Eden's Gate: The Reborn: A LitRPG Adventure Page 4

  Another thudding pain—health at 25%.

  I swung my torch in panic, looking for an escape route, and I could see the faintest bit of light coming from one of two other passages that branched off from the room. I staggered towards the light as fast as my weakened body would let me with bloodthirsty maggots right on my trail.

  I had to kick several maggots out of the way before I reached the dimly lit passage, but when I finally got out of the main room, there seemed to be nothing but a few smaller maggots and vines growing out of the ceiling the rest of the way.

  I didn’t stop running from the screeches behind me until the path reached such an incline that running wasn’t possible and it was clear that there was an exit ahead of me. I had to drop my torch and grab on to rocks and hard roots to pull myself up and out, but finally I reached the mouth of the cave.

  The ground leveled out once I was above ground, and I found myself in some sort of a forest. It seemed to be right after dusk, and there was barely any light left in the sky. Birds and insects filled the air with sounds, and the coolness of the hard wind intensified the stinging of my wounds.

  Health at 15%.

  My status bar started blinking at that point, a clear indication that I was in very serious trouble.

  I limped forward, scanning my surroundings, but all I could see were trees in every direction. I continued on, making sure to put a decent amount of distance between me and the cave, just in case something nasty were to crawl from inside. When I was a safe distance away, I plopped myself down hard at the base of a large stump.

  My head swam as I reached for my bandages, and I sloppily tried to tie one around my bleeding shoulder. It seemed impossible to tie the cloth off at such an awkward angle, and the bandage quickly became saturated in blood. As I struggled with making a loose knot, the cloth slipped out of my fingers and fell into the dirt below.

  You have failed to bandage your wounds!

  “Yeah, no shit, Sherlock…” I muttered weakly from my drying mouth.

  I grabbed my other bandage and wrapped it tightly around my ankle. While it went on a bit sloppily, I managed to get it tied off this time.

  Advancement! You have learned the skill: First Aid. Appointment at 10:00? I’ll see you at 10:45! First Aid is linked the base stat Intelligence. Increase your Intelligence to increase your ability to perform First Aid.

  The bleeding around my ankle seemed to be nullified by the bandage, but there was still blood coming out of my shoulder, and I was still poisoned.

  I groaned loudly as pain coursed through my body again and my health fell to 10%. At that point my vision was becoming blurry, and I knew that I was knocking on death’s door. I reached for my satchel and pulled the food ration out with shaky hands. I remembered Trainer telling me that eating would increase my natural recovery rate, and by then I was willing to try anything.

  I pulled open the brown paper covering the rectangular food ration, and inside was something the same color as the paper that covered it. It certainly didn’t look good. The smell was a bit like bread and cheese, but when I bit into it, it had the same consistency and taste as bologna. It was unpalatable, but I forced as many bites down my throat as I could.

  My vision flashed as another streak of pain coursed through my body, and I fell sideways, dropping the rest of my food.

  Health at 5%.

  I sighed and gently rocked my head against the ground as my stomach churned and cramped, cursing my bad luck. Not only had I spawned in the worst location ever, but I’d have to run through that stinky maggot-filled place again after I respawned. I wasn’t even sure if I’d still have my starting items after I died.

  What a crazy, broken game, I thought. I had never felt so much pain in my life! Even having a few hundred cans of food dropped on my foot hadn’t come close.

  The idea of full-immersion virtual reality was great when you thought about the adventures, battles, and maybe even virtual sex you could possibly have. But when you added the pain, the gore and death… I wasn’t sure how appealing it really was. Cool concept, but everything was a little too real.

  Health at 2%.

  My eyelids were heavy, and I could barely pull them open at that point. My entire body ached, and there was a loud ringing in my ears, drowning out the sound of everything around me. The pain was so intense that I pretty much blacked out.

  The last thing I remembered was wondering if Rachel was okay.

  Chapter Five

  01/01/0001

  “There you go, buddy. Eat up…” a voice said.

  I could hear the sound of jaws chomping down on something and burning wood crackling in the distance. It felt warm and safe.

  Safe? I pulled open groggy eyes and groaned. I could see wooden panels above me and something smelled amazing. I tried to move my hands and legs, but they were stuck.

  “Oh, so you’re finally awake?”

  I blinked a few times as my strength started to surface, and a tall man with an evening shadow and dark, long hair stood over me. Again, I tried to move, this time with a little more enthusiasm, but each pull was met with resistance. I was tied down by something.

  “Where am I?” I questioned frantically. “Why am I tied up?”

  The man sighed. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t sure if you’re a thief or not. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “I’m not a thief!”

  “Yeah, and all the thieves admit to being thieves, right?” The man stood up straight and ripped a piece of bread off a loaf he was holding, tossing it in his mouth. He swiftly rubbed his hand off against the front of his brown leather tunic, then swiped again against his leather pants. “But considering you only had a dagger and flint on you, you must be a pretty bad thief.”

  “I told you I’m not a thief!”

  “Or a murderer…”

  “I’m not a murderer!”

