by J. Carrarn
Contents
Dedication
Lost and found
Trouble loves company
Awoken envy
Invaders
A dangerous invitation
Party time
Domain ready
From the shadows
Unlikely companions
Training
Swallower of all
Level up
Derelict City
Changes within
Molten rock
Tendraal
Steaming Hot
Another step forward
Scathia’s horde
Meanwhile
The lowercity kingpin
Scathia
The mines
Cheroc and mouse
Warzone
Clunky planning
The clean-up crew
Sudden changes
Knowledge is power
Hunted
The calm before the chaos
Run ragged
Planning
A shady meeting
Refugees
Going down
The long slumber
Epilogue
Links
LitRPG
A book, written during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the world ceased being abnormal and just turned flat-out crazy. I wonder, if in the future, when we look back and read the works made now, we will easily recognize the influence this viral outbreak has had on writers. I presume we will, but even then, I have tried to keep covid out of my story, as one world-shattering apocalypse seems just fine for Solus and the others to handle. Still, between homeschooling my son, working from home, and the lack of my gym, I will remember the times writing on this book for a long, long time.
Luckily, even during all these troubled times, I've had friends to count on, that were willing to help me above and beyond. Thank you, again, Alex and Paul, for all the editing and proofreading. Thank you, Claudia, for still giving me the time and space to write, even when so many other things needed doing.
Copyright © 2021 J. Carrarn
Author: J. Carrarn
Cover: Stockphoto edited by Alex
LitRPG / GameLit / Sci-fi / Fantasy
Lost and found
Dusty grey foothills stretched out toward the horizon. Large crevices and boulders littered the flowing hills of a chaotic and ruined landscape. Far in the distance, the silhouette of a tall mountain pierced the empty, iron-hued sky. Its jagged peaks pointed up like crooked, arthritic fingers.
Amongst the hills, something sped forward, leaving what seemed like a continuous trail of dust in its wake. Closer and closer it came until, at last, it became apparent that a figure ran at the tip of the dust trail. Its limbs pumped so fast that they became a blur. The figure appeared unwilling to stop for anything. The boulders and small canyons in its path barely slowed it down.
Hours later, with the sun still high in the sky, the hills in the distance became lower and soon gave way to a flat and seemingly endless wasteland.
The figure finally came to a halt and scanned its surroundings. Green hair framed a rough-hewn grey face, and nothing clad its muscular torso. All along its arms and chest, short green hair contrasted starkly with its ashen skin, while a grey stone armor covered its lower body down to its knees. Deep-set green eyes seemed to glow from within as their gaze penetrated the dusty wastes.
"Where are you…?"
The dust on the ground swirled slightly around the figure's feet, disturbed by its low and rumbling voice.
Solus resisted the urge to stomp his foot on the ground to relieve his frustration. Absentmindedly he noticed how easy it was to control his impulses. Months ago, he would lose his temper and cause destruction whenever he got upset or frustrated. It almost seemed natural now to maintain control. But, he thought as a smile played around his lips, sometimes it was just too much fun to let loose. Besides, the rage had saved his bones more times than he could count.
He closed his eyes and focused inward, summoning his status screen.
A shaky and glitchy blue screen flashed into existence before his eyes. It jittered and shook and seemed unable to stay together, the blue sometimes changing to black or disappearing. After a short while, it stabilized, and letters appeared on the screen.
Reading the blurry, occasionally fading text, Solus felt the onset of the now-familiar headache.
> Malfunction! Malfunction! The status window is only partially available. Please follow the designated line to the nearest repair facility.
A few moments later, a small white arrow appeared and pointed off into the distance. It lasted for only a second before vanishing, taking the status window with it and leaving Solus with a throbbing headache.
Scanning the direction the arrow had pointed in, Solus saw the tall shadow of a mountain. A pained grimace spread across his face.
"Not another mountain…" he muttered.
Having no desire to waste any more time, he surged forward, leaping across the wasteland. It took only a moment before he was forging ahead at full speed toward the mountain, another long and seemingly endless trail of dust in his wake.
—
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Solus looked up in distaste. Although he had seen mountains before, this one was by far the tallest. He would need more detailed directions now. Annoyed at the prospect of another headache, he summoned his status screen again and waited for the arrow to return.
This time it seemed to point up the mountain, and Solus groaned.
"And of course, it is on the top again. This time that stupid repair facility better still be there. Otherwise, Drys will have to fix it himself, no matter how difficult he says it is."
He knew he was being flippant, of course. Drys had said it would be near impossible for him to repair the inscription. Then again, he had been the one running around the wasteland following that damned arrow for months, finding nothing but ruin after ruin. Disappointment after disappointment. Headache after headache. He was sick of it.
