Nova Terra: Guardian - A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Titan Series Book 4)

by Seth Ring

  Passing by the attendants who were rushing out to clean up the arena pit, Velin and Thorn walked back to the spot they had been before. At least, that was the plan. Instead, Velin stopped abruptly, causing Thorn to nearly walk over her. Rocking back on his heels as he stopped, he looked at the three people who had blocked them.

  Standing in Velin’s way was a large, well-armored man with a thick black beard. Thick leather belts crossed his gleaming breastplate, holding up the twin crescent-shaped axes on his back. Behind him stood a red-haired woman with revealing armor and a cruel look in her eyes. Looking at Velin’s cloaked figure with a smirk, she caressed the fiery whip coiled in her hand.

  On the other side stood a squat Dwarf with a rough robe, the cloth wrappings on his hands identifying him as some sort of monk class. Despite the Dwarf’s plain appearance, there was a look in his eyes that unnerved Velin, causing her to draw her cloak around her body.

  “That was quite the fight there.” The black-bearded man’s voice boomed throughout the room as he raised his hand to stop Velin, drawing the eyes of everyone else in the room.

  After the echo of his voice faded, the whole room was plunged into silence. Trying to express her lack of interest in talking to anyone, Velin shook her head and began to walk around them only to have the Dwarf and red-haired woman step forward aggressively, boxing her in.

  “Whoa there. We just want to chat about your war construct here.” Giving a strange laugh, the black-bearded man patted his chest and introduced himself. “My name is Heuron and these are my companions, Lady Ruby and Raul.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” Lady Ruby’s voice was smooth and sweet, but the cruel light in her eyes never vanished, reminding Thorn of a poisonous viper. Raul, blocking Velin’s path on the other side, simply grunted, his eyes never leaving Velin’s face, as if he could see through her thick hood.

  “We’ve introduced ourselves, don’t you think you should tell us who you are?” Bright white teeth flashed through his black beard as Heuron smiled down at Velin. “It's only polite you know.”

  “Not interested.” Velin tried to make her voice as gruff as possible, though her silvery tones were hard to mask. Judging by the way Raul’s eyes lit up, she had not succeeded. The Dwarf smirked and nodded at Heuron whose smile turned rather nasty.

  “Huh, that isn’t polite, now is it? We’re just here to have a pleasant conversation and you are being quite rude. Well, we don’t like rude people on our turf, so unless you change your tune fast, it isn’t going to go well for you.”

  The clear antagonism in Heuron’s voice made Thorn’s brow furrow under his helmet as he scanned the three people blocking them. At first, he had assumed that Heuron and his companions were just stopping them to talk, but the change in Raul’s expression had not escaped his attention. Adding to that the fact that all three of them had barely given him a glance, it was obvious that the object of their attention was Velin.

  The thoughts had barely made it through Thorn’s mind when Lady Ruby confirmed them by abruptly reaching out for Velin’s hood, intending to pull it off. Letting out a giggle, her manicured hand shot out like a striking snake, each of her long red fingernails glinting like the gem she was named after. Taken by surprise, Velin still reacted quickly, summoning her staff in the path of Lady Ruby’s reaching hand.

  Undeterred, Lady Ruby’s hand twisted to the side, shooting past the body of the staff, only to bounce off of a small round golden shield that manifested by Velin’s head. Hissing in pain, Lady Ruby took a small step forward and curled her fingers, slashing the shield with a flick of her wrist. Her fingernails lit up brightly, leaving thick gouges in the golden surface of the shield. A bubbling crimson residue was left behind on the shield, eating away at it at a visible rate.

  Her hiss of pain turning into a giggle of triumph, Lady Ruby’s hand shot forward again, the remnants of the golden shield shattering as her nails jabbed through the deep gouges she had left. The sneak attack had been so abrupt that it had caught everyone by surprise leaving no time for anyone to intervene. A few of the attendants had started to approach, but glares from Heuron stopped them in their tracks.

