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

wiping out the moving shapes that were starting to become dangerously corporeal out in the hall. He didn’t have time to be testing something new.

Besides, if it turned out to be useful, he still had enough potential deaths to bring himself back to a high curse level.

Jacob stroked the Fire Oppa, whose inner flames seemed so very weak. Fenris raised his head and pressed his tiny bear ears into Jacob’s palm. But even that small motion seemed too much for the tiny thing, and it curled up again, in a deep slumber.

Grinding his teeth, Jacob stepped forward into the hall and turned toward the exit. If at all possible, he wanted to fight it in a wider hallway where he would have room to maneuver around the lupine creature.

He welcomed the fight to vent his mounting rage. The Burgon Beast would pay dearly for every second the Fire Oppa was in pain.

“Did they finally let you die?” came a snide, painfully familiar voice to his left. “No matter. I’ll kill you myself. You’ve caused me enough problems!” Mack came forward, in stained and rusted armor, his gleaming halberd leading the charge.

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“I really don’t have time for this,” Jacob said, rolling his wrist and sending the [Duskblade] in a lazy looping motion in preparation for Mack’s attack.

It also shouldn’t have been possible. But if the barriers between the shards were breaking down, he guessed it made as much sense as anything else in Lormar did.

Which was to say, not much.

Mack lunged forward in a predictable stab at Jacob’s gut. Leaf Circles the Whirlpool brought Jacob’s blade up and around. Sparks flew where the notched edge of Jacob’s [Duskblade] met the metal pole of the halberd.

“You should be honored to be killed by me, you know!” Mack taunted. “By killing you, I’ll rise to the acolyte rank within the Vile Covenant! You’ll help me in more ways than you could ever know.”

To his credit, Mack disengaged quickly and choked up on the halberd. He levered it down in a two-handed strike. One that Jacob sidestepped with the aid of an upward arcing swing of Sheltering Rain, forcing the halberd to catch on the uneven stone wall to the left.

Jacob grit his teeth and dashed in before Mack could gain control of his weapon. Wind Parts the Grass sparked against the floor and drew a gouging line in Mack’s new aquatic-themed outfit.

Rather than the gleaming white metal with the lion helmet, he wore rusted chainmail covered with barnacles and tentacle iconography. His helm was a simple affair with a chain veil covering his mouth and a series of metal sculpted tentacles as a faceguard.

Twin Forked Lightning drew forth two blossoms of blood from Mack’s armor. Jacob raised his sword up high in two hands, and with a lunge forward, Diving Falcon took Mack in the gut. A third bloom of crimson joined the other two.

The halberd vanished in a splash of seawater, not ash, Jacob noted. As soon as Jacob saw the glow of the [Cinder Ampoule], his sword was arcing toward that hand. Moonlight’s Edge cut the hand off at the wrist.

A quick shift in his footing, a levering twist on the blade, and Falling Rain took out Mack’s throat in a spray of blood.

Jacob placed a boot on Mack’s chest and kicked him over onto his back. The anger roiling in his stomach made him taste bile. It was this selfish idiot that had cost him so many days.

And all because I hurt his feelings!

Jacob still couldn’t fathom how fragile the man’s ego must be to get so bent out of shape over what he only knew to be just a game.

It was so much more to Jacob, and that only made him angrier.

Twice now, his chance to save humanity was set back - present company, unfortunately, included - all because of this jerk. Billions of lives in the balance, but it was a player that likely did the most damage to his mission, not a horrible monster.

Looking down at him, Jacob shook his head. “If only you knew what your actions have cost us all. You might see me as some horrible villain in your story. But you’re just a footnote in mine.”

Almost as an afterthought, Planting the Flag took Mack in the heart.

You defeat [Mack].

Awarded 500 Souls.

If he was quick, he might be able to get back to the Pyre and repair his [Vile Mace] before the Burgon Beast came.

Just as Jacob turned toward the room, a wall of opaque fog appeared, cutting off his access to the Pyre. The Burgon Beast was here. And Jacob was still in a tight corridor without much room to maneuver.

He wasted precious seconds enacting Flame Blade to coat the [Duskblade] in brilliant flame. The sword was set in motion, Wind Parts the Grass swept up. Though the Burgon Beast leaped to the side, it was still caught on the shoulder by the burning strike.

Its fur burned and crackled angrily wherever the fire touched. Jacob lunged forward, trying to keep up the momentum. Falling Rain drew a horizontal charred line right above the too-many eyes of the Burgon Beast, dealing nearly 450 points of damage.

Compared to the Vile Mace’s corrosive strikes of 300 to 500, the [Duskblade] was holding its own quite well and continued to deal more damage every time he used Souldrinker. The Burgon Beast was surprisingly sturdy, its defenses well-rounded and high enough to severely weaken even his strongest Sword Forms.

Leaf Circles the Whirlpool fended off a powerful swat of the Burgon Beast’s paw, which caused the creature to overbalance on its weakened leg from their first matchup.

Dove Takes Flight took out two of its eyes on the left side while a quick reversal and a forward step of Diving Falcon took out a third eye and stabbed deep enough to hit bone.

Souldrinker pulled at the Burgon Beast’s strength, withering the creature before Jacob’s eyes. The flames burned the beast as it howled in agony. Jacob was distantly sorry