Return of The 8th Class Mage - Chapter 4

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

Ke Jin transmigrated into an era where gaming was in utter chaos. Everyone here deeply believed in the notion of buying happiness with money, as game companies ran wild with various schemes to trick and force players to spend.As a game enthusiast from his past life, Ke Jin felt like he was in a world without sunlight. Luckily, he obtained the Free Game Production System!Players could get the ultimate reward of the “Complete Collection of All Game Design Schemes” without spending a single cent!Not spending money? How hard could that be? Heap on the benefits!Give away 50 consecutive draws during the summer heatwave! Give away 100 draws on the second day after the server opens! Due to the game reaching 50 daily active users, we are issuing a cool skin set originally priced at 999! The planner's niece just turned 17 years and three months plus 7 days old, so we're giving away 50,000 crystals!My sincerity is almost flooding the players. Surely nobody will spend now, right?Secretary: Mr. Ke, good news! Our newly launched game has just reached over a hundred million in daily transaction volume on its first day!Ke Jin: Huh? How is that good news... No, what about the other game? The one where we give full 100-99 discount vouchers upon starting, isn't its sales terrible?Looking puzzled, the secretary said while anticipating the boss's reaction: They've been shouting things like 'what a conscientious company' and 'if we don't spend, they'll go bankrupt,' so they just topped up. That game sold a whopping one hundred million copies globally. Congratulations on making a billion!“......”At 3:30 a.m., lying in bed, Ke Jin was wide awake, unable to sleep. He posted a status: Please, I beg you, stop spending. You guys are really making it hard for me...Player: Understood, Mr. Ke is hinting life is hard, brothers, let's step up! Charge it!

The iron widow, the spider widow, male hunter, the witch of Neuwanstein castle, the embarrassment of noble ladies…….

An underprivileged prodigy, a cruel, ruthless world, and an epic story of battle and conquest. A young man with an exceptional inheritance leaves the small, rural city from which he hails on a journey to find the girl of his dreams. He defeats countless prodigies, sweeps through all forces that dare to stand in his way, and progresses step by step toward the pinnacle of all the worlds!
“I’m not targeting any gods in particular. All I’m trying to say is that all gods are trash in my eyes!”