Its eyes shot open and it screeched. I slammed my short sword through its neck, and it died.
I turned around. “They wake up if you attack them,” I said. “Although, I guess you could just critical hit them on the first attack.”
They still stared at me.
“What?” I asked. “Are you not used to killing things like this?”
Valentine fidgeted. “I just wouldn’t say … it’s, uhhh … our style to drive a blade through the neck.”
“Well, it should be. Easiest critical hit. It’s a pain to remember where the heart is in each of these stupid creatures. Always easy to hit the neck.”
“I … see.”
“Sure. Now excuse me while I get some free XP.” I moved around and slashed at the rest of the monkeys.
“Wait!” Luna stepped forward.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Luna wants free XP, too.”
I chuckled. “Aim for the neck. If they wake up because of a bad hit, they could cause a lot of damage.”
The elf nodded and slammed one end of her double blade into the closest monkey. With the size of her blade, it didn’t really matter where she hit. She was going to hit a vital region anyway.
I continued with my massacre, and a prompt popped up five minutes later.
DING!
Congratulations! Your party has defeated:
Insect Monkey Horde (Lv. 17)!
Sure, uhh … let’s just say you totally killed these guys. Definitely didn’t mass-murder them. (One a side note, it’s probably best you see someone about these murderous tendencies). Reward: 28000 XP. Reward: Reputation decreased by -100.
I so don’t have murderous tendencies. I rolled my eyes. What’s the Ga’em talking about?
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a skill.
Small Blades Level 2!
Not sure how your blades feel about what you just did. If blades could scream out, maybe they might. Then again, they might be happy that they’re actually being used instead of being cast away in the corner of a weapons shop. (They say Dave the Blade once went crazy after being left alone in a corner for a year). Reward: 1000 XP
Effect 1
Dexterity increased by +3.5% while using a small blade
I chuckled. Dave the Blade.
DING!
Congratulations! Your level has increased twice!
Level 18!
Eighteen? Damn. That’s just one level off from what those stupid Henway twins were at. Although, at the rate you’re slitting throats, you’ll probably catch up to them soon enough. Just keep killin’, sailor. You gain 8 stat points to spend on your skills. You also gain a 50% advancement to the skill of your choice.
Another level. I dismissed the screen. I don’t even care about those idiots anymore. I turned around and smiled at everyone else. “Shall we get going?”
I opened my Stats Screen as we headed out and updated my points with the ones I still had remaining.
Unassigned Skill Points: 16
I did the same as before, investing most of them into Agility and Dexterity while adding just a few to Health and Endurance.
Name
Levi Ryder
Level
18
Health
150 → 200
Constitution
15 → 20
Mana
200
Intelligence
20
Stamina
150 → 200
Endurance
15 → 20
Strength
21
Wisdom
20
Agility
29 → 34
Dexterity
33 → 34
Charisma
4
Luck
4
I closed the screen and kept walking. We moved forward in silence for a bit, and a good fifteen minutes later, the trees around us changed. There weren’t many shrubs anymore—just a lot of thickened trees. Each one grew to at least forty or fifty feet in height, and the trunks were wide enough for three people to try hugging it together and still not connect.
“Creepy,” Luna whispered.
Soon, we came upon a thick curtain of creepers hanging from the trees and going far down on either side.
“Is this it?” Valentine asked.
“Probably.” I pushed a few strands aside and stepped in. The scent of lilies and jasmine hit me.
Trees stood all around us, and each one was even larger than the ones outside. Small wooden houses were built on the topmost branches of each one, made from from rich, red wood. Staircases and ladders rose from the ground around the tree and up to each house, with rope bridges connecting a few of them together through the air. Gentle sunlight filtered past the canopy and was dispersed by the dewy mist in the air.
A few short people stood ten yards away from us. They all stared, but didn’t speak.
“Ah! You made it!” A Gnome walked in from the side. A familiar face.
“Pera,” I remembered.
“Indeed.” He bowed. “I am glad you took my offer up, bear-slayer.”
I grinned. “You better have some damn good weapons.”
“Don’t worry,” he said with a wink. “We do.”
***
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Joseph grinned.
He tugged on his horse, and the creature trotted forward gently. Beside him was another one, one with a greyish-silver mane. The Knight’s eyes shifted upward, to the old man that rode atop it. Sage Auron had been riding beside him exclusively for the two days that they had traveled, and Joseph felt nothing but thankful. He knew this would change the minds of the people around him. He’d see if they laughed at him now.
He glanced behind, at a spot a hundred yards away. Elya stared at the skies, tugging on his horse reins as well. He rode between a pack of random Knights and shuffled as he made space for himself between them.
“How do you like that?” Joseph muttered.
“Hmmm?” The old sage raised an eyebrow.
