Rise of the Crimson Order: A Crematoria Online LitRPG Novel

by Matthew J. Barbeler

  Was James programmed to be this infuriating? I just wanted answers, and he kept withholding!

  "So where exactly is the nest?" James asked, turning to address Ellie.

  "I'm not sure. I got turned around while I was running away from them."

  "Could you lead us back there?" James asked.

  "I-I think so," Ellie said, but she didn't sound certain.

  I opened my quest screen and navigated to the newly accepted quest. There was a message at the bottom of the quest stub asking a question.

  Open a new case file for this quest?

  Opening a case file would allow me to record information about this quest, just like I had been recording notes against my investigation into the disappearance of John Byrne. I didn't think that I would need to use my Investigator abilities all that much for this quest, but I was glad I had them. I would be able to help Ellie track down the location of the roach hound nest if she wasn't sure exactly where it was.

  As far as I could tell, Crematoria Online didn't contain any kind of mini-map or objective marker system to make navigating the world easier.

  The game relied on the player knowing where they were, then figuring out where they had to go or what they had to do.

  Now that I had the quest case selected, I activated my Find Clues ability. Immediately the burning carcasses of the roach hounds began emitting a purple haze.

  They were clues.

  I focused on the pyre and notes began to appear in the bottom of my view.

  Roach hounds.

  The unholy fusion of feral dogs and goliath cockroaches brought together by the affliction known as The Bleed. Neither insect nor mammal, but something in between, roach hounds are a dangerous foe. Do not consume their flesh as The Bleed is only transmissible by the consumption of infected flesh. These roach hounds appear to be a hunting party, tasked with bringing food back to the hive.

  I looked back towards the entrance to the room and saw more shapes outlined in violet smoke. My Find Clues ability highlighted the footprints of the roach hounds, showing the direction from which they had come. Two notifications appeared at the bottom of my view.

  One clue update, and one quest update.

  New Clue: Roach Hound Tracks

  Roach hounds are not delicate creatures. Running mostly on instinct, their tracks reveal their movements.

  Quest updated: Clear Out the Roach Hound nest

  Follow the trail left by the roach hounds to locate the hive.

  "I've got their trail," I said. "Follow me!"

  "You didn't tell me you were a tracker, kid."

  "I've got my own talents," I said, trying to match James's smirk. I don't think it worked.

  We left the burning pile of roach hounds behind in the room with the blood-symbol on the wall. The mystery of the whereabouts of John Byrne would have to wait until we dealt with the real and present threat of the roach hound hive.

  The tracks led us through the labyrinthine sewers, and I ended up completely and utterly lost. Why didn't this damned game have a mini-map?

  Eventually, we came to a broken section of sewer wall. It looked familiar, but so did every little segment of sewer that we passed through. Had the game spawned this dungeon entrance after we had encountered the roach hounds? Or had it always been here? Dirt was spread around the opening, trodden into the stonework floor.

  "Is this it?" James asked.

  "Yes. This is the entrance to the hive," Ellie affirmed.

  "Are you two ready?" James asked.

  "Yes," Ellie said.

  "Ready as I'll ever be," I said.

  "Make your preparations before we go. Once we head down into the hive, there's no coming back until we've destroyed the infection as its source."

  "I'm just going to check my stats and supplies," I said. "I leveled up before, but I haven't allocated my attribute point yet."

  "Really? Come on, dude. Keep up," she said.

  I opened my character menu and realized it was even worse than that. I hadn't just forgotten to allocate my point - there was a notification sitting there that I had missed.

  New Ability acquired: Expose Weakness

  Hot damn! One of my core combat abilities! I navigated to my abilities screen and looked at the tooltip.

  Expose Weakness

  Level: Novice

  Target: Current Focus

  Cost: 25% Concentration Points

  Activating Expose Weakness will reveal the weak points of your current target. Landing a hit on these weak spots will grant a critical hit. Higher levels of this ability will increase its effectiveness.

  I moved the ability to my quick access pane. I could easily call on any of my abilities in combat but having the quick launch pane to remind me of what I had access to was great.

  The last time I leveled up, I sunk the point into Fortitude, which gave me a great boost to the growth rate of my HP from here on in. Fortitude seemed like a statistic was with great returns, so I tried to sink another point into it.

  I frowned as a message appeared.

  You cannot allocate a Point to the same Primary Attribute that you allocated a Point to in the preceding level.

  What kind of hot garbage was this? This was my damned character; I should be able to build it however I wanted to!

  I tried to allocate the point to Fortitude again, but the same error came up. It was understandable from a design perspective. If you let players dump all their points into one stat, they risked building a character that was untenable or overpowered. Neither of those options would serve to give a good experience in Crematoria Online.

  There was nothing stopping someone from alternating their points every level and focusing on two stats, but at least that would stop someone from gaining godlike strength at level cap.

  Other options were still open to me, and all of them were viable so I couldn't be too mad.

  In the fight against the roach hounds and the cockroaches before them, I hadn't felt very sure in my ability to strike with precision. Dexterity would help me on that front, which would in turn allow me to land more critical hits. Like Fortitude, Dexterity would start working wonders when immediately.

