The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4)

by A F Kay

Effect: Heal everyone under your command for 10% of their total Health Points. Each spell level increases the percentage by 10%.

  Ruwen placed the book back on his mental bookshelf and stood. His head swam with all the possibilities. Between his two Classes, he needed to distribute his limited points: forty-three spell and twenty-one ability. It was going to be hard.

  Chapter 11

  Tremine, Bliz, and Sift stood together, all excitedly talking to each other.

  Hamma stepped up next to Ruwen, and he put his arm around her. “Well?”

  “Shelly is amazing,” Hamma said. “I’m jealous of you two.”

  “I agree,” Lylan said. “You two will get into trouble without Hamma and me.”

  Ruwen shook his head. “We already talked about this, which reminds me.”

  Ruwen pictured the icon for Ringleader and focused briefly on each of the women. He smiled as both of them reacted in surprise, although Lylan hid it better. Their portraits appeared under Sift’s.

  “How?” Hamma asked.

  “I found a good Fighter build, and the Sub Class has the group ability,” Ruwen said.

  Lylan narrowed her eyes. “It took me four days to activate my Sub Class, and everyone acted like Uru had performed a miracle. I’m not even sure you’ve been revived for twelve hours.”

  Ruwen shrugged. “I think my dual-class makes all that easier for me. But that doesn’t matter right now.” He turned to Hamma. “Have you decided what Sub Class you’re taking?”

  Hamma nodded. “I want to fight and heal. So I plan on Sub Classing into Healer and then Specialize in Warden.”

  Rami? Sorry to bother you, but I need some symbols.

  Did the girls decide what they’re doing?

  Yeah, Hamma needs the Healer and Warden ones.

  This is for Healer.

  The Healer symbol appeared in his Ruwen’s mind, and he willed it Hamma. “Did you get that?”

  “Yes, along with a quest,” Hamma said.

  “Good, here is the Warden one.”

  Rami gave Ruwen the Warden symbol, and he passed it to Hamma. “That should trigger when you hit level twenty.”

  “Thank you,” Hamma said.

  “Thank Rami, she found them,” Ruwen said.

  Hamma touched Ruwen’s right ear, where Rami lay curled and mostly out of sight. “Thank you, Rami.”

  Rami vibrated.

  Ruwen turned to Lylan, who had Sub Classed as a Shade. “Have you decided?”

  Lylan pressed her lips together and nodded. “I want to Specialize as a Thief.”

  Without asking, the Thief symbol manifested itself, and Ruwen pushed it to Lylan.

  “I got the symbol and the quest,” Lylan said. “Thank you, Rami.”

  Rami vibrated again.

  “I don’t know what to do with this symbol,” Hamma said.

  “I do,” Lylan said. “I’ll show you.”

  Ruwen looked at each woman’s portrait and willed them out of the group. Their pictures disappeared, and Hamma faced him.

  “Why did you kick us out?” Hamma asked.

  Ruwen held up his hands. “Because it would be a constant distraction for you, and you both need to concentrate on your advancement.”

  “Are you ready, Sift?” Ruwen called out.

  Sift, Tremine, and Bliz joined Ruwen and the women.

  “Sift promised us a ride when you get back,” Bliz said excitedly.

  “That turtle is a wonder,” Tremine said. “Observe everything, and we can discuss what you’ve learned when you return.”

  “Homework? Seriously?” Ruwen asked.

  Tremine smiled. “Fine, but try and pay attention. Things are happening inside that shell I don’t understand.”

  That made Ruwen curious, but he’d see for himself soon enough.

  “We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Ruwen said.

  Hamma gave Ruwen a tight hug and whispered into his ear. “Be careful. Seriously, don’t do any of the dumb stuff you two usually do.”

  “Don’t worry. This is a simple supply mission. You worry about your Sub Class, not me. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Hamma said.

  Ruwen nodded at Tremine and Bliz. “See you soon.”

  Sift and Lylan were still hugging, so Ruwen strode to Shelly’s leg and began climbing. Whiskers, now in his smaller leopard form, ran past him and up the leg. Shelly’s skin had rolls that allowed him to walk forward quickly, and it felt like using stairs.

