Shirtaloon
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Chapter 919: I Know You Can't Control Yourself Any Longer
🕑 Added 2024-07-10 23:00:07 +0000 UTCLi Mei had been hoping to remain forgotten in the aftermath of Boko’s destruction. When Boko’s population had been sent through a portal to somewhere, most of the non-residents who had been in the city were sent to Greenstone. Blending in with them, she had been trying to find anyone who had used a recording crystal during the events.
Li Mei herself had done so, pulling one out as Jason’s power carried her out of the city after he was attacked. She had been far from alone and had managed to buy copies of recordings made by other evacuees. She had a feeling that, if she really did return to Earth, information about Jason Asano would be a richer currency than spirit coins.
Her recordings were taken when the Adventure Society caught up with her. That was the beginning of what they insisted several times was not an interrogation. They met her requests to leave with a strong suggestion that it would be an unhealthy decision for her.
The questioning happened in a blank room, sitting across from a pair of blank-faced Adventure Society investigators. One was a man and the other a woman, Glen and Glennis. Their bland sameness made them seem like brother and sister from a family of career bureaucrats. Even their skin tone was a match for the beige walls.
At first it was the same questions, over and over. What happened when Jason was attacked. Every detail, again and again. What the attacker looked like. What his equipment looked like. What his aura felt like. What did he say?
“I told you, I don’t know what he said. Which means he probably wasn’t a local. I learn languages very quickly. It’s one of my abilities. I can learn a region’s languages and dialects in about an hour of people watching at the town market. Which I did here, in Greenstone, even down in Hornis. I don’t know the language he used, so I don’t think he was from around here.”
The questions started shifting away from the events in question and towards Jason in general. It started obliquely, but it was obvious they were edging towards something else. She stonewalled, pushing back on the relevance of their questions while trying to figure out what they were after. They were starting to get pushy when a dark figure rose from her shadow.
“That is as far as Mr Asano will allow you to take this,” the shadow creature said. “Miss Li will be leaving now.”
“You’re his familiar,” said Glen, the male investigator.
“I am. You may address me as Shade. It is a mononym.”
“What we do with witnesses is not for Jason Asano to decide,” Glennis said. “It’s certainly not for him to send his familiar with instructions for us. If he wants to come down here and say something, he can.”
“If that is what you wish,” Shade said. “Mr Asano will come here and deal with you personally.”
“Uh…” Glen said, throwing glances at Glennis.
“Well, I mean, he can’t,” Glennis said. “Not here, here. This section of the building is dimensionally warded. He’ll have to go to administration and talk to…”
She trailed off as an obsidian archway rose from the floor.
“That’s a portal arch, right?” Glen said.
“It’s his portal arch,” Glennis responded.
“How can he open a portal in here?”
“He can’t. I don’t think.”
“He doesn’t seem to agree. How strong is that dimensional warding?”
The pair looked at the empty arch.
“Probably not that strong,” Glennis said. “This isn’t the high security wing, and you know how barren the magic is in this city. Apparently not strong enough to stop a gold ranker. Or whatever Asano is.”
“Given that his response to being assassinated was to turn into a bird and kill an army, I don’t imagine some moderate anti-portal magic is going to stop him.”
The empty arched flared to life, filling with shadowy energy, roiling erratically. Glen turned to look at Shade.
“When you said he was going to ‘deal with us,’ what exactly did you mean?”
Jason stepped out of the shadowy arch. He smiled and grabbed Glen’s hand to shake it, despite it not being offered.
“Mr Costling. I appreciate the diligence you and your cousin have shown in your rigorous investigation of last week’s events. Unfortunately, I now need to take Miss Li with me. But again, I appreciate your diligence.”
“We can’t just…”
Glennis’ words trailed off as Jason turned to look directly at her. His expression had a friendly smile and kind eyes, yet it left the hair on her arms standing on end. He held her gaze for a long, silent moment before breaking eye contact before turning back to Li Mei.
“Through the portal, Miss Li. If you would.”
***
Li Mei emerged from the portal into what had to be Jason’s famous cloud building. She looked up and down the hall while Jason exited the portal and it closed behind him. They were in a tunnel of fog, circular and wispy, with sky blue carpet running along the floor. There were clear patches, like windows, that could be seen through, and she moved to the closest one.
