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

“Right back at you,” I said, laughing.

“I’ll just have to be your moral compass then. I’ll keep you on track.”

“One hell of a job, you sure you’re up for it?” I teased.

“Of course, my bonded. There’s no one better,” Eris said, leaning over to kiss me.

Her lips, her soft and welcoming lips. Whatever lingering tension between us dissolved with that one kiss. We forgave each other, and nothing more needed to be said between us about it. When we pulled apart, I stood to go back inside and decide what I was going to do with Oscar, but Eris held my hand and refused to let go.

“What is it?”

“There’s something we need to talk about,” she said.

Her tone was worrisome, but after what we just talked about, I wasn’t nervous. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.

“I should have figured it out much sooner, and for that I’m sorry. It’s about the Aspect inside you.”

“The what?”

“The voice, the entity that spoke during the fight.”

"You called it the Aspect. What is it?"

Eris ran her hands through her hair, trying to find the right words. "It's…hard to explain," she said, before pausing again. "It's kind of like a spirit, but that's not quite right. The Aspect of the Hive is a guide for the Hive Knights. A collection of memories and bits of consciousness of all the previous bearers of the title."

"So, it's supposed to help the knights?" I asked.

"It's supposed to, yes, but yours is acting unusually. It's violent and malicious when it's supposed to be very peaceful."

I paced in the dirt, trying to process and come up with answers. I knew the anger wasn’t my own, but I really should have spoken up when it started talking to me. We didn't have much time to sit around discussing this, but my curiosity and nervousness made this conversation critical. I wanted to find out why I’m the one that was different.

"Is it because I'm human?"

Eris shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. I was kept away from much of the internal politics of the regency when my mother ruled, so I don't know much. I'll have to consult the Hive Mind more to see what I can find. I looked through it while you were unconscious, and that’s when I found a bit of memory concerning the Aspect, but it was very brief."

“Well, I guess I’ll just deal with it like I have been. Despite the increased anger, it did help during the fight with Darren.”

“But at what cost? Just be careful, Sam. I don’t trust it.”

I leaned over and kissed her hair. “Now, that I can promise you.”

She stood up and held out her hand. “Let’s go talk with Oscar. Just talk, okay?”

“We’ll see.”

Oscar was sitting at the table when we got back inside. Three empty glasses next to him told me he was drinking his way through his stock of beer, and if I were in his shoes, that be my final act as well. His fourth mug slammed down empty as I shut the door. Oscar looked up and down at his empty glass with a sigh.

“Can I have one more?”

“Long as you bring me one.”

While Oscar fetched us more alcohol, I thought about what I wanted to do. Anger that had nothing to do with the Aspect bubbled to the surface. I wanted to end him solely because he’d betrayed me, but after listening to Eris, I couldn’t kill him in good conscience anymore. It was only barely justifiable in the first place.

Oscar returned and handed me my beer, but I left it untouched on the table. “Tell me, Oscar. Where is your wife?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “All I know is I was told she was being kept safe in a house near the ambush site and that she’d be returned to me when it was all over.”

“Hmm.” It’s not much to go on at all, but we were a few miles away from both the Outlier Farms and Grange. So how many houses could be out that way? If Eris uses her magic to search the area, then I bet we could find it quickly.

Oscar looked to me with hope in his eyes as he realized we might just help him. “Please, please, please, help find my wife.”

On cue, a quest icon flared to life in my vision, telling me I had a quest available.

Quest: Find Oscar’s Wife

Type: Random

Difficulty: D

Reward: 350 Exp

As I accepted the quest, I sighed in relief. At last, something about the game world makes sense again. No ridiculous amount of experience for a menial quest. I was starting to think the game had broken with how much it was doling out for experience, but this quest proved that the game world was just fine.

Though, if the game is working as it should, why the hell am I gaining so much Exp for combat?

“All right. We’ll find your wife.”

Oscar’s face blossomed from hope to relief as he sunk to the floor. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Yeah, whatever. The Gloom Knights complete a quest no matter the cost, so I’ll bring back your wife. I promise.”

He looked up, registered what I’d said, and the color drained from his face. “The—the Gloom—oh by Whisper’s lips.”

I didn’t bother responding. Eris and I quickly left Oscar’s and went to search the area. As we climbed atop Lacuna, Eris chuckled. “I see what you meant when you said your guild was infamous. Poor Oscar was practically shaking.”

I snickered. “Blow up one noble’s manor, and suddenly we’re degenerate criminals. Though it did help us with our reputation with the Merchants Guild after that, so it wasn’t all bad.”

We