  Soon he’d have many choices to make about his abilities and spells, but one ability he planned on taking regardless: Chat. Being able to communicate with your group without having to talk would be incredibly useful. And it gave him an idea.

  Rami, what is the symbol for Chat?

  An image of a man whispering into a woman’s ear appeared and immediately faded. Just like with Ringleader, Ruwen felt a tension inside his head and then a pop. He moved his jaw from side to side to relieve the pressure in his ears and read the new notification.

  Ping!

  You have learned the Ability Chat

  Ability: Chat

  Level: 1

  Class: Fighter

  Sub Class: Commander

  Effect: Telepathy between group members. Each ability level doubles the distance group members can be separated.

  Ruwen closed the notification and continued to climb. Without turning around, he imagined his voice deeper and whispered to Sift’s portrait. “Sift, you have angered us.”

  As Ruwen neared the top, he avoided looking at the ground. He thought about learning the spells Steady and Tumble to help in case he fell, but decided not to make any hasty decision.

  Pausing in front of the door, Ruwen whispered in a deep voice at Sift’s group portrait again. “Doomed you are, Sift. Doomed. The Toidi have come for your soul!”

  Ruwen quickly walked through the opening in Shelly’s side and immediately understood what Tremine had meant. Ruwen had expected something like a cave, but instead, he found the ceiling and most of the walls were transparent. Thankfully, the floor remained dark. The only other dark patch was on the wall toward the tail side. Whiskers sat in the middle of the room.

  Looking around in wonder, Ruwen headed for the doorway in the dark wall. It led to a hallway, with faintly glowing walls that contained other doors. He opened a door and found a bedroom.

  One last time Ruwen whispered at Sift’s portrait. “Doomed.”

  Turning around, Ruwen reentered the main room. Sift stood near the door. Or where the door had been. It had disappeared, along with the view of New Eiru and pine trees. The only thing visible right now were clouds.

  Ruwen’s stomach turned, and he walked to the center of the room to stand next to Whiskers. He had no desire to see how far off the ground they were. The ridiculousness of the situation washed over him. He stood in a flying turtle. How safe could this be? What happened if Shelly returned to her tiny size, or twisted sharply and they fell out. Could they fall out?

  “Are there walls there? Or just…nothing?” Ruwen asked.

  Sift pressed himself against an invisible wall and twisted his head back and forth as if searching for something. “Have you ever heard of a Toidi?”

  Ruwen forgot about his deathly fear of heights and smothered a grin. “Oh yeah. They’re horrible. If they latch on to you, your life becomes a nightmare.”

  Sift faced Ruwen, his eyes wide. “Is there any way to get rid of them?”

  “Why are you asking?”

  Sift shrugged. “Just curious. Tremine brought them up.”

  “Oh well, I’m not sure. I think I read silence buys you time. Like you shouldn’t talk at all.”

  Sift nodded at Ruwen, his lips pressed together.

  It took all of Ruwen’s will not to smile. This trip would be blissfully silent.

  You are a terrible friend, Rami said to Ruwen.

  “What?” Sift asked.

  There was a moment of silence, and then Rami spoke again. Sift, this is Rami, can y
ou hear me?

  Ruwen and Sift locked gazes.

  “Rami?” Sift asked.

  Chapter 12

  “Why can I hear Rami?” Sift asked.

  “Uh…”

  Sift pointed at Ruwen. “There aren’t any toidi, that was you.”

  Rami spoke up. Sift, I’m going to say some numbers, and I want you to tell me the ones you hear. Okay?

  “Okay,” Sift said while glaring at Ruwen.

  Rami counted from one to fifteen. Sift, what did you hear?

  “Three and seven,” Sift said.

  Interesting. It seems if I communicate with no focus, Ruwen’s Chat ability sends it to everyone in the group. The other way for you to hear me is if I focus on you explicitly. Ruwen, how many numbers did you hear?

  Ruwen spoke out loud. “One through fifteen.”

  Even more interesting. I counted to twenty. It seems I can exclude people as well. This is a powerful ability that links us all. I’ll have to warn Fractal and possibly Lir. Ruwen, try focusing just on Sift and speak.

  You stink. Ruwen sent to Sift.

  Sift smelled his armpit. I do not, he said across the mental link.