Neither wind nor sea spray came through what looked like a hole in the wall, despite a raging ocean outside. Waves pounded against the walls of fairytale cloud castles, floating on the open sea. The fluffy white buildings didn’t budge, in spite of the churning waters crashing into the walls. At water level, the buildings were connected by a flooded layer of flat cloud. Passage between the castles was achieved through a series of connecting sky bridges, one of which they currently occupied.
“Where are we?”
“I set up my cloud palace offshore from Greenstone. You can see it from the city if you fly over it.”
She could hear music coming from down the hall and Jason made an inviting gesture in that direction.
“Is that… Gloria Estefan?”
Jason led her down the tunnel and into a large room. It looked something like an open plan loft, laid out into sections. The furniture was a mix of the dense cloud substance and more traditional materials like wood and marble. The largest areas had multiple couches and armchairs, enough for a dozen people. They were arrayed around a large square coffee table, currently covered in notebooks and loose papers.
The music was coming from that area, a recording crystal projection of Miami Sound Machine floating below the high ceiling. The man and woman talking as they went over the notes on the table has the shimmer of a privacy screen around them, probably to dampen the noise right over their heads.
There was a long dining table in another area, also occupied by two people. One was a staggeringly beautiful woman, even by gold rank standards, with copper hair and eyes that marked her as a celestine. She was sharing a sandwich the length of her arm with a husky elf in what looked like an ugly Christmas sweater.
Multiple tables were central to a third area, where most of the people were. The tables had what looked like board games from Earth, and she watched Jason groan at the result of a dice role.
“This is why I hate dice-based combat. You can do everything right and still get gutted like a fish.”
The last area was the kitchen, where two people were dancing to the music as they made food. Alongside Jason was a woman Li Mei recognised, Farrah Hurin. Li Mei looked from the Jason playing a game to the Jason cooking and dancing to the Jason standing beside her in the doorway.
“The cloud palace is my domain,” he said. “I can express more of my power here.”
“Which one is the real you?”
“None of them. This body is the closest, though. The others can’t leave here.”
She stared at him for a moment, the back at the group laughing and enjoying one another’s company.
“I don’t wish to be indelicate,” she said, “but you’re having a party?”
“You’re wondering why we’re celebrating when so many people just died.”
“I am.”
He nodded and led her over to the lounge area. He nodded to the man and woman in their privacy screen and claimed a couch. Li Mei joined him, leaving a space between them. The air shimmered around them and the music was reduced to a muffled background noise.
“I can’t speak for you,” he said, “but everyone else in this room has mourned those they failed to save. Too many times, and there will be too many more. We’ve had days to be maudlin, and we were. But we also have to pick ourselves up and try to save the next people who fall into danger. If we let it grind us down… well, you’re from Earth. You saw what I was like. At the end of my time there.”
“I did.”
“That is not a good place to be. If I had the power I had now, but was in the mental state I was then, the people here would hunt me down. And they would be right to do so. We’re powerful enough now that we can’t afford to be unstable. We can do too much damage. So, we have to take care of ourselves, mind, body and soul.”
He looked around the room with a smile.
“And we need to take the wins where we can get them,” he continued. “Yes, a city was lost. The social and economic ramifications of that will be continent wide and linger for decades. A home for ninety thousand, and a regional economy, gone in minutes. For many, they lost everything they ever knew. But something like ninety-eight percent of the population got out alive. The messengers sent an army, but we had zero combatant casualties and a civilian survival rate that is astounding, given how suddenly it all happened.”
He gave her a sad smile.
“It’s easy to dwell on our failures, be we need to celebrate what we accomplished as well. We’re not going to be dancing around in front of the people who lost family, friends and homes. But here, when it’s just us? We were sad yesterday and we can be sad again tomorrow. Today, we’re going to be happy. Now, let’s get something to eat.”
***
In the kitchen, Farrah glanced over at Jason’s prime avatar chatting with Li Mei.
“She’s pretty,” she observed to the avatar cooking with her.
“I’m aware,” Jason said.
“How aware?”
“It’s not like that.”
“You brought her in here.”
“She’s from Earth.”
