Nova Terra: Liberator - A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Titan Series Book 5)

by Seth Ring

  Leading the tanks forward, Heidi forced the Orc soldiers back while Athena and Mina led the attack from the other direction. As the Orcs clumped together, the Children of the Moon would dart in and seize Orcs who were out of position, dragging them away from the group where they were quickly finished off.

  With the second Orc Shaman dealt with and the Blood Leech threat removed, the rest of the fight only lasted another twenty minutes as the Charging Wolf Army cleaned up the remaining Orcs. Though they were outnumbered by at least a thousand, the initial damage that their ambush had done, combined with the deadly assault of the Blood Leeches, had destroyed the Orcs’ morale, drastically reducing their combat ability.

  When the fight was finally over and the battlefield was being looted, Athena, Mina, and Heidi all hurried over to where Thorn knelt. Akira, arriving first, transformed into her pet form and climbed up on Thorn’s shoulder, nudging his helmet with her nose. Letting out a groan, Thorn slowly reached up and unclipped his helmet. Taking it off with some effort, he allowed it to drop to the ground and gingerly let himself down into a sitting position.

  A grand emptiness filled his body, as if his very core had been sucked out. Instead, it was his mind that felt completely full, as if there was no room for anything else to fit. Instinctively examining his mind with his [Spiritual Sense], Thorn could faintly make out a deep golden mist enveloping his mind. Faint flashes of light lit it up, like lighting in a thundercloud. Despite his mind being full of this golden cloud, Thorn found himself having some trouble gathering his thoughts together. Each time he would try and complete a thought it would simply fragment under the immense pressure that radiated from the cloud in his mind, leaving his thoughts blank once again. It was not until Akira had touched him that his strangely blank brain started working again.

  [Master, master! Are you okay?]

  [Oof, I think so?]

  Once he was sitting, Thorn could feel the earth under his body. Faint slivers of earth elemental energy began to seep into him. Each sliver brought with it a sense of relief, allowing him to alleviate some of the pressure that the golden cloud brought him. Taking a deep breath, Thorn tried his best to focus on guiding the earth elemental energy up into his head. It was a laborious process, but Thorn’s will was firm and over time it grew easier and easier as more energy streamed into his head.

  The earth elemental energy wrapped around the golden cloud, separating it from the rest of Thorn’s mind. The extra layer of energy seemed to protect Thorn’s thoughts from the flashes of light in the golden cloud, keeping them from shattering into pieces. As he built up a barrier, Thorn found, to his great relief, that he was able to think clearly again. The tremendous exhaustion of his body remained however, causing him to let out another deep sigh. Opening his eyes, Thorn was startled to find three women staring at him with various expressions of shock, annoyance, amusement, and anger.

  “Are you good?” Athena’s gaze was a mixture of concern and anger that Thorn found it hard to face.

  “Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what happened there.”

  Giving the sheepish Titan a long look, Athena finally just sighed and patted him on the arm.

  “As long as you are alright. Are we heading to the next supply camp?”

  “Yeah. Honestly, I don’t know that I’ll be any good for the next fight, but you should be okay without me.” Thorn said, slowly lifting his body from the ground. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to hand command over to you for the time being. At least until I get some energy back. Whatever that was, it was absolutely exhausting.”

  “That is fine.” Athena nodded, accepting the popup as Thorn assigned her the team leader role in the group.

  Twenty minutes later the Charging Wolf Army had finished cleaning up the battlefield and mounted up. Thorn, too exhausted to run in his [Wolf Form], climbed up onto Akira who had transformed back to her battle form. Though Akira complained a bit about how much he weighed, she seemed quite happy to act as his mount and dashed this way and that to show off how fast she was, even with Thorn on her back.

  As the army moved toward the next Orc supply camp, Thorn brought up the windows that had popped up during the fight, trying to make some sense of everything that had happened. Apart from the common notifications of damage and effects, Thorn only found two things that were out of the ordinary. The first strange thing was a series of windows that had popped up when [Wolf’s Rage] activated.

