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

From him, Jacob could retrieve the knight’s armor and, if he was lucky, a sword. That last part was random chance according to Alec. Some players found a sword, others found extra souls while many more found nothing but the knightly armor set.

Hefting his [Mace], Jacob tried to keep in mind that he picked Cleric for a reason. Not for the paper-thin armor but for the weapon he held in his hand. Having looked at the damage it did, he couldn’t fault Alec’s opinion of the weapon. It performed admirably for a starter weapon.

Particularly since Jacob was quite weak at the moment. With any luck, he might find a Pyre down in the dark winding corridors.

One of the few benefits to his light armor was the bonus to stealth. He was far quieter in robes than he would be in the knight’s armor set.

Stealth wasn’t his preferred approach, though. It took time to set up the proper encounters and led to more death than success, in his opinion.

Neither did he like charging head-long into battle, rattling in heavy armor like somebody with a kitchen’s worth of pots and pans strapped to his body. Some players went the heavy route and thoroughly enjoyed the “tankiness” of their builds.

That was all well and good, up until it wasn’t. The problem with all-or-nothing builds was their over-reliance on their specific strength or gimmick.

A rogue style would be powerful in the right situations. The problem was, Pyresouls had so many different situations that it rarely threw the same one at you twice.

Sneaking around would mean that you would lose out on potential Souls from killing enemies. Relying on backstabs and sneak attacks meant large groups of enemies – a common sight further into the game – was almost impossible.

And then there were the bosses. When you were pitted against one of the many bosses of Pyresouls, there was no place to hide or sneak. The boss knew you were there, and while particularly skilled players could still hide, they had to work extra hard at doing so.

Meanwhile, the tanky players could shrug off blows like they were minor annoyances for the most part. Until they ran into a monster that used deadly magic or enemy rogues.

Heavy armor was slow. While it was physically sturdy, its magic defenses were usually pretty weak. That was why Jacob preferred medium armor, the middle-ground of physical and magical defense with the downside that it was almost impossible to sneak in.

Not much of a downside to Jacob. Though as he slid one foot in front of the other, testing the ground for weaknesses, he realized sneaking had served him fairly well in the oppressive halls.

The maze-like hall doubled back on itself more than once, and Jacob nearly slipped into the same alcove as one of the sleeping Graceful Penitents.

For the better part of an hour, Jacob explored those winding passages, felling a waking Graceful Penitent only when necessary and sneaking by whenever possible. Sneaking would hardly be an option for long, he was committed to using it while he had the chance.

Aside from an assortment of Souls, he received a strange accessory off one of the penitents. A [Ring of Blameless Guilt]. It was a simple ring, nothing more than an iron band with a black jewel set in the middle.

With only two ring slots to use, Jacob equipped the ring to his first slot. He felt no immediate difference and decided to give the ring a deeper examination.

Ring of Blameless Guilt

Ring granted to the Penitent who saw fit to take upon the Guilt of the masses to heal the dark heart of the world. Increases Maximum Burden.

Despite himself, Jacob felt that familiar thrill of danger and excitement. The anticipation of what lay around the next bend; treasures, traps, or monsters.

Jacob had to remind himself that this was so much more than a game to him now, the future of everything he knew rested on his unworthy shoulders.

His first time playing, he never took the time to savor the feeling of adventure and discovery. And now, he would be irresponsible to indulge in it.

Ironic, he thought as he came to a crossroads. The hall to his right was partially caved in with rubble, the way ahead seemed clear, and the path on his left held a faint illumination from one of the nearby doors.

Always go left, he thought to himself. It was, after all, the motto he took whenever he had to choose a path ahead. If that path failed, then he’d take the next in a clockwise fashion.

It never steered him wrong before.

Taking the left hallway, Jacob quickly found himself at the side of the door he spied earlier. Faint light spilled out through the cracks in the rough planks, but he could hear no noise from within.

Tightening his grip on his [Mace], Jacob opened the door and immediately lifted his [Plank Shield]. There was a creature sitting in the corner, slumped and likely dead.

But as Jacob approached warily, the thing stirred and drew in a rattling breath. Its eyes glowed in their sockets, and it regarded him mistrustfully at first until its eyes alighted on his ring.

“Ah,” it wheezed. “One of the Penitent. Good it is to see you, brother. Come, rest by the fire.” The husk of a man waved one shriveled arm toward a measly pile of ashes on the floor.

Still wary, Jacob sat so the man was on his right while he faced the door to his left. He was far from the ideal position of his back to the wall, but a quick look within the medium-sized stone storage room showed no immediate threats and no other entrances or exits.

A stirring warmth pulsed in his chest as he realized this wasn’t just any extinguished campfire.

It was a Pyre.

Jacob leaned forward and closed his eyes. He concentrated on the flames of warming life as he held out his hand above the cold ashes.