BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1) Read online

  I continued to run for at least ten seconds longer than I previously could. “That's nothing,” Cosmo yelled from behind me. “Wait until you get up into the twenty something range. You'll feel so free. It's like a night and day difference.”

  I slowed down because I had pushed my stamina bar to the limit. Suddenly, I had an alert pop up. It was a new message from Todd and it looked like a long one:

  “Please ask around about UnderDead. I don't know if you know the location, but the entrance gate is located just north of the “Forest of Mist.” I don't know your location, but it shouldn't be too far away from you. Everyone knows where UnderDead is. Once you get near UnderDead message me.

  I will give you my exact location. You need my exact location because you will need to “reveal” my soul. Bad news though, nobody in my friends list has the Astral Dust potion. I need you to get it for me. It's expensive, but people have it. I have plenty of gold and can give it to you after you bring my soul to my body. I am getting desperate here. So, I will give you more than the 78 gold coins I previously offered. Okay? You will get 150 gold coins and I will also pay you back whatever you spent to get the Astral Dust. So you will make 150 gold coins full profit. Sound fair?

  Please just ask around and find the potion for me. Only a living character can supply this to me. Also, Astral Dust is worthless unless you know exactly where my soul is. Once I drink this, it will reveal my soul and store it in the empty potion bottle. Then, once we locate my body, you will need to direct my soul into it. I can explain this all later. I know this is a lot of information for a new player to take in. Sorry about that.

  You just don't know how frustrating it is being a lost soul. The worst part is, I can't even log out now because of this stupid glitch. I will never allow myself to get into this situation again! I will be sure to plan ahead next time. Nobody can see you and you cannot talk to any living players. You can only talk to characters on your friends list and other lost souls. If I don't get to my body soon, it will be very bad news. Please help me! I only have a few days left before my soul is found by the wrong people. I will give you gold or whatever else you need. If you help me, I will owe you my life. Thanks and please keep me updated!

  Todd.”

  Shit. This seemed pretty serious. What was going to happen to Todd if he didn't get to his body? And how was I going to find this “Astral Dust” stuff that he was talking about? One part of me just wanted to say “Screw this Todd guy” because it sounded like too much work. But, another part of myself felt bad for him. I didn't know him well, but he did save my life. He had stuck his neck out to help me, and I had to do the same for him. I almost hated being a kinda good guy. But, I just couldn't ignore his desperate cry for help. Knowing that, I walked towards Cosmo. “I don't think I have time for the dungeon anymore. Something important came up.”

  “Are you serious?” Cosmo asked. “We will literally be there in thirty seconds. Look, it's just right there.”

  Not far from us, was a large dirt field. In the center of the field, was a wooden door. But, the door was flat on the ground. Players opened the door and climbed into what looked like a hole. I wanted to go in, but I didn't have time. I shook my head. “I'm sorry. I have a friend who needs my help. Do you know where UnderDead is?”

  “Of course,” Cosmo replied. “It's only about a thirty minute walk from here. I can take you there. But, only if you come to the dungeon with us. Come on, just fifteen minutes of fun. That's all I'm asking.”

  Going to the dungeon was a waste of time, but getting lost was an even bigger waste of time. So, I decided it would be smart to take him up on his offer. “Okay,” I replied. “But we gotta hurry. My friend's soul is lost and he needs my help.”

  Cosmo's face scrunched up. “His soul is lost? How are you going to save him? You don't have any Astral Dust do you?”

  “No. But, I am going to find some.”

  Stan and Cosmo both laughed. “It's expensive,” Cosmo replied. “You are going to need a lot of gold to get your hands on that. Every player potentially needs that potion, so they don't let go of it easily. They usually hide it, or they give it to a very trustworthy friend. Only a living player can give it to you. Plus, you cannot use it on yourself.”

  “Okay, then how do I find it?”

  Cosmo walked closer to me. “You have to ask around and let other players know you have a lot of gold.”

  “How much gold are we talking about?”

  “Some players want hundreds of coins. Others want thousands. It's not easy to get.”

  Hundreds? Thousands? What the crap? How was I ever going to come up with that much gold? I began to feel frustrated. I entered this game with the goal of earning money for the real world. Now I had to spend gold just to save a guy I barely knew? It was true, but I couldn't be so shortsighted. Sure, it would cost gold to save Todd, but in the end, I would actually earn 150 gold coins. But what if he didn't pay me? Hell, I guess it didn't matter. Getting back to the real world didn't even seem like an option anymore. I opened my menu just to check and see if the exit button had returned. Nope, it was still gone.

  After considering all of my options, I finally made up my mind. I was going to save Todd. I trusted that he would pay me. Besides, this was going to be an adventure. Maybe there was something inside of me that wanted to do something great? Or maybe I also just wanted to go on an adventure? I didn't know, but I did know that I was going to save Todd. I raised my head and grinned. “So how can I get a large amount of gold in a short amount of time?”

