The Eternal: Awakening - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 1)

by Dhayaa Anbajagane

  Perfect, I thought to myself. “I will help you,” I said without hesitation.

  “Thank-”

  “But I have some conditions.”

  The Mother’s expression changed, as if she did not expect me to say that. The nymphs still in battle yelped as the Ogre chased after them, thudding its club all over the ground. They attacked back wildly, panic infused within their demeanor. Their stray spears and arrows flew all over the place, many sticking into the ground a few feet from me. This fight was turning into a mess.

  The Mother knew she had no choice. “What do you…wish of me, human?” she asked.

  “A gift,” I said, confidently. “The Forest Scimitars.”

  Her eyes widened. “But that is-”

  “A weapon that can be forged only by the Nymphs, I know,” I said, thanking my subconscious for remembering that. “Promise me the Forest Scimitars, and I will save your people in return.”

  She hesitated for a second, but her face showed her mind was already made up. “Very well,” she said, her voice a whisper.

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” I smiled and stood up, glancing at the scene in front of me, at the Ogre stomping over the forest floor like a big bully.

  DING!

  You have been offered a quest: Save the Nymphs I! An Ogre has attacked the Nymph Colony. Be their savior and rescue them from their attacker! Reward: Forest Scimitars.

  Two buttons lay at the bottom of the screen, one with the word ‘Accept’ and the other with the word ‘Decline’.

  Let’s do this, I thought as I hit ‘Accept’ and dismissed the screen. I walked towards the battle, my mind preparing itself for battle. My hand latched onto a spear sticking out of the ground next to me and lifted it up with ease.

  DING!

  You have obtained new equipment: Nymph Spear. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your equipment inventory?

  I promptly hit ‘No’. This weapon was all I had right now and I wasn’t going to put it back in my inventory just yet.

  I looked to the ogre and noticed a health bar fade in next to the beast’s head, probably a side effect of using analyze on it. The bar was a full green and had the word ‘Forest Ogre’ displayed atop of it. The beast growled as it thrashed through the Nymphs again and I hastened my footsteps, hustling faster towards it the nearer I got.

  “ARRRGGHHHH,” I yelled as I jumped into the battle field and the ogre instantly turned around to me, curious. I felt self-doubt for a second. I was a level 2 player taking on a Level 12 ogre. It was probably not the best thing to do, but I could feel confidence coursing through me, as though my subconscious was sure I had to do this.

  Trust your instincts, I told myself as I pushed ahead. The ogre stepped up to me, its club immediately swinging down at my body. I paused till the very last moment and threw myself forward, rolling on the cold ground as the wood thundered into the surface. Vibrations went through me as my hands pushed off, jerking my body up onto my knees. I twirled my torso and threw my spear hard, forcing it with every bit of strength I had.

  The weapon thudded into the ogre, but as I’d expected, did nothing to its skin. The beast growled loudly and swung its club. The air vibrated as the massive club passed through, smacking right into a nearby nymph. She went flying away, crashing into a tree top and thudding to the ground. From a glance, I could tell she was still alive but badly injured.

  That doesn’t look good, I winced.

  I heard another whoosh and looked up just in time to see the ogre’s club swing down on me. I immediately dived back, evading the attack by inches. The weapon thudded into the ground, the impact cratering the ground and sending shockwaves through it. I used the force from the waves and let myself get pushed back, putting distance me and the creature. I knelt as I came to a stop and grabbed the nearest weapon to me, a fallen nymph’s archery set.

  DING!

  You have obtained new equipment: Nymph Bow. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your equipment inventory?

  You have obtained new equipment: Wooden Arrows. Would you like to transfer the equipment to your equipment inventory?

  I quickly tapped ‘No’ on both screens and turned to ogre, just as the beast charged to me. I swiftly loaded an arrow into the bow and fired it, but the projectile flew a stray path, completely missing the ogre.

  Okay, so I’m not good at archery, I mumbled and instantly ran into the trees, avoiding the charging beast, and buying myself a few seconds. The ogre however came after me fast, throwing down trunk and bark as it rushed through the forest.

  I tried to think of how to take down the beast as I squirmed through the trees. The level difference between me and the ogre was far too big for me to easily land a direct hit on it. The Ga’em awarded bonus damage and critical hits for either attacking an opponent’s key vital body parts, like the throat, or for using a perfected technique to take someone down. I had a feeling I might be able to pull off something like that but this ogre seemed like it’d be hard to take down even with those specialized moves.

  The beast growled as it caught up to me, its wild-swinging club smashing the trees all around. I drew my bow, firing an arrow at its body again. The close-range shot hit even with my bad technique, but I turned to its health bar and realized I couldn’t even tell if any health had been taken out.

  I forgot ogres are great tanks, I muttered, annoyed that how I now had another challenge to overcome. My weak arrows were no match for the beast’s large Health reservoir. A blue light formed around me suddenly, acting like a warm blanket of color. I freaked out for a moment, but then I recognized what it really was.

