New Game Minus: The Complete LitRPG Fantasy Trilogy

by Sarah Lin

  "Once we deal with these impertinent Outsiders, you'll be able to."

  Though Gharavi smirked at his tone, her expression was affectionate instead of mocking. After a moment, her eyebrows knitted together as a new thought occurred to her. "You know... I think in some ways this effect is the opposite of the power implanted in you. Your box system creates new connections to the world, while this magic separates them. Perhaps they're different applications of similar principles of the type of magic that can influence between worlds."

  "An intriguing theory, but rather lacking in supporting evidence. I'd be reluctant to believe it until we can test for ourselves." Bloodwraith glanced around the wastelands and growled. "And right now, it doesn't look like we'll be able to run any tests."

  "No, but it's only a matter of time."

  Apparently refreshed by their conversation, Gharavi began working with her bone necklace again. She frowned this time and walked a few steps with her eyes closed, concentrating on the results, but in the end it seemed to come to nothing. Resigning himself to a long march, Bloodwraith just walked alongside her.

  Before they had gone too far, however, Meara floated up between them. "Southeast." Her voice was very soft, as if she spoke from a great distance, but as she returned to them, she seemed confident. "I can't promise you I'm right, but I think we have a shot at finding something to the southeast."

  "I considered that direction," Gharavi said, "but discarded the slight fluctuation as just random noise. If your intuition says southeast, we can give it another shot."

  They nodded to each other and began to move in that direction, but to Bloodwraith's surprise, the last two members of their party came up beside them. Danniah looked between them as if for permission to speak, and though he rolled his eyes beneath his helmet, Bloodwraith nodded for her to go on.

  "We had an idea about that," Danniah said. "It seems to me that we spend a lot of time going a little ways in one direction to test, then heading back if it doesn't work out. Could we have Izzy scout ahead?" Behind her, Izzy nodded eagerly.

  Meara and Gharavi glanced at one another, then to him. Because they thought it was his decision to make, or because Izzy was involved? Either way, he knew what his answer was.

  "You can scout to the southeast, Izzy, but don't take any foolish risks." He bent down to put a hand on her shoulder. "If you run into serious trouble, send me a request to gain a new trait that's completely useless and we'll come as soon as we can."

  "Okay, Da!" Izzy gave them all a razor sharp smile and then dashed away, leaving a trail of dust behind her as she headed out into the wasteland. Though there were few wild animals out here and having her scout ahead would be more efficient, he still found himself hoping that she would be alright. It was a feeble emotion of a fleshly body.

  He did hope that she would be alright, though.

  "That's actually a clever idea." Meara walked up beside him, eyes following Izzy as she disappeared in the craggy landscape. "You could potentially develop a much more elaborate system. Choose a specific set of traits and give each one a specific message. That way she could convey significantly more information from a distance."

  Bloodwraith chuckled. "Using the box gods' boxes against them? I approve."

  Danniah tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "What if she actually wanted to gain that trait, though? Couldn't that lead to problems?"

  "Believe me, we would have no trouble choosing traits that Izzy would never need, even given an infinite amount of time. The imbecilic boxes generate all manner of absurd traits."

  "Maybe we should actually do it, then! We're all traveling together right now, but in the future if we need to do more complex maneuvers, information could be key."

  "It's more than that." As they continued walking, Gharavi examined him with a new light in her eyes. "These boxes communicate as quickly as the fastest spells, yet they're untraceable and likely unblockable. Instant communication without such restrictions could fundamentally change some conflicts."

  Meara smirked. "Are you going to suggest that Bloodwraith give up adventuring entirely, pop out a bunch of undead children, and set up a messaging business? Bloodwraith, Mailboy Extraordinaire!"

  "You jest, but this system has great potential. Bloodwraith, how rapidly can these boxes appear? If we associated each trait with a letter of the alphabet and sent them in quick succession, we could communicate nearly any message..."

