Goblin: a LitRPG Novel (Tower of Gates LitRPG Series Book 1)

by Paul Bellow

  The Inconceivably Botched Ambush

  ERIC

  As the lich walked forward, I wondered if we had bit off more than we could chew. When the creature tripped on a twig and fell on his face, I had second thoughts.

  The clouds overhead cleared, allowing the sun to shine once again.

  "Hold on," the lich said as it got to its feet. "That's better. Where were we?"

  "You were about to die," I said.

  Sarah stood to my left. Bernard and his trusty mace were on my right.

  Do liches drain levels in Tower of Gates?

  My thoughts switched to ways we might defeat the evil undead facing us.

  "It's casting a spell," Bernard said.

  "Get him," I yelled as I ran forward.

  The lich finished casting and sent four golden bolts flying toward me.

  Four golden bolts HIT you for 8 damage.

  You have 65(73) health remaining.

  Golden Bolts? From a powerful lich? Something's not right...

  "Drop your items here as a tribute, and you will not die," it said.

  I moved forward. Three steps before reaching the lich, it yelled out, "Now."

  An arrow whizzed past by face. I saw Sylvar emerge from behind an old, stone tomb.

  "What's going on?" Bernard asked.

  "That's no lich," I said.

  Another arrow flew by, hitting Sarah.

  "Ow," she said.

  "Get Sylvar," I said as I rushed toward the fake-lich.

  My new magic sword came down in an arch, hitting him on the shoulder.

  Your slash INJURES Rizzo the Red for 11 damage

  I knew it.

  Rizzo turned and ran, giving me another opportunity to strike.

  Your stab HITS Rizzo the Red for 8 damage

  He's still not going down?

  As I took off after him, two black bears along with an even larger grizzly bear growled in Sylvar's direction. I turned and saw all three bears coming toward Bernard.

  "I've got this," Sarah said. "Go after the lich."

  She still thought it was a lich? Maybe Rizzo had cast a spell or was using magic?

  I jumped and brought down my sword again on the ill-armored wizard.

  Your slash HITS Rizzo the Red for 8 damage

  Why's he not going down? Regeneration or something?

  He turned and cast a spell. Ringing noises surrounded my head.

  I dropped my sword and put my hands to my ears. The piercing sound continued.

  As I stood immobilized, Rizza the Red cast another spell. Two of the familiar flaming discs of lava pummeled me.

  The Lava Discs INJURE you for 14 damage.

  You have 51(73) health remaining

  The ringing around my head continued. I took a deep breath then grabbed my sword from the ground. Another four Golden Bolts struck me in the chest.

  The Golden Bolts GRAZE you for 6 damage

  You have 45(73) health remaining

  The ringing sound continued in my ears. I screamed and charged forward.

  Rizzo the Red ducked, but he wasn't quick enough. My sword connected.

  Your pierce INJURES Rizzo the Red for 12 damage

  Rizzo the Red is dead!

  Rizzo the Red fell to the ground with a whimper. Immediately after, a bear claw knocked me over.

  The Grizzly Bear's claw GRAZES you for 6 damage

  You have 39(73) health remaining.

  I turned and thrust the magic sword into the bear.

  Your thrust INJURES the grizzly bear for 11 damage

  The Grizzly Bear is Dead!

  He must've been hurt already.

  I turned and saw Bernard surrounded by wolves. Sylvar continued shooting arrows at Sarah as she attempted to cast a spell. He interrupted her each time.

  "Death to all weasels," I yelled as I leaped over the bear's body.

  Should I help Sarah or Bernard?

  One of the smaller black bears noticed me and charged forward on four legs.

  I stopped and braced myself, sword at the ready. When the bear reached me, I swung.

  Your slash INJURES the grizzly bear for 11 damage

  The black bear's claw GRAZES you for 6 damage

  The black bear's claw HITS you for 8 damage

  You have 25(73) health remaining.

  "You can still give up, Sylvar," I yelled as I stepped back before swinging.