  Velin had been unprepared, but still managed to get her emergency shield up in time to ward off the first attack. Unfortunately, Lady Ruby’s nails had corroded right through it in no time, leaving her defenseless. Unlike Mina, Velin lacked the blink ability, instead relying on her [Holy Armor] and [Shield] spells for defense. Those defensive spells took time, which Lady Ruby was not giving her. Wracking her mind for an option, Velin saw the glowing red nails growing larger in her vision.

  Knowing without a doubt that she would not be able to block the dangerous attack, Velin abandoned her defenses and threw herself backward in a desperate attempt to avoid the approaching nails. Even as she began to fall back, she could feel the Dwarf on the other side beginning to move, causing her to sigh in her head.

  Without warning, her vision suddenly jerked and Velin found herself lifted up into the air by a force that was impossible to resist. The sudden movement was so quick it left her breathless and reeling. Thankfully, the force that caused her to rise into the air kept ahold of her, allowing her time to recover.

  Lady Ruby had been absolutely sure of her attack landing when her target had abruptly disappeared from her sight, leaving her jabbing into empty air. Well, not entirely empty. Her Dwarf companion, Raul, had noticed that Velin was jumping back and took the opportunity to attack, lunging forward with a punch. Like Lady Ruby, he was surprised to have his target vanish and then horrified to be facing his ally’s attack.

  Twisting his body, Raul dodged the deadly nails that were shooting toward his head with a forward roll. Lady Ruby was not nearly as worried as her companion and continued with the attack, turning the thrust into a slash as she changed her target to Thorn’s bronze covered chest. Half way through her attack, she abandoned all aggression and dashed backwards as Thorn’s massive fist shot toward her head.

  Unfortunately for Lady Ruby, Raul’s forward roll had put him right behind her, and in her haste to distance herself from Thorn, she stumbled over the Dwarf, falling painfully to the ground. Retracting his fist and taking a big step backwards, Thorn put Velin down, making sure that she was steady on her feet before he let go. His eyes were fixed on the black-bearded Heuron who had not moved even an inch during the whole fight. The double axe wielding warrior gave Thorn a dangerous feeling.

  “Haha, that was quite the little scrap, wasn’t it?” Heuron’s cold gaze never left Velin and Thorn. Taking a small step forward, his hands rested on his hips, only inches away from the handles of his double axes.

  Muttering to herself, Velin planted her staff on the ground and magical energy began to gather, causing Heuron’s eyes to narrow. All of the bystanders began to back up quickly, getting as far away from the fight as they could. For a moment, tension hung in the air as Velin’s spell charged and Heuron and Thorn stared each other down.

  “Hey, what are you doing?! Absolutely no fighting down here! If you fight you’ll spend the rest of your days rotting in jail!” Furious shouts came from one of the hallways leading into the waiting room as a portly arena attendant ran in, puffing hard.

  Behind him, dressed in thick armor, came six of the arena guards with spears and shields. Arranging themselves in a half circle in front of the attendant, they leveled their spears at the five players. The other players and natives in the room held themselves still. The fight had erupted out of nowhere, and now the guards were involved making it even less of a good idea to get involved.

  Glancing at the attendant, Heuron reached up and stroked his beard. His boss had told him to come make trouble for this handler and their war construct, but judging from the way Lady Ruby’s ambush failed he was not confident that they would be able to handle both the guards and the war construct. Especially since the war construct seemed a lot more autonomous than most. There was more than one way to achieve what he wanted though.

  “Oh,
we are not fighting, just greeting each other.” Heuron lied through his teeth while taking a small step back. “Mr. Velraham asked us to make sure that these folks were ready for the big leagues, so we were just testing their, uh, qualifications.”

  Hearing the name that the black-bearded warrior mentioned, the attendant's fury faded considerably. Pushing his way past the guards, he accepted a small token that the Dwarf, Raul, pulled out of his robe. Examining it carefully, he nodded and handed it back.

