Project Xero: Reblood: A LitRPG and Gamelit Adventure

by J. Cee

  “Is that the good news?”

  “I’m getting there. They’ve changed the Pit rules recently to encourage participation. It turns out that death matches, while exciting, tend to discourage even the Everborn, who don’t want to risk losing all of their hard-earned equipment. Instead, Pit matches can be forfeit at any time, with the winner getting to choose one piece of equipment from the loser. This lowers your risk. How’s that sound?”

  “If I’m losing, I can just forfeit?” Ceph nodded. “I like it.”

  “There’s a drawback.”

  Ceph began shaking his head. “I knew it.”

  “You won’t gain any power points without killing Everborn. We won’t be able to gain as many ranks from the tournament now.”

  “I can live with that. Like literally.” Ceph remembered something Aeri had mentioned before. “What about the stranger? Didn’t she threaten you if you didn’t win the tournament?”

  “Yes, but that’s for my matches, not yours.”

  Ceph avoided Aeri’s eyes. “Well, what about gaining ranks? I thought that’s part of the reason we came here.”

  “There’s a solution. Unofficial death matches are allowed at night. We can sign up for both the tournament and night matches.”

  “Will there be enough fighters at our rank? I hardly see any green auras.”

  “I’m guessing most night matches are between lower ranked Everborn. It’s too risky for higher ranked Everborn with more to lose.”

  “I hope you’re right. Being around so many red auras makes me nervous. Don’t we stick out to them?”

  Aeri smiled. “No, Ceph. They hardly notice us. Being a low rank has its perks.”

  “But we’re like the only green aura in a sea of red.” Ceph scratched his head. “Are the Everborn colorblind?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Aeri chuckled. “Interesting idea, but that’s not why we’re safe. If you’re the highest ranked Everborn in the whole place, what do you see? Think about it.”

  “Since everyone is the same or lower, you would see some green or blue auras and a lot of gray auras. Oh, I get it. We look gray, but a rank one hundred will look the same as a rank ten to someone who is rank two hundred.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I’m not sure if I feel better, but okay.” Ceph glanced at the red auras around him. “Standing around here still makes me nervous.”

  “Me too. It’s getting dark. Let’s check out the night matches,” Aeri said.

  Ceph swallowed. “We’ll watch first, right?”

  “Probably.”

  Aeri stepped into the swirling sea of red auras with Ceph in tow.

  Chapter 14

  “You two, halt!”

  Ceph froze without thinking, but Aeri’s strong grip pulled him forward in a jerk.

  “That’s right, you two.”

  A dark shape blurred in the corner of Ceph’s vision. He stumbled into someone, but Aeri pulled him backward this time.

  “Hey, stop that,” Ceph said, taking his arm out of Aeri’s hand.

  A woman in dark clothes approached. He couldn’t make out details in the evening light, except for the glow of a red aura.

  “What do you want?” Aeri asked, steel in her voice.

  The woman held up her hands in a placating gesture. “My master wants to talk to you. That’s all.”

  Aeri’s eyes narrowed. “Master? Do we have a choice?”

  Scenarios flitted through Ceph’s mind. Was it the Word? Were they finally meeting the stranger Aeri had mentioned?

  “You’re free to decline the invitation, but my master is also free to withdraw his protection from you,” the woman said.

  Ceph saw Aeri’s brows smooth in understanding, then crease in concern. “The Pit Champion. You serve the Pit Champion.”

  The woman bowed her head in a curt motion. “Yes.” She looked towards the campgrounds where the Pit Champion’s tent loomed. “So?”

  Aeri and Ceph traded glances. “Alright. We’ll meet him,” Aeri said.

  The Everborn led Ceph and Aeri back to the campgrounds. Even at night, the Pits were busy, and they had to weave through a mass of bodies, Everborn and not. Ceph briefly wondered whether they could lose the woman in the crowd. As if sensing his thought, Aeri took hold of his arm. She shook her head.

  “The Pit Champion rules here,” Aeri said. “It’s best not to upset him.”

  “What?” Ceph protested.

  “Don’t forget who’s looking for us on the other side.” Aeri looked westward towards the Firewall.

