BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1)

by Corey Thompson

  I jumped up with my shield. I held it over my chest and focused on his sword. Cosmo wiped his nose and twirled his sword in his hand. Shit. This sword of his was a major problem. He was using his sword more than his magic. Truthfully, I didn't know how much longer I could defend myself against his sword. How was I going to get his sword though? Cosmo lowered his head. “You're lasting longer than I expected,” he said with a devious laugh. “But you won't last much longer.”

  Suddenly, his hands brightened with energy. My shield went in front of me and pushed against my body. Yes! The force to my shield told me that he had used some magic. I touched the front of my shield and noticed a tiny layer of dust on it. I wiped some off and looked at it. It sparkled with whiteness and almost looked like sand. I looked at Cosmo and smiled. “Is that all you got?”

  Cosmo raised his sword into the air and pretended to come down with it, but then stopped midway through. My shield went up as he kicked my left knee. I fell to my side while my shield propped up my body. After that, he delivered a punch to the left side of my head. Then, he grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the ground. My fingers latched on to the shield as I knew I couldn't drop it. Damn, it hurt, and I could taste the blood in my mouth. I didn't know how low my health was, and didn't have time to check. I held my shield tightly while feeling a tugging sensation. “Give me that,” Cosmo yelled while trying to yank it from my hands.

  My body came up as he tried to pull the shield away from me. But, I wouldn't allow it. I wouldn't allow him to take it from me. The force of the pulling actually pulled me to my feet. There was a struggle, but I regained my balance. Then, I ran full force as he continued pulling my shield. Using his own momentum against him, I continued to run until he fell to the ground. I was on top of him, and I was in control. My sword came down and met his sword. Our blades went against each other for several moments as my blade got closer and closer to his throat. For the first time ever, I saw fear in his eyes.

  I pushed his blade as hard as I could, but my body jolted backwards. Damn, he had used his magic again. I landed on my side and quickly climbed to my feet. Cosmo pulled out a potion of green liquid and guzzled it down. Wait. Was that his mana potion? Was he already running low on mana? If that was the case, I knew his levels would be depleted soon enough. I quickly looked at my health bar. Crap. I was already down to 06/20? I ran a safe distance away from Cosmo. I had to heal myself, and didn't want to risk being hit while doing so.

  Once I was far enough away, I pulled out a health potion and chugged it. I checked my health again and saw that it went up to 11/20. That wasn't enough. I pulled out two more potions and chugged them. My health went up to 19/20. Yes, that was much better! Cosmo walked closer to me and began to laugh. “Already used 3 potions? Won't be much longer until you are dead.”

  He pulled out a health potion and downed it. He wiped his lips and raised his sword into the air. My eyes became big. Yes! I was happy to see that I had already done some damage to him. If I could just hold on, I knew I could beat him. But, I only had 3 health potions left, and I knew one strike with his sword could potentially kill me. So, I had to get his sword away from him. But how would I do it? My mind began to come up with a plan. I had the potion that would create a cloud of dust, and I had my new skill. Perhaps if I combined them both I could somehow get the sword away from him? It wasn't my original plan, but it made sense. It was the best idea I had, and I was going to go with it.

  Cosmo raised both hands into the air and tried to use his magic against me. But, my shield went in front of me and caught the energy. This time, it was much stronger than the first blow. My feet left the ground for a split second and I nearly lost my balance. But, all I could do was smile. I knew my shield was collecting his magic and I would eventually use it against him. “You can only hide behind your shield for so long,” Cosmo yelled to me.

  “I'm not hiding,” I replied.

  Suddenly, the crowd began to chant. They chanted the same thing over and over. “Kill, kill, kill.”

  Cosmo raised his sword into the air before he pointed it at me. “They are ready for the fatal blow,” he said while walking closer to me.

  “Do I have to kill you already?” I asked.

  Cosmo's walk became faster. I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly. I pulled out my mana potion and chugged it. I focused on using my skill and tried to feel the warmness in my body. It was there, just like it was during training. After that, I quickly scanned my inventory and located the Liquid Clouds potion. I threw it at Cosmo and a cloud of white dust appeared. Cosmo began to cough as I could barely make out his figure through the thick layer of dust. Then, I got busy and began to put my new skill to use. Both of my elbows went against my stomach as I tried to see the energy moving into them.

  The warmness raced up my legs as Cosmo swatted the cloud of dust in front of him. Within seconds, I felt the warm sensation hit my elbows. In my mind, I saw the energy flowing through my arms and shooting out of my palms. Just like that, it happened. Cosmo's body bounced backwards and I lunged forward. With sudden speed, I jumped upwards and delivered a rising uppercut with my sword. There was a boom as Cosmo landed on his back.

  The white dust lingered in the air and I jumped on top of him. I slammed my fist into his face over and over. “I hope you like this,” I yelled while pounding his face. Then, I jumped to my feet and placed one foot on his chest. I grabbed the handle of his sword while crushing his chest with my foot. I yanked his sword but his grip was strong. He put up a good fight, but eventually, I had yanked the sword from his grip.

