The Land: Raiders: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 6)

by Aleron Kong

  The scholar in Hisako shown forth in her ability to recite such a passage on command, and also in the fact that she got to the end before she looked at Richter suspiciously, “Why do you ask such… informed questions, Lord Richter?” Comprehension dawned on her face, “Where is the Bloodstone?”

  A blast of scarlet light shot from the cave mouth, as thick as a bus. The Dungeon proclaimed its birth to The Land, a beacon of blood and power. The light could be seen for hundreds of miles in every direction. The ray lasted only a moment, but the afterglow remained etched in the eyes of all who had seen it for long minutes. It remained in their memories for far longer.

  Hisako slowly, ever so slowly, turned her neck until she was staring Richter in the face. She had lost all of her peaceful reserve. Her eyes were wide, and the Master’s nostrils were flaring. Both Sion and Yoshi took a step away from Richter, then, looking at each other, took two more.

  Richter held up both hands, palms out and said, “I know what you’re thinking. This is not my fault!”

  Hisako sucked in a preparatory breath of air, a gesture that all wise men learn to recognize and fear. Even the tremors in the ground stilled so that The Land could better witness the verbal flaying of the Lord of the Mist Village.

  CHAPTER 53 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

  Hisako continued her tirade for long minutes. It was mostly focused upon Richter’s irresponsibility and the danger he had placed them all in. The chaos seed tried to interject several times, but he was unable to break through her verbal onslaught. Finally, she looked to Yoshi and commanded, “Gather any sprites nearby! We will enter the Dungeon and destroy the Bloodstone now!”

  “Wait!” Richter cried at last. “I cannot allow that.”

  Hisako looked at him, her face growing cold, “You cannot?” Yoshi’s hand started to reach up for one of his blades, ready to carry out his liege’s commands no matter what they were. Alma, still perched on Richter’s shoulder, stood up on her hind legs and her wings began to unfurl. The shale adder lost its camouflage and rose up five feet in the air. Sion stood in between the two Masters, his arms partially raised to stop the pending conflict.

  Richter thought fast. To oppose a Master of a Place of Power, even on his own lands, was not something he would do idly. He was even less inclined to antagonize his only ally in the entire world. “What I meant to say is that you cannot make such a bold decision without at least having all of the facts.”

  She looked at him, her face hard as steel. The guards from the village had finally reached the top of the hill. The chamberlain was with them. Randolphus, no stranger to political situations, recognized the volatility of the scene immediately. The village guards placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons, which in turn caused the sprites on the hill to raise their bows. They didn’t nock arrows, but that meant nothing when every sprite could still fire an arrow in a second flat. The meidon sprites looked around uncertainly, unsure exactly where their allegiance lay. The chamberlain proved his worth once again, by speaking as if nothing was wrong, “Greetings Lady Hisako. How may I be of assistance, Lord Richter?”

  Just the chamberlain’s calm voice broke the tense moment. What could have been a potential battle, fueled by frayed nerves and fear, relaxed into a discussion between allies. Richter looked at Randolphus gratefully, “All is well here. Thanks, Randy.” Then the chaos seed started giving orders.

  Accommodations had to be made for the prisoners. They needed to be given food, clothes, and water. As many of the former slaves were also diseased, Richter ordered all remaining village healers to be summoned. An empty section of the village was to be cordoned off and used as a quarantine zone until they could be sure there was no threat of infection spreading to the rest of the village. He also ordered that half of the guards remaining in the village were to be mustered. Richter told his chamberlain that the bulk of the village’s forces were returning through the forest, and that he would be leading a force to meet them. He also made it clear that there had been losses. Randolphus listened to all of this impassively, and at the end, assured Richter that he would see to everything that needed to be done. The brilliant man also added one more thing to further diffuse the situation.

  “Lady Hisako, if the village guards will be leaving soon, I would greatly appreciate your aid. As our staunchest allies, your sprite warriors would be invaluable in helping to man the village walls until my lord can bring back both your army and ours. I am sure Lord Richter would agree, there is no one we would trust more with the safety of our people.”

  The chamberlain’s calm tone finally broke Hisako’s cold demeanor. She was not happy by any means, but there was no anger in her voice when she said, “You are, of course, correct, chamberlain. Yoshi, see that our forces are distributed along the walls of the village. Sion, help him. Lord Richter and I will speak alone.”

  Both sprites nodded to the Hearth Mother and turned to leave. Sion patted his friend on the arm for luck as he walked past. The sprites and guards walked away, helping the prisoners with the worst injuries down the hill. Soon, the only ones left were Richter, Hisako, Alma and the adder. The dragonling lay back down on Richter’s shoulders, and the adder slithered a bit away, its scales perfectly matching the green of the grass once again.

  The Hearth Mother muttered a quick spell, and stalks of wood rose from the ground. The tendrils interwove themselves in two chairs, complete with reclined backs. She sat in one with a long, relaxed sigh, and rubbed her face, “You suggested I learn the entire story. I would be very happy to hear it, Lord Richter, if your offer still stands.” She offered him the other chair with a small hand gesture.

