Alpha Zero (Alpha LitRPG Book 1) Arthur Stone (hardest books to read .txt) đ
- Author: Arthur Stone
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âWhat kind of idiotic games are you playing on my path?!â I growled, still advancing. âIf I see you here one more time, itâll be your funeral.â
The move was both bold and too primitive. But these were just peasant kids left to their own devices. Zero education and simple minds. People like that knew by the tone when being addressed by a lord, and not some ragamuffin. And my speech was properly sophisticatedâI was, after all, a noble of this realm. The key was to press them right away and withdraw before they got a chance to recover. If they figured out the ruse before then, no amount of persuasion would save us.
In a fair fight, the two of us couldnât handle the four of them. My body remained as gaunt as ever, and my joints ached as though they had been put through the rackâthe consequence of a sharp bump in the amuletâs parameters. Whenever an attribute experienced rapid growth, the reservoir tried to adapt to it as quickly as possible, notwithstanding any negative sensations. So despite euphoria flooding my mind with grandiose possibilities, everything below my neck was woefully unequipped to back them up with actions.
The only scary thing about Beko was the pickaxe, which he was likely to dump so as to run faster than actually use for combat.
Our foes werenât the sharpest tools in the shed. While the prostrated kid ate dirt, the others kept shifting their flabbergasted gazes from him to us and back again.
Finally, the smallest among them, presumably Little Tatai, squealed like a little girl.
âThe freak! The freak is leaving! There he is!â
Naturally, he was pointing at Beko.
I turned back, pointed to my companion and added in the same tone of irrefutable superiority.
âShut your trap. This one is with me.â
âOh... I... I didnât know...â Tatai babbled.
âNow you know,â I said dismissively as we kept moving up the path.
This was going to go one of two ways. Satat could analyze the situation quickly enough to try and stop us. I had a contingency plan in mind for this scenario, but I wasnât eager to put it to use. So though I walked on with dignity, my pace wasnât exactly slow.
The second scenario relied on Satatâs brain lacking sufficient operating efficiency to see through the ruse and overcome the shock of Bekoâs new companionâs implausible bravado.
When we made it to the wall, I chuckled without turning around.
âHe took the second scenario.â
âWhat are you saying?â Beko asked under his breath.
âIâm saying weâre strong and dangerous. Did you see how we trounced them back there?â
âYeah! That was great, how you whacked Jakos. I was going to hit him, too, but then I felt sorry for him.â
Behold, the great power of fortress walls. As soon as Beko was safely behind them, his courage grew tenfold in an instant.
* * *
The merchantâs name was Guppy, which I found amusing following our recent victory over the Carps. Though I would have dubbed him âCatfishâ for his luxuriant mustache and portly frame.
The merchant wasnât exceedingly welcoming.
Immediately upon sighting us on the doorstep of his warehouse slash trading post, the fat man barked irritatingly.
âGet lost, both of you, before I make you cry!â
âMaster Guppy, we come to you to do business.â
âWhat business can you possibly have with me? Looking to nick something, I bet? Go ahead and try. I wonât even call Hugoâs boysâIâll tear your hands off my own damn self.â
âWe wish to buy something from you,â I kept my tone polite, though it was becoming increasingly difficult.
âIs that right? Youâre here to buy? Ha! Itâs my lucky day to entertain such esteemed customers. If only twerps like you had any money to pay with. Now scram before I lose my patience!â
âDo you not accept small symbols of chi as payment?â
The traderâs expression changed, betraying the slightest interest. My deductions had been correct. He was right that we didnât have any money, but the Order was famously unpredictable in terms of how and to whom it awarded chi. Sometimes even a great feat would fetch a big fat nothing whereas some trifle would net a unit or two. Even the feeblest losers werenât immune to earning some chi, and their gains were theirs to dispose of as they pleased. Some used them for self-development while others looked for a suitable trade opportunity.
It was breaking my heart to part with something I so badly needed. But this was an investment in my future, and perhaps the only thing that could help me escape the gloom of hopelessness.
With a little luck.
Guppy nodded slowly.
âI do, of course. But theyâre not worth much, being only small symbols and all. Whaddya need?â
âDo you sell fishing hooks?â
âOf course. What kind?â
âCan I look at all your stock?â
âI donât charge for looking, but donât be putting your paws on anything without permission. So, youâre scheming to do some fishing?â
I nodded while examining the manâs wares.
âYes, weâd like to try.â
âItâs pointless. There hasnât been good fishing around the island for a good long while. Nothing but kote. They swarm from all over Blackriverâyou canât go near the water without wetting yourself. Their meat is tasty, no doubt, and their liver is a real delicacy, but they avoid the hook. You just canât catch the bastards. Not with a hook, not with a net. The beasts are too bloody clever.â
I nodded again. âI know. You canât even harpoon them from boats. A hunter shot one dead about a week ago. Sighted it from a cliff and hit it with an arrow. But the kote sank, so all he got was a small symbol of chi.â
âYouâre new here, arenât you?
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