“We found her while looking for someone doing sketchy stuff, Jason. And it was her. She was doing the sketchy stuff.”
“We’ve done worse. If I look back at when I came to this world, there were challenges, yes. But in a lot of ways, it bent over backwards to give me the opportunities I needed to get where I am now. She arrived with little knowledge, little training and already dosed up on monster cores, so no one was going to help her change that. She didn’t have you, Rufus and Gary to put her on a right path. That she’s managed to self-start like this? Work towards earning the cores to actually reach gold rank on her own?”
“She manipulated people. Fomented trouble amongst those who already have a history of doing terrible things.”
“I’ve manipulated people too. Hurt people. Killed people. Out of pride and vanity. Too arrogant to look for a better way. If I can forgive myself for that much, I can forgive her for less. If we give her better opportunities, I think she’ll do better. Be better. It worked on me.”
“You know China didn’t send someone who looks like her to you by accident. Just because you didn’t fall into the honey trap then, it doesn’t mean you won’t now.”
“That was almost twenty years ago.”
“And she looks exactly the same.”
“There’s no honey trap here.”
“Uh huh.”
“There’s no point to a honey trap. We’re gold rank. Everyone we meet is crazy hot.”
“You’re saying that she’s crazy hot?”
“Of course she is. Denying it would be stupid.”
“Well, there you go.”
“No, I don’t go. There’s no going.”
“Uh huh.”
“Stop that.”
“I’m just saying.”
“I know what you’re saying.”
“That your judgement isn’t always the best.”
“My judgement is fine. You’re acting like I’m James Bonding my way across Pallimustus.”
“There was that time you went off to ‘train your aura’ by sleazing on women.”
“I was not sleazing on women. And that’s a legitimate way to practise aura refinement. Using techniques I learned from the little black book of sex magic that you gave me, by the way.”
“Uh huh.”
“Will you stop saying that?”
“She’s very pretty.”
“Go back to chopping your vegetables.”
***
The Continental Council’s chief inspector reminded Jason of Rufus, with his dark skin, bald head and looks that stood out, even at gold rank.
“Chief Inspector Krensler,” Jason greeted him, shaking his hand.
They were standing in one of the Greenstone Adventure Society’s marshalling yards.
“Are you ready, Chief Inspector?”
“I am.”
Jason opened a portal to his soul realm and they stepped through. On the other side was the flat roof of a tower made from sandstone brick and green stone. It was the highest point of the city that now housed the population of Boko, offering an impressive view. The same construction materials could be seen all over, dotted with water features and painted with greenery. Artificial waterfalls spilled out of buildings as much as five storeys up, splashing into palm groves and garden-lined streets. The buildings themselves were overgrown with lush, leafy vines.
“Where did an empty city like this come from?” Krensler asked.
“I made it.”
Krensler looked at him, then back out over the city.
“When?”
“A few days ago, when it was needed.”
“Just like that?”
“You stand in the heart of my domain, Chief Inspector. Surely you’ve heard about astral kingdoms, and the fact that I have one. The power your investigators are so curious about comes from here.”
“As best we can tell, that celestial phoenix creature displayed god level power. Rising to wipe out the messengers like that was, for all intents and purposes, a miracle.”
“Is that so?” Jason said noncommittally not turning his gaze from the city below.
“We aren’t officially commenting on your identity in this, but anyone with any connections will find out easily enough.”
“I appreciate the society’s discretion.”
“There is the open question of where that power came from.”
“I just told you, Chief Inspector. You’re standing in it. This pocket universe is the source of my power.”
“We don’t know a lot about astral kingdoms. We do know they are what the messenger leadership has, which raises more questions about your possession of one. We’d like to know a lot more.”
“I imagine you would, but I have no interest in advertising any potential strengths and weaknesses.”
“You do have weaknesses, then.”
“What is the Adventure Society’s stance on me going to be?”
“The star ranking system gets a little unclear at gold rank. Gold rankers are more autonomous, with missions being handed out by liaisons more often than being posted in the Jobs Hall. There’s often an urgency to gold-rank missions not reflected in most of lower-rank. Even so, the star ranking system is still in effect. A gold will often go through a jobs hall and clear out the older contracts that no one else was taking. We like it when they do that, but they need to adhere to their star ranking. Few gold rankers are one star. Two or three is the norm, as most who reach that point are already experienced in delicate affairs.”
