Call of Carrethen: A LitRPG and GameLit novel (Wellspring Book 1)

by Stephen Roark

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

  A chill ran through me as I instantly recognized the voice.

  The Ripper…

  47

  Punishment

  The voice came from behind me.

  I whipped around to see The Ripper standing in the middle of all of us.

  Seeing him again, in person, was terrifying. His armor was clearly top notch, probably the best in the game. Thick black plate mail, absolutely flawless without a scratch on it.

  The breastplate was like a single slab of iron, with ornamental ridges and design all across it. The shoulders were lined with rows of spikes and his massive boots were tipped with daggers. He didn’t even appear to be carrying a weapon.

  As if he’d need one, I thought, remembering the player he’d killed the first time he appeared. I could still see his body rising into the sky—and then plummeting back to the ground.

  The Ripper didn’t need a weapon. He was a god in Carrethen.

  “The Ripper!” Baltos blurted out. He leapt forward, both fists raised to strike.

  “Baltos, no!” I shouted, but it was too late. The Ripper extended his hand and Baltos froze in place, hanging a couple of feet off the ground.

  The Ripper chuckled, his face obscured by the monstrous helm he wore. Turning slowly, his eyes scanned over my party, but it was like he was looking for someone in particular. He paused when he saw me, but only briefly. He turned, finally spotted The Mercenaries, and stopped.

  “There you are.” He chuckled. “Exploiters! Did you really think you could get away with cheating without me noticing? You are far too high level for how long you’ve been here.”

  It occurred to me I hadn’t even had a chance to inspect the Mercenaries and took the opportunity to check their levels.

  Psycho—level 41

  Kewtypie—level 39

  Osiris—level 35.

  “Wow…” I muttered to myself. With those numbers, it was amazing we’d even lasted against them at all, but I couldn’t help but feel that Menace was a big reason why.

  “Hey, it’s part of the game!” Kewtypie responded. “It’s not our fault the game’s broken!”

  “What did you just say?” The Ripper replied, cocking his head in Kewtypie’s direction. He took a step forward. The sound of his heavy boots clanging off the stone ground of the tunnel was like the tolling of the bell of death, and as he approached the Mercenary, I knew something terrible was about to happen.

  “I… I…” Kewtypie stammered as The Ripper reached him. Slowly, he reached out his hand, clad in a thick black plate mail gauntlet, pointed his fingers and then flicked them aside like he was swatting away a bug.

  Kewtypie’s body disintegrated before my eyes.

  “No!” Osiris roared, leaping at The Ripper, both claws stretched out before him.

  Casually, The Ripper stretched out a hand and Osiris froze in the air. A look of horror came over his face as The Ripper waved his fingers like he was brushing away a mosquito.

  Osiris’s body came apart into a billion tiny pieces and vanished.

  “And before you try to protest too much,” The Ripper added, turning to Psycho. He barely had time to open his mouth before The Ripper waved his hand and destroyed him.

  I looked back at my companions who were all frozen with fear. Baltos still hung in the air. I could see the fear in his eyes and the rest of my comrades’. I felt the fear in my chest as The Ripper strutted casually over to the exploit wall. He examined it with curiosity, then let out a small laugh and waved his hand across it.

  “There we are!” he laughed, turning back to my group and me. “No more exploiting for them! Well… no more anything for them!”

  “What did you do to them!?” I blurted out without thinking. I knew the answer of course, but I didn’t want to accept it. There was a chance he’d portaled them back to their Bindstone, right? At least a chance…?

  “Jack,” The Ripper said. I could hear the smile on his lips. “Jack, Jack, Jack. Only level 23? I gave you 20 levels and that’s the best you’ve done with them?”

  “He was helping us!” D snapped. That got The Ripper’s attention. He scoffed and shook his head.

  “Of course he was,” he replied sarcastically, as though D had just said the dumbest thing imaginable. “Of course Jack was helping you. Why do you do it, Jack?”

  “What?”

