Poor Cultivation (The Slayer of Heaven Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series

by Alan Bard

  “I can take care of myself!”

  “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that,” Bojan said skeptically.

  Rio may have attended a kung-fu class or two, but I doubted that he could put any of that into practice. He’d end up either fainting or running away.

  “Where shall we go?” Jelena asked grimly, looking at Rio who gazed upon the valley and nodded to himself.

  “There. I mean, to the west. We’re in the eastern region. North should be...” He pointed at something in the mountains that only he could see. “Damn mountains... If we’re going to get off this island on our own...” He glanced around. “We’ll need a plane or a helicopter.”

  “Can you drive it?” Eli asked with a snicker.

  Rio shook his head.

  “Enough lollygagging,” Bojan said. “We have two days left, and then we’re screwed. Hey, smart guy, how long do you think it’ll take to get to our destination?”

  “If we continue straight ahead, we should get there by evening.”

  “I doubt that it’s gonna be smooth sailing from here on out,” Jelena said with a slight grimace, glancing at the University building. “But we don’t have a choice.”

  I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that someone was watching us from one of the towers, even though I couldn’t see anyone. The building itself seemed to be looking at us—I could feel its grave, cold gaze upon my face.

  I took my first step into the unknown, and Archie’s face came back to me. I wondered if they’d put him in jail or if he had managed to get off with probation. Remembering him brought back the fear of him killing my mother. I tried to suppress it by putting up a shield of hatred.

  Whatever lies ahead, I’ll go back and find him, I thought. I needed to survive this. I’d get my revenge in about a month and a half. I’ll definitely get it!

  We were on an old road, and the farther we got from the University, the worse it got. Ahead, high in the sky, were faint flashes, as if a storm had begun somewhere.

  “Wow, what was that?” Rio was excited. “Did you see that?”

  Eli shrugged. “Lightning.”

  “With no thunder... How come? The sound would’ve reached us later than the light... And the flash was too bright, the entire sky was covered.”

  “It’s just lightning,” Eli snapped. “Sometimes there’s a flash, but the sound doesn’t get to you. I don’t care about it as long as it doesn’t threaten us. We have enough to worry about.”

  A distant siren sounded behind us. We turned around at once, trying to figure out its source. The University was almost invisible behind the trees and bushes, but we were not too far from it. The buzzing stopped, and Zara’s voice came over the powerful loudspeaker.

  “Attention, new players! I see that you’re still within earshot!” Her voice echoed through the foliage.

  “We’ve detected atmospheric disturbances over the center of the island, which usually precede a dangerous wave of one kind or another. While the timing of the wave is unknown, it’s in your best interest to pick up your pace and either find an activated Protective Totem or a shelter. The wave can be deadly. You have been warned!”

  The loudspeaker fell silent, and we looked at each other in bewilderment.

  “What does that even mean?” Jelena asked under her breath. “What kind of a wave is she talking about?”

  “Geez, that bitch said it in such a cold and flat tone,” Eli echoed. “Man, this is bad. And what’s this nonsense about totems? Totems are... Like, Native American, right?”

  We glanced at Rio, our walking encyclopedia.

  “A totem usually represents some kind of an animal, but it can also be an object of worship. Many tribes consider such totems as their patrons and protectors.”

  “Well, she did say something about protection.” Eli nodded. “Though, I’m more concerned about this wave. Fuck me... I hope she was joking!”

  “Let’s say that she wasn’t joking, let’s not waste time,” I started but Bojan interrupted me.

  “Who made you the boss, huh?” His voice was flat, but harsh. “No one will be in charge of me, you get that?!”

  Fists raised, he leaned toward me, but I jumped back, assuming a boxing stance. Bojan was taller and bigger than me, but I wasn’t afraid—it wasn’t like me to run away from a fight.

  I was able to see every movement of his body, down to the tiniest twitch of his brow; I saw his expression change and his eyes shift—I felt like I could predict his moves and even deal a blow that he wouldn’t have time to avoid. A flurry of strange, red symbols appeared above his head. He took a step toward me, but Jelena hung on to his arm, and Rio, who had suddenly grown a spine, stepped between us.

