Poor Cultivation (The Slayer of Heaven Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series

by Alan Bard

  “Are you feeling better? Can you talk now?” I wanted to ask her how it felt to be a loser, but I restrained myself.

  She shrugged. “I think so. This whole thing is terrible. Do you think I like torturing you? Nobody asked me if I wanted this. Mother decided that I should be great, and she forced me to come here. You agreed to this. My options were to either fight in the Arena or be sent to a nuthouse.”

  “Would she really have sent to you an asylum?” Rio asked although he knew that Zara wouldn’t think twice about doing that.

  “She has connections everywhere, and I am an inconvenience. Maybe she wouldn’t have sent me to an asylum, but she would’ve kept me locked up. So, I was confronted with the fact that I needed to stay alive, and if I couldn’t, then I was worthless.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Rio whispered. “Your story is almost like mine.”

  “They organized it so that I would get a bunch of underage maniacs under my command, and that I would have to be strict with them… But it wasn’t like that! However, I didn’t understand it then.”

  “Your mother is a piece of work,” Jelena said.

  “Her goal was to make a superhuman out of me. She herself would gladly go through all the Rites, but adult brains turn into mush if they’re connected to the network, so she blessed me with this task. I hate her. Not only for what she did to me but for what she did to my father, too.”

  I had never expected that she would pour her heart out to us. I was even uncomfortable to listen to her stripping her soul like that in front of me.

  “And what’s the goal of these experiments? To produce an ultimate lab rat?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “You know… They collect rats in labs, put them in a cage, and don’t feed them at all. Starved, the rats start to fight among themselves and eat the weak. As a result, there remains only one rat, which is then released. Although free, it continues to eat its own kind.”

  “I don’t know,” she said wearily. “Nobody told me what and why, they just gave me the task to defeat everyone. They said that that would open a way to something…” She moved her fingers in the air. “To something huge and powerful, as mother once put it. I don’t know much, and what I do know isn’t necessarily true. They could’ve lied to me.”

  “What’s important now is to figure out where we are,” Rio said. “How dangerous this place is and what we can do to fight back if we’re attacked.”

  Victoria got up, carefully observing our surroundings. I also began to look around; all I saw were tree trunks, blackness behind them, and distant rocks painted silver by the moon.

  “We’re in a forest… Probably north… Trees thick as this grow mainly in that area…” Victoria guessed. “And closer to the center of the Arena… Even further north is the Pass, through which we can reach the sea. Hell! We lost everything! Map, weapons, shelter, half of our artifacts! I didn’t take much with me! We’ll need to start from scratch. Shit…”

  “And we’re still weak,” Rio whispered. “Especially me. Geez, it feels weird lying next to a corpse.”

  “We’ll bury her in the morning, together,” Victoria said. “I’m too tired right now. What were we talking about…? Oh yes. Division into warriors and mages. How do I put it…? There are low-tier players, like you, who had broken the law and hoped to get away from justice by hiding here. And there are… Hmmm… ‘Volunteers,’ like me… You could say that they take better care of us.”

  “Volunteers,” Eli repeated. “You’re all just a bunch of rich kids, that’s what you are. God, it’s the same everywhere you go…”

  Rio joined the conversation in a barely audible whisper. “Okay, it’s obvious that Zara is a wicked woman, just like my mother. But what about other parents? Are there really so many of them who are ready to force their children into… this?”

  Victoria shrugged weakly.

  “Some of them don’t really know what they’re doing. Others, like my mother, do. And some…” She made a brief pause. “Well, I believe that some are being blackmailed and forced to send their children here.”

  “Who’s forcing them?” I was curious.

  “I don’t know. Behind this whole thing is… Someone powerful. A group of people. Or not… I don’t know. I mean, magic isn’t real, right?” She was looking at us as if she was expecting us to confirm that. “There’s someone whom even my mother fears. At the University, I heard bits and pieces of conversations between laboratory assistants and the younger staff who whispered about strange things… About strange people in the Arena… About its central area… But that’s all. I don’t know what exactly is going on.”

