Trojan: An Epic LitRPG Adventure (Afterlife Online Book 3)

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Trojan: An Epic LitRPG Adventure (Afterlife Online Book 3) Page 39

by Domino Finn


  "So you can respawn in Shorehome? Reestablish your power base?" I shook my head firmly. "That's not gonna happen. Otho's missing and Decimus won't activate without proof. We may not be able to get the angels to delete you, but give us time. We'll figure something out."

  "You can't keep me here forever."

  I worked my jaw. If Hadrian had only ever uttered one ultimate truth, it was that. Forever was a long time in the afterlife. The only guarantee of endless confinement would be escape. Eventually.

  "The goblin horde isn't attacking," I remarked. "They don't have the numbers, and they don't want to die."

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  "Because I know you sent them. That's what you do, isn't it? Get your hooks into people. Have them do all the dirty work while you slink around in the shadows." I leaned into the bound prisoner. "Tell me, how'd you manage to get to a saint? I mean, I understand paying off Larry on the outside, but once his cover was blown, you hacked an avatar and had it doing your bidding."

  The corner of Hadrian's mouth crooked just enough to betray pride in the feat. "Are you asking me to incriminate myself? State that I breached the terms of service? How about instead I just send Decimus a personal invitation to my deletion?"

  So the spymaster meant to keep his secrets. I hiked a shoulder. "Didn't hurt to try." I moved to the wall. The stone was cold and dry. "I had a chat with my contacts on the outside..."

  "You place too much faith in the developers."

  I caught the twinkle in his eye that confirmed it. It was a certainty for me now; I just couldn't prove it.

  Hadrian was the Trojan. Somehow he'd amassed the power to influence game mechanics and characters around him. A hard man like Brugo shouldn't have been so easy to outplay. The kraken should've never surrendered to being so docile. Hadrian had controlled them somehow. NPCs, titans, even the saints—none had stood against him. Even now, in defeat, his confidence was supreme.

  I moved to the door and stared him down. "I know it's you. The ghost in the machine. The threat to both Kablammy and Haven."

  The prisoner didn't say anything. He just stared at an empty spot on the floor and grinned.

  "I'm gonna find out how," I swore. "I'll scour the codebase and the history logs. I'll become intimately familiar with the corporate playing field, uncover all the actors with a stake in Kablammy's future. I'll comb the countryside for every enemy you have. And I'll raze Oakengard to the ground if I have to. One way or another, your schemes are gonna come crashing down hard. And when they do, if you happen to be at the center of all the debris, well..." I shrugged. "Don't say I didn't tell you so."

  I shut the door behind me, leaving the spymaster to the solace of his shadows.

  -Finn

  QUEST OFFER: Find the Wayward Scrivener

  DESCRIPTION: The mysterious scribbler of words is known to frequent his Oldtown sanctum on Facebook.

  REWARD: Faction Membership in the Black Hats + 1 Free Brothel Voucher!

  Character Sheets

  Talon

  Level

  10

  Class

  Explorer

  XP

  90313

  Kit

  Scout

  Next

  113400

  Strength

  18

  Strike

  390

  Agility

  24

  Dodge

  450

  Craft

  6

  Health

  300 / 300

  Essence

  10

  Spirit

  255 / 255

  Coin

  Silver

  417

  Plates

  2

  Bars

  4

  Skills

  1

  Spear

  3

  Crossblock

  3

  Deadshot

  3

  Tornado Spin

  1

  Spinshield

  1

  Knife

  1

  Claw

  1

  - - Dragonrun - -

  Awareness

  Exploration

  Tracking

  Darkvision

  Intuition

  Survival

  Navigation

  Cartography

  Traversal

  Dash

  Vault

  Wall Run

  Scale

  Stealth

  Sneak

  Subdue

  Reputation

  Pagan

  -600

  Crusader

  -200

  Catechist

  200

  Wildkin

  0

  Brothers in Black

  -999

  Kyle

  Level

  10

  Class

  Explorer

  XP

  87572

  Kit

  Brewmaster

  Next

  113400

  Strength

  22

  Strike

  355

  Agility

  5

  Dodge

  185

  Craft

  20

  Health

  245 / 245

  Essence

  10

  Spirit

  217 / 217

  Izzy

  Level

  10

  Class

  Mystic

  XP

  89719

  Kit

  Frost Mage

  Next

  113400

  Strength

  9

  Strike

  220

  Agility

  17

  Dodge

  300

  Craft

  6

  Health

  175 / 175

  Essence

  25

  Spirit

  440 / 440

  Haven Live Feed

  Lash marked herself safe during The Incident At Oldtown.

