“I don’t know, Donald. The Gods told me that it’s habitable, but we’ll eventually meet other races who manage to draw the same rift.”
“Races?” Rita asked incredulously. “Dog people? Dragons? Things from movies?”
I shrugged. “Might be. I don’t know.”
She closed her eyes and put her hands together before she started praying. Donald put his arm around her and leaned in to whisper something I didn’t catch.
“What about you, Mel?”
“What about me? I go wherever you go. Isn’t that already obvious?”
The corners of my lips rose slightly. “That’s—”
“But never drink my stuff again. I wasted an hour preparing that glass.”
My eyebrows rose and a chuckle escaped my lips. “Really?”
“That’s not funny!”
“Umm, don’t the two of you have any worries about what’s to come?” Sarah asked as she put the baby over her shoulder and tapped her back lightly.
“Sarah, I don’t think worrying will be of any help,” I replied. “What could be worse than losing twenty people in a single day? And some of them were even kids at that.”
“Losing whatever’s left of the group.”
She was right to a degree, but no life was worth more than another. Sure, I’d bonded with the two of them more than the rest, but that was only because of his aptitude for guns and that he fit my fighting style better than the rest.
“It is, but let me tell you something else. If any of you are good with Gods and their names, you’ll possibly know who Veles is.”
Donald’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Veles? I’ve read about them. Why?”
“She’s our patron. He chose me to support our ryokan and the people inside.”
“By God! He’s the God of strife, lightning, and all that’s not good!”
I shrugged. “No one else wanted us, so… Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it down there without any big help.”
“Wait, what do you mean down there?” Melina asked. “We’re going underground?”
“No, wait. I don’t know. Maybe? How the hell should I know?”
“You talked to them, didn’t you? Why wouldn’t you ask? Damn it, Vik! Really?”
Melina wasn’t happy with me at all, so I decided not to tell her anything else until I saw she could take it.
“Can we eat now? Please? I’m hungry.”
“Bah. Eat. I’ll go get more. No need to pack since we’re not going anywhere anyway.” Melina got up and walked off toward the kitchen.
I didn’t wait for the others and instead dug in. The roast potatoes and duck meat were excellent. Even the vegetables, which I usually didn’t like very much. Shit, there was nothing better than gorging yourself with delicacies after surviving a certain death situation.
Melina appeared again several minutes later and sat down. She handed me a small bowl with some white—something. It looked like rice.
“What’s that?”
“Rice pudding. Try it once you’re done.”
I grinned and nodded. “Thanks, love.”
“Oh? We’re past the babe stage now?”
She let out a melodic laugh and caught herself as the baby burped.
I checked how much time there was left and sighed.
32:17
32:16
32:15
Still a while to go. Wait, why was I excited? Hell, was I even ready? No! A chill ran down my spine when I thought of just how weak I was. What if that place was even worse than what this world had to offer?
“I need all of you, but I won’t pressure anyone into joining. What I know is that you’ve got a chance with Melina and me, so choose. We’ve only got half an hour left.”
It wasn’t something I wanted to admit, but there was no way for just myself to protect all of us, especially if Donald and Rita joined as well. I’d have to protect four people, and not just two.
“You’ve got my spear, brother,” Mark said after an overly dramatic sigh. “We’ll join you.”
“Good choice. You’ll get to meet a God for your trouble.” I grinned.
“About that, I could do without. Give me a target and a way to make more ammo, I’ll be all set.”
“We’ll come up with something. What about you, Donald? Rita?”
“I’m not moving everything back again. To hell with it all. It can’t be any worse than the world already is, right?”
“Hey, never say that kind of thing, Donny!” Rita snapped. “You don’t want to incur God’s wrath!”
“Woman, didn’t you just hear what he said? Hundreds of Gods?”
“Well, for me there’s only one God, so don’t even bother!”
Oh, man, maybe this had been a bad choice after all. If the two of them were going to bicker like this all the time, we’d have to soundproof the walls and ceilings.
“You sure you want to have us?” Donald laughed.
I nodded. “I do. You two take care of the food. I take care of security and will give you a roof over your head. Other than that, I can’t promise anything. At least not just yet.”
“In that case, I’m in if my lovely wife is,” he replied.
“And you think I’d let you go without me? Old punk,” Rita murmured. “I’m not that much into plants, so make sure we got meat to cook, Mr. Viktor, and I’ll be a happy woman.”
“Oh? I’ll do my best.” I chuckled. “I can work with people who can appreciate a fine piece of meat. Especially well-done.”
“What? Well-done? No, that won’t do at all. I can’t let you eat that trash! You just leave the cooking to me and my dear husband. We’ll show you heaven through food!”
Melina looked as if she was about to burst out in laughter, but she held it in. It was amusing to her, but not to me. I had all the weight of what was to come sitting on my shoulders. Along with the pain I’d caused myself by saving the group who in the end abandoned us. Great work trusting strangers. But in the end, I only made it because of them.
“In that case, you need to bind with the sakura tree.”
“We already did.”
“In that case, all we can do is wait.”
“And eat,” Melina added. “You’re not the only one who’s starving.”
