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M.J. Markgraf

M.J. Markgraf

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M.J. Markgraf posts

Kingdom of Rust Chapter 20

The town was as dead and quiet as I remembered it from my previous visit. Or so I thought at first glance from my vantage point on the distant ridge. I had decided not to blunder into the town this...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 19

When I woke up, I felt extremely lethargic. I tryed to turn my head but the effort is too much. I’m in a room and can feel a rough straw mattress under me but that’s really all I can see as I t...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 18

The farther I got from the valley and the closer I got to home the less my mind conjured images of my imminent demise. Sure I was still afraid that my former mentor would catch up to me but keeping...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 17

“Well, well, well… what do we have here?”

Startled by the sound of Teacher’s voice, I scramble to my feet. Weeks of practice honing the instinct into me, only to relax a moment later....

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 16

It was easy enough to return to the secluded valley of the elves. It felt weird thinking of them as elves instead of strange humans but I didn’t want to belittle their customs.

As with the ...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 15

The needle slid through my cheek making me wince, which made the stitches pull, which caused me more pain. Sewing my cheek closed was far harder than when I did my leg, it also hurt more. Without a...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 14

Our assignment took us east for a full week by horse. It was the first time I had seen the eastern mountain range. My father had told me about it from his travels but it was one thing to hear about...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 13

After three dusty days on the road, where Teacher did his best to break my spirit, we arrived at Roddan.

The town itself wasn’t much to look at. It was smaller than the town with the Magist...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 12

A ray of sun hitting me directly in the eyes jerked me from my restless slumber. Groaning from lack of sleep, I slid my half-exposed blade back into its sheath after I realized I wasn’t in danger...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 11

Teacher tied up his horse in a stable near the city outskirts and I silently trailed behind him. My passing left a wet trail along the ground and a chorus of snickers from people we passed. I swear...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 10

The next few days were a nightmare for me. “Teacher” as he kept telling me to call him, he refused to tell me his real name. I assumed he wanted to be called that so I couldn’t find him later...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 9

After escaping the underground I had been pursued by a few more monsters. Each time I successfully evaded them but I could tell something was wrong with me.

First was the non-stop sweating. I...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 8

The blue glow seemed to be coming from a doorway on the far side of this cavernous room. I carefully made my way over, trying not to splash or make any more ripples than I had to. I was also carefu...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 7

The noise was loud and I only made it a dozen steps down the street before a lumbering behemoth of a monster stepped from around the far corner at the next crossroads.

I froze in panic, looki...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 6

After I recovered from my moment of existential panic, I calmed down a bit. I was still well and truly afraid of the monsters roaming the city but I now had time to think of a way to survive.

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 5

As I raced to catch up to the scavengers, I realized, I left a fortune of items behind. I doubted anyone would be kind enough to take care of them for me until I returned.

I huffed and puffed...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 4

Cresting a small rise, I spotted the telltale signs of smoke from chimneys in the distance. I estimated a few more hours of walking and I would arrive at Shad.

From what I could learn through...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 3

“You know Gan… you didn’t have to walk all the way here with me.”

“Bah… what sort of friend would I be if I let you walk to the outskirts by yourself? God forbid an animal or band...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 2

After dinner and the lesson on how to care for the dagger, I went to my room. It was a luxury that most families in the area didn’t have. It wasn’t that my father was wealthy. I had seen the ho...

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Kingdom of Rust Chapter 1

Clack! Clack! Clack!

A rapid staccato of impacts reverberates around the courtyard as my friend Gan intercepts the strikes of my wooden training sword against his wooden shield. But my mind i...

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Kingdom of Rust cover art

Most of you have seen this already, but this amazing art is by artsantis over on Fiverr

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Update for April.

Little change of plans for April. I was going to wait another week to release but I realized that the Writathon starts on the 1st. So to help take advantage of that fact and try and get a larger au...

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Release schedule

With Mana System coming to an end and my new story, Kingdom of Rust kicking off in a few weeks, this is the perfect time to change things up. Do you prefer I keep the Saturday release, or would you...

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Mana System Afterword


Hello everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read Mana System. When I first started this story, it was on a whim. I never really expected to be writing this for two years or for it ...

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Mana System Epilogue

Martin strode down the hall of the capitol building with a worried smile on his face. He was a bit greyer now but he still oozed charm and confidence. Time had been kind to him.

The city had ...

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Mana System Chapter 226: The devil you know

As soon as the pirates realized the Guild ships were approaching the island, they broke off the fighting and retreated toward the edge of town to dig in. They weren’t stupid enough to attack the ...

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Mana System Chapter 225: A valuable lesson

Groaning, I opened my eyes. All I saw was darkness. I tried turning my head or moving but it seemed like I was pinned in place.

I fought down the urge to panic as I evaluated my condition. My...

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Mana System Chapter 224: Unexpected arrival

Those two words seemed to freeze everyone in place, but it wasn’t magic that caused it, it was fear. My body was frozen along with everyone else but my eyes rose into the air, tracking two creatu...

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Mana System Chapter 223: Beachhead

The meager fleet of ships I was now in charge of, rose from the dock and slowly spiraled into the air to get above the mist. The chaotic coloration of the mana storm was visible in the distance eve...

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Announcement for April

A bitter-sweet announcement for Mana System. After 2 years of writing it will be coming to a close at the end of this month. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision as I had been thinking about i...

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