Fragment of Divinity Read online

  Fragment of Divinity

  By:

  Jamey Sultan

  Fragment of Divinity

  SultanLitrpg.com

  Copyright © 2020 Jamey Sultan

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the prior written permission of the Copywrite owner, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To request permissions, contact the publisher at [email protected]

  ISBN: 978-1-7354644-0-4 (Paperback)

  ASIN: B08H4YX7B6

  Edited by Joshua Mason

  Cover Art by Jonathan Elliott

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my parents who, bless their hearts, have no idea what a LitRPG is, but still read my book and told me they loved it.

  Acknowledgements

  I want to take a second to thank all the LitRPG authors out there who inspired me to write my own books.

  A few in particular stand out:

  Tao Wong

  Matt Dinniman

  Aleron Kong

  Dakota Krout

  Thank you. I never would have done this without you.

  Thank you to my Patrons!

  Shubham Chattopadhyay (Rogue)

  Larry Baker (Rogue)

  Thank you to my beta readers!

  Sean Hall

  Erin Balentine

  Billy Jay House

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Thank you

  Chapter 1

  James woke in a small, unlit room.

  This wasn’t unusual for him. He’d just started his first job as a paramedic, and as the lowest employee on the totem pole, he’d been given the role of ‘Rover’. This meant working in a different station almost every shift, depending on the schedule. So, waking to a blaring alarm and a sudden flash of light was nothing new to him. That being said, he’d never woken up in a room quite like this one.

  As James looked around, his first thought was ‘medieval holding cell’. He consulted his mental checklist.

  Iron-barred door with comically large keyhole? Check.

  Inexplicably damp walls? Check.

  Unidentifiable green growth on aforementioned walls? Check.

  Creepy man standing in the corner? Check.

  Creepy man standing in the corner? Wait. What?

  James paused. How hadn’t he noticed the man standing in the corner? The dude had to be at least seven feet tall. James knew it was rude to stare, but it was also rude to lock someone in a cell, so who was the real asshole here?

  The man had an almost sculpted angelic face, complimented by a well-fitting suit and tie. He looked like an actor on the way to the Golden Globes. James would have laughed at how out of place the stranger looked in the dirty, dank cell, if he hadn’t also been there.

  The man returned James’ stare with unreadable onyx eyes. The only noise in the room was a faint ticking sound coming from the man’s watch. Finally, James broke the silence. “Umm… Hi?”

  The man raised an eyebrow at James, sighed, and with tremendous effort, pushed himself off the wall. He walked over to James and held out his hand. “Baradiel.”

  James stared at the hand before hesitantly shaking it, wincing at the vice-like grip. Baradiel smiled thinly. “James, right? Welcome to Novis.” He had an air of smug indifference that immediately irritated James. His tone said that James should be grateful to be in the room, listening to him speak. That James wasn’t worth his time. That James should shut up and listen, if he knew what was good for him. Baradiel stared at James as if daring him to say something.

  Fortunately, James was used to dealing with annoying pricks in positions of authority, so he kept his mouth shut.

  Baradiel shrugged as if to say, ‘Whatever, I didn’t want you to say anything, anyway’. Then he spoke. His tone conveyed boredom, as if he’d given the same speech hundreds of times, but his eyes gave off a different vibe. They stayed focused on James’ face, scrutinizing every slight change in his facial expression.

  “I know you’re probably confused about all this.” He gestured at the surrounding cell. “Well, basically, we brought you here for a contest. We took you from your world because you showed a bit of the quality we seek.” He looked at James as if expecting a reaction. When none came, he continued.

  “Think of this as a job interview.” He smiled. “A deadly job interview.” His voice dripped with false cheeriness. “You’ll have lots of time to figure that all out later. The only thing you need to know right now is that this world is like what you mortals call a video game. Observe.” Baradiel waved his hands, and a screen appeared in front of James’ eyes.

  Please choose your name.

  James stared at the screen for a second. This certainly was a strange dream. “Uhhh… James?” Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Baradiel roll his eyes and place his head in his hands. His palms slid down his face with exaggerated slowness. James ignored the man… demon? No clue. He continued reading the prompts.

  Would you like to confirm UhhhJames as your name?

  “No.” James paused for a second. He still didn’t really understand what was happening, and Baradiel wasn’t helping. The… Entity? Entity sounded good. The entity stood in the corner, staring at James while tapping his foot in annoyance. “Just James.” He said more confidently this time.