  A speed buff, my eyes widened. The blue glow turned faint red a second later, and ended as a vibrant violet. I looked towards the trees quite a few yards away, at the lone Mother nymph that held a glowing staff of light.

  I won’t let this go to waste, I thought. I was only a weak level 2, but that speed buff effectively doubled my speed, giving me a much better chance. The ogre’s angry growls echoed behind me as I sped through the forest, its presence however disappearing from my vision.

  I need to find a way to take it down, I thought as I ran. I was far too weak to take it out with a direct attack, and I knew no other way to defeat it at the moment.

  A shadow suddenly loomed over me, and I turned to my side, just in time to see a massive club swinging into my body. The weapon thudded into my flesh, shooting me at the tree trunk and sending my body crumpling into it. I collapsed to the floor, feeling the crunching sensation of my bones breaking. The green fill of my health bar quickly reduced, turning red as it sunk down to just over a tenth.

  My eyes weakly looked ahead as the ogre walked towards me, its body glowing in a violet hue as well.

  Damn it, I thought, it has a speed buff too.

  The beast raised its club, the heavy head hovering about me, ready for the killing blow. I tried to get up, tried to dive, but I was far too injured.

  I can’t, my limbs went limp, my mind surrendering to my fate. The world faded in and out of my vision, shadows taking over everything I could see. I heard a faint voice in my mind. I couldn’t tell what it sounded like, but I could tell what it was saying. It spoke to me, leaving a word in my mind. A word that felt both familiar and alien at once.

  I felt something stir inside me, as though a storm was starting to rage. My vision immediately cleared and I looked up, at the ogre’s club swinging down on me. I focused hard as I jerked my half-broken hand up into the air, palm facing the beast. “Levieris,” I said.

  A blast of smoky-grey light shot out of my hand, ramming right into the ogre. I felt the air around me heat up and tremor, as though a fissure were quaking through it. When the attack cut off, all that was left of the ogre was a dusty skeleton and a worn out club laying on the ground beside it. I stared at the sight before me, not sure of whether I was impressed or terrified.

  What did I just do? Unease built up in my mind. What was that spell? How had I even casted i
t? Questions flooded me, a new one forming even before I could think about the last.

  DING!

  Warning! You have reached critical health. Take evasive action immediately.

  I need to heal up, I chided at the sound of the prompt and got my thoughts back on track.

  A ray of light caught my eye, and I noticed a glittering object at the base of the abandoned club. I dragged my body forward, wincing as my fractured bones scraped against each other within my wounds. I reached out and grabbed the object, a cool sensation spreading under my fingertips as I did.

  It was a glass vial, about as tall as my hand, a wooden cork sealing it. I looked at the red liquid inside it and my stomach cringed, realizing how similar it looked to all the blood that had splattered onto me.

  DING!

  You have obtained a Warrior’s Restoration Potion. This potion is specialized for tough, battle-loving warriors and heals back a part of one's Health and Stamina.

  Just what I needed, I thought, gazing at vial of red in my hands, my eyes watching the liquid swirl inside. I quickly uncorked it and a sweet scent wafted towards me. I hesitated for a moment, but gave in a second later. I put the potion to my lips and downed it all in one go, feeling its sugary taste overload my tongue.

  A warm feeling passed through my body, as though I had drunk a cup of hot, melted chocolate. I felt my throbbing sensations of pain die down immediately,and a soothing calm came over me. My health bar quickly filled up, the red changing to green as it increased to more than half of the max.

  DING!

  A translucent-white screen came up again.

  You have consumed a Warrior’s Restoration Potion. Health and Stamina have been partly restored!

  I slowly stood up, flexing my arms as I did. Pain and hurt had dissolved away from my body now, and I could tell my limbs were no longer broken.

  Amazing, I thought, impressed at how effective the potion was.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Save the Nymphs I! Your bravery and strength has aided in the defeat of the Ogre. The Nymphs owe you their gratitude. Reward: Meet the Nymph Mother to obtain your reward. Reward: Unlocked Save the Nymphs II.

  DING!

  You have obtained the quest: Save the Nymphs II! The Nymph mother’s successor has gone missing in battle. Aid the nymphs by finding her and bringing her back to them. Reward: Unknown.

  I guess I was right about opportunity after all, I smiled and hit ‘Accept’. I’d gotten another quest, and that meant more rewards to reap. Helping these nymphs was turning out to be much more beneficial to me than I’d imagined.

  The Nymph Mother’s successor was a very important person in the colony, and was second-to-none other than the Mother herself. I figured rescuing someone like that should get me a very good reward.

  I still needed to work on the rescuing part though. The Ga’em prompt hadn’t given me any info on what had exactly caused this successor to go missing, but it did mention ‘missing in battle’, so it seemed likely she might have been separated from all the other nymphs when she tried to take on the ogre.

  Separated where though? I wondered. Did the ogre maybe take her away?

  Going deeper into the forest seemed to be the best option, and so I headed forward, following the wake of snapped tree trunks and broken branches in front of me. Half-cut leaves blew over my hair as the wind slithered past me, carrying a bland scent with it.

