Death: Genesis 2: An Isekai LitRPG, page 1
DEATH:
GENESIS
B O O K 2
NICHOLAS SEARCY
Thank you to everyone who’s helped make Death: Genesis what it is.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from Podium Publishing.
Th is is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Nicholas Searcy
Cover design by Podium Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-0394-1949-0
Published in 2023 by Podium Publishing, ULC
www.podiumaudio.com
CONTENTS
1 CIVILIZATION
2 NECESSITIES
3 THE ROAD TO BEACON
4 GOBLINS
5 A MYSTERIOUS FIGURE
6 SPIDERS
7 A TOUGH ROAD
8 BEACON
9 REWARDS
10 WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU . . .
11 EQUIPMENT
12 AN UNNECESSARY APOLOGY
13 TACOS AND TUNICS
14 THE CHAMPIONS OF LIGHT
15 INVESTIGATION
16 LIZARDS
17 ABBY SUMMERS, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
18 SUMMONING RITUAL
19 FECAL FIEND
20 THE FIRST THRESHOLD
21 HUMAN NATURE
22 ARMOR
23 THE SMART WAY
24 DISAPPOINTMENT AND OPPORTUNITIES
25 THE TWINS
26 TRAINING
27 FINAL PREPARATIONS
28 ON THE ROAD AGAIN
29 NECESSARY SACRIFICES
30 TEAM
31 THE WRONG TARGET
32 AFTERMATH
33 MISTAKES WERE MADE
34 THE VALE
35 A GLIMPSE AT A BIGGER PICTURE
36 A BIT OF PLANNING
37 THE MORNING AFTER
38 A TALENTED ALCHEMIST
39 TOTEMIC TRIBUNAL
40 GOATS! GOATS! GOATS!
41 AGAINST A WALL
42 A DEVOTED WIFE
43 A DEVOTED HUSBAND
44 EMERGING FROM THE ABYSS
45 A CONFRONTATION
46 WAS THAT A GOAT?
47 A DIFFERENT PATH
48 A NEW PLAN OF ATTACK
49 TRAINING
50 HUNTING PARTY
51 ON THE NATURE OF MONSTERS
52 HISTORY
53 A BAD DECISION
54 NO MAN LEFT BEHIND
55 DISTRACTIONS
56 TIGHT SPACES
57 AMONG TITANS
58 JAILBREAK
59 RESCUE
60 BREAKING THROUGH
61 A SECOND PATH
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
1
CIVILIZATION
Abby, Pudge, and Zeke trudged downhill, covering the final stretch to Bastion. As they grew closer, Zeke found himself increasingly impressed by the size of the town, as well as the construction of the walls. Not only were the walls nearly thirty feet high, but when he focused, he could see the faintest hint of glowing runes beneath the gray stone.
“Are those walls enchanted?” he asked when they were still a half mile away.
Abby shrugged. “No idea, but probably,” she said. “I’ve heard it’s one of the oldest way stations along the road between Beacon and Salvation, so it’s not out of the question.”
Zeke frowned, studying walls as they drew ever closer. He was aware that Abby couldn’t see the runes like he could. Whether it was an effect of his artisan path or just a different kind of focus, he didn’t know, but based on how Abby talked, he suspected that the ability wasn’t a common one. Most of the time, the runes were invisible, but it took only a mental shift of his perception before the complicated combinations of glyphs and symbols became apparent.
“Wonder what they do,” he muttered to himself.
Abby’s keen ears heard his mumbles, and she responded, “Probably enchanted for durability. Maybe some sort of counterattack. There’s really no telling. I doubt the Watcher even knows unless she’s had occasion to see them in action.”
“Watcher?” Zeke asked.
“It’s a title for the leaders of way stations and outposts,” she answered. “A woman named Aria has been the Watcher in charge of Bastion for a couple of decades now. Level twenty-four, from what I hear.”
“What kind of skills does she have?”
“Please tell me you’re not going to pick a fight, are you?” Abby asked, glancing toward him with a raised eyebrow. Her tone was playful, but there was a hint of concern there, as well. That was a little troubling, and it prompted Zeke to wonder just how bloodthirsty Abby thought he was.
“Just curious.”
“So long as it’s just curiosity,” she said, shaking her head. She mumbled something about bulls and china shops before answering the question. “Fire-based stuff, as far as I know. I’ve never even seen her, so I can’t be sure, but I heard that she can throw fireballs or something. But it doesn’t matter because we’re just passing through, right? You’re never going to meet her or find out what she can do.”
“Right,” Zeke said. “I’ll behave.”
Abby gave a laugh, which ended in an adorable snort. Immediately, she covered her face in embarrassment. “Let’s just pretend that didn’t just happen,” she said.
“What? Your snort-laugh? I didn’t hear a thing,” he said with a grin. “And for your information, I’m perfectly capable of flying under the radar.”
“Not from what I’ve seen, but I’m prepared to be surprised,” she said.
