Human: A LitRPG Novel (Tower of Gates LitRPG Series Book 2)

by Paul Bellow

  It somehow sensed me, pivoting and swinging the immense sword down at the same time.

  The troglodyte champion MAULS you for 27 damage.

  You have 22/125 health remaining.

  I staggered back as the giant troglodyte turned to deal with Josh and Axelrod as they attacked it. Sarah had gotten to her feet in the distance, which gave me hope.

  As the battle raged on, I ran back to Bernard, Sarah and the others. Ryu stepped over and placed his hands firmly on my shoulders, gripping them.

  Waves of healing passed through my body.

  You have been healed.

  You have 97/125 health remaining.

  "That's better," I said. "How's Sarah?"

  "I'm fine," she said. "Axelrod and Josh need my help."

  "You're too weak." I stepped in front of her. "Rest. Sheldon's got this."

  "I'm out of mana," the lower level wizard said.

  "Stand back," Sarah said then moved her body to cast a spell.

  A burst of blue-tinged lightning shot from her hands, hitting the giant troglodyte. She fell to the stone floor of the cave at the same time as the trog leader.

  Combat is Over!

  You get 10,000 xp divided by seven party members

  You get 1,429 xp

  You have 63,676 xp

  You need 11,234 xp for level 9 Rogue -> Bounty Hunter

  "Healing," I yelled as I knelt next to Sarah's motionless body.

  "Let's loot the bodies and get out of here," Axelrod said.

  I glanced over and said, "We're waiting for Sarah to wake up."

  He shook his head callously.

  "No time. We're on a mission. There might be more trogs coming."

  "I don't care," I said as Bernard knelt next to me. "We're helping her first."

  "We need to go," Axelrod said. "This little side-adventure has slowed us down long enough."

  "I think we should stay," Josh said as he wandered over.

  Bernard used the last charges in his healing wand, but Sarah didn't open her eyes.

  "What's wrong with her, Charlotte?" I asked.

  "She's been through a lot in that trap," the spider said. "Give her time."

  "That's one of many things we don't have right now," Axelrod said, shaking his head. "We've got to go."

  Bernard stood.

  "I say we stay," he said.

  "This ain't no democracy," Axelrod barked.

  "It should be," Bernard said. "You've done fine so far, but you've also made mistakes."

  "Are you saying I'm the problem in this party?" He snorted. "I'm not the stupid spellcaster who wandered off without the rest of the party."

  "Someone used bad magic on her," Charlotte said in Sarah's defense.

  "Ryu, is there anything you can do?" I asked.

  The thin cleric shook his head, no emotions on his face.

  "Weren't you on guard last night?" Josh asked. "Why didn't you see her leave?"

  "I must've been distracted," Ryu said then shrugged.

  "Didn't you say you saw her and thought she needed time alone?" I asked.

  "Oh, yeah," he said. "My bad."

  Josh stepped toward him. Bernard got in his way.

  "Come on, let's give Sarah some room," Bernard said as he put his hand on Josh's thick arm.

  The half-orc barbarian glared at Ryu while the latter turned and walked away to talk with Axelrod.

  I sat on the cold, hard floor, waiting for Sarah to open her eyes. Why had I wanted her in the game? I should've listened to my father and not messed around with it. Why hadn't I listened to him?

  Tower of Gates was fun in some ways, but it was also endless and inescapable, almost like a prison. What a way to be locked up, I thought.

  Sarah stirred, opening her elven eyes. I put a hand on her shoulder.

  "Are you okay?" I asked. "We cast heal, but you dropped."

  "I think it's a lingering effect of the mist trap," Charlotte said.

  "You could've said something earlier."

  I glared at the spider clinging to her shoulder.

  "Not until Sarah gave me permission," Charlotte answered.

  "Cool." I stood and offered her my hand. "Come on. We should get going."

  As Sarah took my hand in hers, I heard a commotion on the far side of the cavern. Josh ran over with Axelrod as another shaman and at least a dozen trogs approached.

