The Ruined Temple: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 2)

by TJ Reynolds

Flame of Anwar Scale Gauntlets

  Quality: Legendary: Armor 65

  Durability 300/300

  +5 Strength

  Flame of Anwar matching set bonus: Equipping all pieces of the armor grants an additional 5% Fire Damage to attacks and 25% Fire Resistance.

  Special Ability: Palisade of Flame

  Palisade of Flame: When invoked, a sphere of fire forms around the wearer, blocking 100% of all incoming damage. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.

  “Holy crap, Wardahl! This is so OP!” I began doffing my leather armor in a heap on the workroom floor.

  “Keep yourself decent, woman. And what the seven hells do you mean OP?”

  I answered, not caring about his embarrassment, “Overpowered. I’m gonna be salty! This should make a big different in the tournament.”

  The dwarf sighed and shook his head. “I didn’t make you a masterpiece set of armor for you to take it and play around with a bunch of fools. I won’t have it.”

  I lifted up the chest piece and slid it over my head. The pauldrons were already attached and I marveled at how perfectly it fit. The vambraces were snug against my skin. It gave me an odd feeling, almost like I was wearing a thicker set of skin over my own. It felt even lighter and more flexible than my thick leather armor had been.

  “I’m not going to be playing around. I spoke with Teegan about recruiting people to go and fight the Rat King. He said that if I won some fights in the arena, my reputation would improve and make it more likely to win fighters for the cause. Or was he mistaken?”

  Helping me adjust the armor, he begrudgingly agreed, “No, I suppose not. You’d better tell everyone who made it, though.”

  “Of course I will.” Next on were the gauntlets and greaves. I jumped up and down a few times and threw some punches in the air.

  “You look like a jerk now,” he said. “Pick your axe up and take a few swings. That will give you an idea of what you’re dealing with.”

  I took the dwarf’s sage advice. To my continued delight, the armor proved flexible, even when twisting in a slashing strike. I didn’t care who I’d be facing in the ring today. With this on, they were all but dead already.

  Wardahl informed me as he surveyed the gleaming red armor, “I’ve got another set for your friend, though it is designed differently. I hear she’s a ranger.”

  “I’m sure Hana will be excited. We can’t thank you enough.” I looked the dwarf in the eyes, trying to be serious for once. “What can I do to repay you? This is far too grand a gift to accept without proper thanks.”

  He shook his head solemnly. “I won’t accept a thing. Besides, I have enough extra material to make a couple other specialty items. I could sell them for a thousand gold or more. There was also the honor of working with the material itself. More precious than mithril, though don’t tell Wardeen I said so.”

  I pressed, hoping to gain something from the man I could do for him. “Please, just tell me something you fancy, then. Consider it a gift from a friend. What makes Wardahl the handsome happy in his heart?”

  He blushed at my compliment, a strange thing to see on a dwarf fierce enough to eat stone, then replied softly, “Well, if you ever find any sapphires, I do fancy them. Beautiful things but also useful. They can be imbued with power and can even accept runes. An enchanted gemstone can enhance any item, you know?”

  “Gems, eh? Alright. Thank you, Wardahl. I’ll be off now. See you at the arena. I’m gonna see if there is anything else I can buy that might tip the scales.” I left the smith with a spring in my step, the soft click and snap of the armor moving around me.

  I browsed some wares in a potions shop and scoffed at the prices of the healing potions. 500 gold dragons for a single Minor Health Potion. It only raised your HP by ten percent! I left after buying a few clean bandages and a pile of herbs. Some could be chewed for slow healing effects, others cured poison, and one increased movement speed by five percent for two hours.

  A few doors down, I found an armorer. I gazed fondly at the heavy axes and a mithril warhammer. Nothing was as good as what I already had, though.

  The smith caught me drooling and asked if I wanted to hold any. I refused and asked him if he could take a look at my axe. I showed him the mithril one that I’d gotten in the mines, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head.

