Goddess (The Weight Of It All): A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure, page 1
Goddess
The Weight of it All
A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure
Book 6
J.J. Thorn
Goddess: The Weight of it All
Copyright @2022 by J. J. Thorn
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are fictional.
This book is dedicated to my wife. When I started this series, she was my supportive girlfriend, and it’s her encouragement that has helped me make this story a reality.
Table of Contents
Recap – A heavily condensed version of the story so far
Prologue – Resolve
Part 1
Chapter 1 – The Weight of it All
Chapter 2 – Rewards
Chapter 3 – Next
Chapter 4 – Interlude: Chaos in Peace
Chapter 5 – Beauty
Chapter 6 – Monsters
Chapter 7 – Teller’s Choice
Chapter 8 – Stupid Ideas
Chapter 9 – Interlude: A Prince’s Responsibility
Chapter 10 – Interlude: A Soldier’s Mood
Chapter 11 – Splitting up
Chapter 12 – Sand Trap
Chapter 13 – Meeting in Wirrefe
Chapter 14 – An Outstretched Hand
Chapter 15 – Strength
Chapter 16 – Grepim
Chapter 17 – Interlude: A Brighter Future for Everyone
Chapter 18 – Interlude: I Understand
Chapter 19 – Revival
Chapter 20 – Childhood Expectations
Chapter 21 – Broken Rules
Chapter 22 – Uses Remaining
Chapter 23 – Interlude: The Will To Try
Chapter 24 – Rest
Chapter 25 – Meditation
Chapter 26 – Rewarded
Chapter 27 – Secrets
Chapter 28 – C-Rank Dungeon Boss
Chapter 29 – Beautiful
Part 2
Chapter 30 – Interlude: King
Chapter 31 – Interlude: King Part 2
Chapter 32 – Found
Chapter 33 – Trio
Chapter 34 – Interlude: The Tamber Assault Part 1
Chapter 35 – Interlude: The Tamber Assault Part 2
Chapter 36 – Interlude: The Tamber Assault Part 3
Chapter 37 – Interlude: The Tamber Assault Part 4
Chapter 38 – Interlude: The Tamber Assault Part 5
Chapter 39 – Don’t Blink
Chapter 40 – I. Love. This. Axe.
Chapter 41 – The Monarch
Chapter 42 – Rank 5
Chapter 43 – Dungeon Collapse
Chapter 44 – Another Life / Best Night Ever
Chapter 45 – The Wastelands
Chapter 46 – Ash Brothers
Chapter 47 – Just Come Back, Okay?
Chapter 48 – Resolve
Chapter 49 – Not This Time
Chapter 50 – Dead or Alive
Chapter 51 – Rules
Chapter 52 – Interlude: How Long Would You Wait?
Epilogue
The End
Thank you for reading
Glossary of Characters
Artwork for this book (go to my website for the high-res versions)
Sneak Peak at my next series
Recap – A heavily condensed version of the story so far
On the continent of Terna, the Goddess is real. Through her power, a small percentage of the population receives an Affinity the year they turn sixteen. With these Affinities, they receive a Skill and a Rank. As they use their Skill, through effort and continued use, they can Rank Up, earning new Skills and more Energy. Energy is used for Skills, along with other superhuman feats.
Book One follows Terrence ‘Ren’ Stine as he receives the WEIGHT Affinity and the ability to view people’s weights. Dismayed at the strange nature of his Affinity and Skill, he is still thrilled to have received an Affinity at all. As an Affinity user he is sent to Prep School in Krader, in the Kingdom of Prost, where his journey begins.
At Prep, Terrence spends most of his time with his new friends Zane, Jen, Britta, and Cassie. Each had received a unique Affinity, with Zane’s proving to be the most like Terrence’s. They quickly become friends and spend most of their time together. Zane is the son of a wealthy businessman, Stewart Teller, whose endeavours range from sales of everyday items to more sinister activities. Stewart Teller is a household name but kicks out his golden-child son when he learns that Zane’s Skill is not suited to his perception of a merchant’s lifestyle.
