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

excellent hunters cannot kill a rukh. We are not excellent hunters. We are nobodies. You’re a degree zero, and I’m a weak ghoul. Today, we die. But it will be a good death. I’m dying with someone I can trust.”

I shook my head at how perceptive Beko was. But he was wrong about one thing. “Yes, Beko, someone’s going to die today—but not us.”

Chapter 41 Wood and Water

Degrees of Enlightenment: 0 (341/888)

Shadow: 341

Attributes:

Stamina: level 7, 350 points

Strength: level 4, 200 points (+50)

Agility: level 5, 250 points (+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

Disperse Poison (tier 4): 10/10

Throwing Knives (tier 3): 10/10

Apprentice Navigator (tier 3): 10/10

Artificer (tier 2): 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

I had to lure six wisps to death by knife throw before I judged the outer circle of flyers to be reduced to a safe level for us to move ahead. I had killed many in days prior, but their numbers recovered overnight.

They would be unable to recover today.

My lure flew into the mist, but not far enough. It plinked off a cystos column. I didn’t mind this—it had happened to me before. But Beko’s face was growing gloomier and gloomier. The natives were superstitious. He considered my miss to be a bad omen.

I wasn’t concerned. My hands were twitching a little, but not because of the bad luck on my first toss. It was just psychologically daunting, despite my own confidence, to be attempting something that even the best hunters of the trading post considered impossible.

Pfft. “Hunters.” They were just common laborers, here to make money. Camai could have wiped out all of this fog and every rukh within without breaking a sweat. Commoners looking for gain were no equals to real warriors.

I could do this. I was no peasant. I was last in the line of an ancient clan. My blood ran bluer than the summer sky, and my essence was ten times more dangerous than Camai’s, at least.

Prepare to die, rukh.

The second toss hit the mark. It took most of my line with it and landed about thirty paces from another wisp taking another lap around the circle. The lure fell with a resounding and alluring clink on the dry soil.

The bug’s buzzing changed tone instantly. It had detected the noise source and quickly obtained energy from its master, allowing it to take flight. This disconnected its “seismic sensors” from the ground.

Now, I could just reel in the line. No matter how fast I did so, the wisp would follow the clinking, clanking bait. Still, I tried to keep it slow, so that no others would detect the noise.

Something grew visible in the fog. A circular shape. Within seconds, the details became visible. It was not a stronger wisp—its Chaos Power was most likely 2 or 3. If my talent’s description was accurate, I should be able to neutralize its poison.

The wisp drew closer and closer. It was a mere five steps from the pit. Beko stood in the center of that pit and began squirming nervously. No matter how brave he was, no matter how much he claimed that the sting did not hurt much, he did not like the prospect of the approaching stinger.

Meanwhile, the wisp was paying him no attention. It pursued the lure, its feeble mind trying to figure out what to do.

With a short jerk, I made the bait land in the mud at Beko’s feet. It plunged deep, disappearing from view. The wisp froze, confused.

I was unable to predict what it would do next, but Beko took the situation into his own hands.

He looked at the buzzing ball, nearly on top of him, and stated, “Someone’s going to die today, and that someone’s not us. That’s what Ged says. And what Ged says, goes.”

The confidence in his voice decreased noticeably the longer he spoke. His hopes in our success were clearly weak. The wisp reacted, surging towards him. Beko barely had time to cover his eyes before the stinger jabbed into his forearm.

Stuttering in pain, the ghoul wavered as the wisp turned and flew away with a satisfied buzzing.

The flying ball had played its part. Now, it could go, back to the center of its circle.

I tossed the spinning rod aside and jumped into the mud. Beko had not fallen down into the pit—we had suspended him by a rope. After all, he didn’t want to drop into a trap of spikes and water when the paralyzing poison was injected into his veins.

I jumped over and wasted no time carefully freeing my companion. First, I put my palm on his arm and activated my talent. Then, I cut down the rope and caught him. “Are you all right, Beko?”

The ghoul moaned indistinctly.

Either my talent hadn’t worked as expected, or something else was wrong, but it was obvious that Beko couldn’t walk. He expected me to get him to the raft before the rukh got there, so there was no point in waiting.

I hauled him up over my shoulders and ran.

Even with my strength, I was a lousy porter, yet my beanpole teenage body managed.

Then, my speed magically tripled. I was spurred on by a sound from behind. It defies description in words. It sounded like steam from the spout of a kettle, like the crunching of a glass cutting machine, and like the gurgle of huge tar