  “Can you put a new and better handle on it? I just feel that it could be improved.” I was hoping that the man might be able to boost me up once more before the fights started.

  He just shook his head, not breaking eye contact from the glowing silver metal. “No. Only a dwarf weapons master could do anything helpful with that. It is affixed to stone wood, so it could be worse. Yet something like dragon bone or alabaster elm might improve its qualities further.”

  I thanked the man, but before leaving, found a small steel throwing axe. I inspected the weapon to see its stats.

  High-Steel Throwing Axe

  Quality: Fine

  Durability 100/100

  40-150 damage

  +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity

  On a hunch, I asked the man how much it cost.

  “25 gold dragons. It is nothing so fine as mithril, but it will hold up and it is very light for how strong its edge is. A warrior like you could throw it a hundred strides I’d guess.” The merchant in him was coming to life again.

  Not even bothering to haggle, I just paid the man in full and thanked him. The look on his face told me how foolish that might have been, but I was in a great mood. Why not share the love?

  The last shop I visited was a jewelry and trinket store. I searched the glass cases, marveling at all the baubles. Most were beautiful, but to me, they were just ways to increase my strength. I already had the amulet that I’d lifted from the thug last night, but I felt a ring was due.

  Some gamers, having access to serious YD like I did, would spend thousands of dollars in the real world and come into Eternal Online armed to the teeth yet low-leveled and unskilled. That just felt gross to me. After my accident, I’d done exactly that for a time, even power-leveled an avatar. I had chosen a more typical realm type with world bosses and guild raids on a regular basis.

  After I’d finished my first raid and watched the spoiled cabróns I had for guildies laugh at the dying dragon we’d slain, I knew a change was necessary. The next morning, I deleted the character and made a new one in Realistic Mode. More difficulty, more pain, a stronger sense of reality. Thinking of finding Hana in Taelman’s Pond a month or so after I’d started here, I could not have been happier with my choice.

  “Here for an enchanted ring or two?” a woman called, eyeing my armor. “A warrior of your class surely needs an item that is Epic or higher. I even have a few Legendary rings, though they are not on display.”

  “I am here for a ring, though I don’t need anything fancy, sorry,” I said, moving over to a display case that was filled with Uncommon and Fine quality rings.

  She didn’t miss a beat. “Anything you need, traveler. Let me know if you’d like help.”

  I examined several of the rings in the case. Predictably, most boosted an attribute by a certain amount. I found one that I thought Hana might like.

  Ring of the Marksman

  Quality: Fine

  Durability 30/30

  +5% rate of fire with ranged weapon

  An obvious choice for me would be to buy one that bumped up my Strength or Dexterity. Anything but intelligence would help, really. But that just seemed too ordinary. I kept searching around until I saw one that felt right.

  Ring of Spritely Armor

  Quality: Exquisite

  Durability 35/35

  All movement speed penalties from wearing heavy armor reduced by 15%.

  It was a subtle change, but anything to honor the gift that Wardahl had just handed me felt appropriate.

  “I want this one and this one,” I said, pointing to the two rings.

  She smiled knowingly and added, “The first is odd. I didn’t
take you for a ranged fighter.”

  “I’m not. It’s for a friend.”

  “Some friend to deserve such a fine gift,” she remarked, then pretended not to notice my blush. “They are 100 gold together, but I will reduce the price by ten percent if you purchase something else.”

  On a whim, I asked about the one item that I had been dying to acquire since traveling with Alysand. “Do you have any abyss bags?”

  The woman’s eyes sparkled. “I’m not sure you can afford one of those, dear.” She watched me as my demeanor didn’t waver, then acquiesced and walked into the backroom. She returned a moment later bearing a small chest.

  She opened it up and removed two draw-string bags and one larger satchel.

  The satchel was about half the size of Alysand’s, and I inspected it first.

  Greater Abyss Satchel

  Quality: Legendary

  Durability 500/500

  Can contain items of any size. Weight of items reduced by 50%. 200 available units of holding.

