Rise of the Last Star: Core - A LitRPG Adventure, page 1
RISE OF THE LAST STAR
BOOK THREE
CORE
CHAPTER 1: INVASION
The Tutorial had reached its conclusion. After they defeated the Titans, the strongest enemies in each Tutorial Zone, Liam and humanity as a whole had gotten to know peace. Honing their abilities and biding for time, they awaited the day when it all would end and enter the next phase. Now closer than ever to his companions and the most powerful of humanity, Liam felt the weight of the burden on his shoulders as he watched the sky collapse.
He didn’t want anyone to die. He didn’t wish for any more people to be killed. It was his duty, his responsibility, to ensure that no bloodbath occurred. At the very least, he should be stronger than the invaders. With trembling eyes, he watched the heavens crack open.
Revealed beyond them was a group of what seemed to be flying ships, titanic in nature. Kilometers long and wide, they floated in the distance. Liam’s pupils dilated. Out of the ships, Aura-wielding creatures started pouring out in waves. Countless in number, they approached at blinding speeds, using technology he did not recognize.
He managed to get a glance at one of them.
A lizardman?
It looked like a lizardman straight out of a fantasy novel, except that it was muscular and over three meters tall. Its scales were green, layered on top of one another like armor. The claws were long, but not so much that they would get in the way of holding a weapon. It made sense since the enormous sword on its back was sure not to be for show. Its snout was like the Flood Dragon’s, long but also reptile-like. Its red eyes glistened in the vast emptiness of the universe. The Aura Liam felt from it was comparable to Andrew’s.
Yet, there were hundreds of millions just like it coming from behind it. It was despair-inducing.
A smaller ship approached. This one was clearly owned by an important individual. Entirely black in color with navy blue ornaments, it looked significantly nobler than the giant ones. Its back opened, and a bigger lizardman walked out. It was over five meters tall, its skin also a deep navy blue. Its eyes were purple, the slit-like pupils immediately zeroing in on Liam’s position.
The youth felt crushed.
In a single step, the monster crossed hundreds of meters. Liam’s eyes trembled. It was now directly above the encampment. Behind it, a smaller, black lizardman had appeared. Liam had never seen it arrive. This one was only just over two meters tall, less muscular, and comparatively smaller than all the others. For all intents and purposes, it seemed not to be an adult.
The navy blue lizardman looked directly at Liam and opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs.
“I am Commander Arimiar of the Sixth Division of the Drakkhan Empire. By the decree of His Highness the Prince, humanity will now surrender or perish.”
Liam lowered his center of gravity. Surrender or perish? Ridiculous. He destroyed his organs and his five senses, crushing his heart and damaging part of his brain.
Singularity.
Through Aura Sight, he watched a surprised look cross Arimiar’s expression. Behind it, the smaller, black lizardman’s jaw dropped. It was too late. Liam compressed into a dot, flying forward.
Purple Aura crashed into him. It was at that moment. The tales of his victories in his Skill were crushed into nothingness. Titanslayer or not, a human could not stand up to a Drakkhan Commander’s Aura.
Liam realized it. He would lose. It was at the instant he’d poured everything into his Singularity, but the realization hit him all the same. The purple Aura forced him open, expanding him once more. His Skill had been countered and canceled mid-way. He’d failed and withstood all of the recoil. The result was that he couldn’t even move. He crashed to the ground, utterly helpless.
Above, the Aura flooding out of Arimiar dominated the space in a diameter of over ten kilometers. Many of the hunters were instantly knocked out by its sheer weight. The lizardman spoke again, while the black Drakkhan with golden irises behind it gazed at Liam with a shocked expression.
“Very interesting. His Highness will want to know about this.”
Then, it turned to the smaller lizardman and bowed.
“Your Highness, there are around 300 million humans alive. Together, they should provide billions of XP. It should be enough for you to level up quite a bit. However, do remember His Highness Prince Varlian’s words. You must wait.”
“I know.”
Without moving its gaze from Liam, the young prince replied.
On the ground, Liam heard the Commander repeat his words as his hearing came back.
“I will say it again, humanity.”
Its voice was transmitted through unknown technology to the entire Tutorial Zone.
“Surrender or perish. It is a royal decree.”
The Drakkhan Empire’s orders were absolute.
At that moment, a few System notifications rang in the minds of every human alive.
[Humanity is now a participant in the Convergence. Your species will now fight to survive. All other species must be eradicated before Humanity is declared the winner of the Convergence.]
[Beware. Failure to comply and to fight will result in extermination. Peace is not an option.]
[May the Convergence begin for your kind.]
…
Complete defeat. He had been crushed.
