Hell's Glitch (LitRPG): Into a Dark Adventure (12 page)

12
The King’s Justice

They stopped right in front of a Soul Beacon that was placed
nearby.  Sam touched it and bathed in the blue glow that emitted from the stone
snake totem.

Soul Beacon Activated

Without thinking, Sam sat down in front of it and rested. 
Surprisingly, the king sat down next to him casually, with one leg stretched
out and the other bent with its knee pointing skywards and his hand draped over
that.  Sam looked over and thought to ask the king an obvious question.

“Sir ... king, what’s your name, sir?”

“That’s alright, boy.  In our current situation there’s no
need for formality.  You can just call me king, if it pleases you.  But I have
to wonder, where you have to be from not to recognize such a famous king as
myself.”

“I’m from another world, Earth.  If you want to get
specific, I’m from San Francisco though I originally hailed from Palo Alto.”

“I have not heard of such a world, but it is known that
revenants lose their wits as they lose their quintessence.  You’ll have to
restore yourself soon or lose your wits completely.  But to answer your
question, boy, I am the Warrior King Herke of Aschelund.  Tales of my exploits
have been told the world over.  I was once called the demon slaying prince in
my youth, but am now known as the just king, for all my deeds leading up to my
death.”

What about the mad king
? 
When did they start
calling you that
?

“That was before the curse.  Now it means nothing to be king
in this undead land,” King Herke explained.  “All I can do is spread the king’s
justice to all the depraved souls that I come across with my greatsword.  That
forest killer for instance.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sam asked, naturally curious.

“I consider it a noble duty.  Just because I am undead
doesn’t mean I lost what made me a man,” he said with pride in his voice.

“Is that why you’re in this forest?”

“You’re a curious one,” he stated, then laughed.  “I’m here
because I’m looking to mete out the king’s justice to one particular undead.”

Sam was impressed by how real this all felt and how natural
the king’s own conversation flowed.  He wondered who provided the voice for the
king.  It had to be some highly trained classical actor.  The king’s passion
came through with his every word.

“The forest killer?”

“No.  But he will receive his justice too.  I’m looking for
a Cutthroat much like yourself.  This one lacks the fire that I see within you
however.”

Even though he was referring to Sam’s avatar, Sam couldn’t
help but take some pride in the king’s compliment.

“Who is this Cutthroat?  What have they done?”

“Ah, his name?  It’s been a while since I’ve passed that
poison phrase through my lips.  His name is Rondo and he hails from my own land
of Aschelund, at least that’s what I’ve been told.  He murdered my family; my
wife and my son.  I never even got to take his miserable life myself.  While on
the hunt, I was ambushed.  Caught some arrows in my back from some traitors who
wanted my throne.  So the fiend slipped through my fingers, but I’ve heard it
said that he’s in these lands, an undead.  I’ve made it my life’s mission to
hunt him down, kill him twice for my queen and my heir, and to pillage the
impure quintessence that he preciously clings to.  He will meet the king’s
justice.”

Sam thought of the Cutthroat he had run into after he’d
escaped Caesar’s house.  He had attacked Sam closer to the middle part of the
forest near the cave.  Sam hadn’t made out too many of that Cutthroat’s
features and at the time, he was too focused on running back to the cave to pay
attention, but that was the only other human enemy that Sam had run into in the
forest other than Caesar and possibly the huntsman.  Sam knew one thing for
certain though, he wanted to help the king.  He felt bad for him.  To lose his
wife and child to a murderer, then his own life before he was able to kill the
animal responsible.  It saddened Sam, but Sam had also respected the fact that
the king didn’t let an event as traumatic as his own death get in the way of
doling out his justice.

“He’s in this forest?” Sam asked.

“He’s close.  I can feel it in my bones,” he said with conviction.

“Well then king, I’ll help you find this Cutthroat.  On my
honor.”

For whatever that’s worth
, Sam thought.

“Those are some courageous and honorable words you say there
boy, but can I believe them?” asked the king.  “I just don’t know anymore.  My
countrymen betrayed me and you, you’re dressed in the same clothes as my
family’s killer.”

