Travail Online: Soulkeeper: LitRPG Series (Book 1)

by Brian Simons

  “Gold!” Sybil shouted and sprinted ahead of Daniel. She crouched low to the ground at the far edge of the lantern’s glow.

  When she stood she had a single gold coin pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “It’s one coin,” she said, “but there’d better be more. Otherwise, this is just a cruel joke.”

  They kept walking for another ten minutes with no sign of additional coins. “Should we go back to see if that one coin respawned?” she asked.

  “We can check on our way back out, but my guess is that it won’t respawn quickly enough to be worth hanging around for, one dime at a time,” Daniel said.

  They pressed forward and heard what sounded like fingernails tapping on a table. The further they walked, the more fingernails they heard. It was like a constant drumming. Then they saw a huge dark shape slither past them with something shiny in its mouth. A few others soon followed.

  “Giant Centipedes!” Sal whispered. As if calling them “giant” might offend them.

  They all drew their weapons, but the multi-legged monsters didn’t attack. They pressed toward the back of the cavern, each with a gold coin in its mouth.

  “Sal,” Daniel said, “you first. Coral, you’re in the rear. We don’t shoot until we know what’s up ahead.”

  “Why do I have to go first?” Sal protested.

  “You’re the tank, buddy,” Daniel said.

  Sal led the way deeper into the centipede-infested cave. A hundred yards further and they saw it, a mountain of gold coins, four feet tall. An occasional centipede would swing by, deposit a coin from its mouth, and then scurry away. What odd behavior for an insect.

  “Our gold pouches have low limits,” Sybil said. “None of us ever paid to upgrade them. If we want to carry all that gold back, we’ll need additional containers of some kind. Tell me we have enough empty bags to take this with us.” The group looked around at their inventory.

  “I can’t make bags or pouches,” Coral reminded them. “I need to save my skill points for other skills.”

  The game had never let players get around the gold pouch limitation by putting coins directly into their inventory bags. Daniel wondered if they could devise another solution. “I still have my tattered beginner’s clothes,” he said. “Let’s see if we can fill them, tie them up, and get out of here.”

  They took Daniel’s threadbare clothes and laid them on the ground in front of the gold pile. They looked for patches with no holes that could support a heavy pile of coins. Sybil and Sal stood lookout in case any centipedes came back.

  Daniel reached toward the gold pile and took a small handful of coins. The coin stash erupted as an enormous centipede leapt from the middle of the pile. It must have been lying in wait under the gold, a patient guard gradually buried by what it was charged to protect.

  But now, it was risen. It skittered down the side of the gold pile and jumped at Sal who swatted it away with his mallet. Coral shot arrows, knocking an occasional leg off. The mob didn’t seem to notice. It dodged away from Sal and went to attack Sybil, who tried to fend it off with her spear.

  The thin polearm was not effective against the spindly monster. Its legs effectively blocked her spear from landing a solid hit. The centipede sank its fangs into her leg and then retreated to the top of its gold pile. It rubbed two of its legs together and made a hissing noise, still brandishing its fangs toward the group.

  Sybil fell to one knee and a small icon appeared above her head. It was shaped like a purple drop. Venom.

  Daniel dropped the lantern and rushed at the monster, pushing his shield into the centipede’s face and slashing off legs with his sword. Sal climbed the mound of gold to whack at the creature with his mallet. Sybil and Coral tried to stuff as much gold as possible into the tattered clothes on the floor.

  Then came a sickening crunch. Sal had a centipede limb sticking from his jaw. He chewed while he pounded away at the creature’s body with his mallet. The leg disappeared down his throat.

  “Now you’re not the only one with a venomous bite!” Sal yelled at the bug. Eating a piece of the bug must have given Sal a temporary new ability to inflict venom.

  Daniel stabbed his sword through the mob before Sal could sink his teeth in it again. “It’s dead,” he yelled, turning his back on the bug as it fell limp atop the gold pile.

  >> Giant Centipede takes 329 Damage. Giant Centipede dies. You receive 98 XP.

  >> Congratulations! You have reached Level 16. To apply your 15 skill points now, open your Skills and Attributes screen.

  >> Congratulations! You have improved your Swordfighting combat ability to 2. +5% damage when using a sword.

  “We should get a move on,” he said, “before the others show up. Aaaah!” The centipede had leaped from its gold pile and sank its fangs into Daniel’s neck.

  >> You’ve been hit! 601 Damage. [CRITICAL] [Venom].

  The bug’s now-motionless corpse crashed back down and slid along the pile of coins, causing a coin avalanche that sent random coins rolling away into the darkness. “But it was dead!” he yelled, his entire body stinging as his heart pumped venom-laced blood to every inch of him.

  “Wenda warned us about that,” Coral said. “Daniel, grab the centipede’s body. Sybil and I have the coins.”

  “Are you nuts?” Daniel said. “What for?”