“I imagine I’ll be getting three stars? I know my diplomacy needs work, but I deal with kings and diamond-rankers a lot. Things above them, too, but that’s more my thing. The society just gets in the way at that point, which I suppose is where most of our problems start.”
“We’ve noticed,” Krensler said wryly. Jason snorted a laugh.
“To be honest, Mr Asano, there has been a debate as to whether you even belong on the roster. The goodwill you’ve earned since your return has done a lot to swing things your way. Your team’s efforts in following society directives in your strikes against the messengers have been greatly appreciated. And now it seems that you’ve removed something like a quarter of the world’s messenger forces, liberating countless regions in the process. I want you to know that we aren’t overlooking that and just grubbing after the power you displayed in Boko.”
“Good to know. But I’m guessing a lot of powerful people are nervous about what happens when I’m not being such a good boy.”
“They are. You disappeared a city full of people into the same hole as all those departed messengers.”
“The messengers are on a separate planet.”
“A lot of influential people have questions. What is happening with those messengers? When will you return the people of Boko?”
“That’s why we’re here, Chef Inspector. For you to talk with the people of Boko. They’re free to come and go as they please.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Isn’t it always?”
Krensler took out a small box and handed it to Jason. Jason opened it to find a new Adventure Society badge, gold, but with a diamond symbol where there would normally be one, two or three stars.
“We’ve decided to treat you by diamond-ranker rules. You’ve been acting like one for long enough, and it might cover some of the issues we keep having when interacting with you. Soramir Rimaros suggested this, back when. We resisted when you were silver rank, but you’re gold now. More importantly, we’ve been informed that the diamond-rank community has more or less accepted you. It seems foolish to resist, at this stage.”
“What are the diamond-rank rules?”
“Similar to gold rank, but with what amounts to full autonomy. If you tell us to pay attention to something, we do. And when the big stuff happens, there is an expectation that you will step forward. If you need to be reined in, it won’t be us coming for you, it’ll be diamond rankers.”
“You said there was a suggestion of removing my membership?”
“There was.”
Jason ran his fingers gently over the badge.
“Thank you, Chief Inspector. I know that I haven’t always been the easiest member to deal with, but my identity as an adventurer is extremely important to me. I’ve been through a lot, and come close to losing myself more than once. Being an adventurer was always an important anchor for me.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Jason put the lid back on the box and put it in his inventory.
“Well,” he said. “Let’s go meet the Duke of Boko and talk about when the population will be leaving.”
“Looking at this place, I’m not sure they’ll want to.”
“I did my best, Chief Inspector. But I can never replace what they lost.”
“No, I suppose not.”
Comments
Soli116
I laughed about this when you originally posted, and now, 6 months later, I laughed again. Nice one!
Soli116
I'm so glad I checked the comments on this reread. I actually did laugh out loud.
J Rodriguez
Okay, who else agrees that we need a t-shirt or doll of a "a husky elf in what looked like an ugly Christmas sweater"? The new Elf on a Shelf!
James Reeves
Thanks for the chapter. He keeps referring to his soul realm, isn't it now an astral realm?
Logan little
It was Sophie playing cards and Farah cooking
Iain Grubb
I get that Jason can be in multiple places but when did Farah get another avatar? She is playing a board game with Jason.....and cooking with him in the kitchenette.
Cay Hasselmann
Still no clue who took over the crucial job at the office supplier from Jason when the whole adventure started!
Gotrek65
I love all these side stories with old characters!
Douglas Davis
Well they're at least partially godly.
Jeff McCulley
What I find hilarious is that Jason was cautioned at silver rank to stay out of it because the item was out of his wheelhouse. It isn’t any longer. I’m kinda curious how long it is before he figures that out. And, that if he snags it, all the messengers leave the planet.
Jeff McCulley
Yep. It was a bluff. He called it.
Timothy
3 hours till we learn more about Jason’s ungodly powers
Tim
Who tf would vote for shorter chapters less often on something they were actively paying for? This is why I hate the internet. It gives fuckin morons who deserve one a voice.