Sam went into his inventory and attempted to change
immediately until remembering that he had nothing else to wear.

“But now, none of that matters, I suppose.  I have seen your
soul firsthand.  I saw a conviction much like my own.  You have potential, for
an undead that is.”

Sam stopped and simply looked at the king.  The big man
stood up, completely eclipsing Sam’s view of the moon.

“If you are going to be a part of my King’s Guard and help
me dole out justice, then you will have to be strong enough to survive the
perils of this forest.  To that end, I’m going to teach you a Technique of the Aschelund
Royal Guard, one that uses the full power of one’s sword and soul.”

Sam hurriedly got up to his feet and was captivated by the
king’s every word.

“Draw your sword,” the king demanded.

Sam was confused by the sudden change in the king’s
demeanor, but he made sure to closely obey his commands.  He quickly drew his Rapier
from its scabbard at his side and held the blade up in front of him with both
hands.

“No need for two hands, boy.  Relax.”

Sam took one hand off of his sword then looked over at the
king.

“Good, now watch me and do precisely what I do.”

The king drew his huge greatsword from the sheath on his
back.  The face of the blade was bathed in the moon’s light which refracted
into Sam’s eyes.  The king held the greatsword in front of him in one hand,
which was impressive, seeing as how the blade had to be the size of his teenage
sister Rui.  Sam had expected the sword to be rugged in its design, but it was
actually very elegant and somewhat ornate with fancy designs etched into its hilt. 
The blade had care put into its design and the king was keeping it in good
shape since it looked expertly polished and superbly sharp.  His grip on the
sword handle remained firm and the king looked focused as his sword took on an
orange glow.  At the apex of the glow, he turned the sword around with a flick
of his wrist and swept it upwards over his head in a diagonal arc.  The king’s
right knee had bent slightly while his upper body twisted in time with the
blow.  The blade’s glow subsided once the king was done with the strike.  The
king maintained the finished pose from the strike for another second allowing
Sam to take in the details of the form.  The final detail was the bend of the
left elbow while the right arm was completely extended with the sword in hand.

“Impressive,” Sam half whispered.

The king dropped his sword to his side as he talked to Sam.

“That is the famed Sword Uppercut Technique of the Aschelund
royal guard.  Like with most of our Techniques, it’s best used to fell massive
foes like those nightmarish beasts in our homeland.  Now, try it for yourself.”

Sam took his Rapier in hand and attempted the Technique with
no results.  He tried again and got nothing.

What the heck is wrong
, he wondered. 
This is
exactly how he did it
.

He tried and tried and failed and failed.

“Don’t lose heart now.  You almost got it.  Your form is
impressive.  Now you just have to feel for the power of the blow.  For us soldiers
and royalty in Aschelund, the power comes from a resolute oath we take.  For we
are the shields of our kingdom and the pillar upon which everything is built. 
That resolution gives us immeasurable strength.  It is what ignites the power
of our souls.”

To be strong and resolute, Sam wanted that too.  He needed
it in his personal life as much as he needed it in the game right now.  He
needed more strength to deal with the consequences of his father’s death,
particularly the loss of his sagely advice.  Sam could only rely on himself now
and he needed to be strong.  He needed to set a better example for Rui as well,
so that she would have someone to turn to like he had with his father.  He also
wanted to be strong for his mother, who he still knew hadn’t gotten over his
father’s death.  He needed to be resolute in his decisions and stick to them. 
Being there for his family, continuing forward as an artist in the video game
industry even though it wasn’t working for him, not answering the phone when
Michelle called, and more than all that sticking to the plan for success that
he and his father had mapped out many years prior.  That path had no room for
quitting and doing anything else except what Sam had planned on doing.  Sam
would be a professional concept artist and he would make good money doing it
dammit, but right now he would be the best at this damn game!

Sam found the burning feeling he needed, the feeling that he
associated with winning, with survival.  It wasn’t a feeling he felt too often
either.

