Champion: A LitRPG Adventure (Divine Progression Book 5), page 2
Just as he aided her in the same way each and every day.
Glenn visibly considered their options. “So we can’t convince Marion to let us keep searching for Sara and Leo with nothing but the word of a Town Guard that they were last seen in the Old Fishing District. But if we gather hard evidence that they’ve actually been abducted—”
“And where we might start looking for them,” Becka added.
“—she might have to reconsider her orders,” Glenn agreed with visible relief. “And as you said, she’s not wrong about all of it. The evidence we have now is rather flimsy, and I am close to both people involved. I need to give Marion real evidence and prove I’m up to the task of finding them.”
Becka smiled warmly. “Now you’re talking like the Glenn Graybreaker who saved the Marshvale Fishing Company from financial ruin. So. We have one more afternoon, evening, and night to gather evidence about Leo and Sara’s disappearance that changes Marion’s mind.”
“Right. Though... we’ve already been to the docks and the church, and we’ve all but walked the length of the Old Fishing District. We need to figure out where to go next.”
“May I offer a suggestion?”
“Please do. You’re amazing at all this. I’d be lost without you.”
From anyone else Becka would have assumed they were buttering her up, but from Glenn, the words came straight from his heart. He might be a bit thick-headed sometimes, but his genuine devotion to her and to helping others more than made up for that. No one could be good at everything.
“Brennon’s unavailable, and we can’t go to Marion until we know more,” Becka said. “But there’s one other person in town who I think might help us. In fact, I can almost guarantee she will.”
“Who?” Glenn asked hopefully.
Becka pictured the kind face of her first and most formidable mentor in the Blazers. “Jenny Ambersun.”
Glenn stared at her in surprise and, she noted, with a visible hint of worry.
“She returned from her latest recruiting trip just two days ago. She’ll be here in Lakebrooke for another three days before she heads out on the next one. She also knows both Sara and Leo personally.”
Glenn’s brow furrowed. “But Jenny knows who I am, doesn’t she?”
“She knows Glenn Redwood. She never got to meet Glenn Graybreaker. Unless you’re worried that Guilecaster charm around your neck has somehow broken in the past three months, I think it’s past time I introduced the two of you.”
“Right,” Glenn agreed... hesitantly. “But can we really risk her realizing who I am?”
“We might as well. She knows I have a man now, and she has asked about you. If I keep finding excuses to keep her from meeting the man I’m spending my nights with, she might begin to wonder if I’m ashamed of you... or if I really am secretly boning the same Glenn she knew.”
“And she would want to help us. She did train Leo, after all.”
“And Sara. And me. In fact, I like to think we’ve grown quite close since she took me under her wing two years ago. Finally, Jenny and Marion don’t really get along.”
Glenn’s brow furrowed. “And that’s... good somehow?”
Becka patiently reminded herself that one of the reasons she loved Glenn so much was because of how he could never, ever manipulate people into doing something against their best interest.
“It means Jenny’s unlikely to casually mention to Marion that we’ve come to her about this matter. Which makes it likely Marion won’t hear about us not quite following her orders until when we have some evidence that proves we had good reason to do so.”
Again, Glenn nodded. She could see his keen mind absorbing these new facts. “Then I think you’re right. If we tell Jenny Leo and Sara are missing, she may be able to offer some ideas about where they might have gone or what might have happened to them. So, where do we find her?”
“This time of night, after being gone for three weeks on a recruiting mission, I believe she would be on her way to enjoy a delicious supper at the Golden Minnow. She might be content to eat trail food while on the field, but the woman loves her crab legs.”
His expression grew more interested. “So... noble clothes for supper, then?”
She batted her eyes at him. “You can’t tell me you aren’t already looking forward to seeing me in another [Noblewoman’s Dress]. Perhaps the frilly blue one you bought me last week?”
Glenn’s grin widened. “That would work.”
She offered a mock frown. “Just don’t get distracted. We’re going to supper on a quest, not so you can spend the night ogling me in my lovely, frilly, low-cut dress.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “We certainly wouldn’t want me doing that.”
