Kingdom Level Four: LitRPG

by Adam Drake

  The blackened skeleton of the burnt out house was still there, its fire long dead. The barn lay in a collapsed heap of boards and beams, and Rob wouldn't have been surprised to see the corpses of the goblins still there, too.

  Between these former buildings was the skeleton of a new house; woodbeams erected and half of a roof already in place. Two boys were busy hammering makeshift shingles into the roof, their faces covered in sweat.

  Below, a man shifting some cut logs into a pile. As he clapped his hands clean he looked up and spotted Rob.

  Uh oh, Rob thought. This might not be good.

  The man's face brightened. “My Lord!” he shouted and ran over.

  Wanting the ground to swallow him up, Rob waited, half expecting to be punched.

  “It's so good of you to visit us, my Lord!” the man said, beaming with joy.

  “It's good to see you again, Breddin,” Rob said. It was his own fault this man's home had burned down, so this wasn't the greeting he expected.

  “Oh, where are my manners” Breddin turned and screamed at the boys. “Get your worthless butts down here. The king has graced us with his presence!”

  The two boys dropped their hammers and nearly fell over each other trying to be the first one down the ladder.

  “No, it's okay, really.” As Rob spoke he had a sudden realization. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

  “Doing here, my Lord?” Breddin said. “Why, I've come to rebuild our home. And I have you to thank for that.”

  “Thank me?”

  “Yes! If you hadn't slain the goblins who burned it down, I wouldn't be able to build a new one. The old one was old and falling apart, anyway.”

  Rob shook his head. “Look, this place is dangerous. The Annex Marsh is right over there,” he pointed to the southeast.

  “Yes, Saif warned us, but this is still our home, and I've told the lads to stay out of the swamp.”

  “The Annex Marsh changes in size. It could grow and engulf this place. You can't stay here.”

  “Well, where are we to go?” Breddin said.

  The farmer was getting angry, and Rob couldn't blame him. But the potential danger far outweighed the man's need to stay. He had to get them away from here.

  Using a firm voice, Rob said, “As your king, I am telling you to leave. Go back to the village and wait until I return. We'll speak more, then.”

  What anger Breddin had, evaporated. “Yes. Yes, of course, my Lord.” He ushered his sons over to him. “We'll go back, as you command.”

  Rob instantly felt guilty as he watched the three head down the muddy road, but he quashed those feelings. Living anywhere near the border of the Annex Marsh was insanity. What if they'd become trapped inside? He'd probably have ended up with a quest to rescue them and he had absolutely no intentions of ever returning to that horrible place.

  Sighing, he check the sliver. It pointed almost due east, thankfully, not in the direction of the Annex Marsh.

  He crossed through Breddin's property, glancing over the state it was in. He'd resolved before to help the farmer rebuild and he still intended on doing so. But he would have to relocated them far from here. Although he'd told Saif to warn the others about the Marsh, he needed to make it a decree that no one was to come near it.

  As he moved through the trees the foliage slowly changed. The swamp was familiar territory. Wielding his mace, he stepped carefully over gnarled tree roots and skirted suspicious puddles.

  Checking the sliver three more times, it led him to a place he wanted to forget about.

  He stood before the Rat Queen's lair and peered into its entrance. The sliver pointed directly inside.

  That's weird, he thought as he entered the cave, casting Light. The wet, muddy tunnel vanished beyond the edge of his light. How could the Foundation Stone be in here? Was it in the Rat Queen's lair and he missed it? Granted, he didn't know he needed it at the time, let alone what it looked like. With a shrug he moved forward, buckler pressed to his side.

  He soon came upon the tunnel branch to the left and paused. That led to the long stone stairs and the messed up room with the Observer. Correction. Dickhead. Rob had no desire to get into another argument with the statue, if that's what it really was. Thankfully, the sliver pointed ahead, so he continued on.

  The tunnel branched off to the right. Rob checked the sliver, fully expecting to continue on, but to his surprise it pointed right.

  What the hell?

  Blinking in confusion he walked a short distance into the right-hand tunnel and stopped.

  The red barrier was still there. The sliver pointed directly at it, and slightly downwards.

  Damn it.

  With a sigh, he touched the barrier, knowing full well what it would say.

  You are not of high enough level to access the Lower Caves. Please return when you are level 6 or higher.

  Rob cursed and kicked the barrier in frustration which felt as solid as rock. The Foundation Stone was behind the thing. He was level five and his experience points toward level six sat at only one percent. It would be awhile before he would be allowed past.

  He leaned against the rocky wall of the tunnel, thinking. Well, this sucked. But what could he do other than level up as quickly as he could? He'd have to tackle the goblins first. Hopefully that would be enough to put him over.

  Defeated, he returned to the main tunnel and went back outside and reread his goblin quest.

  'Destroy the Goblin Hideout.'

  Somewhere deep in the Eastern Forest, the Feral Goblin Clan has built a hideout. Find and destroy it.

