The Bounty Hunter's War

Icalos | one_shot | Complete

Soldier. Survivor. Killer. Hunter. Legend. Hero. In truth, Jhena Cuuhl was but a drifter, wandering her way across the stars, plying her skills to the highest bidder. Little more than a weapon without a wielder, cutting her way through an uncaring galaxy. And then everything changed. A strange message crossing her eyes. The boundary between worlds collapsing. Death and destruction raining from above the skies, deadly creatures spilling out from beneath the ground. A catastrophe engulfing the entire universe. And so the galaxy turns to her, and places its fate in her hands. One last mission. One last chance. Can one woman save the universe? A System invades novel set in a Sci-fi universe. SciFi vs. Fantasy! Technically LitRPG but we won't see the MC's status much for story reasons. My entry for the June 2022 Royal Road Community Magazine Contest. Now complete at 15,653 words!

9.24 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 15:28

A Glass Window

Oinos | contemporary | Complete

This is the story of a glass window that gets installed on the fa鏰de of a train station. It's nothing serious, after all it spends most of the time just windowing there as people pass by and live their lives.

2.18 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 16:56

The nature of legacy

sarvashaktimaan | contemporary | Complete

By the grace of the Three, may their blessings touch you. May all around you prosper, as shall you. When you depart, may the only sin staining you be death. May your legacy not be forgot. This is very different from my usual writing. Hope it does not disappoint. Participating in January 2024 RR magazine. This is a self contained short story with no direct relationship with my other work.

6.13 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:01

The Oresteia (Modernized)

HAXX0RZ | historical | Complete

All three of the great Greek Tragedians have written plays about the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. Yet theirs is in fact not a story of tragedy, but rather one of redemption. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration to be heard throughout the ages. Forming a discourse set against the emergence of Athenian democracy out of a period of chaos and destruction, the Orestian plays are compelling stories of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society. In the beginning, we witness how a king's decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his family, culminating in a terrible act of retribution. In the aftermath of regicide, we behold how a son must set out to avenge his father's death by committing a most egregious sin. In the end, the sinner is tormented by supernatural powers that can never be appeased, but ultimately finds redemption and ends the curse on his house once and for all. Woven through all of this is the story of a friendship so close that it elevates itself to brotherhood - Where the blood of the covenant is shown to be indeed thicker than the water of the womb. In this very brief twelve-chapter modern rendition of the Orestian plays, I have chosen to place my focus mainly on the lives of the characters Orestes and his best friend Pylades. The chapters, each around 2000-2500 words, are split up evenly between them in first-person narrative. I hope that you will come to enjoy reading this heartwarming story, but more importantly, that you see how the conflicts portrayed in the story, whether human or institutional, are still much very relevant to our societies today. Note on Sources: The details of this story is very loosely based on The Oresteia by Aeschylus. And I mean very loosely. Other sources that I referenced for detail and inspiration are Mythology by Edith Hamilton, Electra by Sophocles, and Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides. You may also find that I have quoted some of these works, and others (such as Shelley's Ozymondaeus), without citations (average of 1-2 such quotes per chapter). I did this because I do not have the ability to describe certain scenes nearly as well as some of those writers. If you read a particularly beautiful piece of prose here, chances are it's probably stolen lol. Also, I wrote this during the summer between my high school senior year and my college freshmen year. It was the summer of 2020, and being quarantined apparently gets my creative side out lol.

15.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:30

Life of a Lich

EldritchPotato | horror | Complete

My life was overtaken by one purpose that killed me, but I made peace with that. The problem was when I suddenly found myself in an alien fantasy world. To make matters worse I'm a walking corpse wielding unholy magic and enemy number one for the holy crusaders who guard the kingdom from creatures like me. Now I have to figure out how to survive in this world and what my purpose is now, well that part is easy at least, I'm going to rid this world of one piece of filth at a time. Who would have thought the heroes would be worse than the villains? Warning: This story contains explicit violence and content which some people may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised. Life of a Lich will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday. Chapters are released early on my patron.

27.53 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:45

Noirceur

Denwa Macska | mystery | Complete

Mutated, despised, hunted and sentenced to death  this is life as Salia knows it, and it catches up with her when she and hundreds of others are captured to drown in the vastness of the sea. But water doesn't forget, and just as the last hope threatens to fade, a way out reveals itself that requires only one sacrifice: Humans.Destruction can be so simple.Until Salia realises that revenge will never bring peace.

15.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:58

Oxmoron

TrafficButter | satire | Complete

He died, as all things do. He got combusted, as all things do. He became part of the air, as all things do. He got absorbed by some flora, as all things do. He got eaten, and he's a bull again& As all things do, right? After his sentience whirled around some abstract cycle, Triple-A now attempts to live peacefully, undergoing conversion and transformation as his mind exceeds that of simple herd behavior. He went from wanting to let the grass grow under his feet to undergoing an existential crisis regarding life and death; he needed to squash this beef. Uploads daily at 8:48am EST

2.32 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:13

Goreblaster [Pulp Fantasy Satire]

Kleggt | satire | Complete

Goreblaster - a beefcake whose prime ingredient is over-the-top monster slaying, topped off with the delicate frosting of the desperate need for validation and adoration. Under the (mostly) helpful guidance of his hapless assistant slash manager, Percy, the pair turned his natural skills (and incredibly unrealistic physique) into a career of seemingly unending foe-crushing-heroics. Goreblaster is a series of short stories (~10k words each) following the exploits of the barbarian and is a pulp trash novel by intention! Full of questionable uses of the written language and some satire of the fantasy genre. (Think Conan x Dangermouse x a stale cheese sandwich). It is also a meta-fiction within my usual Deathforged universe - a seemingly unending series of unpublished pulp novellas of no known author, the various handwritten tomes having been found all across the world of Othea over several decades.

