Burning Core (School of Swords and Serpents Book 4) by Gage Lee

Author:Gage Lee [Lee, Gage]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: MMO litRPG role playing steampunk quest gamelit, men&#8217, s adventure video game adaptations young adult, coming of age sword sorcery dungeon core demon, action dark epic metaphysical vengeful myth asian, Chinese manga wuxia xianxia martial arts kung fu, supernatural fantasy magic occult legends thriller
Publisher: Shadow Alley Press
Published: 2020-06-15T22:00:00+00:00

The Farewell

I BECAME A RECLUSE after my meeting with Grimaldi. I stayed locked away and isolated myself to focus on advancement, coming out of my room only long enough to grab a plate before retreating to eat it. Without help from my friends, the only way I’d finish this quest was to be as powerful as possible.

Jinsei-fueled meditation sessions pushed me further along the path every day, but my attempts attracted attention from the warped monstrosities. Their relentless approach shattered my concentration and sent me crashing back to the waking world before I got anywhere near the next level.

After three days of that, the squid freaks appeared within seconds of my meditation’s start. One of their kind had gotten a taste of me in Mama Weaver’s room, and now they all wanted some.

With meditation cut off by the warped, I turned my attention to scrivening. If I could build a filter, I wouldn’t need the Sleepless technique. Unfortunately, the gate inscriptions Krieger had shown us were beyond my ability. Even with Hahen’s advice, we wasted two entire days trying to get it right before I gave it up as a lost cause.

“Your friends are worried about you,” Hahen said as he appeared through the wall at the end of the week. “They think you’re sick. Talk to them.”

Clem had banged on my door a dozen times since our last class together. Every time I’d pretended I wasn’t home, because I couldn’t face my friends after our discussion in sorcery class showed me how selfish I’d been. I worried that if I saw them again, I’d beg Clem, Eric, and Abi to come back and finish the quest with me. That wouldn’t be fair. It was better for us all if I avoided them until after I was free of the Flame’s mission. My friends didn’t deserve to be dragged into my mess of a life.

“Tell them I’m fine,” I said to Hahen when a knock came.

“Tell them yourself,” the rat spirit said, and unlocked the door.

My friends crowded around in the hall. Lines of worry creased Clem’s face, and Eric and Abi looked like a pair of kicked dogs. They hesitated for a second, and then Clem lifted her chin and marched right into my room. She planted herself in front of where I sat on my bed, hands on her hips, and scowled at me.

“Enough pouting,” she scolded. “You can’t hide from us forever.”

Eric and Abi took up positions behind Clem, their arms crossed over their chests. They looked down at me like a pair of disapproving fight coaches.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Until Librarian Tanoki gets back to me, all I can do is meditate on my advancement. Nothing else matters.”

Clem put two fingers under my chin to lift my eyes to meet hers. “I told you I was in this to the end. Don’t shut me out.”

My arms wanted to pull Clem into a hug and hang on tight. I wasn’t strong enough to push my friends away a second time, and I knew the guilt of pulling them back in would haunt me for the rest of my life.

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