  Reward: 3,000 experience points.

  At least it offered a lot of experience points for finishing, which didn't include what he'd earn killing each one. Goblins would be easy for him now. He'd wipe the floor with them. What was that term Todd used to describe his most powerful characters? Overpowered. That's it. Compared to goblins, he was overpowered.

  Feeling a little better about the situation he moved due east. His plan was to reach the Eastern mountains, then follow them south until he found the hideout.

  As he picked his way through the swampy undergrowth, his mind wandered back to the vision. Going over it in his mind made him feel both thrilled and terrified. Was it meant to be a possible future? He had to admit to himself that riding the dragon and assaulting the castle was exhilarating. Charming the Rock-Cliff dragon was cool, but could he tame one to ride on? It appeared to be possible. Trenton had mentioned getting a Dragon Roost for the castle. Where the hell was he suppose to get that? And what then? Find a dragon to move in? Or obtain dragon eggs, even?

  As he picked his way through the swampy undergrowth he spotted a large pond of water to his right. Blinking in recognition, he stopped. That was the place with the mutant crocodile, Quartek. Thinking about the monstrous creature made him flinch. It had shattered his leg with its massive jaws, nearly ripping it from his body. He very much wanted to return the favor, make it be the one to feel agonizing pain.

  He looked east, trying to decide what to do. The memory of his own ear-piercing shriek as the crocodile bit down into his flesh filled his head.

  He found himself moving toward the pool. There was a hill at the eastern end so he switched directions, the landscape slowly rising. Through the thick brush he could make out the pond's surface, calm and undisturbed.

  Approaching the hill from its opposite side, Rob slowly and quietly crawled to the top, careful not to make a sound. He didn't know if the thing could hear very well, but he didn't want to take any chances. The element of surprise was crucial.

  Cresting the hill, Rob carefully pulled some bushes aside to get a view of the pond.

  It was as he remembered it before, calm waters the color of concrete and just as impenetrable. The shoreline was flattened, probably from the crocodiles basking in the sun. But Rob couldn't see any now. Perhaps they were in the water, waiting for prey to come close.

  Scanning the shoreline also revealed the monster crocodile wa
s nowhere to be seen. Maybe, it too, was hiding in the water?

  After a few minutes, nothing changed, nor did the water surface present more than a ripple. Could it be the creature left for better hunting grounds? Rob allowed himself the hope the monster had wandered into the Annex Marsh, never to be seen again. That was a possibility. He'd gotten trapped pretty easily, himself.

  Huh, he thought. Fine then. No sweet revenge for me today.

  He was about to stand and continue on, when he spotted a series of ripples emanating from around the bend in the pond. Something was coming, obscured by trees.

  As the thing appeared, Rob ducked down, his breath catching his his chest.

  It was Quartek. The great beast slowly swam down the middle of the water, its swishing tail creating large waves that lapped against the shore. Soon the entire pond was rippling with waves.

  God damn, it was big. Rob began to have second thoughts. Did he really want to do this? The thing was a living nightmare. Besides, there was nothing he could do to kill it, he knew that. He lacked the level, magic and gear to even attempt to slay the thing.

  The memory of the incredible pain of being trapped in its jaws flashed in his mind, again. The sound of his bones crunching as the crocodile bit down on his leg.

  His anger flared to life. No, he didn't have to kill it. Not today. But maybe he could give it a taste of the agony he'd endured.

  Watching from the bushes, he waited as it casually swam closer. The monster's huge eyes nictated as it looked over the shoreline, probably searching for something to eat.

  Rob found his body was shaking with anticipation. He'd do this, then run like hell. God, what a stupid idea this was, but he was committed now.

  Right as the crocodile got within range, Rob stood up, revealing himself. “Here you go, ya bastard!” he shouted, and cast Sun Bolt.

  The monster jolted its huge head in his direction allowing the Sun Bolt to strike its left eye.

  The effect was immediate. The crocodile thrashed its head back and forth in pain, splashing its mighty tail and sending water everywhere.

  “Ha!” Rob reveled in its reaction. Seemed he found a weak spot. Was the damage permanent? He wondered if he blasted its other eye he could blind it. He had enough mana for two more casts.

  As he considered this, the monster's thrashing became more animated, like it had become apoplectic and frenzied.

  God, I wish I could record this to play back later, he thought. This was a sight to be savored over and over again. Maybe once it had calmed down enough he'd have a chance to hit its other eye.

  But as he mulled this notion over, the crocodile suddenly exploded out of the water, launching itself through the air.

  Right toward him.

  “What the fu-,” Rob shouted as the monster crocodile flew at him like a missile. Caught off guard he stumbled backwards, desperate to get away.

  He shrieked in alarm as the air-bound crocodile landed on the ground halfway up the hill with a tremendous thud. It sent mud and leaves flying as it scrambled up after him.