  “All of you are mages, right?” I asked. She nodded.

  “I wonder how that works… Does it mean that no such abilities can be awakened in us? That they’ve just made us like this? That they suited us to their own needs… No, to the needs of more privileged players? Nothing here depends on us, does it?”

  “I can’t say anything. I noticed that the mages make for poor fighters, but that fighters can have magic, though it’s extremely weak. It’s probably all about different frequencies that our brains emanate during the first Rite.”

  “I see. And what did Zeke mean when he said that they’ll scrap us?”

  “No idea.” Victoria lay down on the ground again, curled up, and added, utterly confused, “I’m sure in one thing, though: the organization that my mother is in has signed a contract with someone. With someone very powerful.”

  “A contract to train players?” I wanted more details.

  “Soldiers. Well, fighters and mages. They do indeed train us. But I don’t think that the feds have anything to do with this…”

  “Bullshit!” Eli concluded. “I don’t believe in any of that!”

  “I have no reason to lie to you.” Victoria yawned and closed her eyes. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  I wanted to grab her and shake her so that she stayed awake. I wanted to get all the information I could from her and fill in the blanks, but she passed out the moment her head touched the ground. I couldn’t fall asleep though; I was the only one who was more or less intact and able to fight.

  Before we set out tomorrow, we needed to see what weapons we had at our disposal. Jelena seemed to still have her bow, but I wished that we had managed to save Joe’s crossbow.

  We also needed to find out where we were and find a new shelter. The weather certainly didn’t care about the ill fate that had befallen us.

  And finally, we needed to decide what we were going to do next. Either we’d stay with Victoria, or go our separate ways. That would be a difficult decision to make. On one hand, she was Zara’s daughter and that in itself was a good trump card. But on the other hand, she treated us like garbage. She could suddenly say that she changed her mind and turn us into her slaves.

  I shook my head. I was wasting my strength thinking about stupid things.

  “Rio, are you sleeping?”

  “Of course I’m not, this hurts like hell. Everything’s burning, aching, and itching. I’m not as tired as I am hungry, to be perfectly honest.”

  “We’ll get something in the morning. Let me nap for an hour or two, and you keep watch. If you hear something, wake me up. Or when you get too tired.”

  “What if ice starts falling on us again? Or something worse?”

  “Good night,” I said, crawling next to Victoria to be warmer, and passed out instantly.

  Chapter 26

  THE TREES

  I felt someone poke me. I opened my eyes and saw Victoria sitting next to me. Looking around in confusion, she was silent at first. “What’s going on?” she finally muttered.

  We all woke up and looked around.

  “Did you feel that too?” Jelena whispered.

  “Yeah.” Rio moved his hand through the air. “Like some kind of… vibration or something…”

  Victoria and I nodded. I felt as if an invisible wave had passed through the air, although the darkness of the forest
remained motionless.

  “Shall we bury her?” Eli asked, pointing at Ksandra’s body.

  It took us a decent amount of time to dig up the loose earth and the dry roots with our blades. When Ksandra’s body was buried in a shallow grave, the system sent me a message.

  Attention, Nick! Seek calorie intake.

  If you do not take action, your physical characteristics will decrease by 35%.

  The first rays of sunshine snuck through the thick treetops and we decided to leave. We would go toward the Quarry where it was more convenient to hide.

  No one followed us, but we didn’t feel safe. We had just set out when another wave of strange vibrations pierced the air. It was like an icy breeze, accompanied by a sense of anxiety. Everyone twitched and looked around.

  “It was stronger this time,” Rio said.

  “As if something is approaching us,” Eli agreed with him. “Or just… I don’t know…”

  “Or it’s getting ready to jump out at us from around the corner.” Jelena finished his thought.

  The forest ended with a cliff, and we walked along it until we found a more or less gentle slope that would take us down to the clearing below. We were clinging to the roots as we descended, and only when had buried our faces in the green grass did we let out sighs of relief.

