Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) by Jez Cajiao (free ebooks for android .TXT) 📕

with the deaths of Cam, and the Legionnaires in the raid on the Emporium. I’d not had the strength to ask yet how many had died in taking down the Skyking and escaping with the ships, nor in completing the raid, but I knew I had to, and soon.

“Thank you all,” I said fervently, the firelight bathing the chamber in dancing shadows as I looked from one to another. “I’ll try not to be a dick as well…” I promised, and Grizz stood, replying over his shoulder before walking back to the fire.

“Good, because I can’t take this much emotional baggage, you know? I’m kinda in the mood to chill out now, and I need to get my head back in the game and kill something,” he said, acting all brusque.

“Yeah, yeah…” I smiled, knowing that although he was acting like it was nothing, he’d been the first to bend the knee and give an Oath, somehow understanding that it’d make me feel better.

“So… are you okay?” Oracle asked me quietly, as the others drifted back to the fire, the low undercurrent of frustration and fear that had been present since we first fell into the pit now gone as they sat down, taking the meat that Grizz passed out.

“I am, and thank you. I’m sorry, Oracle; all of this is my fault. If I’d just given you warning about the poison cloud… given you time to make a shield spell…”

“You’d have all been dead,” she said, resting a hand on my arm. “I’ve been thinking about it, Jax, and the blast rolled over us so quickly… the poison cloud wasn’t just at the far end, it couldn’t have been… if it had, then I’d have managed to protect us. The majority was there, yes, but the cloud was spreading out, and it must have been damn close to us because of the way it exploded. If you’d waited, it might not have been something I could heal…” She shook her head, dismissing the speculation. “Or it might; we’ll never know, so it’s time to put it down to experience and move on. We’re here now, and we’re at least one step closer to the Vault than we were, okay?”

“Any idea where it would have been?” I asked her, and she pointed back the way we’d come with a half-smile. “Probably that way, and whatever’s controlling the undead is likely trying to get it as well.”

“Joy…”  I sighed, and she smiled, reaching up and kissing my cheek before wrapping her arms around my neck. I lifted her up, holding her tightly to me for long seconds.

After a bit, Grizz called out to us, making me snort with laughter.

“Look, boss, if you really can’t control yourself, we can all pretend not to notice, but your meat’s getting cold here, and we’re all going to fight over it in a minute…”

“Okay, okay!” I chuckled, putting Oracle down and walking over to rejoin the group. I sat down slowly, reaching my hands out to the flames and feeling the warmth before taking the tin plate with slices of hot meat that Grizz passed to me.

While I ate, the others filled me in on what I’d missed. Apparently, Bane and Tang had gone scouting below, once they were sure the collapsed corridor was impassible, and the others had set to making camp, with Arrin and Oracle healing everyone.

Now, more than six hours after I’d passed out from exhaustion, and with Oracle nearly recovered from the spell mishap, it was getting close to time to move down to the next level, hoping we could find a way back up to an area where the undead weren’t expecting us.

“So, what did you find?” I asked Bane and Tang.

“Not much…” Bane said dismissively. “The next level was quiet, or at least the local area is, but there are weird tracks, so there’s definitely something alive, or undead, down there. I didn’t want to send out a full pulse, like above. I was afraid it would draw unwanted attention.”

“Well, when we’re ready to go down, do it and map as far out as you can with your Worldsense. I want to know what we’re dealing with this time. Besides,” I considered aloud, “we should probably be on the level above, so we kinda need to find the stairs, and fast, before that dickhead Joshua loots the place.”

“Oh, yeah…” Grizz said, lifting a single-edged knife that he’d taken from his boot and angling it so it glinted in the firelight. “Is now a good time to ask for personal permission to… discuss… his actions with him when we get out of here?” A rumble of similarly angry voices arose from the rest, and I smiled as well.

“Tell you what; whoever kills the most down here… from now on,” I said quickly, as Yen’s face had lit up, “gets first go at ‘discussing’ things with him. Lydia will keep score.” She blinked before peering around the group, grim-faced and nodding authoritatively. “Now, get anything you need to sort out, as we’re out of here in half an hour.” The plan in place, I set my plate to the side, pulling up my notification’s screens and grinning as I saw the first one.

Congratulations! You have raised your Ability ‘Mana-Overdrive’ to level ten. You may now choose your first evolution of this spell.

Congratulations! You have raised your Ability ‘Mana-Overdrive’ to its first evolution. You must now pick a path to follow. Will you choose Longevity, enhancing the duration of the Ability by choosing the path of EFFICENCY, or will you pick the path of the EXTREME? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone. 

EFFICENCY:

Your Ability may be in its infancy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive to master it instinctually, eking out every last millisecond of use out of it, while reducing the cost on your body. Choosing this path will enable you to utilize the Ability for 10% longer with each additional level, running from level 11-20, and gaining a