  “Shiiiiii-” Rob screamed as he scrambled to his feet and fled into the swamp. He heard the thing heave itself over the top of the hill and slide down after him, snapping trees and flattening everything in its path.

  It gurgled a deafening roar, which felt like it could shatter his eardrums.

  “Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea,” Rob said over and over and he ran. He slipped in the muck every second step, slowly him down, as if the very swamp conspired against him. To terrified to look, he didn't need to see that the angry monster was right behind him, hissing loudly.

  He envisioned those massive jaws snapping him up, mashing him to a pulp and sliding down into the thing's gullet.

  For what seemed like forever it chased Rob, but slowly started to fall further behind. Rob noticed his Energy was dropping at an alarming rate. His blood pounded in his ears.

  When he was certain the thing had lost its view of him, he turned a hard right. A thick cluster of giant trees presented a potential hiding spot and he rushed into them.

  Forced to climb, he scrambled up until he was he was totally obscured by trees.

  You have advanced in Climbing. Skill has increased from 5% to 6%.

  He froze and peeked down through the leaves. The crocodile hadn't emerged from the jungle, yet. Rob strained to hear its approach over the thudding of his heart and heavy breathing.

  What the hell happened back there? The thing could fly? Seriously? Giant flying crocodiles? It didn't even have wings.

  Magic? He didn't know, but his gut told him it might be a special power or ability, like his Sweep.

  Waiting for what seemed like for ever, he found his body shivering with fear. He had no idea the thing could fly, let alone move so fast. It was like being chased by the Goliath Tarantula all over again.

  Still, the crocodile didn't appear, nor could he hear it crashing through the brush. Was it waiting for him to reveal his hiding spot? He looked around, desperate to find it. Its natural coloring would make it blend perfectly into the background, regardless of its size.

  Long minutes past. Eventually, Rob grew tired of waiting. Quartek must have returned to its lake. Certain it was safe, he climbed down, mindful of the dense vegetation around him. He felt a small hint of pride, having done some damage to the thing, but it was a far cry from what he really wanted to do. Next time, when he and the creature met, he swore to kill it, once and far all.

  He turned east. Once he reached the mountains, he'd -.

  The jungle erupted beside him, and the nightmarish form of Quartek barreled straight at him, hissing loudly.

  Rob half-expected something like this to happen, but it still didn't lessen his terror.

  Huge jaws snapped at him, but he was already moving. He felt Quartek's teeth snap inches from his head just as he threw himself into a desperate roll. Slamming into a tree he threw himself to the ground as the creature's tale smashed through it.

  You have advanced in Dodge! Skill has increased from 6% to 7%.

  The tree tipped, then fell, and both Rob and the crocodile moved to avoid it. It slammed to the ground in an explosion of leaves, both combatants on either side.

  Rob spun around and fled into the underbrush, and Quartek pursued. This time, it was much closer to him, and Rob knew he couldn't outrun it. Branches slapped at his face, obscuring his vision and all he could hear was the crashing of Quartek.

  Now in full panic, Rob tried to dart around an outcropping of rocks, topped with trees, looking for a place to hide. But the crocodile was already moving to cut him off, flinging its long body onto the rocks and scrambling over.

  Rob shouted and had to throw his body to one side as the crocodile snapped at him, again. But instead of giving Rob a chance to run away, Quartek bent its long frame, snapping its tail at him.

  Rob didn't have a chance. The tail rushed up on him like a flying wall. He barely got his buckler up in time before the full force of the strike slammed him.

  There was a brief moment of darkness, then he found himself flying in the air, up through the trees. He had a glimpse of Quartek spinning around, confused.

  Rob's trajectory made a long arc, and it felt like ages before he landed.

  He crashed to the ground, and slid. But his slide didn't end. He was on a steep hill and tumbled down, ass over elbows. Suddenly, he shot over the edge of a cliff and he was airborne, again. This fall was much shorter and he hit a lower canopy of vegetation, then thumped to the ground face first in some bushes.

  Groaning, but not dead, he pushed himself up. Amazingly, nothing was broken, with only a couple dozen hit points lost. His Shield Damage aura was long gone, no doubt having absorbed most of the damage from Quartek's tail.

  Groggy, he stumbled from out of the bushes, hopeful to get his bearings and check to see if the crocodile still chased after him.

  As he emerged, wiping thick mud from his face and beard, he stopped.

  Standing in front of him w
ere a half dozen goblins. All wore armor and wielded weapons. They gaped at him, no doubt wondering who the hell just fell from the sky.

  At the back of the group, a different goblin from the others had its arms tied behind its back. It looked at Rob wide-eyed, then shouted in perfect English.

  “By the gods, HELP ME!”

  Rob absorbed this new scenario for about a second with only one thought popping in his mind.

  Uh oh.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The goblins were only momentarily stunned with surprise before they started shouting. They shouted at Rob, and then at each other, probably trying to decide what to do with this interloper.