TWO
A CAVERNOUS ARENA
LEO
The six captives Teacher and his Desouled had gathered around the tables in one corner of the large cavern had finished eating their soup and bread long ago, and Sara had been gone longer than Leo was comfortable with. He glanced at the six people he needed to rescue once more. It was going to be a real chore to get them all out of here alive, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try his best.
Erick (a level 14 Shadower) now sat by himself on the corner of a bench, facing away from the others. He had his arms crossed like he was sulking. That was odd, since no one had said anything since the group at the table had finished introducing themselves. Perhaps, as a Shadower, Erick simply carried an instinctive distrust of Blazers.
Evie, the red-haired level 13 Guilecaster who hadn’t said a word since she introduced herself and her class, stared at the table and nothing else. Meanwhile, Maria, the level 19 Harmcaster who had yelled at Evie when she gave her name and class, continued staring down the tunnel into which Sara had disappeared with Teacher. Maria looked even more cross now than she had earlier.
Meanwhile, Kenneth (the level 15 Brutalist) and Cyrus (the level 13 Anchorite) talked in tones too low for Leo to make anything out. Had Leo not known how low their levels were, their ages would have assured him they had already each chosen an Evolved Class. Yet the whole reason these people were here (in Teacher’s eyes) was because they had abandoned Luxtera’s Climb.
Just like Tom Brightbow, a level 10 Auracaster. Leo’s best friend. His big brother, and the man he’d initially come here to save. And right then Tom walked around a table, climbed up on a bench, and thumped down on top of the table beside Leo.
Tom smiled. “Looks like you get to bail me out once again.”
“This one isn’t your fault.” Leo kept his eyes fixed on the tunnel down which Sara, Ripper, and Teacher had disappeared, willing them to emerge. “No one plans to be abducted by a crazy person.”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if he’s so crazy.”
Leo offered him a sharp glance. “What do you mean by that?”
“He showed us the scripture. All of us have read it. Kind of makes you think.”
“What scripture?”
“The Scripture of Ralun. It... well, it says things. Like why we should level, and what’s going to happen to us if we don’t.”
Leo scoffed. “You can’t possibly believe that. Scriptures of Ralun don’t exist.”
Tom offered a surprisingly lucid gaze. “Did the church tell you that?”
Leo hesitated only a moment before firming his scowl. “The church isn’t perfect. I’d be the first to admit that. But if there actually were Scriptures of Ralun out there, they would have spoken to us about them. Even the church wouldn’t dare hide the word of the Gods from the faithful of Luxtera.”
“There’s a lot about the church we don’t know. Anyway, I can’t say I’m fully convinced. The words of the scripture leave a lot to interpretation. The one thing I do know is that I don’t want to get my head ripped off by an Antlion, so until I know for sure that I’m going to wander in the dark forever if I don’t get back on the ladder, I’m not going to risk my life leveling.”
“But we have to start climbing the ladder again,” Evie said quietly from the other side of the table. “If we don’t... there’s no afterlife waiting for us. Not a good one.”
“There’s no warm afterlife waiting for us no matter what we do,” Maria said darkly. “The Gods are spoiled children tossing around their playthings. You think they care about their toys after we break? They’ll toss us on the rubbish pile and move onto whoever entertains them next.”
Kenneth frowned at her. “You shouldn’t talk about the Gods that way.”
“Why? If They were going to smite me, They’d have done so by now.”
“I don’t know if They plan to reward us in the afterlife or not,” Kenneth said angrily. “But I do know I wouldn’t want to make Them angry before I die.”
“But that’s what you’re already doing every day, if you believe Teacher. When was the last time you leveled anything other than your drinking tolerance?”
Kenneth glared. “It’s tough to level solo in Evolan. I’ll get back to it. I will! I just need some more training and I’ll be ready to go out and level again.”
“I just hate that they make us fight and kill,” Cyrus said sullenly. “We shouldn’t have to kill Monsters to stay in Their good graces. Isn’t the fact that we worship Them enough?”