  Richter sat down and let loose his own weary sigh, “It does, if you promise to teach me this chair spell.”

  The corner of her mouth twitched, and she said with a wry tone, “We can talk about it.” Her voice firmed again, “I must know about the Bloodstone, however. You know first hand exactly how much destructive power these items possess. What we experienced is only the barest glimpse of the devastation it can cause. Augmenting its power with a Dungeon, let alone a Dungeon built upon a Place of Power, terrifies me. If you knew the stories that I do, you would be terrified as well. If you do not wish me to destroy it, you must tell me why you would trust such an evil to reside in your lands.”

  So Richter told her. He shared the entire story and held nothing back. The chaos seed told her of the Chaotic Shard, the release of energy, and the seeming years that he had spent trapped by the Bloodstone, the death of the “Voice” and the deal he had struck. She clucked her tongue at how he had promised the stone’s new consciousness a “home,” but didn’t interrupt. He finished by describing the spell that had transported all of them back to the village.

  “I do not know why the hill and dungeon were transported as well, though,” he admitted at the end.

  “Your spell teleported all living things,” Hisako said absently. Her face was no longer angry, but instead deeply contemplative. “I have told you that this,” she said indicating the Dungeon, “is no mere lair. It is a living thing. There is much I do not understand about Dungeons, and there is even more that I must learn about the Labyrinth. What I do know is that it will grow and evolve, both in size and power.”

  Richter nodded and wondered if the Bloodstone had planned this all along. Had the relic known what the streams of raw chaos were changing the caves into? And the altered patches of land that were now surrounding the hill like a wall. It was almost as if they had been arranged to protect the Dungeon, or, more accurately, to protect the Bloodstone. Both Masters sat in silence for long minutes while they pondered the events unfolding around them.

  It was Hisako that broke the silence, “Since you have come into my life, you have brought great change. You have returned the other half of our souls to The Land. A celestial tree grows in the heart of your village, and you have fought, and bled, beside us.”

  She paused, “You have also awakened sleeping evils, however. Also, you
have altered the fundamental nature of The Land. Never before has our alignment been anything but good or evil, but I can now read the chaos in your soul.” She sighed heavily, and scrubbed her face with her hands again. When she spoke, her tone was weary, a weariness that only comes from years of fighting a war with no end in sight, “I fear that you and your kind may be the end of all things, Lord Richter of the Mist Village. You alone have changed so much; I cannot fathom what will happen when more of your kind make themselves known.”

  The Hearth Mother fell silent again, and once again, they sat in silence. Then, without preamble, she suddenly stood and began casting. Richter was afraid that she was planning to attack the Dungeon with some powerful magic, but he decided to trust her. How could he ask her to trust him if he wasn’t willing to extend the same courtesy? Hisako finished her spell a moment later. Her hands glowed gold for a moment, but nothing else happened. “I can sense no evil intent from the Dungeon, despite casting my strongest detection spell. I will leave this Chaotic Bloodstone in your care and will make no moves to destroy it if you promise to notify me of any evil.”

  “I can do that,” Richter agreed.

  The two leaders shook on it, each staring the other in the eye. It took all of Richter’s willpower to not react when a small voice spoke in his mind. A red light that occupied the portion of his psyche reserved for those he had made a psychic bond with pulsed in time with the words.

  <>

  The psychic doorway in the chaos seed’s mind disappeared, and notifications filled his view. Richter was reminded of the last time a disembodied voice had left him presents, and wondered just what it boded for the future.

  CHAPTER 54 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

  You have fulfilled your vow to the Chaotic Bloodstone and are released from any further onus. For fulfilling your vow to the Chaotic Bloodstone, you are gifted with ten skill levels in Blood Magic.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 3 in Blood Magic. New spells are now available.

  …

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 12 in Blood Magic. New spells are now available.

  Congratulations! You have advanced from Novice to Initiate in: Blood Magic. You now have 5% resistance to Blood magic and your spells in this school are now 5% stronger. In addition to this, you may now use the blood of others to power your spells via the spell Blood Mana. At Initiate rank, you may only use the blood of the freshly killed. You may now also use the blood of others to pay the Health cost of your spells. Only willing or helpless creatures with blood can pay this cost. You must be in physical contact.

  Congratulations! You have learned spell: Blood Mana. Every 10 points of Health will provide one point of Mana that will increase your total mana pool for one hour. This is a spell of Blood, level 10. Cost: 21 mana. Duration: 1 hour. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: N/A.

  You have received 1,250 (base 1,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 10 in the subskill: Blood Magic.

  Congratulations! Your advancement in the skill Blood Magic has now unlocked your knowledge! Spells remaining to be unlocked: Dread Harvest and Sanguine Protection,

  Congratulations! You have learned spell: Weak Vitality Puppet. This spell allows you to take complete control over one other creature that has blood. This is a spell of Blood, level 10. Cost: 200 Health and 184 mana. Duration: 20 minutes. Range: 30 yards. Cast Time: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 day.