  “Very well. But no more testing. The pit is the only place where fighting is allowed, even if you are working for Mr. Velraham. So break it up.”

  The golden glow that had been gathering around the end of Velin’s staff faded away as she canceled the spell, and Lady Ruby, who had been tensed up to dodge, relaxed. Even Heuron breathed a secret sigh of relief. Who knows what sort of spell the robed figure had been about to unleash and whether they could have dodged it.

  “Fine, we’ll back off for now.” Flashing an unfriendly grin at Velin and Thorn, Heuron led his partners out of the room, leaving Velin and Thorn facing the attendant and six guards.

  “If you have another fight today, wait here quietly and don’t cause any trouble. Otherwise, make my life simple and leave.”

  “We have another fight.”

  “Fine. Just don’t cause any more trouble.” Waving them away, the attendant looked around the room and then, leaving three of the guards, hurried out.

  Walking over to the wall where there was an open space, Velin ignored the murmurs of the crowd around them. Thorn trudged after her, his mind whirling. The fight that just happened was suspicious on multiple counts and he could smell the stench of a much bigger plot.

  “Thanks.” Velin’s husky voice drifted from under her hood as she patted Thorn’s arm. It was only his quick action of lifting her up that had allowed her to survive the fight with Lady Ruby and Raul. Her War Priestess class made her a powerful combatant, but it required that she have the proper time to cast her spells before the fight started. Unlike Mina, who could switch from a non-aggressive stance to full power in an instant, her combat ability took some time to get warmed up.

  Standing quietly next to Thorn, Velin wracked her brain for a reason that the red-haired player would have attacked her. The cost of attacking another player inside a city was normally punished very harshly by the system itself, though, now that she thought about it, many of the normal rules seemed to be changing in favor of making Nova Terra more realistic.

  Based on the way the attendant backed down when he saw the token from Mr. Velraham that the bearded warrior mentioned, it was obvious that corruption had settled deeply in Maandell city, and that did not bode well for them. Finally making up her mind, Velin was about to tell Thorn that they were going to leave when the attendant who had led them to the arena floor hurried over, looking quite stressed.

  “Excuse me, your next fight has arrived. Please follow me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “But we just fought.” Velin’s displeasure was evident in her voice, causing the attendant to take a step back and hold up his hands in helplessness.

  “Look, I don’t make the schedule. I was told there was a change in the match order and to come get Greymane. If you are forfeiting I can tell the organizers, but that would mean that you can’t fight anymore this week. No one is forcing you to fight. It’s up to you.”

  About to refuse, Velin was startled when she felt Thorn begin to move toward the tunnel leading out to the arena floor. Thankful that her hood blocked her expression, Velin gave a small sigh and gestured for the attendant to lead the way. Under the pitying gazes of the other fighters, they marched back into the tunnel they had just emerged from.

  Out in the ring, all of the metal barricades had been taken away, leaving the pit floor empty. The Metal Crawler’s carcass had been pried from the wall and dragged away and a rough plaster patch had been applied to the giant crack in the arena’s wall. The announcer made his way to the center of the pit floor and raised the magic voice projection device that looked like a small cup with no bottom to his lips.

  Ready to start the next match, he saw someone running toward him and paused. After listening to the attendant who whispered in his ear surprise colored his face and he stared at the attendant who shrugged and nodded. Around the arena, the audience began to murmur, wondering what was going on. Baxby, sitting next to Gereon Dado and Marius Hup, suddenly got a bad feeling. That feeling only grew when he heard the announcer’s voice echoing around the arena.

  “Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your patience with us as we clear away the shame of that last match! I’m excited to announce that there has been a change in the programming today! After that electric performance by the Steel Wolf, Greymane, the management is excited to find out just how strong this newcomer is! Prepare yourself for a true challenge of flesh vs steel, wits vs programming! Prepare yourself for a direct challenge by the Maandell city Tyrants!”

