Player Reached the Top. LitRPG series. Book I Read online

  “Last Will.

  You’ve located the remains of a shadow adept. His last wishes remained unheard. Find someone who can help you read the note, and return his remains to the head of the Shadow Order.

  Reward: ???

  Accept? Yes/No.”

  “Sure, why not! Perhaps, not today, but I will get out of this village one day. Now, the chest!” Will picked up the remains, and turned to the chest.

  “Chest (Silver).

  Unlocked.”

  “Two for two! I’m on the roll! It’s a little scary.” Inside, Raven found only two things: a compass, and a piece of a map. The map was old, but readable -- a bunch of arrows and a circle drawn around a small town in the middle of the Alvian Mountains.

  “You’ve found a map leading to the Shadow Order. Be careful not to lose your way, they don’t call it Shadow Order for nothing. Only the chosen few can get there.”

  “Compass (Silver): Enchanted.

  There is a secret shadow path.

  It’s there, alright, but not in sight.

  A simple thing holds simple math,

  Just look at it through the light.”

  There was something off about the compass, but he couldn’t pin down what it was.

  “Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it's still great. All of these are pieces of one quest! Ooh, it could be a quest chain. Plus, those Shadow Order folks might have skills to share; I’m practically one of their kind. Shadow is my middle name! Ha-ha!”

  There was nothing else in the room, except for a small door with a padlock, opposite of the window. While picking the lock, Raven kept thinking how this room was out of place. The door squeaked, and he saw the rat right beneath him.

  “Seriously, what would this room be for?”

  Сhapter 7. David and Goliath

  He stopped thinking about it the next moment, shouldered his crossbow, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

  --1

  Miss

  Miss

  --1

  In Ascension, all monsters were ranked: Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, and Duke. The lowest rank monsters had no tag at all.

  The first hit made the rat squeal, and then it started sniffing the air above its hideous head, trying to smell the source of hostility.

  Miss

  -1

  Miss

  -3

  When the crit happened, it looked good against those ones and misses. After another round of shooting, the rat figured out where the offender was and stared at Raven with its rage filled eyes around which the purple haze kept getting thicker. Apparently, the monster didn’t know what to do -- it couldn’t think of anything better than just standing there and taking hit after hit.

  Woosh.

  Woosh.

  Woosh.

  The reloading time between shots gave the rat time to think. It circled around the warehouse hoping to evade Raven’s attacks, but it kept coming right back to its initial position. Three hours later, its health was at 4700. To Raven’s advantage, the monster didn’t regenerate. If it had, he would have given up in the beginning. Will had nerves of steel; he was shooting at the damn thing again and again without changing his position. First three quivers had quite an effect on the rat -- patches of its skin and blood splatters were all over the place. Once the fifth quiver was almost empty, the rat looked more like a bleeding porcupine than anything else, but still had more than 50% HP left. Six hours later, it was at 17%, and going down steadily, which was the only thing that kept Will from folding under pressure. Two hours more, and the rat fell like a ton of bricks. It spent its last breath on a plangent high--pitched roar, which made the rest of the horde stick their ugly noses out of their holes. There were four of them, but they were not as tough as their dying leader that Will was still shooting at.

  “Thank you for your cooperation,” said he with a spiteful smile, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to run away if he had to lure them out of the basement. The newly arrived reinforcement got the front row seat for the grand finale of the execution of their fellow rat.

  “Level Up

  Level Up

  Level Up

  Level Up

  Congratulations! You’ve done the impossible!

  Awarded the title: David and Goliath for killing a monster 10 levels above yours.

  +4 Strength

  +2 Stamina

  Awarded the title: David and Goliath II for killing a monster 20 levels above yours.

  +5 Strength

  +4 Stamina

  Awarded the title: David and Goliath III for killing a monster 30 levels above yours.

  +6 Strength

  +6 Stamina

  Awarded the title: David and Goliath IV for killing a monster 40 levels above yours.

