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

by Seth Ring

  The majority of the carvings from that point on followed the life of an Elf as they grew up. There were scenes of their childhood in the forests, walking among tall trees. Scenes of their young adult adventures and finding love. Scenes of war and of fighting giant monsters. Even a scene of an army facing off against a dragon breathing black flame. The carvings got more detailed and involved as they approached the foot of the coffin, showing more interactions with other races as the Elf tended the trees.

  At the foot of the coffin, the Elf was shown passing away, laying serenely in the large hands that had created them in the first reliefs. Crouched next to the end of the coffin, Thorn’s brow furrowed. The whole life of the Elf who he assumed was entombed here was laid out before him. Surprisingly, it was very similar to the carvings he had seen in the Dwarven labyrinth city, Rakkam. Though the style was a bit different the content was almost exactly the same. Where these carvings were smooth the Dwarven carvings were a bit more angular, but both held the same natural feeling.

  As he mulled over the connection, he noticed a discoloration at the base of the coffin. Getting down on his knees he blew away the dust that had accumulated throughout the years, revealing a thin strip running down the stone platform that the coffin was sitting on. Made of the same material as the coffin itself, it was only revealed when Thorn cleaned off the dust. It ran to the floor and continued back toward the center of the room.

  Curious, Thorn followed it, sweeping the dust and dirt aside. The line led Thorn to the large circular pattern in the center of the room where Thorn could see a thicker circular line. As he brushed the dirt aside he saw four more branches shooting out toward each of the other stone coffins, connecting all of them together. A thicker line ran from the circle toward the thin door that Akira had discovered, disappearing underneath it. Concentrating on following the line, thorn placed his palm on the double doors, intending to push them open, but before he could he heard a voice drift into his ears.

  “Um, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “I mean, you could, but it’ll probably end badly. That is only an assumption, however, as I’ve never opened that particular door. The last few have all been the same though, so chances are higher than 94% that if you push the door open we’ll all be cooked alive. Correction, I’ll be cooked alive. I do not have sufficient data to determine if you will be cooked alive.”

  *pop*

  Hearing a glugging sound followed by a contented sigh, Thorn looked around but failed to see anyone at all.

  “Whew, that one always makes my tongue tingle a little bit. It is the combination of frost root and gelf weed that produces the carbonation, a strange reaction to be sure as both are known for their milky consistency. Okay, you may open the door now if you would like.”

  Still unable to locate where the voice was, Thorn slowly removed his hand from the door and turned, scanning the space. On his shoulder, Akira was sniffing, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to sense the speaker.

  “Oh, wait, you probably can’t see me. Haha, whoops. Hold on.”

  *pop*

  *glugglug*

  “Okay, how about now? No? Hmmm...lets try some…” The voice trailed into incomprehensible mumbles broken by the sound of crunching and chewing.

  As Thorn and Akira watched, a thin figure faded into view, as if his body was being pieced together molecule by molecule. The haze faded quickly, revealing a young man in a raggedy greyish-brown robe. It was difficult to tell in the dim light of the moonstone if the robe was originally that color or if it was simply dirty. At first Thorn thought that it might be too big for the young man as it looked rather lumpy, but on closer inspection he discovered that the robe was completely covered in pockets, most hand stitched.

  Any area of the young man’s body that was not covered in a patchwork pocket was filled by a bandolier of glass vials filled with different colored potions. At his hips were countless small bags and boxes tied to his body with a nest of leather straps. On his back he carried a strange wooden box that stuck out above his head. A long stick protruded from the top of the wooden box. It leaned over his head precariously, a lantern bobbing on the end of the string tied to the end. What really surprised Thorn, however, was the soot that covered his face and dropped from his wild bushy hair whenever his head moved.

  Reaching up to scratch the scraggly beard that barely covered his chin, the young man’s gloves left smears of dirt and oil across his chin, making it dirtier than it had been before. A pair of goggles rested on his head, keeping back his mop of brownish red hair. Clapping his hands together, the young man grinned at Thorn.

  “I’m somewhat surprised that worked, to tell you the truth. The application of issuma bark is always a bit volatile so I was half expecting to explode. Have to get the ratios right when you mix it with Pennywort.” Pausing, he frowned and stuck out his tongue, picking off a sliver of wood that he carefully put away. “Anyway, I’m ready if you are. If you want to open the door now you can. I appreciate you waiting for me. Just watch out for the dragonflame trap. Not actual dragonflame of course. But that is what they call it since it can melt steel.”

  Noticing that Thorn had not spoken, the young man took a step back, dropping his hand to one of the many potions in the belts that crisscrossed his thin body. His long fingers twitched slightly as he ran his hand over the profusion of potions.

  “No? You don’t want to go forward? Do you mind if I do? I’m trying to gather some of that dragonflame. It is great as a heat stabilizer, you know.”

