Player Reached the Top. LitRPG series. Book I Page 5
Miss
Miss
Miss
--10
Raven felt his going numb from all this shooting and reloading. Aim and fire! Reload, aim and fire! He was looking at the rat through the scope knowing that everything was about to end. And right he was. The rat boss trembled, burst into purple flame and slowed down. The monster was bleeding pretty bad, and, two seconds later, it dropped dead.
“Level Up
Level Up
Level Up
Congratulations! You’ve done the impossible!
You are the first player in the history of Ascension to beat a Viscount singlehandedly.
Awarded the title: Titan Fall.
+4 Luck
+7% Damage dealt to Viscounts
+10% Physical resistance to Viscount rank monsters
+3% Chance of unique drops when killing Viscounts
Skill level upgrade: At gunpoint has been upgraded to Journeyman.
+4% Chance to deal critical damage with ranged weapons.”
“Wow! Three levels and four Luck! I’ll need that. If that ladder was two inches shorter, I’d be dead for real.”
Then he turned to the most rewarding part--picking up loot. The jump off the roof took only 7% of his HP and got Will a four hour sprained ankle debuff. That was a valuable lesson, in case he planned on scurrying away from someone in the future.
He searched the boss’s corpse first and then returned to the warehouse. When he was done emptying the bags, he walked out of the warehouse, and logged out. All Will wanted was to go to bed and fall asleep, as soon as possible. It seemed like he had been killing those rats for too long.
He slept through the whole day and the following night. First thing in the morning, after breakfast, of course, he started examining his trophies. Smaller rats dropped teeth, bones, skulls, two pieces of solidified ruby--like drops of cursed blood, several dozen silver coins, one Gold and one Silver item, and a rare recipe.
“Cursed Blood (Rare). Alchemic ingredient.
Cursed Aura (Rare). Alchemic recipe for the potion that casts Cursed Aura on to the player and protects against attacking enemies.
-20% Slowdown
-13% Physical and Magic damage.
Duration: 3 minutes.”
One of the two items from the rat boss, both level forty, was completely useless to Raven, and he was going to sell it; the other one was exactly what he needed.
“Flying Dagger (Gold).
This dagger was forged by Salar the gnome for a reputable rogue from the South, who never came back for his order.
Damage: 106--158
+18% Dodge
+24% Chance to stun the target for 5 seconds
+3% Chance to instant kill the target when attacking from the back
Skill: Deadeye’s Toss (Active) lets you throw the dagger at enemies without being afraid of losing it. The dagger comes back to the owner.
Damage: 103--135
Weapon range: 33 feet
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Level requirement: level 40
Class Requirement: Rogue.”
And, finally, the last item--a cloudy purple stone that was emitting some bad energy. Inspect.
“Cursed Shard (Unique).
This shard is mere a piece of something big. Find someone who will tell you more.
Secret chain quest: Secret of the Shards.
Find someone who will tell you the secret.
Reward: 1000 XP, a unique skill book.
Accept? Yes/No.”
Secret quests were almost as important as epic ones as you could get a lot of XP, rare and unique skills and items from them. Raven wasn’t going to pass on something like this. He accepted the quest. Not knowing who or where he was supposed to look didn’t stop him, there was no need to hurry.
Chapter 11. Find him!
Mollie Houns swept her gaze across the silent room. Her closest clan mates stared back, each as silent as the grave.
None of them could afford to buy their own space, and the RMT wasn’t there yet, as the developers hadn’t make it clear whether it would be introduced in Ascension or not, so they had to pay a pretty penny to rent one.
The palpable tension affected everyone in the enclosed space. The reason for that was simple—one of their clan members had stumbled on a unique yet difficult quest… to find an old mage named Ricky Armastrus, reportedly the only person who knew the way to the secret cave. The endgame would be to acquire an aiguière, a slender pitcher that once belonged to one of the nine Light Knights. Unfortunately, no one even knew which Floor Ricky might be on.
“Alright, that’s it! The quest is ours either way. It’s unique, for crying out loud. We just have to be patient. He’ll turn up sooner or later. Chameleon,” Kingmaker addressed the man who had discovered the quest’s existence, “you hear me? Work on your lev-vel.” She stumbled over the last word, which she hadn’t quite learned to pronounce.
“Unknown player for your thought?” asked someone.
Yes, she remembered that mysterious player. When she saw him leveling up like crazy, she almost dropped her coffee mug...
“Who do you have to sleep with to get all this XP?” Mollie demanded. “It’s not even funny anymore. Goddamn! Can anyone explain this? This dude, somehow, managed to kill a monster well above his level.”
Everyone present replied with their variation of a puzzled look. The mysterious player was moving up fast. Level thirty… Crimson Berserker was level nineteen, and Mollie, along with her crew, had only just made it past level fifteen. It was an outrage.
“Right. Listen up! The first one to find this guy gets an item of their choosing. Skill book, weapon, I don’t care, just find him! I need video proof. Tainerk, spread the word.” She paused, then continued, “Anyone have anything about the key?”