  “Hmm…” the man said. “You are only level 2. I suppose the idea of you being a murderer is a bit far-fetched. But—”

  “Come on. Let me out!” I interrupted, yanking at the rope that was bounding my hands to the bed.

  The man chewed on his bread for a moment then threw in another bite. His mouth was full as he spoke. “How about we get to know each other first. What’s your name and where do you come from?”

  “My name is Gunnar,” I said. “I’m from Los Angeles.”

  The man’s head jolted back, and it looked like he was thinking hard. “Los Angeles? I don’t think I’ve heard of there. What’s it near?”

  “You wouldn’t know. It’s not in Eden’s Gate.”

  “What? I don’t understand.” He looked perplexed.

  “Look, I just logged into this game.”

  “Game?”

  I sighed. “Umm… I just turned level 2. I just got here.”

  “Ahh, yes. You’re a newbie adventurer. That I can understand.”

  “And who are you?”

  “I’m Jax.” The man grinned wide and grabbed the fingers of one of my tied-up hands, shaking it comically. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Can you let me go now?”

  Jax rubbed his chin with two fingers and thought a moment before he nodded gently. “Okay, I’ll untie you. But if you try anything funny, you either get an arrow in your back or Fenris will eat your ass.”

  “Fenris?”

  Jax quickly untied the ropes that were binding me to the bedpost, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position, rubbing at the soreness around my feet and ankles.

  “That’s Fenris.” Jax pointed.

  Directly in front of me was a massive gray and white wolf, thrice the size of the biggest dog I had ever seen, nearly thrice the size of Jax. It was busy chewing the meat off a large bone, but as soon as I made eye contact with him, he looked up, showed his razor-sharp teeth and growled.

  I had already been eaten alive by maggots. There was no way that I’d stand a chance against that thing.

  “How did I get here?” I asked. “The last thing I remember was dying at the base of a tree stump.”

  “Your skin was pale as white when I saw you. Poisoned and almost dead, but you still had a breath of life in you. I poured a cure potion down your throat and bandaged your shoulder before I brought you back here.”

  I looked to my shoulder and the bandage on it was tied far superior to the one on my leg. “Thank you,” I said.

  “Thank the gods. Another minute out there and you’d be a goner,” Jax replied.

  I was sitting in what seemed to be a small cabin. There was a burning fireplace right behind Fenris who was resting on a bearskin rug, and a hog was being spit roasted over the flames. Behind me was a small dining table and a cabinet desk that was covered in various flasks and bowls.

  My stomach growled loudly.

  “Hungry?” Jax asked.

  “Very much so.”

  Jax prepared me a simple meal of ham, bread and wild berries. I could barely control myself as I rammed piece after piece down my throat. It was delicious, and I couldn’t tell if it was because the game made it that way or if was just dying to eat something of sustenance after a near-death experience. Whatever the case, it beat the food ration 100 times over.

  The small icon of an apple appeared below my stats bar, and I focused on its meaning.

  You are well-fed! Stamina and Vitality increased by 15% while this effect is active.

  I took a large swig of water and sighed at the brisk, refreshing feeling. “Where is this place anyway?”

  “This is the Addenfall Forest,” Jax said, sitting in a wooden rocking chair near the fireplace. “I found you near Old Nambunga’s cave.”

  “Old Nambunga?” I asked, squishing a piece of bread and throwing it in my mouth.

  “He’s an Ogre that used to roam these parts. Legend says that he fell down the slope of the cave years ago and couldn’t get his fat ass out. He feeds on bats and whatever else wanders down there.” Jax pounded his fist on his chest a couple times and his face winced in pain as he belched. “You don’t want to go down there unless you want to end up as a splotch on the end of his club.”

  I picked a piece of ham off my plate and started chewing on it while thinking about what Jax said. “I think Old Nambunga is dead actually.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When I was in the cave near the tree stump, I saw a huge dead body. Had to have been dead a least a few days. Maggots were feasting on it, including one that was bigger than me.”

  Jax’s brow creased, and his eyes pierced into me. “Are you sure?”

  “I can’t be positive, but something larger than this cabin is dead down there.”

  “Hmm…” Jax grunted. “I suppose he would be getting old by now.” He looked at me closely. “But you didn’t find anything while you were down there, did you?”

  “I was too busy running for my life,” I replied. “But I did see a chest and what I think was a sword.”

  “Ogres love treasure. I bet Nambunga has a nice little horde.” Jax clicked his lips and stood from his chair. He walked over to the door and placed a thick wooden board in a slot across its front. “You should probably get some sleep.”

  “Sleep here?” I asked.

  “Well, that is unless you want to sleep outside. But it’s a whole lot safer in here.” Jax smiled.

  Through Jax’s window, I could see that night had fallen. Several hours must have passed since the moment I blacked out at the stump. Why wasn’t the battery of the Nexicon VR dead yet, and better yet, why hadn’t Rachel just powered down my damn headset and taken it off me? The only explanation was that she was still in the game too. Or maybe I was really dead? Noo… no way.

  I willed my settings screen to appear and again tried to click the logoff button and will myself out of the game. Nothing happened. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to log out of this game, would you?”

