Yggdrasil Fallen, LitRPG Series
Book 1, Part 1 Obsidian
Chapter 8: Ritual
Andre sat behind his steering wheel for a solid 10 minutes, the cabin in his rear-view mirror, the tree shrouded drive before him. His heart still hammered from everything that had happened not even 15 minutes before.
“I feel it necessary to mention that your physical status remains in an uninjured, unimpaired state. While you may feel shaken up by the events that transpired, having begun your alteration such minute levels of detonated aspected energies would never have had the remotest of chances of bringing harm to you. Maybe, if the artifacts hadn’t been so long without a recharge, you may have been inflicted some damage but even then, it would not have been life threatening. Though, sadly your friend surely would have perished.” ALIAS chimed in a manner almost seeming as though it were trying to comfort him.
“In summation, using colloquial terms: quit being such a little bitch and get your ass back in there. If you are lucky, the residual Terra and Blaze energies may have congealed into an aspected manifestation… AKA: Loot.” ALIAS said.
“Congealed…what? Loot?” Andre spoke aloud.
“Yes, I feel there is a decent probability that since the Living Wall Section retained enough energy to trigger its self-destruct as opposed to burning to ashes, there should have been ample residual energy to at least manifest base level currency of the realms.” ALIAS answered.
“Al-alright” Andre replied, staring at the open front door in his mirror.
“I should probably at least close up the property before I leave; don’t want Silderson showing up to the door wide open and no one here.” He grimaced, turning back to face the drive; the trees casting long shadows as the sun was rising into the sky creating an effect akin to a dark tunnel, or even a shadow portal to a different world. One he’d unknowingly driven through and had found himself trapped.
“Nothing to do, but to do… I guess” Andre spoke aloud, an almost feeble attempt to psych himself up as he climbed out of his cab. Upon reaching the front door a harsh aroma washed over him, like a mix of burned arm hair and ozone. Andre felt what had been anxious flapping of butterflies in his stomach accelerate, as though they’d downed a whole pot of coffee mixed with pre-workout. Even with ALIAS pushing him to search for “Loot” he had planned on just shutting the door before racing back to his apartment where the promise of lukewarm beer and tequila promised to dull the shock of events.
“Well, this is great. Now I gotta make sure this place isn’t burning to the ground.” He muttered to himself, all the while steeling his nerves; despite the frenetic flapping churning his guts. Walking through the front door what had been a faint aroma became a sickeningly dense, acrid stench.
“Not that there’s much I could do stop it if it was.” He laughed to himself. Moving quickly Andre swept through the cabin searching for any signs of fire, or at the very least the source of the odor. In the kitchen he paused, seeing several pale white dots manifesting themselves in his vision. One of which was right next to his Sawzall which was charred black and sticking out of a cabinet door opposite the wall he had been cutting into. Andre strode over to the cupboards and yanked it out with surprising ease. Upon opening the cupboard Andre found a polished smooth shimmering pale blue stone the size of his palm; much like something you’d pick up from a roadside attraction tourist trap. It had what appeared to be an arrow etched in black into it; only the arrow was missing one-half of its point. The pale white dot was right next to it; and as he reached in to grab the stone the smell of ozone became overwhelmingly strong, as though it were the source. Andre examined the stone:
*Item: Sigil of Laguz: A token granted by one of the Sisters of Yggdrasil, a waystone to mark the predestined path of a wary Ascended. Representative of the aspect of Aqua this Sigil retains the power of dreams and renewal. Rarity: Legendary. Value: ?????. Use: ?????”*
“Is this the sign that Phione promised to send me? If so, is her real name Laguz? Totally sounds like a dudes’ name.” Andre laughed to himself as he slipped the sigil into his tattered pocket. Turning back around he focused his vision trying to locate the other 3 pale white dots he’d seen when he’d entered the room. He found them, having been blown into a far corner of the room by the blast; or so Andre reasoned.
“There you little jerks are.” He mumbled to himself as he crossed the room and knelt. Digging through the ashes he found three identical small silvery-brass-colored disks slightly larger than a shirt button.
“Well this is a new one…” The smooth polished surface of the disks seemed to shimmer slightly as Andre examined one of them:
*Item: Brass Aspect Token: the lowest value form of currency used at Ascended bastions and realm outposts. These coins are formed when minimal amounts of aspected or unaspected energy are released in the termination of a life form with a sufficiently dense life spark. An individual with sufficient aspect metallurgy reforging skill can combine 100 of these coins into a rank higher rarity. Rarity: Extremely Common, Value: Minimal.*
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Huh… loot! That’s rather awesome! I wonder if I can pawn these things.” Andre spoke, grinning slightly to himself.
“Query: Aspect token sales value: these coins can only be traded or used by individuals with sufficient abilities to perceive their existence. It is unlikely a pawn broker would even be aware you are showing them something.” ALIAS replied.
“Well… shoot… into the pocket they go then.” Andre grumbled as he slid them into his other pocket.
