Stone Spear
Damage
13-15 ATK
Special Effects
None
Grade
Zero Stars
Durability
2/2
Rarity
Common
Value
50 Sol
Of course it’s badly made. I rolled my eyes.
I shut the screen and tapped on No on the one beneath it, opting to keep the weapon instead of putting it back in my inventory.
I gripped the spear, and swung it again. The stone didn’t budge even after a couple of swings, so it was probably fine. However, the durability was pretty low, so I couldn’t expect to use it too many times.
A mental pressure sunk into the back of my head, and amplified quickly. It felt like a drum was thumping inside my mind, causing chaos amongst my thoughts. I turned around, and the pressure shifted around to the front instead.
Huh? I blinked.
I turned ninety degrees to the right this time, and the pressure shifted to the left of my head. It’s coming from a certain direction. I turned toward it, and the pressure went back to the front of my head once more.
I was staring across the stream, at the other section of the Ymir Forest. A flash of light burst from within the darkened trees. My shoulder’s tightened. What was that?
It flashed again, and with it, the pressure in my mind eased a little. I bit my lip. Should I head over? I wondered. The forest on the other side of the stream was even thicker than the one I had planned on heading through. I don’t know what might be in there. I stared at the darkened forest. But it’s been a long time since I felt a mental pressure like this.
“Screw it.” I stepped across the stream and strode toward the thick outgrowth. The flashes of light shone periodically, once every five seconds, and the pressure in my mind eased away the more I walked toward the light.
There must be a connection. I frowned. But what is it?
The canopy above me was thick, and very little sunlight came in, adding to the darkened nature of the place. Footsteps sounded from my right, and I froze.
A speck of white jumped out from behind a tree—a rabbit with yellow eyes—and stared at me. I grinned. “Nice to see you again.”
The rabbit held its gaze for a little longer, and then hopped into the forest once again. I continued forward, and moved silently between the trees. Small patches of dry leaves laid on the floor, but I stepped around them as I headed in. The flashes of light were brighter now, and the pressure in my head was almost gone.
It’s close by. My pace increased, and a minute later, a dark structure rose from a few yards away, in a clearing within the forest
A cave. I ran forward. The flashes of light turned intense, and I held up my hands to shield my eyes from the glare. I stepped into the clearing, and stood before the mouth of the cave. A small gemstone laid on the ground. It was clear, like a diamond, and had a white aura around it. Sunlight sunk into the stone, and then, a few seconds later, a bright flash burst out.
This is what’s making all the commotion. I knelt, and then froze when I saw a hand on the ground just a few yards ahead, inside the cave.
My eyes widened. There’s someone here. I pocketed the crystal and stepped forward.
A unconscious woman laid on the ground. Her smooth skin was colored a midnight-black, and blended into the darkness within the surface. Long, silver hair flowed down her shoulders, descending like moonlight through dark skies. Her eyes were half-open, and glowed with a haunting shade of jade-green.
I stared at her, completely mesmerized. My gaze ran up her face, and caught the pointy ears that peaked out of her hair.
“No way.” My chest thumped.
I’d just found a Drow Elf.
***
What’s a creature of the darkness doing here?
There weren’t any big elf villages close by, let alone Drow Elf villages. So, unless there was something deeper within the Ymir Forest, this elf was far out of her homeland.
I knelt next to her and took a closer look.
She had a shapely figure, and was dressed in a tight, long-sleeved shirt of white that showed a few inches of her midriff, and a pair of weathered grey shorts that only went down to her upper thighs.
I frowned. She definitely doesn’t look like a warrior. I looked around the cave. What is she doing here, then?
Her eyes were still half-open, but she was definitely unconscious. Either that, or she was just really good at playing an unconscious person.
I stared at her, focusing on her features, and activated my Analyze skill.
DING!
Race
Drow Elf
Level
31
She’s pretty strong. The average Knight in the city was around Level 40, and she was close to that. Closer than I am, at least. I chuckled.
A loud roar echoed from outside the cave. I flinched, and my eyes darted around. That can’t be good. Heavy footsteps sounded from ahead, and came closer with every second. Damn it. My fists clenched. Whatever this thing is, it’s too close for me to run away from here. The beast would probably snap me up before I even made it out the cave.
My eyes darted through the darkness deeper inside. I couldn’t see too well, but I made out the outline of a large rock in there. I looked at the elf, and then at the rock.
Ugh. People are annoying. I grabbed her hand and pulled.
Or at least tried to.
I managed to prop up half of her body, but I couldn’t drag her away. My face was already turning red with all the effort, and the veins in my hands throbbed. What the heck? I gasped.
The footsteps were even closer now.
Screw it. You’re on your own, elf.
I ran to the rock and jumped behind it. It was larger than I was, and with my crouched form, I doubted anyone could spot me hiding here.
