Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8)

by Michael Chatfield

  The first sergeant chewed on the question before sighing. “Chang.”

  “Thanks for putting my broken ass back together, Chang. Now get ready to pull back. Alva needs people like you and Rothman more than ever.”

  “Dragon details, prepare to move!” Domonos called out.

  “Yes, sir,” Chang said.

  “Move!”

  Chang moved with the detail, threading through the walls to the rear, and ran down the stairs.

  The hall exploded with spells and the front half disappeared. Mana cannons fired through them, striking the mana barrier.

  “Fuck me!” Rugrat muttered as he shot back, trading fire with the mana cannons. His shots hit with the power of a mana cannon. He drained a mag, breaking the barrier. The rest of his spells exploded around the cannon, killing the gun’s crew. Mages with barriers stood outside the hall and cast spells. Tracers and spells mixed with one another with the blast of mana cannon.

  “Tiger details, move!” Yui ordered.

  “Nice sharing a wall with you, sir!” Rothman said as he turned and moved to the rear.

  “See you in Alva, smartass!” Rugrat ejected his magazine, picked up one Chang had laid out for him, slammed it home, and kept firing.

  Glosil stood in the command center. Most of the viewing displays were dead, and there were only a handful of people remaining. The map had been zoomed in, showing the fierce change of positions within the castle compound.

  Colonel Domonos ran in. “We need to get you moving, sir!”

  “I need to head to the dungeon core.”

  “Understood. I’ll be at the teleportation formations.”

  Glosil jogged out of the command center and to the dungeon core. Egbert was there.

  “Are you sure about this, Commander?” Egbert asked. The room was growing darker now that most of the mana stones had been cleared out. Runes flickered, trying to connect with the rest of their formation but finding nothing.

  “This is the only way we can deny the enemy access to the city.”

  Glosil stepped forward and froze. He grunted against the mana wrapped around his body. “Egbert!”

  “There have been enough Alvan deaths today.” Egbert said privately before he raised his voice to include others. “Hey Erik, Rugrat, permission to raise the undead, destroy all traces of Alva, and attack our guests?”

  “Do it!” the two voices yelled.

  Egbert interlaced his finger bones and stretched them out ahead of himself as he stepped on the formation around the dungeon core.

  “Let’s see what these old bones can do.” Egbert smiled as he looked at Glosil. “We’ll switch the mana gathering formations back on and set the dungeon to use all but fifteen percent of our remaining power so we can raise the undead. We’ll start with those at the outer reaches, with orders to gather closer to the dungeon core.” Egbert raised his hands. Golems rose from the ground, covered in runic lines.

  “I don’t have much building materials, but these golems are moving formations. All that metal and reactive materials, a few changes and they’ll turn back into a formation. Now, if I command the golem—” Beads formed around the dungeon core, separated out, and shot into the five golems. “—I control where the dungeons are placed. Oh, high and mighty, Ten Realms, will you allow me to create a dungeon that falls under your rules?”

  A golden glow appeared around the dungeon cores.

  “And now the dungeon cores are activated, free of our control.”

  The golems ran off toward the under city.

  “What are you doing!” Glosil shouted.

  “Saving your ass and putting your modified plan into action. The dungeon cores will create small dungeons around them. The golems will carry them to spread out over the city. Then they will create formations, increasing their range of effect.

  “The dungeon cores will bury themselves in the ground and keep the undead roaming as dungeon monsters. That way, we cover more ground with lower grade dungeon cores.

  “Our dungeon core is raising the undead. Once we leave, the mana stones and mana gathering formation won’t matter. Might as well use that power. We can reach really far right now. We pull all the bodies of the sects into the city, flip the switch, put them under the Ten Realms dungeons and we get the hell out of here.”

  “You’ll turn all of Vuzgal into a series of dungeons?”

  “Correctu-mon-do! Which allows me to do things like use the dungeon core to track all the gear in Vuzgal and destroy it. One second; it is a pain to split my head that far.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

  “Working!”