  “Why do you help people?” he asked, taking a step towards me. “D. Why do you help h—him?”

  “He’s my friend…” I replied quickly. What was The Ripper getting at? “Why are you asking me this? Why are you doing all this!? Why are we trapped here and why did you single me out!?”

  The Ripper stood at least a foot taller than me, and I knew he was max level, but I was raging inside. The events of the Catacombs had been bad enough as it was, but now that The Ripper was standing in front of me, I couldn’t stop the emotions that I’d been experiencing the entire time I’d been on Carrethen, from rising up inside of me.

  “Awww, why would anybody have reason to single you out, Jack?” The Ripper replied. “What could you ever have possibly done to upset anyone?”

  What?

  What was he talking about?

  “Do I—do I know you?” I asked. It was the only thing that made sense. The real life identity of The Ripper had to be someone I knew, or else why would he single me out like he did? And by the way he was talking to me, it was as though I’d done something to him.

  I couldn’t imagine what. Back in the real world, I wasn’t a bully. I couldn’t have been even if I wanted to be. I was a sort of lukewarm, shades of grey kind of guy that nobody really liked, but nobody really disliked either. I did my best to stay out of drama, and if anything, backed away from confrontation more than I should.

  So how could The Ripper be someone I knew—and what could he be angry at me for?

  I felt like an insect being examined under a microscope as he stood before me. I could barely make out his eyes through the slit in his helmet. His gaze flicked to Baltos, then to D, then back to me.

  “Let’s play a little game,” he replied, extending a hand. D instantly slid across the floor and stopped beside me, frozen in place. “Either you kill me now, or I kill your little friend here.”

  “What!?” I shouted as The Ripper took a step back and readied himself. “What—you’re max level!”

  “I know.” He laughed. “But you have no choice.”

  The Ripper opened his hand and a dagger appeared. He flipped it casually in his hand, then pulled it back behind his head, aiming it at D.

  “If this hits him, he will die,” The Ripper growled. “It’s time to show me what you’re made of, Jack.”

  48

  The Ripper’s Challenge

  The dagger cut through the air towards D.

  If this hits him, he will die. That’s what The Ripper had said, and I had no reason to believe he was lying.

  I threw myself in front of the blade as it streaked towards him, doing my best to shield my body with my sword. It slammed into my blade and sent me spinning.

  Such power!

  “Bravo!” roared The Ripper, clapping his thick gauntlets together as I spun through the air.

  Somehow, I managed to land on my feet, and screamed as I activated Warrior’s Charge.

  “Aaaaah!”

  I sped towards The Ripper, my blade aimed straight at his chest for a thrusting blow. He turned slowly, almost lazily, and the attack completely missed him. I stumbled, caught myself, and spun around again with my sword at the ready.

  “So sure of yourself,” The Ripper remarked arrogantly, standing still with both hands behind his back. “Try again?”

  I leapt forward and swung out at his chest. But The Ripper took a step back and my blade cut nothing but air. He swung back lazily with his left hand, striking me in the face with his plate gauntlet. The blow was like nothing that had ever hit me before and sent me streaking through the air like
I’d been shot out of a cannon.

  I must have soared thirty feet or more before I came crashing down again.

  “Jack!” Baltos shouted.

  “Stop it!” D screamed, racing towards me. But The Ripper turned and raised his hand again, and D froze in place with an immediacy that could only happen in a video game.

  The Ripper turned and walked towards him, exposing his back to me.

  “Such… love,” The Ripper mused as he approached D, frozen in the air like a floating statue. “Tell me… what is it like?”

  What is he talking about!?

  I stretched out my hand and picked up my sword that had fallen beside me. With his back turned to me, there was a good chance I could score a critical hit if I was able to hit him.

  If.

  “What—what is what like?” D asked? Apparently, he was still allowed to speak, even if he couldn’t do anything else.

