New Game Minus: The Complete LitRPG Fantasy Trilogy

by Sarah Lin

Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  Author's Note

  Appendix: Final Character Sheets

  Previously...

  This is a quick recap of what occurred in the first two books in the series.

  Changing Faces: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMMT9TX/t

  Raising Allies: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N8CH9GN/

  Bloodwraith traded bodies with an adventurer named Raigar in an act of desperation that ushered him into a new life he had never wanted. Beset by boxes describing a system he didn't understand, he struggled to regain his orientation and function as an adventurer. Gradually he came to realize that Outsiders from another world had been manipulating his world in order to use it as a game.

  Traveling to the city of Cresthaven, Bloodwraith gained two valuable allies. Meara: a Non-Player Character designed to be a simple peasant girl who provides potions and quests, but who learned to understand and exploit the illogical powers she used in the tutorial area, including creating items and granting quests. Danniah: a half-dwarven warrior who left her adventuring party to join Bloodwraith and in time became his lover.

  The three came into violent conflict with a man called Daek the Knife, who ruled Cresthaven's Thieves Guild. Though once a sinister underworld leader, Daek was driven mad by ancient ruins that had been designed to reach into other worlds. In order to prevent him from contacting the Outsiders controlling the boxes, Bloodwraith's party had no choice but to find a way to defeat him.

  Once Daek was defeated, Bloodwraith gained enough freedom to return to his original goal and attempt to restore his powers of necromancy. Unfortunately, the system of boxes took control of his new power as well, mutating it into a new form that could only sustain a small number of undead allies. Extensively testing the system, Bloodwraith attempted to create a perfect undead ally.

  This ally was Izilthor, the Great Devourer of Flesh... but she soon became known to the party as Izzy. Shaped by many traits that increased independence, instead of being an undead servant for Bloodwraith, Izzy proved to be a unique person who considered herself his daughter. Though Bloodwraith managed to accept her in the end, he wasn't exactly comfortable with the fact that Izzy chose to take traits that allowed her to heal others.

  Though Bloodwraith traveled to the city of Manascas to increase his strength, all of his plans were demolished when Raigar returned. Still alive in Bloodwraith's old body, the former adventurer was restored to life and set about finding Bloodwraith and taking his body back. Though Raigar proved to be a fool, he was armed with many immensely powerful weapons hoarded from his old life, not to mention a powerful lich's body. Though Bloodwraith attempted to seize his old body back, in the end he was unsuccessful and forced to flee Manascas.

  Faced with Raigar in his old body and a remnant of his old undead horde, Bloodwraith was forced to take a step back and regroup. He and the others were aided by a half-orc sorcerer named Gharavi, though she seemed hostile at first. Bloodwraith learned that she was in fact searching for Outsiders herself, as they had manipulated her tribe in the past.

  Working with Gharavi, Bloodwraith attempted to confront a powerful Outsider of a race known as the Aesidh, but the battle earned them little except more questions. Putting together clues, it became obvious that Raigar was from a different world entirely, one that had a strange alliance with the Aesidh to use Bloodwraith's world as a game.

  When the second battle went against Raigar, the former adventurer attempted to flee to a Return Point, which would allow him to return to his original world and warn AdventureCorp about the switch. Bloodwraith's party desperately chased after him in a pitched battle riding on the use of powerful artifacts. In the end, Bloodwraith chose to grant power to his allies instead of hoarding it for himself. They were victorious and this time he did not hesitate in destroying his old body for good.

  With his greatest threat eliminated and new allies acquired, Bloodwraith believed that he was finally in a position to learn exactly why the Outsiders were manipulating his world and strike back. Unfortunately, across the world a strange figure appeared in the Forest of Beginnings, the place where Bloodwraith's second life had begun...

  Chapter 1

  "Are you having fun raging?"

  Bloodwraith grunted and kept swinging his over-sized greatsword. The skeletons were paltry creatures, built from shoddy necromancy that should have fallen apart at the slightest touch. Unfortunately, he was still far from the height of his power, so he had to fight them with brute force. Though the crypt entrance was a difficult space to use his weapon, that was nothing compared to the real challenge.

