Dream Stream Reality: Publisher's Pack Books 1-2: (A LitRPG Adventure)

by Derrick Burke

  Sybaal: Kazzrak, you really need a better weapon. I’m carving him up and stealing all your threat. Sigh. I can’t keep attacking because I’ll get one-shot if I get hit.

  Kazzrak: You’re fucking kidding me, aren’t you? When was I supposed to get a weapon, again? Double dongasaur kinda pissed all over any chance of that happening.

  Ezekial: So, guys, sorry to interrupt, but don’t go into the forest and try to pick up the branches. The wood nymphs don’t like it, apparently.

  Ifalna: Apparently? What did I say about going into the forest alone…? I know I’m not your mother, but still, can you not try to re-enact Little Red Riding Hood?

  Ezekial appears out of the forest, pumping his arms and legs like there’s no tomorrow, trailed by five very nice to look at, but very pissed off female wood nymphs.

  Ezekial: Uh… Adds… lol. Someone want to take them off me?

  Dosan: Pfft, you made the mess, you deal with it.

  Kazzrak: Oh no, you didn’t just say that. I’m over here dancing around like a fairy playing at being a ballerina but without the grace or the special shoes because of you.

  Ifalna: However, Dosan is right in this regard. If you pop Vanish, which I know you have because I was looking at that class when making my character, all your threat from those adds will come straight to me. If you do that, we’re done for. So, be a dear and don’t forget to pop a couple of pebbles at them, eh?

  Ezekial is now starting to run around the edge of the forest, kiting the wood nymphs so they stay out of the radius of the fight going on in the middle. I can clearly see the sour look on his face in response to Ifalna’s comments. Every few seconds though, he leans down and scoops up a few rocks, pegging them at the Guardian and the wood nymphs behind him.

  Not sure if it’s doing anything but annoying the big fella, but sure, why not? It probably feels like when you’re at the beach and the wind is whipping the sand into you so hard it stings a little. Yeah, probably like that.

  Now I know what it feels like to be a level 1 trash mob. Fuck my life.

  I rush in towards the Guardian again behind a couple of Shadow Bolts and the splashing bucket of light, activating Furious Strike and Sweeping Strike together now that they are off cool down. I love abilities that stack damage buffs.

  Smacking my blades into the back of the Guardian’s left knee again, I take a bigger chunk out of his bark than before. I fire off a Frost Spear and a Fire Ball into the same spot as I leap away, utilising my mostly unused mana to double my damage output.

  The slowing effect has thankfully activated, as well as the fire damage over time. The Guardian’s health has dipped a bit further down to 95% while giving a bit more breathing room to Kazzrak.

  Damn, this thing has a lot of health. Or, I remind myself, I’m still a level 1 and do squat for damage.

  Kazzrak misjudges a feint from a leg and gets smacked upside the head hard enough for him to eat dirt. Thankfully, the Holy Barrier was up and he didn’t die; however his health is hovering around the 15% mark before spiking back up halfway and then full just as the Guardian gets into range again.

  The Guardian lifts both arms into the air before slamming them down onto the ground where Kazzrak had been half a second before. The ground shook so hard that I couldn’t keep my balance, and neither could anyone else except the Guardian himself.

  Even the wood nymphs fell over and tumbled into each other, giving Ezekial some breathing room. The looks of hate they sent towards the Guardian make me laugh though.

  Lumbering over to our downed tank, who is just starting to stand again, the Guardian raises its right leg to stomp on him. I fire off as many of the Frost Spears as I can into the rear of his left knee as I run into him again with both my blades. This time I stop, and while I’m ready to dodge out of the way, I start to go to town with my blades, shaving chunks of wood off with each slice.

  The slight distraction is rewarded with Kazzrak having rolled out of the way of the Guardian and getting back to his feet. For some reason, the Guardian isn’t paying me any attention again, so I keep carving into its leg.

  Its health is decreasing much more rapidly now that I can hit it with abandon, along with the Shadow Bolts that are still coming, although slower than before. Dosan must have run out of mana already. What did he put his points in that he has run out so quickly? Either he didn’t get enough spirit for mana regeneration, or he is conserving it.

  Ifalna: Tell me when all your CDs are up and I’ll pop a +25% damage taken debuff to the boss.

  Sybaal: I’m good in five seconds.

  Kazzrak: Eight seconds.

  Ezekial: Three seconds.

  Dosan: Ready.

  Ifalna: Popping in 3… 2… 1… Zerg.

  A steady stream of Shadow bolts and buckets of light wash into the Guardian’s head, making him keel backwards. I activate both my abilities again and strike him with both weapons before unleashing as many Fire Balls and Frost Spears as I can directly into the back of his left knee.

  A rock trailing shadow sails through the air to smack the Guardian right between the eyes. At the same time, Kazzrak grows to twice his normal size and makes his own rock glow blue, slamming it into the Guardian’s crotch, if he has a crotch, that is.

  The force behind all the blows combines to tip the Guardian over. I leap out of the way as it tries to correct its balance by putting his weight on his left leg, but there is too much pressure and not enough joint left.