  “Forget it. Here,” Coral said, thrusting two makeshift gold pouches toward Sal, one from Daniel’s raggedy shirt, the other from his tattered pants. He took them from her and she darted toward the centipede. She tried to lift its sprawling, heavy carapace but she just didn’t have the strength for it. Then she looked down at her fingers. She activated her Ring of Force and used her five seconds of super strength to hoist the dead bug’s body up and into her inventory bag. The bag must be larger on the inside, or maybe it was smaller on the outside? Either way, it seemed to hold a miraculous amount of stuff.

  Daniel climbed down and retrieved the lantern.

  Several centipedes converged on the gold pile as the group prepared to make their escape. Sybil and Daniel were losing HP fast from venom and Sal had soaked up a lot of damage too. They didn’t want to fight any more. So they ran.

  Back through the cavern, past a gold coin sitting on the cavern floor in its respawn spot, and back toward the path that sloped upwards and away from the cold, wet caverns. The sound of chitinous feet tapping against the hard cave floor was never far behind but the party didn’t look back. They ran full force in the jumpy light of a lantern held in the pumping fist of someone running for his life.

  A few feet up the slope, Daniel noticed that the pitter patter of a thousand little feet got further away. He glanced back and saw that the centipedes had stopped at the slope. For whatever reason, they refused to leave the lowest level of their cavernous home.

  “We can slow down,” Daniel said, panting. He had plenty of stamina points left, but the running and the full-body hurt from the venom had taken a toll. “We’re safe.”

  “But she’s not,” Sal said, staring up the slope.

  Daniel and the others listened while Wenda’s voice carried through the cave. “Go away! Don’t hurt me!”

  “Stay here,” Daniel advised his friends, leaving the lantern on the ground. He was hurt, but he could get close to Wenda without being detected. He activated Sneak and crept toward the sound of her voice.

  “Are they in there or not?” A man’s voice asked. It sounded unsettlingly like Otto’s.

  Daniel made no sound as he walked closer. He saw Wenda now. And Otto.

  “Where’d you get that axe, huh?” Wenda asked, taking a few small steps back from Otto.

  “I will not ask you again,” Otto said. “I’m here to challenge them. They have gotten too strong not to challenge. If you are helping them, I must eliminate you to increase their challenge level.”

  Daniel walked closer and closer to Otto. He didn’t have time to Surveil him to see how strong he was. He had to act. He got right behind the axe-wielding NPC a
nd aimed his sword forward, hoping to stab right through Otto’s heart. He activated Backstab and thrust.

  >> Backstab failed. Otto takes 24 Damage.

  “AH!” Wenda yelled, “Where did you come from?”

  Daniel’s attack must have made him visible again. Otto spun his axe arm out, but Daniel ducked and avoided the blow. “Run!” he yelled to Wenda.

  She ran. The wrong way. He hoped she would escape the cave, but instead she ran down the slope toward the centipedes. Daniel ran too, with Otto close behind them both.

  Daniel was a fast runner, and getting faster all the time. Wenda had short legs and heavy armor. She ran considerably slower. Otto grabbed one of her braids and pulled. Wenda’s armor clanged against the rock floor of the cave as she crashed to the floor.

  “Wenda!” Daniel yelled. He turned back and ran toward her as she got to her feet. Otto raised his axe overhead. He was going to kill her. Daniel had to think fast. “Tell your people that it isn’t safe here,” he said. “That Otto’s axe is preventing rebirth.”

  Otto aimed his axe at a trembling Wenda. As he sliced downward toward her skull, Otto stopped mid-attack. Daniel had already run his blade straight through Wenda’s heart. “Tell them,” he whispered.

  Daniel ignored the notifications that arose and fled toward his friends. Otto walked briskly behind him. When Daniel caught up to Sal, Sybil, and Coral, he saw Sybil slouched against the wall, the venom sapping her remaining life. Coral and Sal stood by her, only a few feet away from the cavern’s base. Angry centipedes swarmed and hissed, held back only by their instinct not to leave the limited area they called home. There was nowhere else to go. Daniel joined them and picked up the lantern.

  Otto gripped his axe in two hands as he cornered the group. He came within striking distance. “Now we can have our challenge,” he said.

  “Why do you keep saying that?” Coral asked. Why did she think now was a good time for a heart to heart? Unless she was buying them time to think of an escape plan.

  “Coral_Darning,” Otto said, “Travail is a wonderful place, full of opportunity, but only because it continues to evolve and to challenge players to improve their skills. If Travail does not grow, player growth will stagnate and the in-game economy will collapse, taking the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of players with it. The game must grow on. I can provide the increased challenge necessary. Thanks to me, players will not rest until they have gotten as strong as they possibly can. Otherwise, I will smite them with my axe.”

  Wow. So this cat really believed he was doing a public service by permanently eradicating players and NPCs from the game? He spoke about all this like he was above it, like he wasn’t a true NPC in the game. Daniel doubted the game developers would set this up intentionally. Something was very wrong here.

  “Enough talking,” Otto said. “It’s time for your challenge.” He raised the axe to swing it at Coral when Sal lunged forward and down. He sank his teeth into Otto’s leg.

  Otto stumbled back, a purple venom icon appearing above his head. He kicked Sal in the jaw and Sal bounded back, landing against the wall next to Sybil.

