“I doubt that, Princess Leia,” I said as she pushed the weapon into my hand. She responded, but I couldn’t hear her because the moment my fingers wrapped around the blade, everything changed.
It’s hard to explain really, but I suddenly saw green orbs hovering over everything in my apartment, including her. They pulsated in time to the glow on the sword’s symbols.
“Um… what’s with the glowing orbs?” I asked, looking at her and pointing to the orb above her head.
“What?” she asked, eyes widening in shock. As she spoke, the orb above her head flared, displaying a menu straight out of a video game.
Name: Gwen
Experience: 5,500
Health: 99/99
Mana: 89/89
Primary Power: Wishing
Secondary Power: Fire
Strength: 52/100
Agility: 47/100
Charisma: 65/100
Intelligence: 36/100
Special: 53/100
Perk: Leader of Lustnor
“Um… I can see all your Stats?” I asked, equally confused. “Wait, why do you have Stats?”
“It can’t be possible…” she whispered, looking at me strangely.
“No, it is. I can see them in the menu.” I reached out to show her, and as I did, my finger hovered over the Strength Stat. A blue glow surrounded the word, and then an additional popup cycled open to the side of the main menu.
Strength: This Stat represents Physical Power. It determines how strong the user is and how hard she hits.
Current Level: 50/100. Experience Cost to increase Strength is current level plus one. (51)
“What are you seeing?” she asked, waving a hand in front of me. “Your eyes are all distant.”
“You really can’t see the menu?” I asked, turning my gaze back to her. As I did, the menus disappeared back into the glowing green ball.
“No,” she said, looking at the sword in my hand. The way she said it made me worried I’d done something wrong, only I couldn’t figure out what. “You shouldn’t be able to either.” She took a deep breath.
“Okay,” I said, nodding my head. “That I agree with.” I gestured at my apartment. “But I can see the same type of menus everywhere in the room now.”
“What happens if you put Clarent down?” she asked.
“Let’s find out,” I said, putting the sword on the table. All the menus vanished. “Yeah, they all disappeared.” I picked up the sword again, and they all returned. “Back again. Definitely something with the sword.”
“Clarent is definitely speaking through you.” She smiled at me, glee filling her from head to toe. “You must be him. The Legendary Builder. He who will defeat the Darkness and bring peace to Heaven and Hell.” She sprang at me then, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me with bone-crushing force. “Please, you have to come with me back to my home. We haven’t a moment to lose. The border kingdoms have fallen, and now there is little to stand between my town and the Darkness. Please, you must come!”
“Wait a second,” I said, but before I could say anymore her hand whipped out. Her lavender fingers cut a tear through the actual void of reality, causing a broken, blackened land to be visible through the rent in space and time.
“We don’t have a second to spare,” she said, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me through the void.
5
The sulfurous air of the place hit me like a kick in the stomach, and I doubled over, gasping for air that didn’t tear my throat to shreds. Tears filled my eyes as I sank to my knees in the warm black sand trying desperately to breathe air thick and heavy with caustic fumes.
“What’s wrong, Arthur?” Gwen, the Succubus said as she knelt down beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. “We need to hurry. You can test the soil later.”
“I. Can’t. Breathe,” I managed to squeak even though every word was like chewing a mouthful of broken glass.
She peered at me for a second and then understanding dawned across her pretty face. She bit her lip and nodded once. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Builder. Let me help you.” She gripped my shoulder, causing her nails to dig into my flesh. Crimson light enveloped her arm before rippling off and surrounding my body.
I screamed as a wave of pure, unadulterated heat swarmed over me. Glowing energy cascaded over me, throwing sparks into the air as I collapsed face first into the sand. Only, as I lay there, I suddenly realized I could breathe, and what’s more, I didn’t hurt anymore.
Hell, I felt better than I ever had.
“Is that better?” Gwen asked, offering me her hand like she wanted to help me to my feet.
“Yes, actually,” I said, taking her hand. She hauled me to my feet like I was weightless. “What did you do?” I gestured at myself. “You know, other than drag me to Hell without my shoes.” I scrunched my toes in the warm sand before looking at the sky overhead. It was filled with dark, angry clouds.
“Oops,” she said, looking down at my feet. “Sorry, I guess I should have let you gather a few things.” Her gaze flitted past me toward where the rift in space and time was already closing. “I can take you back in a couple weeks, and you can get stuff then.” She nodded. “It’s not ideal, but I can’t open a portal very often. I’ll need to recharge.”
“You mean I’m stuck here?” I exclaimed, surprise filling me.
“Yes, but I’ll bring you back as soon as you help us get rid of the darkness. I promise.” She looked at her feet. “Okay?”
As she spoke, I glanced at her Stat window and saw that her Mana level had fallen from eighty-nine to nine. Did that mean doing the portal spell had cost eighty Mana? As I thought about it, another realization hit me. That meant it took several days for her to recover her Mana. Even if I bitched at her about dragging me to Hell, she really wouldn’t be able to bring me back. Damn.
“It’s okay,” I said, swallowing my anger before turning my gaze to the horizon and spying a town. “Do they have shoes and stuff?” I pointed toward the town.
