feedback so far has been amazing and beyond my expectations.On Patreon, I'll be posting 20 chapters aheadof the Royal Road release for Spell Weaver.As for Berserker, it won’t be part of these advance chapters. Berserker is a stand-alone novel I�...

Chapter 35 - According to Plan

Alex held his hands out to the warmth. The fire and small natural shelter were a welcome change to the chill of the forest.He’d found an enormous tree that had fallen over. Its roots brought up huge clumps of dirt when it tipped to its side, causing a small crater in the ground where the roots had once been. This refuge allowed him to easily nestle in and create a small fire without fear of being seen or the wind blowing it out.He’d set up a ritual around the camp to keep any sounds he or th...

Chapter 34 - Ill Gotten Gains

Alex took an extra hour to make sure that he was able to maintain his current state.It felt odd to know that his eyes were open, but for the first time since he had released the Celestial Lotus Sect Head, he couldn’t see anything at all. The vision in both of his eyes was completely dark. Even when he looked down at his own arms in the tightly confined space, he couldn’t see any mana leaking from his skin.It’s almost time for some payback, Val.It had only taken the small mana wyrm a day to...

Chapter 33 - Alone in the Shadows

Alex felt weary to the bone. The small trio had been moving at top speed through the tunnels and Alex was using his mana almost as quickly as it could regenerate without giving himself a headache.[Empowered Step] was making great progress, and it was the only reason he could keep up with the Mana Spinner as it seemed to glide along its mana webs as if they were rails or tracks for a train. Val would fly along beside them until he was too tired and he would wrap around Alex’s upper arm and shou...

Chapter 32 - The Firstborn Threat

Alex was pulled from his slumber with flashing of images and emotions. The sight of the split Rift, exultation at jumping off a high cliff, and a view of Alex splashing into the water. These images were accompanied by the excited feeling of consuming mana and what sounded like chittering.“Ugh, Val.” Alex groaned. He rolled over on his makeshift bed. In the last several days, he’d abandoned his defensive sleeping posture for something more comfortable. Using his packed camping blanket to so...

Chapter 31 - Bonds

Alex spent a few minutes flipping through his 'Basic Rituals' manual before he found one that he was comfortable practicing with. He was trying to be considerate to the Mana Spinners around him, so he took extra time to find something that was nonlethal, didn’t cause bright lights or loud noises, but was still in the range of difficulty that he could complete it.While he could go with the Weight-Reducing ritual, he’d already made that one multiple times and thought it would be best t...

Chapter 30 - Consumables

Alex’s third and fourth days with the Mana Spinners went much the same as the first two. They would wake up early, or at least what felt like early to Alex’s internal clock, and begin walking the tunnels. As Val’s level increased, so did Alex’s Mana. This allowed him to begin using his [Empowered Step] between the web traps. He was surprised to note that the Mana Spinner had no problem keeping up with him, as it seemed to glide across the webs of mana with almost no friction.While this i...

Chapter 29 - Ritualist

Urgent chittering woke Alex from a deep sleep. His mind did its best to kick into gear and remember where he was and what was happening. By reflex, Alex shoved his bag to the side and stood up in a crouch, looking around the dark alcove they’d been sleeping in.Before his sleepy brain had fully recovered, light flooded into the small cave as the door made of webs was sliced open down the middle. A spider was on the other side of the opening. It moved back to create space for them and waited pat...

Chapter 28 - Mana Spinners

Alex groaned and shifted his weight. His pack dug into his back as his eyes fluttered open and he saw Val hovering over his face. He’d felt his presence right before opening his eyes, so it wasn’t quite as terrifying as it should be.“Hey, buddy.”He blinked several more times and tried to sit up. He kept looking up at Val as he did so, confused by his appearance.“Since when do you glow? Are you using a skill?”Val’s normal wyrm-like appearance was the same, with the addition of a sma...

Chapter 27 - Run Like Hell

I've reworked this chapter based on some of the feedback here and on Royal Road from Ch. 26. If you've already read it, it might be worth a reread. A bit more world-building is done as Alex takes a rest and asks Eura some questions. It shouldn't change too much in the long run, and the chapter's ending is identical to what it was before. For those reading this for the first time, there may be some inconsistencies. For example, Alex "discovers" the use of the spatial bag i...

Chapter 26 - Do You Accept

***Congratulations Awakened. You have found a Hidden Quest!Continue this path to gain more information and an Accept/Deny prompt.***Well, that’s new. Hidden Quest?“If you’re not a God, then what are you?”“I was once Head of the Celestial Lotus Sect, one of the supreme martial existences on our planet. I was talented enough to gain a Planetary Title in my youth. You may call me Eura.”Many thoughts went through Alex’s head in response.Supreme Existence? Yet something trapped you here...

Chapter 25 - God, Is That You

Alex coughed and crawled in the sand. His body was exhausted from the stress of the last few hours and the effort required to move against the current to the small beach landing.While floating down the river, he had done his best to keep track of the twists and turns that the branch had taken, hoping desperately that it would rejoin the main river or perhaps even wind back to the light side of the Rift.That’s not exactly how rivers work, though, is it? Genius.Alex gulped for air and flopped on...