“Oh. It’s nothing,” he said. He couldn’t go around acting petty. Not in front of this man.
Sage Auron turned forward. A few seconds later, a sigh left his lips. “How have the preparations gone, Joseph?”
“Ah.” He looked at the Sage. “There have not been any issues.”
"Have any Knights asked about preparations?"
“None so far,” Joseph said. “However, I think it’s very likely that some will.”
“It is almost certain. Have you taken care of the most troublesome ones?”
He nodded. “I’ve paid them with the gold you provided. They’ve all promised to turn a blind eye to anything that bothers them about what you’re doing. However, Elya still remains.”
The old man clutched his reins tighter. “Of course he does.”
“I don’t think we will be able to buy him off like we did the others.”
“He's too righteous,” he hissed. “Fine. We'll handle this later.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The two of them turned away, and looked ahead. Joseph sneaked a glance back, though, and looked at a few Knights. Many looked at him; some in confusion, most in awe. Elya stared as well, and a frown had sculpted itself onto his face.
A chuckle resounded inside Joseph’s head.
When he had joined the Knight force, he’d been a puny teenage boy, almost homeless and half-dead from starvation. The Knights had fed him, and had given him a roof over his head in return for being a squire.
It wasn’t as though Joseph lazed around in any way. It was the opposite. He worked hard. He tried to improve himself all the time. He wouldn’t have become the Second Knight if that weren’t the case.
Or, now, the First Knight alongside Elya, if that promotion went through.
People had always laughed at Joseph—because he had been a homeless boy who had grown up in the army, because his parents had abandon
ed him, because he had bowed down to other people for most of his life.
A smile curled onto his lips. “Who’s laughing now?”
***
“Come in! Come in!” Pera waved us into the village. The Gnomes standing before me parted, revealing a path that led deeper inside this small space.
A short woman leaned toward Pera and whispered in his ear. They both smiled at each other, and then parted ways. The Gnome led us through the path, toward the other side of the village.
DING!
You have entered:
Village of the Ymir Gnomes!
You have taken Pera up on his offer and come to his Village. This location has now been added to your Map Menu. You can also gain additional information about this village as it becomes available to you. Oh, and let’s, uhhhh … not kill anyone while we’re here, okay?
Maybe.
I dismissed the screen and glanced forward. A massive tree stood at the deeper end of the village. It was easily sixty feet high, and was wide enough to make my room in Zevalon seem small.
Wow.
“Tree so big!” Luna squeaked as her eyes scanned the trunk from top to bottom. A much larger house had been built onto the lower branches, and thank gods they were the lower branches, because I wasn’t climbing up sixty feet of spiraling wooden stairs to get there.
“Be a little careful.” Pera stopped at the base of the tree. Planks of wood, about a foot long each, were stuck in the trunk. They were all arranged in a spiraling path around the tree which led up to the house on the upper branches.
The Gnome walked onto the steps and scurried up. I stepped onto the first one and bounced a few times. The plank flexed, but seemed sturdy enough to support me. I climbed up the staircase, and everyone else followed me. In a few moments, we were at the upper branches, staring into the entrance of a large house.
“Welcome to my home.” Pera bowed and then walked inside. The entrance was big enough for us if we all hunched down, and so we entered. The room inside was much larger than it looked, and the four of us fit in the place, though fitting a fifth might have been a problem.
A small cot stood at the far end of the wall, and beside it was a small dresser about the same height as the cot with two books laid on it. There was a mirror hanging on the wall on the other side, and beneath it was another dresser, this one carved intricately with many patterns on its surface. Two thin—probably flimsy—chairs stood there as well.
“Luna thinks this place is small.” The elf peeked around.
Pera chuckled. “A Gnome has no need for a mansion.”
I glanced around once more. This place pretty much is a mansion compared to the other houses.
“So.” The Gnome walked over to his mirror. “Let’s say I give you what you came for, eh?”
My eyes narrowed.
He tugged at the side of the fixture. A click sounded and the thing swung open on a hidden hinge. There was a deep cavity set into the trunk of the tree behind the mirror.
“You have a secret safe?” I chuckled.
“Always better safe than sorry.” He smiled and pulled out a small chest.
It was wooden, painted a murky red, and had silver plates outlining its edges. He opened it with a satisfying click.
“Here are some potions.” He lifted out a set of round-bottomed vials, all made of glass. The four of them contained some kind of fluorescent green liquid. The Gnome tossed one to me, and distributed the rest to the others.
DING!
You have found a new item.
Potion of the Forest Gnomes!
A potion made primarily from tree sap and other parts of a tree. The fluorescent green shade just screams out ‘nature’, but don’t stare too long (because fluorescence can hurt your eyes sometimes—really). Health and Stamina are both healed by +100 points on consumption. Would you like to transfer this item to your Item Inventory?