  Glinda

  Glad one of us made it!

  Conan

  Go Bravo Team!

  Lash

  It was a group effort. I'm proud to fight alongside you all. Even Crux.

  Crux

  It was exhilarating, I'll give you that.

  Kyle

  Good job with that bishop gauntlet! Speaking of which... you mind giving it back now?

  Lash

  I would but I'm too busy figuring out what to do with all this XP. Sorry, I shouldn't mention that around you guys.

  Kyle

  No worries. I rejoined the party and got XP too.

  Conan

  What!?! You can do that? Why didn't anybody re-invite us?

  Glinda

  Paging Lash.

  Lash marked herself Away on Vacation.

  Saint Peter

  I'm elated to see everyone safe and sound. Truly. But if I may burden the Black Hats with a single request... Is it too much to ask that we go through the next week without threatening the sanctity of the simulation?

  Talon

  Sorry, Pete. That's up to Oakengard.

  Kyle

  We got a man and woman down.

  Saint Peter

  I just don't want to see Haven become a player battleground.

  Lucifer

  If I'm not mistaken, a saint was pivotal to the recent theatrics.

  Saint Peter

  Allegedly!

  Saint Peter

  ...

  Saint Peter

  You guys really aren't gonna throw me a bone, are you?

  (Sponsored Content)

  Meet real mermaids in your area.

  Dune

  Risky click of the day.

  Chadwick

  If anyone has a moment, I'd appreciate a visit to my Kickstarter page to fund my legal proceedings.

  Drummond

  You realize you
're asking for money from people you've robbed.

  Nooner

  Ha! If yer so desperate you can sell me that pack animal business you stole.

  Chadwick

  I built that operation from the ground up!

  Nooner

  Scratch that. I'd rather wait till yer late on rent. I kin make a killing after yer holdings go into overexposure.

  Drummond

  I think you mean foreclosure.

  Nooner

  I meant what I said, banker boy!

  Caduceus

  I never thought I'd say this, but death lockdown isn't half bad. I finally get to kick my feet up.

  Stigg

  You've been doing a lot of that in the brothel lately.

  Caduceus

  Jealousy doesn't suit you, my Viking brother.

  Domino Finn invites you to join his Facebook group.

  Talon changed his relationship status to: Seeing someone.

  Izzy

  Okay, fine. I've made you sweat long enough.

  Talon

  Wanna sweat some more?

  Errol Oates

  Poll: Vote fer the subject o' the next pirate ditty.

  - Talon, fearless leader o' the Black Hats, defeatin' the mighty kraken. [17%]

  - Talon, fearless leader o' the Black Hats, finally consummatin' his relationship. [83%]

  Trafford

  Yes times a million. Move on to another flavor of the month.

  Dune

  What's this I'm hearing about for the very first time ever? JK Kyle told everyone.

  Kyle

  What can I say? This place is like high school.

  Talon

  *Sighs* This is my life now.

  Gladius

  Anyone happen to see a stray Fallen named Otho around? (Description: standard angel wings, solid black eyeballs, missing one arm.) Asking for a friend.

  (Sponsored Content)

  Sick of LitRPG? Start Black Magic Outlaw, the necromancer Urban Fantasy series that totally puts the Dresden Files on its ASS.

  Will this series BLOW YOUR MIND??? Does this author HAVE NO SHAME??? How many question marks WILL IT TAKE for YOU TO CLICK??????

  Talon

  Anyone else think these author ads are a little out of control?

  Errol Oates

  I posted the first verse o' the new song on me SoundCloud. I entitled it: The Dainty Little Girl an' the Purple Pixie.

  Baz

  HA HA. FUNNY BECAUSE YOOMANS SO PUNY LOOK LIKE GIRLS.

