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

by Seth Ring

  “No problem. We’ll look when we get there. For now, lets just keep these bugs clear while we wait for the rest of the team.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  “Three on the left!”

  “I see them.” Following Alph’s pointing finger, Thorn put away his arbalest and dashed forward, drawing his tetsubo as he moved. Three quick strikes crushed the long-legged bugs into paste and he retreated behind Heidi as quickly as he had charged out.

  For the last two days Thorn, Heidi, and Alph had been periodically clearing the entrance to the cavern, making sure that the concentration of bugs did not grow out of control as they waited for Velin, Mina, and the ladies from the Society of Roses to arrive. Despite their efforts, the number of the larger eggs with thick leather armor had nearly doubled. The thought of how quickly they had multiplied sent a shiver down Thorn’s spine.

  After multiple days of cooperation, they had settled into a smooth rhythm. Heidi held the front, tying up any bugs that got close to the cavern’s entrance, while Thorn picked off the long-legged bugs from a distance, occasionally charging out to deal with a group that got too close. Alph was splitting his time between throwing offensive potions at groups of enemies, replenishing the [Sticky Light] potions as they dried out and faded, and trying to develop a poison that only targeted the bugs.

  “Haha, yes!”

  “Did you find something that works?” Thorn looked over to where Alph was dripping different colored liquids on one of the tube bugs that had been completely immobilized by thick foam.

  “Heh, no, but I did manage to give them the ability to breathe fire. Haha, look how cool that is!”

  “Um, I feel like we are taking steps backwards here. The point is to kill them, not make them stronger.”

  “You don’t want a self-replicating army of fire-breathing bugs?”

  “Can you control them? Because I certainly don’t want to face an army of self-replicating fire-breathing bugs.”

  “Fair point.” Alph scratched his chin as he looked down at the tube bug that was still belching flame. “Hmmm. Let me try an [Obsidian Skin] potion.”

  “You’re giving them armor too? Are you sure you’re not secretly on their side?” Over the last few days of hanging out with Thorn and Alph, Heidi had relaxed a lot.

  “No, no, the earth essence in the twisted obsidian root should counteract the...you know what, nevermind. You would not understand it even if I explained.”

  Giving Heidi a disdainful look, Alph dripped a few drops of a shining black potion on the tube bug’s exposed skin. The [Obsidian Skin] potion created small puffs of smoke as it hit the tube bug. Under Thron’s skeptical gaze the smoke spread across the tube bug’s skin, thickening into armored plates. The heat generated by the tube bug’s skin began to seep through the armor plates, causing them to glow bright red. With a sizzle, the heated armor plates began burning the thick foam that had trapped the bug.

  “Yeah, I don’t think that worked.”

  Thorn gave Alph an amused look as he brought down the head of his tetsubo on the tube bug. With a crack, the burning armor plates cracked slightly, protecting the creature. Feeling threatened, the creature turned its head and spit a thin stream of flame at Thorn who blocked it with his palm.

  “The good news is that your potions are really effective. But maybe, let’s use them on ourselves, and not on our enemies.”

  Lifting his foot, Thorn stomped down, completely crushing the bug into pulp.

  “That should have worked. Unless there is something particular about their blood that I don’t know about. Hmm.” Crouching down, Alph mumbled to himself as he examined the creature’s corpse.

  Seeing that the alchemist was entirely absorbed by his study, Thorn turned back to assist Heidi in clearing some of the bugs that had gotten close. A few minutes later, as Heidi was finishing off the last of the tube bugs that had gotten near, she got a notification. Sidestepping a snapping bite, she brought the pointed edge of her shield down, severing the tube bug’s head. The shield attack was followed by a neat stab that pinned the main body of the still writhing creature to the ground.

  Stepping out of range of its flailing claws, Heidi turned to Thorn, taking her helmet off and pushing her hair out of her face.

  “I just got a message that they are almost here.”

  “Excellent. Great timing.”

  Looking around the cavern, Thorn could see that many of the eggs were getting ready to hatch. Over the last two days he had learned the signs that indicated a major wave of enemies were about to appear. Alph was still completely absorbed in his study of the tube bug’s blood, so Thorn waved Heidi back to her position.

  “Watch the eggs, it would be super embarrassing if we were overwhelmed right as they got here.”

  “Got it.” Putting her helmet back on, Heidi pulled her sword from the tube bug’s corpse and stood in front of Thorn.

  Thorn only had to wait a few more minutes before a shout echoed through the tunnel and a small figure rushed into the cavern. Turning around, he was surprised to see the source of the shout jumping into the air and quickly put his tetsubo away, lifting his arms to catch the small individual. Mina grinned and did her best to wrap her arms around him, though they barely spanned his chest. Pulling his head back slightly as he got a face full of red hair, Thorn smiled.

  “Hello, Mina.”

  “Thorn! I missed you! And you can talk! This is so great! It was so sad when you were quiet all the time, so it’s great to have you back.” Hopping down from his arms as Velin, Bluefire, and the other ladies from the Society of Roses appeared in the cavern’s entrance, Mina patted him on the stomach since she could not reach his shoulder. “But what on Nova Terra are you? You fell down into a tomb and discovered the World Tree? If you are not related to Eve I’ll eat my hat. What stupid luck.”

