A game that puts all others to shame. Magic that has been banned from the world. A man willing to learn no matter the cost. The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn't take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves. In his pursuit of power, Joe fights alongside his team, completes quests, and delves into the mysteries of his class, which he quickly discovers can only be practiced in secret. Ultimately, his goal is to complete every mission, master every ability, and learn all of the world's secrets. All he has to do is survive long enough to make that happen.

The second installment of Dakota Krout's best-selling Completionist Chronicles series! After the encounter at the Mage's College, Joe's name has become well-known in Eternia. While the majority of his guild is ecstatic over the bonuses that he brings them, not everyone is pleased with his rising influence. In fact, someone has been spreading rumors that Joe is unbalanced, sacrificing comrades for personal power. As a result, Joe is forced to recruit a team of misfits and discovers that their unique abilities complement his own. With their assistance, Joe moves forward with his plans to specialize into a more powerful version of his Ritualist class. But when the dust settles, he will be forced to ask himself a simple question: was it his actions that lit the fires of war?

A side quest in Dakota Krout's best-selling Completionist Chronicles series! Vengeful assassins. A treacherous companion. T-Rex Head Hands. After the Wolfman nation is shattered, Jaxon has enough spare time to advance his skills and specialize into a better class. Since Joe and his other teammates are either incapacitated or on a mission Jaxon does not believe in, the misunderstood chiropractor turned gamer strikes out on his own. The issue with creating your own path is that you have no idea what awaits you, especially when low charisma guarantees legendary misunderstandings. For Jaxon, that’s half the fun. Rexus is a Completionist Chronicles side quest focused on Jaxon and is meant to be read following Regicide.

Humanity on the run. Desperate base building. Dark deeds done during daylight. Joe has started to draw attention to himself and his abilities. While some of the attention is good and allows for personal growth, most of it is from various organizations that feel threatened by the sudden upswing of power that Joe’s guild—The Wanderers—are attaining. As the threat to earth begins to reach its peak, all of humanity has a choice: flee to Eternium, or stay for an uncertain future. Some stay, some go, some don’t make the choice quickly enough. In Ardania, the human Kingdom is seeing an unprecedented influx of people. Supply and demand is an issue no matter where you go, as a civilization of a few million can’t prepare to accept an eighth of earth’s inhabitants at once. Joe sets out to solve problems where he can, but he can’t be there for everyone… especially when a group of smiling enforcers are working to bring him down.

Enemies emerge everywhere. Stagnation starts seeming standard. Results require Ruthlessness. Joe has been moving deeper into his study of ritual magic, and further away from his combat team. He's learning more and more, but more often than not needs to choose between his research and squad leadership. Improving the town is a huge help to the guild, and they have been pushing to increase their power. Their rapid increases have not gone unnoticed. The guild receives an ultimatum, delivered by assassins and signed with blood. If they continue to accrue power and fame, each and every person with a grievance against the guild will come to smash the town back to square one. With tensions coming to a head, all Joe wants to do is leave it all behind and reach the next area. He flatly refuses the guild when they ask him to devise lethal options to use against the gathering army, but when the time comes… even Joe is unsure if he'll step into the limelight and show everyone exactly how Ruthless he can be.

Invasions and sabotage. Two civilizations doing anything to exist. War crimes are the norm. Joe takes his first step into exile, and is promptly unable to breathe. This new Zone has a higher concentration of power, magnitudes denser. His first task is to survive, but mere survival is the least of his concerns. The Zone he has landed on has been in a state of constant war for thousands of years, a tug of war between the Elven and Dwarven societies. Not choosing a side is the same as declaring both to be your personal enemy. Though he is resistant, Joe reluctantly decides to go with the group he thinks will help him grow the most—and is instantly plunged into their bitter war. To gain the freedom he desires, Joe needs to turn to the less savory aspects of his class. Engulfed by darkness, Joe can only hope he’ll be able to snuff out the light.

Class secrets revealed. A large Shoe to fill. Peace is only on the table. Joe’s Candidacy was successful beyond his wildest dreams. Between driving the Elves out of Dwarven sovereign territory, utterly destroying an army of thousands, and using resources he could have used for himself to bring back the fallen on his own side… his reputation begins to precede him once more. The human was so successful that many people even within the Dwarven faction have decided that they need to step forward to stop him. Realizing that he’s been in the public eye too long, Joe decides that it’s time to step out of fighting the war, and instead focus on completing new quest lines and consolidating power. After all, letting other people decide the course of war has always worked out for him in the past.

Havoc, one of the Generals in the Dwarven oligarchy gets some attention in this short story.

