Eden's Gate: The Scourge: A LitRPG Adventure

by Edward Brody

  “That’s 7,500,” Quagmire said.

  ‘Deceptive Presence’ was the hardest for me to understand of the three. “And what does this mean when it says, ‘appear greater than or lesser than?’”

  “Your stats will show up significantly lower and greater than they actually are when you’re inspected, assuming that the spell succeeds. That one is 4,000, but I’d argue it’s worth far more. Avoiding a fight altogether because you appear stronger than you actually are is perhaps one of the greatest ways to ‘turn the tide’.”

  That was also a useful spell, but I wasn’t sure if it was the best choice for what I was immediately getting ready to go against.

  “And how much is this one?” I asked, pointing to the last spell.

  “That one is 5,300,” Quagmire said. “You said you were looking for a shield, and this spell isn’t quite a shield as shields can be broken. It will, however, absorb a single physical attack of any magnitude.”

  “And does nothing against magic, right?” I asked.

  “It only works against physical attacks,” Quagmire confirmed. “It remains on you until you take a purposely physical strike that deals damage. It doesn’t work against falls, scrapes, potions and such, but it does work against arrows and throwing weapons.”

  The spell wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I could see it being useful. If a rogue crept in close to me with a backstab or if a slow fighter put all his effort into a single blow, I’d take no damage. And one could argue that Rithnar completely absorbing one of Ergoth’s attacks could possibly ‘turn the tide’.

  “Is this a projected spell?” I asked. “I mean, can I cast it on others?”

  “Oh, so you have been studying,” Quagmire said with a smile. “Yes, this is a projected spell, so you can cast it on others or yourself.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I guess I’ll take this one, unless you have something better.”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to see more later,” Quagmire said as he stepped close to me and tugged the other two spells from my hands. “If I spent time with every mage looking for the absolute perfect spell, I’d never get anything done.” He smiled and held out his hand. “That will be 5,300.”

  I handed him the gold and immediately opened the spell and started to read. Like always, the words on the scroll at first appeared a jumbled mess, but quickly my eyes somehow adjusted to understand them, and the words seemed to fly off the page and into my mind until the scroll disappeared into a cloud of dust.

  Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Absorb One Physical.

  “Do you mind if I test it here?” I asked.

  “Go right ahead,” Quagmire said. “That one should not harm anything.”

  I lifted my hand and focused on casting Absorb One Physical on myself, and there was a brief humming sound, and my body briefly shimmered with energy. I turned my palm on each side and glanced at Quagmire out of the corner of my eye. “That’s it?”

  Quagmire nodded, stepped forward and threw a fast front-kick towards me.

  I clenched up, not expecting the attack, but when his leg hit the side of my hip, my body shimmered with energy again, and there was another low hum. Though I felt some pressure from his kick, I didn’t feel any pain at all. I glanced up to see my health bar was still full.

  “Quite effective, isn’t it?” Quagmire asked. He pinched his robe and started to straighten it out. “I trained a bit in unarmed before I became a mage. It’s quite satisfying to throw a kick like that after so long. I should get back into it.”

  “Yeah, that’s great.” I said with a smile, but then I glanced back up to my status bars and saw that 75% of my mana bar was drained. I furrowed my brow and shifted my jaw from side to side.

  “Is something wrong?” Quagmire asked.

  “That spell drained 75% of my mana,” I said. “That can’t be right.”

  “No, that’s right,” Quagmire clarified. “Absorb One Physical will always take 75% of your mana, no matter how much maximum mana you have. Since it can literally protect you against an attack of any power level it would be unbalanced if it were any less. It has a thirty-minute cooldown as well, so you’ll need to use it with proper planning. If you could cast it at any time or cast it on a large number of people at once, it would be far too overpowered.”

