Alpha Zero (Alpha LitRPG Book 1)

by Arthur Stone

  As I slipped into a peaceful, detached state of mind, I began to make my changes.

  First, I poured all 12 Greater Symbols of Chi into my leaking reservoir. I would need a lot of this pervasive energy source. Each of these contained 50 units.

  My Dexterity points had reached 43, my Stamina 47, and my Strength 39. I did not touch my universal marks, which could be applied to any attribute. This brought my Stamina level to 3, my Agility to 2, and my Strength, at last, to 1. The 6 total points worked out perfectly, since the rule was to ensure that no two attributes were equal to each other.

  It was a woefully inconvenient rule, but I supposed the ORDER had some good reason for it.

  I had begun the day with only three attributes. Now, I had all six. Although the physical effects were noticeable, I did not faint. The back of my head tingled slightly, I heard a rustling in my ears, and my drowsiness increased. I wasn’t sure that the latter effect was from my changes. After all, I had spent most of the day fishing, and it was only yesterday that I had begun to recover from my illness.

  I risked sitting up. A wave of mild dizziness came over me, pushing me to lean back against the cold wall. Two or three minutes passed before I lay back down and risked more changes.

  I wasn’t about to touch my attributes any further. Let them cool off a little.

  Nor did I touch my talents. My current talents were sufficient for now, so I could handle point distribution tomorrow, or even later. Depending on how I felt.

  I moved on to states, of which there were also six. Two were currently unlocked, and I could unlock two more. The ORDER had provided me with a couple of trophy items to this effect: a personal greater embodiment of the Chi Shadow state and a personal greater embodiment of the Measure of Order state. The first would increase my Shadow; the second would increase the chances of the ORDER dropping me trophies, and the quantity dropped when it did. Both would be useful—and I would be able to improve my already-unlocked states. They could stand for a good deal of improvement.

  I unlocked Chi Shadow and then Measure of Order. Paying attention to any sensations, I detected nothing suspicious, and so I poured five of my six superior standard universal states into Measure of Order. Now, it held 300 units, bumping it up to level 3.

  I could have gone higher, since I had a decent number of greater and normal universal states. However, I didn’t know quite how well this new state worked. I wanted to observe first. Perhaps, in order to noticeably increase my loot, it needed to be pumped to level 20 or 30. But the trophies I needed most didn’t drop during the course of ordinary fishing. They dropped when I performed such feats as invent new items and use them successfully. Each new discovery was a well of rewards that quickly dried up.

  So before I pumped my Measure of Order to the sky, I wanted to see how beneficial it was. I recorded the day’s kote count and resulting drops. I would compare tomorrow’s results with these.

  My Equilibrium reached level 7 with the next boost. When I did that, my head became muddled for a few seconds, but it wasn’t too distressing.

  That was a sure sign, though, that I needed to stop playing with my states for today.

  I returned to attributes. Here, I spent all six superior standard marks. Two on Agility, two on Strength, and two on Stamina. Each of these marks gave +100 units, which was enough for +2 levels. I also used an additional 12 greater chi symbols to compensate for the energy lost.

  Suddenly, a rising tide within swept me into a sea of cramps, and then swept consciousness away from me. I woke in the middle of the night, covered in a cold sweat, nauseous and numb, my legs and arms disobedient. The only presence of mind granted to me was enough to say “stop.”

  I had developed my character too much, too fast. Mother had told me of tales where unusually fortunate natives hurried to use everything they had won too quickly. The tales were sad indeed.

  I had come back to our cellar with my three familiar attribute levels. Now, I had twelve in total. That was a mighty leap forward. I had to stop.

  Not that I could do much more. The attribute level limit for each stage was 6. With my Equilibrium at level 7, I could now add 7 more. 13 in total. With 12, I had nearly hit my ceiling.

  I could, of course, raise my Equilibrium more. Much more. I had 23 greater standard universal states left, as well as 20 common ones. The greater ones would give me 0.25 each and the commons 0.12. Each whole point would add a level to any state. I could pump anything up to 8 immediately.

  That would be unwise. I had already pushed my character too hard, and it was time to sleep.

  Chapter 28

  No Pain, No Gain

  Degrees of Enlightenment: 0 (182/888)

  Shadow: 182

  Attributes:

  Stamina: level 5, 259 points

  Strength: level 3, 170 points

  Agility: level 4, 225 points

  Perception: NA, 50 points

  Spirit: NA, 50 points

  Talents:

  Fishing Instinct (tier 2): 10/10

  Cure Wounds (tier 2): 10/10

  Free Talents:

  Trolling with Spinning Rod (tier 2): 10/10

  States:

  Equilibrium (7.06): level 7

  Enhanced Enlightenment (0.50): level 0

  Shadow of Chi (0.50): level 0

  Measure of Order (3.00): level 3

  I woke in agony due to my rapid advancements.

