The Realm Between: A LitRPG Saga (Books 7 - 10), page 44
Durability: 20/20
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.6 kg
Then he sat heavily down on his bedroll to pull up his character sheet to allocate his points.
Name: Sir Azure Galvan
Race: Human
Level: 26, 6% of the way to next level
Health: 643 / 440 (1000)
Mana: 690 / 420 (690)
Stamina: 470 / 455 (485)
Vitality: 20 (56)
Intelligence: 18 (27)
Strength: 22 (28)
Agility: 10 (23)
Dexterity: 9 (13)
Charisma: 5 (7)
Luck: 10 (10)
Skills: Archery Lvl 12; 20% of the way to next level
Stealth Lvl 4; 35% of the way to next level
Analyze Lvl 25; 12% of the way to next level
Cooking Lvl 17; 98% of the way to next level
Alchemy Lvl 7; 43% of the way to next level
Foraging Lvl 24; 18% of the way to next level
One-Handed Weapons Lvl 4; 10% of the way to next level
Tracking Lvl 1; 70% of the way to next level
Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 15; 5% of the way to next level
Fishing Lvl 1; 10% of the way to next level
Drinking Lvl 2; 15% of the way to next level
Land Magic Lvl 4; 48% of the way to next level
Enchanting Lvl 34; 99% of the way to next level
Mining Lvl 3; 60% of the way to next level
Tanning Lvl 5; 50% of the way to next level
Leatherworking Lvl 3; 10% of the way to next level
Woodworking Lvl 3; 77% of the way to next level
Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish, Cheoksum
“I’m sorry. He came on fast,” Rerdam apologized.
“And silently, apparently.” Azure pursed his lips before turning his glare on the elf and the princess.
Neither said anything.
Satisfied that they weren’t making excuses, Azure went back to his business.
Thanks to the harrowing experiences of the day, he put all three of his experience points into Vitality, a characteristic he had previously thought he’d been good on. It was beginning to feel like he’d never have enough Health to be secure.
After that, Azure leveled up his Two-Handed Weapons skill.
Congratulations! The skill: Two-Handed Weapons has reached Level 16. This skill enables you to use all manner of two-handed weapons to defeat enemies. Increasing your Strength will make them easier to wield.
GOD OF LIFE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE REALM – DAY 719
Having only gotten about three hours of sleep, Azure didn’t feel well-rested at all the next morning. This quest was definitely exhausting, with so many monster attacks happening in the middle of the night. It was something that none of them were used to. Typically, the light of a fire was enough to keep monsters at bay. That did not appear to be the case with the Life Resin Orb in their possession.
Tiny Owl had healed enough overnight to take flight and warn them of what was ahead.
The path before them was unusually clear. Still, they proceeded with caution, knowing that it was only a matter of time before monsters would show up. And they did, though not in the manner that the group had expected.
Azure’s party was just walking along, taking in their surroundings as they made their way toward The Shrine of the Mother when Jin suddenly took off at a jog.
“Tiny Owl is under attack. Come on,” he said in a panicked voice.
“What’s attacking him?” Rerdam asked as they ran to catch up.
“I don’t know. I just know that he’s injured.”
Somehow, the elf’s internal GPS was able to lead them toward the owl. It wasn’t long before they saw it approaching them on the horizon, its wings in a sharp line as it tried to outfly the monster behind it. The thing was about three times Tiny Owl’s size, its body an odd grey mass. Ashen human limbs hung seemingly lifeless from it, not even reaching out toward the owl. Giant black wings kept it aloft as it tried to chase Tiny Owl down. When it finally caught up to him, it beat him to the ground with its body. The owl plummeted from the sky like a rock, and Jin dropped the Life Resin Orb to catch him.
Uden snatched the orb up in his stead, causing a feeling of unease to settle over Azure as he saw the half-imp in possession of the item that could shorten his path to power. The second the fear crossed his mind, he watched Uden shove the Life Resin Orb into Rerdam’s arms.
