Mitigating Risk

by Blaise Corvin

  “Hazard!” I screamed, lunging forward with Eneus, stabbing with all my physical strength. I pushed so much power into my vib-blade ability that the spear’s blade hummed. Eggshell hurriedly raised his shield, but my spear punched right through the bronze barrier like it wasn’t even there. I felt Eneus bite. The white-armored man screamed and tried to roast me with another stream of fire from his sword, but I yanked my spear to one side, slamming his sword arm with his own shield. The burst of flame went wide, and I kicked the shield again, still holding onto Eneus.

  Eggshell was off balanced but still attacked again, chopping with his sword. Luckily for me, his own shield blocked his vision. I leveraged Eneus up to put the man further off balance and tried to damage him with the spear’s blade on the other side of the shield. Eggshell screamed and jumped back, then discarded his shield to one side, throwing it with so much enhanced strength that it ripped Eneus right out of my hands. The slaver leader had murder in his eyes, and I saw the damage I’d done.

  My spear had chipped and broken the armor over the man’s upper chest, and the blade had bitten deeply into his collarbone area. The upper side of the spear had cut his cheek, too. The wound wasn’t life-threatening, but would hopefully slow him down. I smiled.

  Eggshell sprang at me, swinging his sword. I was unarmed, and he no doubt expected to cleave me in two, but I extended my hand to one side. Then I yanked with all my strength after I felt cloth touch my palm. As my enemy swung, Eneus hurtled between us, complete with the shield it was still embedded in. The combined weight of the shield and spear smashed into both myself and Eggshell. The impact broke my arm with a sick snap and knocked my enemy’s sword out of his hand.

  With my opponent off balance, I took two running steps forward, and then feather jumped as hard as I could. As I hurtled for Eggshell’s chest, I pushed hard on my Flight ability, reversing my weightlessness. I hit the man feet-first like a woman-shaped rocket. One of my ankles snapped as I savagely kicked out, the strength of my legs combining with the force of the impact, knocking the armored man backward like a leaf in a whirlwind.

  The big orb-Bonded crashed backward, rattling in his armor as he rolled, and I screamed as I landed on my damaged ankles. I had to push. Range favored the armored bastard, and I knew he had to still be alive.

  I limped forward as fast as I could and had almost closed with my opponent when he sprang up, hollering in rage. His eyes were wild, and his once-handsome face was dirty and damaged. One of his arms was hanging funny, but he raised the other hand, and a torrent of fire hit me in the chest. My armor held for an instant but was already burning me on the inside as I dodged.

  I air skated as best I could to one side, then directly into my enemy. The impact knocked us off our feet, and suddenly I was on my back, defending myself as best I could as Eggshell tried to kill me with his bare hands.

  “Rotting, stupid, homely cunt,” he panted. “Why couldn’t you just join us? Or just die? Just—” he stopped speaking, snarling as he held my throat in one hand and hit my face with the other, only pausing to gouge at my eyes.

  I bared my teeth, kicking and grappling, my Endurance skill probably the only reason I could even still fight. The trouble was, I was being overwhelmed in every way. Each punch to my head felt like an anvil thrown by a giant, and I was quickly losing consciousness. My head was fuzzy, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

  In the middle of my floating time, I realized I had to do something different, or I’d die. Which of Eggshell’s arms had been injured? That’s right, I thought. The man was panting as he hit me, his spittle dropping on my face. His armor definitely made things difficult. I only had one chance to save myself and all the Soron guards—to save Christopher and Jessica.

  Finding strength was hard as I was choked, my vision going black, but I managed to put everything I had left into a savage punch to Eggshell’s injured shoulder. The man sucked in a gasp, pausing for a second. The hand on my throat released its pressure for a moment, but that was all I needed.

  I drew in a shaky breath, and sonic screamed as hard as I could, using all the Vibration power I could muster. The intensity of the scream deafened me too, and blood from my mouth sprayed Eggshell’s face.

  The slaver leader reeled backward, clawing at his eyes and ears as I kicked upwards, making space. Then I drew Vistvis and rolled over on top of my enemy.

  “Join you, White Darkness? How about fuckin no!” I screamed. Then I plunged Vistvis into the man’s face and throat again, and again, turning his once-handsome features into ground meat. I distantly felt the man punching me all over, grabbing at my hair but I ignored the pain as I slammed my bright dagger into my enemy, aiming for every bit of vulnerable flesh above his armor. “Hazard!” I screamed, my throat raw and gurgling.

  Finally, the armored man’s hands fell limp, one last rattling breath escaping his bloody, ruined trachea.

  I coughed wetly, and the last thing I remembered before passing out was turning to my side to throw up so I could breathe.

  Things Change

  “—No, stay back.”

  “We know her. Well, I do. Let us through!”

  Voices had been penetrating my haze for a while, annoying me, and I’d dismissed them. I thought I could recognize this one, though. One of my eyes was swollen shut, but I managed to crack the other open and look around.

  I realized I was alive. The sky looked wonderful. Beautiful.

  “Nobody can see Nora. She is wounded.” The voice was unfamiliar. I turned my head.

  A ring of Soron guards surrounded me, facing outward. The water mage I’d seen earlier was kneeling to one side, my wrist in his hands. He was crying.

  Mourad blocked Christopher’s way. He had his arm around a blanket-wrapped Jessica, her eyes unfocused. Another guard joined Mourad. “Just stay back for now. Let us tend to the hero of Soron. She might still die.”

  “No, she won’t,” muttered Mourad, shaking her head. “That is one of the toughest gods damned women I have ever met, and that is saying something.”

