Accidental Warrior: A LitRPG Accidental Traveler Adventure

by Jamie Davis

  Hal shoved the imperial officer off his chest and rolled to the side, pulling his dagger free finally.

  The lieutenant recovered and charged in again.

  This time Hal was ready.

  He side-stepped the incoming blade, feeling it scrape along the armor covering his ribs. It scored a light hit but nothing serious.

  Health damage: Health -6

  Before the officer could pull back his blade for another attack, Hal slid his own dagger between the seams of his breast plate and back plate armor at the arm pit.

  Slicing upward, Hal finally pushed past the ribs and thrust the dagger home into the man’s heart.

  2,500 experience points awarded.

  Level Up!

  Thief abilities unlocked.

  A quick glance at his skills revealed his grayed-out thief skills were no longer dimmed but now displayed in the normal glowing golden text across his vision.

  Warrior Skills: Shield Bash - 2, One-Handed Combat - 3, Combat Misdirection - 1, Prescience - 2, Chakra Regeneration – 3 (18hp during combat; 1/day), Riposte - 2

  Thief Skills: Taunt - 2, Dark Vision - 1, Acrobatic Dodge - 6, Hide in Shadows - 2, Sneak Attack - 5, Open Locks - 2, Find/Remove Traps - 1.

  Master Thief Skills - Instant Kill (land an attack while engaging this skill and instantly kill the target). Detect Lies (detect if someone is lying for a period of five minutes once per day).

  There was no time to allot any of the new attribute points or skills for his warrior level. That didn’t matter. He now had all his thieving abilities returned and could use them as needed in the current battle.

  Hal wiped the blade and then sheathed his dagger before picking up his sword and shield from the ground.

  A quick check showed Rune working in the back of the second wagon. Kay, Anders and the others had fanned out in a semicircle to hold off the steady flow of imperial guards who’d noticed the fighting to their rear.

  Things were going downhill fast and they were about to get worse. A familiar black-armored figure in the command group turned and started in their direction.

  Damn! Norak had noticed them.

  “Kay and Anders, get Junica to a safe distance. I’ll hold them back with the others until you get away, then we’ll break off and follow you. Remember, no matter what else happens, you have to set fire to those wagons.”

  “Don’t be a hero, Hal,” Kay called out as she finished off her opponent.

  “I won’t, believe me.”

  She grabbed Junica and the two of them headed back toward the tree line. Anders followed her, bashing aside a pursuing imperial guard with his shield and running him through with a sword thrust as he trotted past.

  The slot machine’s dials of his luck still spun in his head. As long as that was going, Hal figured he could get away.

  A bellow from nearby drew his attention and he saw Norak approaching, striding steadily across the packed earth by the wagons. In his hand, he clutched the black, cursed sword, black flames licking along the blade as it came to life.

  “You! I should have killed you when I had the chance, no matter what the Emperor wanted. Now, I’ll drain the life from you before I do the same to all your friends.”

  “You wouldn’t have been the first to try and fail, Norak,” Hal taunted, drawing on his reacquired thief skills. “Come on over here and let’s see what you can do with that fancy black sword of yours before I kill you.”

  Hal’s plan was simple. He’d lure Norak in with taunts and threats. Then, when the baron was close enough, Hal would utilize his greatest skill — the master thief instant kill critical hit skill. It had won the day last year back in Tandon and he was sure it would work here as well.

  The taunt worked. Norak snarled a wordless growl at Hal. His purposeful stride turned into a charge.

  Hal raised his shield and prepared to receive the charge. All he needed was one good hit and he could kill the leader of the imperial force in one fell swoop.

  Then it happened.

  The spinning wheels of luck in Hal’s head, usually whirring with a quiet hum, turned to screeching, grind as if the slot machine’s innards were being torn apart.

  The closer Norak got, the louder the grinding became in Hal’s head.

  Hal’s eye’s darted to the black, flaming blade.

  It had to be the cursed sword affecting his luck.

  The wheels were still spinning but they didn’t sound good. He tried to turn it off but the grinding whine kept going.

  The amulet Tildi had given him was working, sort of. It seemed to keep the luck going but the cursed blade in Norak’s hand still worked to turn Hal’s luck against him.

  Then it was too late to do anything but fend off the baron’s fierce attacks.

  The black sword pounded on his raised shield, and delivered numbing blows against Hal’s parries with his sword.

  It was clear the Baron was a talented blade master.

  It was all Hal could do to keep from tripping over the uneven ground and the occasional body as he was forced backwards.

  Backwards towards the wagons.

  Then Hal’s foot caught on a rock or a root or something sticking up from the ground. It didn’t matter what it was. It succeeded in tripping Hal and throwing him to the ground.

  Norak shouted in triumph as he saw his opportunity.

  Lunging forward, the baron shoved the flaming black blade at Hal’s exposed midsection.

  Hal tried to bring his own blade down to parry but he was too late.

  Drawing upon his acrobatic dodge, he was able to twist at the last second away from the center of the thrust.

  The desperate move changed a lethal blow to a slash across Hal’s side, the black blade slicing through his armor as if it were tissue paper and along the ribs beneath his right arm.