  I pulled out both my weapons and surveyed the scene. Axelrod and Josh had thrown themselves at the lizard foot soldiers rushing forward, taking out two each.

  Bernard and Ryu were stationed behind them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

  "Stay here," I said to Sarah then crept toward the shaman while hugging the wall.

  "Good luck with that idea," she said, following me.

  I watched as she pulled a potion she'd secreted away. Smiling, I turned and continued toward the shaman. The lizard with a crown of bones on top of his head noticed us too late.

  Sarah sent a bolt of lightning headed its way. He screamed in pain then fell to the ground.

  With the shaman down, I ran around the other foot soldiers as Axelrod and Josh corralled them. Bodies were piling up all over the rocky, stone floor.

  As I reached the shaman, he was clamoring to his feet. I attacked with both weapons at once, two solid stabs to his midsection. They connected so well.

  Your slash HITS the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 10 damage.

  Your pierce HITS the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 8 damage.

  Gilgor the troglodyte shaman leader is not concerned with you.

  The game is getting detailed on this guy by naming him. Is he going to be a problem?

  As the shaman pulled out a potion and quaffed it, I got in another attack.

  Your slash HITS the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 8 damage.

  Your pierce GRAZES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 6 damage.

  Gilgor the troglodyte shaman leader is not concerned with you.

  The shaman glowed bright green as the potion took effect. Sarah hit me with her restore spell arrow from a distance. A wave of refreshment washed over my body.

  You feel better!

  You have 125/125 health remaining.

  +10% chance to hit

  I attacked again, hoping to end the bright green lizard creature's life in the game.

  Your slash INJURES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 12 damage.

  Your pierce MISSES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor).

  Gilgor the troglodyte shaman leader is taking damage.

  The shaman laughed then launched a spell at me.

  The troglodyte shaman's Burning Hands WOUND you for 18 damage.

  You have 107/125 health remaining.

  Two flaming discs hit the tough scales of the shaman and bounced off. He let loose another spell.

  The troglodyte shaman's Burning Hands MAUL you for 22 damage.

  You have 85/125 health remaining.

  I shrugged it off and attacked again.

  Your slash INJURES the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 12 damage.

  Your slash HITS the troglodyte shaman leader (Gilgor) for 10 damage.

  The fire giant adolescent is severely damaged.

  The shaman stumbled backward as Axelrod came in with a final swing of his battle-axe, finishing the last of the troglodytes. Or so I hoped as the game tallied up the points for the win.

  Combat is over!

  You get 10,000 xp divided by seven party members

  You get 1,429 xp

  You have 65,105 xp

  You need 9, 895 xp for level 9 Rogue -> Bounty Hunter

  I glanced around, hoping another wave of troglodytes didn't appear.

  "Everyone okay?" Axelrod asked, walking around all the bodies.

  "We did great," Bernard said. "I'm about to level up again."

  "The Mines of Oriam always have something new brewing. It's almost a roguelike itself in some ways." The dwarf propped his hands a
t the tip of his axe handle and tilted his head, pondering after he stopped talking. I turned to Sarah. She had a smile on her face, gripping her staff proudly.

  Ryu stepped over to our growing group and looked at Axelrod.

  "We could investigate this troglodyte appearance," he said.

  "No," Axelrod said. "We've got to keep on the main quest." It's important, and there's xp and more loot along the way."

  "I'm down with that," I said, sheathing my weapons after cleaning them. "I need a weapon buff that cleans these automatically."

  Sarah smiled, saying so much without uttering a word.

  "I leveled, by the way," Ryu said. "I have new restoration, healing, and higher level offensive spells."

  "Perfect," Axelrod said. "You're turning out to be a useful member of the party."

  Ryu grinned a bit too perfectly. What was it about him that gave me doubts? The game had turned a lot of our party members against us. Live players were so much more complex than the NPC mobs.

  "Head out back to our last camp," Axelrod yelled over his shoulder as he walked away, battle-axe at the ready.

  All of us skirted the pillars and mosaic on the floor as we followed him. We left the troglodyte cavern behind and headed back to where we'd camped the night before.