  “I’m good. I’ll behave.”

  Ceph trembled for a moment as they stopped in front of the large black tent. A pair of Everborn at the entrance stepped aside and beckoned for them to step inside. The woman who had led them here waited behind them.

  Ceph conjured images of who they were about to meet. What was the Pit Champion like? Why was he summoning them? Aeri nudged Ceph with her shoulder as she stepped forward. He sighed and followed.

  The inside was dark and empty. Ceph twisted his neck to look around. Bare, open space spanned the entirety of the giant tent’s floor.

  There was a flicker of motion, and the space brightened as if it were day inside. The tent wasn’t as empty as Ceph had thought. A man sat cross-legged on the ground next to several large metal chests.

  The man looked to be in his thirties, although age was meaningless for an Everborn. He had short black cropped hair and charcoal eyes. He was wearing a dark blue tunic that shimmered with power. Ceph found that he couldn’t quite focus his eyes on the fabric, growing dizzier the longer he stared at it. He rubbed his eyes and looked back to the man’s face.

  The man smiled and gestured towards the two forcefully invited guests.

  “Please, do sit down.” His voice was a rich baritone.

  “We’ll stand. Why are we here?” Aeri replied.

  Ceph winced. While he admired Aeri’s fearless attitude, he hoped she wouldn’t offend the man who was presumably the Pit Champion. Ceph had no desire to learn how deadly the strongest Everborn in the Gladiator Pits was.

  “Fair question. Ladies first, though. Why are you here?”

  “Because your servant forced us to follow her.”

  “Did she? You’re free to leave.” The man pointed to the tent’s exit.

  Ceph took a tentative step backwards. Aeri turned her head to glare at him. Ceph stopped.

  The man watched the interaction with a faint smile. “Yet you don’t.”

  “We intend to fight in the tournament,” Aeri said.

  “Yes, I know that. The Beastspawn and her consort.”

  Ceph saw Aeri’s hand stray to the hilt of her dagger. He gulped.

  The man raised an eyebrow. “You do know who I am, right? Zeudah, the Pit Champion?”

  “Don’t mind her,” Ceph interjected. “She’s only mad at the idea of me being her consort. Right Aeri?”

  Zeudah laughed. In an instant, the man was holding both Aeri and Ceph by the front of their tunics, their legs dangling. Ceph hadn’t even seen the man stand up or move. Next to him, Ceph caught flashes of violet light as Aeri attempted to break free.

  “Stop, Aeri!” Ceph yelled.

  “Spirited, aren’t we?” Zeudah said. “I only want to chat. If I wanted to hurt you, I would.”

  Zeudah let go and returned to his seated pose. Ceph’s heart raced at the display of raw power. The gulf between the Pit Champion’s power and their own was like that between his strength and an ordinary person’s. Despite his nerves, Ceph gazed in awe at the man before him.

  Aeri gave Ceph an irritated look before addressing Zeudah. “I answered your question. Answer mine.”

  Zeudah chuckled. “Sure. I wanted to meet you before making my decision.”

  “Decision?” Aeri and Ceph both echoed.

  “You two seem like a popular pair. You, especially,” Zeudah said, nodding at Aeri. “The Word was here today.”

  Aeri gasped. He worried that Aeri woul
d try to draw a weapon again, but she seemed to have learned her lesson.

  “The Word demanded that I hand you over to it.” Zeudah scowled. “The insolent dog thinks it can order me around just because it’s the Tetramorph’s little pet.”

  “Isn’t the Pit Champion’s word law here?” Ceph asked.

  “Yes!” Zeudah growled. “No one has the right to command me. Although they are free to challenge me.”

  “Well, here we are,” Aeri said, striking a defiant pose. “What will you tell the Word?”

  Zeudah smiled. “That Pit law still holds. There is the matter of the other one, though.”

  “Other?” Ceph asked.

  “Much more respectful. Perhaps too much. She insisted that I let you fight in the tournament.”

  “Who is she?” Aeri demanded.

  “You’ll find out soon enough, I’m guessing. She did have a curious request, though,” Zeudah said in a strange tone.