  Frowning, Thorn brought up his status to see what had changed. Though he had witnessed Akira’s bloodline change from a Royal Ailuridae to a Pure Ailuridae, he was not aware that it was possible for players to change their race.

  *Status*

  The only difference that Thorn could spot was a change in his race. Nowhere did he see the two abilities mentioned in the [Consummate Warrior Domain] notification. Going back, he opened up the notification again and clicked on the two abilities listed in it.

  Both of the abilities turned out to be self-explanatory so he clicked on his updated race, opening up the new description.

  Scratching his head, Thorn cast his mind back over what he had experienced. The feeling of invincibility that he had felt was still clear in his mind. Though the feeling had faded he could easily recall everything that had happened as if he was watching a three dimensional movie in slow motion. In the instant that his [Wolf’s Rage] activated, Thorn’s [Spiritual Sense] had gone into overdrive, giving him the absolute position of every single object on the battlefield.

  The trouble had come when he locked on to every single one of the remaining Blood Leeches and then attempted to use his [Spiritual Sense of Earth] to manipulate the earth elemental energy to wipe them all out. Creating hundreds of stone spikes to attack the Blood Leeches had overdrawn his mental energy, forcefully canceling the effect.

  Of all of his memories of the fight, what remained clearest to Thorn was the strange feeling of detachment that had grown in his chest when the domain activated. It was the feeling of being above everything, as if he had separated from the world and those who inhabited it. In the moment, it had been the most natural thing in the world to wipe out the Blood Leeches with a simple wave, yet now that the feeling was gone, a shadow of fear hung over Thorn’s heart.

  There was something intoxicating about that detachment, a sense of control and clarity that was deeply attractive. Yet Thorn could not help but wonder if he would have turned on the players around him after the rest of his enemies had been destroyed. With a small shudder, Thorn put the thought out of his mind and brought himself back to the present.

  The second notification that had popped up during the fight was the notification of the condition his body was currently experiencing.

  Closing all of the windows, Thorn rubbed his head. There was simply too much to try and work through to figure out what was going on. His race and his abilities were mixing in ways that he had not anticipated, creating countless new questions for him.

  “Hey, Athena, do you have a moment?”

  Hearing his question, Athena and Heidi dropped back until they were next to Thorn and Akira.

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Do you know what a domain is?”

  “Are you asking about the land version or another version?”

  “Another version. Like, a warrior domain.”

  Thinking for a second, Athena watched the trees flashing by before her eyes lit up.

  “Oh, you mean a control domain. Yeah, I know a little bit about it. Most of the time, control domains manifest when someone has gotten to a certain level of combat ability. Most of the top players have one to some degree or another. Some people call it setting the tempo or fluidity. It's all about how comfortable you are with your skills and abilities.”

  “Duratan said something about fluidity when we fought back on Angoril.” Thorn said. “Are there ways of categorizing it? Levels or anything like that?”

  “Of course. Most players are only in the initial stages at this point. They have a sen
se of how their abilities and proficiencies work together, and they are on the edge of discovering how to use them in the most efficient way. Some of us have figured that out, and we have the ability to use our class to a greater degree than you would expect. Sort of a sum of the parts greater than the whole situation. The top elite players fall into that category. In fact, that is what you need in order to be considered an elite player.

  “Above that you have players who are so skilled that they can not only control their own abilities perfectly, but they can use them to set the tempo of the fight, becoming nearly invincible. Most of the avatars are in that spot, along with a few other players. Sylith, Ragnarok’s Heavenly Silver Dragon Knight is one of those players. He is so good that he can trap his opponent into a rhythm that destroys any hope of their victory.”

  “Oof, I remember.” Thorn said, his mind drifting back to the flaming Labyrinth where he and Sylith had fought. “He wrecked me, even though our actual strength is not that different.”

