Shadowbound by Gage Lee

Author:Gage Lee [Lee, Gage]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: MMO litRPG role playing steampunk quest gamelit, men's adventure video game adaptations young, coming of age sword sorcery dungeon core demon, action gamelit dark gritty epic metaphysical wuxia, supernatural fantasy magic occult legends thriller
Publisher: Shadow Alley Press
Published: 2020-03-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

THE PAIN OF MY OVERLOADED core was unimaginable.

The panic was worse.

Fear made it nearly impossible to think. If I wanted to survive, my first priority had to be controlling my emotions.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

The panic receded, one breath at a time, even as the pain increased. Clearing my thoughts had cost me seconds. It had also saved my life.

I hoped.

>>>Moderate physical damaged sustained. Ghostlight corrosion active. Critical physical damage will be sustained in the next thirty seconds.

There are currently ten blades of ghostlight in your core reserves.<<<

The first part of the status report sounded absolutely terrifying. If this was moderate physical damage, I didn’t want to feel anything more dangerous.

The ten blades sitting in my core gave me an idea. I’d used the strange energy to strengthen my arms and legs far beyond my normal abilities. Maybe there was a way to use that same energy to strengthen my body against the damage coming from the rogue core. It was time to fight ghostlight with ghostlight.

I imagined my body getting hardier, more resilient. I concentrated on that one thought until a blade of ghostlight eased out of my core and into the bright central meridian that ran along my spine. When the golden light transferred into the long channel, I felt instant relief. The pain was still there, but it was nowhere near as severe as it had been. I hadn’t entirely solved my problem, but at least I’d bought myself some time. Unfortunately, the protection I’d paid for with the blade wouldn’t last forever. I needed something more permanent if I was going to get out of this in one piece.

My thoughts turned to the interface. I willed it to tell me what to do next, but it remained mute. Like the Tribunal, it knew enough to be helpful, but it wasn’t all that useful when the chips were down.

I focused on my meditation and let my thoughts drift in search of an answer from my subconscious.

A strange murmuring teased the edges of my thoughts. I strained to hear it. There was definitely a voice—no, multiple voices, whispering so quietly they were almost inaudible. The low hissing was nearly impossible to understand. I focused all my attention on it, ignoring the pain until, finally, I caught broken snatches of sentences, wisps of concepts. Jigsaw images spun through my consciousness. I struggled to piece them together until, suddenly, they snapped into place.

The single phrase was an echo of something Baylo had said after I nearly blew my hands apart.

>>>Invest in yourself.<<<

Someone, or something, had just offered me a way out of this.

After a deep, cleansing breath, I willed the interface to invest blades of ghostlight into my spinal meridian.

>>>Basic investment requires three blades of ghostlight. Do you wish to begin the investment procedure?<<<

“Yes,” I murmured.

>>>Warning: This procedure is permanent and will reduce your ghostlight reserves by three blades.

Warning: Akashik symbiotes detected.

Warning: Dangerous physical damage sustained.

Please confirm that you wish to proceed with the investment procedure.<<<

“Just do it,” I said through gritted teeth.

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