The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Read online

  The ability details screen opened.

  RESURRECTION

  Upon death, you will be respawned to a randomized location. You will lose XP every time you respawn. You may also lose items and equipment. Other effects unknown.

  Great, it added it in now. I clutched my hands, hard enough for the veins in my forearms to show. I couldn’t deny the anger I felt. Those scimitars were valuable weapons, and I’d gone through quite a bit to get them.

  I clenched my teeth. That Resurrection really screwed me over.

  A moment of silence passed.

  Calm down. I sighed. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I have more important things to focus on.

  I glanced at my surroundings. Smooth walls of stone stood around me and a muddied floor sat beneath. The pillar I was chained to rose into the ceiling. An entrance stood a few yards in front of me. The opening was a mere three feet tall, but even darker than the cavern I was in.

  I grabbed my chains. I need to get out of this first, I thought. I wasn’t strong enough to break the chain by myself, and I didn’t have any weapons that could slice through the solid metal either. I knelt and felt the bindings. How do I get out of this? I wondered.

  The sound of voices and footsteps entered the air, and I immediately froze, my hand clutching the chains. I listened in on the words spoken, but they were in a tongue that I did not understand. My shoulders tightened. What did I get myself into?

  I opened my Ga’em menu and navigated to my Equipment Inventory. I had one weapon remaining—the Ogre Club—and that would just have to do. I located the icon with the brown club and tapped it. A stream of lights flowed out of the screen and collected around my hand. The voices hastened closer, and I eyed the darkness, searching for their forms. The Ogre Club quickly materialized.

  And just in time, too.

  Eyes of haunting green glowed in the darkness, illuminating the similar-shaded bodies of short, thin creatures before me. One look and I knew exactly what these were.

  Goblins.

  They charged at me, springing from the floor and jumping right at my face. I grabbed onto my club with both arms and swung, smacking hard into their bodies. They flew through the air and back through the entrance, traveling a few yards before hitting the ground. Their health bars, however, showed that I hadn’t done much damage.

  I’m not strong enough, I cursed.

  More voices came through, and the shuffle of footsteps grew louder. More goblins were coming, and there was no way I was going to be able to take them all out.

  Why did these things even capture me? I asked.

  Glowing eyes of green swarmed into the cavern once again, and more than twenty goblins surged through. A taller one appeared this time as well, and the shadow of a small staff emerged in its hand.

  I stepped back. A shaman, I realized.

  The goblins screeched as they charged. A flurry of eyes and bodies jumped my way, raring to attack. I swung my club, but I wasn’t strong enough to push through them all. They grabbed onto my weapon and weighed it down.

  Dammit, I cursed. With my weapon compromised, the goblins jumped onto me.

  Pain shot up my arms as nails and teeth cut my skin. I thrashed about, throwing a few goblins off me, but their numbers were too overwhelming. A chant echoed through the air.

  I darted my eyes to the entrance. The shaman.

  The tip of its staff glowed orange, and a burst of flame shot out of it, heading straight for me. Adrenaline pumped through my body, driving out the pain. I yelled out and tugged at my Ogre Club, lifting it up along with the goblins that had clawed onto it.

  My weapon hovered in front of me, and the fiery attack blasted into it. Flames surged onto the club, and that’s when I realized something.

  The Ogre Club was made of wood.

  The fire instantly spread across the weapon, and heat seared my hands, soaking my skin in pain. The goblins sticking to my club screeched as the flames hit them, and their shrieks and yells resonated in my head. They all dropped from the weapon, but I, however, still held on to it. One last spark had ignited my mind, giving me a move I could use.

  I gripped the lowest point on my club’s handle and swung my arms, spinning the weapon around as fast as I could. Teeth and nails bit into my skin, sinking into my flesh. Damn goblins, I thought, but I bore the pain. There was only one thing I needed to focus on. A familiar feeling rose within me, that of a storm starting to stir.

  My club spun faster and faster, and then, I let it go. The weapon flew into the walls, and the heavy head smashed right into the stone. The club shattered into a million pieces, and a shockwave ignited from the contact point, cracking my shackles and throwing all the goblins against the wall. Their health bars all went down, sinking to zero in a flash.

  The shaman, however, stood up almost immediately, with a fourth of its health remaining. I charged forward, no longer bound by my chains, and my knuckles thudded into its rough-skinned face. It stumbled backward and I followed, landing an uppercut with my other arm and twirling around to deliver a kick right into its chest. The shaman flew through the air and hit the ground hard. Its health bar went to zero immediately.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have defeated:

  Goblin Horde (Lv 17)!

  They didn’t even know what hit them! Reward: 15000XP. Reward: Staff of the Goblin Shaman.

  DING!