Crouching down, he leaped tens of yards up the side of the mountain, landing on a small outcrop that cracked beneath his feet. Behind him, an enormous crater had formed, rubble and small debris still hitting the ground. Ignoring it, Solus kept jumping up, destroying parts of the mountain as he went.
About halfway up was a broad, solid ridge. He stopped there and turned to gaze out over the wasteland. From this height, he could see farther than he ever had before, and he drank in the view as he stared off into the distance. He had no idea how long he had stood there before he caught movement on the periphery of his vision. Intrigued, he turned to examine it more closely, quickly realizing what he was looking at.
It was an enormous Wyrm traveling away from him, leaving behind it a straight line of dust. Knowing there was no time to get distracted now, he decided he would see if he could hunt it down later. He tried to determine where the Wyrm was heading, and grinned when he saw the silhouette of a small, ruined city in the distance. It was too far to make out any detail, but he knew it for what it was because there was nothing else like the cities of the ancients in the wasteland. Making a mental note of the location, he summoned his status window.
After a moment, the arrow returned, pointing straight forward, through the side of the mountain in front of him.
"The other side… Dammit!"
Exasperated, Solus shook his head before he resumed his ascent.
—
A short while later, he gazed down from the summit at what he hoped would hold what he had been searching for the last few months.
Built along the side of a steep incline was a white structure. It seemed to be mostly intact an
d appeared to have once been hidden away deep in the mountain. Over the ages, some terrible force must have cracked open the mountain, revealing what was inside to the elements.
Solus leaped down toward the structure, creating sturdy stone pillars that stretched out like ribs from the side of the cliff below him. Deftly hopping from one pillar to the next, he made his way down until he reached the wall opposite the structure. Staring at the fragile edifice, he was glad that he had stopped his descent. A few months ago, the disturbance caused by his enthusiastic jumping had accidentally destroyed a similar place he had found.
Eyeing the rusted metal that attached part of the construction to the wall, he knew it might still crumble if he was reckless.
Deciding he wasn't willing to take the risk of the building collapsing, he concentrated. Arm-thick stone tendrils grew out of the mountain, dropping dust and small rocks toward the depths below. Gingerly they wrapped around the bottom of the building, supporting it and shoring it up. Only when the entire base rested upon a strong foundation did he dare move forward. Not even slightly fatigued from the stone-shaping he had just done, he summoned more rock, creating a bridge across the chasm between him and the entrance.
From what he could tell, a part of the building had been torn off, plummeting down into the chasm and most likely resting at the bottom in a nice big pile of rubble. He hoped that what he needed hadn't been destroyed in the process.
Walking toward the entrance, he stuck his head inside and saw he was at the start of a long corridor. It was dark and cramped, the hairs on his head brushing the ceiling. Further down, the hallway disappeared into the depths of the mountain. Heading inside, he followed the corridor, trying to take light steps and keep his head bent so he wouldn't hit anything. The entire place looked and felt like a tomb. Exactly like the other places he had been in during the last six months.
The only notable differences were that the walls were off-white instead of dusty grey and didn't glow, indicating they weren't made of stone. As he headed further inside, it became darker, the walls blocking any light he usually got from the surrounding stone. Soon all he could see were the vague green outlines of the walls.
The hallway sloped up, and after a few bends and twists, he rounded a corner and stopped. Before him was a vast chamber carved inside the mountain with many openings lining its walls. It was better lit than the tunnel he had just exited, and he saw everything seemed to be made from the same near-white material. Green light from the stone behind the walls illuminated everything through cracks and holes. Small rocks had fallen inside, creating pockets of light, making it even easier for him to see.
The many pathways that led away from the main room were positioned at set intervals up the wall with no easy access. He realized there must have been floors dividing the space in front of him.
Not for the first time, Solus wondered what it must have been like when all of this was still in one piece, back when the ancients were still around. After taking in the view for a little longer, he grew restless and checked the arrow. It pointed toward an opening in one of the farthest walls. He barely managed to stop himself from jumping there in one bound. Grumbling about wasted time, he instead carefully climbed up, trying not to disturb anything and cause the whole thing to come down.
When he reached the entrance, his heart began to race. Something about the corridor he saw was different from everything else he had seen so far, though he couldn't put his finger on what. Cautiously climbing inside, he looked around. There were two openings on each side and another one at the end.
He moved forward, trying to walk on his toes in fear of causing a cave-in. The side rooms all seemed the same, small and filled with corroded metal objects. Not impressed, his enthusiasm waned. He put all his hopes on the last room and moved to the back of the hallway.
What he saw inside made his hair stand on end. In the middle of the room was something he had not seen in a very long time. The room was empty and square, and in its center stood a single pedestal. Mounted on top of it was a large sphere.
Solus ducked inside and looked around. Although it resembled a room he had seen long ago, everything seemed much smaller. Had the other sphere been more important? Narrowing his eyes, he moved toward the sphere and hesitated, not knowing what to do.
