The First Player (AlterGame Book #1) LitRPG Series

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The First Player (AlterGame Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 28

by Andrew Novak


  Hercules and his brothers disappeared into the bushes. They crept quietly, that was for sure. Having commanded his team, Jack turned to his companions. Eloise was slapping the Rod of Despair on the palm of her hand and, it seemed, was already regretting her promise to remain behind. Sartorius was grasping Gezal's Hammer nervously and did not remove his gaze from the rider on the hippogryph tracing circles over the forest. Frankly, Jack was a little uncomfortable himself. Mostly due to the fact that he had to be responsible for more than just himself. He was not used to working in a team, that was the problem...

  Finally, Jack decided that the goblins were already in place, and moved first toward the ruins. He stopped at the edge of the forest. Beyond, the trees didn't grow as densely and they would definitely be visible from above. From afar, Jack located the place where the city wall had collapsed. Squinting, he began to take stock of what was it. He could see the bush filled streets between the skeletons of buildings. Suddenly he noticed that the hippogriff in the sky began to descend, moving in their direction. Now the mount could be viewed in all its glory: a half-horse, half-gryphon. That was a creature with hooves, wings, and the head of a giant eagle, dark red, with crimson spots of color. With each flap of its wings, rays of sparks flew.

  "Magical protection," muttered Sartorius. Jack and Lisa glanced at him. "You don't see it? He's surrounded by a reddish-golden bubble."

  "You're a mage, so you see it," Jack said. "All right, let's roll. Begin!"

  Sartorius froze for a few seconds, staring transfixed at the fast-approaching, massive, winged silhouette, then shouted: "Gezal!" and swung the Hammer. The weapon tore from his hands and surged through the sky with a swelling whistle.

  "Now, after me!" Jack ran to the hole, looking up and trying not to stumble.

  When the walls were close, a resounding boom sounded overhead and a fiery flash lit the sky. Ooh! He stumbled anyway, and nearly fell. The fiery hippogriff's protection had also been linked with the element of fire, but the Hammer broke through as if it had been paper. Rolling thunder rumbled, like during a severe thunderstorm, several bolts of lightning struck in different directions. Clouds of thick smoke swelled up, expanded and rolled over the area. Something charred, with black wing stumps, shot out. Leaving a gray contrail behind itself, the winged mount swept downward with a whistle and crashed somewhere to the side of the forest. There was another rumble, trees cracked in the distance, and all was quiet.

  Jack stumbled into the opening between the destroyed remains of the wall and, stooping low, flung himself to the side. He crouched in the shadows and kept his head down. Eloise appeared next to him, and then Sartorius. Gezal's Hammer had already returned to him. The mage had one final shot remaining.

  Somewhere nearby, maybe one or two blocks away, there was excited shouting. The Gravediggers knew that their enemy was near. They saw that they had lost their watcher, but could not exactly pinpoint the location of Jack's team.

  "We're in the town," Jack whispered, listening to the Gravediggers shouting. "They don't know where we are."

  "We also don't know where they are," Eloise muttered, gripping the Rod nervously.

  Before Jack a message appeared:

  Attention! Your servants are displaying initiative and leadership. They receive 1 XP.

  "We'll soon find out," Jack replied. "Just listen."

  They didn't have to wait long. The ruins exploded in goblin screeches, and a moment later, they were answered with the rumble and roar of combat spells and screams. Jack, his companions behind him, rushed toward the noise. There were about four dozen Gravediggers gathered in the square at the center of the black city. It made sense. They knew their enemy was few in number, and had waited where it would be easiest to use their numerical advantage. That's where the goblins pounced on them. The players, among which the scarlet mantles of fire mages could be seen, were almost buried under the hail of stones flying from all sides. The goblins jumped, howled, shrieked. The noise coming from them was worse, of course, than the damage they dealt to the Gravediggers. But they did their part, taking the pre-prepared streams of conjured fire, which had been meant for the Stargazers.