  "You're doing a good job being inarticulate, but I'm not feeling the rage." Meara perched on a pile of rubble behind him. When he spared a glance back at her, the cloaked woman smirked. "Based on everything the Savages Guild said, I think you still have untapped potential in your class."

  "Is that your professional opinion as Queen Box Reader?" Bloodwraith asked. He had to cut off to duck beneath a swiping sword, then slammed his shoulder into the skeleton, shattering it. Having earned himself a little space, he shot another glance back at her. "Or are you just trying to get me to shout angrily again?"

  "Little of both. You were so scary when you shouted at those wolves!"

  "Hmph. Presumptuous wench." Despite his words, Bloodwraith suspected that she might be correct. Before they'd left Manascas, he'd received some valuable advice from the warriors who called themselves the Savages Guild. Their arts were more complex than they might appear from the outside... but he had more important priorities.

  The skeletons rushing into the entrance weren't exactly important, but they were an immediate priority. Bloodwraith sighed and pulled his sword off his shoulder, swinging it in a broad arc that severed one of them in half. Whatever idiot necromancer had set this up hadn't given them much intelligence, so they were worthless.

  As the spears of other skeletons clattered off his armor, Bloodwraith reminded himself that these skeletons were somewhat strong, however. He took one hand off the hilt of his greatsword and released a burst of force to knock them away before they could get through his defenses. Yet even as he continued cutting down the others, he found himself distracted.

  According to the boxes that plagued his life, that skill was called "Fist of Rage". He could barely accept seeing the name himself in the boxes, so he didn't exactly want to acknowledge it. Yet he had to admit that the Savages Guild might be correct and he was handicapping himself. Perhaps casting these skills like the mage he had once been wasn't using them to their full potential. But what would it mean to embrace those skills?

  "See, it's just not satisfying." Meara leaned forward, propping her head up on her hand. "Anybody can break skeletons by swinging a big piece of metal at them. A true barbarian should be able to walk up to them and flex so hard that their skulls shatter."

  After making sure the last skeleton was fully dismantled, Bloodwraith turned back and glowered at her. "The path of brute fleshly strength has served me well enough so far, but that doesn't mean I want to walk it forever. There are greater sources of power in the world."

  "You gave them to us, though. And you haven't ever asked Gharavi for that Wand of Undead Dominion back."

  "I have no need for such feeble tools! I will establish my own strength!"

  That wasn't true and both of them knew it. When they had been facing an opponent who bent the rules of the game to cheat, Bloodwraith had realized that he couldn't fight that battle alone. So he'd acknowledged that in his current body, Gharavi was better suited to the use of magical items.

  Meara was silent for a time, watching his thoughts pass across his face, then smiled. "Let us handle the other roles instead of spreading yourself too thin. I think that you should continue to focus on your current strengths. Who knows what you might unlock once the boxes have decided you have enough arbitrary points?"

  "I have a feeling I know: I'll unlock the ability to hit things slightly harder and faster. What else
could this imbecilic class possibly unlock?"

  "I don't know, I'm hoping that eventually your enemies will collapse in despair at the mere sight of your bulging pectoral muscles."

  "Wearing armor would completely nullify that advantage, wench!"

  "That's why you'd walk around shirtless all the time. I don't think Danniah would mind, and-" Meara cut off, her smirk disappearing in a moment. Seeing that she had become serious, Bloodwraith turned back to the entrance, his mind focusing to a sharp point.

  The next undead to appear were more than simple skeletons: there were four armored skeletons, two muscular wights, one bearing a heavy shield, and a bone mage behind them. It was enough to make him regret splitting his party into so many groups, but Bloodwraith roused himself. He had been using this body for a long time and it had grown strong. If he couldn't handle a few undead that happened to be a little more powerful than average, he didn't deserve to call himself Father to the Undead.