“I can agree with that,” Mark added. “Better be ready for anything, right?”
He pulled the spear from his pouch and leaned it against the wall. I followed his example and placed the gladius to my left, then leaned the nodachi behind me against the chair.
“Where’s your fan?”
She tucked her hand inside her yukata and pulled it out, then unfurled it. The thing looked like one of those cheap fans people used in the summer at first glance, but then I saw the weapon for what it was. A real battle fan.
“I’ll have to get you a better one,” I joked. “Looks too frail.”
“You sure do, and not just that. New clothes as well.”
“Shit,” I cursed after she mentioned clothing. “Where are the girls? Jess and Kai?”
“They left the day we got back,” Mark said. “Said it wasn’t what they signed up for and hoped you wouldn’t hurt them over it.”
“What the hell? Why would I?”
“Why? They were frightened to death and just rambled on. The only thing that saved them from dying was that they weren’t with us when we got pulled into the rift.”
“I’d forgotten to add them back,” I said. “Good thing I didn’t.”
“Guess it’s just us six, then,” Donald said calmly. “We’ll have to make the best of it.”
“It’s not us six, it’s seven with Laney,” Sarah protested.
Mark rolled his eyes at her remark and made amends. “Seven, my love. Seven.”
“If you count the living, what about that wolf of his? Then that’s eight?”
“Sarah, please. You’re embarrassing us.”
I shook my head in delight. The mood was slightly better than it had been minutes ago
, and I felt alive again. Once the names had started disappearing from the party, all I felt was fear and pain, but now all that seemed so far away. At least until the chime resounded in the back of my mind.
2:59
2:58
2:57
“Want to go out into the yard?” I proposed. “If we do get attacked right away, it’s the best place to make a stand. At least we’ll die under the sakura tree.”
“Idiot!” Melina snapped and hit my shoulder. “That’s not what you’re supposed to say!”
Mark stood and picked his spear up, then offered his free hand to Sarah. Donald and Rita followed suit, and so did we. No one said anything as we walked out and stood in the shade of the tree, the home point we’d all decided on with our one scroll.
I held my gladius in my left hand and nodachi in my right as I stared at the gate, almost as if waiting for someone to come at the last moment and fuck this up. A sudden chill ran down my spine as I remembered one very important matter.
“Oh, God, no,” I whispered. “We need to bury the dead!”
“Our dead?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, who else?”
He smiled weakly and shrugged. “What are you talking about? They’re all alive.”
I closed my eyes for a second and breathed in and out, trying to focus. “I’m sorry. It’s just that the last thing I remembered was that they died and something just… I don’t know.”
0:12
0:11
0:10
I stared at the counter as it dropped a second at a time. The world stood still suddenly, just as a cherry blossom leaf floated in front of me. It was suspended in midair as I looked around as everything started to shimmer and grow translucent at an alarming pace just as a new prompt appeared in front of me.
Notification:
Do you wish to assign the Ryokan of Fallen Gods’ binding point to the Rift? Yes / No?
Epilogue
“So, Veles, what the hell do we do with you?” A powerful voice reverberated inside the dark, oval room. “Not only did you offer to become a patron, but you gave them some handouts. How do we rectify that problem?”
“Isn’t this a game? Don’t you want to have fun while bidding, Supreme Lord?”
“It’s only a game if the odds are the same for everyone. Now, please tell me, is that fair toward the other races?”
Veles remained silent. It was a thing she hadn’t thought of, at least not until now. The lightning wolf and the man named Viktor drew her in, and before she knew it, she’d placed all her chips on them. Sure, it could backfire, and most likely it would, but that was why she tried to play the system to a degree where they had “some” advantage over the others.
“I haven’t given them anything they couldn’t have built or gotten over the next seven days. They’ll just have more time to get ahead, or rather, to close the gap with the Zanoxians. They’re far stronger than humans ever could be, so please tell me, Supreme Lord, is that fair?”
The Supreme Lord’s voice rumbled with laughter and shook the entirety of space. “Did you just ask me the same question?”
Veles dropped to her knees and spat blood. More of the thick, red liquid came from her eyes and ears.
“N… no, I’m sorry,” Veles cried out. “I’ll make it right!”
“You’d better, little Veles. Now, how do we do that?”
The excruciating pain that threatened to drop Veles unconscious disappeared and was replaced by… nothing. She sighed and looked around.
“I’ll play against three other Gods, no matter who they are or the race they pledged to.”
“Three? Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?” the Supreme Lord asked again, but there was a certain hint of satisfaction in his voice.
“Never. I’m confident.”
“Very well, I like it. You’re willing to wager your life when odds are so heavily against you, but that wouldn’t be just fun, would it?”
“If you say so, Supreme Lord.”
He chuckled again and then snapped his fingers. A bowl appeared in front of every single one of the contestants.
“Everyone who wishes to take part will relinquish a tenth of their power. If Veles wins, that power is hers. If she loses, however many contestants are left get a tenth of her power.”
“Wait, a tenth is too little!” she protested. “Shouldn’t the odds—” She stopped and nodded her head in submission as every single deity pulled a marble from the bowl. All were black but for three white ones.