  I sighed, feeling a little bummed. I couldn’t argue with the logic that the spell would be overpowered if I could cast it anytime, but the spell was considerably weaker with such a high mana cost and thirty-minute cooldown. It wasn’t as bad as the trash spell, Arduous Swap, but another spell that drained a large percentage of my casting power rather than a flat amount was a bit of a bummer. “Well, thanks,” I said.

  “Of course.” Quagmire smiled. “Hurry up back for your next spell. I can show you more tomorrow or whenever you have the gold.”

  “I will. Maybe next time you can tell me in advance if a spell has a ridiculously high mana cost.”

  Quagmire chuckled. “You chose quite a good spell, Gunnar. I’m sure you’ll find it useful in your adventures once you get to know it better.”

  “Thanks again,” I said as I exited the room.

  I started back up the stairs and paused when I reached the door of the Omnicron room. I looked further up the stairs, behind me, and listened for any sounds coming from inside. When I was confident that no one was around, I pushed the door open for the second time.

  Thankfully, the two girls who were in the room before had left, and the room appeared empty. I shut the door behind me, did a quick scan to make sure no one was hiding in any corners, and quickly shuffled towards the Omnicron.

  I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the infinite mana shard, but I wanted to at least find it to see if it were an option. Perhaps it was somehow secure, or maybe I wouldn’t find it at all, making my decision a lot easier.

  I rounded the large table positioned before the Omnicron until I was right in front of the magical device, the light emanating from it almost blinding at that distance.

  The holographic-like image of the Omnicron was flush with the curved walls of the room, and it wasn’t entirely clear how its bright edges were secure to the wall. I reached my hand out to touch the surface slowly, a bit fearful that just touching it would trigger some sort of alarm or that the magic might harm me in some way.

  Click-clack.

  I immediately pulled my hand back and turned when I heard what sounded like the door to the room opening. I rushed back around to the right side of the table, but there was no one there. I was, seemingly, still the only person in the room.

  I walked to the door, opened it, and saw no one around.

  Perhaps I hadn’t closed the door all the way? I wasn’t sure. As I pushed the door shut, I looked up to the ceiling to make sure there wasn’t any animal or creature around that had caused the sound, but when I saw nothing at all, I walked back to the front of the Omnicron.

  When I reached the Omnicron, I knew I was wasting too much time, so I quickly touched it with my fingertips. I felt nothing, and my fingers simply fell through. I pulled my fingers back then touched it again, this time swiping my fingers around what was seemingly nothing but air. The Omnicron was totally opaque but seemed composed only of light.

  I looked around the edges of the Omnicron, then walked around the perimeter of the room to see if there was any trap door or control room that led behind the Omnicron where the infinite mana shard may have been stored. When I saw nothing, I returned to the Omnicron and patted my hands all along the walls surrounding the device, knowing that sometimes there were hidden switches or areas in the game. Though unlikely, I even checked under the large table to make sure there wasn’t something there.

  I sighed as I stood up, turned back to the Omnicron, and placed my hands into the light again. When my fingertips fell through, I got a little braver and pushed my hand further and further in until my arm had almost disappeared up to my elbow. When I reached a little bit further in, I felt a shock on my hand,
jerked back in surprise, and tumbled on my ass, knocking the back of my head on the side of the table.

  “Owww…” I groaned.

  The Omnicron briefly flickered as I rubbed the back of my skull with one hand and inspected my finger with the other. There was a small brown burn mark on the tips of my fingers, and my skull was throbbing. 5% of my life had been depleted, but I wasn’t sure if it were from the burn or the knock on my head.

  I pulled myself back up and braced myself to reach in there again. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but there was definitely something hidden directly behind the Omnicron.

  I reached through the Omnicron again, this time more cautiously and with my other hand. I clenched my teeth when I was almost to the length where I had gotten a shock, and instead of extending more, I felt further down and around. Dusty, warm stone was at the base of where the Omnicron started and got warmer the further deeper I went.