  Before Bloodwraith could answer, Danniah groaned. "Don't you think that's a little much? Maybe we can stick to scouting for now?"

  Though it looked like Gharavi was set to argue for her messaging system extensively, Bloodwraith decided to cut it off there. If they were going to face dangerous threats, then one of their highest priorities was extracting as much EXP from their movements as possible. He'd come up with an idea along those lines that he hoped would be useful.

  "Meara, do you think you could turn finding a ritual site into a quest?"

  "Hmm." She pondered that for a moment, her eyes going unfocused as she looked within herself. "Perhaps. I already make quests for finishing the ritual, but given the difficulty of finding new locations... yes, the two are very close together, but I think we can do both."

  "Do it, then. Regardless of if this is a false trail, we can still complete the quest in time."

  Meara clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes at him. "Oh, mighty Bloodwraith! Please help this poor maiden find a site for a world-spanning ritual!"

  Beside them, Gharavi shot Meara a glance. "It doesn't work unless you put on that whole act?"

  "Oh, no, that's just for fun."

  Bloodwraith ignored them both and waited for the box to appear. Though Meara could grant quests for many things, the process was inexact and the box gods didn't allow for unlimited manipulation. Still, he was hopeful that he would receive a quest in this case.

  [Quest Accepted!

  Find the nearest site that was used for an Outsider ritual.

  Rewards: EXP, Meara Affection]

  He grunted in satisfaction at the terms of the quest, since by definition there must be some site that was closest, even if they were in entirely the wrong location. Even if the amount of EXP wasn't large, it was still an additional boost he wouldn't receive otherwise. The only odd thing...

  "Why does the quest include 'Meara Affection' as a reward?" he asked.

  Meara batted her eyelashes at him again. "Because ancient ritual sites make me swoon, of course!"

  Before they could say anything else, a cloud of dust appeared above the crags again. Izzy already, though he shouldn't have been surprised, given that they had been regularly increasing her Quickness statistic via Necromancy Points. Since there had been no skill request of any kind, most likely all had gone well.

  When Izzy ran up to them, however, her face looked a bit troubled. "Umm... I found something, but I don't think it's what we want."

  "What do you mean?" Bloodwraith asked.

  "I found an old area, but in the middle there's just... nothing. Weird nothing. It doesn't smell like anything, and nothing smells like nothing." Izzy shifted uncomfortably, looking over her shoulder. "Except the strange people who attacked us. They didn't smell like anything either."

  The rest of them glanced at each other, then wordlessly went to follow her.

  Chapter 3

  Though their group liked to chatter, and Bloodwraith had to admit that he didn't always hate it, he liked the way they could change when necessary. All of the banter drained away as they prepared for the possibility of an encounter. Danniah had been wearing her armor regularly, but put her helm over her head again. Meara slid her hands into her cloak. Gharavi took her axe staff off her back and shifted it into casting position.

  Izzy led them through the wasteland easily, tracing her old path. It was difficult going at times and he was glad that they'd had her scout. Perhaps they would have arrived earlier if they'd all gone in this case, but over the long term it would be a more
effective strategy for searching.

  "Up here!" Izzy waved for them to follow her onto rougher crags, hopping between them to reach the top of a small hill. The others followed with less jumping, and Bloodwraith had to help Danniah up some of the larger cliffs. It was difficult going, but in the end they reached the top, which appeared to be completely empty.

  As soon as Bloodwraith reached the top, he understood why Izzy had said what she did and led them here.

  An empty space stretched beneath the hill, one that could easily have contained a structure like a burial chamber or crypt. Instead, there was nothing. Not simply more craggy wasteland, but utterly smooth ground. It looked as though some giant stone had flattened everything into a concave hollow, then vanished. After seeing more wasteland than he ever wanted to see again, Bloodwraith was certain that this shape couldn't have occurred naturally.

  "That's the part that smells like nothing." Izzy crouched at the top of the hill, staring down suspiciously. "I didn't go onto it in case it was a trap."

