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6 New Chapters
Yes, the Appraisal for the Elixir Machine is in this one.

Hey Everyone,

Saw a comment saying they'd joined recently and hadn't seen a batch of more than 3 or 4 chapters. Here's 6 to level things out. :)

Usually when I'm on the home stretch and I've got good writing sessions during the week, the count goes up higher. I don't have a backlog of chapters, so I can react to the pacing and whatever issues come up.

This set of chapters were a pivot from my original timeline because I saw some frustration with how the goals for Sal weren't clearly defined, and they didn't know what the theme of the story was. Hopefully these chapters will give an insight into what is coming.

I thought a lot about the concerns before deciding what path I wanted to take. At the end of the day, I want to be giving my readers what they want while staying true to my characters and to the story. If I agree with the changes, then I'll adapt. If I don't, then I won't.

So don't worry, this is still my planned story. Just a little shake-up of the chapters I was going with. I personally quite like these chapters and like the direction, so there's no resentment on my part of making the change. Oh, and you'll finally get the Appraisal for the Mythic-Grade Elixir Machine. Hope you like it!

Brian




Comments

Volarus

WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED! What a glorious way to start the week

Cedric 'Driky' Chatelain

Thx for the chaps. Haven’t finished them yet but caught a little snafu on chap 42: “so there can countless” I imagine it’s supposed to be “so there can be countless” Edit: really fun chaps! Love the part about Jez loosing his sh!ts 🤣

JJB4345_80_815

Thank you for the chappies! Friendly possible edit: Chapter 42 Quote: "Royce was saying that there are different strains within the plants, so there can countless permutations even if you use the same parameters. /Quote there can countless ==> there can be countless That was the only possible edit that I noticed through all of the chapters.

T W

Ive just started reading the chapters but I'm immediately happy because salv went to his friends and is spending time with them instead of just jumping into next project over n over I really want to see lots of barry and divinity, and yes upgrade too love! bet you cant tell lol

Naotsugu97

Thanks very much for the chapter. I enjoyed the guild exposition! 🥳

Robert Vick

i love the end of chapter 44.

Barbara Collier

Good morning. What a wonderful way to start Monday morning in Florida.

Jonathan Robichaux

An earlier chapter dump is THE BEST way to start the week off. Thanks brian!

LadyLark

Your walking a line with the Delvers guild. In some ways it makes sense. Chatfield seems to be trying to catch them. Everyone knows they are Shady. Sal sees them as dangerous but everyone is sort a looking down on them because of their flaws. Making it seem like you’re going to have Sal be kidnapped. Something that was mentioned often through out your books. Especially recently by Barry. It’s just… I kinda want my expectations to be subverted. I want to see this go in a different direction. I understand if you can’t do that for various reasons though. Should be a good read.

Max

Question for chapters 44 and 45 In chapter 44, you describe the difference between generalist or specialist guilds.  In chapter 45, Sal decides to go with a specialist guild, and that feels like an important decision.   Can you explain the differences between specialist and generalist guilds in more detail?  Because currently, as I understand it, the difference would be this: If you have skilled members with certificates, you can take on more contracts and ones that would otherwise not be available to you and earn more money. If all your members are below average, you create a generalist guild and hope you get some contracts for cheap labor everyone could perform.   I don't think that was your intention but it is how I understood it.

Scott Gable

Man poor Jez being the paperwork guy…oh don’t forget Sal did this, and this and that…this probably doesn’t count…I’m surprised he didn’t just walk away

LadyLark

I probably should have said this in my other comment but… it would make total sense… sorta if Chatfield had the Delvers guild come in because he wanted students to see differences in a good guild vs a bad one. The delvers are the shady guild and then he brings in proper guilds like the Reavers and Dragoon’s for the students to give them a stalk difference.

T W

I suspect it wouldn't make a lot of sense if sal actually got kidnapped, Everyone knows they are shady - Sal has expressed concerns, Petro knows the dangers, Divinity has her visions and all those who matter know the value of Sal (Most dont even want him in dungeons n towers at all, ever), If they used him as 'bait' and he gets kidnapped would display a level of incompetence so extreme it just wouldn't fit into Brians writing it would be such forced conflict

LadyLark

From what I got generalists had skilled individuals. While specialists had people who excelled in certain areas like Sal & Sakura.🧐

