by Dakota Krout
The bald man stepped up to Jaxon, still chatting happily, and the pompous youth seemed absolutely shocked that he had done so. “Are you not in the Guild? I said, get out of the way!”
“Right, that’s enough of that. I’m Joe. Who are you?” The bald man, Joe, turned to the other and seemed to become… different. Darker, dangerous… deadly. A powerful aura of magic stifled those around him, an actual physical pressure that made it hard to breathe.
“I…I’m–”
“I don’t actually care. Leave us alone.” Joe turned back to Jaxon, suddenly all smiles again. “Jaxon, what happened to you? What are you wearing?”
“Oh, it’s been an interesting few days!” Jaxon cheerfully stated, giving Joe an unwanted hug that left a thin film of blood and sweat on Joe’s clothes. The bald man gave a weak smile and made a hand motion. A disk of water traveled up and down their bodies, followed by Jess’s as an afterthought. She felt cleaner than she had in a week after it passed over her. “Ah, I’ve missed your tricks. Oh! Before I go too far, I need to feed my hands a treat. Been too busy the last few days to really do so.”
“Feed yer… hands?” One of the men standing next to Joe smiled uncomfortably. “Ah feel like ya have an interesting story fer me ta tell.”
“One… moment.” Jaxon ignored the others, including the pompous man’s group who was still standing awkwardly near them. A box appeared in Jaxon’s hands, from which he pulled a brick of meat. With a strange distortion, Jaxon’s hands shifted and began tearing into the meat.
The people in the area all shouted, flinched, or took a step backward, with two notable exceptions: Jess, as she was used to this, and Joe, who took a step closer with wonder filling his eyes. As the Living Weapons finished their snack, Jaxon held them aloft so they could roar their joy into the sky.
“Are those…?”
“T-Rex Head Hands,” Jaxon cheerfully stated, pulling the now-placid creatures closer to his body. “They are a skill called Living Weapons.”
“T-Rex… Head… Hands.” Joe’s eyes were burning with excitement, and as the other group took the chance to escape the situation, Joe looked like he wanted nothing more than to grab the miniature beasts and study them. “Long name. If they always come out together, could we call them something else?”
Jaxon smiled happily. Now here was a man who appreciated the finer things in life. “Sure, Joe. What did you have in mind?”
“How about ‘Rexus’?”
“Interesting. Rexus.” Jaxon rolled the word around in his mouth for a moment. “Rex, as in King, which is where T-Rex comes from in the first place. Rexus as a whole, though… that means ‘a mature, self-possessed, and responsible nature’. Absolutely flawless, Joe. That describes me perfectly.”
Afterword
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed Rexus! Since reviews are the lifeblood of indie publishing, I’d love it if you could leave a positive review on Amazon! If you scroll through to the end of this book you’ll easily be able to leave a review, otherwise, follow this link to be redirected to your Amazon’s Completionist Chronicles: Rexus product page to leave your review: http://geni.us/Rexus.
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About Dakota Krout
I live in a 'pretty much Canada' Minnesota city with my wife and daughter. I started writing The Divine Dungeon series because I enjoy reading and wanted to create a world all my own. To my surprise and great pleasure, I found like-minded people who enjoy the contents of my mind. Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come!
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About Mountaindale Press
Dakota and Danielle Krout, a husband and wife team, strive to create as well as publish excellent fantasy and science fiction novels. Self-publishing The Divine Dungeon: Dungeon Born in 2016 transformed their careers from Dakota’s military and programming background and Danielle’s Ph.D. in pharmacology to President and CEO, respectively, of a small press. Their goal is to share their success with other authors and provide captivating fiction to readers with the purpose of solidifying Mountaindale Press as the place ‘Where Fantasy Transforms Reality.’
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Mountaindale Press Titles
GameLit and LitRPG
The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
A Touch of Power: Siphon by Jay Boyce
Red Mage: Advent by Xander Boyce
Peaks of Power: Beginnings by Paul Campbell Jr.
Pixel Dust: Party Hard by David Petrie
Coming soon!
Ether Collapse: Equalize by Ryan DeBruyn
Axe Druid: Into the Light by Christopher Johns
Skeleton in Space: Histaff by Andries Louws
Fantasy
Coming soon!
The Lost Sigil: Insurrection by Raymond Beckham and Darius Cook
The Black Knight Trilogy by Christian J. Gilliland
Appendix
Notable Characters
Alexis – Joe’s second-in-command for his current team, Alexis is an Aromatic Artificer. By making poisons and weapons and using them to great effect, she has proven her worth time and again.
Aten – The Commander of ‘The Wanderer’s’ Noble Guild.
BackAttack Beastbane – An Assassin who runs a high-powered player killer’s guild. Very mysterious.
Bard – Bard holds the position of a tank in Joe’s current team. Contrary to his name,
Bard is a Skald. Instead of staying in a well-protected position and playing songs, Bard is on the frontlines of any engagement chanting and swinging his axes.
CAL – Certified Altruistic Lexicon, the AI that controls Eternia.
Jaxon – An acupuncturist and chiropractor in real life, Jaxon came into the game to try out new methods of healing. Is it his fault that everyone is so… brittle? Playing the game as a Monk, Jaxon uses his talents to deadly effect.
Jessamyn – Having joined Eternia in hopes of gaining a spot on a guild specializing in player killing, the wannabe-assassin has her hopes dashed by Jaxon. Her attitude shifts as she realizes that Jaxon has a better place for her to go.
Joe – The main character of our story, Joe is a Ritualist who has specialized into a ‘Rituarchitect’ class. By supplying the material and power, he can grow a building with ease. His contributions in the future will need to be significant for the human race to survive…
Poppy – Papadopoulos Whisperfoot is a Duelist who wears eye-catching clothes and wields a rapier. Able to take down heavily-armored foes with ease, Poppy is an invaluable member of Joe’s current team.
Jaxon’s Final Stats
Name: Jaxon ‘Legend’ Class: Bonecruncher
Profession: Chiropractor
Bonecruncher Level: 1 Exp: 0 Exp to next level: 1,000
Level: 12 Exp: 81,621 Exp to next level: 9,379
Hit Points: 455/455 (50+(400)+5) (Base 50 plus 10 points for each point in Constitution, once it has increased above 10.)
Mana: 350/350 (12.5 mana per point of Intelligence.)
Mana regen: 9.75 (Wisdom multiplied by .25 mana regen per second)
Stamina: 575/575 (50+(315)+(190)) (Base 50 plus 5 points for each point in strength and constitution, once each of the stats has increased above 10.)
Characteristic: Raw score (Modifier)
Strength: 75 (2.25)
Dexterity: 102 (3.02)
Constitution: 50 (2.0)
Intelligence: 28 (1.28)
Wisdom: 39 (1.39)
Charisma: 6 (0.06)
Perception: 24 (1.24)
Luck: 48 (1.48)
Karmic Luck: 0
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