Limitless Lands Book 3: Retribution (A LitRPG Adventure)

by Dean Henegar

  Quest updated. Retribution: Defeat your next opponent in combat.

  Reward: 100 experience.

  We were marched out onto the sands once again. The guards had us stand about ten yards apart and we were not chained this time. The goofy halfling with the turban waddled over once more to address the crowd. The crowd had grown to between forty and fifty people as more had filtered in to get a good seat before the better fights started in the afternoon. The soldier across from me had a blank expression and gripped his dagger tightly. I decided to go on the offence right away. My opponent was used to seeing me be weak and nearly defenseless during my nightly assaults. With surprise and the new upgrades from leveling, I may be able to get a hit or two in before the other soldier could recover.

  “Welcome one and all to a special encore match. The disgraced soldier you see before you was rude enough to deny you the full entertainment value you deserved during his last match.” The halfling waved his hand toward me and a few of the crowd began to get into it, hurling a smattering of boo’s my way. “The great and noble Asif has seen fit to give the soldier one more chance and for you to get the benefit of viewing an extra bout this day. Let’s see if these soldiers have the stomach to kill one of their own. Only the victor can be allowed to walk out of the arena after this match, so says the great Asif!” The halfling concluded to a few cheers, and the guards motioned for us to begin.

  I charged toward the other soldier. After standing shocked at my aggression for a moment, the soldier reacted, barely getting his buckler up in time to block my hammer blow. The buckler shattered as the hammer crashed through, still dealing a bit of damage and leaving my opponent without a shield.

  Your hammer blow hits for 4 damage, damage reduced by 3 for buckler defense.

  My hammer’s unbalanced weight caused me to take a bit too much time to recover from my swing, allowing the soldier to slash at me with his rusty dagger. I missed the block with my buckler and took a bit of damage. Pain burned along my shield arm as the blade left a jagged but shallow cut, my natural defense from Tessel’s Promise toughening my skin.

  You have taken 2 damage from rusty dagger. You have made your save vs. disease. *Note: rusty blades often contain diseases. Try not to get cut.

  Try not to get cut? Wow AI, that was brilliant, I thought to myself after seeing the prompt. I usually cut off the battle prompts but felt I needed to keep a closer eye on the damage I was doing to my opponent since we were dealing with much smaller health pools.

  The soldier had overcommitted on his attack and was out of position for my return blow. I swung my hammer up and landed a solid blow right under the soldiers’ jaw. I could hear the crack of bones as the stone head of the hammer smashed in. Unfortunately, the hammer head also chose this moment to come loose and fly several yards away, leaving me armed with only the one-foot-long handle.

  You have critically hit your opponent for 12 damage and stunned him for 3 seconds.

  With my opponent disabled for a short time, I began to rain blows down upon the helpless soldier. My hammer handle was a poor weapon, but still useful.

  You have hit your opponent for 2 damage.

  You have hit your opponent for 3 damage. Your opponent is stunned for 3 seconds.

  The soldier dropped to the ground, his health bar left at just a tick above zero. I kicked his dagger away from his reach but found I couldn’t bring myself to finish off this man wearing the same uniform I had on. There was no honor in killing this man; despite his behavior, he was trapped here the same as I was. Killing him like this benefited no one except for Septimus and Asif, two men I could care less about. The soldier rolled over and looked up at me, his jaw broken and set at a strange angle. There was fear in his eyes and then shock as I tossed the bloody hammer handle away.

  “I will not kill him for your amusement. Disgraced or not, he is a fellow soldier! Come down here and face me yourself Asif if you want to see blood so bad! I know you won’t. Men like you are cowards, living off the blood of better men than yourselves,” I shouted toward a now infuriated Asif. Septimus and Asif both began arguing amongst themselves and they headed toward the arena floor. Guards poured from the gate and held weapons out at myself and the other prisoner. I had a feeling we were both about to die. I wasn’t sure and was even a little concerned about how I would respawn if the man in charge of my captivity had me killed. Had I just failed my quest? Asif and Septimus moved toward us behind a line of guards.

