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

The grand total in cash was a bit more than sixty-four million dollars spread across the eighty bags we found. It seemed that one million dollars would only fit in a single briefcase if you really stuffed it in, and that wasn’t the case here.

Leo had already texted me the full address of my new apartment and Rory dropped me off a couple of blocks away. It felt nice to walk the streets of New York again, especially since I’d taken the day off and could go at my own pace. Calling in sick and strolling around was always great, even more so now that I didn’t have to look over my shoulder for any thugs. Rory had decided not to join me, partly because he wasn’t very keen on the looks people gave him on the street but also because he was anxious to get back to crafting.

We agreed to split the cash and keep it for our own purposes but to sell the additional loot we’d recovered in order to stock up on resources for crafting and capital to paying mana rechargers and perhaps some new crafters. I could tell how keen he was to get back to his workshop by the way his beat-up car’s tires screeched as soon as I closed the door behind me.

The new apartment was all I wanted and more. I wasn’t sure if it was Leo or the management company who’d taken care of the move but the apartment was tailored to all my needs and routines. Inside the apartment itself there was a fully equipped gym, a sauna, and a cryo-chamber. These things would save me lots of time on trips to the gym so I could be with Louie all the time.

His favorite room probably held some kind of record for the most screens per square foot. It was a gamer’s dream, complete with giant RGB LED screens for each console, an awesome Wyrmwood gaming table, and a streaming setup that was quite an upgrade from the already fantastic one I had but never utilized. My favorite room, however, was the spacious living room which had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park.

Any floor in the double digits around the park was bound to provide the occupants with an amazing view. On the triple-digit floors, however, it was almost surreal. Only after focusing on specific spots on the ground could you actually force yourself back to reality and remember that you weren’t watching some sort of advanced CGI. This was our new home and the base of operations for what was to come. And even though I couldn’t immediately tell how heavily warded this place was, I felt safe knowing it was at least up to DiFiore standards.

Leo met me on my arrival but didn’t stay long. I promised I’d meet him the next day to go XPing. I hadn’t forgotten my promise, of course. How could I when it had cost him tens of millions of dollars in loot? In truth, I no longer wanted to avoid the Apocosmos. I may have been thrust into it unwillingly and hated everything about it, but it had brought me so many good things. I was far closer to Leo. I had found the most unlikely friend in a grumpy old dwarf. And, most importantly, I got to experience a deeper connection with Louie, even to the opportunity to bind his soul to mine. All of them were things I’d never have had if that thug hadn’t pulled me in.

Thinking about the fight that started it all made me crave for the cheeseboat I didn’t get to enjoy on that day. Louie was more than happy to take the six-mile-long walk to get there if it meant he’d have an abundance of cheese and bacon and I hadn’t had the chance to treat him since we’d got out of hiding.

The roads were busy with people getting on with their lives, some of them rushing in and out of subway stations, others strolling lazily under the burning sun of the last days of summer. All these people, going on with their lives, ignorant to the world parallel to this one… or perhaps knowing, but keeping their identities hidden. It was fascinating to think about.

We arrived at the cheeseboat place and, as per usual, there was a line for people who wanted to order takeout so Louie and I took our place at the end of it. Lo and behold, a suitcase-carrying, bleached-teeth—and most probably bleached-asshole—asshole paraded to the front of the line while talking on the phone amid protests and boos from the other people waiting.

“I’m in a hurry,” he said in the most condescending way possible. Ordinarily, that would have been enough reason for me to block him from entering the store.

But I didn’t care about it. Not today. This little person could think he was more important than everyone else all he wanted. He could think he was cleverer and more successful than the rest of us suckers waiting in line if he wanted, but in my eyes, the blind led the blind as far as the Cosmos was concerned.

“You’re not gonna do anything about it?” Louie whispered to me.

“It’s fine, buddy,” I said and stroked his back as to not attract attention to the fact I was suddenly conversing with my dog. “I need to start controlling my temper, right?”

“Well, I don’t,” he replied, as the more-important-than-thou guy exited the establishment with a smirk on his face.

By some unexplainable force, the laces of his well-polished black shoes got tangled up with each other and the poor bastard tripped over. Luckily for him, his reflexes were swift enough to save his face from too much damage. Luckily for Louie, he had ordered extra bacon on the cheeseboat that was now spread over the sidewalk in front of him and Louie wouldn’t let it go to waste.

“Get a hold of your dog,” the man shouted.

“Why? Are you gonna eat that?” I