Drake's LitRPG Megabundle (7 Books)

by Adam Drake

  Soon the fog grew so thick even the head of the turtle could barely be made out as it dipped in and out of the water.

  With events completely out of his control he simply waited. His mind was on Anika. His worry for her was greater than for himself. Once it was discovered he'd been abducted, she'd be sent into a state of panic.

  There would be footage of what happened on the office security cameras, so he took some solace in that. But what if his kidnappers had done something to obscure what occurred? Turned off the cameras or tampered with the recordings?

  There was another record of him working that day. He'd seen and spoken to other people during his shift, like Mr. Oswald and Todd. Depending on what evidence was available at the very least his whereabouts could be accounted for up to a certain time.

  The police would be called, maybe even the FBI. They'd search the building and check the security footage. Maybe he'd even make the news.

  He could see the headlines: Janitor Snatched By Dragon!

  Yet, there was a nagging doubt with this scenario. Why take him away while he was at the office if his abduction would be so obvious? What was the reasoning behind that? If he was wanted so badly by some secret organization why not just nab him when he arrived home from work? There weren't any security cameras around his house. It would be a clean operation for someone of competence.

  He shook his head. Just another festering doubt to add to the pile at the back of his mind.

  But poor Anika. If there was some way he could get a message to her that he was alive and okay that would make this entire ordeal a little more tolerable.

  Suddenly they emerged from the fog.

  Rob blinked in surprise at the horizon, then sighed with relief.

  Land.

  A rumpled line of welcome earth stretched from one side of the horizon to the other. They were close enough that he could make out details; Rocky beaches, white cliffs topped with green grass, and distant hills covered in trees.

  “Thank God,” he said and meant it. He wasn't a religious man. Far from it. But right now he let himself believe that some higher power granted him this gift of a mainland.

  The turtle apparently had a destination in mind, a flat piece of the shoreline flanked by steep hills. A road or path lead down from between the hills to the rocky shore. At the end of the path was a small wooden dock.

  Rob's heart leapt at the sight of it. Something built by people! Civilization had to be close by.

  He drank in the sight of it all. The destination the quest had promised. From here, he could start to figure out how to get home.

  Drawing closer to shore he spotted a figure standing on the dock. He squinted against the sun. A man, tall and lean enveloped in a billowy gray robe much like the attire monks wore. His thinning silver hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

  Rob stared at the stranger. A welcoming committee? It certainly appeared this individual was waiting for him. But was he friend of foe?

  Either the turtle didn't get the purpose of the dock or felt it was beneath its notice because the huge creature paddle past and headed for the rocky beach.

  The robed man walked along the dock keeping pace with them, a wide grin on his face.

  Well, he's smiling, Rob thought. I'll take that as a good sign.

  The turtle made landfall and heaved its mighty bulk up onto the shore. Once it stopped, it turned its head to look at him sideways.

  Taking the hint, Rob slid off the saddle and stuck his foot into the top indentation. He grabbed his beachwood club and dropped it to the ground.

  As he climbed down, he was keenly aware of the other man walking briskly toward him. With feet on terra-firma he casually picked up his club and held it at his side in a nonthreatening manner. Smile or not, Rob had no idea this guy's intent.

  The gray robed man stopped in front of him, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Greetings,” he said. He wore a trim gray goatee speckled with black. Around his shoulders hung several long necklaces which dangled with medallions etched with strange symbols. Rob saw no weapons on his person. Good.

  “Hello,” Rob said. The word was like a release having spent a tortuous ordeal alone with no one else to speak to.

  But before either one could talk again, the turtle suddenly let out a loud squawk. Rob looked to see the turtle using its flippers to dig into the sand and push itself toward the sea.

  For several moments Rob and the man watched in silence as the magnificent creature pulled itself away from shore and out onto the water.

  “Incredible,” Rob said as the turtle dipped below the waves and vanished.

  “Yes, they are,” the man said. “I assume you managed to perform a summoning?”

  “A what?”

  “A summoning. To call that creature to your aid.”

  “Yeah, I did. I used a shell and blew into it. Then that thing came, picked me up and brought me here.” Rob looked around. “Where is here, by the way?”

  The man brightened and raised a finger in an excited gesture. “Ah, yes. Allow me to get to that in one moment if you will.”

  “Okay,” Rob said. A straight answer would be nice right about now, but he only just met this guy and didn't want to be rude by bludgeoning the answer out of him.

  Not yet, anyway.

  “Allow me to introduce myself,” the man said with a slight bow, “My name is Saif, and I am First Sage of this, uh, Kingdom. Permit me the honor of welcoming you to our land.”