Should he put his hand on it? What if it tried to draw energy from him and exploded? Could that happen? Sticking out a single finger, he carefully pressed it against the side of the sphere.
"Dost thou think I will break?" a loud, clear voice echoed through the room.
Blinking, Solus froze, using every ounce of his self-control not to shout out. He had come too far. He wasn't about to bring down this entire room because he was startled.
Another string of sounds flowed into the room.
")(*&&^%^%"
It was short and harsh.
"I understood the first one," Solus whispered, his rumbling voice causing a vibration throughout the room.
A soft green light burst from the sphere and bathed the room in its glow. The walls seemed to shimmer for a moment, glittering lights appearing everywhere.
"Thou can speaketh normally now. I has't strengthen'd the field 'round us."
Groaning, Solus rubbed the side of his head. The odd way the sphere spoke was giving him another headache. Was this thing for real?
"Okay?" he said, uncertain but speaking louder than the first time. Nothing happened, not the vibration nor any shaking or things falling.
"How did you do that?"
Solus's voice cracked through the room, and he flinched, but everything stayed whole. Letting out a deep breath, he smiled. Not having to hold back was so much more comfortable.
"I doth not understand this question."
Solus sat down with a loud bang that echoed through the room. A rumbling came from somewhere deep underground.
"Can you speak like I do? You're giving me a headache."
No answer came for a while, then the voice responded in a snappy tone.
"Fine. Don't like me accent, do ya? You try being alone for untold millennia! Ahh, if I had anything better to do, I would just ignore you."
Solus knew that nothing he said would influence the sphere's reactions. He had come across eccentric things like this before. It was better to ask his question and be done with the thing. For the first time in months, he summoned his mana-field, causing bright green light to fill the entire room.
"I have a broken inscription on my mana-field. A sphere similar to you gave it to me shortly after I awoke. Can you repair it?"
"REALLY? After untold millennia, someone manages to find me, and… FIX IT?"
The sphere cursed without rest for a long time, using many curses that were unfamiliar to Solus. Every time he tried to interrupt it, the thing would just curse louder, drowning out his words. As his anger flared up, continually increasing, he finally snapped.
"Enough, you useless ball!"
His voice roared through the confines of the small room, echoing around him while blasting through the opening behind him. From outside the room came many crumbling sounds followed by things crashing to the ground. A soft shaking was noticeable even inside the room.
"What are you doing?! Do you plan to bring this mountain down upon us?"
The sounds coming from the outside cooled Solus down almost immediately, and he felt some regret. Still not there yet. He needed to practice his self-control even more.
"Can you, or can you not repair my inscription?" Solus spit out the question a word at a time, trying very hard to keep his voice calm and soft.
"Yes, fine, sure. I am most likely the last fully powered tier four AI left in the world. I can, without a doubt, repair whatever simple inscription you have on your low-grade mana-field. Let me see it again then." A tired sigh followed the sphere's words.
Summoning his mana-field, Solus tried to focus and see if he could sense what the sphere would do. As his mind calmed, he heard the soft crumbling stones from outside the ro
om, and he noticed the dust billowing inside through the corridor.
Green lines emerged from the sphere and started scanning his mana-field.
Solus tried following them but soon stopped. They were just studying different sections repeatedly.
Time passed, and Solus felt himself grow weary. He had been running around for days without rest, and sitting still like this had a soothing effect on him.
—
"I take back what I said. You have some fascinating inscriptions."
The clear voice shook Solus awake, and he snapped upright, looking around the room. Dust drifted down from the ceiling and swirled all around him. The sounds from outside had died down, and the green beams from the sphere had disappeared. Looking at his mana-field, he saw that the status window pattern had not changed.
"You can't repair it?" he muttered, glaring at the sphere and wondering if he had come all this way for nothing.
"Of course I can! But the problem isn't that one." A beam of blue light illuminated the area on Solus's mana-field that held his evolution pattern.
"But this. A pseudo stone elemental evolution pattern. A requirement for it, or so everybody thought, was for the undead to gain a semblance of life. However, with no more life force anywhere in this accursed galaxy, it should be impossible for you to have this. How you managed to survive the attempts to connect to the life force is baffling."
"Do you mean my headaches?"
"I don't know, but it's possible."
"Can you fix it?" Solus asked, his emotions fluctuating wildly.
"No."
"..."
"Didn't you say you knew how to fix my inscriptions?" Solus felt his irritation turn to anger. Was this thing toying with him?
"I can fix the status information display. The other one? You'll have to figure that out for yourself. There are no records in my database that indicate such a situation has ever occurred before."
Slowly shaking his head, Solus forcefully calmed himself.
"Then repair my status inscription."
The sphere didn't immediately reply, and Solus was about to ask again when the sphere began speaking.