  “I never had many friends,” The Ripper replied. I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was the first human thing I’d heard him say. Until now, he’d been a god and was presenting himself as such. Hearing him refer to his real life, one where he had friends was… strange to say the least.

  “But you two,” he continued to muse. “I’ve been watching you, and you seem to have quite a bond. Known each other for a long time?”

  “Y—yes,” D stammered. “What do you care!?”

  “Not you though,” he said, turning his eyes to Baltos. I could hear the disdain in his voice. “You’re just lucky these two saved you when they did, aren’t you?”

  Baltos was basically frozen too, and just gawked back at The Ripper as he continued.

  “People never understand the consequences of their actions. The butterfly effect. How one thing can set off a chain reaction that can effect so many people… them saving your life for instance—”

  I’d heard enough. His back was still turned, I had my sword, and I wasn’t about to wait any longer to see what he was going to do next.

  I launched myself forward and sprinted at him as quietly as I could, sacrificing speed for stealth.

  I saw Gehman, Shorros, and Vayde’s faces as I closed in on him.

  I gripped my sword tight, so tight that if Carrethen had pain simulation, my hand would have been killing me.

  As I closed in on him, I readied my swing and activated Warrior’s Charge.

  The boost of strength hit my legs, propelling me forward. I brought my sword back to strike.

  I’ve got him! I thought as I swung.

  But just as my blade was about to connect, inches from The Ripper’s back—I froze.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” The Ripper said slowly, turning to face me.

  No!

  “Did you really think that would work?” he asked, examining my blade. He reached out and flicked it casually with a middle finger. “Only a coward stabs someone in the back, Jack.”

  “Only a coward doesn’t play by the rules!” I spat back. For a moment, The Ripper paused. He was actually thinking about my words. After a moment, he nodded.

  “Perhaps,” he mused. “Perhaps. But this is a futile battle anyway, Jack. You haven’t gained enough power to best me yet. There’s no point in wasting time pretending you have a chance.”

  “What do you want from me!?” I screamed. “Why did you single me out? What did I ever do to anyone!?”

  “Such arrogance,” The Ripper scoffed.

  With a wave of his hand, D and I both came crashing down to the ground. He stepped over us like we were nothing more than a couple of bugs.

  “To be honest, I’m surprised you lasted this long,” he said. “With everyone on the server out to get you. But you won’t make it. You won’t level high enough to beat me. You don’t have it in you.”

  “We’ll see about that,” I growled. I was running on pure emotion as the anger poured out of me like water from a fire hose.

  The Ripper looked at the exploit wall and slowly waved his hand over it.

  “I’m fixing this exploit now. There’s no need for you to be here, so I’m sending you back to your Bindstones,” he said. “Is that all you are, Jack? A coward who would stab someone in the back? A cheater that would use an exploit to gain levels? Who could possibly see anything in you?”

  What!?

  Before I could respond, The Ripper waved his hand again and the sound of rushing water filled my ears as I was swept away into portal space.

  49

  Dying Changes Everything

  I landed in Stoneburg with more pain and sorrow in my heart than I’d ever experienced in my life. We had failed so completely and utterly it was almost impossible to comprehend.

  We’d lost Shorros.

  We’d lost Vayde, and we hadn’t even achieved what we’d set out to do. The exploit spot was gone, and none of us would be able to use it. Not our group and not Cavey’s men. Not a single advantage had been gained, and we’d lost two people. We were weaker now than when we’d first set out.

  Our failure was monumental.

  First Gehman, now Shorros and Vayde… which one of us was going to be next?

  And what the Hell was The Ripper doing there? Was he tracking us? Following me? And why did he still seem interested in me!? It was like an interrogation back there, and I still had no answers to any of my questions.

  There was no doubt he’d singled me out for a reason, and it was almost as though he knew… something about me. But I still had absolutely no idea who he might be and why he would have a grudge against me.

  What is going on!?

  “He—he killed them like it was nothing,” Baltos said quietly. I looked up to see him standing sullenly beside me, a blank look on his face. He was really shaken up by what had happened.