  "That was the correct decision." Bloodwraith turned to the others and folded his arms. "What do we think?"

  There was no question that it wasn't a coincidence, since Gharavi was testing her bone necklace with wide eyes. She didn't seem capable of speaking, however, entirely absorbed in her work. Danniah could only shrug, while Meara's eyes were closed. When she finally opened them, she had a strange look.

  "There's nothing under there," Meara said. "No crevices, no animal holes, nothing. I'm not really attuned to traps, especially magic ones, but it feels like solid rock."

  "It's not just rock." Gharavi began walking down the hill, still working to test the ambient magic. "This area has heavy Outsider influence. Almost as strong as yours, Bloodwraith, but fading instead of active. Cover me while I test this."

  Bloodwraith headed after her, examining the area cautiously. He didn't sense any threats either, yet he found himself deeply uneasy. When Gharavi stepped onto the smooth stone, he prepared to grab her and pull her back if necessary, but there was no need. The landscape remained just ordinary stone and nothing attacked, so after a time he stepped onto the stone after her.

  It was subtle, but something changed. Not like a magical effect or anything else he could pin down, but something was different. The sun felt a bit less hot and the wind was quieter around them. He found himself overwhelmed by the surreal feeling, his mind scrabbling to grasp something too slippery to be pinned down...

  [Quest Complete!

  Find the nearest site that was used for an Outsider ritual.

  Meara Affection +NaN

  EXP +5000]

  After a surprised pause, Bloodwraith snorted. Trust the boxes not to care about the surreal or unworldly: he had found the location, so he'd finished the quest. Though it didn't change the facts of their situation, the quest notification did force his mind to fully reengage.

  Since the formation was unnatural and both Gharavi and Izzy noted its strangeness, the simplest explanation for all the facts was that some Outsider power had manipulated this area. That left them with an essential but unanswerable question: why? Though he found himself wondering if there had once been a crypt or ritual here and it had been erased, he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

  "There's definitely Outsider magic remaining here," Gharavi said, crouching in the center of the depression. "I want to capture it or get more information, but it's slipping away..."

  "Could it be stored in something?" Bloodwraith asked.

  "A good thought, but the only suitable containment device I have prepared is the wand, and I don't want to risk the power we've gathered."

  "Something to consider for next time, then. What about the remains?"

  "Hmm." Gharavi pulled the jar out of her Extra-dimensional Bag and glanced at it, then shook her head and set it down on the ground. "Not suitable."

  Slightly disappointing, but he had expected that. Bloodwraith looked away from the useless fragments to scan the area again... and found his gaze wandering back.

  The fragments of the hand were trembling.

  On instinct he grabbed his greatsword and unhooked it from his back, spinning in place to look for a threat. None appeared at first, but then he heard a slight gasp from Danniah. When he turned, he saw that she had drawn her mace and shield and was facing one of the entrances to the concave area.

  Three silver-eyed figures approached. Their clothing made them appear to be slavers, yet the way they moved was unnatural, throwing their limbs forward as if they didn't entirely understand how they worked. Yet they were making good time moving toward them, completely silently. As Bloodwraith stared, he realized something even stranger: their shadows extended in the wrong direction, stretching out toward his group as if the sun was behind them.

  "Bloodwraith?" Danniah called for him without looking away from them, so he moved up beside her. Izzy drew her knives and moved alongside them, while Meara drifted behind them. Usually she ignored combat entirely, so her movement made him nervous.

  "You there!" Bloodwraith knew it was probably useless, but he decided to call out at the figures anyway. "What is your purpose here?"

  There was no answer, the three figures simply continued lurching forward.

  "If you or whatever controls you would speak with us, speak! Otherwise, we will cut you down!"

  As expected, it was futile. Bloodwraith sighed and extended a hand, releasing a Fist of Rage into the first of the figures.

