Alpha Zero (Alpha LitRPG Book 1) by Arthur Stone (top 5 books to read TXT) 📕

I pointed to a place barely inside the circles. “We heard a strong buzz to our left, to our right, and in front, but we were not attacked immediately. When we encountered the wisps, there were not many of them. The farthest wisps found us—the ones who take a long time to complete their circle. Those at the center didn’t know we were there. Do you follow so far?”

“Follow what, that you’re going to kill wisps? I didn’t need the drawings to know that. You love killing. You’re always killing. Are you evil?”

“Not always,” I objected, “remember when you and I settled things peacefully, using just a couple of pails?”

Beko smiled cheerlessly. “Right. You were just afraid that Ash would get mad. You’re not afraid of the wisps. You want to kill them all so that we can get out of the lowlands. But you’re forgetting something important, Ged.”

“Which is?”

“If everything really is arranged the way you say, we have no idea what the ‘emperor’ in the center of the circle will do. I doubt he will be fine with you killing all of his wisps. Nobody likes it when useful allies are slain. So take this massacre out of your plans, OK?”

I returned a carefree smile. “Don’t worry about the rukh. We’ll kill him first of all.”

Beko’s face twisted darkly. I thought it was a wonderful plan.

Apparently, he didn’t agree.

Chapter 40 Beko’s Secret

Degrees of Enlightenment: 0 (337/888)

Shadow: 337

Attributes:

Stamina: level 7, 350 points

Strength: level 4, 200 points (200+50)

Agility: level 5, 250 points (250+26)

Perception: level 3, 150 points

Spirit: level 2, 100 points

Energy:

Warrior Energy: 150 points (+6.48)

Mage Energy: 100 points

ORDER Talents:

Extreme Boatman (tier 3): 10/10

Fishing Connoisseur (tier 3): 10/10

Cure Wounds (tier 3): 10/10

Antidote (tier 3): 10/10

Throwing Knives (tier 3): 10/10

Apprentice Navigator (tier 3): 10/10

Artificer (tier 1): 10/10

Chaos Talents:

Mark Monster (tier 3): 10/10

Free Talents:

Spinning Rod Master (tier 3): 10/10

States:

Equilibrium (15.76): level 15

Enhanced Enlightenment (0.98): level 0

Shadow of Chi (0.84): level 0

Measure of Order (3.49): level 3

The evening of the third day after our memorable conversation, I returned to the camp. I managed to get back on my own two legs. I couldn’t crawl through the swamp, so I had to somehow find the strength to reach Beko and the dinner he had ready. I was exhausted. Horses after a full week of plowing could not be as tired as I was.

I had been busy every minute from sunrise to sunset. Wisps dropped by the dozen, so their presence on the outer circle was now a minimum. After returning to the raft, I exterminated the kotes and garpikes with equal barbarism, greedily grabbing those talent-pumping trophies.

Mostly, though, I dug. I dug like a miner on a massive payroll. I dug so hard that the powers that be noticed. I received a couple of dozen talent marks for the Digger talent and one for Miner. The last was awarded when I pulled some kind of ugly rock out of the red soil. The ORDER was feeling kind enough to count this as the extraction of a mineral, so I was immediately compensated.

The new calluses on my palms were open and sore. Thankfully, I could heal my own minor wounds and abrasions. My primary tool was my ax, my secondary, my spear. At first, I worked on a pit about five cubic yards in size.

I quickly realized that I had woefully overestimated my capabilities. Even with Beko’s help, doing what I intended to would take at least a week. I wasn’t sure enough in my plan to throw so much time into the pit.

So I cut down my initial size intentions to one-third. Both total area and depth. Thankfully the reddish soil was easy to dig away. The occasional rocks were small and offered no real resistance.

My work was not limited to digging. I also dragged over piles of soil from deep layers of the marsh. When dried, this mass formed a dense crust that was quite resistant to water. That was precisely the property I needed.

Using this mud, I carefully covered the bottom of the pit, and then applied another coat once the first had dried. Then, I used my ari to punch holes in the bottom, throughout the whole pit.

I staggered back to camp.

My work was done, and Beko had been productive, as well.

He had used a knife to whittle twelve of the strongest branches I had retrieved from the river into sharp stakes. Their ends were serrated and deadly. These were harpoons, as thick as a grown man’s arm.

It may have seemed like Beko’s work was much easier than mine, but this wood was strong and very dry, and he only had a knife to work with. The ax was, sadly, too noisy for the circumstances. We did not know how the wisps’ excellent hearing might react to continual chopping sounds. They did not come to the swamp on their own, it seemed—but the description of the rukh indicated he might travel anywhere. Thus we knew they were not bound exclusively to the red dirt.

Tiring of yet another meal of fish, I tested the sharpness of the nearest stake. Beko had done an excellent job. Would it be enough, though, for my plan to work? I had no idea. My plan was a blind one, based on some encyclopedia entry and not any experience whatsoever.

Our preparations, such as they were, were now complete. One final touch remained. In order to achieve it, I had to eat a full meal and get an excellent night’s sleep.

Beko watched as I ate. “So you haven’t changed your mind.”

I shook my head in silence.

The ghoul nodded. “I knew it. You’re always like