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

her body. And the other four began getting out of bed. “Hey!” Ruwen shouted. All six adults turned to look at Ruwen. “Please get back into bed.”

As one, the six turned back toward each other and started to shout. The six of them stood, fingers pointing, yelling as much as their hoarse throats allowed.

“Don’t make me put you back in bed!” Ruwen screamed.

The six paused and faced Ruwen again. Their expressions ranged from bemused to angry.

“Don’t bark at what you can’t bite,” Elder Vachyl said.

“You need to show some respect,” Elder Gabryel said.

Then they turned away, ignoring Ruwen. It had been dumb to threaten them. He needed their help, but they were acting like they were twelve. If he didn’t earn their respect and focus them, they’d all die as Naktos’ army marched into the city.

The only power Ruwen had that could compete with these Elders was his Harvesting and the Architect Role. Both relied on Spirit though, and that would trigger his Scarecrow Aspect, something he couldn’t reveal.

That wasn’t completely true. Ruwen’s Architect Role used his Mana pool first, then tapped his Spirit. But he didn’t want to reveal his Architect Role either. The last thing he needed was everyone’s faith to collapse. Uru united the country, and they would need that to succeed. He wondered if there might be another way.

Ruwen scanned his Inventory, looking for anything that might work with his idea. Only one thing remotely fit, and he reluctantly pulled it out of Inventory.

Rami?

Yes?

You know in the stories when gods visit their followers they have an aura that makes everyone collapse to their knees.

Yes, that is a common theme.

I think the gods are actually using the Gravitational Role to manipulate their surroundings and give their presence a divine feeling.

That is an interesting theory.

And you know how my Architect Role uses my Mana first?

Yes.

Well it gave me an idea. It will probably just embarrass me further, but I need to try something to get their attention and maybe their respect. I’ll need assistance to control my Mana though. Will you help me?

Of course.

Ruwen sighed in relief. He cleared his throat and prepared for possible humiliation. Why couldn’t he have had anything better in his Inventory?

“I will not tell you again!” Ruwen shouted.

They all ignored Ruwen. He pressed his lips together, raised his arm, and shot a Blessed Brick from his Void Band with two hundred Energy.

Even knowing what was coming, Ruwen jumped at the explosion. Particles of granite filled the far side of the room like a miniature sandstorm. The sound reverberated in the narrow room and ringing filled his ears.

The yelling stopped and six angry Elders turned to face Ruwen. He raised his totem into the air, the Stuffed Centipede of Solace he’d earned on his first night in Blapy.

Remembering the era they’d come from, he used Uru’s old name. “Eiru has appointed me her messenger. With this totem, I wield her power and speak with her voice. You will listen.”

“Is that a stuffed centipede?” Elder Gabryel asked.

Okay, Rami. Let’s feed one Mana per second into my Gravitational Role.

Two of the Elders laughed and Elder Vachyl narrowed his eyes in anger. It didn’t look like one Mana affected them at all.

Ruwen held the centipede higher. “With her voice!”

Funnel ten Mana per second, please.

Elder Vachyl stepped toward Ruwen and stumbled. The others had looks of confusion and Ruwen relaxed. Surely that would be enough for them to believe him.

“You dare to use magic on me?” Elder Gabryel asked. She raised her hand, which glowed.

Elder Vachyl growled and the air around his body rippled as he tensed to jump at Ruwen. The other four Elders were all in the process of casting something at Ruwen as well.

Anger ignited inside Ruwen, and Last Breath triggered, slowing time. Why couldn’t anything be easy? He hadn’t wanted to humiliate them, but now he would force them to their knees. They needed to see he wasn’t just barking, and that he had a bite.

Give it all my Mana, Rami.

That’s almost five hundred.

In a second, I’m going to eat six spells I won’t survive. I only have this chance, and I need to do more than make them stumble. They need to know I’m serious.

Okay.

Ruwen’s Mana bar dropped to zero, and an instant headache formed from the sudden loss. He reached for the nearest bed to steady himself as a Vertigo debuff flashed. When his vision cleared, he looked up to see if he’d made his point to the Elders.

Six blood-soaked blankets lay on the floor.

Ruwen hadn’t forced them to their knees.

Ruwen had crushed them into a liquid.

Chapter 42

Ruwen stared at the six piles of bloody pulp that had moments ago been the Elders.

In a quiet voice, Rami spoke. I’m not one to tell you I told you so, but—

I know, I know. Too much Mana. But if I hadn’t used enough, I’d be the one in the revival queue right now.

Well, you certainly know how to make a first impression.

Ruwen looked down at the stuffed centipede in his hand, placed it back in his Inventory, and smiled. I warned them. We all know centipedes mean business.

You’ll make everyone as terrified of centipedes as you are.

A strangled gasp from behind Ruwen made him turn. Niall stood in the doorway, a wooden pitcher of water in each hand, his eyes wide in confused terror. Ruwen walked over, grabbed the pitchers, and set them on an empty bed.

“I told them to stay in bed for their own safety, just like you told me,” Ruwen said.

Niall continued to stare at the six bloody piles.

“I think you were right about the revival speed,” Ruwen said. “It made their bodies unstable.”

“I heard an explosion,” Niall finally got out.

That would have been the Blessed Brick Ruwen had launched at the far wall. “I threw a rock to get their attention, but they left their beds anyway.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Ruwen nodded. It did look gross. At least here, unlike the Spirit Realm, they were dead and