Reborn as a Baron Lord (Light Novel) (A Steampunk LITRPG Light Novel Book 1)

by Han Yang

  I also may have been left out of most of the action. Shooting a running porcupine at a hundred feet is tough. I stuck to Darcy or improved my steamsword skills.

  By day two Delila joined us with the cubs on a fourth wagon with the other adventuring team from Portin. This improved our clearing and harvesting speed. The cubs were being taught to stay defensive.

  When a panther or duckbot would charge, they were great at grabbing attention without heedlessly charging off. Delila was attentive to their training that was clearly just beginning.

  On day three we thinned the herd of mammoths. They were not happy to have us around. Delila was over the moon in excitement about fresh calves being tamed. They’d sell for four grown adults to Hexpa to help with breeding stock. Without a blimp station, it’d take weeks to rotate the babies for adults.

  To process the dead, we had steambots hauling hand carts to help move all the valuable parts. Even Kirven, Hudson, and Yorik joined the stream of villagers helping to move in massive amounts of meat, hide, bone, and organs.

  Luckily we had the snows to store our winter meat while Duke rushed to build steamfreezers. Dumping tones of wild meat onto the market at once would ruin the price.

  The last challenge was rotten lake. This was the quickest to get beyond. The swamp hags, poisonous toads, and vipers were rotten meat. A hybrid of death and life. We killed, extracted, and drove on for the mountains. At this point the tag alongs peeled off to help the city deal with the falling snow and stockpiled supplies.

  Winter was here… and it was in full swing. Not a blizzard yet, but steady constant flakes you could fight in. And this time, the building layers stuck. Ankle deep snow everywhere devoid of trees.

  “I hate the cold,” I muttered, finally lighting the fire to a level that would continue to blossom.

  Corvo was back from the cavern’s mouth with all eyes on him. I blew hot breath on my hands, trying to warm them. Even the metallic hand was sensitive to the cold.

  Joana was helping haul logs to my growing flames. Ginli was setting for the eventual cave crawl.

  Leon and Lei were securing the perimeter with the adventure bots and Corvo had been sent to recon.

  “That didn’t take long,” I said.

  He cracked his back with a twist. I blew on the licking flames until the second stack of fire produced additional heat. Corvo sat on a stump by where I worked.

  “Small cave, at least from what I could see. These caves are tricky. Always are when you butt against a mountain like this. I don’t know if this was an old cave. Most adventurers setup further from an opening and then move to a spot like this later,” Corvo said, gesturing to the old firepit we found.

  Whoever camped her last was probably a decade ago. There were western caves closer to the city that the adventures visited more frequently. This area… we surmised was another example of what happens when the wilds are left untouched.

  Ginli and Joana joined us, ready to hear the briefing.

  “Leon and Lei will watch over camp,” Ginli said. “Think we’ll need em?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll walk the line after and tell them the same thing. Undead in there. A whole cloud of mist hanging off the cavern floor. The sound of scraping hands dragging across the stone,” he said with a happy smile and positive tone.

  “Uh… undead?” I blurted. In no way, shape, or form was I sharing his enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, probably a demon for the master. Minor one. Oh… that look,” Corvo said, seeing me pale. “Your memories… right. So, the undead die to steam magic and even good ole regular blades. Fret not, treat them as if they were alive. Ghosts are a tad trickier but not by much. Ghouls are great for improving your sword swinging.”

  “And the ore?” Joana asked.

  “Not sure, it's dark in there. The floor is solid stone though, so at the very least the steambots can crack into that,” Corvo said. “Let me brief the others that we’re going in. I need you guys to get this fire bigger please.”

  Yeah, Corvo had taken over as the de facto leader. Ginli seceded that fight quickly when she showed us she had a thirty three rating. Thirty was amazing. Ninety was flipping fantastic. I didn’t mind giving him command, I was kinda partial to living.

  With some tender care, the fire took on a life of its own. I felt ready to go so I inspected Joana and the Ginli’s gear.