  How had Sarah slept walk so far away? I didn't know Ryu's exact spells – that was a level of trust we hadn't reached in our relationship. I needed to dig deeper with him.

  If he had been responsible, he might attack again at any moment. Should I warn the others? Without proof, I decided to keep it to myself. No need for everyone to think I'm paranoid.

  The Tower of Gates had a survival of the fittest and Lord of the Flies vibe going on.

  Why would the game trap people? A safety-mechanism for hackers?

  Was that why so many players were sociopaths or worse?

  The questions piled on top of each other like bricks in a Lego set.

  As our party walked in silence, I struggled to come up with any answers.

  ()xxxx[:::: Chapter 19 ::::>

  That's No Ordinary Tunnel

  SARAH

  That was so scary, Charlotte, I thought as we walked.

  "I agree, Sarah," she replied with her voice in my mind.

  At least I have mana. No telling what else we'll come up against.

  "We should have stayed above ground, Sarah."

  Don't spiders like caves and damp, dark places?

  "Not all of us..."

  Both of us quit sharing thoughts as the party returned to the last campsite. The smooth walls and floor were a treat after the freshly dug deep, dark cave tunnels.

  "Can we stop?" Sheldon asked when we reached the room where I'd left the party.

  "No," Axelrod said. "We're too close to get any further behind schedule."

  "We're on a schedule?" Eric asked. "That's new to me."

  "Me too," Josh added.

  I liked that the two of them were getting along better.

  "Tough tree-trolls," Axelrod grumbled. "Follow me."

  He opened a door on the far side of the room and shuffled through. Josh then Bernard followed. Ryu, Sheldon, and I were in the middle with Eric behind us.

  On the other side of the door, yet another wide tunnel descended at a slight angle. I wondered what the dwarven kingdom was like with all its inhabitants still around.

  Did we have a chance of freeing the dwarves and allowing them back into level one-two? The quest had a certain meta feel to it that I dug. A lot. I looked over my left shoulder.

  "Thanks for saving me, by the way," I said, slowing down.

  Eric smiled as we walked side by side at the rear of the line.

  "Not a problem," he said. "I had help."

  "Yeah, but I know I set the party back in its main quest."

  "We'll need your magic for that dragon," he said.

  "And your swords."

  "Quiet in the back," Axelrod shouted.

  Eric snorted with me at the irony. I stayed at Eric's side as we walked toward the Pit of Doom. Could we defeat a dragon? Even a young one would give us trouble unless we worked together.

  "Stop," Axelrod said from the front.

  Everyone in front of us stopped. I glanced behind us and saw nothing.

  "What is it?" I asked Eric.

  "Zombies," Josh yelled then rushed down the hall toward them.

  "No," Axelrod shouted. "They're dwarven zombies. My kin..."

  "This won't go well," Eric said then pushed his way to the front. "We have to kill them to move forward. Everyone follow Josh."

  "Mutiny," Axelrod cried as the rest of us ran past him.

  Further down the wide, stone hall, eight bodies barely alive shambled forward. Josh had already bashed the skulls of two of them when I stopped next to Ryu and Sheldon.

  "Can't you turn them?" I asked our cleric.

  "No," he said.

  I didn't press the matter, waiting to see how the fighters did before letting off any magic.

  "How are you on mana?" I asked as I turned to Sheldon.

  "Fine," he said. "I'm waiting. There's no telling what's further down the tunnel. I'm getting bad vibes."

  "Me too," I said, turning my attention back to the battle in front of us.

  Josh screamed as his club came down on the last of the short, dwarven zombies.

  Combat is over!

  You get 4800 xp divided by seven party members.

  You get 686 xp.

  You have 65,871 xp

  You need 11,129 xp for level 8 Wizard->Warlock

  "Nice job," I called out as Eric, Josh and the others walked back.

  "This is crazy," Axelrod said, shaking his head. "They're not supposed to turn player characters into zombies."

  "Wait..." I turned to Axelrod. "Those were player characters? How do you know?"

