Arcane Kingdom Online: The Chosen (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1)

by Jakob Tanner

  You have (3) unused attribute points that can be applied to any of your five base stats

  I grinned at all the prompts stacking in my HUD. I dumped my 3 unused attribute points into spirit, taking my total MP up to 38. With my new apprentice staff my energy balls were dealing a decent amount of damage. Time to focus on being able to summon more of them.

  “Congratulations on reaching level 10 Clay,” said Serena. “Gaining levels from here on in starts to get quite a bit tougher.”

  “Aw shit, really?” I said. This wasn’t a complete surprise as most games were like this, but I was still disappointed to hear. Leveling up was always a sweet sensation.

  “Yeah the game engine sets it up so your experience points stack from level 1 to 10. Meaning you’re never too far off between levels. But once you get to level 10, every time you level your total experience points falls back to zero. I think the designers did this as a safety precaution, so new players wouldn’t be such vulnerable targets for too long.”

  “Interesting,” I said. “And we’re gaining less experience off individual monsters now due to the experience points getting divided across the party.” With this knowledge in mind, I’d have to take my 3 additional attribute points much more seriously from now on. I’ll only get them in precious segments going forward.

  I headed over to the dead swamp crocs and scanned them for loot. Two items came up for each croc.

  Slab of Croc Meat (x1)

  Croc Scales (x1)

  I added the items to my inventory and did the same for the other two croc corpses.

  “Ew, what are you doing?” asked Serena.

  “Taking loot, what does it look like?”

  “What loot? It hasn’t dropped any armor or weapons to be sold.”

  “Yeah but they drop croc meat and scales,” I said. “You can use it for crafting.”

  Both Edward and Serena crossed their arms in disapproval. Classic warrior-types. They were all about the meat and potatoes of the game. I’d played games with similar people. People who’d say, “Crafting is for wimps.” I didn’t take any of it too much to heart. It meant more loot for me.

  “Let’s keep moving,” said Edward. “Before more crocs come to avenge their fallen brethren.”

  We headed towards the crooked dock, winding through the swamp. I took a hesitant step to make sure it didn’t break and drop me into deadly waters. It was perfectly firm. I stepped onto the dock and we marched down it in a line.

  Drooping trees grew out of the small patches in the swamp, hanging over the dock passageway. There was something eerie and strange about this place. A sharp crack of twigs rang out. I looked over my shoulder. No one was behind us.

  24

  We continued down the rickety wooden dock, heading deeper into the middle of the swamp. The air was thick and humid. Bugs buzzed throughout, landing on the back of my neck, forcing me to swat them away. I kept alert, still not completely at ease in this new zone.

  “Does anyone else get the feeling we’re being watched?”

  Shade lifted his finger to his mouth, quieting me down. He nodded his head. His Lirana senses were picking up nearby enemies. But what were they waiting for? Why wouldn’t they show themselves?

  A snap of wood echoed around us and suddenly my foot shot through the rickety dock and into the water. “Agh. Help!”

  Serena grabbed my arm and lifted me up as the hungry jaw of a croc poked out of the swamp water.

  “Close call,” said Edward. “Let’s keep moving. Stay alert.”

  The shadows of more deadly crocs, slithered beneath the surface of the swamp, intimidating us as we continued further along the docks. We came to a fork in the road, the passage leading in two distinct directions. One headed left, the other to the right.

  “Which one should we take?”

  “Let’s try the left,” said Edward. “Any objections?”

  Everyone in the party shook their head. His guess was as good as mine.

  We moved down the left passage, passing through the mist underneath the shadows of the droopy barren trees. My shoulders twitched, knowing we were being followed. My fingers itched to unsheathe my sword or wield my staff. Why wouldn’t these followers show themselves?

  Edward stopped moving. The dock stopped in the middle of the swamp. It didn’t go any further. It was a dead end.

  Uh oh.

  This was what our stalkers had been waiting for. Across the swamp, three pairs of bright yellow eyes, poked out of the water. The creatures’ heads remained submerged. Only their beady yellow eyes, like periscopes, floated towards us.