“Nope, forums are empty. No videos, no comments, nothing. It hasn’t come up yet, but our people are on it.”
“I see. We have to lay our hands on it before anyone else does. Dismissed. I’ll see you at the next one.”
Everyone left, except Catalia — a good friend, and a rogue.
She patted Mollie’s shoulder. “Mollie, are you alright?”
“Mhm.” When they were alone, Mollie would always turn into a simple girl, without a clan, her parents’ wealth, and connections. It seemed like Catalia, being Catherine in the real world, was nourishing the good in her.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’re kinda hung up on that guy. You think you can recruit him?”
“Absolutely,” said Mollie, her voice full of determination, “I want him to play for us. You know how badly we need talented players. He’s our ticket up.”
“What if he just got lucky?”
“We can’t know that until we find out who he is.”
“Assuming we do, what good are we to him? What do you have to offer to a guy whose rating is higher than all of ours put together?”
“That I don’t know… yet.”
Chapter 12. Ready to leave
When Raven finished fiddling with the items, he counted the money and gave a long whistle of surprise. Thirty-seven gold coins, twelve silver coins, and some copper change seemed like a generous bounty. Most, if not all, came from the rat boss.
Raven dropped Pak a message to remind him about the skill books he requested, and to let him know that he was willing to double the money for the right skills. After that, he opened up the stats.
Ever since learning that last skill, he hadn’t had a chance to upgrade the old or learn new ones. As he finally had achieved some breathing room between himself and the rest of the pack, he upgraded Stealth and raised it to the next level. The rat-slaying spree brought him five Skill points. He spent one on Dodge, and two on Parry. The last two he would save for a rainy day.
“Dodge. Passive skill (Apprentice).
Heightened sense of awareness allows evasion of incoming attacks.
Requirements: none.”
“Parry. Active skill (Journeyman).
Use your weapon to deflect incoming attacks.
Energy required: 25
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Requirements: none.”
“Invisibility. Active skill (Journeyman).
Makes you invisible as long as you’re not under attack.
Energy required: 20
Duration: 45 seconds
Cooldown: 6 seconds
Class requirements: Rogue, Thief, Ghost Demon.”
Will headed to the tavern, hoping to find Oldak. He did find him there… drunk, of course. When Raven showed him the skulls, Oldak became so excited, he almost tore Raven’s hand off shaking it.
“Thank you so much, oh, mighty warrior! If not for you… I, I don’t know how to thank you. Because… That’s a whole lot of skulls, I tell ya.”
“Fourteen, to be exact,” emphasized Will. “I also found out what they were looking for. Do you know what this is?” Will produced the purple stone that, for some reason, had stopped emanating light and now resembled a regular one.
“Ah, yes, I recognize it. My old man brought this from a journey about two years ago. He’s an adventurer, much like yourself, oh, mighty warrior.”
“Did he tell you what it is, or where he found it?”
“Hmm… No, he didn’t say what it was, but he told me where he picked it up. The Vaald Canyon.”
“The Vaald Canyon? Do you know where it is?”
“Somewhere up north, that’s all I know. Here’s your reward, by the way. The sword I gave you. Keep it. And the stone too. It’s a gift from my old man, but if it causes trouble, take it.”
“Congratulations! Rat Slayer completed.
+10000 XP + 200XP (bonus Pathfinder)
+28 gold
Additional task completed: find out what the rats were looking for.
+5500 XP 200XP (bonus Pathfinder)
+Cursed Shard.”
“Glad I could help. So long!”
“Farewell, messenger of Gods!”
Will paused at the door, and turn to address Oldak again.
“You knew who I was?”
“Everyone knows the prophecy. Why do you think I wasn’t surprised to see you back from the warehouse? But, you know what?”
“What?”
“The gates may be closed for a reason, you know. The Gods, in their eternal wisdom, wouldn’t sacrifice their bodies for any reason…”
By the time Will reached the street, he had already forgotten Oldak’s words. What he needed was a map, large enough to match the drawing of the Alvian Mountains.
The local library was not far from the central square. It was a two-story stone building, covered with fresco paintings. Inside, he found a young man, hovering over a book on a lectern.
“Hello, good sir,” Will said upon entering.
“Eh? Oh, a customer!” For a moment, the young man looked as if he hadn’t seen another person in years. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone. How may I help you?”
“I need a detailed map of the lands.”
“Looking for something specific?”
“Alvian Mountains and the Vaald Canyon”
“I see. Here, take a seat. What is your name, sir?”
“White Raven,” replied Will, sitting in the indicated chair.
The man proceeded to the second floor, where he began his search. “That’s an interesting name, messenger. How long have you been around?”
“A week or so. Why?”
“So, the clock is ticking…”
“What clock?”
“On the gates, of course. Now, you didn’t come alone, did you?”
“No, you’re right, there are many of us.”
“Found it!” The young man brought forth a roll of parchment, descended the stairs, and handed it to Will. “Have you started looking for the key?”
Will lifted an eyebrow. “Do you know where it is?”