  I pulled my arm back, turned back towards the door just to make sure no one had entered, and took a deep breath. While it was dangerous to stick my arm into something I couldn’t see through, I wondered what would happen if I stuck my entire head through. Since the area seemed like a physical cavity and not a magical compartment like my unburdening bag, I was banking on the fact that I’d be able to see behind it.

  I put my hand through the Omnicron one more time, closed my eyes as I approached the bright light, and gently eased my head through several inches. I could hear magic buzzing in my ears, and it felt like a subtle amount of electricity was buzzing through my body.

  I gradually cracked my eyes open, and when I wasn’t totally blinded, I opened them all the way. I could see… barely. In front of me was a large, hollowed out area of the wall, and at the very end of the compartment was a small, round pool of shimmering liquid. It seemed to radiate all the colors in the light spectrum all at once, and behind and on either side of it were mirror-like crystals that were arched to point inward. Three small metal legs were equally spaced around the pool of the liquid, and electrical energy rose from them and joined a few inches above the pool. Hovering inside of the electrical energy was an infinite mana shard. The shard was spinning slowly, and it wasn’t clear if the electrical energy was coming out of the shard or shooting into it, but shimmering light was bouncing all over the compartment making everything difficult to see.

  Click-clack.

  I jerked back at the sound of the door opening, and when I heard footsteps and voices coming from outside, I panicked and jumped under the large table.

  Click-clack, thunk! The door closed.

  “Yes, I know, I know,” a man’s soft voice said.

  “I’m serious,” a harder, more sinister sounding man said. “You’ve gotten your payment!”

  “We shouldn’t talk about this in the Mages Hall. Wait until we leave.”

  “Look around! We’re alone in here!”

  The softer sounding man exhaled loudly. “Yes, I’ve gotten my payment, and with that payment was the agreement that we follow orders and not take action until we’ve received further notice.”

  “He would’ve sent a notice already,” he snapped. “The Dark Hand is never like this.”

  My whole body tensed at the mention of the Dark Hand. Why would mages in the guild be talking about him, much less talking to him?

  “Something obviously went wrong,” the soft-sounding man said. “We know remnants of his ship were found washed ashore along with the bodies of two of his best men. You must accept the fact that he might be dead too.”

  “Impossible!”

  “It is possible. There are rumors amongst the mages that the green belt is a Reborn—that they saw him respawn in the Arena even. I’m not sure if I believe it myself, but if true, we don’t know what he’s capable of. Either way, either the Dark Hand has been killed or he’s regrouping in some way. If things had gone as planned, the target wouldn’t be alive. We must give it more time.”

  “I should just kill him now.”

  “I will not allow it,” the softer man said. “If the Dark Hand is dead, there is no reason to kill him, and if the Dark Hand is alive, he may not have gotten an ancient weapon. Kill the green belt, and the Dark Hand may kill you.”

  “It makes no sense. He should’ve sent word.”

  “Maybe he is in hiding or laying low for some reason. Something terrible obviously happened if his ship was destroyed. Until an agent reports to us, we’ll continue with our normal routine, and you will act as a normal mage.”

  The sinister man hissed. “I’m tired of this facade. I want to train my dark magic.”

  “Just use it when no one is around and when we’re far out of the way. Look there to the yellow zone in the far corner. That should be fairly isolated and far enough away from this irritating Scourge war.”

  “I tire of these repetitive runs.”

  “Tired of this, tired of that. How does that Dark Hand put up with you? Would you prefer to stay cramped up in this tower reading books? At least we’re getting loot and experience.”

  The other man didn’t reply.

  “Right. I’ve got the coordinates, so let’s go. You can practice your magic away from the guild, and no one will be the wiser.”

  When I heard their footsteps starting to walk away, I scooted carefully around the thick center pillar that held up the table, so that I could peek out and get some idea of who was talking.

  I could only see their backs, but they were easily recognizable. Two bald, heavyset mages, one with a yellow belt and one with a red belt. Both of them had staring problems, and both always walked uncomfortably close or bumped into me whenever I passed them in the halls.