  Jixa

  No laughses at boss man, Baz! He can't helpses his small hands.

  Talon

  Okay, guys. I can take a joke as well as the next man, but— Hold up. Since when could NPCs and mobs post to the live feed?

  Errol Oates

  Beats me.

  Baz

  WHAT IS LIVE FEED? BAZ HUNGRY. GO EAT HORSE.

  Artax

  *Nickers*

  Bandit

  *Growls*

  Kraken

  BLABOOBLARRGHH!!!

  Creature Wiki

  Dirt Beetle

  5 HP

  25 XP

  Weed Snake

  6 HP

  40 XP

  Pack Rat

  8 HP

  40 XP

  Swamp Toad

  15 HP

  60 XP

  Wild Hog

  19 HP

  90 XP

  Imp

  30 HP

  150 XP

  Devil Badger

  45 HP

  175 XP

  Kobold Handler

  38 HP

  200 XP

  Kobold

  45 HP

  250 XP

  Goblin

  55 HP

  300 XP

  Wildkin

  65 HP

  310 XP

  Walking Dead

  50 HP

  300 XP

  Rogue

  60 HP

  300 XP

  Gangster

  60 HP

  300 XP

  Bandit

  80 HP

  325 XP

  Cutthroat

  100 HP

  350 XP

  Assassin

  140 HP

  500 XP

  Blackwood Prisoner

  85 HP

  360 XP

  Mother Pack Rat

  85 HP

  400 XP

  Undine

  100 HP

  375 XP

  Goblin Warlock

  100 HP

  400 XP

  Goblin Captain

  120 HP

  600 XP

  Goblin Assassin

  200 HP

  850 XP

  Cannonball Crab

  150 HP

  700 XP

  Sandworm

  200 HP

  750 XP

  Boggart Witch

  200 HP

  1200 XP

  Keeper

  225 HP

  600 XP

  Great Sandworm

  325 HP

  1100 XP

  Ogre

  300 HP

  1200 XP

  Keeper Brute

  375 HP

  1400 XP

  Troll

  240 HP

  1800 XP

  Shadowguard

  600 HP

  4500 XP

  Kraken

  20k HP

  25k XP

  Orik

  100k HP

  100k XP

  WIKI SEARCH: dragons_

  [Nightwing]

  Brave and terrifying dragon who gave his life to defeat Hadrian and the kraken.

  No other entries found...

  Create New Entry?

  About the Author

  I'm Domino Finn: game-developer-turned-fantasy-author, media rebel, and product of my generation. (Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?)

  Afterlife Online will be back. Join my reader group to get the first word on sequels, cover reveals, and other DLC.

  Help Trojan level up. Post an online review, mention it on reddit and social media, and help spread the word.

  QUEST NOTIFICATION: Find the Wayward Scrivener

  DESCRIPTION: The mysterious scribbler of words is known to frequent his Oldtown sanctum on Facebook.

  REWARD: Faction Membership in the Black Hats + 1 Free Brothel Voucher!

  Finally, don't forget to keep in touch. You can contact me, connect on social media, and see my complete book catalog at DominoFinn.com.

  To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors including myself, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group.

  There’s another Facebook group out there called the Gamelit Society. Come one, come all!

  Contents

  Copyright

  Also by Domino Finn

  Oldtown Map

  Title

  -- Cutscene --

  1070 Tapper

  1080 Modern Warfare

  1090 White Knight Chronicles

  1100 Town Life Stuff

  1110 Ranger X

  1120 Blood Money

  1130 Log Jammers

  1140 Sanctum

  1150 Grim Fandango

  1160 Portal

  1170 Tri Force Heroes

  1180 MIA: Missing in Action

  1190 Rock of Ages

  -- Cutscene --

  1200 Hexen

  1210 Kingdom Hearts

  1220 Quest for Booty

  1230 Midnight Club

  -- Cutscene --

  1240 Pirate Adventure

  1250 Reel Fishing

  1260 Let's Sing

  1270 Age of Sail

  1280 Sink or Swim

  1290 Dark Wizard

  1300 Diplomacy

  1310 Among Thieves

  1320 Sea of Thieves

  -- Cutscene --

  1330 Two Crude Dudes

 

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