by A R Chen
Contents
Title
Copyright
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Book End
Author's Note
Ball of Light: Evolution
Ball of Light, Book One
By AR Chen
Ball of Light: Evolution
Copyright ©2019 by Adom Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
***Foreword by Blaise Corvin***
Hello readers! This book is classified as GameLit or RPG GameLit.
You might be curious what RPG GameLit actually is. GameLit, the larger genre umbrella, is any fiction with game mechanics or that takes place in a game. RPG GameLit is a subgenre where stories include some sort of linear progression for characters that is significant to the plot of the story. These types of stories have been extremely popular in Russia and other countries where they are called “LitRPG.” They’re just now making an impact in the West!
RPG GameLit is usually a funky mix of Fantasy and Sci Fi. The settings can vary, but what most GameLit novels have in common is a world that most gamers can immediately relate to.
***
Alright, so let’s get this out of the way: Ball of Light is a very unique story. If I had to describe it past being LitRPG or GameLit, I’d say it’s something like a mobile dungeon, or dungeoncore story. Many of the mechanics found in Steve’s adventure are staples in stories about sentient dungeons, but as you all are about to see, Ball of Light is completely different.
This book can also be classified as Young Adult. There are some curse words in this story, but the overall plot should be very accessible (and fun) for younger or older readers alike!
Oops. I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s back it up a bit.
This is an interesting foreword to write. Ball of Light is the first book I’ve helped publish that I haven’t actually had any part in writing at all. However, I’ve known AR Chen for years. Buckle in, there’s a little bit of GameLit/LitRPG history to share now.
Back in the day (the day being around 2015), when I was an unpublished web serial writer, I shared my work on Royal Road as well as a few other places. While Delvers LLC was on Royal Road (”Royal Road Legends” at the time), I joined a group of authors as a means of self promotion, then made my own.
Let me elaborate.
One of the most challenging aspects of starting out as a web serial writer is finding new readers. Toward this end, I applied to a group for curated authors/stories and was accepted. One member of this group was Bonnie L. Price, who has gone on to publish Deck of Souls. The idea behind this group was that readers could follow the link to the group’s page from each author’s story, then try the stories of other members, knowing that each of them had been accepted into the group on the basis of being unique and well-written.
This was a great idea, but as a GameLit/LitRPG writer, I felt like I could create a new group that would better direct readers to stories like mine.
Thus, the LitRPG Society was born.
After starting this group, I recruited a number of authors whose work I enjoyed. Some notable members were Travis Bagwell, Luke Chmilenko, Jeffrey “Falcon” Logue, Aleron Kong, Outspan Foster, and yes, AR Chen.
As some readers will know, eventually as more member authors had published and we could no longer keep our books on Royal Road due to our contracts with Amazon, I created the LitRPG Society Facebook group. Eventually, this Facebook group was renamed to the GameLit Society, which still exists today.
So let’s fast forward to today, shall we?
I’ve kept in touch with AR Chen, and I’ve always liked Ball of Light. Now I am honored to help him publish this story! I am sure that you all will have a fun time with Steve, and I really urge you all to connect with the author on Facebook. He isn’t as outgoing (or loud) as me, but he told me he will keep readers posted on social media. I am sure we will see many great things from him in the future. He’s one to watch.
To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a story quite like Ball of Light before.
***
I really had a lot of fun helping AR Chen produce this book. Normally I’d put a bunch of links in this area to help people find my work and my social media. However, this is not my book. Instead, I suggest you visit the author’s note at the end and connect with him on social media. :)
It’s never a bad idea to help out an artists whose work we’ve enjoyed. If you liked this book, please remember to leave a review.
I hope you all have as much time with Steve as I did when I first read this story a few years ago!
-BC
Chapter 1
“Wake up, Steve!” a female voice shouted. “We have to start now!”
Steve awoke with a massive headache, wondering why an unfamiliar voice was yelling at him, and feeling too dazed to comply. The world was a swirl of bright colors, but as his vision resolved, he found himself in a forest of some sort. He was having difficulty focusing on any one thing, as everything was too vivid.
He didn’t remember how he got here; in fact, his mind was something of a blank slate. Steve wasn’t sure how he felt about that, or anything really.
Then, he sensed something. Right next to him was a thin long creature, two feet long and dark brown. Steve disapproved of creatures with so many legs on principle. What are these things called again? Steve felt that he should’ve known what it was.
“Come on, Steve!” the Voice pestered. “You’re falling behind.”
This time he was feeling a bit better and decided to get up as requested.
Only, he didn’t actually stand up, just sort of floated up from the ground. As Steve realized this, he was startled to full consciousness and instantly shot up five feet in the air, looking in all directions simultaneously. Steve couldn’t really put a finger on it, but this felt wrong. He wasn’t sure what wasn’t right; there was just something at the back of his mind.