  Vainly had I ignored the fables told by my mother. Going from 3 attribute levels to 12 at once was a quadruple move. At such low numbers, this kind of move was not too dangerous, but the ORDER never left haste unpunished.

  I woke past noon, feeling as though I was exiting a meat grinder rather than my bed. Every part of me wanted to howl.

  I barely chewed the breakfast Beko brought me. He had also brought some rich fish broth from the innkeeper—seasoned with expensive spices. In addition, he had a healing potion.

  Fishing was unthinkable in such a state. Instead, I had to send Beko to inform the blacksmith and carpenter that they should not expect full repayment today. They could count on it tomorrow.

  From now on, I would never forget that over-enthusiastic application of ORDER upgrades would result in the utter loss of a day.

  At minimum.

  When I went to sleep once more, I feared that they next day would be another waste. But as I opened my eyes the following dawn, I realized that I was once again a strong young man, not a dilapidated ruin as I had been the day before. It was time for more great achievements.

  I leaped out of bed so enthusiastically that I slammed my head into the low ceiling. Hissing in pain and clutching at the growing bruise, I shouted at the gaping Beko. “Well, what are we standing around for.

  Forward march!”

  “March? Is there a battle?”

  “Yes! Facing off against us is a sizable breakfast!”

  “Are you sure you feel better? Maybe you had better lie down.”

  “No, that breakfast isn’t about to eat itself!”

  * * *

  The amulet gave me eighteen various attributes. I assumed they were filled with energy at the minimum rate. That is, about ten per unit. This gave me a total of 180.

  Due to my haste two days past, I had accumulated 12 “natural” attributes, upped to the max. Each contained 50 units, for a total of 600 attribute energy units.

  In other words, I was full to bursting, like a balloon. I finished breakfast at a speed that would make the dogs jealous. Still hungry, I asked Beko to buy some more food from the innkeeper, “for lunch”. The trading post didn’t give a formal lunch to its workers. Miners were given the basics: salted lard, bread, cheese, and so on. Others received various grocery items a week at a time and stretched it to fit their needs. Still others bought food as needed. So my request did not seem odd—except for the sheer volume of lunch I requested, which was at least triple the usual number.

  My body was demanding food in order to complete the personal development and
energy production I had selected for it.

  But an outlet for this energy was also required.

  When Beko finally came down to the shore, he found me near the fishing shed doing push-ups, fists clenched, ignoring the pebbles painfully grinding their way into my knuckles.

  “What’s the matter with you, Ged?” the ghoul asked hesitantly.

  “I’m doing great!” I answered breathlessly. “Couldn’t be better! But where are the fishermen? Where are the boats? And where the hell is the work Romris was supposed to complete for us?”

  “The fishermen started fishing on the other side of the Stone yesterday. Downstream. Ash was yelling at them, something about how few fish they were catching. So they struck out for more fruitful waters. That’s what they say, anyway: that there are more fish down there at the start of summer.”

  “Summer is starting already?” I blinked.

  “That’s right.”

  “Wow. Time sure flies when you’re young. What about Romris?”

  “For that, we need to head that way,” Beko said, pointing towards the very end of the spit.

  “Well? Let’s go, then!”

  I didn’t like Romris much, and neither did Beko. The ghoul’s feelings were easily justified: how could he have any love for a relative of the man who had done him the greatest ill of anyone here? Besides, Romris couldn’t resist jabbing at the trading post’s preeminent “freak” whenever he passed.

  He didn’t mock me like that, and I had nothing personal against his cousin. Satat, ever since he took a sourpiss bath and then got to clean the cesspits, had been giving me mean looks, but never made any aggressive moves. Perhaps he had malicious thoughts. But he had not turned them into actions. He was a typical commoner, illiterate as a partridge, but he understood the difference between when he could pick on someone with impunity and when it would come back to hurt him.

  That was a lesson that most here quickly learned.

  No, I didn’t like Romris for other reasons. He was always trying to sniff out the secret behind our fishing success. Not ask directly. Not connive or cajole. Just sniff out. The way he looked at Beko—I imagined that was how rich Confederates had looked at their slaves, after the latter had escaped and been recaptured. He probably wouldn’t be past boxing the ghoul’s ears on occasion if I had not given him a stern look of warning. For some reason, I scared him, even though I was stuck in the skinny body of a weak teenager.

  He had a shifty, indecent look about him, too. I was sure that there were many secret sins in his past.

  But I had to admit that he had handled the assignment I gave him perfectly. I may have overpaid, of course. But it was worth it.

  Romris had personally traveled to the right bank of the river and cut down eight cotton poplars. They were short trees which usually had trunks of ideal straightness. Lumberjacks disliked them—they rotted quickly, within a few years. I, to the contrary, was entirely unbothered by this characteristic. There was a whole forest of poplars across from the Stone, so selecting suitable ones was a straightforward task. Their wood was very light, too—about as dense as cork.

  Romris used a winch up on a small cliff to lower the ready logs into the river. A platform lay below the winch, ready to help transport heavy loads up to the trading post.