  When the invading army arrived at the site of the encounter, the Gravediggers had more or less already recovered from the surprise. They had probably been creating a battle formation, with the "tanks" in heavy armor on the front and the mages hiding behind them. But the goblins attacked from the rear. They crept up under the cover of the black walls practically right next to their prey, and so the first casualties had been the less-protected healers.

  Jack saw a few bodies melting slowly into the grass. Some of the dead had been struck through with the short bolt from the chu-ko-nu, others had been bombarded with stones. The first strike from the tiny monsters proved to be devastating, but now the mages were flooding the ruins with streams of fire, and the goblins were screeching in defeat. Although a good many of them had gathered, and they had had the advantage of surprise on their side, they were certainly not strong enough to defeat an elite squad of Gravediggers.

  "Sartorius, the Hammer! Now!" roared Jack, rushing to the attack. "Into the thick of it!"

  A better moment would not come up. The Gravediggers had lost formation and were bunched together, their armored slayers had rushed back to defend the mages from the hail of arrows and stones. The mages had backed away and were casting fireballs and Fatal Maelstrom through the surrounding ruins. Among their numbers were also air mages.

  "Gezal!" shouted Sartorius, sending the Hammer on its last flight.

  As he ran, Jack felt a strange thickening in the air around him. The alpha had placed a protection spell on him. Great, so he hadn't forgotten.

  Jack twirled the sword, creating a cloud of darkness around himself. Flashes and powerful gusts of wind hit the bubble created by Sartorius. Flakes of darkness ripped from the cloud and were carried to the sides, but the protection held long enough. Jack managed to run up to his huddled opponents. Then the usual work began. He chopped with the Shadow of the King left and right, not worrying about accuracy. The black sword smashed armor and outstretched blades to pieces. Everything around was buzzing and jumbled. Jack didn't look around, just hoped that Sartorius and Lisa hadn't fallen behind. Sure enough, next to him in the half-darkness roiling around the sword, several fiery streaks flashed by him: lightning-white from Sartorius's staff and a greenish color from the Rod of Despair.

  Jack spun in the ring of enemies, hacking away and dodging. Before his eyes, flashing lines ran, one after another:

  You receive damage!

  You lose 4 hit points!

  You receive damage!

  You lose 4 hit points!

  Attention! Your servants have defeated an enemy, whose experience exceeds their combined experience by more than 10 XP. They receive 1 XP.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 6 hit points!

  Attention! Your servants have defeated an enemy, whose experience exceeds their combined experience by more than 10 XP. They receive 1 XP.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 3 hit points!

  Attention! Your servants have defeated an enemy, whose experience exceeds their combined experience by more than 10 XP. They receive 1 XP.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 3 hit points!

  Attention! Your servant has been killed. It loses 1 XP.

  You receive damage!

  You lose 5 hit points!

  Jack faltered in a ditch and belatedly realized that this was the furrow plowed by Gezal's Hammer. The demon weapon had passed through the throng of players here and had reaped an abundant harvest, judging by how the land was completely covered in dropped weapons. There was a rumbling overhead and a dazzling flash tore through the gloom created by Shadow of the King.

  Jack felt only weakness. The sword in his hand became unbearably heavy and the health bar in the corner of his vision had shrunk to a thin line. With a shaky hand, he pulled an elixir from a pouch on
his belt and drained it. The red health bar slightly lengthened. Jack sucked another elixir down and was able to stand. The night created by him had wholly dissolved into daylight and Jack looked around.

  Here and there, goblins were peeping out from behind stones. A few had already emerged from their shelters and were strolling at a distance. He found Sartorius about five paces away. With a beaming smile, the mage announced,

  "They're all dead. I took care of the last three with one blow from the Staff of Light."

  The mage waved the staff combatively. Jack swallowed. Something didn't feel quite right. He must have taken a wallop at the end, it seemed. He didn't even fully believe he would survive going through a mob of Gravediggers.

