by Adam Drake
“Son of a...” Rob gritted his teeth together. He fought back the sudden urge to rush over and hack at the statue with his axe.
Getting his anger under control, Rob said, “How many levels is this going to take? Kingdom levels, I mean?”
“As many as is required. The journey will be long and arduous, but it is a path you must follow.”
“You realize I'm only level four, right now.”
“That is just a number, Robert. It is your potential that is unlimited.”
“How many levels does my kingdom have to be before I can start these trials?”
“Of that, I do not know. Many.”
“That isn't an answer, asshole.”
“It is the truth. The limit of a kingdom is only shaped by its king.”
“My kingdom is just level two.”
“By the end of the day it shall be three.”
“How's that?”
“You have already completed one of the requirements.”
“What? Getting my ass kicked by goblins?”
“Learning magic.”
“What are the other requirements?”
“I can not say, Robert. But know you are close to attaining the next Kingdom level by nightfall.”
“Okay, what about level four? What are its requirements?”
“I can not say, other than each level has its own complexity.”
“So level four will be harder than level three?”
“Level four will have more requirements to be met before completion.”
“And will it take longer?”
“That is dependent on you, Robert.”
“But you can't tell me what these requirements are. I have to guess?”
“Only the Gods know what must be achieved.”
Robert sighed. He was getting some kind of answers but no specifics. The only take away from this conversation was that this whole leveling of his kingdom was going to take a long while. And then there was a bunch of god trials? Maybe he'd never be able to leave.
“Alright, Mister Omnipotent. You say you can guide me along this path to this godhood. What do I have to do first?”
“The first task requires you to obtain an object.”
“Could you be more specific?” Rob said without hiding his sarcasm.
“This object is stored in a safe place. Only when you are strong enough, should you attempt to take it.”
“What is this object?”
“The Gods will show you when it is time.”
“Okay, fine. Where is this object then?”
“The Tower of Annex Marsh.”
Rob's was stunned, and he stared at the statue in disbelief. Once he picked his jaw up from the floor, he said, “You are joking, right? That tower back there? In the middle of that living nightmare?”
“This is the first task of many. As you grow and your kingdom becomes stronger, more tasks will be given to you.”
Rob's mind reeled. Dorrish had said how difficult it was to get into the tower, and that guy was infinity stronger than himself. Rob had no idea how long it would take before he could even think of making such an insane attempt. But if this needed to be done for him to get back home...
Sensing the statue was waiting for him to respond, he said, “Okay, fine. I'll get this damn object.”
You have been given your first Godhood Quest. 'Breach the Annex Tower'
Gain entry to the top floor of the Annex Tower and obtain an object which shall be revealed to you. Reward: Unknown
“Sweet Lordy,” Rob said, staring wide eyed at the description. “You realize it could be a good long while before I can even try that, right?”
“The Gods are patient.”
Rob sighed. “Okay, what else?”
“That is all for now, Robert.”
Rob suppressed a laugh. Talk about an understatement. “Okay, I'm gonna leave and drink a whole bunch of hard liquor if I can find some. Was there anything else before I go?”
The statue was silent.
“Mister Omnipotent?”
After a few moments, Rob wondered if that was it. Then it spoke again.
“Beware Robert. Not all the Gods are happy you are here. Some may try to thwart your efforts.”
“Great. Like my job isn't hard already.”
“They will use their influence to turn other kingdoms against you, as well as use agents to sow the seeds of chaos.”
Rob shrugged. “You guys just have to keep piling it on, don't you?”
“It is a warning.”
“Well, thanks for that,” Robert said. “Goodbye now, Mister Omnipotent. Thanks for the cheery pep talk.”
As he turned to go the statue spoke again.
“Robert.”
“What?”
“Can you please pull the lever again? I'm catching a draft.”
Rob waited a moment to see if it was serious, then went over and pushed the lever up to its original position.
The walls closed inward again, rumbling softly.
Rob stood in the middle, directly across from the statue.
As the two walls moved to finally close he looked at the statue. Then, right at the last moment, before the walls sealed together, he thought he saw something suddenly appear in the hollows of the statue's face.
Human eyes.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rob climbed back up the muddy stairs in a daze.
What the hell had all that nonsense been about? As if he didn't have enough to deal with, they had to go and add a Godhood path into the mix. It was all too much for one lowly janitor to deal with. But he needed to. No one else was going to do it for him.