A loud squeal shot into the cave, and echoed through the walls a few times before dying out. My eyes narrowed. Why does that sound familiar? My head peaked out from the side of the rock, just enough to catch a glimpse of the outside, and my eyes widened.
A black bear stood there, about twice as tall as I was. Its red eyes stared toward the right of the cave, not inside it. It held something white in its mouth, and the corner of my mouth twitched as I saw the fluffy white texture of the object.
Goodbye, Mister Rabbit.
I looked at the bear and focused on its head, on its dark fur, on its red eyes. A second later, my Analyze skill activated.
DING!
Race
Black Bear
Level
21
Level 21. The bear was stronger than me. Could I take it down?
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a skill.
Analyze Level 2!
By concentrating in dire times, you’ve improved your ability to discern items in the world around you. You can now summon screens with 10% less effort. Reward: 1000 XP
Effect 1
You can now summon target info with 10% less effort.
I dismissed the screen and ducked back behind the boulder. Should I take on the bear? I wondered.
More footsteps sounded, and a few more roars echoed through. I peeked out, once more, this time from the other side of the rock. And my eyes widened.
Where one bear had been before, there now stood four.
I might have been able to take on one bear, albeit by trying to distract it, or using an item, or some other ploy. I couldn’t take on four bears the same way.
The bear with the rabbit strode away, but the other three looked into the cave. I retreated my head a little behind the rock, but still looked at them. They stepped towards the elf, looking right at her.
My chest thumped. Was she going to get eaten by these things? Definitely don’t want to see something like that.
They stood around, and just stared at her body. They moved around in a circle around her, but always stayed at a yard’s distance. W
hat’s going on? I blinked. It was almost like they were afraid of her.
However, if they found me…. Well, that was going to be a different thing altogether.
I’ve got to use this chance. I pulled the clear crystal out of my pocket. This is a long shot, but I might as well. I tossed the small object over the bears, and it landed on the border of the cave’s mouth. The bears noticed nothing and just stared at the elf.
Perfect. I threw my spear a second later, and it hit the ground a few yards before the stone. The bears heard the noise of rock hitting stone and turned around. I shielded my eyes. The crystal finished charging up with sunlight, and a flash burst out, blinding the bears.
The beasts reared up and roared in pain. When their forelimbs touched the ground, they rushed out the cave, thumping heavily. When I looked again, they’d disappeared into the forest.
“That worked better than I’d expected.” I stood up from behind the rock and walked up to the elf. Her eyes were closed now, and her body had shifted position. She was leaning to the side, and I could see the back of her shorts. A folded piece of paper sat in the back pocket. I tugged at the top and pulled it out. Maybe this will tell me something about who she is.
I opened the parchment, and then my eyes widened. My hands shook, and my fingers brushed the ink on the surface. Why does she have this? Heat rose up the back of my neck. I’m supposed to have the only copy in existence.
The scroll was half torn, but I could still read the first word in the title. “Aegil.” My voice shook as I spoke the word. My chest thumped hard, like the sound of a stampede of bears, and my shoulders tightened.
I gripped the piece of paper. This was it. This was my way out. My scroll had been torn to pieces, but now I’d found a second chance. It was almost like a redemption for what had happened with the Henways.
I looked at the elf. This woman knew something about what I wanted, about what I needed.
What do I do, though? She was definitely not in a state to answer any questions—or even hear them—right now, and there was no telling when she’d actually come to. I didn’t have any smelling salts or other medicine on me that would help with this kind of thing.
Ugh. I scratched my chin.
I couldn’t just leave her here in the cave either. The escape from the bears had been close enough as is. Who knew what other beasts might come attack her if I left her here? I had to take her somewhere else.
The answer for that, though, was obvious.
I looked into the forest, toward Zevalon, and a grin curled onto my face. “Helen’s always asking me to bring friends over, isn’t she?”
***
CHAPTER FIVE
A young lady looked out the window, and a low sigh escaped her lips.
A city stood beneath her, and buildings and structures rose for as far as she could see. And she couldn’t see much—only a mile ahead. Everything past that was simply shadows.
She sighed once again. “When do you think they’ll actually let me out?” Her voice was soft, as if she was afraid to even utter the questions.
She gazed down the straight streets, and looked at the many people walking up and down its lengths. They were all free beings, heading to wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they wanted.
They weren’t like her.
They weren’t glorified objects that were trapped and imprisoned.
Her hand shifted and she lifted a small hand-mirror in front of her eyes. The glossy surface didn’t catch her reflection, and showed her a different image instead. She saw a miniature view of the enclosure, and the small forms of the few men who guarded one of the outposts.
Suddenly, a protrusion showed up at the top of the walls. Her eyes narrowed. “What?” She waved her hand over the image and it zoomed in. The protrusion took form. “A boy.” She frowned.
What was he doing there?
The door behind her creaked open. “Miss?”
The young lady turned around. A middle-aged woman stood before her, dressed in a maid’s attire.
