Heaven's Gate: Volume 1 (A LitRPG Adventure)

by DragonTreasures

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Heaven's Gate

  Chapter 2: Mission Center

  Chapter 3: Experience

  Chapter 4: Rexam

  Chapter 5: Chaos Road

  Chapter 6: Shadow Walker

  Chapter 7: Grant

  Chapter 8: Level Up

  Chapter 9: Encounter

  Chapter 10: Green Everest

  Chapter 11: Specialist

  Chapter 12: Carnage Mountain

  Chapter 13: Enebriated

  Chapter 14: Vera and Lacy

  Chapter 15: Shadow Construct

  Chapter 16: Level 25

  Chapter 17: Solo Dungeon

  Chapter 18: Killing Shield

  Chapter 19: Corpse

  Chapter 20: Experience Seed

  Chapter 21: Blood Minitour

  Chapter 22: Mother and Daughter

  Chapter 1: Heaven's Gate

  Alfred awoke in a pile of dead bodies. Hundreds to millions of bodies were all around him on every side. He felt a sense of terror in his stomach as he turned to his side and tried to keep himself from throwing up. The stench of lost life waft over him as he stumbled to the closet hill and clambered up to the precipice.

  When he looked back over a million lives seemed to have been taken. There was a city in the horizon that he could just barely see with clouds of smoke billowing out of it. It almost looked like a nuclear warhead had just been set off. However, no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn’t piece together what the day of the week was, or how he’d gotten here.

  An old man, however, shocked him as he felt his wizened hand touch against his shoulder. He jumped back and nearly fell back into the pile of dead bodies before the man caught him with a gnarled cane and pulled him into his grasp.

  “Hoh, you don’t want to go back in there boy… It’s time for your initiation… You’ve traveled quite a long distance to get here…. Fortunately, you are one of the few that survived the trip.”

  “What trip? What are you talking about?” Alfred wiped some bile off the side of his face, cementing his feet on the hillside as he tried to keep himself from retching. “Where exactly am I? You going to fill me in or just stare at me?”

  “Heh… you’re a long way from home,” The old man pointed towards the sky - the stars shinning brightly above. The two moons in the sky stood as two glistening orbs as thousands of stars hung behind them. His finger pointed directly towards the two moons and then stopped at a small star in the distant expanse. “You’re one of the 5,00,000 people from the Earth Cohort to successfully make it to Heaven’s Gate…. Now… before you ask any more questions, please tell me how do you feel? Anything feel unnatural?”

  “Yes, waking up in a pile of dead bodies, and talking to an old man wearing a wizard’s cape!” Alfred fumed, flicking the old man’s white hat as he pointed back into the endless expanse of corpses. “You’re either a psychopath, or you don’t realize there are millions dead! How about you start telling me what year it is, and who did this?”

  “The year is unimportant… They don’t measure time the same way humans do… No… As for all those dead bodies, they are second lifers. Do you know what I’m saying? I’m saying this is your second life! You’re along way from home little Alfred!”

  Alfred laughed before he looked around. The city in the distance looked like a perfect shinning example of a set of skyscrapers he’d have seen on Earth. Whether it was a city from China, or Mongolia, someone had done a number on the planet. At least, that’s how it appeared. This old man made it seem like he’d traveled millions of miles, but that wouldn’t explain how an entire city got here, and… how the hell did a second moon get in the sky?

  He held up his finger in order to signal the man to wait. He wiped the sweat off his head from the mounting disgust and blew some bile out of his stomach once more. The man pat him on the back as he let out the sinking feel of despair inside of him.

  “There,” The old man said, calming him down as he sat him on a rock. “Let me make it simple for you. In the year 2019 on Earth, your body’s data was taken and printed in a distant galaxy… You’re here to play a game called Heaven’s Gate… If you become the best player in the game, there are some quirks that can even affect earth… It’s going to need a man like you now to do well here.”

  “What? That makes even less sense!” Alfred tried to come to grasp with the situation. “So, basically, you’re saying this isn’t even the real me?” He felt his body, looking for the scar on his chest. “How come I… everything feels the same? What kind of technology could print a life form in another universe?”

  “It’s time to play the game and stop questioning everything. Even if you were a million times smarter ,you’d only begin to understand the Light Bringers… They made the game Heaven’s Gate because it’s easier to bring life to them than it is to travel to it!”

  “So… this is an experiment… and I get to play a game?” Alfred conjectured that much from the old man’s explanation. “These Light bringers literally printed me in another universe, so they wouldn’t have to travel to earth… So…. What kind of game is it?”

  Alfred covered his nose, walking away from the hilltop as the old man kept rubbing him on the back. It made sense he felt shocked with what had just occurred. He walked up to a chair that had been conspicuously placed in the center of the mountaintop. There was a pond of water in front of it where he could see his reflection. He sat there and didn’t bother to check if his black hair and hazel eyes were still the same. He took in a deep breath and calmly analyzed the landscape.

