At this point he decided to veer north over a series of low, grassy hills. In the distance, at the base of a huge mountain, stood a cluster of ornate towers.
Lavora High Temple. It would take a while to get there, so Nick needed to pick up the pace. After a few minutes of brisk trekking across relatively easy terrain, he spotted a plume of smoke to the northeast. Friend or foe? The great thing about a DEX build was the caution it engendered. Feeling “invulnerable” in heavy armor, STR builds tended to barge into potentially dangerous situations.
Nick commando-crawled up a small hill to assess the property. Seemed innocent enough - a single hunting cabin, a peasant collecting sticks for firewood. Nick approached the young man, dagger at the ready just in case. There was something familiar about him, something that triggered an alarm.
With a shock he realized it was KainDestroyer18, his main rival from the previous series. The unstable runner had expressed fears of being “harvested” by the Syndicate, a claim Nick had written off as more than a little crazy. And yet here he was, locked into a subservient NPC role. How was this possible? Kain was nowhere near as popular as Nick, but he was a professional runner.
Perhaps the Syndicate told him his career as a runner was over. After all, Nick had defeated him in the final showdown at The Tomb of The Fallen. Rather than face the harsh realities of real life, Kain might have agreed to a long term tank run as an NPC.
Nick frowned - there was something incredibly sad about this situation. It was also strange that he should be the one to come across his former rival. Was it a message? A warning? The Syndicate was known for being vindictive and cruel.
“Can I help you, sir?” Kain asked innocently. There was no trace of the fire that used to reside in those eyes. Troubled, Nick ignored him pushed on to the hut, eager to be done with the place. Inside, a grizzled hunter sat by a fire and smoked from a long wooden pipe. A brace of animal skins hung above over the flames, filling the hut with an acrid smell.
“You need something, squire?” the scarred man muttered in between puffs. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Nick couldn’t see how he was busy, but let it pass.
“I have materials to sell,” he said.
The hunter thought for a moment, then nodded.
“I will trade, aye,” he said glumly. “But don’t expect much.”
Nick entered the merchant screen and offered his spare dancer armor and shellfish plates. Instinct told him to keep the feathers. The total value of his bounty was 96 crowns. Not exactly a King’s ransom, but a decent enough start.
The hunter wasn’t lying when he said his stores were meager. Apart from arrows and a basic longbow, there were a couple of longswords, a light hand axe and a ring. The extremely light axe looked worthwhile, considering Nick’s DEX focus, but it was the ring that caught his eye. A Ring of Command. It conferred extra XP on every kill. At 100 crowns it was also a bargain. Nick made up the difference with one of his feathers.
“Do you recognize these feathers?” he asked.
“Hmmm,” the hunter grunted. “Look like shapers. Need to talk to the fletcher ‘bout those. She’s beyond the Gate.”
“Gate?” Nick asked.
“Gate o’ Insolence. There are seven Gates into Lavora High Temple, if that’s where yer headed. Gate o’ Insolence is one o’ them.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Nick said, fishing for more information.
The hunter chuckled bitterly. “You ain’t seen nothin’. Plenty o’ knights and other trumped-up heroes try and pass through there. Their corpses litter the stairs.”
“Who attacks them?”
“Silver Sentinels. If you take those stairs with peace in yo’ heart they won’t attack. But if you plan violence beyond that Gate they’ll try and kill you. The mages of old set it up that way.”
Nick’s heart sank. There was no way he could mask his murderous intent. He wondered how the game could even detect such things.
“Even if you could get past the Sentinels,” the Hunter said, warming to the task, “the Order of Embers will see to you.”
“Order of Embers?” Nick repeated. “I thought the mages were versed in Picello’s ice magic.”
“Used to be,” the hunter said grimly. “Before Vanen.”
“Who’s Vanen?”
“You’d best be on your way, boy,” the hunter said in a harsh tone. “Enough words for one day. And tell that fucking useless fool to finish his chore or he’ll answer to me.”
Nick did nothing of the sort. Seeing Kain once was more than enough. He pressed onward, dreading what awaited him at this “Gate of Insolence”. The gently undulating woodland was easy going. Occasionally a boulder squatted in his way, but by and large he advanced unimpeded.