  Glosil’s bonds released as mana flashed around Egbert. Glosil heard rumblings in the distance, large and small.

  It took Egbert several minutes before he moved again.

  “Okay, well, it doesn’t look like much down here, but I activated every destruction formation that we had in our weapons and magazines, and liberally sanitized everything. The dungeon cores will be located in areas of the most fighting. They’ll consume everything as building materials to create their dungeon so that should mess up everything else. Erik and Rugrat are pulling back on the armory stairs. We have just four hundred people to go.”

  Egbert turned to Glosil. “I know you had good intentions, but I came up with a better plan. Alva needs its commander. Go to the teleportation formations. I’ll follow with Erik and Rugrat. Just want to give these people one last middle finger.”

  The tombstones around the dead faded as their bodies shuddered, then started to rise. They attacked the nearest Black Phoenix members in the hall, startling them and cutting them up.

  “Group one, pull back!” Erik said.

  Rugrat and his people turned and ran down the stairs into the armory, disappearing.

  “Spell scrolls!” Erik pulled on the scroll tab. Spells shot out across their front. “Go!”

  Erik and his group turned and sped toward the armory stairs. Yawen missed the steps and hit the ground rolling. Roska grabbed him, hauling him to his feet as the special team slammed into the wall at the end of the stairs.

  They turned left and ran down the hall, past Rugrat and his group, who were at the corridor entrance, watching the stairs.

  Han Wu was covered by Rugrat, Yao and Jurumba as he threw out trap formations.

  Erik turned out of the line and looked at the rear. Niemm smacked Rugrat on the shoulder.

  “Last man!”

  Erik nodded to him.

  “Don’t wait too long!” Erik yelled as he raised his rifle and kept running. He ran past the armories, threading through the lockers that had been thrown in the hallway and covered in stone. He slid to a stop behind one and aimed down the hallway.

  Rugrat and his people turned and ran down the hall, passing the locker blockade and ran through a locker room at the end of the hall. The floor and wall opened to show the passage into the under city.

  “Covering!”

  Erik’s group peeled back from the front like a wave. He heard the trap formations going off on the first set of stairs as he passed the other group and ran down the stairs.

  A close protection detail was waiting there with Yui.

  “We’ve got this stairwell prepped to blow. Keep going!” Yui yelled.

  They threaded their way to the lines going through the teleportation formations. Rugrat and his group filed in behind them.

  “You go first,” Erik yelled. “You have wounded,”

  “Go!” Rugrat yelled as an explosion went off, followed by the rush of air and dust.

  Colonel Yui appeared.

  “Get out of here!” Erik yelled. “Egbert, how are things on your end?”

  “Good to go, heading to you—”

  An explosion rocked the remaining sections of the under-city. Erik ducked, acutely aware of the hundreds of meters of rock, castle, and tower above him.

  “Now!”

  “What the hell was that?”

  “Just a little present I
left behind. We really must be going!”

  ==========

  You have lost command of the Dungeon: Vuzgal

  ==========

  “Go,” Erik yelled to the special team members. They were now the only people remaining.

  “Not without you, sir.” Roska grabbed Erik and Niemm grabbed onto Rugrat.

  Egbert appeared in a spray of rocks as he came right through a wall. More rocks fell from the ceiling.

  “We’re leaving!” Egbert grabbed all of them, picking them off their feet as they flew to the teleportation formation.

  “Keep your asses in the formation and suck your guts in!”

  The remaining special team members jumped on the teleportation formations.

  Egbert opened his mouth as grenades fell out of his molar storage ring, falling among the teleportation formations.

  There was a flash, and the darkness and flickering lights were gone, replaced with metal walls and machine guns watching the teleportation formations. They had arrived at a backup site.

  “No Alvans are in Vuzgal anymore,” Egbert reported. A messenger disappeared through another teleportation formation.

