The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure

by Jared Mandani

  “So there must be at least one developer guy behind this mess with Marduk,” Zack said.

  “Maybe even a department! Maybe they created this super-smart AI,” AliceX said. “And they wanted to kickstart the event with a real player involved, so they set up this big trigger they knew some noob in love with shiny things would trigger soon and be punished… sorry, Zack. So this trigger launched The Hot Summer Demonic Blitzkrieg or whatever, and activated this demon megaboss… whose self-learning AI turned out to have developed a bit too far during its time in isolation… and it became aware of itself and decided it’s a real demon? And then it realized it has access to your geolocation, and weather satellites, and your service provider dish, so it could overcharge it, make it attractive for lightning during this storm, and hit you with a real lightning and at the same time hijack your consciousness, digitize it, and place it here in a true virtual reality with a true Permadeath on?”

  “We won’t know for sure until I get out,” Zack said. “Maybe we could contact the developers about it next.”

  “Maybe we could save other people who got trapped like you,” AliceX replied. “I googled it, you know. Your case is not a standalone one. Two other players of Aetheria were injured during the storm because of their VR rigs. One of them is with the developers, some tester guy. He’s also in a coma.”

  “A developer?” Zack stopped in his step. “You know what it means, right? He must be one of them! People who programmed Marduk. Or connected to them. Maybe… maybe even its creator! This is not a coincidence!”

  “Watch out!” AliceX said.

  Zack and Mike scattered instantly, preparing the most effective routine of combat they had come up with so far: the Alchemist debuffing every possible enemy, then falling back to buff and heal the Ranger and the Shaman; the Ranger investing her damage into producing two medium-sized corpses, or three small-sized, or one really big. Then onwards to the Blood Golem, and, by watching how fast its health points depleted, they could tell if the battle was worth fighting at all.

  “Watch out for what?” Mike asked.

  Zack kept scanning the surroundings himself yet could see nothing, not nearby, not around the broken horizon. Everything seemed still but it meant nothing: they were deep into the Swamplands now. The terrain grew hilly; big mounds covered with yellowing vegetation were now towering here and there, blocking the line of sight. The fog in the hollows between them was also so thick only a really big moving thing could be spotted through it. There was certainly not a single big moving thing around them, but smaller things could hurt too.

  “I see nothing,” Zack said.

  “Up!” AliceX warned. Zack looked up, his attention scattered amongst the boundless ocean of yellowish thunderstorm clouds. Then he saw…

  A trio of small pterodactyl-like creatures was circling high above them, so high Zack had to peek almost directly straight up to see it. The flock circled above and seemed unaware of the party below, yet AliceX must have been watching them for a while and spotted a change of behavior, because in a couple seconds one of the flying things broke the formation and circled lower and lower, then the next one followed, and the next one.

  You encountered a Murder of Spikewings!

  Spikewing Lvl 3 Spikewing Lvl 3

  Spikewing Lvl 4

  Zack backtracked, keeping the descending creatures in sight.

  “Chill, I’ve got them,” AliceX said. “Let them flock together a bit.”

  “They’re low-level,” Zack replied. “The Orkish altar must be near!”

  “It’s up there,” Mike said. “See that big crooked rock? There’s a path going up around it. The altar’s right on top.”

  WHOOSH! A huge fireball whipped through the air and struck the little flock of pterodactyl-like Spikewings. The creatures came tumbling down one after the other like autumn leaves, all three of them killed with a single Area-of-Effect attack.

  “Well done, Alice!” Zack said.

  “It wasn’t me,” he heard the Ranger’s voice. “I have nothing like this fireball.”

  “Mike?”

  “Me neither,” the Shaman said. “Wasn’t it your Firebomb or something?”

  “It was me,” they all heard a new voice.

  Zack turned around… and saw two green-and-black muscular figures right behind them: an Orkish Brute in full iron plate, a sturdy battleaxe behind his back, both armor and weapon rusty and somewhat primitive-looking but high-level stuff nonetheless; and with him, a Shaman with a gnarled flaming staff. As he watched, the third member of the Orkish party, a Commando wearing spiky black leather, materialized behind their backs.

  “Well-well, what do we have here?” the Shaman inquired. “An Ork with a Human and an Elf. A curious sight indeed!”