The Dwarves want to fight. They're ordered to escape. Turtling up is the best of both worlds. Joe and humanity as a whole messed up pretty badly, managing to get some of the most important people from both the Elven and Dwarven races killed. Now the war is escalating to unprecedented levels, and only one side needs to worry about being slain. With the attackers knowing they can get right back up after dying, they are throwing themselves against their centuries-long foe without caring for the consequences. As the death toll rises, there's still hope for Joe and the people that he chose to align himself with. His tiny Hamlet is hidden away from the Elves, so the Ritualist gets a quest to escort the core of the Dwarven Oligarchy to safety: their History, and those that lived it. If he can manage to save even a few as the Dwarven Oligarchy begins to Implode, the race might one day have a chance to regain their former glory. There's only one major issue with convincing the war-loving Dwarves to escape the final battle and hide away: they're war-loving Dwarves.

Resources? Zilch. Shelter? Ha. Monsters? Hungry, and closing in. Joe the Ritualist fled Alfheim with the remnants of the Dwarven Oligarchy at his side. Though the hairy warriors number in the tens of thousands, they stand at the brink of extinction; and the new world they landed on isn’t pulling any punches. Jotunheim is a winter wonderland featuring a vast array of the least of which are hulking lizard-ape Hoardlings, and carnivorous penguins standing a dozen feet tall. The world is massive, deadly, and but all Joe sees is free real estate. Thanks to Specializing in magics that allow him to rapidly create buildings, the Ritualist starts carving out a defensible area for his allies. Dense walls, workshops that churn out weapons and armor, even magical edifices that rain death upon the swarming creatures. Being so new to the world, they mistakenly believe that expanding quickly equals safety. But on the world of giants, ramping up production just means ringing a bigger dinner bell.

Trigger is a new character in the Completionist Chronicles universe. This short story introduces him and some of his motivations. He shows up in the full story of Invent, released in July 2022.

Life smashing your walls? Build them taller. Then put auto-turrets on them. Joe the Ritualist and the town of Novusheim have survived their first major battle, at the cost of leaving most of the settlement a smoking crater. Only most of it. The core of the town survived, and permanent casualties were low. Now that the survivors have a better understanding of what to expect, they go on a reconstruction spree… but why stop there? Every inch of their upgraded defenses will be more potent, durable, and deadlier than ever before. Even as Joe is kneeling knee-deep in blueprints, an urgent message arrives; sending the Ritualist venturing across the frozen wastelands of Jotunheim. With the safety of his own town mostly ensured for the moment, they can’t make him stay… but not a single person wants him to leave. Trusting the wrong person has been Joe’s downfall more than once. As the cherry on top, Grandmaster Havoc tasks Joe with obliterating any Elven settlement he comes across. It's better to end threats early on, before they have a chance to stab you in the back.

A challenge is issued. The clouds part. That’s no mountain. Joe and the Dwarves are doing more than surviving in the harsh climate of they’re thriving. The Ritualist’s improvements to their defenses are paying dividends; and he’s hailed as a genius for ending threats before they come into striking distance of the burgeoning City. Every day, the Town expands further, allowing for more facilities, a larger population, and drawing in ever-more monsters. So many beasts that the walls are no longer enough. When a set of extra-stealthy monsters cuts through a crowd of commuters, Joe is pushed to the limit to make sure it never happens again. Even though he has all the information he needs, the Ritualist’s skills are lacking. As Joe races the clock ticking down on the Town upgrading into a City, a Legendary monster appears on the horizon—its eyes fixed on Novusheim. The storm isn’t brewing. It’s here.

He came back for some easy wins. Midgard came back with a sucker punch. Joe the Ritualist has finally found a true community in Vanaheim at the Tower of Ritualists. To his delight, he’s greeted by Masters of his craft, a Grandmaster on the brink of ascension, and a method to fix his most glaring flaws. Barely entering the tower before being sent away once more, Joe is given a quest by the soon-to-be leave Vanaheim for another world, learn to fight as a combat ritualist, improve his foundational skills, and return with a Mythic core no matter how long it takes. There's plenty for him to accomplish on Midgard. His guild, town, and Pathfinders Hall need an upgrade. Not to mention, there aren’t many places in Eternium he can go to win a fight using only Novice rituals. Too bad for him, Joe's enemies haven't been idle in his absence. They’ve just been biding their time. The Ritualist’s return triggers a retaliation years in the making, but they’ve made one major mistake… He's already RSVPed, and Joe's not going to miss his mom’s big day—even if he needs to tap out and let the world burn.

The wily chiropractor learns some new skills and (questionably) gains some new clients.