“Good, boy.  That is your Soul Burning.  You need it to
power Techniques of this magnitude.  Use all the power of your soul!  Use it
with your most ferocious strikes and you will achieve victory.”

I will be strong and resolute
,
my blade will strike
and I will not falter
.  That thought had somehow felt natural to Sam.  It
was such a strange thing to think, something so ridiculously serious.  He
couldn’t think of the last time he had thought words so serious and powerful in
real life, maybe never.  The words made him feel so good and so strong that he
wondered what they’d make him feel like if he said them out loud.

“I will be strong and resolute.  My blade will strike and I
will not falter.”

He took his Rapier in hand and took on the king’s earlier
one handed fighting pose.  He kept that feeling of assured victory and let it
burn within him.  He wouldn’t let himself lose now.  The burning he had felt
inside of him had risen so much and soon seemed to even affect his sword.  It
glowed in his hand just like it had with the king.  Finally, he turned his
wrist upwards and swung his sword over his head in a diagonal arc.  He felt
unstoppable as he swung his sword with the feeling only subsiding once the blow
was done.

New Soul Burning Technique Learned.  Gained Sword
Uppercut.

“Good, boy!  Good!  You’re a natural it seems.  That power
is not easy to summon forth.”

It wasn’t and it seemed to tire Sam out very quickly.  He
looked over at his green stamina and saw that it had depleted by about forty
percent.

“Holy hell!”

This wasn’t the sort of Technique that one could spam (use
repeatedly in an exploitive manner).  He also noticed a new bar under his
health and stamina bars.  It was blue and about a tenth the size of his health
bar.  It had already partially depleted after he had done the Sword Uppercut Technique
which was when it also appeared in the first place.  A magic gauge?  It seemed
so.  And so Techniques used magic and stamina.

Sam looked over at King Herke to see if he had anymore
wisdom to impart to him.  It unnerved him to find the king staring at him with
great intensity.

“Where did you get that ring?” he asked aggressively.

“What—”

Sam looked down at the rings on his hand and tried to figure
out which one the king was referring to.  One had increased his physical
defense, the other his magic defense, and the third one increased his persevere
which did something that Sam couldn’t remember.  He stared at the rings.  The
first two rings didn’t look like anything special, but the last ring had a cool
etching of a three headed dog on it, like Cerberus from Greek myth.

“This one?” Sam asked holding the finger up with the dog
etching.

“Yes.  Where did you get it?”  The king narrowed his eyes at
Sam.  All the trust they had recently built up seemed to have flown out the
window.  Sam could think of nothing to say but the truth.  He only hoped that
it wouldn’t get him killed.

“From the forest killer’s house.  I snuck in after he killed
me and looted his place when he left.”

The king surprised Sam when he started laughing.

“By the gods of light!  Did you really steal from that
madman?”

Sam nodded his head with a grin on his face.

“That’s bold, boy and much better than he deserves in any
case.  That ring you so casually wear belonged to a member of the Aschelund
royal family.  If it were in that monster’s possession, no doubt he’s murdered
some kin of mine.  As if I needed more of a reason for him to meet the king’s
justice.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir.  Would you prefer it if I
didn’t wear the ring?” Sam asked thoughtfully.

“No, it’s yours now.  The royal name of Aschelund has very
little meaning in these lands anyway, probably less than my former title of
king.  I’d rather someone with righteous fire inside of them hold onto it than
a killer.  Now that it’s in your possession, let’s make sure it stays there.  I
will teach you one more Technique, this one my own specialty.  I’ve only
managed to teach it to one other person.  Once you master this, you’ll be truly
prepared for the dangers that lie in this forest.  Now follow my lead.”

13
The Gift of Sinning

The king’s Skyward Thrust Technique was more difficult for
Sam to learn than the Sword Uppercut was.  Mimicking the king’s intricate
movements was the most difficult part.  This time, the piercing blow required a
lot of forward movement on Sam’s part.  He had to start the Technique leading
with his off foot in front and then lunge forward with his right foot in front
of him while thrusting his sword into the air with his right hand.  There was a
trick to the thrust too.

