Hacked: A LitRPG Novel (Incipere Online Book 3) Page 3

  “If you have to know, I have a date tonight with a cute little thing I’ve had my eyes on for some time, and I’d thank you not to ruin it.” Yet another surprise for Athos to process. Sammi wasn’t one to be social either. In the time he had known her, there were only a handful of times a year she left the inn, and those were for festivals and town meetings. “So, if I’m not at the desk, don’t bother looking for me.”

  At least he knew what that meant. In her terms, if he came looking, he would regret it in ways that he wouldn’t be able to fathom in his current state of mind.

  “Got it.”

  Curiosity sated, Athos said his goodbyes and made his way into the busy streets of the now-thriving city of Oenus. Taking a page from Graywall, Oenus had built towering walls visible from even here around the city. Its stone was traded from the Forest of the Dryad and its keeper, Ioh Porta, was the dungeon and region boss of the forest. He had yet to go visit, but the memories of their final faithful encounter kept him from seeing her again. Having a hand in killing people had that effect on him.

  Still, there were worse things than reliving your darkest days.

  Probably.

  As soon as he reached the first alleyway a block from the Sunset’s Rest, Athos ducked in and began his lengthy movement through the back streets of Oenus where few knew the ins and outs of the urban labyrinth. The knowledge of his terrain was a necessity that he would never overlook again.

  When he returned two years ago, things had been a bit… heated between him and some of the residents when a rogue thief dealt him damage without a duel request appearing. The thought drew his hand to his shoulder where a spear had pierced him cleanly through, but that’s what happened when there were no laws being broken. Word spread quickly after that, and things spiraled for a few days until the city guard stepped in and declared him as an Inciperian under their protection. That didn’t stop some of the more crazed residents from trying to return him to where they thought that he belonged.

  In the last two years, it had gotten much better in terms of basic human dignities, but the fear of being sideswiped never left him. Cities had become their own kind of dungeons with their own traps, and he knew better than to trigger them with a line of sight. So, he kept to the outer edges and back streets of the city, hugged the walls of any building he could, and passed each guard post with a friendly smile before taking a sharp right and reaching the river’s edge.

  Skidding down the side and onto the bank, Athos continued his trek out of sight until he reached the central hub, where the bridge crossed the river from the trade district into the newest area inside the walls of Oenus, the travel plaza. As Athos scrambled up the side of the embankment, the splendor of it was so much more intense than the rest of the city’s.

  All around the twenty by twenty-yard area, the stone had been converted from simple stone into polished, whitish gray granite in a circle stretching out from the center piece. A large, arching stone gateway of the same material with glowing blue runes etched across its surface. All around it, screens flashed into existence and people were appearing and disappearing at steady intervals. The city’s arch upgrade had been the single largest factor in Oenus’s growth from a Frontier town into the thriving true city. In Athos’s opinion, it was just what the city needed.

  Making his way to the arch and entering its zone of influence, Athos directed his hand to touch an edge of the archway to summon the travel screen.

  Where would you like to go?

  The text was a friendly, soft blue as the light pulsed in its text window. He knew where he had to go for his hunt. “The Sea of Grass, The Undertow.”

  Location accepted. Please prepare for transport.

  Chapter Three: Wryn, Lose, and Engkanto

  As Athos rematerialized mere moments later deep inside the Sea of Grass, he promptly pulled out his pressurized potion slinger, Magus. A grim smile crossed his face as he looked at the cursed, reflective metal. The pair had been through a lot, good and bad: shooting enemies, fighting bosses, fragmenting Wild Ones, and with a touch of luck, finding the Undertow. He almost laughed when he thought back to how he had found his ‘private’ dungeon, but his thoughts were interrupted by the fields shifting under his feet with a groan of earth and flora. A spray of soil and grass erupted from a few feet away, and silence reigned as the kicked-up dust took a few moments to settle. A voice as menacing as any wizened woman’s came to call a moment later.

