Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) by Grayson Sinclair (black authors fiction txt) 📕

the board. Still, it should keep me alive for the time being. My go-to strategy was to always increase the main stats first before working through the comprehensive sub stats. Having most of my stat points in my main attributes was a better bet before I started specializing with sub stats.

For every point added to a main attribute, it increased by a single percent. Having one hundred in Strength would give a hundred percent increase to my strength. The main sub stat I focused on in Strength was Attack Damage. For every point in a sub stat, it increased by half a percent. And having a hundred in both Strength and Attack Damage would give a hundred and fifty percent increase to my damage.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of things. A hundred other factors played into it as well. So just having high stats wasn’t enough to succeed. Weapons and armor, abilities and magic, potions and auras—all of it had to be accounted for as well. And the biggest factor of all was pure skill.

A far-too-often overlooked factor for most people.

Our stats are only multipliers, nothing more. Hard work and training mattered because you couldn’t multiply from nothing. A weakling who could only lift twenty pounds wouldn’t find much benefit in having a hundred in Strength.

 

Character Name: Durandahl

Race: Hybrid (Hive)

Class: Hive Knight

Level: 44

Exp: 1000/4400

 

After I finished dealing with my stats, I glanced at the time. It was nearly nine, and I had a meeting to get to.

Eris was awake and staring at me with a sleepy expression when I closed my interface and looked over to her.

“Good morning,” I said, smiling.

“Morning.” She yawned, stretching her arms in the air. “How long was I asleep for?”

”Not long, maybe half an hour or so. I didn’t want to wake you up while I was fiddling with my new class.”

“That’s okay. I needed a nap anyway. I’m still shaking off the aftereffects of the void.”

“What do you mean?”

“Spending so much time there drained much of my strength away. I'm considerably weaker now. Not that I was that strong, to begin with.”

I leaned over and pulled her to her feet. “Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll keep you safe.”

She stood up on the tips of her toes to kiss me and beamed at me. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“I mean, it’s not like I have a choice. We’re bound together body and soul, apparently.”

Her smile faltered at my words. “Right.”

Ah, hell. “Look, I didn’t mean it that way. We’re married now, or bonded or whatever. And even with the extenuating circumstances, it still means something to me. But this is all so sudden and new to me. Just give me some time to process things, okay?”

But my words did little to brighten her mood. She wants this to be more than just necessity; she wants an actual relationship.

I ran my hand through her hair. Her body heat had already dried most of the water, but there was still a little dampness as I brushed my fingers across her scalp. She wants something I don’t know if I can give.

Whatever entity had forced me into bonding with her seemed to be gone for the time being. I wasn’t happy about being bound with Eris against my will, but if we were going to be together going forward, maybe I could at least give her chance. She seems like an easy person to fall in love with. Not right away, but maybe…maybe I can at least try.

“I can’t make myself fall in love right off the bat, but I can promise you that I will at least give it a chance.”

Her smile returned; It lit up her eyes and made them sparkle. “I’ll hold you to that,” she told me, clutching me tightly to emphasize her point.

I grinned at her and set her down. “All right, let’s get dressed and call a meeting.”

The guildhall had the largest door in the castle. Eris stopped just before we went in to admire the carvings in the wood, running her fingers over the wood. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I said as I pushed open the door.

Ten pairs of eyes stared at us when we entered. “Look who finally decided to join us,” Gil bellowed, as Eris and I walked in.

“I see you brought the demi with you. Eris, right?” Wilson asked softly as I sat down.

“What was I supposed to do, leave her by herself?” I hissed at him.

He grunted and didn’t answer. Since both seats next to me were occupied, Eris settled for leaning up against the side of the chair next to me.

“There's a seat right over there,” I told her, pointing at the seat next to Markos, the only other empty chair beside Alistair's.

Eris leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I’d rather not sit alone next to strangers. I’m fine where I’m at.”

Gil, having heard her, despite the hushed tone, immediately chuckled and held out his hand to Eris. “Hello there, miss. I’m Gilgamesh, but you can call me Gil,” he said with his deep voice.

She took his hand, which engulfed her own, and returned his smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Gil. I’m Eris.”

“A pleasure. So, since Duran is being so inconsiderate to our esteemed guest, would you like my seat?”

Eris held up her hands and stammered a bit. “No, I couldn’t, but that's kind of you to offer. Really, I’m fine.”

Gil, being the kindhearted person he was, stood up and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I insist, no way can I let you just stand ther—”

I grabbed Eris by the waist and brought her closer to me. “If it will stop this conversation, you can sit in my lap.”

She grinned at me but did