  “Not—not—” I breathed, trying to get the words out.

  “She’s awake!” someone called. I drifted in and out of consciousness and felt hands all over me, gentle hands, reverent hands. They propped me up, and I opened my good eye again to glare around.

  “Not a hero,” I tried to hiss, but it came out as more of a wheeze.

  Mourad knelt next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I saw Christopher inch a bit closer behind her, then stop when he saw me clearly, his mouth gaping open in shock. Mourad leaned in close and said, “You did good, girl. We won. Your charges are safe. The slavers are killed or have run away, and the surviving prisoners are safe. Nobody is touching any of your gear. You did good, real good. Just rest, okay?”

  Rest sounded alright so I sighed, and the hands lowered me down again. My body didn’t feel so good, but the grass felt wonderful.

  “I think she might pull through,” said the water mage, his voice strained.

  I drifted for a while then. When I heard voices again, some of the guards around me were whispering. One said, “I heard she killed most of the slavers by herself.”

  Another high, excited voice whispered, “I heard she fought three orb-Bonded at once!”

  “Does anyone know what happened to that one fancy Mo’hali woman?”

  “No, nobody has seen her since we started mopping up. We have guard details everywhere that matters, though. Like here.”

  “Yeah, nothing is getting through me.” This person’s whisper held heat. “She saved us. She’s one of us. Not a rotting thing will get near her.”

  “Do you know what people are calling her?”

  “No, what?”

  “Hazardous Nora and Nora the Hazard.” The voice chuckled a bit.

  “They’d better not call her that around me!” The voice was indignant.

  “I don’t think you understand. The hazard is to her enemies, and to ours.”

  “Oh, I kind of l
ike that!”

  Riding the clouds of my spotty consciousness, I could only silently agree with that. The name was silly, but at least now it was not an insult. I couldn’t help but smile, or at least try to. It was nice to have a pack again, even if I didn’t really deserve one. I began losing consciousness again.

  Fine, have it your way, Arren, I thought. I will keep living; I won’t give up. Maybe I actually can spread light in this world. But you were the best of us. I will never forget you.

  Never.

  I dreamed of better times, days when I was young and carefree. Good days. And I spent them with Arren, my best friend.

  End of Nora Hazard: Mitigating Risk,

  ---Book One of Nora Hazard

  Nora’s adventures will be continued in the next book, Competitive Advantage!

  Please read on for a note by the author, including multiple ways to connect on social media.

  …And don’t forget to review this novel!

  School--::--Subschool:

  Earth-:-Metal

  Air-:-Void

  Water-:-Life

  Fire-:-Matter

  Consciousness-:-Time

  Light-:-Darkness

  Force-:-Attraction

  About the Author:

  Blaise Corvin served in the US Army in several roles. He has seen the best and the worst that humanity has to offer. He is a sucker for any hobby involving weapons, art, or improv.

  He currently lives in Texas with a house full of animals, and enough geeky memorabilia to start a museum.

  He likes talking about himself in third person within author biographies.

  It’s all very eccentric.

  Cheers!

  To Readers,

  PLEASE, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! You are wonderful and reviews are amazing for all authors, but especially indie authors like me. Your reviews help me pay the bills. Seriously.

  In 2016 I published my first book. Now I’m full time. This is pretty awesome, but also extremely scary. …lol. A lot of writers don’t admit to that. The uncertainty can be intense.

  The Artifice Universe is a part of something huge, a universe I’ve been working on for 10 years and can probably explore for the rest of my life.

  If you didn’t see my foreword at the front of the book, I suggest taking a peek. I talk a little bit about my motivations for writing this book and where it will fit in with the larger Delvers LLC storyline.

  For those that don’t know, I am a web serial writer. My Patreon readers get to see everything I write as I write it. I add content and the entire story goes through a couple revisions before before I publish.

  1. My website

  If you’re interested in checking out my website, the URL is http://blaise-corvin.com/. You can find news, Delvers artwork, and maps. In 2018, the site will have a store, too.

  2. These are my social media pages. Connect with me!

  Twitter - @Blaise_Corvin

  https://twitter.com/Blaise_Corvin

  Facebook - Leave me a like on facebook!

  https://www.facebook.com/BlaiseCorvinWriter/

  LitRPG Society Facebook Group

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/

  Blaise Corvin Reader group (best place for updates)

  http://www.facebook.com/groups/BlaiseCorvinBooks/

  My Patreon!

  http://www.patreon.com/BlaiseCorvin

  3. Recommendations:

  If you liked this book, you may like other GameLit stories too! Some authors I can recommend are:

  Drew Hayes, NPCs series:

  http://www.amazon.com/Drew-Hayes/e/B00C3NDBPS/

  Travis Bagwell:

  https://www.amazon.com/Travis-Bagwell/e/B01J0PAE38/

  4. My email

  If you want to drop me a line for any reason, you can email me at:

  Blaise.Corvin.Art@gmail.com

  5. Until next time (--and please leave a review!--)

  Thank you for joining me on this adventure! I couldn’t do it without all the knowledge and encouragement I get on a daily basis from everyone I interact with.

  I can’t wait to spend time with you again with Nora, in Nora Hazard: Competitive Advantage.

  :)

  -BC

  As part of an effort to further clean up the editing and proofing within books going forward, I have begun adding EVEN MORE proofing passes.

  Seriously, it never ends.

  Luckily, I have some awesome readers who help me with this stuff. They are definitely part of the Artifice Universe family!

  I want to thank:

  Aaron Sunlin

  Mitch Arnold

  Bob Brandt

  Thanks so much, guys!