He once again turned his attention to the forest surrounding him, this time noticing the many colorful rocks on the ground in the little clearing where he hovered and some blue trees not too far off. The trees ranged in height from three to twenty feet tall or more.
Steve realized what was wrong. The Voice urging him on was nearby, but he didn’t see anything besides the…bug, yeah that’s what this kind of creature was called.
A talking bug wasn’t the strangest thing about his situation, so he asked it, “Hey, what’s going on?”
The bug just stood there, unmoving as it replied, “Well…you’re in a new place now, Steve. I can tell you a bit about the situation, but you’ll need to do something for me, head towards that red rock over there.”
With an effort of will, Steve found he was able to hover in the direction indicated. He kept his vision focused on the bug as he moved and it began to explain.
“This is a world filled with danger and opportunity. I’m not too sure why you were brought here, but your memories are sealed by Ancient-class magic. Here you will have the opportunity to be anything you want to be, but at an equ
ivalent cost. To my knowledge, it seems like there were several others as well,” the distinctly female voice of the bug continued as it slowly walked along behind him.
“Others?”
“I am sorry, but I don’t know much about that. I can tell you the rules, though.”
“There are rules?” Steve felt like he existed in a constant state of confusion.
“Yes, I have been given a set of rules for you for the first countdown, they are as follows:
1) Don’t die.
2) Don’t wander outside of your ten-mile radius before the countdown ends.
3) Don’t evolve before the countdown ends.
4) Don’t kill before the countdown ends.
If you fail to obey these rules, there will be consequences.”
Steve was confused. He understood the rule part, but nothing about the countdown part.
Steve would have frowned if he could feel his face. “What’s this about the countdown?” he asked the bug, which had closed half the distance between them.
“If you focus your mind on the word ‘countdown’, it’ll pop up for you!” the many-legged bug happily answered, clearly pleased that Steve was paying attention.
Steve focused his mind for a bit and found the countdown. It currently read:
4 Days, 23 Hours, 20 Minutes, 10 Seconds
It tracked the seconds to four decimal places, all but the tenths blurring past far too quickly to be readable, which was interesting to watch, though sort of useless. Steve reached the rock still feeling disoriented, like he was having trouble adjusting to his new body.
Steve tried to frown, but nothing happened, as he had no face. This threw his thoughts into confusion; hadn’t he always been a normal ball of light?
He floated down to collect himself, coming to rest on top of the red rock the bug had led him to. Having no idea how to proceed from here, he asked what seemed like the obvious question, “What do I do now?”
“Good, you’re in the sunlight now…um, I guess you can start considering your options!” the bug replied, her voice merry. “I’ll send you a mental list.”
Instantly, a list appeared in his mind’s eye, similar to the way he’d seen the countdown. He didn’t have a name for the language he was seeing, and didn’t even recognize the alphabet, which only made it stranger that he somehow knew exactly what it said.
Page One:
1) Goblin
2) Elf
3) Undead
4) Troll
5) Ogre
6) Slime
7) Kobold
8) Naga
9) Turtle
10) Human
He mentally turned the page, seeing even more options, and a bunch of long explanations next to each of the entries, but now didn’t seem like the time to go through all of that. Just a bit ago the bug had been in such a hurry to get him moving; why would it now want him to read all this? Something else was nagging at him still, but Steve couldn’t quite place his thought on it.
His mind was still slightly hazy, but he really did feel much better than when he’d first woken up. Now he could feel energy coursing through his body, warming and strengthening him.
Suddenly a thought struck him; the bug didn’t seem to volunteer much so he’d better keep the conversation going if he wanted to figure out what was going on. “What are you?” he asked the bug, which by now had nearly reached where he was sitting.
“I’m your helper! Unfortunately, my memory has more holes than Swiss cheese. Although, what is Swiss cheese, and why did I think of that comparison? Hmm, that seems odd…” The bug’s voice had started off strong, but trailed off. “I also don’t know too much about this place at the moment, but I can assure you I can help…”
The insect’s voice had sounded like it was right beside him, or maybe even in his mind this entire time. Steve wasn’t sure how that worked, but the bug seemed trustworthy, so he decided not to worry about it—which was easy to do with the ever-increasing, pleasant warmth suffusing his body.
“I originally told you to move closer to this rock because the sunlight is more direct in this area than where you started. Is it helping?” the bug asked hesitantly.
“I’m feeling a lot better now, thank you,” Steve replied. He was feeling better by the minute, and now he knew why. Feeling grateful, he turned his focus to the red sun shining down upon him.
Wait, a red sun? It seemed so tiny, surrounded by fluffy white clouds in a deep-blue sky. Both the size and the color felt wrong, but he wasn’t sure what would have seemed right.