  Three more sets of eyes came from the other side. One by one, they hopped out of the water and onto the decrepit platform. The bodies beneath the yellow eyes were bright green frog-like creatures. They were shirtless, exposing their smooth green bellies, while they covered up their waists with rags. They held a spear in one hand and a small circular shield in the other. [Golpe Spearman] appeared above their heads.

  Golpe Spearman

  Level 14

  HP: 470

  MP: 15

  “Looks like we’re surrounded,” said Shade. “Any ideas knight-man?”

  “Stay close,” said Edward. “They’re trying to intimidate us. They don’t wish to fight.”

  I took a step towards the ones on the dock. “We’re not here to hurt you,” I said. “We’re after a foul creature. Have you seen it?”

  The frogs wailed and jabbed their spears in the air, threatening not to come closer.

  “Die murderers!” one screamed as it led the charge towards me. Their spears came flying. Serena jumped in front of me, holding her blade horizontally as a shield against the blows.

  “Take a step back, Mr. Glass Cannon,” said Serena. “Stop trying to take all the hits.”

  Edward backed into me as the three Golpe spearman from the water jumped onto the other side of the dock, trapping us between them. I was useless here on this dock; more of a hindrance than anything else. I power jumped above the fray to a nearby tree branch to get a better scope of the battlefield.

  Serena managed one side while Edward shielded the blows on the other. Shade stayed between the two, jumping into the fray every so often with a quick dagger strike, only to jump back behind the tanks a few seconds later.

  I powered up an energy ball and sent it flying towards the group attacking Serena. The Golpe spearman at the rear lifted up his shield in time and blocked the blast. Serena did her jump attack: leaping in the air, both hands wrapped around her giant blade as she smashed it down into the squad of Golpe warriors.

  Blocked!

  What--? The Golpe wasted no time. Protected behind their wall of shields, they jabbed their spears, taking bit after bit of health off Serena. This shouldn’t be happening. Statistically we were much stronger than the Golpe force, even though they did outnumber us. Worse though was they were outmaneuvering us. They were a stronger team than we were. They were working together.

  We needed a better plan than our current one and fast.

  Edward was shielding all the hits on his end. He buffed himself with a special defense power.

  Royal Honour (Buff): The valor for fighting for what you believe in strengthens and hardens your soul. +5 ATKP +5 TGH (Duration: 3 minutes)

  Even with those benefits, however, he was still battling three trained Golpe spearman all on his own. He kicked one back into the swamp water while the other two quickly came together to create a smaller group shield. We had to get rid of one of their shields to pierce their defenses.

  “Shade—steal their shields!”

  Shade grinned from across the battlefield. Shade lived to save the day by stealing.

  Serena did a massive AOE attack, spinning her blade in a blade tornado. The Golpe spearman weathered the storm as wood chipped from their shields and went flying out into the swamp. I threw another ball down at the defending Golpe as Shade crept forward. He leapt into the fray and quicker than a blink of an eye, leapt back. He h
eld a shield in his hands, grinning.

  The Golpe with the missing shield was dumbfounded and confused.

  “Now’s our chance,” I yelled, gripping my staff and powering up an energy ball. I whipped it down at the defenseless Golpe. The blast ripped into his skin, leaving a burn mark across his shoulder.

  -50 HP!

  Nice. These creatures’ magic defense was clearly not very high. Perfect for me. I rained down energy balls at the Golpe squad. Serena did another leap attack which the warriors blocked. But it didn’t matter because now Shade simply jabbed them at their defenseless side. Blood splattered out of their rib cages and showered the swamp. Serena did a side swipe with her blade, slicing off the creatures’ eyeballs and sending them flying in the air. Falling towards the water, a croc emerged from the swamp and snatched a pair into its jaws.

  There was such a commotion of activity, it was hard to keep track of it all.