  “Ms. Bluefire. Ladies.”

  Ignoring Mina’s complaints, Thorn greeted the ladies from the Society of Roses, and then looked at the slim Elven War Priestess that stood quietly next to them. Taking a step forward, his arms naturally encircled her in a hug. Frozen by the hug, Velin’s face remained neutral though the tips of her ears grew red. After a second of hesitation, her arms wrapped around Thorn’s waist as she returned the affectionate greeting.

  “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We’re on a bit of a clock here.” After releasing the still blushing War Priestess, Thorn began to introduce everyone to each other. “This is Heidi, who has been tanking for us, and the guy muttering over there is Alph, a master alchemist and our guide. Heidi, Alph, this is Velin, and Mina, my teammates. Ms. Bluefire, would you mind introducing us to your team?”

  “Of course.” Stepping forward, Bluefire introduced her team one by one. “This is Genevieve. She is an earth and fire mage.”

  “You can call me Vivi.” Genevieve was a brown haired woman wearing a thick red and gold robe.

  “Next to Vivi is BrokenBlade, our primary tank. Hollowgen is our ranged support and healer, and finally, we have PrincessPriscillaPeriwinkle, or Priss for short. DPS and off-tank.”

  Smiling and nodding a greeting to each of the ladies as Bluefire introduced them, Thorn’s eyes stopped on Priss. At six and a half feet tall, she was the largest woman Thorn had seen since entering the game. Thick muscles covered her shoulders and arms that were decorated with tattoos. Thick braids fell from her head, their leather straps matching the barbaric leather armor that covered her body. On her back rested a large battle axe.

  “What, you never seen a half-Orc before?” Just like the rest of her, Priss’ voice was rough, her lips parting to show small tusks at the corners of her mouth.

  “I haven’t.” Uncowed by her aggressive words, Thorn smiled. “It is nice to meet all of you. Thank you for coming all this way to help us out. With you here, our chances of success will be much greater.”

  “Hah, as if your aunt would give us a chance to protest.” Bluefire ran her eye up and down Thorn’s armor. “It looks like you�
��ve been doing pretty well for yourself.”

  “Eh, I’m getting by.” Completely unashamed of his false modesty, Thorn ignored both Mina and Velin who were rolling their eyes and glanced at Alph who was cursing in frustration at his latest failed mixture.

  “Thorn, I need more blood for testing. A live specimen would be even better.”

  Alph stood up before Thorn could speak, gesturing to the disgusting concoction in his bowl. Hearing only silence, he turned his head and jerked in surprise.

  “Who are you? When did more people get here? Thorn, who are they?”

  “They’re the mercenaries we hired to help us.”

  “Ah, oh. Great, great. Now about those tube…” Alph’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of Priss’ large figure. “What is a half-Orc doing here?”

  “What, you have a problem with Orcs?” Not appreciating the tone of the alchemist’s voice, Priss’ face warped into a sneer and she began to step forward, her hand moving to the axe handle on her back.

  “Huh? Why would I have a problem with Orcs? It's just curious to see them on Rasyn considering the current situation.”

  Thorn was not sure if Alph was simply oblivious to Priss’ aggression or if he just did not care, but the alchemist showed no signs of having noticed her aggressive stance.

  “What do you mean?” Velin asked, her eyes darting between the two players as her notebook appeared in her hands.

  “The slavers are backed by the Orcs from the southern continent.” Heidi’s quiet voice dampened the rising tension. Adjusting her grip on the shield she held, she turned her head and gave Priss a small glance. “No one knows why the Orcs are buying slaves in such large quantities, but they are all being dragged off to the southern continent by Orc raiding ships.”

  “Orcs, not Demonkin?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “Well, I’m sure that has nothing to do with our friend here.” Thorn’s voice was warm and his smile friendly as he looked at Priss. “But let’s put that aside for now. We’ve got other things to do at the moment. Like fighting our way through that.”

  *crack* *crackcrackcrack*

  As soon as Thorn finished speaking, a rapid fire sound echoed through the cavern as the small and medium sized eggs began to crack open. Following his pointing finger, everyone saw countless creatures emerging from the cracked eggs, forming a writhing sea of disgusting enemies.

  “Positions, please. BrokenBlade, Heidi, please take point. Vivi, you and Hollowgen will support from the back with Velin and Mina. You are all responsible for protecting Alph. Bluefire and Priss will take the flanks.”

  “Hey, who put you in charge?” Priss’ rough voice sounded in stark contrast to Thorn’s warm, deep tones.

  “Priss!” Bluefire glared at her team member.

  “What? Since when have we ever taken direction from anyone? Especially a wet behind the ears punk who only hired us because he is related to the boss?”

  Sighing in frustration, Bluefire gave Thorn an apologetic look. Based on the way the rest of her squad was watching to see what happened, she was sure that they all had the same opinion as Priss.

  “Hey, Tusky, what is your problem?” A chill surrounded the group as Mina spoke. Her witch’s hat had been pushed back on her head and she was staring up at Priss, a hard look in her eyes.

