Drake's LitRPG Megabundle (7 Books)

by Adam Drake

  Rob said to Saif, “At some point we should have these destroyed, or taken apart, at least.” He didn't want them around as a reminder to his people.

  “It would be best to take them apart and use the metal for future items. Perhaps a smith could do it for us if you can find one.”

  “A smith?”

  “Yes, a blacksmith and forge would be a welcome addition to the kingdom.”

  You have been given a quest. 'Hammer and Tong'

  Find a blacksmith who can create metal goods and items for your kingdom.

  Reward: Smithy Building

  They left the cavern and out into the western forest, the morning sun shining through the trees. Many of his people laughed and clapped their hands with joy to finally be in their home valley.

  Saif said, “It appears everyone is back where they belong, my lord. They have you to thank for that.”

  Quest completed: 'Gone But Not Forgotten'

  You have solved the mystery of the missing kingdom folk and returned them to their homeland.

  Reward: 2,000 experience points

  This was followed by another message.

  Ding! Gratz! You have successfully progressed to the next level. You have been granted 2 main attribute points and 5 skill points to distribute as you see fit.

  Finally, Rob thought. He'd been waiting a long time for this.

  As they moved through the forest, Rob distributed his points.

  Robert Barron, Level 5 – 0% to next level

  Kingdom Level 3

  Hit Points: 125/125, Mana Points: 28

  Energy: 100/100, Speed: 10

  Armor: 4

  Strength: 14 (Base 12)

  Constitution: 12

  Intellect: 12

  Perception: 10

  Dexterity: 11

  Luck: 10

  Hit Bonus: 1%

  Critical Hit: 1%

  Critical Damage: 1%

  He yearned to add a single point to strength so he could finally use the Sword of Pain, but the ability to cast the Damage Shield, with its damage absorption, looked enticing. That would require both points to bring his Intelligence to the learning requirement of 14.

  Decisions, decisions. His mace was good. Great, actually. Maybe he could get by with it for a little while longer. Having another spell was too enticing to ignore, especially one that could protect him.

  Fine. Magic it is then.

  He placed both points into Intelligence then took out the Damage Shield scroll and learned it. On a whim, he cast it. The air around him shimmered slightly and a tiny blue bar appeared at the bottom of his vision marked Damage Shield 50 Hit Points.

  “Cool!” he said and nearly tripped on a tree root. Managing stats and walking was a bit of a challenge.

  “That is a great spell for you, my lord,” Saif said. “Once you find higher levels, the damage absorption will be much greater.”

  Rob looked around. They were on the path, traveling east along it.

  “Wait,” Rob said, holding up his hand. “Everyone take a short rest.” He waved at Jace to follow him and they left the path and into the trees.

  Checking his map he found the spot he was looking for. The X he'd carved in the tree was still there and Dodger's corpse was long gone.

  Jace looked at the carving. “Are we going to be digging for buried treasure now?”

  “Not quite,” Rob said and pulled out the steel sword and giant shield from their hiding spot. He handed them to Jace.

  Jace looked at the items, nonplussed. “I'm not one for playing dress-up, my lord.”

  Rob shook his head. “These are for you to use in case there is another problem.”

  “Problem?”

  “I don't know. More slavers, perhaps.”

  “But your dragon burnt them all.”

  “Slavers, bandits, whatever,” Rob said. “If the camp is attacked again, you can use these to defend it.”

  Jace shrugged and said, “If this will make my lord happy, then okay.”

  Rob tried not to sigh at the woodcutters stolidness. But he felt better knowing the man had more than his axe to use.

  They returned to the path, and the group continued on. As they moved, Rob distributed his skill points.