Kalanaere
Poor Glen and Glenn is. Trying to be all tough and dictate what Jason can and cannot do. Gotta give them credit though fir having enough nerve to demand he come in person, even I'd said demand was just braggery thinking he couldn't
Dirty Dibbler
Paradise is based on perspective. Is it paradise where someone with inconceivable power has total control of your environment? Someone whose presence just killed thousands of your citizens before transforming into a giant bird like god being that can destroy armies. While there is some comforts in being a citizen of Jason’s domain I don’t think you could be comfortable living under that dynamic without absolute trust in the authority in control
Asterrahl
Jason has planets. Just a thought, but if I were the Duke of Boko, I'd seriously consider staying. It's basically a pocket paradise. Who wouldn't want to relocate their dynasty there?
Joanna
It’s nine pages. Longer than usual! (But I need more too)
Justin Wilson
I think she's briefly mentioned when Jason finished battling the GAB and coming to his new astral kingdom. One of the 1st thing he does is go see Carlos, her and the other were holed up with/in Arbor.
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter. The banter was a lot of fun
Justin
We still haven’t heard anything about Sofie’s mother. Last we heard was that they shut off the influence of the god and she just needed a lot of rest and that was almost 20 years ago
Gavin Wayne Pitcher
at a certain point Jason is gonna start getting accused of being Satan in disguise, lol.
Zera
He has already been with a few other women since Dawn
Marvin bennett
Man gonna cheat on dawn or are they not a thing🤔
Idan tal
Just need to get Cassandra.M for Neil and pick up the rest of the earthlings.
BloodStorm
I’m about ready to repair the bridge and get back to earth
Idan tal
Thank for the great chapter 👍🏻. I have reread the 910-919 chapters, and I think the AK want the purity object to remove some limitations the originators installed in all of them that even the soul forge and millions of years of experiments couldn’t remove. I also think the original sword the Builder kept was able to use it, otherwise if what we saw was all of it but higher rank it wouldn’t be so special. As we see now the AK don’t have real weaknesses otherwise.
deadly chibi
Big agree
DirePants
Another fantastic chapter. This was one of those chapters that had a bit of nearly everything. Jason showing off and being devilish about it. The natural and intended comedy of the characters in general. Great description that said just enough without being boring. A hint of romance- me too Jason, I’m a sucker for a gorgeous woman I’m not sure I can trust. Hints at possible consequences and rewards with him having Diamond authority. And of course Shirt’s great job at showing Jason’s maturity. Currently wondering what are the limits of his powers. For a while now we’ve gotten use to Jason having limits on what he can do, but he treats those limits like I do speeding limits, like suggestions. So I wonder if other people will be the thing that’s used to put him in dire situations moving forward. Being forced to protect others. Losing people even though he’s supposed to be beyond godlike. Damn I’m thinking about all things Shirt may do to Jason or other characters 😭 to send him over the edge Make him really embody the word hegemony.
Chris Marks
Thanks, now it’s stuck in MY head too!
Sacha
Yeah, what's going on between her and Jason? All gone or still open?
Chewbacchus
Also, the paragraph where you show the Miami recording crystal has tense issues regarding the sound barrier, should br 'the table [had]', not 'has'
Chewbacchus
Tftc! When Jason goes to get Li, it should be [arch] not 'arched'
Andrew Johnson
it's not like she can bring tons and tons of gold bars back in her inventory
Andromeda Adams
TYFTC it’s about time they started treating Jason right.
Liesmith
Dammit now Conga is stuck in my head.
Historia Jinn
The Clurb is temporary, Jason is forever
Douglas Davis
That was way way way to short. I need more! 😆
Jim Erwin
😂 you totally got me
Isaac Scharff
Corrupt bureaucrats
Julia
tried reading this in the clurb and it was an utter failure,, anyway thanks for the chap!
Michael Alpert-Appell
Honestly, gathering videos of Jason's powers to potentially sell seems like the exact sort of thing Belinda would have done back in the day.
RepossessedSoul
There are some tense mistakes in the chapter during the questioning scene. I'm on mobile otherwise I'd copy it here.
