A twig snapped. Her horse reared up, throwing her to ground, and charged away, back the way they’d come. “Hey!” she yelled. “Come—”
A massive hunk of fur crashed out of the trees and thudded into the horse. Bones crunched and cries echoed through the air.
A bear. Valentine scrambled backward.
Dark, hungry eyes turned to her, and the creature frothed at the mouth. Was she going to have to kill this beast?
But she’d never done it before.
She’d never killed.
***
The Gnome bowed down. “I am Pera.”
I looked at the Gnome, and activated my Analyze skill.
DING!
Race
Forest Gnome
Level
28
“Pera,” I mumbled. Valentine held my shoulder, and I supported myself on my good leg. “What are you doing here?”
“Humans are not creatures I usually interact with, even if they dare to come in this far,” he said. “However, you two are special.”
“We are?” Valentine frowned.
“Oh, indeed.” He nodded. “This bear has attacked my village four times over the last six months. We lost many good people and resources because of its rage attacks. You have rid us of this problem. Allow me to say my thanks by formally inviting you to come to our village. It would be our way of expressing our—”
“I think we’re fine.” I eyed the Gnome. What’s his angle here?
Pera looked at me, and then chuckled. “Love staring, eh?” he asked. “That is fine. I’ll give you the location to my village.” He slid open his Ga’em menu and worked through a few options. “Say, human. The weapons you use are quite blunt. Wouldn’t you like to replace them?”
“Gnomes are not known for their blacksmithing.”
“It’s all because of those bloody dwarves,” he mumbled. “We should have gotten one of those fancy elven marketers, too, but did anyone listen to me? Nooo.”
What the heck is he going on about? I blinked.
“Anyway.” He coughed and turned to me. “Do not underestimate the Gnomes. We certainly don’t have the prowess to build massive structures like the dwarves, but we do have our own specialties.”
“Curious,” I said.
He winked. “Do come visit us. I eagerly await your arrival.” He walked into the shadows behind the trees, and then he was gone.
“You could have accepted his offer.” Valentine laid me down on the ground.
“You haven’t been through enough yet,” I muttered. “If you did, then you’d know trusting people blindly is just stupid.”
She shifted, and her teal eyes looked into mine. “I had a friend I trusted once, and then he burned down a camp. Does that count?”
Ouch, I thought. Then again, should have expected that. Of course she’d be touchy about it.
Valentine moved down to my leg. The bone had snapped into two, from either the first bear strike or the second. The pain still hit me in waves, but it had numbed quickly.
Travelling to the Kelras Mountains on a broken limb was impossible. It wasn’t close to impossible, or almost impossible. It was impossible. Unless I had maybe six or seven months to get there. Which is how long it might take for my leg to heal.
Valentine tugged at my pant leg and lifted it.
I sat up. “What are you doing?”
She smiled, and continued to roll my pants up to above my knee. My shin had swollen a lot now, and looked more like my thigh. She touched the swelling, and pain shot up my leg. I winced.
“Sorry.” Her voice was soft. She slid open her Ga’em menu and pulled out an item—a pale green crystal the size of a coin.
“What is that?” I asked.
She placed the crystal on my leg, above my swollen shin, and held it there with her finger. She turned to me. “This will hurt.”
My shoulders tightened. “What are you—”
Her hand pushed the crystal down on the wound. A striking pain shot through my body, like someone was twisting the bones inside me, and I threw my head back, screaming.
“Keliaros.”
The word resonated in my ears, and a gentle warmth spread from the crystal. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes seemed like hours. I was left in the lone company of fuzzy vision, and echoing screams. After what seemed like an eternity, but might have been only a few seconds, my senses all returned. I breathed heavily and looked up. Valentine sat there, smiling.
“What the bloody hell did you do?” My voice was hoarse.
She tapped on my shin, and my eyes shifted to my own leg. The swelling. I froze. It was gone.
“I can’t heal fractures on my own, of course,” she said. “That green crystal is kind of like a boost. It heals you faster, but you experience a ton of pain, too.”
A combination of item and spell. I pursued my lips. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen someone do that to heal something.
I pulled back my legs and then stood up. I felt normal, as though I hadn’t broken my leg at all, and that feeling was odd. I stepped forward. “This is pretty—” A pain shot up my thighs, and I stumbled.
Valentine caught me and steadied my stance. “I can’t completely heal you,” she said. “I’ve just accelerated the process. You still need to be careful.”
I nodded and sat back down.
“Are Luna and Stan around here, too?”
Oh, yeah. I blinked. “I’ll send them a message.”
Valentine nodded. I opened up my Ga’em menu and tapped on the second icon—a speech bubble. A dual-split screen emerged, with the right side containing a text-box and a keyboard beneath it, and the left containing a contact list I could shuffle through.
The only names I had on there were Helen, and everyone in my party. I tapped on Stan’s name, and the textbox’s To section filled with it immediately. I typed out the message and sent it.
Levi: I’ve found Valentine. She’s okay. Just use the Map Menu to find my location and come get us.
Stan replied back in a few seconds.