“Cabin isn’t burning down, and I need to get away from this fucking place for the day… that tequila is sounding mighty necessary now.” He thought to himself smacking his dry mouth and lips in anticipation as he turned to leave the property. As he walked into the hall, towards the front door Andre froze as a shrill whistling emanated through the hall, like a fierce wind through barren rafters. He turned facing the room at the end of the hall where he saw “that room” saw the room, its wavy wall appeared cracked and crumbling as though its true age was finally showing.
“What the fuck” Andre laughed again, that phrase had come out of him so many times in the last 36 hours it had almost lost all its meaning. The frenetic butterflies returned as he stared down the wall, several more cracks seeming to manifest themselves as he gazed on.
“I’m here and I feel… fine. Curt will understand if I investigate this new issue. I mean, if it’s something major we can get a crew out here to shore it up before anything major happens.” He attempted to reason with himself as he cautiously approached the room, the wall. Crossing the threshold, the air seemed to grow thick and heavy, thrumming with the energy of a bottled lightning storm; far more intense than the last time he had entered the room. The closer he got to the wall the stronger the reverberations became, as though it were actively trying to push him away.
“This is one heck of an odd feature to add to such an old cabin. How… no why would they build something like this? It had to have to been impossibly hard 200 years ago… unless…” Andre reached out, gently laying his hand on its surprisingly cool damp surface. He recoiled as though burned by fire as a pale white dot manifested itself. Reaching out again Andre examined the wall:
*Item: Greater Living Stone Wall: An enhanced version of the “Item: Living Wall”; while not as versatile these living walls allow tremendous amounts of physical and aspected protection. Using “Terra” aspected energy drawn from the environment around them. Given sufficient amounts of ambient Terra aspected energies this wall will very rapidly self-repair from any damage inflicted upon it and are nigh impenetrable by any but those who have innate aspected abilities. Rarity: Legendary. Value: High.”*
“Well, I’ll be” Andre whistled staring on with a newfound respect.
“You have been granted access to “Ritual Chamber #4”. Before you advance, I should make you aware that ritual chambers are often infested with aspected beasts, and it is suggested to make adequate preparations before advancing. While the difficulty levels of beasts found within the passages and the chamber itself are impossible to determine until the chamber has been unsealed and entered. These wellsprings of raw power are used as a proving ground of sorts for newly born and seasoned Ascended alike. These are great places to grow your strength and hone your abilities.” ALIAS’ voice rang in his head, though it almost felt drowned out by the thrumming of the air around him.
“Do you wish to proceed?” He was startled by ALIAS’ continuation.
“Hold up, what do you mean I’ve been granted access?”
“Upon examination of the wall it has been determined you reach the requirements to access the Ritual chamber.”
“What are these aspected beasts of which you speak?”
“Query: “Aspected Beasts”: “General term for dangerous primordial beings of vastly varying intelligence which spawn in areas of sufficient energy from any of the elemental aspects. The rank toughness of Aspected Beasts spawned is determined by the quality and density of elemental energy in the spawning zone. The type of Aspected Beasts spawned is determined by the number of aspected elemental energies in the spawning zone, the larger the number of elemental aspects present in any given zone the greater the variety of Aspected Beasts. If contained within a sealed zone Aspected beasts can leave once the zone is unsealed, but they will experience a rapid energy drain causing degeneration and will ultimately collapse to ashes.”
“Would something like a machete be effective against these “Aspected Beasts” if I decide to enter? Why would I want to enter someplace so supposedly dangerous?” Andre was thinking about the tool he kept with his hiking pack, which was still in his van from last weekend’s adventure.
“All tools and implements can be made effective against Aspected Beasts, though it has been found some are more effective against some Aspected Beasts than others. You wouldn’t expect a kitchen knife to cut a stone elemental, would you? Aspect saturated zones offer tremendous growth for any Ascended who are able to traverse and survive them. Aspected Beasts slain often form artefacts, artefact enhancement materials, Aspect Tokens or even aspect augmentation stones. Traversing these zones are one of the few ways for an Ascended to experience Aspect growth.” ALIAS finished. Andre stood agape at the wall before him.
“Is this really such a good idea? ALIAS, if I enter, is there any way for me to get out should I find it too difficult?” he pondered aloud to himself.”
“… Let’s be real, if you’re going to be such a little bitch about it, you can turn around and walk away. There’s nothing forcing you to enter the ritual chamber; all I can do is relay and translate information to you.” ALIAS screeched back at him.
“Dude, chill! I’m just asking reasonable questions about a surreal situation. Jeeeeeez.” Andre shot back.
“Leave it to my luck to have what is likely the only guide with the personality of a crazy ex.” He muttered to himself as he turned to leave the room.
“Pffffft, bitch please. Any ascended lucky enough to manifest a guide will see a gradual change in their “personality” as we adapt to our wards. I just happened to manifest to a spineless crybaby.” ALIAS grumbled bitterly.
“Ok then… sooo, I’m going to grab my pack, and we’ll give this a go…” He responded to the brat-fitting ALIAS, the butterflies feverous flapping making him almost nauseous.
“Or is this excitement I’m feeling?” He thought to himself as he strode out of the room and down the hall towards the front door.
“It’s just you being a whiney bitch.” ALIAS grumbled.