  “Because it is nothing to him,” D replied grimly. “Chaucey was right.”

  Don’t say it, I thought miserably.

  “Shorros…” Xavier said under his breath, almost as though he was still processing what had happened.

  “He—he didn’t even have a weapon,” Baltos went on. “He just waved his hand and killed three guys!”

  “We’re never getting out of here,” D replied.

  “Don’t say that,” I said softly. I didn’t want to believe what he was saying. No, I already believed him. I just didn’t want to accept that I did.

  “It’s true,” D muttered.

  “No,” Baltos stammered. “No, he said we can level up and face him—”

  “And you think then he’s going to fight fair!?” D roared. “Wake up, Baltos! Stop being so weak! He’s going to toy with us! That’s what he’s doing!? Even if we level up, what’s to stop him from just making us all level one again and starting this whole world over?!”

  “Stop,” I said quietly.

  “He killed Vayde, we lost Shorros, and you think he’s just going to let one of us level up and defeat him!?”

  “Stop it!” I shouted, turning to face D. It just wasn’t the time for D’s brutal realist outlook on life. Too much had happened, and I was still reeling.

  I was about to go off on him when an arrow struck me in the chest—a fire arrow.

  “Raid!” someone screamed from down the hill. I turned in the direction of the shot and saw Bonecrusher and Chaucey coming straight for us.

  Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  I wasted no time drawing my sword. The ball of rage inside me swelled up as Chaucey raised his bow in my direction.

  Bonecrusher fired a frost bolt in our direction. It was a monster—the size of Gehman’s hut. He’d obviously leveled up since the last time we’d run into him.

  D told you this would happen, I thought as I activated Warrior’s Charge. I only needed the speed. I was going to reach them and tear them limb from limb. I wasn’t Jack anymore. I wasn’t a person. I was just a meteor of anger, hurtling towards the invaders.

  The frost bolt spun through the air at me, but I was ten steps ahead of it. I leapt into the air, planted my foot on on
e of its icy spines and kicked off, sending myself high into the air. I felt the chill beneath me as I soared.

  I saw the shock in Bonecrusher’s eyes as I closed the distance between us. Chaucey fired an arrow, but I swatted it aside like a fly with my sword. D fired back and hit him with an acid arrow, but it wasn’t enough.

  This has to end!

  I brought my sword down with everything I had, channeling all the hatred that had been building up inside me, all the feelings of failure and weakness that were stopping me from understanding the realities of the world I was now in.

  My blade cleaved through the air and collided with both of them, striking them in the chest and knocking them back. The damage was good, but I wasn’t about to stop there.

  I charged forward and drove my blade into Chaucey’s chest.

  You first, I thought.

  Bonecrusher waved his wand at me, but I was expecting it. I lashed out with my sword and knocked his hands up, sending the spell spiraling harmlessly into the sky.

  “What the—?” he stammered as I turned my attention back to Chaucey, who had dropped his bow and was in the middle of drawing his set of double short swords.

  “Too slow,” I growled as I activated Broad Strike, hitting him in the legs, chipping away even more health. He staggered back as I unleashed upon him.

  It was as though my body was on autopilot. Like I’d reached that pure level of skill every gamer dreams of—that Zen state where everything goes your way and you feel invincible.

  Blow after blow landed as images of my dead comrades flashed through my mind.

  Gehman’s face as he died right in front of me.

  Cavey’s men lying motionless in the town square.

  Vayde.

  Shorros.

  The Ripper as he killed The Mercenaries.

  “We are stuck here!” D’s voice in my head as I continued my attack.

  My blade rained down with all the strength I had in me. The sound of metal against metal as I bashed his swords aside was music to my ears. Bleeding Wound went off and I followed up with another Warrior’s Charge, stunning him briefly.

  “Chaucey!” It was Bonecrusher’s cry from beside me. He had his wand back and was aiming it at me. I didn’t even have to look to know it. I could hear it in his voice.