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

lurched ahead. His legs buckled more from the pain than his own conscious prompting and he just barely managed to tuck into a roll at the last minute. The swish of air above his head told him he narrowly missed the following deathblow.

He struggled to his feet and brandished his mace, only to see another lanky bandage-wrapped creature with hooks embedded in its skin emerge from another previously unseen alcove.

Jacob cursed and tried to come up with a plan as he slowly backed away from his advancing too-tall adversaries. Nearly seven feet tall, their limbs were unnervingly long and lean with hands that fell past their knees on their too-long legs.

He never heard, nor saw anything about these creatures. They carried flails with three blades at the end of long chains. Their faces were set in a lipless grinning rictus. With their eyes covered in bloody bandages, Jacob wondered how they could see.

With a flash of ash, Jacob called forth a [Cinder Ampoule] and crushed it. The blaze of fire illuminated the section of the hallway, showing at least another half-dozen alcoves. Roused by his use of the [Cinder Ampoule], the other alcoves began to stir.

You use a [Cinder Ampoule] and recover 120 Health.

Focused on those in front of him and the ones off to the sides that he could barely make out, Jacob was on high alert when he heard the shuffling scrape of a bandaged foot behind him. He rolled to the left, hearing the same telltale swish of a flail meeting nothing but air.

And there he made his first fatal mistake.

Cloaked in darkness, Jacob couldn’t make out when the stone flooring transitioned into dry-rotted planking until he was already mid-roll. He heard the ominous creaking but could do nothing about it.

As he got to his feet he tried to vault forward, hoping to find some sturdier ground. The rotten planks gave way beneath the push and instead of springing forward, he fell once more into the depths of the bridge. Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet, until finally, he hit something solid.

Though not quite as solid as he hoped.

His Health dropped a full third and before he could so much as take a breath, the flooring beneath him crumbled to dust.

He fell a long, long way.

The bottom of the bridge arched up above him, growing fainter with every passing heartbeat. He knew it would hurt but Jacob would come back. It wasn’t so far a walk from the Razor Pass Pyre and this time he would be better equipped to deal with those things.

After a very long fall through a shroud of white mist, Jacob finally found the bottom of the gorge.

You Died.

With a jolt of fear and panic, Jacob sat up. He looked about frantically and then realized where he was and what he was doing. Crossing his legs, Jacob took one steadying breath after the other.

I’ll get used to it, he reminded himself.

After so long fearing the day death would finally claim its due, he forgot what it felt like to be revived by the Pyre.

Only now, he would acquire a level of curse. Just to make sure, Jacob looked at his status screen.

[Status]

Jacob Windsor

Covenant: None

Race: Kemora - Fae-touched (Human/Fairy)

 Level: 2

Health: 124

Stamina: 86

Anima: 0

Souls: 0

Required Souls: 690

Parameters

VIT: 3

AGI: 6

END: 3

TMP: 9

STR: 4

DEX: 5

INT: 8

FTH: 3

 

Curse: Fractured Sight

Curse Level: 1

Spell Gem: No Spell Inscribed

“That took longer than I figured,” the Fire Oppa said. He trotted over to Jacob and put one paw on Jacob’s knee in a gesture of compassion. “You are safe here.”

Jacob shook his head. “No, I am not. Every death is a delay I cannot afford.” He pushed to his feet, checking his equipment. Ten years without a revival mechanic like the Pyres was a long time. He was still wary that something was wrong.

Something more than gaining a level of curse and losing all his Souls.

Kneeling, Jacob reached out to the Fire Oppa and pet along his long sleek flame-licked body. The Fire Oppa let out a low contended series of dooks. “I wish I had more time to speak to you, maybe when this is all over. Hopefully, when I see you next, it’ll be at the next Pyre.”

Jacob took off at a fast trot.

He sprinted right past the now-empty path that had once led to the Vacant Knights, sticking to the left path out of the tunnel and taking a sharp right along the scree-ridden path. He didn’t slow down, not until he nearly slipped.

If he took another fatal tumble, those Souls would be lost forever.

That was one of the iconic things about Pyresouls, it was punishing. When you died you were sent back to the last Pyre you rested at. And at the site of your death, an emerald wisp would form containing all the Souls and Anima you managed to gather up to that point.

At the same time, it gave a level of curse. The first level was more of a warning. After that, the effects of the curse began to kick in. Each curse was different. For Fractured Sight, Jacob would begin seeing things that weren’t really there.

If used responsibly, he heard of several players maintaining a mild curse level of 3 to 4. Strong enough that he could pierce through the veil but not so much that he attracted too much unwanted attention from the other side.

Being able to see other paths also meant that hidden pathways, shrouded enemies, and illusory doors and walls, were all visible to him. Pyresouls had a great deal of that, not to mention many traps. Being able to avoid them or take a hidden path altogether would be immensely helpful.

Jacob reached the Steps of Penance in record time.

Staying near the mountain, he looked for a way up to where he thought the giant was, but he couldn’t make out a path that wouldn’t have him climbing a sheer cliff face.

It was a long shot anyway. He was not sure he would even want to fight a giant at this level.