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The Mists of Erantia (Realm of Arkon Book 7)

Page 28

by G. Akella


  You have gained a level! Current level: 231.

  You have 1 talent point to allocate.

  Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

  You have 603 stat points to allocate.

  You have gained a level!

  .....................................................................

  You have gained a level! Current level: 297.

  You have 67 talent points to allocate.

  Class bonus: +1 to constitution, +1 to strength.

  You have 801 stat points to allocate.

  You have earned a new title: Guardian of the Great Forest!

  You have earned one additional eternity point.

  The permanent boost Favor of the Forest is now granted to all elves within the territory of the Great Forest, as well as to elves in adjacent territories up to 50 miles away. The current strength of this boost is 200%.

  Attention! A geographical location's name has changed. The Grove of Peace [Great Forest] has been renamed the Silver Grove.

  Attention all players and clans! The mallorn trees have returned to the world! A new Guardian now protects the Great Forest! All elves now receive the Favor of the Forest when...

  Max waved the endless stream of system messages away and looked around. He would figure out all of those numbers later, assuming he was still alive later. For now, he had to perform his mission, until the very end. The wall of gray fell, and then he saw them: twenty two figures standing in a semicircle. The fifteen High Princes and the seven gods. He knew each and every one of them by face and by name. Get up, Max! He had to get up. He must get up! He must tell them... But try as he might, Max could not lift his body from the ground.

  "Shit!" he croaked, beating the ground weakly.

  His body spasmed, as if by some electric shock. The next moment, Max realized he could walk again. Not far, due to the fact that his astral body had less than a third of a percent remaining. The Great Forest was helping its Guardian as best it could. He clung to the bark of the trees as he started toward the twenty two...

  "We have given him enough time," A towering warrior frowned and looked at Kirana. "Do you still think he can manage, sister?"

  "I know he can, Alak," the goddess said softly. "He was in my Order, and I can feel a small portion of his suffering." She turned to her companion, tears in her eyes. "I once believed that Providence would never place an unbearable burden on any of us. But I was wrong to think so, brother. He and his friend are strangers, outsiders from another world. I know both of them. It seemed so unfair to me that Providence chose them, but this is our answer: none of us could have endured what he did."

  "You know what is happening in there?" the elf said, nodding towards the wall of mist and peering into her eyes.

  "He is paying." She looked at the others and spoke more loudly. "For all of our mistakes. For what we did with our own people. And I will not be surprised if he asks us to leave."

  The earth rocked underfoot. The trees surrounding the meadow creaked and crackled, and a ripple ran along the grass. A thousand colorful buds opened, and the sun broke through the disappearing mist. The grove was before them now. Alive again. The huge trees turned their silvery branches towards the sun, a sparkling sea of dancing leaves, calm and beautiful and magical. The elves saw golden yellow flowers blossom on the mallorns, right before their very eyes, and the aroma of honey filled the air.

  Kirana spoke through tears. "They've returned! But where is—"

  A shapeless form stirred in the grass near the trunk of a nearby mallorn. The Guardian rose to his feet, pushing off from the trunk and heading toward them. He was fearful to behold. Brown bloodstains covered his torn shirt, and his knees showed through holes in his pants, swollen and black from the root-filled earth. The tangles on his head were more bristles than hair, and each step clearly came through great effort and pain. A small, silvery animal sat wrapped around his neck, its tail swinging in sync with the Guardian's steps.

  "Mistress, here he comes!" shouted one of the light princes, turning to address the unimaginably beautiful elven female. "We must not lose him!"

  The mask of pain on the goddess' face stiffened. Loaetia closed her eyes for a moment, then lowered her head and spoke in a soft tone.

  "We must not. He must say the words..."

  Max stopped thirty feet away from them, slowly looked around, and attempted to speak clearly.

  "Quendi… ata… er… lie…"[2]

  The next moment, the grove rumbled violently. Forked lighting struck the tops of the mallorn trees, and a myriad of blindingly bright lights covered the top of the silver sea. The animal atop the Guardian's shoulder bared his teeth and growled, his roar echoing throughout the Great Forest. The elven nobles paled at the sound, as if it were coming not from a two-foot ferret but from a dozen fiends emerging from the Dark Ocean.

  "Quendi… ata… er… lie… quendi… ata… er… lie…" Max's whisper echoed throughout the silence in the glade.

  Then his legs buckled, and he began to fall.

  "Hold on, brother!" Loaetia held her staff high, and a soft green glow enveloped the Guardian's body.

  The next instant, the green window of a portal opened. The goddess invited the animal to her. He jumped to the ground and joined her just before she stepped into the emerald haze.

  The deathly silence still hung over the glade for a minute longer, when as last the elf Kirana had called Alak shook his head in pensive sadness.

  "It appears we have a long and difficult conversation ahead of us..."

  April 4, 2017. Moscow.

  If you have any questions about the book, ask them in the comments section, and I will answer them right away. If you liked the book but don’t have any questions, then leave a review, for which I will be very grateful. I pay for the translation of these books out of pocket, and your positive reviews will help to finance a faster translation of the next one.

  Thank you, everyone!

  G. Akella

  Friends! We now have a Facebook group dedicated to the Realm of Arkon series! We'll be happy to have you join, and answer any question about the series!

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/160229624648534/

  Check out a great LitRPG series Fayroll by Andrey Vasilyev, a pioneer and one of the top LitRPG authors. He is also a good friend of mine. You will certainly like his book Fayroll, More Than a Game if you like my series.

  I would like to heartily recommend the book of Arthur Stone, my good friend and one of the founders of the LitRPG genre. The Weirdest Noob series are some of the finest works in the genre, and a must-read for any fan.

  I would like to heartily recommend the book of Dmitriy Rus, my friend and one of the founders of the LitRPG genre. The book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys the work of Russian LitRPG authors! Thank you 

  Join LitRPG Society on Facebook to find out more about the genre!

  Join the LitRPG Community!

  To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group.

  * * *

  [1] Rest in peace, hero (Elvish)

  [2] The elves are a united people once more (Elvish)

 

 

 


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