by Tao Wong
Old lessons from Angie came back to Daniel and the stout Adventurer began to maneuver for position. Pull hand away from the Orc Lord, put two limbs and body weight on one hand. No matter how strong the Orc Lord was, how large, he could not fight the combined strength of Daniel’s entire body against one limb. Keep weight down, do not let the monster buck him. He almost failed at the last, but for the timely intervention of Rita. The Helbing had scurried forward through the hallway and planted her dagger in the Orc’s calf, forcing it to spasm and kick her aside to smash into the wall.
Finally, with the arm in a lock, Daniel began the laborious process of twisting it. The Orc Lord was humanoid, and while its body structure was slightly different than a human’s, it still had the same tendencies – including a maximum degree that its arm could twist in a certain direction. Focused as he was, Daniel had no time to pay attention to the others and could just hope that the rest of the team was doing well. Not that he had any Mana left to aid them.
With a crack and snap, the Orc Lord’s arm finally gave way. Grinning savagely as the monster screamed, Daniel gave the damaged limb another yank as he moved, heading for the large creature’s body. The pair rolled and fought, the Orc Lord growing progressively weaker as it bled out and was crushed by Daniel. And behind, Daniel finally caught a glimpse of the hallway where the Adventurers were slowly gaining the upper hand after Omrak’s sacrificial attack.
Hand locked around the Orc Lord’s neck, Daniel watched as the team kept the Spearmen engaged. Occasionally, one would break away in an attempt to get to their leader, but an arrow or throwing knife would always find them. In one corner, the Boss Imp engaged two different spearmen, its whip discarded as it lashed out with its claws while being stabbed repeatedly.
In time, the Orc Lord slowly stopped struggling and Rita made her way over to the unconscious monster to push a dagger into its chest. The monster gave one last convulsive twitch before it stilled, and Daniel clambered out from under the monster with effort.
As if the death of the Orc Lord had been the signal, the last defense of the stragglers collapsed. By the time the pair limped their way to the doorway of the entrance hall, the battle within it had finished. Eiju was crouched over a shallow breathing Omrak, slowly pouring a vial of healing potion down the bigger Adventurer’s mouth.
“Injuries?” Daniel called out. Almost as one, the entire team raised their hand. Daniel winced, letting experienced eyes wander over the group, sorting serious injuries. Clapping his hands together, Daniel limped in. “Alright, let’s get to work.”
Chapter 15
“Floor stone!” Asin crowed, tossing the Mana Stone from one hand to another with a grin. The fist-sized Mana stone had an amazing clarity, one that Daniel had not seen but in the Guild itself as an example. He could not help salivating slightly at the coin that would generate when they made it back.
“Same!” Rita called out making Asin jerk her head to the side.
“And here too,” Camilo called out, his spear propped to the side.
“Ditto,” Rob added as he showed everyone his finding.
“That makes no sense,” Daniel said.
The treasury they had located had four chests, the largest being the one that Asin had opened. Soon, the group had laid their findings down before Gerardo and Daniel. Four large Mana stones, Asin’s the largest by far and then three smaller, but still large stones from the other chests. In addition, surprisingly, Asin’s chest had included a small amulet - a medal that Rob and Kelly immediately declared magical. Rather than risk the medal binding to one of them or potentially being cursed, the group set the medal aside. While Panqua was not likely to curse an object, general wisdom held that it was better to check all magical equipment before use. On occasion, Ba’al’s corruption could infiltrate Panqua’s design.
“It might perhaps make more sense than you think,” Rob said, stroking his beard. “We have yet to find a second staircase or portal. I might even conjecture that there is no such location.”
“You’re thinking we’re on the third floor?” Kelly said, eyes going wide.
“Yes.”
“But we never found the Floor Champion previously,” Gerardo said and then glanced at Daniel who shook his head in negation.
“We did, however, fight three Sargents. Mini-Champions if you will,” Rob said holding up his fingers. “We also fought the Orc Lord which is undoubtedly this floor’s Champion.”
“So, Panqua created a single large floor?” Kelly said slowly and then sat back thinking. “But separated each via invisible portals, allowing more Adventurers to explore. Though, we ended up travelling through the same forts often.”
“A test,” Rob said.
“Of what? Patience?” Gerardo said with a snort.
“Not of us. Of the floor,” Rob said waving his hand around. “Any good Enchanter knows, you must test your formulas. A Dungeon design for Panqua is perhaps the same as for an arrow design would be for us. Just another day’s work.”
“And Artos is known to change,” Kelly added slowly. “And it’s long periods of quiescence.”
“Exactly,” Rob said.
“What does that mean for us then?” Gerardo impatiently interrupted. While the pair of Mages might be content to argue about the ramifications of the Dungeon design, the rest of the team was busy exploring the fortress once more, doing a much deeper check for the missing stairs or portal.
“We will know when the others come back,” Kelly said.
“But if I had to make a guess, I would say that we will not be able to confirm anything till we leave the fortress,” Rob added.
“Then let’s get to searching,” Daniel said and stood up, picking up the large Mana stone and tossing it to Asin. The Catkin grabbed it and put it away while the others took the ones assigned to them and set each aside. As the entire battle had been completed together, the group had already decided to pool the Mana stones and other equipment collected and sell them as a group to the Adventurers before splitting the final take evenly between the two groups.
In truth, as Daniel led the rest around to help check the fortress, he could not help but be slightly grateful. He knew the Fallen Leaves had more members, and thus an even split was actually more advantageous for their team. Yet, Gerardo had offered the even split immediately without hesitation. Even the man’s overall demeanour had cooled slightly since the battle.