Terrence’s goal is to learn more about his Affinity and he hopes to become a Dungeoneer.
We are also introduced to Terrence’s uncle Tom. Tom is a veteran Dungeoneer, with a team of four: Griff, Holly, Lin, and Rana. After spending some time with Terrence, Tom and his team are given the chance to enter the ‘Ring of Mountains,’ a dungeon in the north. There they hope to find treasure, in the way of orbs, and Rank up in their own Affinities. Prior to the Dungeon Dive, Tom’s SWORD Affinity Ranks up after several years of trying, and he receives the ‘Talon’ Skill.
Book One ends with Tom’s team entering the dungeon, and Terrence being asked to join Britta in their first monster-hunting expedition — one sponsored by her father.
Book Two picks up the story as Terrence agrees to join the monster hunt to find Skinks. Terrence learns that he’ll be travelling with Tom’s son — his cousin John, and childhood bully. John is being mentored by a man named Gavin, and has his own Affinity: ICE. Through a series of trials, Terrence finds that his Affinity progresses faster than those of his friends. He Ranks Up on the journey, reaching Rank 2 and earning the Skill ‘Increase Weight.’
At the same time, Tom and his team are fighting the Dungeon up north and come across a lair. The lair proves troublesome, and Rana loses her life to the lair’s boss. The survivors eventually defeat the monster, earning more Skills from the lair’s rewards, but are heartbroken at the loss of their friend and teammate.
Through the course of Books One and Two, the King of Prost has determined that his son, Crown Prince Emmett Prost, did not receive an Affinity from the Goddess. As a result, he tasks a team of high-Ranking Affinity users to retrieve a Dungeon Core, a magical stone which can be used to bypass the Goddess and grant someone an Affinity. A man called ‘the Captain’ is on this team, and he is one of the strongest Affinity users on the continent. Procuring a Dungeon Core, however, means collapsing the dungeon from which it came and releasing all its monsters into nearby lands. The King knows the risks and orders the mission to proceed anyway, eventually killing thousands to provide the Crown Prince with the SAND Affinity.
Eventually, the Prost Kingdom discovers that the collapsed dungeon was on the border of Prost and Tamber, its neighbour to the south. The Kingdom of Tamber believes, rightfully so, that Prost orchestrated the collapse, and tensions begin to rise behind the scenes.
Book Three takes Terrence and team into their first ever dungeon — the Everwood. In the Everwood they are attacked by the Crown Prince, Emmett (who joined Krader Prep after receiving his SAND Affinity). He forces them to jump into a lair of their own. The lair is difficult, but their team eventually prevails and receives an Inventory Satchel, an item which will help them tremendously in future Dungeon Dives.
Elsewhere, after leaving the lair, Tom’s team is transported to another part of the Ring of Mountains Dungeon. They are forced to fight even more monsters to find the exit, and the return trip takes longer than expected. After losing Rana they are all forced to push themselves harder, and Tom earns the General Skill ‘Bloodlust.’ After finally reaching the exit, Omar — the dungeon expedition leader — coerces Tom to re-enter the dungeon without his team, in search of an Alpha. They find a unique monster instead; a monster named a ‘Dreelon.’ They prevail, but Tom encourages Omar to never seek him out again as he makes his way back to the dungeon’s exit.
Book Four does not include Uncle Tom, as he races behind the scenes back to his friends and family. Instead, the whole book follows Terrence through a series of major events. A Prep tournament is held in Krader where Terrence and Jen both earn high ranks after well-fought battles, but as the final rounds approach, the Everwood’s core is stolen and a dungeon collapse happens outside. And in the chaos of the collapse, Terrence learns that his mother, sister, and friends are somewhere amidst the monsters and confusion.
The second half of the story follows Terrence, Zane, Jen, and Cassie as they sneak out to find their family and friends. After searching for hours, Terrence learns that his mother and friends have been killed and they too are almost killed by the same monster. Wally, Terrence’s father, comes to their aid along with some of Tom’s team, and the remaining team members make their way out of Krader.
The dungeon collapse in Krader prompts the King of Prost to initiate war on the Kingdom of Tamber, believing that the collapse was triggered as retaliation for the mission that took place over Books One and Two. We also learn through a series of interludes that merchants, led by Stewart Teller, were responsible for both dungeon collapses — directly or indirectly.
Terrence’s friends and family decide to head to the capital of Prost, looking for answers amid the chaos.
Book Five finds Terrence, his friends, and his family as refugees in the capital of Prost after the collapse in Krader. Terrence and team realize they need to get stronger in order to protect their friends and families, and work towards achieving their Dungeoneering Rank. After impressing the Guild masters, they each take a test to receive F-Rank in the Guild.
Tom eventually arrives and everyone is briefly reunited as talk of war accelerates. In the short time they have Tom trains Terrence and his team before he is forced to join the war, giving them some insights. Wally declares that he will not fight, and they are forced to sneak him off-continent.
Sneaking him away does not work, as Wally is soon discovered as guards, and the Captain, appear at Wally’s door. Tom is forced to fight the Captain, and we learn that the Captain was once Tom’s mentor. The younger team gets away and takes a boat to the Southern Isles, where Zane’s mother was raised. Once there, they defeat a local tyrant and return to Dungeoneering.
Meanwhile, Tom and his team enlist, and are tasked with defending the south-eastern border between Prost and Tamber. They win a skirmish, but Tom watches as hundreds die to further the goal of a few powerful men. Still, Tom is a dutiful man. He and his team plan to see the war to its end.
At the end of the book, Terrence and team defeat their first Dungeon Boss. Surprising them all, the Goddess herself appears.
This is where our story begins, in Chapter 1, with Terrence and friends facing down the Goddess, and learning about the task she intends for them to complete.
But first, the prologue, where we see a glimpse into the future…
If you enjoy any of my stories, I’d love if you could leave a review. If this recap was helpful, please let me know. I highly recommend you still read books 1-5, since I have skipped a lot of information that will help you understand the series in full.
Hope you enjoy!
J.J.
Prologue – Resolve
“I need you to trust me,” I pleaded, turning away from Jen and the others. “Please stay here, watch the portal for a while, then head back to the exit. If everything works out, this shouldn’t take long.”
Jen stepped in my path, stopping me from walking any closer to the portal. Thankfully she hadn’t kept moving towards it herself, otherwise all of it would’ve been for nothing.
“Move, Jen,” I insisted. “The last Dungeon Boss almost killed you. I won’t risk that happening again.”
“And that means you need to do this alone?” Jen yelled, grabbing my sleeve, a tear falling from her eye. “Terrence, let’s just leave. The Goddess can wait. The rest of us can still get stronger; you don’t need to do this by yourself. ”
“You know that isn’t true, Jen.” I looked into the eyes of the girl I loved.
“I can make it true,” she whispered. “I can get stronger. We can get stronger,” she said, her voice getting louder. “We don’t need to reach your Rank, but we can find better equipment, enchanted items — we can try to learn new Skills!
“We have time!” Jen cried out, begging me to wait. To stay. To hold on.
And I wanted to agree.
I really did.
We’d spent years of our lives chasing this goal and even now, with the final obstacle staring right at me, I desperately wanted to take Jen and leave.
I wanted to see Dad and Elise. Only now, after what we’d been through, did I really understand why Dad had given up Dungeoneering to be with Mom.
Selfishly, I wanted that life with Jen.
And unselfishly, I wanted to give my friends their lives back. Grep and his tribe deserved to start building their future in their new home. Britta and Cassie deserved to spend time with their parents or start a family. To move forward on their own, instead of following me because it seemed like the right thing to do.
I wanted to give Cassie and Zane their chance.
I wanted to find a home for Jen and me where we didn’t need to worry about monsters, or Goddesses, or any of it.
But I couldn’t.
I couldn’t ask them to spend another day, month, year, training and growing stronger. Not when I knew they deserved so much more. This task had been given to me, not them. And as much as I wanted to ask them to risk it all with me, again, I couldn’t ask them to spend any more of their lives hoping to reach the same level of strength I had.
It wasn’t fair to make them strive for a goal that was probably impossible.
Current Progress.
Affinity: Weight
Dungeoneer (C)
General Skill: Meditation, Energy Veil
Rank 1 – View Weight – 100%
Rank 2 – Increase Weight – 100%
Rank 2 – Shift Weight
Rank 3 – Dead Weight – 100%
Rank 3 – Weighed Down
Rank 4 – Falling Weight – 100%
Rank 5 – Decrease Weight – 98%
Energy: 1274/1343
As I looked at my progress one more time, I silently declared that my resolve couldn’t be swayed. If this was going to end, it needed to be on my terms.
Not those of the Goddess. Not those of the Great Protector.
My own.
“I’m sorry, Jen. I need to do this alone.” I reached my left hand towards Jen’s shoulder.
Jen felt my movements and looked up in time to notice my arm coming towards her. Instinctively she darted to my left; in the blink of an eye, she’d jumped out of my reach. Her swords were already beaming as she wiped away her tears.
She’d made up her mind too. And as I watched her gaze dart between me and the portal, I knew I couldn’t convince her otherwise.
‘Shift Weight.’
‘Decrease Weight.’
I shifted my weight to my legs and kicked off, decreasing my weight to near-nothing quickly after as I sprinted to catch her. Cracks appeared in the ground where I jumped as I hurried to her side.
Jen’s speed meant she almost beat me there, but I intercepted her only steps away from the portal. And for a split second I almost backed down. But I looked in her eyes again, and I knew there was no other way.
I couldn’t risk hurting her, but it was too late for half-measures.
‘Increase Weight.’
‘Shift Weight.’
I swung my enhanced leg to kick her away from the portal. The lightness of my body and months of honing my energy made me slightly faster than her reflexes, as she barely got her swords up to meet my kick.
The swords shattered and she tumbled away. I chased after her, not backing down.
Standing up and new swords ready, Jen faced me with a new fire in her eyes.
‘Falling Weight.’
Jen didn’t stand around to wait for my Skill to descend, already stepping away from the affected spot. I tried to catch her in my Skill again, but I’d become too predictable and the Skill wasn’t fast enough to catch her as she dodged my trap.
Swords of light started flying from above her head and streaking towards me.
Dodging the swords slowed me down. She angled her projectiles to pin my legs down and I had to stop trying to catch her with ‘Falling Weight.’ I moved to reach Jen’s position, forced to bat her swords away with the Energy shrouding my body.
Darting around, I did everything I could to keep away from the Dungeon Boss portal, as Jen tried her best to stay out of my reach.
Eventually I caught her off guard and appeared at her side reaching to grab her shoulder again, but indecision slowed me down as her swords swung around and came crashing down towards me.
Years of sparring together made it clear her swords weren’t at their sharpest. Even then I couldn’t afford an injury; not right before entering the boss room. One severe-enough wound and she could use it as an excuse to keep me from going through the portal.
Blocking her swords with my arm guards, I activated ‘Falling Weight’ again. This time, on top of both of us.
I’d used this trick several times before and she could usually get clear of the area, but this time I saw her shoulders slump from the weight I’d added around us both.
The weight wouldn’t be enough to keep her there for long, so I took my opportunity. I swept away her final lazy attempt at a strike and grabbed her in an embrace.
I held onto her, feeling her rasping breaths as her small frame collapsed into my own.
