The Quest_Last Gods Book 1 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright

  PROLOGUE

  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

  EPILOGUE

  Author's Note

  BY LINTON BOWERS

  This book is dedicated to a host of people, but I am going to point out two in particular, Edward Lorn and Justin Macumber.

  Edward, or E as his friends know him, is an author of some really amazing horror fiction stories. E was kind enough to read a short story of mine which was absolutely horrid, but he saw potential and let me know it.

  Justin started a podcast named The Dead Robots Society. I is all about writers and becoming a writer and author. His podcast helped me to see that writers are not this elite group of people that are far more than I could ever be.

  Unfortunately Justin Macumber is no longer with us. He is a great man that was taken far too soon and he is missed. Click the link below to go to his Amazon author page and see part of the legacy he left behind.

  Justin’s Author Page

  Rest in peace my friend, and thank you.

  This book is here because of these two guys.

  Copyright © 2018 by Linton Bowers

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by 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.

  Prologue

  The sounds of battle rang through Hero Hall.

  Arbiter sat on his throne on the dais at the end of the hall. Even being nearly a quarter mile from the entrance he could hear steel on steel and the sounds of his men and women screaming. The dark forces, being non-living entities, uttered no sound.

  From his right, chief adviser to the gods, enters through a secret entrance. “My Lord, the battle goes poorly. Our forces are being routed and bested at every front.”

  “I am not deaf, Ascension. I do not need you to tell me what my own ears already have,” Arbiter said. Ascension took a brief look toward the main entrance. “Most of the gods have fallen. I have felt theirs deaths. The few remaining tire quickly. I fear there is only one way to preserve any hope of saving our subjects.”

  “You can not mean…”

  “Yes, Ascension, that is precisely what I mean. If there is any hope we must put the plan into action while there are enough gods left to power the magic.” He turned his gaze away from the doors to look at Ascension for the first time since he entered. “Have Arboc summon those who remain and bring them directly to the Rune Chamber. I will go there now and prepare the way.”

  “As you…”

  The doors to Hero Hall shattered. Splinters of wood, gold, and steel hit the floor and slid the length of the chamber. Shadowed figures running on all fours flooded into the the room, briefly stopping before surging forward.

  “Get out of here, Ascension!”

  Arbiter materialized his bright-steel broadsword, Arduous, and dashed toward the oncoming horde. Arcs of light flashed as he swung his sword, buying precious moments for Ascension's escape The man was too human. He lacked the ability to teleport and he was not terribly fast. If Arbiter did not stand in the way the Dusk Hounds would run him down. He was still needed.

  A hound jumped onto Arbiter's back. It must have gotten behind him while he was thinking of Ascension. Arbiter stabbed a hound in front of him burying the blade to the hilt. He twisted and slashed up. The blade met another hound in the air slicing it in two. He followed through and brought the blade all the way up and back slicing into the hound on his back.

  The cut was shallow. Its mouth opened in a soundless screamed as the holy blade burned and sizzled it’s flesh, but it held on. He swept his sword out in a wide arc to push back the hounds that attempted to capitalize on his misdirected attention. One fell, the rest jumped clear.

  Arbiter pulled a dagger from the air and plunged it into the eye of the hound on his back. He lunged forward and sent a flurry of jabs at his foes. He spun and swung sending waves of light magic outward in waves. Hounds fell and died.

  Then it was over.

  The hound on Arbiter’s back had long since stopped moving, but was still attached. It’s jaw locked keeping its teeth embedded into the back of his neck armor. He reached back and crushed its skull with one hand. The corpse fell to the ground.

  As Arbiter turned and walked away as the Dusk Hound corpses began to dissipate. Their flesh was a construct of dark and could not remain corporeal once the essence of the beast was gone.

  Arbiter reached his throne and removed his scepter from the stand next to his seat of power. He held his hand out palm toward the chair applying enough force through his manipulation of gravity to crumple it under it's own weight He had spent too much time in the chair. Too much of his residual energy lay there for him to leave it. With the vessel broken the energy was free.

  Bright white light shone through the seams of his armor and Arbiter vanished. He rematerialized in the Rune Chamber. Arbiter stood in his place at the head of the octagon. The remaining gods of the pantheon were there already. Ascension had completed his task and stood off to the side ready to serve once more.

  “We are short one of the pantheon,”Arbiter said. “We must form a heptagon in order to perform the ritual.”

  “That will not work,” Ash, god of flame, said. “We need ten to get the full power. Eight was too few as it was. The seven of us will not be able to complete the ritual.”

  “We will have to be enough, Ash. If we fail all is lost. The very future of our world depends upon the sacrifice we make this very moment. Do not falter and you will rise again.”