  I forced myself to sit up.

  “Let’s see what we have, then we’ll decide what to do next,” I said.

  I thought Victoria would argue and get angry that I was suddenly making decisions, but she seemed too heartbroken to care. There were no traces of her old, cold self, and I was afraid that she would end up messing up my plans.

  “Cleaver.” Eli put his weapon on the grass.

  “I have a knife.” I touched the weapon hanging on a cord around my neck, whose blade had earlier been wrapped in several large leaves tied with blades of grass.

  “I have nothing.” Victoria sighed. “I threw both of my knives at Zeke. I hope the bastard is dead. All I have is a couple of artifacts.”

  “I’m empty-handed, too…” Rio observed my makeshift scabbard, and added, “But I could craft us some stuff…”

  “I dropped my bow when Eli dragged me into the portal,” Jelena interrupted him.

  “So we have nothing.” I sighed and rubbed my temple. “What artifacts do you have, Vicki? Do we have paper? A pencil?”

  Victoria checked her pockets, pulled out a poorly sharpened stub of a pencil, a frayed piece of paper, a lighter, a box of matches, and a comb. I passed the writing utensils to Rio.

  “Here, draw a map. You always boast that you have an excellent memory. Vicki, what about the artifacts?”

  She emptied the contents of her canvas bag onto the grass. There was something wrapped in paper and four pebbles of a strange shape. She raised the former and unwrapped it, revealing something that looked like a spinning top. She then tapped it with her finger.

  [Mini totem]

  Artifact

  Can be used as a stationary Totem for 10 minutes.

  Side effects: Resets all properties of existing artifacts.

  “If a Wave comes and we don’t find shelter, it’ll save us,” she explained.

  “What’s a Wave?” Eli asked even though we had barely survived one.

  “Unknown disturbances coming from the center of the island. Radiation, fire, ice, toxic fumes…”

  Rio nodded. “Like the ice that we saw… You probably don’t know where they come from… How often do they happen?”

  “It depends, not all Waves are the same. Sometimes there’s nothing for a few weeks, sometimes it happens twice a day.”

  Next, she showed us a long, flat pebble.

  [Stopper]

  Artifact

  Blocks all portals within a 300 feet radius for 10 minutes.

  Then she put beads of bluish stones similar to glass on her palm.

  [Sleeping Beauty]

  Artifact

  All units of other cohorts below the rank of Sergeant within a 100 feet radius will be paralyzed for 10 minutes.

  Side effects: Causes inhibition in the activator for 30 minutes.

  “Cool, I guess,” Eli muttered without a tad of enthusiasm.

  “Useless,” Vicki added. “If there’s a Sergeant among them, he can easily turn on a deactivator, and that’s it… I have the simplest artifacts with me. They’re easy to get, appear spontaneously and relatively often. Now, the unique artifacts, those are really cool.”

  There was another tremor. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a flicker near the trees. I stared at that exact place, but saw nothing. I was really tired so my mind must’ve been playing tricks on me. The vibrations quickly subsided, as did the incomprehensible feeling of anxiety.

  “I still feel like something is approaching,” Eli said.

  Vicki put her hand on the last artifact.

  [Mental Block]

  Artifact

  Neutralizes the psi effect of any level for 10 minutes.

  “This is a deactivator, for artifacts like Sleeping Beauty, for example. Each artifact has a deactivator.”

  “Let’s decide where we’ll go,” Rio said.

  Jelena, who was silently watching us up until this moment, jumped in. “I don’t understand why we’re still with this sadist. Let’s leave. She can deal with all this on her own.”

  We all turned to look at her, surprised by her sudden change in attitude. She was always nice and kind to others.

  “Once again, I apologize.” Vicki sighed heavily. “I didn’t want to torture you, but…”

  “Shove that where the sun don’t shine!” Eli turned to her as if he wanted to hit her.

  “We need to discuss this in private,” Jelena said

  Victoria shrugged, and the four of us went over to a tree similar to a cypress.

