Realm of the Nine Circles: The Grind: A LitRPG Novel

by P. Joseph Cherubino

  “Well,” Kalmond said, turning to the crowd. “What do you think?”

  : rebuild the town of Darkwell 630 XP

  The villagers exchanged glances with slack jaws and wide eyes, then slowly all the faces turned back to Kalmond. The dwarf was moved to see tears on many of those faces. It seemed like the crowd breathed in with a single set of lungs. They raised their heads and hands up to the sky and shouted out with joy. Golden stars and streamers rose up from the crowd. Wooden block letters faded in above the villagers that read, “Reputation Earned: 200 points.” With all the construction, he gained nearly 25% of the points he needed to reach 1000.

  Kalmond grinned. If he built on every foundation he saw, he’d get the full 1000 reputation points necessary to be exalted with the town. He got to work on the rest of the buildings. They weren’t pretty, but they would do. By the time he was done, the reputation bar was full. He didn’t have enough skill built up in trading to start a store. That was a bummer.

  It had been a while since he checked anything beyond his base stat. He was pleased to find that he needed about 350 points to reach level one and become a “savvy customer.” At level zero, his class was “rube.” At level three, he’d be a “skilled trader, ” and he’d have the ability to assign villagers to shops. At level one, though, he could invest in a shop, which is something he would do immediately because that was gave him extra trade points every time someone interacted with a given shop.

  But if he wanted this town to develop quickly, it would need trade. There was no way he could achieve level two, build the economy and level up within the three days available to him. No matter how long he stood there watching the villagers move into their new homes, no matter how many different tricks he tried to cook up, it simply wasn’t possible. There was a way, however, to get a shop set up in the town. But doing so would mean a significant sacrifice in pride.

  “Damn it,” Kalmond growled. He opened up a chat window. “Message to Lady Keerna.”

  The player is unavailable.

  Kalmond sighed, deflating his ego like an air mattress losing pressure. “Message to Nameless Clan Leader.”

  You are blocked from messaging Nameless Clan Leader.

  Kalmond cursed as his pounding blood made the skin of his face feel tighter. “Message to Martin.”

  The response took a while, and Kalmond had to repeat the hail twice before Martin answered.

  “What’s up?” the engineer said in voice chat.

  “I need you to get a message to a player named Driskroll. He is the leader of the Nameless Clan.”

  Martin scoffed. “You geeks and your clan names…”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Kalmond said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “It’s important. I’m not messing around here. Just tell him it’s from Kalmond, and he needs to unblock my chat requests to him. Tell him it’s crucial. If he doesn’t do it, do it for him.”

  “OK, Kid,” Martin said, with annoyance of his own to share, “Just take it easy. I’ll get it done.”

  “Thanks,” Kalmond said. When he drove his fist through the chat window to close it, the panel actually shattered like glass before fading out. His tension broke with the glass. “Cool effect!” he exclaimed.

  The dwarf set about making small improvements to the town. He pulled the vines off the well and added them to his inventory as raw material for fibers. At the edge of the woods, he found a deposit of red clay and crafted some bricks that he used to make a path between the buildings. He created flowerbeds outside some of the buildings, using the rest of the wood in his inventory. In one of the beds, he planted the kindlebloom so he could have a steady supply. He’d turned to the open space between the town and the woods and thought about the best places to plant crops when an incoming chat notice popped up in front of his nose.

  “Finally,” he muttered, when he saw the message was from Driskroll.

  “Wassup?” the text read. Driskroll never used voice chat for some reason.

  “Business proposal. Come to these coordinates,” Kalmond replied, and he sent the map marker.

  “That won’t get you in,” Driskroll replied.

  “I know. Do u want circs and a shop in a new town or what?” Kalmond replied. The reply came in the form of an incoming teleport zap.

  Kalmond turned in the direction of the sound to find Driskroll strolling across the town. He ambled up and looked Kalmond up and down, then surveyed the town. “You always were a crappy builder,” he said. “You brought me to the ass end of nowhere for this? There are no trade routes here.” To his surprise, Driskroll used voice chat.

