The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2)

by Jez Cajiao

  When I finally felt Oracle release the bond, I fell backward, my back slamming into the grass and my head actually bouncing off it, as the hand she’d been holding splashed into the water, her own answering splash much louder as the semi-corporeal body she’d constructed from her mana hit the water with a startled oath.

  I forced myself upright, struggling, and groggy, only to find Ame doing the same across from me, and we both looked at the soaking wet form of Oracle as she bobbed to the surface, splashing frantically as confusion warred with exhaustion.

  I was tempted to watch for a minute, especially as she’d been wearing a white t-shirt that was going see-through in all the right places, but it wasn’t fair to her.

  “Oracle!” I shouted and she looked at me in confusion and panic, then went under and popped back up again, desperately slamming her hands into the water as her wings flailed about. “Fly!” I called to her, trying not to laugh. It was a bit ridiculous, really, and as her tired mind made sense of what I meant, she suddenly stopped thrashing around and sank, then just as easily, she rose up through the water, fully incorporeal again, her clothes back to pristine.

  “Well, I… yes...” she muttered, shaking her head as she shrank down and flew to my side, clearly embarrassed.

  “What happened there?” I asked her, and she just shook her head furiously, glaring at me and getting a little grin in return. “Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll drop it.” I shifted my attention back to Ame, who had sat back up and was massaging her legs slowly.

  The half-hearted effort she was putting in made it clear that her attention was elsewhere.

  “Well?” I asked after a minute. “Did you learn it?” Ame turned to face me fully, her tendrils waving in excitement, and she lifted her hands, about to cast.

  “Whoa!” I said, holding my hands up, and she froze. “You know how to channel more power into the spell as well, right? So, you can power it for longer?”

  “Of course; it was part of the spell,” she said, and I grinned at her.

  “Then in that case, rather than wasting your mana on me, why don’t you get your arse down to the rest of your people and start fixing them? It’ll be good experience for you!”

  Ame paused for a minute, before scrambling to her feet and heading away at speed. She’d almost disappeared into the trees when she remembered where she was, and she turned, bowing low and calling out.

  “Thank you, Lord Jax, I will put this gift to good use,” she said with forced calm, and then spun and raced away again.

  “That woman will be the death of me,” muttered Flux, and I looked to him, grinning.

  “The best of them always are mate. You sure you want to go to the city with me? I think you’d be better off here; fuck knows, you’d be more use training them than wandering around with me.”

  “But at least there, I’ll have some time to get my head and my heart to decide how they feel,” he replied, and we both heard a snort from the darkness beside an old tree.

  “What male ever understands a female?” came Cheena’s voice, and I grinned, knowing she’d been watching over me as well. “That being said… I think Ame will be interested to hear that you’re planning on escaping her clutches, Flux. Might even make a charm for me if I tell her the news right…”

  “You’ll keep your words to yourself!” Flux growled, raising one hand, and pointing one crooked finger at her. “You’ll be helping me to train the fighters here yet; I haven’t decided how, though; trainer or victim?”

  There was a long pause, broken only by Bane calling out “Trainer” a second before Cheena said the same.

  “Looks like I’ve one more trainer than I need…watch your words, Cheena!” Flux said, and he turned to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” When I nodded, he continued, “In that case, I will return to the lower floors and see if Ame needs any help. Excuse me.”

  Once he was gone, there was a long pause as we all waited to see who’d make the next move. Eventually, I got bored of it and I stretched out, letting out a low groan as I straightened myself out and rested my head back on the grass.

  “Jax?” came a voice into my mind, and I almost groaned. I did not want to hear from Jenae at the minute. not at all. Certainly not. Unless it was about…

  “Jenae? Did you find him?” I asked quickly, sitting up.

  “Not yet. I have released the spell, and it is currently mapping the continent, but it will take some time to finish. I’ll be in touch when it’s done. I just… I wanted to apologize again, and to let you know I was doing as we agreed.”

  Her voice was much calmer, and seemed a lot sadder as well, which made me let go of a little of the residual anger I felt towards her.

  “Thank you, Jenae, and I’m sorry as well. If I’d been a bit more respectful, this would never have happened.” There was a sense of acceptance, and then she was gone, and I laid back again with a groan.

  “Well, I’m going to have a nap here; I can’t be bothered to find my room. Go do whatever, okay, guys?” I mumbled; my eyes already closed as I enjoyed the peace of the garden. The breeze made the leaves rustle all around me, the occasional ‘clop’ of disturbed water only serving to lull me into sleep faster.

  I didn’t notice Bane and Cheena agreeing upon a watch, or even when Oracle shifted back into a more or less corporeal form to snuggle into me. I didn’t even stir as, hours later, she got bored and flew off to cause mischief somewhere. I just slept on, exhausted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I woke slowly, stretching luxuriously as I gazed at my surroundings. I was still in the small garden on the fortieth floor, thankfully, and as I slowly sat up, I tried to work out what had disturbed me. I could just make out the change in the sky from the rising sun, and the birds were raising a cacophony of songs all around me, but…

  “He’s nearly here,” a voice whispered, and I glanced in the direction of the call, making out a Mer crouched in the deeper shadows under a tree.