  With one Golpe squad whittled away, Shade and Serena turned around to assist Edward. I didn’t have much MP left so I idled on the tree branch, taking in the battle. If they needed me, I’d jump down and fight with the sword. But, right now strategically, it was better for me to see the whole swamp.

  Edward pulled out his shining blade from the Golpe’s head, pulling out a burst of blood and flesh with it. He kicked the corpse back into the swamp and wiped the blood off his face.

  A list of experience prompts stacked in my HUD.

  +123 EXP!

  +123 EXP!

  +123 EXP!

  +123 EXP!

  +123 EXP!

  +123 EXP!

  “Alright—”

  A large shadow emerged from the swamp. Ascending from the water was a blue skinned Golpe, riding on top of a massive swamp croc.

  Croc Rider

  Level 15

  HP: 730

  MP: 20

  “Oh shit,” I said. “Guys get back!”

  The croc rider galloped across the swamp and leapt onto the docks. Its tail whipped through the air and knocked the party onto their backs, dishing out a whole bunch of damage to all of them.

  Edward jumped to his feet and cast Royal Honour on the rest of the party. He lunged his sword forward, stabbing the croc right in its large pink mouth. It snapped shut, mauling at Edward’s hands, dealing leaps of damage. Serena swung her sword into the other side of the creature’s mouth, forcing him to open it and wail in pain. Edward pulled his sword out and went for another jab. He quickly stabbed it inside the mouth. He yanked his blade out of the creature’s tongue, slipping his arm out from the shadows of the creature’s jaw.

  Thankfully my HP and MP had replenished during the tiny moment of respite between battles, so I powered up an energy ball and whipped it at the rider. The croc tail swung out and blocked the attack, defending the rider.

  Interesting. The rider didn’t want to get hit. If we took him out, the beast would lose its power.

  I unsheathed my sword and power jumped off the tree branch until I hovered over the croc rider. I let myself crash down, sword first. My blade ripped through the Golpe’s head, crushing its skull.

  Critical Hit!

  I crashed onto the croc’s scaled back and tried to balance. I pulled my sword out of the Golpe rider, who despite my insane attack, was still conscious and alive. He spun around and came at me with a dagger. I infused my sword with mana, giving it a silvery glow and swung it at the Golpe rider. The magic-infused blade caused the rider to panic and instead of blocking he cowered as the incoming blow sliced his body in half, his intestines spilling onto the scales of the croc.

  “Happy you killed the rider,” yelled Edward, “But do you mind helping us slay the beast?”

  I hurried up along the croc’s back to where the rider had been sitting. How had the Golpe kept the beast under its control? I reached out to the loose scales on its back and lifted them up, seeing snot-colored croc skin underneath. As I pulled the scale, the croc screamed in pain, whipping its head erratically.

  I scrambled back to my feet, keeping my balance as the croc writhed in all directions. I let my mana course through my arms and into my blade. I lifted the scale and let my silvery sword slip through into the croc’s skin. It flipped back and forth and went crazy as a long list of critical hits stacked in my HUD.

  The croc rolled into the water, submerging us both into the swamp. Dirty yellow water surrounded me as the creature thrashed about in the water. I twisted my sword in the creature’s weak spot, letting the critical hits stack and stack until finally I got a message for 132 experience points.

  The croc’s sinking body pulled me with it. I swam out from underneath only to confront a whole group of swamp monsters creeping towards me. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I hated any underwater creatures: sharks, piranhas, crocodiles. I needed to get out.

  I swam upwards. Hitting the surface, I gasped for air. Both Edward and Serena held their hands out for me to grab. Something clung onto my foot. “C’mon!” I yelled, reaching out for my companion’s arms. They yanked me out, saving my legs from being croc dinner.

  I collapsed on the dock, heaving with exhaustion. Holy shit. Too scary. Note to self: never power jump onto a croc rider again.

  “Good to see you back on the docks,” smiled Edward, patting me on the back. “Now you can actually help us out.”

  The whole group laughed. It was the nervous delirious laugh of people who’ve stared death way too closely in the eyes.