  “Yeah,” Kalmond replied, “but if you’re the first to start one.” He was surprised to find a vaguely European accent to Driskroll’s voice. It was a custom among the Nameless members not to ask the nationality of fellow members. It wasn’t a hard rule, but it was just sort of a thing. Nobody cared, and folks only found out where other members were from only when someone volunteered the information.

  “Bye,” Driskroll said, turning on his heel.

  “Wait!” Kalmond said. “Look, I’m asking you for a favor, but I really shouldn’t need to. This place is full of the new NPCs that you’re so interested in. Who knows what special loot or new kinds of perks you can get trading with them.”

  “Hmm,” Driskroll said, turning back to Kalmond. “Go on. I’m listening.”

  “Just find a villager, make a shop and start trading,” Kalmond said. “There’s another town to the south you can trade with already. I will put you on the trusted list with both towns. I got two other players down there who are pretty cool. If you start a shop, you can get them to go out and bring stuff in.”

  “OK,” Driskroll said. “I’m in.” Kalmond left him to the town and headed back to Dundree.

  Chapter 13

  It was a long, uneventful walk across the plateau, across the rolling hills and back down the mountain. He practiced his sneak spell, killing a few bush pigs, duke rats and a snake or two, adding all their flesh to his stores. That earned him a few extra XP and pumped his sneak skill up one more level, but the return for the amount of time spent simply wasn’t worth it. To move up seven levels, he’d have to complete a big quest, kill something big and powerful, or better yet, both.

  As he hiked down the trail around another switchback, the moon was high in a cloudless sky. The sharp monochrome rendering that the combined light of moon and stars made of the world distracted him from an excess of smoke rising above the town. At first, he thought it was just normal chimney smoke, but as he approached, he saw open flames. He ran the rest of the way, sprinting until his endurance ran out, recharging, then sprinting again until he reached the gates.

  The roofs of several huts burned and the bodies of trolls and several adventurers littered the streets. It looked like there were more NPC bodies than adventurers and the fact that the bodies weren’t faded yet meant the fighting was recent.

  He spotted a cluster of huddled forms gathered in a circle around something. Kalmond pushed his way through the crowd and found Arnold laying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

  “What happened?” Kalmond exclaimed. “It looks like you fought a tiger!”

  “Six trolls at a time,” Matriarch said. “He took them on six at a time.”

  “Where are Runecaster and McCrushin!” Kalmond exclaimed.

  “Right here,” Runecaster said, pushing her way through the crowd as well. “I just crafted this health potion.” She knelt down and handed Arnold the potion. “Drink this,” she said. “There may be more coming.”

  “I ask again,” Kalmond said with growing alarm. “What happened?”

  “There were about twenty of them. The ogre came back with a whole damn platoon of trolls. They wanted the bear.”

  “Did they get him?” Kalmond said, looking around in alarm.

  “No,” Runecaster said. “The damn thing pissed itself and hid in its cave. “What good is a bear if it doesn’t fight?”

  “It’s complic
ated,” Kalmond replied. “But thanks for defending the town.”

  “No worries,” Runecaster said. “It was a good fight, and I got lots of XP, but McCrushin died.”

  “Is he coming back?” Kalmond asked.

  “Yeah. He burned a resurrection credit too, so he’s not happy about it. Something’s weird though. The ogre was a lot stronger, and I couldn’t see his level when we were fighting. It just said ‘Ogre’ was his name. Is this a beta area or something?”

  “Something like that,” Kalmond replied.

  Arnold drank his potion and healed quickly. Kalmond arched an eyebrow and said, “That potion restored his health in one shot. He was almost dead.”

  “Yeah, I’m into potions,” Runecaster replied. “That funny Alchemist dude ran out of health potion healing the villagers. Hardly any of them fought. Only Arnold and his wife did anything and she—”

  “She what!” Arnold boomed. “Where is she! Claudia!” He bellowed.