“Here. You don’t have any ranged skills. You hold it,” the half-imp told him before reaching for his daggers.
Guilt flooded Azure’s heart from suspecting his friend of doing the wrong thing. It was a reminder that Uden was more man than monster, able to resist the pull of the orb.
But there was no time for self-chastisement. The enemy was ready to attack again.
It swooped down from the sky at Jin, still seemingly fixated on Tiny Owl. Apparently, the small bird wasn’t too injured, because it flapped out of its master’s hands and took off into the sky again, retreating from the battle. Azure simply shook his head at the cowardly owl.
He wasn’t sure what toll transforming Tiny Owl took on the elf, but he was now aware of many times that it would have been to their advantage for the owl to have been in its huge form. Now seemed like one of those times. In his larger form, Tiny Owl probably would have easily been able to best the flighted monstrosity. At worst, he would have been on equal ground to it instead of getting his ass handed to him. Whatever the case, it wasn’t really worth thinking about now.
As soon as the owl fled, the monster changed course, its body slamming into the ground instead. Now it used its limbs to bring itself up on all fours, shaking off the impact. Azure took a second to Analyze the creepy thing.
Level 26 Geode Drake.
It was a blessedly weak enemy, despite how damned unsettling it looked. Upon closer inspection, Azure could now see that the monster's body was made of solid rock, the surface of which was pockmarked.
Knowing it was at a disadvantage on the ground, the drake immediately flapped its wings to take flight again.
“We can’t let it get into the sky,” Jin warned, charging forward with his blades, but it was too late. Before he could reach the geode drake, it had managed to fly well out of his reach.
Though it had no eyes, the monster was seemingly aware of the new threats before it. Hanging lifelessly in the air, its arms and legs faced the group as if the thing was watching them.
Azure did not care. He sheathed his sword and unshouldered his Obsidian Recurve War Bow, nocking an arrow to the string. He’d been in The Realm long enough to know how this worked. Rock would not break for his arrows. The wings were the sweet spot.
One arrow was enough to do the trick.
Critical hit!
It was about damn time that Azure got a critical hit on a monster instead of the other way around.
The angle of his attack hit the drake just right, the arrowhead slicing through its wing and causing it to descend, though not as quickly as Tiny Owl had when the monster had slammed him down.
Determined to stay in the air, the drake beat its wings fiercely, but that only caused the one to tear more, aiding in its fall.
Uden waited until the monster was safely on the ground before he approached, his daggers in hand. He swung them down on it with full force, but his blades merely bounced off the stone, not even scoring the surface. The half-imp cursed as he jumped back to avoid the arm that clawed at him, the monster finally making use of its human limbs.
Luckily, the elf knew exactly what to do in the situation. Forgoing his blades for a more efficient weapon, he pulled a pickaxe from his bag. One good swing on top of the monster’s body was all it took to cleave it in half. A small wisp of light ascended from the creature's center, quickly floating into the sky and disappearing. Its wings went limp, and it stilled.
Defeated Level 26 Geode Drake. 208XP rewarded.
Upon approaching the drake for a better look, Azure noticed that its stone body was hollow. Rolled up inside was a piece of parchment.
Jin bent to pick up the paper, then unrolled it to read it to the group. “Bring me the Life Resin Orb.”
“This is not a natural creature.” Rerdam shook his head at the geode drake. “Only a powerful necromancer can create something like this.”
“Why does it have arms and legs?” Azure was afraid to ask, but the words had already left his mouth.
“Because it takes a corpse to make this type of drake,” Princess Zadori replied morosely. “That light you saw leaving the body was the soul of the person being freed.
“The necromancer creates a geode as a prison. The thing you find inside is something that once belonged to the living person. For this one, it must have been the sheet of paper. The necromancer wrote on it to secure his bidding.”
“That’s morbid.” Azure screwed his face in distaste.