  “Bojane, don’t!” Jelena pleaded.

  “Stop it, guys!” Rio barked.

  Bojan easily shook his sister off him and pushed her away so that she landed on the grass.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Eli asked, stepping between us.

  “Get out of my way!” Bojan commanded. “Both of you!”

  “Don’t you realize that you’ll only make things worse for yourself?!” Rio almost yelled at the two of us. “Newcomers are sent in groups of five for a reason. We’re surely not the first group. They’ve calculated everything already—such a group has the best chances of survival! Don’t act like assholes, come on!”

  Bojan stepped forward, ready to fight the world if need be, and tried to push both of them out of his way, but moving Eli turned out to be a nearly impossible task. Jelena jumped to her feet and clung to her brother yet again. In the end, Bojan cursed under his breath and stepped aside.

  “You better stop acting so high and mighty.” He spat in the grass at his feet. “I’ll kick your ass, I swear to God.”

  Having said that, he turned around and walked down the road without another word, away from the rocky ridge and the University.

  We followed him.

  Soon, the rocky road turned into a beaten path. The grass was trampled and the ground disturbed—someone had walked it recently.

  Lost in thought, I decided to keep an eye on the crazy Serb. I was wondering how many players and squads there were on the island. I was also curious about what the feds, or whoever was behind all this, would do with us after we had passed the Rites.

  Is this some kind of program to create the perfect super-soldier? I thought to myself.

  Who are you planning to fight, moron? No amount of words or numbers in your head will make you more efficient, said a cold voice.

  Only in movies do they make supermen or superspies out of young criminals, added another.

  To conclude, we don’t have a clue about anything. But I want to emphasize that I want to get out of here, and I suggest we do it at any cost, chimed in the third voice.

  The path disappeared in the grass and reappeared after a while. I was willing to bet that soon it’d disappear completely and that we’d have to fight our way through the foliage. The flora that surrounded us was unlike any that we had ever seen: the tree-trunks were red-brown, too thick, and covered with cracks, and the branches looked like combs with sharp spikes. The leaves were small and smooth, as if covered with varnish.

  “Does anyone have any idea where we are?” Jelena asked. She kept turning around, as if just waiting for something to jump at us.

  No one felt safe, and the farther away we were from the solid walls of the University, the more uneasy we felt and the more alien the island became.

  “Somewhere near Australia?” Eli suggested. “It’s a very strange place. Have you been to Australia?”

  “Or on an African island,” Rio said. “Or the Galapagos. Or maybe Madagascar? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter.”

  As I had expected, the path disappeared between thorny bushes. Instead of moving forward, we were wasting time looking for a way through. Soon, bamboo-like thickets replaced the bushes, and we had no choice but to go along them.

  Up in the sky, a flock of large birds flew over us; white-gray a
gainst the brilliant blue, they spun and dove through the air. For some reason, I thought that they were albatrosses.

  I looked down at Bojan. Always malicious and grim, he now seemed tense and nervous; the corners of his mouth would twitch from time to time.

  He’s a psycho who can’t control his feelings.

  Yeah, a freak who’s taking his anger out on innocent bystanders.

  Jelena seemed to be getting sick: she kept stumbling and could barely follow. Beads of sweat were rolling down her face. She turned to look at me, and I saw that her eyes were red and swollen. Eli, panting and gasping, was doing no better. It was hard to tell if Rio was doing okay or not—he was as nervous and skittish as ever.

  “I don’t see the point of any of this,” Bojan said. “What the hell are we doing here? I don’t like thorns. They’re rough and irritating and they get everywhere... Will we at least get attacked by a monster or something? This is getting boring.” He took a few sips from his flask; drops of water rolled down his chin. “Where’s the stream that we saw on that map?”

  Rio pointed to the left.

  “It’s about two miles that way. Considering our pace, it’s at least an hour away. We have to make this detour... We won’t get far without water. The flasks won’t be enough.”