  “Uh… thanks?” I murmured slowly, wracking my brains for her name. “Jana, right?”

  “That’s right, Lord Jax,” she said quietly.

  “Who’s coming?” I asked.

  “Flux. He’s ordered that everyone who needs training should gather in just over two hours on the parade ground at the twenty-sixth floor of the Tower. He also said he was going to be spending the first and last few hours of the day with you, so that means he’ll be here any time now. I thought you’d rather wake up without his help…”

  “Definitely!” I said, clambering to my feet and cracking my back, even as Jana moved out of the darkness. “Thank you for that,” I said, and she shrugged.

  “I’m to be your guard at night; better if we get along, after all. Besides, Flux trained me. I know what an evil bastard he really is, and how much not getting to wake you up will annoy him!”

  “And yet, you still did it,” Flux’s voice came from directly behind her, and she spun, all four arms suddenly brandishing daggers. She froze a second later as Flux stepped out of the trees and nodded to her. “Better. You always did get distracted too easily, but it was better than you could have responded. We will talk about it later.”

  “Dammit!” she muttered, slinking back into the shadows. As she was going, I noticed that she no longer limped, and I spoke up quickly.

  “Jana, your foot…?”

  “Ame fixed it last night. She said you taught her the spell so she could help us all, so thank you again, Lord.”

  “No, you don’t need to thank me for that. Ame did it; I’m just glad she managed it, and I’m sorry you had to wait until she learned the spell first.”

  “Still, thank you,” came the reply from the night, and I smiled, turning back to Flux.

  “Sooo, how bad is this going to be?” I asked him, and the subsonic thrum of his laughter was my only answer, joined a second later by Jana’s. “Crap,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  The next half an hour passed in a blur. We started with gentle stretches, which slowly g
rew faster and more challenging. We moved through a variety of poses, some modified for me with having only two arms, others clearly deliberately chosen to make me shake with exertion.

  Once our warmup was complete, we slowly began to pick up the tempo, moving from one position to another, until I was bathed in sweat. I thought I was getting fitter and healthier, not to mention stronger, every day, but this was a struggle even for me, and I’d dumped a fuck ton of points into my agility.

  Flux finally called a break and slipped into the water, immersing himself for the shortest two minutes I’d ever experienced while dressed.

  Once he drew himself back out, he nodded to me and gestured to two spears waiting on the grass to one side. His lower arms bent around and clasped hands behind his back as the upper ones took up one spear, throwing the second to me. He positioned us both as mirror images of the other and began to teach me a new kata.

  We started out with a series of simple sweeps and blocks, many of which I already knew, but as he began to speed up, I started to fall behind, his spear flashing in stabs, ripostes, and sweeps I could barely see, let alone copy.

  As the second hour began, he broke the kata up into sections, making me do each move ten times before moving onto the next. It took the full two hours to get it locked into my muscles and mind, but at the end, I finally managed to do a full run though, right before I collapsed panting onto the floor.

  “You… are… trying… to… kill… me…” I whispered raggedly as I tried to catch my breath, and I felt the thrum again.

  “When I feel you’re ready to move on from the basics, then I’ll start to teach you properly, but for now? A solid base will keep you alive longer than fancy tricks, Jax. Trust me on this.”

  “I… do, but… really… did you… have…. to…?”

  “Break you? No, but I needed to see what you were made of. A lesser man would have given up long since. From what I can see, your main issues are Stamina and Skill; you lack nothing in the Heart. That, I can work with. a weak man can get stronger, a broken man can heal, a lazy man will be forever lazy until he defeats his own inner demons.”

  “Lovely… thanks… for that… fortune cookie… crap…” I groaned, forcing myself to sit up and slowly get to my feet, remembering that walking and gently swinging my arms would aid my recovery.

  “Now, we have eight minutes until we are due for the first lessons with your fighters. It will reflect poorly on you to turn up late, wouldn’t you say?” I glared at him, my breaths still coming in shallow gasps as I remembered where they’d be waiting for us.

  “That’s fourteen floors… at least a mile… or two from here…” I whispered, and he laughed.

  “Just under three, as the Tower winds. Try to keep up!” And he was off. He didn’t even start with a bastard jog; he just went into a full sprint practically from a standing start.

  I groaned and stuck the practice spear into the dark soil, trading it for my naginata before following him. The knowledge of the small book that rested in my Bag of Holding as I ran after him came back to me, and I regretted not giving it to him earlier.

  It was a training manual; it covered the basic unarmed kata which the Imperial Legions had used in their special forces, and I wanted everyone in the Tower to master it eventually.

  I wanted to learn it, too, but I just knew that giving it to him earlier would have resulted in me being a test dummy.

  It took just under twelve minutes to reach the twenty-sixth floor, and when I finally staggered out onto it, wheezing and barely able to walk because I’d pushed myself that hard, I caught Flux bending over, his head in a barrel of fresh water as he drew in the refreshment he needed.

  I staggered across to him on wobbly legs and collapsed to the floor, getting an unwanted shower when he finally pulled himself back out and looked down at me, water dripping from him.