  “My name is Rob,” Rob said. “I'm first Janitor of the Bellworth Office towers. And I'm happy to be here.” He hoped.

  “Rob,” Saif said, mulling the word over. “May I ask your house name?”

  “House name? I don't know what that is. My last name is Barron, if that's what you mean.”

  Saif nodded, digesting this bit of information. “Interesting,” he said.

  “What is your house name?” Rob said, trying to keep the civil etiquette going.

  “I do not have one as of yet,” Saif said. “But I will soon.” His smile returned.

  Okay, then, Rob thought. Play hard to get. “Can I ask you a question?”

  Saif's face brightened with delight, eyebrows shooting up his forehead. “Why, of course! That is my duty as Sage, after all, to provide answers.”

  “You were on the dock as I arrived. Where you expecting me?”

  “Well, not you specifically,” Saif said. “But once the island emerged from the ocean I knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone would come.”

  Rob looked out to sea. The fog he'd passed through was gone. In the distance he could make out a tiny speck of land. He shivered.

  He turned to Saif, “The island emerged?”

  “Yes, it was created to help indoctrinate the chosen one into our world,” he said, then leaned forward a little. “By the way, what happened on that island? I've always wanted to know. Did you learn any spells? Arcane arts? Sword dancing? Was it a classroom setting?”

  “I bashed a crab,” Rob said. The pilot light of his anger flickered at the back of his head.

  “Oh, dear. How many were set upon you?”

  “Just the one, and it was more than enough,” Rob said, trying to get a hold of his temper before it got out of hand. “So you weren't expecting me - Rob, to plop down on this beach? I could have been anyone else?”

  “That's correct,” Saif said, his bright expression dimming to one of concern. “It is never known who the chosen one would be. How can you? It is out of our hands and falls to the judgement of the gods.”

  “What's a chosen one?” Rob asked. Maybe now he can get an answer as to why he was here.

  Saif's face froze and Rob could tell that his mind was racing for something to say.

  “Come on, Saif,” Rob said diplomatically. “I've had a hell of a day and it's made me more than a little grumpy.”

  Saif frowned, nodding. “Yes, you deserve a proper answer. The chosen one is someone who is picked by the gods to help lea
d our kingdom to greatness. He, or she, is expected to guide our people to prosperity, defeat our enemies, adventure into legend and conquer distant lands. A leader, a conquerer, a king!”

  Now it was Rob's turn to frown. “I'm a janitor.”

  “And what is that?”

  “I clean up messes.”

  Saif laughed, which sounded oddly like a schoolgirl's giggle. “Well, this kingdom is one big mess, in a manner of speaking. In need of a good and thorough cleaning by a person of your, uh, skill-set to accomplish that. Quite the undertaking, actually. Lots of messes. Messes everywhere.” He grinned at Rob.

  Is this guy serious? Rob thought. “So I'm a chosen one?”

  “No, you're the chosen one.”

  “And that's why I'm here? Because I was chosen?”

  “You are here because you have been chosen to rule this kingdom. We are in dire need of an adventurer king and the gods picked you for this honor.”

  “Wait,” Rob said holding up his hand. “Adventurer king? You need a king and... you've chosen me?”

  “The gods chose you, but yes, we need a king,” Saif said. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Would you be our king, Rob Barron?”

  Rob gawked at him. So this is why he'd been abducted? To be stuck in a game, or simulation, or whatever this was, and expected to play king? That's what this is all about?

  “Can't I just go home?” Rob said. He very much wanted to break into a tirade about being abducted and that this was all wrong, but he needed to keep a lid on it. He'd play this game until he found a way out, but it didn't hurt to ask if he could be shown the exit early.

  Saif's smile faltered. “Of that, I do not know, Rob. Such matters are with the gods.”

  “All right, how can I get a hold of one of them?”

  “Um, I don't know. By earning there attention, perhaps.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “By leading our kingdom to greatness,” Saif said. “By progressing yourself to the very limits of your abilities, by conquering and adventuring across the-.”

  Rob held up his hand again. “Okay, okay, I get the point. I'm supposed to be a king now. Kill a crab, gain a kingdom. Where do I sign up?”

  Saif's face transformed to one of unadulterated joy. He bounced up and down on his toes, clapping his hands and making a high pitch keening noise.

  Glad to see one of us is happy, Rob thought. But if he were to be honest with himself, he was curious about this whole king business. Maybe it would be fun ruling a great kingdom. With its resources it might be easier to find a way to escape.

  “This is wonderful!” Saif said once he'd finished celebrating. “Oh, we need to make this official, I have the Proclamation right here.” He jammed his hand into a deep pocket of his robe and pulled out a rolled parchment.