Max

Jez's line of "Guilds aren't vanity projects" was powerful and showed that everyone treated the discussion for creating his guild like a joke. But this is a significant milestone in his life. If I were in Sal's shoes at this moment, I wouldn't appreciate how unserious they were treating this procedure.   By the end of chapter 44, one would need to question if Jez is qualified to evaluate the grade of the guild.   Why is Jez unaware of Sal's accomplishments?  In his lectures, Jez always felt dangerous because he had more information than you would expect. It doesn't feel like he wouldn't know all the things Sal did. They had prepared for this meeting for a long time, and Jez should have talked with his sponsors and guardian in advance to evaluate Sal's accomplishments.   Also, everyone connected to Sal should know that after three weeks in the hospital, he injured himself after creating the elixer machine. How can you, as Jez - his teacher, not know that something big happened in the crafting department and investigate?     I understand that these chapters are there to remind the reader what Sal has already accomplished, but why do it in a belittling/dismissive way?  I would suggest that Jez is acutely aware of all of Sal's accomplishments, lists them, and explains how big their impact is on the guild's rank.   That would feel more earned and an appreciation of everything Sal has done so far instead of an unprepared meeting and Quest telling Jez in chapter 45 that he should skip the calculation and just give Sal a grade of 8.

Max

Yes, but shouldn‘t every adult/hero excel in certain areas unless you are below average or dropped out of school?

Heather Herren

Awesome chapters… but who is going to test the elixirs??? :-D

Max

Maybe a suggestion for chapter 41 page 1   When Barry asked Sal what he did to keep himself sane, I think an awesome answer would have been something like this:   "I was waiting for my good friend Barry to visit me and help me train his awesome illusions power. Kind of a shit thing to do to let me down like this. Divinity told me you have a thing with the infirmary, but that was still not cool."   That could then lead to an explanation of why Barry didn't visit and would give us more insight into the character because I expect there is a story about why Barry did show up. If it's just that Barry doesn't like the smell of hospitals, I would be very disappointed.

BrianJNordon

Personally, I disagree with you. Jez exercising caution about vanity projects is in relation to Sal skipping from Tier 10 to Tier 8. Jez hates people taking shortcuts and he's trying to be fair. He wants Sal to understand what it means to be in a Guild. He hasn't sat down with Sal to conduct the Guild Mastery class, so he's right to caution Sal, who he doesn't know much about other than how he's making Q-Cred. Jez looks at the accounts of students in his Administration Class to see their earnings. He's not investigating their lives. In Jez's head, Sakura is an incredible fighter that shouldn't be signing with a Crafting Guild. He makes that stance clear. He also didn't know about Vanessa and her dealings with the Delver's Guild, a contract that he brokered. Yet, he showed he approved of her still being a Hero. Even praising her, because he respects capability. That's why he knew about the Obsidian Hulker. He took a keen interest in the combat potential. I don't say this to shut down your opinion, but I disagree and wanted to explain why. Jez, in my head, has been consistent with his characterisation until now.

Max

Thank you very much for the explanation.  Now that you point that out and remind me of what Jez did, I see how my opinion of him was incorrect.  In my memory, he was an excellent teacher for Sal and was very insightful and competent. I forgot that he brokered the deal for Vanessa.   Therefore, I thought it was out of character for Jez to be lazy and ignorant. I apologize for this part of my feedback. But I think that most of the feedback is still valid if you relate it to Jez as in his position as the representative of the United Guild's Association instead of him as a person. He should have investigated the accomplishments thoroughly before he went to a meeting to discuss the creation of a guild.   And for the part about the vanity project. I just wanted to compliment your wording there. I'm not a native speaker and therefore had to search for the meaning of vanity projects, and this is what I got: something that is done with the aim of getting praise, fame, or approval rather than for serious or good reasons. I thought this line was very impactful because I feel that we sometimes forget that Quest Academy's purpose is not fun and giggles. It is to train the next generation of heroes who should save the world. That is some serious business.

Jim Swift

"Only possible edit?" What about "He had went... " in Chapter 42. :-)

Sango

oh my gosh !! thank u for the early post!! I was not expecting !

Tim Walloch

Great chapters. I loved the appraisal sheet.

Tom

Alex as a mad scientist type is the update we didn't know we wanted, but absolutely needed

Pickled Rick

My expected reason would be a close family member that spent a lot of time hooked up to machines when he was very young.

Ron Blondeau

Wow! Great chapters. Having put the Delvers guild back into the story line is a good move. It will make for great action when/ if they try to make a move on Sal. Need to reread these chapters when I loose the sinus headache I have at the moment.

Kiwi

Thank you for the chapters now I have something to do at work 🙂

Kiwi

The Delvers being at the Academy is awesome, don’t like the sound of them at all but I’d say there is more behind it than what we are lead to believe Part of me also was hoping it was Grandpa Silverson and Sals uncles (but only for pure selfish reasons that I really wanna meet them after Petro said they were stronger than him…. Well was stronger.)