  Known Skills:

  Axes: 7%

  Basic Alchemy: 1%

  Basic Combat Attunement: 11%

  Basic Defense: 13%

  Basic Sharding: 1%

  Basic Shield: 15%

  Basic Swordsmanship: 18%

  Basic Tracking: 5%

  Block: 16%

  Climbing: 5%

  Dodge: 6%

  Maces: 1%

  Magical Affinity: 6%

  Shield Bash: 18% (8% base)

  Stealth: 6%

  Swimming: 2%

  He gave the list a quick glance, but knew where the points would be going. Magical Affinity. This brought it up to 11%, but his mana only increased to 31. It would appear that one skill point no longer equaled one mana point, the higher the percentage went.

  Frowning, he resolved not to let it bother him. This allowed him enough mana to cast three Sun Bolts, or two Heals, if needed. Not bad.

  Eventually they arrived at the clearing next to Castle Hill. Many of the people cheered and hugged one another in celebration. They then hurried across the clearing and around the base of the hill to the camp.

  As they crossed the clearing, Rob could see Trenton and his sons moving a stone block into position at the top. They'd made progress, with at least two dozen blocks set into place, which formed a line alone the summit.

  “The builders arrived!” Saif said, gleeful. “Oh, I had wondered if they received my message.”

  “They showed up just before I headed out,” Rob said as they climbed the hill. “Which reminds me.” He pulled out his money bag and handed it to the Sage.

  Saif's eyes widened. “Oh, this is a nice haul, my lord. Very nice.”

  “We can thank a dead animal charmer for that, among other things.”

  As they reached the top, Trenton lowered a block into a shallow trench in the ground. Finished, the man approached, smiling.

  “You made it back, and far quicker than a week!” The builder said, wiping sweat from his face with a rag.

  “I see you've been busy,” Rob said, looking at the line of stones. They formed a wide curve. “What part of the castle is this?”

  “The main tower,” Trenton said. “In fact, that's what a phase one castle is, a big ol'tower with a wall around it. You'll have a small courtyard where you can place a few buildings, as well.”

  Despite himself, Rob felt disappointed. He expected something bigger. “How big is a phase two castle?”

  “Oh, very big,” Trenton said, waving a hand at the blocks. “Big enough to occupy this entire hilltop and then some. Once phase one is complete, and you're ready to progress to phase two, I'd be happy to help you with it.” He leaned forward and whispered, “I can offer you a good discount as well, if we can keep it between ourselves.”

  “Uh, I'll keep that in mind,” Rob said with a diplomatic smile. Maybe he'd let Saif deal with this guy from now on.

  As Trenton returned to his work, Rob and Saif looked down into the camp. The people were returning to their little buildings, much happier than when they'd first arrived after the walls fell. They had plenty of supplies and food thanks to the trogs, and busied themselves with settling in.

  “You're smiling, my lord,” Saif said.

  “I am?” he hadn't noticed.

  “I believe you are starting to feel for your people,” Saif said. “That's good. A king who doesn't care for those he rules does not stay king for very long.”

  Rob figured this was true. He did feel something toward them, even if he didn't know any of their names. Strange, that. But he definitely felt protective. He wanted to do what he could to give them a better life, so they could prosper.

  The only person he'd felt something similar toward was Anika.

  A famil
iar tug of invisible strings brought him out of his thoughts. “It's time, again,” Rob said, moving to the cornerstone. It was nestled against the inner curve of the huge stones. The base of the tower seemed an appropriate place for it.

  “Ah, wonderful!” Saif said.

  Kneeling down, Rob removed a burnt glove and placed his hand on the cornerstone, its familiar warmth comforting to the touch.

  Congratulations! Based on your incredible adventures and grand accomplishments, your kingdom is now ready to progress to the next level!

  Raise your kingdom to level four?

  Accept or Decline?

  He accepted.

  Congratulations! Your kingdom is now at level four!

  Finished, Rob stood, frowning.

  “Is something the matter, my lord?” Saif said, concerned.

  “I don't like how I can't know what the requirements are for leveling the kingdom. Seems kind of dickish to keep that information from me.”