  Richter absorbed the information from the prompts and quickly dismissed them. Many things shocked him. For one, reaching the initiate rank in Blood magic didn’t just have resistance and spell power perks. It also made it much easier for him to use those types of spells. Blood Mana could definitely come in handy, and the spell cost was negligible. Even more surprising was the puppet spell. If he was understanding the prompts properly, if he advanced far enough, he would learn every spell the Bloodstone had cast while using his body.

  Hisako had started looking at him quizzically while he pondered his prompts. Then he realized it was probably because he was still holding her hand. He broke their clasp with a cough and stood back. Wanting a change of subject, he said, “I suppose all that remains is for me to choose the Harbinger.”

  “I assumed that choice would be easy,” she replied. Hisako raised a hand and pointed at a patch of grass. He didn’t understand at first until he saw a faint movement. She had pointed unerringly at the shale adder when even he hadn’t known where it was.

  “How did you… nevermind,” he finished shaking his head. “Are you sure I should use the adder? I don’t mind especially, though it’s been more than useful as a battle pet, but shouldn’t we pick a monster that is easier to kill if we plan on fighting in the Dungeon?”

  “No,” Hisako said definitively. “One thing that I am sure about Dungeons is that the stronger the Item of Power and the Harbinger, the greater the rewards. Also, if the old stories are to be believed, there will come a time when you want your Dungeon to be as strong as possible.”

  He almost asked her what she meant, but he felt like it was going to be a much longer conversation, and there was plenty of time for that. Richter was also distracted by her next statement, “I doubt you will be able to keep your pet Tamed much longer anyway, in light of the changes it has undergone.”

  “Changes?” Richter asked. She just arched an eyebrow at him in answer, so Richter called the snake closer. When he used Analyze, he received a great shock.

  Name: Chaotic ReptileCurrent Form: High Steel AdderDisposition: Friendly

  This creature has been touched by raw Chaos. Its form and very nature will remain ever in flux. Its current form is that of a High Steel Adder. The scales of its multiple scale layers are comprised of high steel. Chaotic Reptiles are highly resistant to control of any type due to their nature. This creature will always retain its core characteristic: Camouflage.

  Level: 20

  Health: 740Mana: 210Stamina: 510

  Strength: 30

  Agility: 23

  Dexterity: 27

  Constitution: 74

  Endurance: 51

  Intelligence: 21

  Wisdom: 17

  Charisma: 5

  Luck: 14

  His pet’s stats hadn’t just jumped. They had lunged! The snake had almost twice as much health as it had before, and there was no way the fact that it had gained a single level could account for that. It also now had an appreciable amount of mana. All of its stats looked like they had been upgraded in fact, except for maybe its Agility and Dexterity. If the snake was lugging around multiple layers of high steel scales, though, that was only to be expected. The thing was a powerhouse!

  Richter would have completely ignored Hisako’s advice and kept the pet if not for one line in its description. “Chaotic reptiles are highly resistant to control.” It meant that whenever his latest Tame spell wore off, he would be faced with an extremely powerful monster that was immune to the mists surrounding his village and that could strike from hiding with impunity. If it stayed in his lands, his people would have to live in a constant state of fear.

  He shook his head. There was just too much he didn’t know. One thing he did now suspect, though, was that he would be a fool to ignore Hisako’s advice. The passage she had recited had also said he only had a day and a night to make a choice. The chaos seed wasn’t sure what happened after that, but the best case scenario he could think of was that the choice would be made randomly. Better the devil he knew than one he did not. Richter didn’t even want to think about what it might mean if an undead was chosen as the Harbinger. Somehow, he didn’t think that would be a good thing for him or his people.


  Richter sent out a mental command, and the adder slid through the grass towards him. It rose up until its diamond shaped head hovered only inches from the chaos seed’s face. It occurred to him that he should be frightened that a predator was so close to him. After weeks of fighting alongside the adder, though, Richter felt a deep fondness for the creature. He just patted its scaly side, while its pink tongue shot out and licked his cheek.

  The chaos seed felt a lump start to form in his throat, so he turned to Hisako, “How do I do it?”

  She just shrugged, “I do not know, but that might be a good place to start.” She pointed at the black pedestal in front of the cave mouth.

  Richter walked over and placed his hand on the sphere at the top of the black metal spire, and a prompt filled his vision.

  Greetings Dungeon Master. Your Dungeon lies incomplete. Have you chosen a Harbinger? Yes or No?

  Richter chose “Yes” and thought about his tamed pet.

  Your choice is acceptable. Send the Harbinger forth.

  He didn’t drag it out. Richter gave his last command to the adder and sent it inside of the cave mouth. He watched as its long length disappeared into the Dungeon. Suddenly, he had the impression that it felt a great but fleeting pain, and the light that represented their connection disappeared from his mind.

  The sacrifice is accepted.

  A new icon appeared in the corner of Richter’s vision.

  The stone around the cave mouth began to shudder. Pieces fell off, and Richter feared he had triggered another earthquake. The tremors eased though and the stone of the cave began to flow. It reshaped itself in less than a minute until the opening was a perfect replica of an adder’s open mouth, down to the scales carved into the rock and large fangs hanging down from above. The Dungeon’s eyes glowed a very particular shade of red.