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

on the floor beneath and a small grate beneath whose purpose was abundantly evident.

Before he could muse on the need of a blood drain, a voice spoke, “H-hello?” It sounded hoarse and drawn. “Is somebody there?”

The darkness slowly peeled back beneath Jacob’s faint illumination, revealing a series of bodies in various states of decay. Several of them were Vacant, they gnashed their teeth and lunged at him but were held in place by sturdy black chains.

Without conscious thought, Jacob ended their suffering with a swift two-handed strike to their heads, one after the other. They were only worth 100 Souls each but every bit helped.

One, chained to the far wall, was not a Vacant.

Though she looked like it might not take very long to complete the process. A raven-haired woman, she might have been pretty once if she wasn’t half-dead from starvation. The thin shift she wore displayed her ribs prominently and the hollows of her cheeks were so deep they were darkened with shadow.

But her eyes… they were very much alive.

Her ruby-red irises burned with intense passion, not hope, not despair, not even fear. Her chains rattled against her straining efforts to get closer to him.

Jacob kept her just at the edge of his light, watching her warily. He never managed to find what he thought were NPCs before, now he had found two in short order. Though, of course, he wasn’t sure that they were NPCs anymore.

These were people, he was beginning to believe – or had been once upon a time.

“Can you speak?” she asked, and it was obvious the effort cost her greatly.

He wasn’t sure how to answer her. He didn’t have time to be slowed down by helping her and yet he couldn’t live with himself if he could do something to help her.

Jacob tried to remind himself that she wasn’t his problem. He could have passed her by – he had in the past – without ever being aware of her presence.

She was not his problem.

As he turned his back on her she let out a strangled cry as she lunged after him. The collar at her throat choked her and strangled her words.

“Don’t!” she managed to croak.

Grinding his teeth, Jacob turned back around. “I’m sorry lady, but this really isn’t any of my business. You don’t understand what is at stake here for me and my people. This world....”

Jacob motioned dismissively around at the dead bodies chained to the wall. No doubt they died a horribly painful death. But how long had they been dead? Decades? Centuries? “This world is already dead. It’s lost. My home still stands a chance. I’m sorry, I have to think of them.”

Scanning the room once more, pointedly avoiding her burning gaze, Jacob left. There was no loot there and he had no way of extricating her from those chains. He saw the runes marked on the metal and knew that no normal weaponry could break them.

He found no key. Had no food or water. And the [Cinder Ampoules] he carried were only for himself. Even if she was another player, he could not have given one to her.

Her anguished screams followed him as he fled. Jacob tried to rationalize his sprinting as a means of making up lost time.

But he knew the truth. He had to get away from her screaming. It tore at his heart.

He came out into the dim watery light of midday, as he ascended the steps he came face-to-face with the knight’s corpse.

Resting against the low wall of the bridge, the body was encased in basic knightly armor. It was superior to anything Jacob could get for a long while. Once he reinforced it a bit, it would be even better than the suit of armor he used back on Earth.

Not that there was much option on Earth.

Kneeling to the knight’s side, careful to stay out of sight of the shambling Vacant that patrolled the top of the bridge, Jacob relieved the knight of his worldly possessions by placing his hand atop the azure wisp that floated over the man’s breastplate.

You gain [Knight’s Helm].

You gain [Knight’s Armor].

You gain [Knight’s Gauntlets].

You gain [Knight’s Leggings].

Skulking back down into the depths of the bridge, Jacob donned his new armor. As always with the equipment from Pyresouls, he found it fit him remarkably well. As if it was tailored for him.

The Guilt that weighed him down had more to do with his actions with the woman than the stats of his new gear. Not that the knight’s set had a minimal amount of Guilt.

As proper armor, each piece carried a single point of Guilt, but together it was a hefty 4 Guilt. Making sure no enemies were around, Jacob checked the condition of the armor.

He had never managed the knight’s set before, he had been forced to purchase flimsy chainmail in Hollow Dreams, a sprawling ruined town filled with the Vacant. But among them, there existed a few merchants still that were barely more sentient than the bestial monsters that roamed the streets.

[Equipment]

Knight’s Helm [Helm]

Physical Protection: 40

Blunt: 10

Slashing: 15

Piercing: 15

 

Magical Protection: 25

Arcane: 15

Fire: 10

Water: 0

Earth: 0

Harmony: 0

Chaos: 0

 

Resistances

Bleed: 13

Poison: 4

Curse: 0

Stability: 11

 

Durability: 550/550

Guilt: 1

 

 

Knight’s Armor [Chest]

Physical Protection: 90

Blunt: 20

Slashing: 40

Piercing: 30

 

Magical Protection: 70

Arcane: 30

Fire: 15

Water: 10

Earth: 15

Harmony: 0

Chaos: 0

 

Resistances

Bleed: 22

Poison: 9

Curse: 0

Stability: 20

 

Durability: 550/550

Guilt: 1

 

Knight’s Gauntlets [Gauntlets]

Physical Protection: 40

Blunt: 15

Slashing: 15

Piercing: 10

 

Magical Protection: 30

Arcane: 10

Fire: 10

Water: 5

Earth: 5

Harmony: 0

Chaos: 0

 

Resistances

Bleed: 10

Poison: 0

Curse: 0

Stability: 7

 

Durability: 550/550

Guilt: 1

 

 

Knight’s Leggings [Leggings]

Physical Protection: 65

Blunt: 15

Slashing: 25

Piercing: 25

 

Magical Protection: 60

Arcane: 30

Fire: 10

Water: 5

Earth: 5

Harmony: 5

Chaos: 5

 

Resistances

Bleed: 20

Poison: 5

Curse: 0

Stability: 10

 

Durability: 550/550

Guilt: 1

Altogether, he was much better protected but he wished he could get a proper shield to replace his destroyed [Plank Shield] which had hardly been worthy of the name.

It wasn’t until they raided that mansion’s collection of medieval suits of armor back in Charleston, that Jacob managed to acquire a shield that had 100 physical damage reduction. He sorely missed it now.

That was also the day he learned how important it would have been to increase his Stamina while he had