  The purple rocks beneath his feet certainly didn’t look native to Earth. He’d been a mathematics student, and didn’t know much about minerals, but felt somewhat shocked as his eyes continued towards the horizon. As far as the eye could see there was different cities that looked like they were taken out of Earth’s back pocket and downloaded in all types of weird arrangements. The more he looked, searched, and tried to doubt what he saw, the more he felt trapped in the old man’s conclusion.

  “Relax… You’re here to simply play a game,” The old man said, rubbing back Alfred’s hair, and giving him a much-needed flick on the forehead. “Look, you can either stay here trying to figure out if what I said was true, or you can take a minor challenge to select a class? If I were you, I’d get out of here before a beast comes by and rips you to shreds. All types of species are sent here.”

  “Just give me a second,” Alfred felt his headache slowly drifting away. “Fine, I’ll play the game…. What do I do to start the tutorial?” he said, standing up and cracking his arms, “at least that way I don’t have to worry about the beasts or whatever right?”

  “Good….” The old man gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “Close your eyes and just wait a second…. When you open them, you’ll find yourself in a very different place.”

  “What?” Alfred replied, blinking once before the old man seemed to have vanished and he found himself sifting his arms through a dark cave. The only light he saw was a slight halo emitting off his body when he moved. A few icons had appeared in his vision along with a red and blue bar. He either just got a health and mana bar, or he just entered into his second dream.

  In front of him, a loud din startled him out of his thoughts, and he lurched forward awkwardly before he grabbed onto what felt like a wad of hair. He lifted up his hands before he saw some brownish red strands glistening from the light emitting off of his palm. He looked back up once more and a small girl was there looking at him with a smile on her face. The room had suddenly turned bright and the girl looked excited as an effervescent expression appeared on her
face.

  “Daddy, you’re finally back…” The girl said, radiating brighter as she made eye contact with him. “I thought because mother went to heaven, you’d never want to see me again!”

  “I’m sorry, but do I know you little girl,” Alfred let go of her hair, looking forward as a park seemed to appear. A set of swings had manifested from orbs of light along with another boy that looked like a smaller, younger version of Alfred. He had his head down on the swing as the little girl stood in front of him. He almost remembered this park. When he was young, he’d regularly gone to Juniper Beach and contemplated on those swings. However, the little boy had a discernably different hair color than his own. He let go of the little girl’s hair as she glowered at him.

  “Why aren’t you saying anything about mommy… Did something happen daddy? What happened to Vera? Did she go to heaven like you said, or were you lying?”

  “Your mother is Vera little girl?” Alfred felt even more confused. His best friend growing up had been Vera, and they’d joked about having kids one day. Seeing these two little kids, he couldn’t help but notice that boys shade of red hair looked like her streaks of golden fire, and they both had his hazel eyes.

  He conjectured this was some sort of dream, but didn’t understand. The little girl saw the look of hesitation in his eyes and screamed before she ran off with tears flittering off her cheeks. Alfred held out his hand to stop her before she jumped over the swing and ran off onto the sand.

  Alfred just stood there and paused. What kind of trial was this? He chased after the little girl before swiping the little boy off the swing. As she ran, he gradually picked up the pace before he caught up to her on the beach.

  The waves were hitting hard against the shore, and hundreds of men in black suits turned as Alfred chased after the little red head. She suddenly stopped and back peddled before she hid behind Alfred’s back. Alfred took this moment to set the boy down and picked up a small sword that had been conveniently placed at his side. Unsheathing it from the hilt, he smiled at the two kids before one of the men in black burst towards him with killing intent imbued in his eyes.

  The girl screamed, “Save us daddy,” before Alfred rushed forward and swept out with his blade. With three strokes, he cut a strike right through the first man in black, sending him falling down to the floor with a red mist pervading out of his body.

  Vital hit! Swordsman1 has taken 200 damage. swordsman has died!

  You’ve learned a new passive skill, Shallow Cut

  Skill level: 1

  Effect: You do one percent more damage when holding a sword.

  Alfred wiped away the pop ups, and rushed back before he waved his hands to the two little kids. Even though he’d just gotten the game like pop up, something about the two little tikes seemed so real. He charged forward as he waved the two little kids to run while he screamed, “get out of here!” The two small tikes stayed put and fell down and cried. Alfred couldn’t believe they weren’t running! He slashed out with his sword once again, and kicked away another incoming swordsman.

  Luckily, he’d been trained in martial arts known as the Dragon Style. When he had free time from school, every single day he went to the dojo and practiced with swords, bows, his fists, and spears... After killing the fifth soldier, he noticed groups of new swordsmen were coming in twos and threes.

  He rushed back towards the kids as one of the swordsman bypassed him and tried to spearhead one of his children with a powerful blow. He jumped directly into the trajectory of the blade and felt a sword tip pierce through his gut. Blood flew out of his back before he tumbled and burst against the sand.

  Looking forward, the old man suddenly appeared and slammed down his staff. The two children disappeared before the old man clapped his hands and held up his thumb. His once nonchalant expression had switched from a humorless set of tight lips to a slight grin. He laughed merrily before he helped up Alfred as he held onto his waist.