  “You foolish insect! Do you think you can threaten the great Asif and live? No, I will call my head torturer and have him kill you slowly for hours to the delight of the crowd. I will have all your precious little disgraced soldiers killed for your insolence before the torture begins. Yes, you will grant my crowds great entertainment today,” Asif said. My insults had gotten under his skin . . . good.

  “Woah there, Asif, you can’t kill my fighters without paying for them!” Septimus interjected.

  “Ha, I can kill who I want in my arena. Here, take the few coppers this refuse is worth,” Asif said as he flung a handful of coppers toward Septimus.

  “Not so fast, Asif, you know the rules of the arena as well as I. Yes, you have the authority to kill my soldiers if they’re fighting in here, but to kill them after the fight is over without my permission gives me the authority to set their price. You can rest assured that you will not find my price to be pleasant. How about a compromise since we are such good friends? Kill this insolent pair in a fair battle, sparing me the other two who have shown some promise. Let these two sorry excuses fight one of your trained gladiators. That will see your honor restored and limit the damage to your coin purse at the same time. Do this and I will set the price of these two at what I paid for their worthless hides. If by some miracle they win, you will pay me twice the usual price for all my fodder that are killed in the fighting tomorrow,” Septimus offered.

  Asif thought about the offer for a moment. Greed won out over anger.

  “Yes, I think that we have a deal, my friend Septimus. I will enjoy seeing these two handled by one of my fighters,” Asif responded before pondering something for a bit. “Ah yes, send for Tobo and let him know I want these two to suffer. Tobo is one of my newer but very promising gladiators, known for tormenting and slowly killing his opponents. These two soldiers will be good practice for Tobo and should make the crowd eager to pay more to see him in his next match,” Asif finished.

  Asif and Septimus left, surrounded by their respective guards. Septimus cast one glance toward me as he left, shrugging his shoulders as if to say, “that’s the breaks, kid.”

  Quest updated: Retribution. You have defeated your second opponent.

  Reward received: 100 experience.

  Quest updated: Retribution. You will now face off against a true gladiator. Defeat your next opponent.

  Reward: 250 experience.

  Chapter 6

  The gates across from us crashed open and a huge figure stepped onto the sand. The half orc Tobo glared at us through his helmet. Tobo was armed with two short swords and had a leather breastplate and greaves on for protection. I scanned him as he slowly walked toward us while the crowd chanted his name.

  Tobo, Level 4 Dimachaerus Gladiator.

  “On your feet, soldier. This gladiator wants to fight. Show him how soldiers of the Imperium meet their foes,” I said to the injured soldier at my feet. He looked at me for a moment before something in him clicked. A look of determination came over his features as he struggled to his feet after retrieving his rusty dagger. I waited a moment to see if he would attack me, but the soldiers focus was on the large gladiator slowly walking toward us.

  I figured I had no reason to hold back at this point and raised my hand toward the gladiator, activating Tessel’s Promise. A stream of green acidic sap hit the gladiator in the face, dripping down his body. The gladiator shouted in pain, clutching at his face, the acidic mixture melting the fingers that fruitlessly tried to brush away the painful sap. The gladiator g
urgled as the acid melted his throat. Tobo’s health bar dropped quickly to zero and he fell over dead.

  A voice spoke directly to my mind as I stared, confused at the damage my level 1 character had just dealt. A one-shot kill for a foe three levels above me?

  “Our bond is one that the accusations of others cannot break, Raytak. My promise’s power is based on my own strength, not yours. As I grow in strength so shall you. Rise again quickly, Raytak, so we may both grow even more powerful,” the voice of Tessel said directly to me. I had never thought that the power of Tessel’s promise was based on Tessel’s strength not my own level, but thinking back, that was the way the pact was worded. I no longer felt bad that the pact cost fifty of my own health. What I received in return had made all the difference.

