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

Now, it was a reminder of this world’s realism. His mace skill was a pitiful level 1 and he had no mace forms to use. But even without them, he knew well enough how to use a mace.

Far from his favorite weapon, it tended to get stuck and wedged in places a sword could slide out of. But it packed a wallop if you could slip through an opponent’s defense.

Every step took him closer to the body half slipped over the edge of the black abyss inside the cavernous room, the sapphire glow of the wisp hung a few inches above the corpse’s back. Jacob shifted the straps of the [Plank Shield] farther up his forearm and took his [Mace] in both hands.

He took one step closer, and though he couldn’t see the ledges to either side he knew they were there.

As the first Vacant in heavy armor leaped in front of him, Jacob was already winding up his swing.

The best thing about maces was their raw staggering power. While a great hammer could launch a foe several feet, it was slow and unwieldy. In a tunnel like the one he found himself in, he’d never be able to put much power behind the swing.

But a mace? It was small enough to work well in tight quarters – a running theme in Pyresouls – and its heavy metal frame could pack one hell of a wallop.

The Vacant wore a half rusted set of plate mail, its greatsword raised and poised to strike. Already swinging for the fences, Jacob had a clear shot at the thing’s rotting, exposed chest.

Crunching through the brittle metal breastplate, Jacob’s [Mace] caught the Vacant Knight fully unprepared and the creature’s glowing red eyes could only widen in surprise.

You strike the [Vacant Knight] for 139 points of damage.

You consume 40 Stamina.

You Stagger the [Vacant Knight].

Jacob stepped forward with the swing, following through as he had been taught all those years ago. It wasn’t the damage of the [Mace] that was impressive – though at Level 2, dealing 139 damage was quite an accomplishment – it was the stagger effect.

At that moment the Vacant Knight was staggered, unable to act and with its stability reduced – temporarily – to 0, it couldn’t resist the follow-through of Jacob’s swing.

Normally when the creature was able to dig in its heels, it might slide a few inches but no more. Having 0 stability prevented it from getting a solid footing. The creature was pushed out past the corpse and its sapphire wisp, right over into the gaping pit beyond.

It was swallowed by the abyss without a whisper.

There was no time for Jacob to celebrate though, the second Vacant Knight landed in the tunnel and this time Jacob was not ready for it. He was too committed to the previous strike and too weak to halt and reverse his momentum in time.

He knew what he had to do. His mind already plotting his defensive posture and the resulting counterstroke. But his body moved like it was submerged in gelatin. He knew what to do but his muscles weren’t strong enough, he lacked the speed and adroitness he was used to.

The Vacant Knight brought its rusted longsword up and slashed at him from shoulder to hip in a bright line of pain and blood. With both hands still on his [Mace], he couldn’t even slide into a defensive posture.

The [Vacant Knight] slashes you for 65 points of damage.

Jacob took the hit full-force, pushing through the pain and readying himself at the same time. More than half his health was wiped out with that single strike. Being accustomed to years of battle and a body that was more scar tissue than anything else didn’t make the pain any less but it did make it slightly easier to shrug off the effects.

And so, even as the Vacant Knight pulled back its blade readying what would be a life-ending stroke, Jacob swapped his [Mace] to a single hand and with a shrug of his left shoulder slid the [Plank Shield] into place low on his forearm.

When the deadly blade began to fall, Jacob was there, stepping into the Vacant Knight’s arc. He swept his [Plank Shield] up and out in a forceful sweeping blow. It caught the Vacant Knight’s hilt and threw the blade out wide, exposing the hideous jerky-skinned creature for Jacob’s follow-up attack.

In came the [Mace] with startling speed. It cracked through the rusted breastplate and into the creature’s ribs. The sound that emanated from the crumbling ribcage was like somebody balling up a sheet of bubble wrap.

The Vacant Knight doubled over, stunned. Jacob was already turning a complete circuit, building up momentum for the final hit in the two-hit riposte combo.

With a slight upward arc, Jacob’s [Mace] hit the Vacant Knight square on the chin, its head burst into a fine silver mist moments before the rest of the monster’s body did. A sound like ringing metal accompanied it.

Its white wisp, bearing a hefty reward of Souls, joined its brethren that finally found the bottom of the chasm as both wisps flew into Jacob’s chest.

The sensation, as always, was cold but exhilarating.

Parry!

You Riposte the [Vacant Knight] for 520 points of damage.

You defeat the [Vacant Knight].

You defeat the [Vacant Knight].

Awarded 1,600 Souls.

Mace Skill increases to Level 2…3...4…5.

For a brief moment, Jacob considered going back to the Pyre to spend his Souls. But by resting at a Pyre any enemies – barring special creatures like these Vacant Knights – would reset and be there again.

The white mist was the telltale sign that they were more than a standard monster. Despite having run into other Vacant Knights a decade ago, he had to admit that these two looked and acted a little differently.

Normally all monsters would reappear in the exact places they were before Jacob’s interference if he rested at a Pyre. It made farming for Souls easy. Items wouldn’t reappear, and any major events that took place would remain.

The mace skill up message was… strange.