The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) A. Kay (best management books of all time .TXT) 📖

mouth and crept toward the boy. He stepped past the guards and stood over Pine’s grandson. Taking aim with his dagger, he threw it at the most distant viper.

Ruwen had aimed for the head, but his movements were strained, and the dagger struck the Elder Viper’s body. It hissed and the other three vipers turned toward it, while the remaining mist creatures stopped their movement.

The attack had probably made Ruwen visible, so he didn’t waste any time. Taking the green fruit, he smashed it into the boy’s mouth, just to make sure he had some time. Ruwen grabbed the boy under the arms, picked him up, and spun. Two revolutions later, Ruwen threw the boy toward the summit, and then sprinted after him.

Ruwen winced as the boy landed on his head, and he hoped the green grass of the summit eased the impact. Ruwen, despite all his efforts, could barely move. Five feet from the summit, his sprint had turned into labored walking.

The boy looked up, his eyes wide, and he crawled toward Ruwen.

“Run!” Ruwen screamed, not wanting the boy to put himself in danger.

Fangs plunged into Ruwen’s right calf, followed by another attack on his left hamstring. A cool mist covered his body, and for a moment, he only felt despair. Another blow struck his neck, but his helmet protected him. The force of the strike, coupled with his injured legs, toppled him forward.

Ruwen’s outstretched hand was only a foot short of the summit, and he strained to move forward. Another wave of hopelessness struck him, and he relaxed, his will to fight smothered.

The misery made Ruwen think of Rami. Her training had often pushed him to this point, but he had always survived. The thought gave him strength, and he looked up.

The boy pounded his fists against an invisible wall as he tried to get back to Ruwen. A bright flash pulsed behind the boy, making Ruwen blink, and when his vision cleared, the boy had disappeared.

The Elder Vipers were pulling Ruwen away from the summit, their fangs deep in his body. He gritted his teeth and yanked his legs forward. The fangs ripped through his flesh and made his head swim, but he remained conscious. The massive damage brought his counter down to two hundred twenty-nine minutes.

All three mists converged on Ruwen, but he kept Rami in his thoughts, knowing he had already survived worse than anything the mists showed him.

Ruwen sank his fingers into the soil and pulled himself an inch closer. The Elder Vipers struck him over and over, trying to burn through his minutes before he reached the summit.

Another inch as his counter dropped under two hundred.

The Elder Vipers were pulverizing his legs, and the invisible weight Ruwen pulled no longer wanted to budge. His decisions had placed him here, and as Ky had told him not so long ago, he only had himself to blame. His plan would have easily worked if not for this invisible weight.

One hundred fifty-two minutes.

And then a horrible thought occurred to Ruwen. Sift had already succeeded at this. If Ruwen failed, Sift would never let him forget it. There was no way Ruwen would suffer through that.

Eighty-four minutes.

Ruwen dug his elbows into the soil and pushed, moving himself a fraction.

Fifty-six minutes.

He smiled into the ground as he used his elbows again.

Twenty-seven minutes.

Ruwen could no longer feel his legs, but it didn’t matter. With one more push from his elbows, he stretched his right hand out and touched the green grass of the summit.

The attacks stopped, and Ruwen looked at his left palm: seven minutes.

Again came the bright flash, and when Ruwen’s vision cleared, he no longer lay in the grass.

Ruwen now stood in the middle of a domed temple, the roof supported by a circle of white pillars. His injuries had vanished, and the counter on his palm had disappeared. He turned in a slow circle, verifying what he had secretly feared all along.

He was alone.

No Founders were here to meet him.

Chapter 34

Ruwen wondered if both Founders were with Pine’s grandson, assuming that was real and not part of the trial. The pressing weight had disappeared, and he felt light. Not sure what to do, he stepped out of the small temple.

A small rectangle shaped building stood thirty feet away. It had no roof, marble pillars surrounded the perimeter, and a pedestal stood in its center. Ruwen strode toward it, and as he drew near, he slowed, recognizing the small object the pedestal held. A crossing stone just like the one his hand touched back in the library at Blapy.

Touching that would return Ruwen home.

Frustration filled Ruwen, and he clenched his hands. He knew the chance to become a Master in the Bamboo Viper Steps was a tremendous accomplishment. Many failed to meet that standard after all. But he’d worked incredibly hard and had assumed his training would continue as a Grandmaster. Now that wouldn’t happen, and he felt a little stunned.

Ruwen left the building and sat against a pillar, staring at the temple he’d arrived in. Once again, his expectations had set him up for disappointment. Why wasn’t being a Master, assuming he passed that trial, good enough?

Sadly, Ruwen knew the answer to that, too. He had always thought he was special. His intelligence had only compounded the problem. Slib had bullied Ruwen, but Ruwen had used his intelligence like a weapon. He had loved how exceptional it made him. Looking back, he could see how arrogant he’d been.

The Ascendancy, and surprise Worker Class, had forced Ruwen out of his comfortable world. For the first time he didn’t have time to plan everything, and worse, he’d needed the help of others. His greatest asset, his mind, had not been nearly enough to survive.

Uru’s plans had made Ruwen feel special again, until he spent even a moment thinking about them. Every task seemed more impossible than the last. He had only survived this long by focused hard work and amazing friends. But sitting here now, he