  Your stab INJURES the brown bear for 11 damage

  Several flaming discs of lava flew past me and caught the bear on fire. It growled in pain and ran away, fanning the flames before it fell ten or twenty feet away.

  I turned and saw Sylvar take out a sword and grin.

  "Are you fools ready to die?" he asked.

  He cackled. I charged forward, using the last of my strength.

  Half-a-dozen wolves surrounded Bernard, but he would have to help himself.

  Your slash HITS Sylvar for 9 damage

  "That all you got?" he yelled then thrust.

  Sylvar's blade HITS you for 9 damage

  You have 16(73) health remaining.

  Sylvar dropped his sword and clutched his ears.

  I attacked with two slashes one after another as he screamed.

  Your slash HITS Sylvar.for 8 damage

  Your slash HITS Sylvar.for 8 damage

  Sylvar is dead!

  Alignment: -60

  Killing players with this sword is a very evil act.

  Your Alignment is now -15 (Breaking Bad)

  Penalty for self-defense? That’s not fair. With the last of my energy, I turned to see Bernard and Sarah battling the last two wolves.

  I thought about helping, but a couple good bites would take me down.

  "You got this," I yelled in support.

  The final wolf let out a yelp then fell to the ground.

  Combat is over!

  You receive 13,600 xp divided by three party members

  You get +4,533 xp

  Welcome to level 6, Bounty Hunter!

  looked around at all the dead wolves.

  "Everyone okay?" I asked.

  "Barely," Sarah said.

  After Bernard lifted his mace in the air, I turned my attention to Sylvar's body.

  "I've got Rizzo's corpse," Sarah said as she walked over to where he had fallen.

  "Keep an eye out, Bernard," I said then bent to the body in front of me.

  I grabbed his pouch full of gold and gems. Maybe his bowstring will work on Sarah's bow.

  "Guys, I've found something," she called out.

  "What is it?" I asked as I stood.

  Bernard met me by her and Rizzo's lifeless body.

  "They finished the last part of the quest for us," she said.

  I looked over at the bad she'd opened on the ground.

  "Monkey ghoul brains? How do you know?" I asked.

  "Lucky guess, but watch this..."

  She picked the bag up.

  Your Quest is Completed!

  +2,000 xp divided by party members

  You get +667 xp

  You now have 23,911 experience points

  "They were obviously trying to get the rest of the items for the Dawn Acid from us," I said.

  "And they failed," Bernard said then fell to the ground.

  I rushed over.

  "Has his wand of healing charged yet?" I asked.

  "No, but I've been saving a potion."

  While low on health, he needed it more than me.

  "Give it to him," I said.

  "Hold on a second."

  She removed the bag from her shoulder and dug inside.

  "Here it is."

  I watched as she poured the precious liquid down Bernard's throat.

  He sat up and coughed. The color returned to his face.

  "You okay?" I asked, patting him on the shoulder.

  He nodded.

  "Yeah, I think I’m poisoned. An arrow maybe?"

  "Knowing them, probably," I said.

  "We've got o
ne more of those too," Charlotte said.

  "Save it for Eric," Bernard said. "He'll need it later."

  "Quit," I said to him then glanced at Sarah. "You have one?"

  She nodded.

  "I was saving it for you."

  Maybe she cares about me?

  "Give it to him. I'll be careful."

  "You better."

  She handed another potion to Bernard. He quaffed it in a single gulp then burped.

  "That's what I'm talking about," he said then smiled.

  We checked the other bodies and found several potions and more gold and gems. Rizzo the Red had a platinum ring on a finger of his left hand. I pulled it off.

  "I don't have enough mana to check them, but I can do it in the morning," she said.

  "That's fine. We all need to rest."

  "Away from here," Bernard said. "This place will be even creepier at night."

  "Creatures will come for the bodies too," I said. "We'll camp near Top Henge and hope the monkey ghouls don't respawn."

  "I've still got to mix all these crazy ingredients too," Sarah said.

  We left the graveyard and evil dead behind.

  "Did you two get the negative alignment points?" Bernard asked.