  Erik felt the strength leaving his body. Egbert’s words were driving home as he walked off the teleportation formation numbly.

  He heard the cries of the wounded through the gates.

  Soldiers drew their swords and cut the transportation formation apart, passing it to mages and smiths who melted the metal down.

  Erik watched them as he passed.

  “They are making sure that we cannot be traced through the formations or that someone else can force their way through,” Egbert said.

  Erik nodded, letting his rifle hang from his sling. He undid his helmet and pulled it off, feeling the air on his sweaty face and hair. He stored his helmet as they walked through the defenses. Soldiers opened and closed the doors. The last one revealed the dungeon.

  A field hospital had been set up outside the teleportation defenses. Medics were moving between people, performing surgery on stretchers as needed.

  Erik unslung his rifle and put it away. Using a clean spell, he pushed his fatigue away, accepted it, lived in it.

  “Where can I help?” he asked a medic checking people.

  “Sir.”

  “As you were. Where?”

  “Surgery is this end, Pri Alpha closer to the defenses. Not as bad the farther down you go.”

  “Okay,” Erik looked around. There were so many wounded.

  He extended his domain, his senses reaching out to assess them as fast as possible so he could get to the people that didn’t have much time left.

  “Fighting is fierce in the lower levels of the castle. The ground forces report that there are no weapons or enemy bodies left behind. They are all evacuating.”

  “Well, get in there and finish them off,” Stassov said.

  “Commander, we have dungeon cores on the move!”

  “The hell is happening?” She stood and walked quickly to the map table. One dungeon core light split into one medium light and five tiny ones flying apart.

  “Mana fluctuations around the city.” The aide bent to their console, trying to make sense of the changes. Shaking his head.

  “Undead creation!” An aide to the ground forces shouted. “Our dead are attacking our own people and the dead in the city’s defenses are grabbing other dead and hauling them into the city.”

  “We have lightning striking across the city!” The aide that had been studying her console stood up, words tumbling out. “Mana change!”

  Stassov looked up. Her windows showed the castle compound; the barrier evaporated, power diverting down the tower, gaining speed and becoming brighter as mana from across the battlefield was dragged in like water breaking a dam.

  “What are they ...?” an aide started to ask.

  “Pull out our forces now!” Stassov yelled, reaching out her hand as Eternus’ shields grew brighter and the ship slammed backward with emergency power.

  Vuzgal Castle ballooned, rising on a mushroom of dirt. Blue light shone from underneath, becoming brighter for a second.

  The castle exploded with the tower, hurling itself in every direction.

  Stassov stood there, the color draining from her features and the power from her limbs as she held onto the map table for support. Winds buffeted Eternus but the silent crew didn’t notice, looking at the city as smaller explosions tore through.

  The defensive towers, the Battle Arenas, entire districts turned into nothing more than rubble.

  I underestimated how far they would go.

  “Get me casualty reports! And get our people out of that city. We do not know if they left any other traps.”

  An aide bowed deeply as she looked away.

  “The dungeon cores, where are they now?” Stassov asked, drawing power back into her body, forcing herself forward.

  “They’re spread out through the city. They’re ... They’re active.”

  “Don’t lose them. Once the situation has stabilized, recover them.”

  Stassov turned from the table and moved toward her throne. She dismissed formations around her dungeon core and sat back down. A servant came up with a mana elixir.

  She sipped it while looking at the room. She had to think quickly. She had believed she could claim an easy victory, crush a group associated with the Sha, and steal their dungeon core. Accolades and position would have been hers.

  This was not at all what she had feared in her darkest thoughts. She glanced at the broken city before her once again, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

  64

  Rise and Fall

  Delilah stared out of the dungeon headquarters balcony. She could see the towers in the distance that broke up Alva’s skyline reaching toward the mana gathering formation across the ceiling.

  People were holding one another, subdued. Tears stained more than one set of cheeks; hope and pain filled their eyes and hearts.