As the sun reached it’s highest point, Nick paused to assess the way ahead. Several wolves prowled the trees beyond a shadowy glade. He drew them out one by one with his longbow, using the plunge dagger when he needed to engage at close range. With this classic DEX strategy he was able to kill all seven of them, netting over 1000XP thanks to the Ring of Command.
Nick looted five wolf pelts and eagerly leveled up. He added another point to DEX, sticking to his bowcraft mantra. Content, he advanced through the silent woodland for several minutes. The lack of birdsong felt like an ominous warning that danger lay ahead.
Nick emerged from the trees and found himself standing at the base of a hill. A stone staircase had been carved into the rock. Nick began his ascent, certain this was the only way he could progress. He was soon panting heavily as he trudged up several flights of stairs. At the top he was confronted with a wide, paved avenue lined with huge silver statues.
The tall, imposing figures were warriors of old, each holding a different weapon. Though the tiles beneath them were cracked and faded, the statues themselves were polished and gleaming, as if they’d been fashioned yesterday. Nick had a feeling of deep foreboding as he considered the silver leviathans. There were ten in total - five on each side of the avenue.
A golden gate stood at the end of the path. The Gate of Insolence. If what the hunter had said was true, these Sentinels would attack if Jack approached with violence in his heart. In other words, he needed to prepare for battle. His HP sat at 75%, which wasn’t ideal. These statues were going to hit hard. Still, he wasn’t quite prepared to use his healing herbs.
Besides, HP shouldn’t enter the equation for a DEX build. It was all about evasion. Consumed with doubt, Nick inched his way down the avenue. The first pair of Sentinels loomed to either side. One carried a longbow, the other a sword and shield.
Nick tried to focus on his mission - the rescue of a young, defenseless girl and restoring her to the real world. He found himself reaching for positive thoughts, hoping to avoid battle with these giants. The next Sentinel pair towered over him - one carried a great axe, the other a halberd. Just as he had almost cleared the second pair, a hideous creaking noise sent anxiety flooding through him.
The swordsman was stepping from his pedestal. Nick groaned as the halberdier also began moving. He’d made a rookie error, activating two Sentinels when he should’ve taken on one at a time. His DEX build suddenly seemed like a stupid idea - the worst he’d every had. His armor was pathetically light and he wasn’t even carrying a sword.
Certain he was about to die, Nick bolted under the legs of the swordsman and backed away from it. The Sentinel swung his huge broadsword in a downward arc but Nick was able to roll free. He raced for the stairs, figuring the Sentinels wouldn’t be able to follow. The exit suddenly seemed miles away, especially with the Sentinels’ heavy stomp right on his tail.
Just when he thought he might make it, Nick felt a horrid pain in his side and was swept into the air. He crashed into the side of a tree and felt limply to the ground. The Sentinel with the halberd had killed him with his long reach.
Nick swore vehemently as his screen went dark. He hated getting killed, especially in front of millions of viewers. For a horrible moment he
thought he was out of the game, but then he found himself standing at the base of the stairs.
A distant stomp suggested those two Sentinels were still prowling around up there. How the fuck was he supposed to defeat them? He thought about hiking to one of the other Gates, but decided it wasn’t worth the risk. His timer was already below two and half hours.
Racking his brain for solutions, Nick took to the stairs a second time. All he could do was trial various strategies and observe the results, like a scientist in a laboratory. At least he’d be able to attack from the relative sanctuary of the stairs.
The Sentinels were pacing up and down the avenue. Thankfully no others had been activated. Nick watched them carefully, looking for potential weaknesses. He loosed an arrow at the swordsman’s head. Zero damage. He hit the thing’s chest for the same result.
Filled with dread, he backed down the stairs as the swordsman made a beeline for him. His heart broke when the Sentinel descended the stairs and cleaved Nick’s head open. His screen went dark yet again. When he respawned, his HP was down to 50%.
