The Reticent Blade - Chapter 3 - Welcome Back Banquet (Part One)

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)

“The world underwent a mutation that year. The game world appeared in reality and various disasters started to ravage the world.

To resist all of this, everyone had to plan for their job choice, manically level up, and strive to become stronger.

There were mages, warriors, knights, and summoners—over 100 different kinds of jobs. This was a job that a person would be stuck with his entire life. Thus, everyone chose cautiously. Out of this dazzling array of jobs, Moses picked Knight—which had the most average ability value—to be his job.

At the same time, he also awakened the Hundredfold Increase System.

“”Ding! Detected that the host learned Shielding. The skill has become Absolute Defense after the hundredfold increase!””

“”Ding! Detected that the host learned Defensive Domain. The skill has become No Damage Domain after the hundredfold increase!””

At the same time, Moses also discovered that his job could evolve infinitely!

“”Ding! Detected that the host’s Knight job has met the conditions for a hundredfold increase. The job has become Great Knight… Paladin… Impregnable Fortress!”

Introduction (2): Beautiful girl’s exclusive car, street supercar, hardcore off-road, thugs in suits, small steel guns, urban SUVs, golden collar favorites, tool cars, irritable pickups, grocery shopping cars… car explosions, passionate racing , practice second-hand cars, everything here.

Introduction (1): Secretary: “Mr. Zhang, this quarter, the sales of used cars increased by 250% month-on-month, and the sales of new cars increased by 380% month-on-month. The profit of car modification, repair and other businesses also hit a new high.”

Zhang Chen: “Okay, hard work, give one million yuan to each reader who supports this book.”

PS: This book is in the third person. 1 and a half female lead.

- Description from novelbuddy

In previous life, I was just a mediocre guy, and accomplished nothing.

After reincarnation, I seize the opportunity of being a legend of the times. In this life, I am the protagonist in Tianxuan World, a great master of martial arts and a founder of making elixirs. What? You want to compete with me in weapon and equipment refining? Then, you should know the Craft God is my disciple…

- Description from Novelupdates