Yes
No
I tapped Yes. Many more screens popped up right after, one for each of the potions I had been given. A minute later, I closed the last screen and looked down at the now-empty desk.
“Got everything you need?” Liam asked.
I nodded. “Once again, thank you.”
He smiled. “Just ask Helen to be easy on her back. She’s getting old, but she’ll scold me if I tell her that.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let her know.” And with that, I was off.
What an idiot. I grinned and walked down the street. I checked my Ga’em menu and noticed that it was around 4:30 p.m. now. More people were treading across the pathways, probably heading home from work. I saw a few young couples, all dressed up, walk excitedly into the deeper, posher parts of the city.
Probably heading to one of the fancy eateries.
I noticed a young woman on the other side of the street. She was in dark pants, and a dark, long-sleeved shirt. She wore a matte silver jacket over the outfit, and had it buttoned halfway way up. Her dark hair was tied neatly into a ponytail, and adored with a silver hair tie.
What’s a person like that doing around this part of town? I wondered. She seems way too fashionable to be a part of this area of town, even if this is better than the slums.
She turned her head to me, and I saw dark eyes, like a black void. My chest tightened. Wait a minute. I stepped back.
“Caroline!” Someone called out from my right, and she turned to them.
It’s her! My shoulders tightened, and I darted away. My feet skidded over the sleek stone surface as I ran from her. She noticed me, didn’t she?
“Caroline!” the voice yelled again. “Come back!”
I glanced behind, and my muscles tightened. The girl was chasing after me, and she was much faster than I was. I looked at the ten-odd people around us. There was no way I could fight her here. It was too far out in the open.
I slid and diverted direction. I ran into an alleyway. The darkness will help, I thought as I charged in. Footsteps sounded behind me, and they turned louder by the second. The alley opened into another street, a more desolate one, and I charged through. My eyes darted around, and I found another alleyway a few yards away, and this one was even darker than the previous.
Perfect.
I rushed into it without a hint of hesitation and hid myself. The footsteps suddenly quieted, and I glanced back at the small section of open street that I could see. She’s gone. I exhaled. I stopped myself, and hunched onto my knees.
“Just this much running winded me?” I muttered. “That’s pathetic. I need to work on my Stamina.”
“Yes, you do.”
A hand grabbed onto my neck from behind, and in a second, my back slammed into the alley walls. Caroline’s face was close to mine, glaring at me with her dark eyes. “It really is you,” she muttered. “So you’re actually alive.”
“Of course I am.” I gritted my teeth. “I haven’t told anyone what you did. Don’t worry. Just let me go and it’ll be fine.”
“Let you go?” She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think I can let go of an assaulter and a thief?”
Damn it.
“That’s right.” Her grip tightened around my throat, and I gasped. “The Henways told me what you did," she said. "What kind of lowlife attacks a poor lady?! She didn't even do anything to you."
I chuckled. "So that one incident defines me.” My voice was hoarse. “But every single abusive thing the twins did doesn't define them?"
"Abusive?" she snorted. "That was just self-defense. You would have killed them if they hadn’t protected themselves."
“What the hell are you talking about?” I muttered. This girl was getting on my nerves, but I couldn’t do anything. She’s higher up on the hierarchy than the Henway twins. I can’t do anything to her without facing repercussions.
“The people who are in the wrong never realize it the easy way,” she said. “You have two choices here. You can come with me and apologize to the Henways, or I can beat the hell out of you right now.” She gripped my throat, and I choked.
I lay against the wall, with this girl’s fingers around my neck. You can’t. My muscles tightened. You can’t attack her. Think of what will happen to Helen if you do. Think of what will happen to everything you’ve done for the past ten years if you do.
Why do you follow the rules when everyone else uses them against you? a voice in my head whispered.
“So.” Caroline tightened her hold, cutting off my air. “What will it be, trash?”
The voice chuckled. Everything is unfair, boy.
“Everything is unfair,” I repeated.
Caroline blinked. “What?”
Heat rose up the back of my neck, and the veins in my arms throbbed. I’m tired of being this way. I clenched my fists. I’m tired of following the hierarchy here. I’m tired of following other people’s rules.
My leg pushed off the back wall and I kneed Caroline in the chest. Her grip on my throat broke, and she stumbled backward, clutching her stomach. A spot of dust and dirt covered where I’d kicked her—her heart. Her breathing was heavy, and her eyes were wide. I focused on her features, and my Analyze skill activated.
DING!
Race
Human
Health
19
This won’t be hard. I grinned. And we’re alone, too; I can fight without restraint.
“What are you smiling for?!” Panic filled Caroline’s voice. “Do you want to be taken to hell that badly?”
A chuckle escaped my lips. “Hell?” My voice slithered. My purple eyes glistened in the dark. “Are you sure you want to talk to me about hell?”
I shot forward, and my fist swung at her face. She threw her forearms up in an X-cross, blocking my strike. I didn’t go through with my attack, though, and instead grabbed her where her wrists met. I spun my body and I dug my heel into her forehead. She stumbled back and thudded into the wall. Her head cracked against the surface and her body slumped.