  +7 Strength

  +8 Stamina

  Permanent bonus: +10 Level neglect

  +45 Influence Points

  Congratulations! You are the first player to kill a monster 40+ levels above yours.

  Awarded the title: Fearless.

  Physical resistance is permanently increased by 12%.

  +10 Physical damage

  +6% Chance to deal critical damage to target 5+ levels above yours

  Your name will be known in the nearby lands.”

  “15300 XP, level 9, and all these sweet bonuses! Sixteen hours of my life well spent. That level neglect is exactly what I need.”

  One down, four to go--four more level 40 rats lined up for murder. Will distributed his hard-earned points between Strength and Agility, the rest was spent on Energy. Then he stepped away from the doorway and logged out.

  “What if it respawns? Hmm… Let it!

  Chapter 8. A head start

  At the age of nineteen, Mollie Houns was one of those hyped top 20 pro gamers. Rollin’ Dice, her clan, would always make the top 10 list in any game they were playing, including Gates of Darkness, where they really made a name for themselves. The young lady was a born leader, and any clan member could testify to that. She was rolling in sponsorship offers, and her gaming videos were a must--see.

  Ascension made a predictable impression on her and beckoned her like a red rag would a bull. Needless to say, the game was a smashing success. In fact, it was so popular that it set a new record for most active players in one day. This public frenzy was spurring her competitiveness.

  Rollin’ Dice chose third Floor as their grinding base. They were numerous and growing fast, recruiting new players. Loot drops in Ascension were not as valuable as they were, say, in Gates of Darkness. The first day in the game brought Kingmaker, Mollie, that is, only twenty one silver coins, which was next to nothing compared to five and a half gold coins for the first day in Gates of Darkness.

  The girl logged out, and closed her eyes. She felt weary, it seemed as though Ascension wasn’t going to be a fun ride.

  Mollie’s family consisted of businesspeople, which owned and operated a game capsule making company. She herself was a proud owner of one of those new generation capsules that stood in her room.

  She made herself tea, and sat cross-legged at the computer. She checked the ratings first: Crimson Berserker was at the top. The name was familiar to Mollie; Crimson Berserker was the main aggro monger and the former leader of the Fortuna clan, an old-time rival of Rollin’ Dice. He was level four at the moment. There were not a lot of players who could achieve that in such short period of time. The rest of the positions, second through tenth, were three of Mollie’s clan members and their opponents. First days in a game were usually meaningless warm up, but this gap between the first place and the rest was a valid reason for concern. She took another sip, and switched to reading the forums. When the cup was empty, she went to bed.

  The next two days were all about monster annihilation and clan management, yet Crimson Berserker was still ahead of the pack. He just kept leveling up, and, as much as Mollie hated it, there was nothing she could do.

  Riqual Caverns, home to Coal Mantises, level three to five anthracite mons
ters, were turned by Rollin’ Dice into a grinding spot. The place was perfect and Mollie and her crew were slashing monsters non-stop.

  “Hey, Maker, check this out,” the healer, Beglamore, called, “there’s something going on down there.”

  “What is it?” Kingmaker asked.

  “It’s the rating...”

  Mollie swung her weapon and frowned. She didn’t want to be reminded of her archenemy’s success. “Listen, Bucky, yes I am using your real name, I don’t care if that bastard leveled up again.”

  “N-no, that's not it,” said the guy, shocked, “it’s something else. You have to see this.”

  “OK, but if you’re wasting my time with some nonsense, you’ll know what respawning feels like!” reacted the girl and opened the rating tab. “What the…?! Level nine?!”

  “I know, right?”

  “How is this possible? Son of a…! His name is hidden. Who is this guy? It’s been only three days, and he’s four levels ahead of Crimson Berserker!”

  “Don’t ask me, I know as much as you do!” said Beglamore in a self-justifying tone.

