Chapter: Chapter 755Weeks earlier, in the middle of a war with the Black Tower, Beatrix put a stack of purchase orders on Alex’s desk and did not sit down.Rain was coming down the fourth-floor windows in sheets. Below them New Avalon was all wet lamplight and moving umbrellas, and every one of those orders had a Red Tower address within two miles of it.“Explain these to me.”“They’re land purchases.”“I can read.” She pushed the top sheet across. “Warehouse leases. Ninety of them. Every single one sits inside walking distance of a Red Tower branch, and we are currently at war with a completely different tower.”Alex didn’t look up.“Then it’s a good week to buy warehouses. Nobody’s paying attention.”“Alex.”“Sit down, Beatrix.”She sat.…“There are three organisations in this country that want to destroy us,” he said. “Black. Red. Ferrowgate. All three of them are talking to each other and all three of them are waiting to see how the first one goes.”“So you’re preparing for Red before Black is finis
Last Updated: 2026-09-06
Chapter: Chapter 754Red Tower had three hundred red tower and thirty thousand magicians in the Arcanum State.That night, there were almost none of them in a Red Tower.…It was not carelessness. It was the business.Red sells fire by the month. Every forge, every bakery oven, every kitchen stove in the state runs on a flame-charm, and a flame-charm has to be renewed by hand, at the customer’s door, by a man who walks there.Red’s people lived in their own houses. They slept above shops in the market districts, in rented rooms near the harbour, in cottages on the roads out east, so they could be at the first door by seven in the morning on the first of the month."White Tower had summoned every fighter drone, every ex-black-magic recruit, it commanded to attack all of the Red towers."Red Tower never summoned anybody, because it was ambushed.…At the Halloway branch there were twenty-six people inside at midnight.Four cooks. Nine record-keepers. Two men on the gate. A duty elder named Corliss who had d
Last Updated: 2026-09-06
Chapter: Chapter 753Six hours earlier, on the roof of the Regent Group building, a machine the size of a carriage was running in the dark.No lights on it. No sound except a low hum you felt in your teeth.Gaia the Mother AI had gone up the week after thirty men climbed the east stairwell, and it had not been switched off since. Every drone over the White Tower answered it.Every drone over the Regent building. Every drone in the Arcanum State, all the way out to the coast.Alex stood in front of it with his hands in his pockets.“Say it again,” he said.“Two hundred and ninety-six,” Gaia said. “Moving out of the Red Tower’s north gate in nine groups. They are not travelling together and they are not travelling as magicians.”“Where are they going?”“Every route converges on the banquet grounds. Estimated arrival, twenty-one forty.”“Two hundred and ninety-six.” Alex almost smiled. “He rounded up.”…Beatrix found him there twenty minutes later with her coat still on.“Cancel it,” she said.“No.”“Alex,
Last Updated: 2026-09-04
Chapter: Chapter 752For two days the United State of Magic could not talk about anything else, and it kept getting stuck on the same three things.The first was simply that Black had lost.Every person in that country had gone to bed that night knowing how it would end.Thirty thousand magicians against a school for poor children. Two hundred and fifty branches against thirty.Nobody had even been able to get odds on it, because nobody would take the other side.They woke up and Black Tower did not exist.The second thing was worse, in a way, because it was so hard to hold in the head.It had taken one night. Not a siege.Not a season of skirmishes and lawyers and negotiated withdrawals, the way tower wars had always gone.Six and a half hours, start to finish, and by sunrise two hundred and fifty black buildings were standing in white paint with white light burning gently in their grounds.People drove out to look at them. Whole families, in the middle of the week. There were queues on the Dunmoor road.
Last Updated: 2026-09-02
Chapter: Chapter 751"Do not waste words—attack him together!" another elder barked. In an instant, all five raised their hands in sync, channeling their murderous qi into a devastating coordinated strike.Alex watched five old men raise their hands and understood, with complete clarity and no particular drama about it, that he was going to die.There was nothing left.He had put all of it into a dragon's skull an hour ago.He could lift the sword or he could stay standing, and he could not do both, and five men who had been sealed under a floor for thirty years were about to hit him with everything a five-hundred-year-old tower had thought worth saving for the end of the world.He got the blade up anyway.Habit, mostly.The five strikes came at him across the broken courtyard.And went out.Not blocked. Not turned. They came apart in mid-air about eight feet from him, unravelling into nothing at all, and what was left of them fell as harmless grey dust across the flagstones.White light was pouring in fr
Last Updated: 2026-08-31
Chapter: Chapter 750Nobody in the Arcanum State slept that night.By two in the morning it was the only story in the country, and it was still pitch dark, and that was somehow worse — every picture coming in was a picture of something happening in the middle of the night, half-lit, shaky, filmed by people who should have been in bed six hours ago and were instead standing in fields.Every paper had someone outside a tower gate.The state broadcaster had gone to continuous coverage at eleven and never gone back.There were forty people camped on the ridge above the Black Tower headquarters with long-lenses and no light to use them in, and a smaller crowd outside the White Tower in New Avalon with nothing to film at all, because the White Tower was dark and quiet and had been all night.And there was betting, all of it done before the sun went down.Open, loud, entirely legal betting in every hall and market in the country, on a war that at midnight had been three hours from starting.Black had two hundred
Last Updated: 2026-08-31
Return of Overthinker
When the demon finally harnessed human sins and negative emotions to harvest negative energy, it opened a spatial gate to the planets that were already ravaged by monsters and teeming with dark creatures. The beasts and monsters passed through the gate, unleashing havoc upon Earth. These monstrous creatures caused destruction on a massive scale, pushing the earth toward an apocalyptic catastrophe.