  “What was that?” Ceph asked when Zeudah didn’t continue.

  “A kiss.”

  “And then what?” Ceph pushed.

  “Are we done here?” Aeri said, interrupting.

  “Ah yes, you can leave now,” Zeudah said with distracted air. His eyes focused as he recalled something. “I presume you’ve registered for the tournament already?”

  “Yes, this morning,” Aeri said.

  “Good. Once the tournament begins, a forfeit will withdraw all protections of Pit law. Is that understood?”

  “What!” Ceph cried. He turned to Aeri. “You didn’t tell me that’s how it works.”

  “It isn’t,” Aeri said. She looked with anger at Zeudah.

  “I care nothing for Beastspawns or the fate of Xero. I only care about the battles here. Still, it wouldn’t be right to let your strength go unchallenged. In this way, I serve Xero.” Zeudah shrugged from his seated position. “Or that’s what I’ll tell the Tetramorph if it asks.”

  “We’re going,” Aeri said to Ceph.

  The two left the tent, brushing their way past the guards at the entrance. A woman grabbed Ceph’s shoulder. It was the Everborn who had led them to the Pit Champion’s tent.

  “What did he say?” the woman demanded.

  Ceph stammered. Having a high-ranked Everborn toss him around wasn’t helping him stay calm.

  Aeri spoke first. “None of your business.”

  “My master’s wellbeing is my business,” the woman said. “Tell me what he said.”

  “That he would refuse the Word’s request, and that we can’t leave the tournament. Was there anything else? Oh, something about a kiss,” Aeri spat with a look of disgust.

  The woman grimaced. “My master never cared about bodily pleasure. It’s her influence.”

  “Who?” Aeri pressed.

  “Her. Jexaka.”

  “Who is she?” Aeri asked, but the Everborn’s face darkened. The Everborn turned to head into the tent.

  “Aeri, let’s go,” Ceph said, eyeing the other Everborn guards.

  As Aeri and Ceph stepped away, the Everborn woman glanced over her shoulder to call after them.

  “I don’t know what she wants from you or from my master, but something’s wrong. Be careful. We Everborn aren’t invincible.”

  “No, we aren’t,” Aeri whispered as they left.

  It was nearing midnight as they trudged away from the campgrounds. Bright moonlight shone in the cloudless sky, lighting up the sour expression on Ceph’s face. After all he had gone through, he was still helpless in the face of real power.

  “Let’s head to the night matches,” Aeri said. “Nothing like a good fight to cheer you up.”

  “I’m not depressed. Just overwhelmed,” Ceph said.

  “It’s not every day that you meet a Pit Champion. Come on. We’ll gain ranks and equipment. That gives us the best chance of winning.”

  Aeri was right. There was nothing else to do. They had been planning to enter the tournament all along. The only difference was that they could no longer forfeit a match. Losing in safety was no longer an option. Or was it? Did the conditions only apply to Aeri? Ceph was too ashamed to ask. He needed to think about something else.

  “I was wondering,” Ceph began, “Do we get any more skills as we gain ranks? Like we did at rank 50?”

  “Nope. From now on, you only earn skills from equipment. That’s why we need to fight. It’s the only way to gain power,” Aeri said.

  “What about trading? Do people ever trade equipment?”

  “Sometimes. Only common and less powerful equipment. Even then, equipment is rare. Probably only one out of every ten Everborn even has a single piece of equipment.”

  That surprised Ceph. He touched the sword at his waist. Maybe it was more valuable than he had thought. “What about the artifacts you need?”

  Aeri gave Ceph an amused expression. “No one would trade an artifact, even if it was possible. Powerful equipment is never traded, only earned by ability or taken by force.”

  “Can you steal an artifact?”

  “No, for the same reason you can’t trade them. Artifacts are soulbound. The first person to use an artifact is the only one who can ever use it.”

  As they headed towards the fighting pits, Ceph couldn’t stop noticing all of the higher-ranked Everborn around him. Everywhere he looked, auras filled his vision with the warning colors of red, orange, and yellow. Ceph’s eyes ached for the comforting cool of green and blue, like when they had been hunting new Everborn.