  Congratulations! Your level has increased!

  Level 14!

  Rising up the ranks again. How high will you go? You gain 8 stat points to spend on your skills. You also gain a 50% advancement to the skill of your choice.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learned a new skill

  Heavy Weaponry!

  Heavier weapons deal the hardest damage, and now the strength of the large is now in your domain.

  Effect 1

  Strength is increased by +1% while wielding Heavy Weaponry.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learned a new special move.

  Weapon Shatter

  This attack causes x10 times the max damage of the weapon to all other players on the field, but in return causes the weapon to shatter on impact. Can only be used with heavyweight weapons. Cannot be used with weapons above Two Stars. Cannot be used with weapons that are Unbreakable.

  Mana Cost

  100

  Casting Time

  N/A

  Cooldown Time

  N/A

  Range

  100 yards

  Effect 1

  None

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learned a new skill:

  Hand Combat.

  The art of the weaponless is more powerful than you could imagine. How well can you wield the skill?

  Effect 1

  Strength increased by +2% while fighting barehanded.

  I closed my screens. I didn’t have time to pay attention to each one. I had to figure out what to do next given the situation I was in. I quickly opened my Stats screen for a moment and updated my stats with the 8 points that I’d earned. I didn’t distribute them like I had before, and instead focused much more on my strength and health this time.

  Name

  Zoran

  Level

  14

  Health

  60→90

  Constitution

  6→9

  Mana

  100

  Intelligence

  10

  Stamina

  60

  Endurance

  6

  Strength

  11→16

  Wisdom

  5

  Agility

  11

  Dexterity

  6

  Charisma

  4

  Luck

  9

  I glanced at my own health bar. It was orange and less than a third of its full capacity. I quickly went to my Item Inventory and pulled out a Warrior’s Restoration
Potion, consuming it in a flash. My health quickly rose and went back to full in a few seconds.

  DING!

  You have consumed a Warrior’s Restoration Potion. Health and Stamina have been restored!

  I walked out of the cavern and into the entrance the goblins had come through. My feet sank into the soft mud as I stepped forward. I blinked hard, looking through the darkness and trying to make anything out.

  Just what is going on here? I thought. As far as I could tell, I’d probably Resurrected in some sort of underground goblin nest and had been captured while I was unconscious. But if they captured me at first, why were those goblins back there so murderous? I wondered. It didn’t make sense. If they wanted me dead, they’d have done it while I was unconscious. Why do it later instead?

  Goblins aren’t the smartest creatures, I thought.

  A soft grunt came from ahead and I froze. I leaned forward, widening my eyes and getting more light into them. I stared, keeping my gaze frozen, even when my eyes began to sting and water. A small form entered my vision—a goblin standing at the end of the tunnel, a sword in its hand and a helmet on its head.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learned a new skill

  Night Vision!

  The sight of darkness is but another familiar friend. You will now be able to make out objects in the darkness.

  Effect 1

  None

  Ooooh. I grinned. My vision turned clearer, as if more light had somehow entered the place. Night Vision is proving useful already, I thought. I looked around, searching for any alternative paths to take, but I couldn’t find any. The only way forward was through the goblin, and that was a tricky position to be in.

  How strong is it? I stared at his head and brought up the Analyze screen.

  Race

  Earth Goblin Soldier

  Level

  23

  Ugh, I’ll need to be careful with this one, I realized. So far, the goblin’s attention was on the other side of the tunnel, away from me. But I doubted that would remain true if I rushed up to it in an attack. I was going to have to be a lot quieter.

  I eased my breathing and brought it down to as steady a flow as possible. I hunched down and made my way forward. My footsteps were soft against the mud, and my arms were spread out in the air, helping me keep my balance.

  With every second that passed, my heart beat even faster. I wondered each moment if now was when the goblin would turn around and notice me.

  But luckily for me, that moment never came.

  I’d come within a yard of the guard and he still hadn’t turned around. Well, that’s your bad, I thought. I sprung from my position and threw my hands at him. One arm wrapped around his neck and my other grabbed the side of his head. I jerked him back and snapped his neck before he could even squeal. His health bar immediately dropped, going to zero in a flash.

  An instant KO.

  I caught him as he fell to the floor and gently let him down. Wouldn’t want to make any unnecessary noises now.

  The creature’s body warmth still tingled on my skin. That was crazy. I grinned. I didn’t know I could move like that.

  DING!

  Congratulations! Your party has defeated:

  Earth Goblin Soldier (Lv 23)!

  That was…interesting. Have you considering taking up the Assassin class? Reward: 5000XP

  DING!

  Congratulations! Your level has increased!

  Level 15!

  Didn’t you level up just a couple of minutes ago? You gain 4 stat points to spend on your skills. You also gain a 25% advancement to the skill of your choice.