  Well, he didn't call himself that out loud. Especially not now that it just prompted jokes from Meara. But he was still Father to the Undead and Corrupter of Worlds in his mind.

  As such, though he growled and charged at the enemy undead, that was a feint. Instead of using brute physical force, he opted for brute magical force. His mana flowed into his greatsword as he raised it over his head, then he increased it - "Enraging" the skill as the Savages Guild had taught him. He'd attempted to use it more elegantly, but so far all such attempts had failed, so all he could do was keep increasing the skill's number and use it to destroy his enemies.

  It did that well. When Bloodwraith swung his sword in the air, it released a shockwave of force. All four of the skeleton knights exploded into bones.

  Unfortunately, one wight ducked underneath the shockwave, the other took only a superficial injury, and the bone mage negated the shockwave entirely. They weren't going to be so easy to deal with, but Bloodwraith had already closed the distance, raising his greatsword to strike again.

  A bolt of pure mana caught him in the chest, throwing him across the room and into the crypt wall. His armor could resist magical attacks to some degree, but it had done nothing to stop that one. Bloodwraith shook himself as he got back to his feet, keeping his eyes on the bone mage.

  "Hmm, that one is tough." Meara sat in her usual place, chin in one hand as she considered the enemy. "Give me some time and I may be able to help."

  "I don't think we have time." Bloodwraith readied his sword and eyed the three remaining undead as they spread out to surround him.

  The bone mage raised its hand, but this time Bloodwraith was ready, leaping to the side and letting the mana bolt explode harmlessly behind him. This body could dodge, at least, thanks to his Evasion skill. He rapidly moved to the side, putting one of the wights between him and the bone mage.

  He lashed out at the wight, but it deflected his attack with its heavy shield. Since his weapon couldn't attack in succession smoothly, Bloodwraith was forced to retreat from the wight's swiping claws as he prepared to attack again.

  Though he could match the wight in front of him, he was more concerned about being flanked by the others. Fortunately, he saw that the second wight was instead moving toward Meara, raising a claw to slash through her throat.

  Which it did. The claws simply passed through uselessly while Meara continued pondering.

  Since the wight hesitated for a moment before trying to attack again, Bloodwraith saw his chance. He lunged away from the wight nearest him toward the other. It was only a few steps, yet in that time the bone mage cast another bolt at him. This time he was ready, releasing a burst of force against it.

  While the two spells nullified each other, Bloodwraith grasped his sword again and swung it down with all his might. The over-sized blade sliced all the way through the distracted wight's head and into its torso, utterly destroying the necromancy that gave it life.

  He had time to grunt in satisfaction, then another bolt of mana hit him in the back. Though he managed to stay on his feet, struggling to pull out his sword and turn around, several more bolts came. Just as Bloodwraith managed to turn, the second wight charged directly into him, knocking him to the ground beside Meara. His hands were stinging and he realized that he'd lost his grip on his sword.

  "Try this." Meara knelt down just beside him and handed him a glass bottle. "Though after this, I think I might need defending again."

  Though Bloodwraith had yet to uncover the rules that governed Meara's state as clearly as those that controlled the boxes, he trusted her understanding of herself. As he pushed to his feet, he drank the potion in a single gulp. It burned with mana as it went down his throat, different than any potions he'd tasted from her before, but he couldn't tell what it did.

  Fortunately, the boxes could.

  [Potion of Mana Defense

  Grants temporary resistance to magical attacks.

  Rarity: Uncommon]

  Excellent. But even as swiftly as he had read the boxes, he had completely lost the initiative. The remaining wight lurked near the other's body, preventing him from reaching his sword, while the bone mage was raising both hands and preparing to strike him with more mana bolts.

  Bloodwraith charged toward the wight, ducking to try to avoid the bolts. One still struck him, but he was glad to find that it felt like a dull blow, not the pain of mana tearing through his body. Pivoting on one foot, Bloodwraith charged toward the bone mage. It looked shocked for only a second before aiming more mana bolts at him.

