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

“Are you hungry, Beko?”

The ghoul was also considering the pit. “For some reason, no. That’s weird. I’m always hungry. Why did we make this, Ged?”

“The rukh lives there—” I pointed up—”hiding somewhere in the fog. The wisps are his eyes and ears, directing him to food. They seek food and paralyze it, and then report back to their master. Afterwards, the rukh drops in from above. He falls right onto the point the stinging wisp indicates to him. As the hunters know, you cannot let the wisp who stung you get away alive. Unless you want to deal with its master. The rukh will land right here—” I pointed to the pit—”where the stakes should kill him. If they do not, the water will do the job. To a rukh, water is a deadly poison. It eats away at his flesh. Here, it will die.”

Beko shook his head. “You can’t kill a rukh with dirty water and sharpened sticks. I don’t know who told you all that, but that man was lying.”

“It wasn’t a man. Nor a woman.”

“Who then?” Beko blinked.

“It was Chaos itself.”

“Quit joking like that. You shouldn’t joke about Chaos.”

“What makes you think I’m joking? I’m dead serious. No, Chaos does not communicate with me, but I learn from it.”

“No, that’s not possible.”

“You must know by now that there’s something different about me. Why did I dig this pit? That took a lot of work. I could have done something useful with all that time and effort, right? No. You know that I never do anything for nothing. We’re ready, and we’re going to pull this off, because we’re winners.”

“How are you going to lure the rukh into the pit?”

“Simple. I’ll let one of the wisps sting me.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Not even close. The wisp will rush off to tell the rukh about my location. In the meantime, I will cure myself with my tier 4 talent and leave the area.”

“Have you tested this talent? What if it doesn’t work so well? The healing could take a long time.”

“I thought about that. I could test it, but that would take most of my shadow chi. It would not recover by sundown—we’d have to come back in the morning. The water level will drop significantly during that time. This is a pit, after all—not a barrel. That would lose so much time that I’d rather take my chances.”

“What if this doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll go—or you’ll carry me—to the raft.”

“Why the raft?”

“Because the rukh might chase us. If it does, our only hope is hiding out on the river. He won’t be able to go in the water.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Chaos cannot lie.”

“Then let the wisp sting me, not you.”

I had been planning on this, but I didn’t want it to be my suggestion. “Why you?”

“Because I’ve already been stung once. I know that it’s not as bad as I thought. Plus, you’re stronger than me, and smarter. If something goes wrong, I’d rather have your legs working than mine. And even if I die, that’s not too bad. Without me, you’ll be able to get out of here. Probably. But without you, I’ll have to live here forever. You’re a strange person, Ged. But you’re a good person. You’ve done a lot for me, so let me do this for you.”

“You’ve done a lot for me, too.”

Beko shook his head. “There’s no comparison. Don’t argue with me. Plus, me taking the risk instead of you is good for us both.”

“Even if I can’t get you to the raft in time?”

“You can,” Beko said assertively. “I might not be able to, but I know you will. You always succeed. Yes, you take risks, but they’re the right risks. And here—I want you to see this.”

Beko pulled out a round ceramic item bearing a poorly-made representation of a woman’s head. “See this, Ged?” the ghoul said solemnly.

“What’s that?”

“What do you mean?” Beko jumped back, and just like that, the item was hidden again. “It’s mine. Mine!”

“Ah, so that’s what it is. And here I am, thinking you have a gold brick there. What’s so valuable about it? Why do you hide it?”

“It’s an agate. A carved agate. They would take it away from me, but it’s mine!”

“When we get back to the trading post, we can buy ten agates like that for you. Or twenty, or a hundred. You can learn to count with them.”

“No, we can’t buy an agate like this,” Beko said grimly.

“Why not?”

“Because this agate was my mother’s. There’s not another agate like it in the world.” Beko’s voice trailed off.

I didn’t know what to say. I patted my friend on the shoulder. “Thanks for telling me your secret. I’ve always wanted to hear it, and you’ve trusted me. Let me tell you my secret.”

“I know your secret,” Beko replied calmly.

“What do you mean?”

“When you were sick, delusional, you took something off from around your neck. Something invisible. You’re a zero, Ged. You have no Degrees of Enlightenment. None. Yet somehow you’re alive, and you act like a normal person. That shouldn’t be possible, yet here you are. You hide it somehow. But you cannot hide it from the higher powers. They perceive that you are empty, and as they say, the ORDER abhors a vacuum. So the ORDER gives you lots of valuable things. That’s how you reached a 4th tier talent in just a few days. You’re even willing to spend valuable items on me. You’re like that legendary hero who always has everything he needs. Lots of expensive things. That’s why you’re always so sure of yourself. But don’t you think that will save you here, Ged. This is a rukh, and even