Hey, Alex here.
Quick update on how I'm probably going to start handling my writing going forward. This won't really change most things, it's mostly just me letting you guys know what's going on behind the scenes.
I've been experimenting with ways to keep my motivation up, even when life keeps trying to kick me in the teeth and drag it back down.
So instead of trying to hyper-focus on one project until I burn out on it, I'm probably going to start writing in cycles.
Basically, I focus on one story for a set stretch of time, then when that cycle ends, I move to the next story, and then rinse and repeat depending on how many projects I'm actively pushing.
Right now, that number is three, since Patreon voted for my third project.
So the current lineup is:
Hero × Gacha
MHA: Bond Resonance
Marvel: APEX
That'll probably be my lineup for now unless I hit a point later where I want to swap a project out and do another vote for what replaces it.
I'm thinking each cycle will probably be around a week, maybe two, while still making sure I hit my Patreon minimums.
My current minimums are:
Hero × Gacha — at least one chapter a week
MHA: Bond Resonance — at least one chapter every other week
Marvel: APEX doesn't have a minimum yet, since it's still in the very beginning phase. The plan there is still to build up at least 10 chapters before I even start posting it publicly.
Anything beyond those minimums in a month is basically going to come down to writing momentum, comments, power stones, collections, or me hitting some random mental goal I set for myself and deciding to push harder.
If you want to read ahead, I've got five chapters ahead on my two main projects over on P*treon:
P*treon.com/Alex_DLC000
Thanks to everyone who's been sticking around while I work on improving both my consistency and my Patreon overall.
And yes, if anyone cares, Discord is still coming soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Rias POV)
Rias watched from her seat as Sam, or what should be Sam, let loose a blast of golden lightning and fire onto the prone form of Riser.
Rias gasped, as she heard Riser scream echo before he was teleported away to the sidelines.
From her point, she saw the man collapse as his healing failed.
"AAAARGH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!!!!"
A roar drew everyone's attention back to the battlefield.
*"GRAAAAAARRRRR"*
Rias heard her father mumble as they took in the scene. "That's… my new son-in-law?"
Her brother, Sirzechs, just narrowed his eyes. "He's not in control of himself."
Rias felt her heart tighten. "He's…"
Grayfia nodded to her husband's words. "He does experience a loss of control when transformed, although this is a much more complete transformation than before."
The rest of the ORC girls looked between each other before settling on Rias, Akeno being the one to speak. "Rias, it's your call. The game has already ended."
Koneko's eyes flicked back to Sam's draconic form, her eyes showing some understanding.
Yumi tightened her fists in her lap, mumbling. "This is insane…"
Rias looked between her pieces. "We wait. Trust in Sam… we need to."
***
(Sam POV)
I FUCKING WON! TAKE THAT YOU EGOTISTICAL ASSHOLE
Sam–no, the dragon looked up to the sky letting out a deafening roar, causing the ice that was still melting to shatter.
Once it finished its roar, it took in its surroundings, eyes narrowing at the icy battlefield.
Still a lot of ice…
The dragon opened its mouth, a blast of flame erupted out in a wide arc.
It turned, continuing to target the ice around it.
Ice is not my domain… Burn!
The ice seemed endless as it continued to move and melt,
It moved slowly, making sure to eradicate the vile ice from its domain.
The dragon didn't notice itself slowly shrinking and the power of its flame diminishing as time moved on.
Wait… why am I targeting Ice? It's Esdeath's.
The flame stopped, the higher perspective of the dragon slowly shrank.
I'm… tired…
Smoke and steam seemed to engulf the dragon.
A moment later a steaming naked Sam fell from the cloud of smoke.
Before he hit the ground, Tiche dashed under him, catching him and sliding to a stop.
"Good job, Little Star, we got it from here."
Little Star… that's a cute nickname.
Sam felt his eyes get heavy as he blinked slowly. "It's alright to take a nap, right?"
Tiche let out a rare smile. "Yes, it is."
"That's good… I'll do that."
Sam's vision went black.
. . .
. .
.
Sam blinked awake feeling sore, as if he was laying on a bed too stiff or too soft.
"Urggh."
He stretched, his arms immediately hit something, or in this case, someone.