She glanced over her shoulder and snorted. “No, well, maybe, but not for your kind.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to check though.”
“My kind?” I asked as she reached out and took my hand, entwining her fingers in mine.
“Yeah.” She looked at me and fluttered her lashes. “You’re a man. Everyone in Hell is female.” She sighed. “It was rumored that the Builder would be male, so the Darkness unleashed a plague on our people that killed all the males. It’s part of why they are winning since we can’t replenish our troops through mating.”
“Wait, is this gonna be a whole thing where everyone tries to gang rape me?” I asked, stopping. While the idea of becoming the designated master for a bunch of succubae was strangely appealing, I was pretty sure that’d end with me dead from complete exhaustion.
“Probably not,” she mused, licking her lips. “You wouldn’t be able to impregnate a demon, and we have ways of getting pleasure that do not require you. Still…” She touched her chin. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you get offers.”
“Got it, Hell lesbians. That’s um… cool?” I shrugged, strangely disappointed.
“I’m not a lesbian,” she said, shaking her head. “Trust me.” She licked her lips again. “I could give you a night you won’t forget.” She bit her lip. “Was that too forward of me?”
“It’s about the right amount of forward,” I said because her words had a very noticeable effect on me. I just wasn’t sure if she’d noticed. Probably better that way since I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it. “So, why did you bring me to Hell again? You keep calling me the Builder, but I’ll be honest, I have no idea what that is.”
“The legends say that a man will come, and he will wield Clarent. He will use the sword’s power to remake the world and allow us the power to stop the Darkness.” She spun on her heels and pointed into the distance. The clouds were so dark there it seemed like I was looking into a swirling black hole of the void. Lightning crackled in the skies and
green fire burned across the entirety of the ground. Even from here, I could feel the cold, relentless hunger of the place.
“That’s the Darkness?” I asked, shivering despite the heat as I glanced at the sword in my hand. Even if it was named after the one King Arthur had pulled from the stone, it didn’t seem nearly adequate to do the job. “How the hell can I stop that?”
“With your sword, Arthur.” She squeezed my hand. “I believe in you. Even if you do not, I do. Trust me when I say that we have been waiting an eternity for you.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said looking at my sword. The glow had faded, and now it just looked like a rusty piece of junk again. Well, except for the spots I’d cleaned. Otherwise, it didn’t seem special. I guess it didn’t matter since I could still see the glowing green orb above Gwen’s head.
Only, unlike how it had been in my house, I couldn’t see any more orbs. I thought it might be because we were too far away, but as we approached the towering gates of the town, I saw claw marks had scarred the wood, and there were places where the boards had broken away completely, leaving jagged openings that reminded me of a gap-toothed monster. The walls themselves were only shoulder high, and from the claw marks at the top, I was guessing they had gotten scaled more than once.
One thing that was certain is that even that close, there were no orbs for me look at.
I turned my attention to the two guards stationed outside the gates. They were both wearing armor that reminded me of the costume Wonder Woman had worn in the movie. Hell, everything about the two women screamed Amazon. The left one was a bigger lady with charcoal colored skin. She had close-cropped black hair and eyes that blazed with scarlet flames. She held a huge spear in one hand and a shield in the other.
The other guard was slimmer, built less like a linebacker and more like a swimmer than her counterpart. She had pale blue skin, hair like rippling green seaweed, and glowing sapphire eyes. Instead of a shield and spear, she had twin short swords in sheaths at her waist and a small, circular shield on her back.
As we approached, they both turned to regard us and instantly dropped their heads, casting their gaze at Gwen’s feet.
“Lady Gwen, it is good of you to return,” the bigger one said, and as she spoke, a green orb appeared over her head. “We worried you might not return in time.”
“It is good to be back, Sheila,” Gwen said, nodding to the woman. “Be at ease, both of you.” She gestured at me. “I have found the Builder. All our problems will be over soon.”
“He’s the Builder?” the slimmer one asked, looking me over in the same way most girls had always looked me over. “I expected someone… well, taller.”
“You always think everyone should be taller, Agatha,” Sheila said, rolling her eyes at the other guard. “I think you’re just fine, and if anyone says different, you tell ‘em, they can see me about it.” She smiled from ear to ear. “I got your back.”
“Um, thanks,” I said, nodding to her as I tried to take that in. While I was glad Sheila seemed to think I was okay, I was well aware I did not look the part of a legendary warrior. Still, the sword seemed to have chosen me, and just because I didn’t have tons of muscles, didn’t mean I wasn’t the right man for the job, and dammit, I’d prove it. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure why I wanted to prove it, but Agatha’s words sort of brought me back to my entire life. No one ever thought I was good enough. This time, things would be different.
I swung my eyes back to Agatha. A green orb now hovered above her head, and what’s more, now one hung above the gate. It was a bit larger than the ones over my compatriot’s heads.
“What’s wrong?” Gwen asked, looking at me as Agatha moved to open the gates while Sheila stood guard, looking at the horizon with eagle-eyed intensity.
“Oh, um, menus just popped up for the two guards, and there’s a bigger one for the gate.” I pointed at them before I realized only I could see them. “They weren’t there a minute ago.”