“Raise your hand if you got one!” the Supreme Lord snapped. “Show me the lucky ones!”
Three hands went up. One was a female, and two were male.
“Vulcan wishes to play!”
“Indra wishes to play!”
“Cernunnos wishes to play!”
Veles groaned. The three who picked the white marbles were quite heavy hitters from their respective religions and cultures. This wasn’t going to be easy at all.
“Veles, do you agree?”
Veles nodded. “I do, Supreme Lord. I do.”
“In that case, you have your seven days’ head start.”
“What about the others who already have access to this place? Why don’t they become patrons? This would speed up the wager.”
“What say you?” the Supreme Lord asked. No one dared to protest, and since the Supreme Lord already liked the idea, all they could do was agree. They nodded their heads, and three more bowls appeared in front of them.
“Vulcan chooses the Zanoxian.”
“Indra chooses the Perovian.”
“Cernunnos chooses the Velovian.”
The Supreme Lord let out a long and deep laugh, shaking the very foundation of the room they were in. Veles felt as if she was about to throw up. Zanoxians? Shit, that wasn’t good. She had to mention those wretched monsters. Whatever, it was done now. All she could do was to sit tight and do her best.
“Very well, then,” the Supreme Lord roared. “Let the game begin!”
BONUS: CURRENT PROGRESSION
AT THE END OF BOOK 1
(Stats shown are with passives, self-buffs, and equipped weapon)
Status:
NAME: Viktor
AGE: 31
LEVEL: 5, REALM: 1, RANK: 4
HEALTH: 540
ENMA: 260
SPEED: 1.9
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 124
ENMA ATTACK: 115
DEFENSE: 89
ENMA SHIELD: 570
Proficiencies:
Used slots: 6 out of 10
1. One-Handed Weapon – Level 1 – 61.0%
2. Two-Handed Weapon – Level 1 – 88.0%
3. Swordfighting – Level 2 – 12.00%
4. Gladius – Level 1 – 61.0%
5. Nodachi – Level 1 – 88.00%
6. Light Armor – Level 1 – 74.0%
REMOVE PROFICIENCY?
Active Skills:
Used slots: 2 out of 10
SKILL NAME: << SPIKE >>, Lv: 1, 71.0%
DESCRIPTION: Use 40 Enma to add 250%
To Enma Attack on a successful hit and
inflict Defense Debuff with a 50% chance.
SKILL NAME: << SLASH >>, Lv: 1, 24.0%
DESCRIPTION: Use 60 Enma to add 300%
to Enma Attack on a successful hit and
inflict Bleeding Debuff with 65% chance.
REMOVE SKILL?
Life skills:
SKILL NAME: << HOME >>
DESCRIPTION: Move to designated binding spot
once every 24 hours. Resets at 08.00 every day.
Achievements:
How to kill a Boss? (Level 1)
Killed 1/5 Boss rank monster for Level 2
REWARD: + 50 Physical Attack, + 20 Defense
Rift Owner. (Level 1)
Own 1/5 zones inside the rift for Level 2
REWARD: + 200 Health, + 50 Enma
Bloodbath! (Level 1)
Kill 501/2500 Monsters in total for Level 2
&nbs
p; REWARD: + 20 Attack, + 10 Enma Attack
Blood Brothers. (Level 1)
Have 1/5 Blood Brothers for Level 2
REWARD: + 15% to all stats when in same party
Jobs:
NAME: Miner, Level 1, 0/10
DESCRIPTION: Gather 10 ore inside the Rift.
NAME: Hunter, Level 1, 0/1
DESCRIPTION: Hunt 1 monster inside the Rift.
NAME: Smelter, Level 1, 0/5
DESCRIPTION: Smelt 5 ingots using ore found
inside the Rift.
NAME: Smith, Level 1, 0/1
DESCRIPTION: Create 1 tool with ingredients
from inside the Rift.
NAME: Survivalist, Level 1, 0/12
DESCRIPTION: Dig a pit and keep a fire going
for 12 hours inside the Rift.
NAME: Armorer, Level 1, 0/1
DESCRIPTION: Create 1 armor/weapon using
ingredients found inside the Rift
NAME: Butcher, Level 1, 0/1
DESCRIPTION: Butcher 1 Monster using a cold
steel weapon or knife inside the Rift
Inventory:
Enma Crystal Rank 1 – 15
Red Gem Rank 1 – 3
Blue Gem Rank 1 – 4
Green Gem Rank 1 - 2
Loaf of Bread – 13
Stamina Potion Rank 1 – 3
Strength Potion Rank 1 – 3
Agility Potion Rank 1 - 2
Nodachi Of The Blossom Tree - 1
Caesar’s Gladius – 1
Kobold Breastplate - 1
Kobold Vambraces - 1
Kobold Gauntlets – 1
Kobold Sabatons – 1
Kobold Necklace – 1
Kobold Ring – 1
Gear and Stats:
NAME: Nodachi Of The Blossom Tree
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 37
ENMA ATTACK: 14
NAME: Caesar’s Gladius
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 29
ENMA ATTACK: 32
NAME: Kobold Breastplate
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 32