BloodStorm
Soon as Jason offers Li a job she try’s to get video of Jason’s powers to sell back on earth. Like yeah that’s who I want on my team
Michael Alpert-Appell
Wow! How has nobody mentioned that the chapter has been copy pasted twice! It's crazy that after more than three hours, nobody has mentioned this! I'd better call Shirt's attention to this egregious error that apparently I'm the first person to notice.
Anthony Sebastian
Oh golly gee whiz, I wonder if anyone else noticed that the chapter repeated? Well, I better post a comment about it instead of checking to see if there are already thirty other comments talking about it.
Alex Cox
Agreed, but at least we didn't get somebody from the american branch
Sena
Don't like Li. Of all the people from earth to add to the group, she was at the bottom of the barrel.
Nick
She wasn't a criminal on earth, her crimes amount to pointing out that people can demand better and taking money from those in power to make sure the revolutionaries don't actually get too violent. It's a protection racket, sure, but it's not necessarily a net evil on society. She even admitted to causing positive changes in society. Plus, she's mainly doing it because she had zero resources and none will respect her with her core usage and horrible training.
Nivyn
It looks like the chapter repeats part the way threw
Yaldabaoth
Okay, yeah I skimmed ahead, and it just looks like the full vhapter just got copy and pasted again. So it's definitely just a minor copy paste issue. Hope this helps in bringing it to your attention. 🫡😊
Tristan
Mr. Shirt it looks like the chapter got a bit mixed up and doubled
StarkRG
Barely noticeable.
Yaldabaoth
[""I’m glad to hear that.” Jason put the lid back on the box and put it in his inventory. “Well,” he said. “Let’s go meet the Duke of Boko and talk about when the population will be leaving.” “Looking at this place, I’m not sure they’ll want to.” “I did my best, Chief Inspector. But I can never replace what they lost.” “No, I suppose not.”Li Mei had been hoping to remain forgotten in the aftermath of Boko’s destruction. When Boko’s population had been sent through a portal to somewhere, most of the non-residents who had been in the city were sent to Greenstone. Blending in with them, she had been trying to find anyone who had used a recording crystal during the events. Li Mei herself had done so, pulling one out as Jason’s power carried her out of the city after he was attacked."] I'm not sure sure if anyone else has brought his to your attention, but I believe ye might have made a mistake here? It looks like a minor copy past issue. I'll keep reading yo verify. Just wanted to bring this to your attention, sir Shirtaloon. (Respectfully of course) Loving all of these chapters so far, either way! 😁🤙
Jim Erwin
Shhhh, if you ignore it, it's like a super long chapter. Embrace it 💕
Dane Billman
Really don’t like the insinuation of something with Li - yeah people can get better, but why should we want her to be a better person? This far, she’s had 0 redeeming qualities. I honestly don’t want to see any more of her, I’d rather have more focus on the rest of the team.
Nebulous
Song reference
Richard
Wait did we lose a part of the chapter? The title wasn't referenced at all was it?
Sylphie
Jason's definitely watching her it's a hope for the best but prepare for the worst situation seeing the good come from bad people is very therapeutic for someone suffering mentally like Jason but it's a risk
Owen Kaz
the chapter is doubled lol
Ligeia
Did Shirt ever have her saying that? I don't remember seeing it; I only remember her not liking that he posted videos he took of camps in China. If Shirt never wrote her saying what you suggest, I'd point out that every government on Earth does things its people don't like, and probably Pallimustus, too. So just because she may know about her government's dirty deeds doesn't mean she has any input into whether it does them. I know my own government fucks up regularly, but my say is really none whatsoever -- but I also hate it that people in other countries read about our misdeeds because it's humiliating to me as a citizen of this country to know that other countries dislike us for the very deeds I also dislike!
M
Are we truly meant to forget just how vile Li ‘people knowing about the death camps for minorities is the real problem’ is?
Addie
👀
Addie
Cheap and effective way to double chapter length
The Green Magus
I kinda like the idea of people just chilling in his world. He seems like he's not gonna be a douchebag to the people living in him, so that's good
Hayden Leech
Team Zara!!
