The Skull Throne: A LitRPG novel (Kingdom of Heaven Book 1)

by J. A. Cipriano

  Ori was needlessly hostile. This was, after all, a store. This gnome guy’s excitement at seeing me aside, he was almost definitely going to let me shop. I mean, it’s how he kept little seeds and berries in on his gnome table. A thought occurred to me though. Ori probably didn’t have much experience dealing with sellers and stores. She was an NPC, and not a common one either. She was the Guardian of the Void, the angel chosen by the Principalities to guard the portals which led to the many different levels of this game (or, in her perspective, this realm). All that she needed, she had been given. Maybe she didn’t realize that buying and selling didn’t have to be a hostile engagement.

  “It’s okay, Ori,” I said, placing my hand on top of hers in an attempt to calm her down. “Me and…my bro here go way back. He’s going to help us out.” I leaned in further onto the bar, surprised Ori had allowed me to keep my hand on hers. “He might even give us a little bit of a discount.”

  Was that possible? Were discounts a thing in game?

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” the gnome said and stepped out of the way, revealing his inventory to me.

  Again, my vision jarred to something new. I settled quickly though. Really, it was getting easier and easier to think of my eyes as the screen of my computer.

  The gnome’s entire inventory sprawled out before me. A soft glow settled on a large battle axe on the top far left corner. My attention was immediately drawn to it. It was the sort of thing I would have snatched up in an instant if I didn’t have a bitchy/hot angel breathing down my back.

  The truth of the matter was, I probably didn't need it. I had a kickass sword that I’d have the power to really wield soon enough, after all. Still, there was something about me and huge things I could hit people with that just always left me thirsty for more.

  “No!” Ori’s voice sounded in my ear. “We’re not here for phallic toys, Jack!”

  I sighed heavily. The angel's displeasure was stinging enough to make me reconsider my love for the axe, but more importantly, it was a good 20k coins to purchase. If I nabbed it, I certainly wouldn't be able to purchase any of the Nature Magic here, and I'd be failing my first quest before I barely got started. Resigned, I moved my attention and the soft glow that accompanied it to other places in the inventory before settling in the Nature Magic section of the store.

  “Any suggestions?” I asked, motioning to both of my traveling partners, but only really expecting Ori to answer.

  “Something you can handle,” she scoffed in the most condescending tone I could have imagined. “Something that will help you defeat a dragon.”

  Instantly, I pulled my attention off the storefront and moved it back to the angel woman. “Wait just a second,” I said, my heart skipping at least a few beats. “What did you just say?”

  “Get something you can handle,” she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re still a novice mystic. You’ll need something that doesn’t even remotely require a high skill level.”

  “No, no,” I said, swallowing hard. “The other part. The part about the–”

  “The dragon?” she asked in a tone that one might have used if they were talking about something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich. “I told you, Jack, we need to get you ranked up in a hurry. Nothing’s going to do that quicker than you killing a dragon.” She turned back to the store. “Oh, how about a Grade 1 Lake Ripple?”

  10

  Politely turning down the whole “Lake Ripple” thing (how could I live with myself throwing around little blobs of lake water?), I settled for a Grade 1 Lightning Bolt. Given the fact I’d chosen Nature Magic as my field of choice and now knowing that I was going up against a damned dragon, it seemed like the best bet. The fact that it took a full third of the contents of my coin purse to obtain only further cemented the fact it was probably the right choice.

  Harnessing it, however, was another mountain to climb entirely. I had never been a magic user, and because of that, I gave the whole endeavor very little thought. If I couldn’t chop or beat it to death, I basically either left it alone or stood back while one of my fellow guild members took it out. To say I was unseasoned in wielding things like lightning bolts was about as big an understatement as one could come up with.

  In this area, at least, I was one of those noobs I always looked down on when dealing with in game. To that end, I needed to practice, and I needed to do it right now. The one thing I knew for certain is that the Lightning Bolt Spell was one of the kinds of magic that was treated as a “weapon,” wielded like one in the same way an archer would a bow and arrow. There were other spells that acted more like the special attacks that I had gained from my Knight Attunement. I had a moment to glance at the cracking spark’s tooltip as it bounced along my hand.

  Quest objective complete!

  You have learned your first Nature Spell!

  You gain 3 ranks of Woods Mystic Attunement!

  New quest objective: Follow the directive of the Guardian of the Void!

  Lightning Bolt has been added to your armory!

  Grade 1 Nature Magic Spell (weapon slot)

  Requires Woods Mystic Attunement 1 to equip

  1,000 – 2,000 Electrical Damage, 1.4 attacks per second

  Pushes Balance towards Wrath 1 point per second (-1 Balance per second)

  100 meter range

  I only had the barest inkling of what most of that meant past the whole damage thing, but it seemed Ori had other things in mind though.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll work through it,” she said, a bounce in her step that accentuated just how scantily clad she was.

  “They only say that if you actually know how to ride a bike already, Ori,” I balked, struggling to keep pace with the very graceful and insanely fast angel.

  Hecate had paid her no such kindness, falling behind our stroll as we marched toward the large lake that sat at the end of Grass Root.