  Bojan let out a growl or a groan. A nervous look crossed his reddening face.

  Is it because he feels sick? I wondered.

  No, he’s probably just an aggressive, angry jerk, the cold voice replied. I had decided to name it Alpha, so that I could keep track of all the voices that seemed to be haunting me. Was I turning schizophrenic?

  Jelena was breathing noisily; she was struggling to keep her actual condition a secret.

  This is bad. She’s losing a lot of fluid. We don’t have enough water.

  It’s all right, we’ll get to the stream soon. There’ll be plenty of water there.

  By the time we got there, we had given all of our water to Jelena. Only Bojan didn’t share. When he saw the reeds, he emptied the flask in one gulp and ran for the water, pushing through the dry stalks and clearing the path for us.

  Leaving Jelena to rest in the clearing, we hurried after him. Our goal was close, and we were no longer worried about dehydration and fatigue.

  Suddenly, Bojan cursed viciously.

  “Shit! We can’t drink this! We’ll die here! We’re all gonna die!”

  “What is it?” Eli shouted.

  “The water’s shit! It stinks. You can’t drink it.”

  “Does it smell that bad?” Rio asked.

  “Come here and smell for yourself!”

  The three of us approached the stream that was about five feet wide and deep. It was slow-flowing and seemed to be clear at first glance. Coming closer, I saw its rocky bottom through the crystal-clear water.

  The sheer sight of it all made my throat burn with thirst. I dropped to my knees, scooped up the water with my hands, took a sip and...

  Almost threw up.

  I didn’t know what kerosene mixed with hydrogen sulfide tasted like, but I was sure that this was it. The smell was putrid and made my eyes tear up. One didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this water was dangerous to drink.

  Eli flopped down on his ass and rolled his eyes. “We’re screwed! We’ll die of fucking thirst! Is there another stream?!” He stared at Rio, who just shrugged.

  Each of us wished that we had saved the water instead of sharing it. Bojan scratched his chin and looked around.

  “We have to do something!”

  Eli grimaced and said contemptuously, “Well, it’s time for our leader to tell us what to do.”

  Bojan was silent. He had a strange look in his eyes and he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

  “What if we go up the stream? Follow it to its spring,” I suggested. “The water might be cleaner there. We’ll drink, fill our flasks, and rest for an hour or two...”

  “We can’t waste time!” Bojan barked. “We’ve already lost a lot of it because of you. If you want, lie down and rest. We’ll carry on.”

  “I can’t get up, my stomach hurts,” Eli complained, lying on his back and clutching his stomach.

  We heard Jelena moaning.

  That’s not going to work, Alpha said coldly.

  “I’ll go get some water. Who’s with me?” I knew that no one would come with me because they all felt too sick, but I still had to ask.

  “You’re a moron!” I caught Bojan’s eye; he was ready to pounce at me. I figured that he felt bad, too, in his own special way. He was afraid he’d lose. “We don’t have time for resting!”

  “I’ll go with you, Nick.” Rio tried to get up but fell back down almost immediately.

  “It’s all right. Just give me your flask.”

  Eli was lying on the dried mud so I had to take his flask off his belt on my own. Shivering, Jelena groaned in pain. I reassured her and promised to return soon, even though I didn’t believe a word I was saying. Every move brought sharp pain; muscles I didn’t even know I had ached—my heart was pounding like a jackhammer.

  “Hey, you,” Bojan called out to me. I turned around and saw him reeling, barely able to stand on his feet. “Take my flask, too.”

  “Are you kidding me? I ain’t gonna do that.”

  “You fucking bastard!” he yelled as I was walking away. “I hope you die!”

  I was walking slowly upstream along the reeds. I felt the heat from the sun on my back and my heart was pounding so hard that I could barely breathe.

  If someone attacks us, we’re dead.

  Heroic death by a saber-toothed squirrel, laughed one of the voices sarcastically. I couldn’t make out which one it was.