Stan: That’s great! I can see your location on the map. Luna and I will be there in ten minutes.
I closed the menu. “They’re coming.”
Valentine nodded. “I … I’m sorry I cause so much trouble.”
I eyed her slowly. “You don’t understand why I do certain things, do you?”
She refused to meet my gaze.
“I don’t blame you entirely.” I undid the buttons on my shirt.
Her face flushed, and she threw her hands up. “W-What are you doing?”
“Relax,” I chuckled. I unbuttoned my shirt fully, and then turned to lift the back, revealing red scars all over my skin.
The princess peaked through the gaps in her fingers, and then her mouth gaped open.
“These are just from yesterday,” I said. “How many of these do you think I've had to endure over 18 years of my life? And how many of them do you think came from the Zevalon Knights?"
Her hands clasped her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s fine. It’s wrong for me to think you can go against the Zevalon Knights, given the position you are in. For me, however, going against the Knights is how I survive.” I pulled my shirt back down. “If I’m this extreme, it’s because I’ve been forced to be that way,” I said. “This world isn't fair. There is no place for compassion and kindness.”
Her mouth opened, but she said nothing.
“I’m sorry.” I sighed. “That was a little heavy-handed of a topic.”
She shook her head. “I needed to hear it.” Her voice was soft. “It’s like you said. A person like me would never understand where someone like you was coming from.”
I nodded. “So you won’t run away again?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me.”
I chuckled. “Still do. But I need Luna if I want Aegil, and I’m pretty sure the elf would run from me if you were gone.”
“T
hat’s true. And speaking of Aegil….” Her tone changed. “I never asked you, but why do you want it?”
“Reasons.” I smiled. Why did she have to get so private all of a sudden?
“Do you want to hear something interesting while we wait?”
“Sure?”
Her eyes sparkled. “I actually have a book about the guy who used to own Aegil.”
I frowned. “Even I don’t know anything about the guy who owned it.”
“It was all in this book called Jafria Ul Defran.”
“Never heard of it before,” I said. “Is this part of the royal library?”
Valentine nodded. “Apparently, the guy who owned this relic was called the ‘Death Lord’.” She chuckled. “That’s a pretty scary title. The book says he’s from a race called the Eternals. I wasn’t able to find much about them in that book, but I asked Sage Auron about it, and he said the Eternals were an ancient race that just disappeared after a while.”
“And you couldn’t find anything else on the topic?”
She shook her head. “I—”
“Valentineeeee!” Luna crashed into Valentine and took her down to the floor. “Luna missed you.” She hugged her tightly. “Don’t leave Luna without saying bye again!”
“I missed you, too, Luna.” Valentine patted the elf’s head.
“I-Is that a black bear?” Stan stood behind the bushes.
I chuckled. “Yes, it is. It won’t bite, though, don’t worry.”
He laughed nervously and tip toed toward us. “So … what’s the plan?” he asked.
“We’re going to—”
“Head to a Gnome village,” Valentine said.
I blinked. “No! We don’t have the time.”
“Your leg needs time to heal.”
“I can just ride the horse,” I said. “I’m pretty sure it can fit four—”
I looked behind Stan but saw no horse. The vampire avoided my eyes and looked at the ground.
“Stan.” My voice was firm. “What happened to the horse?”
“Oh!” Luna giggled. “Horsie went bye-bye.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I’m not sure what happened, but it just collapsed on our way here.” Stan spoke quietly. “It stopped breathing almost immediately.”
I clenched my fists. “Just our luck.”
“As terrible as that is,” Valentine said, “we still have another option….”
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “We can go to the gnome village. This Pera guy better give me some damn good weapons.”
***
I trod slowly through the forest. My cracked bone was taking some time to heal, and while it did, Valentine supported me as I walked. I couldn’t put too much force on the leg though, else I’d just stumble to the floor, and probably break it again.
“How much longeerrrr?” Luna shuffled along. “Luna wants steamed buns.”
“It’s only been two hours,” I mumbled. I looked at the map I had open before me. “And we’ve got another half an hour before we get there.”
A screech sounded above us.
The branches broke and we dived out of the way. I turned around fast, and then froze. A brown monkey stood before us, about a foot smaller than I was, but with four arms instead of two. Its long tail swished over the ground, sweeping dust, and dark eyes looked right at me. I focused on its arms and activated my Analyze skill.
DING!
Race
Insect Monkey
Level
16
That level is not too bad, I thought.
“Heliosa!” Valentine yelled.
A ring of light emerged around her and shot outward. The monkey jumped over it, toward us. Luna stepped forward with her double-sword in hand, and jumped toward the monkey. She spun the blade and slashed at it, aiming for its neck, but the monkey was stronger mid-air. Its body twisted like it was made of rubber, and it punched the elf, sending her into the branches. Then, it thudded to the ground and surged up to Stan. The vampire stood still, shivering, unable to move.
Damn it! I picked up my kitchen blade and threw it. The blade shot toward the creature, but it glanced back at the last moment; with a flick, its caught the weapon by the handle. It dropped the knife to the side, and then looked back at the vampire.