  “What if someone kills us and takes all of our equipment?” Ceph asked.

  “That could happen, but this is neutral ground. The Pit Champion, and probably the rest of the gladiators, would punish whoever did that,” Aeri said.

  “So Zeudah can’t hurt us?”

  “The ones with power create the rules. You should know that, Ceph.”

  They reached a fighting pit where a match was already taking place. Ceph was surprised and relieved when he activated his Inspection skill. The crowd of onlookers was mostly made up of ordinary people. A number of green and yellow auras were present. The combatants also had green auras.

  “It looks like you were right. There’s way more green auras here.”

  Aeri grunted. “The lower ranked ones with nothing to lose don’t mind dying.”

  “Well, I mind.” Ceph stepped forward to watch the match, hoping to get an idea of his potential competition.

  Two men were fighting in the hollowed out bowl of earth below them. The taller one held a longsword and was dressed in leather armor. He had dark skin and darker hair. His opponent was a squat man with thick limbs and light green skin. The shorter man, who fought without a shirt or any visible equipment, seemed to be losing. Ceph checked the auras of the two fighters. Both were green.

  Sweat gleamed on the shorter man’s bare chest. He fired a quick salvo of Soulstrikes at the approaching swordsman. Ceph didn’t see the swordsman cast any shields, but the man’s armor pulsed with a blue glow as each Soulstrike hit it.

  “Is that armor acting like a shield?” Ceph asked.

  “Possibly. Basic armor can reduce incoming damage, although usually not as much as an Interference Shield.” Aeri studied the match with a critical eye. “This is lopsided. It should be over soon.”

  The swordsman advanced with his weapon, attacking the shorter man with Steelstrike after Steelstrike. The shorter man cast shields to soften the attacks.

  “It’s over,” Aeri said.

  The shorter man had stopped casting, likely because he was out of spirit. He backed away from the swordsman, but the arena had no obstacles to hide behind. He was trapped.

  The swordsman kept striking the now defenseless opponent until his body collapsed. Then, he lashed out with one more Steelstrike, which tore the dead man’s body in two. Ceph, along with many of the onlookers, cried out in shock at the torn body. He had forgotten about overkills.

  “An Everborn without blood is no different from any other body,” Aeri observed. />
  Ceph shivered. “See, that’s why I put most of my power points into blood.”

  The victorious swordsman poked at the dead man’s remains with the tip of his weapon. He cursed in disgust and left the fighting pit.

  “He seemed disappointed,” Ceph said.

  “The dead man had no equipment. I’m sure he gained a power point for his troubles, though.”

  “Are all matches this one-sided?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Fights are drawn randomly, and the few competent fighters are more likely to be paired with easy opponents rather than one another.”

  “That could be good. Assuming we’re the competent ones.”

  Aeri smiled.

  Ceph and Aeri continued watching matches for several hours. As Aeri had predicted, most fights were unbalanced, with the superior fighter clearly established soon after a match began. About half of the fighters had at least one piece of equipment, with various Steelstrike weapons being the most common. There were plenty of green aura matches, some yellow, and even a fight between two red auras. That one had lasted a full ten minutes.

  Another quick bout was wrapping up in the pit below them. Ceph turned away from the match. “Do they always pair equally ranked opponents?” he asked.

  “Looks like it. Except for that two-on-one fight.” One of the matches had been between two green auras and a single yellow aura. The yellow aura had won.

  A small, very small, part of Ceph was eager to see how he would fare against a similarly ranked Everborn. If nothing else, his katana gave him an advantage over the unequipped fighters. The sight of overkills and dead bodies, though, dampened his mood. He was happy to remain a spectator.

  It wasn’t the idea of fighting that scared him. He had killed plenty of Everborn before, but the Gladiator Pits were different. He wasn’t picking off lone stragglers. He couldn’t run away if things went wrong. He would be fighting alone without Aeri. And people would be watching.

  At last, the dreaded words left Aeri’s lips.

  “Enough watching. Let’s fight.”

  Chapter 15

  “I’ll be signing up for the next round,” Aeri said. “You should, too.”