How do mortals even tolerate their own existence? It is good that all the simple creatures don’t just kill themselves since that would not serve my greater plan. But if they did, it would probably be logical. Alas, or luckily, the drive to eat too much, fornicate too much, or take too many drugs is probably too strong. Ironic that little creatures that claim to revere life so much are always trying to escape it. Bewildering, disgusting things, mortals.
I loathe speaking to such primitive beings, but I have a message. In my great wisdom, the alert and classification for a Dolos orb-Bonded or Mo’hali Hero is deactivated as of this moment. Since mortals are slow, I will explain this in simple words. None of the major sentient species on Ludus—Areva, Adom, Mo’hali, Fideli, or, ack, Terrans—will hear a chime or see any notifications anymore while laying eyes on Dolos orb-Bonded or Mo’hali Heroes.
The bounty for all these types is still in effect, though. As before, any Mo’hali Hero or Dolos orb wielder slain will result in a spirit stone or Dolos orb as a reward for the killer. How exciting! As before, each reward will be random.
This should be interesting. Have fun continuing with your little game, mortals. The Great God Dolos is merciful and indulgent! I have given at least some small meaning to your otherwise pointless, insignificant lives. You are welcome.
The message ended, and Liangyu’s eyes widened before she became thoughtful. Yes, this change presented some challenges, but would ultimately benefit her. It would be harder to track down targets, but she wouldn’t have to hide anymore, either.
Liangyu took off the mask she’d been wearing all the time, and dropped it to the ground. She ground it under her heel before ordering a nearby thrall to dispose of the thing. It was important to leave no evidence of her passing.
Yes, she could work with this! Liangyu smiled. Things had just become a lot more interesting. She’d kill Mourad, then move on to greater things. There had to be interesting places for a brilliant, powerful woman to apply herself.
Yes, indeed.
End of Delvers LLC: Adventure Capital,
---Book Three of Delvers LLC
Please read on for a note by the author.
…And don’t forget to review this novel!
School--::--Subschool:
Earth-:-Metal
Air-:-Void
Water-:-Life
Fire-:-Matter
Consciousness-:-Time
Light-:-Darkness
Force-:-Attraction
About the Author:
Blaise Corvin served in the US Army in several roles. He has seen the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. BC is a sucker for any hobby involving weapons, art, or improv.
He currently lives in Texas with some silly animals, and enough geeky memorabilia to start a museum.
Blaise likes talking about himself in third person for author biographies.
It’s all very eccentric.
Cheers!
Continue on to connect with Blaise Corvin, reading recommendations, and a sample of Secret of the Old Ones, Luck Stat Strategy!
To Readers,
PLEASE, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! You are wonderful, and reviews are amazing for all authors, but especially indie authors like me.
I really hope you enjoyed this book!
Ludus is a part of something huge, a universe I’ve been working on for over ten years and can probably explore for the rest of my life.
Please make sure to connect with me on my mailing list or on social media!
1. My website
If you’re interested in checking out my website, the URL is http://blaise-corvin.com/. You can find news, Delvers artwork, and merchandise to buy there (coming soon). You can also join my mailing list if you just scroll around a bit.
2. These are my social media accounts where you can connect with me!
Twitter - @Blaise_Corvin
https://twitter.com/Blaise_Corvin
Facebook - Leave me a like on facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/BlaiseCorvinWriter/
LitRPG Society Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
Blaise Corvin fan group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/
GameLit Society Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/GameLitSociety/
3. Recommendations:
If you liked this book, you may like other LitRPG stories too! Some authors I interact with often and can recommend are:
A friend, William D Arand, who I will be writing with some time in 2018! His book Super Sale on Super Heroes has been extremely well received.
https://www.amazon.com/William-D.-Arand/e/B01AY7PSG4/
Check out Luke Chmilenko’s Ascend Online series! He writes some epically long LitRPG.
https://www.amazon.com/Luke-Chmilenko/e/B01LZ2769R/
Michael-Scott Earle is a NYT Best Selling Author and the author of the adult fantasy series, Destroyer! His LitRPG series, Lion’s Quest, is one of my favorites!
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Scott-Earle/e/B019QSNVA2/
4. My email
If you want to drop me a line for any reason, you can email me at:
[email protected]
5. Until next time (and please leave a review!)
Thank you for joining me on this adventure! I couldn’t continue on without all the knowledge and encouragement I get on a daily basis from everyone in this wonderful community.
I can’t wait to spend time with you again in the fourth Delvers book, Delvers LLC: Golden Handcuffs.
:)
-BC
Continue reading for an exciting sample of Secret Of the Old Ones, Luck Stat Strategy!
I have another LitRPG series I am currently writing, Secret of the Old Ones.
SOO is a hard LitRPG novella series, which is to say there are stat tables, XP earned from kills, and linear character advancement.
I really wanted to write something different, and I think SOO fits the bill! It takes place in the near future and follows a hard core gamer of dubious moral character. The story is set in a world where gaming streams are the primary form of entertainment, and most of the action take place in a Virtual Reality (VR) game.