  Jax frowned. “What is ‘log out’? And what game are you talking about?”

  I swallowed my last piece of ham hard and suddenly didn’t feel like eating anymore. “Yeah…” I moaned. “I guess I’ll sleep here.”

  “That’s what I figured.” Jax walked over to the bearskin run where Fenris was curled up in front of the fire. He lay down, legs stretched and leaned his head against the soft mane of Fenris’s stomach. “You’re welcome to the bed. I’ll be fine down here with Fenris.”

  “Is there a toilet around here?” I asked.

  “Toilet?” Jax asked.

  “You know? Someplace to go if I need to take a piss or… do something else?”

  Jax’s lips curled, and his face twisted in disgust. “Where does anyone take a shit? You go deep in the forest, out of sight!” Jax sighed and shook his head as he closed his eyes.

  Nice. I guess I’d have to wipe my ass with leaves too.

  I left my scraps of food at the table and made my way over to the bed. My mind was still racing at the possibility that I was permanently stuck in Eden’s Gate, but I was so exhausted after my first day in game that I could’ve probably slept standing up.

  I glanced over to Jax who had wrapped his arm around Fenris’ neck and gently caressed the beast’s fur. I was surprised that the guy seemed just as real or even moreso than just about any real person I had ever met back on Earth.

  He actually noticed me and seemed to care. And I was 100% certain that he had never heard of Bustin Snieber, Creeping up on the Fartdashians, or any of the other crap that people back home were obsessed with. I actually kind of liked the dude.

  Shame he was just an AI.

  Chapter Six

  01/02/0001

  I woke up the next morning still in Eden’s Gate. I immediately tried to logoff, but again nothing happened. If I had any doubts before that something had gone horribly wrong on launch day, now I was certain.

  My next thought: My browser history! Holy shit, I didn’t delete my browser history! What if Rachel went through the *ahem* on my computer?! Maybe that’s why she didn’t wake me. Embarrassment caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand.

  I scanned through my settings again, for about the 100th time, hoping to see a HELP option or something else I was overlooking, but there was literally no support option anywhere in the game.

  Jax was mixing some fragrant liquids on the standing desk behind me as I rubbed my eyes and sat up from the bed.

  “What is that?” I asked as he poured a thin, green substance into a vial.

  “What? You’ve never heard of alchemy? I’m putting together a few things before I head out hunting. I wasted my last cure potion on you yesterday.”

  I stretched my limbs out and stood up, scanning the cabin for my shoes. “Thanks for the bed,” I said. “I guess I should be going.”

  “Where are you headed?” Jax asked with a smile.

  Truth was, I had no idea. I wanted to figure out a way to get out of the game, but if Rachel were stuck in Eden’s Gate also, I needed to find her. And the only two places I had heard of so far were Addenfall—where I was—and The Mastalands. Knowing how driven Rachel was, she would probably head straight for that castle that Rupert Winston was standing in if she found herself stuck inside the game too.

  “I’m going to go find my girlfriend,” I replied.

  “Ohh…” Jax cooed. “Looking for your love, yeah? Whereabouts is she?”

  “I don’t know…” I muttered. “I figure I’ll start by heading towards The Mastalands.”

  “The Mastalands?” Jax leaned his head back and started laughing hysterically. He grabbed his stomach and cackled so hard that he almost dropped the vial of liquid he was holding. “The Mastalands? You’re kidding me, right?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Well first off,” Jax said pushing a cork hard into the top of his vial, “The Mastalands is hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, and second, you’re only level 2. The Mastalands is one of the highest-level zones in Eden’s Gate. Even if you were some major badass—which you’re not—you’d need a small army of additional badasses to survive there.”

  “So basically—”

  “Do you even know what direction The Mastalands is?” he interrupted.

  I shook my head and looked down at the wooden panels of the small cabin, feeling deflated about the situation.

  “So settle down and get some levels under your belt. Learn some skills. You’ve got a long way to go if you even want to get anywhere near The Mastalands.”

  “But my girlfriend is probably looking for me.”

  “What level is your girlfriend?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Probably about the same as me.”

  “So then she’ll have to start somewhere too.” Jax lifted a satchel over his shoulder and slid the flask he was holding inside. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you find her eventually.”

  I sighed, but I had to accept that he was right. I was still holding on to hope that something in Eden’s Gate was glitched or that the whole “dead” broadcast thing was a prank. Maybe I’d be logged off automatically at any moment. But either way, I wouldn’t make it very far in the game without learning some skills. “Maybe you could teach me alchemy?”

  Being able to conjure up health potions certainly wouldn’t hurt.

  Jax scanned me up and down. “So you want to become an alchemist, eh?”

  “No, not really. But like you said, I’ve got to start somewhere.”

  “Hmph,” Jax huffed. “I’m not much of an alchemist myself. I only know a few basics. But I’ll tell you what… You said you saw a sword down in Old Nambunga’s Cave? If you can go down there and fetch it for me, I’ll teach you a thing or two about alchemy.”

  A window appeared in the center of my screen.

  You have been offered a quest: Old Nambunga’s Cave