  Sift’s voice sounded exactly the same, and if Ruwen hadn’t been looking, he’d have thought Sift had spoken out loud. Ruwen had another idea. Sift, focus on my portrait and tell me who will win the Step Championship.

  Sift’s eyes lit up. The Sand Sharks are—

  Ruwen pictured the Chat symbol and thought of silence. The portrait around Sift turned red, and his voice disappeared. Ruwen smiled, thankful that this new ability wouldn’t come at the cost of constant conversations. He thought about how they should use their time in Shelly, checked his map to see when they’d arrive at the mine, and then removed the silence.

  Thirty seconds had passed, but Sift hadn’t stopped talking, and his voice returned inside Ruwen’s head.

  “…which is why they’re underestimated. The competitive division—”

  Ruwen held up his hand and spoke out loud. “Let’s finish later. We have about six hours before arriving at the mine. My guess is you could ask Shelly to go faster, but we can both use the time.”

  “For what?” Sift asked.

  Ruwen looked around the large room. The walls and ceiling were transparent, and it felt more like floating through the clouds on a platform. “I think you should use this privacy to practice your Cultivation. Have you refined any Air Essence yet?”

  Sift shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to try. After I created my Core, you said it was too dangerous to use.”

  Ruwen nodded. When they’d left the Spirit Realm and crossed into Uru’s Divine Realm, both of them had been wearing Aspects they’d found in the Plague Siren’s lair. His had looked like a scarecrow and Sift’s like a falcon. Now, whenever they touched their Spirit, their Aspects reappeared.

  Many people had seen those Aspects in the Spirit Realm. So if they reappeared here, it would raise questions Ruwen didn’t want to answer. In fact, if anyone figured out that Ruwen wore the Aspect and could use Spirit, it would trigger an apocalyptic war between the gods. Which is why he’d been so adamant with Sift about not using his Spirit either.

  “While we can see out, I bet no one can see in,” Ruwen said. “I’m going to confirm that right now.”

  Ruwen closed his eyes and focused on his center. His Core surrounded him, unmoving and not very dense. In the Spirit Realm, he had tried to compress his Core, but without Harden it had proved difficult. He would fix that in a moment, but first he needed to see what Shelly looked like from the outside.

  With a thought, Ruwen accessed his Scarecrow Aspect and created a clone outside of Shelly. Intense cold made the clone shiver, and it immediately fell. Twisting the clone around, Ruwen looked for Shelly, but only clouds were visible. He released the clone and created another, this one higher, and facing Shelly from the beginning. Again, nothing but clouds filled the sky.

  Trying again, Ruwen created the clone a hundred fifty feet above him and in front of Shelly. The clone only fell a few seconds before smashing into a cloud and dissolving. It confirmed what Ruwen had suspected. Shelly had cloaked them, and to the outside world they looked like a bank of clouds.

  “Shelly looks like a bunch of clouds from outside,” Ruwen said.

  Sift looked up. “You are so awesome, Shelly!”

  Ruwen felt a small vibration through his feet. Sift kneeled and patted the platform. “Yes, you are the best turtle in the world.”

  “Probably the Universe, actually,” Ruwen said.

  “For once, the stinky scarecrow is right. You are the best in the Universe.”

  The vibration came again and Sift laughed. “So that means we’re hidden.”

  “Yes,” Ruwen said. “I’m going to show you how to Refine Air Essence. When you have some, try to fly. Blapy said your Aspect would make it much easier.”

  Sift’s eyes grew large. “Fly?”

  It made Ruwen happy to see the joy on Sift’s face. He knew Sift had dreamed of flying his entire life. “The first thing we need to do is get your Core moving. Come sit over here.”

  Ruwen sat, and Whiskers laid down beside him. Sift sat across from Ruwen, and the Falcon Aspect appeared, hiding most of Sift’s face under a fierce beak.

  With Ruwen’s guidance, it only took Sift a few minutes to get his Core to move. Ruwen warned Sift about moving his Core too fast, explaining how painful the results had been in the Spirit Realm when Ruwen had tried to Refine with a high Core Velocity.

  Ruwen smiled at Sift’s success. “Next, I’ll show you how to Refine Air Essence from the Spirit in your Core. Rami figured this out from watching your parents do their morning stretches.”