  DING!

  Congratulations! You have learned a new skill:

  Stealth!

  Silence and shadows are a home away from home. You can now move between covers without being noticed by an enemy. Attacks landed after emerging from stealth have a greater chance of being critical hits.

  Effect 1

  Evasiveness increased by +1%

  Nice, I thought, and I closed the screen. This whole goblin ordeal wasn’t exactly desirable, but I’d learned four skills already and that was pretty sweet. I guess there really is a good side to everything, I thought. I headed through the tunnel, my steps swift and silent. I stopped when I found a fork in the path, with two small tunnels headed left and right, and a very large one headed straight on.

  The small tunnels were too compact for me to comfortably go through, so that left just the larger one. I traveled into it for about a minute more before an entrance emerged before me. A warm orange light glowed beyond it.

  Something is out there, I thought.

  I stopped a foot from the end of the tunnel and leaned over the edge. A large chamber stood before me, and the floor was about twenty feet below. At the center of the opening was a tall pyre, with the flame rising all the way up to the ceiling. Earth goblins of all sizes stood around it, some raising their hands and others bowing.

  They’re worshipping it? I frowned.

  Suddenly, a burst of smoke rose from the flames, shrouding the whole pyre. When it disappeared, the pyre was gone and in its place stood a throne of stone. A large goblin sat on it, and this one wore a metal crown on its head. The Earth Goblin King, no doubt. An odd silence, however, washed over the chamber. The goblins bowed in the presence of the king, but I noticed a few that did not.

  Are they split? I wondered. A revolt?

  All of a sudden, a ring of shamans stood up from around the circle and fired simultaneous blasts of fire at the king. The Goblin King simply waved his hand and the blasts dissipated. He spoke a word in his tongue, and flames sprouted from where the shaman stood, incinerating them in seconds.

  What the hell? My eyes widened. What’s going on here?

  A blade of wind passed through the chamber, and a shiver ran down my spine. The torches of fire dulled down, and the chamber darkened.

  The Goblin King gasped and clutched his throat. His mouth opened, but he froze. His head was immediately severed from his body and rolled down to the ground.

  As simple as that.

  A dark, smoky gale swirled into the chamber and collected at the throne. A man emerged from it, clothed in a hooded cloak of black. “Amusing,” he chuckled. “How easily power can be turned.”

  The goblins stood up, and loud cries rose into the air. They stepped towards the throne, up to the man.

  “Simmer down!” He thrust his hand up, and a boom sounded, silencing everyone else. “You should be grateful that I haven’t killed you wretched bunch for nearly messing everything up.”

  Is he working with the goblins? I blinked.

  “Thankfully not everything you idiots did was for the worse.” The man looked in my direction. “Glad you could make it, Zoran.”

  ***

  CHAPTER TEN

  Having a strange man call me by name was nowhere close to normal, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

  I ran.

  I charged back into the tunnel. What the hell is going on? I thought, my feet skidding over the ground.

  “You can’t escape, Zoran,” the man called out to me.

  The tunnel shook, and I slipped, stumbling to the floor. The darkness around me folded away, as if it were being sucked into a void. I found myself in blackness one second, and a flurry of colors the next. When the shades finally settled down, I glanced around. I was no longer in the tunnel but in some sort of chamber. White walls stood around me with red tapestries hanging over them. A similar-shaded carpet lay over the floor, and gold-plated statues stood around the room.

  Teleportation, I realized.

  “Hello, Zoran,” a familiar voice said.

  The man from before stood right in front of me. I jerked back, almost slipping and crashing to the floor.

  He laughed. “Quite the reaction you have there.” He threw back his hood. He had a square face and tanned skin, with a faded scar on his left cheek. His dark eyes locked onto mine, and a sparkle shone withi
n them.

  I stared at his head and activated my Analyze skill once again.

  DING!

  Warning!

  Analyze skill level not high enough to use on subject.

  My eyes widened. He’s too strong for me to even analyze, I realized. “Who are you?” I asked.

  “My name is Asterion.” He grinned. “And as you can tell, you are far too weak to use an Analyze skill on me.” He stepped forward. “I must say, this is quite the fortunate meeting, though. I was getting all ready to come to Aingard to fetch you, and the next thing I know—boom! You emerge in the goblin tunnels less than a few miles away. Splendid!”

  Dammit, I cursed, wishing my Resurrection ability had taken me somewhere else. Now I was trapped in this weird chamber with this weirder man. Those additional luck points didn’t help me one bit. I clenched my fists.

  My thoughts logged his statement—that this place was a few miles from the goblin nest. It didn’t seem very useful, but there was no telling how helpful it might be later on.