  The leg below the knee snaps off with a sharp crack, plummeting its health down to 70%. Without the proper support, the Guardian lands with a deafening crash on its back.

  I sprint over to its head and start laying into it, chipping away while it is seemingly stunned and before it starts moving again. I must be landing critical strike after critical strike because its health has gone further down to 65%.

  Now that the Guardian is lamed, unless it gets some healing, this is pretty much in the bag. All we have to do is stay away from its melee attacks and sink ranged spells into it. This is a much more realistic fight than previous games I’ve played, which gives me hope for the rest of the major fights in the world.

  Kazzrak: Keep smacking it. I’m using Challenge every ten seconds but it only lasts for eight. So just dodge away for the last two seconds then continue.

  Sybaal: Ah, I was wondering if you were using a taunt ability.

  I keep smacking away, chipping off its health till it reaches up and tries to grab me. I dodge out of the way before it gets me. Now that I know exactly when the attack will be coming, it makes it much easier. Resuming my attacks again, my mana is now basically depleted. I activate my abilities again and see with satisfaction that its health has dropped down to 60%.

  Ifalna: In another thirty seconds I’ll pop my CD again.

  We have to smack the boss around for another thirty minutes before its health hits the 15% mark.

  Dosan: WAIT! Stop attacking!!

  I falter with my blades and leap backwards out of range of the Guardian, looking around for extra enemies. I see that Kazzrak has done the same thing.

  Kazzrak: What? Why?

  Dosan: Because it’s at 15% and I can now use my Bond ability! I can’t summon anything yet because I haven’t Bonded anything. This tree stump looks like it will be a powerful ally.

  Kazzrak: But then we lose all the XP it would have given us. Ugh!

  Dosan: Please! I’m literally begging here!

  Ifalna: How can you even Bond it? Don’t you need the same Intelligence attribute as the creature’s level or higher?

  Dosan: Well, I kind of maxed my Intelligence due to it being the key factor as a summoner and necromancer. I also have 25 Luck due to the extra 50% of max attribute onto another. I felt like we could use some luck, considering this is all brand-new content and it was free.

  Ifalna: Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me that it was your Luck that made you get a nymph wet and then brought ol’ stumpy down on us? Damn, dude. That’s some twisted ‘favou
rable’ karma right there.

  Sybaal: True, but we do have the quest to defeat it.

  Kazzrak: There’s a quest? Since when?

  Sybaal: Since the start. Here, I’ll share it. I honestly thought you had it already.

  I open my quest tab and try to share the quest with the rest of them; however, it comes up with an error each time.

  Error: Quests accepted by party leaders are automatically accepted by the party members.

  Sybaal: Huh. It’s saying that since I accepted it, you guys automatically accept it too. That’s new.

  Ifalna: Yeah, that is new. I have it here. Just open your quest tab. We just have to defeat the Guardian to complete it. I guess we can argue that Bonding the Guardian would also count as defeating it.

  Ezekial: Guys. Seriously. While this chat is interesting and all. Hurry the bloody hell up! I’m still being chased by five nymphs who are looking for a good time, but not in the good way!

  Ifalna: Ha! * giggles *

  I burst out laughing as I look around the clearing and see Ezekial still doing a jolly one-two with his feet away from the five wood nymphs. Admittedly they are rather cute when they are angry.

  To think we have just been standing here chatting out of the way of the boss while he’s been cutting laps. So funny.

  I turn to Dosan. “Alright, hurry up then. Anything we need to know?”

  “Don’t let me get interrupted for thirty seconds while I channel, and don’t let me die is pretty much it,” he replies. Both his hands start to glow purple as he starts his spell.

  Immediately the wood nymphs do an abrupt 180-degree turn and rush towards Dosan.

  “Oh shit,” he mutters as they get closer.

  I laugh at him and grin, making a little shooing motion with my hands. “Well, don’t just stand there! Get your scaly ass moving! You can channel while running, right?”

  “You’re not going to take the adds?” he asks me while starting to edge away from the oncoming flurry of angry women.

  I shake my head. “Nope. Scram. You need to learn this lesson.”

  Cursing like a trooper, Dosan starts scrambling away as fast as his lizard feet can take him. Considering he didn’t put any points in Dexterity, it looks like it’s pretty fast. However, it’s coming up on only fifteen seconds into the channel, and the wood nymphs are already about to be in striking range.

  I sigh and send a Frost Spear into each of them until the 25% slow procs before moving onto the next one. Each of them is now slowed for twenty seconds, which is plenty of time for the channel to finish. In hindsight I probably should have picked up the aggro with the attacks, though I guess he maxed out the threat meter already from his earlier escapades.

  When the Bond finally finishes, the Guardian stops trying to attack us, falling silent and immobile. The wood nymphs slow down as well before blowing Dosan and Ezekial kisses and dancing their way back into the trees, disappearing.

  I swear they must be bipolar or something with how fast their emotions changed. Literally flipped the switch.

  The Guardian begins speaking. “You have bested me in combat and have in the same instance turned me into an ally. I will follow your commands to the best of my abilities now, Friend Dosan. You will have to resummon me to bring me properly under your command.”