  I’d walked a few minutes ahead when something caught my eye. I stopped myself short and looked down to the ground. I noticed a patch of footsteps in a wetter part of the forest floor. They led from my right and disappeared a few feet to my left, at the point where the ground hardened again.

  That way, I told myself and walked.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learnt a new skill: Tracking. You will now be able to observe your environment more intimately and gain greater information from it.

  Nice, I smiled to myself.

  I walked for about another minute when I saw an odd structure from the corner of my eye. A large pile of branches and leaves lay half a hundred yards away, as though to build a pyre. I looked closer and saw the body of the small girl beside it, silent and immobile.

  Is that? my eyes widened. I ran to the girl, my heart beating faster with every step. One look and I could tell she was a Nymph. This had to be the Nymph mother’s successor. The sickly scent of blood floated in the air around the girl, masking her in it.

  I knelt down and lifted her up, her body light and frail in my arms. The girl’s black hair was shorter than the Nymph Mother’s and was wet with her own blood. I could see cuts and bruises on parts of her body, but they didn’t seem too severe. I leaned in towards her and the sound of rough breathing filled my ears, sending a sense of calm through me. She was still alive.

  Thank god, I thought.

  I held her firm in my arms and began walking back through the trees. My mind wandered to what had happened with the ogre before.

  What was that voice I heard? I asked myself, but I lacked any kind of answer. I was completely clueless.

  I pondered for about ten minutes later, stopping when I finally found the nymph group again. A few of them conscious, and the others not-so-much. I held the nymph girl in my arms as I walked to the group, hearing her chest heave as she breathed.

  “KIONE!” the Nymph Mother yelled as her weakened body stumbled towards me. I lay the Nymph down onto the floor and backed away, letting the Nymph Mother look at her. She grabbed the nymph’s hands in hers, a warm smile on her face.

  I let myself slump to the ground, exhausted. My back rested against the forest floor, my eyes looking up at the still cloudy skies. I exhaled in relief just as a drop of cold rain hit my cheek. A grin curled onto my face. I’d just walked into an unnecessary battle of my own accord, taken on an ogre, summoned some weird spell, and escaped death by the slightest of margins.

  And yet, this was the most alive I’d felt since I could ever remember.

  ***

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I took shelter under a tree as it began to drizzle down.

  The Nymph mother knelt beside Kione in the scarce rain, tightly holding her limp hand. I saw a dull white light glow around their fingers and realized that she was healing the young nymph. The girl’s health bar slowly increased, taking a whole minute to go up to a fourth of its max capacity. The girl’s yellow eyes soon fluttered open, and the nymph mother hugged her tenderly, tears of relief sliding down her cheeks.

  The other Nymphs slowly made their way to the mother, some of them grazed by only scratches, and others covered with deep gashes. But though a few were badly injured, their demeanor implied it wasn’t fatal or life-threatening.

  Not a big surprise, I thought, recalling that Nymphs had superior healing powers, if they were close to a pure source of nature that is.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Save the nymphs II! You have shown a selfless bravery in saving Kione of the Nymphs. Reward: 15000 XP. Reward: 25000 Sol

  CHING!

  Congratulations! You selflessly helped the Nymphs and braved all danger to serve their cause. Fame is increased by +200 points!

  TRING!

  You have now reached level 3! You gain 4 points to distribute between your stats. You also get a 25% advancement to the skill of your choice. Use them wisely.

  You have now reached level 4! You gain 4 points to distribute between your stats. You also get a 25% advancement to the skill of your choice. Use them wisely.

  …

  …

  …

  You have now reached level 8! You gain 4 points to distribute between your stats. You also get a 25% advancement to the skill of your choice. Use them wisely.

  “Whoa, I levelled up a ton!” I said, excited about how much my stats would improve from this alone.

  CHING!

  You have obtained new equipment: Ogre Club! This weapon has been transferr
ed to your Equipment Inventory.

  You have obtained new equipment: Warrior’s Restoration Potion (x3)! This equipment has been transferred to your Equipment Inventory.

  TRING!

  You have obtained new equipment: Forest Tunic! This equipment has been transferred to your Equipment Inventory.

  I got a ton of stuff from these quests alone, I smiled. Did not expect it to be a chain quest though.

  Quests in general were basically goals or adventures that the Ga’em gave one based on things like who they were, who they got the Quests from, and what their true inner desires might be. Chain Quests on the other hand were quests that were interrelated, or a part of an overarching goal. It was quite easy to identify chain quests, or the possibility of chain quests, through quest names. If a quest name had a roman numeral next to it, it was almost certain it was part of a chain quest.

  I turned around and noticed that Kione had gotten back onto her feet. Both her and the Nymph Mother were going around healing the rest of the injured nymphs. One by one the little beings began to stand back up, their bodies now showing barely any sign of battle.

  A few minutes later, the Nymph mother walked up to me, a tender smile on her face.

  “What is your name, human?” she asked, an ease in her voice.

  “I am Zoran,” I said confidently.

  “Zoran, the human,” she declared. “You protected us from the Forest Ogre and saved Kione from her fate, even though you had no reason to.”