Marco

Great chapters. I'm so excited the guild is official. And I feel like Jez is about to be very frustrated when this new elixir starts earning the guild bank!

Deko

Should Jez have done his research? I'm just thinking from someone in an approval position taking in an application. He went into the meeting expecting them to apply as a Tier 10 Guild, which was fairly simple. It was noted that some people being there at the meeting was a surprise to him. That they wanted to push to Tier 8 was never made known to him until that meeting, as such he put the onus back on them to plead their case and provide solid examples as to why they should be allowed in at a higher Tier. Did he likely know of some of these examples? Absolutely. However until they made the push to come in at a higher Tier, it didn't matter as the new Guild was already approved at a Tier 10 grade, he wasn't going to do their work for them.

Deko

Your initial understanding pretty much reads correctly. Generalist would be something that would have a single focus for the most part, Crafting Guild, Delving Guild, etc. And so all your employees would be trained/hired to focus on that one aspect. Whereas a Specialist Guild can have Teams/Committees/Squads that are more focused/trained/led by people with advanced skills in a specific area. Those who lead those squads/teams would then be reviewed by the Hunter's bureau to ensure they have the skills/training/experience necessary to take on the specialist contracts at whatever Tier they're required to. A Generalist guild would likely have an overall rating and be reviewed on the state of the guild as a whole, whereas Specialist guilds would have a lot of smaller squad/leadership reviews and accreditation necessary to advance, a heck of a lot more paperwork, but allowing them to take on more stuff.

Semper Malus

Why does everyone else get to fiddle with the stuff Sal makes? Other than that ONE TIME with Jackal, Sal hasnt played with anything he's made lately! I hope this doesn't become a trend where he just hands off all his inventions letting everyone else have all the fun of testing.

Dawn Zeleznik

Enjoyed the chapters. Alex is funny, just randomly creating elixirs. I’m glad the guild is official. I hope we are not about to see a dark side of Robert where he is actually friends with Shade.

Kazys Dylys

Give as the story as you envisioned. There will always be someone who's unhappy with something, so just continue your own way and give us the best story that you can. Enjoying the story so far. Great work 👏

Max

Thank you very much for your perspective. I really had to think hard about how that made me feel. I had to reread the chapter to check why I came to my conclusion. I think I have to disagree based on chapter 44, the lower half of page 4: "So, I'll explain my role here fairly... just so we're all on the same page. I've been granted the authority to designate the rank of your Guild based on everything you've accomplished to date." That sounds to me like he is responsible for investigating and evaluating before the meeting to see if Sal qualifies for more than grade 10. And Jez did some investigation otherwise, he wouldn't know that Anna would be part of his guild. But maybe you are right and he just needs to decide if the accomplishments are sufficient. But in this case I would believe that Jez would ask Sal to list all his achievements to rate them to designate the rank and not presenting his incomplete list about Sal himself.

Pickled Rick

If Sal gets another core like the one Doc Ameye gave Sal for the Arkwright machine will the machine start making and computing new elixirs and ingredients itself? Or will the essence programming bridge that gap in a roundabout way?

Pickled Rick

Masterclasses and those challenge crests are the universe equivalent of getting a degree in crafting or assassinations. To be a generalist you just need be good at something and you will get general commissions that reflect your guild focus and reputation. A specialist needs someone with a degree proving an above average proficiency in the commission type. To take a real world example a car mechanic is a generalist they are skilled but they can be taught the skillset on the job. An F1 mechanic is your specialist. It not enough to know how to get the car running again you need the specialist knowledge of gear ratios and slip differentials all that fancy stuff that requires a University degree to maximise the car performance to win the championship.

Gabriel Segatto

i can't quite remember, but didn't he have problems controlling his powers? the limbo? maybe he spends time recovering in a hospital

JoeO

Great chapters! Can’t wait to see how Sal handles a guild meeting with Sophia, Villa, Upgrade, Venessa, Fabi, Sakura and Blathnaid (maybe even Divinity and Hannah)

Fearghal Flynn

Brian’s Irish, we say “he had went” “I had went” They had went” frequently in everyday conversations, so that might have been intentional. It’s more of a colloquialism than anything else. I think…

Fearghal Flynn

Go raibh míle maith agat, Brian. Loved the 6 chapter dump!