“You can’t do it exactly how I do it,” said the king.  “Our
weapons are too dissimilar.  Thrusting like I do with my greatsword isn’t going
to help you.”

He hadn’t instructed Sam on what to change to make the Technique
work and that left Sam to practicing it for a while to figure it out.  The main
difference between Sam’s Rapier and the king’s greatsword was size.  The king
punched forward with his thrust, effectively relying on his great power to
obliterate all that stood ahead of him with a single blow.  Sam didn’t have
anywhere near the amount of strength that the king had, so he had to rely on
his skill instead, even with a powerful Technique like the Skyward Thrust. 
Once he had that in mind, he seemed to visualize his next move perfectly when
he closed his eyes.  Now he just had to feel it out and perform it flawlessly.

He got into position and practiced a few normal thrusts. 
Then he built up the power of his Soul Burning, that feeling of complete power,
of victory.  Thanks to his visualization, he instinctively knew what to do
next.

Is that something that the game programs in us,
he
thought,
the ability to visualize these Techniques once we figure them out? 
It doesn’t matter.

He led the Technique with his left foot and lunged forward
with his right, this time he swiftly upturned his wrist and let loose three
quick rapid stabs followed by a powerful final blow that he had to completely
extend his body into.  The whole time he felt rooted to the spot and as strong
as stone.  During the Technique, each of the stabs resulted in a fiery glow on
the tip of his Rapier and the final elongated stab caused the whole sword to
glow like an ember.  Sam’s body had also been briefly engulfed in the glow
whilst performing the move.

New Soul Burning Technique Learned.  Gained Skyward Thrust.

Replace Current Skill?   Yes   No

Sam chose yes.  It was strange, but somehow he was able to
equip the Technique without having any spirituality slots.  But, he still had
to remember to occasionally put some points into spirituality so that he could
equip multiple Techniques or Spellcraftes, should he find any good ones.  For
now the Skyward Thrust seemed to suit him more.

“Good, very good.  You have learned my Technique well and
made it your own.”

“Thank you, king!  I feel stronger already.”

The king laughed and put his own sword away.

“You should.  That very Technique has been used to slay the
most foul and fearsome beasts in our land.  My own ancestor used it to slay the
tri-headed crimson beast of legend.  Make sure that you aren’t the only bearer
of this Technique to leave this plane in abject mediocrity.”

Sam was determined not to be.  He gave the king a quick nod
and thought of the many uses he’d have for his two new Techniques.  He needed
to practice them ASAP.  Now, he had favored the Skyward Thrust, because it was
a multi-hit thrust Technique with great range.  The Skyward Thrust used more of
the magic gauge, which Sam now knew was called Soul Power.  Each stab from the Technique
drained a little of the gauge, with the final power stab taking slightly less SP
than the entire Sword Uppercut.  The Sword Uppercut was a quicker attack
though.

“Now go.  This forest is large and the easiest way to find
Rondo is to take separate paths to the fiend.  I will leave my sign in the
forest.  If you find him or are in dire need of my help, use my sign to call
me.  I too am a Walker.”

“A Walker, sir?”

“I can travel between the planes of worlds.  That ancient
mage Letraym has left all sorts of tools around to make such a thing possible. 
But if you find any wicked person of interest or simply need my assistance,
find my signature and summon me across the planes to your side.  It’s the best
form of cooperation in this cursed land.”

******

Sam had tested his new moves against the rose men of the
forest.  Unfortunately he could only hit the creature cleanly with the Sword
Uppercut.  The Skyward Thrust could only be aimed upwards and went right over
the short rose man he was fighting.  Thankfully, the Sword Uppercut’s attack
started at Sam’s hip.  The Sword Uppercut did more damage than Sam’s normal
light and heavy attacks.  It didn’t outstrip the heavy attack by very much in
damage.  Sam was almost disappointed until he accidently stumbled upon the real
usefulness for the Technique.  The second rose man he fought had attacked him
while Sam was performing the Sword Uppercut and even though Sam got hit with
the rose man’s full thrusting attack, he didn’t stagger or stop his own attack.
 He took full damage and continued to swing his sword upwards as if nothing had
happened at all.  He felt invincible, unstoppable.  Well, until the attack
ended anyway and his brief burning glow subsided.  And because that particular
Sword Uppercut was a counter hit (attack performed on an attacking opponent),
he scored a bonus amount of damage for it.