  “They wanted to raid us,” the Commando replied. “I say we wipe them out right at the spot.”

  “Wait, I’ve never seen such a mixed party, guys,” the Brute said, his voice all of a sudden the most pleasant and intelligent. “I don’t know what to think. You! What is your business here?”

  “Look, we simply must get to the altar,” Zack told him. “We mean no trouble. Too long to explain.”

  “They’re with us!” Mike interfered. “You know? They are Orkish spies, these two, they’re working for us!”

  AliceX merely rolled her eyes, her bow in her hands, a flaming arrow nocked and ready.

  “Orkish spies?” the Shaman said. “Looks more like Human or Elven spies to me.”

  “We’re working for this guy,” Zack said. “We’re in the party with Illuminatus here. He is our Orkish leader.”

  The leather-clad Commando took a step forward.

  “I followed them for a while,” he said. “This guy is not their leader at all. He’s more of their hostage.”

  “No, guys, guys!” Zack protested. “We mean no trouble! Why can’t we just leave in peace?”

  “Oh, for crying out loud.” AliceX sighed.

  “You’re not leaving anywhere, Human,” the Commando said, a curved spiky dagger appearing in his hands. “The Swamplands is for ORKS!”

  “The Swamplands is for Orks!” the Brute roared, swinging his battleaxe.

  “The—” The third Ork started.

  TWANG! WHOOSH! AliceX’s flaming arrow whizzed through the air and hit the rival Shaman point-blank. Almost at the same time, Zack’s Potion of Dizziness popped under his feet, immobilizing the character while the Fire Damage did its work.

  RickGamer001 was CRITICALLY hit by AliceX and lost 47 hit points

  RickGamer001 took 7 Fire Damage!

  RickGamer001 took 9 Fire Damage!

  RickGamer001 took 8 Fire Damage!

  Dash-BOOM! After dashing out of the way of both the Brute and the Commando, Zack tossed a Firebomb, an elegant dancing move he had been practicing on mobs for a while now. It worked more than perfectly on the Orkish party.

  KillaKans was hit by Zack and lost 25 hit points

  CommandoJoe was hit by Zack and lost 22 hit points

  RickGamer001 was CRITICALLY hit by Zack and lost 38 hit points

  KillaKans took 8 Fire Damage!

  CommandoJoe took 9 Fire Damage!

  RickGamer001 took 17 Fire Damage!

  The opponent Shaman tried a healing spell… but Zack was ready, and he dashed forward, quickly dispelling this Rick guy with an Antidote. The Commando’s blade caught up with him then, and to Zack’s horror, he suddenly found himself powerless and immobilized, paralyzed by pain that seemed unnervingly real.

  CommandoJoe reveals Paralyzing Blow

  Paralyzing Blow: Stun Target for a few seconds

  )))Illuminatus((( reveals Plague of Locusts

  Plague of Locusts: Conjure a swarm of magical Locusts stunning the Target

  and draining its Stamina

  But then the enemy Shaman collapsed, his HPs finally drained by stacking Fire Damage, and CommandoJoe swung at AliceX instead. This very moment Mike cast a
spell, and the enemy Commando stopped in front of the Elf Ranger, immobilized as well, a little swarm of Stamina-sucking creatures circling around him.

  The next moment, a shotgun-like blast of AliceX’s five arrows nocked at the same time caught him in the face and shoulders. Two of the arrows scored a crit, and the Commando was the second Ork to fall dead.

  CommandoJoe was hit by AliceX and lost 12 hit points

  CommandoJoe was hit by AliceX and lost 15 hit points

  CommandoJoe was CRITICALLY hit by AliceX and lost 29 hit points

  CommandoJoe was hit by AliceX and lost 13 hit points

  CommandoJoe was CRITICALLY hit by AliceX, lost 37 hit points, and was killed!

  “Well done,” Mike said.

  “Burned my Stamina to pay for it,” she replied. “Ten minute cooldown.”

  “Two corpses, drop the Golem, go!” Zack shouted, watching the Brute advancing on him, towering above him, raising his battleaxe…

  POP! The newly slaughtered Orks went up in fountains of red blood ketchup which then swirled above, as if stirred by Mike’s gnarling staff. Malignant pulsating light emanating from the ear on the gnarled staff’s end made the brown lands around grow orange.