  “What did you call me?”

  “Tusky. What, your ears too small to hear? You were hired to follow directions, if that is too much for you to handle you better leave now.”

  “Listen, midget,” this time it was BrokenBlade who spoke, a spiked flail appearing in her hand. However, before she could say any more, a deep voice echoed through the cavern like thunder, shaking the ground and setting the loose stones dancing.

  “Enough.”

  Thorn had not shouted, but his voice pierced through everyone’s ears, causing them to freeze in place. Scanning the whole team, his eyes narrowed for a moment and then he put his helmet on.

  “You have been given your directions. If you cannot follow them, please leave. And Mina, don’t make trouble.”

  “Wha…”

  Velin covered Mina’s mouth before she could protest, shaking her head. The Ice Witch grumbled to herself but took her place next to Velin

  “Do you want left or right?” Bluefire asked Priss, warning her with a glare that she better behave.

  “Hmph. I’ll take the right.”

  “Fine. Everyone better be on their A-game or Athena will be hearing about it when we get back.”

  “Thorn, the first wave is coming.” Never once during the argument had Heidi’s eyes left the swarms of creatures that were spawning.

  “No problem, we should have enough firepower to wipe them all out.”

  “Remember to keep at least one alive,” Alph reminded Thorn from where he stood in the back of the group.

  “Got it.”

  Walking up next to Heidi, BrokenBlade equipped her sword from her inventory. Almost seven feet long, it was nearly two feet wide and had a series of circular cut outs along the center of the blade. In each of the cut outs was a handle that was angled in a different direction.

  “I’ll need some space.” BrokenBlade was a thickset woman with platinum blonde hair and green eyes. Her entire body was covered in thick plate armor, though the armor around her arms and shoulders was not as thick as the armor that covered her lower body.

  “How much?” Heidi took a few steps back, giving BrokenBlade enough room to wield her weapon.

  “That is perfect. Do you want to off-tank? Or we can take sides. Either works for me.”

  “Heidi, you can off-tank.” Thorn stood behind the two tanks, settling a bolt into his arbalest.

  Without complaint Heidi took another step back. Priss opened her mouth to make a comment, but was silenced by a glare from Bluefire who stood on the other side of the group. Disgruntled, she could only close her lips tightly and ready her weapon.

  “Alph, light please.”

  “Sure thing. Here you go.”

  Catching the two [Sticky Light] potions that Alph tossed him, Thorn uncapped them and threw them up toward the cavern’s ceiling where the last batch was starting to fade. The liquid spilled from the bottles as they rotated, beginning to foam as soon as it hit the light. Most of the foam splattered across the ceiling, but some fell to the cavern floor, trapping creatures as it rapidly grew.

  The cavern lit up as bright as day with the growing foam, enraging the creatures who had just hatched. With deafening hisses they began to rush toward the players, pushing and shoving to be the first to attack. Their eyes fixed on the charging sea of creatures in front of them, the players all settled in for the fight.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  The long legged bugs were the first to draw near, easily outpacing the wave of tube bugs that covered the cavern floor. Thorn lifted his arbalest and glanced at Mina, Vivi, and Velin who stood on either side of him.

  “There are too many for us to wait for the tanks to engage, so pick a section and start blasting.”

  “You got it, boss.” Mina’s eyes lit up and she leveled her wand at the oncoming horde.

  “Sure.” Vivi replied casually, brushing her long brown hair behind her head with a flip.

  Lifting both hands into the air, she began drawing a set of glowing runes. Each pass of her fingers left a glowing streak hanging in the air in front of her. Arcane words tumbled from her lips in bright colors, causing the runes to brighten and pulse. Once the runes were finished, she pointed forward and slashed her finger toward the incoming horde. Instantly a red rift appeared on the right side of the cavern, hanging over the heads of the creatures. Magma began to fall like a curtain, creating a burning wall of death for any bugs that tried to cross it.

  Not to be outdone, Mina quickly cast a series of [Ice Wall] spells at an angle from the wall of the cavern. [Blizzard] followed, placed at the end of the stretch of walls. The creatures, forced to bunch as they moved forward, ran into the whirling ball of ice
in increasing numbers, slowing down as they approached the center.

  With a wave, the three icy spheres that rotated above Mina’s head arranged themselves in a straight line in front of her and began spinning in place. Ice cold mist rolled off of them as they rotated, forming [Ice Spikes] that shot forward, peppering the crawling bugs with razor sharp shards of ice.

  “Mina, can you slow a bug down for me? One of the tube ones would be good.” Thorn pointed over Mina’s head at one of the tube bugs right outside the range of her Blizzard.

  “Yup, no problem.”

  Flicking her wand, Mina vanished from where she stood, arriving above the tube bugs in an instant. Before the creatures could even register her presence, she cast [Sub Zero], dropping the temperature around her drastically. The shock of cold froze the creatures in place, frost forming across their bodies. Grabbing onto one of the tails of a frozen tube bug, she heaved it into the air and vanished again, popping up next to Thorn and dropping the tube bug at his feet.