“Um…Steve?” the bug called for his attention in a concerned voice. “You might want to move away from that bug.”
Steve turned his focus back to the bug. He felt confused. “You mean that isn’t you?” he asked. With it so close, and no longer sure of its intent, he noticed that it wasn’t an insect at all; it had what seemed like a hundred legs, and more concerningly, two huge, glistening pincers.
Then, the bug jumped him.
***
A few moments later, Steve was sure his thoughts were clearing, as he started feeling distinctly concerned. “This doesn’t seem good? Why is this happening to me?”
Wiggle wiggle wiggle.
“Well, your body is slowly adjusting to the new climate,” the Voice helpfully answered. “It’s normal to feel fatigued at first, then recover your energy over time…I think.”
“That’s well and good…but can you tell me why this thing is inside me?” Steve rephrased the question. He couldn’t see inside of himself; his luminescence was far too bright, but he could vaguely feel the intruder moving around inside him. It was a disturbing sensation, and yet for some reason, not as concerning as he felt it should be.
“Ah…Oh! I remember now. This is an arthropod common to this region, I think it’s called a centipede.” The Voice seemed happy about reclaiming some of its memory. “I think it likes you!”
“I…I really don’t think that’s the case,” Steve stated.
At that moment, the pleasant warming sensation accelerated significantly. “Hold on, I’m beginning to feel something, I feel…great!” Steve exclaimed. “It must have something to do with this centipede!”
There was no reply from the Voice this time. Steve felt that this was a bit odd, so he phrased it as a question. “Does this feeling have something to do with this centipede inside of me?” he asked.
“Yes! I believe you are currently absorbing its energy, fueling yourself as a light being,” the Voice continued in a lecturing tone. “Energy has many uses in this world!”
Abruptly, the large centipede writhed in apparent panic, and forced its way out of his body. Thankfully it wasn’t painful, just an awkward sensation. Once free of his body, the centipede charged off into the forest, moving far more quickly than before.
“So, that just happened,” remarked Steve. The voice didn’t say anything. After a moment, he mentally sighed and asked, “What should I call you, voice?”
“You can call me Bonnie!”
“Okay, what do you need to tell me now, Bonnie? The bug is gone, but I have no clue what I should do next and time matters, right?”
“Oh, right! I think you should be learning to control your energy.” Bonnie sounded a bit unsure of herself, but still cheerful. “Try it, Steve! Visualize your inner energy pool, and use it to blast a small Shock at that tree right there.”
Steve focused on the nearest tree and tried to harness the inner sense of warmth he was feeling, which he assumed was his ‘inner energy pool,’ but nothing happened.
After a few minutes of unproductive effort Steve asked, “Nothing is happening, what am I doing wrong?”
“Try visualizing your energy as a fog, shape that fog with your thoughts, into a small lightning bolt!” Bonnie directed.
Steve followed Bonnie’s directions. After another few minutes, he produced a lightning bolt that arced out, struck the tree, and left a smoldering crater in its trunk.
When he rea
lized he’d succeeded, a wave of enthusiasm washed through Steve, as he stared at the smoke rising from the glowing embers. That was followed by a wave of fatigue, and the realization that the energy expenditure had significantly dimmed his radiance. Judging by the way he was feeling, Steve estimated he’d just expended about twice what he’d absorbed from that centipede.
***
Five minutes later, Steve was feeling somewhat restored by the sunlight he had absorbed and decided to ask, “So…what should I do now?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not able to discuss that with you,” Bonnie replied apologetically, but firmly. “I am here to provide you with basic information, but am not allowed to direct you, or even influence your decisions!”
Steve’s thoughts were still in a jumble, as if he was missing something, other than the obvious loss of all his memories prior to waking up here. His initial stupor upon waking in this colorful world had thankfully faded, but things still didn’t add up, so he examined what he did know.
He was a light being, though something about that still didn’t seem right. He had Bonnie, who was some sort of assistant, and he could shoot out lightning from his body. At that thought, he looked back to the tree, which was now enveloped in a cloud of smoke that stretched skyward. He checked the countdown timer once more, just because he could. It read:
4 Days 23 Hours 3 Minutes 55 Seconds
One of the few things that seemed clear was that this timer was important, so he decided to ask Bonnie, “What does this timer do?”
“The timer counts down to your first evolution!” Bonnie answered excitedly. Steve briefly wondered if she got bored, having nothing to do but wait for him to ask her a question. Before he could ask, Bonnie continued, “Make sure you understand all your evolution choices and collect enough energy for the big moment!”
Steve thought about this and checked the list once more in his head. Once again, he only skimmed the entries, starting on the second page this time.