  Jelena glanced at Victoria and whispered, “I suggest we say that we’re with her, and then kill her and before she can take control of us again.”

  “She won’t do that,” I said, although I wasn’t sure in my words.

  Jelena continued, “She’s fooling you! Are you blind? As soon as we relax a little…” She was out of breath with anger, and she began to cough. “We’ll become her slaves again! I’m sure of it!”

  Eli was thinking, biting his lip, switching his gaze between Jelena and me, but he remained silent. It wasn’t a secret that he hated Victoria, but something made him restrain himself.

  “I agree. We can’t trust her,” Rio whispered and began to bite his nails.

  For some reason I thought that they would accept Victoria, that common sense would prevail, but no. I was certain that we could survive without her experience and maybe even get to the center, but it would be much more difficult than with her. She had used us, and now we could use her. Besides, she was Zara’s daughter, and she had provided us with invaluable information. I needed to figure out how to persuade the others.

  Just when I was sure that Rio wouldn’t support me, he proved me wrong. “However, it’ll be difficult for us to make it without her. We know little about the rules, artifacts, and other things. So I’d like us to stay together for now.”

  Jelena turned red with anger.

  “With her as a leader?!”

  “Well, that’s just a formality,” I said. “It’s unlikely that any of us can lead the cohort.”

  “No! And no again! She’ll get inside our brains! I don’t trust her.”

  “And if I vouch for her?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  Tears glistened in Jelena’s eyes.

  “But why?! We are free now! I’ve dreamed about this for so long! Free! What’s wrong with all of you all of a sudden…? You all dreamed of getting rid of her. And you… You! You’re ready to vouch for that bitch!”

  I put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. Rio leaned on the trunk of the cypress and in a monotonous voice said all the things that I wanted to say. Eli listened and nodded in agreement. He, too, needed Victoria to stay.


  “Okay, okay, enough,” he said at last, pretending that he really didn’t want this, sneaking a glance at Jelena. “Just don’t expect me to obey her or to show her any respect.”

  Jelena was clearly really angry that I had stood up for Victoria. I felt bad, as I really didn’t want to make her mad. I even felt ashamed, but what could I’ve done? It was a matter of survival. Eli guiltily turned away from her. Rio ignored her. Only I could look her in the eye.

  “It’s like at school: you have to put up with people you dislike. Also, it wasn’t Victoria who killed your brother.”

  Jelena fell silent, confused by my argument. Taking advantage of the moment, I continued, “Zeke did. And we all want him dead… Vicki included. I think she hates him more than any of us, except for you. She can help you get your revenge.”

  “Vicki? Is she already Vicki to you?!” she shouted and marched over to Victoria. Stopping a foot away from her, she clenched her fists.

  “Swear you won’t force us… to do things.”

  Victoria hesitated at first, but then said, “I swear that I will no longer subordinate the members of my cohort to my will.”

  “Let’s see if you’re telling the truth!”

  She stepped closer and elbowed Victoria in the face. The girl managed to dodge, but still got hit. However, she didn’t fight back.

  “How was that? Nice?” Jelena grinned. “I was in even more pain than that!”

  She punched Victoria in the stomach. She bent over, and in an instant straightened up, breathing hoarsely.

  “Listen, I’m sorry that you had to go through this. But I can explain everything. Abilities develop best when we’re on the verge of death…”

  “You were making us stronger? So let’s give you a taste of your own medicine!” Jelena sneered.

  She reached for a weapon but Eli stopped her by throwing himself at her, knocking her over and pinning her to the ground. Furious, Jelena tried kicked him, hissing curses.

  “I can handle her,” Victoria said. “But I have nothing else to offer her. Don’t you see…?” She looked at me sadly, “This won’t work, you hate me too much.”

  “But we need each other,” Rio said. “Jeco, you need to understand that this like war: yesterday’s enemies can unite for the sake of a common goal. We don’t have to love each other; we are like… colleagues.”