Luna slid in from the side and stood between Stan and the beast.
“Valentine, knife!” I yelled.
The princess pulled the blade out of the ground and tossed it to me. I caught it by the handle and rushed to the creature while Luna spun her blade, slashing at it. The monkey, though, avoided every single one of her strikes.
“Luna, duck!” I yelled. The elf listened and knelt. I stepped onto her back with my good leg and launched myself at the monkey, lunging with the kitchen knife, but the monkey’s tail swished and grabbed me by arm, pulling me off the ground and letting me hang there.
I grinned. My other arm rose from the sheath at my side, and in another second, my short sword sunk into the monkey’s throat. The creature’s eyes widened and it dropped to the floor, gargling blood one second, and then dead the next.
DING!
Congratulations! Your party has defeated:
Insect Monkey (Lv. 16)!
Some people say the Insect Monkey was named so because it has six limbs. Seems like a stupid reason to name something, so it’s probably true. Reward: 1000 XP.
I stepped to the monkey and pulled the blade out of its throat.
“Luna is impressed.” The elf bounced.
“I’m impressed, too,” I said. “Didn’t expect the team-play to work that well.”
Working with other people is useful. Helen’s words echoed in my mind.
Maybe, I thought. As long as they listen to me and don’t do anything stupid.
Branches broke the air, and many more screeches echoed through the forest. Shadows flowed through the canopy, and in seconds, twenty more insect monkeys appeared.
Sure. Why not.
***
I hate monkeys.
So, so much.
We ran through the forest, with Valentine still supporting me because of my half-healed leg. Stupid leg.
The monkeys charged at us. There was only a thirty-yard gap, and they were closing in fast.
“Levi, w-what do we do?” Stan scampered a foot behind me.
“I don’t—”
My bad leg struck uneven ground and I crashed to the forest floor. The monkeys were only mere yards away from me now. I gripped the sword at my side. I’m not going down this easily.
Suddenly, a sphere of black dropped into the ground between us.
“Death-Man come with me.” Luna lifted me up bridal-style.
Smoke blasted out of the spheres as we left them behind us. Valentine and Stan followed me and Luna, and the princess had a wide smile on her face. Figures showed through the darkness within the smoke, and grew larger.
“They’re coming,” I mumbled.
“I’ll just use another smoke bomb,” Valentine said.
“Guys!” Stan pointed to his right. “This way.”
I frowned. “Stan, what are you—”
“Trust me.” He ran in the direction.
“Luna, follow him.”
The elf rushed behind him, and Valentine followed us. The vampire stumbled and stuttered as he ran ahead of us. He still had his blanket around him, but for some reason, he didn’t seem so weak anymore.
“There.” He pointed at a set of bushes ahead of us—bushed with magenta leaves.
“Somnia.” I grinned. “Luna, stop by the plants.”
I grabbed my kitchen knife and short sword in my hands. Screeches sounded, and I glanced back. The monkeys charged at us with a renewed vigor, now.
Don’t think they enjoyed the smoke, I thought.
I scanned the ground, but I couldn’t find any dry twigs. And that was a problem. No dry wood meant nothing to light up.
Luna laid me on the ground. The monkeys were coming at u
s.
“Here you go!” Valentine threw another grenade at them. Another wave of smoke burst out, but it wasn’t going to keep them away for long.
“Everyone,” I said. “Try to find some kind of dry wood. If you have anything that would burn, that’s okay, too.”
A cloth ripped.
I turned around, and my eyes widened.
“W-Would this do?” Stan held up a small strip of cloth, about the size of his finger, torn right off from his blanket.
“Yeah.” My voice was soft. I grabbed about two bunches of leaves and dropped them on the trail. I put the cloth at the base, and used my blades to light a spark. The cloth caught fire quickly, and smoke rose from it.
“Move out of the way,” I said. “Hold your breath.”
I hid behind a bush, and the others did the same. The leaves caught fire in seconds, and the smoke was no longer just wispy, but also dark. A screech sounded, and steps thudded toward us. Then, the steps slowly stopped. And then they went away.
A low groan sounded, followed by silence.
Perfect, I thought. “Valentine, use a smoke bomb!”
A thunk came from behind me, and a rush of smoke surged out a second later, washing away the smoke from the Somnia plant.
I coughed and got up. It took about a minute more for the smoke from the bomb to go away. Twenty monkeys lay collapsed on the ground, all completely knocked out.
“That worked better than I thought.” Stan smiled beside me.
“It did,” I grinned. “I guess the jokes on me for calling you useless, isn’t it?”
“It was justified.”
“What the heck just happened?” Valentine asked. “Are they all asleep?”
I nodded. “They’re all intoxicated by the Somnia plant. It puts them to sleep pretty fast.”
“This thing is dangerous,” she said. “What if someone used it to put people to sleep and killed them?”
“Nah, it doesn’t work that way.” I stepped to the closest fallen monkey. “These guys will all wake up in five minutes, or if—” I lifted my kitchen knife and stabbed a monkey in the shoulder.
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 17