  Clearing his throat, he asked:

  "Where's Eloise?"

  "I'm here," a familiar voice peevishly called out from behind. "You told me to stay behind you. Well, I did... so that your ass would be under reliable supervision. But where are our goblins?"

  Jack glanced around. Actually, he couldn't see them. For that matter, what did happen to them if they died? Presumably, they should have respawned inside the box.

  "Three in one hit! They were just standing over there and I got them!" Sartorius continued.

  Jack looked at the alpha more closely.

  "Sartorius..."

  "What?"

  "You have 50 XP."

  "So what? Isn't that what we were working toward?" Eloise spoke up again. "Should we search for Azeroth's palace maybe before they begin to respawn? Where is their rez point?"

  "It's almost certainly in the chapel with the teleport, over there," Jack gestured. "So, in fact, we have little time."

  The palace... Where it all started, he thought. Where the Shadow came to life.

  Jack called his companions and walked along the vaguely familiar ruins. The piles of black stones all looked like one another. He couldn't remember whether he had passed here on that fateful day when he'd used Andrew Vigo's account. Four goblins, headed by Hercules, joined the procession. Their leader, wearing a hat with a wolf tail, strode importantly with the crossbow on its shoulder and kept silent, remaining solid, as befitted a great leader. The three other survivors of the battle, by contrast, chirped ceaselessly. When Jack held his gaze on them, a string of translation appeared:

  "We are great warriors! We won! Defeated all! And we will always win!"

  Jack lacked their confidence. The victory was hard won, but something was missing. What was it? Ahead, some familiar places finally appeared. Jack recognized the turn that led to the black chapel where he had hidden the Tear and dagger on Andrew Vigo's. Then what path did he take as he booked it from the Shadow? He had popped out, he thought, from over there. Yep, there was the fallen column that Burt, the initiate mentor, had hidden behind.

  Jack took Sartorius and Lisa along the wall that Andrew had hidden behind, passed the courtyard and, finally, there it was: the massive walls of the palace.

  "We go there," Jack said. "That's Azeroth's palace. If they turned into the passage, there would be an exit point from the game. Farther on in the same direction was the player portal claimed by the Gravediggers.

  Explaining, he turned with an outstretched arm and pointed. But when he faced the portal...

  "Run!" he shouted as he was already racing away, hunched over and covering his head with his hands.

  From the direction of the portal, a powerful club of blistering fire was flying directly for the Stargazers. All three barely had time to dive under the cover of rubble when a flaming ball struck in the place where they had just been standing. But the goblins hadn't been so quick.

  Attention! Your servant has been killed. It loses 1 XP.

  Attention! Your servant has been killed. It loses 1 XP.

  The first fireball was followed by a second, third... Gravediggers poured from the portal – fire mages in red and swordsmen in heavy plate armor. They were hurrying because they were particularly vulnerable leaving the building, so they had begun shooting fire before they reached a better distance. Moreover, they were shooting in all directions. Not only did they not aim, they didn't even look where they were firing. More followed them from the portal, with a full supply of mana, magical scrolls at the ready...

  Now they would spread out, find the Stargazers, and everything would be over. The thought entering Jack's head was just deafening: he had lost. The Gravediggers turned out not to be such screw-ups. The detachment placed in the demon city had been strong enough that the attackers had believed this was the main barrier in the way. In fact, the elite mages and swordsmen had been sitting somewhere in Svetlograd near the portal. Sitting and waiting for the command.

  Jack grabbed Lisa by the arm and dragged her after him. He ran toward Azeroth's palace. If they reached it before the Gravediggers gathered, got their bearings, and surrounded... On the run, he glanced over – how was their Master doing? Sartorius hurried behind them with a wild expression on his face. It was unlikely that there were mages among the Gravediggers equal to his level, but against such a throng... No, resistance wasn't even a consideration. They had to unseal the Necroportal of Bacchus and get out, that was the only way. The fireballs exploded in a wild din behind, cracking the ancient walls of black stone. But there was always a delay while the fire mages aimed. Flame licked the black walls a few dozen paces behind them and Jack fled for his life.