  Letting out a shout of rage - literally, a Shout of Rage - Bloodwraith sent a shockwave of force around him. It negated the first several bolts, which was enough to get him in range. His gauntlets closed around the bone mage's throat and he tore its neck bones in half.

  Even without a head, the bone mage continued striking him, propelled by admirable necromancy. Yet partially shielded by Meara's potion and filled with the rage of battle, Bloodwraith just ignored it, tearing the bone mage apart.

  He heard the wight growl as it pounced on him, which was its mistake. Bloodwraith ducked underneath the lunging attack and then growled back. His barbarian instincts urged him to attack the wight directly, but that was idiocy. Pushing down the blood rage, Bloodwraith backed up to his undefended sword and pulled it from the wight body.

  The last of the undead charged at him, too stupid to know that it had lost. Though it took him several blows to bring it down, now it was only a matter of time.

  [Victory! You received 8209 EXP.]

  Once the creature was finally down, Bloodwraith sighed and leaned back against the wall. Even with the potion, his body ached from having taken all the bone mage's bolts. Though Meara could help him recover, the fatigue was beginning to get to him.

  Wondering how much longer it would be, Bloodwraith reached into his soul and found the box that had been counting since the quest began...

  [Ritual Progress: 96%]

  So close? More time must have passed fighting the final group of undead than he had expected. That alone was enough to get him to straighten his back.

  "We're close, aren't we?" Meara appeared beside him, holding out a pair of potions to help restore him. Though Bloodwraith had his own potions, it was always a good policy to drink from her endless supply while they had the chance. "I can feel it both in the boxes and in the ritual."

  "It's at 96%... 97% now."

  "Do you think we're going to get one more attack? Something dramatic at 100%?"

  Bloodwraith shook his head, though he did eye the crypt door just in case. "The box gods might enjoy that sort of game, but I don't think they have the strength to manipulate this crypt so much. This is not one of their intended 'quests' after all."

  "Then if we're safe..." Meara peered at him and then raised her eyebrows. "That was quite a shout of rage. There's hope for you as a barbarian yet."

  "Bah. The shout is merely necessary to activate the ability. It is no more barbaric than a spell incantation."

  "Oh, but that d
idn't sound like a Shout of Incantation to me, it was quite Ragey. Tell me, oh mighty Bloodwraith, what was it about those skeletons particularly that invoked your mighty wrath?"

  "Are you deliberately trying to be annoying?"

  "Of course! If I don't invoke more of your wrath, how will you get stronger?"

  Though Meara's smirk irked part of him, the larger part was glad to see it. This Meara was always welcome at his side, especially compared to the distant person she could be at times or the broken woman she had been long ago. Now she was still fractured, but she knew how to use those sharp edges to her advantage.

  They spoke quietly to each other until the box counting the percentage finally reached 100%. As soon as it did so, Bloodwraith felt a surge of mana from the crypt beneath him, so powerful that even his dull barbarian senses could tell that something powerful had occurred. A new box appeared, but not the one he wanted.

  [Quest Objective Complete!

  New Objective: Go to the ritual location to receive your reward.]

  Meara's eyes went unfocused as she looked in the direction of the box. "One more step?"

  "I think we just have to go speak to Gharavi. But stay alert in case the boxes decide to throw a final monster at us. As you noted, they are rather fond of dramatic final encounters."

  Before they left, Bloodwraith stopped to shove all of the undead bodies into his Extra-dimensional Bag. Of all the unfair advantages that had been given to him by the box gods, that was the one that was most growing on him. Though Extra-dimensional Bags were a common enough magical item, if expensive, the one he had been granted seemed to ignore so many minor annoyances. It always expanded to receive any object he placed into it, while the boxes made it simple to retrieve items no matter how many he stored inside.

  The two of them left the room to walk to the chamber at the top of the crypt. They had carefully canvassed the entire structure to be sure that there were no other entrances and no chance that the undead would get past them, but Bloodwraith still felt a moment of uncertainty as they entered.