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The iron-clad Reality of the world cannot be denied, and the passage of time does not soften the edges of existence. The many true threats to Zeme remain hidden for the moment, allowing Humanity to thrive as Mages and Archons devote their lives to give their people that chance.

Immortality can be a heavy burden, but Tala is not walking this long path alone. Time flows onward, and those who seek to join with her must weigh the heavy cost. After all, the tying of fates inevitably brings both trouble and benefit.

With the shackles of mortality well and truly discarded, Tala and her companions continue to progress and grow. That looming longevity makes them ever more aware of those they will necessarily leave behind, and though time heals all wounds, it does not guarantee closure. To truly embrace the future unencumbered, the dark parts of the past must be faced.

Her soul is strong, but it can only be stretched so far. The connections she forges will define the rest of her time on Zeme, for even immortal lives can be cut short.

______________________________________________

Act today to buy the next installment in this exciting exploration of the world of Zeme and the magic, monsters, and mayhem therein!

815 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 9, 2025

81 people are currently reading
29 people want to read

About the author

J.L. Mullins

14 books92 followers
J.L.Mullins has been writing since he was five years old. Blessedly, he has improved through the years, and while 'The Case of the Missing Stapler' will likely never see widespread publication, Mullins enjoys little more than sharing his newer stories—his worlds—with others.

He lives with his wife, six kids, and their rescue-akita named Fenrir.

Find him on Patreon:
patreon.com/MillennialMage

Join his Discord:
discord.gg/FddACAjUrR

Find the latest on Millennial Mage here:
royalroad.com/fiction/47826

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Reed.
91 reviews
December 16, 2025
Lots of world building, and slice of Life, and some action

This book was a bit slower than the others in the series. It was still written really well and meticulously. I really enjoyed it because I'm invested in the world and the characters. It felt like a lot of stuff in this book was Tala getting ready for things that will happen in future books. I appreciate that the author puts so much detail into preparing things, it gives a real sense of time passing and makes the events feel more real. With tala being immortal now, it would be weird if she was constantly running at danger and not taking time for herself. I'm looking forward to what comes next though.

Tala has earned a bit of relaxation in her life and she's changing to think with an immortal mindset. So this book has a lot of slice of Life as Tala gets to know her family better and grows closer to them. Her main job is still a defender, but the story wouldn't be very interesting if it was just tala guarding the walls for a year. So, a lot of that time is skipped and the book only describes the exciting parts when she goes out. Investigating a cell or something. Or when she goes to visit her family, or friends. This book also sets up a lot of world building for things that will happen in the future. It seems kind of crazy, it was mentioned several times that the leshkin war is within the next 100 or 200 years, like that will be a big thing that Tala will participate in, along with other things that tala plans to do. So most of this book was just getting to know Tala and her family better, tala growing and learning more about herself, getting more powerful, a bit of intense action with several fights, time skips where she doesn't do much except and train and guard the city. Tala almost dies a few times, you know, normal Tala things.
Profile Image for Andy Zach.
Author 10 books97 followers
January 1, 2026
This is the second time I've read this book. I read the ARC on RoyalRoad.com. This was the edited book, and it is better. The plot flows more logically and many missing details were added. I'd say entire scenes were added.

In the book, the young mage Tala gets used to her newly developed magical powers as a Refined mage. She magically binds herself to her terror bird, Terry. She develops her city inside her magical storage space. And she begins courting her long time friend Rane.

This is the eleventh book in the series and if you've read the first ten, you can't go on without reading this one.

357 reviews
January 20, 2026
Not much happened in this one (excepting for the finale).

I suppose, it doesn't help that Terry became only more boring with a growing bond and watching Rane and Tala flirt is as exciting as watching paint dry.

It was especially funny to see how Tala discussed how much fun stuff she could do out in the world!!! ... and then proceeded for a couple years doing nothing but strengthening social bonds with minimum tension and excitement. Awesome. Let me know when you actually go and do stuff that isn't cell work.
Profile Image for Katie Kissel.
422 reviews
January 28, 2026
This story is a serious slice of life story. We accompany Tala, Rane, and Terry through many mundane tasks throughout the book. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an interesting and engaging read. The three of them continue to grow their relationships with one another and other people in the story, they continue to grow their magics, and their understanding of the world. Terry and Tala bond in this story which gives us a deeper understanding of Terry. And after bonding Terry progresses cognitively and emotionally. While there isn’t a lot, there is still some action including a pretty intense battle within a cell.

Overall, the story continues to be interesting and engaging. Building upon the world that has been part of the previous books and showing character growth and development. Definitely worth continuing the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
139 reviews
December 16, 2025
Another fun adventure with deep moments

This book does a great job handling, progressing, and building upon the difficult emotional situations from the previous books. Without shifting too far from the slice of life, we get to focus on the mental component of advancing to Paragon and growing up.

I especially enjoyed the family focused segments of the story.

I'm looking forward to the next one.
2 reviews1 follower
December 12, 2025
great continuation into the world of magic

I love all the characters and the progression of work, risk and insight that motivates the progression of Tala’s skills and powers that enable her to help humanity
Profile Image for William Howe.
1,811 reviews88 followers
December 14, 2025
wanders a bit

This really leaned in to the slice-of-life description. But if you are still reading at eleven (11!), you should be well used to it.

The recaps at the beginning of *every* chapter were a touch annoying reading straight through.

Still great stuff, though.
5 reviews
December 15, 2025
A fantastic continuance

I always finish the books in this series wanting the next. The pacing feels good, even in the passage of time, and the details continue to make me want to know more about the world.
Profile Image for Scott.
15 reviews7 followers
December 22, 2025
Yet another marvelous entry in the Millennial Mage series!

Beautiful job bringing the characters to life, and giving them a solid grounding in their world. Ending was magnificent, and I can't wait to see what's next!
Profile Image for Thorsten.
320 reviews4 followers
December 26, 2025
By this point, you know what to expect, and the good news is that it's pretty much more of the same. This book meanders a lot, and there's no clear sign of another major story arc; however, I continue to enjoy the storytelling and am happy to tag along on Tala, Rane and Terry's journey.
Profile Image for Jeremy Shelton .
62 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2026
This series just gets better

I took a chance on book one a long time ago. I could not be more happy about it. This is a series that does nothing but get better with each book. I thank you, J.L. Mullins, for writing them!
2 reviews
Currently reading
December 2, 2025
For those interested, you can read it on royal Road.
Profile Image for A.
242 reviews2 followers
January 24, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️ i loved her and terry sorting things out and binding, been waiting for that moment for so long
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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