  “Hello, Athos Aramis.”

  She had long, platinum blond hair reaching her knees, with features as wrinkled as any dress shirt left in the dryer, and a gaunt form with a nose nearly pointing to the sky as she looked at him. The elder, gnarled creature hunched slightly, leaning on a staff for support that may or may not have been needed, but Athos knew better than to take her for what she appeared to be.

  Still armed, Athos relaxed a bit and smiled at the approaching creature. Seemingly human, the engkanto of Incipere were unique creatures of the wilds that could best be called witches or wise women depending on who had the guide open and who had personal experiences with them. Ever since he completed the escort quest for the Undertow, the engkanto known as Wryn had become the region master for the Sea of Grass. Wryn was not to be underestimated and had controlled more, faster than Ioh ever had, manipulating status effects, drops, and even rare spawns with an ease that seemed below her. Maybe it was just the skill that came with her age that allowed it? Either way, he shook himself from his thoughts and smiled a bit more warmly.

  “Good morning, Wryn. How are things today?”

  She raised a brow at him and brushed some settled dust from her shoulders. “If you are back so soon, I can assume things can’t be described as good, now can they?”

  The yellow numbers glowed in the corner of his vision as he focused on it and shrugged his shoulders. “You could say that. Can you open the dungeon for me again?”

  The woman took a few more steps forward, taking him in as she always did, and whacked him in the leg with her staff.

  Athos Aramis - Damage received: 49% Integrity Remaining

  And Athos hit the ground hard.

  “Damn it, Wryn!”

  The grizzled woman’s thin lips pursed into a sour smile. She offered him a few words of advice while he collected himself. “When you ask for trouble, trouble finds you, Athos Aramis.”

  At least it wasn’t a poison status this time, Athos thought to himself as he got back to his feet, “I know how to find trouble without help, but if you would you rather I go hunt in the forest today…”

  Wryn’s smile dropped, the features of her face froze, and her personality did a one-eighty at his words. As if a fire had been lit under her feet, she quickly began tapping her staff rhythmically on the ground. “Here is fine, Athos Aramis. I will not discredit my word.”

  He almost felt bad as the soil began to churn again, rising slowly in the way tar might fall on a cool day. “And I don’t want to ruin mine either.” The risk of losing his Child of the Forest trait, the one thing that had given him access to places where people wouldn’t kill him without reason, was something he didn’t want to risk, and hunting dryads and… whatever those ivy men were that had shown up was not something he wanted to test.

  It took maybe three minutes, but soon a gateway into the deepest maws of the earth had formed, and Wryn stopped the tapping. The entrance had grown like a weed, looking like some sort of deranged hobbit home but larger. Grass grew around it as if it were just another crest in the sea, but where Athos looked, the opening gaped into another world of flat, short grasses and shimmering blue sky: an instanced zone of nature to act as the dungeon’s one open floor. “The dungeon is eager for a challenger, but it knows you and you know its rules. Once a week, Athos Aramis—that was our agreement.”

  Athos nodded to that. Once a week, he could ravage the Undertow, keep his bills paid, and continue to live in exchange for having saved the region guardian from the dungeon. A private place he couldn’t be seen o
r accused of anything. “Thank you, Wryn.”

  “Thank you, Athos Aramis. My debt will never be repaid if this is all you ask.”

  “Then I’ll try to think of something else if you feel that bad about it.”

  She paused for a moment and considered as she leaned on the staff. “I enjoy the company. Not many consider speaking to those like me.”

  Not many have the Child of the Forest trait either, he mused, slightly glad that his ears weren’t that pointy. “I’ll be heading out as soon as I’m set.”

  “The dungeon’s entrance will close as soon as you enter, so I would not worry about that. The Gladeknot will not.”

  With that, Athos gave the engkanto a nod before entering the earthen maw of the Undertow. The familiar jolt of a teleportation quickly passed as the world behind him vanished. In all directions, the world expanded into a floating island of grass with a few trees dotting here and there. Since its prior boss had left, the Undertow had adapted into something like a dungeon…

  Warning!

