Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (phonics readers .txt) 📕

any further away from understanding. I could relate to the pain of losing somebody you loved and being the one to blame for it. But not this kind of responsibility.

“I couldn’t put them through it again. So I left. I exiled meself even further away and I vowed not to return to me people until Maelcrux was slain and the Adamant Hall was in dwarven hands again. For this, I need sellswords and equipment specialized for fighting dragons. I’m not there yet. But I’m getting closer. Or at least I was getting closer before we stopped selling arrows.”

“I’m sorry, Rory,” I said and this time I really meant it. I also wished I could have continued with the business we had. Perhaps knowing what I knew now, I might have continued our business even after I hit my original goal. Just to help him fund this crusade of his. But there was nothing that would make me risk it all again.

“It’s fine,” he said and waved his hand drunkenly. “Businesses like yers rarely last long and at least I chopped off a couple of years from me original plan. I started this knowing it would be decades before I was ready.”

“Decades?” I gasped. “Rory, how long has it been since you last saw your wife?”

“The day I said goodbye to her was almost four years ago.”

“What the fuck, Rory?” I said. Suddenly, I was pissed off at how ungrateful and selfish he was. “Your wife stayed behind to deal with the consequences and you left?”

“This is how I dealt with it,” he said plainly.

“She’s alive,” I practically shouted at him, “and you’re away from her just because you can’t face what’s befallen—”

“I am weaker than she is!” he shouted and launched himself up, bringing his face in front of mine. “And what do ye know about facing consequences? What do ye know about loss?”

What do I know? He wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone they loved. Just as I was about to hit him with the hard truths he deserved, Louie stepped between us and started barking. I broke eye contact with him and we both fell on our knees and started petting the upset corgi who knew exactly what to do to deescalate the situation.

“In any case,” the dwarf said as he stood up and backtracked to his chair again, “yer reviews raised me average score and I’ve been getting a few more jobs now.”

“Anything interesting?” I asked, trying to follow his change of subject.

“Not really. Some mid-grade crafting materials, a few weapons, and armor here and there. The usual.”

“Well, at least business is coming in again.” Louie jumped into the conversation.

“Aye,” Rory said and sighed. “What about ye? Why did ye want the money, Alex?”

“Well, at first, when I was pulled in the Apocosmos, I was left with a large hospital bill that would have ruined me.”

“That bad, eh?”

“Yeah. I’m still paying it in installments so as not to alert anyone in the Cosmos, but I’ve already earned the amount I needed. Then, once I saw how easy it was, I thought I might as well make more money so that I can repay what other debts I had. But once I scaled up production with you, I got greedy. I wanted an early retirement. A villa by the sea, so Louie and I could live alone and away.”

“Ye really love the fluffer?” he said, with the hint of a smile on his lips.

“Of course he does!” Louie said and barked.

“I do,” I said and rubbed him behind his ears.

“I’m happy for ye,” Rory said after he took another big hit from his pipe. “If I didn’t need the money to reclaim me home, I’d have given you some to buy access to the plane that makes animal companions immortal.”

“The what?” I said, not quite believing what he had just said.

“I’ve never had a dog meself, but I know there’s a quest item for sale every now and then that unlocks a quest like that.”

“A quest that can make Louie immortal?”

“Well, not immortal as in invincible, but his soul will be bound to yers,” the dwarf explained. “So as long as ye’re alive, he sticks with ye.”

I looked at Louie and he was still looking at Rory, his tongue out panting, apparently unfazed by what the dwarf had just said. But then again, Louie—and perhaps all dogs—were like that. They didn’t care about the future, but were focused on living the day. No wonder he didn’t pay this much attention. I, however, most certainly did.

“What’s the name of this item, Rory?” I asked and immediately picked up the DEM tablet.

“I’m not sure. Something with ‘friends’ in the name. Friends forever? Just filter down to quest items and ye’ll find it.”

I tried different combinations of the words, but couldn’t find the one I was looking for. However, I did find a quest item I had already used.

Item : Best friends key

Type : Quest Item

Durability : 1/1

Rarity : B Grade

Weight : 6st.

Description : A key opening the way to a realm of friendship and greater understanding.

Price : $799,999

Seller : Unknown

I couldn’t believe Leo had spent eight hundred thousand dollars on my birthday gift. I would have paid millions to be able to speak with Louie if I knew it was possible, but that was definitely money I didn’t have. And there was absolutely no way I could ever repay him. I knew this amount may have been pocket change for him—especially now that I had an idea how many houses and how much land his family owned—but for me, it was beyond any realm of possibility.

Dreading how much this upgraded version of the quest item might cost, I continued searching through the listings, but couldn’t find the one I was looking for.

“Are you sure that’s what it’s called?” I asked Rory who was lost in his thoughts again. “I can’t find it anywhere.”

“Aye, that’s it. Try widening your search areas.”

I looked at my filters and saw that I