His resolve remained the same. Stick to the plan, do what was needed, one step at a time. At some point he'd find a way back home. Never mind becoming a god. There had to be another way out, and he would do everything he could to find it. In the meantime, he'd continue questing, and hurting and suffering. And all the while, he would learn more of this world and its rules. Somewhere, there had to be a back door.
After a long tiring slog, Rob reached the tunnel branch and took a moment to rest. He was still feeling frustrated with the statue, but he shoved that from his mind. There would be time later to mull over what was said.
He turned down the main tunnel, heading into its depths. Somewhere ahead he heard squeaks and the scratching of feet.
Suddenly, a rat bolted out of the darkness and scampered at him. It vaulted up through the air and Rob bashed it aside with his shield. The rat bounced off the wall and landed in the muck, twitching. A quick axe swing finished it off.
You have killed a Large Rat. You have gained 25 experience points toward your next level.
Then another appeared, followed by another. From behind them, he could hear more.
Okay, Rob thought. Time to get back to work.
For the next several minutes Rob hacked, kicked, Shield Bashed and stomped the steady parade of rats. He fell into a trance-like state, totally focused on what he was doing. All that matter from moment to moment was killing the next rat while trying not to get bit.
Once the last rat was dead, Rob stood panting, sweat covering his face.
Around his feet, with a few bashed into the walls, were almost two dozen rat corpses. He couldn't be bothered to add all the death messages up, but it looked like he earned over 550 experience points. His Axe skill was the only one to progress throughout the whole ordeal, from 3% to 4%.
“Better than nothing,” Rob said. With all the bites and scratches he endured, his hit points dropped to 85. He fished out a small potion of healing and quaffed it, which brought him close to his maximum.
He kicked the rat corpses around, but didn't find any loot. Not surprising. What kind of loot would a rat have, anyway?
After several minutes of rest, he continued on. Within a dozen paces another side tunnel appeared, this time on the right. As he cautiously peered around its corner, he blinked in surprise.
About ten paces down was a red
barrier.
“Huh,” he said as he approached. It looked identical to the one which had initially prevented him from entering Perrin's crypt.
He stood before it and marveled at its dull reddish glow. Cautiously, he touched the barrier with the knuckle of his hand.
You are not of high enough level to access the Lower Caves. Please return when you are level 6 or higher.
Rob frowned, wondering if the rat queen was behind the barrier.
Curious about something, he checked his map.
Instead of his kingdom, it showed a map of the cave. “Cool,” he said. He could see the main tunnel as well as the side tunnel with stairs to the chamber with the statue. The chamber was labeled 'Watcher'.
“Watcher, huh?” Rob said. He tapped at the word and said, “Change this to Dickhead.”
The label changed. Rob chuckled. Sure it was immature, but to hell with it. The label was appropriate.
He saw his indicator in the little tunnel he stood in. A red line crossed the tunnel labeled 'Lower Caves. Level 6'.
The map showed the main tunnel continuing on a short distance which was incomplete. Just past that were the words 'Rat Queen'.
“Ah,” Rob said, returning to the main tunnel. “Now I gotcha.”
He followed it along until it ended at another chamber. From within he could here a loud squeaking sound followed by a high pitch growl.
A large rat shot around the corner and charged at him. Not knowing what else might come launching out of the chamber, he backpedaled several steps, the large rat following.
He dispatched the rodent with a couple of quick axe swings.
You have killed a Large Rat. You have gained 25 experience points toward your next level.
For several second he waited, half expecting more to appear. When none did, he approached the chamber again. Cautiously, he edged his way forward until he stood just outside the entrance.
The chamber was much smaller than the one with the Dickhead statue. This looked like any other part of the cave, rocky with ledges and protrusions. The floor was covered in mud and debris. Bones lined the walls, each cracked and heavily gnawed.
And on the other side, furthest away from Rob as she could get, was the Rat Queen.
She was big, about the size of a small black bear and covered in chalky white fur. Her long gray tail curled under her, whipping about in agitation. Two incisor teeth, the size of his hands, protruded from her upper jaw. Her milky eyes showed only a hint of dark pupils.
As Rob appeared, she raised her nose in the air and sniffed, long whiskers twitching. She didn't look directly at him, but her head was pointed in his general direction. It was then he realized she was blind.
Creature: Rat Queen
Hit Points: 120, Mana: 10
Armor: 5, Speed: 8
Abilities: Unknown
There were no other rats present. He must've gotten them all. The bitch was alone.
Rob stepped into the chamber, his buckler at the ready, and axe raised over his shoulder. He was mindful of his footing, not certain what he could be stepping on.
The monster rodent squeaked, turning its head back and forth as if trying to find him. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and coughed out a stream of black vomit.