  Pain lanced through him and Hal’s body spasmed as if struck by a Taser.

  The amulet around his throat flashed with sudden cold so deep it felt like it burned against his chest underneath his chainmail.

  Critical hit received.

  Health damage: Health -36

  Thief level’s drained - 3

  Brawn, luck, and speed attributes reduced by 2

  Acrobatic dodge reduced by 1 level, sneak attack reduced by 2 levels

  Master thief abilities lost.

  Hal’s legs stopped working as he struggled to rise, his right hand struggling to hold onto his sword, Lightbringer. He pressed his arm against the wound in his side to try and staunch the flow of blood flowing there.

  If that was what happened when the amulet worked to counter the black blade, he didn’t want to know what happened without it.

  Hal looked up, unable to rise and defend himself.

  Norak stood over him, his sword poised above Hal, raised for the killing stroke.

  Hal flinched as it swung down at him.

  Hal’s luck wheels still ground along letting out the broken, piercing whine. Had his luck finally turned against him?

  The descending blade never connected.

  A spear lanced in from the left, piercing the black armor of Norak’s right side.

  The baron cried out in agony and twisted his attack on Hal at the last moment to slice through the spear shaft just behind the broad steel head embedded in his side.

  Erik, the young recruit corporal who’d accompanied Hal and his companions on their quest shouted in triumph.

  “Yes!”

  Throwing down the useless spear shaft, the boy drew his short sword and squared off against the baron.

  Hal struggled to rise.

  “No, Erik. Back away, he’ll kill you.”

  It was too late.

  With deceptive ease, the black sword flicked the tip of the boy’s blade aside and plunged forward into his chest.

  Erik’s eyes flashed for a moment in surprise before a desperate howl erupted from his throat.

  Norak’s gleeful laugh filled the air as life energy poured from the impaled corporal into the b
aron through the cursed blade. When he pulled the sword’s tip from Erik’s chest, the boy’s skin had the look of dried, blackened corn husks and his eyes were sunken and glazed over in soulless death.

  Hal groaned through his pain and climbed back to his feet.

  “You bastard. You’ll pay for that, Norak. That boy had his whole life ahead of him.”

  “Now his life lives inside me, Hal. His very soul has fed my life force and restored me.”

  It was Hal’s turn to feel rage boil up inside him.

  No one deserved that. No one should have their soul ripped from them in that way.

  Raising Lightbringer and tucking his shield in tight against his injured left side, Hal charged, bringing all his abilities, warrior and thief to bear.

  Blow after blow rained down at the black baron.

  Most were knocked aside, but not all.

  One, and then another thrust got through the baron’s guard.

  Finally, an opening appeared in Norak’s defenses and Hal twisted and lunged.

  Sparks raced down Lightbringer and into Norak’s shoulder where the bright, steel blade pierced his armor.

  Critical hit.

  Double damage.

  10 points electrical damage inflicted.

  Norak’s body spasmed from the sudden electrical charge and his shield arm flew wide, flinging the black triangular shield aside to clatter on the ground.

  Hal smiled at the pain showing in the baron’s eyes.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it.”

  Dancing backward despite his own injuries, Hal managed to block the follow-up attacks as Norak tried to regain the initiative.

  Then it was the baron’s turn to sneer.

  A slashing uppercut got past Hal’s guard and sheered into his thigh, nearly causing him to topple over.

  The amulet flashed cold again.

  This time Tildi’s magic countered the cursed sword’s life stealing energy.

  It didn’t stop the effects of the razor edge.

  Health damage: Health -15

  Hal managed parry the counter attack with his battered shield, despite the pain and stumbling limp from the leg wound.

  Hal stole a glance at the wagons full of fire sand.

  They had to destroy them before the imperials understood what they had come to do.

  Soldiers and imperial guards from the reserves had come to push back the small attacking force and now all the reserve guards stood surrounding Norak and Hal as they fought next to the wagons.

  Another flurry of attacks from Norak drew Hal’s attention back to the desperate fight in which he was locked.

  Again and again, Lightbringer clashed with the black flaming blade wielded in by his opponent.

  Sparks flew with each blocked strike.

  Hal knew he couldn’t hold out much longer.

  He had to end this before Norak’s superior skill wore him down and delivered a killing blow.

  Drawing upon his remaining luck, Hal dove forward, under a high sweep of the black sword.

  The dive took Hal past Norak to the right side.

  He bounced back to a crouch, slashing at the back of the baron’s armored knees.

  Critical hit.

  Double damage.

  10 points electrical damage inflicted.

  Norak’s legs crumpled under him, his knees buckling from Hal’s attack.

  Hal pulled his shield in tight against his shoulder and delivered a shield bash from behind the falling baron, knocking him forward sprawling on the ground.

  The black sword clattered away on the ground, the dark flames winking out the moment it left Norak’s hands.

  A familiar chime sounded in Hal’s mind as the slots ceased their grinding whine and clattered to a stop.

  Knowing this was no place for anything resembling a fair fight, Hal pressed his attack, hammering blow after blow down on the backplate of Norak’s armor as he lay prone on the ground, struggling to rise again.