  “I’m right here, you bleating goat kid,” She announced. Kalmond turned to find her parting the small crowd. She still held her rapier in her hand, and her pristine white robes were stained with blood.

  “You fought well, my darling,” Arnold said, scooping her up in his arms. They kissed passionately and began to go further before several of the townspeople cleared their throats. Claudia led him off towards their house.

  “Damn!” Runecaster exclaimed. “That was almost pornographic.”

  Kalmond couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, this town is interesting,” he said. Runecaster agreed.

  They whirled in the direction of an incoming teleport, weapons ready, only to discover it was McCrushin.

  “What took you so long,” Runecaster exclaimed.

  “I told you I had RL stuff to do,” McCrushin explained. “But. I cleared the decks just like I promised. I can marathon a with you now. My wife won’t care. This place is awesome. It’s the most fun I’ve had in the Realm in months, maybe a year.”

  “That’s good,” Kalmond said. “Because I need your help.”

  “Name it,” McCrushin said.

  “But we name the price,” Runecaster added.

  “I promised you it would be worth your while. A buddy of mine is setting up shop in a town up north. He’s a great trader, and he’s not a dick. Your discount with this place, coupled with his inventory should set you up right. I don’t have the skill to set up a shop here or I would. Do you think—”

  “Done,” McCrushin interrupted. “I lost my last shop in the damn Realm World War. Those Mylos assholes burned me out.” With that, the Ogre walked off in search of a building to buy to set up shop.

  “There were a few of those Mylos dorks in the crowd, too,” Runecaster said. “Some of them had good gear.”

  “Anything you’d feel like selling to me?”

  “Maybe,” Runecaster replied. “What are you looking for?”

  “I need a good ranged weapon. I’m a thief, but I’ve been working my game more like a tank warrior,” Kalmond replied.

  “That’s a good combo, though. Best of both worlds,” Runecaster said. Kalmond couldn’t help but agree.

  “One of the questers had a pretty nice crossbow,” Runecaster said. “It’s a double-bow with a stoutwood stock and two enchantment slots, both open.”

  “How much?” Kalmond asked, bracing himself. That was a good crossbow, and it was perfect for a stone dwarf. With his strength, he could reload it quick. If he found the right enchantments, he could fire it quickly, repeatedly and silently.

  “Because I like you,” Runecaster said. “I’ll let you have it for 1200 circs.” Kalmond simply walked away.

  “Wait!” Runecaster called out. “Where are you going?”

  “I just walk away from bad jokes,” Kalmond replied.

  “Can’t blame me for trying,” Runecaster said.

  “Nope,” Kalmond replied. “But I can blame someone for trying to screw me after I set her up with a good quest. How about 900?”

  “Now who’s joking?” Runecaster replied.

  “Not me. That’s what it’s worth.”

  “McCrushin died for this weapon,” Runecaster said.

  “How come he’s not selling it to me, then?”

  “Because he died.”

  “Can’t argue with that logic,” Kalmond said with a grin. He hated to do it, but he needed that ranged weapon. “I’ll trade you a crusted gem and 200 circs.”

  “Again,” Runecaster said. “Because I like you, the answer is yes.”

  Kalmond had his ranged weapon, and Runecaster even threw in ten standard crossbow bolts.

  “Now,” the Dwarf said, sliding a bolt into the crossbow, “where did those raiders go.”

  “You’re going after them?” Runecaster said, just as McCrushin walked up.

  “Where are you going?” the ogre asked. “You need some help?”

  “No,” Kalmond replied. “I’m a thief. It’s time to work on my thieving skills. Besides, you two should stay here in case more of Mylos’ idiots show up.”

  “Will do,” Runecaster said. The two headed back off into town while Kalmond headed out.

  He cast a level 2 detection spell and discovered a very faint trail leading up the mountain path. He followed it until the spell faded, then walked a bit further until his mana regenerated. As soon as the mana bar filled, he cast again. The trail went back up halfway, then made a sharp turn opposite a switchback and disappeared into the woods.