  I put the sword into my inventory. Cosmo was still on the ground, and appeared to be hurt. I stood over his body and saw his bloody face. Damn. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that I had actually gotten his sword and had managed to hurt him. Without saying anything, he pulled out a health potion and chugged it. Then, he pulled out another. Wow. I had really hurt him. He only had three potions left and no longer had a sword. He continued to lie on the ground. I looked at him. Then, I smiled. After that, I spat on him. “How's that feel?”

  Without warning, a burst of energy came from him and I went flying into the air. I landed on the ground and my vision flashed. Cosmo jumped to his feet and I quickly jumped to mine. Standing in front of me, he shot a wave of energy towards me. I tried to raise my shield, but I was too slow. Damn, he had hit me. I fell to my knees and tried to catch my breath. With no time to waste, I pulled out a health potion and chugged it. Looking at my health bar, I noticed it was at 08/20. Shit, I needed more health. I stumbled backwards and tried to get some distance between us. Again, I pulled out a health potion and chugged it. My health went up to 13/20 as I regained my balance. Cosmo popped his knuckles and gave me an odd look. “I'm surprised,” he said while wiping his nose.

  “About what?”

  “That you have actually provided a challenge.”

  The crowd cheered as we just stared at each other. I had two more potions, and had to use them wisely. Cosmo no longer had a sword, and my shield was already beginning to collect a thicker layer of dust. He had no idea that my shield was collecting his magic, and didn't know I was going to deliver a fatal blow with it.

  I put my shield in front of my body and slowly made my way closer to Cosmo. Both of his hands began to glow, but the glow quickly faded. He tried again, but the same thing happened. Shocked covered his face as I saw the moment that he realized he was out of mana. I beat my sword on my shield. “I'm waiting. I'm waiting for you to kill me.”

  Cosmo was scared. I could see it in his eyes. He had no weapon, shield nor magic. Now, all I needed to do was drain his health. I had to be careful though. Cosmo put both hands in front of his face and lunged at me with desperation. One hand went around my wrist as he tried to steal my sword away. “That's mine,” I yelled with a kick to his chest.

  Cosmo stumbled to his knees and let out a string of coughs. I rubbed my hands over the surface of my shield and collected as much dust as I c
ould. After that, I smeared the dust on to the blade of my sword. The sword glistened under the sun as I held it over my shoulder. Cosmo looked up, but couldn't stop my incoming slice to his chest. Blood flew into the air before he fell to his side. With urgency, Cosmo pulled out a health potion and chugged it. Then, he pulled out another. My sword went over my head as I mentally prepared for the fatal blow. Before it could land, Cosmo punched me right in the gut. I hunched over and tried to catch my breath. But, my vision flickered as he slammed his elbow into the back of my head. I tumbled to the ground and coughed. “Stay down,” he said while kicking me to my back.

  I quickly drank a health potion. I put one hand on the ground and tried to get up. But, Cosmo kicked my elbow. “I said stay down,” he commanded.

  I checked my health and couldn't believe what I saw. Only 2/20? Oh shit! Death was near and I only had one health potion left. I pulled out the potion and guzzled it down. Cosmo's foot went into the air and nearly crushed my skull. But, I rolled to the left before popping up to my feet. Cosmo was hunched over and had a crazed look in his eyes. Dripping from his face, was a steady stream of blood. I looked at his black robe and noticed the bloody gash going across his chest. Yep, he was almost dead. I ran up to him and slammed my shield into his face. He stumbled backwards and I threw a hard punch into his stomach. He regained his balance, but I could see that he was seriously injured.

  His movements were slow as he wobbled closer to me. Damn, he was beginning to look a bit ghostly. “Not looking so good over there,” I yelled with a chuckle.

  Cosmo didn't laugh. “I don't know how that last sword blow delivered so much damage,” he hissed. “Your level is too low to deliver such damage.”

  I rested the blade of my sword on my shoulder and walked closer to him. “You're going to love what happens next.”

  Cosmo was growing weaker with each passing moment. Oddly enough, the crowd grew louder as he got weaker. They knew he was approaching death, and were excited to see it happen. As I got closer to Cosmo, he began to walk backwards. “Where are you going?” I asked.

  He pulled out his last health potion and drank it. My head went back and forth. “This isn't going to end well for you. You do know that don't you?”

  I ran my hand over my shield to collect some more dust. Then, I rubbed it on to my blade. Cosmo seemed to had regained a little strength from his last potion, but not much. His head went down and he charged towards me. The sudden burst of energy had caught me off guard. He tried to take me to the ground, but I didn't allow it. His hands went around my neck as my shield came up with an uppercut. He tumbled to his side before I sliced him across the chest again. He screamed and held his chest in pain. With a sudden yank, I grabbed his ponytail and held his head backwards. His eyes looked into mine. I didn't smile, and I spoke slowly. “Payback is a bitch, isn't it?”

  Before he could answer, I slammed the butt of my sword into his face. His body fell to the ground. This was it. This was the big moment. Would I let him live, or would I let him die? I rolled him to his back and the crowd roared. I looked up and they began to chant, “Kill him, kill him, kill him,” over and over.

