Celestial Ascension: A LitRPG Adventure by David J. VanBergen Jr. & K. L. Reinhart

Author:David J. VanBergen Jr. & K. L. Reinhart [VanBergen, David J. Jr. & Reinhart, K. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2024-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31

First Trials

‘You were fast, very fast,’ Daros said telepathically as he sat opposite Finn on the simple wooden bench beside the long, scarred table.

There was an array of foodstuffs on the table, and Finn was surprised that it actually tasted pretty good. He saw plates of grapes and berries, as well as loaves of bread, wedges of cheese, bowls filled with a variety of sweet and peppery leaves, and pastry-like things that appeared filled with nuts and meat.

The other initiates were eating their breakfast, but Finn and Daros had been relegated to the end of the table. The others appeared to reject the newcomer and the mute.

Turdburgers, Finn thought. He already detected an air of resentment and scorn radiating from the rest of the initiates toward them—although if that was merely because he had dared speak out or just because he was new, he couldn’t say.

Never mind. He had been hated before and knew to ignore it as long as possible. He turned his attention to what Daros was ‘saying.’

“Thanks, I guess. My speed didn’t exactly get me anywhere though, did it?” Finn said with a dry chuckle as he managed to eat some more.

It was his first day in the order after a restless night’s sleep in his new ‘cell.’ It was hard to think of it as anything but a cell. In the morning, Finn had found a white-robed and bald-headed order member waiting to take his weapons and treasures in exchange for a suit of the padded leather that all Fire Lodge initiates wore. He tried to protest them taking his things away, but upon the stern silence of the order member, he remembered that this was one of the conditions of his stay. He had no great intention of being turned into a human punching bag again by the Premier Martial.

Luckily, I have the Hearthstone, he thought. It existed in its own dimensional pocket, unseen and unnoticed by anyone. The only other thing he kept of his own was the small, wooden Blackwood token from Laurie, which he hid in the dimensional pocket too.

I hope Blackwood is okay. His heart thumped as he thought of the many miles—entire galaxies, perhaps—between him and his new adopted home.

He still felt battered and bruised, but nowhere near as bad as he should have been. When he had checked out his chest, sure he was going to find broken ribs, he saw a ton of bruising but nothing more than that.

There was a light touch on his arm. ‘It’s this place. There is a restoration ward that makes us heal the faster. Well, some things heal,’ Daros said, suddenly looking away.

Finn winced. “What did that? What happened to you?”

Daros just shook his head. ‘Let’s just say, I bit off more than I could chew,’ he replied with a sad look, and then a sudden grin that showed his perfect white teeth.

“Damn, that’s a harsh joke . . .” Finn managed to snicker, surprised at his new friend’s sense of humor.

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