A melody of ice and fire spurred into my body. It flowed through my chest, through my limbs, and into my mind. “Ahhh.” My muscles eased out. It had been forever since I’d done something like this.
How I’ve missed this feeling. I smiled.
I shook my head. Can’t get addicted. I exhaled. Not yet. I have to wait.
I looked at the girl and my eyes lifted to her health bar. Still alive.
Today was a good day, though, and so I left her that way.
***
“Where were you?” Helen asked. She was in the kitchen, boiling vegetables once again.
“I was just walking around town,” I said.
She raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you’re shaking?”
Damn it. I tightened my muscles, but I still shook. The feeling of intertwined ice and fire within my blood was long gone, but my body was still trembling from the memory of that sensation.
I can’t get addicted. I gritted my teeth and looked at Helen. “It’s just exhaustion,” I said. “I’m going to go up and freshen up a bit.”
She nodded. “Don’t be late to dinner, else I’ll end up eating all the good vegetables myself.”
“You do that anyway.”
I walked up the stairs and opened the door to my room.
What the hell? My heart froze, and my eyes turned bloodshot.
The closet door was open and the elf was sprawled on the ground. Sweat covered her forehead, and had soaked her shirt as well. Her breathing was rougher, and she heaved with every breath. Her face was flush with heat, and her arms were turning red as well, the same shade as her scars.
It’s getting worse. I shut the door behind me and sat the elf up against the side of my bed. I reached out under the furniture and pulled out the drinking cup I kept in there. I slid open my Ga’em menu and took out every one of the eleven potions I’d gotten from Liam.
I uncorked the vials and carefully mixed them.
Like I’d said before, this elf knew about something I needed.
I can’t let anything happen to her. Five minutes later, the potion was ready—a teal shaded drink that filled the cup to the brim.
DING!
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill.
Potion Brewing!
Mixing and matching ingredients can create the most wondrous of potions, or the deadliest of poisons. Which one will you choose? Reward: 500 XP.
Effect 1
Potion Brewing Success Rate increased by +1% percent.
Annoying. I dismissed the screen. I opened the elf’s mouth and poured a little of the potion into it. Her tongue moved as I put the drinking cup to her lips. I tilted it and poured more into her mouth.
A scream echoed from the lower floor. My eyes widened. What was that?
Loud thumping sounded, and before I could even react, my door flew off its hinges, collapsing to the floor.
The Second Knight—Joseph—stood in the hallway, adorned in silver armor and carrying a longsword in his hand. “He was right. You are hiding one here in here.”
“Listen.” I stood up, with my hands in the air. “I was just—”
"Levi Ryder.” Joseph pointed his sword at me. “By the order of Zevalon City and His Majesty, the King, you are under arrest for harboring a creature of darkness—an enemy to the Alliance." He stepped forward and clutched my wrist. "Congratulations, trash.” His voice slithered. “You're a traitor now."
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Get to work, you pathetic lowlifes!” Joseph yelled.
Men and women in white tops scuttled around the kitchen floors, carrying large pots and pans in their arms. They were already running fast, but hastened even more after he yelled at them.
Joseph eyed the cooking stations before him. Large containers boiled on stone stoves, and their contents bubbled and smoked as they cooked. A multitude of scents flowed into the air, and merged into one unidentifiable, unappetizing gunk.
“Stupid Elya,” he muttered. “There’s a certain level of how much you kiss up to morals. That guy takes it way too far.”
A middle-aged man with a pot belly strode up to Joseph. “Sir Knight.” His voice shook a little. “I believe we’re almost done for now, so you can leave if you want to.”
Joseph raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m not needed?”
The man flinched. “No, sir!” he yelped. “That is certainly not—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t give me a stupid excuse,” he said. “I know when I am unwanted. I will take my leave. I didn’t want to be in this damned kitchen anyway. Just make sure to finish up your work properly.”
Joseph walked out the kitchen and slammed the door shut. He thought he probably snapped a bolt on the hinge. The thought made him chuckle as he strode down the hallway.
A sigh left his lips. This was all Elya’s fault. Elya’s and that stupid kid’s. “What was his name again?” he muttered. “Ryder? Maybe.” He couldn’t remember. Not that it mattered.
The other Knights were going to hear about him being placed on kitchen duty. Word got out fast around here, and soon, all his superiors and subordinates alike would be laughing at him for this.
He strode out the palace and towards the main gate. He hoped the fresh air would help him, but he knew that wouldn’t be the case. A group of Knights stood next to the entrance, mumbling something.
Joseph walked to them. “What’s going on here?”
The men turned around and saluted. “Sir Crawford!” They moved to the side and he got a good look ahead of him.
A man stood on the other side of the gate, and was clutching the bars as though he was a prisoner. He had messy, uncut hair, and clothes that were more like damp rags than an outfit.
