The Wraith of Valenastrious: A LitRPG Epic (World of Samar Book 1)

by LitRPG Freaks

  “What did I do? I saved you all, me and Benji.”

  “All but Bishop and Shamus,” she pointed out.

  “Yeah, well the latter was already dead and that Knight had it in for Bishop,” Jimmy pouted. “I’m assuming there won’t be any demon players in the dungeon with us at the same time.”

  Harrison frowned. Would Dennis do something that insane? After all, according to the demon players who were friendly, they said their goal was to attack the main cities and eventually go after the city of Weston itself. The game would eventually turn into a massive battle of tug of war over who could control the most major cities and kill off the main leader first. Harrison wasn’t even honestly sure a month was long enough to play this game out to the fullest. Max level was one hundred and they were barely pushing ten.

  “We’ll group ourselves off using symbols, think I saw that option,” Harrison started. “Once we enter and see what the layout might be, we’ll have to simply make it up as we go.”

  “Groups?” another one of the other newbies Alana brought in asked.

  “Yeah. We’ll make the healers the cross group, tanks will be the skulls, and DPS circles,” Harrison said. “Each group will be in charge of completing a task. Really it’s going to be a matter of the tanks being able to keep the agro in check, healers not taking damage, and DPS targeting on the right bad guy at the right time.”

  More groans answered his words and he settled in for a long evening of going over the basic strategy for any dungeon.

  By the time they all turned in for the night, Harrison wasn’t as worried about his group as he had been a few hours ago. The healers were strong; all three of them had excellent stats and took the exorcist spec so they would be much stronger against the demons inside the dungeon. They had four tanks, although Sorgon could always switch to DPS if need be or healer for that matter, along with the other human monk. Harrison closed his eyes, folding his hands behind his head, and he dreamt of walking through those doors and walking out again triumphant with his guild.

  ***

  Bishop heard the ding, and all the guild members clapped and applauded as Shamus, their last player to hit ten, bowed and beamed at them all.

  “Perfect! First part of the mission, complete. Now let’s head back to Weston, do a final gear check, potions check, and whatever else we can think of. And if anyone is unhappy with a weapon or gear speak now. We have a few hours before we log out for the day.” Bishop high-fived all his guildies as they walked past him letting him, Willy, and Maverick bring up the rear of the group.

  “You know, I think we actually might pull this off,” she told him, using her spear as a walking stick.

  “Think so. A successful first run would be incredible.”

  “Be nice to land some good loot, too,” she said with a sigh. “I could use a new spear.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want a new one?” he asked, curiously. “I offered you one a few times now and you keep turning me down. Trying to tell me my craftsmanship sucks or something?”

  “I don’t want one made, no offense to our weapon smiths. It’s an excitement thing, you know? Seeing that loot pop up in your bag just sends a thrill down my back.”

  “Are you talking about me?” Jimmy asked, leaning back to stare at her and Bishop.

  She turned the spear, aiming the point at him. “Do you want me to be?”

  “Just asking. I heard you say thrill down your back and knew it had to be about me.”

  “You want to duel right now?” she pushed, smirking as she pressed the tip of her spear against Jimmy’s chest. “I’ll always win.”

  Jimmy drove the spear aside and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Is that right?”

  Bishop quickened his pace as their banter turned to murmurs. When he glanced back a few seconds later, Maverick was resting her head on Jimmy’s shoulder, their clasped hands between their bodies. Willy let out a mix between a growl and a snort, shaking out his furry body.

  “My thoughts exactly,” Bishop said, scratching behind his ears. “I guess I’ll be seeing you soon, boy.” The gate neared and Willy never once followed him through. But as Bishop watched, the wolf proved him wrong, and Willy yipped playfully as he took off after the rest of the guild. “Alright, never mind.”

  Willy being in the city earned them a few concerned looks from guards and the other NPCs. But the wolf behaved himself and no one gave them any trouble. They fixed gear, stocked up on potions and food, while ensuring everyone was ready to go. The whole process took the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening as they finally entered the guild house and quickly emptied their bags of whatever they wouldn’t need for tomorrow.