Andrew Johnson
“The messengers are on a separate planet.” So he has to deal with Earth, Palimastis and at LEAST 2 more planets in his astral kingdom.. Once the Boko population returns or those that choose to there are going to be problems with additional people wanting in. Where does he draw the line? There is also the possibility of jealous gods. I'm curious which god will reach out first. #teambiscuit
Alex Cox
Dawn is also set to return sometime soon
Abigail Hale
About darn time the adventure society handed him that diamond badge. I'll be curious to know who called for his membership revocation
Hemlock
Ehhh, idk man. I kind of dig that this HASN'T turned into a harem-lite story.
Joshua lytle (BobCharlie)
Threw me off for a second 😂
Dirty Dibbler
Ctrl+C Ctrl+V V crap, return, no… backspace… whelp…. I guess I’ll just leave it that way
The Green Magus
Woot! Double chapter 😂 if only it was twice the story and not just the same chapter twice
Chevy
So storm princess or Lei Mae?
Timothy
Not to be Captain Obvious or anything but I think some of these comments repeats themselves like the chapter
Lora Greenberg
Can't wait for Book 11 to be available on audible July 23rd!
Alexander Dupree
Almost like multiples of chapters!
Dylan Alexander
He hasn’t hit diamonds yet but when he does his physical self will change to be closer to his spiritual self or something similar.
Alexander Dupree
Maybe someone should add a comment!
Michael Fannon
So, I'm just going to say this: Jason needs to have a harem going on eventually. Immortal diamond rankers and transcendents. Why? Because I can't think of anything else that can manage and control Jason long term after the world dies in a few billion years.
Jay Doubleyou Kay
I don't know why, but I'm gravitating towards team Zara. I wasn't but ever since the Brightheart saga and after, I'm rooting for her. Obviously not forever because.... Ya know, she's mortal, but Jason could really use her by her side for a half milenia or so
Chevy
Ok I thought dejavu
Stephanie Washburn
Do you suppose he knows that he double pasted the text for this chapter?
jazz
Fr🥲😂
Lora Greenberg
So I thought that when diamond rank is met that his body/avatar would change like the other ower ranks.
Scotty
I believe it's only the peak of diamond that is considered half transcendant
Kalanaere
Errm Shirt I think you copy and pasted 1 to many times. The Chspter repeats at the end
Lora Greenberg
Great chapter but I still don't like Lei Lei Mae.. don't trust that she won't try to harm Jason. Also I'm not sure the chapter was supposed to be repeated..
Allen Wilding
That would be so fun to have multiples of you doing different things
brian phillips
Biscuits tyftc
Ligeia
I think the current Assistaloon sets up the posting, so it may not be Shirt's error. In any case, it was fixed by the time I read it -- I was on the last chapter of a book and finished it first. I know, my priorities were in the wrong order!
CritHappens
Two for the price of one. Awesomeness 🙏 Thank you for the chapter.
Guessed
I'm suspicious that the end of it was cut off, rare indeed is the chapter that doesn't have the title in it somewhere as a line of dialogue.
AbyssalIceLord
I have a question that isnt pertaining to this chapter, but ive always wondered...are all diamond rankers considered half transcendent? Because Dawn is becoming transcendent...so was she half when she became diamond rank or did she achieve it with her constant interaction with The World Pheonix? Similarly to Jason...cuz he got his half transcendents from incorporating all that transcendent energy into his soul...so does that mean to achieve transcendance is to rank out your body(Mortal side) to diamond and then to rank your soul to transcendence through constant interactions? And Jason just achieved that soul half wayyyy before his body? So wouldnt that mean he would fully transcend once he hit diamond?
mhaj58
Just when it seemed like the talk would actually bear fruit, there’s only so much teasing a man can take before he snaps, hope Jason gets some honey in wonderland
Adrian
I like the double post. Saves me the time of scrolling back to the top for my second read through 😅
Leo
Nice chapter. Liked Farrahs little play with Jason, but I am still waiting for Zara to show back up. Would be lovely when he goes back to earth and introduces the girlfriend to the fam and a world thats worried that he will act like a king. When they find out she is a princess:))
Landsraad
Almoat reread this chapter...
TimeDrawsNigh
*sees scrollbar size* Yay! *reaches halfway mark* Awe. Tftc! 😁
BloodStorm
I almost thought we got an extra long chapter this week 😂 oh well it was still a good one though Thanks
Jason Hardman
Do we play spot the difference? 🤣
Phallusar
When you pad the word count by posting the same text twice to validate the people who voted for shorter chapters less often.