“Awesome!  I need something else to hit!”

******

Sam returned from a grueling training session against the
Forest Barkers near the cave.  He was delighted to find that the Ignition
Powder had actually worked and when the Barkers began to number more than six,
Sam had applied the fire effect to his weapon and burned the Barkers so that
they could not replicate anymore.  After returning and testing his parries
against the rose men, Sam noticed that King Herke had already disappeared from
the Soul Beacon.  Sam searched around the area and even went to where he had
first found the king, but he couldn’t find him at all.  He then went back and
rested at the Soul Beacon to peacefully think about what his next move would
be.  He had enough points to level himself up some more, so he did just that.

Sam toggled each of the stats, increasing some by a single
point then seeing what each stat would change with all three points that he
could allocate.  Some of the stats surprised him with extra effects that he
hadn’t counted on.  He noticed that increasing his vitality also increased his
stamina as well as his “Equip Hold” which was the maximum amount of weight he
could carry at any given time.  Increasing Equip Hold would also decrease his
current equipment burden and if he could get that low enough, his overall speed
would increase.  Since Sam had yet to save his point increase, he took the
vitality back to normal and checked out what increased strength would give
him.  Besides increasing his S ATK, leveling strength seemed to increase the Equip
Hold even higher than the same amount of points in vitality.  Three points in
vitality would give Sam an additional sixty points of health, six points of
stamina, and six Equip Hold.  Increasing his strength by three would give him
an additional three points to S ATK and nine points in Equip Hold.  That extra Equip
Hold almost made Sam put a point into strength, but he instead put all three of
his points into vitality since he could use all the benefits it provided.  Sam
was now soul intensity nineteen and was curious about what his stats looked
like overall.

Name: Sarem the Sanguine (revenant)

Class: Cutthroat

Soul Intensity: 19

HP: 270/270 (-10%)

SP: 7/7

Stamina: 67/67

Held Souls: 1300

Souls to Next Level: 1840

VIT 15

DEF 6

RES 7

STR 6

INT 10

DEX 20

SPD 16

SPT 4

BLF 4

PCP 3

S ATK 6

D ATK 20

M ATK 10

B ATK 4

P DEF 6 +20 (Ring) 26

M DEF 11 +20 (Ring) 31

F DEF 4

L DEF 10

D DEF 5

A DEF 5

P RES 7

D RES 7

C RES 4

B RES 7

Perseverance: 1 + 20 (Ring) 21

Burden/Equip Hold: 14/58 24%

Discovery: +2

TECH Slots: 1, Skyward Thrust

SPT Slots: 0

After leveling up, he decided to check all of his items and
read them closely this time.  Certain items seemed to have some story
significance to them, as was the case with the Three Headed Hound Seal.  He sat
and read the descriptions for a while and found one that piqued his interest.

Sinner’s Scriber

Allows a player to encroach upon the plane of another
player.

One of the legendary writing tools crafted and enchanted
by the eminent linguist, scholar, and mage Letraym.  As Letraym had no moral
qualms about exploring facets of magic and language otherwise deemed wicked,
she crafted this tool as a way for its users to share their malice with other
worlds.

“Encroachment, huh?  It’s time to go say hi to some other
players.”

Sam added the Sinner’s Scriber to his one of his Quick Select
slots.  The scriber looked like some sort of ornate and thin ice pick.  It was
wrought in a metal that was as polished as silver and had a handle made of dark
red wood.  Sam instinctively knew that he had to scribe his message into the
ground below.  The game seemed to feed him these subtle instructions mentally. 
He bent down and etched his message into the dirt of the forest floor.  As he
wrote, the tip of the scriber glowed.  Sam rose up and smiled as he read his ominous
message which seemed to be written in magic that was the color of glowing
blood.  It read, “
Sarem is coming
.”  Sam placed his hand on the glowing
message and a prompt popped up.