  I looked at his face and noticed that even his eyes were filled with blood. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. Like a rodent who had been poisoned, he was down for good. The coliseum began to rumble as the crowd stomped their feet. My sword slowly went up into the air. The crowd became louder, but I didn't know if I wanted to kill him. My sword came back down as I placed my foot on his chest. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you. You got one chance to convince me.”

  Cosmo coughed and some blood shot out of his mouth. He wiped the blood away and grinned. He struggled to say something, but I couldn't hear it. I tried to listen to his words, but they just wouldn't come out. I looked into his eyes and didn't really see any remorse. My head went from side to side. Fuck it. He didn't give a shit if I lived or died, so why should I care about him? My sword went into the air as he tried harder to speak. But, there were just some gurgling sounds. My grip tightened around the handle as the sword went higher and higher. Then, I speared it down into his chest. Blood spilled out of Cosmo as his body began to shake. “Die you bastard,” I yelled with a laugh.

  I looked up and noticed white pedals raining down around me. Thousands and thousands of beautiful white pedals. Below me, Cosmo's body shriveled up. Damn, he was just another lost soul. Then, something unexpected began to happen. The crowd began to chant, “Walker, Walker, Walker,” over and over.

  Wow! I couldn't believe it. How did they already know my name? I threw my sword and shield into the air while jumping up and down. More white flowers came down and eventually covered the entire arena. The ground was so white, that it almost looked like snow. Then, I noticed loot sitting in the spot where Cosmo's body was. Awesome! The thought of taking his robe really made me happy. I reached down and examined it:

  Robe of The Dark Eye

  Slot: Upper Body

  Level: 10-20 (Beginner)

  Weight: 1.3 lbs

  Value: 47 Gold

  NightFall Magic Effects: +14% damage when worn. Increases magic damage, but drains mana levels 4% faster.

  Wow! This robe was worth 47 gold? Nice. I quickly went to the next item and examined it:

  Chain of Yesterday

  Slot: Upper Body

  Level: Any

  Weight: 0.9 lbs

  Value: 02 Gold

  Personal item: A personal item that carries significant importance to its user.

  My head went from side to side. Seemed pretty worthless. Maybe I could give it to Sonny's pet or something as a gift? I quickly looked for more items, but there were none. Then, I saw some gold he had left behind:

  87 Gold Coins

  Wow. Awesome! I put the gold in my inventory. I looked up at the cheering crowd and knew I was where I belonged. Never in my life had I felt so alive. Sure, I was in some pain, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I had defeated Cosmo. I had taught that piece of shit a lesson he would never forget. I continued to soak in the crowd's love for me until a guard rushed to my side. He pointed to my left, and I saw two men dragging a large chest towards the center of the arena. Oh damn, I had almost forgotten. I had almost forgotten about the gold reward they gave you. So, I guess they rewarded you for killing your opponent? You got their loot, plus the gold in the chest. I guess it made sense. I walked to the center of the arena and opened the chest:

  Coliseum Victory Reward!

  35 Gold Coins!

  35 coins? It went up from the last fight! Damn, I was quickly starting to see how one could become wealthy while fighting in the coliseum. The gold from winning this fight was really starting to add up. In fact, I had plenty of gold for my monthly dues if they came around. Then, an alert popped up in front of me:

  Congratulations!

  You Have Leveled Up! Open Your Inventory To Distribute Points.

  Note To User: You Have 4 Points to Distribute. Use your points wisely.

  Walker Williamson – Level 7

  Human Male - Warrior

  Statistics:

  HP: 22/22

  Stamina: 14

  Mana: 10

  Attributes:

  Strength: 22 (+4 added)

  Persuasion: 4

  Intelligence: 1

  Willpower: 1

  Sneak: 2

  Agility: 3

  Skills:

  Melee Combat: IronPush

  Perks:

  None yet acquired

  Abilities:

  None yet acquired

  Awesome. I added 4 more points to my strength. I loved getting stronger and watching myself get bigger. I examined my arms and noticed the increase in size. I flexed my muscles for the crowd. They cheered louder as I smiled. Before I knew it, I would be a massive hulking coliseum warrior. And then, everyone would fear me. I walked back towards the guard and he led me out of the coliseum.

  Once we began to walk down the long hallway, it w
as almost sad to hear the cheering crowd fade away. Within moments, we had arrived at the small room where me and Cosmo ate rice. The guard pointed at the table and I took a seat. Damn. Did I have to speak with the Emperor again? Both hands were behind his back as he walked into the room. He didn't sit down, and he spoke quickly. “For a new arrival, you show a lot of promise. Continue to win, and you will have your freedom.”

  “How much freedom?”

  “I can give you a small housing unit. No restrictions. You can leave and go as you please.”

  I couldn't hide my smile. “When? When can you do this?”

  “Show me you are worth the investment, and you will receive this.”

  “How do I show this?”

  “Continue to win,” he said with his chin down. “Win a few more fights, and you will receive your freedom.”

  The Emperor turned around and left the room. I had to admit, it sounded like a good deal. Life in FlatFall wouldn't be bad if I had total freedom. A guard grabbed my arm and led me back to my cell. I arrived at my cell and Douglas threw his arms around me. “That was one of the best fights I have seen in a while,” he said.