I guessed I could have quit my job and leveled up even faster, but the daily dose of normality was what kept me grounded. That, and the fact that I was doing most of the administrative tasks for our DEM trading at that time. It was interesting to see how a few carefully worded emails to executives about performance-enhancing machine learning systems and neural networks could save me from doing actual programming work.
Both Louie and myself had already reached level 19 and were ready to initiate our class change quests, but I had convinced Leo that we had to take care of something else before doing that. I had finally hit fifty million dollars in my DEM account and had ordered the item that would take us to the plane where the next part of Louie’s awakening would take place, the quest that would make his soul immortal as long as I was alive.
We had agreed to do this the next day, on a Sunday, so we spent the day before relaxing as we waited for the quest item to arrive. Louie decided to spend his time catching up with episodes of Critical Role’s second campaign. Upon noticing which episode he was watching, I decided to sit by him in front of the large window of our new apartment, soaking in some autumn sun and enjoying the scene I knew was coming. Watching Jester hand the legendary cupcake to the hag would never get old.
Once I’d had my fill of Dungeons & Dragons wholesomeness, I spent a few minutes talking to our friendly dragon-in-the-orb. This had become a daily routine of mine since Leo had confirmed Ommanth’s story. He still warned me that I should never completely trust what a dragon says, but that I was as safe as one could be while conversing with such a creature.
I was sure Ommanth didn’t appreciate spending the majority of his time inside my inventory, but he didn’t let it show it at all. On the contrary, he was very interested in talking about any topic I might have questions about, from the medicinal properties of specific plants to the hierarchies of different pantheons.
He was a very interesting conversation companion, so interesting in fact that I caught myself disregarding more important matters for the sake of speaking with him longer than I intended. That’s why I limited the time we spent together daily. Business came first.
I tapped the screen of the DEM tablet to check how our trading operations were doing. Seeing the balance in my account always made me feel a bit dizzy after I had bought the fifty million dollar quest item. One could say that it had made a dent in my bank account but truly, it was more like a bus had crashed right through it.
My goal of retiring in a villa in the Mediterranean was nowhere in sight just yet since I’d had to fulfill other promises first, but considering the speed at which we earned money now, it wasn’t completely unfathomable either, especially if some of the recipes I had been testing turned out to be profitable in some of the other states.
My excitement for what would happen the next day prevented me from sitting in one place for much longer than ten minutes at a time. I knew just the remedy for that nervous energy, but as much as I wanted to hit the gym room, I needed to take it easy today. I couldn’t possibly know what kind of challenge the quest might involve.
Instead, I decided to raid as a Viking in Assassin’s Creed. Might as well stream it too. I wasn’t a successful streamer by any means, since I only averaged about ten viewers on each of my streaming sessions, but ten was a lot more than one, which had been the norm before I started using the microphone.
I had been playing for about a couple of hours, commenting on events in the game and how the game designers might have envisioned each piece of the core game loop, when I heard a sound I very rarely got to hear. Somebody had donated money to my account. I wasn’t in it for the money, but the fact that somebody took money out of their own pocket just to support my playing video games and chatting really touched me. I looked at the name of the donor and the amount they had donated. I blinked rapidly, not being able to believe what I was seeing.
Somebody with the name “Gue$$wh0sB4ck” had donated five thousand dollars to my stream. Was I being pranked by one of those streamers who made ridiculous donations just to get a reaction?
The message accompanying the donation, however, made it clear that things were far worse than somebody pranking me.
I wonder how that friend of yours is doing? The one with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle name. Donatello, was it? No, no… Leonardo.
What the fuck is this?
I immediately paused the stream and called Leo. I waited and waited until finally, he picked up. He answered with a video call, as always. To my horror, his face was bloody and bruised and he was sitting on a chair, looking at the floor. A hand held his face up to the screen by his hair.
“What did you do to him?” I shouted at the screen and Louie rushed over next to me. “Who are you?”
The camera was deactivated and I heard a soft rasping laugh on the other end of the line.
“We haven’t had the chance to talk on the phone yet, Alexander Rage. Or should I say MacFie?” said a voice that oozed confidence.
“Who is this?”
“I hope you didn’t forget about me,” the man said in mock complaint. “My name is Abrathion Halciu.”
“But how? We…” I started before deciding to cut my sentence short. He didn’t need to know that we’d destroyed his dungeon if he wasn’t already sure about it.
“Did you think I was killed along with those lowly servants you slaughtered in that warehouse? I’m hurt that you would consider me so weak.”
“What do you want?” I hissed at him.