  Daniel had watched this happen, his mind busy adding up what little they had at their disposal. He thought he might have a plan. “Coral and Sal, kill the centipedes so we can run into the cavern!” Daniel yelled.

  It was a gamble, but as long as they acted instantly it might work. Coral gave Daniel a curious glance but followed his instruction, shooting arrows at the writhing centipedes while Sal whacked his mallet at them. Daniel thrust his sword up at Otto to block his axe and keep him at bay. The venom was still eating away at Daniel, but he ignored the pain and focused on buying Coral and Sal some time.

  “They’re dead!” Coral yelled.

  Daniel ducked away from Otto and grabbed the lantern. He joined Coral and Sal and blew the light out, letting the lantern drop to the floor. “Now!” he yelled.

  But when he yelled, he grabbed Coral and Sal by their armor collars and pulled them away from the opening to the cavern. Daniel could see enough in the dark to know that Otto had fallen for it. He entered the centipedes’ domain in the dark to search for the adventurers.

  Daniel pointed his friends up the slope and whispered, “Quick, get to the surface!” He knew they couldn’t see anything, but there was little to trip on. The slope, and the cave’s entrance, had been fairly smooth terrain.

  “Aargh!” Otto yelled as the centipede corpses each took their one posthumous attack, keeping Otto occupied long enough for Daniel to throw Sybil over his shoulder and head for the surface as well. They both had startlingly low HP, but the venom had finally run its course. Hopefully their battle with the centipedes drew other mobs toward the fray that might keep Otto busy for a bit. If they could make it to the surface they could escape.

  The faint illumination of sunlight entering the cave’s entrance eased the darkness as Daniel reached the cave’s exit. He set Sybil down on the ground next to Sal and Coral, both of whom were panting from the arduous sprint.

  “How’d we make out?” Sybil asked, her voice faint.

  “We’re alive,” Daniel said, “but we had to drop the gold when Otto showed up so we could fight. I’m sorry, Sybil.”

  She looked up at him with drooping eyelids and replied, “Let’s kill that sonofabitch.”

  Everyone laughed. “Let’s figure that out in Havenstock. Teleport, log off, and see you in the morning?”

  Sybil, Sal, and Coral teleported away, leaving Daniel alone for a moment. He checked the notifications that had popped up.

  >> Wenda takes 489 Damage. Wenda dies. You receive 9,900 XP.

  So she was hardier than she looked. She must have been at least Level 50 to provide that much XP. Otto had to wear her down quite a bit for Daniel to take her life with only one thrust.

  >> Congratulations! You have reached Level 17. To apply your 16 skill points now, open your Skills and Attributes screen.

  Quest Complete: Commit Murder

  See Devon Shirk to claim reward.

  No thank you, Daniel thought. He was about to activate his teleport when he heard a voice from the shadows. “You don’t waste any time. I like that.”

  “I didn’t kill her in cold blood, Devon,” Daniel said. The cloaked figure stepped out of the dark forest ahead, accompanied by two young women in black and red leather outfits. They each had daggers in both hands.

  “But you killed her, nonetheless. It’s good to know you still have that in you. You gave up torturing that poor Level 2 Shopkeeper, so I started to wonder.”

  Daniel thought back to how callous he had been, killing the real Otto over and over just so he could try his Haggle skill until it worked. How little he valued the pain and suffering of Travail’s NPCs before. But not now. When he took Wenda’s life he felt as if someone had squeezed his own heart in a vice grip. He had wanted to drop to his knees and retch, but he had to keep moving or Otto would have killed him.

  “If I hadn’t killed her, Otto would have,” Daniel said. “At least now she can respawn in her own village.” Daniel had killed her to save her. That should have relieved him of the guilt he felt, but it didn’t. He wondered if he’d feel better if he could explain that to Wenda. At the same time, he wasn’t sure he could ever look her in the eye. He knew exactly how hard it was to start over at Level 1 again, and now he had inflicted that fate on poor Wenda.

  “So you’re an ‘ends justifies the means’ kind of guy. Me too,” Devon said. “I have a new quest for you, along those lines.”

  “What do you need me for? You have your henchwomen here.”

  “Who, Jozlyn and Ram? One of them has promise, yes. But a leader recruits additional talent when he sees it. You’d make a good addition to the team.”

  “Well I’m not interested.”

  “Be that as it may,” Devon said, “what I’m asking is really for the greater good. See, I want you to poison the Regent.”

  “That’s treason,” Daniel said, “and the
Regent has been good to me. Why would I ever agree to do that?”

  “You completed my last quest, didn’t you?”

  “I did what needed to be done.”

  “Precisely my meaning. Are you ready for your reward?”

  “You mean becoming a Rogue, like you?”

  “I’m no mere Rogue, my boy. I’m the head of the Assassin’s Guild. You could be a great Assassin one day.”

  “Or not.”

  “That’s right, you’d rather be a Scout. Because your abilities are growing so well, is that right? How did your little Backstab experiment go with dear old Otto?”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Maybe I watched the entire thing. But you don’t have what it takes to Backstab a truly strong enemy. Yet. Let me teach you.”