  Joana had the auto repeater with a steampowered long-dagger. Her leather outfit was covered by a dark furred long jacket. There were a thousand buttons for pockets, pouches, and hook rings. Her ears were covered by warmers and she had a determined look on her face.

  Ginli went with a light blunderbuss and a steamsword. Over her shoulder rested her expensive longrifle she cherished. She was a similar long jacket that was snug. I finagled with a loose strap on her chest until she squeaked. The strap wasn’t loose, her bust was. She had gone without a wrap and her large ladies were squishy.

  I blushed with Joana giggling. The duo inspected me and I felt two butt grabs with grins. At least the ladies were in good spirits. I wore a two piece winter outfit that was snug over my regular leathers.

  For my primary weapon, I had the custom Darcy that was leveling quickly. The custom parts were becoming more intricate with each passing victory. My long rifle was improving, barely. When I saw Ginli checking her readiness sheet I asked for the device.

  Name: Bradley

  Origin: Ocarna

  Race: Human

  Gender: Male

  Residence: Norn - Baron Lord

  Rating: 11.7

  Strength: 9

  Endurance: 9

  Perception: 9

  Burst: 11

  Luck: 14

  Reflex: 12

  Charisma: 16

  Charge: 38%

  Healing: 3

  Intelligence: 19

  Melee Combat: 17

  Crafting: 4.4

  Aim: 11

  Dexterity: 9

  Steambot Mastery: 131

  Leadership: 5

  Construction: 0

  Farming: 0

  Tree harvesting: 6

  Gathering: 4

  Fishing: 2

  Skinning: 7

  Cooking: 3

  There were some great improvements. Joana decided to take a look at her stats after seeing mine. There was a whirl and a flash. She shrieked before handing me the device.

  Name: Joana +1

  Origin City: Korvi

  Race: Human

  Gender: Female

  Resident City: Norn - Baroness Lord

  Rating: 11.8

  Strength: 8

  Endurance: 9

  Perception: 17

  Burst: 12

  Luck: 14

  Reflex: 11

  Charisma: 9

  Charge: 39%

  Healing: 2

  Intelligence: 16

  Melee Combat: 8

  Crafting: 1.2

  Aim: 16

  Dexterity: 18

  Steambot Mastery: 17

  Leadership: 3

  Construction: 0

  Farming: 1

  Tree harvesting: 1

  Gathering: 9

  Fishing: 4

  Skinning: 2

  Cooking: 18

  “Whoa, impressive stuff. I remember seeing your stats a while ago,” I said encouragingly. I spared a moment to fill my energy to full, and did the same for Joana.

  “Yer not upset I’m beating ya?” she asked, applying a tender kiss to my lips.

  I shook my head when our embrace ended. “I don’t study or train as hard as you do. I seem to always be trying to learn stuff you already know. I’ll get there, one day.”

  Ginli scuffed my hair. “Get yer helmets on. Yer doing great, pretty boy.”

  We slid our cold helmets on, heading for the cave entrance. Lei and Leon walked back to the fire with Corvo. They sat, warming their hand, and readying a cooker.

  The duo wished us luck as we stepped off for the cave. Corvo handed me a large
light box that I finagled to get illuminated. The plan had already been set. I was in the back with the light.

  Simple as that. This wasn’t a glory mission, we were here for stone and ore.

  We approached a twenty foot tall opening. Jagged stone protruded, giving the cavern’s mouth a diabolical appearance. I felt a sliver of magic resonate through my body.

  I felt… off. Part of the plan was that the venture bots were meant to stack behind me. When they crashed into an invisible wall with repeated bangs, I tensed.

  Corvo paused. “Crap, not good,” he muttered.

  I watched them expending hydrox trying to get through something that clearly had allowed us, but was prohibiting them.

  He grumbled when I eyed him speculatively. “Demon likely. A powerful one too. We should probably move on.”

  “Stop trying to enter,” I ordered the venturebots. I may be low man on the rating pole but those were my venturebots. “Then we move on.”

  “What?” Ginli exclaimed. “Really.”

  “Yeah, we need to go now. I… I -”

  His hands shot to his ears. An annoying melody bothered me. I tuned it out while watching Corvo deteriorate.