  “Right, I think we’re all set,” Bishop said after everyone gathered around the fire, or rather gathered around Willy who occupied the entire floor space before the fire. “All I can say is get a good night sleep, and be ready to fight.” He winked towards Jimmy and Maverick, their hands clasped together with her sitting on his lap.

  “What? Why are you singling us out?” he asked, but Maverick told him to hush.

  “Everyone in this room knows why.”

  A prompt appeared as Jimmy continued to protest and a few of the guys made loud kissing noises. The time came to log out for the day and Harrison did it quickly. Tomorrow would be a good day, he felt it deep in his bones, but now his anxiety would keep him company throughout the evening and well into the night. He told everyone else to get a good night sleep, but his chances of doing just that were slim to none. Tomorrow was his chance to prove that he could still be a leader, be strong.

  Be a damn hero.

  Harrison opened his eyes and heard Jimmy still muttering curses under his breath. “Mr. Harper,” Dennis said as he approached. “I trust you and your guild are set for tomorrow’s big day?”

  “I think so,” he said slowly. “I’m assuming you know about the dungeon?”

  “I know everything that goes on in this game,” he said, and his eyes hardened for just a second. “Including Jimmy and Alana’s blooming romance,” he whispered in an undertone behind his hand.

  Jimmy turned bright red and sauntered off, mumbling something about seeing Harrison in the cafeteria.

  “Yeah I think we’re ready. Found a good group.”

  “Well I should hope so, for everyone will be watching.”

  Harrison froze mid-step and nearly fell into Tyler beside him. “Watching?”

  Dennis chuckled. “Of course. No other players are logging in tomorrow. Everyone will gather in the auditorium to watch as you run your guild through the dungeon. First run we will all get to see. I wanted to give everyone a chance to watch the great Harrison Harper do what he does best.”

  “Right, that’s uh…that’s great,” he said, but his voice was shaking.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do fine and, if not, then others will learn from your mistakes.”

  There’s that tone again, and that look, Harrison thought. Dennis was onto Harrison, but if he had any inkling about what Harrison was really up to, he would just kick him out, wouldn’t he?

  Dennis wished him luck one final time and Harrison forced his feet to make their way to the cafeteria so he could drop this latest bombshell on his guild mates.

  “Wait, he’s doing what?” Jimmy yelled and everyone in the cafeteria turned to stare.

  “You heard me.” Harrison hung his head to gather his thoughts before he sucked in a few deep breaths and flattened his palms on the table. “It’s no problem. We’re going to get in there and do just as we said. Doesn’t matter who’s watching or who’s not.”

  “I’ve never played live,” Jimmy whispered, horrified.

  “You won’t be able to see or hear them,” Harrison assured him. “It’ll just be us.”

  Jimmy groaned louder and held his face in his hands. “Doomed, we’re all doomed and every beta tester here is going to see us fail.”

  “Yeah that’s the spirit,” Alana mocked. “He’ll
be fine by tomorrow, promise.”

  Harrison hoped so. He didn’t want to fail in front of everyone either. “We’ll be fine. We’ll get through it and everything will be just fine.”

  Chapter 9

  “We’re so screwed,” Jimmy whispered to Harrison as they walked into the lab the next day.

  “I thought you said he would be better?”

  Alana shrugged as she walked to her station. “I tried.”

  “Jimmy, you can’t think about them. Remember the only ones who matter are here in this room,” Harrison said, gripping the man’s shoulders. “And remember, at the end of the day, it’s only a damn game.”

  Jimmy lifted his head. “What did you say?”

  Harrison smirked. Of all the players there, he sensed Jimmy was one of those who would hate those words. “I said it’s only a game.”

  “Only a game? It’s never only a game! What’s wrong with you, man?” Jimmy pulled out of his grip and held up his arms. “We are The Bishop’s Guard! We are the last line of defense between these rampaging demons and King Godfrey! We are the first guild to find a dungeon door and the first to run through, and we will defeat Azriel and bring back his head! To Victory my brethren!”