  Alva was scared. Her people reeled in pain, at loss, unsure of the future, and it was her job to reassure them, to bolster their hope and focus their efforts.

  A small but calloused hand took hers in their own. Momma Rodriguez smiled up at her. “You’ll do fine.” She patted Delilah’s hand.

  Delilah gave her a tight smile and exhaled. Some of the tension between her shoulders loosened. Momma Rodriguez released her hand.

  Delilah glanced at the others around her; Jia Feng, Elise, and Arenson. They nodded or smiled at her.

  She glanced back out at the balcony.

  Come on, this is the job.

  Delilah walked out. People filled the street around the dungeon headquarters. They spread down the streets, hanging off balconies.

  More Alvans in Alva than ever before.

  The mutterings and chatter died down.

  “A few hours ago, I got a report. Vuzgal has fallen.” The people erupted into chatter. “This--” She raised her voice and eyebrow as the street became quiet. “--was planned. Our forces have spread out to their backup dungeons. No movement will be allowed in or out of Alva for the next four days. After that, we will review the situation.

  “Many were wounded, and the medics are working hard to save their lives. I am sorry—” Delilah sighed, closing her eyes as she pulled herself together. “—but there will be no communication between the dungeons.” Noise rose as she plowed on. “We have the casualty lists as they stand, but until the dungeons contact us again, we will remain in the dark. I know this will not be easy; it definitely will not be for me or my family.”

  The noise from the crowd grew in volume.

  Delilah smacked the banister, the noise amplified by the medallion at her neck.

  “This is Alva! We stand together; we stand united! Now is not the time to fall apart. Now is the time to train, to regroup! Training will continue for the army! We will continue to produce weapons, spell scrolls, ammunition, raise beasts, and grow food! We will consolidate our gains in the Beast Mou
ntain Range and prepare to receive our loved ones.”

  The streets once again grew quiet.

  “We have been tested. Now…” Delilah looked at the people in the streets, and on the balconies. “Show me, show one another, but most importantly, show yourselves what Alvans are truly made of!”

  People stood straighter as they stared at Delilah and the council at her back.

  “We have work to do. Let’s start.”

  Delilah looked at them once again and turned, heading back into the dungeon headquarters. She wished Rugrat or Erik had been there. She squirmed, and a small smile appeared on her face, thinking of Rugrat before she shivered and banished the thought.

  The dungeon had been turned into a hospital. Row upon row of wounded lay on beds and cots.

  Egbert had carved massive stamina regeneration formations under the beds. Anyone that was medically qualified was helping. Soldiers that weren’t gave blood, moved people, or ran supplies. The rest were patrolling, cleaning weapons, repairing gear, or getting forty minutes of sleep in the mana tempering beds.

  “Need some help here!” A CPD member yelled as he worked on a patient.

  Erik drew his mana out of the patient’s throat, causing them to cough. He used flames to burn away the blood suspended in mid-air.

  “Should be easier for him to breathe now. I patched his lung, but he still has internal bleeding.” The man gulped down air as Erik pulled out a needle and catheter. He put the catheter in the man’s chest. Wet air expelled from the man’s chest and his breathing calmed. Erik secured the catheter with tape. “You’re gonna be good.” Erik patted the man on the shoulder, looking him in the eye before he ran over to the CPD member, casting a clean spell on himself out of habit. “What’s the problem?”

  “She’s in shock!” The medic yelled in a panic.

  The patient was missing both legs and had shrapnel wounds across her body.

  “I’m giving her an infusion! Add new tourniquets to her legs and left arm. Do a tracheotomy,” Erik yelled to the medic working on her.

  “A what?”

  “Put a hole in her neck and put a breathing tube down it!”

  Erik grabbed scissors from his carrier and cut through the patient’s sleeve up to the shoulder and neck. He pulled out an IO band and drill. Using his domain, he saw into her shoulder.