Justin
I love how every week people go “we haven’t heard from or seen ____ in a while” or “when can we get back to ____” then the following week shirt just answers those usually. YOU’RE AMAZING, TYFTC GREAT CHAPTER!!!
Jason Hardman
Only in twenty or so comments surrounding this one, including mine. So nope 😂
Robert J Leeds
What with double post and all
AfroMocha
Haha I thought I was losing it
Chris Furry
If you took 2 seconds to refresh and check the thread, all of you would know that plenty of people have informed Shirt that the chapter was double posted.
Robert J Leeds
Anyone else get "we didn't start the flame war" vibes
John goode
Really great ch thanks 👍
Jason Hardman
Am I the only one seeing the chapter twice back to back?
Paratus
You copy and pasted 2x.
Aidan Coleman
The text repeats you might want to delete the second half
L3p0rkhan
It's doubled
Matt Doyle
You know that thing where you select an item from a vending machine and two fall out? You know that thing where you select an item from a vending machine and two fall out?
Davan Krueger
In my opinion I think it was better this way than many others because there's only two other options he changes and conforms to them or they change the conform to him him gaining strength enough where they have to have a better relationship is in all honesty a pretty good outcome
Aaron Van Wormer
I thought the same thing! Only to have my hopes and dreams crushed in an instant.
AbyssalIceLord
Anyone elses have it doubled? Lol
J. E. Barney
And here I was excited about an extra long chapter 😭
Davan Krueger
This chapter got doubled
mockery jones
Double posted?
Kri5KT
TFTC! (Chapter pasted in twice)
TobiDoes
is anyone going to bring up the fact the chapter was repeated? or...?
Scott McCarthy
Is the chapter there twice?
Machalt
Two chapters for the price of one
Phillip Sheats
Is it just me or is the chapter displayed twice
David Petersen
I'm glad that the relationship with the Adventure Society is getting better. Sucks that it's only gotten better because of his gold rank status, but at least they are acknowledging what he's done and more or less where he stands power wise.
Azayrian105
Uh Shirt? You posted the Chapter twice? Like literally it just restarts again.
Tanner Lovelace
Yeah, reading it was like deja vu all over again!
Johnathon Stout
Great chapter! Thank you!
Lucas Gulick
Not normally what I hope for as a double chapter but I'll take what I can get 🤣
Nathan Emerson
I think you accidently copied the chapter in twice.
Steve Shelden
Oh man. Here I was watching the scroll bar, thinking I was getting an awesome super long chapter, and instead I get an accidental copy and paste of the same thing twice. YOU’RE A COCKTEASING CATFISH, ASSISTALOON!!! J/k. Love you both.
JonO
The chapter doubles starting again from li mei's inclusion
Jarrett Glass
Aww yissss.
Glenn S
BACK2BACK
Scott Way
Not sure if it's just me but the whole thing repeats (it says no i suppose not then restarts the whole chapter)
Aaron Schwartz
Is it just me, or did shirt accidentally hit paste an extra time in this post? I just read the same chapter twice
Thomas Black
At least they are finally treating him with diamond rank rules and getting out of his way. Good for them for doing what they should have done a long time ago.
Daniel Everest
This doesnt happen often
Domy
Text posted twice?
Sean Sheldon
I'm seeing the chapter twice in one post.
Quintin Landhan
Did the chapter get posted twice for anyone else? As in right at the end of the chapter it was pasted a second time
Cyrus McEnnis
I think there might be an issue with the formatting on this release - looks like two _slightly_ different versions got uploaded, one following the other
Thomas Todd
I think the edited and non-edited versions of the chapter are both on here
Michael Madsen
Ah beans
ShowBizGAL 1996
Biscuits.... or cookies! ;-P
Raphael
Sandwiches !
Andrew Johnson
5th? I must be slippin... BISCUTS!!
Daniel Wills
Biscuits?
Rowdy Robby
BOOK 11 DROP DAY COUNTDOWN 12 days, 8 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds 12.3333 days 296 hours 17,760 minutes 1,065,600 seconds MARK