  To his surprise, it only rocked backward slightly instead of being blown off its feet. These things were tough. Bloodwraith used more mana to Enrage the skill and released it again, this time knocking down the figure. The other two began to lurch toward them with disturbing speed, crossing the remaining distance in a flash.

  The first was on him quickly, but Izzy intercepted it, running low to the ground. She stabbed into one leg and jerked up, flipping the being off its feet. When it hit the ground she immediately followed, stabbing it through the back, but the second figure was moving toward her with arms outstretched. Though he tried to move, Bloodwraith realized he couldn't get his greatsword in place in time.

  Fortunately Danniah slammed into the figure, her Shield Impact skill sending it tumbling away. Yet Bloodwraith realized they had a bigger problem: the enemy that Izzy had stabbed was trying to claw at her, its limbs jerking backward behind its back at unnatural angles. Izzy grimaced and was forced to retreat as it landed several blows, which meant it was getting up.

  Bloodwraith cut the being in half. That might not kill it, but the remaining pieces were much less capable of moving. He chopped off its limbs to further neutralize it, but at that moment heard a cry of distress from Danniah.

  She was still trying to defend their back, but both of the other enemies were again on their feet and trying to flank her. Izzy rushed to strike at one, yet it didn't allow itself to be distracted. The figure kept moving toward Danniah except to swipe at Izzy when she got close.

  "Izzy, wait. I need you to take one off its feet again." Bloodwraith spoke in a low voice to her while he gathered all the mana in his sword and prepared to use an Enraged slash. As soon as it was ready, he called out to Danniah. "Shield bash the one on the left, now!"

  Nodding, Danniah had to shuffle a bit but then managed to do so. That left her open on the right and the figure immediately lurched toward her, limbs flailing. Fortunately, Izzy understood the spirit of his instructions and moved without needing a command, rushing in and cutting off one of the figure's legs.

  As it fell, Bloodwraith jumped on top of it, his boots pinning its arms to the ground and his sword going through its remaining leg without expending any mana. Though the limbs struggled against him, the creature wasn't powerful enough to overcome his strength. Izzy immediately darted in, slashing through its body until it could only wriggle in place.

  The last remaining figure jerked itself to its feet again, dangling like a puppet. But that was what the Enraged slash was for: Bloodwraith unleashed it
on the creature as it moved to attack Danniah and the burst of force tore it in half, sending pieces scattering over the unnatural rock.

  "Danniah, come here and bash this one's head in." Bloodwraith jerked his head down toward the one they had pinned. Though she blanched, Danniah hastened to do as he asked. It took several blows, but when she smashed the head into pieces, the torso finally went still. The other limbs still fought, but those were not a threat while pinned.

  Though Bloodwraith still deeply disliked the feel of these creatures, the encounter had allowed him to understand them to a significant degree. He knew that blunt force was more effective than cutting them apart, for example. But perhaps the most important thing was that they hadn't reacted at all when he'd told Danniah to strike the one on the left: that meant that they truly were incapable of speech. These enemies were powerful and disturbing, but mindless.

  Working together with Danniah and Izzy, they set about neutralizing the bodies. It would have been easier with Gharavi's spells, but she was still completely absorbed in her work. Once two were completely still, Bloodwraith impaled the torso of the last one with his sword and stared down at it.

  Those silver eyes gazed up at him, utterly blank. The creature struggled to reach him, teeth snapping, yet there was no rage or feral intensity. It simply intended to kill him with an utterly singular will.

  "Just what are you?" Bloodwraith didn't expect an answer, but that was the essential question. So long as this threat had no name, its disturbing effects would be enhanced. Surely if the boxes were eager to categorize everything, he could force them on this as well. "Lackadaisical boxes, I command you: name these entities!"

  His words did no good, but the force of will behind them did. A box slowly flickered into being, trembling a little like Meara's boxes had at first, but gradually becoming readable.

  [Fellsilvered Slaver

  Level: ???

  WARNING: High threat anomaly detected. Contact AdventureCorp at the nearest Return Point.]