  Hidden Quest completed: Challenge of Authority.

  Rarity: Unique.

  Details: You and your party have challenged and defeated the Guardian of the Glade and in the process made him an ally.

  Reward: 216,000 XP, Access to next quest (Unique/Rare).

  You receive 240,000 XP including +10% ‘Friends with Benefits’.

  This will automatically be applied in future.

  Congratulations! You are now level 16.

  You now have 60 unused Attribute Points to distribute.

  Server First! Level 10.

  Effect: Gain an extra 10 Attribute Points.

  Server First! Level 15.

  Effect: Gain an extra 10 Attribute Points.

  Server First! Defeat an opponent 10 levels above you.

  Effect: Gain an extra 10 Attribute Points.

  Server First! Defeat an opponent 15 levels above you.

  Effect: Gain an extra 15 Attribute Points.

  Server First! Defeat an opponent 20 levels above you.

  Effect: Gain an extra 20 Attribute Points.

  Server First! Defeat an opponent 25 levels above you.

  Effect: Gain an extra 25 Attribute Points.

  You are the first to earn the Title ‘Mountain vs Molehill’.

  Effect: Gain an extra 20 Attribute Points.

  You now have 170 unused Attribute Points to distribute.

  5

  My ass hits the ground before I can even begin to process this new information. I’m absolutely flabbergasted.

  Sure, I thought I would get a couple of levels out of it, but I didn’t think we would all get a whopping fifteen of them. And what the hell? So this game doesn’t have power-levelling mechanics that limit the amount of XP a player can receive from a creature many times their level?

  I can see that getting blown out of proportion really quick. Or is it just that we killed it and we were all at the same level? What’s with the extra attribute points? We will be the same strength as a level 42 with those extra stats at level 16. It’s insane!

  I’m apparently not allowed to wallow in awe, as the Guardian speaks up again. “Now that we are friends, I have a favour that you will be able to help me with. There is a fortress not far from here that has been overrun by weres due to neglect and abandonment for generations. I wish for you all to kill their leader and all the hostiles who plague the fortress with their vile black arts. There is a problem though. If you decide to deny me this venture and leave this place, I will no longer be here to stop the monstrosities from decimating this forest and its creatures.”

  The Guardian is sitting up at this point, and we still have to tilt our heads up to look it in the eyes. Its rumbling continues, but it seems to be piercing me specifically with its gaze. “I am now Bonded with Friend Dosan. Seeing as how you, Friend Sybaal, hold the power of leadership over him, the title of Guardian is still mine, but the responsibility falls to you. You will gain much by driving these usurpers from my lands.”

  Hidden Quest: Save the Glade.

  Rarity: Unique/Rare.

  Details: There is a sorcerer who has taken up residence in the fortress attached to the Glade. Kill the sorcerer and all the hostiles who plague the fortress with their vile black arts. Show proof of the sorcerer’s demise.

  Conditions: Destroy all hostiles in the fortress. Prove the sorcerer’s demise.

  Failure: Death of all creatures in the Glade.

  Refuse quest: Death of all creatures in the Glade.

  Reward: Unknown.

  Accept quest?

  Yes/No

  I’m getting over my shock now that I have something else to focus on. “Hey, guys, I’ve just received another quest to kill the sorcerer and hostile minions in the fortress he is talking about. If we don’t do it, everything here dies, but if we do it, our reward is unknown just like the last quest. What do you want to do? It’s a unique rare quest.”

  Kazzrak’s mouth is hanging open, and he is looking at me incredulously. “Are you not right in the head? Accept the flipping quest already before he changes his mind!”

  “Seriously. Just accept it and any others that come our way. Just let us know when you get one so we can read it, but for heaven’s sake, don’t decline them,” Ifalna says with a sigh. “How many rare quests did we get in DSR1? Not many, but a few. How many unique quests did we get in the entirety of our game time there? One. We just got two and it’s been about an hour in game. I say we go neck us some sorcerer.”

  Without waiting any longer, I click ‘Yes’, accepting the quest.

  “Thank you, young Spell Sword. I have waited long for this moment. Now, Friend Dosan, please Dismiss me so I may finish Bonding with
you. You may then summon me and I can show you the way to the fortress.” As it speaks, the Guardian lies back down on the ground with its hands behind its head like it’s resting without a care in the world before disappearing with a puff of light blue sparkles.

  “Finally!” shouts Dosan, jumping up into the air and fist-bumping the sky. “Now I can actually do something in a fight. And I have a Bonded too! Let’s go show these dweebs who’s boss around here.”

  Dosan must have resummoned the Guardian, as it slowly materialises out of blue particles that rapidly fill in its form. The newly summoned Guardian isn’t as big as it used to be, now that it has been reduced to the level of its summoner. It stands even in height with us, but is still intimidating as hell as a level 16.

  “Okay, so which way is the fortress around here? I have no idea where we even are on a map, considering we don’t have a map,” Ezekial remarks, spinning in a circle slowly while looking out at the trees.