  The other two bags were similarly described. I checked the larger of the two.

  Greater Abyss Pouch

  Quality: Epic

  Durability 250/250

  Can contain items of any size. Weight of items reduced by 30%. 100 available units of holding.

  I smiled and pointed at the satchel. “How much for that one?”

  The woman’s face did not give away a single thought or emotion. “20,000 gold dragons. Though, at that price, I prefer bars or gold, but will accept platinum or most fine gems.”

  I choked, the price enough to drain nearly everything I’d gained from the Marduk fight. No, not quite possible. Besides, something that badass should be earned, right?

  “And the other?” I asked, my voice betraying a bit of nerves.

  “This one is still very high quality. I can sell it to you for 8,000 gold dragons. You will not regret it, I promise.” She stood, hands folded, and I realized that I was facing a demon. This woman could sell a healing herb to her own dying mother for a hundred gold.

  I sighed dramatically, hoping to get her to reconsider the deal. “That is a ton of money, and it is only an Epic item. I couldn’t pay more than a thousand for it.”

  The woman’s face changed in a blink, a flicker of rage filling her eyes. She took the items, placed them back in the chest, and snapped the lid shut.

  “Hang on, hang on—I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said, holding my hand up. “Listen. I’ll buy the two rings at full price. I’m fighting in the tournament today and need an edge. But if I win, I might come back for that bag. That is, if there is any way you might be able to sell if for a more reasonable price.”

  “If you win the tournament, I might be able to.” She composed herself and forced a smile on her face again. “If you live, come back and we can ‘reasonably’ barter.”

  I paid her the 100 dragons and left, feeling that no matter what I did, the woman would have the upper hand.

  When I got back to my room, I stashed Hana’s new ring in my pack, then got prepared for the arena. Slipping the Ring of Spritely Armor on, the armor I was wearing suddenly felt just a little lighter and easier to move in. Excellent!

  I no longer needed any of my previous leather armor and was sad to set aside the Dwarven Boxing Gloves that Hana had purchased for me. Considering the stakes here, though, I knew she’d understand. I strapped the mithril axe to my back and God’s Rib axe to my hip. I laced my boots and took a small satchel filled with healing herbs, some travel rations, and plenty of water. It was time to head out.

  Tejón was anxiously waiting on the veranda. He’d even refused to finish his gorging.

  If I eat too much, I will be slow in the fight. We are still going to fight, aren’t we? Eagerness colored his voice.

  I patted him on the shoulder, then turned and led him toward the arena. We are, buddy. We most certainly are.

  As I walked over, I couldn’t help but survey my character information. Too much had changed since the last time I checked not to. A few levels and plenty of equipment changes made me gasp at the improvements.

  Madi Mendoza: Level 27

  Class Rank: Barbarian

  HP: 17318/17318

  Armor Rating 525

  Vitality 37 (+7)

  Strength 34 (+48)

  Dexterity 22 (+8)

  Intelligence 16 (+3)

  Stamina 28 (+38)

  Son of Mary, I was stacked. Walking, no, strutting to the arena, the sheer power of the added Strength I’d received from the armor addition was staggering. I’d given up some stats by discarding the leather vest, bracers, and gloves, but it didn’t even compare. My HP was insane, too. Each point of Vitality added one level’s worth of HP, and even though this decreased in percentage after Level 20, I felt like a freaking boss.

  With Tejón at my side, the people in the street gave us a wide birth. I clinked along in my shiny red armor, gauntlets flexing, and felt a soft breeze lift the black Marduk’s Mantle cloak that flowed from my shoulders.

  “What the hell happened to you, Madi?” a familiar voice called out as I entered the front of the building leading to the arena.

  I turned and saw Teegan walking toward me, his sleek black leather armor making him look more himself than the traveling clothes he’d been wearing the night before. “Hey, Teegan. Like my drip?”