  I sunk the point into Dexterity.

  Lucas Hutchins

  Investigator

  Level 3

  HP: 124

  Strength: 5

  Dexterity: 6

  Intelligence: 7

  Charisma: 6

  Perception: 8

  Endurance: 6

  Resilience: 6

  Fortitude: 6

  My core strengths were Intelligence and Perception, but I had tried to distribute my statistics in a way that would give me survivability as well as utility.

  I had never been one of those people who could dump all their points into a single stat, but I really wanted to put another point into Fortitude as soon as I could. Min/maxing my character always seemed way too risky, and I have never been a high-risk kind of guy. Especially not when my life might be on the line. Doubling down on HP growth would serve me well, no matter what direction I took my character in when I reached higher levels.

  The only item of note that I had in my inventory was the sapphire I had found under John's mattress. I was still wielding the antique flintlock pistol and longsword that I had started the game with. I knew I would need to upgrade those soon. They had done all right against the roach hounds we encountered before, but generally, monsters found in dungeons were more dangerous and took more hits than patrolling monsters in the overworld.

  I closed my menu.

  "Okay," I said. "Ready when you are."

  Ellie nodded her agreement.

  James held his hand out as an invitation for us to go first.

  "After you," he insisted.

  Ellie and I both swallowed nervously, then stepped across the threshold into the dungeon.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Stagnant Hive: Upper Level

  A message appeared in front of me. It wasn't like the ot
her notifications that appeared at the bottom of my view. This one appeared front and center and marked my entrance into the dungeon.

  New Area Discovered: Stagnant Hive

  Recommended Level: 5

  The recommended level of the Stagnant Hive was two levels above mine. At Level 3, I was still just starting out, but now I had unlocked my Expose Weakness ability. This dungeon would be a challenge, but with Ellie and James at my back and my new core ability unlocked, I had no doubt that we would put up a pretty good fight.

  A second message appeared at the bottom of my view.

  Quest updated: Clear Out the Roach Hound Nest

  You have located the roach hound hive. Delve into the hive and defeat the Roach Hound Matriarch responsible for spreading corruption in the sewers of Eldin.

  The sounds that rose from the burrow below made my skin crawl. Short growls mixed with insectile chittering and buzzing were a composite that was wholly unnatural. Every instinct in my head told me that the creatures below were wrong, and I should turn around and run away.

  I didn't listen.

  At the end of this dungeon would be a boss, the Roach Hound Matriarch, and bosses always dropped sweet loot. Besides, the bonus experience we would get from slaying the monsters within the hive and completing the quest would boost us up a level or two. Hopefully, I would unlock a new ability.

  Hopefully Ellie would get her own Celestial Offering, although I didn't like the idea of parting ways with her just yet.

  A roach hound trotted up the mouth of the burrow. This one was bigger than any of the roach hounds we'd killed before. It stood almost as tall as my chest and was as wide as I was. This was a soldier designed to protect the hive, not a quick and agile predator that hunted prey. The armor covering most of its body was thick and black.

  I wasn't expecting to be thrust into a combat encounter, but Ellie didn't flinch. She immediately used her Courageous Shout ability, which granted our party a buff. During her shout, Ellie hurled her hammer at the roach hound, which cracked it across its misshapen face.

  It roared in surprise, and I hoped that no other roach hounds heard the damned thing crying out.

  I activated my newly-unlocked Expose Weakness ability and was surprised that it gave me a little bit of information about the enemy target.

  Roach Hound Defender

  Level 5

  This intimidating beast is charged with the defense of the hive. It will fight back against invaders with all its strength. Can call for back-up when it reaches low health.

  "This thing can call for back-up!" I said. "If you see it trying to call out for reinforcements, interrupt it! Go for the joints, just like last time. Knock its legs out from underneath it. Then go for the soft underbelly if you can. That's where you'll land critical hits!"

  Ellie sprinted towards the roach hound as her hammer came flying back into her hand. She braced herself behind her shield as the roach hound readied to launch itself at her too. It uncoiled like a spring and leaped towards Ellie. I drew my longsword and joined the fray. James followed closely, rapier in hand.

  The roach hound crashed into Ellie. She didn't fall, but she staggered against the blow. The roach hound grabbed Ellie's shield with its two barbed front legs, while anchored to the ground with the other four canine legs. The roach hound's toothy mandibles snapped together as it tried to yank Ellie's shield away.

  The creature didn't even register James and I as we approached. All of its fury was directed at Ellie, and she used it to give us an opening. She lifted her shield upward, giving us the perfect opportunity to attack the roach hound's soft underbelly.

  Our swords jabbed in and out of the creature's stomach.

  We landed a half dozen critical hits before the roach hound realized it was being attacked from beneath. The fur there was white and gray, but it soon ran red.

  The roach hound roared, suddenly shifting all its weight forward. Ellie stumbled back as she tried to stay upright, but the roach hound's strength was too much. Ellie toppled over. The roach hound doubled down on its assault, not caring about its wounds.