  Cosmo became quiet. I could tell he was trying his hardest to come up with an answer. A few moments passed before he shrugged his shoulders. “You gotta raid a bandit village. It's the only thing I can think of. If you want a lot of gold quickly, it's the best way.”

  “Okay,” I replied. “And these are bad guys right? Guys who deserved to be raided?”

  “Yea,” Stan replied from behind us. “Bandits suck. They are players who live to steal from other players. That's how they got all of their gold.”

  “Great,” I replied. “I will take pleasure in raiding their village. Then it's final. We will raid a bandit village and get the gold. Then, we will go save my friend.”

  Cosmo and Stan laughed. “We? What do you mean we?”

  I tilted my head. “I would appreciate the help. That is, if you want to help.”

  Stan looked uncomfortable. “I can't,” he replied. “I just don't want to get involved with something so heavy. Not right now at least.”

  Cosmo looked at Stan and then over at me. He laughed. “I love things like this,” he replied. “This is a real adventure! Taking quest are fun and all, but this is actually a real adventure. I am totally down for it!”

  “Awesome,” I yelled. “Thank you so much. Let's build a huge army and save my friend. We can do it, I know we can.”

  “Okay. So it's a deal. I will help you. But first, let's go kill some rats and goblins,” Cosmo replied.

  I opened my menu and sent Todd a new message:

  “Don't worry Todd! Me and some friends are coming to get you! We are getting the Astral Dust now. Hang on tight! We will be there asap!

  Walker.”

  “Let's go,” I said with a nod.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We walked straight ahead towards the dungeon door. “Does that go straight down into the ground?” I asked.

  “Not really. It just looks that way,” Stan replied.

  Players were lined up one after another. A fair mix of Trolls, Orcs, Elves and Humans. We jumped in line. It moved quickly and within a minute we were at the entrance of the dungeon. “Got your torches?” Cosmo asked.

  “Actually we don't,” I replied.

  “Don't worry about it. I will hook you up.”

  Cosmo dropped two torches on the ground in front of him. I went to pick one of them up, but was pushed to the side by a random player. “Thanks for the torch,” the player yelled.

  “That's mine,” I yelled
back.

  The player held the torch over his head. He was small and dressed in all yellow. What the hell? Did this bag of bones dressed like a banana really just disrespect me in front of my new friends? “Give it back,” I commanded.

  “It's just a torch,” he yelled back. “Get over it.”

  He ran down into the dungeon and out of my site. “What a loser,” I said with a laugh.

  “I got my torch,” Tommy replied.

  “It's no big deal,” Cosmo said. “That happens sometimes. You just gotta be quick. Are you ready this time?

  “Yep. Drop it.”

  He dropped another torch and I quickly picked it up. “Thanks. Got it.”

  I opened up my inventory and equipped the torch. We walked down the creaky wooden steps while getting lower and lower into the dungeon. In my hand, I held the torch over my head. Once we reached the bottom, I was surprised at how big the dungeon was. Hundreds of players were running around all over the place. But, all you could see were the fire of their torches. It was too dark to see anything else really unless you were right up next to a player.

  I took in a deep breath. My first dungeon! How exciting. Hmm, it smelled odd though. Kinda like old cheese. But, I liked cheese. I took a few steps forward. Suddenly, there was a growl. It was a goblin. Crap, he actually looked pretty tough. I held my torch into the air. His display name showed his stats:

  Fearless Goblin Level 1

  Health: 20/20

  A level 1 goblin? How tough could he be? The rat I killed when I first arrived was pretty tough, so I knew the goblin would probably be much tougher. My hands went in front of my face as I got ready for battle. Next to me, Stan threw his hands into the air. “Where's your weapon?” he asked.

  I felt slightly embarrassed. “I don't have one yet.”

  Stan laughed. “You're kidding right?”

  “No, we don't have anything yet,” Tommy replied.

  Stan jumped in front of me and pulled out a large iron axe. “Watch this,” he said with a boom to his voice. He lunged forward and did a 360 spin in midair. Right at the tail end, he delivered a fatal blow. “Got him,” he yelled. “See how easy that was?”

  The goblin's body disappeared and left behind some loot. Stan grabbed the loot and ran behind me. “Get the next one,” he shouted.

  I took a step back as another goblin approached. Stan elbowed me. “Here, take this dagger,” he said. Suddenly, a small rusty dagger dropped in front of me. I picked it up and noticed an alert pop up in front of me:

  Congratulations!

  You Have Just Received Your First Blade!

  Rusty Dagger

  Slot: Left or Right Hand

  Level: 1(Beginner)

  Weight: 4 lbs

  Damage: 1

  I equipped the dagger and held it in my hand. Man, this really was rusty. The goblin hunched over. He was ready to attack. I had a weapon, and I was ready to teach him a lesson. “Come on,” I said with my dagger out.

  It hissed. But, I didn't give it time to attack. I lunged forward with my dagger and sliced his arm. The health bar over his head lowered:

  Fearless Goblin – Level 1

  +2 Damage Delivered!