Use the Sinner’s Sign to warp to another’s plane?

Yes   No

Sam vocalized his decision with a, “Hell yeah”, and was
enveloped in a deep red glow that obscured his vision.  He could only see
pulsating crimson light all around him and felt himself being pulled from all
sides, like he was being stretched apart.  He felt like he was moving, but had
no clue what direction he was moving in.  The distortion caused him to fall to
one knee to balance himself.  After only a few seconds the glow faded and he
found himself back the in the dark forest where he had seemingly left it, only
nothing seemed to have changed.  He rose to his feet and looked around.

Did it work
, he wondered.  He touched the nearby tree
and got a confirmation, well maybe.  There appeared to be two red lights on the
tree that brightened when Sam leaned his head in to inspect it.  His eyes were
glowing, he suspected and they were very bright.  He’d be at a disadvantage
like this, in the dark.

Now encroaching upon the plane of JakThe_MonarchBfly.

The words blinked on and off for a while.  Sam grinned as he
recognized the gaming handle as one belonging to his pal Jacob.  He had gone
out with Jacob and a few others a couple of nights ago for drinks as a matter
of fact.  They had all speculated about the game.  None of them had predicted
that they’d be playing a fully immersive VR version of The Death Planes.

“I’m gonna find you Jacob and kill you buddy, hehehehe.”

Sam decided to proceed through the forest slowly while
lightly humming the theme of Michael Myers from the Halloween movies.  As he
skulked around, he came across the same creatures from his own plane.  At first
he avoided them, until he noticed that none of them had paid him any
attention.  One of the rose men had even walked directly in front of him
without a care in the world.  Normally they aggroed (become aggressive) at a
much further range.  Sam then remembered a little about encroaching in the old
Planes games and recalled that it was the same back then.  The AI controlled
enemies didn’t attack encroachers.

Sam heard some foreign noises in the distance.  It wasn’t a
sound he recognized from the enemies of his own game, so he went to go check it
out.  In the distance he saw some intense fighting between a Cutthroat and a Fighter. 
The Fighter had the default armor set and the starting Steel Sword for the
class.  The Cutthroat was in the same gear as Sam but fought with two Daggers
instead.  He circled around the Fighter, who kept his mid-sized shield up in
front of him.  Above the Fighter’s head was his username, JakThe_MonarchBfly. 
Sam quickly took advantage of the situation and snuck up to Jacob.  Even though
he approached from his rear, Jacob still seemed to notice Sam’s avatar and
rolled away into the forest away from both Sam and the other Cutthroat enemy. 
Sam counted on the repeated rolling to drain Jacob’s stamina really quickly. 
After four rolls, Jacob looked unable to move for a little more than a second. 
Sam used that to catch up and stab his buddy in the back.  Jacob’s health bar
had popped up, already at half, and Sam’s backstab had easily taken the rest of
his health.  Jacob’s avatar fell to the ground and writhed in pain until he
faded into a cloud of white soul aura and was absorbed by Sam.

Sinner’s Encroachment Completed

Sam was given one thousands souls for his efforts and a
single unit of loose Quintessence which was temporarily displayed at the lower
right hand corner of the screen, below his souls.  He also got something called
a Bloody Tearstone.  He gave a bow to his fallen opponent, even though it was a
little too late for honorable gestures considering all the grief he just put
Jacob through.  Sam still couldn’t help but to laugh at how he ambushed of his
friend.  The game didn’t have any chat functions for the players, but he just
knew that Jacob would be ridiculously pissed at him right now.  He’d be that
way for at least the next thirty minutes straight as he whined and cursed at
how unfair the game was and how much of a jackass Sam was to do something so
cheap.  It would be even funnier once he saw Jacob outside of the game and
heard him explain it all in a way that only Jacob could.