  Joana fell to her knees, clutching her one augmented ear. Her weapon fell to the snow. We weren’t even in the damn cavern yet and already we had a disaster.

  Leon and Lei fell down, groaning in pain. Corvo and Ginli fought it, but lost, collapsing to the ground.

  Someone or something was messing with their augmented hearing. I snapped a finger in front of Joana’s face. Her eyes rolled back into her head. Causing me to panic. Her frosted breath gave me hope that she was merely out cold.

  I check Corvo and Ginli. Both were alive, but asleep. I shook them to no avail. That irritating melody persisted and I concluded that was the culprit. Everyone else had ear enhancements.

  “Well, at least I can say I agreed it was a good time to leave,” I said with a loud sigh. “Let’s get you guys into the carriage for now while I figure out a plan.”

  I dragged Joana by the boot, wanting her outside the invisible wall.

  One problem.

  Thud.

  My back smacked into the wall. I was sealed in. It was just me and about thirty robots awake. The venturebots might be able to help, or so I hoped.

  “You back up, fire a round into the cave,” I commanded a venturebot.

  The steam powered soldier went back four paces, raised his rifle, and fired.

  ZAP!

  A shimmer appeared, revealing a smooth curved wall that encompassed the mouth of the cave in a dome of sorts. I knocked on the wall, not seeing anything special.

  I wanted to study to see if I could find a weak point or a key to this magical contraption but there were the snarls and aggressive shrieks of ghouls.

  “Crap, maybe having you fire was a mistake,” I grumbled.

  Yeah I was thinking these would be like zombies, nope. Not even close.

  They were short, fast, pale, and had arms about twice the size they should be. Their hands were the size of my head with huge feet too. A mouth full of fangs, at least six top and bottom were spookily freakish.

  There were three of them, assessing the situation. With only a cursory inspection I guesstimated that they were dumb. Their constant looks over their shoulders told me they were awaiting a key player.

  I need to remove the minions before that creature arrives. Three against one is better than for against one.

  Darcy went over my back, the lightholder was dropped, and I yanked out my steamsword. Clumps of snow flew behind me as I grunted from the exertion of pumping my legs. I propelled forward in a dash.

  I flowed with a purpose. My mission was clear, save my friends.

  The closest ghoul, glanced over her shoulder, and jolted when I was only a few feet away.

  The hands moved in slow motion to defend herself.

  Slice!

  The steamblade severed the shocked head. The second ghoul had its hands up, thrusting for my stomach.

  I lunged forward, diving under the hands. There was a wet sound of parting flesh, and spilling guts.

  My slide came up short on the third ghoul. Dual hands slammed down into the spot I hastily rolled from.

  I whipped the blade down, severing both forearms. The amputated arms shot up quickly, free of their cumbersome hands.

  My right boot failed to gain traction but my left augmented toes embedded into the gritty terrain under the reddening snow.

  I shot forward, running my sword through the heart of my foe.

  I spun, expecting a mage or demon to be nearly upon me. Instead, I glared up at a twenty foot tall ogre who growled at the sight of its ruined minions.

  My ears went numb as the mighty black creature bellowed a war cry. I charged, as did my opponent. My dash into danger was to ensure I had a committed foe.

  I felt like pissing myself, the ogre was that damn terrifying. At the perfect moment I turned, fleeing.

  Hot on my heels, the ogre gained as I sought momentum. I led that muscly behemoth away from my friends but still toward the campsite. The compact snow bounced from the heavy frame running with hate.

  I didn’t bother to even look back. I focused, a feeling of a looming giant was enough to spur me one. I sped across the snow, heading right for a venturebot whose robot eyes widened in horror.

  At the last second I stomped my left leg down hard, pivoting in an inhuman manner with my augmentation, and launching myself to the right.

  I was moving too fast to avoid the magical wall myself. My timing was divine as my back gently caressed the smooth surface. My momentum was slowed, being absorbed by the magic as I slid down and into a tumble.

  The ogre was not even close to executing the same turn I managed. It was also oblivious to the fact there was a magical barrier, further proving this was not the demon.