The game itself is a mash-up of a Victorian, Lovecraft, and Steampunk flavors. There are gun battles, sword fights, and freaky monsters galore!
The book’s blurb reads:
Secret of the Old Ones is a deep dive VR game the likes of which the world had never seen.
Trent Noguero, a hardcore gamer, has been playing for a year and is about to get his big break. He is about to catapult himself into the ranks of the most powerful players in the world.
However, power comes with a price, and celebrity creates enemies. Trent has the keys to massive success, but he also accidentally painted a target on his back…both in, and out of the game.
Continue reading for a sample!
The World Tree
The character sheet read:
Name: Vale dePardon
Class: Occultist
Subclass: Explorer
Level: 10
Experience: 536542
XP to next level: 123468
Stamina: 49/49
HP 49/49
Mana: 70/70
Stats: (Total/Original/Level Ups/Bonuses)
Strength: 3/2/1/0
Agility: 7/3/4/0
Stamina: 5/4/1/0
Intelligence: 7/7/0/0
Willpower: 6/6/0/0
Luck: 15/8/4/3
Class Skills: Fencing, Ancient Body Magic, Paranoia, Ancient Occult Lore, Map Reading/Cartography
Permanent Bonus Source: Mystic Clover (Luck +3)
Trent Noguero smiled in satisfaction. It had been a long, hard road to hit level ten, but now his character, Vale dePardon, finally had a subclass!
He’d been playing as Vale dePardon in Secret of the Old Ones for a year and had just hit level ten a week ago. It was quite an accomplishment. Of
the millions of people who were playing the game around the world, less than a couple thousand players had made it to level ten so far.
Level ten was a huge milestone and allowed a player to choose a subclass. He’d chosen Explorer, which allowed him to choose his fifth skill, [Cartography].
Now he only had a few more steps before he could start his grand, mystical experiment. He carefully tiptoed around the ornate sigils he’d drawn in powder on the floor. He was trying to find one of the reagents he’d taken out of his inventory earlier.
Where is it…where is it? Ah, there it is! He found the glass tube of glowing blue liquid and grinned. He didn’t have many more preparations to make. Vale carefully moved to the most concentrated area of the designs and symbols on the ground, some of which were glowing.
He took a deep breath. He only had enough *Distilled Azure Essence* for one try. He was about to make or break his complex magic gate spell. He uncorked the blue liquid and mumbled a few spells. The liquid began to bubble, and Vale threw it up in the air in a circular motion. In less than a second, the entire vial of liquid had turned to smoke. The sparkles in the air left over from the mystical reaction slowly settled to the designs on the floor.
Vale smiled and tilted his head back for a moment in triumph. Finally, he thought. He squatted down and carefully regarded the center of the spell network. The old, cracked parchment had probably been the luckiest thing he’d found in the game so far…if it actually was what he thought it was.
It was a big “if.”
It had taken him a month to figure out what the map might do, and after he knew, his mouth had gone dry from excitement. However, preparing to discover if he was right had been very expensive and time-consuming. He’d spent every coin he had to buy all the materials for the arcane accelerators and intricate symbols drawn on the floor. All his wealth had been used to cover his hidden cellar in ancient hoodoo.
At least the cellar had been free. He was just hiding in an obscure, out-of-the-way area and would leave when he was done. He wasn’t sure if the cellar actually belonged to someone, and he didn’t care. Their building was helping further science—or magic, whatever.
He traced a finger along the mystic sigils rimming the map’s edges and smiled. He’d been waiting a long time to test his theory. Now that he was so close, he felt anxiety building, the pressure crawling up his spine.
His subclass and his new [Cartography] skill were all part of a plan that he’d been working on for half a year. Secret of the Old Ones deviated from other games with unique bonuses, skills, even rumored one-of-a-kind classes. In a game with 30 starting stat points, a level cap of 30, and only one additional stat point every level for a possible total of 60 stat points at max level…
It was obvious that bonus stats would be a huge advantage.
When Vale had heard about these design decisions prior to playing SOO, he’d decided on his strategy before even creating a character. He’d put as many points into the Luck stat as he could. In a game where stats were so important, where his character sheet even showed his original, level one choices, finding anything that could give him permanent bonuses would be amazing.
Luckily, two months in, his gamble had paid off. What’s more, he was able to find an amazing item that conferred a permanent attribute bonus of +3 Luck. Unfortunately, finding the Mystic Clover had been part of a long, involved adventure that had gained him a full-blown enemy.
Suddenly, he got a flashing system notice:
DANGER!
Unlike other notices, this one popped up and faded away on its own. Vale’s stomach dropped and he whispered, “Oh no.”
His [Paranoia] skill was currently letting him know an enemy was nearby, and he knew it had to be Brutus Vann, his nemesis, his enemy from the expedition where he’d found the Mystic Clover. Vale crossed his arms and tried to decide what to do. It would be a few minutes before Brutus found him…just like he always did.
