The Cryopod to Hell Classic is the original version of TCTH, written based on the original writing prompts, expanded into a full series, with 490 chapters of fun adventures. However, it is extremely flawed, with paper thin characters and plotlines that don’t resolve properly. It abruptly ends at the finale of Route C, and was never finished with a proper ending. Classic is best read after Refresh so you can appreciate where the story came from. As its own story, Classic has too many flaws for anyone to recommend reading first.
"Why isn’t anyone listening?!" Samantha looks at me with panic in her eyes, before turning to another demon running directly at us, a Scyther by the looks of him. "Halt! I am the Second Emperor! Lay down your-" "Blood! I want blood!!" The crazed demon drools incoherently and slobbers as he raises both of his…
"Come at me, human! Hold nothing back!" Bael, the demon with the giant flail, leaps to the side with a speed that surprises me, and tosses his spiked ball in my direction. Using the agility that the gods have given me, I perform the splits on the ground, ducking under the ball and letting it…
"Hey! Ylvusk! Old buddy, old pal!" A rumbling of agony, like that of a broodmother accidentally birthing too many spawn at once, blasts in my gut. Anytime Tvoorik comes running up to me with this much excitement on his face; I can tell it’s going to be a stupid conversation. " Hello, Tvoorik. What is…
Stealth was on the table for at least a minute. I considered sneaking into the palace to see what was going on, but then it occurred to me that this is Hero City, named after me, the one who saved it. Even if a few morons think I was banished, or a few guards don’t…
It’s the shiver down my spine that gives his sudden appearance away, long before I turn around and spot the killer robot. I rub my arms just as my eyes meet Ionis’s single, beady red diode. Samantha and Cassiel turn around only a second later and spot him too. "Uh… Ionis? What are you doing…
A familiar face greets me once again. My own. My imposter and I stand facing each other, him at the edge of an unthinkably tall precipice, and me, not ten feet away. His grip on Samantha’s throat tightens as he holds her over the cliffside. " You thought you could protect them. It took a…
"She’s waking up now." Doctor Cruz smiles at us sweetly before turning to face Cassiel. Her cheeks warm into a rosy red as my cute angel wakes up from the deepest sleep of her life. Cassiel blinks slowly and winces, despite the low light in the room. Her eyes are unfocused and hazy as she…
An alert blinks on the display before me. I can only stare at it in stunned silence for several seconds, before glancing over at Samantha. She’s sleeping quietly in her wheelchair, and rest is something she desperately needs, but… I climb out of the Captain’s chair and wheeze as I stumble over to her, then…
A field of grass set ablaze. Smoke and fire roar in the distance and the heavens themselves split as lightning smashes into the ground around me. Samantha pulls herself across the charred field and reaches toward me, "Cassiel… help, please!" Satan appears behind her, and a lustful twinkle appears in his eyes. "You won’t escape."…
Cautiously, I eye the battle plan for what must be the twenty-third time. "Elder Kryios, is the ambush in place?" Kryios runs a finger through her black hair, and her holographic image fizzles for a moment as the time-lag catches up. "Yes, Elder Basil. You really must learn to be less anxious. Ten of our…