  “Oh, you’ve done better in the trial ground than almost 99 percent of the participants! Unfortunately, as soon as a level 3 swordsman duo attacked, I knew you wouldn’t be able to handle it. However, as a reward…. How would you feel about being a Shadow Walker? Only a few rare individuals are given a chance to play this class.”

  “Sure, but what about the kids… are they okay?”

  “Yup, of course,” The old man replied, waving his hands and showing the kids playing on a bench. “That was one reality we’ve spotted in the universe… It added an emotional element to it, no?”

  “Yes, but… what kind of game is this? How can that be in this game?!”

  “It’s because we’re a million years in the future,” The old man said, a sagacious quality present in his voice. “Your other has already been dead for 999,000 thousand years… Now, will you accept the Shadow Walker class, or would you prefer to be another one?”

  “Shadow Walker it is…” Alfred got tired of asking questions that led to more questions, looking at the old man with a miffed expression. “The more I hear from you… the less I understand…”

  “Good,” The old man snapped his fingers, causing Alfred to appear in a city that looked exactly like the one at the start of a basic RPG game. He didn’t get a chance to ask him any more questions… Instead, a status box appeared in front of him with his name. Almost as if he really was a character in a game.

  Alfred Priory - level 1

  Class: Shadow Walker

  Health: 80 / 80 Hp Regeneration .3/s

  Mana 100 / 100 MP Regeneration .5/s

  Second Class: None

  Strength 9

  Agility 10

  Vitality: 9

  Charisma: 8

  Intelligence: 5

  Passive Skills: Shallow Cut lvl1

  Abilities: Double Stab lvl1, Slash lvl1, Shadow Whisperer lvl1

  Shadow Walker class has been selected. You’ve learned Double Stab, Slash, and Shadow Whisperer as your skills as a shadow walker.

  To upgrade skills… use in combat…

  “So, they made me into a real life video game character.” Alfred grimaced as he closed his status window and looked around the town. A familiar figure was standing by a stall talking to what he guessed was an NPC. She had on a green skirt and her red hair was dripping down past her shoulders. He grabbed out and reached her shoulder, pulling her around to take a look at her form.

  Chapter 2: Mission Center

  “Alfred?” The girl said, dropping the basket that she held in her hand. “What are the chances of you being in the game? I’m so glad to see you!”

  The girl in the green skirt flung her arms around him causing the NPC, Tony, to curse under his breath. The onlookers had similar envious glances as Alfred unlocked from the girl’s tight grip around his shoulder. The spitting image of the girl named Vera stood in front of him. Her brown doe eyes and red hair were completely the same as he remembered and a smitten set of lips pursed as he rubbed her head against his in disbelief. She laughed with glee before she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Wow… it really is you,” She said smiling. “I never thought I’d see you again, Alfred! What are the chances of you being reborn and us meeting here? One in a few hundred thousand?”

  “I don’t know, but I just got here, and I’m hoping you can show me around…. I’m only level one, and didn’t expect to end up in a video game… Do you know anything I don’t?”

  “Just that a lot of dreams can come true in this game… You’ve heard of the Light Bringers, right? The people that made the game? Well… apparently, they will resurrect anyone you want if you complete a Dream Dungeon! Still, no one’s gotten a first clear yet… even Green hasn’t done it.”

  “You mean that Green?” Alfred grinded his fist, remembering the jock who’d he’d tussled with many times in high school. “How the hell is he in this game?”

  “He’s not only in this game… He’s one of the top 10 players,” Vera said, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the NPC stall. �
��However, don’t worry… He’s three years older than you look to be… I mean… You might not recognize him now, and how old are you anyway? You don’t look a day over twenty?”

  “Nineteen,” Alfred replied, not quite understanding what Vera was suggesting. “You’re acting like you aren’t nineteen too… We were only born three days apart right?”

  “Unfortunately, I’m twenty-one now,” Vera said, smiling. “The game makers… or whatever they’re called, don’t have this making humans out of light ray informration completely figured out. I’m guessing you haven’t heard about that yet, but… Green’s twenty-three now… He’s completely changed, Alfred.”

  “Probably because he wants to screw you,” Alfred placed his arms akimbo, trying to get that man’s face out of his head. “So…. anyways… let’s not focus on him anymore… what do you do to level up around here?”

  “Follow me, and don’t stare at my butt!” Vera said, laughing as she grabbed him by the hand and tugged him to the top of a distant hill. The old man with the twisting long beard he’d just seen was sitting on a rock on top of a vast grass plains. When he saw Alfred he stood up and bowed, causing Alfred some confusion.

  “Oh hoh! Sorry about this! You’re probably expecting the other version of me…” The old man said, winking at Alfred. “That version of me is like a wind that travels wherever it wishes… I’m just an NPC… Would you like to open a mission center?”

  “A what?” Alfred looked at Vera as she smiled and flaunted her large chest. Her eyes flared with a bright light before she smacked Alfred in the rump causing him to jump in embarrassment.

  “Yes, he wants a mission center, and put it next to 2658… We’re old friends, and I don’t want him getting lost!”