God Mode: A LitRPG Adventure (Mythrune Online Book 1)

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  “This is just great,” Leesha said, shaking her hood to remove the snow. “Even with your ‘directions’ and my Night Vision, we aren’t going to get anywhere. We might as well make camp until morning.”

  “We just have to keep going,” I insisted. “I don’t want to waste that much time.”

  “We’re wasting time right now,” Leesha protested. “Your map only gives us a general area. We could walk right by something and not even know it!”

  “Then we’ll find it in the daylight,” I said. I knew I was being stubborn, but the clock was ticking. “We aren’t going to stop if we don’t need a rest period.”

  “How do you expect to find it in the daylight if we pass it now?”

  “I just—”

  “I don’t want you to lead us right off the edge of the mountain, dude.”

  “I’m the only one who’s actually going to feel anything. I think that gives me some incentive to—”

  Leesha’s eyes went wide and she froze. Before she’d even held up a hand, I shut up. The night had been still before, but it somehow had gotten even quieter, even as the thick, puffy snow continued to fall.

  “Someone’s here,” she whispered, barely loud enough for me to even hear. “I’m not sure, but I think we’re surrounded.”

  On cue, several large figures silently rose from the snow. There was just enough light to make out their long pointed ears and the tusks jutting out of their lower jaws. Their extra-long arms held drawn bows or spears, and they advanced slowly until we had no route to escape.

  “Uh…hello,” I said.

  Nobody answered. Or put their weapons down.

  A slender-framed Jotun wearing a heavy winter cloak made of wooly rhino skin approached us through the warriors. Luckily for us, she wasn’t armed, though she did carry a gnarled white wood staff with a blue gem on the top. My optimism evaporated when she started to speak and I couldn’t understand a single word.

  I glanced over at Leesha, but she just shrugged in response.

  The Jotun continued to speak.

  “We don’t understand you,” I said.

  She started speaking faster, clearly frustrated.

  “Maybe I can help speed this up,” I said, motioning to my Bag of Holding.

  The other Jotuns all raised their weapons a little higher and I froze.

  “I just want to show you something,” I said slowly.

  I pointed again to the bag, and the Jotun leader nodded, then motioned to the others to stand down. I slowly reached in and selected the totem from my menu, which allowed me to withdraw it from the bag.

  The female Jotun’s eyes settled on the totem and widened. But not a good kind of widen. An angry kind. The rest of the group didn’t look any happier. If I could read minds, I imagined they were fittin’ to turn us into pincushions right then and there.

  They probably would have if their leader hadn’t thrown up her hands and shouted a command several times, each time louder and sterner. It was all Leesha and I could do to keep our mounts from freaking out. I almost dropped the totem trying to keep hold of Frank’s reins.

  When the snow settled, we weren’t better off than before I’d produced the item.

  “Nice going, Z,” Leesha said.

  “Silence!” Both of us jumped to hear the female Jotun speaking in a language we could understand. “Hand over your weapons. You will come with us.”

  31

  The Frostfang Clan

  Leesha gave me an annoyed look as she dismounted and handed over our weapons.

  “Hey, you said you didn’t want to wander around all night,” I joked, trying to lighten the situation. “Well, we found them! I mean, this is them, right?”

  Using my Combat Assessment skill, I scanned all the Jotuns in the immediate area. Including the female leader, they were all level eight or higher. Fighting free would have been a suicide mission — or at least a severe lesson in pain for me.

  “We don’t mean you any harm,” I said. “We came to return this to you. Chief Ugola sent us.”

  I hoped Ugola would be the magic word that made us all best friends. I was sorely disappointed.

  “So you say,” their leader said, as if the name meant nothing to her. “For all we know, you’re the ones who stole the artifact from our temple.”

  “So you’re the Frostfang Clan?” Leesha asked as they tied our wrists with rawhide rope.