  Would you like to confirm JustJames as your name?

  Now James was getting annoyed. This may be a dream, but his inner psyche was kind of a dick. “No.” He tried again. “James.”

  WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONFIRM JAMES AS YOUR NAME?

  “Yes.” Another screen popped up.

  Welcome to Novis, James!

  There it was again. Novis. James turned to Baradiel. “What’s Novis?” He asked.

  Baradiel sighed. “Please save your questions until the end. And not what. Where.” That statement left James even more confused than before. Baradiel sighed. “Just… read the prompts. You’ll figure it out.”

  Another prompt appeared.

  Choose your race:

  Human

  Humans age much quicker than other races. Their shorter lifespan leads to a faster pace, allowing them to specialize into much broader categories than other races.

  Bonuses:

  + 25% Experience gained in all skills

  + 4 free attribute points per level

  Dwarf

  While short in stature, Dwarves are strong and sturdy. Their stature makes them the perfect size to live underground. Dwarves live in larg
e cave systems dug into the mountains. The largest Dwarven settlement is deep within the Crimson Mountains, on the western border of the Forcyth empire.

  Bonuses:

  + 2 Strength per level

  + 1 Endurance per level

  + 3 free attribute points per level

  Wood-Elf

  Elves are the longest-lived race in Novis with an average lifespan of five centuries. Wood Elves do not believe in large cities and live off the land in the Fertile Expanse.

  Bonuses:

  + 10% Movement speed in wooded areas

  + 1 Intelligence per level

  + 2 Dexterity per level

  + 2 free attribute points per level

  High-Elf

  Elves are the longest-lived race in Novis with an average lifespan of five centuries. High Elves are the most talented in the magical arts. Supposedly, there is an ancient High-Elf city tucked away deep within the Fertile Expanse, but if there is, no other race has ever seen it and lived to tell the tale.

  Bonuses:

  + 10% Spellcasting speed

  + 1 Dexterity per level

  + 1 Intelligence per level

  + 1 Wisdom per level

  + 2 free attribute points per level

  Gnome

  Gnomes are the most intelligent of the sentient races. Long ago, they fled the unceasing wars of the other races to pursue their obsession with advancing their understanding of the world. They combine magic and technology in new and exciting ways. Their Grand Library truly is a marvel to behold.

  Bonuses:

  + 10% to intelligence

  + 2 Intelligence per level

  + 1 Dexterity per level

  + 2 free attribute points per level

  James was beginning to understand what was happening.

  As an avid gamer, he loved role-playing games the most, and this was just like the race selection screen for an RPG. As James scrolled down the list with a thought, he saw that most of the races had been greyed out. He clicked on the gnome race, interested in the magic and technology, but a notification popped up, telling him he would have to choose another race.

  He scrolled through hundreds of unique races. Some were too alien to him, like the Snake-Beastkin race, while others, like the Gnome race, were greyed out and inaccessible to him. Out of the corner of his eyes, James saw Baradiel tapping his foot in annoyance. But with so many races to choose from, James needed to make sure he was making the best choice.

  Baradiel made a grand display of banging his head against the wall.

  After an hour of reading through his options and ticking off this… entity, James decided. He would stick with Human. Out of the handful of races available to him, it was the only one he could see himself as.

  But he wondered when this dream would end. Maybe it was one of the lucid dreams he had heard about. They were supposed to be super realistic. James tried pinching himself and yelped.

  He turned to Baradiel. “This is a dream, right?”

  Baradiel laughed bitterly, “I wish.” He then went back to tapping his foot, waiting for James to finalize his choice, but James stood, frozen.

  There is no way this was real. It’s impossible. What about my friends and family at home? What about my life? I just got my first paramedic job.

  James pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and returned his attention to the menus. Once he chose Human for his race, a new menu opened up, giving him the option to customize his appearance.

  He wondered how much he could change his appearance. He changed his skin color to pale, then dark, then he went through the hairstyle options. It was fun, changing his body on the menu and watching himself change in real time. But it felt strange, as if his body was made of a cold mist that reshaped itself at his command. Once he got bored with changing his appearance, he reset it to default. From there, he changed his hair color from brown to black and made himself slightly taller. Perfect.

  A new menu popped up, asking him to confirm his selection. He turned to Baradiel. Now that he had time to process what Baradiel had said, he was angry. “What do you mean, ‘you wish’?”

