Crown: A LitRPG Adventure by Nicoli Gonnella

Author:Nicoli Gonnella [Gonnella, Nicoli]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Mountaindale Press
Published: 2024-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

The three of them hiked into the swamp, passing quickly through it, and up into the mountains proper. There, Felix led them to where thick forests spread wide over slopes, cliffs, and hidden meadows. Great swaths of land in the highlands were home to all manner of creatures, large and small, all of them running amok. Felix could sense them scurrying through trees and into warrens as they sensed their heavy-tread, all of their simple Spirits chock full of terror. Hundreds of monsters were ahead across the forest. Excellent for feeding several hundred refugees, but useless for Felix’s own needs.

I might need to range farther out, he mused after stretching his Perception to its limits.

He'd run out of Essence after his second attempt at combining his Skills. The array, paired with Astrum Ascendance, had devoured his store of Essence faster than Felix had ever expected. Without it, he couldn’t make a third attempt. Thankfully, he had a way to fix that. Chthonic Tribute would net him all the Essence he wanted, if he could only find enough strong monsters to consume.

So, Felix had originally only meant to fetch his Unbound friends and invite them along. It would be a good chance to push their training along further, after all. When he landed in the camp, however, the refugees’ reactions had struck him. Felix wasn't unused to fearful reactions to his appearance or presence. His position as a leader, as a being of Authority, and personal power had inured him to that, he thought. Still, their immediate fear and awe toward him was off-putting to say the least.

Felix had been listening to the refugees over the past few days. Most of it was nothing, just simple conversation about living hard lives. Offhand gripes, small worries, and a growing unease.

For instance, they had been offered rooms inside the fortress the first morning after Felix had arrived. The rooms were inside, beyond where the forge and the hatchery were located. There were plenty of spaces for these people to live, away from inclement weather and cold nights. Spring may have been there, but in the mountains, it was still chilly. Very chilly. Only a few had taken the Daynes up on that offer. It was clear that they were hurt and unsure of their loyalties. They had fled with the Daynes to the mountains, but for some, it had been out of survival rather than trust.

Felix could feel that much in their Spirits, and he heard more than a few conversations about who was at fault for the invasion. The Dragoons were often blamed, as were the Daynes. Most blamed the Hierophant, thankfully, but those doubts never quite went away. Distrust of the Daynes and the Dragoons only grew among the refugees. Now, with Felix’s people arriving, they heard about a Dragon in the fortress. True horror and fear always followed that revelation.

All of that weighed on him as he stood among the farmers and crafters and merchants in their dirty woolens. He knew he scared them, if only because he was powerful and unknown.

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