“It is,” Jin agreed. “What’s worse about this is that we will need to start watching for threats in the sky as well.” He gazed up. Few clouds dotted the light blue ocean above.
Azure didn’t think that was worse, but it was still bad news for them.
The elf turned to Azure, offering him the pickaxe. “Here. You should carry this for now.” He practically shoved it into Azure’s hands before turning to Rerdam to reclaim the Life Resin Orb.
You have received the following item:
New Miner’s Pickaxe
Attack: +1-2
Type: Two-Handed Weapon
Durability: 12/20
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 1.3 kg
“Shouldn’t Rerdam keep holding it since he doesn’t have a bow?” Azure suggested gently.
Jin didn’t even turn to him. “No. It’s safer in my possession.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Uden cocked an eyebrow. “You were sure quick to drop it when you saw the owl falling.”
The elf spun on his heels. “You know, I was actually going to compliment you for not eating the orb when you had the chance, but I think I’ll refrain.”
“Still a compliment.” The half-imp smirked.
“Uden is right.” Princess Zadori’s voice was all seriousness. “Though I hate to say it, protecting the Life Resin Orb is more important than protecting Tiny Owl. He is a great boon to us, but you cannot forget why we’re here. If you would forsake the orb for the owl, then you should not be carrying it.”
This made Jin scowl. He took long strides toward the princess, then shoved the orb into her arms. “Here. You’re practically useless for this quest anyway.”
Not even bothering to see her reaction, he strode past her.
Princess Zadori’s eyes instantly began to water.
For a moment, no one moved, the tense situation putting them all on edge.
Rerdam came to the princess’ side, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Be strong, Your Highness. You are not useless.”
Uden was far better at consoling, flanking her other side. “It is safer in your arms. You were clearly willing to risk your life to protect it. That’s more than can be said for him.” He nodded in the elf’s direction.
“I’m sure it was just a momentary lapse of judgment.” Princess Zadori wiped a tear from her cheek by bringing it to her shoulder and shrugging.
The tension followed them in their progression, and everyone remained silent for the longest time. Even when the group came upon a barbed skeleton, combat was mostly formulaic. Princess Zadori stood a safe distance away with the orb while the others fought. No commands needed to be given for them to coordinate, and they were able to take out the level 26 monster without anyone getting injured.
The remainder of the day was a cakewalk compared to the one prior. They only encountered two more barbed skeletons before night fell and they needed to stop and make camp.
Once darkness descended, the assaults came from above. The geode drakes seemed to be attracted to the light of the campfire like moths to a flame. Thankfully, they were a weaker enemy, so the fear of them wasn’t as great, especially since they only seemed to attack alone. In a flock, they would have been a much bigger threat.
Both attacked early in the night, and neither made a very stealthy or graceful entrance, going straight for the fire as if it was a living thing. Because Azure currently had the New Miner’s Pickaxe, he was the only one who could deliver a killing blow to the creatures, which meant he was the one who got to loot them. Unfortunately, none of them had anything of real value inside—mostly just scraps of cloth that registered as junk when Azure picked them up.
Once his watch shift was over, Azure passed the New Miner’s Pickaxe back off to Jin, though there was no need for it. Nothing attacked during the second watch, and Azure enjoyed a peaceful sleep for a few hours.
The next morning, Tiny Owl informed them that the monsters in the area had grown thicker.
Jin scowled as he gave everyone the report. “And what’s worse is that there are a ton of basilisks.”
Azure’s brain immediately went to a song he’d heard about basilisks, though oddly, the song didn’t really describe them at all. From what he remembered from western cinema, they turned people to stone or something like that. He wasn’t exactly sure. All he knew was that they were big lizards.
“So we avoid them,” Azure stated the obvious.
The elf sighed. “It will not be that easy. Not only do we have to avoid them, but we have to avoid the acidic trail they leave behind.”