“I wish!” The librarian smiled. “My name is Drak.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Will glanced at the map, focusing on the East Continent. “Could you give me a hand, Drak? It’ll take me forever to make sense of this map.”
“What’s there to make sense of? There are your mountains, and there’s your canyon.” The young man pointed at the mountains near a small lake, and the canyon, almost without looking.
“Hmm. Mountains or canyon… If only there were a way to know what level the inhabitants are,” murmured Will. “What do you know about the town in the mountains?”
“Town? There are no towns up there.”
“Shadow Order… Hiding, are we?” muttered Will again, “OK, I think I got all I needed. Thank you, and goodbye.”
“Anytime. Always happy to help.” Drak waved, and resumed reading.
Raven went outside, heading straight for the bulletin board. He felt anxious to leave the town, to see what was out there. Apparently, the rat thing was a onetime quest, and, judging by the commotion around the warehouse and how everyone looked busy, the rats were gone for good. He took on a few assignments that didn’t look too hard: one kill quest and two gather quests. Kill ten wild Ligers — Will had no idea those were, but their tusks cost three gold a piece. He also had to find some diaphanous web, spun by local spiders, and collect some herbs. All three led to Taargada Forest.
Chapter 13. A mysterious hunter
Before leaving, Raven thought he’d take the Twilight Walker for a spin. There was no point using it while he was battling the rats, so he found a quiet alleyway and activated the skill. His body blurred and dissolved in the nearest shadow. The world around him turned grey, like he was seeing it through a filter. Will resembled a faint copy of himself, slowly moving from shadow to shadow.
“Hmm, I wonder…” He put his foot against a darkened wall. The description didn't say whether the shadow on the ground differed from the shadow on the wall.
It worked!
He put both feet on the wall, and simply walked up its surface. The next moment, when the effect timed out, the grey world spat Will out onto the real world’s ground. His brain wasn’t used to such kind of transitions, so the realization of color took several moments for him to realize.
“Now we’re cooking with gas, ha-ha!”
Right after the experiment, Will left Skiavra and headed to the forest a mile from the village. Will, still unsure, felt hesitant to go there. He certainly wasn’t going to rely on luck again. There were various monsters roaming around, gathering mostly in small groups of three to four.
A herd of goat-like creatures with black fur grazed in a meadow not far away. Their twirled protruding horns looked like lethal pikes and their cloven hoofs made the ground shake every time they stepped on it.
Inspect.
“Hammerhead: level 48.
HP: 7400.”
That last number was bad news —they weren’t going to go down easily. If he had tried to engage them like he did the rats, it would be a long and exhausting fight that he might not survive. Exercising caution, he chose to circle around them, look for easier targets.
“Slimy Worm: level 49.
HP: 8300.”
…
“Scintillant Viper: level 52.
HP: 9000. ”
…
“Smoke Hound: level 63.
HP: 10200”
The search didn’t go so well. Part avoiding, part hiding using Stealth and Twilight Walk, he eventually stumbled on a pack of relatively calm dogs. Their level was frightening, but at least they looked like dogs. Well, kind of. These dogs were well over six feet in height, with gleaming green eyes and bodies of thick yellow smoke. Two of them patrolled the territory around a small lake with a stubby hut in the center, approximately a hundred and thirty feet from Will. Thinking about what kind of person would reside in a place like this, Will began surveilling the house. He would be cautious and patient.
Frequent deaths in Ascension had taught other players to take dying seriously. A seven-h
our debuff and the loss of 40% of last level’s XP seemed harsh and unattractive.
The sky was clear, and the sun cut off any chance to circumvent the hounds. Will had a thought about approaching the hut, to find who the monsters were actually guarding. He was too weak to confront the local fauna.
He was just about to leave when the door opened. A robust man appeared at the doorstep, wearing hunter clothing. In his hands, he held a big bowl. The man put two fingers to his mouth, whistled, and placed the bowl by his feet. The hounds left their post, and sprinted across the lake.
“Sure, why not?” whispered Will.
Another dog emerged from a lean-to, and took its fellow canines’ place. It paced back and forth, indicating that the perimeter was secure.
Fed up with the inactivity, Will took a deep breath and yelled, “Hey there! Hello?”
The man stared at Will for many moments, and then made a gesture with his hand, inviting him in. Raven edged towards the hut, hoping this weirdo wasn’t luring him into a trap. The dog patrolling the lake stopped and stared at their uninvited guest.
Raven stepped onto the narrow wooden bridge that stretched across the lake. Unlike his dogs, their master was, apparently, incapable of walking on water.
“At least something is normal here.” Will said to the dogs that were munching on the meat from the bowl.
Inside, it was warm and cozy. A fire burned in the fireplace, but there seemed to be no smoke. It had to be some sort of magic that kept him from being seen from afar. Trophy monster skulls hung on the walls. The man himself sat in a large chair, petting another dog. Or rather, his hand rested in the dog. Compared to the ones Will saw outside, this one looked much tougher. It sat in a relaxed pose by the chair, but it clearly wouldn’t hesitate to bite his head off if he were to act inappropriately.