  Still watching the young man carefully, Thorn stepped to the side, clearing the path toward the door. As strange as the young man looked, Thorn felt a faint sense of danger as soon as he appeared. That sense of danger multiplied when the young man’s hand hovered over his belt. If the hair on the back of his neck was not standing straight up he would have assumed that the young man was completely helpless.

  Under his helmet Thorn frowned. Not being able to speak was so inconvenient. Letting out a silent sigh, he gestured to the door to tell the young man to go ahead. Smiling his thanks, the young man sauntered forward and gestured for Thorn to back up a bit further. Once Thorn was far enough back, the young man turned back to the door and gave the thin set of double doors a swift kick.

  The two doors seemed to be fastened in some way because, far from blasting the doors open as he had anticipated, the doors did not move at all. Instead, the young man staggered backward, favoring his aching leg.

  “Tch. I could have sworn I still had three minutes on that strength potion,” the young man mumbled to himself. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he slapped his forehead. “Of course! Issuma bark would counteract the redjade blood.”

  Turning to Thorn who was still watching him carefully, the young man shrugged.

  “Sometimes it is hard to keep all the interactions in mind. Anyway, I have to go back to my lab to brew another [Bear’s Strength] potion. You want to come along? I can point out the path to the exit if you’d like. This path only leads deeper into the tombs.”

  Thinking to himself for a moment, Thorn nodded and followed the young man across to the other side of the room to a broken door that Thorn had not noticed. The bottom half of the door was broken open, allowing enough space for the thin young man to pass through if he took the box off of his back. The opening was covered by a fallen pillar which is why Thorn had not seen it during his search.

  “Hmm, didn’t think about this, but are you going to fit?”

  Looking at the small hole, Thorn looked down at his body and shook his head. This time it was his turn to gesture for the young man to step back. Rolling his shoulders, Thorn stepped forward and snapped out a kick, his metal boots landing on the two doors.

  *CRACK*

  The sound of splintering stone rang out in the enclosed space as Thorn’s foot punched through the stone doors, leaving them wobbling on their hinges.

  “That works I guess.” The young man st
ared at Thorn for a moment and then, after lighting the lantern that dangled in front of him, led the way through the ruined doors.

  Beyond the doors was a long, winding tunnel full of turn-offs and branches, leaving Thorn hopelessly lost. The young man padded ahead with full assurance, so Thorn simply followed behind. The light from the lantern cast bobbing shadows as they walked, the motion reminding Thorn of churning waves in a stormy sea. They walked in silence for nearly an hour, the only sound the slap of their feet on the flagstones. Taking a sudden turn, the young man paused and selected a tube from one of his pouches.

  *pop*

  Removing the cork, he sprinkled some powder on the floor of the passage, revealing a set of thin lines. After counting them carefully, he stepped over them, gesturing for Thorn to do the same.

  “Necrotic Poison trap. Quite nasty. You don’t want to get caught in it, believe me.”

  Beyond the trap was a large door that the young man pushed open, inviting Thorn into a well-lit room. Forty feet wide, it was almost twice as long and had a tall twenty foot ceiling. The light in the room came from strategically placed glass vials that gave off strong light, similar to that of a lightbulb. The center of the room was taken up by a series of long tables while both sides of the room held sets of shelves covered in boxes, bags, and pots of various shapes. A furnace was placed against the back wall next to a bed and a small writing desk.

  “Welcome to my lab. Make yourself at home. I’ve got to check and make sure that I have enough redjade blood for the [Bear’s Strength] potion.” Stopping in place, he turned and looked at Thorn. “Though, if I…” trailing off into a mumble, he stared at Thorn, a slightly crazy look growing in his eyes.

  Nonplussed, Thorn walked around the table, putting a bit of space between him and the young man. The dangerous vibe that the young man had given him was gone so Thorn took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair. Seeing the look on the young man’s face turn strange, Thorn froze, his hand still raised.

  “You’re human? I thought you were a living machine. Wait, you are way too big to be a human. Way too big. Oh, wow, you’re a giant, aren't you? Wait, no, you can’t be a giant, you don’t have any of the elemental features. Huh, curious, what sort of race could you be?”

  His previous thoughts forgotten, the young man walked straight toward Thorn, clambering up onto the table when it got in his way. As he stepped up on one of the chairs and put his knee on the top of the table, the large wooden box on his back destabilized him, pulling him over toward the floor.

  Thorn’s hand shot forward and grabbed the box, stabilizing the messy young man. Holding the box, he lifted the young man off of the table and put him down on the ground. Slightly embarrassed, the young man took his pack off and set it to the side carefully. As he put it down Thorn could hear the faint clink of glass bumping together.

  “Haha, thanks. Whew, closely averted catastrophe, huh? We would have been in a nightmare situation if these babies busted.” Patting the top of the wooden box, the young man turned to examine Thorn’s face more closely. “Huh, whatever race you are, you look like you are carrying around one nasty curse. Looks like petrification. Looks like an over application of [Stone Skin], though you’d have to drink a bus load of potions to achieve that level of petrification.

