Battleforged: Contender: A LitRPG Apocalypse Adventure - Book 2, page 1
BATTLEFORGED
CONTENDER
M H JOHNSON
Copyright © 2023 by M H Johnson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and events are the work of the author’s imagination and all locations are either fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons or events is entirely coincidental.
CONTENTS
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
Thank You
Additional Links
1
Author’s note — This story does contain a handful of romantic scenes in the early slice-of-life chapters. What actually happens beyond kissing is mostly left to the reader’s imagination.
That being said, the pace will pick up fast! It’s pretty much nonstop action and excitement from the moment Eric reveals the glorious golden prizes he’s carrying!
“Name’s Captain Tiela. Would you be Eric Silver, by any chance?”
Eric slowly nodded, doing his best to hide the sudden tension he felt, gazing up at the cavalry woman armed and armored much like the other elves, save for a pair of golden roses on the collar of her silvered mail hauberk. She was presently leading the well-armed Sylvan escort accompanying the half-dozen refugee-filled wagons across the windswept plains all the way to Freetown after leaving the city of Gilton, former Orc territory, now the holding of one Lady Valorn of the Sylvan Alliance.
Eric spared a quick glance at the finely made spears, sabers, and bows all the cavalrymen had at the ready. The weapons were held in experienced hands as the elves maneuvered themselves on the cantilevered saddles of their snow-white mounts with an ease and grace that hinted at long years of dedicated practice.
He couldn’t help but wonder if there were already orders to secure his capture, even beyond Sylvan Territory, regardless of the agreement he had struck with Lord Drevyn.
But all Captain Tiela did was smile her approval when he conceded his identity with a nod.
“Good fighting back there. We’d be happy to have you join us all the way to Freetown, if you’re heading that way.”
Eric dipped his head, trying not to show how relieved he was. “That’s the plan, assuming nothing unexpected pops up.”
“Glad to hear it.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I don’t suppose you have anything like a healer’s knack?”
“Sorry, just natural regeneration. I take it one of your men was hurt?”
Captain Tiela’s lips thinned in concern. “I’m afraid he was. Which is a damned shame. He’s a newly forged classer, but I doubt he’ll live to see either Freetown or Gilton, even were we to turn around this very minute.”
Eric frowned thoughtfully. If it had to do with adventurers, where just being able to stabilize a patient for a handful of hours might see them through any injury… maybe he wasn’t entirely helpless, after all.
“Um… is it okay if I take a look?”
He winced at the look the captain gave him, the phrase ‘I thought you said you weren’t a healer?’ clearly on her lips. But all she did was flash a tight smile and nod. “Be my guest. Let me take you to him.”
Eric soon found himself staring into the desperate green eyes of a young man clearly in extremis, the pallor of his features as much due to near-terminal blood loss as the standard Sylvan skin tone. Certainly, he was paler complected than the dark-haired girl sobbing over his form, both of them wearing chain mail shirts that looked as elegant and comfortable as the most exquisitely tailored uniform. Unfortunately, however, grace didn’t always translate to strength, and the savage wound that would have killed an unarmored man had still been deep enough that the young soldier before him would likely perish within the hour.
Unless the wild idea racing through his mind actually worked.
He cleared his throat, catching the young woman’s attention. “I think I might be able to help. But, well, it’s unorthodox.” He paused before the desperate hope suddenly flaring in the girl’s gaze. “It’s blood magic. All right?”
The girl gasped, a look of disgust flickering across her features before she seemed to shake her initial reaction away and gave him an anxious nod. “Please, anything! We’ll be grateful for whatever you can do.”
Eric abruptly snatched a stack of cotton bandages an aide was carrying and proceeded to nick his own wrist, the snow-white cloth quickly turning a brilliant shade of red. He took a deep breath, heart racing with what he was about to attempt, but first, he needed to hear the words from the one he would rescue, if he could.
“Do I have your permission to bind my blood to yours?”
The wounded elf blanched.
“Lewellyn, you must, or you’ll die!” The girl sobbed, staring teary-eyed into her beau’s stricken face.
At last, after endless seconds they couldn’t afford to waste, the critically wounded elf gave the tiniest of nods. “Please… the pain!”
As soon as he said the words, Eric was pressing the bandage against the young soldier’s wound before closing his eyes and somehow becoming one with his patient.