Inside the black and navy blue ship of the Commander, Liam felt utterly pathetic. It was comparable to the way he felt on Earth. He was sitting on a giant navy blue plush chair inside a fully furnished room. Other plush chairs surrounded a low center table, which was empty. Magic lights were lined up in the ceiling, being fueled by a mysterious energy. Golden lines and decorations could be seen on the walls, but the overall design of the room was simplistic and efficient. It was more like a luxurious meeting room than someone’s quarters.
Liam clenched his fist. Was this how little of a threat he posed? To not be thrown in a cage or tied up with chains, but instead simply put in one of the ship’s important rooms? It was as if they did not care in the least about his strength. In a sense, it was true. As long as Arimiar remained on the ship, Liam wouldn’t be able to wreak havoc for any period of time longer than a minute.
In his powerless state, he had been carried inside the flying ship by the reptilian soldiers under the watchful eye of the Commander. Then, he’d been placed in this room after being dragged for an unknown distance. His Aura Sight slithered under the door and through the corridors of the ship, but even at its maximum range, he still couldn’t see what was happening outside. From Arimiar’s words, however, he could be sure of one thing.
Everyone’s in danger.
Humanity, as a whole, was in danger, not just his friends and allies. Liam’s mind raced. First, he contemplated how they had gotten to this situation. First, his conjecture about other intelligent species had been proven right. Not only did they exist, but one of them immediately attacked them as soon as the Zone opened. At the same time, the invaders were also vastly more powerful than humanity, overwhelming them on arrival. Liam recalled the words the Commander had said to the young prince that floated behind it.
They’re going to hunt us.
The number of deaths would be astronomical. Nevertheless, they would wait until the so-called Prince Varlian gave the word, apparently. There was no way for him to know, so he dropped the issue.
What mattered right now was what he could do. Liam opened his Status Window, looking for something that could give him an edge. Of course, he was intimately familiar with his Skills, but felt like he was forgetting something.
----------------------------------------Status Window----------------------------------------
Name: Liam Allister
Level: 10
Species: Human
Race: There is no racial variation among this species
Personal Attribute: Dying Star of Humanity’s ??? ???
Attributes:
Strength: 1350
Dexterity: 1350
Constitution: 1000
Recovery: 1000
Intelligence: 120
Perception: 15
Aura: 1500
Will: 10
TITLES:
. Fire King’s Blessing; Ancient Forest’s Conqueror; Mountain Spirit’s Possession; Kingslayer; Sourcekeeper’s Tale;
Skills:
. Passive Skills:
Survive! (S); Danger Sense (A); Hand to Hand Combat; Long Distance Runner (B); Basic Knife Mastery; Advanced Spear Mastery; Aura Incorporation; Expert Aura Path; Advanced Footwork Mastery; Intuition (A); Unbreakable Will (?); Grand Flow (S); Undying (S); Iron Mind (A); Divided Thinking (B); Masterful Aura Conservation (A); Aura Condensation (B).
King’s Crown; Great Sourcebearer; Titanslayer
. Active Skills:
Singularity; Aura Blade; Event Horizon; Flying Spear; Aura Sight; Aura Manipulation; Waterstep; Crescent Moon Wave; Drizzle; Flow; Riptide; Drought; Aerial Movement.
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His eyes narrowed as he looked at both his Titles and the King’s Crown skill. He also hadn’t checked the Great Sourcebearer Skill’s changed information, but it was unlikely to benefit him in an environment free of the Corruption, so he decided to save it for last. He first opened the information on his new Titles.
----------------------------------------Title----
Ancient Forest’s Conqueror
* You have defeated the Ent King and taken over the Ancient Forest. Through this regicide, you have become the new ruler of the Forest as its strongest lifeform. The trees and creatures bow to your presence.
* Increases your abilities in any forest-like environment.
* Increases your affinity with plants and plant-based lifeforms.
* Lesser creatures will feel pressured when going against you and have their abilities reduced.
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This won’t help me right now.
As expected, not every Title he acquired would be immediately useful. Even when it came to games, Titles were only truly effective when they compounded with other ones, creating a synergistic effect. Liam moved on to the next one.
----------------------------------------Title-----------------------------------------
Mountain Spirit’s Possession
* You have defeated the Mountain Spirit that possessed the Primal Peak. The Spirit’s anger has passed in respect to your strength. It has decided to share a small portion of its power with you as a tribute.
* Slightly increases all of your stats’ effectiveness.
* Improves the connection between you and your weapon of choice.
* Increases your abilities when fighting in a mountainous region.
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This is better.
Not only did it increase the effectiveness of all of his stats – like the Passive Skills he’d trained to acquire with Eynart – but it also improved the connection between him and his weapon. While he wasn’t sure of what it meant, he felt like he understood it a bit. Compared to his old stone spear, he wasn’t as used to Eynart’s spear, making his movements a bit awkward at times. He guessed this would improve that. Liam looked at the information of the next title.