  My heart was racing when I stood up from the table. The Mages Guild was infiltrated by the Sparrows? By someone with master status even? Holy shit! Perhaps that helped explain how I had been tracked down the day Adeelee, Liam, and I had been confronted in the forest. One wanted to kill me, and they had knowledge that I was a Reborn, which meant the Dark Hand would soon know if he didn’t already.

  I needed to tell Darion, but it didn’t seem particularly urgent. From the way they were talking, they seemed to have no idea that the Dark Hand had fled after his ship was destroyed and he battled King Ryvvik. The Dark Hand had been badly injured, and his goons were killed, so that’s probably why they were so confused about what was going on. Not only that, but the Sparrows had heat on them from Mist Vale and the unexpected Scourge attack was probably playing a role in their lack of communication.

  I would have to out the two mages somehow, but I had something more urgent to take care of. I needed to get back to the Wastelands so I could help Rithnar defeat Ergoth, and if that didn’t work out, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. He had a 20% or 30% chance… whatever Mordok had said.

  Or… we could just place infinite mana shards near the ancient beast—a plan that Mordok seemed certain was a better idea. We just needed another shard.

  I didn’t want to steal from the Mages Guild, but in that instance, stealing seemed like the right thing to do. If we could stop the Scourge without violence, Rithnar wouldn’t have to fight. All the terrible things that would happen if Rithnar lost the fight would no longer be an issue, I could return the kid, and I could quickly get back to training and tell Darion about the imposters.

  I could even tell Darion that the Sparrows stole the infinite mana shard! Yeah. I’d just say that they stole it, and maybe I’d even get a quest to find a new mana shard to replace the old one. The idea was starting to sound better and better the more I conjured up fabrications and possible outcomes.

  I turned back to the Omnicron, stuck my head through, and whispered, “Fuck it,” as I reached for the floating crystal. When my hand contacted the shard, energy surged into me, burned my hand, and caused me to pull back hard. I held my grip around the shard, and as it came out with me, there was loud zapping noise and the sound of electrical energy powering down and fading out.

  The Omnicron disappeared and nothing w
as left except a large compartment in the wall, a well of liquid, and the mirror-like crystals. Each corner of where the Omnicron had been before had tiny metal prongs sticking from it, so the energy from the compartment seemed to somehow be transferring into them to create the magical projection.

  The room was a lot darker and quite ordinary looking without the Omnicron there.

  I tossed the shard from my scalded hand to the other, and it was surprisingly cold to the touch. I flicked my injured hand over several times and stared at my blackened palm. Taking the shard had knocked another 20% off of my health.

  The shard was roughly the same size and color as the one Mordok had, but it was shaped a little different. It was pointier on one end, and a small piece of one point appeared to have been chipped off sometime in the past.

  I had no time to admire the shiny contraband and quickly shoved it into my bag. As I placed the item inside, I reached for the rune that Mordok had given me, pulled it out, and started to recall.

  You must be in a peaceful state to Recall. You cannot recall immediately after stealing an item.

  My jaw dropped open when I saw the notice. I should’ve known that recalling wouldn’t work right after stealing something like that, else it would make an arcane mage/thief combination seriously overpowered.

  I turned back towards the empty ugly hole that now made up the Omnicron, and I knew that I needed to quickly get out of the room and go somewhere or I would soon be in some serious drama.

  I rushed for the door and opened it as normally as possible. When I saw that no one was there to see me exit, I slid outside and quietly closed the door behind me. I glanced back and forth, debating on whether I should go upstairs towards the study room or downstairs so that I could flee outside. As far as I knew, no one had seen me coming and going, but I felt there was a chance it might look suspicious if someone noticed me exiting out the front shortly after the shard went missing. If, however, people saw me heading towards the study room, it wouldn’t look as evasive, and I’d have Quagmire as an alibi if anyone asked where I had been. I didn’t expect they had a way to pin down exact timeframes.