  “Time to get moving,” said Serena. “The Golpe weren’t attacking us for intruding on their swamp. They think we’re murderers.”

  “Yeah this place is starting to give me the creeps,” said Shade, as he bent over and added the Golpe’s shields and spears to his inventory.

  “Uh guys,” I said, pointing out to the swamp. A whole crowd of yellow eyeballs floated across the swamp towards us. At least thirty pairs getting closer and closer.

  “We need to run,” said Edward.

  “Your words, not mine,” said Shade, galloping across the docks back the way we came.

  My heart pounded as I hurried across the rickety dock. Water splashed as the Golpe leapt out of the swamp and onto the platform. Their webbed feet smacked against the wooden boardwalk. We arrived at the fork in the road and took the other passage.

  The war cries of the Golpe echoed behind us. Arrows ripped through the air. I strafed diagonally back and forth as I hurried down the dock. I ran and ran. The mist around me grew thicker and thicker until I ran smack into Shade.

  “Um, Shade—I thought we were running for our lives.”

  “Don’t worry,” the Lirana said quietly. “They’re not going to come here.”

  Lying in front of us were dozens upon dozens of Golpe corpses, torn apart and left to rot.

  25

  The stench of dead bodies thickened the air. This was the work of the mutant Skren monster. It tore through hordes of creatures with ease. It was why the Golpe had screamed “murderers” at us when they attacked. They had thought we had reaped this destruction upon them. They were so blinded by hate they never realized we were seeking the same thing: the destruction of this evil creature. What a waste.

  Edward and Serena were silent. Each of us dealt with the destruction at our feet in their own way. I took a step onto the island, investigating it. Why were there so many Golpe here in the first place? A line of blood stretched across the ground and led to the mouth of a cave. Except it wasn’t exactly a cave: two crumbling columns divided the shrouding mass of darkness. It was the entrance to an underground temple. A dungeon.

  “It looks like the creature we seek went down here,” said Edward. “Do we follow it into the depths of this ancient crypt?”

  The group was battle weary. I wasn’t sure if we had it in us.

  “Might I add,” continued the royal knight. “The monsters down there will be more powerful. It would be wise to go get backup.”

  “He’s right you know,” said Serena. “Dungeons are more interactive maps and will spawn mob
s based on the level of the adventurers inside. With Edward in our party, it means we will get extra strong mobs.”

  I considered the small army of Golpe behind us. Going back wasn’t right. It only gave the creature down there more time to wreak havoc and destruction in this world. We had to stop it sooner rather than later. It got stronger every minute we wasted.

  “I think we should keep going,” I said. “We didn't come out here to do a reconnaissance mission. We came to slay the mutation before it gets stronger and ends any more innocent lives.”

  Serena nodded her head to me, approving my answer. Everyone else did the same.

  “Shall we continue?” said Edward.

  “Hang on a second,” said Shade, toppling over with a pile of spears and shields. They quickly dematerialized into his inventory and he made a face at all of us. “Why are you guys looking at me like that? Loot is loot!”

  It was in poor taste, but Shade did have a point. Those spears and shields would net decent coin back in Arondale. I headed over to a nearby body and added a shield and spear to my inventory too. I was left with five slots for whatever other cool stuff we found in the dungeon. Checking out my inventory, though, gave me an idea.

  “Hey everyone,” I said. “Battling crocs and Golpe is tough. How about a snack?”

  I concentrated on my inventory, mixing my apple slices with my honey jar and after mixing the two together, a prompt appeared on my HUD.

  You have cooked: Honey Drenched Apple Slices

  Ingredients: Apple, Jar of Honey

  A perfect afternoon snack. +3% faster HP regeneration while in combat (Duration: 30 minutes)

  Your cooking skill increased by 0.3.

  I presented the group with my yummy treat. They all came towards me and grabbed a handful. They munched on the snack. In the corner of my vision, the +3% HP regeneration buff flickered beneath their icons.