“A beggar?” he muttered. “What is a beggar doing at the front entrance?”
“He won’t leave, sir,” a man said.
“We can’t be accommodating every penniless bum that comes this way.” Joseph waved his hand. “Send him away.”
The man mumbled something. His words were inaudible to Joseph, but the Knight closest to him listened in. “Sir.” He turned. “He says he has a story.”
Joseph’s eyes narrowed. “Why the hell would we give a damn about a stupid story? Just send him away!”
"Sir, he says it is a story about Levi Ryder."
That was the name. Joseph’s eyes widened. That was the name of that boy. A grin curled onto his face. This was perfect. That Ryder kid was the one who had ruined his afternoon.
He looked at the beggar. “Your story better be damn good.”
***
The metal bars slammed shut, and a sharp ringing sound descended into the air.
A Knight stared from the other side. “You better behave in there, Ryder,” he said. “One wrong step and Joseph will bash your skull in.”
I looked right at him, but said nothing.
“The silent type,” he said, chuckling as he stepped back. “You and your cellmate will be good friends, then.”
I watched the man leave, and then sighed.
DING!
Warning! You have been put in Prison!
Equipment Inventory and Item Inventory will be inaccessible. The Ga’em messaging service will also be inaccessible during this time.
What do I care about a couple of spoons and a broken hook?
I turned around and faced my cell. Shadows slithered through the air, and not a single ray of sunlight came inside. There were no windows, or even tiny holes—just a solid sheet of rock keeping us from getting to the other side.
Two stone beds stood within the room, one sticking to the wall on the right, and the other to the wall on the left. The one to my left was already occupied. A man sat there, shrouding himself in a thick blanket that hid his features. I looked at him for a few seconds, and then turned away.
I wasn’t here for pointless chatter with a cellmate anyway.
Helen’s face emerged from the darkness, and she had plenty of tears streaming down her cheeks. My eyes widened; I shook my head. The image disappeared as easy as it had come, and the black filled in the space once again.
Damn it. I rubbed my eyelids. I could still remember the sounds of her sobs. My heart had twisted when she had pleaded for Joseph to let me go, and a raging heat had pierced my neck when he had slapped her face.
And I’d just stood there while all of that had happened, unable to do a damn thing.
Because nothing is fair. My fists clenched.
“I should have been more careful,” I muttered. I still didn’t get how these men had found out. The Knights at the outpost hadn’t seen me with the elf. No one had seen me with the elf. I’d made sure of that. These people could not have known I had a—
My eyes widened. I slapped my forehead. “That bloody peasant.” My voice was coarse. “The man in the alleyway. Was it him?”
Ugh. I gritted my teeth. There were enemies everywhere.
The Knights currently had the elf in their possession as well. Is she even completely healed of the Elv Fever? I scratched my chin. I’d given her a part of the potion—half of it—but I didn’t know if that was enough. And these people sure as hell aren’t going to heal a creature of darkness like that.
Hopefully, she was okay now.
I can’t lose a lead. I clenched my fists. This elf was all I had left. I’m not letting this slip away from me.
I sat on my stone bed and leaned back against the wall. I stared at the bundle of cloth that shrouded the other man, and then at the dark-tiled floor.
“Darkness,” I muttered. The people of the city fled from it like it was a plague, like it would slither into their hearts and tear them apart.
I put my hand up, and stared past the gaps in my fingers
at the black coating the air.
I smiled. What are you idiots so afraid of?
***
“Wake up, traitor!”
The metal cell door thudded open. I blinked, and then rubbed my eyes. Wow, I actually fell asleep? I turned to look.
“Stand up, boy!” a voice yelled.
I half-stumbled as I stood up, but caught myself and steadied my stance.
Joseph strode into the cell, a grin curled onto his face. “You seem to have been very comfortable last night,” he muttered. “Do you have no conscience about everything you did?”
“It isn’t my fault,” I said. “Your stone beds were very comfortable.”
He glared at me. “Let’s hear it, Ryder,” he said. “Why were you harboring that elf? What plans did you have for her?”
Ugh, so it’s this part. I’ll just have to pretend I’m innocent. I looked at him. “I had no plans. I found her sick and unconscious in the Ymir Forest, and took her in to heal her.”
He chuckled. “And you expect me to believe you had no clue that harboring a creature of darkness went against the interests of this city and everyone within it?”
My eyes widened. “Eh?” I exaggerated my voice. “I didn’t know that! Is that really the case? When did we make that rule?”
Joseph slapped me. “I may not be a wizard or a sorcerer, boy, but I’m far from stupid. Everyone knows what the rules are about the creatures of darkness. What were you intending on doing with her?”
Damn it. My shoulder’s tightened. What do I say? Do I just own up? My chest thumped. No, I can’t do that. If they found out about the scroll, there’s no telling what they’d do.
“Maybe you need some motivation.” Joseph raised his hand.
“I was curious.” I forced the words out.
His eyes narrowed, but his hand stayed in the air. “Go on.”
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 7