  The female Jotun nodded. “I am Zeali. We shall learn the truth of your words. For now, it is best if you remain silent and do not resist. Our warriors have been looking for blood since the totem went missing. I cannot guarantee your safety if you do not cooperate.”

  We spent the next hour being herded through the snow by the Jotun warriors. With our hands tied, both Leesha and I stumbled several times in the deep snow. Each time, our captors yanked us to our feet and cursed us in their native language.

  It didn’t take much to see Zeali wasn’t bluffing. The Jotuns looked like they wanted an excuse to take us out. Fortunately for us, their camp was only a couple of miles from where they’d caught us.

  The camp was situated in an almost perfectly circular clearing in the pine trees. Even at the late hour, I saw at least half a dozen fires burning to fight off the cold. At a distance, the Jotun dwellings looked similar to the Urok tents, save for the fact that they were all covered in a thick layer of snow.

  But the differences became clearer as we neared. Whereas the Horuk village still felt as though it was just a temporary haven, the Frostfang village had the feeling and look of a place that was there to stay, complete with more permanent wooden structures. Altogether, I counted about thirty huts. The Frostfangs were serious business.

  Upon reaching the edge of the trees, Zeali halted us. “You told us Ugola sent you.”

  It wasn’t a question. Leesha and I nodded.

  “If you are lying, this is your last chance to tell the truth,” she said. “If you are lying, we will find out about it. I promise you.”

  “We’re serious,” I said before Leesha could say or do something that would only piss our captors off more. “We found the totem in a bandit’s den and showed it to Ugola, who told us to bring it to you.”

  “Very well.”

  I suddenly remembered the letter of introduction from Chief Ugola. “Wait! I have proof.” I tried to open my inventory, but with my hands tied, the command didn’t work. Stupid realism. I shrugged. “It’s in my bag, so obviously I can’t reach it.”

  Zeali’s expression remained unreadable, and she turned around, motioning for the guards to continue prodding us forward with the butt ends of their spears. I ground my teeth but went along with it. The scale of mistrust and animosity we were dealing with was completely ridiculous for a game. This was real-world national politics level of diplomacy.

  I noticed an immediate difference when we stepped from the forest to the village pathways. They were all clear of snow, and I swore I could feel the slightest heat through the soles of my boots. It didn’t escape Leesha’s notice, either.

  “Heated pathways?” she asked Zeali. “You guys are fancy.”

  “We bury enchanted stones in the earth,” Zeali explained. “When we need it, we imbue them with heat, and the snow melts away into the irrigation ditches hidden on the side.”

  I nodded in admiration — less about the village itself, but more that the game devs had built that kind of logic into the game.

  Zeali and the rest of the group kept their formation around us as we made our way deeper into the village. Upon seeing the warriors returning, other tribe members poked their heads out of their tents to watch us pass, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion in their eyes. We approached a hill on the far side of the clearing with a wooden structure built out front — some kind of longhouse and dugout combination. Based on the ornate carvings in the wood pillars, I assumed it was some sort of church or the chief’s house.

  As we got closer, I noticed the small courtyard at the front of the building was ado
rned with a cage made of gigantic bones. I wondered what local creature grew that size, then decided I didn’t want to know. A human male — or Eedari in this world, I guess — huddled on the cage floor, arms wrapped around his legs, shivering. In the torchlight, I could make out his scrawny frame, orange hair, and prominent freckles. He looked up when we approached, and his vacant, hopeless expression changed as soon as he spotted Leesha and I through the Jotuns.

  “Hey, hey!” He jumped to his feet. “Are you guys players? Help me!”

  One of the spear-wielding Jotuns split from our group and yelled at the man as if he were a noisy dog before striking the cage with her spear shaft.

  “Hey, watch it, lady!” the prisoner said. The rest of the Jotuns seemed not to hear him and turned their attention to Zeali.

  “You wait here,” Zeali said to us.

  “Next to the creepy prisoner?” Leesha asked.