  "Yeah," I said. "We must fix that, but for now our main goal is to find Magi Inyontoo and destroy the Cursed Pendant of Visions."

  "I don't want to be evil," Charlotte stated as we rode.

  "We won’t be," Sarah assured her.

  An hour later, we broke camp a few hundred feet away from the road. We'd killed Sylvar and Rizzo the Red, but who knew what other dangers lurked just out of sight.

  "What next?" Sarah asked as we sat around a roaring fire.

  The horses stood tied to a tree nearby.

  "You know what's next," I said.

  "I do, but where's Magi Inyontoo going to be? He probably sent those other player characters after us somehow. Now that they're gone, will he come at us?"

  "Probably not," I said. "We must find him somehow."

  "Exactly. That's why I said what next."

  I glanced across the fire at her.

  "We'll figure it out," I said. "This game hasn't been able to stop us yet."

  "Don't tempt it," Bernard said as if it were a living entity to fear.

  I chuckled, remembering how we'd met him so many days earlier.

  "What?" Bernard asked.

  "I was just remembering how we met you, and how far we've come," I said.

  "And yet it feels like this next segment of the quest will be the hardest yet."

  "We've got at least one new magic item." I smiled to reassure her. "Magi Inyontoo is powerful, but together we can defeat him."

  All three of us fell silent until Bernard spoke up.

  "You know what? I kinda miss talking in-character."

  Sarah patted the Staff of the Ram on the ground in front of her.

  "I'm not getting rid of this."

  "No, it's just...I don't know. Talking OOC with you two, I've thought about home."

  "We should talk about everything we know so far about the game," I said.

  "No, not tonight. I'm tired." Sarah stood. "Good night, you two."

  "G'night, Kali," Bernard said then smiled.

  I called up my stats to go over them while Bernard curled up next to the fire.

  > Stats

  Name: Drexmao ("Drex")

  Race: Human (Special)

  Class: Rogue -> Bounty Hunter

  Level: 6

  Experience Points: 23,911 (11,089 for next level)

  Alignment: -15 (Breaking Bad)

  Health: 16(89)

  Strength: 85 (+20%) (+10 magic amulet)

  Dexterity: 75 (+10%)

  Constitution: 70 (+5%)

  Intelligence: 75 (+10%)

  Wisdom: 55 (+0%)

  Charisma: 44 (+0%)

  > Stats skills

  Your Current Skills

  Black Market Connections – Basic Level 4 of 10

  Dodge – Basic Level 2 of 10

  Monster Lore – Basic Level 5 of 10

  Weapon Craft – Blades - Basic Level 8 of 10

  Climbing – Advanced Level 1 of 5 (+5 basic levels w/Ring of Spider Climbing

  Stealth - Basic Level 4 of 10

  Create Item - Basic Level 1 of 10

  Identify Item – Basic Level 7 of 10

  Language: Human, Common

  Sense Motive – Basic Level 6 of 10

  Bargaining – Basic Level 3 of 10

  Maybe Sarah will let me help create the Dawn Acid to increase my skill level. Crafting new items in the game world would be very cool. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

  ()xxxx[:::: Chapter 36 ::::>

  Please Don’t Spill the Acid, Guys

  SARAH

  I woke in the morning with a stiff neck and sore back.

  At least we're not being attacked, I thought as I pulled up my stats.

  > Stats

  Name: Kali Tracaryn

  Race: Elf

  Class: Wizard -> Warlock

  Level: 5

  XP: 23,874 (11,126 for next level)

  Alignment: 0 (True Neutral)

  HEALTH: 28 (28)

  MANA: 104 (104)

  Strength: 72 (+10%)

  Dexterity: 96 (+35%)

  Constitution: 52 (+0%)

  Intelligence: 93 (+30%)

  Wisdom: 43 (+0%)

  Charisma: 44 (+0%)

  I also went over my spell list to think of new ways to use them in combination, especially the ones I'd recently added.

  > Stats Spells

  Spells: Level One

  Fish Slaying (1mp) - Slay fish in 10' radius per level of caster.