----------------------------------------Title-----------------------------------------
Kingslayer
* You have defeated and killed the Sword Mountain’s Golem King. Your achievement was recorded for the very short remainder of the Golem’s history. The System will forever remember it.
* Increases your proficiency with all weapons.
* Slightly increases your abilities when wielding a sword.
* Increases your abilities when fighting against large opponents.
* Significantly increases your abilities when fighting against Kings.
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It was a good title, though one that didn’t suit him completely as it required a sword to show its full potential. The “all weapons” effect should allow him to grow more used to his spear and increase his Skill Proficiency with the Spear Mastery Skill, though, making the Title still useful to him. Quite satisfied, Liam looked at the last Title’s information window.
----------------------------------------Title-----------------------------------------
Sourcekeeper’s Tale
* You were the one to slay the Sourcekeeper of the Great Rift after an untold amount of years. The story of the aberration that lived for far too long flows into you. Its gratitude and power flood your body and mind.
* Increases the weight of your existence.
* Increases your resistance against the Corruption’s influence.
* Increases your resistance against Source Trials.
* Increases your abilities when fighting other Sourcekeepers.
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He narrowed his eyes.
A Title that increases the weight of one’s existence?
Even at a glance, such an effect seemed above any of the previous Titles, especially if one didn’t know what one’s existential weight was. However, this also implied that Liam wasn’t the only one capable of using the weight of his existence as a weapon. If there were other Titles like this one, then it was obvious that some other lifeform had acquired it. Liam gritted his teeth. Then, he sighed.
Closing the information windows, he looked at the ceiling. In front of his eyes, the window of the last thing he needed to check out appeared.
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Great Sourcebearer
Type: Passive Skill
Rank: Unknown
* You have cleared the Source Trial of the Great Rift. Its power now rests within you.
* Your stats and Skill Proficiencies will be increased based on the number of Source Trials you have passed when in an environment devoured by the Corruption. As you have cleared a Great Source Trial, this ability’s effects will be increased. A fraction of its effects will be present at all times, with or without the Corruption.
* Increases all of your stats’ effectiveness by a large amount.
* Reduces the effects of the Corruption near you and your Kingdom.
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Liam’s eyes widened as he read the Skill information. Not only did it increase his stats’ effectiveness, but it also buffed them and increased his Skill Proficiencies even outside of the Corruption. It was by far one of his best skills. Secondarily, it reminded him of his ability to set a Kingdom after King’s Qualifications evolved to King’s Crown. Of course, he did not know how to do so or even what a Kingdom was.
What is a Kingdom?
Silence. As usual, the System paid no mind to his questions. Liam thought for a bit.
I’d like to create a Kingdom.
[Designate the area. Currently, your Kingdom can only have one hundred square kilometers of area. Your Kingdom cannot be set in the area of another Kingdom.]
So it was a physical area? What did it mean to create a Kingdom, however? Liam deliberated on it but could not reach a clear conclusion. There were too many possibilities. It could be a way to simply designate the territories of the various species in the Convergence but also have abilities of its own.
What are the effects of a Kingdom?
There was no response. Liam sighed once more before he thought of dismissing the window, which disappeared from his sight. Suddenly, he froze.
…Wait.
He hurriedly thought of creating a Kingdom again, seeing the same message.
It doesn’t say it’s a physical area.
He narrowed his eyes. He felt like he was starting to touch upon something, but he wasn’t sure of what it was. It seemed far-fetched at the very least to consider the Kingdom’s territory to be anything but a physical territory, but for some reason, he felt like that wasn’t quite right. Was it his Intelligence? Or was it his Perception? Either way, the suspicion clawing away at his heart wouldn’t go away, but his train of thought was interrupted by the voice he hated the most.
[So, how was your first experience with the Drakkhan Empire?]
Liam frowned. It was too early. Why was this maniac contacting him now? The voice that spoke through the System placed pressure on existence itself. Liam saw the space around him bend, strained. Time had completely stopped. He could feel it. He couldn’t breathe, as the air molecules wouldn’t move. Thankfully, the Aura within him still flowed, likely due to the Creator allowing it. In spite of all of this, Liam’s response carried no deference.
Why are you here?
It was natural. This being was the one at fault for everything that happened, at the very core of it. It had created the System and the Convergence itself.
[Aww, don’t be like that. We’re going to talk a lot more from now on. I was going to leave you alone in the Tutorial until you got your bearings, but since you’re now officially part of the Convergence, I don’t see any reason to hold back.]
Answer the question. Please.
[Fine, you oaf. I’m here to add a new Title to your Status Window, mostly for formality’s sake. I could let the System do it by itself, but this one speaks to me, you know? I felt the need to do it myself.]
[You have acquired a new Title!]
Liam hurriedly opened the new Title’s information.
----------------------------------------Title-----------------------------------------
Fateless