  Health: 18/20

  2 Damage? That was all? I had to hit him 9 more times to kill him? I jumped from side to side. The goblin was ready to attack, I could see it in his eyes. Suddenly, he swung his freakishly long arm towards me. “Crap, that hurt!”

  I stumbled to my side and noticed my health bar went down:

  Walker Williamson – Level 2

  Hp 10/12

  -2 Damage Received!

  -2 damage? It wasn't as bad as I would have thought. I could kill this Goblin, I just had to be careful. Suddenly, a stray rat jumped on my leg. Fuck! How did it sneak attack me like this? The rat squealed. He was ready to bite me, but I wasn't going to allow it. I grabbed the rodent and slammed it to the ground. My sword went into the air, came down, and quickly sliced into it. The rat was dead. His body quickly disappeared and left some loot behind. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't need anymore “genuine rat fur” so I just ignored it. My attention turned back towards the goblin as it swayed back and forth. I jumped to my side and sliced it. Yes!

  I knew he was getting ready to swing again, I just knew it. Sure enough, he swung. But this time, he missed. What a predictable little goblin. Was this his main attack pattern? I sliced him on his other side and waited for his predictable swing. But, he didn't swing. Instead, he kicked me. I stumbled backwards. He laughed and then lunged towards me. Then, his sharp claws latched on to my skin. After that, he bit my arm. I fell to my side as pain took over. The pain was deep, but it began to fade. I checked my health bar:

  Walker Williamson – Level 2

  Hp 4/12

  Yep. Just as I thought. Down to 4/12 now. I had to be careful because I didn't have any way to heal myself. Then it hit me, I needed to find a healer. We were going to need a healer in our group if we were going to save Todd. My eyes locked on to the goblin. I was tired of playing it safe, and I was about to try a series of quick attacks on him. “Time to die,” I yelled while running with my sword over my head. Quickly, I sliced his left shoulder and then his right. Then, I jumped up and delivered an overhead slice. Wow! His health bar quickly dropped down:

  Fearless Goblin – Level 1

  Health: 08/20

  I smiled. The goblin wasn't that hard. I could kill him. The goblin lunged towards me, but I wouldn't allow it this time. As he tried to latch on to me, I speared my dagger into his chest. He screamed. It was time to end this pathetic creature's life. I sliced him. Then again, and again.

  The goblin fell to his side and shriveled up. He was dead. Yes! I jumped into the air with excitement. Loot was left behind:

  Goblin Tooth

  Value: 0.00

  Weight: 0.1 lb

  A goblin tooth? It was worthless. What would I want with a goblin tooth? I tossed the tooth on the ground and looked for a rat. About three feet away, I saw a rat with his back to me. What a fool. Did this rat realize how dangerous I was? I jumped forward and stuck my sword straight into it. It was dead. Wow, this dagger was stronger that I would have expected. I checked the loot the rat left behind.

  Genuine Rat Fur

  Value: 0.10 Gold

  Gold: 0.10 Gold

  Yes! This rat had actually left me a little bit of gold. I needed to find more rats like him. I scanned the ground for any of his family members. Then, I saw one. He looked up and leaped into the air. But, he was too late. My blade had met him halfway through his journey to my body. I picked up his loot.

  Genuine Rat Fur

  Value: 0.10 Gold

  Nope. No gold this time. I had killed a goblin and a few rats. When was I going to level up again? I opened my inventory and looked for my experience bar to see how close I was to reaching the next level:

  Walker Williamson – Level 2

  97/100

  Wow. I was really close to hitting level 3. With my new dagger, I was really starting to enjoy fighting and leveling up. One more rat should do the trick. I scanned the area and noticed Tommy approaching a rat. But, then he backed away. “Let me get it,” I yelled while running towards him.

  I came straight down with a jumping attack and hit him right in the back. Loot dropped on the ground:

  Genuine Rat Fur

  Value: 0.10 Gold

  “I hate having all of this rat fur,” I said with a laugh.

  “We should open up a rat fur store in the village. I think it would be really successful,” Tommy replied.

  Before I could answer Tommy, an alert popped up in front of me:

  Congratulations!

  You Have Leveled Up! Open Your Inventory To Distribute Points.

  With excitement, I was eager to open up my inventory. What would I increase this time? I thought about if for a minute and realized I wanted to be stronger. Screw it, I was going to use all of my points for strength this time. It was time to become powerfu
l. I quickly opened my inventory:

  Note To User: You Have 4 Points to Distribute. Use your points wisely.

  Walker Williamson – Level 3

  Human Male - Warrior

  Statistics:

  HP: 14/14

  Stamina: 12

  Mana: 10

  Attributes:

  Strength: 7 (+4 added!)

  Persuasion: 3

  Intelligence: 1

  Willpower: 1

  Sneak: 2

  Agility: 2

  Skills:

  None yet acquired

  Perks:

  None yet acquired

  Abilities:

  None yet acquired

  I was only a level 3, but I was already starting to feel like I was making major progress. Then, I noticed my arms were a tiny bit bigger. Was it my imagination though? I didn't know. I looked at my dagger and wondered how much the damage went up on it. Time to check: