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

: A couple of Knight’s Longswords, perfectly balanced to accommodate the difference in power of the owner’s hands. The swords’ design is as old as the existence of knights. Its long blade is made from a strong and durable alloy, perfect for withstanding extended use during long military campaigns.

Price : $22,300

It seemed that the last pieces of our preparation were the ones that would hurt the most financially, but ultimately would be the ones that we’d rely upon the most. After all, the best defense was offense.

It is, isn’t it?

I was happy that I’d managed to find a top-tier staff for Louie that was reasonably priced and had absolute confidence he’d be able to wield it without a problem. Of course, after we transformed it into something more suitable for a dog. As for myself, I briefly considered switching to a different type of weapon, as I wasn’t particularly tied to fighting with dual swords.

Some kind of ranged weapon would keep me safer and closer to Louie, though I couldn’t just sit back and let Rory do all the dirty work. It had to be a melee weapon. I definitely had the physique and enough muscles to carry a war hammer similar to Rory’s, but then I wouldn’t be able to activate any of my skills.

This limited my options to swords and daggers and, given my inexperience with wielding weapons, size did matter for me. Having reached this conclusion, it was a pretty easy decision to go with dual swords instead of a sword and shield or a two-handed greatsword, as I had already fought with duals, and I wanted to be able to move around more easily.

Before placing my order, I took a final look at the damage. $124,887.50. I tried not to think about how long it had taken me to earn this amount of money as I finalized the order. After all, once these bastards were out of the picture, we might reach the point where we’d be able to earn this much in a couple of days. I set the delivery time for the next day and set down the tablet.

“I found it,” I said.

“What?” asked a half-asleep Rory from the mattress he was already lying on. “What did ye find?”

“The quest item.”

“Good for ye,” he replied.

“Sleep tight, old man,” I said, more determined than ever. “We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“What’re ye yapping about, lad?” he asked. Louie stirred as well.

“We start crafting again.”

“We what?” the dwarf said, surprised.

“You what?” Louie added.

“I need money. A lot of it.”

“Ye mean we’re back in business?” the dwarf asked, trying to hold back his excitement, but failing.

“Damn right we are!” I exclaimed and Louie barked in excitement.

“Hells yeah, lad. I knew ye had it in ye. What about those fuckers ye’re hiding from?”

“We’re not hiding anymore.”

“Do ye mean what I think ye mean, half-Celt?”

“What does he mean?” Louie asked, confused. “What do you mean, Alex?”

“We’re taking those bastards down.”

15

Mercenary Man

“Good morning, Alex,” Leo said on the other end of the call. “The early bird gets the worm, eh? Did you sleep on what we talked about last night?”

“I did. Leo, I need your help.”

A few moments of silence followed my statement before Leo replied. “Anything you need, man,” he said in a more serious tone.

“The people who attacked me, I need to know where I can find them,” I explained. “I need to know how many there are, when they’re all there, and when would be the best time to pay them a visit.”

“Yes! That’s the spirit,” he said excitedly. “At last, you get it. You eat or you get eaten. I’m so happy this didn’t break you and you’ll be taking them out.”

“Wait, so, you’re fine with it?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? They attacked you and you were lucky to survive. Who knows how many people they did the same to before they got to you? Who knows how many people didn’t live to run away?”

“You’re fine with me killing them?”

“You’re still clinging on to the norms of Cosmos society. There are no police officers to call in the Apocosmos. No judicial system will ever burden themselves with things like this, especially since there’s not a lot of money involved. It is a pretty straightforward matter. Of course I’m fine with us killing them.”

“It’s going to be me and Rory,” I said, not wanting to involve him any more than having him gather intel for me. “There’s no reason for you to be involved.”

“How little you know of the DiFiores… They hurt my friend. That’s enough provocation for my whole clan to come down on them. These thugs probably wouldn’t have attacked you if they’d known you were affiliated with my clan.”

Under normal circumstances, I would have thought he was exaggerating to get me to believe him. But the more I discovered about his family, the more plausible all these things seemed.

“Well, the times of me denying your help are long gone, man,” I said, feeling a small slither of happiness that I could say yes to someone offering aid. “If you want to help, you’re in. Can you get the information about them?”

“Already have,” he replied. “We can do it tonight.”

His words hit me like a truck. Deciding to move against them was one thing, but actually putting a countdown on it was completely different. I suddenly felt stressed but excited all the same. I was going to get my revenge. And we’d be able to live happily ever after.

“Okay. Meet us at Rory’s place tonight,” I said. “I had an order delivered some time ago so we’ll be equipped. Are you good on equipment?”

“I’m fine for equipment, though I’d like to get someone for buffs.”

“Don’t bring any more people in on this, Leo,” I warned him.

“No, no. I’m not bringing anyone. I’m not even telling my family. We’ll hire someone to buff us just before we leave. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

“As you wish. See you later