Arcane Kingdom Online: The Fallen City (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 3)

by Jakob Tanner

  Experience points rushed across my HUD but I closed my eyes and ignored them; I didn’t wish to measure a person’s life in the number they gave me towards my next level.

  36

  Fireworks spread across the skyline of Land’s Shield. The whole city was alive with celebration, following the signing of the peace treaty between Arethkar and Laergard. The hostile nation had turned around its remaining ships and was returning to its own sky shores. The trade blockades were removed and goods were flowing freely between the different continents and nations once again. Peace—however transient and temporary it may have felt—had returned to Illyria for the time being.

  The freed Arethkarian players from the fleet had been given lodging in an empty soldier’s barracks near the keep and were being looked after with food and clothing. They were hollowed out and exhausted. They had a lot to take in before any semblance of normality would return to their lives.

  I had finished checking on them and returned to the keep where the king and officers were holding a celebration to the end of the war.

  Drinks were passed around. Officers chatted with each other nicely. Shade was wearing a fancy tuxedo and Kari wore a pretty purple dress. Serena wore a stunning red gown with a sexy side slit, revealing her toned leg and thigh.

  “Like what you see?” asked Serena. She beamed me a wicked smile and stared right at me with her bright blue eyes.

  I didn’t have a chance to screw up the moment by saying something idiotic because the king rose at the front of the party. He was about to give a speech.

  “We have much to celebrate tonight,” he said. “Our enemy has retreated from a fight with us. An impending war has been squashed. Everyone from our scientists to our soldiers have helped us achieve this goal; but, without the help of one group of individuals, we wouldn’t be here today. For that group—the mischievous Shade, the caring Kari, the bold and strong Serena, the brave Jackson, and their wizened leader Clay—are to be honored this evening.”

  A servant came up behind the king holding a box of items.

  “To Shade,” the king said. “I present you these two shadow daggers.”

  The king took two dark obsidian daggers and handed them to the thief.

  “To Kari,” continued the king. “I offer this staff of holy healing.”

  He handed her an incredible silver magic staff with powerful etchings and runes.

  “To Serena,” said the king. “I present this grand blade.”

  He pulled out a massive blade soldier’s sword with a golden hilt with emerald runes.

  “To Jackson,” he said. “I present to you these bracers.”

  He pulled out a beautiful pair of bracers, perfect for the brawler class.

  “To Clay,” said the king, turning to me last. “Who has chosen a new path of magic with his summoner class. I grant you a plot of land in the city where you can store and care for your bound creatures and nurture them to become even more powerful and fight on your and hopefully Laergard’s behalf.”

  The king nodded and smiled at me.

  “And—“ said the king. “Let us not forget the crew who helped them travel across the treacherous skies of Argon’s Rage. They, too, deserve compensation. For every member aboard the Horizon’s Dream, they’ll see a payment of 5,000 gold coins and a barrel of the keep’s finest wine!”

  The whole room erupted with cheers and claps of celebration.

  The night soon turned to easier and more relaxed matters: drinking and dancing. A group of musicians played a slow tune and Serena and I swayed to the music together.

  “All’s well that end’s well,” smiled Serena.

  I smiled back, but she saw right through me.

  “Can’t you be happy just for this evening, Clay,” she frowned.

  “I want to,” I said. “But you and I both know this peace cannot last. There’s still all those players on the Arethkarian continent, enslaved. We have to save them.”

  “I agree,” she said. “But we’re currently not strong enough for an invasion. We need to level up, get stronger, form allies. There’s a lot to be done.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “And none of it can get done this evening. So let’s celebrate how much we’ve gained so far.”

  “Exactly,” smiled Serena, planting a kiss on my lips.

  I kissed back but her lips were cold. I pulled my face away and saw the whole room had frozen. Everyone across the party was paused in midstep.

  Across the dance floor was Betina, guardian of dreams.

  “A moment of utter bliss, a kiss of a loved one, lost in the embrace,” said the girl. “In a moment such as that, people dream.”

  “This is barely a dream,” I said. “I think I preferred it when you actually showed up there.”

  “I won’t be keeping you,” said the ghostly girl walking up to me. “I wanted to come and present my own congratulations to you for a job well done.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  “I can tell,” she said. “You don’t think this war with Arethkar is over.”

  “How can it be?”

  “I’m glad you feel this way,” said the girl. “But I must warn you. Oren Kaige had the power of the corrupted fragments yet still remained conscious. There is only one explanation for this. There are other guardians—brothers, sisters, and family of mine—that are working with Arethkar.”

  My stomach dropped. This didn’t sound good.

  “You’re not just fighting a powerful nation Clay,” said the girl. “You’re now at war with the gods.”

  To be continued in A.K.O. Book 4!

  Thank you so much for reading.

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  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading my book from start to finish! I hope you enjoyed Clay’s further adventures in book 3 of Arcane Kingdom Online. If you did, please consider leaving a review. As an indie author, reviews go a long way to achieving success, so please leave one if you can!

  Thanks again for reading and see you soon!

  -Jakob Tanner

  www.jakobtanner.com

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  Need More Good Books?

  Looking for something great to read while you wait for book 4 of A.K.O.? Let me recommend a few of my favorites!

  If you’re looking for more action-packed page-turning LitRPG goodness, look no further than M.H. Johnson’s Endless Online series. I love this particular series due to its intergalactic sci-fi elements which we don’t see enough of in this genre!

  Another favorite of mine is Harmon Cooper’s Feedback Loop. Cooper is a very humorous writer who manages to combine hardboiled detectives, snarky jokes, and virtual reality all into one awesome reading experience.

  Crystal Shards Online by Rick Scott is another amazing series with a game world full of intrigue and characters you fall in love with.

  The Hall by Frank Albelo is a great start to a promising new fantasy LitRPG series with a really unique and cool magic system.

  I hope you enjoy!

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