Second Chance Swordsman (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1), page 1
SECOND CHANCE SWORDSMAN
JAKOB TANNER
CONTENTS
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Free Bonus Epilogue
Author’s Note
Tower Climber Sample
Knights of the Tannerverse Facebook Group
Knights of the Tanneverse Discord Server
Join the LitRPG Group on Facebook
Join the GameLit Society for more GameLit and LitRPG
More Places to Hang Out!
The LitRPG Store
Dedicated:
To my mom and dad, who have encouraged and supported me in everything that I’ve done.
Special Thanks to:
Angela Marshall for assistance in too many things to count.
Nik Grantham for letting me be his “most read” author.
Andrew Smith for sage wisdom.
Thanks to my beta readers and their amazing feedback:
Amcn/Arya
Josh Cothran
Ben Graff
Sean Hall
Joshua Hoatland
Denny Johnson
Jeff Patrick
Carol Sherman
Erik Tanner
Lana Turner
This book wouldn’t be what it is today without you guys!
1
Sam stood on the frontlines of the Final Army, the soldiers beside him shivering with fear. Their shoulders trembled. Their teeth chattered. Sam closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He wanted to fight his nerves, be calm. It was tough to stay composed in the face of death.
Sam continued to stand tall and proud, keeping his sword clutched in one hand, staring out across the battlefield.
At the far end, the demon king and his horde were streaming out of a huge portal of darkness.
It was the biggest black gate any of the soldiers in The Final Army had ever seen.
The howling wind echoed across the battlefield, mixing in with the hiss and growls of the monstrous horde growing in front of them.
“We’re all going to die,” said the soldier beside Sam. He started muttering it over and over again. “We’re all going to die. WE’RE ALL GOING—”
Sam clutched the man’s shoulder with one hand and cupped the man’s mouth with the other.
The soldier’s eyes widened, freaking out even more.
“We’re not going to die,” said Sam. “Humanity has formed the greatest army ever known in the entire history of Westria. We will not die in the face of this threat.”
The soldier had stopped shaking, but Sam was still worried the man might start wailing as soon as he removed his hand from his mouth.
“Look,” said Sam. “I’m going to remove my hand, but I don’t want you to start screaming. I’m going to give you something to help with the nerves. It’s called brightweed. The elves used to take it before battle to keep them calm and focused.”
Sam let go of the man’s shoulder and then materialized some leaves from his inventory. He then slowly let go of the man’s mouth and handed them to him.
The man took the leaves and put them in his mouth and began to chew. His face grew noticeably calmer as he ate the leaves.
He nodded at Sam in gratitude.
Of course, Sam knew the leaves weren’t actually real brightweed, but the placebo effect was enough to calm the soldier down. He figured if given the option, it would be better to die with the knowledge that you fought brave and valiantly than to die cowering in fear. Sam saw it as one of his parting gifts to the soldier beside him, one last act of secret kindness. For in Sam’s mind, he had little doubt that their destruction and loss was near inevitable.
Yet it was the hope that a miracle could still happen that kept him going.
A huge horn could suddenly be heard echoing across the battlefield.
That’s the signal, Sam thought.
He straightened and got ready for the battle ahead.
The general in the center of the army shouted, “CHARGE!”
Sam pushed his boots off against the black sand and began running forward. The sound of battle cries and rushing feet echoed all around him.
The demon horde hissed and wailed and then galloped towards them.
The two armies were going to meet in the middle.
Leading the front line of the demon horde was a creature called a demonling. A ghastly crimson monster with a mouth composed of tiny razor sharp teeth that could rip through armor and flesh with ease.
One demonling rushed ahead and leaped right towards Sam, mouth wide open. The monster was fully prepared to dig into Sam and rip his head completely off from his neck.
Sam swung his blade faster than the demonling could move, slicing the monster cleanly in half.
The ichor and ooze of the dead demon splashed onto his face and Sam had to take a second to wipe it off.
More demonlings came his way and he made quick work of them.
All around him, the front line human soldiers were pushing back the demon army’s first wave. Demonling hisses were quickly turning into whimpers. The echoes of their galloping feet were turning into the sounds of their bodies smacking against the ground dead.
Adrenaline surged through Sam as the primal need for survival took over and he entered a state of battle frenzy. His heart pounded against his chest. His throat burned.
Maybe, he began to think. Maybe we can actually win this thing.
Sam continued to move forward, slashing his sword, and ripping through the horde of demonlings with ease.
If we can keep pushing forward, Sam thought, Maybe we can get close enough to the demon king, and if we can slay him…
Sam’s hopeful thoughts were short-lived as higher-level demon soldiers showed up in the second wave of the demon horde’s attack.
Demon soldiers were warriors composed of deep red flesh and fought with mutated arms that functioned like swords or battle axes. They fought with greater sentience and strategy than the blood lusting demonlings.
Sam rushed forward, ducking a demon soldier’s swing of a battle axe, and then jumped up and sliced the demon warrior’s head right off.
He wasted no time, heading towards his next enemy.
There was no time to pause. No time to assess which way the battle was going. Any hesitation meant instant death.