  CRACK!

  I saw the body fold into itself from the tremendous forces at play.

  It didn’t matter how thick your hide was, or how dense your bones were. If you ran into an unyielding wall with the weight of a steamtrain there were consequences.

  SNAP!

  The dome flickered, cracked, and healed in a blink. The ogre was not so lucky.

  The large monster cratered half its body. A left arm was literally buried into its ribcage. I saw the head was cracked asunder, brains spilling out.

  There was one remaining eye that drifted lazily. I squirmed myself off the ground, standing quickly. I had to ensure it was dead.

  Even when the ogre fell on its face, with brains oozing out, I didn’t hesitate. I whipped Darcy off my back, leveled the blunderbuss, and squeezed lightly.

  BOOM!

  There was a splatter of brains, skull, and fluid against the shield. An epic fart turning into an epic shit.

  Gross!

  I vomited when the smell washed over me. Yellow bile smacked into my boot, with me stumbling away. I tried to stay strong, but I vomited again.

  Thankfully the remainder of the caverns defenders did not kill me as my nose flung acidic stomach contents and my eyes watered.

  I dragged a sleeve against my face, stepping closer to the cave. A few disgusting spits later and I was feeling back to operational. I used a quick breather to reload both my sword and my blunderbuss with hydrox.

  Looking back at the campfire, I saw my friends sleeping, venturebots patrolling, and a fire burning. It was serene in a horrific way. Closer in Ginli, Joana, and Corvo slept about thirty feet away from the dead ogre.

  I figured if the god awful stench of putrid shit didn’t wake them, I certainly wasn't going to. Gathering my courage, I walked into the cave with Darcy at the ready.

  My mind started playing out scenarios. Why didn’t Corvo trigger the shield?

  “He never crossed it,” I muttered to myself. “Probably saw the ghouls and left.”

  I nodded to myself, realizing this probably not the best time to be babbling out loud like a zanny man. The gloomy
cavern gave no light once the gray overcast snowy day vanished.

  A slowing pace let my augmented eye adjust. With my high intake of hydrox I felt… more alive.

  “An insect came into my prison,” a voice said with a sour tone. “Pity, you removed my friends. You’ll see the errors of your ways soon enough when you view my greatness.”

  I paused, letting the words bounce off the halls. There was only one way to go, down a bend in the tunnel. Based on the echo I heard, this declining trail likely led to a cavern.

  “Did a god trap you here too?” the voice said inquisitively.

  “Yes,” I lied or maybe I didn’t. My being here, in this very moment, came down to one simple thing. I had to save my friend.

  “Which god?” the voice asked.

  I shook my head, feeling a dizziness wash over me. I chuckled. “You’re pathetic spells have no effect on me.”

  “An Almerian? Interesting. Of the six linked worlds I would have figured you’d adapt here the easiest. I’ll make you a deal,” the voice said and I arrived at the bend.

  I hopped out, weapon at the ready. There was no target to fixate onto at first glance.

  There was a wide cavern. Inside the dome shaped area with stalagmites and a blue light rested bones. Thousands and thousands of bones. At the back of the cavern there was a nest of sorts.

  When I saw the source of the voice I wanted to vomit again. A fat, wrinkle induced, fiend rested on a pile of tattered clothing. My head tilted in confusion as to what I was seeing. A slug the size of three elephants with a head of turtle. Sort of. The sight was... alien. No, this was an abomination fiend. That felt right to classify it as a demon.

  Off to the right of the room was a portal that shimmied blue, bathing the cavern in a flickering of light. The open was small, only the size of a regular door. About ten times too small for this monstrosity.

  I deduced what happened quickly. This big guy was banished here. The portal spits out creatures, and maybe a baby ogre. He grooms the ogre, eats whatever the bones belong to, and has the ghouls help the ogre. The end result is the gluttonous mess of a monstrosity before me.

  “You’re deal?” I asked.

  “Kill the trolls as they come through to keep me fed. In return, I will cancel my spell of slumber that you’re immune to,” the being said in a jovial tone as if the deal were amazing.