  You have defeated Tobo. 111 experience gained.

  The crowd was silent for a moment as they processed what they had just seen. Septimus’ laughter broke through the silence as he cheered for us and our victory. Running down to the sands, he nearly outpaced his guards as he approached the two of us, clasping us on our shoulders, unconcerned that we were both armed.

  “My brave gladiators, you were amazing! How did you do that? I didn’t know you were a spell caster, Raytak. I took you for a simple officer . . . it looks like I seriously underestimated you and your potential. We will have much to discuss. For now, my guards will see that your wounds are tended to and that you receive a meal fit for a king!” Septimus promised as the guards led us back into our tent.

  Quest updated: Retribution. You have defeated the gladiator Tobo. 250 experience received.

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 2. Open your character sheet to review any changes.

  I was chained apart from the others in our shabby tent as we waited for our afternoon meal. Wrend and the other soldier glared at me. The soldier I had fought had been taken away to have his wounds tended to after the battle. While we waited for our meal, I opened my character sheet while setting it to display only new or updated information.

  Disgraced Commander Level 2

  Experience: 511/1000

  Health: 150/150. (100 per level – 50 for Tessel’s promise).

  Defense: 3

  Attack: 3

  Abilities/Feats:

  Incite: You can rally your allies and discourage your foes once per day for 30 seconds. Incite adds +1 to attack for all friendly forces within a 10-foot radius of the disgraced commander. Foes will have a -1 penalty to attack while within the 10-foot radius.

  Manaless: 2% spell resistance for yourself, 1% spell resistance to all allies. You possess an innate ability to resist harmful spells.

  The Incite ability was a nice addition, if not as good as my old Command Presence ability, as it had only one use per day. Still, any progression was nice to see. I closed the still pathetic character sheet as the guard brought our meal. Wrend and the other soldier were again given porridge with a few bits of meat in it as well as a sad-looking half of a browned banana. I stared in shock as the guard placed a large metal tray in front of me. The tray was covered with slices of cured meats, various cheeses, an assortment of vegetables, and a tasty yogurt dip. Two large crusty loaves of bread were also piled on top. Looked like I was getting to play sandwich artist as a reward for my victory. A large jug of watered-down wine accompanied the platter. The guard left without a word after dropping off our meals. I quickly piled up everything I could onto one of the rolls and was soon happily munching away.

  “Looks like you’re enjoying yourself after killing a fellow soldier. That must be another noble, officer trait: celebrating with a feast after you kill one of us or throw us in jail,” Wrend barked at me. I ignored him, content with my food.

  It then occurred to me that Wrend and the other soldier had no idea what had happened. They had just assumed I killed the other soldier and won the match. These two weren’t worth the wasted breath to try and explain what happened. After a few minutes, the other soldier was brought in, his wounds were bandaged, and his jaw reset to its proper position. The games rapid healing was already beginning to repair his wounds. The soldier was chained near me and given a bowl of porridge like the others.

  Wrend stared in confusion at the still living soldier. “What gives? How are you both alive?” Wrend asked.

  “We fought and Raytak won. Had me dead to rights but refused to finish me off. He told off Asif and Septimus quick as you please and even challenged Asif to a duel,” the soldier said as he stopped talking to shovel down some porridge.

  “What did Asif do? That nutter wouldn’t let him live after an insult from one of us,” Wrend said as he looked between me and the soldier in confusion.

  “He wasn’t planning on letting us live. In fact, he ordered us tortured to death, and that’s where things were heading until Septimus made him an offer. We would face one of his gladiators instead of being tortured. So, there we were, I was half dead and armed with only a rusty dagger. Raytak here had only the wooden handle of his hammer as a weapon. Out walks the biggest half orc gladiator I ever saw. This monster was wielding two short swords and walked slowly at us without a care in the world,” the soldier added while stopping to eat a bit more of his food. The soldier was enjoying leaving Wrend in suspense.