Verging on despair, he climbed the stairs again. The swordsman was waiting at the top. It was time to act like a proper DEX build. Nick sprinted under the Sentinel’s legs, hoping to find a sanctuary further down the avenue. The halberdier was over to his right, approaching from a cliff edge.
Nick bolted down the center of the avenue, looking to use the stationery Sentinels as cover. The halberdier had to wait for the swordsman to pass before following behind. At least Nick couldn’t be flanked whilst he was standing in the avenue.
Trying to control his panic, Nick took aim at the swordsman’s bulbous knee joint. He almost cried with relief as the silver sphere burst, spilling orange liquid that sizzled on the tiles. The swordsman tilted to one side but somehow stayed upright. Nick continued down the avenue to give himself more arrow space. Unfortunately, his progress activated a third, hammer-wielding Sentinel.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Nick groaned, backing away from the new threat. He rolled as the great hammer came crashing down, narrowly avoiding certain death. As he edged his way under the legs of the opposite, dormant Sentinel, it occurred to him that not even a strength build would be enough to withstand the sheer power of these warriors. Truth be told, the Gate of Insolence was a strength build death trap.
Not heavy enough to absorb incoming damage, not nimble enough to roll away, not magic enough to deal damaging area attacks. The other Gates were probably the same. The Syndicate had set the game up for strength builds to fail.
Which was small consolation for Nick as he threaded the narrow gap between the stationery Sentinels and the western cliff face. He didn’t want to look down - it was a long drop and the attacking Sentinels could easily force him over the edge.
Nick had found a sanctuary of sorts on this side of the Avenue, however. The circling Sentinels couldn’t reach him through their dormant brethren, giving him a little breathing space. It wouldn’t be long before they worked their way through the gap left by the halberdier, so he didn’t have much time.
Peering through the forest of silver legs, he located the limping swordsman, hoping to finish him off first. He loosed arrow after arrow at the Sentinel, his fear rising with every step they made toward his position.
The halberdier was the first to make it through the gap, and Nick was well within range of that deadly halberd. He tumbled behind a dormant Sentinel’s leg as the huge weapon thudded into solid silver, triggering a rain of sparks. The dormant Sentinel wobbled and looked like it would fall.
Ignoring the threat from above, Nick focused on the swordsman’s good knee, sending an arrow humming into the joint. More orange fluid flowed as both legs gave way. Nick wasn’t sure how he survived what happened next. The swordsman, who was second in line, crashed into the halberdier, who also toppled forward.
Nick executed a double roll, his extra agility again saving him. The halberdier had fallen straight into the wobbly Sentinel. All three warriors fell face first with a thunderous crash. As the dust cleared Nick tried to get a sight on the hammer-wielder, who looked thoroughly confused as he surveyed the chaos.
Nick took advantage of the general lack of movement, blowing out the Sentinel’s left knee before sprinting away. The halberdier was rising from the wreckage, though the swordsman looked to be out of action for good. Nick needed to clear the halberd’s range or all his good work would come undone.
He found cover behind the opposite line of Sentinels, though there were two gaps on this side, giving the remaining Sentinels ample opportunity to reach him. The halberdier approached the gap to Nick’s right, so he ran to the other. He figured he’d last longer against the hammer-wielder.
Allowing the Sentinel time to enter the gap, hr bolted through the legs of a dormant statue and back out into the avenue. He was buffeted by the halberd as it passed less than two yards behind him. That was too close.
The other Sentinel swung his hammer horizontally but Nick was onto it, rolling safely underneath the huge weapon. He wanted to loose an arrow but his stamina was too low. Gritting his teeth, he ran behind the far row of Sentinels and knelt to a stable firing position. Taking a deep breath for that split second of control, he loosed an arrow into the hammer-wielder’s left knee. Feeling greedy, he iced a second arrow too.
The Sentinel sank to his knees, his life already leaving him. Nick sprinted out to the avenue, rolling under a questing halberd blade. The last Sentinel was strong but slow moving. Something a DEX build could exploit.
He stopped at the Gate and turned to face the approaching halberdier. Just two more arrows if he was able to keep a cool head. His first arrow struck home, bursting the Sentinel’s knee joint and slowing him down. Nick wouldn’t have a better opportunity to win this painful battle. He held his breath to make sure of the shot.