  Golden Bolts (2mp per bolt up to 4+ lvl of caster) Each bolt dows 1d4 damage.

  Glorified Cloaks of Bronze (2mp per armor adjustment up to 4+ lvl of caster)

  Ladder of Dwarven Earth - (2mp per cubic foot of magic dirt created. Lasts 10 minutes per level of caster.

  Identify – (5mp) Identify magic items.

  Shut the Front Door – (2mp) – Close and seal a door. Portal receives 10hp per level of caster and will stay sealed until it takes that much damage. Even the caster cannot unseal this door. It's shut.

  Conjure Bronze – (2mp) – Need one gold coin to create one bronze coin. Prerequisite for higher level spells.

  New Level One Spells:

  Future Spell of the Keen Lanterns – 2mp - Cause an object to glow with light.

  Spells: Level Two

  Snares of Dust (3mp) – Clouds of dust particles rise in the air, often rendering a person unable to do anything other than cough and stumble away. More mana may be used for more dust.

  Mystic Therapy –(10np) – Target heals 1d10 damage.

  Cloud of Marvelous Sound [Uncommon] – (15mp) – A cloud of sound surrounds your enemies, disorienting them. One foot radius per level of caster.

  New Level Two Spells:

  Become Unknowable Humanoid – 25mp – Target becomes an unknowable humanoid creature of roughly the same size and shape. Effects last 1 day per level of caster or until dispelled.

  Spells: Level Three:

  Divine Arrow of Energy [Rare] – (25mp) – send a blue energy bean up to one hundred feet per level of caster. The person hit heals 1d50 damage, regains 1d50 mana (if applicable), and receives a +10% to-hit bonus. Caster may not be the target of this spell.

  Shooting Discs of Lava – 5mp per disc. Each disc deals 1d6 fire damage.

  New Level Three Spells:

  Blessed Webs of Gold – 5mp per target - +1 to hit and +1 damage per 5mp up to 1 + level of caster

  (Choose One Level Four Spell)

  Deathly Heat Bolt – 20mp per bolt. Each bolt does 1d10 heat damage. Up to 1+ level of caster bolts. Target begins stripping off clothes and armor to cool down.

  Charm of Thought – 40mp – Charm a person. The higher their intelligence, the harder to charm.

  The Shackle of Courage (fear) – 40mp – Ev
eryone in area of affect must save vs fear or run.

  The Blessed Calling of the Sacred Gnomes – 50mp – Fix any mechanical item.

  Kill Foul Fish – 40mp – Bring dead fish back to life. 10-foot radius per level of caster

  Hypnotise Barbarian – 40mp – Hypnotize a Barbarian down from a rampage.

  Prismatic Balls of Alertness – 25mp – Target has improved perception for 1 hour per level of caster.

  Touch of Wondrous Thieving – 100mp – Touch a person and steal any item. This is considered an evil act and will result in -10 alignment each time used.

  ToG Tip: At level six, you will gain one fifth level spell, and one more spell of each lower level.

  I choose Charm of Thought because we were sneaking into the Forbidden Kingdom, and it might come in handy.

  "Are you okay, Kali?" Charlotte asked as she crawled onto my shoulder.

  "Yeah. Going over these new spells. How do you feel?"

  "Different," she said. "Smarter, maybe?"

  I smiled.

  "Are you ready to help me mix these ingredients?"

  "I don't think we'll be able to do it out here in the wilderness, Kali."

  "Oh? Is it complicated?"

  "I'm not sure, but the fact it's been so difficult to gather the ingredients, I assume it will be even more difficult to mix them."

  "Good point," I said.

  I got to my feet as Eric and Bernard stirred next to the fire.

  "Up and at 'em, boys," I said. "We've got a long day ahead."

  Eric moaned.

  "Five more minutes?" he asked.

  Bernard sat up and stretched.

  "Come on, Eric. It's a good day. We've vanquished our foes, and we're on a roll."

  "Did you level-up yesterday, Bernard?" I asked.