Stabilizing this youth would require more than Blood Mastery and the Essence of Dominion instantly sealing the wound, denying the loss of a single extra drop of blood. Blood loss wasn’t the only thing that would doom this youth, with all the perforated organs and internal injuries Eric immediately sensed within his unexpected patient. It was only thanks to the odd magics of permissions granted and bargains made, resonating so strongly with the paths of Blood, Necromancy, and Faerie Binding, that allowed him to use his Find Weakness and Infravision skills along with his other arts in ways he never could have imagined before.
The odd synergism allowed Eric to attempt that which should have been totally beyond him, after long moments trying to get his blood to cooperate and commune with its new host. He flashed a tight smile past panting lips as perforated bowels were patched, blood vessels sealed, and a sliced kidney crudely glued together. By the end of their shared ordeal, Eric felt so exhausted he could hardly move as the young elf’s body was forced to adhere to the bargain struck, his immune system unable reject Eric’s gift.
Were it otherwise, the boy’s weakened body would have quickly succumbed to shock and death.
Eric gave a relieved smile when he sensed that his work was done, filled with the certainty that his patchwork healing should easily last a good eight hours and probably for a lifetime. More than long enough for the young elf to naturally purge all toxins and poisons and finish recovering on his own. It wasn’t a perfect healing, of course. The injuries had been too severe. But at least the youth would survive, even if he had been a classless mortal, though his kidney function had taken a major hit and he would have effectively lost several points in Vitality. Yet what mattered most in this case was that the System would reset the young classer back to full health without any internal scarring or impairment after the equivalent of a single night’s rest, and Eric’s intervention would buy the youth the time he needed to survive at least that long.
You have successfully fused Crimson Bandage to Abdominal Wound.
Blood loss has ceased!
Blood Mastery Skill check made!
You have successfully synergized Infravision, Find Weakness, and an advanced application of Blood Mastery to temporarily seal hemorrhaging internal organs!
Blood Mastery is now Rank 19!
Blood Mastery has evolved a novel Perk: Lesser Healing! For the modest cost of several temporary hit points and a bit of your own Potency, you may use your blood to patch any wound, immediately clamping shut any hemorrhaging injury!
If permission is specifically granted, you may additionally use your blood to infiltrate your target
and fuse together organs that were either perforated or sliced open with a successful skill check. (This healing path has no effect on blunt trauma.)
Warning! Temporary fatigue and exhaustion may ensue as you deplete your Stamina for the sake of another!
You now have an intuitive sense of the inner workings of all humanoid races!
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Healer’s Aid at Rank 1! - Though you lack any formal medical degree, your intuitive understanding of the humanoid form and ability to sense the flow of blood, magic, and life force in your patients will aid all future attempts to use magic (via improvised spells or formalized healing rituals) or mundane means to heal those in peril!
Of course, your growing insights into the inner workings of the mortal form can be used to harm your foes just as much as it can help your friends!
Find Weakness is now Rank 12!
You have successfully saved the life of one Level 5 Light Cavalryman! A portion of his infinite potential is now your own.
The critically injured youth flashed a wan smile, freed at last from the shoals of agony. “Thank you, hero. I… I already feel somewhat better.” He winced, biting his lip. “It still hurts like the frozen pits of Tartarus, but so much less than it did a minute ago.”
“Thank you, champion! For saving my Lewellyn, I will forever be in your debt!” said the sobbing woman before him, protectively holding her beau close. The matching rings they wore made it clear they were love-bonded in one way or another, which made Eric feel a bit better about the risk he had taken, revealing so much of himself in the company of strangers, at least a few of whom might be gunning for him in the very near future.
But not these two, Eric thought as he nodded at the girl’s thanks, doing his best to catch his breath. In fact, he was so exhausted he thought he would drop, a state that thankfully began to ease within seconds, thanks to his superhuman Vitality.
“Hey, no problem,” he said as soon as he his heart had stopped racing and he was breathing a bit easier. “I’m just glad I was able to help. Best thing you can do now is to let your beau fall asleep. It’s the best way classers have to heal, and his body should fully reset by the time he wakes up.” He took another look at his charge. “The trick is, of course, keeping an injured classer stable for at least the duration of a good night’s sleep. That said, I highly recommend boosting Vitality ASAP, because a score of twenty or better lets you benefit from actual regeneration. Then, potentially fatal blood loss stops within minutes or seconds, and no matter what, all injuries will be healed in an hour.”