  Combat begins in one minute.

  Challenger Athos Aramis, please take your space before your challenger.

  … and something very unlike one.

  The Undertow was what Athos affectionately called a death match. A dungeon that you either beat or didn’t. As light erupted from the other side, slowly, very slowly, vines began to grow. Towards their private sky, the wispy lines of life followed an invisible trellis and over the minute, began to take shape. The long arms had taken shape and soon grew into a large, leafy, bulbous body. Long leaves shaped brows. Leafless vines formed lips and eyes. Strangely, rocks were brought in this time to form teeth, and, Athos noted, claws as the hands of the beast were ripped from the ground in a fine spray of dirt, stone, and grass.

  Well, that’s new, Athos thought to himself as the timer ticked town to the final twenty seconds. The Gladeknot usually relied on its arms as whips; the teeth and claws were new.

  As the spray settled, the creature eyed him over once more. Its dead eyes held the same knotting vines, the same soft brown that searched for the best place to strike him. The stone clawed hands dug at the ground, throwing large chunks of soil into the air as it reformed the arena floor a few moments later.

  Opening his ammo rectal and switching to pyrothium as his primary ammo, the timer continued to tick down until the message changed.

  Begin!

  In the span of less than a breath, the Gladeknot lunged forward and tore into the earth with its talons to push its hulking form forward. It was fast enough to rip at Athos’s midnight coat and take a chunk out of his side.

  Athos Aramis - Damage received: 37% Integrity Remaining

  He winced as the data hemorrhaged in a halo of light for a moment. Without a status effect or an enchantment, his side and the coat were back a moment later. It didn’t dull the pain though, and it didn’t help his weakening form. Those stone claws were doing their job. Athos’s nerves were on fire as he triggered his first new skill.

  “Stability.”

  Athos Aramis: Stability status added (1:00)!

  Focus and endurance have increased!

  Fear effects are negated for the next thirty seconds (:30)

  —

  Stability

  Class Ability - Alchemical Arm (Gunner)

  Active - Self-Buff

  Effect: Increase the ability of the Alchemical Arm to move while still performing high-focus activities by one stage for one minute.

  Critical Success - On a critical success, the time for the buff increases to five minutes.

  —

  His vision sharpened. Small imperfections were swept away under the enhanced focus. In that same instant, his pain dulled as his senses shut them out. His limbs felt looser and firmer at the same time as the endurance of an Olympic-level runner was temporally added to his own.

  With his newfound agility, Athos dodged another swipe and took his first shot.

  With the resounding crack of glass, the world around the Gladeknot erupted into a shimmer of heat and an unearthly scream. Still burning with the liquid fire dripping through the entangled body, the Gladeknot whipped its arm around to slam into Athos, but he was ready and dodge-rolled out of the way. Embers and leaves wafted through the air, and another shot rang out as the roll ended. Another wave of fire erupted from under the wooden mouth as it continued on its path through the air. A roar of burning fury erupted from the creature as chunks of ivy and stone fell from the right side of its face.

  With each chunk that slipped from the lumbering beast, Athos felt a surge of life. Its strength became his as his glitch took in the fallen data in a rush of color and light.

  Athos Aramis - Damage recovered: 57% Integrity Remaining

  Athos Aramis - Damage recovered: 67% Integrity Remaining

  Judging from the change in his health and the decay of the creature, Athos smiled. As it roared in defiance of its burning form, the alchemical arm fired again, straight at the creature’s open maw. Its form contorted inward as the Gladeknot’s core groaned like a buckling tree then screamed like a pride of feral cats in chorus as fire erupted from the top of its head. Immediately, thick white smoke emerged while the fire burned through the creature’s wet foliage.

  For a moment, there was silence.