Kenneth chuckled and shoved him in the arm. “You’re not mad about having to do more than worship. You’re just afraid to take a punch.”
“So why aren’t you? I never wanted to be an Adventurer. I would have been perfectly happy raising crops outside town!” Cyrus shook his head. “I hate fighting.”
Tom sighed. “You and me both. I always wanted to be a Merchant instead.”
Maria scoffed. “If you’d chosen that Class, you’d be even poorer than you are already.”
Tom scowled at her. “What do you know anyway? All you do is complain!”
“And all you do is daydream. It doesn’t matter how many of Teacher’s games we play or how many of his hurdles we clear. He’s never letting us leave this cave. And even if we did escape, we’d just die in some empty field when a Monster or Demon manages a lucky strike.” Maria looked up. “Damn the Gods and Their decrees. I’m done playing Their games.”
Despite his desire to be patient with these people, Leo was getting rather tired of their defeatist attitudes. No one would ever claim fighting Monsters and leveling was easy or safe, but with a good party and good sense one could still make progress. As much as he didn’t want to agree with Teacher about anything, the man was right that these people had absolutely given up on leveling.
Even so, abducting them and forcing them to fight Monsters wasn’t the answer. There had to be a better way to motivate them to start climbing the ladder again. Though... if he’d been unable to convince Tom Brightbow, a man who was as close to him as a brother, to do that...
The toll of a single bell echoed through the cavern. Everyone stiffened, including Leo. He didn’t know what that bell meant, but the others obviously did. He glanced at Tom. “What’s that mean?”
“Time to earn our supper.” Tom looked at the table. “Tomorrow’s supper.”
“How?”
“By fighting Monsters.”
Cyrus set his jaw. “I don’t want to fight today. I’m not going to fight today. If he sees I’m not willing to fight today, he’ll have to let me out of the arena. I don’t care if I don’t eat.”
“And what if he doesn’t let you out?” Kenneth asked angrily. “You plan to just let some Goblin stab you in the gut?”
To Leo, this was sounding worse and worse. “Teacher forces you to fight Goblins down here?”
“Among other Monsters,” Evie said timidly. “Each of us has to kill at least one Monster a day or we don’t eat. Goblins are the worst though. They just... they enjoy hurting people.”
Leo had only fought Goblins a few times with a full party of Blazers. Second to Demons, they were one of his least favorite Monsters to fight. It wasn’t just the fact that they were humanoid, which felt disturbingly like killing other Adventurers. It was the feral way their eyes lit up when they spotted human prey and what they often did with the corpses of those they defeated... which was eat them.
Normal Goblins were only level 10-12, but they were fierce fighters. Goblin Archers were usually lower level, 9-10, but they were frustratingly good at shooting poisoned rancid arrows or blow darts and fleeing before they could be struck down. And Goblin Champions could easily be level 14 or higher. Those Monsters carried shields, primitive armor, and [Bone Axe]s that could crush bone and tear flesh.
Anyone who died in a fight with a Goblin pack and whose body wasn’t retrieved by their party was almost certain to meet the Forever Death, because Goblins, like Minotaurs, enjoyed nothing more than the taste of a dead Adventurer. Even worse, unlike Minotaurs... Goblins didn’t bother to cook the body first. No Spiritualist could [-Resurrect-] an Adventurer whose body was devoured by Goblins.
Worse, Goblins rarely fought alone except for their scouts, and they generally clustered in underground caves where only a full party of experienced Adventurers dared venture. They were rabid, smelly, disgusting creatures that always targeted the weakest members of a party, always fled from superior numbers, and always set ambushes in their underground caverns.
Still, fighting one Goblin wouldn’t be so bad. The ravenous little Monsters were a terror in a pack, but each individual Goblin was relatively weak and easy to kill... though the way they sometimes fought, with no regard for their own well-being, almost ensured anyone without adequate armor would be bitten or scratched. Goblin saliva was mildly venomous, as was the poison they put on their claws.
