Difficulty: Legendary (LitRPG Series Book 1) (Difficulty:Legendary)

by Gregg Horlock

  “Now get lost,” said Red Leroy, behind me.

  Just as I was about to leave, Dracol swung his sword and cleaved it straight into my chest. Pain flashed across my skin, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  109 HP lost!

  Total: 1/110

  It was a harsh lesson to learn, but it was a valuable one. Nobody in the game could be trusted. I hobbled back to the village with my lousy 1HP, hearing the laughs of the brigands behind me.

  Chapter Seven

  My body ached as I limped into town. I felt like I had contracted flu and that my whole body had been weakened. I put my hand to my chest and felt the lines of a cut across my skin, wet with the blood that Dracol’s sword had drawn. It was too much to wish that I could change my class, but I just wished that tinkers were tougher. If they were so poor at fighting, why hadn’t they been given good defences, like skin made of dragon hide or something like that?

  A few newbies stared at me as I lurched onto the main square.

  “You look like you could use a potion,” said a man stood outside a shop. There was a sign above him with a potion bottle carved into the wood.

  “And you look like you want to sell me something,” I said, and walked by.

  I saw the Brian the giant and Smoglar the dwarf stood near the armourer. Smoglar was looking at Curves’ weapons, running from one end of the table to the other like a child who was trying to choose a toy.

  Brian smiled when he saw me. For an instant, I noticed something peculiar about his expression. His eyes were sad, as if he had lost something. The expression quickly left his face.

  “Morning, Janus,” he said, his booming voice drowning out the bustle of the village around him. “Forgive me for saying this, but you look like crap.”

  “I’m not feeling my best,” I admitted.

  “I’d buy you a potion, but I gave my last CR to Smoglar so he can buy a new axe.”

  “How about some advice instead?” I said.

  “One sec, let me rest.” With creaking movements, the lumbering giant lowered himself to the ground. “Okay, go head.”

  “I need to know how to join a guild,” I said.

  On hearing this, Smoglar turned in my direction. He spat on the ground.

  “As you can tell,” said Brian. “We aren’t a fan of guilds.”

  “Why not?”

  “A long and boring story,” said Smoglar, picking up an axe and heaving it in his hands.

  “I need to join one,” I said. “It’s become pretty clear that I’m not going to survive out there.”

  The giant crossed his arms. A serene look washed over his face.

  “There are a few ways. You see, the guilds demand different things from people. The Serpents want mean people with good fighting ability. So to join them, you need to increase your Chaos points and be handy with a blade or spell. The Halons prize honesty and strength, so you would need a high Guardian score and again, you’d have to be good at wielding a sword.”

  Neither of those seemed to be within my remit. I thought back to Reebus, and what she had said when she stole my mousekin kill. She was auditioning to join the Serpents. It made sense; not only was she levelling up using destructive magic, but she was also increasing her Chaos points.

  “What about the Mercs?” I said.

  Smoglar paid Curves for the axe, and then turned to face me. “Those guys know nothing but treachery.”

  “The Mercs are traders,” said Brian. “To join them, you just need to pay a fee.”

  “How much?”

  “CR500,” said Brian.

  What? How on earth was someone supposed to earn that much CR in Blundow? It seemed that each guild demanded a lot from its members, and right now I fell short on every count.

  “Okay,” I sighed. “What about the Greyes then?”

  This time rather than give me pleasant smile, Brian laughed. “Forget that. Nobody knows who gets to join the Greyes, or why they are chosen.”

  With this the giant stood up and as he did, his knee joints cracked. He patted down his trousers and brushed off some dirt.

  “The best advice I can give you,” he said, “isn’t about the guilds. You’re a tinker like me.”

  “Here we go again,” said Smoglar.

  “Listen to me carefully, Janus,” said Brian, his tone turning serious. “First chance you get, find yourself a powder bowl.”

  “What the hell is that? And where do I get one?”

  “Time to go,” said Smoglar, twisting the handle of his new axe in his hands. “Level 5 beckons.”

  Both the giant and the dwarf walked away from me without a word, and I watched as they left the village square and headed off.

  I thought about what Brian had told me. I might have been able to earn the Guardian points to join the Halon guild, somehow, but I’d never have the strength. Ditto for the Serpents. With the Greyes being so aloof, my only option was to join the Mercs. Somehow, I had to come up with CR500. Added to my debt to the brigands, it seemed I was going to have to find a lot of money, and fast.

  I headed over to the Killing Fields. I didn’t want to level up just yet, because as soon as I hit level 5 I would have to leave Blundow, and I would be guild-less. Instead I avoided any mousekin that spawned near me, and walked far enough away from them that they stopped trying to fight.