  “If we compare straight power, you are probably way stronger. But what he has is a control domain that extends to his opponent. The ability to establish the rhythm of the fight and force everyone else into his way of fighting ensures that he wins. To beat him you have to be able to disrupt that control.”

  “That makes sense. Are there other players who are on that level?” Thorn asked.

  “Mina, though to a lesser degree.”

  Heidi spoke up from where she sat behind Athena, causing both Thorn and Athena to twist around and look at her. Looking ahead calmly, Heidi explained.

  “Mina has touched the edge of the control domain level. You might say she has one foot in. Her element is just not strong enough to remain unbroken against people of the same level. If she ever is able to strengthen her element, she’ll be able to stand toe to toe against nearly anyone.”

  Shooting a glance at Mina who was chatting happily as she rode on one of the wolves at the front of the army, Thorn fell into thought. It was true that he had never seen Mina fall into a disadvantage in a fight except when her enemy had the ability to overpower her ice spells. The Ice Witch possessed a nearly uncanny instinct for timing and knew her abilities so well that it often felt like she was conducting an orchestra rather than engaging in combat.

  “How about you?” Thorn asked, turning his attention back to Heidi.

  “I’m starting to reach the upper limit of personal control. My abilities are getting smoother, but I still haven’t shaken the gamer mindset, which is holding me back.”

  “What do you mean by gamer mindset?”

  “I did not understand it for a long time either, but more recently, as I have been playing with all of you, I’ve had some realizations that have allowed me to progress.” A strange look crossed Heidi’s face as she ran her fingers over Beautiful Wind’s soft fur. Looking up, she met Thorn’s gaze. “The difference between ninety-nine point nine percent of the people who play this game, and those who truly excel, is in what they believe about this world.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Even before Heidi continued, Thorn had an instinctive understanding of what she was going to say.

  “When Nova Terra launched, it was marketed as an alternate reality. More than a game, another world. Do you remember the tagline for it?”

  “Your Dreams, Your World.” Athena said quietly.

  “Exactly. Is this a dream? Is this our world?” Heidi took a deep breath and paused for a moment as the breeze sent a wisp of her hair dancing. “I have begun to realize something ever since I joined Nova Luna. You don’t treat this as a game. You treat this as the real world. You don’t treat the natives like empty clumps of data, you take them as seriously as you take me. Which makes sense in a strange way. After all, aren’t we all just clumps of data in here? Once I recognized that,” Heidi held up her hand, clenching it into a fist before she continued, “this is real, I was able to progress. Sure, it's not real the way the real world is real, but the real world isn’t real the way this is real either.”

  “Treating this like the real world, huh?”

  Looking up, Thorn could see small glimmers of the blue sky through the thick canopy of trees. When he had first entered Nova Terra he had been astounded by how real it felt to him, marveling at the visceral sensations that even the simplest sensations brought. Considering how restrained his life before entering the game world had been, it had been as if his mind, spirit, and body had been set free.

  It was in Nova Terra that he experienced life the way he had always imagined it should be experienced. That idea had infected his attitude toward the game world, causing him to take it as seriously as he had ever taken his life in the real world. The idea of treating this wonderful world like a game had never even crossed his mind.

  “You’re not the only one, you know?”

  Heidi opened her palm, revealing half of a silver coin that she had retrieved from her inventory. Holding it up for Thorn and Athena to see, she ran a finger across the perfectly smooth flat edge of the coin.

  “When I was in the game for about a year, game time, I saw a traveler chop this coin in half. With their hand. After they left I found this half and kept it. I’ve never seen that player again, but he gave me such an impression I’ve never forgotten him. You know, the reason I agreed to join Nova Luna is because of him. He had this, I dunno, this aura. Like he fit into the world perfectly.”

  “Like Thorn?” Athena asked.

  It was a moment before Heidi responded, and when she did it was with a small sigh.

  “Yeah, like Thorn.”

  For the next half hour the Charging Wolf Army continued to rush toward the Orc supply camp that had been their original destination. As Thorn rested on Akira’s back he could feel fractions of his strength returning. Continuing to talk with Heidi and Athena, Thorn focused on learning as much as he possibly could about the way players thought about control domains.