She bowed. “The Sage wishes to meet with you.”
The young lady nodded. She turned to the mirror, but the figure she’d seen before was already gone. “How odd,” she mumbled.
“Is something wrong, miss?” the maid asked.
The young lady looked out the window, gazing at the wall, and then shook her head. “No. Nothing is wrong.”
***
Creatures of darkness didn’t belong here.
Helen would murder me if I brought a Drow Elf home. The whole city would be out for the elf’s blood if they found out. They’d be out for my blood for bringing her here. What had happened to that vampire from before said a lot about how the city felt about darkness.
I sighed as I walked between the trees. People are always afraid of what they don’t understand.
My hands trembled as I held the elf in my arms. She was a lot heavier than she looked, and more than I could comfortably carry, but I’d managed to do it anyway. I’d wrapped her body in a withered, red blanket I had, so for now, her identity would be safe. Probably can’t depend on this for too long though.
“I must be crazy,” I muttered.
No one else would have dared to even think about taking a creature of darkness back to their home, considering the consequences. But I didn’t have another choice.
I looked at the elf wrapped in cloth. She knew something about the relic. Possibly more than even I did. If that were the case, there was no way I could let go of an information resource like her.
I just couldn’t.
I’d kept my path alongside the stream running through the Ymir Forest, only it was now a strong river, wider and noisier than before. I stayed close to its banks, and gazed through the trees every now and then. A few rabbits had hopped around within the last half hour, but there were no larger beasts that had shown themselves.
I took a quick glance back, at the cluster of trees far beyond me. What actually hides in this place? But that curiosity was greatly overshadowed by my desire to learn about the scroll.
Why did I need the scroll? Simple.
Power.
Multitudes of addicting, enthralling power.
Power could spark and shape the only wish I had.
The ever-righteous person would probably tell me that going after such things demeaned my existence, that power should not be what defines me. And the ever-righteous person would say that because they already have everything they desire. There is no need for anything more.
This world was bloody broken. Things were unfair all the time. If that was the case, what business did I have following my morals and ethics, when the people who stomped on me were able to do so precisely because they didn’t follow theirs?
It was a case of the hunter accusing its prey of not standing still.
A mile of walking later, the forest turned sparse, and the walls of the enclosure rose from the horizon. The sun was still relatively high in the sky and I looked up the time in my Ga’em menu.
3:43 p.m.
Most of the people in the city—at least the outskirts—would either be working or napping around now. There shouldn’t be more than one or two people roaming the streets to my house.
I looked at the wall. How do I get across that thing, though?
Definitely couldn’t just stroll in with a large, cloth-wrapped object in my hand and just go, “Hi guys!” to the guards at the outpost. They’d probably pin me to the ground. Heck, they’d do that to me on a normal day sometimes.
I sighed. I can’t risk losing the elf.
I stood at the edge of the last grove of trees, half a mile from the outpost. I scanned the walls, searching for a possible opening. And then my eyes widened. At hundred yards down the right side of the wall was a small protrusion, an extra five feet of concrete and stone that rose above the rest of the place.
I’ve never noticed that before. But it’s perfect.
I walked to my right, skimming the edge of the fo
rest, and stopped when the outpost was further away and the protrusion was right in front of me. I walked up to the wall, my hands still trembling as I carried the elf in my arms. The outpost didn’t have a direct view of me, so I was safe for now. I trudged up to the grey structure and put the elf down, behind a cluster of bushes.
Ugh. I stretched out my arms, and a cracked my knuckles. That was harsher than I thought.
I looked at the wall, and a grin flashed on my face. You’re perfect for what I’ve got. I slid out my Ga’em menu, navigated to my Item Inventory, and pulled out the Spoon Hook. A stream of lights flowed into the air, and condensed into the object. I picked it up from the floor and gave it a twirl.
The weight balance was still the same, and the rope hadn’t frayed too much—even though it’d been soaked deep in the water.
Can’t complain. I spun the rope in my hand, and threw the hook up at the protrusion. I let more rope pull away this time, and the spoon-pentagon soared into the air. The rope went taut a second later, and the metal contraption swung to its left, just like before. It wrapped around the stone protrusion, and I watched with my fingers crossed. The hook wrapped around twice and snagged the rope, locking itself in place.
I tugged on the rope, and then tugged harder once again. It didn’t budge. Perfect. I picked up the other end, the one next to me, and wound it around the elf. I wrapped it tight over her body and sealed it off with a knot. I tugged at the rope once more, just to make sure it was stable.
I glanced at my sides. No one. If someone came by now and caught me in the middle of my climbing, I was pretty much screwed.
That’s a nice, happy thought. I grabbed the rope and shimmied up. The frayed surface of the rope cut into my hands, but the discomfort was easily bearable. I glanced back down at the ground for every five feet I climbed, making sure no one was coming by.
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 5