  I spent the morning foraging for mushrooms as the sunlight shone on the dappled leaves of the trees. Before long I had packed 20 of them into my bag. Before doing anything else, I ate 5 of them and watched my HP rise.

  HP gained!

  Total: 76 / 110

  I wasn’t quite at full health, but I was aware that there was a slim chance that the mushrooms could poison me, and I didn’t want to push my already non-existent luck.

  As I foraged around for more of the fungus, I heard screams coming from somewhere further into the forest. I listened, and I realised that these weren’t the death screams of mousekin. The sound I heard was made by a player character, and they were in pain.

  I followed the direction of the screams until I reached the edge of the forest.

  New Location discovered! Goblin Cave

  15XP Gained!

  This cave didn’t look as menacing as the one I had entered on the Plains of Jordan, but it still looked uninviting. I didn’t know what waited for me inside, but it wasn’t likely to be a cup of tea and a sit down meal.

  As I thought about what to do, another scream met my ears. This one was louder and full of pain, and I knew I couldn’t just stand there. Making sure my daggers were equipped, I ran into the mouth of the cave and crossed the threshold.

  Goblin’s cave is home to the Kilne Breed, a family of goblins who shun the light and covet gold. They aren’t strong on their own, but beware of them when they gather in gangs.

  I followed the screams through twists and turns in the dark, stony cave. Every so often I passed the body of a recently-killed goblin. I stopped by each one for loot, but all of them were empty.

  Eventually the screams sounded like they were right next to me. I rounded the corner, gripping my daggers so tight that my knuckles turned white.

  Around the corner was the end of the cave and there, on the floor, was Reebus. Her mage robe was covered in blood, and her face was pale. A group of goblins advanced on her. The creatures were small, and at full height they only reached up to my knees. Despite their height disadvantage, they looked ferocious. Their faces were twisted and green, and their teeth looked sharp enough to chew through bone.

  I looked at Rebus. Her HP bar hovered above her head, and I saw that it was almost empty save for a millimetre of red at the end. As the goblins got nearer, it looked like she was about to die.

  I knew I should saviour the moment. This was the mage who had laughed at me and stolen my kills. Then, not satisfied with that, she’d stolen my whetstone from me. Part of me wanted to laugh in her face and make sure she saw it, then turn and leave.

  I couldn’t do that. I knew all too we
ll what it felt like to die in this world. For all I knew, Reebus was like me. Perhaps she came from a poor family too, and this chance in the game was the only one that she would get. I couldn’t walk away.

  Reebus saw me. Her eyes widened.

  “Kill them,” she said.

  “So now you want my help?”

  “Please. I can’t afford another login. Make sure they don’t kill me.”

  I sighed. “Okay. But I can’t take them on my own.”

  As the goblins approached, Reebus summoned the last of her energy and slid away from them. She picked up her bag and threw it to me. It landed feet away, so I walked over and picked it up. I tried to untie the strings, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “Give user Janus access to my inventory,” said Reebus.

  Inventory access granted: Reebus, Mage, Level 4.

  This time the strings unwound. I looked in her inventory and saw that it was much fuller than mine. She had potions and staffs, and various pieces of armour. I looked at her CR count and saw that it positively dwarfed mine. This mage was carrying around CR750! Had part of that been earned when she stole and then sold my whetstone?

  I would deal with that later. First, I needed to finish off the goblins. But how? I couldn’t use her staff, and the health potions wouldn’t have been much good.

  “The scroll,” shouted Reebus.

  There it was. In the corner of her inventory, separated from everything else, was a scroll of Infernal Flame.

  I took it out and equipped it. I had the scroll in my left hand now, but I still didn’t know what to do. I looked at Reebus.

  “Focus on the goblins and then read the scroll,” she said, her face twisting in agony.

  I stared at the goblins as they inched ever closer to the mage, their dagger-sharp teeth wet with saliva. I unrolled the scroll and read it. As I repeated the words on the page, my hand started to tingle. Without warning, a fireball rushed out from my fingertips. It hit the first goblin in the face, and the creature shrieked as his skin melted. The fire leapt from goblin to goblin, turning them into a mess of ash and bone.

  As they all died, a horrible thought hit me. I was going to get exp for this. I only needed 46 more to reach level 5, and after that I would have to leave Blundow. The mage had screwed me once again, but this time she hadn’t meant it. I watched in horror as the text boxes flooded my screen.

  5XP Gained!

  5XP Gained!

  5XP Gained!

  5XP Gained!

  5XP Gained!

  5XP Gained!

  And then it stopped. I brought up my character screen and breathed a sigh of relief. I had 60 exp points toward the next level, which left me with 16 to go. I was okay, for now.

  Reebus slowly got to her feet, wincing in pain at each movement. She looked at me, and I swore I saw a sneer cross her face.