  I had been to this lake many times since its waters had healing properties. They weren’t as good as a potion or a bottle of medicine, but they worked when you didn’t want to waste your good stuff. Often times, I’d come to this place just to top off before I went on a big quest. I had to imagine that was what we were doing here. If I was going to fight a dragon without my trusted sword or even the use of my daggers, I was going to need to be at full Energy first. Especially given the fact that – if I died – it would be for the last time.

  “And I assure you, it’s nothing like riding a bike,” I continued, shaking my head. “Have you ever ridden a bike?”

  “Have you ever fought a dragon?” she scoffed, turning to me with judgmental yet startlingly beautiful eyes.

  Quest objective updated!

  New objective: Kill the dragon that threatens the Kingdom, as directed by Orgina!

  She had me there. Never in all the time I’d been playing Kingdom of Heaven had I never even heard of someone coming across a dragon, much less fighting one. I naturally assumed they just didn’t fit with the narrative motif of the place. This was more of an angel, demons, ghosts, and goblins-type world. Though I was a knight, complete with armor, swords, chainmail, and the kind of swooping, swoon-worthy hair usually reserved for that time Richard Gere played Lancelot, this didn’t really seem like the kind of place dragons would fit in.

  Guess I was wrong.

  “That’s another thing,” I said, swallowing hard as we approached the edge of the lake. “I’ve been around this place a time or two. I haven’t seen or even heard of any dragons roaming around.”

  “They like to keep to themselves,” Ori said sharply, settling in front of the water.

  “Dragons?” I asked, looking over at her. “Thousand-pound dragons with long snouts, giant wings, and the ability to breathe fire manage to keep to themselves? That doesn’t seem very likely.”

  “What is or isn’t likely doesn’t seem like something you’re in a position to comment on, Jack,” Ori scoffed, still refusing to use the ‘Iron’ part of my mon
iker. “You’re a guest in this land. You may have acquainted yourself with it through the lens of a computer screen, but you have little knowledge when it comes to the darkest places and truest natures of what this place really is.”

  “Is that right?” I asked. “Well, then why even bring me here? Why not use someone who actually knows a thing or two about the ‘truest nature’ of whatever crap it is you’re talking about right now?”

  Ori fell silent, her hands falling against her bare thighs in a rare display of speechlessness.

  “Just tell the boy the truth, Ori,” Hecate said coyly.

  “I will not,” she hissed, looking over at the ogre. “And you shouldn’t be so quick to either. You may have studied him, but you do not know his heart. I will give him no more power over me than I already have.”

  “Power over you?” I gasped, sure I had misunderstood. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but haven’t I been forced to do every little thing you’ve said since the moment you flew down into my life? If anyone has power here, it’s you! For that matter, why don’t you just deal with the Shadow or whoever it is that you’re so afraid of? You’re obviously more powerful than me anyway.”

  “She would if she could,” Hecate said, placing a scaled hand on my shoulder.

  “Ogre, stay your tongue!” Ori snapped, her hand reaching for the mace at her waist.

  “Stop it, Ori!” she said. “All of this is ridiculous. Iron Jack will discover the truth sooner or later. We might as well make it now.” The green woman sighed heavily and continued. “Long ago, a portal was opened from our world to yours. It pulled in many of your human brethren before it was closed and, because of that, our world became unstable. Spirits, angels, demons; we all knew how to live together in harmony and peace. But the introduction of your kind led to disagreements, which led to fighting, which led to wars.”

  “Sounds familiar,” I said, lamenting the nature of my race.

  “But the accords changed all that. We understood that – though your people were the least among us in terms of Power and Dexterity, they could grow and they could learn. They could, as you say, level up. The Skull Throne was created, using a piece of the energy from all the different species of our world. The Principalities, who had spearheaded the construction – saw fit to give control to many different species, but something happened that changed things, and now only the least of the species could sit upon it.

  “Humans,” I said, biting my bottom lip and piecing things together.

  “Correct, only humans can sit atop the Skull Throne. We hoped it would be different. We hoped that, since they knew what it was to have nothing in terms of power, they would rule with good hearts and compassion.”

  “I could have told you differently than that,” I muttered.

  “It was not to be. The Skull Throne, forged with the power of all the creatures of our world, held control over those powers. It corrupted each and every human that sat upon it until, finally, there were no more in the royal line.”

  A wave of shock ran through me. “That’s why I had to come here,” I said in a stammer. “You couldn’t use me the way you could have when I was back at home. It never made sense to me, why you’d bring me here and make me weaker, make me killable.” I shook my head. “It was because you had to, because it has to be the soul of a human to control the throne.”

  “And because you had to see,” Ori added, apparently okay with giving me more information now that the cat was out of the bag. “When turmoil erupted onto this world, the Principalities opened breaches small enough to your world so ours would come through as fantasy. This way, we could use your people to help keep us safe. It would be harmless. None of you would be hurt.”

  I grimaced, thinking of Amanda and what she might have to say about Ori’s definition of hurt. To her, this game had siphoned off a piece of my life. It had occupied my attention and made me complacent—a bad brother. Now, that might have been more my fault than that of the game, but I still thought my sister might disagree with this angel.