Akeno mumbled something softly as she grabbed the arm that had hit her, bringing it in-between her breasts.
On the other side, Rias had snuggled in close, head nestled onto his shoulder.
Koneko was on his chest, while Yumi and Asia were on the other sides of Rias and Akeno.
Sam closed his eyes. Oh boy, this is a lot.
Not wanting to wake the girls, Sam pulled up the Gacha.
Let's see what we got.
—
[Host has won his first official rating game.]
[Modifiers for rewards are as follows.]
-Clean sweep. Every piece on the opposite side was eliminated.
-King vs King. Host personally took down the opposing king.
-Outnumbered. Host won while severely outnumbered.
-Stolen Victory. This battle was supposed to belong to someone else, Host successfully stole it.
[Result: 1x Platinum Random Ticket, and 2x Gold Tickets of the Host's choice.]
—
That's… just as much as when I lost my virginity? Huh. The standards of this Gacha are weird.
Sam willed the Gacha to roll the Platinum ticket.
—
[🎲… Rolling Platinum Random Ticket…]
[Protean]
|Elite Ability|
Your body adapts to your abilities to make them more efficient and stronger, adaptation fades after Protean is disabled, an ability like claws would increase the strength throughout the body, an ability like fire manipulation would give higher heat tolerance etc.
—
That's actually useful? All my lightning and holy abilities should give me resistances, though I wonder what the dragon one will get?
Sam thought about what he should choose next. The Gacha had given him a choice to choose with the next two Gold Tickets.
Skills… are useful, especially when I can train them myself. Let's do that.
—
[🎲… Rolling Gold Skill Ticket…]
[Sun breathing]
|Elite Skill|
Demon Slayer - Sun Breathing is a specialized swordsmanship style and breathing technique created by the legendary swordsman Yoriichi Tsugikuni that mimics the sun and replicates it with the user's movements, techniques, and abilities. All techniques and forms are extremely varied and have no set pattern, making them the most versatile and effective against enemies. With magical power, solar flames that are effective against unholy can be manifested.
[The skill Novice Blade Mastery has been absorbed into Sun breathing]
—
Swordsmanship along with a breathing style?
Sam took a deep breath in, focusing on the knowledge, his eyes widened as he felt his body alight with strength.
What the hell?!
He let the breath slowly leak out, the effects lingering for a few seconds before fading.
What the hell, Sun breathing?
Sam shook his head, focusing on the last ticket.
Give me a trait that's good.
—
[🎲… Rolling Gold Trait Ticket…]
[Your Majesty]
|Elite Trait|
You have the blood of royalty inside of you, you have more charisma than the average person and it is easier to assert yourself as a figure of authority in people's minds. If you are responsible for someone, they will view you with more respect and authority.
—
I… Is that good?
Sam mulled it over in his head, royal blood might have other uses… he just couldn't think of any for his current abilities or traits.
Well I'm no devil, so blood won't determine my potential or something.
—
[Compatible Traits detected, fusing...]
-Hero
-Your Majesty
[Fusing complete.]
[Hero King]
|Legendary Trait|
You are a Hero King, blessed by light and born to rule. All Light and Holy-based abilities are strengthened alongside your physical capabilities. Beings aligned with the Divine or Clergy are more favorable toward you and are more likely to regard you with reverence and respect. Blessings placed upon you are stronger and last longer, and your presence naturally reinforces your authority over those under your responsibility. When you fight with the intent to protect or save others, you gain a temporary enhancement to your overall abilities.
—
"Oh.."
But before he could take in the weight of this new trait, the system pinged again.
—
[Evolution possible. Would you like to proceed?]
Evolution involves the following:
-Exoskeleton [Ability] 100% mastery.
-Mithril Skeleton [Trait]
-Draconic Escalation [Ability] 11% mastery.
—
Exoskeleton must have ticked over during the game. I'll do this one later, Draconic Escalation is a wildcard I'd rather not use when covered in girls.
He dismissed the system as he moved ever so slightly. All the girls on him moved to wiggle closer, squishing him further.
Sam sighed. "Girls… I'm awake now."
Suddenly five pairs of eyes opened and stared at him before dog piling him further into the bed.