  The announcer’s voice had not faded when the entire arena erupted with cheers. Listening to the ecstatic crowds, Baxby’s growing uneasiness had turned into full blown anxiety, a sure sign of impending danger. Frowning, Baxby turned to Gereon only to see a similar frown pasted on the halfling’s face. Noticing the old man looking at him, Gereon grimaced.

  “I think I may have inadvertently pulled you into my fight.”

  “Explain what is going on.” Mina turned her head half way to address Gereon while keeping an eye on the arena floor.

  “Well, the arenas are owned by a collection of merchants, a group I happen to be part of. Each of us owns the majority of one arena and a portion of the others. The main shareholder of this arena is an idiot named Bampton…”

  *BOOM*

  Before Gereon could finish his words, the door to the box slammed open so hard that the wood splintered, and a large Orc tried to step into the room. From behind him a squeaky voice shouted out in anger.

  “I heard that Gereon! Who are you calling an idiot!? The only idiot here is you and that walking meatball. You have… hey, why are you standing in my way? Move out of the doorway. How am I supposed to squeeze in with you standing in the way?”

  The Orc’s body, seven feet of pure muscle, filled the doorway completely, preventing the owner of the squeaky voice from entering. Two eyes appeared in one of the small gaps between the Orc and the doorframe as Bampton peered into the box.

  “Uh...Boss?”

  “What? What is the matter? Did the meatball take up too much room in the box? I knew we should have given them a bigger box. Don’t tell me he has gotten even fatter? Get out of my way!” Tugging the Orc backward, a scrawny human with a nasty expression pushed his way to the front and then froze on the doorstep, his eyes wide.

  Three razor sharp ice spikes rotated gently in the air at his eye level, the air around them freezing. Mina had reacted instantly when the door began to open, summoning her floating orbs and turning them into ice spikes ready to skewer the first person to come through the door. Luckily for the Orc, his reflexes were excellent and he was able to stop himself on the threshold.

  Shooting an impressed look at Mina, Marius Hup heaved himself up in his chair with a huge amount of effort and turned to look at the door. Taking in the scene, he found the sight of Bampton's terrified face quite funny and began to chuckle, sending waves through his fat body.

  “What are you trying to do, Bampton?” His eyes narrowed, Gereon stared at the intruders. The thin human was still frozen at the doorway so Gereon gestured for Mina to stand down.

  Tsking, Mina flicked her wand and the ice spikes began to shrink, each revolution discharging a thick cold mist. Thinning out as they spun, the spikes soon disappeared into the air. Bampton gulped and straightened up, but only after they had disappeared completely. Puffing out his skinny chest, he looked around as casually as he could, pretending he had always known that the ice spikes would not hurt him. Stepping into the box, he waved for his Orc bodyguard to follow him in, i
mmediately causing the box to feel extra crowded.

  “Hmph! What are you talking about, Gereon? This is my arena, I can do whatever I want!” Sniffing disdainfully, he glared at the people in the booth. Looking around, his eyes happened to meet Mina’s and he shrunk back, quickly turning his head so no one would see the fear that bloomed in his eyes.

  “I’m not talking about the door, fool. I’m talking about the fight. Greymane just finished and you’re having it fight again? That hardly seems fair. I seem to recall some rules that breaks.”

  “Oh please, war constructs don’t get tired, so what is the big deal. Besides, it was a direct request from Mr. V. I was actually coming here to alert you about your companion, but if you don’t want to hear it, I don’t care.” Sneering, Bampton waved as if he was no longer in the mood to tell Gereon his information.

  “Companion?”

  “Yeah, the handler? But if you are going to act… ulp.” Halfway through his sentence, Bampton gagged as the freezing tip of a wand jabbed into the side of his neck. From the corner of his eyes he could see Mina’s furious face.