Showing results by publisher "Tantor Media" in Cyberpunk

When Charles Morris is forced into retirement, the old multinational company CEO has to accept that it is all over. The days of running his financial empire have finally come to an end. All because of a stupid heart attack. While Charles is attending a fundraiser, however, something happens and he's transported into a strange medieval world where magic is real and legendary heroes coexist with mythical monsters. Follow him as he builds roads and shops, hires heroes, develops alliances with neighboring villages...but also fights terrible foes.

Welcome to Apex City, formerly Bangalore, where everything is decided by the mathematically perfect Bell Curve. With the right image, values, and opinions, you can ascend to the glittering heights of the Twenty Percent—the Virtual elite—and have the world at your feet. Otherwise you risk falling to the precarious Ten Percent, and deportation to the ranks of the Analogs, with no access to electricity, running water, or even humanity. The system has no flaws. Until the elusive "Ten Percent Thief" steals a single jacaranda seed from the Virtual city.

No one knows for certain what caused the Shadow to come into existence. Clerics say it was the gods laying a curse upon this world. Philosophers maintain that the Shadow of Strix is nothing short of a blessing and new milestone in human progress. But both sides agree that the Shadow will eventually swallow up this world and change it beyond recognition. However, there are also the mages, and they think the whole debate is just so much hot air. They accept the Shadow as is with all its horrors and wonders.

Charles' crazy wager paid off. After facing near annihilation, he managed to upend Nicos the warmonger and secure a new strip of land near the coast. With Tine growing steadily, he can now turn his attention to developing this new village and turning it into a new powerhouse. But as always, nothing ever goes as planned. For one, the borders of his new territory do not quite reach the water, so he cannot build a Seaport until he levels up his village. He cannot even access the resource tiles such as the fish, making this place completely depend on Tine for food.

Like all Purebred with their menial jobs, Ken ekes out a living sweeping the floors of Kyoto Peacekeeping Central. His kind serves as a benchmark for XHumans to measure how far they've progressed and a reminder of what Homo sapiens once was. His life changes when 800-year-old Ryu crosses over from the World of Rivers and Lakes, looking for a lost temple; and Aya, a beautiful hacker whose Sensory Interface perceives the EtherCloud as Feudal Japan, learns that XHumans aren't as perfect as they thought.

Since that free-for-all that saw every Champion hurry to claim as much land as they could, many of the weaker rulers have been eliminated. As a result, the whole land of Liora is now under the control of eight single coalitions. Can they be trusted to keep to themselves and play nice, or should they be treated like threats and dealt with accordingly? That is one of the main questions Charles and his allies intend to answer when they meet up to finalize their own union.

The time is now. Ever since he first set foot in Liora, Charles had to suffer the Tradesmen's criminal practices, but now is the time for him to strike back and take them down for good. But as our dear Champion gets ready to make his move, his plans are smashed to bits. While he counted on his trading with Liskoa to bring him the money needed to fund his retaliation, he can only watch as a pirate ship sinks one of his vessels, cutting off the cash coming in.

There are whole anthologies of stories out there about what humankind does when a game enters their world. But what about when they're living in one where a game arrived thousands of years before? What if they're the survivors of a bloody struggle, having fought for and earned their place on the planet? Tailyn Vlashich was a young nobody far away from all those grander issues. All he cared about was one thing: making his way through a harsh world where the emperor, evil foes, and an impartial god held sway.

The Tradesmen are no more. With the help of his allies, Charles finally managed to oust the nefarious guild and free Liora of its iron grip. Yet, the destruction of the Tradesmen had an unexpected effect. The vast territory they were controlling is now up for grabs, triggering a race for all Champions to claim as much land as possible. And in that rush, new dangers and enemies arise.

There are nine known realms, a world for each race, including dwarves, gnomes, and elves. In the middle rests Middang3ard. Each world knows the others. Each, except Earth. Humans long ago turned their backs on magic, throwing their stock into science and technology, their governments shielding the people from the reality of what was going on elsewhere. So be it. Humans were never very good at getting along with other races anyway. Then the Dark One appeared, threatening to overrun the nine worlds, starting with Middang3ard and ending with the humans' planet.

This is it. The moment of truth. After defeating the Dungeon Below and laying my hands on Wyren's Gift, I am now more powerful than ever before. Still, the Invasion that is to wipe out the entire realm is not to take place before another eight years. And a lot can happen during that time, good and bad. That's why I decided to rush the inevitable and draw these nightmares into this world while I still got the upper hand. But first, I need to prepare.

After a brush with death that almost cost me everything, I managed to expose Izguril's machinations and imprison the usurper god within me. Now, with no more immediate threats to my survival, I wish that I could take some time to rest, but I can't. Because if the goblin village that has taken up residence within me is thriving, and more adventurers come every day to test their mettle against my traps and monsters, something is nagging at the back of my mind. A dark vision, that was confirmed by none other than the Mistmother - the goddess of foresight.

Being a unique player has its advantages but comes fraught with quite a few problems. Having become the owner of a spell capable of removing the magic veil from an unexplored continent, Rosgard has to prepare himself for the role of the Navigator, the only one who can lead the expedition across the ocean. Should he fail to do so, the spell will be taken away by the game's administration.

Rostislav Grokhotov does not want to become anyone's pawn. Therefore, his unexpected acquisition makes him ponder his own goals. Having become the sole owner of a unique spell coveted by top-ranking clans, he no longer wants to go with the flow. That way would only lead to ruin and obscurity. He'd need to go all in-and to have a good plan. With several more contingency plans for good measure. What are the opportunities available to someone in the possession of a unique spell capable of dispelling the veil over the unexplored continent of Zar'Graad?

When Shep participates in the student exchange program, he finds himself in the body of a man on a rustic colony planet. Then a native sheep comes to the door. It seems Shep must become a literal shepherd, to his dismay. These are very special sheep, deadly, telepathic, and precognitive, and their will governs. They also recruit a Vulture, a Python, and a lovely Elf girl for a dangerous journey. Then things get interesting. Soon Shep is deep in adventure and love. But he can't marry a native girl by proxy. Or can he?

What would happen if our world turned into a computer game? It might sound tempting at first, but there's one small detail you should know: in this game, people are nothing but non-playable characters, useful only for the service they provide to the real players. Experience, development, loot, levels—none of that is for us. Our role is merely to dance to the tune of our masters, who have come to our world to turn it into a character farm and a space for their own entertainment.

Elasa the robot's friend Mona exchanges to the colony planet to occupy the body of a woman five months pregnant. Even so, she gets more than she bargained for, as she works with a precognitive lamb.

Humanoid robots are surely in our future, but their uses are likely to be limited to body guarding, childcare, companionship, and sex. Other chores can better be done by smart non-humanoid machines designed for those specific tasks. But for these limited purposes, the best robots must be so realistic that they are indistinguishable from live people. Elasa is such a robot. You can't tell her nature if she doesn't reveal it. You can talk with her, embrace her, kiss her, and she is the perfect woman. Until she becomes the first conscious robot.

Fate has once again played a trick on Altai. The chance to evacuate from Rhapsody was nothing more than an empty promise. Victory turned into defeat, and friends turned into enemies. Past achievements lost their value and disappeared. All hope was gone, and he had to start all over again. The last act of the tragedy turned out to only be a prelude, with new challenges looming on the horizon.