  Soon, everyone was talking about that anonymous someone, at the top of the rating chart. This caused some serious ruckus among the players, so serious that people were asking the administrators to punish the cheater. Crimson Berserker, who had never paid any attention to ratings, was as baffled as everyone else after he got the message.

  “Yo! Check out the ratings =)”

  “No need, you know I develop fast,” replied Berserker not knowing how inappropriate his arrogance was this time.

  “You'll definitely wanna see it. You got played!”

  “lmao.”

  “See for yourself.”

  Following his friend’s advice, the clan leader’s right hand did just that. He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words.

  “What the heck is this?! Are you freakin’ kiddin’ me?? Who could have skyrocketed like this? What the hell?!”

  “Dunno, bro.”

  Three days after he killed the first rat, Will was level fourteen. He didn’t know that his progress was what everyone was talking about, because he had the Show my name in the ratings option turned off from the very beginning. He was going to maintain a low profile, just in case.

  When Raven logged back in, he saw that the rat had respawned. This was perceived as good news, and he immediately left Pak a message, in which he asked him for ten silver coins worth of bolts with extra fire, light, or holy magic damage.

  “Ha-ha! Come to daddy!”

  Yes, it was tedious and monotonous, but exciting at the same time; he couldn’t wait to finish off the rest of the rodents. The loot bag from the first rat was still there, as were the four weaker rats. Raven was wandering if there were going to be more titles, and how many more level ups he was going to get, and if that was going to be enough to leave Skiavra. He was thinking about all of that while shooting and reloading. Level neglect, improved stats, and more powerful bolts allowed for higher damage. His personal record was 21. Click! Another bolt inevitably hit the bleeding monster, piercing its skin. The rat shrieked; its demonic fellow rats backed it up, as if they knew they were next.

  --12

  Miss

  Miss

  --11

  Four hours and thirty minutes of constant battering made the rat's HP bar hit17%.

  “Cursed Rat: level 40.

  HP: 781/4600.”

  That was the fourth rat Raven butchered in the last couple of days. He was wasting fewer bolts than he did in the beginning. The fire helped a lot, as it sometimes set the target ablaze. DoTs lasted longer, too. Oldak was right about magic, yet this increase in damage was of little consolation as the rats were still too hard to kill.

  Raven kept on attacking, and, ninety minutes later, another rat bit the dust.

  “Level Up”

  ​His last conflict lasted for ten hours, and its resolution made him level fifteen. He didn’t get any more titles, but that didn’t discourage him. Pak had sent plenty of bolts, so he was determined to keep working. The goal was to kill all rats in one day, since there was no other way he could get to the loot. He looked at the time and left the game to make himself a sandwich and read the forums.

  Who is this player?

  Calibur wrote: The True Serenity guild is looking for number-one-rated player!

  Eternal wrote: True Serenity sucks! True Chaos is where it’s at! Come join us, or contact us at any time.

  Regular Joe wrote: Stop flooding! I’m just curious who this guy is. Has anyone seen him at all?

  Bright Flare wrote: You fool! How are you going to recognize him, if you don’t know his name?

  WHeeL wrote: Right. Inspect every player for LVL much? Ha-ha. LOL.

  There were tons of topics discussing the mysterious player. Will, not knowing what the fuss was about, opened up the ratings page. What he saw made him stop chewing. At the top of the list was an unknown level 15 player with 75 Influence Points. Four levels behind, having as much as 42 Influence Points, was Crimson Berserker. Do-or-Kill, another guy with a whimsical name and 33 Influence Points, was level eleven, and breathing down the leader’s neck.

  “Wow,” said Will, when he realized he was the man of the hour. He shrugged, continued his meal, and scrolled down hoping to find something new.

  Chapter 9. Fearsome enemy

  In the following week, Will was exterminating respawning rats. He was level thirty, which meant that rats were dying faster. Three and a half hour faster.

  “Awarded the title: Fearsome Enemy.

