Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book II

by Scar, Rick

  He should have known better. He should have leveled up instead of plunging right in. It was a legendary quest, after all! As such, it was bound to be very, very tough.

  Will’s cold mind often gave in when a great amount of money, earned by literal blood and sweat, was at stake. Now he struggled with making another choice.

  What should I do? What?

  Chapter 118. Battle of Attrition

  T his train of thought flashed across Will’s mind as he applied Inspection to the enemy. What he saw would have made many other players cough with blood.

  Name: Demonic Lion of Astaroth

  Level: 103

  Health: 74 000

  The system adjusted this challenge for the level and stats of the player activating it. Will’s enemy was 30 levels higher than himself, and looked really formidable. The lion’s jaws were formed by dagger-like fangs, its mane by crystalized spikes of unknown material. The monster was twelve feet tall, its paws striking sparks from the cave floor with a metal sound as it walked.

  The rogue used all his willpower to stop thinking about the lost gold, praying to all the gods he didn’t really believe in that the reward paid all his suffering.

  “DAMN YOU ALL!” One of his stupidest mistakes was using none of his skill points to level up his specialization. Many of the skills available at the first stage could have come in really handy now.

  The good side was that he still could yield the dagger with his dragon paws; otherwise he’d have stood no chance at all. Gritting his teeth and making himself forget the gold, Will focused on his enemy and prepared for the fight.

  ***

  Raven did not know how much time had passed—even a momentary distraction could have killed him. Seconds felt like hours as his mind and his body were constantly tensed. He only knew he’d already got two levels up. If not for the bulk of his XP going to the pet, it would have been at least four levels. After that, his enemies became stronger too.

  Five times he nearly got killed, but Leased Life and health-restoring potions helped him withstand the pressing demons. He didn’t dare to take a look at how much gold he’d already lost: that could shatter his concentration, replacing it with despair.

  The enemy Raven currently fought looked somewhat like a gargoyle, albeit twice as large and throwing mental spears… and freezing the space ahead with its scream.

  Name: Skyhunter, Servant to Azazel

  Level: 108

  Raven was exhausted, but he could not stop. He knew he’d be killed by bolts of lightning once his gold ran out. Although the locket could rescue him, the rogue was not sure if using it was considered as escaping the battlefield… and it would surely mean he failed the challenge for good.

  The skyhunter screamed again, targeting the floor in front of its running prey, but Will already knew this trick. Each time he avoided it by zigzagging and changing his direction suddenly.

  The rogue had already done a lot of damage to the hovering enemy by using Double Jump once the demon descended to apply its freezing scream. The rest of this fight looked much like a kill-the-runner game. Will ran about the cave, avoiding the spears shot by his flying enemy. The sharp spearheads dug into the ground, sending a lasting wave of vibration.

  Raven did not know how long exactly it took him to kill each of the enemies, but none of those before had wings. The skyhunter was the first flying one, and Will felt like this particular battle was becoming really long.

  The enemy cast its spears rapidly. Will used that to gradually approach his goal by jumping up near the cave wall with no apparent reason, waiting for the spear to hit, then jumping on its shaft and waiting for the next one to barely miss his head.

  Now it was time for the final step. Looking at the spears stuck in the wall, one could notice they were forming a semblance of stairs. The enemy remained oblivious of that—until Will made another abrupt turn and started to climb the thick spear shafts like a monkey.

  A leap. Bending down beneath his weight, the shaft sprung up, shooting Raven to the next one. Another leap. Higher and higher. Clutching at one shaft with both hands, he spun in the air and flew to the next stair like an aerialist.

  By applying Leap, the rogue finally reached the last shaft—and then he jumped towards the wall.

  Double Jump.

  His feet created a cushion of air. Pushing off it, he reached the stone wall.

  Without Barriers.

  His feet, oblivious to the difference between floor, wall, and ceiling, carried him to the spot right above the skyhunter as it still shot its spears at its agile, spider-like enemy. Will came closer and closer to the monster.

  Guessing what the rogue was up to, the skyhunter tried to escape, but it did so too slowly, while Raven increased his speed by 14% using Backwind.

  Will reached the skyhunter. The monster opened its mouth to turn the rogue into an ice statue, but Air Knife flew into its throat, interrupting the skill.

  The rogue’s clone jumped from the ceiling at that very moment, clutching at the monster’s wings and pulling it down to the ground with him. The skyhunter, still struggling to spit out the knife, was stunned through hitting the ground at terrible speed. Will’s clone was destroyed, but that no longer mattered.

  Crouching on the ceiling and tensing his legs, Will pushed off as strongly as he could, starting a rapid headlong fall. His right hand clenched the dagger, while his left one tensed in anticipation of the approaching collision.

  A moment before hitting his enemy’s chest, the rogue activated Torture, then Double Attack.

  Time slowed down. His dagger cut through his enemy’s flesh, opening its chest.

  - 6 400 — Critical damage!

  Will’s left hand grabbed the monster’s head, pressing it into the ground while pushing off it.