  Several more times, the critical hit message flashed across Hal’s screen.

  Three broad rents had been opened in Norak’s black plate armor.

  Hal pressed the Lightbringer’s tip against the baron’s exposed back and with a final thrust, drove the blade home into his heart.

  15,000 experience points awarded.

  Hal straightened, pulling Lightbringer free of the dead baron’s back. He turned in place and stared at the ranks of imperial troops surrounding him.

  As he turned, he caught glimpses of the battle engaged beyond. The imperial troops had pressed the rebel forces back and looked like they might begin to rout them.

  Something had to be done or the battle would be lost.

  Continuing his slow turn, trying to come up with something, anything to break the odd in their favor, Hal caught a flash of movement and light in the distance at the edge of the forest.

  Kay and the others stood amidst the trees staring at him, surrounded by imperial troops. Junica had a flaming arrow set to her bow.

  He met Kay’s eye’s and nodded.

  Raising his voice, Hal shouted two words.

  “DO IT!”

  The flaming arrow flew, arcing through the air.

  Another followed close behind.

  Hal knew it was futile but he refused to give up.

  The arrows continued their arcs, seeming to move in slow motion, beginning their almost graceful descent to the wagons.

  Junica never missed. The flaming arrows would strike home in seconds.

  Hal threw himself to the ground. He curled in a ball and covered himself with his shield at the last instant, just as the arrows slammed home in the wagon beds.

  The world flashed white and a wave of heat washed over him before the deafening sound of the explosion swallowed him in a wave of concussive sound.

  Hal’s final thought before the blackness filled in around him was of Mona and Cari back home. He hoped they’d be alright without him.

  39

  “You’re stronger than I thought, Hal Dix.”

  Hal’s eyes fluttered open.

  There was a dim gray light surrounding him, the light of early morning pre-dawn just before the sun crests the horizon.

  He had trouble focusing his eyes. There was no defining feature around him to use as a visual frame of reference. The grayness seemed to disappear into the distance in all directions.

  “That was an impressive display of personal power. An explosion like that would have killed a normal man at that range, but somehow you managed to transform some of the energy into a gateway here. I suspect you could be a mage rivaling my own substantial abilities.”

  Hal rolled over on the unyielding, gray surface, looking for the source of the voice. He spotted the hunched form of a familiar old woman standing a few feet away in the grayness.

  “Tildi, where am I?”

  “Call this — a place between.”

  Hal sat up, touching the gray surface on which he sat. It was neither cool nor warm and though he pressed against it, he got little response of resistance back through the nerves in his fingers. It was like touching nothing at all despite its ability to support his weight.

  “Between what, Tildi?”

  “Between worlds, between this life and the next, between reality and fantasy. It is a place of transition. To where is up to you.”

  Thinking back to the battle he’d left seemingly moments before, Hal wondered at the outcome.

  “Did we win? Did our army defeat the imperials?”

  “You did. After the explosion destroyed most of the imperial reserves and all the commanders, the Emperor’s army routed and scattered into the forest in small groups. A few units maintained their cohesion and formed an ad hoc rear guard as they retreated but most simply dropped their weapons and fled.”

  Hal smiled.

  “Good. At least that part is done. Kay and the others will lead them to free Hyroth from the Emperor’s rule and close down the coliseum once and for all.”

  “What
about you, Hal? You have a choice. You can return to your home or go back to Fantasma. The choice is yours.”

  “I accomplished what I came to do. I found Kay and helped to free her and the others. She and Anders, along with Otto, Rune, Junica and the rest can take over where I left off. It is time. I have to return to my life, home, and family. I miss them.”

  “Then return you shall.”

  Tildi raised her staff. The crystal tip, encased in its cage of silver wire, glowed with a blue-white light.

  It flared brighter. The flash of it caused Hal to squint as it pressed outward against the dimness of the gray background. It seemed as if the light consumed everything he could see.

  “Fare well, Hal Dix. Your leadership has been invaluable in the defeat of Norak. He’s long been a thorn in our sides.”

  A thought occurred to Hal.

  “Wait. Will I see you or journey to Fantasma again?”

  Tildi’s voice was distant.

  “That is up to you, Hal. You have fulfilled the requirements of this quest. Perhaps someday there will be another. There are things you need do and see at home, first.”

  The light pulsed now in that same flickering pattern that he’d seen both on his computer at home and in the airplane’s seat-back monitor.

  The glare blinded him, bringing tears to his eyes as the intensity increased.

  Hal held up his hand to shield his face and closed his eyes.

  “Sir, you have to get up. The plane has landed. We need to prepare the cabin for the return flight.”

  Hal opened his eyes and blinked against the glare all from the fluorescent lights in the aircraft. A flight attendant leaned over him from the aisle, the man’s face looked concerned.

  “Are you all right, sir. You look pale.”

  Hal gathered his wits, realizing where he was and how it must look to the flight attendant.

  “I’m fine. Thank you. You said we landed? We’re in Colorado, then?”

  “Yes sir, that is where you wished to travel is it not?”

  “Uh, yes, absolutely. That’s where I wanted to go.”