  Ignoring Leesha, Zeali entered the longhouse, along with half of our escort. We were left with just four Frostfang warriors, and they looked ready to take matters in their own hands if we decided to run.

  “Are you players?” the prisoner asked again. “You gotta help me!”

  “I take it you’re not an NPC?” The way Leesha said it, I could tell she was warding off an innate sense of disgust.

  “No!” Mr. Freckles said. “I’ve been here for days. I could really use your help in getting the heck out of here.”

  “How does a player get locked up for days?” I asked. I could see for a few hours tops as part of a quest, but if this guy was telling the truth, that was just downright cruel of MythRune.

  “He was trying to sneak into the Temple of Hoarfrost.” Zeali stood in the doorway of the lodge and shot the red-haired man a dirty look.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” the prisoner said. “I was bringing it back to you. I promise.”

  “Come with me,” Zeali said to Leesha and me. “The shaman has agreed to see you. Don’t waste your time on this Eedari.”

  “Don’t leave me here!” the prisoner yelled as we moved away. “This has got to be a glitch! Help me!”

  The large, fifteen-foot doors shut behind us, blocking out the prisoner’s shouts.

  “That man is a fool,” Zeali said with a side-eye glance as she led us through the deceptively large hall. I’d been correct in my assumption that it was built into the hill, or maybe a natural cave they’d expanded. “He says he was trying to return it to us, but that was only after we caught him trying to gain access to the Temple of Hoarfrost. Somehow, he knew right where the entrance was despite it being hidden by our arcana.”

  “So no one is allowed in there?” Leesha asked.

  “Only in very rare circumstances do we ever allow someone not from one of the Jotun tribes to enter the temple. It is sacred to our people.”

  We stopped in front of an altar at the end of the hall. What looked like a wooly mammoth skull sat on the stone table. A yellow-skinned Jotun with a dark purple mohawk knelt in front of it, his thin robes a stark contrast from the thick hides favored by the rest of the Jotuns we’d seen. Blue tattoos covered his arms, face, and head on either side of the mohawk.

  When he opened his eyes and turned to face us, he gave us a stern look heightened by a long pointed nose and a set of tusks jutting out of his mouth.

  The shaman’s appearance didn’t ease my concerns. I hoped we didn’t end up like the guy outside, especially since it seemed there wasn’t an easy method of escape once imprisoned by the Jotuns.

  “Tauren-ska,” Zeali said with an emphasis on the last syllable, which I guessed implied respect among the Jotuns. “They say they know Chief Ugola from the Horuk tribe.”

  “And what proof is there?” the Jotun leader asked.

  “I have a letter from the chief,” I said, exasperated. “If you’d untie my hands, I’ll give it to you!”

  The Jotun leader nodded and one of the warriors cut my bindings. I winced as his obsidian knife nicked my wrist in the process — probably not by accident.

  When I was free, I shook my hands to bring the feeling back (thanks again, pain settings) and withdrew the letter. Zeali took the hide from me and handed it to the Jotun leader. The shaman stared at it for several long seconds and then, to our great relief, nodded.

  “It seems you speak the truth. I apologize for your treatment — since the theft of our totems, we have to be cautious of outsiders. Nevertheless, welcome to the Frostfang village.”

  “What a relief,” Leesha said. “For a second there, I thought we were going to have to cut our way out of here.” I turned to see she’d somehow managed to free her hands and also produce a pair of knives. I couldn’t even begin to guess where she’d hidden them.

  “Leesha!” I shook my head and looked at the Jotun shaman, hoping we hadn’t offended our new host.

  Instead, he let out a big belly laugh. “You seem a feisty one. I think you should know why we have treated our friends from the Horuk tribe so poorly. Three weeks ago, the guards at the temple noticed that that the temple was leaking arcana. Upon investigation, two totems that prevent such occurrences were missing from the shrine. Yours and the one recovered from the Eedari you saw outside.”

  I explained where and how we’d acquired the totem, answering as many of the shaman’s questions as I could to help them piece the theft together.