  Due to the slowed-down time, Will was barely affected by the fall. He wheeled around instantly and, bending over the sprawled beast’s face, he started to shower its skull with blows. A few of those drove the monster’s health bar into the red; getting a few more, the demon breathed its last.

  Wiping away the black blood that had splashed over his face, Raven prepared for the next fight. The monster summoned by another wave of the ghostly hero’s hand already rushed on Will to pierce him with its long tusks.

  Name: Khalapheer – Palace Guard of Beelzebub

  Level: 90

  Health: 35 000

  These stats alerted Will instantly. Low-level. Little health. Besides, this demon was also smaller than any other, looking like a skinny bear with tusks and small holes in its chest.

  Soon, Will realized this monster was also stronger than any other. Its speed was matchless; Raven could do nothing about it but run away, barely escaping death from the sharp tusks. It was the holes in the demon’s chest—the air passing through was accumulated as energy— that lent a tremendous speed to this monster and increased its damage.

  Dodging the tusks once again, Raven realized he could by no means overcome this enemy. It moved as though by teleporting, landing explosive blows to the spot where Will had just been.

  All Will’s attempts at attacking this creature failed. If he still had Dancing of Time, he would have used it; he had no other way to reach such a swift enemy. Not with his current abilities.

  His only option was…

  Chapter 119. The First Servant

  …t he Emperor’s Obedience Crystal.

  It had charged 134/700 while Will had been looking for the first recruit to his future host. 150 influence points were not a thing to be spent carelessly, but now he saw no other way out but to use the crystal on the Khalapheer.

  The item sent a wave of light-blue energy that enveloped the monster, absorbing into its body. The demon started to twitch, and its eyes clouded with light-blue haze for a moment. Shaking its head, the bear vanished and re-appeared by the rogue’s right side.

  You have used the Emperor’s Obedience Crystal. Now this Khalapheer, Palace Guard of Beelzebub, obeys no one but you.
>
  Name your new servant

  No time for that! the rogue screamed mentally at seeing another monster appear before him.

  “Name: Khalapheer!”

  Named

  He ignored the last message as the newly-arriving humanoid demon slowly walked towards him, a smile on its face, and a bleeding sword in its hand.

  Name: Legionnaire of Agriel

  Level: 120

  Health: 140 000

  Once Will acquired his assistant, the enemies became much stronger. He wondered if using that crystal had been a wise decision after all.

  ***

  But this battle also came to an end, as many before it had. All Will’s attacking skills were long on cooldown. If not for his new servant, that disgusting-looking sword would have long severed the rogue’s restless head.

  Despite how good his speedy servant was, the legionnaire still killed Will once.

  When his Leased Life skill was triggered by a mortal damage, the enemy instantly responded to the rogue’s survival by landing a slashing blow, with one of his skills activated. Looking at his health bar, Will saw it shrink to zero in a flash. His body was halved by the sword like a ripe apple.

  That would have been the end of him if not for his forgotten skill: One foot on the flip side. Re-appearing on that very spot where his halved body had been a moment before, Will glanced around disbelievingly—and ran across the just-as-disbelieving stare of his enemy.

  Confused by the rogue’s not dying twice, the legionnaire lifted his sword to examine it with doubtful eyes, then he slashed at the air twice and weighed the sword on his palm. Frowning, the demon shifted his gaze between his sword and the rogue, struggling to fathom what the problem was. Was his enemy immortal or his weapon secretly replaced with a less powerful one?

  This moment of confusion was long enough for Raven to use Leap, escaping the legionnaire, and drink his last health potion. (Now he only had a single energy potion left.)

  His new demon servant also took advantage of the enemy’s confusion, ripping his leg off at full speed. That decided the battle’s outcome, enabling the rogue to kill the legionnaire.

  Once he landed the last blow, his golden dragon form was off. His bracelets were instantly back to the inventory, and the bolts of lightning attacked the stubborn human with renewed vigor.

  “ARRRGH!” Will screamed in pain. A million-volt strike sent him sprawling to the ground, his whole body turning black and de-buffed with lightning mark, making him shake all over so convulsively that he could not hold his weapon.

  A strike!

  Another strike!

  Writhing with pain, Raven was on the verge of dying when the lightning bolts froze in the air, their tiny branches, pregnant with irresistible power, visible in full detail.

  Will could not see them, anyway, as he was down on the ground, still shaking with the strikes he’d received, his body enveloped in terrible, stunning pain, his coal-like skin regenerating slowly.

  “Yes. You gave me a wonderful performance. You not only killed demons, but even bound one to your will. Ahahaha. I wish Beelzebub could see that. Although, as far as I know, there is still a long way to come for your worlds before they re-unite. Well, whatever. You have proven your worth as a messenger. You’ve used all you had. Although you hesitated at first, and that made me angry and doubtful of your worth, in battle you were fast and strong, and you reacted. Your fights were curious to watch. The part I liked most was the skyhunter. In my young years, I used to merely knock these down by throwing daggers to pierce their wings. But the main thing you’ve showed me at the end. Your baptism in strokes of lightning. I once had it too. That allowed me to harness them and trap them in my dagger. Now take your hint and other rewards, my future successor!”