Yes
No
I tapped Yes. This was a useful thing to have.
Pera reached into the safe yet again, and picked out a few weapons this time. The first one he brought out was a short sword—one with a rust-red handle and a dark-grey blade. He held it out to Luna.
“No.” The elf shook her head. “Luna already have a good weapon. It’s very good!”
The Gnome chuckled. “Very well.” He pulled the weapon away before I could even take a look at it.
Does he think I can’t use it? But I’d literally stabbed that black bear with a similar weapon.
Pera pulled out a white dagger from the safe, and handed it to Valentine. “For you.”
Her expression tightened, but she froze her smile and took the weapon from him.
She’s certainly not happy. I chuckled. Valentine seemed like a person who hated close-combat or physical brawls. I guess the physical stuff is too violent for her to take. She’s too soft.
The Gnome went in one more time, and pulled out two objects now, both of the same shape and color—daggers of midnight-blue, sheathed in a metal scabbard the shade of dusk. “Here.” He handed them to me.
You have found new equipment.
Daggers of the Forest Sky (x2)!
The Gnomes might not seem like they’re great at blacksmithing, but appearances are not everything. The Daggers of the Forest Sky are said to be carved from metal that is blessed by the earth and the winds. Now you have four things you can stab someone with. Huzzah. Would you like to transfer this new equipment to your Equipment Inventory?
Yes
No
I tapped on Yes, and the screens disappeared. The daggers shimmered into white light and dissolved within the air.
“I guess you held up on your end of the promise,” I said.
A lady Gnome ran in before he could answer me. “Pera!”
The same one he talked to before. My eyes narrowed.
“What happened, Lili?” he asked.
“It’s the insect monkeys.” Her voice shook. “Our scout found twenty of them dead on the ground a few miles away.”
“What?” He froze up.
“Ah.” I lifted my hand. “We might have had something to do with that.”
Pera turned around, and a grin flashed on his face. “How wondrous! First the black bear, now the insect monkeys. You’ve gotten rid of two of our worst enemies.”
I cocked my head. “The insect monkeys are your enemies?”
“Yes. Hard to share the trees with those idiots,” he muttered. “They’ve been scouring the forest, searching for our village. But as you can see, we’re well hidden, so they haven’t found it yet. If they did, the village wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Well, I’m glad we got rid of them for you, then.”
“I must reward you for this, though, and that is apt since there is another item I wish to give you.” He reached out into the cavity once more, and this time pulled out four rings. He handed one to each of us.
Each was a metal ring of black metal with a single line of silver running through the middle.
You have found new equipment.
Ring of Blackwood!
One is said to obtain Blackwood when a tree willingly kills itself for someone it loves. What a lovely fairytale. Would you like to transfer this new equipment to your Equipment Inventory?
Yes
No
I tapped on Yes yet again and put the equipment away.
“Prettyyy.” Luna’s eyes sparkled, and she put the ring on. Stan and Valentine did the same as well.
Pera shut the mirror and turned to us. “We are going to have a feast tonight in honor of what you have achieved,” he said. “You must come.”
I sighed. “There really is no need.”
“Feast?!” Luna jumped up. “Are there steamed buns?”
The Gnome’s eyes narrowed, and then we chuckled. “That is not a delicacy we specialize in, but I’m sure I can find out if anyone in the village knows how to make them.”
The elf glanced at me, her eyes wide. “Can we g
o?”
The things I have to deal with. I exhaled. “Fine, we’ll be there.”
Pera grinned. “I look forward to it.”
***
I sat at the entrance of Pera’s house and let my legs hover over the edge.
The entire Gnome village sat at a large banquet table. I could pick out Luna at one end, and with Stan right next to her.
“How’s it going?” Valentine emerged from the side of the tree as she ascended the steps.
I smiled at her. “I wonder.”
“Stop being a riddle.” She chuckled. She climbed up to my side and squeezed in beside me. She held out a large leaf, and on it were chunks of spiced meat and something that looked vaguely like steamed buns.
“Thanks.” I grabbed the leaf from her and popped a piece of meat into my mouth.
“You should come down there,” she said. “It’s lively.”
“I know.”
She looked at me. “That’s why you’re not coming?”
“Oh, you know me so well.” My voice was flat.
“I definitely do.” She gazed at the canopy, and then the ground. "You know, I never imagined I'd be seeing something like this one day.” She smiled.
I glanced at her face, and then back down at the table. "You were never let out of the palace, were you?"
Her smile faded. "Only for the Knight Procession." Her voice hardened, and her fists clenched. "Otherwise, you couldn’t tell the difference between me and a doll that had been locked away."
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 18