  Baradiel sighed. “I mean, I wish it were a dream, and I wish I didn’t have to put up with useless mortals like you. Now please get on with it. Some of us important beings have work to do.”

  James never took kindly to insults and didn’t appreciate the implication that his kidnapping was unimportant. He glared at Baradiel, angrily curling his hands into fists. “You’re a dick.”

  Baradiel shrugged, his nonchalant expression infuriating James even more.

  “Send me home.” He pulled back a fist and punched Baradiel in the face.

  Or tried to.

  Baradiel’s hand blurred, and he caught James’ fist in an icy grip. James could feel the cold spreading down his hand into his wrist and forearm. It hurt, and his skin was turning blue. Baradiel looked him dead in the eye, the anger clear in his gaze. His eyes changed from coal-black to a deep, bright blue, like two glowing splinters of ice lodged in his skull. “Never… speak… to me... like… that!” He hissed. “I am better than you. Remember that.”

  Baradiel released James’ hand and smiled again, as if the incident never occurred. “I’ll tell you what. When you wake up, you’ll have a quest. If you can complete the quest, then I’ll send you back to your family. Deal?”

  James rubbed at his numb arm. “When I—”

  Baradiel interrupted him. “Also, never try to punch me again.” The message was punctuated by a fist to his face. Something about being punched in the face by a demon, or whatever Baradiel was, hurt. A lot. James clutched at his face, stars dancing in front of his eyes, and moaned. Baradiel smiled and snapped his fingers, and James sank into unconsciousness.

  Baradiel whistled a little tune as he opened a portal and carried the Human through. He would enjoy watching this unfold. Shame that he would never follow through on his promise. If his plan worked out, all seven candidates would be dead, and Sytar would be none the wiser.

  Chapter 2

  James woke up with a splitting headache. He was lying on his back in a cave next to a pool, the water barely kissing his toes. He made a couple of quick observations—the cave floor was uncomfortably rough on his back, and he was naked. Well, he had a loincloth on, but other than that he was bare as the day he was born.

  James glanced around the cave in confusion.

  Where am I? Am I still dreaming?

  Starlight filtered through the cave entrance. Clusters of crystal scattered throughout the cave let off a dim purple glow, just enough to see by. Boxes of text bombarded him as soon as he had gathered his bearings, appearing in the corner of his vision.

  Welcome to Novis, James!

  You have gained the ability: Death’s Stare.

  Death’s Stare (1/7):

  The eyes of death pierce all. This ability allows you to see a character’s name, level, and class floating above their heads. It also allows you to identify items. This ability is upgradeable if specific conditions are met.

  Once James finished reading the box, another took its place, as if it could sense when he reached the last word.

  You have gained the following items:

  - Infinite Pouch

  - Iron Dagger

  - Leather Shirt

  - Leather Pants

  - Leather Shoes

  - Leather Bracers

  - Travelers Rations (x10)

  Infinite Pouch:

  Rank: Epic

  This pouch can hold an infinite number of items, reducing their weight by 99.9999%. To retrieve an item, simply place your hand near the pouch and think of the item name.

  Iron Dagger:

  Rank: Common

  Forged from iron, one of the most common smithing materials. There is nothing special about this dagger.

  Leather Shirt:

  Rank: Common

  Crafted from hardened leather, this shirt will provide you with some protection against damage.


  Leather Pants:

  Rank: Common

  Crafted from hardened leather, these pants will provide you with some protection against damage.

  Leather Shoes:

  Rank: Common

  Crafted from hardened leather, these shoes will provide you with some protection against damage.

  Leather Bracers:

  Rank: Common

  Crafted from hardened leather, these bracers will provide you with some protection against damage.

  Travelers Rations (x10):

  Rank: Common

  An assortment of dried fruit, meat, and nuts. It’s not a five-star meal, but at least you won’t starve.

  James shifted uncomfortably. The longer he sat on the cavern floor, the more uncomfortable he was getting. How did nudists do it? He stood up and retrieved his armor from the pouch.

  Stiff leather clothing fell onto the ground next to him and he stared at it, trying to make sense of all the clasps and buckles.

  He’d never been a fan of leather clothing. It was too hot and sticky. Still, it was better than a loincloth. It took a while, because he had never worn armor before, but after a confusing few minutes, he stood, fully equipped and ready to take on the world.