In this dark time, The Creator granted certain humans the ability, marked by symbols on their right hands, to wield the power of gods and angels to combat these dark creatures.
My ability was 'Overthinking,' the weakest, but with hard work, I persisted for 60 years to become the most powerful and the savior of the world. However, in my final moments, I was betrayed by a friend who was born rich and noble, who forced me to die to obtain everything I had worked so hard for. Nevertheless, before my demise, I sent my memories back to my younger years.
This time, I will obtain everything: the best items, the finest women, and the most potent abilities. All will be mine!
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Chapter: Chapter 204I was a bit surprised. "Isn't down there a place where the dead rest, and there is nothing but cold and barren land?" "At first, it was a place full of beauty, but those who did not like it destroyed everything in it, making it cold and barren. I hope you can help those suffering down there find kindness and peace. In truth, you can build a place far more beautiful than the palace of the gods because hell was initially a very beautiful place for those in need." "I accept it wherever You send me." *** In a temple where knowledge was usually shared, several humans who were teachers of various schools gathered to discuss important matters about knowledge. "Hey," said one human to another, "Why did the gods stop sharing their knowledge with us?" "Haven't you heard that the King of the gods, or God Indra, has been replaced?" "Really?" "God Indra is now angry after finding out that knowledge was given to humans by the previous Indra," said another human. "He stopped all knowledge fro
Last Updated: 2024-07-23
Chapter: Chapter 203After 1,000 years had passed, the three worlds experienced their golden age. There was no poverty or hunger throughout the three worlds. Everything was going very well. All dimensions entered a golden age because kindness became the most important thing in the three realms. Humans, gods, ashuras, and all beings were directed to continue giving kindness to all creatures. During my reign, everyone competed to do good so that there was no poverty, hunger, or lack. During that time, those who came to me, whether gods, ashuras, or humans, would get what they asked for. I did this as my way of doing good to all beings.One day, a dwarf-bodied brahmin came to my palace. The brahmin, called Vamana, had a body that was only waist-high to an ordinary human. He wore white clothes that wrapped loosely around his small body. However, considering that he was a human and came from the third dimension, being able to ascend to the twelfth dimension where the gods' palace was located was alr
Last Updated: 2024-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 202"I don't remember that part," I said. "Because each life makes you forget. I just want to say, if you give the gods' knowledge to humans, won't the gods lose their power? Haven't you humiliated them all? Your strength has made you not understand the feelings of the weaker gods." "Guru, if what you say is true, is my current strength because I was a strong spirit in the past?" He looked at me and weakly shook his head. "No, all spirits start from the same place." "Then why did I become strong?" "You had no fear, and your enjoyment of playing made you keep striving for something greater without caring for your own life." Brihaspati continued, "However, what placed you as King Indra is something else." "What is that?" "A sense of responsibility to protect the weak and make life better for all beings." Brihaspati sighed. "Those who have that sincerity will always be carried by karma and the will of God to re
Last Updated: 2024-07-21
Chapter: Chapter 201"Boss, you've become weak," said Raindo, one of the Ashura generals, approaching me. He looked enormous compared to my now smaller form. "You keep spending time in that school and library. You never fight anymore. You're going to become weak, and the previous Indra will soon return to reclaim his throne." "You just don't understand, my brother," I said, still reading a book. "Right now, I am ten times stronger than I was before." "I don't believe it," said Raindo, one of the strongest generals. "Let's test it." "Of course," I said, seemingly unconcerned. "Get ready." "I'm always ready," he replied. As soon as he said that, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking his body. He was thrown far, crashing into the palace walls and severely injured. "What happened?" he asked, looking confused and trying to stand up. He didn't know what had hit him. "I just attacked you. I gained the power
Last Updated: 2024-07-20
Chapter: Chapter 200“Oh,” I shouted. “That's easy.” Suddenly, I felt very smart. “I have plenty of wealth in the treasury.” Quickly, I ordered several Ashura to bring as much treasure as possible from Indra's vault and distribute it to all the Ashura. All the Ashura were happy. “Look, Guru, haven't I done a good deed? I shared my wealth with them.” I felt pleased. “Fool!” he shouted. “You haven't done a good deed at all. You should have given the wealth to those in need.” I fell silent. Quickly, I ordered all the Ashura to return the treasures they had received. The Ashura didn't need wealth; if there was one thing they needed, it was weapons. They all grumbled, and I quickly asked, “Do you want food and drink or wealth?” “Food!!!!” “Drink!!” None wanted wealth. Suddenly, it dawned on me. Who needs wealth? The Ashura don't need wealth, the gods already have plenty of wealth. The only poor creatures needing wealth are humans
Last Updated: 2024-07-19
Chapter: Chapter 199“Prepare all the food and drinks. All the gods must order their servants to bring all the food from their palaces. Call the apsaras, the heavenly maidens, and beautiful dancers. Call the singers and musicians. We will have a party.” So, a grand feast was held for days in the courtyard of Indra's palace. Music, dancing, and food never stopped. After that, the Ashura were left drunk in the palace courtyard. The gods had returned to their respective duties. I moved around to see the entire palace, and suddenly, an old man appeared before me. “What have you done to this place?” the old man asked, looking at the palace's new weapon-laden decor. “Who are you?” I asked, confused. This old man wore the simple clothes of a Brahmana, a single piece of cloth. The Brahmana do not fight, so we never touch them. If they get angry, we could get the worst curses of our lives. But if they are pleased, they could grant us many new and exciting powers. We prefer to appease them and wait for the
Last Updated: 2024-07-18
