Corpse Run: A LitRPG Adventure (The Crucible Shard Book 3) Read online

  Corpse Run

  The Crucible Shard: Book Three

  Skyler Grant

  Copyright © 2017 Skyler Grant

  All rights reserved.

  This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously, or are entirely fictional.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, except by an authorized retailer, or with written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be addressed via email to [email protected]

  Cover designed by Grace Zhu (gracezhuart.com)

  Formatting by Polgarus Studio (www.polgarusstudio.com)

  Electronic edition, 2017

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  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Black lightning cracked all around me draining the air of color and life, the waves of destructive energy barely held back by a wall of mist.

  Quest Granted

  Enemies in the shadows

  You have come under attack from unknown parties. Do try to be entertaining and survive.

  We’d just arrived back at Castle Sardonis and were on our way to the war room to discuss our plans for how to deal with Leosi, when the space around us was torn asunder with a jagged portal and we came under attack.

  I glanced over towards Elsora, who we had to thank for the shield. “Good reaction time.”

  “Pathetic wards. Why did our defenses not hold?” Elsora asked, glaring at Walt.

  “I just got back! You saw me just get back! I’m so sorry I didn’t upgrade our magical defenses during our minute’s walk.”

  “We have wards. They simply did not work,” Elsora stressed, her voice hinting at some strain.

  As suddenly as it began the lightning surrounding us faded away to reveal three figures standing in the hall. One I recognized, the other man and woman were well-dressed strangers with flickering black auras surrounding them.

  Joachim, Chancellor of the Exchequer

  Champion

  Level ?: Type: Corrupted HP: ?/?

  Joachim was once a loyal subject of the Kingdom of Galea. When a powerful curse overcame the castle he traded away his humanity to survive where so many others perished and now serves the Dark Court.

  Victus, Warden of Carpas Pass

  Champion

  Level ?: Type: Corrupted HP: ?/?

  Once a capable commander under King Leosi of Galea, Victus was corrupted by the curse that overcame the Kingdom and now acts as a guardian for Joachim.

  Azala, Baroness of Verita

  Champion

  Level ?: Type: Corrupted HP: ?/?

  Azala was once a young and ambitious noblewoman serving as a handmaiden to Queen Alera. She views the curse that struck the castle as an opportunity to acquire the sort of power she had always wanted.

  We’d met Joachim before, when we were first taking the castle. I hadn’t realized that other members of the castle staff had made similar arrangements to him. “Elsora, just how many nobles did you leave alive?” I asked.

  “Any who were willing to sell out anything and everything they believed in to stay alive. It turned out to be quite a few.”

  “Is that my old accountant?” Cobalt asked.

  “No mention of me?” Azala asked with a glower.

  “Who are you again?”

  I said, “She was your handmaiden. Seriously, don’t you even read prompts?”

  “Who has time to read prompts?”

  “Thank you,” Azala said, flashing me a smile before going back to looking angry. “I make my triumphant return to Castle Sardonis at the head of a force that’s come to destroy you.”

  Joachim cleared his throat.

  “As a part of the force that’s come to destroy you,” Azala said.

  “Just to interject before Cobalt forgets you some more, and Liam tries to sleep with you, exactly why are you coming to destroy us?” Ashley said.

  “I wasn’t going to…” I said, but paused as I caught all their eyes on me. I looked Azala over again. That brief flash of smile really had been nice and she held herself with such poise.

  “The undead army heading east was your declaration of war, not ours. We are simply here to balance the books,” Joachim said.

  Leosi was causing me no end of trouble. He was busy slaughtering my foes, if only because he wanted me to marry his daughter and hand her a kingdom united. Lacking an army otherwise, it had seemed best to take credit for his rampage. As strategies went it was clearly one not without risks.

  Had Joachim come in asking what had happened, I might have been inclined to give some version of the truth. I didn’t need a war to the east when I’d just started one to the west. They came in on the attack.

  “Can you give me any help?” I thought to Yvera.

  “This castle holds my grand temple. We’ll make them burn.”

  “The Kingdom of Genea reserves the right to handle threats within its traditional borders regardless of direction on a compass,” Elsora said smoothly.

  I raised my hand. “Thank you Elsora, but when they open negotiations by throwing lightning we don’t have to be diplomatic back.”

  “An aggressive opening position,” Joachim said. “But not one actually intended to kill you. We remain hopeful you may yet prove useful. The curse has outlived its usefulness and should be destroyed. Azala here can serve as your regent, we’ll kill one of your companions as an instructive lesson, and you can get back to business.”