“Also,” Rerdam began to add, “if we do come across one and are forced to engage it in battle, do not use your sword,” he glanced at Azure, “or your daggers,” the old knight turned his gaze on Uden. “The poison from a basilisk is strong enough to travel up the blade of your weapon and infect you. Only ranged attacks are safe.”
“Got it.” Azure nodded. “Ranged only. Don’t let it touch you.”
“Yes,” Jin confirmed. “We should carve a path toward weaker monsters, if we can. Pick and choose our battles, as it were. Luckily, Tiny Owl can help with that.” He looked fondly at the owl perched on his shoulder and gave him head scratches before sending him off into the sky.
It was not long before they came across one of the acidic trails that the elf had spoken of. About five feet wide, it told of the size of the creature that had created it. Neon green death lay in its wake, the grass and stones and even dirt broken down into a bubbling goo.
The acid trail was nearly impossible for them to cross. Anything laid on top of it immediately disintegrated and joined the neon goop.
Uden tried to cover it by using Dirty Move. For a few brief moments, the dirt sat on the surface of the acid, looking like it might make a path for them. But slowly, it descended, joining in with the rest of the melted objects.
“Maybe we have a time limit to pass,” he suggested before trying the spell again, but throwing a rock onto the freshly created path proved that he was wrong. The weight of it sank straight into the acid, the rock melting upon touching it.
Azure tried his luck next with Grease. The grease sizzled as it hit the acid, causing a plume of smoke to rise into the sky.
“That was a bad idea,” Rerdam chastised him, and then they quickly retreated from the area, backtracking right into a monster that had seen the smoke in the air.
The barbed skeleton almost seemed to be grinning at them, perhaps knowing that the many trails the basilisks were making would soon have them caged in.
This particular skeleton showed a bit more piss and vinegar than the ones before it. Desperate to get to the Life Resin Orb, it tried to charge right through the group to reach Princess Zadori, its arms outstretched, its barbed hands curled into sharp claws. The elf swung his dual blades down to hack one of its arms off, but the skeleton moved at just the right moment, drawing its claws across his stomach, and then kept going.
Not about to allow the monster to break their line any further, Uden stepped right into its path. With a quick upward cross-slash, he removed its head from its body.
“Are you all right?” Princess Zadori pushed past the rest of the men to check on the elf.
“I’m fine.” Jin jerked away from her before examining his wounds. They went all the way through his armor but were not mortal. “We should wait for Tiny Owl to return to guide us. Clearly, wandering blindly will do us no good.”
They did not wait long before the elf’s head began rotating toward the sky, and he took a few steps toward the basilisk trail before stopping.
“What is it?” The princess followed his gaze.
“Another geode drake. Tiny Owl got attacked again,” Jin replied before stilling.
“Is he all right?” Princess Zadori’s face filled with concern.
Everyone watched the elf, waiting for his response. Finally, after a full minute, he spoke. “There are too many of them. He’s overwhelmed.”
“Is he bringing them back here?” Uden clearly didn’t seem to like the idea.
The elf only sighed, his shoulders slumping.
It was almost maddening, not knowing what was happening.
A few minutes later, Rerdam’s patience wore out. “Well, what’s going on?”
Jin shook his head. “He’s dead.”
Azure could have sworn he heard the elf’s voice break. A deep sorrow overtook the entire group.
“Dead…” Princess Zadori parroted the word as if she couldn’t believe it.
Jin sighed again, though his voice seemed to have recovered. “We will be at an extreme disadvantage now.”
“Jin, I’m so sorry.” The princess walked over to offer him comfort.
“It’s fine.” He shook his head. “It had to happen eventually. I just wish it wouldn’t have happened when we really needed him, but this quest is Very Hard after all.”
Azure was surprised by the elf’s lack of sensitivity toward the owl’s demise. He was sure the small creature had fought bravely and done everything it could to get back to its master. Even Azure wanted to tear up, but he sucked back his sadness, knowing that now was not the time to get distracted. He needed to follow his leader’s example. They could mourn Tiny Owl later.