The girl gave a rapid nod, swearing that they would both take his advice. Soon after, Eric was exchanging a warm smile with the captain, receiving a whispered “Thank you,” as he made his way back to the girl he most wanted to see.
In seconds, he was before her wagon, a flush creeping up his cheeks as he approached the strikingly beautiful girl riding along with her daughter and grandmother. The latter offered Eric a warm smile he quickly returned as he hopped on and took a seat. Of course, the accommodations were a bit on the crowded side, with almost a dozen other refugees who had, for whatever reason, decided that Freetown’s prospects were still better than even Gilton’s improved ones.
There was so much he wanted to say, and Rica’s twinkling eyes made it clear that she felt the same. They both seemed to delight in these sweet early days of a softly blossoming relationship and its endless possibilities, savoring both each other’s company and the wide, wild, and strikingly beautiful world all around them.
He took a deep breath of fresh air smelling of grass and countless wildflowers, feeling a sense of awe and wonder as they made their way past forests and fields already laying claim to what had once been endless suburban sprawl. With stores and houses already out of sight, thanks to the thickly growing copses of trees on all sides of this stretch of grasslands, the only odd incongruity to the bucolic landscape were the frequent remains of cars they passed by. Some were grass-covered derelicts looking like they had been decomposing for decades, others looked to be in perfect condition, though they were barely visible over the waist-high grass, as if they were a simple turn of the ignition away from working once more.
Eric smiled and took it all in as they made their way across the unusually flat stretch of plains with grass that was only ankle-high, covering what Eric was pretty sure had been a highway, not that long ago.
Of course, his exquisite hearing immediately picked up the soft murmurs of a pair talking about his new and improved status and what that might entail for their fortunes, making it clear that even here he’d have to watch his back. And he probably would in Freetown as well.
Then he chuckled, pushing such worries aside. Who the hell cared that the cards were already being stacked against him?
He’d happily smash through every barrier potential enemies might put in his way, and would do so for as long as it took, using the conflicts he endured to help himself advance and evolve as fast and as far as he could.
He took a quick look at his interface character sheet, taking sweet satisfaction in just how far he had come from the scarred, broken pod survivor who could barely even walk, just a handful of weeks ago.
_____________________________________
Eric Silver – Level 9 Conscript
NOTE. You have successfully infused your core! All potency earned beyond that required to reach Level 10 will be applied to Core Infusion. You are currently at 90.1% of maximum core density.
Physical Characteristics
Strength – 48 (91%) You’re now many times stronger than any Olympian ever to walk the face of Earth!
Vitality – 36 You can now regenerate at a visible pace, and have (limited) natural damage resistance!
Finesse – 59 Yours is an exquisite grace that any professional dancer, fencer, or marksman would envy.
Quickness – 38 You strike between the beats, cutting down your foes in the blink of an eye.
Appearance – 17 Thanks in part to your massive spike in Vitality, your essence scars are now no more than vibrant, tattoo-like markings that only a few will find off-putting, and most will find absolutely fascinating! Combined with your cat-like grace and magnificent physique, your exquisitely handsome hybrid features now exceed everything your mother had once hoped to achieve with steroids, foundations, and primers.
Congratulations! You now glow with health that many will find irresistible! Best keep a tight lid on your Sylvan System Interface connections, lest you find yourself with an offer you (literally) can’t refuse!
Mental Characteristics
Scholarship – 13
Perception – 51 Perhaps the greatest attribute of all. This (along with infravision) means you can spot most enemies long before they spot you.
Willpower – 28 You have already survived trials that few others could endure. And it shows.
Charisma – 13
Potency Pools
Arcane Potential – 17 Your Arcane Potential exceeds that of 99% of Conscripts hoping for a better class.
(Mana Pool = 204)
Spiritual Energy – 16 Your ability to harness Spiritual Energy exceeds 98% of novice supplicants. You have managed to discover the rudiments of a Trash-Tier Cultivation Technique!
Soul Reserves – 49 (43) You now possess multiple Soul-Linked Artifacts. Every 25 pounds of Blood-Linked Artifacts, or 50 pounds of Blood-Linked Possessions you have formed bonds of familiarity with will reduce Effective Soul Reserves by 1 additional point, rounded down.)