  The lightning hero raised a hand to complete the challenge, but the faint, rasping voice from the ground stopped her.

  “Wa-wa-wait, miss h-hero… I n-need in-nfo on-n-n a… a d-d-dif-f-ferent t-tablet th-than… th-than Floor 24,” Will eventually forced out. He still had cramps, his lungs burning so badly he barely could speak.

  He took a mental note that strokes of lightning were really good for stunning spell-casters. That was all he’d learned from his cruel lesson.

  “Why?” the hero asked.

  “I… I kn- know it.”

  “Well, as you like. Now take your reward.”

  Pure light enveloped Will.

  Your health has been restored. All negative effects removed.

  Half of your gold has been restored.

  Level Up.

  Level Up.

  Congratulations! You have opened one the tablets left by Zal’Sscar, a legendary hero.

  Rewards:

  A magic cube containing a hint at another tablet’s location;

  Item: Soul of Lightning

  Rank: Unique (Activator)

  Opens a hidden development tree for your pet.

  Note: You can open another unique tree for your pet by using alchemy to combine this activator with souls of other elements. To do that, you will need a recipe and an alchemist of Grandmaster rank or higher.

  Boot Blueprint: Ghostly Gift (Epic)

  Level required: 200

  Description: A blueprint given to this legendary hero as a gift by one noble thief.

  Unique skill: Lightning Copy

  Active skill: Apprentice

  You can temporarily become lightning and land up to 4 piercing blows simultaneously. After applying this skill, you return to your past spot.

  Duration: Time is stopped for 5 seconds for you to select the target(s). Once you do that, you have 1 second to land the blow.

  Activation: Once you select the target(s) and confirm your choice, the system will transport you to the target(s) so you will be able to strike.

  Note: No critical damage is done by this skill.

  Range: 300 ft

  Energy required: 300

  Cooldown: 30 min

  Chapter 120. A Quest for Level 300+

  H ealed by the hero, Raven stood up, scrolling through his messages. The rewards were great. Actually, they were fantastic, but they had cost him over 5,000 gold. This figure cast gloom over his joy, although he gave credit to the system for not bleeding him dry.

  Will sighed. “So where can I find the next tablet?” He could not fathom how the cube worked. The item’s description was empty, so he could only get some information from this heroic spirit. Or image. Or whatever was the proper name for what remained of her.

  “Think about the tablet, and look at the cube again.”

  “How could I have guessed that?” the rogue muttered as he followed her instruction. Thinking of the tablet and peering at the cube, he saw it cover itself in white smoke and a figure appeared on one of its sides: 35.

  Floor 35? A long way to go. And, by the way… He remembered what he’d been curious about since he’d seen the tablet. Why are two tablets by the same hero placed on the same floor?

  Asking this question to Zal’Sscar, he got a confusing response: “This place is not on any floor. It’s one of the holes in the fabric of the world. I created a passage to this place long ago, hiding it and giving a key to my apprentices. I told them to wait for the Messengers of Gods to arrive, and then they should give the key to the worthiest one.”

  “Ah.” Will was surprised at such a simple answer to the riddle he’d been racking his brain over. But still he was glad to get it. “Now I see the floor. But how do I know the exact location?”

  “The cube will show you the way.”

  “I see. May I ask one more question? If the tablet is encountered by other messengers, will they be able to take the challenge?” This question was important to Will. He was still unaware of many tablet locations, and reaching them was anything but easy. He’d rather not come to another tablet just to hear it was no longer available.

  “Yes. But no earlier than a month after the last visit. Creating the tablets, we’ve left a part of our strength and a tra
ce of our mind to run the challenges and keep them meaningful. These traces of mind contain the memory of what kind of person we’d like to become our successor. But every challenge requires a lot of energy. Accumulating it is a long process. After we find the one to pass our power and knowledge too, we will no longer be selecting.”

  “Thank you for answering.” Will was about to leave, but his intuition stopped him.

  Ascension was different from any other game; he’d seen it more than once. Such a thing as a part of a legendary hero’s soul and mind could not be wasted on merely running a challenge, however complicated. He just had to find a way to get more from it than just hints and rewards.

  Unsure of how to start a conversation with an entity whose mere stare could freeze enemies on spot and crush the ground, Will started with what crossed his mind first. “Um. Aren’t you bored just staying here?”

  “What do you mean, messenger?” Lifting her lightning fingers, the hero played with the small flying creatures now sitting on the frozen bolts of lightning and chirping in their strange language. The rogue already knew they were souls of lightning; one of them was asleep inside the small transparent sphere he’d received as his reward.

  “Er…” Scratching the back of his head, Raven glanced around for anything he could use to keep the conversation up. “You are a part of a very strong woman’s mind. Of a legendary person. I don’t think you can take much fun in staying in this dark cave in the back of beyond.”

  “That’s my destiny. And none of your business, anyway.”

  “I’m not arguing with that. As a messenger, I have my destiny too. I understand the importance of your mission. But… maybe you would like something to brighten up your stay here? Something I can bring you from the outside world?”

  “No. Nothing.” Shrugging like an ordinary human, Zal’Sscar’s figure shattered to lots of small souls of lightning.