Zeke was about to respond, but he stopped himself as he considered how Abby must see him. Since they’d been together, he’d made a habit of charging into battle without a care for how it might turn out. So, it wasn’t all that surprising that she would consider him a little reckless. Certainly, he never claimed to be subtle.
“Fair enough,” he said.
Pudge gave a loud snort, almost as if to say that he would keep Zeke in line. Or at least that’s the impression Zeke got from the cub’s emotions. Zeke could only shake his head and wonder how Pudge had become his babysitter.
As the trio made their way to the gate, Zeke couldn’t help but marvel at the structure. Growing up in the States, he’d never really been exposed to castles. He had seen them in movies and on the Internet, but the closest he’d come to seeing an actual castle was in grade school when he’d gone on a field trip to a local pre–Civil War fort. That experience hadn’t come close to preparing him for Bastion.
Up close, the walls were even bigger than he first thought, measuring in at over thirty-five feet tall and half again as thick. When he shifted his focus, he could see the distinct glow of interlocking glyphs suffusing every single brick. In turn, those collections of symbols combined to create a much larger whole that wove through the entire wall. Without the runes, it was an impressive fortification, but with them, it was downright intimidating.
The gate wasn’t any less extraordinary, either. Comprised of giant, iron-gray slabs of lumber, it was bound with bands of some silvery metal that was densely packed with even more runes. They were open, with an iron portcullis withdrawn, but Zeke suspected that the gates could be closed in seconds, if necessary.
There was a short line of wagons waiting to get into the way station, and the gate was manned by a pair of warriors in matching tabards emblazoned with a red flame over their chain mail armor. Zeke didn’t need to inspect them to know that they were no higher than fifteen. They looked impressive, but they didn’t hold that much real power. The people waiting in line were even weaker, coming in at below level ten.
While they were still out of earshot, Zeke said, “This doesn’t make sense. Why is everyone so weak?”
Abby responded, “Most people never get past fifteen, even if they’re adventurers. These people just want to live their lives. Some are traders. Some are travelers. Craftsmen. Not everybody wants to risk their lives to get stronger.”
Zeke was about to respond, but then he stopped himself. It wasn’t so different from back on Earth. A lot of people were content to do the bare minimum. Sure, when given a task, most people would perform to the best of their abilities, so long as it wasn’t overly taxing. However, very few would willingly push themselves to improve. Zeke had seen it in baseball and in school, and he suspected that people, as a whole, never really changed, regardless of getting older. So, it stood to reason that being reborn wouldn’t alter anything, either. Not for the majority, at least.
They quickly found a place in the line behind a wagon loaded with sacks of grain. Some of the traders glanced at Pudge with some trepidation, but when he didn’t act aggressively, they relaxed. Of course, he was still the equivalent of a toddler, and he wasn’t too much bigger than a dog, so they probably thought he wasn’t a threat. If they’d seen him against the drachnids, tearing into them like a particularly angry and vicious badger, they might’ve reacted differently.
What would people think as he got older? Pudge’s mother had been close to the size of a rhino, and she’d probably still had plenty of room to grow. Would Pudge get even bigger as he gained levels?
Because the guards had t
“Something like that,” Abby said, taking the lead. “Any issues in the area?”
“We had a few bog stalkers attacking people near the swamp,” the female guard said. “But we hired a couple of adventurers from the Gilded Rose to take care of it. You guilded?”
“Champions of Light,” Abby said, pulling a pendant out of her pocket. She jerked her thumb at Zeke, adding, “He’s a recruit.”
The other guard shook his head, saying, “Oh. Sucks to be you. I heard the Champions of Light have some horrible initiation requirements.”
Abby laughed. “You can say that again,” she said.
The female guard glanced behind Zeke and Abby to see that the line hadn’t gotten any shorter. She nodded at Zeke, saying, “Two silver for him.”
Abby pulled a couple of coins from her pocket and handed them over. The guards waved them through, and as they passed, Zeke heard the man mutter, “Good luck.”
“What was that all about?” Zeke asked when they got out of earshot.
“Which part? The initiation? The bog stalkers? Or the entry fee?” she asked.
“Uh . . . all three?” he asked, mentally pulling Pudge along. The bear had begun to lag behind, sidetracked by a host of new and interesting smells. Zeke wasn’t much different, except that instead of smells, he was distracted by the sights. The town looked like a prototypical medieval town, with stone buildings, cobbled streets, and a citizenry armed with a host of melee weapons. In the distance, Zeke could hear the ring of a blacksmith’s hammer cutting through the din of the crowd of pedestrians. After spending so long in the wilderness, it was a little overwhelming.
“Well, the bog stalkers are these natural spirits made of moss, mud, and rotting wood,” she said. “Ambush predators. They usually stick to swamps and marshes where they can blend in. Nasty things. Really hard to kill unless you hit them just right and damage their cores. Fire works, too. The road runs close enough to Trollmoor Bog that they sometimes attack travelers.”
Zeke’s heart went cold. “I spent a few days in that swamp,” he said.
“Lucky you didn’t run across one, then,” Abby said. “No offense, but you’re not really suited for fighting something like that. Of course, you could probably run away. Or knowing you, you’d just muscle through it. Probably by jumping at it.”