  “Dickish? Is that a person?”

  “In a way,” Rob said, not wanting to explain. “I just don't understand the purpose behind it.”

  “Well, the gods work in mysterious ways, my lord. It is not for us to question them.”

  For some reason this rubbed Rob the wrong way, and he pinned Saif with a glare. “Oh, I'll question them, all right. I'll question everything about them and everything they do.” He looked to the cornerstone. “Maybe there shouldn't be any more of these gods at all.”

  Rob blinked, the hateful feeling passing. He saw Saif staring at him with raised eyebrows.

  Before either man could speak, Rob caught sight of a trio of riders thundering down the southern road. He pointed. “Look! Who the hell are they?”

  Saif pulled his gaze away from Rob to see. “It appears to be an envoy, my lord.”

  “Envoy?” Rob said, already walking down the hill to meet them.

  “Royal envoy,” Saif said. His tone was odd, even strained, but Rob didn't notice.

  Rob and Saif arrived at the center circle of the camp just as the three riders rode up. They looked to be soldiers, carrying shields and armed with swords at their hips. Blue cloaks hung from their shoulders and each had the insignia of a blue eagle on the right breast of their splendid leather armor.

  One of the men dismounted and approached them. He had blond shoulder length hair beneath a steel cap, and a bushy blond mustache.

  The man stopped before Rob. “Are you Robert Barron?”

  Rob didn't like this guy's tone. He sounded outright hostile. “Yeah, I'm him.”

  The man bowed slightly and held out a rolled parchment.

  Glancing at Saif, he took it. At first he thought it to be a spell scroll, but an item message didn't appear.

  After handing over the parchment, the man straightened and took a step back. Then, his face contorted into a sneer and he spat on the ground.

  “Scum,” the man hissed, then strode back to his horse.

  Stunned, Rob could only watch as the man mounted. Then all three riders turned away and rode off back down the road.

  “What the hell?” Rob said, confused.

  “I think it's a message, my lord,” Saif said. He looked gravely worried.

  The parchment had a blue-wax seal with the eagle emblem on it. He broke the seal and unrolled it.

  There were words neatly written on the parchment, but he couldn't read them.

  A message appeared.

  You do not know the language of the High Court.

  Rob blinked, perplexed. What kind of message was this?

  “Allow me, my lord,” Saif said, and gently took it from Rob's grasp.

  As the Sage looked over the message, Rob watched the riders in the distance. They have horses. Where can he get some of those?

  A gasp from Saif made him look to the Sage. “What? What is it?”

  Saif said, “It appears that someone named King Orbin of Drust has taken issue with your claim to the throne of Anika. He accuses you of being an usurper and not the rightful ruler of this land. He demands you step down immediately, or face the consequences...”

  Saif's voice trailed off as he continued reading.

  “What else does it say?” Rob said.

  The Sage's face went ashen. “My lord...”

  “What, Saif? Damnit, tell me!”

  Saif looked at him, the fear in his eyes palpable.

  “My lord, we are at war.”

  Rob's Odyssey Continues In

  Kingdom Level Four

  The Big Bag of Infinite Cats

  An ancient weapon versus a magical bag of cats.

  When a strange case of a detective being turned to stone baffles local police, retired investigator Mayra Beeweather is asked to assist. One of her tools of the trade is a magical bag which contains an infinite number of cats. Very special cats – each with a unique ability to aid in her investigation.

  Yet, even with their help, Mayra may not solve the case in time, for she may be the next victim turned to stone!

  NOW AVAILABLE

  Blackout Books 1-2

  (A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller)

  Like a switch turned off, the power goes out - forever.

  Unbeknownst to everyone, the first day without electricity heralds the end of civilization. For those unprepared, the future looks dark and savage. Confusion and fear leads to a desperation where people find themselves considering - and doing - the unthinkable.

  But for some, there's opportunity in the chaos. For them, this isn't the end... it's the beginning.