  “Yeah, I do. I pity whatever fool gets thrown in the ring with you two. This must be Tejón.” He turned deftly and bowed to the bear. “Nice to meet you. I heard you were the strongest creature in Bridgerun.”

  Tejón chuffed and seemed to stand a bit taller. I like this elf. He is a dangerous one, though. Will we be fighting him?

  No, thank God. He is small but could probably drop me one on one in under a minute. He is just a friend.

  Tejón walked up to the elf and nudged him in the chest with his nose. Teegan laughed and led us over to the registration desk.

  “Another champion in our midst?” a scrawny man said, his face pointed and gaunt. “You’ve come just in time, too. What will you be entering, young lady? Today we have four events: The Solo Tournament, Battle Royale, Four-on-Four Skirmish, and the Companion’s Cup.”

  I considered it a moment. I knew the Companion’s Cup was for us, but I felt so damn powerful in my armor that it seemed a crime to only enter one event. Making my mind up, I answered the man. “Companion’s Cup and the Battle Royale, please.”

  He nodded respectfully and wrote down my name. “That’s 50 gold for the Battle Royale and a hundred for the Companion’s Cup. There are plenty of contestants today, so the prize is guaranteed to be big.”

  I hadn’t thought that I’d need to pay to enter, but it made sense. How else was the town supposed to supply the rewards?

  I paid the man, noting that my purse was shrinking awfully quick. I’d need to transfer more of the Marduk funds to my character. Thankfully, EO allowed players to keep their coin in a virtual vault, so they didn’t have to carry all their coin on their person. Some, like Hana, even transferred it to their real-world accounts in YD.

  Feeling like I was entering the school yard on the first day of classes, I walked with Teegan and headed over to the champion’s stands.

  We padded down a long hall that sloped downwards. After a few hundred feet, Teegan led me through a door that split in two directions, both marked with arrows. One arrow indicated the Arena in crude, flaking letters. Then other was labeled Champion’s Boxes.

  We headed to the second and, after walking up a flight of steps, came out to find a series of private boxes, each containing ten seats and a large floor area that I presumed was for pets.

  Glancing down the hall, I saw a dozen or so rooms where players could sit down.

  Teegan walked forward and found an empty room for us, then sat down.

  And even as I thought how nice it would be to turn and leave, a voice called out, loud and piercing, “Welcome, everyone! Welcome to another thrilling day at the Bridgerun Arena!
I hope you’ve all brought a change of clothes, because today, folks… Today is gonna be a bloodbath!”

  The crowd screamed its excitement, and I felt a spell of lightheadedness overtake me as I looked up at hundreds of eager faces.

  I walked over and sat beside Teegan, hoping to at least avoid passing out before I even stepped into the ring.

  7: “But it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them.”

  — Anonymous Benefactor of Genly Ai

  HANA

  Pachi and I were forced to abandon caution for the sake of showing up in time to make a difference in whatever battle was ensuing below.

  The mist-filled air didn’t allow us to see much further down within the tunnels, so we ran along the path that wove between hot springs and around massive stalagmites. Though the cave was damp, it had a clean smell only tarnished by a hint of sulfur. Minerals permeated the air, and I was reminded of some kind of health spa. If the pools weren’t far too hot, by the look of them, they would undoubtedly be good to soak in.

  But even as the thought crossed my mind, another grunt and squeal came from below. This time, however, it was much closer, perhaps only a hundred yards down.

  I will go ahead, Pachi called to me as she darted forward. Don’t worry, I will be careful, but I am bigger than you now, sister.

  Sprinting in her wake, I answered, That’s fine, but don’t engage until we know what we’re facing.

  A handful of moments later we plunged into a massive cavern, a long pool filling one half of the room. On the far side, backed against the wall, was a short and terrified-looking creature. Scales covered its body, and it had bright red stripes down its torso and face. It bared long fangs and swept its paw up in defense, long talons gleaming sharp and dangerous in the glowing air.