  It would die for its colony.

  Ellie was trapped under her own shield, and the roach hound was stomping on her greaves. She was protected by her armor, but it wouldn't last forever. It had already started to buckle.

  "A little help, please!" Ellie shouted, desperately swinging her hammer around the side of her shield at the horrific abomination.

  "Go for the joints!" I yelled, focusing on the soft bits in between the armored plates.

  I slashed and jabbed my sword towards the weak spots, and James did the same. He wielded his sword like a veteran. It was more an extension of his body than a separate weapon.

  The roach hound soon realized that the actual threat was not below. It wheeled around, shifting its focus from Ellie to us. It locked mismatched eyes with me. One was insect-like and unblinking. The other was lidded and canine. It bounded toward me awkwardly. The damage to its legs and underbelly robbed it of balance.

  A shout came from behind the roach hound. Ellie stood with her shield raised, hammer cocked back and ready to launch. The roach hound shifted focus back to Ellie, who was ready for it this time around. She must have used a taunt ability on the beast. When the monster reached her, she met it head-on with a back-handed shield strike that knocked the enemy to the side. It fell into a heap and began wailing.

  "It's calling for reinforcements! Kill it!" I shouted.

  Ellie threw the hammer right at the prone monster's head. It burst open like a black, pus-filled watermelon. The wailing screech was silenced.

  The hammer returned to Ellie's hand with a thrum.

  "One down," she said. "How many to go?"

  I was surprised at the grin on her face. Ellie was enjoying this.

  "Great job," James said. "You stood up against the biggest roach hound that I've ever seen."

  A summary of the fight appeared in the bottom of my view.

  You defeated a Roach Hound Defender! 15 experience points earned.

  15 experience points was great for the first monster kill of the dungeon. I had gotten 200 experience points earlier for finishing a crime scene, and there would be many more roach hounds to kill in the Stagnant Hive. I inspected the roach hound's corpse and saw that there was one item available to loot: Raw Roach Hound Meat.

  "Should I take some of its meat?" I asked.

  Ellie and James both looked at me, disgusted.

  "You've got problems," James said.

  "Is it useful for anything at all?" I asked. "Could we use it for something?"

  "No, kid. Don't tamper with the damned thing's corpse. Even the smallest trace of Bleed-tainted blood and gore could be enough to pass the affliction onto you or someone else. Leave it be. If you were trained as an apothecary, then maybe you might be able to use it for something, but you're not. Don't go messing with things you don't understand."

  I left the meat on the dead monster's corpse.

  Ellie stood by the edge of the burrow. "Come on," she said, waving towards the entrance with her hammer.

  She was in a hurry. Eager for a chance at a way out of this game. Dungeon loot was often randomized in MMORPGs, and I had no idea if a Celestial Offering even had a chance of dropping from a dungeon clear.

  But she was our tank, and tanks called the shots.

  Our party make-up wasn't optimal, and I hoped that wouldn't come to bite us in the ass. In most MMORPGs, party composition was an important factor in encounter survival. Outside of solo content, a tank was almost always needed to survive attacks from more powerful adversaries, and that was only when the tank came paired with a healer. A group without a healer was usually doomed to failure, and our group did not have a healer. Hopefully our combined might would be enough to triumph.

  James summoned another oily fireball and threw it at the fallen roach hound's corpse.

  It immediately caught alight.

  It didn't need a shot of whiskey to get it going t
his time, but I did note that it took a little longer for the fire to really catch.

  As a group, we headed down the slope of the burrow. There were claw and paw marks over every dirt surface of the passage. These roach hounds could climb on every surface with ease. We would need to keep our eyes open on the ceiling above us, not just on the ground in front of us.

  We didn't encounter any other enemies as we continued down the throat of the burrow, but when we reached the atrium at the bottom there was a welcoming party waiting for us. Two Roach Hound Defenders, and another roach hound like the ones that we had fought in the sewers above. One Roach Hound Defender was hard enough to take down by itself, and this one had friends.

  They stayed right where they were, watching us. That gave us an opportunity to work out our strategy.

  I looked nervously across at Ellie, but there was no trepidation on her face. Just hard resolve. Whatever it was that was waiting for her outside the game must have been way more important than I initially realized. She needed to get out, and she wasn't going to let these monsters stand in her way.

  "Okay, let's focus on that big roach hound on the right," I said. "We'll use the same strategy as before. Ellie, you distract it, then James and I will work on its weak points."

  "You really think that will work this time?" Ellie asked.

  "I don't see why not," I said.

  "Ellie has a point," James said. "We're not just fighting against one this time. There are three here. If Ellie takes the focus of one, what's to stop the other two from turning straight on us? We wouldn't be able to fend off two by ourselves, and without our backup, Ellie wouldn't be able to slay the other one."

  "You're right," I conceded. "What do you suggest?"

  "Ellie distracts the one on the right, and I light the other defender up with a flame strike. It probably won't kill the damned thing, but at least the flames will confuse and infuriate it. You kill the big one while Ellie takes focus and keep the other smaller one off her too."