  “Oh you little bastard,” KillaKans the Orkish Brute said. “You just destroyed my buddies’ gear. Do you even know how hard they worked to get those items?”

  Zack dodged the blow with a dash to a side, his Copper Dagger, hardly improved at all, slashing through the air harmlessly. The next moment, the blood vortex coalesced, and the Blood Golem appeared right at the place just occupied by Zack.

  “Oh you little bastard,” the Brute said.

  The Ork was tall, and still the Golem was a bit taller. It rushed at the Ork, its ham-like stubby arms flaying, their smacks loud like punches in a boxing match, KillaKan's single clumsy axe blow hardly stopping its long and high-damaging combo.

  KillaKans was hit by Blood Golem and lost 12 hit points

  KillaKans was hit by Blood Golem and lost 11 hit points

  KillaKans was hit by Blood Golem and lost 15 hit points

  KillaKans was hit by Blood Golem and lost 14 hit points

  The Blood Golem’s arms were flailing like a windmill, and his hooks and haymakers all landed on the surprised Ork.

  “I’m not supposed to fight this thing!” the Brute protested. “Dude, are you Orkish or what? This is our land! Are you protecting it? What’s with friendly fire?”

  “I’m sorry,” Mike said. “I’m not playing for ideology. I’m with Humans. Okay?”

  “Traitor!”

  The Ork smacked the Blood Golem once more, this new axe blow connecting much better, breaking the Golem’s flailing combo yet failing to kill the Frankenstein monster. The creature revved and wound up once again.

  “Wow,” Mike said. “I thought this ‘Flay Them’ bonus was just a passive thing, plus something to damage per second, but look at that! It’s gonna pulverize this guy.”

  “Yeah?” AliceX responded, nocking another bunch of arrows. “If I won’t bring him down first.”

  The Brute froze for a second. It seemed the big Ork was lost in the face of the two imminent threats, the Blood Golem and the Elf Ranger’s arrows. But then the brown hills lit up with sinister magical glow once more, and the Orkish Brute’s armor cracked then petrified, same as the Ork himself – not a Brute anymore but a towering statue of the Brute, of greenish marble with thick emerald veins.

  KillaKans reveals Stoneskin!

  Stoneskin: Gain Physical Resistance

  “Bad news,” Mike said behind Zack’s back.

  SLASH! The next instant, the heavy battle axe fell down on the Blood Golem, cold marble against the bloated flesh. The big Frankenstein monster popped right away, a huge ripe berry spraying red ketchup all around. POP – and their tank was gone.

  “Hit him with your fire arrow!” Zack said.

  “No way, it’s still on cooldown,” AliceX responded.

  “Toss a bomb at him!” Mike shouted. “A Firebomb!”

  “It won’t work, you crab,” the Brute responded, taking a step towards him again. “It’s a physical attack, and neither its Area-of-Effect nor Fire Damage won’t be applied while my Stoneskin is active, which is for another minute and a half, and you are all SO dead.”

  “No, wait, Fire Damage is elemental damage. It’s magical wherever it applies,” AliceX said.

  “No it’s not!” The Ork turned to her. “It does NOT apply. This attack that deals it, well it must be delivered by an enchanted weapon. If it’s just some immolate attack with no magic in it, no matter how you improve it, it’s negated by Stoneskin completely!”

  “Hit him with an Antidote, what are you waiting for?” Mike the Illuminatus whispered, but he was too loud, and the Brute overheard him.

  “He doesn’t HAVE any Antidote, you little crab,” KillaKans the Brute roared at Mike, advancing on the little Shaman all the while. “I can see the contents of his belt! If he has it in his inventory, it will be of no use unless he equips it or puts it on his belt. And I will see it when he does. And he will never have a chance, because…”

  The Brute raised his battleaxe over Mike’s head.

  “…I will kill him next!” KillaKans the Brute proclaimed. “The king of the Swamplands…”

  Slash!

  “What has just happened?” the big Ork asked, his axe lowered back to the ground.