  White spots were dancing in front of my eyes. I may’ve been a little hasty when I made the decision to go alone.

  I doubt that there was another way of doing this. I mean, were there any other options? Beta asked. A female voice, reminding me of my first schoolteacher.

  No one answered. I stopped. Holding on to a thin tree trunk, I took a deep breath, and continued on my way.

  I walked slowly and in silence; there was nothing on my mind except clear, cold water. It was driving me forward, like a carrot in front of a donkey’s face. Just the thought of its taste gave me strength.

  Lost in thought, I twisted my ankle, fell, and hit my knee. I had to pull myself together.

  I was dragging myself further and further. After a while, I saw two streams meet at the foot of a hill. The larger one flowed into the smaller that ran through the valley from a cliff with a deafening sound.

  I’d be willing to bet that one of them is clean, Alpha said.

  What do you want to bet? I wager this is the end of us, Beta said with a smile.

  I was closer to the smaller stream; there were no reeds growing around it. My mouth was dry. I licked my lips and grinned... But soon felt my heart drop—it, too, smelled of hydrogen sulfide.

  Cursing, I dragged myself toward the bigger stream. When I got closer, a thin smile touched my lips—the wheel of fortune had started to turn in my favor.

  I got down on my knees and started to drink, unable to quench my thirst. I felt like a withered tree blooming after rain.

  I filled the first flask and then drank some more.

  I caught a glimpse of a shadow in the water, and almost immediately felt something push me from behind. Something had jumped right on top of me. Instinctively, I raised my arms to protect my neck, and the creature sank its teeth into my forearm. Red text flashed before my eyes.

  The interface has been minimized!

  You have been attacked by a [Chaos Hyena].

  [Chaos Hyena] deals 5% damage.

  I fell on my stomach and tried to roll over and grab the Hyena. I rolled on my side and pressed its paws against the ground. Growling turned into a prolonged roar, and then died out. I reached into my pocket for the knife, but there was no way to grab it. I then noticed a stone lying nearby, highlighted neon red
.

  New messages flashed in my peripheral vision.

  Battle Mode activated.

  Solution: [Sharp Stone]

  I grabbed the rock and swung randomly. The beast growled and let go of my hand. I jumped up and found myself face to face with something that reminded me of a hyena—a dirty, sandy-colored, four-legged creature. Its hind legs were longer and more powerful than its forelegs, and it wasn’t so much as growling as it seemed to be laughing at me. A second later, slightly smaller creature emerged from the thicket. One was approaching from the right, the other from the left; the smell of my blood was making them drool.

  Backing away slowly, I took out the knife. Looking at it, I realized that it might as well be cutlery, as it’d hardly be able to pierce their skin. Blood had already soaked the sleeve of my jacket and was dripping onto the ground. Trying to assess where I was in terms of damage, I bent my arm and wiggled my fingers. They were moving, but it caused pain... But I could push through it.

  The Hyenas attacked simultaneously. I dodged and fell into the icy water, which sobered me up and gave me strength.

  I was up to my knees in the cold; a strong current was pushing me from behind. The Hyenas were still again—one on the right bank, the other on the left. A waterfall hummed behind me. I turned and ran. I knew that they could attack me at any moment, but they were just watching me as if they were waiting for me to leave. Only when I was near the waterfall did I realize that I had been cornered.

  No Battle Modes were available anymore, and I didn’t see any tips from the system. Was this really the end of the road?

  Again, they attacked at the same time. One rushed at me, while the other jumped onto a rock behind me. I ducked under the first Hyena and plunged the knife into its belly. As if in slow motion, I saw the blade tear through the pale skin, revealing a thin layer of yellow fat and pulsating, glistening pink...

  You have dealt 75% damage.

  At that moment, the second Hyena reached me. The beast missed its initial target and sank its teeth into my collarbone. My knife was in the abdomen of the first beast, so I couldn’t fight back. One hand protecting my neck, the other reaching for the Hyena’s muzzle, I tried to grope and gouge its eyes out.