  Stronger monsters beware of you. When you are near, high level monsters automatically reduce their aggro radius by 5%.

  +2% Main attack damage when attacking monsters 10 levels above you.”

  He was, finally, close to finishing off the last of the rodents which had only 7% HP left. The floor of the warehouse was sticky, slippery, and red. It was covered with pieces of mangy fur, patches of flesh, and thirteen loot bags. At last, the wretched beast gave in, went down, and rolled on its side.

  Raven sighed with relief and was going to jump down from his hidey--hole to collect what was rightfully his, when he felt someone’s presence. He lay low and scanned the warehouse with his eyes. Nothing was happening for a minute or so, but then the young man heard a nasty scratching sound. The source of the sound revealed itself shortly--a giant, ten foot tall rat crawled out of the cellar to the center of the floor. Purple haze was surrounding its entire body, filling the space around it. Its enormous claws were inciting fear instinctively.

  For a moment, Will forgot that he was in the game. The rat was scraping the floor boards, producing a horrible sound and sniffing the air around it. Then, it slowly turned its head toward where Will was hiding.

  “Oh, shoot!”

  He pulled the trigger before he even realized it. The loaded crossbow sent Will’s regards to the boss, and Will immediately moved away from the line of sight deeper into the room.

  “Pack Leader (Viscount): level 51

  HP: ???”

  “This is bad. If I leave now, will the rats respawn? Will the boss still be here?”

  One thing was clear--that was no usual mob. Raven didn’t feel like finding out what it was capable of. He was thinking over the course of action, when, suddenly, a massive hit into the wall of the hideout made him jump.

  “Whoa! Now what?”

  He looked down and regretted it almost immediately. Another hit came, and the walls trembled--the rat was lashing the hideout using its tail as a whip. Raven wasn’t sure how long the flimsy construction that was protecting him would hold. He started shooting at the monster. The rat returned the favor. It was trying to get puny human, but was only hitting the walls.

  Miss

  Miss

  Miss

  --14

  The last shot had effect. Stunned, the rat started waving its head around, which made it somewhat easier for Raven to hit his target. Then, the bombardment contin
ued with double force; planks cracked but didn’t break, which inspired hope, but only for a while. The duel lasted for five hours, during which Will would stick out from the doorway only to take a shot before retreating immediately. He kept missing and had to adjust the scope while evading the rat’s attacks. Finally, the floor damaged by the monster started falling apart with a frightening sound. Will knew that nothing good could come out of it, so he rushed to the window. When the room fell down, he was standing on the ladder by the outside wall, watching the rat hover over the fragments of what was left from the hideout. It took the monster two seconds to realize his assailant wasn’t there, so it started sniffing the air again. In a moment, their eyes met. They were eyeballing each other, until the rat made a sudden move--it dashed towards the door, obviously wanting to get to Raven from the outside. He underestimated the monster and had to act quickly. He started climbing up as fast as he could. He was almost there, when the ladder bounced off the wall and started sliding down. Apparently, the monster just bumped into the ladder at full speed. Raven jumped off the rung he was standing on and grabbed the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up and looked down.

  “Phew! That was close!”

  The ladder lied shattered to bits, and the rat boss was looking right into Raven’s eyes.

  Chapter 10. The Cursed Shard

  Will stepped away from the edge of the roof trying not to lose visual of the rat, which, for some reason, wasn’t going anywhere. Having considered all pros and cons, he decided he’d stay where he was and continue ruining the rat boss’s day. He switched to holy magic bolts, and pointed the weapon at the beast.

  --15

  Miss

  --13

  Miss

  The rat twitched and moved a couple yards away, which was fairly pointless. Bolts were raining down on its head and body, delivering pain and causing indignation. Will didn’t know how much health it had left, but he knew that the concept of a “sitting duck” was hard for the rat to grasp. He kept shooting restlessly for ten hours straight. It was wearing him out and, eventually, started affecting his fire rate and accuracy.