Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

his arm off. As Jacob was shaken from side to side, he struck out with his [Vile Mace] again and again as much as his Stamina allowed.

Four strikes and the creature’s lower-left jaw cracked and broke free. Howling with pain, the Burgon Beast released Jacob’s shield and staggered back, dripping thick streams of oily black ichor.

Sensing a brief reprieve, Jacob quickly crushed another [Cinder Ampoule] and shakily rose to his feet. The beast didn’t give Jacob much time to recover. Still bleeding, it lashed its long, barbed tongue out at him.

Instinctively, he raised his shield to block it. That was just what the Burgon Beast was looking for.

Before Jacob could realize what was happening, the Burgon Beast’s long black tongue wrapped around the shield and yanked it from Jacob’s grasp, swallowing it whole.

Fiery heat burned the beast’s throat, but it remained undaunted by the pain. Black oily smoke flooded from its mouth, its neck glowed from the heat of the shield as it was swallowed.

Anger welled up in Jacob at the loss of the Fire Oppa’s symbol, and he came forward in a sudden rush, swinging his [Vile Mace] two-handed. Left, right, went his massive haymaker swings with the mace.

The force of the blows was so severe that most of the Burgon Beast’s snout was shattered. It looked even more alien and distorted than before. Its long black and barbed tongue lolled out of the ruined mess.

Belching black smoke at Jacob’s face bought the Burgon Beast some time as Jacob retched and staggered about.

You are Poisoned.

The toxic fumes seared his throat and lungs. Shifting his mace to one hand, he drew out a vial of [Gekk Blood], lifted his visor, and drank the sickly sweet drink.

His Health immediately stopped its freefall from the poison, and he pushed it back up to full with another ampoule crushed in his hand. The mote of cinder rushed through his body, empowering his ability to regenerate and ridding him of his wounds.

Off to the side, a large column of fire lit up the canyon, then another, and another. The three columns were whipped up into towering twisters of flame that caged the Gnawing Hunger.

For all her magical prowess, it seemed Camilla was struggling to contain the creature that had, unbeknownst to him, stalked him for so long. A gurgling snarl reminded Jacob he had his own problems.

Without a shield, Jacob was even more vulnerable than before, and he had allowed himself to get distracted. For all the damage he dealt to the Burgon Beast, it was still standing.

And now it was mad.

The Burgon Beast lashed its barbed tongue again, cracking the air like a whip. Jacob dove forward and to the side, feeling the sharp spines dig a gouge across his back. He let out a strangled cry of pain but kept his wits about him to complete the roll.

Up he came, two hands on the [Vile Mace] mid-swing as he put his leading foot beneath him and rose to full height. The arcing swing caught the Burgon Beast on its foreleg, right where it connected to the body.

A distorted cry of pain accompanied the crack of bone. The Burgon Beast twisted away but stumbled when it put weight on that leg. A twist of Jacob’s hips brought the tentacled mace around for a heavy follow-up strike.

The Burgon Beast crashed into the ground with the force of the second attack. Its bloodied pulp of a maw hit the dirt hard enough to stun it momentarily. It took Jacob a moment to recognize what he did.

He managed to break the Burgon Beast’s balance. By hitting hard enough, often at opportune moments, an enemy could be staggered. The brief window afforded could allow significant damage to be racked up while the opponent was unable to defend themselves.

Jacob wailed on it with the [Vile Mace], using its corrosive ability to eat away at the Burgon Beast’s left foreleg. It wouldn’t be enough to kill it, but if he could cripple it, maybe he would increase his chances.

Even though he was expecting it, Jacob still started with surprise when the [Vile Mace] broke in his hands on that last swing. He dismissed it, and rather than call for his [Longsword], he stepped back and drew out the sword with the blood-red jewel in its pommel.

The blade the Burgon Beast feared. A blade that Alec never spoke of, and for all intents and purposes, did not seem to exist. He soon understood why.

You gain [Duskblade].

Immediately, Jacob was assaulted by the Guilt of its former owner. Their failure that doomed so many. Paralyzed, Jacob managed to draw it from the ground, but the blade was so heavy.

As he pulled the sword free, he saw a dozen shadowy copies of the blade shatter and evaporate as if he had just removed the sword across all other shards.

Was it a trap? The weapon held too much Guilt for Jacob to move properly.

The Burgon Beast shook itself from its stupor and let out a wet snarl at Jacob, the beast’s red eyes flared as it lunged at him.

Jacob dove forward, but every movement was weighed down and sluggish. Like Sal back on Earth, he “fat-rolled” with all the grace and speed of an overweight cow. The Burgon Beast clipped him as he attempted the roll and nearly tore his helmet from his head.

The visor was ripped off and left hanging on one side. Jacob’s ears rang from the gonging sound the impact had made. Taking another [Cinder Ampoule], Jacob raised the blade to fend off the creature while he regained his senses.

There was strength in it that surpassed his [Longsword] by many orders of magnitude. But he wasn’t sure he could bring it to bear. Not moving as slowly as he was, and ridding himself of his currently bound equipment would take longer than he had.

You already knew you were going to die, Jacob reminded himself. Except, he didn’t think it would happen because he was overburdened.

Behind the Burgon Beast, Jacob saw