The arrow sang low, looking for all money that it would hit. But the halberdier’s lopsided gait took the knee joint lower than it normally went. Nick watched in horror as the shaft bounced harmlessly above the knee. Now it was the Sentinel’s turn. Nick started running but it was too late. All he could do was dive as the halberd thundered down. The shaft struck him on the back and drained almost all his remaining HP.
The Sentinel was already working into a second swing animation. Anticipating a low cross-swing, Nick rolled toward the warrior. His close proximity saved him - the halberd passed over his head and slammed into the arm of a dormant statue. Taking his last chance, Nick targeted the right knee at point blank range. The arrow was true and he needed to roll backwards to avoid the corrosive liquid that spilled free. The halberdier fell, and Nick was well clear by the time it crashed to the ground.
“Yes!” Nick shouted, unable to contain himself. The Sentinels lay dead, each corpse glowing with loot. Nick hoovered with glee, receiving a great hammer, a full set of Sentinel plate armor and a Promise. Promises were like spells, only they were exclusively used by zealots and paladins. This scroll was for Medium Heal.
Nick wouldn’t have the opportunity to boost his faith stat, but the scroll was worth a pretty penny. As was the Sentinel armor. He looked at the various pieces longingly, pining for his strength build. But those days were over. A Knight or Barbarian would’ve been slaughtered by those Sentinels.
Each warrior had yielded 1500XP, allowing Nick to level up twice. One point to DEX and one to AGL. He would definitely need to boost STA on the next level. All the DEX and AGL in the world was useless if there was no stamina to fuel them.
Still buzzing with the adrenalin of victory, Nick stood before the Gate of Insolence.
“Open, you bastard,” he sneered.
The Gate made him wait, but eventually creaked open. An open woodland beckoned. Nick pressed on, ever-watchful for ambush. Leveling up didn’t restore HP like it did in some RPGs, so Nick was forced to use two of his three remaining healing herbs.
The towers of Lavora High Temple were much closer now, visible above the tree line. Nick passe
d through a clearing filled with the charred remains of several humans. They’d been burned to a crisp. Judging from the decay, they weren’t fresh either. Tattered robes suggested they were once mages.
What had happened here? Anxiety churned in Nick’s stomach. The tree trunks in the area were blackened, as if an intense fire had passed through. But a wildfire generally consumed everything, whereas the effect here was patchy. Some kind of magic, perhaps?
Filled with dread, Nick continued through the whispering trees. He was anticipating an ambush around every corner, which took its toll on his nerves. He was sweating profusely by the time he reached a long rope bridge across a ravine. The imposing towers Lavora High Temple beckoned on the other side.
Frowning, Nick knelt under an oak tree and scanned the buildings for activity. Nothing - the entire place seemed deserted. Designed in the chatto dark-elf style, the buildings themselves were hauntingly beautiful. The Great Mage Picello had lead the Frost Magi for hundreds of years - only an extremely powerful force could have defeated them.
A ragged shriek echoed from the Hammerhorst Mountains to the east. Nick watched the peaks carefully. It was difficult to see in the general haze, but he could’ve sworn he saw a huge, winged creature wheeling about up there. A dragon? It made sense, considering the widespread evidence of fire damage. Picello and his Frost Magi had fallen victim to a hostile local resident.
Thankfully, the dragon was miles away. Nick took the opportunity to scurry across the rickety bridge, praying it didn’t collapse. He made it to the other side, but was forced to roll as a fireball soared toward him. He escaped with minimal damage, but immediately faced a second fire attack. His continuous diving prevented him from seeing where the lethal orbs were coming from.
At length he rushed into the trees and took cover behind a gnarled old fig. Breathing heavily, he peeped around the trunk. There. Two mages in ash-grey robes, looking for him. Nick lined up the nearest mage and loosed an arrow. The tip struck the man flush in the stomach for over 100HP. Nick finished him off with a second arrow through the shoulder. 500XP - not bad.
Dexterity Build: A LitRPG Saga (The Complete Dexterity Build Cycle) Page 3