The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) Cajiao, Jez (best selling autobiographies TXT) 📖

“I think I might have just the person; why?”

“Just a little secret side project. Not sure if it will work yet, but I’m going to give it a go. You sort out the artist for me and send them my way, okay?”

“Very well. So, to the engineers?” We both turned back to the pile of books. I sorted through them, putting the more advanced volumes aside to return to later, and narrowing it down to three that I was both interested in seeing what the engineers could do with, and very wary of letting go.

“So, these are the only copies we have of these skill books, and they’re all fairly advanced; journeyman skills, each of them,” I said, looking from one to another.

“True; but giving them these books? You’ll have them for life, that’s for sure…” Cai said, shaking his head slowly as he read and reread the titles.

“That’s one point, but I’m considering their long-term usefulness at least as much as their loyalty,” said Oracle, separating out the books and naming them from left to right. “We’ve got ‘Magical Structures’, ‘Overpowered Engines’, and ‘Secrets of Mana and Metal’. The first is a basic guide on producing magical structures; it should be helpful to any of the engineers, but mainly the general ones, I think. The second, despite the name, is not really appropriate for the engines. It’s the second in a series of five books around siege weapons, and it deals exclusively with the basic magical siege weapons. The authors didn’t include information on magical cannons in this volume, but I’m thinking whatever knowledge they did provide could be used to improve the ship’s weapons?"

"Last of all is ‘Secrets of Mana and Metal’. It’s another one from a series, and it deals with using various metals to conduct mana, amongst other things. The series is aimed at enchanting and making magical weapons more than anything else, but I think that Elaine, the Magical Systems Engineer, might be able to make the best use of this…”

I looked over the pile of skill books off to one side and back at these three. Each was the only one of their kind, and I didn’t think they’d be easy to replace. Neither did I think they should be horded forever, as they’d be bugger-all use to me then.

“You honestly think they could make good use of these, Oracle, Cai?” I got a fervent nod from Cai, along with a smiling one from Oracle.

“I think that making our engineers more skilled, and their use of those skills in making our ships better can only be a huge help to us, but these books are treasure beyond compare. Only you can decide this.”

“They do us no good sitting here, Jax. I’ve watched over them for hundreds of years, and I think it’s time they were used,” Oracle said simply, and I nodded slowly.

“Okay, then, guess it’s time to give them out. Cai, I need you to gather the relevant people together, maybe bring everyone to the garden on the fortieth floor? The small one that’s got the grassy area, with the pool?” I said, looking over at Oracle, who confirmed that I had the floor details right. “Bring the artist, too, please. What are they doing currently?”

“She… it’s Renna, from my old group. She’s been clearing rubble and helping the crafters with odds and ends and drawing in chalk in a few of the rooms that have been cleared whenever she has the energy. The children love her creations,” he said with a gentle smile.

“Perfect; bring her as well.” I straightened up and stretched, letting my back crack and pop as I relieved the damage done by hours of sitting and listening instead of doing things.

I gathered up the books, asking Oracle to get me one final selection, and I set off to climb up to the fortieth-floor garden.

It was about twenty minutes later when I heard the sound of someone running behind me. I’d stopped for a break and was resting the pile of books on the edge of a pile of debris when Flux appeared from the stairwell, and I groaned.

“Ah, Jax!” he called out, smoothly jogging over to me, hardly seeming out of breath at all. “I’m glad I found you. Oracle said you were ready to discuss training?”

“That little traitor…” I muttered in shock, and Flux let loose with the subsonic I’d come to assume was his equivalent of laughter.

“Well, she said, and I quote ‘Better to get this out of the way now…’ and I agreed with her. I owe you a lot for your help with the goblins, and I think it’s best to make sure you survive, don’t you?”

“I’d like to survive…” I said warily, picking the books up again, and Flux reached out, taking half of the stack from me, and walking alongside me.

“Excellent! Well, now that we’re in agreement, I think two hours on a morning and on an evening should help. I’m thinking weapons practice for an hour of each, with a ten-minute warm up and cool down; how does that sound?”

“And the other forty minutes each session?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“That’ll be sparring, of course!” he said, and an evil edge bled into his voice. “We’ll start tonight, and I’ll be your first partner. Also, just so we’re clear, I need to… thank you… properly for leaving me with Ame earlier…”

“Great…” I muttered, closing my eyes for a brief second. Then I drew a deep breath and spoke up, thinking ‘in for a penny, in for a pound!’ “Actually, I wanted to speak with you about training anyway. I need training, I know, but so do my people. I want you to help me teach them to fight, and to defend themselves.”

“To do this properly will require a lot of effort on my part, and that of the other trainers.” He was quiet for a long time, and I was just about to break the silence when he finally