18.84 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:16

New Island

fsarbolaez | satire | Complete

A new island rises off the coast after a major earthquake. Soon, small valuable gems are discovered, while the civilians and government begin coming into conflict with one another. However, something primordial stirs deep within the land and under the waves. (Content Warning: Contains foul language, violence, gore, xenophobia, traumatic experience, and moments of allusions to assault, self-harm, and harm ideation)

9.55 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

The Signal

Glacialfury | satire | Complete

What if the illustrious Mr. Hawking was right and searching the stars for life is a bad idea? Read on for a different take on the age-old question.

0.59 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

The Potion Shop

Mircea Florea | satire | Complete

"I am Sir Agandir of the house of Paltrinon, and I seek your aid in performing my quest.""What quest will that be, my lord, Sir Agandir?""Slaying the cursed beast that roams the skies of Wellos.""I would gladly assist you, sir, but I am afraid slaying dragons was one of my weakest talents and it has decreased with age.""Don't play with me, old man!" The knight leaned over the counter and grinned through his thick scruffy black beard. "I NEED POTIONS!"

0.68 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

Monsters of Terra: A Compendium

DarenGillingham | one_shot | Complete

Demons, Dragons, ghouls, and gheists. The monsters of Terra are many. I, Nicholas Wolfram shall tell you all about them in the hopes you may avoid the fate of some of my students. Read on, lest a lack of knowledge be your undoing. These monsters are based on those found in The Alchemist Series.

20.83 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:22

Codename: Ghost

Trish | one_shot | Complete

Everyone has superpowers, and mine wasn't anything special... until I got recruited out of prison. [June 2023 RR Magazine Contest] This short story is a study of a background character in a collaborative project I've been working on with a fellow RR author, Arlen K. Our collab is projected to start posting in 2024, so if you are enjoying Codename: Ghost and would like to see more of this world that he lives in, smash that "Follow Author" button to be alerted to new releases. If you would like more of this world now, check out Portal to Regret. Maybe you'll recognize the MC. = As always, comments, follows, favorites, ratings and reviews are appreciated, especially as there is a lot more planned for this world. Codename: Ghosthas been exclusively published on RoyalRoad. All other sites have stolen the story. If you find this title anywhere else, please PM me on RoyalRoad or email me at [email protected]. Thank you!

8.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:22

The Family

TheImperial | historical | Complete

A Short Story about a family that gets together over the holiday season. Even after they drift apart, the children off to live their lot own way in a tough world, they will never stop being family. A tribute/gift I wrote for my whole family.

1.31 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 14:11

Ghost Story

Pocket_Pigeon | historical | Complete

Left behind by the flow of time, how would you spend eternity?

0.91 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 18:30

Fairystruck

Rhion | historical | Complete

The good neighbors are awake and dangerous for all who cross them. Etain has crossed them before and knows the signs to look out for. Featuring a few different Celtic mythology systems

0.86 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 18:30

I'm In Love With My Possessed Demon Sword

jaauerbach | historical | On going

Mati was a typical blacksmith's apprentice, until the fateful day he discovered a long-lost demon sword hidden in a cave near his village. To make matters more complicated, inside the sword is the trapped soul of a girl named Lyra from hundreds of years ago. Despite having never left his valley and barely able to lift the smith's hammer, Mati vows to help gather the eight crystals needed to free Lyra. Now, many years later, the duo are near the end of their journey, and Mati has rather inconveniently fallen in love with the disembodied voice of the girl he has never met. But with the fateful day approaching, will Mati be able to muster up the courage to not only secure the last crystal, but also confess his true feelings to Lyra?

8.31 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:11

Acquired Taste

Random Mudkip | horror | Complete

A coven of vampires is investigated by a hapless FBI agent. Trigger Warning: Contains gratuitious violence and foul language.

3.21 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 18:38

Cuddle & Monster

PrincessFelicie | mystery | Complete

After a malevolent spell intended to turn her into an animal goes awry, Cherry finds herself stuck as a plush toy. She now has to cooperate with the warlock that tried to transform her in the first place as her latent magic goes out of control and starts to change the warlock in unexpected ways. Content warning: Temporary death, Animal TF, Inanimate TF, (accidental) Non-Consensual TF & Mind Changes Cover by DoodlerBee

15.52 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 18:44

Ascendance

Evil_Reviewer | satire | Complete

A short story. Involves the main character tragically suffering her terrible fate. Is very well-written, although there may be some small errors. Has one chapter.

0.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 09:35