  KillaKans was CRITICALLY hit by Zack and lost 24 hit points

  KillaKans was hit by Zack and lost 8 hit points

  KillaKans was hit by Zack and lost 12 hit points

  “I hit you in the back, with my dagger,” Zack said, slashing again and again. “Many times. I’m sorry. You asked for it. It’s all your fault. I’m sorry.”

  “How—"

  KillaKans was hit by Zack, lost 10 hit points, and was killed!

  The towering Brute became a silent ragdoll, then collapsed slowly to the ground, folding in two like a huge sack of wheat, his iron plate armor clattering.

  AliceX and Mike took a step forward.

  “I enchanted it while we talked,” Zack explained, making the bloodied Copper Dagger disappear. “I had that Demonheart, remember?”

  They found a camping site as their party descended into the next hollow full of crooked dead trees and foggy haze. Zack wasn’t in the best of moods: the closer the Orkish altar was, the riskier their adventures seemed to grow. And this was for absolutely no reason, merely bad luck. Or was it? Was Zack destined for something big? Was he destined to die? Zack had no idea.

  “Whatever will be, will be,” he muttered, gritting his teeth, to AliceX’s amusement.

  The wounds Zack had just received from the enemy Commando hurt him badly, and he had to gobble up all the remaining Healing Salves just to feel better. Besides this, he was both hungry and thirsty again, and the Swamplands didn’t look like the kind of place where they could procure any decent food – nothing edible grew or roamed around except for Sourberries, which Zack needed to craft into more Healing Salves anyway.

  After a short break, the three of them moved out for the altar, a weird party of a Human, an Elf, and an Ork.

  “We were lucky to defeat them,” Zack said. “I swear that guy nearly killed me. The only thing that saved me was the understanding of how close we are. To die this close to the altar, it just didn’t seem fair at all.”

  “I was nervous as well,” AliceX said. “I must admit I was thinking with the speed of light, and still I didn’t see this coming, your enchanted dagger. Well done.”

  “Thanks.”

  “It’s just strange,” Mike the Illuminatus muttered, examining the yellowish thunderclouds above.

  “What is?” Zack asked him.

  “Well them,” the Shaman said. “This party we met. Not the highest league of course, or we would be dead, but anyway.”

  “Too close to the altar,” AliceX agreed. “They were too good to grin
d this close to the altar.”

  Zack was lost anyway.

  “So what could it mean?”

  “Well,” Mike said. “You know how it is, when you want to kill some miniboss, or a strong mob, or something? But you know you will probably die before you whittle its HPs all the way down, maybe die several times. So what you do is…”

  “…lure it close to your respawn point?” Zack suggested.

  “Yes.”

  “Watch out!” AliceX shouted, and this time, both Mike and Zack scattered without extra warning.

  The next moment, a moving pillar of flame, solid and white-hot, seared the ground at the place they had just vacated, burning shrubs to ashes and melting away the fog. Zack looked at it, feeling his face burn hotter and hotter still, sweat trickling down his virtual brow and stinging his virtual eyes.

  “This cannot be,” he heard AliceX’s voice.

  “It’s a dragon!” Mike shouted.

  Next thing he knew, Zack saw a pair of huge bat-like wings flapping above, their span so wide they nearly hid the sky from him.

  You encountered an Infernal Dragon!

  Infernal Dragon Lvl 48

  A moment later, the dragon shadow was gone, and in a few seconds, the flying creature was already far, soaring high, circling them like a bomber coming in for another run.

  “They brought this thing here!” AliceX said, her salve of arrows nocked and ready. “We took out their entire party, means we’re strong enough to defeat it!”

  “We took them out by pure luck…” Zack muttered, watching the Dragon circle them. “Still…”

  They scattered at the last moment as the new column of white searing flame cut through the land between them, leaving new scorched plants and small fires in its wake.

  “Hello?” Mike said behind their backs. “Do I have to remind you? Hello? They were near a resurrection altar. THEIR altar. Not yours. You’ll die!”

  “He’s right,” Zack said, looking back. The Infernal Dragon quickly departed. AliceX’s arrows whistled past it, but they were far too slow to intercept the creature. And when compared to its size, they seemed tiny and useless anyway. “So what do we do?”

  “Run?” AliceX suggested.

  And so they ran. The dragon shadow slid after them lazily.