He could hear in the background, the groans and screams of his fellow human soldiers.
Unlike the demonlings, the demon soldiers were definitely putting up a stronger fight against them.
Sam sliced through another group of demon soldiers only to find a massive shadow looming over him.
He looked up.
His eyes widened.
It was a demon giant—a colossal monster—with massive fists and arms with sharp protruding bones.
Sam jumped backwards away from it.
The demon giant swung its arms, killing a dozen human soldiers with utter ease. First from the sheer strength and power of its blow, and if that weren’t enough to kill the human warriors in front of it, the sharp bones along its arm finished the job, stabbing the humans all over.
Sam gasped at the sight of the sheer destruction.
The demon giant wasn’t even one of the demon king’s strongest soldiers and yet they were taking out some of humanity’s best.
Sam took a step backwards, only to knock into something.
He realized before even looking up that he’d been so awe-stricken by the demon giant that he’d lost focus.
And losing focus meant…
Suddenly, looming over him was another demon giant.
Sam had no time to react.
The demon giant swung its fist right into Sam’s side, sending him hurling high up in the air. Sam didn’t notice he was flying above the two clashing armies, as the pain from the attack was so intense, it overtook his entire sense of being.
Seconds later he crashed into the ground, countless bones in his body, snapping and breaking upon impact.
His whole body ached and throbbed with the greatest amount of pain he’d ever felt in his entire life up to that point.
He couldn’t quite understand why he hadn’t died immediately upon impact.
Looking around, he realized he’d landed not quite on the ground of the battlefield but upon a pile of dead human soldiers.
Their bodies had cushioned his fall.
Sam’s vision began to wobble. He could see blood leaking out of his body from different points.
So this it, he thought.
He rolled over and watched as the demon giants ploughed through the human army.
It was the greatest human army ever created in the history of Westria and here it was being demolished within minutes.
Sam realized they never stood a fighting chance against the demon king and his horde.
A swell of anger filled Sam’s dying body.
It’s our own fault, he thought with bitterness.
If humanity had spent more time preparing, maybe things would have gone differently. If the elves were still with them or even the dwarves.
Maybe then, Sam thought wistfully, but even then, who could really say?
The clouds above were gray and full of ash. A sea of dead bodies lay everywhere.
The demons had won.
Sam felt his vision begin to close in on him. He was being enveloped in the darkness of death.
As he was about to take his last breaths of life, something strange happened. A bright light emerged in the clouds above him.
Huh?
The bright light got closer and closer, filling Sam with a sense of warmth.
Is someone casting a massive heal spell?
Answering Sam’s thoughts as if he had spoken them, the light spoke out, “You’ve been chosen, young knight.”
Who is this? Sam thought deliriously.
“I am the last living goddess of this world,” said the light. “I will die along with the rest of Westria, never to return. I have enough power, however, to send you back...”
“Send me back? Back where? Will you be there?”
The goddess paused for a second, sadness filling her voice. “I will not be there, no. I don’t have enough energy or power to explain any more. Just trust me. You’re the only one capable of doing this. Good luck!”
And with that, everything went black.
2
Sam slowly opened his eyes to find a group of wide-eyed children and teenagers looking over him.
There were multiple kids—all scruffy and dressed in dirty rags—surrounding him, wherever it was he had woken up. They were all whispering excitedly.
“Shh, you’ll wake him up.”
“No—look he’s awake already!”
Before Sam could get his bearings and figure out what the heck was going on, the children around him collectively cheered, “Happy Birthday!”
Sam blinked and soon enough found a birthday cake being held up in front of him.
The cake had sixteen lit candles on it and the icing said, “Happy Birthday Sam”. Except there were finger marks in the icing of the cake that suggested the cake had originally said, “Happy Birthday Samantha”.
Was this cake stolen? Sam wondered.
He shook his head as a migraine began to form.
“Blow out the candles,” said a nearby teenage girl. The girl had curly auburn hair, freckles, and large beautiful green eyes. Despite her raggedy clothes, there was no doubt in Sam’s mind that this girl was stunning. “It’s your birthday!”
“My birthday?” Sam said, confused.
He looked down to his palms, perplexed. He couldn’t understand where all his bruises, cuts, and wounds had gone.
“It can’t be my birthday,” he said. “Aren’t I dead?”
The teenage girl’s face went red and she clutched his cloth shirt and pulled it towards her and hissed beneath her breath, “I don’t know what kind of weird dream you just woke up from, Sam, but if you’ve forgotten that around here none of us know when our actual birthdays are—so it’s nice to still celebrate a pretend one. Even if you suddenly think you’re too cool for it, think about the younger ones here.”
The girl gestured with her eyes to the little kids smiling up at Sam.
“Why is Sam acting so weird?” asked one of the little ones.
“He always acts weird,” said another.
“No—look, his eyes are different.”
They all stared at Sam and then gasped, including the teenage girl who had just taken a very authoritative tone with him.
“Sam,” said the bossy girl. “Are you okay?”
The whole room was spinning and he felt like he was going to be sick.