  Ash lowered his head and stepped on his place on the octagon. One by one the other six deities followed suit. This part would consume precious power and may weaken the spell, but there were no other options.

  Arbiter formed the new spell configuration in his mind. He drew on Anima’s power to assist. As the goddess of creation her magic increased his creativity ten fold and allowed for new and wondrous things. In this case creation would help to change the spell in a way that would allow them to succeed. Or so he hoped.

  With the new spellform drawn out in his mind Arbiter raised his hands. He pulled a little from each god and changed the octagon into a heptagon. The runes for the spell changed as well.

  The act was almost instantaneous. The power draw was horrendous.

  “Are you well?” Aquilla asked. “Do you require healing?” She asked.

  “I am fine. Do not waste your power on me now,” Arbiter replied. Aquilla’s waters were the foundation of life. Where fluid flowed she held dominion. Directing a healing wave inside the cells was a trifle to her, but still it was power spent.

  “We are ready.”

  CHAPTER 1

&nbs
p; DOTDastardly jumped out of the way as the axe fell. The ground where he’d been standing on shattered. Shards of tile and stone flew into the air accompanied by a shock wave of sound.

  DOTDastardly, or DOTD as he was commonly referred to, brought up his spell list and cast. His fingers moved in the pattern for a spell and archaic words tumbled from his lips. A bright orange glow surrounded his hands and the immolation spell ignited his foe.

  The Soul Reaper stumbled back. The attack wasn’t enough to do any real damage, but it wasn’t supposed to. It was the last in a series of damage over time (DOT) attacks. With his part done DOTD dropped back and used his analyze skill on the monster.

  Reaper

  Lvl 110 Elite

  Health: 40,376/1,000,000

  Mana: 327/10,000

  Status:

  Immolation affect

  Burn effect

  Seared effect

  Demonic poison effect

  Demonic Curse effect

  Demon’s Kiss effect

  Bleed effect

  DOTD smiled as numbers in the thousands rolled off the monster representing the damage his attacks were doing. Of the seven DOT attacks six were his. If the raid backed off now his attacks alone would finish the mob.

  “You like that, Motherfucker? How does it feel to be my biatch!” DOTD shouted.

  “Bruh!” BlitzKrieg said. “Watch the language, Bruh. PieceMaker has her little brother watching.”

  “Oh shit… I mean crap. Sorry PM.” DOTD said to PeaceMaker.

  “It’s okay, he has heard worse,” PM’s mousey voice said over DOTD’s headphones.

  DOTD smiled. “Well in that case, let’s tear the roof off this…”

  “Don’t do it,” Davar interrupted. As the wizened older player, and leader of the raid as well as the guild, Davar commanded everyone’s respect. That included DOTD who looked up to Davar.

  “Sorry, D. I get a little carried away,” DOTD said.

  “I know, son. But there is a kid present, and regardless of his knowledge of the more colorful aspects of our language we are still adults. We have a moral obligation to set an example to our youth.”

  If it were possible DOTD’s digitally generated shoulders would have slumped. “You’re right, Davar. I will…”

  A window popped up on the left side of his vision. His Mom’s smiling face greeted him. “Jason, dear. Your package arrived,” she said.

  “Oh shit!” He shouted.

  “Language,” his mom snapped.

  “What?” Came the chorus of the people in his raid group.

  “Sorry, mom.” He closed the vid window. “Sorry guys, but I have to go.”

  “But why?” AngelKiller67’s silky voice asked.

  “I can’t really say, it’s a secret. But it’s really important,” Jason said. Hearing anguish in her lovely voice almost made him want to stay until the end. But almost was not enough in this case. He would find a way to make it up to her later.

  “So important you are going to miss out on loot in a couple minutes,” she asked.

  “Yeah Killer, that important.” AngelKiller67 harrumphed. DOTD could picture her pretty face turned up in a scowl. Having met her once IRL(in real life) he knew what she really looked like. They were even scheduled to go on a second date this coming weekend. Jason was definitely going to make it up to her before than. He wanted a happy Killer, or Rebecca as her IRL name was.

  “Damn,” Sir Tanksalot1 said. “Well have fun, bro. I’ll make sure these lunkheads save you some loot for next log in.”

  “Thanks, Tank. Take care guys.”

  DOTD exited the game and chatspeak server without waiting for a reply. He had to go piss twenty minutes ago, but didn’t dare do it during a boss fight. There was no telling how long he would be under once he set up the beta rig so he took care of business before dragging the parcel back to his room.