Leo already knew Teacher was an Evolved Deathcaster, though he might be dual classing. What would he do if one of his captives got scraped or bitten by a Goblin during their daily battles? Leo had seen firsthand how goblin bites and scratches swelled and quickly became infected.
When Leo had fought Goblins with the Blazers, they always had an experienced Lifecaster in the party to use [-Cleanse Body-] and [-Flash Heal-] on any wounds before they could fester. So did Teacher have a Lifecaster working for him as well? He had mentioned human disciples as well as Desouled.
Leo was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything while his partner remained missing. Where was Sara? He struggled to remind himself that she was just as capable of taking care of herself as he was, but... they were the captives of a high-level Deathcaster. The man could easily murder either of them, regardless of how strong or brave or clever they were. The level difference alone assured that.
Maria sighed and rose. “Guess we’d best get on with it then.” She walked toward the tunnel guarded by the Silver Colossus. “Unless you want to get carried into the arena again.”
Leo watched them file off and then glanced at the desouled corpse of a Silver Colossus, a towering six-armed humanoid with gleaming silver skin that could completely shrug off any spell one cast at it. “Carried?”
As he fell into step behind the line, Tom glanced back at him. “If we refuse to go to the arena, Teacher just sends one of his Desouled to carry us there. We don’t like been carried about like a sack of potatoes, so we go.”
“And where are we going now?” Leo once again resisted the urge to draw his [Steel Spear] and take his chances with one of the high-leveled Desouled in the cavern. Where was Sara?
“Just keep walking,” Tom said. “It’s easier to see it than describe it.”
Leo glanced at the tunnel down which Sara had disappeared several times as they approached the tunnel guarded by the towering desouled corpse of the Silver Colossus. What little he recalled of how Deathcasters manipulated their puppeted corpses told him a Deathcaster had to be within sight of the corpse to actually make it do things. Otherwise, it simply stood dumbly in one place.
As they approached the tunnel, the Silver Colossus shuffled aside. Yet Leo didn’t see any sign of Teacher or Sara, so was it possible there was more than one Deathcaster down here? As a form wearing a long set of dark robes and a dark-colored mask similar to Teacher’s stepped from the tunnel, Leo realized he’d guessed correctly. This must be one of Teacher’s “disciples”... assuming they were alive.
As he peered closely, he was fairly certain he could pick out the subtle rise and fall of the slim figure’s chest. Their dark, thick robes made it impossible to ascertain anything else, including sex. He hoped the person would speak, allowing Leo at least one fact to archive in regards to their identity.
Instead, the figure simply stood aside and motioned with one hand as the procession filed through. Maria led with her eyes stubbornly fixed forward, followed by Kenneth, Evie, Cyrus, Erick, and lastly, Tom. Leo followed at the rear and paused at the tunnel entry. He stared the figure down.
“You have to know this is wrong,” he said firmly. “You can’t force people to fight Monsters.”
The disciple in the robes and mask remained silent.
“Is he forcing you to help him? Are you under duress? Why are you doing this?”
Once again, the figure simply motioned with one hand. As they did so, the Silver Colossus flexed all six of its arms and took one step forward, a thunderous single pace. The meaning was obvious. Continue up the tunnel after the others... or be carried there in the arms of the Silver Colossus.
Teacher’s disciple obviously had no intention of offering anything other than gestures. Leo abandoned his efforts to coax words out of them and followed the others up the tunnel. His worry for Sara remained, but he couldn’t help her if he got grabbed by a level 30 Desouled.
The journey continued for what Leo estimated was five or so minutes, though he couldn’t be certain. In addition to gradually sloping up and down, the tunnel wound back and forth enough that Leo would easily have gotten lost if there were any offshoots. Yet the tunnel went only one direction.
The floor, walls, and ceiling of the tunnel were also unusually smooth and round. It was either the work of a Builder or some sort of Monster that could burrow in the earth. Perhaps a Rock Spider? Leo doubted the rock-eating Monsters would build these tunnels on their own, but Teacher could easily kill some and enslave their corpses. A desouled Rock Spider could tunnel as easily as a live one.