  “There’s no way you two beat a trained gladiator. What happened?” Wrend demanded to know.

  “Like I said, this gladiator was strolling right toward us and Raytak here just lifts up his hand and points at the brute. Then some kind of crazy acid sprayed from Raytak’s hand and washed all over that gladiator. The huge half orc just screams, gurgles, and falls over, dead as you please. He never even got close enough to swing a blade at us. You should have seen Asif’s face! He was furious but couldn’t do nothing to us because of his deal with Septimus,” the soldier finished as he licked the last of the food from the bowl.

  I finished only half my sandwich and pushed the tray with the rest of the food toward the injured soldier. He nodded thanks and loaded his bowl with some of the food before pushing the tray back to me. After hesitating for a moment, I pushed the tray over toward Wrend. Wrend stared at the tray and glared at me before loading up his bowl and pushing the tray to the last soldier who finished it off.

  I expected more threats or some snide comment from Wrend, but he just sat there chewing his meal and staring at me. His stare wasn’t the deadly glare he usually cast my way, but one of contemplation. Septimus chose that moment to burst into the tent with his guard.

  “There’s the man of the hour. Get enough to eat?” Septimus asked in mock concern. “Why didn’t you tell me of your ability? Do you have any others I should know of?” Septimus queried.

  “Nope, I’m a one trick pony unfortunately. I don’t suppose you want another demonstration, do you?” I asked as I raised my hand toward him. He squealed and hid behind one of the guards.

  “No, my good man, I just wanted to discuss a deal with you and your three friends here,” Septimus said as he peeked from behind his guard, coming out once he realized I wasn’t going to melt him into the ground.

  “Asif was furious that you so easily beat his gladiator and has been clamoring for a rematch. We have agreed to terms and he would like to have a large-scale battle for his crowds . . . well as large a scale as his decrepit arena can hold. I will place you and a batch of our other fodder against a team of cast-offs that Asif has purchased from the other schools,” Septimus said. He paused to stare at me some more before continuing.

  “I believe you can fight better together than individually, Raytak. Abilities like you used earlier can typically only be used once a day at your level. Asif knows this as well and has requested the match for first thing in the morning. Am I correct in my thinking?” Septimus queried. I thought about it for a second. It would do me no good to try and hide the cooldown on my ability since anyone could figure it out by just attacking me before twenty-four hours were up. I nodded in reply.

  “As I thought. Tell me seriously before I accept his
offer. Can you four work together to defeat a common foe? Or am I totally wrong about you soldiers?” Septimus asked.

  “Nobody works together better than trained soldiers. We could beat any equal foes you put against us, providing everyone here agrees to fight under my command. I must ask you though, what’s in it for us? We fill your pockets and risk our lives. We need a carrot, not just the stick if you want us to keep winning,” I said.

  Septimus placed his hand on his in chin and thought for a moment. “A deal then to you all. Win the Grand Melee in the capital and I will set you all free immediately after the contest. I will file with the Imperium gladiatorial commission that you have all fulfilled your term of incarceration. It’s a longshot, I know, but it’s the best offer you will get. While you are working toward that goal, I will see to it that you are fed well and have some freedom to train each day. I will increase your freedoms as you prove your worth. I know that having something to fight for can make a difference. Do we have a deal?” Septimus offered.

  I looked over to the other three soldiers. Wrend frowned for a bit, then gave a slight nod as did the other two. Despite his hate for officers, Wrend was smart enough to realize this was the best shot any of us would get at being released early.

  “We have a deal, sir. You have your soldiers. Just point us toward the foe and we’ll take care of the rest,” I said with more confidence than I felt. Wrend was a wild card, just as likely to stab me in the back as to help in the fight. The others were just looking for a leader, and for someone to give them hope. I had a feeling they would snap back into soldier mode once given the opportunity. Only time would tell.