  Romris had tied a raft to this platform, and he now directed it towards me, to the tip of the sand spit.

  It was a feast for the eyes. The logs fit together like the fingers of tightly clasped hands. Romris had planed them when necessary—you could drop a pile of coins right on the deck, and none would find a crack to slip through. They were stacked three layers tall, with a square platform at the top and in the center. Standing on this raised platform, one would be significantly above the water level—which was often important for spinning fishers. Mounted to the stern were latticework boxes suitable for storing baskets of fish. They would keep the baskets from sliding off into the water in case the raft made any sudden moves. As a bonus, on sun-scorched days the whole craft could be covered with a canopy of mats, which were both stowed in the boxes.

  Romris even put a lunch cooking station in. He covered a small area near the bow with small pebbles and built a hearth of stones carefully selected to fit. Then came mounts for a spit, or for a pole holding a pot over the flame.

  Sadly no pot had been included with the raft. I was just preparing for the future where I would be so rich I could afford buying cookware.

  That was, hopefully, the very near future.

  I examined the solitary oar and thought about making another, as well as a pair of oarlocks. I wasn’t sure that was necessary yet. After all, this raft would not be traveling far.

  “How do you like our ship?” I asked with a smug smile.

  “Raft,” Beko asked, skeptical. “I’ve heard talk of ships. They’re like boats, just very large. They can only travel Redriver, and only down towards its mouth. Some say that Redriver flows into an even larger waterway down that way. Gumis says it’s a sea. Like a lake, but so big you can’t see across it, and with salty water. Sounds like a lie to me.”

  “Hey, don’t pick on our ship. It’s not much to look at, but you have to start somewhere. Real winners need to be able to win from the water, not just from the land. And you and I are real winners.”

  “Who is there for us to win against on Blackriver?”

  “Let’s start with the kotes.”

  “Why do we need this raft then? Kotes are easy enough to catch from the shore. Romris took a whole pile of squares from us to build this thing. Squares we could have kept. Imagine how much yummy food we could have bought. Expensive food!”

  “Yes, Beko, you’re right—we can catch kotes from the shore. But these fish are unpredictable, you know. Sometimes they go so far away from the shore that we can’t reach them, not even with my spinning rod. Then, we have to walk up and down the shore, looking for some small exception. Meaning we have to waste valuable time. And time, Beko, is worth more than squares of leather.”

  “Oh, I’d sell my time for them,” Beko said dreamily. “But nobody is buying.”

  “There’s more.” I pointed upstream. “See where the beach ends?”

  “Of course. I’m dumb, not blind.”

  “That’s not really where it ends. It continues underwater. I’m sure the visible sandbar becomes longer in the dry seasons, when the water level drops.”

  “Right,” Beko confirmed.

  “I’ve noticed that the smaller kotes like to swim around there, in the shallow areas above the submerged sandbar. I can quickly catch these fish. All the while salivating at how many there still are further away. That’s the best place for spinning fishing, after all. The water is fairly clear of large stones, and those that do exist are usually not close together. So there’s hardly any risk of my tackle getting stuck between them. We can push out from shore a ways, drop anchor, and fish for kotes in all directions! The current is not very strong, and the water is shallow enough that we don’t even need paddles—we can push ourselves around with poles. Easy come, easy fish, easy go.”

  “How do we get the kotes up onto the raft?” Beko wondered. “They wriggle and flap up a tempest when they break the surface. Strongest just before they reach the shore. So we what, smash their heads with a club? That’ll knock them off the line entirely!”

  Silently yet triumphantly I raised a huge scooping net, fixed at the end of a pole.

  “Here you go.”

  “So? What’s the net for?”

  “To seal the deal. Once a fish is near the raft, we pull it up with this, and then stun it. Let’s give it a try.”

  * * *

  You have dealt significant damage to the kote. You have dealt fatal damage to the kote. The kote is dead. You have defeated the kote (1st Degree).

  You receive:

  Lesser Symbol of Chi x5

  Lesser Attribute Mark, Stamina x1

  Lesser Attribute Mark, Agility x1

  Lesser Attribute Mark, Strength
x2

  Talent Mark, Scent of Blood x1

  Lesser Standard Talent Mark x1

  Talent Mark, Detect Poison x1

  Lesser Personal Talent Mark, Fishing Instinct x1

  That was our tenth catch off the raft. I paused to take stock.

  The raft was holding up admirably. At first, it seemed too big, and thus hard to manage. However, its stability was excellent, so this disadvantage was quickly forgotten. The weight of the platform in the center of the raft, which included large stones in its construction, prevented any significant tilt no matter how much Beko and I walked, laden with things, around the raft’s sides.

  In this, at least, I had no complaints against Romris. He had earned his pay.

  Perhaps I had been wrong to doubt his shifty eyes.

  I had hoped that the ORDER would have rewarded me for placing the order with him, but I received nothing.