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

back and forth, mostly frantically working on the huge battleship that hulked over the rest on the far side of the field. It was enormous, and the air of panic as people sprinted about on it made Grey grin as he shook his head.

“Won’t catch me doing that, oh, no, sir. Grey don’t work for nobody…” he muttered. The foolish little ants he saw rushing about were distracting enough people that he managed to slip right up to the south engine on a small ship without being seen.

“Okay, now, how did it go…?” He furrowed his brow, trying to remember the rhyme he’d taught Felis to help him remember the steps… “Red, blue, green for you… blue for me and blue for you…” As he whispered, he tapped the symbols that pulsed and glowed on the side of the mana-engine, each one flaring as his fingers danced. “Green and blue, they’re mine too, One red and… two blue!” As his fingers tapped the last symbols, the engine went suddenly quiet, the top slipping off and the lights starting to dim.

He reached inside, feeling a smooth crystal the size of his thumb. Carefully, he pulled it free, slipping it into his bag and forcing himself not to think about how much gold the damn thing was worth.

He blew out a short breath and crawled under the braces that held the ship up, moving on all fours to the far side of the ship. Keeping a watchful eye out for any nearby guards, he tried to ignore the sound of the ship creaking above him and the noise of feet walking across the deck. He suddenly looked to the left, a thieves’ instinct flagging that something that was wrong. Dismissing the concern, he grinned, watching the other half of the team, the three-woman squad of ‘Jester’s Ruin’ sprinting across the shadowy area between the wall and the most guarded building in the compound.

“Damn glad that not my job!” he breathed to himself, frowning as he saw a fourth slower and vaguely familiar looking shadow join the first three. “They’ve replaced Hella already?” he mused briefly, before shaking himself. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was the payday and being free of Megan at last! Grey crawled on, ignoring the mud and the puddles as he reached up to the second engine, unconsciously quietly singing the foolish rhyme he’d made up.

“Red, Blue, Green for you…”

***

“Fire!” screamed a voice, and Thomas was jerked awake at the same moment that the ground rumbled, and an explosion went off nearby.

“What the hell?” he cried, trying to unravel the coarse blanket that was wrapped around his legs. He sat up, the usual darkness of the tent he shared with the rest of his new squad lit by the flickering of flames, and he heard screams rising nearby.

Thomas finally kicked the blankets free and stood, his hand going to his new mace quickly. Its weight and reassuring solidity was all he needed to feel in order to know that he was no longer a slave or a prisoner. He was a Soldier-Aspirant of the Dark God Nimon, and he’d damn well never be a slave again!

“All right, maggots!” a rough voice boomed from the doorway as Belladonna strode in. The tall, stunning female elf was half naked, her shorts barely covering her ass, and for the first time since meeting her, he didn’t immediately wonder what she’d be like in bed, thanks to the blatant fury in her eyes. She stood there, a swordstaff in one hand, and glared at them as the entire tent came to attention.

“Someone’s dared to attack us. They’ve been declared an Apostate by the Church, and in Nimon’s name, we’re going to find them. They’ve used a fucking Airship cannon on our camp and kicked the hornet’s nest! We’re going to rip their tongue out, and we’re going to nail the idiot’s dick to my bedside table! Any questions?” she growled, and the tent barked the expected response as one.

“No, Sergeant Belladonna!”

“Damn right!” she barked back at them. “Now get your armor on; we’re going hunting!” With that, she spun about, her long black hair billowing out in the night breeze behind her, as Thomas turned to Coran.

“What the hell kind of an idiot attacks the Dark God?” he said, stunned at the stupidity.

“The kind who gets us a hell of a lot of experience and free stat points when we kill them!” Coran said, grinning as he looked into the distance, his eyes twitching in that weird way they always did when someone was reading prompts.

Thomas brought the notifications up and read them quickly, grunting as he realized that the ‘permanent’ section of the prompt meant that, on top of the plus three to his Strength, Endurance and Agility that he’d gain by fighting any of the enemy forces, he’d get an additional point to each of those stats with every one he killed. Hell, if he killed twenty, he’d get the equivalent of five levels’ worth of stats, free!

For a soldier, there was no better chance than this, and he could hear the rising bloodlust of the forces around him.

He saw the name ‘Jax’ and he paused for a second, his heart clenching as he thought of his ‘older’ twin brother. He’d used that as his gaming handle, and now some dickbag was sullying his brother’s name.

He’d never know it, but Thomas would kill him. He’d make sure that the Dark God didn’t have time to grow to hate that name. Just in case Nimon ever opened a portal to Earth, he’d make sure his brother could live his life safely.

For a second, thoughts of Jack filled his mind; the fights, the girls, the parties, and he silently wished his brother well, letting go of the last of his hopes and dreams that they’d be together again one day.

Jack would never kill the people in the arena that he’d have to in order to come here. He was the better of