dark phoenix99

Do we know why Vanessa and Upgrade don't like each other? Really good set of chapters. Loved What's his face going full mad scientist. Very fun and out of character in the best way. Its like all the limitations on his ability have been removed so he's letting his freak flag fly. Can't wait to see what he's making. I sorta agree that Jez seemed to go really blind. I get your answer Brian. He's dot every I and cross every T kinda guy. He's part of the system and as we can tell the system is corrupt. He isn't, but he's an enabler. I like the action stuff, but I love Sal vs Society stuff more. Everything he said makes sense within the context of what exists, but no one is asking, why does it exist in the first place. Who is the guild association to decide what Sal's guild gets to do, how many people it has on it? Why do they get to levy taxes and decide which land gets reclaimed? Why do they get to be in charge at all? Seems odd that you can only count the guildmaster's actions, because you would think that being able to recruit powerful people would be a demonstration on its own. Most starter guilds wouldn't be able to do it. They wouldn't be able to afford them. Sal's different because he can offer things other than money, namely skill master and crazy powerful equipment. The Delver stuff is interesting. I'm sure it is what they're saying, that the delvers are being invited in as a trap, and I am sure it's also going to go tits up. They're evil, but also no one actually takes them seriously. Shade's a joke. I wonder if that's why Chatfield's tearing down divinity. He doesn't want her looking too far into the future to mess up his master plan. Chatfield thinks whatever happens, they'll be able to control it. They won't. Sal's dungeon team is going to go, very, very wrong. And I am here for it. This is the most momentum you've had all book. Really lays the groundwork for lots of options going forward.

Waterhobit

The Alchemy Machine was a group project to make though. It’s not just his creation. I feel like it was more an opportunity for Sal and the readers to see what teamwork from his guild could look like. And the Jackal was the last big thing he made.

Crystal B

Fun chapters! Thanks!

JoeO

We'll see...Fabi is his "fated" partner. He definitely needs some TLC. It's funny to read all the strong female characters that have to keep the male characters in check. Mica drags her bf up the ranking. Derek is the no fun, strong silent type who needs Blathnaid to translate. Barry needed a kick in the pants from Divinity. Brophy...is a ticking time bomb controlled by his mom. Chatty gets put in his place by Upgrade and Prestige. Shady Shade and Robert "might makes right" Phantom get kowtowed by Sophia. Sal's dad is the brains and is mom is the strong/safety blanket with a slight case of the bully.

Kiwi

With how Jez describe what a guild must do you have to question how the Delvers are tier one.

Dawn Zeleznik

I thought Vanessa and Upgrade’s dislike goes back to tying for number one in school.

Justin

Wonderful chapters and that was a great way to stir things up a bit with Shade. Huge fan of seeing Alex grow as a character and of Diva and Upgrade in the same room. Well done!

BaguaBrady

Really enjoying manically happy Alex!

Neil

Looking forward to the Dungeon confrontation with Shade. Interested in who else he has waiting for Sal in the Dungeon. I'd like to see Shade bring Erica in to Program Sal into joining Delvers and/or just a puppet.

Sam

Believe that they are on the other side of the country.

Koral

Don't name it "Mythic Guild". Just name it "Mythic". "Mythic Guild" is from the Department of Redundancy Department.

Bryan Swanson

I am really looking forward to the next set of chapters!

Sam

All the Guilds have Guild in their name. It's the standard.

Dennis Biancanello

Always prefer quality over quantity because life gives enough crap imho. That said i enjoyed the read as always. I confess i dont understand how the publishing world takes so long to put the material out there compared to your schedule here though.

Sam

Quick question Brian. Did Sal decide against having Villa as an advisor? I ask because she wasn't included in this meeting and since the number of available headcount affects the amount of Q cred needed to be earned, wouldn't she have to be counted as well?

Dawn Zeleznik

I didn’t remember Villa as advisor for the guild, just as possible advisor for the Chatfield module that Prestige did.

TDL

Quick question; wasn’t Sal and Fabi named as co-partners on this guild? If so, why wasn’t she at the meeting?

T W

Nah they were just co owners of the property,

R. Maxwell Steele

I was thinking about how he upgraded average cores until they eventually hit blight core. What happens when you upgrade a dungeon core?? Does it become a tower core or a portal core or something altogether new?

C

*innocuous whistle* Oh! Don't mind me. Just waiting around here to confirm it's actually Monday. It is. It is Monday. I just checked.

Explosions_Underway

I'd still like to know what the bad blood between Diva and Upgrade is about...

Brett 'Swantz' Swanson

Chapter 42: After the chart showing the appraisal of "Sal's School Project," Sal wonders how "the were able" when it should be "they."

Jack

Holy crap, Alex went full on mad scientist

Tyler Jansen

I know I am VERY LATE to this party, but I have to say it really ticked me off that Sal created this amazing design for a machine, nearly killed himself to finish it to be mythic, and while he's in the hospital recovering people just start using it like it's theirs. I know he had help constructing it, but its his. Sal is altruistic to a fault and I get that, but the fact Alex and the others just act like it's theirs to use now irks me