  Athos was already feeling better than he had when the fight began, but as the death match boss looked at him, eyes burning with more than just rage, Athos leveled Magus and used his trump card.

  “Lone Shot.”

  —

  Lone Shot

  Class Ability - Alchemical Arm (Gunner)

  Active - Skill Trigger

  Effect: Increase the damage of a normal attack by tenfold while removing the chance for a critical hit. Aggression gained by this skill is increased by a factor of two. There is a chance based on damage dealt for the Buff - Overwhelming Force to be added to the user.

  Secondary Effect: For the next minute, weapon attacks can no longer be used.

  —

  His gun kicked back and heated to unbearable levels as a ball of burning steel exploded like a cannon ball at the smoldering beast. Before Athos even had a chance to react to the ability, Magus overheated in a glowing halo of reds and golds and vanished back into its holster.

  Lone Shot Effect - Use of Magus in combat has been disabled for 1:00.

  The effects of Stability have ended.

  He ignored the effect as the ten-times-powered shot screamed through the air before colliding with the Gladeknot’s core. The ball of metal dragged parts of the creature into itself before punching a hole out its back. Only for a moment more, the creature eyed its target, but the damage took its toll. The Gladeknot exploded into a shower of life-bringing motes of light, dropping a few things on the ground as the snowstorm of pixels burst into the world.

  Like a vacuum for the fireflies of data, Athos’s body drew the light into him to reinforce his form.

  Athos Aramis - Damage recovered: 100% Integrity Remaining

  A moment later, a crisp breeze blew across the island as the grass that coated the island upended and swirled into a large, living travel gate hovering in the air as a perfect circle. The greenery of the gate thrummed with nature’s power as a soft, green energy filled the center of the circle.

  Looking over himself and his Integrity, Athos smiled. Not bad at all.

  Moving towards where the Gladeknot fell, Athos examined his newfound loot.

  4,200 Bytes acquired.

  More than enough to repay Sammi, he confirmed as he looked at the three small orbs of loot that dropped from the creature’s corpse. He added them to his inventory one by one.

  16x Liferoot

  Uncommon Crafting Material

  Liferoot, also known as Divine’s Staff, is the root of the medicinal flower Vigoris. More bitter than its counterpart, Liferoot is more potent with the tradeoff of being harder to refine than the flower. Liferoot is also used for crafting a variety of higher-level healing components a
s well as some types of poison.

  30x Quality Charcoal

  Uncommon Crafting Material

  From filtration to poison removal, a quality charcoal has many uses. Created from the remnants of carbon materials exposed to extreme heat, charcoal can range in quality. Quality Charcoal can be used in higher-end products and is sought after by nearly all professions for its range of uses in medicine and enchanting.

  15x Lumis Petals

  Uncommon Crafting Material

  The petals of the lumis flower glow softly at night after absorbing a day’s worth of solar energy. Even when ground, these petals continue to glow. Used in many forms of illumination, Lumis flowers and their petals are most often used by mechanists to create light sources and flash powder, or by alchemists to refine and create Sol Arum and other more potent potions.

  With the cache of alchemical reagents, Athos couldn’t be much happier. Gladeknot’s drops had been kind today, though he was sure that his patron Wryn was to thank for that. That didn’t matter though. They weren’t really what he came for. The items were just a bonus to his newfound health. The familiar flexibility and vitality of having full Integrity coursed through his code. His gauntlet sorted his materials into the green marble, and Magus was performing perfectly.

  Round One has ended.

  Would you like to continue to Round Two?

  “No,” Athos answered quickly. There was no reason to push his luck, and he had more than what he had come for.

  Arena combat has ended.

  Please use the provided portal to return to Incipere Prime - Cipher - The Sea of Grass region.

  He didn’t need to be told a second time.

  Taking a few more steps, Athos entered the influence of the gate and was greeting by a familiar message:

  Where would you like to go?

  As strong as he could be, the alchemical arm was happy to comply. “Queen Farm.”