  The trail was stronger here, so Kalmond crouched down to proceed. Noises that did not belong to the woods drifted towards him in the silver light. He paused to listen while his mana recharged, then cast the detection spell briefly. The trail was practically on fire. He was close.

  When the noises became voices, and he was able to to make out specific words, Kalmond activated his sneak spell and crept forward catlike, senses prickling. Peeking through some thick ferns, he found the enemy camp.

  The large green ogre who came to town earlier that day sat before a campfire, facing away from Kalmond. At least fifteen gray tents were pitched between trees anywhere there was enough space. Various sets of clawed and booted feet poked out of the tents where members of the party rested.

  Trolls wandered the camp drinking frothy liquid from oversized mugs. They argued and jabbered, clacking their thorny black teeth while the ogre sat still as a statue. Kalmond made a circuit around the camp. He wouldn’t call his recon pattern a circle, as the haphazard camp resembled nothing round. He could use that to his advantage, as the camp backed up to a high stone ridge.

  Kalmond grinned as it occurred to him what an excellent opportunity this would be for his fire bombs. Now that he was a thief, he had basic traps available to him, one of which was the explosive trap.

  To make the trap, he’d need vines, which he had, an explosive potion, which he also had, and a green stick, which he lacked. It didn’t take long to find the missing material, and he set to work carefully building two explosive traps. He placed them at the edge of the camp where troll feet formed several trails through the woods. Blocking those trails would cause a chokepoint. He had something special in mind for the third fire bomb potion.

  Progress was slow because he had to pause for his mana to regenerate between casting sneak. He made a mental note to craft some mana potions at the next opportunity. He’d have to buy or learn the potion first, though, and that took circs or high-value trade items.

  With the traps in place, Kalmond used sneak to crawl through the brush where it was thickest. One of the ogre’s raiding party set up a tent so that it one of its open ends nearly touched the wall of foliage from which the dwarf thief emerged, slithering into the tent like a deadly serpent. The dwarf slipped the ceremonial dagger from his belt.

  His victim was human, an NPC sleeping off his injuries from the failed attempt on Dundree. Kalmond placed his forearm and palm over the NPC’s forehead, and eyes popped open in fright. Kalmond grinned down into that face and opened a cha
t window. “The Village of Dundree is mine,” he said, before drawing the dagger across the NPC’s throat.

  Sneak attack: double critical 200 XP

  Kalmond braced himself and quickly drew his crossbow in case someone heard the kill. The move was clean. Everyone went about their business. Adventurers played drinking games or gambled with trolls for fun and XP. Kalmond crawled forward on his belly until the crossbow just peeked past the tent flap.

  He had a clear sightline to the other side of the camp. The dwarf lay there breathing evenly willing his heart to slow as excitement mounted. He found his target in the form of an elf rogue adventurer playing cards with two trolls and another human quester. Kalmond shot the elf in the left ear, killing him instantly.

  Sneak attack critical: 125 XP

  The instant he realized the shot was good, Kalmond scrambled back through the tent flap and into the brush. He jumped up and took a risk in running into the woods a short distance before hooking around in the opposite direction, crossing the path leading to the camp. When he reached a point roughly opposite to his first attack, he stood up and tossed his remaining firebomb close to the edge of the camp.

  The bomb landed in a group of trolls playing a drinking game with two elf warriors. Kalmond was grateful to see that the two elves were adventurers and that they took the brunt of the explosion, incurring heavy damage.

  The dwarf jumped up again as the camp exploded with motion. The big green ogre bellowed orders for everyone to muster and head out into the woods to kill the attackers.

  Kalmond sprinted back to the path and stood tall with his crossbow. He took careful aim at the closest troll who was just about to cross the trail head. The bolt took him dead center between the eyes, dropping him like a sack of dung for another 50 XP.

  “For the Bear!” Kalmond screamed, then slung the crossbow over his back and extended both middle fingers to the angry crowd rushing toward him.