Recoiling in horror, Rob backed away just as the vomit splashed against his buckler. The vile substance steamed and ate at the shield's material.
Oh, damn, Rob thought. Acid.
Regaining his composure, he moved forward again. He hoped that the thing didn't have enough in its stomach to do that trick more than once.
The rat didn't flee, nor did it attack. Perhaps it couldn't, being blind. This allowed Rob to get within striking range as it twitched its nose in the air.
Rob attacked, his axe cutting into its side.
The rat's reaction was immediate. It exploded into movement, running around the back end of the chamber, squeaking and growling.
Rob got it into a corner and hit its exposed backside as it turned to move away.
You have advanced in Axes! Skill has increased from 4% to 5%.
The rat queen suddenly spun about and jumped at Rob. It slammed into his buckler like a demolition ball and sent him stumbling back against a wall.
As he tried to stand again, the thing kept up its attack, biting into his right shin.
Rob shouted in pain and hacked at the side of the creature's neck as it gnawed straight through his flesh to the bone. After several strikes the rat queen scampered away to the other side of the chamber where it thrashed about in agitation.
With a glance at the horrible wound in his leg, Rob pushed himself to his feet. He'd gotten too used to being chewed on today. With a heavy limp, he moved to the rat queen.
Again, the thing spewed out another fowl stream of vomit. Rob caught nearly all of it with his buckler, but some of it splashed on the back of his left shoulder. The substance hissed and bubbled as it ate through his leather jacket.
Panicked, Rob fled from the room into the tunnel. Praying the rat queen wouldn't follow he dropped his buckler and axe and quickly pulled off his jacket.
But he wasn't fast enough. Some ate all the way through to his shirt, reaching his skin. It seared at his flesh like a hot branding iron and Rob screamed in anguish. He clumsily yanked off his shirt, throwing it to the ground.
As he tried to figure out how to wipe the crap away, the rat queen barreled into the tunnel.
With no time to react, Rob took up his axe. But he couldn't grab his shield as it was face up, covered in bubbling vomit.
He backed up several steps and the rat queen followed. It vomited again.
Rob spun around and fled, not wanting to get hit, the rat queen in pursuit.
For several moments the mighty King of Anika limped half-naked through the tunnel at top speed while pursued by a giant blind rat.
This is crazy! Rob thought as he tried to keep out of the rat's vomiting range. What was he going to do, run outside?
The side tunnel that led to the statue's chamber appeared ahead. With the rat squeaking and grunting behind him, he made an impulsive decision.
He ducked into the side tunnel and turned, axe held high. Out of the way for only a few moments, he hoped he could use that to his advantage.
The moment he saw the creature's shadow appear on the tunnel wall, he jumped out. The large animal nearly barreled into him, and he hacked at it several times.
But the animal wouldn't die, and it raked its front claws down his chest, tearing flesh away. Then it made a coughing noise.
Abandoning all semblance of dignity, Rob turned and ran like his life depended on it. No way was he going to get that stuff shot over him.
Behind him the rat followed, but not as quickly as before. A backward glance showed that it was bleeding profusely from its many wounds. Rob knew that his Axe of Blood had lived up to its namesake, causing the rat to bleed out.
As he got closer to the entrance, the rat queen slowed to a crawl, then stopped.
Rob stopped, too. Keeping a safe distance away, he leaned against a wall to catch his breath. His shoulder and shin flared with intense pain.
He watched patiently as the rat queen died on the tunnel floor. In its final death spasm it wretched a horrific amount of vomit acid, then went still.
You have killed a Rat Queen. You have gained 250 experience points toward your next level.
“Okay,” Rob said, panting. “That wasn't fun.”
Another message appeared.
You have completed the quest 'Rat-A-Pocolypse'.
Through your valiant efforts you have eradicated the rat threat to the valley.
Reward: 500 experience points.
Rob stood over the dead Rat Queen. Its corpse was seeped in a large puddle of its own bubbling vomit. He wouldn't be checking it for loot.
Taking two small potions from his bag, he created a medium out of them, then drank it. His hit points had dropped to 21. Although he didn't plan on fighting anymore today, he thou
ght it best to be prepared.
He walked back down the tunnel until he found his gear on the floor. The shield's surface had stopped bubbling, and he was able to pick it up again. His leather jacket and shirt were effectively useless, having been eaten away by the acid, so he left them.
Inside the little chamber, Rob searched around. He moved bones and debris with his boots, hoping to find something of worth. After ten minutes of digging through the rancid stuff, he gave up.