  The box holding the AVR(Augmented and Virtual Reality) gear was large and well sealed, but not a problem for the highly motivated. The headgear was smaller than anticipated. It was a blue halo with a strap along the top. The word “front” was engraved just under one end where the strap connected. On the side was the telltale circle with the line at the top indicating the power button. Jason pulled out the power cord next and plugged in both ends without taking the remainder of the device out of the box. The rest of the rig consisted of a blue cube that had lights of red, green, and amber flashing along a channel that ran along the center of it.

  “How are you on when I haven’t plugged you in yet?” Jason said to the device not expecting a response.

  Jason smiled as he slid the loop over his head. All those hours of gaming and fighting to be the best paid off. In a moment he was about to power up the beta test of the fully immersive version of Last Gods. He was one of the select ten picked for this honor. Being among the best had its perks.

  James found the power button with his right hand index finger and pressed it.

  WARNING!

  YOU MUST BE IN THE SEATED OR PRONE POSITION WHEN USING THIS EQUIPMENT!

  The words flashing across his eyes made sense. If he was going to be fully integrated into the game there was probably a chance he would lose all control of his body and fall. Force log off due to concussion was not ideal. He opted for the bed. Why risk falling out of the small chair that sat in front of his desk.

  Once he was comfy Jason reseated the halo on his head and thumbed the device on.

  The blackness gradually shifted to a soft blue. Welcome, scrolled across his field of vision. Please be patient as the initial connection is made. There may be some slight discomfort. Say the word yes when you are ready to connect.

  “Yes!”

  Intense searing pain assaulted his brain from all angles. Jason screamed. He thought he heard his mother calling out to him, but it was hard to tell if he imagined it. The pain created a haze that covered the world. He let out a scream so intense that it tore something in his throat.

  The scream he let out died down and the pain receded, then there was nothing.

  The black of nothing gave way to a gradually brightening blue. Jason looked around and saw nothing but the blue. He looked down at his own body and hands. A black form was given definition by green lines that made up planes and angles. He turned his hands over and marveled at what he saw.

  “Welcome,” a pleasant woman’s voice came from everywhere. “I am Angela your virtual assistant. I will help you transition from the life you knew into the world of Char. We will begin by setting up your stats and class.”

  “Excuse me,” Jason said. “I have a concern.”

  “Please feel free to ask questions at any time. I am here to help you, Jason.”

  “Why was there so much pain when I first logged in? I’m a little worried that I might need a CAT scan or DOG Scan, or whatever they’re called, of my brain after this. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Yes, Jason. I comprehend and understand your concern. I will address this issue after you have assigned stats and selected a class. Is this acceptable?”

  “Um, yeah. I guess.”

  “Excellent! I am assuming you are familiar with the starting set up for the obsolete version of Last Gods?” She continued without waiting for a response. “Excellent. This will be a little different. Your starting stats will be displayed now.”

  A window appeared with his stats. It sure was different.

  Strength 1

  Stamina 1

  Intellect 1

  Dexterity 1

  Charisma 1

  Luck 1

  There were far fewer categories than the older version of the game had. In the version he was used to there were twice as many player stats.

  “In addition you have three points to place wherever you would like.” Angela said.

  “You say that like three is generous,” he quipped.

  “No, Jason. In all honesty it isn't. You will come to understand just how different this experience is from what you a
re used to. Please place your points now by simply thinking of where you want them to go.”

  “Can I get an explanation of how the stats will affect my game play?”

  “I’m sorry to say, but no. Please choose.”

  “Fine. Can't believe this. What kind of build will I have with three points? This is bullshit!”

  Jason wanted to move past stat allocation so he could get to character build. He made his choice. Stats were disappointing and he was going to let the developers know. The perks of beta testing.

  Strength 1

  Stamina 2

  Intellect 1

  Dexterity 2

  Charisma 1

  Luck 2

  Jason had enough experience with games to understand how the stats should affect the class he wanted. The selection he made aligned with his desired class. With the exception of luck. That one he threw in with the expectation of gaining some cool gear, quests, or opportunities. Or so he hoped.

  “That is an interesting selection,” Angela said. “Let's move on. Here are the classes you may select from.” The stats window vanished and a new window popped up.

  Ranger

  Warrior

  Mage

  Thief

  Monk

  “Choose wisely, Jason.”

  “This can’t be right,” he said. “I want to be a Hunter. There is supposed to be a Hunter class. For that matter where the fuck are Warlock, Paladin, Priest, and Assassin classes?” He demanded. This game was getting on his last nerve and it hadn’t started yet. That did not bode well as far as Jason was concerned. In his mind he was already preparing what his lengthy letter to the devs would say.

  “I already told you, Jason. This game is different from the one you are used to. The classes you named are some of the subclasses that you can unlock. You will have to ensure you select the right class to unlock the hunter subclass, however.”

  Jason threw up his digital arms. “Which class has the hunter subclass?”