  "Yeah," Eric asked. "We didn't get a penalty."

  "Because I know," Axelrod grumbled, still shaking his head.

  Anger replaced sadness in the flurry of emotions on his face.

  "They'll pay for this," he muttered.

  "Who?" I asked. "Magi Inyontoo?"

  Axelrod gripped his battle-ax with both hands.

  "Him and anyone else behind this craziness. Who's with me?"

  "We're all with you," I said.

  "Yeah," Eric added. "All of us."

  "I'll kill anything that comes at us," Josh said.

  A glop of brains dropped from his club to the stone floor of the tunnel.

  "It makes me so mad," Axelrod said. "There's no reason to be prejudice in a game."

  "This isn't a normal game," Ryu said.

  Everyone turned to glare at him. He raised his hands, palms out.

  "I'm just playing devil's advocate," he said. "Calm down."

  "Not funny," I said, shaking my head to shame him.

  He narrowed his eyes and stared into mine. I looked away, to Eric.

  "Are we near the Pit of Doom?" he asked.

  "This is the final tunnel," Axelrod said. "We shouldn't run into any other creatures or traps. Unless there's more zombies."

  "Don't zombies mean a necromancer's nearby?" Sheldon asked.

  Axelrod sighed.

  "You had to say it out loud, didn't you?"

  "Sorry," Sheldon said softly then stepped back.

  "We need to be ready just in case." Eric turned to Axelrod. "And we all need to attack this time."

  "I couldn't kill my own kind." Axelrod pointed a finger at Ryu. "Can't you turn them back?"

  "No," Ryu said. "Wrong alignment."

  "Worthless healer," Axelrod muttered. "Let's move."

  He strode forward, heading deeper down the slightly sloping tunnel. The rest of us followed.

  "Where are my children?" a raspy voice screamed.

  Everyone stopped in their tracks.

  "I'm scared, Sarah."

  We'll be fine, I assured my familiar.

  "Show yourself, fiend," Axelrod called into the darkness ahead.


  Out of the shadows, a dead, glowing humanoid floated toward us, getting brighter.

  "Attack," it hissed, pointing a shrunken finger.

  Two groups of zombies (human-sized) poured around the specter, protecting it from a frontal assault. Smart, I thought then jumped into action, moving forward to cast a spell or three.

  Josh, Eric, and Axelrod all rushed forward, tearing into the zombies with steel and wood. The clatter and clash of their weapons striking ancient armor echoed in the tunnel.

  "We need your help, Bernard," Eric yelled then stuffed his sword into the throat of a zombie.

  Had they been players too? No time to think it through now. As Bernard barreled forward with his mace raised high in the air, I cast two Lances of Lightning, bouncing it off the ceiling.

  Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS Utagawa Yoshiiku the Specter for 17 damage.

  Your Lance of Lightning WOUNDS Utagawa Yoshiiku the Specter for 19 damage.

  You have 200/260 mana remaining.

  I had barely missed Axelrod.

  "Careful with that lightning," he yelled as he continued attacking the zombie towering over him.

  "Sorry," I said then turned to Sheldon. "Can you bounce your Golden Bolts yet?"

  He shook his head. I sighed then turned to survey the battle.

  The specter had closed the gap. It stood less than five yards away as it raised its clawed hands.

  "Die, interloper," it hissed.

  Electricity shot out of its hands and arced toward me. I screamed as it hit.

  Utagawa Yoshiiku's Shocking Grasp INJURES you for 12 damage.

  You have 34/46 health remaining.

  Ouch!

  "Careful, Sarah."

  Eric rushed over and slid his shorter blade into the specter's side, causing it to hiss and turn toward him. I used the opportunity to call out, "Healing."

  While I wasn't even half-down yet, I basically had no protection. How had the front line fallen so fast? I looked around as I stepped backward.

  Most of the zombies were piled in pieces on the floor, allowing everyone to concentrate on Utagawa Yoshiiku, the named specter. Could we take him?

  As the others surrounded him, the undead creature grabbed Eric by the neck and squeezed. He dropped both his weapons.