  The others whooped and hollered, cheering him on as Jimmy marched to his station and leaned back, ready for his gear to be placed on his head and strapped in.

  “You still think we’re screwed?” Harrison asked.

  “Hell no, man, we have you,” Jimmy said with a wink. “Let’s go kill us a demon lord.”

  Harrison leaned his head back once he was settled. “Good luck,” Tyler told him, resting the gear over his head. Harrison closed his eyes and waited for his mind to be transported back into the world of Samar.

  ***

  Bishop peered around the edge of the tree, glancing down into the demon outpost where the dungeon door was. He considered trying to simply march into the outpost, but being killed in front of the entire auditorium of players was not something he thought he would enjoy. Now he stood on the same ridge he lost his bow over, staring at the door and the three NPCs standing within feet of it. The rest of the guild waited outside the main gates of Weston, ready to be summoned the second he was in.

  Can’t stand here all day. Just do it!

  Gritting his teeth and hoping the fall damage didn’t do him in, he stepped to the edge and hopped down to the next one. Rocks fell beneath his feet, hitting the dirt near the NPCs. Luckily, just as when he dropped his bow, they didn’t bother looking up. He wasn’t in agro range, yet.

  He crouched low and slipped to the next ledge he could see, and the next, but they ran out pretty quickly and he hovered a good thirty feet above ground. He swore there were more NPCs here this time than the last.

  Just as he worked up the nerve to make a jump for it, the NPCs flickered in and out of view and a sharp scream filled the silence, pounding against his eardrums. He reached up to cover his ears and fell backwards. His arms wind milled as he sailed through the air and crashed with a thud on his back. Grunting as he shook the daze from his eyes, he glanced around to see the NPCs, still experiencing the glitch, all turn towards him and snarl.

  “Shit,” he growled, and he scrambled to find his feet.

  The demons sprinted towards him, a few seconds from destroying him and ruining his day. But Bishop was close enough to the entrance. He rammed his shoulder into it. The doors parted for him, creaking on their hinges, and he passed through a swirling mist. The demons ran right into it too, to no avail. They couldn’t follow him there.

  Bishop let out a long sigh.

  “Time to summon,” he said to himself, and he drew the black horn from his bag.

  He pressed it to his lips and blew. The deep, forlorn sound echoed around him and he waited to see what would happen. While he waited, Willy appeared by his side, brown eyes staring straight ahead. Bishop scratched his head absently.

  “Took you long enough,” Maverick said from behind him.

  Bishop turned and watched the others shimmer into view before solidifying. “Next time, you can throw yourself off a cliff and straight into the enemy’s hands.”

  “Gladly.” She gripped her spear in her hand as she walked farther down the stone corridor. “So, this is the first dungeon. Looks like we’re in a fortress somewhere.”

  “My thoughts, too.” Bishop pulled up the map. “Damn, won’t show us the rest until we get farther in. Alright everyone, eyes and ears open. Let the tanks lead. Healers stay behind the DPS until I tell you to move.”

  Everyone fell into position and Maverick led the way, shifting into beast form so she would be ready for an attack using her new spec, Righteous Protector. Arthur, the dwarf tank they picked up, and Sorgon followed right behind. Both of their specs increased their agro range and how strong their pulls were to keep the baddies away from the DPS and healers more efficiently. Bishop walked with Giles by his side, Willy between them, his quiet growling the only sound.

  The corridor stretched on for a while. After a few minutes, Bishop started wondering if they missed a turn off or something, when Maverick halted. Bishop stepped forward and saw the pedestal before an arched doorway. When he neared, several quests popped up for them all to accept.

  “Well, at least we’re headed the right direction,” Jimmy announced from the rear of the group.

  Bishop nodded in agreement and read through the quests. They were to kill one hundred demons, along with Azriel’s two commanders, close six portals, and then of course rescue their main quest giver in the storyline. For each race it was different, but Bishop figured they would worry about that part when they reached the final chamber.