  “Proclamation?” Rob asked.

  Saif unfurled the parchment and handed it to Rob. “Please read this,” he said.

  Proclamation of Kingship.

  'You have been offered the responsibility of ruling the Kingdom of (unknown) and hereby swear to do so to the utmost of your ability, to treat your subjects fairly, to lead them to prosperity, to conquer distant lands, to annihilate your enemies, to amass great wealth, to share the spoils of your adventuring, and honor the will of the gods.'

  To Saif he asked, “What is Kingdom unknown?”

  “What?”

  “There's no name for the Kingdom here.”

  “Oh, that. We'll get to that later,” he said waving his hands at the parchment. “Skip to the bottom.”

  Rob looked at the bottom of the parchment.

  Do you Accept or Decline this offer?

  He paused. “What would happen if I declined?” Would he be sent home?

  Saif looked somber. “From what I understand, declining this Proclamation would result in you being cast into the Many Hells, where you will be drowned in its dankest sewers only to be resurrected and have the process repeated again and again for all eternity.”

  “Oh,” Rob said. “Then I accept.”

  Saif jumped for joy and clapped his hands.

  I sure hope that's not a regular thing with this guy, Rob thought.

  A prompt appeared.

  You have been given a Kingdom to rule and granted the title of King.

  Kingdom Level 1.

  Rob waited a few moments, but no other information was offered, like what he was supposed to do now.

  Saif gently removed the parchment from Rob's hand and curled it up. “This is wonderful, my lord. The kingdom is most grateful for your choice.” He slipped the rolled parchment back into its pocket then bowed deeply. “I am honored to be in your service, my king.”

  If Rob was a king now, he didn't feel any different from thirty seconds ago. “Okay, now what?”

  Saif straightened and his smile widened. “Now, your highness, we shall go view your royal holdings and meet your other subjects!”

  Rob, feeling doubtful about the whole thing, said, “I can't wait.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Saif guided Rob along the beach toward the pathway leading up between the hills. Having spent time on the turtle pitching and heaving about, it took a while for Rob to lose his sea-legs.

  “So, I'm officially your king now, correct?” Rob said, carefully stepping over the rocks littering the shore.

  “Yes, my Lord,” Saif said with a smile of immense satisfaction. “Oh, it's good to say those words. I thought the day would never come!”

  “Do I get a crown to wear or something?” Rob said joking, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the immense wall off in the distance.

  “A crown? Well, we don't have anything so formal as that, but I'm sure we can put something together for you,” he said. “My Lord.” He clapped his hands together saying the words.

  Rob pointed at the wall. “What is that?” It appeared from behind the hills and stretched outward across the sea. He followed it along until it vanished from view. The thing was colossal.

  Saif's joyous expression collapsed into a sulk. “That, my Lord, has been our problem for several weeks now. They appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the entire kingdom. Your kingdom. Each day they move inward. Closer and closer. The amount of lands and people that have been lost to them is horrifying.”

  A memory twigged at Rob and he snapped his fingers. “I saw them!”

  “Saw them?”

  “Those walls from above, when I was, uh, flying in. Before landing on the island. I saw the walls that surround this place.” Now that he had some context it made the wall feel even more imposing than before. What, or who could build such things?

  Saif took a step closer to Rob, his eyes pleading. “My Lord, did you see anything beyond them? Other lands? Anything?”

  “Yeah, there were other places, mountains, cities, oceans. Why?”

  “Thank the gods!” Saif cried out. He clutched at his medallions and danced a little jig. “I had feared that the walls only portended the end of the world. That everything behind them had been destroyed or erased from existence.”

  Rob shook his head. “Nope, the world is still out there.” Whatever world this may be.

  “Oh, thank you for sharing that, my Lord,” he said. “It's such a relief to know now. See? Already you've put my mind at ease and you've only been king for a few minutes!”

  “Those walls have been moving?”

  “Yes, closing in toward castle hill, by my estimation. Shrinking the kingdom leagues at a time.”

  There were a couple of items in that sentence Rob needed to pick at. “Castle hill?”

  “Yes, considered to be the very heart of your kingdom.”

  “I have a castle?” Rob said excitedly. He envisioned a drawbridge, and walls, and towers, and a throne room.

  “I'm afraid not, my Lord. No castle as of yet.”

  “Then what do I have?”

  “You have a hill.”

  Feeling deflated, Rob asked, “Okay. Forget about the non-castle for a minut
e. What's a league?”

  Saif blinked at the question. “Why, it's a measure of distance, my Lord.”

  “But how long is it?”

  “One league is 500 paces.”