“Odd,” Gwen said, glancing from me to the sword and back to the town. “I wonder why that is, Arthur?”
“I guess we’ll figure it out as we go,” I said, shrugging. “Wish this sword came with an owner’s manual.”
As I spoke, a glowing green orb appeared above the tip of the sword. My eyes flicked to it, and as they did, it opened.
Clarent
Type: Longsword
Durability: 18/2,700
Damage: 1D20
Enchantments: none
Ability: Distribution – Can be used by the Builder to distribute Experience.
I stared at the menu for a moment before looking over at Gwen. “Give me a second.” I didn’t hear her response as I pulled my hand from hers and flicked open the Ability Menu.
As I did, an Ability window popped up in front of me with the word Distribution. I pointed at it, causing more text to appear.
Distribution: This Ability can be used to change the Stats of a person, creature, or structure under one’s control. It allows the user to distribute unspent Experience points as well as redistribute Experience points that have already been spent. Note: Stats cannot be lowered below their initial levels.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. They don’t work for you. They work for me… oh.” Gwen scowled at me as understanding flashed across her face. “What I control must belong to you now.” She harrumphed. “That hardly seems fair.”
“Sorry,” I said, sheepishly as I thought about what she said. “The sword lets me distribute the Stats of people under my power, so I’m guessing that since I summoned you, and you started calling me master, I gained control of you in its eyes.” I flicked my hand toward Agatha and Sheila. “I’m guessing they became part of the package?”
Gwen sighed. “It will be as it will be. If giving you my people and territory will stave off the Darkness, it is hardly a price to bicker about. Just please remember these are real people. Do not spend their lives needlessly.”
“I would never do that,” I said, turning to look at Agatha and Sheila. Both of them were staring at me with a strange mixture of horror, resentment, and curiosity. To be honest, I wasn’t sure which of those emotions scared me the most.
“Good,” Gwen said before nodding to the gates. “Now, let us make haste and get inside. I want to show you the rest of the town before—”
The rest of her words were cut off by a crack of thunder. Strokes of lightning tore the sky asunder amidst peals of thunder, and the fiery planes exploded outward in a shockwave of force that threw me to the ground. As I hit the dirt, the gates swung shut, and both the guards moved forward, weapons in their hands.
A trumpet blast erupted from the sky as Darkness burst forth from the crackling flames and came straight at us.
6
The Darkness rushing toward us coalesced into a half-dozen lizard-like creatures that made me think of Sobek from Egyptian lore with their huge alligator faces. They all stood between twelve and fifteen feet tall with rippling muscles and large sweeping crocodile tails snaking out the back. Burnished black armor covered their bodies as they rushed forward with curved sickle swords resembling an Egyptian khopesh in each hand.
“Darkness scouts!” Sheila cried, charging forward, spear held high. She shouted something else in a language I didn’t understand, and a swirl of scarlet flame sprouted up from the ground around her, rippling up her huge body and causing her shield and spear to become wreathed in flame. Lightning crackled overhead as she hit the lead scout with her charge. She smashed it down with her shield, throwing it to the dirt.
The rest of the creatures ignored her completely, rushing by her and coming straight toward us.
“You watch the Builder,” Agatha said, glancing at Gwen before moving to meet the charge.
“Will do,” Gwen said and I watched fire sprout to life in her hands. Agatha smashed into the next closest lizardmen, her swords blurring through the air, and while she stopped the charge of the two creatures closest to her with a series of sword cuts, th
e other three came running toward us.
Their eyes were pure Darkness and, oddly enough, they weren’t even looking at us. They sprinted past Gwen and me without so much as a sideways glance which was odd because Gwen’s hands were blazing like she was the Human Torch. Instead, they smashed into the wall.
Shimmers every color of the rainbow exploded above the gates, causing iridescent symbols to fill the air. As the creatures tried to leap the wall, more symbols came to life, flaring with energy and flinging them backward.
They lay there, shaking themselves off while Sheila and Agatha struggled with their own monsters.
“This isn’t going to work,” I muttered, glancing from the enemies to the guards and back again.
“Why not?” Gwen asked. It looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to blast the lizard scouts or stay here and wait it out. Probably because she worried she’d draw them to us.
“Well, if this was a game, you’d want the monsters focused on Sheila.” I pointed at the burly guard as she beat the lizardman every which way. “Then while the monsters were attacking her, you’d want Agatha to pick them off with her quick attacks.”
“But this isn’t a game,” Gwen said, shaking her head as determination set in. “This is real life.”
“Fair enough,” I said because she was right after all. After all, I was a stranger in a strange land. “So, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t want to attack them. If they come closer, I will, but the priority is to keep you safe until you can make us strong enough to stop them. That won’t work if they come over here and kill you.” Gwen sighed, and as she did, her words resonated with me. I could change their Stats.
I glanced back toward Sheila, as she finally finished off her lizardman by skewering it through the mouth with her spear. As the point burst out the back of the creature’s skull in a spray of black ichor, I opened her menu.
Name: Sheila
The Builder's Sword (The Legendary Builder Book 1) Page 3