  “Maverick, take the lead again, please,” Bishop said, and he fell back in line.

  Maverick huffed in reply. She walked past the pedestal, through the arched doorway, and came to another stop almost immediately. Bishop heard the demons before he saw them. Once they were all through the doorway, a gate slammed shut behind them, locking them inside.

  “Perfect,” Bishop muttered, and he held his bow ready as he took in the room.

  The space was wide open with a dark stone path passing directly through it towards a set of grand stairs. Two smaller sets of stairs sat on the right and left and, in between the party of players and those stairs, were too many demons to count. All their levels were ten so at least they were on par with the demons. He only saw three portals in the room.

  “Right, this is what we’re going to do,” he said, motioning everyone in closer. “Two groups, we’ll work around this first sector and meet at the left staircase on the west side of the room.”

  He assumed there was one commander lurking at the top of each set of stairs. Those they would have to hit together, but he wanted to see what his guild could do split into two groups.

  “Giles, I’m appointing you as leader of the second group.”

  “Me?” Giles asked, loudly. “Bishop I don’t know.”

  “Maverick will be with you. If you get caught up, she’ll pick up the slack,” Bishop said and Maverick nodded her massive beast head. Harrison split up the groups, six and six, and taking his, aimed for the right side of the first section. Each quarter of the room was massive and the path was wide enough they shouldn’t pull anything from any other sector.

  “Shouldn’t” being the key word.

  Bishop led his group, taking on Jimmy as his healer and letting Giles’ group have the other two. They moved slowly at first, letting Arthur and the dwarf get into position. Bishop readied his bow and waited.

  Arthur charged in first, swinging his Warhammer and slamming it down into the ground with a thunderous strike of lightning. Bishop cursed when he saw ten demons running in their direction. He had hoped it would be less to start but, as he watched, the dwarf leapt up into the air and crashed back down in the midst of them all, stunning them.

  Bishop let loose his Rain of Poisoned Barbed Arrows as Willy charged in to attack beside the other DPS. The two tanks held back t
he line fairly well, but two tiny imp-like demons slipped past aimed straight for Jimmy.

  “Shit! Taking damage over here!” Jimmy yelled, struggling to both keep up the healing green glow around the tanks and fend off the attack.

  Bishop quickly shifted his aim and drew the imps towards him with two quick Instant Shots. One he killed with Increased Swift Bow before it reached him. The other jumped at him, catching him off guard and tackling him to the floor. Bishop groaned, swinging his bow to try and knock it off as it bit at every piece of him it could reach. His life slowly drained until he managed to swipe his dagger across the imp’s body once, twice with his Slash Attack, and it fell off of him. Then, he aimed Execute Shot in its face and the imp died with a high pitched squeal at his feet. The whole time, he watched the kill counter for the demon quest go up. They would hit it in no time if they took out everything in this room.

  His group moved swiftly ahead, everyone taking minor damage. Bishop heard Maverick’s beastly roar every few minutes and chanced a glance to see hers progressing even faster than his group. Everyone appeared to be alive, but some of them were almost to half health. Benji’s heals appeared to be doing fine. It was the other healer who struggled. Bishop frowned, wondering if this was going to ruin their run if she couldn’t get it together.

  When they reached the stairs, Maverick shifted back, grinning smugly. “I’d say we win that round.”

  Bishop laughed with her. “I’d agree. Notice your second healer back there?” he added in a whisper he prayed was too quiet for everyone watching to hear.

  “Yeah saw it. Think I know what’s up, but hope I’m wrong.”

  “Care to share?”

  “Not until it’s important.” She turned and looked up the set of stairs. “Alright everyone, eat, check your potions stash, and then we move up!”

  Bishop ate along with everyone else. He checked his buffs increasing his attacks by five percent and his mana by ten percent for ten minutes and made sure the rest of them did the same. “Move out!” He trotted up the steps letting Maverick lead the way again.