  Sartorius could not resist. He leaped to the side, squeezed into the cleft cut into the masonry... then his stooping back flashed on the other side of the wall. Through the hole Jack could see their Master dart from side to side, running for dear life.

  "Wait! Where d'you think you're going?" Jack shouted after him.

  Some of the fireballs flew after Sartorius. Two struck his bent back, spilling hot light. The mage's body was lost in the flash.

  Jack croaked:

  "Shit!"

  But he couldn't stop, not with flames licking at his heels. He and Eloise charged into the ruins of the royal palace. Jack recognized the same hole in the wall, through which he had leaped out to escape the Shadow. They couldn't enter into the palace from here. They needed to search for the entrance from the other side. The escapees rounded the building. Fireballs crashed against the wall and the flames licked the black stone.

  Around the corner he found the arch that supported the statue, depicting hellish monsters. These were probably likenesses of the demon subjects King Azeroth. There was no time to admire it. Jack and Eloise ran into the half-lit hall. Where was this portal? Jack slid his gaze over the pitted, black columns, the broken pieces of wall strewn across the floor... Farther, farther! They rushed across the hall, passed through it, and ran down the corridor. Ahead was a staircase. They flew up to the second floor. Its perimeter was surrounded by a gallery bathed in natural light falling in through the tall lancet windows. On the left was a row of windows, on the right – doors leading to the inner chamber. One of the doorways immediately drew his attention. It was decorated with intricate carvings of grinning masks and bound hands. All the hands were pointing the index finger at the door. When they invited you like that, you had to listen. Jack and Lisa found themselves in a small square room. There was nothing here, just an empty room with doors on each wall. A crossroads, or something? Upon closer inspection, Jack realized that there were in fact only three doors. On the far wall, there was no exit. In the door frame, which was exactly like the carved door jamb, there was just a polished slab of black stone. Embossed in a peculiar font above the false door: "Dagon".

  Above that, a man's face was etched into the black stone. On the cheek under his right eye was a rounded recess. What was it for... oh, of course! Was this the Necroportal? Dagon, the castle where Bacchus, servant of Azeroth, had built his magical schooner for his master. Jack placed the Tear into the recess under the eye of the image. It fit perfectly.

  The polished stone came to life, ripples ran across its surface, and it glowed slightly from within. On the wall next to it were blood-red lett
ers:

  In the name of Lord Azeroth! Sate me, and enter.

  The Tear fell from the stone receptacle, and Jack placed his palm out and caught it. The portal didn't switch off. Light shimmered in its depths.

  Attention! Quest progression in "Service to the Dark".

  Use the portal and enter the castle of Dagon.

  You are the first player to find the Portal of Bacchus.

  You receive +3 XP.

  You have 47 XP. Earn 3 XP to unlock new skills.

  The portal, okay... But what else was there? How to open it? Jack turn to Lisa:

  "Here's the portal. But how do we activate it? What does your past in necromancy tell you?"

  Lisa shrugged. "Look, there's an inscription on the wall. It's an obvious hint. We need blood. Cut a player so that the red textures spray the stone. That usually works. On the whole, all black magic is built on this – on sacrifices and blood. It's practically written here."

  Jack brought up his chat in the menu. There was a message from Sartorius:

  I respawned. Don't go without me. Wait for me, I'm already on my way. Just don't go into the portal without me. I'm quite close.

  Outside, at the entrance to the Palace of Azeroth, a voice cried out:

  "Hey, Jack! Come out! It's all over, give up!"

  A familiar voice. It was Weaver Lund himself. Jack walked out of the room with the portal, crept over to a window and cautiously looked out. The arch with the carved reliefs was just underneath him. A dozen Gravediggers stood at the door, holding their staves and wands at the ready. There could be no doubt, Weaver had gathered here the best mages in the guild.

 

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