  “You did well, Jax!” he praised, and I gave him the finger, getting a thrum of amusement from him in return.

  “I don’t… get how you… managed to… push yourself that… fast, when you got… so worn out… in the forest…” I muttered, and he reached down, taking my hand, and hauling me to my feet.

  “My kind are able to live above and below the waters, it is true, but any heavy exertion requires that we rehydrate quickly. Without using the pool before we set off, I’d have collapsed on the run; now, I am merely tired. But you will keep that to yourself.”

  “Okay,” I whispered, moving into a stretch, and he nodded to the congregating people out on the main balcony.

  “When we train, I must push you, and push you hard,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder, “But just so that you have something to look forward to, tonight we will start to spar for real, now that I know more of your capabilities.”

  “Fuck.” I whispered and grabbed his arm as he started to walk away.

  “Here. If you’re going to do this, better to do it right, eh?” I said, pushing the book into his hands as I straightened up again. “I intended to give it to you last night, but with everything…” I shrugged and left him staring at the small volume as I walked over to the group slowly watching Barrett move over to intercept me.

  “Hey, man, how’s it going?” I asked him, my heart finally getting back under control from its frantic hammering.

  “Things are good, Jax,” he replied. “I spent time consulting with Flux and a few of his people, and we’ve come up with a training regimen. I just need you to approve it. To make it as quick and simple as it can be, the hunters and fighters will all attend morning classes here, given by Flux and those he designates. The first hour will be focused on a general fighting style that all people can use, mainly unarmed and daggers. Then the groups will split up; hunters will move to the ground floor and practice archery and tracking, with classes on skills like skinning and harvesting corpses. The fighters will be split into three groups: sword, spear, and axe. They will spend an hour on their chosen skill, and then train for an additional hour in their individual small units.”

  “And after that?” I asked, and Barrett grinned.

  “After that, one unit joins the hunters and patrols, getting to fight out there in the real world. The others get to spend the day split between helping to clear the floors and more fighting practice.”

  “People will get sick of practice pretty quickly; how many small groups do we have?”

  “Six now, but we’ve only the two healers still. Not sure how you want them allocated?” He asked, and I paused, considering. I glanced around and saw Ame standing off to one side of the group, watching me. I waved to her and we started walking over. “Who’s the other healer?” I asked, knowing that I knew, but…

  “Ardbeg. The dwarf that you gave the ‘Lay on Hands’ spell to; he’s been using it whenever anyone gets so much as a cut or a sprain, but he’s…well, he’s trying, is what he is.”

  “Explain,” I said curtly, and Barrett took a deep breath as he considered his next words.

  “Ardbeg… well, he’s a good lad. He’s trying to be as helpful as he can be, but he’s a fucking coward as well. He wanted to learn to heal people because he thought it meant he could be in a nice, safe place, dealing with people who are sick, and he’ll always be valuable. He’s not going to be much use with the teams. He came running when we needed him back at the battle for the Tower, and he was trying to help, but he was also almost outta his mind with terror.”

  Barrett said bluntly, and I gritted my teeth. I’d been in no state to pick who was given the spell, and Oracle had directed that it be ‘given to someone who wants to be a healer’ and from what I remembered of that day after the fight, he’d been pretty desperate to help people, so he’d gotten it.

  “Just because he’s afraid doesn’t make him less useful; we’re always going to need extra healers here, after all. Plus, he did come to help when we called for it.” I said, trying to be as optimistic about it as I could, just as we reached Ame.

  “Yes, and I take it you mean the dwarf?�
� she said, and I nodded shortly. “He tries. When I met him and realized how desperate he was to be a healer, I was confused as to your choice of teaching; now, it is clear. He will make the true healer an able assistant, however, and there is always a need for a healer here, as you say.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re taking it so well, as it means you’re going to get to increase your healing skills as well, Ame,” I said with a forced smile. “I’m going to need you to go out with the hunters and patrol groups, keeping them as safe as you can, and healing those that get injured. Can you do this?” I asked, and almost got my head taken off my shoulders when she replied.

  “Go out with them? Of course I will be going out with them! What possible use would I be as a healer if I didn’t? What of those that would die before they are returned to the Tower? I must be there with them; I will need to be out, fighting alongside them!” I nodded, thankful that she wanted to do things that way, and chose not to reply to the comment about the usefulness of a healer that didn’t.

  “What is the old fool doing now?” she asked, clearly looking past us towards Flux. He had the book in his hands; it was open, and as I watched, he clearly activated it.

  The words on the pages seemed to catch fire, visible even from this distance, lifting from the pages, crisping, and fluttering, before turning into glowing ash that broke down into smoke. The smoke flowed into Flux, sinking into his head, and making him shake. The book suddenly crumbed to dust, and Flux arched his neck, throwing his head back and arms flung wide, before the transfer was finally done, and he collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.

  We rushed over to him, helping him to his feet, and Ame ‘sounded’ him before starting to scold him thoroughly over the lack of respect he’d paid an artifact, and why he should have told her first. He turned slowly to face me, and I couldn’t help it.

  “Let me guess, you know kung fu?” I asked, a vision of Neo flashing through my mind, gone in an instant as he shook his head slowly.