New Short Story Poll: Dungeon Wreckers or Gunsoul? (Patreon)

Hello, dear patrons. 

It's been a while since the last poll! Now that Commerce Emperor is taking a pause for some time, I'm going to publish a new short story to take my mind off it and B&F; something lighter to compensate for the darkness of Aztec vampires, so to say. Both pilots were posted yesterday, but you can find links in this document too. Otherwise, a B&F chapter will be posted tomorrow in the CE chapter's place.  

So without further ado, here are our two contestants. 

- Dungeon Wreckers 

In a different 2020 that never was, the first Dungeon appeared. It ate five people until the sixth managed to blow its eldritch gut and escape. 

And nobody knew. 

For most people, life goes on as normal. The rise in mysterious disappearances and natural disasters is attributed to human error, global warming, war... but those who have survived Dungeon attacks know the truth. Humanity is besieged by cancerous alternate realities, monsters lurk in the dark, and powerful force called Disbelief prevents normal people from realizing it. And when Dungeons grow large enough, not even Disbelief can keep pace with the chaos they cause; triggering a timeshift altering history itself to account for the deceased. Four have happened already in as many years, radically changing human civilization. 

But not all is lost. Dungeon survivors find themselves blessed with the ability to cast spells according to seven colors. These people, the Crawlers, are the only people who can see through Disbelief and protect their kindred from the enemy. 

Matthew is one of these Crawlers. A high school student with the power to make holes (any kind of holes) and who lost an eye to monsters, he has recently joined the Dungeon Wreckers Association; a neighborhood watch dedicated to protecting the citizens of Evermarsh City from Dungeons. Alongside his teammates Kari Matsumoto, a Japanese transfer student with immense accuracy, and John Jager, a foulmouthed jackass with the power to redirect projectiles, he's on a quest to wipe out the Dungeons from his home city; and if possible, find a permanent solution to the problem. 

Oh, and find a way to graduate while at it. That might prove to be the hardest part. 

Matthew Maruki after a cleanup. 

Heavily inspired by the Persona games, Omori, and Hunter: The Vigil, Dungeon Wreckers is something of a lighthearted, spiritual successor of my story Magik Online, following a color-based spellcasting system similar to the one used in The Perfect Run (both stories happen in the same multiverse, though not the same Earth). The story follows the adventures of the main trio as they try to manage both slice of life, spell-powered hijinks with Dungeon Wrecking; and if possible, find out the source of the affliction before history goes completely FUBAR. 

Due to the effect of Disbelief erasing evidence of Dungeon doings from normal people's minds, the Crawlers are forced to act clandestinely as a neighborhood watch. Most Crawlers are blue or white collar normal people who just happen to hunt Dungeons when they find them. There's no training center, no spellbook to draw upon; they're the first of their kind. They're the ones who have to invent the first spells, scrounge the weapons, and build a support structure. Half the story is about creating the tools of victory, one experiment at a time. 

An average Dungeon Wrecker field trip down the cafeteria hallway. 

Unlike my most recent stories, Dungeon Wreckers focuses on an ensemble cast. While Matthew is the central character, the story will equally revolves around his two teammates, Kari and John, as they try to make their way through life. 

In short, vote for Dungeon Wreckers if you want a mix of colorful, serious dungeon demolition and humorous slice of life, with a focus on creating spells and grounded adventures. 

- Gunsoul 

Fifty-years ago, the first cultivator ascended to the cosmos and proved to the world that immortality was possible. Five years after that, the second immortal broke the Earth on his way out of it. 

Decades and six immortal ascensions later, the old world is but a legend; only sect-run city-states and warlord domains remain across vast expanses of radioactive deserts, chaotic spiritlands, and robotic warzones. In the Unmade World, one is either born with a core, or a Scrap; the mundane people of the world, who can only hope to impress a Sect enough to be granted a pill and elevated to the rank of cultivator. Yuan Guang is one of these Scraps; a courier and gunslinger taking on dangerous deliveries in the hope of scrouging enough favor to earn a pill. 

His story ends before it begins, when a band of marauders ambushes his team in the desert to steal their package, slaughters Yuan's companions, and shoots him in the head. 

But in the Unmade World, death is not always the end. A lifetime dedication to guns and a burning desire for revenge cause Yuan to be picked up by the Gun; the spirit of firearms, vengeance, and violence. Yuan arises from his tomb, the bullet who killed him fused to his flesh and now the core of his being. He is a Gunsoul: people who perished shot to death, but then rose up as Children of the Gun to dance the dance of lead. 

Taking the road with revenge on his mind, Yuan begins his journey as a cultivator across the Unmade World. 

A Gunsoul preparing to fight a cyber-oni over a pill.

Gunsoul is a black comedy, Western/Postapoc/Weird Xianxia hybrid where the main character becomes a walking gun. Its tone will be similar to the likes of Journey to the West, Fallout or Chainsaw Man; more serious than Dungeon Wreckers, but with plenty of black comedy and absurd situations nonetheless. 

In the strange realm of the Unmade World, Gunsouls are anomalies: revived people with a bullet for a core and set on the Path of the Gun (who will tolerate no other technique in its champions), they're as far away from enlightenment as humanly possible. But the Unmade World is full of strange phenomena blending fantasy, Xianxia and post-apocalyptic shenanigans; from a mysterious broadcast drawing people into screen-towers to nuclear-powered warriors.

The Unmade world is full of strange realms, such as Screen-City broadcasting eldritch secrets...

This story's structure will be a rather straightforward western-style story, with Yuan trying to hunt down his murderers while figuring himself out as a cultivator. His journey would take him westward, meeting various warlords and colorful figures in his quest to become the gun he was always meant to be. 

In short, vote for Gunsoul if you want a weird cultivator tale blended with black comedy post-apocalypse, with a focus on battle and solo adventures.

Have you chosen your favorite? Then please cast your vote!