  Well, they didn’t want much.

  Azala straightened her back and said, “Queen. Not regent.”

  “Really, lady? We just met,” I said.

  “The job sucks. You don’t want it,” Cobalt said.

  “Can I still be Queen, if she’s still alive?” Azala asked.

  “How does that work?” I asked Elsora. “I mean, I know I claimed the throne after killing King Leosi, but if she was still Queen didn’t it technically pass to her?”

  “You want to define the particulars of succession now?” Elsora asked.

  “It’s just kind of confusing and we never have talked about it,” I said.

  “I am so not the Queen,” Cobalt said.

  “I’ll be the Queen,” Azala said.

  “Desperate much?” Ashley asked.

  “I have no objection to the discussion,” Joachim said. “For all that we think the matter is largely settled.”

  Elsora silenced everyone with a look. “King Leosi and Queen Alera were separated for several centuries before his death, due to her departure. While she has some claim, it is a we
ak one. Leosi himself maintains some claim although undeath muddies the waters. The strongest claim of blood belongs to their still-living daughter, Maria Sardonis. As a practical matter, Leosi’s killer Liam Ottani holds the strongest claim by simple virtue of occupying the castle and having assumed the title.”

  “We concur,” Joachim said.

  “One King, me. No Queens,” I said.

  “Maria is a Queen,” Ashley said.

  “One King of Genea. One Queen of Spiders. So, unless the evil accountant, the crazy-eyed handmaiden, and… who are you again?” I asked with a look to the third of their group.

  “Victus.”

  “You’re very quiet.”

  “Yep.”

  Right. Victus was cool. I appreciated that. It didn’t change what had to happen next, of course.

  “Cobalt, take Joachim. Your crew can help Elsora with Victus there, and I’ll let the handmaiden show me what she’s got.”

  “Don’t start the fight by flirting with her, it’s dumb,” Ashley said.

  “Was that flirting?” Azala asked.

  “Totally. I mean, if you want we’ll totally go into a side room and have sex and leave the others to fight it out. Just to give the option.”

  “Nice. I’m totally going to do my best to kill you now as I’d rather not share my throne with a pervy freak. If it doesn’t work out, raincheck?” Azala asked, as she raised an arm and threw lightning in my direction.

  Dark Lightning

  I caught the blast on my shield, sparks leaping up my arm and causing it to go numb. Intemperance flared to life when I drew it.

  Pay to Win

  Joachim scattered coins around him. Tendrils of dark energy sprang from them to connect to his form, pulsating with power, causing his muscles to bulge.

  Cobalt moved so quickly she was nearly a blur, closing into range with him and dodging his blows with fluid steps. Each time her foot came down she stomped a coin, shattering it.

  Victus had drawn a massive two-handed sword and was squaring off against Elsora, Riggs, and Lea who already circled him

  Spin to Win

  Victus spun in a circle with the sword extended before him, and blood flew as the others were thrown back.

  “You really should give a girl your full attention after flirting with her,” Azala said, and I turned my gaze back to her. Her arm had a bloody gash where Ashley must have caught her with a dagger, but Azala had one her own and she lunged, burying it into my throat.

  Needlework

  The pain was well beyond what it should be. I’d gotten used to taking blows by this point, and taking hits that would sometimes literally crush bones. This felt different, I could barely even think through the pain to trigger a healing potion as I collapsed to the floor in a quickly growing pool of my own blood.

  “Liam’s down,” Ashley said.

  “Poison of the Decasius. It is a flower that grows only in the shadow of great trees, a hidden bloom of tremendous beauty that inflicts such delicious torments,” Azala said.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and the hall rippled around me.

  Group Teleport

  “Tagging you out,” Walt said. We were much closer now to the fight with Victus.

  Lea’s body almost entirely glowed blue from the runes upon her skin being alight with magical power, only a few having their lines interrupted by her own blood. She knelt beside me and rested a hand on my throat.

  Touch of the Seer

  The wound closed somewhat, but I could feel the poison fighting against it. I still couldn’t focus like I needed to.

  Walt’s staff pulsed with a pure white energy. The element of light I guessed countering the darkness. A good play, one that happened just as that massive sword slashed towards him. A singed Victus went flying and a bloodied Walt collapsed.

  Lea grabbed my armor and with surprising strength dragged me over to the mage. Good. I wasn’t moving much myself, but I could at least focus on my abilities and I sent a Lay on Hands coursing through Walt to heal the damage he’d taken.

