Titan: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 4) Jez Cajiao (top ten books of all time TXT) 📖

could afford to use it for this, and with the glares some of the group were giving me, I didn’t expect I’d have many takers, anyway.

I was surprised when over half of them began to give the Oath, the words rippling out, starting with the elders, and moving to the younger ones as they were nudged or glared at by their parents and friends.

Half a dozen actively refused, with one leaping at the elder who’d spoken up, a dagger flashing through the air for his face. Fortunately, Bane was there, watching quietly, and the gnome was booted in the face, slamming him to the floor, unconscious.

As the remaining five glared at everyone, one of them spat on the floor and turned, running into the darkness. The others followed her, leaving me with one unconscious, one already sworn, and twenty that took the Oath, costing me three hundred mana.

“I swear to obey Lord Jax and those he places over me; I will serve to the best of my ability, speak no lie to him when commanded otherwise, and treat all other citizens as family.

I will work for the greater good, being a shield to those that need it, a sword to those that deserve it, and a warden to the night.”

“I will stand with my family, helping one another to reach the light, until the hour of my death or my Lord releases me from my oath.”

“Lastly, I will not be a dick!”

“I, Lord Jax, do swear to protect and lead you, to be the shield that protects you and yours from the darkness, and the sword that avenges that which cannot be saved. As the Tower grows in strength, so shall you,” I said, gritting my teeth as the mana was torn from me. Once it was done, and the group of citizens stood looking at me in trepidation, I sighed.

“I’m sorry, honestly I am. If there was a better way, I would take it, but there isn’t. How long will it take us to reach the ship from here, if we marched through with no interruptions?” I asked the elder, whose name was revealed to be Frederikk with a judicious use of ‘Examine’.

“About two hours, maybe a little more?” he said, unsure.

“Well, we know it won’t be that easy, and we’ll probably have to fight for every inch, but I bet you can catch up. Giint made a half Badunka, half sled before in a few hours. Could you make several devices that would carry you all?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Easily; there are many damaged Badunkas and other war machines that have been gutted over the years. We could make fast-moving sleds.”

“Then do it; you have an hour, then I want you to all follow us and catch up to us in the Lich’s domain. We’ll kill as many as we can to give you a clear path. Giint will take us to the path we need, and then he will return and help you. If you have any time left over once you’ve built your devices, for the love of god, search this building, take anything that is valuable and bring it. We came here looking for devices and Spellbooks, but now, thanks to the SporeMothers, we can’t take the time we needed to search this place properly. Anything you can find is needed, but in the Empire, the most valuable thing is life. I’d rather save you than anything else. I’m sorry that I haven’t the time to convince you of that, but it is what it is.” I nodded to them, then looked back at my people, and then down to Giint.

“Giint, lead the way,” I said, gesturing, and he nodded, moving through the crowd grim-faced. The gnomes made room for us, but the looks on their faces tore at me.

They looked lost, and in shock. They’d been given a faint lifeline, and now it felt like I had torn it away and was abandoning them.

We had less than six hours, maybe five and a half now, and when we were going to have to fight our way through the levels back up to the surface, every minute was needed.

As I moved through the group, I saw the looks they gave me; some were excited, but they were in the minority. Most looked lost, or angered. Thankfully, Frederikk spoke up, sensing the group’s emotions.

“You heard the Lord. We don’t have time to grumble if we’re to survive, so grab your gear! Lars, Dawn, I want you to build…” His voice was hard, but not unkind, as he gave out the orders to the shocked remnant of their race. I tried to not think about how many of their families we’d literally slaughtered in the last day, and worse, how many of the survivors were thankful for it. The voices faded as we moved through the rooms, quickly getting outside, and I looked around the cavern, trying to imagine what it was going to be like for the children once they left. In here, you could see the far walls and the ceiling high overhead, so I could only imagine the way they’d react to riding an Airship.

I shook my head, imagining the mixture of panic and wonder, then I ruthlessly squashed the feelings down, concentrating on the path ahead.

“How many potions do we have?” I asked, and everyone checked their remaining inventory, making me growl in frustration. We had enough for two average healing potions, or three lesser each, once we’d redistributed them, and seven mana potions left. That was it.

I pulled Jian up for a quick conversation, then handed him the mesh glove to give to Miren, on the grounds that not only was she the only one with small enough hands to use it, but it’d also mean more coming from him than it would from me. He smiled and tucked it away quickly, winking at me when I told him that it was from him, not me, and he could make up