  “Great,” Leesha said when I’d finished. “So, easy, then. We go in, return the totems, and we’re good, right?”

  The shaman shook his head. “If only it were that simple. In the weeks since, the leaking arcana has since begun attracting all sorts of undesirable beasts. To make matters worse, the arcana…has affected them. Made them stronger. More vicious. To our great dismay, we have not been able to worship in our temple, and several of our guards were killed before they too abandoned their posts.”

  “So the temple is full of all sorts of monsters, then?” I said.

  “No surprise there,” Leesha added. “What kind of dungeon isn’t full of monsters?”

  The shaman retrieved a totem similar to ours from the altar, though this one had a figure that resembled a cyclops. “I cannot risk the lives of any more of our people to cleanse the temple. Would you be willing to return your totem and this one to their rightful places?”

  Quest Updated: Frosty Relations

  The Jotun shaman has asked you to return the totems to the Temple of Hoarfrost. Without the totems, arcana-infected monsters will continue to roam the surrounding lands. (Recommended party size: 3, Recommended level: 6)

  Objective: Return the sacred totems to the Temple of Hoarfrost.

  32

  The Temple of Hoarfrost

  Day 7 — Thirteen Days to Tournament Start

  Even though we were now friends, the Jotun leader refused to tell us the location of the temple until dawn. I hated the wait, but the idea of offending our hosts and wandering around trying to find it on our own was even less appetizing — especially if the entrance was hidden using arcana. Because of the short time since our last rest period, I knew Brandon would still be asleep. I sent him a short update and then zonked out.

  Faint morning light had just started showing itself above the pine trees when we awoke. The accommodations of the Jotun weren’t extravagant, but now that they knew we were on their side, they were at least willing to give us a warm, dry place to sleep — a five-star experience compared to what our friend in the cage was experiencing.

  Per the shaman’s request, we visited him one last time before we left. Luckily, the weird ginger guy outside was in rest mode when we went by, so we didn’t have to go through another awkward confrontation with him. We’d discussed potentially asking the Jotun leader about freeing the guy to help us, but ultimately decided the pros didn’t outweigh the cons.

  For one, I didn’t want to run the risk of him finding out about my God Mode. Second, Leesha and I thought the potential reward of extra loot for running the quest with two players would make up for the harder diffi
culty. I didn’t want to be the sacrificial lamb with God Mode, but it was our ace in the hole if we had to get creative to complete the quest.

  Inside the lodge, the guards escorted us back to the altar. We found the Jotun shaman meditating on the ground, legs crossed, and eyes wide open — though I couldn’t tell if he was awake.

  It wasn’t very apparent to Leesha either, as she waved her hands in front of his face. “Hey, shaman dude. Anybody home?”

  His eyes flickered, and while his pupils didn’t change their position, it was clear that he was now present in our world.

  “Ah, you’re here.” The shaman stood up in one smooth motion and reached out his hands, placing them on each of our shoulders. “Thank you for the great risk you are taking for our people. It isn’t much, but I have a blessing for you that will assist you in your quest.” He took a deep breath, and in an instant, his face transformed from that of a calm religious leader to…that of a drunk, angry football fan.

  “YAAAAAHHH!”

  “What the hell —” Leesha jerked back, but the shaman’s fingers were clenched too tightly on her shoulder to let her break free.

  “YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” The shaman grew even more intense by the second, a transparent blue forcefield encasing his body, mohawk whipping as if from a sudden blizzard within.

  “Okay, we get it,” Leesha shouted. “Stop yelling!”

  The shaman opened his eyes and fell silent as the blue aura faded. I felt a strange warmth emanating from my chest, heating my entire body within.

  You have received the Gift of the Frostfangs: 20% immunity to frost/ice damage for the next 24 hours.

  Leesha held her hands out in front of her and flexed her fingers. “Well, this is nice, but that yelling was super extra, shaman guy.”