  “Thanks, Rami,” Sift said.

  You’re welcome, Rami replied.

  Sift smiled. “It’s weird hearing your voice, Rami. Hey, can we bring Io in on this?”

  For a horrified moment, Ruwen pictured never having silence again. From Ky and Sift, Ruwen knew Io loved to talk.

  Rami spoke up. I already tried to reach him via Ruwen’s Chat ability. But I think it only works with people Ruwen has a connection with. So I think you might all hear Fractal at some point, but we can’t hear Io.

  “That’s too bad,” Sift said. He looked down at his hip. “I’ll keep you up to date, Io.”

  Rami continued. I’m only telling you this, Ruwen. If in the future we need to hear Io, I can communicate with him via vibrations and bridge him into our group. But, as a Champion, you’re forbidden from speaking with an Elder weapon. So I’ll plan on blocking your voice.

  That might be really useful, Ruwen said. You’re the best. He reached up and patted his right ear.

  Ruwen’s head, neck, and chest warmed as Rami hugged him.

  “Well, you going to show me?” Sift asked.

  Ruwen focused back on Sift and then stood, and Sift did the same.

  Ruwen pointed at Sift’s left bicep. “Your Air Meridian connects to your center with those roots we took from the Bladed Blue Iris plants. They’re thin, and your Refinement might take a while. Be patient.”

  Sift nodded.

  “Okay, let’s get started,” Ruwen said.

  Sift already knew the form as his parents had made him do warm-up stretches too. Ruwen explained the process of pulling a thread of Spirit from the Core, feeding it into the center’s pathway that connected to the Air Meridian, and then reattaching the Spirit thread to the Core when it came back through the return pathway.

  Again, with Ruwen’s help, Sift made quick progress, and in just minutes had refined his first Air Essence.

  “Can I move?” Sift asked.

  “Yes, you just need to keep your Core Velocity high enough to keep the flow going. Refining is something you can constantly do.” Ruwen watched Sift for a few seconds. “Are you good?”

  Sift tilted his head back so Ruwen could see his eyes. “Thanks, buddy. This means a lot to me.”

  Ruwen nodded, stood, and walked i
nto the hallway with the bedrooms. The walls here were blessedly opaque. Even though he knew they were safe inside Shelly, it still bothered him only clouds were visible in the main room. It was a constant reminder of how high they were. Plus, he thought as he sat down, if Sift started to fly around in there, no one would be safe.

  Whiskers had switched into his urban scout form, a small black cat, and sat next to Ruwen. He stroked the cat’s head as he thought. They had only been back in the Material Realm for a day, but Ruwen had already missed using his Spirit.

  Ruwen channeled twenty-five Energy into his level five Harden and focused on his Core, compressing it. In the first second, he compressed his Core more than anything he’d accomplished in the Spirit Realm with just the breathing technique. As his Core grew smaller, Ruwen channeled more Energy into Harden, while monitoring his total Energy.

  A minute later, Ruwen’s Infinity Ring-shaped Core had shortened to just a few feet long. The Spirit, now densely packed, responded instantly to his mental touch. In the Spirit Realm, after he’d reabsorbed his Core along with the Plague Siren’s, it had taken a lot of effort to move his Core, and even then, it had remained sluggish.

  Now, with a slight push from Ruwen’s mental hand, the Core spun so fast its shape blurred. He remembered how painful forcing too much Spirit into a pathway had been. It had injured him in the Spirit Realm, here it would likely kill him.

  Standing, Ruwen pulled a sliver of Spirit from his Core, and then quickly completed the Refinement form, threading his Spirit through all twelve of his Meridians. It felt great to Refine again.

  Lir had made it clear that the state of Ruwen’s body wouldn’t survive most of the Architect Role’s capabilities. Ruwen needed to level his body as quickly as possible, so when the time came, he could use those powers. While his shoulders, arms, and hands were Gold, the rest of his body remained Silver. And while those accomplishments made him proud, many of his enemies had Fortified to Divine Level. He had a long way to go.

  Ruwen cycled through all twelve Fortification poses, saturating the flesh around each Meridian with Spirit. Slowly his body would absorb the Spirit and strengthen, but the process took time, and he didn’t know a quicker way to Fortify.