“I don’t always jump!”
“Are you sure about that?” she asked with an impish smile. “Because every time I’ve fought with you, you’ve gone leaping through the air like some kind of kangaroo.”
He rolled his eyes at her teasing. “Fine,” he said. “Whatever. What about this initiation?”
“I told you before. It’s like a tryout,” Abby said, leading him through the town. Zeke didn’t really know where they were going, but Abby had obviously been in Bastion before, so he’d decided to follow her lead. “Sometimes, it’s a tournament. Other times, they give you a mission. Maybe one of the guild’s higher-ups will just interview you. It’s always different, but you can’t join the guild unless you pass.”
“And the entry fee?”
“Pretty self-explanatory,” she said. “The way station wouldn’t be able to sustain itself without charging for entry. But my guild’s got a deal with all the way stations, so we don’t have to pay.”
“Handy,” he said.
“It has its perks,” Abby said, finally stopping in front of a large, three-story structure. “Finally! Civilization!”
Zeke read the sign, which declared the building to be an inn called the Brick Pit. Abby grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, saying, “This place has the best ribs I’ve had since I was reborn! No more snake for us!”
Zeke allowed himself to be dragged along, and the moment he was inside, he was assaulted by the familiar smell of barbecue. Immediately, his mouth started to water at the welcome fragrance of smoked meat. The place was packed with diners who sat at simple, wooden tables, each seeming to enjoy their carnivorous pursuits.
“Abby!” exclaimed a short, stout woman as she stepped around a counter. Wearing a stained white apron, she was almost as wide as she was tall, with muscular arms and heavy shoulders. This was a woman who, though she obviously enjoyed a good meal, was no stranger to hard, manual labor. “What’d you do to yourself?”
“Ran into a hive of drachnids,” Abby said, almost as if she was apologizing. She shrugged. “Kind of went off the rails.”
“Looks like it,” the woman said, shaking her head. Grinning broadly, she focused on the door behind Abby and Zeke as she asked, “Where’s that big Russian idiot who follows you around? I’ve been working on a new sauce that I think he’ll love.”
“Oh . . . uh . . . Vlad . . . he didn’t . . . he didn’t make it. I’m sorry, Mags.” The woman’s face went white. Then, after a few seconds, she asked, “How?”
“Probably best to have that conversation in private,” Abby said, her expression darkening. Then, she gestured to Zeke, saying, “This is Zeke. He sort of saved me. And Pudge.”
The woman looked Zeke over, and he felt like he was being picked apart, strand by strand, until everything that made him who he was had been laid entirely bare. After a few seconds, Mags’s focus shifted to the bear cub, who practically wilted under her attention. It took Zeke a few seconds to realize that what he’d felt was the stout woman’s much higher level. When he inspected her, he saw that she’d reached level twenty-two.
“They’re good people, Mags,” Abby said.
It was another few awkward seconds before the woman nodded, saying, “If you say so. Any friend of Abby’s is a friend of mine. Come on.”
Mags gestured for the trio to follow, and Zeke quickly found himself going through a massive kitchen and into an office. Once they were inside, Mags closed the door and planted herself on top of her desk. Then, Abby told the whole story. She didn’t spare many details, but Zeke was thankful that she at least managed to keep his secrets.
“I never liked Julio,” Mags said. “Knew there was something wrong with that boy. I wish I’d done something about it when I had the chance.”
Abby agreed, “Me, too.”
“What will you do?” Mags asked.
Abby shrugged, saying, “I’m not sure. The guild won’t do anything without proof. And besides, Julio’s dead now. Not sure what else they’d do even if I could prove that he attacked me and killed Vlad.”
Mags shook her head. “This is why I left,” she said. “Too much corruption. They were letting people run wild. So long as they were a means to an end, none of the others cared. It used to be so different.”
Going by context clues, Mags had once been in Abby’s guild. And judging by her obvious strength, she’d probably been in the upper echelon of its members. Maybe one of the leaders. But as much as Zeke wanted to know more, he wasn’t so socially inept that he would ask those kinds of questions when the woman had just been told about her friend’s death.
“Can we stay here for a couple of days?” Abby asked. “We need to sell some stuff off, then we’re going to Beacon.”
“Of course,” Mags said, reaching back to open one of the desk’s drawers behind her. She retrieved a pair of keys, saying, “Top floor. The rooms are small, but that’s all I’ve got free right now.”
Abby took the keys, then handed one to Zeke. He took it, telling Mags, “Thank you.”
“No,” the stout woman said. “Thank you. This girl means a lot to me, and it sounds like she wouldn’t be alive without you. So, you’ve got my thanks. I only wish Vlad could’ve been so lucky.”
Zeke had no idea how to respond, especially when he noticed a tear rolling down Mags’s plump cheek. Thankfully, the awkwardness was cut short when Abby said something about getting out of Mags’s hair and yanked him out of the office. Soon, they’d made their way back through the kitchen and up the stairs to the third floor, where they quickly found their rooms.