  “But the Principalities also made the rules. They didn’t know how brazen your people would be. They thought if they unleashed all the world had to offer at once, it might scare or overwhelm you.”

  “Hence the expansion packs,” Hecate chimed in. “It limited how much of the world your avatars could explore and learn about into more easily consumable bits, allow you to adapt to things and become better people. And I bet you thought it was just to make a quick buck.” She smiled.

  It had made more than a few quick bucks off of me. Still, it gave me a newfound appreciation for this place. Now that I knew I hadn’t seen all of it, or even half maybe, I understood better why Ori was so hesitant to trust me.

  I was a noob. I had never seen a dragon here, and who knew what other strange things were hiding around the corner.

  I might have been a Level 50 player, but I was apparently in a Level 1000 world.

  I was nowhere near prepared enough.

  Still, that wasn’t what concerned me the most. The thing that really stuck in my craw, the part I was going to have to address right this moment, was that it was now clear my intentions flew directly in the face of Ori and Hecate. What I wanted was not what they wanted, and I needed to be clear about that before we went any further.

  “You want me to sit on the throne,” I said, staring at my traveling companions.

  “We need you to sit on the throne,” Hecate answered. “If the Shadow claims it for himself, then–”

  “How long?” I asked, cutting her off. “How long do you want me on that damned thing?”

  Hecate didn’t answer. She knew all too well what I was getting at.

  “You told me I could go home!” I said through clenched teeth. “You told me the throne would take me home!”

  “I told you it had the power to take you home, and it does,” Hecate answered. “But it also has the power to save an entire world, to save countless people.” She took a deep breath, and I could tell she was gearing up for her big push. “I know you’re a hero. I could see it in you. I could see it in the way you moved, in the way you fought. I knew you were a novice with magic. I knew you weren’t a perfect player, but I also knew that – when it came down to it – I could trust you to do what was right. That was why I fought so hard for the principalities to choose you. That was why they finally did. I know you’ll do what’s right, Iron Jack. I know you’ll choose the right path.”

  A new box pulled up into my line of vision. It told me I was being faced with an option.

  Hecate offers you a quest to take control of the Skull Throne. Do you accept? Y/N?

  I thought about my family, about Amanda and John, about all the things she had said to me and all the things I had promised her. She often accused me of putting this game, this place before her and then of putting her before any chance of having a life for myself. I had told her so many times that I hadn’t, and I believed it then. It was time for me to put my money where my mouth was and to lay my intentions clear on the table.

  I wouldn’t choose this over my family. I wouldn’t sit on a throne or save anyone if it meant I’d never see them again. Not even an entire world.

  I turned away from them, mentally scrolling until I pressed the ‘N.'

  “I’m sorry, Hecate,” I said, walking away, my sword clanging against my armor as I moved. “But I just can’t do this.”

  11

  My head was both pounding and spinning as I moved through the forest. I couldn’t believe any of this was happening because even if I ignored the craziness of actually being stuck in Kingdom of Heaven, what Hecate and Ori were asking of me was insane.

  Still, even though I had made my point and was quite satisfied I had been justified in leaving, I couldn’t ignore the fact it left me completely and utterly screwed.

  I was still trapped in this game, and unlike before, I didn’t have anyone to help me get out. I was on my own, without any idea of what to do next.

  Brushing back a
tree branch, I mentally pulled down my contacts list and scanned my friends to see if any of them were online.

  Unfortunately, every last one of them was offline. This didn’t make any sense. Someone should have been on by now. Someone I could get in contact with.

  I was missing in the real world, for God’s sake. Had Barry really not thought to check my KOH profile and see if I’d left him a message?

  I shook my head again, walking deeper into the forest. Time was another thing that wasn’t on my side here. Despite how much it might sound like a feel-good Hollywood movie, coming back to my real life after a long disappearance would be way more hassle than it was worth.

  I couldn’t think like that right now. My back was already up against the proverbial wall. Letting notions like the one I’d just had seep into my subconscious would leave me a weeping mess on the ground; a useless knight with a useless sword.

  I couldn’t allow that. I needed to get back on track. That wouldn’t be easy though. I had spent a lot of my money buying this stupid Lightning Bolt. It might come in handy. Of course, I had no idea what to do with it and, now that I’d told off Ori, I doubted she would help me out much.

  I needed to rely on what I knew, which admittedly wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

  I was a fighter, a good fighter with good connections. I’d made a name for myself and anyone who wanted to get in good with the Avenging Angels (which was a lot of people if you went by the way we got sucked up to in Facebook groups and on message boards) would probably lend me a helping hand if they recognized me.

  Of course, the other side of that coin was that there were douche bags who’d want to hold my scalp up as proof that they were the greatest players who had even completed a quest.

  No. I couldn’t take the chance. I needed to wait here, in this forest, until my Sanctity built up enough to get back to my old self. Sure, it’d be faster to seek out “good deeds” to refill it faster (quests would always work but just whacking bad guys would help) but that just wasn’t safe in my current situation. Once I could wield my sword, I’d go looking for the rest of my guild.