  *ding*

  Hearing a chime during a lull in the conversation, Thorn opened up the call he was getting, revealing a worried looking Corvo who began to speak as soon as the call connected.

  “Thorn, we’ve got a problem. Arhtu found us and brought his forces. They’re going to be sieging the harbor soon. We’re going to be in a really serious situation here if something is not done fast.”

  “Whoa, hold up. Aren’t the defenses fine? What is the issue?” Thorn asked.

  “The Orcs found some siege engineers somewhere. They look like they are starting to put together some sort of catapult which will completely wreck us. Who knows where they found Orcs with engineering knowledge, but we spotted at least three of them.”

  “Do Orcs not know anything about engineering? What is so strange about that? They seem like they’re great builders.”

  “Sure, and they know a lot about building buildings, but weapon engineering is a particular science that requires a fair amount of math. I mean, Orcs are smart, but they’re not known for their patience. They’d much rather make a giant club than an intricate counterweight system. The one exception are the Cogs of the Sun, an Orc tribe that think that math will help them get closer to the sun. They’re trying to work out a rocket I think. Anyway, I spotted their flag and three Orcs with the yellow and silver robes that their priests wear.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good. We got slightly delayed on our way to the second supply camp, so we can turn back now.” Thorn said, calling for Mina to come over. “My concern is that no matter what we do we’re going to be losing out. If we don’t take down these supply points we’re going to face an endless wave of Orcs. If we do, we could lose the harbor.”

  “What’s going on?” Mina asked as she came over.

  Bringing the Charging Wolf Army to a halt, Thorn instructed everyone to take a rest and added Mina and Athena to the call. After Thorn gave them a rundown of the situation, silence fell over the group as each tried to come up with the best solution. Finally, Thorn sighed and looked at the two ladies.

&n
bsp; “Can you handle the supply camps if I take a few players to go help with these Cog guys?”

  “Sure, but you’re still weakened, right? What help are you going to be?”

  “If it’s just an assassination I should be good. I should be able to get enough strength back by then to wipe out three Orcs. Plus, I’m bound to the resurrection point at the harbor. Even if I die I can try again. I’ll be much less help against the camps. You’ll need a sizable force to go up against the camps, but we should be able to spare a small suicide squad.”

  “Wow, suicide squad? Not what I expected from you, that’s for sure.” Mina said, her eyes opening wide in surprise.

  “Hey, I am an immortal traveler, remember?” Thorn joked with a wink. “But seriously, I have no intention of dying. That is always a last resort. With Corvo running intelligence, we should be able to come up with a plan that will get us in and out without trouble.”

  “Corvo?” Instead of continuing the conversation with Thorn, Athena looked at the avatar of Huginn on the video screen.

  “Yeah, it's possible. We’ll need people with the ability to cross distance fast and silently. Preferably without being visible. We have plenty of stealthy characters here, but we can’t get out without being spotted. The Orcs have set up these towers all around the harbor with a bunch of Shaman. Each one has an Evil Eye Staff, which makes stealth useless. Our only real shot is to hit them from behind with someone already outside the harbor.”

  “That would be me.” Thorn said.

  “Correct, that would be you. Or a team of yours. I’m honestly not sure how much help you will be, Thorn. You are not exactly the most, uh, subtle?”

  “What if I could be?” Grinning widely, Thorn opened up his [Wolf Form] and shared it.

  “Check out the top ability my [Wolf Form] grants.”

  “Of course you can teleport through the shadows. Why wouldn’t you be able to teleport through the shadows? Let me guess, you can shoot rainbows from your butt too? Just in case you need to spice up a party? You know, I don’t want to come across as ungrateful, or anything, but all I got was a stupid bird form. Greatest bird ever, of course.” Corvo added quickly, his eyes flickering upward for a moment. “Definitely the wisest, best looking, totally best bird the world has ever seen, but come on.”