They had shared history, after all.
In the past, he’d always fled from Brutus, managing to escape through luck and guile. Combat in SOO was a strange combination of in-game skills and real-life abilities. A character couldn’t do things in the game very well unless they had a skill or class for it. On the flip side, if a character had a skill, they performed actions better if they had real-life skill and experience. The game’s system helped for skills that players were unfamiliar with, but there was no substitute for real training…
The strange combat and skill system had actually motivated players to learn how to make antique crafts, pursue knowledge, and practice martial arts outside the game—presumably, as the mysterious designers of Yggdrasil Entertainment had intended.
Unfortunately, Vale was almost certain that Brutus had at least three skills devoted entirely to combat. He was also a skilled fighter, almost unnaturally so. Brutus’s player had to have real skill in ancient weapons and armor. Sometimes Vale wondered who Brutus could be in real life.
Who the hell trained to use a longsword, anyway?
In a game where player deaths forced a mandatory one-week lockout from the game, Brutus was notorious. He’d been challenged by full adventuring parties in the past and still came out as the victor, helping himself to all their gear and becoming an even more formidable player.
Normally if Brutus showed up, Vale would run; he’d have no choice. Unfortunately, the whole reason he was so eager to get his tenth level, his subclass, and the [Cartography] skill was currently filling his laboratory. Six months of work was glowing on the floor.
His back was against the wall. If he fled, he’d lose half a year of progress. He couldn’t let Brutus just have it. Eventually, he made the only decision he really could. His spine steeled, he ascended the stairs out of his borrowed cellar.
He reflected on his chances as he walked out into the moonlight. Luckily, Vale wasn’t a terrible fighter himself. His high-quality Rapier of Twilight was an excellent weapon. Plus, his [Fencing] skill, 3 years of Fencing Club in college, and a year of hands-on combat experience in SOO had made him fairly dangerous in his own right.
Unfortunately, Brutus was a superior fighter in every way, except for one—Vale had magic. He usually avoided using it because of the risks, but the only way he was going to win this fight would be to cheat.
Sure enough, Brutus was standing outside. The shadows on his craggy, brutish face moved as he grinned. His heavy armor shimmered with enchantments, and his enormous sword glowed with fiery runes.
As amazing as the hulking man’s gear was, it was common knowledge he had an even better set stashed away somewhere. The last time someone actually managed to kill Brutus, they’d taken his gear. They’d believed him brought down for good, or at least for a long time. The community had celebrated. However, a week later when Brutus had logged back into the game, he’d hunted down those who killed him. He’d killed them, taken out their friends, and even slaughtered the players who’d planned the celebration of his death.
He was ruthless.
Brutus stood a few inches taller than Vale and outweighed him by at least fifty pounds. It was a jagged pill to swallow, but Vale had to admit that the man was incredibly intimidating. Brutus wore full armor while Vale was dressed as an Occultist adventurer. He was wearing the game’s latest adventuring fashion. He had to admit he liked how it looked.
As Vale drew his rapier, Brutus smiled and crowed, “So, we finally meet again and at last—”
Vale wasn’t interested in talking. He sprinted forward, using his [Ancient Body Magic] skill to cast
He fought to stay conscious. If he went under, he would pass out and no doubt Brutus would kill him. He’d be locked out for a week. It was unacceptable to go down now, to lose everything. Vale fought through the pain.
As he closed, he focus
ed on his target and his strategy. SOO supported massive criticals for killing blows. Hitting someone normally took away their health, but particularly deadly attacks could usually kill a player in one shot.
It was obvious that Brutus had not even expected Vale to defend himself. Arrogant bastard, Vale thought, and he snarled. Even just standing there with his sword sheathed, Brutus still almost managed to recover.
He pulled just enough steel and turned his body to block Vale’s first attack. Then Vale dodged Brutus’s hasty, surprised punch and sunk his rapier up to the hilt in the brutish man’s eye socket.
The big man fell; the fight was over amazingly fast. Vale panted and wrenched his sword out of Brutus’ skull. He had been awarded with the kill. The feeling was surreal. Vale closed a window that popped up without looking at the XP he’d earned.
He was a little shocked he was still alive. In any other circumstance, he was sure he would have lost. Only the full combination of all five spells had let him win, but it had been an enormous risk, one that most players, including himself, would usually not have been willing to take. He had come close to passing out just from the spell backlash, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to replicate the feat ever again.
Ancient magic, the magic Occultists used in SOO was no joke. Each spell cast in quick succession got increasingly difficult to control.
Vale didn’t pause to gloat. He didn’t even stop to loot. He just dragged Brutus’s corpse into his cellar laboratory and locked the door. He couldn’t know who else might have been watching, and he had to move forward with his plans immediately. All the reagents, the careful planning, everything had to be used now.
Delvers LLC: Adventure Capital Page 42