  “Did you run into a greater earth elemental? Strange that you are still walking around. Have you been feeling your limbs slowing down? Petrification of this level should stop you in your tracks. Though, given your size it might be that it is just taking more time to take full effect. Or you are balancing it out in some way. Haha, I saw a stone golem who could move because its creator had cast [Stone Shaping] on its core so it could move its own body. I wanted to study it, but unfortunately, the [Hyper Glue] potion I threw at it was actually a [Greater Acid] potion and by the time I found the proper base to neutralize it, the core was already melted.”

  The young man paused and looked at Thorn, as if waiting to hear his explanation for how he was still walking around despite being petrified. For a moment they just stared at each other as Thorn processed the story he had just heard. Coming back to the present, he tapped his mouth and made a talking motion with his hand. Holding up his crossed wrists, he shook his head.

  “You don’t have a mouth? Oh, you can’t talk! Ah, must be the petrification. Wow, that is really terrible. Whoever designed this game is a jerk. How long have you been petrified? You know, if you get petrified for more than six hours you count as dead and will respawn. I know, because one time I was going to drink a [Lesser Invisibility] potion but it turned out that it was actually a [Mass Petrification] potion. I was pooping rocks for a week, even after I died and respawned. I think I have some [Greater Curse Removal] potions around here. Let me see. Where did I put them?”

  The young man began to search through the shelves, casually moving the boxes of potions and bags of material around. As he was digging through the mess, Thorn took the opportunity to look at the equipment that was set out on the tables. He had considered learning alchemy at one point, but the fact that his hands were many times too large to handle the small equipment, to say nothing of the fact that he was naturally resistant to the effects of potions, had turned him off.

  Still, he was at least familiar with what alchemy equipment looked like, but he could only identify about a fourth of the different devices piled on the long tables. Stacks of reagents were scattered carelessly around along with a variety of journals that seemed to have detailed notes regarding the effects of mixing materials using different processes. As unorganized as the young alchemist was, his neat handwriting that covered the pages of the open books in tight, organized strokes pointed to how meticulous he was with his experiments.

  “Ah! Here we go. Oh, actually, hold on. I think I can improve this. Hmmm. Ah, here we are.” Holding up two potions triumphantly, the young man rushed over to the tables and tossed the two potions into different devices with practiced ease. Muttering to himself, he grabbed a thin root and a shaving knife from the table and flicked a few slivers into the green potion which immediately started to boil.

  “12! 11! 10!” As he counted down in a loud voice, he added different materials from the table, appearing to be grabbing them at random and putting them into one of the potions or the other. Once his count reached one, he poured both potions into a clean tube, watching the mixing liquids carefully.

  “Quick! You have to drink it while it is hot!” Picking up the potion with a pair of tongs, he rushed over to Thorn and gestured for the Titan to open his mouth. “It won’t work as well once it cools down!”

  For a second Thorn considered refusing the potion, but seeing the expectant expression on the young man’s face, he gave a mental shrug. Even if the potion did not work he really would not lose anything. Opening his mouth, he grabbed the hot vial and poured the contents into his mouth.

  The potion itself had no particular flavor, but a burst of heat spread from Thorn’s chest as it slid down his throat. The burning feeling crept up his throat, causing him to cough. As he coughed he could feel his throat, which had been rock solid this whole time, beginning to soften. Soon his coughing began to echo throughout the room as his throat was restored.

  *Cough Cough*

  “Ehem.” Thorn’s eyes widened as he listened to the sound escape his lips.

  [Master! You can speak!]

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  “I can speak…” Thorn felt his throat in wonder. “I can speak! Haha, thank you!”

  “Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure. Sure. No problem. Now tell me, do you feel any weird sensations? Seeing okay? How many fingers am I holding up? Three? Eh, close enough. Huh, it looks like you are doing well. Perfectly normal except for the spots on your face, but I doubt they are permanent.”

  “Wait, spots?” Confused, Thorn looked over at Akira who gasped, putting her claws over her mouth in surprise.

  [Master! You look hideo...fine. You look totally fine. I’m sure they will fade.]


  “It’s the speckled tree fungus. But that is the only way I know to merge stage four potions without witchwart, which turns you green and makes your tongue like a frog’s. Believe me, this is way better. Like, way better. I could hardly eat for a week because my tongue kept unrolling.”

  Afraid to look at himself, Thorn closed his eyes and shuddered slightly. Still, regardless of how his face looked, he could speak, so it was worth it. Once he had composed himself, he opened up his character sheet.

  *Status*

  Name: [Thorn]

  Race: [Titan]

  Health: [100%]

  Mana: [100%]

  Titles: [Battle Mad], [Wolfsbane], [Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf], [Friend of the Earth], [Inheritor], [Commissioned Knight (Order of the Flame)], [Kingbreaker], [Hero], [Bearer of the Stone Heart (Corrupted)], [Living Statue], [Gladiator]

  Class: [Disciple]

  Mastery: [None]

  Allegiance: [Temple of the Moon]