“Just continue playing,” he said and I could almost see the smile just from the tone of his voice. “And for the sake of your friend, don’t mention this to any of his family. You see, mystics are so fragile… and I’d hate it if I pressed anywhere too hard.”
A scream from Leo was the last thing I heard before the phone disconnected. Why would he take Leo? Just to get back to me? It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.
“What are we going to do?” asked Louie.
“He told me to continue playing,” I said and sat back down to my streaming station.
I resumed the stream and tried to continue my game as if nothing had happened while the chat went nuts about the five-thousand-dollar donation. I heard the same sound again and looked at the notification again. The same account had donated another five thousand, but this time the message had clear instructions.
If you stop by your old apartment around midnight, bring the book that belongs to us, and you can keep the money and your friend.
“The book?” Louie exclaimed as I turned off the stream. “Is that what this is all about?”
“Then it’s an easy decision,” I said and started to prepare myself for battle.
“You don’t plan on us going alone, right?”
“You heard them,” I replied. “We’re not supposed to tell his family.”
“Not his family, Alex. Rory. We need him in case this is a trap.”
“You’re right,” I said and without giving it a second thought, I called Rory.
Asking for help wasn’t exactly easy, but asking it of the dwarf was as easy as it got for me.
“What’s up, half-Celt?” the dwarf’s asked cheerfully when he picked up.
“Abrathion is back,” I said, “and he’s got Leo.”
“Fuckin hells, lad. I’m gearing up and heading yer way. Wait for me. We’ll end him this time.”
“They’ll be waiting for us, Rory.”
“Then we’ll look them in the eye as we slay them.”
Afterword
Thank you for taking the time to read Berserker, the first book in the Apocosmos multiverse.
Being an indie-author is all about love. We write with love and we appreciate this love returned to us.
So if you liked this book, spend a few seconds to rate or even write a review for the book. You can do so by following the link corresponding to the Amazon market you shop in:
US: http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B08NHNRVCR
; UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/create-review?&asin=B08NHNRVCR
CA: http://www.amazon.ca/review/create-review?&asin=B08NHNRVCR
DE: http://www.amazon.de/review/create-review?&asin=B08NHNRVCR
AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/review/create-review?&asin=B08NHNRVCR
If you’re a Goodreads person, you can find the book here:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/55892354
If you haven’t already, subscribe to my monthly newsletter so you can receive more news about this world and my works:
https://mailchi.mp/4c5301efe695/manatrilogy
A big thank you
To all of the authors who’ve spent time discussing stories and talking shop with me.
To my friend, Jamey “Cilantro” Sultan, whose feedback lifted my book. It just so happens that he has written a killer LitRPG too! Fragment of Divinity:
www.amazon.com/dp/B08H4YX7B6
To Terry Wubbold for his incredible, out of the world, in depth feedback! I can’t wait to read your books, man!
To TJ Reynolds for his advise and continuous support. You’ve probably already read at least one of his epic books. If not, what are you waiting for? https://www.amazon.com/TJ-Reynolds/e/B07XXJF5QL
The LitRPG Podcast for taking the time to review my book and for the valuable advice.
They’re doing great work for our genre and indie authors.
www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast
Hansi and Martina, two of my favorite content creators. I’ve been watching their videos on YouTube for a long time and was extremely happy they agreed on making an appearance in this book. You can check the awesome nerdy creations in their channel here:
www.youtube.com/Nerdforge
Amalia Chitulescu for the amazing illustration of Alex the berserker and Louie on the cover. You can see more of her artwork here:
www.amaliach.com
The creators of the CC-BY licensed icons. You can find all of the icons used in this book here:
www.game-icons.net
LitRPG Syndicate
If you’re a super fan of LitRPG books and would like to take part in tournaments that pit your favorite book characters against each other, boy do I have good news for you.
www.facebook.com/LitRPGSyndicate
LitRPG Syndicate is a page where you can vote and determine the champion of LitRPG themed tournaments.
If you’re interested in knowing more about LitRPG and connect to other readers and authors, you can visit the following Facebook pages:
LitRPG Adventurers Guild (www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGAdventurers)
or even the LitRPG Adventurers Guild Discord Server : https://discord.gg/9BWStZf
GameLit Society (www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety)
LitRPG Books (www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books)
To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group: www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup
About the author
And how to become an Alpha/Beta reader
Hey all. My name is Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (the Ks are silent) and I’m a Greek geek turned immigrant in Berlin. I’m a simple man, I like dragons, bacon, and dogs.
I also like writing stories that touch people and am always looking for constructive feedback.
So if you liked my story, and would like to have an early preview of my next book, possibly give me feedback too, shoot me an email at [email protected]
Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) Page 33