As Asin hopped along the wall, tapping against the stone with the hilt of her knife, her tail waving lazily behind her, Daniel smiled. Perhaps it was just that coin in one’s purse always made others relax.
That evening, the group found themselves camped at their usual spot. By common agreement, the teams had decided that staying in the now-empty fortress was too creepy. Even if the beds looked entirely too comfortable. Still, with the threat of the Orcs defeated, that evening’s meal was more joyous and celebratory than ever. Even if everyone still kept their voices down as a precaution, the mood among the group was certainly more joyous.
It was later at night when Daniel was leaning against a convenient boulder and staring out at the mist-filled darkness that Gerardo found him.
“Adventurer Chai,” Gerardo said.
“Gerardo,” Daniel greeted. Gerardo sat down next to Daniel who looked over at the fellow Adventuring leader expectantly.
“I came to apologise. And to thank you,” Gerardo finally said. “Your team deserves to be here. Perhaps even more than mine. You are good, if raw. And brave.”
“Sometimes too brave,” Daniel said softly, recalling a bleeding Omrak. He rubbed his nose, a memory of the extensive internal injuries the damn Northerner had developed coming to mind. Forced healing through the healing potions was dangerous and with his extensive use in a short period, Omrak had managed to develop a number of deep, persisting injuries. Injuries that Daniel had mostly fixed with his Gift. Yet, he could not find it within himself to complain – without Omrak’s bravery and sacrif
ice, they would never have won.
“Adventurer?” Gerardo said and Daniel’s attention snapped back to the man.
“Sorry.”
“No need. It has been a long delve,” Gerardo said. He paused for a second before he added, “Thank you for what you did with Rita. And our injuries.”
Daniel could not help but shrug. In the aftermath of the fight, Daniel had not been able to do much about magically healing everyone, his basic healing skills had been of use. That, and he had quietly used his Gift on a few of the more distressing injuries. Injuries that, even with magical healing, might not have been fixed properly especially if they were not dealt with soon enough. After all, spells like Moderate Healing could magically sew over wounds, but their effectiveness was dictated to some extent by the base knowledge of the caster. The spell was also less directed, often healing the entire body at a time rather than focusing on problem areas. His Gift, on the other hand, allowed him to directly fix problems.
“It’s a pity finding a healer is so difficult. Perhaps it’s time for me to spend more time learning the skill,” Gerardo added, offering a half smile. After a second, he glanced over to the group, his voice lowering. “I looked over Rita’s wounds. And what she described.”
“Oh?”
“The healing…” Gerardo paused, then shook his head. “It should not be possible. But it happened.”
“I did have to spend most of my Mana…”
“Most,” Gerardo said, his lip quirking slightly. “But not all. What you did isn’t something an Advanced Adventurer could do.” For a moment Gerardo fell silent before he slapped the ground, pushing upwards. “I don’t really know what you did. I’m not sure I want to. But I’m glad you were here and that you’re one of us. We’ll keep your secret.” At that, Gerardo flicked a glance to where the members of the Burning Fields sat, chatting quietly with one another. “But I’d be careful.”
Daniel stared at Gerardo for a second, his eyes narrowing before the Adventurer finally nodded. It was only when Gerardo had left that he slumped slightly, concern growing in his eyes. It was something he had always feared, his Gift getting out. At some point, it would no longer be possible to hide it. Thankfully, Gerardo seemed willing to let things go. But sooner or later…
Sooner or later, Daniel would have to decide between his privacy and allowing someone to die. And Daniel knew the decision he would make. In the end, for him, there really had never been a decision. Not in a long time.
“That’s it?” Gerardo said, his eyes wide. Daniel found himself next to the leader, the pair of them standing at the entrance to the small building that enclosed the Dungeon portal. The two frowned, turning around and bumping into the exiting other Adventurers. Chuckling ruefully, the pair moved away even as exclamations of surprise resounded through the room.
“We just left the hill…” Omrak muttered out loud.
“What hill, Adventurer?” the Guild Master asked, standing at the entrance with his hands clasped behind his back. The tense Adventurers, having just left a Dungeon predictably reacted with some cursing and knee-jerk reactions, drawing or aiming them before they realised who it was and stopped.
“Guild Master,” Daniel greeted.
“Good. That’s two groups,” the Guild Master said, his eyes sweeping over the Adventurers. “And no losses. Clean yourself up; we have the inn across the street. Report what you have found afterwards.”
The group looked around, frowning as they stared at the Guild Master. After a brief moment, Gerardo finally spoke up. “Guild Master, is there something wrong?”
“Many things. But the Yellow and Green groups have yet to return,” the Guild Master replied, his face drawn tight.
His pronouncement made the group draw in a deep breath of shock. If any group were to be expected to fail, it would have been theirs. And worse, they knew how hard their own floors had been. What changes, what difficulty did the other groups face? And what did that failure mean for them and for Silverstone?
###
THE END
This is the End of Book 5 of the Adventures on Brad
Find out what happens in Book 6, Coming late 2019
Author’s Note
If you enjoyed reading the book, please do leave a review and rating. Not only is it a big ego boost, it also helps sales and convinces me to write more in the series!
In addition, please check out my other series, the System Apocalypse (a post-apocalyptic LitRPG) and Hidden Wishes (an urban fantasy GameLit series). Book one of each series follow:
Life in the North (Book 1 of the System Apocalypse)
A Gamer’s Wish (Book 1 of the Hidden Wishes series)
For more great information about great LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:
GameLit Society
LitRPG Books
About the Author
Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who spends his time working and writing in the North of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing martial arts of many forms and having broken himself too often, now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.
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