  “Liam still isn’t up?” Walt asked.

  “It’s the poison,” Lea said.

  Disemboweling Blow

  Oh, it was a lot worse than that. Victus hadn’t stayed down and with a sweeping blow of his sword came down on my midsection as if he were chopping wood, even cleaving through my heavy armor.

  I was alive. Just. Although had only a sliver of my health bar left.

  My passives began to kick in, Fire Within helping me to heal the damage and beginning to act more against the poison in my system. I suddenly felt good. I felt really good.

  My chest was burning, literally, flames flickering out of me from where I’d been cut and my flesh began to knit itself back together. I saw fingers of flame from the corner of my eyes and felt the poison now quite literally burning away.

  “Liam, you’ve never caught on fire before. Tell me you’re supposed to do that,” Lea said.

  “It’s new,” I said, as I got back to my feet and turned my attention towards Victus.

  Smite

  A gout of white-hot flame caught the warrior and his armor melted at the point of impact. Nice. Yvera really was supercharged here, which meant yours truly was supercharged here too, once I got the chance to use my abilities.

  Smite

  Smite

  I continued to throw Smite spells at Victus. He tried to parry them with his sword. Perhaps that sometimes worked, but it didn’t today. Not as charged up as I was. Sword and armor began to glow red, and then white, and I heard the agonized screams as I cooked him alive.

  That shouldn’t be a good sound. I knew it had to be Yvera in my head, but I loved it. I loved that scent of burning flesh, those cries weakening as life faded from his body. I vowed to myself I’d have to hold this part of myself in check. I didn’t want to be this kind of evil. I didn’t.

  I didn’t stop until my mana was exhausted. Until there was nothing but a puddle of molten metal to indicate Victus had ever existed.

  “I do believe that is our cue to leave,” Joachim said, and I managed to tear my eyes away to see how the rest of the fights were going.

  Ashley was against one wall, being tended by Elsora. It looked like her shoulder had been torn apart and through the gaps in her armor I could see the wound pulsing a malevolent black and green. She must have gotten hit with the same poison I had. I willed a Lay on Hands in her direction and with my boosted power level knew she’d be on her feet quickly.

  Joachim and Cobalt looked equally beat up, each showing a few cuts and fresh bruises. From what I understood it shouldn’t have even been close, but Cobalt had warned me that she was not as reliable in a fight right now.

  “Do stay, I’m not done showing you what I do to people stupid enough to invade my home,” I said.

  “You have made your point. I trust that we have made ours. We are three of dozens the dark court recruited this castle. The Dark Court is not an enemy you wish to have, our second warning has been delivered.”

  “Azala,” I said.

  “Liked my needlework enough that you’ve decided to speak with me? I’m flattered.”

  “Your talents are wasted and you are lost amongst weeds. When you’re ready for a change, come find me.”

  Azala shot me a speculative look even as Joachim delivered a disapproving one, and with a flicker of dark energy both were gone.

  Quest Completed

  Enemies in the shadows

  You have once again proven to be basically competent at not dying to an accountant and his sidekicks. I wonder how you’ll do when the Shadow Court decides to throw you a real challenge.

  “Well that was fun,” Ashley said, as she rubbed at her recently healed shoulder.

  “They are powered by the same dark magic that created me,” Elsora said. “It is why they were able to teleport in. The wards are set to allow it so that I stay connected with my mists.”

  “If Lea is willing to give me a hand, we can fix that in a f
ew hours. We just need to refine the filtering spells,” Walt said.

  I said, “Do it. The rest of us will continue on and figure out how to best handle Leosi.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  With our group both smaller and more bloodied than we’d started, we settled into the castle’s war room. I took a seat at the head of the table and Elsora placed herself at my right.

  The war room had gotten some upgrades since the last time I was here. A magical table now displayed a real-time depiction of the Kingdom with areas peaceful and firmly under our control in blue, and any conflicts in various hues of red. The Kingdom was alarmingly red.

  “Well, we started out needing to discuss how to deal with Leosi, but after that I think we need to discuss the Dark Court,” I said.

  “They’ve got a catchy name at least,” Ashley said.

  “You probably know more about them than anybody. What can you tell us, Elsora?” I asked.

  “Not as much as you might think. They created me because they feared the prophecies of a great evil coming from this kingdom. They didn’t want competition, and if evil was going to spawn here, they wanted a hand in it. They wanted it under their control.”

  “And are you still under their control?” Cobalt asked.