City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

it punctured the brain fully. The eyestalks froze suddenly, before falling limply against the floor.

The Skyking was dead, and with its death, its minions clutched their heads, writhing on the ground as their master’s demise reached out to them, stunning them further.

They were quickly dispatched by our side, the last Promethean shredded by a dozen fog spears thrown by the Clan Mother.

Chapter Thirty-Two

I dropped back to lie on the floor. The rapidly cooling pillar next to me was still giving off heat, but now at least, it was almost comforting, rather than painful.

After a few minutes of heavy breathing echoing throughout the chamber, the first person to speak was Hellenica. The Clan Mother floated over to hover close by me, her gaze shifting from me to Bane, before settling upon the sagging remains of the Skyking.

“I see my clan’s Quest as fulfilled, Lord Jax of Dravith, Scion of the Imperium. I formally accept the agreed price. I, along with my clan, will serve you and the Empire for your lifetime.” Her face took on a pensive expression, and she quirked her head to one side. “I mean no offense, but how long do your kind usually live? Out of curiosity?” she asked in a deceptively casual tone, and I grinned up at her.

“Bad time to ask that…” I chuckled weakly, as I slowly pushed myself to sit upright.

“Why?” She frowned quizzically.

“Well, my father—who, by the way, is a complete knob-jockey—is still alive in the realm I came from, and he’s over a thousand years old. Might have been smarter to ask for that information before acknowledging the debt,” I noted, arching my back and feeling it crack, as I bit back a scream over the remains of my right leg. I eyed the mangled ruin nervously and grimaced. The pain was distant, which I knew couldn’t be a good thing; it had to mean the nerves were dead or dying, and…

“A thousand years?!” Hellenica hissed, spinning to glare at Xerix, who had gone as white as a sheet.

“He’s human!” Xerix responded quickly, gesturing at me. “He is, I swear!”

“Yup, no idea how long I’ll live…” I agreed distractedly, sighing at the melted and crispy flesh of my leg. “…but I doubt it’ll be long, considering how weird my damn life is these days…”

I quit examining my leg as Hellenica blasted me with an AOE healing spell. It was weird to watch the flesh of my leg bubbling as it regrew, and I bit down a scream at the pain of nerves reconnecting and coming back to life ripped through me.

“I can heal your hand,” Hellenica said sourly, repeating her previous assertions, “but I suspect it will be too much. You will pass out and remain unconscious for several hours, if not days.”

“Then it’ll have to wait,” I said through gritted teeth, sagging back with a moan of relief as the pain passed. I was left with a deep bone-weary aching as my body reacted to the repeated trauma of massive injuries and healing sustained in such a short amount of time.

I pulled the representations for the team, feeling relief wash through me as I saw they were all still alive, although Tang remained unconscious. As I watched his icon, I realized Arrin was hitting him with a healing spell.

“Augustus?” I called out as Oracle landed next to me and cuddled in.

“Yes, my lord?” he answered, approaching quickly and crouching next to me.

“Are they all dead?” I asked. My eyes closed as I rested for a minute.

“The enemies are, yes,” he confirmed quietly.

“Great.” I heaved a sigh of relief, then mustered the energy to call out, “Everyone, take a day off; you’ve earned it. Hooray, and all that shit.” I cracked my eyes open and looked up to find Augustus’ sorrowful face above mine, and the relief and exhaustion that had left me almost giddy, plunged all the way into disgust and shame at my callous words.

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, Augustus,” I said, forcing myself to my feet. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of our losses.”

“I know, Jax. I know.” He patted me on the shoulder.

“God, I’m such a dick at times…” I muttered, swaying from side to side and blinking owlishly.

“Whoa, take your time, lad,” Augustus said, grabbing my shoulders. “You’ve pushed past a limit. Don’t worry; we all do it at some point. Let’s get you to a seat and get you fixed up… it’s all right.”

“A limit?” I mumbled, allowing him to half-lead, half-carry me to a low bench nearby. Once I was seated on it, he nodded, clapping me on the shoulder in reassurance as he called out to the surviving Legionnaires.

“He’s pushed past the point of his natural reserves; anyone got a potion of ‘Might’ on them?”

There was some rustling and general searching before a Legionnaire staggered over to her fallen comrade, whose body rested at the top of the stairs. She dipped her hand into the Bag of Holding on his waist, searching through the contents for a moment.

“Got one!” she called out, straightening and gingerly picking her way across the room, bearing a small vial that glowed a weird green.

“Excellent,” Augustus said, nodding his thanks to he, before taking the potion and popping the cork. He held it out to me and gestured with it. “Okay, Jax, all in one. Be aware it tastes like old socks…” he murmured grimly. I sniffed the concoction, recoiling in shock, which made him smile. “Yeah, that’s not gonna help you drink it. Should have just gone for it. The taste’s gonna linger, as well, but that’s how you’ll know it’s working! Come on, now…”

With his encouragement, I shrugged and poured the entire vial into my mouth in one go. My eyes opened wide in horror as I tried to swallow it. It tasted like the worst Gorgonzola I’d ever had, mixed with kebab meat from a dodgy van. As I attempted to choke it down, it seemed to grow thicker