  Chapter Eight

  I prepared myself for the treachery that was sure to come. Reebus lifted her hands to her face. A yellow glow spread across her fingertips and quickly became a ball of energy. When it was the size of a pumpkin she released it, and the light washed over her body. As it swam over her skin, her HP bar started to rise.

  I still held her bag in my hands, and I still had access to the contents. I knew that there was enough CR inside it to get me entry to the Mercs, with enough left over to buy a new whetstone and maybe some armour. After everything Reebus had done to me, surely I could be forgiven for giving her the same treatment?

  Then I looked in the corner of my screen. My solitary viewer still watched me, and I didn’t have a clue who they were. I knew that Reebus wouldn’t be the only witness to my actions. I couldn’t do it. As Reebus approached me, I handed her back the bag.

  “Thanks,” she said, taking it from me. Despite her healing spell, she still had a graze on her cheek.

  Guardian point gained!

  Total: 3

  “I know I’m not exactly your best friend,” said Reebus. “And you could have just taken my stuff and left me to die. I really appreciate it, Janus. You’re obviously a better person than me. Here, take this.”

  Item received: Leather Armour

  I checked my inventory. The leather armour had 5 defence points, compared to the 1 of my cloth shirt. It hardly made me strong enough to face Herelius, but it was a step in the right direction. I equipped it and felt my defence points increase. The leather felt snug around my torso, and it helped ward away the cold of the cave.

  “Guess I got pretty reckless,” said Reebus. She gripped her staff in her hand. “I’d already lost half my HP by the time I got in here, but I was desperate. The Serpent guild recruiter is leaving soon, and I need to reach level 5.”

  “I take it that you’ve earned enough Chaos points,” I said, glaring at her.

  She looked at the ground. “Sorry about that. But nobody said this world was going to be easy. It’s every person for themselves. Until you join a guild, that is. The fact is that outside, I don’t have anyone. I’m an only child, and my parents work abroad. I don’t have many friends. I just wanted to be part of something, and I knew the Serpents would let me join if I worked on it.”

  “We need to get out of here,” I said.

  “I’m not leaving yet.”

  “You almost died, Reebus.”

  She nodded. Her face took on a look of determination. “I know. But there’s something I need to find in here.”

  “What?”

  “The Goblin King. He’s in the cave, somewhere. Word is that if you kill him, he’s got a chance of dropping rare loot and tons of CR.”

  That piqued my interest. I knew that it wasn’t likely that rare loot would be dropped, but I really needed the CR. I didn’t have long before I levelled up, and I had to join the Mercs before I was forced to leave Blundow. I remembered the brigands on the bridge. I’d only just set foot on the main map before they’d threatened to kill me. I needed the protection of the guild treaty.

  “So listen,” said Reebus. “I guess I could use a little help here. How about this? We form a party. That way, we both get awarded exp for each kill.”

  I shook my head. “I’m nearly at level 5. I can’t afford to level up just yet. I have another proposition for you though. We go through the cave together, and I’ll help you fight. You get the exp for the kills, and we split whatever loot we find.”

  Reebus thought about it for a few seconds, and then nodded. “Deal.”

  “So what now?” I said.

  I looked around me. We were in a circular-shaped room surrounded by stone walls that looked cold to the touch. In the corner of the room was a pile of bones, which I guessed were the leftovers from the goblins’ last feast. It didn’t seem like there was anywhere else to go.

  Reebus walked up to the walls. She started on the left, and then walked from end to end, tapping at the stone with her staff. The sound of her taps echoed in the cave, but little else happened. She stopped at one section. She kneeled down to the floor, then banged on the stone three times.

  The wall of the cave started to glow, and blood-red letters appeared. There was a rumbling sound, and the walls started to shake. I looked around me and expected a flood of goblins to enter the cave, mouths open and ready to bite. Instead, the stone wall started to slide down, revealing a small rectangle-shaped opening.

  A horrible smell drifted out from the gap. It was a stench of death and rot, and it made me gag when it snaked up into my nostrils.

  “Weak stomach?” said Reebus.

  I shook my head, not wanting to seem weak in front of her. “I’ve smelled worse.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Reebus walked through the opening first, and I followed after her. I equipped my second dagger in my left hand.

  The opening led into another room. The ceiling was high above us, and water dripped down from it. The stench of rot became so intense that I felt like it was infecting me.

  Deep within the room, something roared. The sound made the hairs on my arms stand up. When
I looked across, I saw what had made it.

  A gigantic, fat-looking creature waited at the end of the cavern. It saw us, and then slowly got to its feet. Its skin was green and looked as tough as leather. At full height it dwarfed the both of us, reaching almost twenty feet tall. It opened its mouth and roared again, sending an aroma of death straight to my nose. Slime dripped off its arm-sized teeth.